The First Hunter Chapter 3: The First Hunter (3)

4. 

December 31st, 2016 23:53. 

Right before the New Year the streets of Bucheon were silent to the point it felt eerie.

The ten lane road in front of Bucheon City Hall, the superstore and a department store was full of cars that had crashed into each other. 

On the wide road it looked like a bunch of centipedes were created out of cars.

There were also many dead bodies. 

The bodies hidden by airbags were rather lucky.

Other bodies looked horrible having been thrown out of car windows. 

But still, even those were luckier than the ones eaten by the monsters. 

It was hell. 

It was a blessing that the extreme cold of the New Year—13 degrees below zero—prevented the bodies from rotting. 

One thing was for certain. December 31, 2016 would be recorded as the most gruesome day in Korean history.

Krrrr!

Like it was trying to be the finale of the day, the Black Orc exited the superstore and stood on the destroyed road. 

It was a stage without any light, the sparsely placed headlights of cars were the only source of light. In the darkness, it was impossible to see the Black Orc.

Despite the dark surroundings, the Black Orc had such a powerful aura that even a blind person could sense where it was. 

The hostility and murderous intent in its orange eyes was something you couldn’t avoid even if you wanted to. 

The Black Orc stared at Kim Taehoon, who was standing at a spot in the middle of the chaos on the road. 

It just stared.

The sign of its intelligence. 

The orc did not forget he wasn’t alone.

It knew that Kim Taehoon had someone else with him.

Of course, to the Black Orc, the others were not a threat at all.

Krrrr…..

The battle so far had proven it. 

Kim Taehoon was the only one who tried to go against the Black Orc, but even he couldn’t fatally injure the Black Orc and was only able to hold the Orc in place for a while. 

That meant, if the Black Orc was able to get rid of Kim Taehoon it would all be over.

Without Kim Taehoon, the Black Orc could eat all the survivors who fearfully ran out of level B2, but couldn’t escape from level B1 without disturbing anything. 

The Black Orc imagined his gut filled with the hot blood from humans, they would warm up his body even in this blistering cold, and as the imagination reached the end, it no longer hesitated.

It once again stepped towards Kim Taehoon. 

Thud!

Once again, the road had another commotion.

Thud!

Kim Taehoon used his telekinetic ability again against the Orc. He tried to lift up its body. 

But…

Thud!

The Black Orc disrupted Kim Taehoon’s restraining telekinesis attack with its thumping. 

It wasn’t that the Black Orc’s power got stronger.

It was obvious.

Kim Taehoon’s power had weakened. His concentration, stamina, and spirit were almost empty 

The most critical thing was, he couldn’t visualize the image any longer. 

Krrr,KRRRR!

The Black Orc started to growl, but it sounded like a human laugh, a sneering laugh. 

It was a laugh full of confidence. 

A confidence that Kim Taehoon could no longer stop it, or that Kim Taehoon could only stop it for a few seconds, at most. 

Understanding this, the Black Orc just enjoyed the power that Kim Taehoon wrapped around  its body again.

Instead of crying out to disrupt the power holding it, it just stared at Kim Taehoon with a sneer. 

Kim Taehoon just looked at it.

‘Smart ones are usually quite loathsome. It seemed like he knew that the Black Orc was going to get cocky in front of its weakened prey and drop its guard. 

Kr?

The Black Orc sensed something different in Kim Taehoon’s eyes.

V RRRRRR!

On the left side of the Black Orc, a loud sound disrupted the silence in the dark night.

Vroom!

With the noise, a black car appeared.

The car, a Mercedes Benz S-class—worth well over 100,000 dollars and was similar in size to the orc—accelerated with its 250hp engine and rushed towards the similar Black Orc.

But the Black Orc couldn’t run away from the car. 

Because Kim Taehoon was holding it down.

BOOM!

Finally a terrifying sound, the sound of a collision, covered the road. 

KWAAAAAA!

The cry of the Black Orc once again covered the entire dark road. 

It wasn’t just a cry of pain.

It was a desperate cry to endure the force of hundreds of horses that were behind the sedan.

KWAAAA!

The Black Orc repositioned itself and started to lift the car that was trying to run it over.

Monstrous power, literally monstrous.

Eventually, two of the wheels started to spin in the air.

Kim Taehoon couldn’t put any effect with his telekinetic ability on the Black Orc’s body,

But he didn’t panic.

Rather, he was the opposite, calm. 

The reason why he didn’t run away, even though he could have. The reason why he placed himself on this empty spot in the cold weather and waited for the Black Orc was to hunt. 

A hunter never brings only one trap when they hunt a giant animal. 

Vrroooom!

Behind the Black Orc, who struggled with the Mercedes, there was another engine sound. 

Krrr?

The Black Orc turned its head with a surprised face.

BAAAAANNNNGGGGG!

A large bus had smashed into the Black Orc.

“Phew!”

For the first time, Kim Taehoon took a deep breath.

A long white breath came out of his mouth.‘Caught it.’

January 1st, 2017, this is how Kim Taehoon survived. 

5.

“It’s not as cold as we expected right??”

At Bhang Hyunwook’s sudden comment, Ahn Sunhi knit her brows and looked towards Bhang Hyunwook.

“Are you kidding?”

A harsh tone came out of her mouth.

She thought what Bhang Hyunwook said was absurd, and that it was reasonable to question his comment. 

It was midnight, the new year’s weather in the Republic of Korea was absurdly cold. 

The biting wind treated everything harshly on the dark road that was missing even the blinking street lights. But mostly the fact that there was no signs of liveliness made it  seem more eerie than it really was. 

It was the coldest day Ahn Sunmi had ever experienced in her whole life. 

If it weren’t for Kim Taehoon, who was currently chopping hard into the Black Orc’s chest to take out the stone from the Orc’s heart, she would never have stood outside against the wind; only depending on a little hand warmer. 

But Bhang Hyunwook was serious. 

“But it really isn’t that cold…”

He really wasn’t feeling that cold.

It was because of ‘strength’, that power blocked the cold from affecting Bhang Hyunwook.

Ahn Sunmi commented briefly to Bhang Hyunwook.

“Not being able to feel the cold in the cold weather.”

“Huh?”

“The human body focuses blood supply towards the heart and brain to keep them working when the body temperature drops. Conversely, the limbs get cold because they have lost blood supply. After that, when the limbs are about to die because of freezing, the body focuses blood back to the limbs to prevent damage to the body. That’s when you feel the sudden heat in your body. It’s even to the point you’d take off your underwear in the middle of the winter.”

Ahn Sunmi looked at the dead bodies laying around that had were missing shirts. 

The human body was stronger than you think, but when the spirit goes away they get weak endlessly.

Being scared by monsters was basically a death sentence in the blistering cold that could already lead to death from hypothermia, 

“When you take off your clothes like that, hypothermia becomes worse, it’s then the countdown starts.”

“Are you a doctor?”

To Bhang Hyunwook’s question, Ahn Sunmi made a bitter smile.

“Not a doctor, just a slave that works when everyone else is on break for the end of the year.”

She thought. 

If she was a proper doctor, she would have been on a holiday vacation, not in a superstore to get some snacks, cigarettes and caffeine drinks to get through the night in the emergency room.

“A slave who runs errands for cigarettes while others are on holiday.”

But she was thankful for that right now.

‘That’s why I survived…’

If she were in the hospital right now, she was sure that she would have already died or basically been stuck in a situation where she would die.

There were lots of blades in the hospital but there were no weapons nor hunters to kill that horrifying Black Orc. 

But the situation was too serious to be relieved by those facts. 

‘Will I also be able to survive from now on?’

A half a day ago the city was festive with the holidays but now it had turned into hell.

And that was just the beginning. 

To survive, she would have to go through something like what happened today multiple times. 

“I’m really curious, how much are doctors paid every month?”

Bhang Hyunwook, who knew nothing about what Ahn Sunmi was thinking, made a tactless question.

Fortunately, Ahn Sunmi didn’t have to answer that question.

Kim Taehoon’s chopping had finally stopped. 

Of course, the conversation between Ahn Sunmi and Bhang Hyunwook ended then, and they looked at Kim Taehoon.

Kim Taehoon was finally able to remove the heart of the Black Orc and take out an orange stone from it. 

Monster stone. 

Kim Taehoon walked towards Bhang Hyunwook and Ahn Sunmi, who were waiting for him, and made an order to Bhang Hyunwook.

“Picture.”

Bhang Hyunwook hastily went through his pockets and took his smartphone out. 

“Ah!”

Bhang Hyunwook sighed in regret. The screen of his smartphone had a spider web crack. 

“Fuck I just bought it last month!”

“Picture.”

Kim Taehoon did not tolerate Bhang Hyunwook’s complaint. 

“Ah, right!”

Bhang Hyunwook swallowed his bitter face, turned the camera on, and pointed the camera towards Kim Taehoon. Over the cracked screen, Kim Taehoon’s slightly angry face was displayed. 

Ahn Sunmi said to Bhang Hyunwook instead of Kim Taehoon.

“The stone.”

“Ah!”

Bhang Hyunwook turned the camera towards Kim Taehoon’s hand. 

Click!

The picture was taken with a flash and clicking sound. 

[The Black Orc’s Crystal]

When consumed, strength and stamina increases.When consumed, energy increases.When consumed, physical defense increases. When consumed, the Black Orc’s ability [Dark Skin] can be acquired. 

The picture had a translucent written description.

“Wow, must be a rare item?”

Bhang Hyunwook was surprised. 

Kim Taehoon put the stone in his mouth and swallowed it as soon as he checked what was written. 

He snatched the phone from Bhang Hyunwook and took a picture of his hand before Bhang Hyunwook and Ahn Sunmi even had a chance to make surprised faces.

[Basic ability]

Strength : 28Stamina : 23

[Special ability]

Energy : F+Magic : FTelekinesis : ADefense : F+Magic resistance : F

[Acquired ability]

Dark Skin (level 6) : With the Black Orc’s ability, you can use Energy to increase Physical Defense.

Kim Taehoon made a bitter smile on his face while checking his new diverse abilities. 

‘I roughly understand what I should do from now on. Fucking hell.’

It was the moment that the First Hunter was born. 

The end. 

Chapter end