Chapter 6: The Client (3)
Near Osan Stations ck market, Kang-hoo purchased the necessary ingredients.
Sebiu thick meat. Kobold blood. And a monster-specific anesthetic. Ive got everything, nothings missing.
He ced the ingredients into an old backpack he had bought cheaply from the market and slung it over his shoulders.
The tough meat came from the Sebiu, a monster resembling a cow but with meat too smelly and hard for human consumption.
The blood of kobolds, which was utterly useless for potion-making or any other purpose.
These items were not for Kang-hoos use.
Do you have some strange hobby? I mean, Im happy to sell waste materials, but I still feel sorry for selling them to you.
That might have been why the seller scratched the back of his head with a remorseful expression.
From the sellers point of view, he was being paid to dispose of what should have been thrown away.
But Kang-hoo desperately needed these items.
With them, he could prevent any variables that might arise when he encountered Kim Mok-hyun in the dungeon.
Kang-hoo didnt reply to the sellersment.
Silence was a form ofmunication he was ustomed to.
Especially when he thought a response wasnt warranted.
Keke. Seeing that you even bought anesthetic, it seems you have some other purpose. Youre not going to use it on a woman, are you?
If you open your mouth one more time, I might just use it on you. Shut up.
Eek!
The seller, who had been overly familiar and patting him on the shoulder in a distasteful manner, received a stern response from Kang-hoo.
The seller quickly retreated and sealed his lips.
Woosh!
Kang-hoo zipped up the backpack.
It was time to leave.
Kang-hoo walked toward the abandoned ruins dungeon.
This open dungeon, requiring no separate license, was always teeming with hunters.
As expected, a crowd of hunters lined up outside the dungeons entrance.
Hey you, is that your spot? Theres no ownership in a dungeon, whered you get the idea you could im a spot?
If youre baseless, just shut up. My cousin is part of Eclipse, you know?
These days, even dogs and cows talk about Eclipse. It looks like they even ept scum like you.
Its my cousin, not me!
Among them, hunters were already in the midst of a brawl.
Watching fights was as entertaining as watching a fire, so everyone stopped to watch the scuffle.
But Kang-hoo, without giving them a nce, went straight into the dungeon.
As expected.
The sight he had anticipated was right there.
The hunters from Osan Guardians, one of the well-known gangs near Osan Station, were visible.
They had set up their spot about 300 meters from the dungeons entrance.
They had even put up a boundary line and took turns controlling the area.
One hunter, who approached thoughtlessly too close, was beaten up by the Osan Guardians.
There was a reason for this control.
Monsters appeared here at an iparably faster rate than in other ces.
This was known as a monster flood.
Sigh.
Kang-hoo let out a short sigh and shoved his long sword into his waistband.
Figuring that daggers would be more suitable than a long sword for the monsters he would immediately encounter, he switched weapons.
[Basic Practice Dagger]
[Grade: None]
[Strength +1]
Since he was still short on money, Kang-hoo couldnt afford even the lowest, 9th-grade dagger.
But he believed that as long as he aimed well, the weapon didnt really matter.
Thats why he equipped the cheap practice dagger.
Of course, it would be the first weapon hed rece once he earned some money.
At that moment.
Squeak. Squeak squeak.
A monster that served as a sort of mascot at the entrance of the abandoned ruins dungeon appeared.
[Spiked w Rabbit]
A rabbit monster with unusually long and sharp ws, making it a very threatening attacker.
Its level was around 35, certainly not low.
Especially for a level 10 hunter like Kang-hoo.
Swoosh.
Kang-hoo, looking at the rabbit whose gaze met his head-on, sliced the tip of his left index finger with the edge of his sword.
This created a wound that dropped a bead of blood every second or so.
Squeak!
The rabbits eyes turned redder upon smelling the blood, its attacking instinct triggered.
Originally, it was a very cautious creature, making it difficult to approach. But now, its nature changed.
Ching!
All of the rabbits ws grew in an instant, each joint transforming into a menacing weapon.
The Spiked w Rabbits feature was its eleration.
As time passed, it became more frenzied, so prolonged battles were best avoided.
Kang-hoo didnt move.
The creature was extremely agile; earnestly running after it would only lead to it dodging and teasing him.
It was a scenario where he would waste his strength. So, Kang-hoo envisioned a reversed scenario.
Squeak!
That was to make the rabbit charge at him first.
Provoked, the rabbit moved just as Kang-hoo had anticipated.
The rabbit, vigorously kicking off with its hind legs, leaped towards Kang-hoo.
At the peak of its parabolic trajectory, as it began its descent, it aimed its sharp ws at Kang-hoo.
Whoosh!
Kang-hoo disappeared from sight using an activatedteral movement.
He had been waiting for this moment.
Lateral movement couldnt be used in mid-air. A target was necessary.
Squeak?
The Spiked w Rabbit tilted its head in confusion as Kang-hoo vanished. Its long ears fluttered.
But the confusionsted only a moment.
Whoosh!
Squeak!
As if hugging it from behind, Kang-hoo embraced the rabbit and thrust the dagger diagonally upwards from below its left chest.
It was an instant kill without the need for further checks.
The dagger, avoiding the sternum and ribs perfectly, pierced directly through the heart.
[Your level has increased to 11. The next basic skill acquisition point is at level 20.]
It was his first experience point gain in a long while.
At Cheongmyeong Detention Center, he hadnt gained even a speck of experience.
Now, on the brink of level 11, his level rose immediately, and Kang-hoo put one bonus point into stamina.
As long as I can manage my congenital mana hypersensitivity well, I actually dont need the mana stat.
For the time being, he nned to invest bonus stats solely into stamina.
This way, he could quickly recover from the stamina depletion caused by hypersensitivity overload.
[Mid-boss monster detected within a 500m radius. Automatic warning for threatening entities.]
Kang-hoo had happily epted the tracking request for Kim Mok-hyun from Lee Ye-rin, and now the reason for his eagerness became apparent.
It was the emergence of a medium boss monster, also known as a middle boss.
It was also a target for his skill plunder.
The more aggressive ones are easier to handle from my perspective.
Kang-hoos eyes shone with a cold light.
Although physically tougher, these creatures were easier to deal with mentally.
<hr>
What was that just now?
What do you mean?
Didnt you see? He just went into stealth and immediately stabbed the Spiked w Rabbit in the heart from behind.
Really? Who was it?
That guy. Hes heading alone towards the Storm Forest.
At that moment, a hunter from the Osan Guardians, who had precisely witnessed Kang-hoos one-man show, clicked his tongue.
Although they werefortably reaping rewards by securing the monster flood point, they were hunters with at least level 50 in basic skills.
Considering Kang-hoo, who had just reached level 11, they were hunters of a much higher realm.
When they were at level 11, they couldnt even think ofing to this dungeon; they werent a match.
So, the hunter from the Osan Guardians naturally assumed Kang-hoos level was simr to his own.
Yeah, Dae-seong. I saw it too.
You saw it, brother?
Yeah.
Jo Young-jae, ranked third in the Osan Guardians and a level 65 hunter, nodded at his subordinatesment.
As a skilled yer with the special ss of berserker, he had secured a contract with a constetion early on.
Typically, during leisure time in the dungeon, he would look around but rarely found anything of interest.
But today was an exception.
Although brief, Kang-hoos precise movements left a distinct impression in everyones minds.
The Spiked w Rabbit was level 35.
Even Jo Young-jae could not kill the rabbit in one go, as he had not yet perfected his strategy.
It wasnt that he didnt know how to stab its heart, but rather that the rabbit wouldnt easily reveal it.
However, Kang-hoo had effortlessly approached the rabbit from behind and stabbed its vital spot with minimal movement.
His subordinate spoke to Jo Young-jae.
Judging by his skill, he must be of the assassin ss.
Thats likely. Such swift stealth abilities are only essible to assassins.
But isnt the stealth skill a basic ability acquired at level 200?
Yes. So, whats the origin of that stealth skill? Its perplexing. Im quite envious.
He possessed a skill that a hunter of this dungeons level should not have.
That was Jo Young-jaes realization.
It was unsurprising since, despite having connections with assassins, there were no known instances of anyone achieving the highest proficiency in that skill.
Even the hunters known as Named had only begun to max out one or two basic skills.
Not to mention those with the Named titleordinary hunters wouldnt even be aware of what the maximum proficiency level entailed.
Noticing Jo Young-jaes interest, his subordinates started to tter him, eagerly rubbing their hands together.
Should we recruit him?
If brother desires, we can capture such a man and have him bow before you, haha!
Should we strip him too? Perhaps enjoy some other fun?
Forget it. Weve already monopolized this entrance point. Lets take another look at him when hees out.
Heh, helle to brother on his own if we wait.
Jo Young-jae cast another nce at Kang-hoos retreating figure.
It was more jealousy than admiration or envy.
How did he possess such skills?
<hr>
On his way to the middle boss, he hunted four more rabbits.
The dead monsters couldnt talk or share information, so they fell to the same pattern.
Thanks to this, he reached level 13.
Being at a lower level, Kang-hoo reaped significant benefits from hunting a few higher-level rabbits.
Kekeke.