Auto Hunting

Episode 33

The tables in the venue were quickly pushed aside in order to accommodate Yoo-seong’s request.

Every hunter was in anticipation as the place was being rearranged.

Regardless of their current position in the industry, they were still hunters and appreciated bravery. Who was this Oh Yoo-seong to say the words he did in the presence of so many senior hunters?

He was barely half a year old in the business, and he was already causing agitations.

“With your permission, I would like to face the challenge now,” Yoo-seong had said.

Everyone wanted to see what the young man was capable of.

“Well, I have announced all the necessary information. The rest will be sent to your emails. We have come to the end of the briefing. If anyone needs to go home now, you are free to do so,” Director Yang told them.

No one went out of the venue.

Meanwhile, Yoo-seong stood at the entrance, away from the stage.

Like the Red Sea that Moses parted, the chairs had been stacked high on both sides of the hall, making a clear path to the stage.

“Mr. Oh Yoo-seong.”

“Ah. Director Yang Chang-guk,” Yoo-seong greeted as he turned to the sound of the voice. The Director came to stand beside him while all the preparations were going on.

“Thank you for allowing my unreasonable request,” Yoo-seong said.

It was uncommon for such performances to be carried out at a venue like the Civic Center.

“Come on, relax,” Yang Chang-guk shook his head. “There are many experienced hunters here. While we need to ensure the other personnels’ safety, the hunters can take care of themselves. Don’t worry about safety issues.”

Yang Chang-guk was concerned about something else.

The audience stood at the sides of the hall.

At the stage, there were five human-shaped metal plates placed as targets.

While the Director wasn’t bothered about the people’s safety, he wasn’t sure if Yoo-seong would be able to leave the place in one piece.

It was indeed a very daring act.

Soon, a table was placed in front of Yoo-seong. Above it was a familiar firearm.

Geller Gun-★★

There were also other pistols and assault rifles on the table.

However, they didn’t shoot bullets; they all utilized Aura instead.

“Does Oh Yoo-seong have the Psy for shooting?” A hunter whispered to his friend.

“It’s just the beginning of his hunting year. That’s highly unlikely,” the friend replied.

“Yeah. If he did have, it would have been written in his profile.”

“Manipulating Psy is different from the manipulating of shiny Aura.”

Though they were far from Director Yang Chang-guk, their opinions weren’t different from his. The murmurs in the hall grew louder as it became obvious that Yoo-seong was about to move.

Instead of reacting to it, Yoo-seong focused on each of the guns on the table.

The stage had been set just the way he had requested.

Five human-shaped firing plates stood in a V-shaped array facing him.

Behind them stood a column of synthetic rubber, similar to the one used by Yoo-seong for striking exercise.

Yoo-seong took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. Then, he picked up a sub-machine type Geller Gun.

The audience was disappointed.

They had been expecting him to do just that – stand in a comfortable position and aim at the targets.

It was the most basic posture and allowed a stable form to shoot over a distance.

Yoo-seong pulled the trigger and began to fire.

This time, everyone, hunters and other personnel, were confused.

Yoo-seong’s wielding of the sub-machine gun was far from stable.

The Aura bullets appear to be shabby and weak. They barely hit the targets, and none of them hit a vital spot.

Yoo-seong dropped the sub-machine Geller Gun and picked a Gellar pistol. He began to shoot.

This time it was worse.

His aim was awful, and he kept shooting randomly.

It looked like he was just playing. The booing began.

Director Yang Chang-Guk bit his lips.

The hunters of Gung-On, including Cha Jae-Gil, smiled in relief.

They could hardly believe that the prodigy, Yoo-seong, was embarrassing himself so much.

Of course, he wasn’t that bad.

Very few hunters with half a year of experience made use of Gellar Guns.

There was a reason why Gellar guns of any kind were given the same rating.

They were all the same. The only difference in the weapons’ performance was the skill of the hunter that wielded them.

Even with the same pistol-type Gellar gun, the bullets’ power greatly depending on how carefully the hunter compressed their Aura.

In the hands of someone like Shin Yoo-hee, who used Tech and Psy specialized for shooting, the Geller Gun became as formidable as a 5-star or higher-level weapon.

On the other hand, when in possession of beginners who can’t control their Aura, the results would be terrible.

Sometimes, the gun barrel even ended up exploding as beginners tried to force their shabby Aura into bullets.

Therefore, no one was really surprised that Yoo-seong was so awful at using the gun.

Suddenly, Cha Jae-gil realized what was happening.

“Huh?”

Here and there, the bullets hit the outer edges of the plates.

Instead of having holes in them, the spaces behind and around the point of impact remained untouched.

It was just like cutting paper with a sharp knife on a table without leaving any mark on the table’s surface.

Cha Jae-gil groaned in exasperation.

“How in the world is he doing that?” the people who weren’t hunters asked their hunter acquaintances.

Normally, the Aura force was supposed to be strong enough to destroy the targets.

With the plates being only slightly thicker than cardboard, one would expect that the rubber pad behind it would also be damaged.

Somehow, he had managed to suppress his Aura and limit it only to the targets.

Even the hunters couldn’t understand it.

“The bastard!” Cha Jae-gil swore without realizing it.

He also had some shooting knowledge and expertise. If Yoo-seong had done the obvious, simply putting holes in the targets, he would have laughed immediately.

Anyone could do that.

However, hardly anyone could do what Yoo-seong was doing.

All five firing plates have been sliced and reduced to almost one-tenth of their previous area. Now, they were narrow enough that it would be difficult to hit them even if one aimed carefully.

However, Yoo-seong didn’t miss as he kept shooting until the plates’ remaining parts were cleanly removed.

Everyone was gaped, including those who didn’t know Aura.

Time passed, but nobody seemed to have noticed. The performance enchanted them.

There was one last spot on the fifth plate. Yoo-seong took a breath before blowing it off.

Then, he put the gun on safety and looked at his audience. The eyes of his audience remained fixed on the stage.

There was almost no difference between the stage before and after shooting, apart from the rubber pillars that remained. The metal pieces were all cleaned up.

One of the researchers from an institute began to clap in ecstasy.

The applause gradually spread around. Before long, even ordinary people who did not understand Aura were applauding Yoo-seong.

It was obvious even to them that what they had just seen was extraordinary.

Yoo-seong suddenly raised his hand.

“Not yet,” he said, and the applause died down.

“What I just showed you is the basic application of controlling the Aura’s intensity, which you are all familiar with.”

The ordinary people shared in confusion, not understanding his words.

The hunters, on the other hand, were flustered, though they tried not to show it.

There was nothing wrong with his statement. It was just that what he called ‘basic’ was a very difficult thing to practice.

“Senior Cha Jae-gil,” Yoo-seong said as he looked at the senior.

Cha Jae-gil’s face was now as sweaty as Yoo-seong’s.

“What is it?”

“You also know that, no matter how good your shooting skills are, ordinary shooting is useless against a monster with high durability. That’s the foundation of your case against me.”

Cha was silent. He couldn’t deny it.

The younger man was doing everything to prove him wrong. Yoo-seong was right.

No matter how good the control was, hurting major monsters was impossible, especially for beginners.

It didn’t matter if a beginner had a high-absorption rate.

The amount of CE they have would still be significantly lower than those of veterans who had accumulated skill and experience over the years.

Therefore, the Geller Gun couldn’t create bullets powerful enough to injure high-grade beasts.

“What I’m going to show you this time,” Yoo-seong said as he looked at the stage again, “is the solution to that problem.”

Behind where the five firing plates stood, the rubber pillars remained standing.

Yoo-seong picked up a pistol-type Geller Gun.

…

Two Months Ago…

“I want to teach you something else,” Sung-wook began.

“In this industry, one can become easily recognized for their natural skills. It’s perfect for those who were born with extraordinary talent.”

Yoo-seong listened carefully.

“However, for those like us who were not born as fortunate as they are, it was very unfair. I wasn’t born with any Psy, and there was no one to pass his Tech to me. I had no wealthy background. All I had was my Aura, that’s it.”

He stood from his seat and came to lean on the table beside Yoo-seong.

“In fact, when we say Aura, anyone could use it, right? But actually, kids with Tech or Psy don’t think much about it. Their usage of it is unrefined because they have some other advantages.”

“We could kill ourselves to learn a new skill with our Aura, but they don’t bother. They simply replicate the same thing with what they inherited or were born with.”

Sung-wook worked hard to achieve the spider-walk with his Aura, but hunters with similar Psy or Tech could easily replicate it.

“Psy and Tech can only be handed over to disciples using a very tricky process. And there was no one to teach me. So, I asked myself, why not make my own? I was determined to refine them and pass them on to someone I chose. That way, even when I can’t hunt anymore, I will be remembered for something.

“Now, this is the second lesson- another skill that I developed,” Sung-wook smiled with pride.”

Then, he stated the name of the technique.

…

Yoo-seong’s pistol fired.

This time, unlike with the bullets he used for the plates, the gun released a considerable amount of energy.

It smashed against a rubber pillar, carving a deep hole in it.

This time, even Shin Yoo-hee, Lee Jae-hak, and Yang Chang-guk gasped.

“Huh?”

It was a common belief that without Psy or Tech, humans couldn’t manipulate the Aura that had left their bodies.

But Sung-wook learned that, with time and effort, humans could find their own way.

And now, that knowledge has been passed on to Yoo-seong.

Despite the extreme strain he felt on his veins, Yoo-seong remained smiling.

Thank God, he thought.

Even Sung-wook couldn’t master it while he was on active duty, so he had been unable to demonstrate it to Yoo-seong.

However, now, everyone could see the fruits of Sung-wook’s efforts.

Parasitic Bees.

The rubber pillar shook violently as if something was happening from inside.

Then, it burst into pieces.