Chapter 165 : The Hunter (2)

As Ho-cheol swung his sword in a circle, the arrows that flew in from three directions were simultaneously deflected.

The moment the arrows hit the ground, their tips exploded, obscuring his vision.

At that moment, the other hunter appeared from empty air as if teleporting and threw a punch at Ho-cheol's side.

A fatal opening was created by extending his sword, but Ho-cheol immediately raised his knee to block the punch.

Kwaang—!

With a roar like an explosion, the entire building shook.

Who would have thought that this was simply the aftermath of a sword deflecting arrows and a fist hitting a person?

Ho-cheol, who couldn't support his body with one leg, was pushed back.

The moment the distance opened up, one of the lobby's pillars collapsed.

Between the crumbling marble fragments, an arrow flew at Ho-cheol again.

Not only was its trajectory irregular, but the arrow was also invisible.

From Ho-cheol's perspective, it was completely incomprehensible.

Setting aside the invisibility, there was no reaction from the dust even though it passed through it.

How could there be no airflow when an arrow was passing through?

Or was it a trait like that?

He gave up on following it with his eyes and used his head.

He recalled the patterns from the fight so far.

The first attack here was probably an arrow that came straight and then dropped two metres in front of him to come up from below.

As expected, Ho-cheol swung his sword at the spot where the bow was likely to be.

Teong—!

The arrow that had flown right up to him was deflected.

Subsequently, the same situation occurred simultaneously behind him, to his left and right.

The sight of him blocking an undetectable arrow at close range was closer to a feat of skill than a technique.

There were no follow-up attacks after that.

In the first place, the two hunters were already half-exhausted.

In the first place, the arrow just now was simply to buy time.

All they could do was catch their breath.

Most importantly, watching him parry an invisible and undetectable arrow purely by prediction, honestly, all their motivation had disappeared.

“Agh, hyung-nim. It would have been better to be dropped in a 1st-class monster's den.”

The hunter grumbled.

“No matter how advanced invisibility is, it’s impossible to fool me like this.”

Ho-cheol stroked his chin and then snapped his fingers.

“Phase shift. So you were in a completely different space for a moment through a phase shift. That’s why I couldn’t parry the arrow from a distance.”

The expressions of the two grumbling hunters instantly hardened.

It was absurd enough to conclude that it wasn't invisibility just because he couldn't detect it, but to guess the real technique perfectly.

Was that a person?

The two of them were even beginning to suspect that the being in front of them was actually a top-tier monster wearing human skin.

The hunter re-gripped his bow and said.

“Let's change tactics. Invisibility seems to be meaningless anyway.”

“That? Ah, my whole body will be sore the next day if I use that.”

At his junior's whining, he warned him as if spitting out the words.

“If you want to have a body left to be sore, you’d better do it.”

“I'll give you that.”

He readily threw off the invisibility cloak he was wearing and also changed his gloves.

“I was just starting to think it was getting easier to fight you. It’s a problem if you suddenly change your pattern like that.”

Now it was Ho-cheol who was in trouble.

Just when he was starting to get used to dealing with them, they were blatantly changing their equipment?

It was obvious that their fighting style would change completely.

“Then let’s see.”

Ho-cheol re-gripped his purple sword in a reverse grip.

In an instant, he closed the distance and swung it.

This time, it wasn't the archer, but the hunter with the gloves.

Until now, he had always been a hunter who had either dodged the purple sword or parried the parts where the blade didn't reach, but now that he had changed his gloves, he threw a punch straight at the blade of the purple sword.

Originally, there was a difference that would have been more than enough to cut off his fist and arm, but just before the fist and sword collided, the speed of the purple sword suddenly slowed down.

And as the two collided, a huge explosion occurred.

Kwaang—!

Neither side was pushed back, but the impact was directed solely at Ho-cheol.

“Oof, you took that with your body? You’re tough.”

Ho-cheol spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth.

It was not a simple shockwave.

He neurotically cracked his neck left and right.

“It was exactly the same as the power of my attack just now. Is it a reflection?”

“It’s a bit of a letdown if you guess it so quickly.”

The hunter lightly dusted off his hands and jumped up and down on the spot.

A faint shimmer of space could be felt on his fist, or more precisely, on his glove.

“Damn future technology. Why do only such absurd things pop up?”

At Ho-cheol's protest, the hunter in turn clicked his tongue.

“We’re the ones who want to complain. Worn-out tactics, a generation-old technology, a weak weapon. Does it make sense to push two 1st-class hunters from the Battleground with that kind of stuff?”

Originally, the two hunters' weapons were consumable.

They were equipment that required a certain amount of supplies and support.

Although it wasn't visible, they were also wearing a suit under their clothes that enhanced their physical abilities.

And if they maintained their maximum output like now, their maximum activity time was less than five minutes.

Originally, they should have lost all their power and been beaten up a long time ago, but inside this Black Oskopf building, they could receive the necessary energy at all times and raise their output indefinitely.

Ho-cheol re-gripped his purple sword.

“Suppressing this side's output and reflecting it. Still, this is better to deal with than a phase shift.”

Just as he was about to re-enter the battle.

Woong—

Woong—

The signaling device Ho-cheol had put in his inner pocket vibrated.

The vibration continued for exactly two times and then stopped.

Its meaning was extremely simple.

It was a signal that the second of the third pre-arranged missions had been successful.

Ho-cheol placed both hands on his waist and let out a long sigh.

“Haa. Is it a relief, if it's a relief?”

In fact, the first mission of making a map and the third mission of finding the transcendence-related laboratory and key personnel had a considerable risk.

To be honest, it was a matter of risking one's life.

He didn't want to ask someone else, not even himself, to do such a thing.

At least he had achieved his most personal goal.

Towards the hunters who were about to attack at any moment, he gestured with his hand.

“Wait a moment.”

Leaving them, who had flinched for a moment, he took out the signaling device and pressed the call button.

A long one was a simple retreat signal.

Ho-cheol was planning to drop the 1st and 3rd missions here.

Those two could be solved in passing by piggybacking on what The Top had set up anyway.

As if it understood, the calling device vibrated for a long time.

Looking at her Trait, infiltration was the problem, but running away was not a very difficult matter.

Ho-cheol looked around again.

“Then I guess I have no more business here.”

“What?”

Looking at the flustered hunters, Ho-cheol chuckled.

“I’ve seen all I need to see. I’m leaving.”

“We’re not done!”

“We can’t just let you go after you’ve caused such a ruckus.”

Looking at the two who were still burning with fighting spirit, Ho-cheol nodded his head.

“Still, I'll give you credit. At the same specs, a hunter is much better than a hero or a villain.”

The fighting styles of villains and heroes, and hunters, were qualitatively different.

What happened between heroes and villains was, at most, arrest and suppression, escape and rampage.

Even a wicked villain rarely tried to kill their opponent in earnest.

But a hunter's opponent was a monster that couldn't be reasoned with.

A survival competition where you die if you don't kill.

Strength for survival, it was obvious which was more fierce and dense.

“It's not that you don't rely on your tools, but in terms of skill, you know the techniques to kill your opponent much better. And it's good that you're not clingy without any hard feelings.”

In fact, if you were to consider his disposition, Ho-cheol was probably more suited to be a hunter than a hero or a villain.

Maybe if he hadn't experienced such a tragic event, he might have become a hunter.

He had been prejudiced against hunters because of Se-ah's evaluation of them as crazy people who only chase money, but at least the two guys in front of him were not that bad.

Or were they?

In the first place, if they were affiliated with Black Oskopf, was it all the same?

Ho-cheol muttered softly at the question that suddenly came to mind.

“Transcendence.”

But the two of them showed no reaction to those words.

They just blinked their eyes stupidly.

“Ah, if you don't know, then never mind.”

A truly pure employment relationship?

Then I can get rid of them with less burden.

“I didn't originally plan to show you, but since I've seen something quite interesting.”

Ho-cheol re-gripped his purple sword.

The space began to split, starting from the tip of the sword.

A single swing.

With a flash of light, the building tilted at an angle.

A pain as if his body had been cut in half.

The two hunters barely held on to their fading consciousness.

It wasn't a matter of blocking or dodging.

In the first place, they hadn't even perceived or reacted to the attack.

Was it a stroke of luck that they had survived?

Or had the other side not intended to kill them from the beginning?

Something had flashed, and then they had collapsed.

What on earth was it?

As the two of them were struggling to recall what had just happened, Ho-cheol had already approached and was squatting between them.

He rested his arms on his knees and said leisurely.

“Well, you'll get better soon if you just rest quietly for a few days. Let me ask you one thing. How many guys like you are there in this Battleground, and how many are affiliated with each of the five major corporations?”

“If we don’t tell you?”

“You’ll have to see some painful sights, won’t you?”

It wasn't a big secret, so the hunter explained haltingly.

The number of 1st-class hunters in the Battleground was just under thirty.

The five major corporations each had five of them, and there was one affiliated with a corporation other than the five, and about two who were unaffiliated.

At first glance, it might seem like a small number, but it was absurd for a mere corporation, not a country, to have five combatants on par with S-rank heroes.

Of course, normally, Ho-cheol would not have seen them.

They were busy hunting as hunters in the undeveloped areas outside the city.

The two who had stopped Ho-cheol today had just come to support because their vacations had coincided.

Ho-cheol stroked his chin.

“Still, at this level, would it be easier to fight them if there are more of them and their coordination gets messed up?”

A statement as if he could take on multiple 1st-class hunters.

If it had been a few hours ago, they would have called it crazy, but the two hunters could only shut their mouths.

In fact, he had already overwhelmed two 1st-class hunters.

Of course, the two hunters had not been in their optimal conditions, a long-range sniper and a stealthy surprise attack mobile battle, but that could not be an excuse.

“Well, I don’t have any more questions.”

Ho-cheol let out a groan and stood up.

“I'll be back in a bit, so gather them all up.”

With those words, Ho-cheol really disappeared.

Looking in the direction where Ho-cheol had disappeared, the hunter spat out the words he had wanted to say from before.

“……He’s a madman.”

To come all the way here, cause a rampage, beat up two 1st-class hunters, and then go back?

And he’s coming back?

“Hyung-nim, I’m quitting right away. I’d rather pay the penalty and run. Is money or faith that important over my life? I was just sticking around here to do some commission business anyway.”

Except for a very few special cases, all 1st-class hunters were affiliated with the five major corporations or a comparable giant corporation.

In the first place, hunters were just primary producers who sold monster byproducts.

And the outrageous price was such that even a commission of about 20% was a considerable amount.

The way to drastically reduce that commission was to be affiliated with a corporation, so they had joined.

And since being affiliated with a corporation had various benefits, there was no reason not to join.

Dying while hunting monsters was something they always took into account.

But a dog's death, dying while fighting a person like this, was something he would pass on.

The archer silently looked up at the ceiling.

He could see the sky.

It wasn't that there was a hole in the ceiling.

The building itself had been cut and was tilted, so the sky was visible through the gap.

Watching the flowing clouds, he said shortly.

“Submit mine too.”

He hated fighting with people.

Especially if that person was more of a monster than a monster.

But less than a minute later, when Ho-cheol suddenly ran back in a hurry, both of them sensed their deaths.

He had come to finish them off.

“Ah, I forgot.”

Ho-cheol, who had said so, fumbled around and took all their weapons and equipment.

“I’ll take this as a souvenir.”

Then he really left.

The Doctor, who had escaped through a secret underground passage, immediately caught a taxi.

In the first place, there were several gates in the Battleground that led to third countries.

He was planning to escape through one of them, wander around a few countries, find a suitable country, and live a new life there with a new identity.

To a place where neither the organization nor the Society could find him.

After loading all his luggage into the trunk of the taxi, he got into the back seat.

“To Gate 13.”

But the taxi driver did not step on the pedal even at his words.

“If your purpose is to use the gate, that will be difficult.”

The driver answered in an unpleasant, raspy voice.

“What?”

“There was an earthquake just a moment ago, wasn't there? Because of that, a huge number of people have flocked to the gates. Especially the 10-series gates, the roads leading to them are all completely blocked, so I don't know how many hours it will take.”

“Tsk.”

The Doctor clicked his tongue irritably.

A blind spot.

The 10-series gates all led to third countries, so they were gates that were frequently used by criminals.

It seemed that the number of guys who felt anxious due to the recent earthquake had increased.

“But I have no choice. Go there.”

“Ah, I can’t…”

The taxi driver who had refused to move twice.

Only then did the Doctor feel that something was strange.

And it was too late.

No, in fact, it wouldn't have changed anything no matter when he had realized.

The taxi driver took off the hat he had been wearing low.

He turned his head and stuck his head between the seats.

“The destination of this taxi is not a gate, but hell. It’s been a while, Doctor.”

Wolf Fang grinned, showing his fangs.

“Hell, you say. What an expression. To make a person who is about to die feel so anxious.”

The Doctor's head snapped to the side.

Chwarararak—

The side seat, which had been empty until just a moment ago.

There, Ho-cheol was sitting with his legs crossed leisurely.

“This invisibility cloak is very convenient.”

Of course, the actual function was phase shift, but this expression suited it better.

“Then shall we depart.”

“Yeees.”

Wolf Fang turned back and grabbed the steering wheel.

The taxi departed, dragging the completely pale Doctor.