At the Insubong Gate of Bukhansan, hunters and dismantlers gathered in front of the dismantling workshop.
The hunters who had finished the hunt and the dismantling workers were in the middle of negotiating with the monsters deep inside.
No, rather than negotiating, it was more like a futile debate where neither side could agree.
Had it already been two years since I started working on the dismantling team?
Habit truly was terrifying.
Without realizing it, my footsteps headed toward their direction.
I didn’t want to get involved in matters that had nothing to do with me, so I hurriedly changed my walking direction.
I nearly asked the strangers I’d never met before, “Is there another problem?” in a friendly tone.
Pulling myself together, I nodded and strode deeper into the gate.
By habit, tapping on the smartphone screen was all I needed.
“Hmm, where could Yeoga be?”
I looked around but couldn’t find a trace of her at all.
Of course.
They had sharp eyes to match their large size and could spot enemies from far away.
If Yeoga tried to escape unnoticed, she would have been long gone before I even realized it.
Besides, it was night now.
Although Yeoga could see the target perfectly in both day and night, human eyes were not as capable.
Also, I lacked the skills to track those flying through the air.
Yet still, I walked leisurely through the gate.
Yeoga were monsters who didn’t live in groups but knew how to cooperate.
When there were only one or two, they would flee when I chased them.
But when five or more gathered, their confidence soared, and they would come flying at me to kill.
Just as I expected, soon a cluster of Yeoga came flying fast toward me.
It was a barrage of beams fired at my vital points.
“Yeogas.”
The beams, each in a different color, shot toward me quickly, hitting my vital spots one by one.
Though far enough to be invisible to the naked eye, they targeted places that a skilled marksman would aim to kill with a single shot:
head, neck, chest, both legs, and even the most precious parts—one shot each.
From the number of beams, I could tell at least six Yeogas had gathered.
Was it because I didn’t fall?
Or did they plan a second attack?
Another series of beams flew in, hitting the same spots as before.
I had activated the Wooden Shield, so it didn’t hurt.
It just made me feel terrible.
“Ah, that hurts—”
To deceive Yeoga, I exaggeratedly spread my arms and fell sideways.
If I stood there dazed after taking an attack, even confident Yeoga would surely run away.
Feigning collapse was a tactic to lure them closer to check if the hunters were really down.
Also, since the beams came from behind me, they wouldn’t see me tapping on the smartphone screen.
After tapping for a while, I heard Yeoga’s shrill cries.
“Ki-emek!”
“Qui-mek, Ki-emek br—”
Their voices, sounding somewhere between a conversation and wailing, gradually drew nearer.
Hearing this, I stopped tapping the screen and instead used the front camera to glance at the Yeoga flying up behind me.
Six large eyes, occupying half their spherical bodies, rapidly approached, gave me a quick look over, then simultaneously turned their bodies backward.
Then, the tentacle-like legs wrapped around me tightly as if to devour me.
Now was the time!
I jumped up and gently pinched the nearest Yeoga’s tentacle.
The tip of my index finger pierced its soft tentacle, and the Yeoga died instantly.
As expected.
Yeoga were monsters ranked Grade ^, boasting powerful offensive strength, but their defense was only equivalent to Grade 8 monsters.
Because of this, they earned the nickname “Glass Cannons” and could be killed with a single warm touch.
“You too, die quietly.”
Two, three.
I vigorously swung my fingers, not missing the chance of a lifetime.
In the end, the Yeoga only realized what had just happened after discovering three dead comrades with torn tentacles lying on the ground.
The remaining three fired beams of different colors.
With the Wooden Shield activated, I faced them head-on, taking the hits without dodging, and stabbed the remaining three with my index finger.
If I had cast the Escape Spell to fly away, I couldn’t have chased them down.
Maybe it was to avenge their comrades, or maybe to vent their rage—I didn’t know why, but they fought to the end without fleeing.
I gathered the six fallen bodies and placed them into the magic pouch.
“Hmm. This is beyond imagination.”
The beams imbued with Yeoga’s elemental magic had no effect on the Wooden Shield.
Though the Glass Cannon was renowned for its powerful attacks, the shield absorbed the attacks, and the mana consumed for blocking far exceeded the mana required for recovery.
In other words, no matter how much the Grade 8 monsters attacked me, I wouldn’t get hurt, nor would the shield break.
If that’s the case, I wondered, could I even stand and fight head-on against the Skeleton Lord right now and win?
While pondering this, a volley of beams flew swiftly toward my vital points again.
Head, neck, chest, legs, and the precious parts—all one shot each.
I exhaled long and tapped the ground with both hands.
The number of Yeoga eyes I’d already collected was enough to satisfy Yuje’s request.
If I went to the dismantlers in front of the gate now, I could get a clean dismantling and return to Captain Jae-nee.
But… without a sense of emotion, I didn’t know the quality of what was inside the magic pouch.
I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.
If I was going to salvage them anyway, shouldn’t I get the best quality possible?
“Those ignorant eye creatures…”
Above all, avenging the precious parts would satisfy me the most.
*****
After the hunt, I stopped by the dismantling workshop.
Though there was dismantling technology, they didn’t have the skill to dismantle Grade 8 monsters.
It was best to leave the monster dismantling to the dismantling workers rather than the apothecaries.
As I entered, the workers who were dismantling Yeoga glanced at me sideways.
Their gaze wasn’t very friendly.
I walked over to a middle-aged dismantler, who looked tired and worn.
“I’m here to leave these Yeoga for dismantling.”
“Put them down here.”
The dismantler pointed behind himself with his dismantling knife.
I nodded and took the Yeoga out of the magic pouch.
Our eyes met—the dismantler who looked youngest and most vigorous approached me.
He seemed prepared in case I caused any commotion like a hunter’s rampage.
It might have seemed a bit over the top, but it couldn’t be dismissed so easily.
Hunters and dismantlers never looked at each other kindly.
Hunters often saw dismantlers as scammers who overcharged, while dismantlers viewed hunters as naive kids who didn’t know better.
Besides, these dismantlers had just been in a quarrel with the hunters earlier.
I hadn’t done anything, but just because I was a hunter, I probably didn’t look very good to them.
“I caught quite a few. Is that okay?”
“Let’s first check their condition.”
Nodding, I took the Yeoga out of the pouch one by one and placed them on the ground.
The middle-aged dismantler and the younger one glanced and made sounds of admiration.
The two crouched down and carefully inspected the Yeoga I laid out.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.”
The two dismantlers smiled awkwardly as they looked at the Yeoga whose eyes were missing.
Their reaction was a bit frightening, and I flinched for a moment.
Both turned toward me and asked,
“You caught a lot, but why didn’t you pierce their eyes?”
I took out the remaining Yeoga.
As I took them out one by one, more dismantlers gathered.
Like the first two, they also gasped in amazement.
What was this?
I couldn’t understand their behavior.
These were people who dismantled hundreds of Yeoga a day—what could be so surprising that they gathered and admired like this?
The younger dismantler stood up and asked me,
“Your eyes are weak points, so why didn’t you stab their eyes?”
“Are you serious?”
“What kind of new and ridiculous nonsense is that?”
“I came here to collect Yeoga eyes.”
“But if you stab their eyes, how can you get the eyes?”
“I came to get their eyes—why stab them?”
“That’s right! That’s exactly it!”
“Hunters these days don’t know that! They just hear Yeoga are expensive and come after a tough hunt, only to complain that they don’t get much. It’s like they’re scamming us!”
The young dismantler’s eyes shone as he poured out his words.
After hearing this, I understood why the dismantlers had been arguing with the hunters earlier.
They were probably astonished at the Yeoga I’d dismantled.
Those eyes were why Yeoga were so expensive! If you stab and cut the eyes, what are you going to do?
Shouldn’t they know why what they caught was expensive?
“Well, haha. That’s true…”
“Park Il-seok, calm down. This hunter isn’t like that.”
“Ah… yes, Captain, you’re right. Sorry about that.”
“No, no. It’s fine.”
I waved off the apologetic Park Il-seok.
I understood why he was so upset.
When I was the manager at Baek Un-cheon, one of my main duties was to mediate between hunters and dismantlers.
Even within the same guild, they fought like this.
So how much worse would it be between unaffiliated hunters and dismantlers?
“Hunters go on hunts without any care.”
As he spoke, the dismantler looked at the Yeoga being worked on.
Most of them had their eyes stabbed and cut.
The eyes were the weak point, yet they were being attacked recklessly.
That meant no other materials could be harvested except tentacles or teeth.
In other words, even if you painstakingly caught them, you couldn’t get a proper price.
It was really foolish.
Those gathered around nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. Without the eyes, there’s no need to hunt Yeoga.”
That made sense.
Yeoga’s tentacles or teeth could be used.
But only to a limited extent.
They didn’t sell well enough to get a proper price.
There were many more efficient materials that provided better cost-effectiveness.
“But you killed them without a scratch on the eyes. I’m impressed.”
“Not only that. Look here.”
The person called Captain grabbed one Yeoga’s tentacle and lifted it.
The tentacle was limp, showing the inside, and everyone took a closer look.
The inside was completely torn up as if a bomb had exploded.
This is why the Yeoga died—it’s all tentacles or around the eyes. That means it approached them closely.
“Don’t forget. It got close enough to kill them in one strike.”
Exactly! That’s the real impressive part.
Even though Yeoga are called Glass Cannons, their high attack power makes them hesitant to get too close.
“How many did you hunt? I saw you pass by earlier when we were dealing with some rookies.”
“Hm? That means you hunted this many in less than 3–4 hours. Yeoga break and flee when injured… Ah, you killed them in one strike, so they couldn’t flee.”
The dismantlers started chatting among themselves, leaving me alone.
Still, thanks to that, their previously unfriendly expressions softened.
As for me, feeling awkward, I wanted to leave.
I figured I had to change the mood here.
Otherwise, they’d keep chatting for another few dozen minutes.
“How long does dismantling take?”
“Hm? Hey! Look at our distracted friend.”
“It’s been a while since we met a proper hunter, so it’s understandable.”
“Haha, don’t worry. We’ll prioritize and finish quickly.”
When the captain said that, the dismantlers exchanged quick glances.
Then, without delay, they began dismantling the Yeoga one by one.
Just like before, they smiled and chuckled as they worked.
Phew… What should I do? These people are a bit scary.