Chapter 47: Special Upgrade (2)

Crack!

“Ugh…”

The sickening sound of ribs shattering filled the air as Shinhyung’s blood-soaked body slowly collapsed.

“Phew, it was exhausting pretending not to see through his act while I beat him down,” I muttered, catching my breath as I stared at the foaming Hunter, his eyes rolled back in his head.

I secured him with special restraints I’d purchased from Parsley Market and began inspecting him. This was the second one I’d reduced to this state. Just like the first, who had introduced himself as “Han Jongseo, Master of Poison Arts,” this one was wearing work clothes instead of a Hunter’s suit.

The Master of Poison Arts had started by hurling dozens of toxin-filled bottles at me.

For each bottle he threw, I repaid him with precisely ten strikes of the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist. He finally collapsed, unconscious, his body a battered and bruised mess.

I gazed down at the dazed Hunter before me and muttered, “Well, at least I know what kind of scum these guys are.”

Criminals who prey on Hunters, the Awakened, and defenseless civilians instead of Monsters—the kind of trash commonly known as “Villains.”

So these are the “subcontractors for essence stone mining” that Seonah mentioned?

“The ones who infiltrated under that guise to take me down.”

Honestly, their cover was almost flawless.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I’d cleared the dungeon, and all that remained was collecting the essence stones.

Even so, considering their skill level, I never felt threatened.

Furthermore, the impeccable timing of my Status Window’s upgrade made their chances of completing their “request” plummet to virtually zero.

I spotted a single flashing red dot on the dungeon map, stretched my shoulders, and tapped it with my finger.

Alright, time to take the shortest path and crush the last one too.

Han Jongpil, leader of the Red Hound, stood with his arms crossed, gazing down at the cemetery beyond the fortress wall.

They actually managed to hunt down all those monsters.

The graveyard was littered with the remains of at least a hundred monsters, most of them C-Class humanoid creatures known as Mad Knights. Even seemingly insignificant monsters could pose a serious threat when attacking in large numbers.

Han Jongpil shifted his gaze to the North Cemetery. There, he saw a sight that struck even his seasoned eyes as peculiar. A circular barrier had been constructed from piled-up knights’ armor, leaving a space at its center just large enough for a single person to stand. Surrounding this central space in concentric rings were the armor pieces of slain monsters.

The resulting formation resembled a metallic flower blooming from the dark, tainted earth.

“She just stood there, rooted to the spot, and single-handedly wiped out all those monsters charging at her?”

Han Jongpil let out a dry, bitter chuckle.

Could I have done that?

No, absolutely impossible.

Truly, Lee Seonah lives up to Shinwa’s reputation for nurturing exceptional talent.

That’s why, before entering the dungeon, Han Jongpil recalled the beautiful Female Hunter who had greeted him and his team at the Dimensional Gate.

Lee Seonah.

Currently considered the most promising candidate for S-Rank status in the country.

She was certainly capable of creating such an absurd spectacle.

Thank God our target isn’t Lee Seonah.

If they had been tasked with hunting someone with such monstrous power, even the Red Hound team, specialized in hunting Hunters, would have had a near-zero chance of success.

Of course, their actual target was laughably easier to handle compared to Lee Seonah.

“So far, so good.”

After dealing with the original cleaning crew from the subcontracting company, they had successfully infiltrated the Shinwa-owned dungeon under their disguised identities.

Target: Lee Taejun.

They had confirmed that Taejun had re-entered the dungeon alone.

Now, all that remained was to complete the mission.

We’ll take care of him discreetly, then stage an unfortunate accident, like he stumbled into a dungeon trap.

Fortune was on their side.

They had been tracking Taejun ever since accepting the commission.

Of course, Taejun always concealed his face with strange items whenever he left Cheongyeon Headquarters.

But while that might fool ordinary people, it was impossible to deceive professionals like him and his brothers.

However, approaching him had proven more difficult than anticipated.

Cheongyeon Guild Members always maintained a protective distance, closely guarding Taejun.

The moment Han Jongpil received the report that Taejun had re-entered the cleared dungeon, he knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That was why he had boldly assured his client of success and infiltrated the dungeon, even though a mishap could escalate into a crisis involving Shinwa itself.

Well, once the target is eliminated, the aftermath doesn’t concern me.

If this mission succeeds, a massive fortune will be mine.

He pictured himself lounging in the Maldives with his brothers, sipping mojitos and enjoying a leisurely vacation for years. He was lost in this vision of himself basking in a beautiful sunset, cocktail in hand, when—

Thud.

The sound of footsteps drifted into Han Jongpil’s ears.

“You’re back sooner than expected, my brothers,” he said, turning with a satisfied smile.

And froze.

“Of course.”

It wasn’t the Red Hound Team members who emerged onto the ramparts via the spiral staircase.

“I took the shortest route and sprinted straight here,” Lee Taejun said.

The target, who should have been dragged in half-dead or as a corpse by the hounds, was staring back at him, completely unscathed. His smiling face shone flawlessly, radiating a cold, inhuman light.

”…”

Han Jongpil was no inexperienced rookie. He quickly grasped the situation. In a voice heavy with dread, he asked, “What did you do to my brothers?”

“I didn’t kill them,” Taejun replied, his smile vanishing as his voice turned frigid. “Unlike you trash, who treat human lives like flies.”

”…”

The Red Hound member glared silently at Taejun. But he was a professional, a seasoned killer who had hunted countless Hunters and Awakened over the years.

He wasn’t the type to lose his cool over such petty provocations, veins bulging with anger.

Having assessed the situation, he knew there was only one course of action to take.

Whoosh!

No time for banter, no mercy given.

Han Jongpil’s figure, spear in hand, surged forward like a flash of lightning.

Swish!

In the briefest of moments, a streak of spear light blazed, leaving a long, bloody gash across Taejun’s left forearm.

Thwack!

The wound gaped open, sending droplets of blood flying.

As expected.

Han Jongpil landed silently behind Taejun, his gaze fixed on the bloodstain on his spear. A cruel smirk tugged at his lips.

Swift Throw was a technique that enveloped his body in Mana, granting him instantaneous acceleration—his signature move, one that had never failed to claim its prey.

The explosive speed it generated was truly astonishing—even an A-Rank Hunter would find it impossible to track and evade with the naked eye.

Pushing his body to its absolute limit placed a considerable strain on Han Jongpil himself.

Now that I’ve confirmed my technique works, I’ll finish this quickly.

Although Taejun had twisted his body slightly as Han Jongpil swung his spear, preventing a perfect hit, Han Jongpil dismissed it as mere luck.

”…”

Otherwise, why would Taejun be staring wide-eyed at the wound on his arm?

Just as I thought.

Han Jongpil’s eyes narrowed mockingly.

A mere baggage handler turned Hunter dares to provoke me?

I’ll slice you into sashimi until you beg for death.

Han Jongpil’s Shinhyung shot forward like a bullet once more.

Swish!

Flying with blinding speed, Han Jongpil swung his spear, and this time blood sprayed from Taejun’s thigh.

Swish!

Next, the shoulder.

Then the calf.

Then the chest.

Han Jongpil repeatedly slashed with his spear, accelerating his body to breakneck speeds before slamming on the brakes.

He remained single-mindedly focused on tearing apart his prey, desperately ignoring the screams of protest from his body pushed to its absolute limits.

Approximately thirty minutes later…

”…Gasp… huff…”

A pained breath finally escaped from the top of the fortress wall.

But it wasn’t Taejun’s.

“Cough… hack…”

Ironically, it was Han Jongpil’s.

He looked utterly ravaged, as if he’d just survived a life-or-death struggle, a stark contrast to his composed demeanor half an hour earlier.

His face was deathly pale, like a ghost.

The aftermath of complete Mana exhaustion.

Blood soaked his trousers, seeping from his thighs where the muscles had ruptured and nearly melted away.

His spear-wielding hand trembled violently, torn and bleeding in multiple places.

This was the price of maintaining his physical abilities at their absolute peak while continuously casting Skills for a full thirty minutes.

“W-what on earth…”

But in Han Jongpil’s eyes, horror outweighed the pain.

He couldn’t help it.

“How… how is he still unscathed?”

His prey, who had endured thirty minutes of relentless hacking and slashing, stood there with an unnervingly calm expression.

Clearly, he hadn’t landed a fatal blow.

Yet every strike had landed with full force, each wound bleeding enough to be lethal on its own.

But Taejun remained completely uninjured, not a single scratch marring his skin.

Only his tattered t-shirt proved that Han Jongpil’s spear hadn’t been slashing empty air.

There was only one explanation: Taejun’s wounds were regenerating on their own, and with impossible speed—so fast that Han Jongpil couldn’t even accumulate damage.

This is insane.

Han Jongpil’s legs trembled uncontrollably.

What kind of monstrous ability was this?

No skill or item in existence could grant such absurd regenerative power.

“That’s not human… it’s a monster.”

Han Jongpil was a professional.

That’s why he realized the truth so quickly.

The target standing before him wasn’t the kind of prey a mere hunting dog like himself could take down.

Instead, they were the ones who had become the prey.

As Han Jongpil, his face pale with dread, began to back away, Taejun blinked in mock surprise.

“Huh? Is that all? Already over?”

Taejun examined his healed wounds, a grin spreading across his face.

“Too bad. I wanted to see the limits of his regeneration. At least we know minor injuries like cuts heal instantly.”

He turned toward the trembling Han Jongpil and took a step forward.

“Now it’s my turn, right?”

The moment Han Jongpil faced the steady advance of this “prey” striding toward him…

Clatter.

He dropped his short spear and raised both hands in surrender.

There was no chance of victory against this monster anyway.

“Hah, I surrender.”

It was better to bow his head here and bide his time, stalling by feeding the creature plausible lies. Once his brothers had recovered somewhat, they could combine their strength and strike simultaneously.

“Surrender?”

Taejun tilted his head.

“Yes. And if you guarantee my safety, I’ll even tell you about the client who hired you to eliminate me.”

“Hmm.”

Taejun stroked his chin thoughtfully. But what came out of his mouth was not what Han Jongpil had hoped for.

“Do you have a Mental Pollution Resistance Skill or something?”

“Resistance Skill?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Han Jongpil blurted out urgently, “Ah, no. I don’t have anything like that.”

“Really?” Taejun nodded with a faint smile. “Then I guess I don’t need to accept it.”

“What? Accept what…?”

“Your surrender.”

”?”

Before Han Jongpil could grasp the meaning of those words:

Taejun’s foot struck Han Jongpil’s solar plexus with the force of a thunderbolt.

“Gack!”

Immediately afterward, a deflated sound escaped the villain’s lips.

KWAANG!

A section of the Lord’s Castle wall in Duas exploded outward as if struck by a cannonball.

Taejun watched the debris cascade down where Han Jongpil had been sent crashing, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“If you wanted to make a deal, you should have said you had it.”

How long had it been?

The North Cemetery of the dungeon.

“Hah…”

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I rotated my shoulders.

Before me, three Hunters writhed in restraints. Their condition was so gruesome it was almost unbearable to look at, little different from the shattered remains of the Mad Knights.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

I approached the Hunter in the worst shape.

“Ugh… uh-uh…”

He moaned, his eyes unfocused as I casually strolled toward him. This was the leader of the Villain group.

“I suppose this satisfies the skill’s activation condition.”

The activation condition for Bewitchment: the target must be incapacitated.

Having been beaten half to death, driven half-mad, his current state truly qualified as “incapacitated.”

As I activated the skill, rainbow-colored mana flowed from my body and seeped into the leader’s head.

His unfocused black eyes widened abruptly.

”…”

The groans escaping his lips ceased as if by magic.

The Bewitchment had taken full effect.

I severed his restraints and commanded, “Stand.”

The leader slowly rose to his feet. Despite being battered beyond recognition, he stood upright without a single cry of pain.

I nodded.

Truthfully, similar skills exist in the modern world as well.

The cursed S-rank skill known as “Moving Marionette” allows control over a target’s body, regardless of their will.

However, that skill merely manipulates the body like a puppet.

Vampire’s Allure, on the other hand, controls not just actions but the very will itself.

Therefore, I anticipated being able to extract information directly from his lips.

“Name?”

”…Han Jongpil.”

My prediction proved correct.