Despite the twenty minutes of hard work, we couldn’t glean any meaningful information from the guys chasing us.
Still using the subway lockers to exchange requests, huh?
After stripping them of their runes and equipment, we made them swear to reveal no information and sent them back.
“Those people are fallen hunters. Their gear is in such a poor state that even selling it wouldn’t get much.”
Not every hunter enjoys a prosperous life.
That goes for the guys who made it to C-rank as well.
Drunk on power and money.
There are always those who make reckless moves, leading to a hard life, and in this world, agencies that gather such people for dirty work are rampant.
These guys are probably deep in debt, getting exploited by someone.
Forcing them into a pact, it’s a horrific life they lead.
“Do you think they made them wear such gear so they wouldn’t get discovered while tailing us?”
“Ah, no way.”
“They probably know our tendencies, so it’s not too strange. After all, Heo Min-sol, who bullied Ah-rin, wasn’t killed, right?”
“The way they think is quite shabby. Did they really think such pathetic guys could escape our surveillance?”
“Not necessarily pathetic…”
Honestly, being able to gather information by tailing us from a kilometer away is quite impressive for a guide.
Without me, our party members might not have realized it until the end.
The efforts I made to keep my information hidden from the outside world were finally paying off.
‘… But this doesn’t seem like Hyeon Woo-seok’s work. Is someone else advising him?’
It did seem odd that Yeon-hee would accept an engagement knowing the extent of her prowess.
Many people had seen her riding a Shadow Drake in combat against a Great Beast, so it didn’t make sense for C-rank knights who had just started finding their footing to challenge us again.
‘There must be something… wait, hold on.’
As I intensely recalled the memories of my previous life, I found a nagging point.
I hurriedly asked Yeon-hee about our sparring location, and Noh Ha-yoon only mentioned it was the Ilseom Guild’s headquarters.
“What’s wrong, Yeon-hee? Isn’t that one of the sparring areas?”
“No… it’s just a feeling.”
“… Ah-rin, is there some other secret facility in Ilseom? Like an area with physical enhancement buffs?”
“Um… there is such a place… oh! I’ve heard of a practice area accessible only to instructor-level hunters. It’s a restricted area, so I’ve never been near it.”
“That’s concerning. I’ll check it out when we go outside. Exactly where in the Ilseom headquarters is it?”
As I stared at Ah-rin, clearer memories started surfacing.
“That’s right. They said there was a space where magic gets warped, right? Ugh, why am I only remembering this now?”
I remembered hearing from Hyeon Joong-gil about a place where magic fluctuated uncontrollably, making it difficult to use skills.
Thinking about it this way made me realize how many strange tales I’ve heard.
‘They said it’s influenced by a dungeon that’s managed exclusively. Hmm—so that’s why they were confident.’
It’s a place where controlling magic is not easy, and for someone stepping into that environment for the first time, adapting would be exceedingly tough.
Naturally, Yeon-hee would be affected as well.
‘… Please don’t let my summoning be undone or anything!’
If Yeon-hee couldn’t hold on, I’d have no reason to stay in this world.
Putting that thought aside, it seemed the guys opposing us would be training in that very place.
‘Hmm… I’m really glad it’s a winning formula. They must have at least one card they’re confident about. But there’s no one we can’t deal with.’
Since it wasn’t something we could look up right now, we steeled ourselves and hit the road again.
– Chiroleong – Chiroleong –
Before the first battle commenced, we captured three Hanjaring and were steadily regaining our usual atmosphere when we finally faced a pack of wolves.
– Awoo──!
‘There are many… and one is big.’
“There’s a bulky one… starting with a mutant, huh?”
“It has big, thick horns. Getting hit by a lightning bolt won’t end well.”
A large-scale pack led by a mutant, whose size was 1.5 times that of a regular Dire Wolf.
The group easily exceeded one hundred, and I couldn’t understand why they were so close to the entrance, but we felt relieved to see them.
[Skeleton Bomb]
Puppupupupung──!!
– Kegegegeang!!
No words were necessary.
With a barrage of bombs, the battle commenced.
I didn’t even need to shift to Combat type.
Stepped forward with my Great Sword, I sliced a wolf in half effortlessly.
‘My sword acted before I even realized it.’
“Huff—what is Il-wol?!”
“He split a Dire Wolf in half in one hit?!”
“The cut is so clean… even better than mine…”
My body reacted first, snagging the attention of my party members.
I leaped toward the mutant Dire Wolf brazenly overlooking the battlefield from a small hill.
In that instant, the reward for killing my first Dire Wolf crossed my mind.
– You have defeated ‘Dire Wolf’!
– Randomly steals a skill from ‘Dire Wolf’!
– Acquired skill [Thunderhorn]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] is activated.
– All Attributes have increased by 1.
‘Guess I don’t have any traits other than what the lesser has.’
Despite being my first kill, the only new thing I had stolen was a skill.
[Thunderhorn]
– The blessing of the Great Lightning God, Chindrana, resonates in the horns.
– It inflicts severe damage to the designated enemy in an unpredictable trajectory.
‘Oh… is this a skill of blessing level? What did your ancestors do to earn the favor of a god?’
Puff—
As I gained the Dire Wolf’s skill, a horn protruded oddly from my forehead.
I transformed into a mirror-like cat.
‘I could do without this change in appearance.’
Crisp— Crack—
As I infused magic into the newly sprouted horn, golden lightning surged out, enveloping my body.
When I focused again, the horn that had arisen faded away.
Without the horn, it seems the ability can’t activate.
“Grroowww—”
I shook off my brief thoughts and keenly observed the mutant’s movements.
The massive horns gathering magic from the wolf pack’s leader.
Those horns seem to be serving as a medium that grants attributes to magic.
Kzzzzz—
Soon, the golden lightning bolt twisted at an odd angle and shot towards my side.
[Arcane Deflection]
Kzzzzz─!
– ?!
I easily deflected its electric magic, then unleashed my own magic.
Puff—
[Thunderhorn]
Krrrrr— Kzzzzzz─!
The thick bolt of lightning that shot from my head changed direction unexpectedly, striking its body.
But it merely frowned for a moment, didn’t lose health, and instead showed signs of recovering its depleted magic.
‘So the lightning attribute takes less damage because it’s received a blessing from the god? I wish I could have gotten something like that as a trait!’
Perhaps handling a higher-grade Dire Wolf would yield such traits.
Clenching my teeth, I fell from the sky, activating [Special Strong Acid] and [Chain of Flame] simultaneously.
“Cough—!”
The beast swiftly leaped to the side, trying to escape but didn’t break free from my [Chain of Flame] this time.
Much unlike before, the mutant Dire Wolf was now in severe pain.
Its enormous size, which would definitely be twice my height when upright, was tightly bound by the blazing chain.
Sizzle—
‘Just like they practiced in that place…’
I brought my sword down carelessly onto the mutant’s abdomen melting into the strong acid.
Given that my penetration and destructive power in swordsmanship had dramatically increased since a week ago.
Sooosh──!
Remarkably, the mutant Dire Wolf was cleaved in two and rolled down the hill.
“……?”
“Huh……?”
“Wait…”
Watching the fallen mutant’s corpse, my party members rubbed their eyes vigorously.
But no matter how they looked again, it really was the dead mutant.
“······?!”
Despite my party members below in a frenzy, I felt no major excitement.
Clang—
I swung my Great Sword down, splattering the mutant’s blood.
‘Not bad.’
The efforts I piled up in the space my master created.
My absolute trust and faith in that lifted my swordsmanship to a new level.
Suddenly, the words of my first swordsmanship master, Hyeon Joong-gil, came to mind.
“The belief and will that you can definitely cut through is what ultimately decides everything.”
And he said to cultivate such an unwavering mind, I must dedicate a long time solely to mastering the sword.
‘Hyeon Il-hwan might not know, but the others don’t seem to be solely focusing on the sword…’
While I grumbled about my first master who was working invisibly, I was sure that the time and effort I put in wouldn’t betray me.
‘Can’t wait for three days to pass.’
Having finished training and feeling utterly exhausted to the point of dying, the results rekindled my willingness.
Rune of Thorns (Advanced)
– +26
The advanced mana stone and Rune of Thorns were what I obtained from defeating the mutant.
‘Rune of Thorns. I could switch it out like the Rune of Poison when needed.’
– When switched to [Combat Type], approaching enemies will be exposed to continuous fire damage.
It’s a Rune of Thorns that will surely be synergistic when I change to Combat type.
‘If I could just stick to that Chaos Residue…’
I nodded considering my job change quest.
“Kraugh!!”
A Dire Wolf charged at me from below the hill, dripping saliva hungrily.
I slid my sword into a minuscule spot that aligned perfectly with its incoming paw.
Shwaaa—!
The Dire Wolf slid past me as I finished my movement.
“??”
The wolf tilted its head in confusion, while I grinned with satisfaction.
‘Oh, a successful first attempt.’
I might have gotten a good result because I wasn’t expecting much.
With Bran’s technique allowing for the return to the original state without a hitch on both offense and defense, I continued to train in evasion against the wolf while my other party members engaged in battle.
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