Kang Tae-Sik, who had been utterly focused on his daggers, flinched at the sudden pain shooting up from his toes and scrambled backward. Jin-Woo seized the opening without hesitation.
'Charge!'
[Using skill 'Charge'.] [Movement speed increased by 30%. Mana decreases by 1 per minute while active.]
Jin-Woo closed the distance at blistering speed. Kang Tae-Sik's eyes widened.
'He's getting even faster?'
Jin-Woo, already quick on his feet, had now accelerated further—it was impossible to track. In an instant, he'd narrowed the gap and drove 'Kasaka's Venom Fang' into Kang Tae-Sik's thigh.
"Argh!"
It was a strike aimed squarely at the opening left by Kang Tae-Sik's focus on defending his upper body.
[Effect: Paralysis has triggered.] [Target's resistance is high; effect has been cancelled.] [Effect: Bleeding has triggered.] [Target's stamina is consumed at 1% per second.]
'Nice!'
The additional effects of 'Kasaka's Venom Fang' had gone through. While the paralysis didn't land, this made the fight significantly easier. But Kang Tae-Sik was still an elite Hunter—his resistance wasn't trivial. The knife in his hand flew toward Jin-Woo. Swish, swish. Jin-Woo dodged the knives by a hair and launched attacks at Kang Tae-Sik's vital points. Despite the injury to his thigh making his leg unstable, Kang Tae-Sik, a seasoned Hunter, calmly blocked Jin-Woo's attacks with practiced ease. Clang, clang! Cold sweat beaded on both Jin-Woo and Kang Tae-Sik's foreheads.
'Even on speed!' 'Our speeds are equal!'
Both marveled at the other's agility as the close-quarters speed battle continued. Countless attacks, any one of which could have decided the fight, flew back and forth. Whoosh, whoosh, whizz, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! It was a brutal exchange of blows that would chill the blood of any onlooker.
'I need to break the balance.'
Jin-Woo focused his gaze.
[Using skill: 'Murderous Intent'.]
Kang Tae-Sik, meeting Jin-Woo's eyes, flinched and shivered.
'What is it?'
[Effect: Fear has triggered.] [Target's all stats decrease by 50% for 1 minute.]
'Now!'
Jin-Woo was certain of victory. Kang Tae-Sik's pupils, however, were dilating in shock.
'Why is my body...?'
After locking eyes with Jin-Woo, his body felt heavy, as if he were struggling through water. The speed he prided himself on began to fade. Whizz! Whoosh! Cuts began appearing one after another on Kang Tae-Sik's body.
'This... this can't be!'
Kang Tae-Sik's mind was reeling. This was clearly a debuff effect. He'd never heard of an Assassin class being able to cast debuff magic.
'I thought Assassination was his specialty?'
No, if that wasn't it, then where did this speed come from? But Kang Tae-Sik's thoughts were soon cut short. His confusion gave way to pure shock—because Jin-Woo was lunging deep into his guard. Kang Tae-Sik hastily aimed for Jin-Woo's eyes. Whizz! Jin-Woo jerked his head back, but the knife still grazed his cheek. However, Jin-Woo had already accepted a bit of risk for this decisive blow. Kang Tae-Sik's face contorted.
'Damn it.'
Jin-Woo, having slipped inside his guard, drove 'Kasaka's Venom Fang' into Kang Tae-Sik's chest. Thunk!
"Kuh...!"
Kang Tae-Sik's eyes flew wide open. In that instant, both knew it—the fight was decided. Blood pooled inside Kang Tae-Sik's mouth. It was blood surging up from his chest. With blood on his lips, Kang Tae-Sik gave a faint, bitter smile. To think he'd encounter a reawakened Hunter in some pointless D-rank Dungeon on a day like this.
'Just my luck, seriously.'
The knife in Kang Tae-Sik's hand clattered to the floor. Gasping for breath, he tilted his head and whispered something into Jin-Woo's ear.
"..."
Jin-Woo, listening in silence, pulled the dagger from Kang Tae-Sik's chest. Kang Tae-Sik collapsed downward, limp as clothes slipping off a hanger. Thud. Ding!
[Emergency Quest: Eliminate the Target has been completed.]
A message appeared, but Jin-Woo's expression was grim. As expected, killing a person instead of a monster left a bitter aftertaste. Even if the fight had been initiated by the other party.
[Completion rewards have arrived.] [Would you like to confirm the rewards?] (Y/N)
If there were no rewards at all, it would have been a total loss. Jin-Woo consoled himself with that thought and checked his rewards. Ding!
[The following rewards are prepared:] Reward 1. +5 Stat Points
'Huh?'
Jin-Woo looked puzzled. The reward was significantly lower than when he'd defeated Hwang Dongsuk's group.
'But the difficulty was way higher this time?'
Did the number of opponents matter more than their individual strength? Or were there other conditions he needed to meet? Jin-Woo tilted his head. Just then, something caught his downward gaze. A coin-sized light was shimmering from Kang Tae-Sik's lifeless body. Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
'Could it be...?'
He couldn't believe it, but the shimmer was the same as the light from an item dropped by a monster. He'd seen mana crystals drop from that light when it came from magic beasts. But now, the light was coming from a dead Hunter.
'What is it?'
Jin-Woo steadied his racing heart and reached out toward the light emanating from near Kang Tae-Sik's heart. Ding! It wasn't his imagination.
[Rune Stone: Stealth] has been found. Would you like to acquire it?
'A Rune Stone? A Rune Stone...!'
His heart started pounding wildly. The skill Kang Tae-Sik had used had become a Rune Stone and remained in his body. Stealth was an exceedingly rare skill, used by only a handful of Hunters. If this meant exactly what a 'Rune Stone' was supposed to mean...
'Acquire.'
A small stone with runic inscriptions settled into his palm.
[Rune Stone: Stealth] Break the Rune Stone to absorb the skill.
Break the stone to absorb the skill. It was exactly the Rune Stone he knew. If he broke this, he'd be able to use Stealth. News of a Rune Stone that could teach the Stealth skill had never been heard of. Its value was therefore immeasurable. Just then, two voices came from behind him.
"Mr. Sung, are you alright?" "Jin-Woo!"
Jin-Woo tucked the Rune Stone into his pocket and turned around. Song Chi-Yeol and Lee Joo-Hee were staring at him in disbelief. After all, Sung Jin-Woo—the E-rank Hunter who'd been struggling in D-rank Dungeons until recently—had just beaten a B-rank Hunter, Kang Tae-Sik. Lee Joo-Hee, a non-combatant, might not have fully grasped it, but Song Chi-Yeol, a C-rank, knew exactly how impossible that was. Jin-Woo glanced down at himself.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Visibly, he appeared unharmed. No major pain anywhere. But when he turned his head, a trickle of blood ran down from his chin. Absently touching his cheek, he found blood flowing from the cut he'd received earlier.
"Oh." "I'll heal it."
A faint blue light flickered at Joo-Hee's fingertips, and even that small wound vanished. He'd defeated a B-rank Hunter alone, as an E-rank, without a serious injury. For the two who knew Jin-Woo, what was more shocking than the B-rank Hunter trying to kill them moments ago was the fact that Jin-Woo had beaten him.
"How did you...?"
Song Chi-Yeol couldn't finish his sentence. Jin-Woo knew what Song Chi-Yeol and Joo-Hee wanted to ask, so he spoke first.
"I'm sorry. Someday, when the time comes, I'll explain everything. For now, I just have to ask you not to ask any questions."
Hearing Jin-Woo's earnest request, Joo-Hee nodded vigorously. Song Chi-Yeol nodded shortly after.
"If you say so, there must be a reason. Understood."
Jin-Woo suddenly turned his head toward where the boss was located. Things had gotten complicated, but his plan to defeat the boss hadn't changed. He preferred to handle the boss alone, if possible. There was also something he could only do if the two of them weren't there. Jin-Woo turned to Song Chi-Yeol.
"With something like this happening, continuing the raid is unreasonable. For now, please exit and contact the Hunter's Association. I'll stay here and search for any survivors."
Song Chi-Yeol's instincts told him what Jin-Woo intended to do.
'He plans to close the Gate.'
Song Chi-Yeol agreed that would cause fewer problems in the long run.
"That's probably for the best. Ms. Joo-Hee, let's go."
At Song Chi-Yeol's suggestion, Joo-Hee hesitated for a moment, then ran to Jin-Woo.
"You haven't forgotten our promise to have dinner together, have you?"
Jin-Woo smiled.
"How could I? I haven't even gotten my change yet." "Then keep your promise. I'll be waiting outside."
When Jin-Woo nodded, Joo-Hee finally seemed relieved and stepped back. Even as they exited the Dungeon, she looked back several times. Once the two shadows disappeared, Jin-Woo let out a sigh.
"Phew."
He'd wanted to keep it hidden as long as possible. In the end, he'd been discovered. With two witnesses, there was no way to deny it now.
'But I don't want to threaten Joo-Hee or Mr. Song either.'
Killing the B-rank Hunter would probably be considered justifiable self-defense. With two witnesses, that point was unproblematic. The issue was how an E-rank Hunter could defeat a B-rank Hunter.
'A reawakened Hunter is the most plausible explanation.'
He settled on that. He'd reveal he was a reawakened Hunter and undergo a rank re-evaluation. Talking about the System or Leveling Up wouldn't be believed anyway, and there was no need to reveal it himself. Having decided to get re-evaluated, he felt a mix of relief and disappointment.
'I wanted to get my rank after getting stronger...'
But things rarely went according to plan. It couldn't be helped.
'How much would my rank go up?'
He'd fought Kang Tae-Sik to a standstill and won, so maybe he'd be placed slightly higher within B-rank? He felt quite strong now, but as expected, the elite Hunters spanning from B-rank to S-rank were formidable.
'Well, I'll worry about that after I get out.'
It was time to defeat the boss. A Dungeon that displayed a mana wave on the D-rank level had only spawned E-rank magic beasts—goblins. That meant the rest of that mana wave was almost certainly coming from the boss. A boss of that caliber should provide ample experience points for a Level Up.
'But first.'
There was something he needed to check. Jin-Woo maximized his senses and thoroughly scanned the Dungeon's atmosphere.
"Found it."
Jin-Woo moved forward. Along the way, he also found the corpse of Kim Sang-Sik and the bodies of other Hunters. That was the power of an elite Hunter. If an elite Hunter so desired, they could cut down several lower-rank Hunters in the blink of an eye. With a grim face, Jin-Woo passed by them.