Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter

The Contaminated Zone

“Alone?”

“What?”

“Look over there. That kid is by himself.”

“What?”

Gaon overheard someone’s conversation.

He turned his head to follow the voices.

“What’s this? Hey kid, are you by yourself?”

Gaon didn’t respond.

There was palpable hostility coming from them.

“Hah, this kid’s really alone, huh? What kind of place do you think the contaminated zone is? Do you think hunting monsters is a joke?”

“Why are you getting worked up? Don’t bother with him.”

One of the hunters stepped in to stop the angry one.

Of course, it wasn’t out of concern for Gaon.

“Do you think a puny guy like that can hunt monsters? Just leave him. He’ll learn when he gets eaten by one.”

It was more about mocking him.

The man, who had been angrily growling, stopped and then spat a thick wad of phlegm toward Gaon’s direction.

“Consider yourself lucky you didn’t run into any monsters coming this far, now get lost.”

Gaon quietly thought about their behavior as he watched them.

What exactly was making them so angry with him?

Were they trying to prevent a potential rival from stealing their meal ticket?

Or was it their pride as monster hunters that made them unable to tolerate an amateur stepping into their field?

Or maybe, just maybe, they were actually senior hunters trying to look out for a younger one, but it came off as tough love?

‘No, definitely not.’

Gaon shook his head slightly.

The emotions he felt from them were real, so he could tell that wasn’t the case.

So, Gaon moved on, keeping his distance from them.

“Stupid bastard,” “He won’t learn until he gets killed,” “He must want to die,” came from behind him, but Gaon ignored them and kept walking.

Ironically, the farther he got from the outskirts, the more he encountered people.

Their eyes swept over Gaon, and the moment they realized he was alone, taunts followed.

But Gaon paid no attention to it.

He had long been used to baseless, malicious criticism ever since his past life as a modern-day person.

He let the slander slide off his back and focused on something else.

“Being a monster hunter… might be a red ocean, huh?”

Looking back at the group he’d encountered earlier, he counted at least four of them.

Three was rare, and anything less than two was virtually nonexistent.

Furthermore, there were more groups searching for monsters than those actually hunting them.

“If I can hunt one a day, that wouldn’t be too bad,” Gaon mused, recalling the amount of money he received for disposing of the shark-toothed wolf.

It was a fair amount, but that was because Gaon took it all for himself. If he had to split it with four or five others, it wouldn’t have been nearly as much.

“If I can really hunt one a day, that wouldn’t be bad, but… it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be that easy.”

Gaon spoke with a slight frown, but it was a minor concern.

The ones who had been cursing at him were also rookies who only went after Grade 1 monsters.

Of course, Gaon didn’t know that.

They were the type to value their own lives above all else.

Even considering that the profit would be lower, monster hunters form groups and stick to the relatively safer outskirts of the contaminated zone.

As a result, the number of Grade 1 monsters near the outer areas has completely dwindled, but they aren’t capable of venturing deeper into the contaminated zone to hunt more diverse monsters.

They can’t afford to face Grade 2 or higher monsters because survival can’t be guaranteed.

In the end, the mockery and hostility directed at Gaon were just expressions of their inability to accept the situation they had created, filled with petty, narrow-minded jealousy.

That’s why they didn’t stop Gaon from moving inward.

It took about three to four hours to reach the area where monster hunters had gathered near the outskirts. Then, another two hours to move further inward.

“Grreeee.”

After spending nearly half a day on the journey, Gaon finally encountered a monster.

The shark-tooth wolf.

Fortunately, it was a monster he had already hunted before.

Gaon drew the dagger he had brought with him.

‘It’s big.’

Gaon steeled himself.

The size of this one was about one and a half times bigger than the one he had hunted before.

‘If its size is 1.5 times larger, its attacks will be 1.5 times more dangerous.’ But it wasn’t as simple as that.

The increased muscle mass and strength, agility, the greater load he had to take on due to speed, and most importantly, the experience accumulated over the years of living, which contributed to a greater level of combat ability.

Even though it was the same shark-tooth wolf, the combat power of this one could easily be double or more compared to the previous one.

Bang!

The monster leaped forward.

Gaon moved diagonally to intercept it.

The terrifying teeth of the creature swiped past him.

Gaon tightened his grip on the raised dagger.

And with that alone,

Screech-!

The speed of Gaon running head-on into the shark-tooth wolf created a meaningful attack.

“Graahhh-!”

The creature howled in pain, its side torn open by the blade.

Gaon, having shifted positions to observe, relaxed the tension he had been holding.

“Not bad. This is more manageable than I thought.”

Even though it was their first clash, Gaon could tell.

The monster’s size had grown, but his own growth was far more significant.

The shark-tooth wolf launched a series of attacks.

However, not a single attack landed on Gaon’s body.

He maintained a safe distance, dodging with ease.

And at the same time,

Swoosh-!

Rustle-!

Gaon continued to accumulate significant damage on the shark-tooth wolf.

However,

“The sword is too short.”

Due to the inherent limitations of the dagger as a weapon, while it was capable of dealing significant damage, landing a decisive blow was difficult.

“Hmm.”

After a brief moment of thought, Gaon launched himself forward again.

The shark-tooth wolf, now drenched in blood, was in a much worse condition. If it had been a normal wolf, it might have tucked its tail and fled by now.

Yet, despite the heavy blood loss, its murderous intent had not diminished in the slightest.

The shark-tooth wolf thrust its snout toward the direction Gaon was coming from.

Just before entering its attack range, Gaon twisted his body.

The wolf’s muscular shoulders swelled as its sharp teeth followed Gaon’s movements.

Crack!

The only thing left in the space between them was the vacuum of the air being displaced.

But the wolf’s attack didn’t end there.

Having never successfully landed an attack during the previous clashes, the shark-tooth wolf this time seemed to predict Gaon’s evasion, and it swung its forepaws.

This was a completely different attack pattern than before.

However, Gaon, almost like a limbo dancer, lowered his upper body parallel to the ground to avoid it.

Then, in the same motion, he swiftly swung his dagger, severing the wolf’s neck.

The severed carotid artery burst, spilling blood everywhere.

No matter how resilient a monster was, if the carotid artery, responsible for supplying blood to the brain, was severed, survival was impossible.

Gaon distanced himself and waited for the shark-tooth wolf’s breath to stop.

Gurgle, gurgle.

After some time, the sounds of gurgling ceased, and the wolf’s movements came to an end.

Still waiting for a few more minutes, Gaon moved toward the fallen monster.

It was time to claim the spoils.

“Well then, time to collect.”

Gaon’s voice was unusually buoyant.

It wasn’t just because he had made money.

This first battle meant a lot to Gaon.

It was his first step toward survival.

As the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This moment would be the beginning of unraveling the secrets of this world.

And through that, he would eventually find a way to return to his original world.

This hope and determination were reflected in his voice, which, unknowingly, radiated joy.

Gaon took out the tongs from his equipment to gather the monster’s remains.

The shark-tooth wolf’s teeth were typically ground into powder and used in the smelting of iron, so they were less affected by damage during collection.

The collection was based on weight measured on a scale.

However, it didn’t mean they could take completely shattered teeth that were unrecognizable.

In the past, such teeth were sometimes accepted, but due to some hunters mixing in fake shark-tooth wolf teeth, they no longer accepted teeth that weren’t in recognizable form.

“Thanks to that, only broken teeth that can be paired into two pieces with a recognizable shape are traded.”

Gaon skillfully used the tongs to extract the teeth, placing them into his bag.

“Almost… done.”

With the last tooth collected, Gaon smiled faintly.

“I’ve probably earned enough for at least five days’ worth of living expenses.”

Considering the money earned from a few swift cuts, it was quite a decent amount.

Of course, it had taken half a day to get here and would take another half day to return.

“Next time, I guess I’ll need to consider the travel time too.”

For now, he had been lucky to find a prey so quickly, but next time, who knew how much time it would take to track one down?

“Camping? Nah.”

Gaon shook his head, ruling out the option of camping.

It would be better to not sleep at all than to try and rest here. Trying to sleep in this place was as good as signing a death sentence.

“Reducing travel time is realistically the better option.”

As Gaon organized his thoughts, he continued walking back toward the city.

His steps, which had been stiff with tension when he first entered the contaminated zone, now felt light and carefree.

***

After successfully completing his first hunt in the contaminated zone, Gaon went straight to Ren to exchange the shark-tooth wolf’s remains for cash.

Once done, Gaon didn’t head to an inn but instead made his way to the temple.

The temple, which had been closed temporarily due to a special mission from the goddess being conducted after centuries, had just reopened now that the investigation was complete.

Of course, during the closure, rumors about the temple had spread throughout the city, leading to an endless stream of visitors. But that didn’t bother Gaon.

He was willing to wait in line for as long as it took, as long as he could speak with the goddess again.

‘It’s getting a bit blurry, but she did say she could cure my mother’s illness. I need to confirm whether that’s true or not.’

After a long wait, Gaon’s turn finally came.

He slowly followed the line back to the temple and sat in an available spot.

Just as he had done before, he called out to the deity.

‘Can you hear me? If you’re watching me, answer me. Can you really cure my mother?’

Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.

Time kept passing, but the answer he had been hoping for never came.

In truth, Gaon had been trying to ignore it, but it was to be expected.

According to the people around him, an enormous amount of divine power had poured into the temple at that very moment.

Gaon, with his complete lack of sensitivity to divine energy, couldn’t feel it, but it was said that just being in the temple had restored the health of people who had been ill, and even those who had been disabled had returned to full health.

To achieve just a few words of conversation, such an immense amount of divine energy had been consumed.

No matter how divine the goddess was, it was unlikely that such a feat could be performed easily.

‘Yeah, I guess that makes sense…’

Gaon understood that much.

It was something he could easily deduce from the situation.

Still, Gaon couldn’t help but wish the goddess would appear again.

There was a gap between knowing something with your head and understanding it with your heart.

Eventually, Gaon had no choice but to leave the temple, unable to resist the urging of a lower-ranking priest, who was trying to fairly allocate seats to the growing number of worshipers.

How could he find a way to speak with the goddess again?

Sigh.

A deep sigh escaped him.

But he couldn’t give up.

His mother’s recovery.

That was the reason Gaon had stubbornly fought to survive, and it still was.

So no matter what, he had to find a way to reopen the line of communication with the goddess.

No matter what.