The First Hunter

Keu-euh-euh!

It was a real monster.

It had a giant, muscular body to compliment its immense 190 centimeter height. It was a true monster, its neck thicker than the waist of an adult woman. [TN: 190 Centimeters is 6.2 feet for all you American readers.]

Its face, amongst other things, was the most monstrous.

Fangs longer than an adult’s fingers protruded out of its ugly face, its thick lips s.h.i.+ning with blood.

“Euuuuuh!”

Naturally, it was not an opponent that a 40-year-old boss, who occasionally played all-in-one screen golf, could hold a candle to. [TN: Screen golf is basically virtual golfing. According to  Business Insider, South Koreans are ‘obsessed’ with it.   It was an opponent that could make your soul flee your body.

But, the reason why Park Jae-Un, a middle aged man, blocked this terrible grayish brown-skinned monster was simple.

“Hu- husband!”

“Euaang, daddy! Daaaaaad!”

The two girls shouted.

His wife and daughter were terrified and taking refuge behind his back. His daughter was sniveling, her cries resounding with despair.

‘s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t······!’

In addition, the moment he runs away would be the moment that he would lose his beloved.

“D-don’t worry! I’ll block it! I will stop it!”

Park Jae-Un brandished a tennis racket he had recently purchased to fight the monster. He had purchased the tennis racket in preparation for a new year’s resolution where he would go on a diet and lose some weight.

There was a reason that would compel anyone to stay, and it was that reason why he chose not to flee.

Kaaaah!

Of course, the monster couldn’t care less about Park Jae-Un or his family standing behind him.

However, Park Jae-un’s determination did nothing to inspire any sort of provocation from the monster.

To the monster, everything before him was just food.

Keu-reu-reu!

As soon as the monster imagined the feeling of fresh blood dripping out of its mouth, it stopped holding back.

The monster stepped towards Park Jae-un/

Hweek! Hweek!

Park Jae-un wielded  the tennis racket that he had never once swung before.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

Park Jae-un let out a war-cry while swinging the racket, but it sounded more like a scream than a war-cry.

Park Jae-un’s frantic last-ditch effort did not even leave a scratch on the monster’s body.

But that didn’t mean that his actions didn’t bear any fruit.

Because of the ruckus that Park Jae-un had made, he had not only attracted the monster’s attention, but Bang Hyun-wook’s as well. Thanks to that, Bang Hyun-Wook was able to reach the monster without it noticing his presence.

Bbak!

And with that, he smashed a baseball bat on top of the monster’s head.

Bang Hyun-Wook’s blow had a huge amount of power behind it.

“Euhwaak!”

Bang Hyun-wook’s palm felt pain being transmitted from the bat.

If it was any ordinary person, being hit with that much strength would have resulted in their head would have been smashed open. At the very least, the person being struck would get staggered.

Kaaaah!

But this monster was not your everyday person. Thanks to his st.u.r.dy neck and thick skull, the monster’s head was neither smashed open nor did his body stagger.

The blow only served to anger the monster.

Turning its body around, the monster opened wide its mouth towards Bang Hyun Wook who had attacked him, and roared.

Keuuuuuuuuuuuh!

It was more than just a simple roar, but the most intense threat it could yell forth from its body!

‘Huk!’

Fear, it was fear.

It was at that moment that Bang Hyun Wook felt as though his fear was suffocating him.

‘Wha, what······.’

He felt as though his body was bound by formless chains.

It was as though an invisible hand had tightly wrapped itself around Bang Hyun Wook’s heart.

The eerie feeling stopped Bang Hyun Wook in his tracks. Seeing the state he was in, the monster did not rush over.

The monster looked over with red eyes. It observed the creature that had attacked him.

The monster’s eyes were like those of a predator looking at its prey.

‘Euh-euh······.’

However, Bang Hyun Wook wasn’t just scared, he was also angry.

‘This f.u.c.king monster punk!’

Terrifying.

Terrifying on one hand, but on the other, the fact that he was nothing more than prey to be hunted and consumed incited Bang Hyun Wook’s anger beyond his fear.

And that anger stoked the anger that had been smoldering in Bang Hyun Wook’s belly.

Twitch!

The twitching that started in his belly suddenly burst upwards like a fountain.

It started from his stomach and made its way to his chest, at which point the eerie grip around his heart was sloughed off, after which it explosively burst from his mouth past his uvula.

“AHHHHHHH!”

And out of Bang Hyun Wook’s mouth came a cry not unlike the one the monster had roared earlier.

Bang Hyun Wook felt the strength of an unprecedented power in his body, and his body felt similar to when he came out of a sauna.

At the same time, the light from Bang Hyun Wook’s eyes changed.

Around the light that was emanating from his eyes, there seemed to be a s.h.i.+mmering haze that rose up from within.

Kuh?

It was at that moment, the monster’s actions stopped.

Its eyes changed.

No longer did its gaze seem like a predator looking at its prey, but instead, it was as though it was just a beast staring down another beast.

And acting like a beast would do in front of another beast, it vigilantly focused on Bang Hyun Wook.

It was at that moment that Kim Tae Hoon made his move.

Seueuk!

Kim Tae Hoon approached the monster’s back that had become stiff with caution.

Kim Tae Hoon’s presence was nothing but a dim blur.

‘Huh?’

Even Park Jae Un, whose line of sight could very well included Kim Tae Hoon’s approach, did not notice Kim Tae Hoon’s presence until after he had already wrapped the fis.h.i.+ng line in his hands around the monster’s neck three times.

Furthermore, Kim Tae Hoon’s ability to use a fis.h.i.+ng line to stealthily wrap it around the monster’s neck was very good.

It wasn’t something that he had only done once or twice. It was at a level where only an expert who had practiced hundreds of thousands of times could show.

Soon after, Kim Tae Hoon, who had put on baseball gloves, burst with strength, causing the fis.h.i.+ng line to go taut.

Ggeu-uh-uh!

The veins in the monster’s neck began to squeeze.

The monster reflexively began to scratch at his neck.

Tuk, tuk!

However, the fis.h.i.+ng line could not be so easily cut by the monster’s short nails.

But above all, Kim Tae Hoon had no intention to give the monster even the slightest opportunity to break free.

While pulling on the fis.h.i.+ng line, Kim Tae Hoon struck the back of the monster’s right knee with his right foot, putting the monster under him.

Even the log like monster had no choice but to go down on his right knee, giving Kim Tae Hoon the chance to pull even harder on the fis.h.i.+ng line.

Kuuhk!

While making guttural choking noises, the ceiling quickly entered the monster’s field of view.

“Do it!”

Kim Tae Hoon let out a shout, and the burning gaze in Bang Hyun Wook’s eyes slowly disappeared like the melting snow.

“YES!”

Bang Hyun Wook followed through with Kim Tae Hoon’s command. He took something out of the bag that he was carrying on his back.

What he took out was engine oil.

Bang Hyun Wook swiftly opened the cap and shoved the mouth of the container into the monster’s mouth.

At the same time, Kim Tae Hyun slightly weakened his pull on the fis.h.i.+ng line.

Having been struggling for breath, the monster reflexively took in a huge breath.

Kuk!

The monster’s mouth filled up with engine oil.

Kuk, kuk, Kueuk!

The engine oil quickly entered the monster’s stomach and lungs.

Kuuhk!

It was at that moment that the monster felt it.

A spontaneous burst of disgust, a burning sensation in its chest, and an instinctual fear of something that could threaten its life.

Its instincts were absolutely certain:

SPIT IT OUT!

Kim Tae Hoon’s instincts also spoke out to him as well.

‘No matter what never let him go.’

Kim Tae Hoon once again tightened his hold on the fis.h.i.+ng line in order to prevent the monster from spitting anything out.

And of course, Kim Tae Hoon faithfully followed his instincts. The fis.h.i.+ng line tightened once again, the monster’s body began to shake, and it seemed as though the power to resist had disappeared.

And like that time ticked on.

1 second became 10, and soon the minutes began to pile on.

The light in the monster’s eyes disappeared, and nothing could be felt from the monster.

“It seems like it’s dead now, no?”

Holding a baseball bat whilst carefully watching the monster, Bang Hyun Wook’s strength began to fade away.

But even after saying that, the fis.h.i.+ng line strangling the monster did not loosen.

“Uh, hyung-nim? Hyung-nim? I think it’s dead now······.”

Bang Hyun Wook approached Kim Tae Hoon, thinking that he hadn’t heard him.

And of course, the distance between him and the monster was also covered.

Like that Bang Hyun Wook plopped down on the ground. The distance between him and the monster had been narrowed to the point where he could stretch out his arm and touch the monster.

Kuuuuh!

Shouting out its final death throes, the monster reached out and grabbed Bang Hyun Wook’s neck.

“Euhuk!”

From Bang Hyun Wook’s mouth was a sound similar to what the monster had made earlier.

Fortunately, that was the end of it.

The strength in the monster’s arm quickly faded away, and from that moment on, the monster was no longer a threat to anyone.

After another thirty seconds, the taut fis.h.i.+ng line around the monster’s neck loosened.

No longer required to subdue the monster, Kim Tae Hoon talked to Bang Hyun Wook as he extricated himself from the monster.

“Whether something is dead or still alive, I’ll be the one to judge.”

“Yes sir, yep!”

Bang Hyun Wook replied on impulse while caressing the area where the monster had grabbed him.

However, Kim Tae Hoon’s gaze was not on Bang Hyun Wook.

While looking at Park Jae Un, who was trembling while sitting on the floor, Kim Tae Hoon spoke.

“From now on, your job is to be the cleaner. Cleaner, a scavenger that disposes of and handles whatever is on the floor. Until the day you die, your job is to kill anything that collapses onto the floor.”

Having finished speaking, Kim Tae Hoon got up from where he was sat.

At the place where Kim Tae Hoon was staring was an escalator that led to the second floor of the supermarket.