🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 21
Troll Hunter (7)
Su‑hyeon wanted to complete the magic as soon as possible, even if it meant rushing it—but what couldn’t be done simply couldn’t be done. He calmed himself. The things he had learned in his previous life were still valid. There was no point in getting anxious over things he couldn’t change right now.
Someday, the opportunity would surely come.
“Ugh… how many days has it been now?”
“Day five.”
“So the first day was just insanely lucky, huh.”
“Yes. It’s rare to find them that quickly. And three trolls is already a lot.”
Since the first hunt, they still hadn’t encountered another troll. When people thought of troll hunting, they usually imagined how to fight trolls—but in reality, the harder part was finding them.
Searching for trolls while avoiding other monsters in the vast Calcutta jungle wasn’t easy. Compared to other hunters, Su‑hyeon possessed tracking skills and know‑how on a completely different level—but even he couldn’t create trolls out of thin air. To begin with, trolls were one of the rarer monsters in the jungle.
“Let’s make it a full week. If we don’t find any more by then, we go back.”
“Huh? Really?”
“With what we’ve collected so far, it’s already more than enough.”
“That’s true… but now that we’ve started, I’m getting greedy.”
“Don’t be greedy. Greed gets you killed first.”
“Alright, alright.”
“Most troll hunters go back right after a single successful hunt. People like us, trying to hit the jackpot in one trip, are rare—unless they’re really desperate.”
“Really?”
Kim Chang‑sik sounded genuinely surprised. Because of how valuable trolls were, many people assumed troll hunters piled up mountains of gold—but reality was different.
Trolls were hard to find, and the longer you wandered around looking for them, the higher your chances of dying. Everyone was just trying to make a living. That’s why experienced hunters didn’t get greedy—many would return after just one kill. Even that earned plenty of money.
“Trolls are naturally few in number. Otherwise their blood wouldn’t be so expensive. And lately, they seem even rarer around here.”
“Why’s that?”
“There are tons of hunters targeting trolls, but their numbers are limited. If we want more, we might have to move elsewhere—go deeper inside, maybe…”
“No, what we’ve caught already is plenty!”
Kim Chang‑sik quickly waved his hands in refusal. He had only experienced this planet a few times, but he had already learned just how dangerous Cameron was. If they went any deeper, they might really die out there.
“We hunt by finding troll habitats, right? Do other hunters do the same?”
“Depends on the person. Some track them directly…”
“I’d rather set traps. I hate constantly being on edge chasing them around. And those damn crocodile birds are seriously…”
Kim Chang‑sik had now learned firsthand how annoying the Calcutta crocodile birds were. Whenever he heard their irritating cries from above, he immediately looked up like a nervous wreck. He knew very well that when those birds fled, monsters would soon swarm in.
“I’m not a fan of direct tracking either. Too many variables, and too much left to luck.”
Troll habitats had certain conditions. If they found a place that matched, they would investigate to confirm whether it was truly a habitat. It was far more stable than blindly tracking troll traces.
“Found it!!”
“?!”
Startled, Su‑hyeon turned toward Kim Chang‑sik. He was pointing at a filthy‑colored lump piled beneath a tree.
“This is troll poop, right?!”
“Well… talk about dumb luck—”
“Hey.”
“Just kidding. Yep, that’s troll dung. Looks like one lives nearby. But setting a trap will be difficult.”
“Why?”
“It’s completely hardened. That means it’s been a long time since it was dropped. At this point, it’s probably about to come back. If we start digging a trap, we might run into it.”
“So should we just avoid it?”
Though disappointed, Kim Chang‑sik accepted the reality. He was adapting quickly to life on this planet. Su‑hyeon smiled, pleased—if Chang‑sik had insisted on being greedy in this situation, he would’ve gotten an earful.
“No need to avoid it… we’ll hunt it another way.”
“Huh?”
Persus Company’s No. 3 smoke grenade was excellent at erasing various scents, including human odor. A minor drawback was that it erased all smells—but most monsters couldn’t reason out such subtle inconsistencies.
After eliminating their scent, Su‑hyeon climbed up a tree. When dealing with trolls, attacking from higher ground was always effective.
“Will this really be enough?”
“We caught the last one like this too.”
“That one fell into a trap.”
“As long as the ambush works, it’s the same. Just watch.”
Holding a military greatsword, Su‑hyeon spoke calmly. Below them lay bait capable of luring a troll. Using it for too long could attract other monsters—but at this hour, the troll was likely to appear soon. It was worth the risk.
About thirty minutes passed when heavy thudding sounds echoed from afar. Kim Chang‑sik swallowed hard.
‘It’s coming!’
No matter how capable Su‑hyeon was, would this really be okay? This troll hadn’t fallen into any trap. Wondering what to do if things went wrong, Chang‑sik stared down tensely.
—Sniff?
The troll seemed momentarily confused. It had followed the scent of bait—but sensed no other smells around. Aside from the bait, there was nothing.
A human might have suspected a trap, but trolls, though cunning, couldn’t reach that conclusion so quickly.
‘That’s the troll’s limit.’
A black shadow dropped from the air.
Slash!
—KRAAAARGH!
The troll’s nape was deeply cut. In intense pain, it swung a massive hand backward, intending to tear its attacker apart if it caught them.
But Su‑hyeon had already moved in front of it. The severed nape was already beginning to regenerate. Using telekinesis, he pulled the wound open and sliced cleanly across the front.
Even in its final moments, the troll stared at Su‑hyeon with disbelief. Kicking the fallen head aside and steadying the collapsing corpse, Su‑hyeon spoke.
“Let’s collect the blood!”
“….”
Following Su‑hyeon around was starting to warp Kim Chang‑sik’s sense of reality. As he thought that, he drove supports into nearby trees to keep the troll upright.
Trolls were supposed to be ferocious monsters that devoured countless explorers, mercenaries, and hunters—not creatures that lost their heads in two sword strikes.
“It’ll be slower, but let’s extract it while standing this time. Drive stakes into both ankles.”
“Okay.”
He didn’t even gasp anymore. Su‑hyeon handled everything so naturally that making a fuss now felt almost shameful.
“Ah, damn it.”
“?”
“Crocodile birds.”
Su‑hyeon immediately grabbed Chang‑sik’s rifle and fired. Even shooting the moment he picked it up, the bird’s body exploded midair, feathers scattering everywhere.
“Damn it—there are two… I’ll go get them!”
“Hey! You’re leaving me here alone?!”
“If we let those escape, we’ll have to abandon this troll corpse!”
Without looking back, Su‑hyeon ran off. Kim Chang‑sik sighed. With the troll dead, powerful monsters were unlikely to be nearby—but being alone still felt uneasy.
‘Not a good look for a senior.’
Anyone watching would assume Su‑hyeon was the senior. Gritting his teeth, Chang‑sik resolved himself—at the very least, he wouldn’t be a burden.
“Huh?”
At the rustling sound, he instantly aimed his rifle. But what appeared weren’t monsters—it was three people. He immediately recognized what they were, thanks to the blood sacks one of them carried.
“What’s this?”
“This guy already got one.”
“Damn…”
The three men looked between Kim Chang‑sik and the troll corpse being drained of blood beside him. He was relieved they weren’t monsters—but he didn’t lower his guard.
Monsters were dangerous only on Cameron. Humans were dangerous everywhere—that was something he knew very well.
“Hey. Lower the gun. We’re hunters too.”
“Sorry, I’m a suspicious guy. How about you turn around and head back the way you came?”
“What? You arrogant bastard. Looks like you got lucky with one kill—but don’t you see there are three of us? If we wanted, we could kill you easily.”
“Then I’d better make sure you die first.”
He might have seemed like an easy mark in front of Su‑hyeon because he was unfamiliar with Cameron—but Kim Chang‑sik was no pushover. He was a trained soldier. Otherwise, Jo Seung‑hyun would never have brought him along.
Seeing him respond immediately with threats instead of backing down, the hunters clicked their tongues. Clearly not someone they could push around with smooth talk.
“Sorry about that. This guy’s mouth is rough, but he’s not a bad person. We’re not here to attack you—so relax.”
“Relax? You could just leave. Turn around and walk away.”
“That’s going to be difficult.”
Kim Chang‑sik’s face hardened further.
“Why?”
“Sorry, but that troll is the one we were tracking. We’re hunters too—we can’t just walk away.”
The other two gave approving looks to the man who spoke. It was a perfectly convenient excuse.
“Don’t talk nonsense. When we caught it, the troll was completely unharmed. You couldn’t have even scratched it.”
“You know trolls regenerate. We poured quite a lot into that thing too. If we met it here, doesn’t that mean we deserve some credit for driving it this far?”
“…Hmm.”
Not fully understanding how the hunters’ world operated, Kim Chang‑sik hesitated slightly. Seizing the moment, another hunter opened his mouth again…
