Ten minutes into the Otherworld, I understood why this Gate offered huge profits yet attracted so few Hunters. The environment here was pure torture.

  Every breath scorched my throat, and the sandblasting wind felt like knives slicing my skin.

  Our preparation had been insufficient. This kind of experience wasn’t shared online, veterans kept it as trade secrets. Every Hunter we passed wore masks or had their faces completely covered.

  "Total failure on our part," Si-hyun muttered, blaming himself.

  It was uncomfortable, yes, but still bearable. Besides, I hadn’t even thought to prepare for this.

  "I can handle it. We’re already here, too late to turn back now."

  "Right. In that case, let’s at least get the tusks."

  After about twenty minutes of walking, we encountered a giant elephant covered in thick fur. It stood over five meters tall even at rest, its bulk proportional to its height. Close-quarters combat one-on-one? No chance.

  Now I saw why Si-hyun called it a that. Was all that fur for protection against sandstorms? Regular elephants had almost no hair, but this one was as shaggy as a textbook mammoth.

  I readied my Javelin Throw before Si-hyun could speak.

  I’d grown skilled with the spear, and my accuracy was decent. Against a target this huge, missing wasn’t a concern.

  Before the creature noticed us, I took a running start and hurled the spear with all my strength.

  The weapon flew fifty meters in a flash, sinking deep into the Monster’s body. It wasn’t a critical hit, but it did the job, the Great Elephant recognized us as enemies and charged.

  I immediately recalled the spear and prepared a second throw. This one pierced straight through the elephant’s ear.

  "Fall back!"

  As planned, Si-hyun would handle the charging beast alone. I created distance and began another recall.

  "Don’t interfere. I want to try taking it solo."

  "Fine. But I’ll step in if you’re in danger."

  Si-hyun gave a silent nod and faced the Great Elephant.

  The beast swung its trunk in attack, but Si-hyun didn’t dodge. He seemed to be testing his strength, taking the hit head-on and getting knocked back a few steps. Then, unfazed, he rushed in and drove a heavy punch into the elephant’s knee.

  A sickening crunch echoed as the knee shattered. The Great Elephant staggered. Seizing the opening, Si-hyun delivered another punch to its abdomen.

  That ended the fight. The elephant sprayed blood, howled, and collapsed, its insides ruptured.

  I’d noticed this before, ever since Si-hyun gained control over Mana, he rarely got splattered with Monster blood. Each of his strikes hit like a bomb, bursting enemies apart and sending blood flying away from him.

  "Huh. That was easier than I expected."

  Not from my perspective. It was just that Si-hyun was ridiculously overpowered. An ordinary C-Class Hunter would struggle just dodging that deadly trunk while avoiding being crushed by its massive body. But Si-hyun ignored the attacks, shattered its defenses in one blow, and exploded its organs, something no C-Class should be capable of.

  "Isn’t it just that you’re too strong?"

  "Maybe."

  Unfortunately, this Great Elephant had no tusks. We only recovered its Magic Stone.

  We continued hunting Monsters. The sandstorm grew fiercer, so I wrapped my face in a blanket from my backpack, which helped a little. The heat was unbearable, but we had no choice but to endure.

  On the way, we encountered a four-person team hunting Tusked Elephants. They were struggling immensely, a Hunter using fire to restrain, another engaging in close combat to block attacks, and a third waiting for opportunities to deliver finishing blows. Despite their coordination, they couldn't land a decisive strike.

  "Look over there. That's the normal standard."

  Seeing their struggle, Si-hyun should realize how abnormal he is, right?

  "Y-yeah, seems like it."

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  Si-hyun wore a subtle expression, as if he'd noticed it too. Is this what a true B-Class (Pseudo) superhuman looks like? And a top-tier B-Class (Pseudo) at that?

  Ha, I'm so jealous! For someone like me who can barely reach C-Class...

  I quickly shut down the negative thoughts. Dwelling on this is pointless.

  After wandering for another hour, we stumbled upon a herd of Great Elephants. Among the five, two were Tusked Elephants.

  "Can we handle five?"

  Si-hyun fell into thought. Even if he could easily take down one alone, facing five simultaneously would be tough.

  "It should be possible..."

  I recalled the tactics taught in Hunter training: "I'll act as bait to distract them. You take them out one by one."

  Distraction meant drawing the Monsters' aggro and leading them around, giving the attack group chances to eliminate them individually.

  "Can you hold out?"

  "Not sure. Probably not for long. But it'd be a waste to return empty-handed, right?"

  Two Tusked Elephants, four tusks! That's two million right there!

  "Alright, I trust you."

  Si-hyun and I took positions at a distance.

  If I attack the enemies now, their attention will focus on me. Then, while I keep them occupied, Si-hyun will pick them off from the side.

  I threw my Spear at the elephant herd, hitting one. The enraged herd charged toward me in a massive wave. I retrieved my Spear and threw it again, striking another. Watching the elephants closing in at terrifying speed, my legs trembled, but I turned and ran to create distance.

  While sprinting at full speed, I had no idea how much the gap was closing. Fear began creeping in. Should I look back to check the distance? That would slow me down and make it more dangerous. Even with sturdy gear, getting hit by a trunk would send me flying. And if I got trampled? My bones would shatter. The thunderous footsteps grew louder, but I didn't look back, just kept running with everything I had.

  Suddenly, a chill ran down my neck, a sense of danger. I had to block it, my instincts screamed.

  Trusting that gut feeling, I pulled out my Spear and turned around.

  What came flying at me was an elephant's trunk. Thanks to my instincts, I blocked the attack with my Spear, but I couldn't withstand the brute force and was sent flying. Nothing I could do about that.

  My airborne body soon crashed to the ground. Though pain shot through me, there was no time to hesitate.

  "Ugh..."

  Gritting my teeth, I scrambled up and quickly assessed the situation. Three elephants remained, with two still charging at me. My legs still worked.

  I started running sideways, but my speed wasn't like before. They caught up quickly, their pounding footsteps growing nearer.

  Now it was do or die. I faced the charging elephant head-on. Behind the herd, I could see Si-hyun dealing with one of the remaining two. I just needed to buy a little more time.

  Though the sheer size of the elephant looming before me was intimidating, I held my ground.

  I sidestepped the trunk swinging upward from below, but that elephant was already charging to trample me. Rising quickly, I took a deep breath, drove my Spear into the ground, and slapped the tip with all my strength to propel myself upward.

  Hovering about three meters in the air, the Great Elephant attacked with its tusks. I crossed my arms and blocked them. Fortunately, the tusks were blunt rather than sharp.

  Since I couldn’t brace myself mid-air, the impact sent me flying, exactly as I had planned. I hit the ground hard, failed to fully absorb the shock, and tumbled several times. That was enough.

  While I lay groaning in pain, Si-hyun had already taken down four of the Monsters that were charging at the last remaining Great Elephant. We bought enough time. Soon, the final one fell too.

  “W-we did it!”

  Though my body ached from tumbling twice, I felt happy we completed the mission.

  “Good work. Rest now. I’ll collect the Magic Stones and tusks.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  After leaving the cleanup to Si-hyun, I lay back on the ground. The dry earth and my sweat made my hair stick with sand. I remembered Mom’s advice about hair care, but I was too tired to care.

  As I rested, the discomfort between my legs grew stronger. Maybe the intense movement and impact caused a leak.

  Tch. Annoying, but nothing I could do.

  I walked over to Si-hyun’s discarded backpack, pulled out wet wipes and a sanitary napkin, then used a fallen Great Elephant as cover to clean up.

  Wet wipes are an Artifact!

  After finishing, I leaned against the Great Elephant’s body to rest.

  Just then, Si-hyun seemed done with his tasks and walked over.

  He carried four pulled tusks.

  “You worked hard.”

  Hearing Si-hyun’s words felt like a reward for my effort, and I smiled.

  “Hehe.”

  I stood up and examined the tusks. I tapped one lightly and tried lifting it. Even with my enhanced Strength from the Artifact, it felt heavy. Each one weighed around 50 kilograms.

  These could sell for two million, right? The thought of today’s earnings made me grin.

  “Look! Today’s haul is pretty good, right? Let’s keep this momentum and find the next one!”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, the Spear’s recovery boost will fix me up fast.”

  My body ached, but it was bearable.

  Maybe my Ability had grown from this Hunter life, my recovery and stamina felt better than before.

  Si-hyun secured the tusks to the top of his backpack with rope and carried them along.

  His strength was incredible. Those four tusks had to be over 200 kilograms, yet he handled them easily.

  As we walked searching for Monsters, we passed other Hunters. Their eyes lingered on us every time. No surprise. Carrying four valuable tusks was bound to draw attention.

  We ignored the stares and kept moving, taking down a few more Great Elephants.

  We found no more tusked ones after that, but our Magic Stones slowly piled up.

  “We haven’t seen any groups so far.”

  “Right. Solitary ones are easier to handle.”

  Real elephants usually move in herds, but these are Monsters, after all.

  The ones we met all wandered alone, so we could safely try close combat. Si-hyun would block the Great Elephant’s side, and I’d thrust my Spear in. It pierced the hide easier than expected. Is this the power of an expensive Spear? Every time I used this Spear Oppa got me, I marveled at its performance.

  We hunted for over six hours but never saw another tusked Great Elephant.

  The dry dust storm had drained all the drinks and water we brought, so we decided to leave. Our haul this time was substantial. We had around 200 grams of Magic Stones and as many as four elephant tusks. For a single-day Expedition, this promised to be our most profitable venture yet.

  As we turned back toward the Gate, the journey out felt unsettling. The Hunters we passed on the return trip had greed gleaming in their eyes.

  A worry rose inside me: Were there Hunters thinking of stealing from us?

  I just hoped we could leave without any trouble.

  -

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