Chapter 43 – Hidden Event 1: Behind
According to the original LAMPAS storyline, Gale should’ve been deep in the mountains around this ti, engaged in closed-door training.
And thanks to the remarkable results of that training, he was ant to apply for the Hunter Exam scheduled for the following year.
—But isn’t sothing a bit off?
How, in the original story, did Gale—who had no connections or backing whatsoever—manage to apply for the Hunter Exam in the first place?
The process to qualify for the Hunter Exam was notoriously complex.
A minimum requirent was graduation from Rusram Academy, accompanied by various references and letters of recomndation from reputable Hunters to verify one’s qualifications.
You also had to be born with an exceptional ability far above the rest.
That kind of talent couldn’t be achieved through effort alone.
A flood of skilled applicants—among them, only the finest of the finest were filtered through the net.
That was the LAMPAS Hunter Exam!
Of course, as the protagonist, Gale wasn’t lacking in potential.
But it’s not like he had ties to any Special-Class Hunters, nor was he an exceptional case.
So realistically, Gale should’ve had to start from the very beginning—by enrolling in the academy.
—And then, right on cue, a massive incident occurred.
While Gale was secluded in his training during the sumr of that year, diale, the seat of the World Hunter Association, was invaded!
A spy from a villain organization, masquerading as an exam applicant, had destroyed diale’s protective barrier from the inside.
The Hunters were left helpless. Though powerful, they were shaken by the unforeseen situation, and the enemies—specialists in assassination—took full advantage of that opening.
Thus, in a sudden attack by the assassin guild, the lives of many Hunters living on diale’s central island were lost in an instant…
That event would later be nad The Crimson August Tragedy.
In this world, Hunters held an incredibly prestigious position.
Their duties and responsibilities were grave, and just one absence could an life or death for dozens—or hundreds.
With the fallen Hunters no longer there to suppress them, villain organizations of all sizes and the demons that had been awaiting extermination began running rampant!
The unexpected manpower shortage forced the World Hunter Association to make an unprecedented decision.
“Next year’s Hunter Exam will forgo all previous evaluation standards… and focus solely on combat ability!”
This radical shift allowed applicants with no connections—like Gale—to apply for the exam!
That was the backdrop to the tumultuous adventure of Gale, the protagonist of LAMPAS.
And Elwin wasn’t pleased with it in the slightest.
“I didn’t go through hell, tearing apart flesh and bone, just to play along with so tragedy designed solely to grant the protagonist a bit of plausibility.”
That’s why he had resolved to beco the whale that upturned the original flow completely.
So that no longer would countless good people die as pawns in the gas of villains.
Let’s rewind to just a few days ago.
To the mont when Elwin had sent Gale’s group to the surface and stayed behind in the underground labyrinth.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm~”
Elwin humd as he toyed with the glowing red core left behind by the Manticore.
His humming echoed eerily through the ruined space—cold and bizarre—but whether he didn’t notice or didn’t care, he sat happily atop the Manticore’s forr resting place, legs swinging like a child.
“This is the biggest core I’ve ever seen. Seeing it in person really is fascinating.”
In the modern age, there wasn’t much information about monsters, so most people didn’t know—
Unlike daemons, which disintegrated into dust upon death, monsters left behind loot.
In ancient tis, people hunted monsters to craft all kinds of mysterious items.
Those relics ca to be known as OOPArts—Out-of-place Artifacts—revered even to this day as “ancient artifacts.”
Modern-day artifacts were just imitations of those OOPArts.
“With ancient magic and technology now lost, creating a complete OOPArt is probably impossible…”
But with a core this massive, from a monster like the Manticore, maybe… just maybe, sothing similar in power could be crafted?
Elwin couldn’t help but wonder.
“Miss Queenzel would be thrilled to see this.”
After all, the greatest magician in history was still alive in the present.
—The Black Special-Class Hunter, Munas Queenzel.
It didn’t seem impossible. Elwin had never t anyone as innately gifted in magic as her.
“I mustn’t let her find out.”
Though he felt guilty—since she was always thirsting for new materials—Elwin had a use for the core.
“…Huh?”
As he sat idle, wasting ti, sothing caught his eye in the corner of the room.
A scorpion tail riddled with barbed stingers—the Manticore’s tail!
“Whoa, no way! The tail’s still intact? Talk about lucky.”
Part of why Elwin had opted to make the Manticore self-destruct was to win the examinees’ favor while still preserving the core intact.
And self-destruction, in monster terms, ant the soul was completely eradicated.
A monster that had not only fallen to corruption but also destroyed itself would plumt into an endless abyss of tornt after death.
Such monsters left nothing behind in reality—nothing except the core that made them.
“That was the setup, wasn’t it?”
So Elwin hadn’t expected to find any loot besides the core.
“But hey, here it is. Lucky .”
He leapt down and casually picked up the tail with his bare hands, slipping it into a pouch.
Since he’d trained immunity to various poisons since childhood, the paralytic venom on the tail didn’t bother him.
“This is turning out to be quite the haul.”
Grinning, Elwin tucked the pouch safely into his coat.
He’d surely have use for it later.
“Well then! Enough dawdling—it’s ti to get to work!”
With cheerful determination, Elwin strode deeper into the ruins.
Toward the one area that remained relatively intact among all the wreckage.
It had been the space where the unconscious examinees were gathered earlier.
Step, step, step—
In the hollow ruins where no living being stirred but Elwin himself, even his unhurried footsteps clinked and clattered loudly against pebbles and debris.
“……”
All he did was walk.
And yet, the closer Elwin ca to his destination, the more a strange tension began to rise.
Yes…
It was a sensation that only opposing parties—locked in a standoff—could feel.
The instinctive, razor’s-edge tension of those ready to draw blades and kill at a mont’s notice.
“……”
Elwin’s expression hardened into eerie stillness as he stopped walking.
His opponent had sensed him, just as he had sensed them. Neither moved—they both knew it wasn’t ti yet.
“……”
A silent, knife-edged stillness lingered. It felt like the slightest twitch would draw blood.
How long had it been?
The tension finally cracked—on the enemy’s side.
Shing-shing-shing!
From sowhere unseen, bladed projectiles suddenly rained toward Elwin.
Daggers, stilettos, throwing knives, shuriken…
Dozens of throwing weapons launched at once like a downpour.
Fshht—
They twisted and curved through the air at strange angles, making them hard to trace—clearly a calculated and acrobatic attack.
If taken head-on, he would’ve been turned into a human pincushion.
“Whoops.”
But Elwin barely reacted—sidestepping and tilting his head with minimal motion to evade.
Step. Step.
He resud walking, unfazed, weaving smoothly between the relentless attacks.
Eventually… he arrived.
He bent forward slightly and looked down.
“All done already?”
It was a spy from the assassin guild—one who had infiltrated diale disguised as a Hunter exam applicant.
“Playing dead was fun, huh? Guess you figured your mission failed, but still stayed behind.”
“……”
The feline beastkin archer, Hake, glared up at him with sweat pouring down his face.
Clenching his jaw, Hake suddenly twisted and darted back into the labyrinth, trying to escape using his beastkin agility.
But the attempt failed imdiately.
Smack—!
“……!”
“Can’t let you do that. No running.”
Elwin had appeared ahead of him and delivered a brutal kick to his gut.
Gahk!
Hake collapsed pitifully, vomiting bile as he hit the ground.
And before he could even rise, Elwin pressed a foot down on his back.
“Gghhh…!”
He thrashed, trying to escape, but he already knew it was useless. The fight had been decided from the start.
The mont that monster remained on the battlefield, Hake had realized:
—He saw everything.
Still, he’d struggled to survive until the end.
Perhaps out of pity, or boredom, the Special-Class Hunter had played along—for a little while.
Pretending not to know, even though he had spotted Hake from the beginning.
This is just a cat toying with a mouse… And here I am, a beastkin cat made more pathetic than a rat.
Hake laughed bitterly.
“…I’ve got nothing to say. Just kill .”
That was all he could offer now—resignation.
An assassin who failed his mission was worthless. Even if by so miracle he made it back, he’d be killed.
“Please… just finish .”
If he had to die, he at least wanted a painless end.
Special-Class Hunters were called saviors of the people.
If that’s true… maybe even soone like —a beast, less than human—could receive so rcy?
Hake had lived a life without hope. He didn’t even know what hope ant.
For soone born in darkness, light was only a foreign and mysterious thing.
Until—
—Hi there. What’s your na?
He rembered those who had treated him kindly, even though they were also outcasts and different species.
That brief taste of kindness was so sweet.
So bright…
He didn’t even know what it ant, but that was what he’d thought in that fleeting mont.
“…I’m afraid that won’t work.”
But as if to deny him even that rcy, the Special-Class Hunter delivered his verdict.
…Well, of course not.
If I had caught a pawn behind such a major incident, I’d use every torture and ntal magic to extract information too.
“You still have value, you see.”
“Urgh…”
The expressionless Hunter reached out. A shadow lood over Hake.
Sensing the coming pain, Hake shut his eyes tightly and cried out,
“I—I can’t say anything!”
He expected a kick to the face for his insolence.
But instead—
Elwin responded gently.
“I know. You’ve got a geas inscribed on your tongue, right?”
“……H-How do you know that…?”
Eyes wide, Hake stamred.
Elwin smiled.
“There’s always a way to know.”
Like a god gazing down from above—benevolent and all-seeing.
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