Episode 17: This is What We're Trained to Do

By the gate leading to an A-Rank boss, Hae-In warns Jinwoo to step aside lest he stir the boss and put the miners in danger. She catches his scent as she goes, then confirms through his ID that he really is a hunter before allowing him back among the workers. The miners note that her rare constitution leaves her acutely aware of some hunters' smells, hence the habit of keeping her nose shielded. Mulling it over, Jinwoo realizes he gives off no telltale hunter scent, a peculiarity he attributes to his status as The Player. He briefly bargains with a miner, who persuades him to lend a hand on coming A and C-Rank jobs for better pay, after which Hae-In phones to inquire about him, finds his file locked away, and notes he is the only person whose scent she has ever found agreeable.

A day later, taking a rest from his duties, Jinwoo is sought out by Captain Son Kihoon. Wanting a hand to carry gear and offering danger pay, Kihoon talks him into the assault squad for an A-Rank run, hoping the success will secure him a true captain's post, and he marches the team in. Inside, the group first drives off a pack of Jackal beasts, then meets a surge of High Orcs. Using stealth, Jinwoo discreetly assists Kihoon's people in cutting the orcs down, and when one member glimpses his ability, she swears to keep quiet about it.

Pulling back to the entrance, they find it sealed by a barrier left there by a high-level being. While one person labors to break it, wounds mount and fifty High Orcs gather behind the squad. The leader, Kargalgan, comes forward and offers Kihoon a stark choice: face him or die. Kihoon picks the fight, and after Kargalgan pulls back his troops, Jinwoo is sent to escape and gather his own team to draw the enemy off. Just before leaving he accepts a brief will an ally asks him to carry to her family. Around the same time, having spoken with a worker, Hae-In stops by the mine and discovers Jinwoo signed on as Kihoon's porter and went into the adjoining A-Rank dungeon. The closing moment shows Kihoon's people and Jinwoo bracing to challenge Kargalgan at his stronghold.

Hae-In stops Jinwoo near the boss's gate to avoid stirring up trouble, then vouches for him as a hunter once his scent and identification check out. A short pay discussion ends with Jinwoo agreeing to help the miners on later raids of A and C rank. Captain Son Kihoon then enlists him for an A-Rank run, and Jinwoo's stealth turns the tide against both the Jackal beasts and the orc assault. A sealing barrier and Kargalgan's arrival corner the squad, leaving them to choose between a stand and a flight. Jinwoo is dispatched to draw the foe away, carries an ally's final message for her family, and steels himself against the shaman's army.

As the fifth chapter of season two, this episode adapts Chapters 67 through 71 of the webtoon. Shigeru Murakoshi handled the writing and Kento Toya directed for A-1 Pictures, with broadcasts on February 1st, 2025 in Japanese and February 15th, 2025 in English. ReawakeR opens it and UN-APEX closes it, and the story sits within the Hunters Guild Gate Arc. A trivia note observes that Kihoon's sword finish against an orc echoes the way Kirigaya Kazuto downs Illfang the Kobold Lord in the opening episode of Sword Art Online, fitting since A-1 Pictures animated both series.