Whoosh!
A sharp blade grazed Seong-hyun’s cheek.
Hwang Seok-il was pressing him even harder.
But Seong-hyun’s eyes were utterly calm.
‘I can see it. Just a moment ago, I could barely keep up with his movements.’
Seong-hyun’s eyes darted ceaselessly.
He could clearly see the movements of Hwang Seok-il as he closed in.
He was reacting to and parrying every one of the man’s sword strikes.
What looked like narrowly missed attacks were, in fact, being deflected by Seong-hyun time and again, as if he had calculated their every trajectory.
‘This is…’
Hwang Seok-il, facing him directly, could also clearly feel the change.
His opponent’s movements had changed so completely, one might believe he was a different person.
‘Was that potion the turning point?’
Hwang Seok-il had used doping before, ever since dungeons and barriers first appeared.
For hunters of a certain caliber, doping was a part of daily life.
But the elixir Seong-hyun had consumed was of the highest quality, something even the top-tier hunters struggled to obtain.
And Seong-hyun had stacked the effects of three of them.
His reaction speed was amplified to its absolute limit, allowing him to read his opponent’s movements with perfect clarity.
On top of that, his greatly increased agility stat allowed his body to keep up.
The elixir’s effects were further magnified as they boosted his already enhanced stats from the previous doping.
Clang!
Instead, Seong-hyun began to seize the momentum and pressure Hwang Seok-il.
Sensing something was amiss, Seok Hyun-jun frowned.
‘The tide suddenly turned, didn’t it? If this goes wrong, he could be defeated.’
He hadn’t even considered the possibility that the masked necromancer could defeat Hwang Seok-il.
There was no way anyone could beat a man who had been on the verge of S-rank.
But now, that conviction was beginning to waver.
‘I can’t just stand by and watch.’
Seok Hyun-jun quietly gripped his sword.
Seo Jun-young, who had tried to fight him, was already down, and there was no one else to interfere.
He approached, aiming for Seong-hyun’s back, which was exposed while he was engrossed in the fierce battle.
But just as he was about to charge toward Seong-hyun.
Clang!
He barely managed to raise his sword to block a blade that appeared out of nowhere.
The heavy impact sent Seok Hyun-jun sliding back.
“What the…?”
“Do you think I’d let the likes of you interfere?”
The Vampire Lord, Iseuna, flicked her sword upward.
She had already dealt with one of the Cheongseong guild members, and she had no intention of letting another small fry disrupt Seong-hyun’s fight.
“And where did you pop out from? Are you with him?”
“You don’t need to know, you lesser being. I’ll dispose of you at once.”
Red magic flared in her hand.
With a loud bang, a violent flame explosion erupted, separating Seok Hyun-jun from where Seong-hyun was fighting.
“I’m starting to see it now.”
Meanwhile, Hwang Seok-il, who was locked in a fierce battle, spoke.
“I don’t know much about you yet… but it’s clear you’ve mostly fought monsters, not experienced hunters.”
“Shut up.”
Sssss!
Seong-hyun took a stance, imbuing his sword with a dark aura.
His sword swung in a straightforward arc.
Hwang Seok-il, who had intended to simply deflect the obvious attack, instinctively dodged back.
Craaack!
Seong-hyun’s sword split the entire wall of the building in two.
By shrouding his blade in shadow, its power was enhanced, and even its effective range had increased, allowing it to cleave the entire building wall with a single strike.
If he hadn’t instinctively dodged the ominous energy, Hwang Seok-il’s body would have been split in half as well.
“Impressive power. But in a fight between high-ranking hunters with swords, the sheer power of a technique doesn’t mean much.”
Unlike monsters armed with thick hides and scales, one didn’t need that much power when fighting a person.
In a battle where a single strike to a vital point meant death.
All that was needed was enough force to pierce the heart or slice the throat.
Claaang!
A storm of swift sword strikes rained down relentlessly.
Suddenly increasing his speed, Hwang Seok-il completely seized the initiative and began to overwhelm Seong-hyun.
The tide, which had turned when Seong-hyun drank the elixir, was turning once again.
‘How did he change so much all of a sudden…?’
“I’ll make you feel the wall. Just as I once did.”
Kaboom!
“Keuk!”
Sent flying, Seong-hyun clutched his abdomen.
He could feel his internal organs had been violently shaken by that last blow.
After coughing up a mouthful of blood, he hurriedly tried to pull a healing potion from his inventory.
But he saw Hwang Seok-il instantly close the distance.
“Did you think I’d fall for the same trick twice?”
Thwack!
Struck by a powerful kick, Seong-hyun was buried in the debris.
Being caught off guard by the unfamiliar function of an inventory was a mistake you only made once.
There was no time to drink a potion in a fight between two high-ranking hunters.
‘Ugh… damn it…’
Battered and broken, Seong-hyun’s face was pressed to the ground.
His blood-soaked body refused to obey him, the damage he had just taken was that severe.
“Where are your precious summons! Did you really think you could face me with such leisure!”
Hwang Seok-il shouted aggressively as he approached.
It wouldn’t matter how many of those corpses he summoned, but it was more satisfying to crush them when they struggled.
He could cut his throat and kill him right now if he wanted.
But he couldn’t grant the man who had killed his brother a peaceful death.
‘Damn it, you think I’m fighting you one-on-one because I want a fair fight?’
Seong-hyun cursed internally.
His other boss-level summons, like Geadeu and Ankaras, were already dealing with the Cheongseong hunters who had tried to approach from the perimeter.
If he called them over, the Cheongseong hunters would also converge on the commotion here, making it pointless.
Nor could he summon the army of regular summons he had left behind.
They were already engaged with a large number of monsters, and the monsters pouring out of the dungeon were only increasing.
The dungeon’s master could appear at any moment.
If anything, he needed to deal with these hunters quickly and go help them.
Crunch!
Seong-hyun gripped the ground and pushed himself up.
‘People are dying as we speak. I don’t have time to lie around here.’
Seong-hyun had lost his parents to monsters from a dungeon when he was a child.
He didn’t want the tens of thousands of people in here to suffer the same tragedy.
If he couldn’t stop Hwang Seok-il here, another massacre would begin, so he couldn’t afford to fall.
“Yes, it would be a shame if you gave up already. Go on, struggle some more. It suits insects like you.”
Hwang Seok-il grinned as he saw Seong-hyun get to his feet.
He planned to toy with him until he begged for death, and then kill him.
“Hoo…”
Gripping his sword, Seong-hyun closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
He suppressed the pain wracking his body and cleared his mind.
“You think I’ll give you time to rest!”
Hwang Seok-il immediately kicked off the ground and rushed toward him.
At that moment, Seong-hyun’s eyes snapped open, and he parried the man’s sword.
Clang!
At close range, their swords flashed, exchanging dozens of blows.
Hwang Seok-il tried to land another solid hit to send Seong-hyun tumbling to the ground, but to his surprise, Seong-hyun didn’t yield an inch to his onslaught.
‘How is this possible?’
Hwang Seok-il’s eyes wavered in confusion.
His movements were even faster than before he was injured.
No, this wasn’t just about being faster.
Realizing what had happened, Hwang Seok-il was utterly horrified.
“You, you bastard, don’t tell me…!”
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll be sure to use it well in the future. After I get out of here alive, that is!”
Clang!
Seong-hyun’s blade aimed only for his opponent’s most dangerous vital points.
Moreover, none of his strikes contained any unnecessary force.
He swung his sword with just enough power to take his opponent’s life.
This allowed him to utilize his drastically increased speed to its fullest, unleashing a flurry of rapid attacks on Hwang Seok-il.
It was the exact same method Hwang Seok-il had been using against him just moments ago.
‘He learned my movements just by watching them? Impossible. That can’t be happening!’
It wasn’t some secret technique or know-how.
It was the optimal fighting style against other hunters, something that had been ingrained into his very being through countless accumulated experiences.
He had reached this level only after long years of training and experience, surviving several near-death encounters.
And yet, Seong-hyun had made the very essence of his skill his own after facing him just once.
‘Could it be… this man possesses the talent to overcome the wall?’
Hwang Seok-il had given his all, only to be crushed by the wall known as S-rank.
To break through the wall to S-rank required unparalleled aptitude and talent, and Hwang Seok-il had not been the one to possess it.
And yet, this man before him possessed that insurmountable quality.
“D-don’t make me laugh! You arrogant brat!”
The enraged Hwang Seok-il roared as he swung his sword.
He could never accept that a nobody like this possessed such a gift.
But whether he accepted it or not, nothing would change.
Puk!
Seong-hyun’s sword pierced through Hwang Seok-il’s abdomen and emerged from his back.
He looked down, his expression one of disbelief.
“Keuk…!”
He dropped his sword and coughed up a clump of blood.
Stabbed so deeply in a vital spot, not even the body of an A-rank hunter could withstand it.
“Even if half of them are sacrificed, you people don’t deserve to live. You tried to weigh the lives of others, so you’ll get the same in return.”
“This, this can’t be… How dare a whelp like you…!”
His strength failing, Hwang Seok-il collapsed to his knees.
He had failed to avenge his brother, and in the end, he was left feeling only humiliation and inferiority toward his killer.
But after pulling out his sword, Seong-hyun turned his back without personally delivering the final blow.
“Feast.”
Grrr!
A pack of Death Hounds emerged from Seong-hyun’s shadow.
With jaws wide open, they lunged at Hwang Seok-il like starving beasts.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
With sounds of crunching and tearing.
Hwang Seok-il’s body was ripped to shreds and vanished as he let out a horrifying scream.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have acquired the title ‘Human Hunter’!]
[Deal up to 10% additional damage to humans and reduce damage received by 5%.]
“Still, he was more nutritious than his brother.”
He hadn’t received a quest, but perhaps because the fight had been a catalyst for growth, he had gained quite a few levels.
The title also had an excellent effect that would be useful for a long time to come.
With more conflicts with hunters likely in the future, it was a reassuring option to have.
“You’ve done it, my lord.”
Iseuna approached and stood before Seong-hyun.
She, too, had just defeated Seok Hyun-jun, an A-rank hunter from Cheongseong.
He had put up quite a fierce resistance, leaving her with some wounds, but for a Monarch-class boss monster like her, it was nothing to worry about.
“You did well, too. Thanks for joining in quickly; I was able to fight without interruptions.”
“It was nothing, my lord. But your body…”
“Ah!”
Seong-hyun finally looked down at himself.
He was covered in blood, and he could feel his body creaking with pain.
To think he’d been fighting while forgetting he was this broken.
Shaking his head, Seong-hyun took out two healing potions from his inventory and drank them.
“Hoo.”
Feeling his body rapidly healing, Seong-hyun sat down for a moment to catch his breath.
While he rested, his boss-level summons returned to his side one by one.
“Grrrrr!”
Geadeu, Niadra, Jagoseu, and others.
The Monarch and Chieftain-class summons had each taken on three or four opponents, subduing all the Cheongseong guild members scattered across the eastern district.
The two A-rank hunters, including Seok Hyun-jun whom Iseuna had killed, had been tricky opponents, but the remaining B-rank hunters were no match for the bosses.
Following Seong-hyun’s orders to leave no trace, the Cheongseong hunters were all either torn to shreds or devoured.
Thud!
Finally, the Wyvern Chieftain, Ankaras, folded its massive wings and landed beside him.
“Everyone’s here. The potion’s taken full effect, so it’s time to get up.”
Seong-hyun brushed himself off and stood.
About 40 minutes of the elixir’s duration remained.
There wasn’t much time.
“Now we’re heading to their dungeon, I presume.”
“Yes, and it won’t be an easy fight.”
Seong-hyun nodded and looked down at his hands.
An S-rank boss monster lurked inside that dungeon.
The wall to S-rank was so high that even Hwang Seok-il, the man he had just fought, had given up in despair.
And yet, far from receiving support from other hunters, he had to solve this problem on his own because of what they had done.
Realistically, his chances of victory were slim.
But giving up was not an option.
Just as Seong-hyun gripped his sword once more.
[A quest has been generated!]
[A quest has been generated!]
Two quests appeared before him at the same time.