Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

‘These garbage human beings. They left their companion behind to save on usage counts?’

I never had high expectations for those people to begin with. But to flee by themselves, leaving their companion in a dangerous place? They were utterly devoid of even the most basic conscience.

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, indeed.”

Though anger welled up inside me, expressing it wouldn’t solve anything. Calm down, calm down. After taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on the trembling hands of the woman.

“If you don’t want to die here, pull yourself together.”

“Huh? I…”

“Please call me Hunter Yun Gaho.”

“I’m Chae Seong-a.”

The yokai, seemingly in no rush to attack, sat down with legs stretched out at the entrance of the valley, blankly watching us. Tilting its head as if thoroughly amused, it looked just like a child performing a puppet dance at a school talent show.

‘Probably A-rank.’

The yokai that appeared here were generally B to C-rank. As a commander ruling over them, this yokai would be of a higher rank. It was highly unlikely for an S-rank to appear on the 24th floor, so A-rank was the most probable.

“Hunter Chae Seong-a, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your rank?”

“…C-rank.”

“Ah, the same rank as me.”

I patted Chae Seong-a’s shoulder as she revealed her rank in a cowed tone.

“That green-haired hunter over there is A-rank, so our situation isn’t too bad.”

One way or another, the course of this battle depended on Lee Kang-to. And unfortunately, the matchup was the worst possible. It was clear that if Lee Kang-to got caught by even one of those tails, the tide of battle would turn against us.

Chae Seong-a and I would participate in the fight too, but the chances of landing an effective hit were extremely low. Rather than attacking clumsily, focusing on supporting Lee Kang-to would be more helpful for our odds of winning.

‘Let’s see. Hunter Chae Seong-a is…’

Judging by her equipment, she seemed to be a wizard-type hunter. When I asked discreetly, Chae Seong-a nodded. The explanation that followed was quite surprising.

“Mental magic?”

“It’s not as impressive as you might think.”

Chae Seong-a waved her hands, feigning modesty. Her behavior suggested that I would surely be disappointed if I knew the details. However, even after hearing Chae Seong-a’s explanation, my opinion didn’t change.

“No. Don’t undervalue yourself.”

Future sight that could see five seconds ahead and mind control that could access the target’s psyche. Though there were many limitations due to her low rank, these skills had potential that surpassed those restrictions.

“I don’t know about anything else, but those guys seem to have an eye for talent.”

“Pardon?”

“Both Hunter Chae Seong-a and myself. We’re both quite exceptional, aren’t we?”

Thinking my words were a joke, Chae Seong-a smiled for the first time.

‘I was being serious. Well, it doesn’t matter.’

The atmosphere, which had lightened a bit, sank again as the yokai opened its mouth. The yokai, who had hopped to its feet, mumbled while rubbing its belly.

“Hmm, all the conflict I was hoping to feast on has disappeared.”

If it no longer had what it wanted, would it retreat? A faint hope blossomed.

“You know, I’ve never actually eaten the emotions of living humans before. I was really looking forward to it…”

The yokai, pouting its lips, turned its back and started walking deeper into the valley.

I gestured to stop Chae Seong-a, who was hastily trying to put away her weapon. It was just hours ago that we had let our guard down and been caught by the monkey yokai.

‘Think you can fool me again?’

However, making our tension seem foolish, the yokai skipped along on its merry way. Is it really leaving just like that? I frowned as I watched the bundle of tails protruding from the valley.

Something felt off. I wanted to observe a bit longer, but Chae Seong-a urged me to flee before the yokai changed its mind. Understanding her anxiety, I reluctantly nodded.

“Then let’s slowly retreat…”

“Kyaaak!”

“M-Mr. Kim, please get rid of that hideous thing quickly!”

I knew this would happen. No sooner had we let our guard down than the yokai’s neck bent at an unnatural angle. With its neck bent all the way back, its features upside down, the yokai shouted with an excited expression.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t taste the sweetness of conflict… but hehe, I hear despair and lament are also exquisite delicacies!”

“Ha, even B-grade horror movies aren’t this bad.”

“If you’re offering to let me taste fear as well, I won’t refuse!”

The fan-shaped bundle of tails that had been spread out suddenly rose into the air. The tails, casting striped shadows, soon came pouring down like a torrential rain.

“‘Cat’s Step’ activated.”

[Your nimble movements are just like those of a predator!]

The tips of the tails plunging down forcefully were sharpened to deadly points. Even a graze would be enough to shatter bones. But as I dodged one, another would come, and after that, yet another would swarm in. Even with my agility boosted by the skill, it was overwhelming to dodge them all.

“Fear more, fear more!”

Before long, we were completely trapped within the bundle of tails. The tails surrounding us felt like a dense forest, or perhaps a birdcage.

‘No, come to think of it, it’s more like an iron maiden.’

The tails randomly plunging into and out of the ground were bad enough, but occasionally bone segments would detach and fire at us, fraying our nerves. The only consolation was that we still had room to move our bodies.

Lee Kang-to would be dodging on his own, but I was worried about Chae Seong-a. Mental wizards tended to have their stats disproportionately focused on magical power, making their physical abilities uniformly terrible. Some even said they were comparable to non-awakened individuals.

‘If worse comes to worst, I might have to carry her and run.’

Taking advantage of a slight lull in the attacks around me, I looked for Chae Seong-a. Fortunately, she was managing to dodge the yokai’s attacks quite well. Her movements were a bit clumsy, but it seemed she was using her skills to somehow get by.

“Mr. Kim! We need to do something about that idiot over there, not here!”

“Huh? No, Hunter Lee Kang-to!”

“This is so fantastic…!”

I put my hand to my forehead as I saw Lee Kang-to hugging a tail as if it were his long-lost lover. That guy’s lost it again! Even as he was repeatedly hit by other tails, he was grinning from ear to ear.

If he weren’t A-rank, I’d have abandoned him. Very regrettably, we couldn’t overcome this situation without Lee Kang-to.

“Hunter Lee Kang-to! Snap out of it!”

Lee Kang-to, completely absorbed in his date with the tail, hardly responded to my calls.

‘If he collapses from accumulated damage like this, we’re in trouble.’

As I was racking my brain for a way to divert his attention, a ridiculous idea flashed through my mind. But I immediately shook my head.

“No way. Lee Kang-to may be simple, but not that simple.”

“What is it, Mr. Kim? Sori wants to know too!”

“Well, you see…”

The idea was so one-dimensional that it was embarrassing to even say out loud, so I explained it in a half-whisper. I thought the goblin would make fun of me, but instead, it scolded me for not speaking up sooner.

“Hurry, hurry and do it! Mr. Kim!”

“No matter how you look at it, would he really fall for such a simple trick?”

“That’ll definitely work! Sori guarantees it!”

Going even further, the goblin started dropping fragments of light. It looked like the trick it had used to bring out Atera’s voice. Seeing its confidence that Lee Kang-to would definitely hear, I reluctantly opened my mouth.

“Hunter Lee Kang-to! I’ll give you all of it!”

I shouted louder than I ever had in my life, but Lee Kang-to still remained unresponsive. He never listens the first time, really!

Roughly mussing up the back of my hair, I shouted once more.

“The tail by-products from defeating this yokai, I’ll give you all of it! If you want, we can even make equipment with it…!”

“…Really?”

I trailed off at the end, conscious of Chae Seong-a, but Lee Kang-to seemed to understand perfectly. His gleaming green eyes stared at me intently, and then slowly, his arms unwrapped from around the tail.

“Yes, so please, do something about this thing!”

“All of this must surely be thanks to the blessing of black magic! For you to personally… with this unholy tail…! Ah, if that’s the case, it would be best to minimize the damage.”

After spouting a string of incomprehensible lines, Lee Kang-to swung his hand. In that brief moment, an unfamiliar sword appeared in his hand. His deft movements of throwing and catching the sheathed sword suggested it was no stranger to him.

‘Lee Kang-to was a swordsman?’

He had acted like he didn’t know the first thing about swords while facing the yokai all this time… It was amazing how he kept revealing new sides of himself, like an endless onion.

“Though the unbeautiful is truly the worst, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Lee Kang-to, pouting his lips, pointed at Chae Seong-a with the tip of his scabbard.

“Y-you there. Don’t move an inch from where you are now. You too, Hunter Yun Gaho.”

“If we could stay still, we would…”

Even as I spoke, tails were attacking from all directions. If we stopped moving for even a moment, we’d end up skewered like meat on a stick. In response, Lee Kang-to held up three fingers.

“Hmm, then move only within a radius of three steps.”

I’ll finish this quickly, he added.

Lee Kang-to lowered his stance slightly and placed his hand on the sword hilt.

His draw was so fast that the eye couldn’t follow. Along its trajectory, a white, snow-white field spread out. Eventually, using the extended sword as branches, red plum blossoms bloomed one by one.

“Plum Blossoms in Profusion”

In the first strike, a winter snow mountain appeared; in the second, the form of plum blossoms; and in the final strike, an intoxicatingly rich plum fragrance manifested. A white and red illusion covered the wasteland.

The illusion created by sword strikes was, contrary to its elegant appearance, incredibly fierce. Every time Lee Kang-to swung his sword lightly as if dancing, bright red petals tore through the yokai’s tails.

‘To think the day would come when I’d find that guy beautiful.’

I chuckled as I watched the tricolor ribbon fluttering vigorously.