I Tamed the First Rank Chapter 26
- HoshiMiya
- May 10, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 7
“What? What are you filming here?”
A man approached the gate where filming equipment was being set up. His voice sounded somewhat familiar to him, so he turned around and saw that it was Kwon Seong-gil.
“Hyung!”
“Hey, In Yoo-shin. How are you? Gyu-ha isn’t bothering you, right?”
“Umm, yeah. What are you doing here, hyung?”
“I came to meet my honey…… Uh, isn't it rude for Hyeon Gyu-ha to not even say hello to me when we make eye-contact? …… Anyway, so is this it? The shooting for the Ministry of Ability’s promotional video?”
Team Leader Noh came rushing over with a surprised look on his face.
“Master Kwon! Is Hunter Lee Hye-yeon in the dungeon?”
“Her friend’s attack party was short on people, so he went in with them to help out, and they’re supposed to come out around this evening……”
“This is a big problem.”
Perplexed, Team Leader Noh called the Hunter Support Bureau and began to assess the situation.
This was meant to be a short shot that captured the time when the sun was setting.
Administrative procedures were already underway; the hunter teams hunting in the dungeon must completely withdraw from noon onwards for the gate scene’s filming, and this had also been announced a few days prior. It wouldn’t matter if the hunters currently inside continued hunting. However, if they were to rush out of the gate precisely when the cameras were rolling, today’s filming would be ruined.
It might take a few more days to get permission to film again, to evict the street vendors in front of the gate, and to issue a notice for talkative hunters to vacate the dungeon.
“Team Leader, the attack team that Hunter Lee Hye-yeon joined is Hunter Kang Eun-ji’s team, right? They said the message was delivered properly, but it seems the party members got the dates mixed up. You can’t make phone calls inside the gate, so……”
Team Leader Noh scratched his head and then looked back at the director.
“Let’s proceed with the filming first. We can only hope that the party inside will come out a little later.”
“If it doesn’t work out, there is a way to handle it with CG.”
“Our production costs……”
That was the sorrow of a working-level employee trying to save every penny on a tight budget.
Anyway, filming resumed.
With the gate in the background, Hyeon Gyu-ha coolly dispatches the monsters and turns around, his long coat flapping in the wind, and the light of the setting sun catching him beautifully…… This was roughly the storyboard full of the production team’s selflessness.
“Hm.”
However, Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was supposed to be creating a scene straight out of a photoshoot—a handsome man bathed in the sunset in front of the gate—tilted his head instead of engaging in swordplay.
“It looks like a monster is about to come out.”
He spoke so casually that it took several seconds for the audience to understand what his words meant.
“I beg your pardon!?”
Hyeon Gyu-ha responded indifferently to the people who were belatedly screaming in panic.
“The mana at the gate’s entrance is a little unusual.”
“A d-dungeon break?!”
“It’s not that bad, but it seems a rather big one will come out. I’ll take care of it quickly, so please get back.”
People swallowed dryly as, one by one, they vividly recalled the fact that the person with the calm voice was an S-class hunter.
[Current Status: Murderous Intent. Intrigue. Boredom.]
In Yoo-shin was probably the only person looking at him with concern. Hyeon Gyu-ha made a slight gesture.
“Master, come here. You’re safest next to me.”
“Huh? Hyeon Gyu-ha! Me?!”
“Hyung, you have a lot of shield cores.”
[Current Status: Murderous Intent. Intrigue.]
Noticing that Gyu-ha’s sense of boredom disappeared the moment their eyes met, In Yoo-shin asked.
“Will it be okay?”
“It’s probably weaker than Atabeyra.”
I didn’t mean to ask whether he could defeat the monster, but…… In Yoo-shin sighed lightly.
If he were an ordinary person, what color would the emotions of a man who was dominated by boredom, even when facing a monster that dictated life and death, be painted over with?
“At this distance, the monster’s bodily fluids probably won’t splatter on you.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha placed a light force field around In Yoo-shin.
Seeing that he was worried not about getting injured but rather about getting dirty from splashing bodily fluids, it must be an easy opponent. In Yoo-shin decided to bury his secret concerns in his heart for now.
The distorted entrance of the gate vibrated like an image formed on opaque glass. The moment when a weak-hearted person let out a small scream—
“Shyaaaa!”
A monster burst out of the gate, gaping open a huge ring-shaped maw as if it would swallow a person whole. Rolling its featureless face where eyes should have been, the monster immediately charged towards Hyun Gyu-ha, who was at the very front.
Shaped like an earthworm with centipede legs, this monster had the characteristic of moving underground, as befitting its appearance. That was probably why the hunters who were inside the gate missed it.
“Uwaaack!”
The shadow of the monster fell heavily. People screamed because it seemed as if Hyeon Gyu-ha and In Yoo-shin had been swallowed whole in an instant, but that was the extent of it.
“Shyaah!”
The monster opened its maw wide, dripping corrosive saliva, and did not move from its spot—no, it couldn’t move. It was caught by Hyeon Gyu-ha’s psychokinesis.
“If I hadn’t put up the force field, it would have been a big problem, right?”
“It’s a bit weird to take a shower in monster spit.”
The monster’s saliva could not penetrate the force field and flowed down.
In Yoo-shin’s complexion turned pale. He didn’t feel any danger of being harmed by the monster since Hyeon Gyu-ha was next to him, but witnessing its gaping maw right in front of his nose gave him goosebumps.
‘Eugh…… It’s really gross.’
A crimson, finely wrinkled esophagus and countless small teeth growing out the mouth—how utterly grotesque! As In Yoo-shin recoiled in disgust and squeezed his eyes shut, Hyeon Gyu-ha laughed slightly.
“I’ll take care of it right away.”
And he did.
Unlike during filming, when he performed flashy movements to suit the director’s enthusiasm, Hyeon Gyu-ha lightly drew a single horizontal line with his mana-infused signature sword. The mana carried by the sword shot through the air and split the monster’s body in half. That was the end of it.
“I recently developed a new skill that uses psychokinesis, and it’s called ‘Sword Energy Emission.’”
“That sounds so cool.”
Given that he’s the owner of a naming sense that’s considered “cool,” exemplified by ‘Gapsik’ and ‘Henry Raymond Charles Francois,’ wasn’t it likely that he actually thought really hard to name something ‘Sword Energy Emission’?
“No, I…… That, uh……”
Unlike In Yoo-shin, who went to the dungeon with Hyeon Gyu-ha once and became numb to his strength, the people outside lived ordinary lives.
A monster was slaughtered in the blink of an eye before their very eyes. Split in half, the monster rolled around right in front of them, sending dust into the air. Even so, they were stammering at the nonchalant conversation between the two of them, when another identical monster appeared.
“If this is enough, get some rest! You disgusting earthworm!”
“Burn it quickly!”
“Fireball!”
“Playing With Fire!”
“Stop calling that damn skill name—it’s so cheesy!”
Along with a hunting party of hunters.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry! While we were hunting, we lost them right in front of our previous base. Is anyone hurt?”
The woman who landed the finishing blow by splitting the head of the monster, which was burning and writhing in pain, bowed and repeatedly apologized to those around her. If a monster bursted out of the gate, it was considered 100% the fault of that attack team.
Turning her head in all directions, the woman looked at the crowd staring at her with blank expressions and tilted her head.
“Have you gotten mental trauma……? Why are there so many people here? Is there an event going on?”
“Team Leader Lee, that’s what I meant.”
Only then did Team Leader Noh, who came to his senses, try to explain the situation, and Kwon Seong-gil ran up to the woman.
“Noona-ah!”
“Seong-gil-aaah!”
Kwon Seong-gil clung to Lee Hye-yeon, who had a small stature of around 150 centimeters, and Lee Hye-yeon embraced him passionately. They spun around while sharing feelings of a warm reunion.
The director, who never took his eyes off the camera even while the monsters were out, laughed.
“I like this recording, Team Leader Noh. Don’t you think it’ll be easy to put it into the promotional video?”
“That’s certainly the case.”
In the meantime, Team Leader Noh replied by looking sideways at the other couple, who were stroking each other’s heads.
It seemed like the calmness of the couple could also be woven into the theme of the promotional video on national safety. Of course, if they actually did that, they would likely be cut down by Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was reluctant to have his boyfriend publicly exposed.
“Oh, you’re saying you’ll edit the part where we were burning the monster outside the gate into the promotional video?”
“I’ll have to edit the details to find out, but I think there will also be a hugging scene between Master Kwon and Team Leader Lee. The hunter who returns from hunting and the family who waits safely to greet them! Isn’t that a great scene?”
“Oh, indeed. It’s a bit embarrassing to say that so openly.”
Lee Hye-yeon giggled and tapped Kwon Seong-gil on the shoulder while he hung onto her neck. In Yoo-shin looked at the two and thought they looked like a bear clinging to a rabbit. They were known in the hunter world as a particularly good couple.
“Of course, I’ll give you a small appearance fee.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just our faces showing up for a bit—how much is that worth, anyway? Instead, please let it slide that we let the monster escape outside the gate. Hey, you guys don’t need appearance fees either, right?”
“Yes!”
“I guess it’s like serving the country, right!?”
Not only did they almost ruin the filming by mistaking the date, but the attack team members, feeling sheepish about letting a monster escape precisely in front of Ministry of Ability officials, readily agreed. A beaming smile spread across the face of Team Leader Noh, who had just saved on production costs.
Lee Hye-yeon waddled over with Kwon Seong-gil hanging on behind her. She looked at him like a lover during a dramatic ten-year reunion, but from what In Yoo-shin heard, Lee Hye-yeon went to work at the dungeon just this morning.
“Gyu-ha, you said you dealt with the monster who came out in front of you? Man, thank you.”
She laughed heartily and tried to tap him on the shoulder, but Hyeon Gyu-ha resolutely avoided her touch.
“Uh-huh. Has this noona lost her mind? Why would you carelessly touch the body of a man?”
“What? What kind of crazy things are you talking about all of a sudden? Did that monster’s spit corrode your brain?”
“Noona, noona, the boy next to Gyu-ha is his boyfriend.”
“Ah! That Master?”
What kind of rumor was being spread among Hyeon Gyu-ha’s acquaintances and turning me into ‘that Master’……? In Yoo-shin glanced up at Hyeon Gyu-ha without realizing it, but his face was still shameless and handsome.
“…… How did rumors about me spread?”
Then Hyeon Gyu-ha’s eyes narrowed significantly—as if he were waiting for In Yoo-shin to ask that question.
HM: I’m getting depression of being single forever in this chapter
HM: This sneaky lil dude…….
PA: He imprints to everyone that Yoo-shin is the ‘MASTER’ ▼ω▼
Editor’s Daily Entries: PA
Jan 12/24: Operation, I request some BTS and Seventeen songs.
Jan 15/24: I woke up, the Operation succeed. I want to go home, I could see my savings flying away~~~
Jan 17/24: Discharge, Home, Read, Sleep.
Feb 02/24: Back to work, welcomed by a lot of pile of bullshit.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: PsycheAsylum, Editor M
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