Master Hunter K
/ Master Hunter K Chapter 21
Zombies, Skeletons, and Ghouls charged at Sungjin from all sides. Sungjin swung his katana and with each strike, dozens of enemies fell where they stood. But whenever Sungjin would cull their numbers,
“Rise of the Dead”
The Necromancer would call forth more and more undead from their graves. The ability was similar to Ahenna’s, but this was far worse.
It was impossible to gauge how many more undead would emerge from the ground, especially in the Cemetery where graves continued as far as the eyes could see. Soon, the sheer volume of the enemies forced Sungjin into a stalemate.
‘…Kill…’
Yanhurat beckoned Sungjin, but he did his best to ignore its temptations.
‘Shut up’
Meanwhile
“Pew”
Kultu’s arrows came flying at him. Instead of deflecting the blow with his weapon, Sungjin snatched it out of the air with his bare hands.
Kultu wordlessly drew another arrow and nocked it on the bow. If he were a human, he would have hesitated due to surprise at Sungjin’s overwhelming display of strength.
‘… are the Undead… unable to feel fear…?’
Sungjin paused to think about his ‘Moon Specter’ and the active ability “Deathly Wail”.
‘It’s worth a try.’
And while Sungjin was contemplating, the Necromancer cast another spell.
“Frenzy!”
The Undead began to ramp up speed. When Sungjin saw them, he instead returned the sword into the Sheath.
‘Shing…Click.’
And when the masses of undead had completely enveloped him, Sungjin pulled it out of the sheath and shouted
“Deathly Wail!”
The moment the Sword left the sheath,
“Kyaaaa!”
An unbelievably loud and otherworldly screech filled the air.
Immediately, the ghouls, skeletons, and zombies which surrounded him, scattered. The same enemies who had fought apathetically disregarding their lost limbs or his display of strength, escaped as fast as their legs would carry them.
They trampled each other in their haste to get away from Sungjin. Bones broke, limbs were lost, they clamored to climb over one another; it was pandemonium. Soon, the Cemetery was bare save the Gravekeeper ‘Oryx’.
He, too, trembled in fear, backing off slowly, holding his shovel defensively.
“You… That sword…”
It looked like there was something he wanted to say, but Sungjin did not care. He did not want to listen. Sungjin walked up to him and
“Shing”
Along with the sound of the blade slicing through the air, Oryx was beheaded.
And the moment his head separated from his shoulders, the undead dropped down in unison, as if marionettes were cut from their strings. Nothing stirred in the vicinity.
[Hidden boss ‘Gravekeeper Oryx’ Cleared.]
[Congratulations! You have managed to complete all objectives in this Chapter!]
[Disregarding the remaining time and ending the raid immediately.]
Once the hidden boss was cleared, the raid completion suddenly became 100%. It seemed that killing the necromancer simultaneously killed all the remaining undead as well. Sungjin took a glance at his sword ‘Moon Specter’ again.
‘That worked better than expected.’
Nevermind the undead, it even paralyzed the boss. With this much effectiveness, it was undoubtedly a very potent ability.
‘…Excellent.’
Sungjin smiled and resheathed his sword. But
“Ahhh!”
He heard someone screaming. Looking around, he saw Henrik laying on the ground trembling in fear.
It was probably due to ‘Moon Specter’s’ ‘Deathly Wail’. Sungjin also saw Hiro disappearing in the distance, running away.
‘It’s also effective against humans.’
It was a good opportunity to learn what ‘Deathly Wail’ was capable of; the Legendary weapon lived up to its name. Sungjin scanned his surroundings since the fight was now over.
Closeby, Akanna and Kultu’s corpse lay wrangled on the ground. Seeing them, Sungjin bit his lower lip.
‘…I didn’t want for this to happen.’
If he had not summoned the hidden boss, they would not have died. Sungjin closed his eyes and hung his head to give them a moment of silence; He felt pity and remorse for the dead.
Meanwhile, Henrik had recovered enough to approach Sungjin and offer some kind words.
“Don’t let it get to you, Kei. According to the Operator, they didn’t die; they were just sent to the ‘Purgatory’. They’ll all be revived along with the others once the raids are complete.”
Henrik was right. At this point, the only thing Sungjin could do for them was to complete the raids.
If he could manage to do that, then the two men would be revived along with everyone at the end. Of course, if he failed, none of them would ever see the light of the day again. Hiro, who somehow managed to make it back offered his words as well.
“Sensei, with your skills, you will definitely see the raids to the end. The two people that died today would have believed in you as well.”
Their words eased Sungjin’s sense of guilt. He looked at the corpses again and bid
‘Please believe in me.’
He gathered his hands and closed his eyes. He didn’t have a religion, but he felt that he had to offer them prayers. The Operator interrupted him with an announcement.
[Calculating Rewards Earned.]
[Monsters Slain. Zombie: 120. Skeleton: 60. Ghoul 40. Total 2400 points.]
[Boss Monster Slain: Lich Deathmond: 300 points.]
[Hidden Boss Gravekeeper Oryx: 300 points.]
[Final point count: 3000 Points. Distributing points.]
Henrik’s cube began the distribution. The person with the lowest contribution always went first.
[Your contribution is 6%. 180 Stat points, 180 Black Coins awarded. Raid Clear Bonus 800 Stat points and 800 Black Coins awarded. Distributing 980 Stat points and 980 Black Coins.]
Hiro’s cube was second.
[Your contribution is 18%. 540 Stat points, 540 Black Coins awarded. Raid Clear Bonus 800 Stat points and 800 Black Coins awarded. Distributing 1340 Stat points and 1340 Black Coins.]
And finally, Sungjin’s Cube spoke up.
[Your contribution is 76.0%. 2280 Stat points, 2280 Black Coins awarded. Raid Clear Bonus 800 Stat points and 800 Black Coins awarded. Item effect ‘Additional 10% gained’ activated. Distributing 3080 Stat points and 3388 Black Coins.]
‘3080 points and 3388 coins’
Sungjin memorized the numbers for now.
[And now we will distribute the items.]
First to receive the items was Henrik.
[Skeleton’s Scimitar]
[Recovery Potion – Small X3]
Followed by Hiro’s brief item reward payout.
[Skeleton’s bone armor]
[Recovery Potion – Small X4]
Finally, it was Sungjin’s turn.
[Sael’s Breath – Cape of Freezing]
[Ring of Deathmond – Lich’s Finger]
[Spell Book – Rise of the Dead]
[Recovery Potion – Small X4]
By now, everyone was familiar with collecting their loot. Sungjin put everything, except for his three equipment pieces, into the cube.
[Last but not the least, you will be awarded titles you’ve earned on this raid.]
Of course first was Henrik.
[Guide – The path to the boss monster becomes visible]
Henrik became disappointed.
“I’ll probably just die if I get to the boss, what’s the point of this…?”
Next was Hiro
[Undead Hunter – deal 30% bonus damage to undead type monsters.]
“There’s going to be more undead in the future? Fueee…”
Finally Sungjin.
[Elite Samurai – increases damage dealt by Katana type weapons by 40%.]
“Wow…”
Sungjin didn’t have to respond; Hiro was exclaiming loud enough for both of them.
“That’s so amazing, Sensei!”
On the other hand, Sungjin listened quietly.
‘Elite… At least it’s the highest tier…’
Damage increases to 1.4 times the normal and 1.2 times while unequipped. It was an amazing spec to have.
But, ever since Sungjin obtained the S grade ‘Moon Specter”, he already had enough power to one shot any non-boss enemies for the next 2~3 chapters.
This title was like pouring oil onto a raging inferno.
‘Well… I suppose it will come in handy in the late game…’
Sungjin quietly and nonchalantly accepted his new title. Once the distribution of rewards was over, Sungjin called over the Operator.
“Operator, will there be debriefing once we reach the Hunter’s Hall?”
[No. There will be no debriefing. You will be sent to the black market directly in 6 minutes and 32 seconds.]
Sungjin nodded.
‘My memories were correct.’
Although he had an easier time compared to the earlier two chapters where he didn’t have the proper items to face the monsters, confronting the undead tired him out mentally.
Sungjin couldn’t wait to return and get a good rest at the ‘Ninety Nine Nights’. However, Hiro ran up to him and asked
“Sensei, please… What are hidden bosses?”
Sungjin looked at Hiro carefully.
“That’s…”
‘Should I tell him or not…’
Sungjin deliberated for a moment. Hidden bosses were always stronger than regular bosses.
In fact, Even bosses were supposed to be difficult to clear for an average hunter. Being greedy and carelessly attempting Hidden bosses was the surest way to get eliminated. Sungjin shook his head in response.
“No. It’s too difficult for you.”
“But… I’ve never seen three Heroic Items drop from a single raid. I want to become strong like Sensei.”
Sungjin shook his head. He had countless experiences behind him, overcoming obstacles and death. He did not wish to unwittingly send a child younger than himself to his own death.
“You saw earlier, what happened to Akanna and Kultu. Do you still want to know?”
Hiro could not be dissuaded.
“Yes, I wish to know sir.”
Hiro was making a serious face for the first time. Sungjin struggled in his mind for a while and finally responded.
“To be fair… There’s nothing for me to tell you at all. The only thing I can say is that every chapter also hosts a hidden boss and that the hidden boss is incredibly powerful. You probably figured it out by now, right?”
“What do you mean?”
Sungjin answered Hiro’s question.
“That I am also figuring things out as I go, and I don’t have all the answers.”
“…Is that so?”
Sungjin nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then… I guess I should start searching for them starting next chapter.”
Sungjin waved his finger in response.
“Ah… that’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell you about it earlier. Hidden Bosses are stronger than regular bosses. So if you do ever want to challenge a hidden boss…”
Sungjin swallowed before continuing his explanation.
“Only attempt to search for the hidden boss if all five members of your party survived the regular boss. Only attempt the hidden boss if your team has great synergy and you feel confident that your team can overcome even the hidden boss. Otherwise, you’re just going to get everyone killed in vain.”
At Sungjin’s serious response, Hiro fell quiet again. Sungjin watched him and thought to himself.
‘He wouldn’t carelessly put himself into unmanageable danger with this much warning, right?’
Even ‘Killing the boss with all party members intact’ was no easy feat. 10 or so seconds later, he finally responded.
“…I understand Sensei.”
With the remaining time, Sungjin decided to inspect the three items he had received.
‘Ah… I didn’t even check what these items do.’
Due to his conversation with Hiro, Sungjin didn’t even have the opportunity to inspect his new equipments. Sungjin lifted one up to check it…
[Returning to the Black market in 10 seconds. 10, 9, 8…]
The Operator began a countdown. Hiro bid him goodbye.
“Then Sensei, I promise that the next time we meet I will be much stronger.”
Sungjin responded to Hiro’s farewell.
“Well… If you don’t get stronger, you won’t survive very long anyway.”
And it was the truth. Hiro was gifted with talent, but he was still very likely to die before reaching end game. The final few chapters were impossible to survive without having the skill and luck of ‘The Chosen Ones’.
Henrik who was stuck between the two men awkwardly gave his farewells.
“Oh… I was able to survive thanks to you two. Thank you very much.”
“Yes, you worked hard too, Henrik. Take care.”
And thus the farewells were said, and the three of them disappeared to the Black Market.
Chapter end
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