The Skill Maker

“What do you mean why? One of the reasons why you didn’t return was because of that guy, wasn’t it? Hye-Na can get treated at our base too. As a crew, it’s only natural that we get worried.”

“Hyun-Soo has nothing to do with this. I told you, Hye-Na was missing Korea, so we came back.”

“What?”

The other two were feeling frustrated because Kim Yoo-Na and Eugene were talking in Korean.

‘Her situation sounds more complicated than I thought…’

Something did happen between them.

Hyun-Soo was in a difficult situation.

It was awkward for him to ask Kim Yoo-Na personal questions since they were only acquaintances.

They had already forgotten about Hyun-Soo.

‘If they were in the same team as her, I’m sure their skills are amazing.’

Hyun-Soo used Interface out of curiosity.

‘Interface!’

Name: Katrina (??)

Rank: A

Class: Dancing Fever

Stamina Level: 100%

Energy Level: 98%

Stamina: 185 / Agility: 210 / Strength: 170 / Critical Hit: 215 / ?? / ?? / ??

??

Skill List

[??][??]

[??][??]

[??][??]

‘Wow!’

Despite the fact that she was way smaller than Kim Yoo-Na, her stats were really high.

‘I assumed she would have similar stats, but it’s still surprising.’

She didn’t seem that way at all.

One shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

However, people usually judge based on the things they’re able to see.

This reminded him of when he first met Kim Yoo-Na and was surprised by how her looks and skills were so different.

‘What about him?’

Hyun-Soo looked at the tall, colored man.

He seemed to have been looking at Hyun-Soo too because their eyes met.

‘That scared me!’

Honestly, he was more intimidating than Katrina.

However, the bulky man with dreadlocks smiled at Hyun-Soo.

Name: Brad (??)

Rank: A

Class: Iron War

Stamina Level: 100%

Energy Level: 100%

Stamina: 240 / Agility: 185 / Strength: 228 / Critical Hit: 175 / ?? / ?? / ??

??

Skill List

[??][??]

[??][??]

‘His stats and class…is he a tanker?’

He was curious, but couldn’t ask since he didn’t speak English.

Last one up was Eugene, the half Korean that spoke to Hyun-Soo in Korean.

‘Interface!’

Name: Eugene (??)

Rank: A

Class: Night Walker

Stamina Level: 99%

Energy Level: 99%

Stamina: 187 / Agility: 245 / Strength: 210 / Critical Hit: 235 / ?? / ?? / ??

??

Skill List

[??][??]

[??][??]

[??][??]

They were all monsters.

He expected them to be strong since they were in the same team as Kim Yoo-Na, but they were a lot stronger than what he had imagined.

‘Are all A rank hunters this strong?’

He thought Kim Yoo-Na was amazing, but since the others were just as strong, he couldn’t tell if this was normal or if they were talented hunters.

‘I haven’t met other A rank hunters, so I wouldn’t know.’

He knew there would be a difference in stats, but this was too big of a difference.

‘They wouldn’t attack me just because they don’t like me, right? I’m worried about Eugene, but I’m mostly worried about that woman named Katrina.’

Hyun-Soo felt himself cowering.

‘Damn it, I want to level up so that I can be like them too.’

While Hyun-Soo was admiring them, the four of them were still talking amongst themselves.

“I’m sure we wouldn’t have been able to see Yoo-Na unless we came to her. We called Mr. Kim and worked hard to bring you out here.”

“I thought it was right for me to leave since I couldn’t take care of the crew. Even if I’m not there, the crew will still be taken care of.”

“That’s not true Yoo-Na. And Ariel is…”

“I don’t want to talk about that here.”

“Oh, sorry.”

It looked like they were having a lovers’ quarrel.

Come back, no, just let me go. Or something along those lines.

That probably wasn’t the case, but that’s what it sounded like.

Their conversation ended awkwardly and Kim Yoo-Na didn’t want to talk anymore, so she approached Hyun-Soo.

“I’m sorry. Did I make you wait long?”

“It’s fine. I could’ve waited longer.”

“There’s no need. It’s time to go in, so let’s get going.”

Kim Yoo-Na signaled Hyun-Soo and her old teammates that it was time to go.

Katrina approached employee that managed the portal and started talking to them.

When the staff gave the signal, the soldiers that were standing around the portal took a step back.

“Let’s go.”

Katrina, Brad and Eugene already walked through the blue space.

‘……I’m getting nervous.’

“Ha-!”

Hyun-Soo took a deep breath.

This was his first time seeing a blue portal.

Even though he was just tagging along, it made him nervous since this was his first time.

‘I can’t believe I’m going to be hunting in a blue portal…’

Kim Yoo-Na followed behind the other members.

Hyun-Soo breathed in deeply once more.

“Whew.”

And he stepped into the portal.

**

“*******?”

As soon as he walked in, he heard Katrina’s voice.

‘What is she saying?’

She was speaking so fast in English, that he couldn’t understand.

“She called you a scaredy cat for being nervous about a blue portal.”

Eugene translated what Katrina said.

“Oh, I see. Well…….”

They might have plenty of experience, but this was his first time.

It would be odd if he wasn’t nervous.

He noticed that the inside was a bit different from the grey and green portals that he’s hunted in.

‘A rocky cavern…?’

To be exact, there was a rectangular-shaped hole on a stone wall.

The problem was that it was pretty big.

‘It’s as tall as a three-story apartment.’

The owner of this blue portal was ‘Gruppa.’

It was a monster that looked like a spider and enjoyed creating traps.

‘I guess it’s true when they said that a Gruppa drags hunters in through the traps they made.’

But, he didn’t know the trap would be this big.

The monsters in the grey and green portals usually took the form of a being that he’s seen before, but the monsters in the blue portal didn’t exist in the real world.

Gruppa was one of them.

“*********!”

Katrina spoke again with her high-pitched voice.

“I knew this was going to happen when they mentioned Gruppa. We have to go into that dark area! Is what she said.”

“Oh……I see…….”

He wasn’t really curious about what she was saying, Eugene kept on translating for him.

‘This is probably his way of being considerate, so I don’t want to tell him to stop.’

The hole in the wall created a gloomy atmosphere after thinking that it was one of its traps.

“Go in if you’re ready. Eugene take the lead and then Brad. Katrina and Hyun-Soo stay in the middle and I’ll stay in the back.”

Before walking in, Kim Yoo-Na briefly explained the plan.

She said it first in Korean for Hyun-Soo and then spoke in English.

“Yoo-Na, you’re worrying too much. I don’t know his rank, but there are four A rank hunters, so hunting a blue portal will be easy.”

Eugene, who was in the front, mumbled.

However, Kim Yoo-Na acted like she didn’t hear him and told Brad to start walking.

‘It’s creepy…there’s supposed to be traps here, but even without traps, people that get scared easily might just pass out.’

The rectangle looked as if humans created it and inside the cavern, a weird smell and damp air greeted the group.

“********.”

Katrina, who was walking next to Hyun-Soo, mumbled something.

Even though Eugene didn’t translate, Hyun-Soo knew she was complaining.

‘I wouldn’t like it either. What is this? It was never mentioned that the inside was this shabby.’

Thankfully, Kim Yoo-Na and the other teammates brought a flashlight, so it wasn’t completely dark.

Eugene was in charge of checking for traps and would look back from time to time to give them a warning.

“Don’t step on the green rock that’s sticking out there.”

“Stick to the left side.”

“Don’t touch anything from here to here.”

Hyun-Soo and the others followed his instructions.

The traps were the issue, but since they were avoiding them, there weren’t any problems.

‘The bad smell and the air is the issue here.’

He wondered if they were going the right way, because the smell was getting worse the deeper they walked in.

He looked to the side and saw Katrina’s scrunched up face.

“We just have to keep walking. Maybe it’s because it’s a blue portal, but compared to the Gruppa that appeared in the purple portal, the traps are pretty simple.”

Eugene explained it to the group.

‘He’s pretty relaxed.’

It’s probably because he was an A rank.

If Hyun-Soo was in his position, he wouldn’t be able to act that calmly.

Moments later, Hyun-Soo saw something odd.

‘Huh? What is that?’

A white dot was shimmering on the ground.

It was the same as when it showed the monster’s weakness.

It happened to be located on the left side that Eugene suspected and changed directions.

‘Is there something there? Attack that weakness has always been effective.’

It was odd that the white dot suddenly appeared.

He was suspicious about it, so Hyun-Soo used Interface.

‘Interface!’

Information about the white dot was displayed before Hyun-Soo’s eyes.

[Gruppa’s Trap]

A thin, transparent spider web that can barely be seen with the naked eye is used as a trap.

Once it’s touched, the floor will collapse.

‘A trap?’

Hyun-Soo quickly looked at the part that the spider web was connected to.

Maybe it’s because of Interface, but the thin, transparent spider web was shining brightly.

“Hold on.”

“What?”

Eugene stopped walking after hearing Hyun-Soo’s voice.

Near his right ankle, the trap was connected along the wall and the ground.

He wasn’t sure why he was able to see it now, but they were close to stepping on it.

“If you take two more steps, there’s a trap. It’s on your right side.”