"Ugh…!" The ghost looked down at his body with an expression of disbelief.
Two axes were lodged in his chest.
"Th-this, this is why the weak body of a human…."
Thud!
Kim Yongjun, his eyes rolling back, collapsed backward.
[Number of enemies to defeat: 0]
[Number of enemies defeated: 1]
The quest was over.
[You have completed Emergency Quest: 'Defeat the Enemy!']
[Level Up!]
Whoosh!
At that moment, Suho's exhausted body was instantly restored to peak condition. But he didn't let his guard down. He had killed Kim Yongjun, however the sword he was holding was what controlled his body.
'Ruler's Authority!'
Whoosh!
A stone axe fell from the air with a whoosh, severing Kim Yongjun's arm, which held the 'sword.'
[Well done! This sword is the vessel!] As if he had been waiting, Beru flew over and struggled to lift the sword Kim Yongjun had been holding. At that moment, a fierce voice boomed in his mind.
– Who dares to covet the Fang Monarch's sword!
[Young Master, may I eat this sword?]
– W-wait. Let's talk this over, shall we?
The sword's voice suddenly became polite. The expression on Beru's face, looking at it with his mouth watering, was very sincere. Meanwhile, Suho was in no position to respond…
Growl!
The reason was that the wolves, having lost their leader, were simultaneously lunging at him. But with the level-up, Suho's stamina and mana were fully recharged, and with all his stats increased by 1, his movements were even faster than before.
Swish—! Swish, Swish, Swish—!
[A Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]
[A Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]
Swiftly dispatching the simultaneously attacking wolves one by one, Suho shouted towards Beru.
"My weapon is quite inadequate! Can I use that sword?"
– Who dares to cove—
[Of course! This insignificant ghost could never contaminate the Young Master's mind!]
"Okay!"
Suho immediately snatched the sword from Beru.
[You have obtained Item: 'Rakan's Fang'.]
At that moment, as if it had been waiting, the sword's ghost cried out fiercely.
– Who dares to covet the Fang Monarch's sword! I will devour you…!
Whoosh—!
A red energy extended from the sword, enveloping him. Then, Suho's shadow surged up from beneath his feet, devouring the sword.
– Wh-what is this energy!
The ghost 's panicked voice grew fainter.
– This… Could it be, the Shadow Monarch's…!
The ghost couldn't believe it. He was the sword of the great Fang Monarch. Not just any ordinary weapon, but a spare form created by the Fang Monarch, by pulling out his own fang. It was absurd that a human who couldn't be controlled by his great power existed. Moreover, this person didn't even look that strong!
[Hmph. No matter how weak the Young Master is, he wouldn't be subdued by such a trivial being. After all, whose blood runs in his veins?!]
– Wh-what! Trivial? Take that b…!
"Ah, shut up." Suho ignored the ghost 's screams and swung the sword at the wolves.
Swish, Swish, Swish—!
With that new weapon, the wolves were mercilessly slaughtered. Its durability was on a different level from the pickaxes or stone axes that were crushed when bitten by the wolves' steel teeth!
"The sword is good, at least."
– Of course it's good! Whose sword do you think I am! – The ghost , in the midst of this, displayed his pride. Still thoroughly surrounded, but with some breathing room, Suho immediately checked his reward.
'Please give me anything helpful! Even the stat points are fine!'
[Completion reward has arrived.]
[Would you like to check the reward?]
(Y/N)
'Check!'
[The following reward has been prepared.]
[Reward: Rune Stone: 'Storm Slash']
'A skill!' It was the best possible prize. Suho immediately collected the reward.
[Rune Stone: Storm Slash]
[Breaking the rune stone will absorb the skill.]
Crack!
[You have learned Skill: 'Storm Slash'.]
As the rune stone broke, the power of a storm imbued Suho's entire body.
Whoosh—!
"This is…?" Suho instinctively realized how to use and apply the skill, and given the urgency of the situation, he immediately put it into practice.
"Haaa!"
[Using Skill: 'Storm Slash'.]
Whoosh—!
At that moment, a fierce wind raged from Suho's sword. That blade storm simultaneously struck the wolves in front of Suho.
Kkaeng!
Kkaeng!
[A Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]
[A Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]
[A Steel-Fanged Lycan has been defeated.]
[...]
Countless messages popped up.
"Wow."
Suho was impressed, as a single use of the skill had simultaneously killed more than ten enemies. The surviving wolves, terrified by the tremendous destructive power they had witnessed, scattered and fled in all directions. Suho didn't pursue them, however, because that one skill activation had completely depleted his mana.
[Skill: Storm Slash Lv.1]
[Active Skill.]
[Required Mana: 50.]
[The power of a raging wind is imbued in the sword.]
[Can attack multiple enemies simultaneously.]
Although the skill required a whopping 50 mana, its effect was equally impressive. Suho stared at the skill window, mesmerized by its power. That reaction was absurd to Beru.
[Why are you so impressed by such a trivial skill? The Shadow Power is thousands, tens of thousands of times greater!]
– What are you talking about? This power came about not because of his skills, but because I am a great sword! – The sword's ghost was no less prideful than Beru.
"Both of you, be quiet. This is a historic moment, I am finally getting an attack skill."
[Nooo—!]
– No, I'm more…!
Suho ignored the two bickering and returned to the miners, who were hiding far away.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-young man, you…"
The miners were astonished by Suho's swordsmanship, which they had just witnessed. A sword technique that unleashed a storm.
"How could you have such a skill and not use it until now…?"
'Ah.' At the men's reaction, Suho made an awkward expression. Logically, it wouldn't make sense to say that a new skill had appeared during battle.
"Using it once completely drains my mana. So I saved it until the last moment."
"Ah, I see."
At those words, the miners were even more impressed. Suho was clearly a Hunter who had Awakened just a few days ago. And this was his first time entering a dungeon. Yet he had saved his trump card until the decisive moment, without revealing it? Wasn't this the behavior of a seasoned Hunter who had conquered countless Gates?
'Unbelievable. Could everything he's shown us so far have been thoroughly calculated?'
'Even that hiding and running…?'
"You are… just how far ahead were you planning?"
"Pardon?"
"Haha. Never mind, never mind. There's no need to say it."
"We asked too many questions already."
"Anyway, thank you for saving us. If it weren't for you, we really wouldn't have seen the sun tomorrow."
The miners sighed in relief, finally realizing that they had survived. The news of the accident at Hankuk University Dungeon broke that evening.
* * *
"What? The attack team was wiped out?"
"In a mere D-rank dungeon?"
"Wasn't the leader of the Hunters who went in there a C-rank?"
"What the hell happened?"
Reporters flocked to Hankuk University, eager to uncover the truth of the incident. But all the miners who had barely survived there had already left long ago.
"Haha. I'll tell you." Of course, Teaching Assistant Lim was still on duty in his office. Thanks to his running skill, he had been able to dash around expertly in that intense situation. That's why he seemed to be in good condition, without a single wound.
'This is a good thing. It's a chance to repay my debt to Suho.' Teaching Assistant Lim told the reporters everything he knew about the incident in the dungeon. Especially about Suho's exploits, in great detail. However, whether or not they believed it was up to the reporters.
"Excuse me? An E-rank Hunter?"
"A summoner? Is that even possible?"
"A C-rank had died in this incident, how could such a low-ranking Hunter…."
"Hey! What does it matter if he's an E-rank or a summoner! Are you discriminating against the minorities!" At the reporters' lukewarm reactions, Teaching Assistant Lim became indignant.
"I'm going to post all your statements right now to the E-rank Hunter community!"
"Hey, hey. Why are you getting so angry?"
"Come on, calm down."
At Teaching Assistant Lim's reaction, the reporters broke out in a cold sweat and began to gently appease him. The E-rank Hunter community was quite a tricky place for reporters. First of all, there were so many of them, and there wasn't a single guild that didn't have E-rank Hunters. As such, that community was a place where all sorts of trivial information came and went, and if they were once disliked by them, it would become very bothersome for the reporters.
"Ahem. Anyway, that Hunter named Sung Suho played the biggest role, is that right?"
"He distracted him with summons, and cut off the arm of the berserk Hunter?"
To summarize, it was a very summoner-like fighting style. Of course, it seemed a bit too improbable for a summoner to be that good at close combat, but the reporters recognized that as favoritism from Teaching Assistant Lim, who was defending his art student.
"Well, anyway. We've secured the content for the article."
That evening, an article was posted on the internet. The content was about an E-rank Hunter using his wits to resolve the incident, but people's reactions were lukewarm.
– Summoner? And an E-rank at that?
– The most minor of the minor.
– Is this a viral marketing stunt for summoning-type Hunters?
– Are reporters really that starved for news these days?
– Anyway, that E-rank Hunter is a summoner, right? Didn't he save the students there a few days ago too?
– He must have saved them with a summoning skill then, too. He struggled and struggled with his summoning skill.
– Ah, it's summoner viral marketing, I tell you~
* * *
And among the guilds that saw that article, some showed interest in Suho.
"An E-rank that is pretty good?"
"Even if we take away some of the reporters' exaggerations, it still means he's got some potential…"
"Isn't it about time we hired a few porters?"
"More than that, the collection team was asking for some reinforcements."
"That's good. Nowadays, E-rank Hunters are being poached everywhere, so there aren't many decent freelancers left."
"So we also need to hire a few E-rank Hunters as full-time employees."
"Full-time? Hmm. Am I too old-fashioned? Still, I think contract or day labor is perfect for E-rank Hunters. Anyway, these young people these days."
"Ahem. Anyway, let's send a scout offer to this Hunter named Sung Suho."
"Let's do it. How happy will he be when we call? The kid's got luck."
Thus, a full-time scout offer was sent to Sung Suho from Black Tortoise Guild, a fairly large guild in Korea.
'What an incredible opportunity for a newbie who has just awakened. The other E-rank Hunters will be so envious when they find out.'
* * *
Some time later…
"…What?"
Lee Youngho, the head of the second management department of Black Tortoise Guild, doubted his ears.
"Our guild…? R-rejected? "
"Yes…"
"Is that even possible? A mere E-rank newbie rejecting our offer? This… Could it be! Did White Tiger get him first?"
"Maybe that's the case."
"Tsk. Yes, those White tiger guys could definitely do that. Still, isn't it overkill to offer better terms than us to an E-rank Hunter? Are they swimming in money?"
Section Chief Lee Youngho blamed the innocent Baekho Guild.