Volume 1, Episode 17
017
What a Hunter was, what they had to do, and what they could do—to a newly awakened Hunter, what taught them all of this was none other than the Tutorial.
Lee Seojun couldn't exactly be called a Hunter, but he had gained quite a lot through such a Tutorial.
‘Status Window.’
At Lee Seojun's call, a blue window appeared before his eyes.
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Name: Lee Seojun
Class: King of Lumer
Level: 2 (First Awakening: Incomplete One-Horn)
*Most of this physical body's abilities are sealed.
[Stats]
Strength: 72
Agility: 63
Stamina: 70
Mana: 66
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The parts of the status window that had been hazy and indistinct when he first saw it had been cleared up, if only a little.
The moment his eyes read down through it.
“……!”
Lee Seojun's brow twitched.
Among the countless monsters on the planet Lumer, there had been special monsters with horns on their heads or bodies.
‘One-Horn.’
Among the monsters whose strength was measured by the number of horns, the name used for those with a single horn was written beside his Level.
Those monsters had boasted of their strength with a unique red aura that ordinary monsters couldn't wield.
And the body he currently occupied, Aion, was.
‘The King of Lumer.’
The supreme predator adorned with seven horns, who had crushed everything with that powerful red aura.
The King of Lumer, called the Seven-Horns.
But now.
‘To think it's only this much.’
Instead of Seven-Horns, it said One-Horn.
And even then, the word ‘Incomplete’ was attached to the front of it.
He had already guessed that he had grown endlessly weaker, but confirming the result with his own eyes drove the point home.
That his current body was truly little more than an empty shell.
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[Skills]
[Fusion Lv.1], [Mana Detection Lv.1], [Fascination Lv.1]
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And added to his skills was Fascination, which hadn't been there before.
Lee Seojun knew what it was.
‘It's that guy's ability.’
The ability that the One-Horn had possessed.
And yet, his current self was….
‘The second thing I gained from the Tutorial.’
If he unleashed all his power, he would be among the extremely few strong ones in South Korea.
He would be around the level of an A-rank Hunter.
—Hyung, starting from A-rank Hunters, they're really on a different level. The way people and the Association treat them is different too. They're practically objects of admiration for both Hunters and ordinary people.
Kim Juwon had told him that for those among the top-ranked Hunters, the Association granted them titles.
And.
—The third.
‘The planet Lumer.’
The appearance of monsters and Hunters in this world.
He hadn't thought it was unrelated to Lumer, and now he had found the evidence.
‘Specialty Gates.’
The worst kind of Gate, which appeared with an extremely rare probability.
It could be said to be a world where the monsters of planet Lumer existed.
—Kweeeek!
The ‘real’ Hobgoblin that he knew, which he had faced not long ago.
And the red threads visible on that Hobgoblin, and the scent caught by his nose.
Those were things one could only see on the planet Lumer.
Grind.
That was why it still bothered him.
He couldn't help but be bothered.
Even if the planet Lumer was hell, it was his second hometown.
‘Why?’
He couldn't understand the reason.
How were things from the planet Lumer appearing on this Earth?
[As the cost of clearing the Final Boss, the planet Lumer is destroyed.]
Moreover, at the time he had defeated Aion and taken over the body.
This voice remained vividly in his mind.
That was precisely why he couldn't understand it even more.
However.
‘For now.’
It wasn't a problem he could solve just by thinking.
It was a problem he would have to look into and resolve going forward.
And the last thing he gained from the Tutorial.
—Solution offices are ultimately in the shadows. The Association could raid them at any time. Also….
The solution offices that he had thought were somewhat useful.
—There are a few places that aren't like that, but they're all protected through contracts with large guilds.
The words that there was a limit to their usefulness.
What he had to find might be the great darkness looming over this world.
If so, there had to be a light to find it.
“What are you doing?”
Yun Hyeon-gi spoke to Lee Seojun.
* * *
Swish!
The sharp sound of air being fiercely split.
Clang! Clang!
And cheerful friction sounds resonated ceaselessly throughout the area.
“How is it?”
The party members hunting in the Gate.
“Not bad, right?”
The sight of the party members hunting.
“Now!”
At the command of B-Rank Hunter Kim Sang-uk.
“Yes! Understood!”
C-Rank Hunter Lee Seungheon answered powerfully and moved like an arrow.
A monster that would normally be difficult for a C-Rank Hunter to take down alone.
Swish!
“Kwoargh!”
The Iron Orc dropped its head powerlessly and collapsed from Lee Seungheon's strike.
Thud!
It was because Kim Sang-uk, possessing the experience and outstanding skill befitting a veteran, had created the perfect opportunity for him.
“They're all Hunters with fairly impressive skills; it's just that they're overshadowed by the massive name of Tyrion.”
Yun Hyeon-gi, who had been watching this scene, spoke to someone.
“……….”
The man standing with an expressionless face.
He had spoken to Lee Seojun.
Smirk.
Yun Hyeon-gi formed a smile at the corners of his mouth, as if satisfied.
“Yawn.”
But in Lee Seojun's eyes, there was nothing more boring.
They were perhaps a bit more skilled than those he had seen so far?
That much was just about right.
Because they were lacking the most important thing.
“It's boring.”
The fighting spirit for survival.
Their eyes didn't hold the slightest glint of wanting to survive this place.
That made it inevitably boring.
Lee Seojun could easily tell why they appeared this way.
‘It's obvious.’
They had awakened as exceptional Hunters from the start, been recognized for their talent, and joined Tyrion.
Though they couldn't exert their strength in the massive pond called Tyrion, to them, the Hunter's life was a job, not a struggle or battle.
That was why they couldn't help but be this way.
In the end.
‘It's nothing more than that sort of game.’
That was all they amounted to in Lee Seojun's eyes.
Those who knew nothing of the desperation needed to survive a battle.
“Are they that mediocre?”
Yun Hyeon-gi gauging Lee Seojun's reaction.
‘Why?’
The party members had shown exceptional skill….
Hadn't just two of them easily dispatched the monsters, and even coordinated their teamwork to show tactical movements in that short time?
And yet.
‘Why.’
Why was Lee Seojun showing such a reaction?
Just as Yun Hyeon-gi was looking at Lee Seojun with a face full of doubt.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed throughout the area.
The party members who had finished hunting were approaching.
“Cleanup is finished.”
Their skills were neat and tidy, befitting their experience.
Before anyone knew it, a hierarchy seemed to have formed among them.
They….
“Party Leader.”
They showed courtesy toward Yun Hyeon-gi but didn't even glance at Lee Seojun.
They were treating him as if he didn't exist.
Anyone else seeing this scene would have thought there was no need to go that far.
A party was, after all, a team that had to combine their strength to get through this Gate.
Swoosh.
But Yun Hyeon-gi knew why they were doing it, and what it was.
‘A battle of auras.’
He had learned it from his father.
That in massive organizations like Tyrion, things like this happened frequently.
And controlling and utilizing that well was the true—
—If you wish to become a king.
Qualifications of a king.
This was a fate of sorts that he had to resolve going forward.
‘Hmmm.’
Yun Hyeon-gi pondered briefly.
Lee Seojun was an important card of his; if left as is, troublesome things might occur.
‘It's dangerous.’
Their battle of auras still unfolding tautly.
Because it could soon clash.
But….
“Good work, everyone.”
He didn't step in.
No, he couldn't step in.
‘He has to prove it himself.’
Because he thought Lee Seojun had to show them.
That overwhelming appearance he had shown him.
* * *
The hunting continued.
“Kwoargh!”
The death throes of the Iron Orcs rang out without rest.
Thud!
When the corpses of so many monsters piled up on the ground, Yun Hyeon-gi spoke to them.
“Let's rest a bit before continuing.”
Rest was quite important for a Hunter.
Especially since they had entered a Gate with a small number of people, rest was even more important.
Because this Gate was a place where danger could come at any time, from anywhere.
“Haah….”
But each time they rested, the party members' gazes toward Lee Seojun grew sharper.
“What the hell is that bastard?”
Unlike the party members who moved as a group, Lee Seojun would disappear off somewhere alone and come back.
That was why the party members were voicing their complaints.
Swoosh.
Party member Lee Seungheon's gaze, filled with anger, turned toward Lee Seojun walking from afar.
“Where's he from that the Party Leader personally picked him?”
His relaxed face, as if he had come on a picnic, was also displeasing.
“You said it.”
Party member Kim Sang-uk's gaze also turned toward Lee Seojun.
“I heard he first met the Party Leader in the Tutorial.”
It was incomprehensible.
Why on earth had the Party Leader picked someone like that?
“Ha.”
Kim Sang-uk and Lee Seungheon were dumbfounded.
“That bastard. What is he?”
Kim Sang-uk said, twitching his eyebrow.
“What does he have that a newbie Hunter who just finished the Tutorial could enter Tyrion?”
“I'm curious about that too. Never seen a parachute hire this blatant.”
“Hmmm.”
“And it's not like he works hard either. He just wanders off alone….”
Just as Lee Seungheon was airing his grievances.
“I think….”
Kim Sang-uk's eyes changed.
“I'll have to teach that rookie what kind of place Tyrion is.”
“Huh?”
Lee Seungheon made an expression saying he didn't understand.
“Fuck. It's unfair.”
“…….”
“We went through so much hell to get into Tyrion. So.”
Kim Sang-uk clenched his fist.
“We have to make it clear to that bastard. That he's clearly different from us, who went through all that hardship.”
Slide.
In response, Kim Sang-uk pulled something from inside his clothes.
“Th-that's!”
An item capable of temporarily causing mental confusion in its target.
It was a small potion with a purple tint, made by grinding the fangs of a Purple Snake, which were imbued with poison.
It was originally meant to be thrown at monsters in a moment of crisis.
“You have Stamina Recovery Potions, right? Take them out.”
Now, its purpose was different.
“Y-you can't be planning to mix that in….”
“It's not like it'll kill him, so what?”
Kim Sang-uk smiled insidiously.
“I'm just saying we should scare him a bit.”
If a person drank this, their fear of monsters would rise to the extreme.
Monsters would appear larger than their actual size and far more threatening.
“What are you doing?”
Even if he drank just a minuscule amount.
If a large amount were used, the smell would give it away, but since he would add just a tiny bit, it wouldn't be noticeable.
“Take it out before that bastard gets here.”
“Y-yes.”
Kim Sang-uk glanced at Lee Seojun approaching and secretly dripped a bit of the purple liquid into one potion.
Thud.
Having approached them before they knew it.
“Let's take one each and get back to it.”
In response, Kim Sang-uk distributed the potions he was holding, one each.
“Let's get to full condition and finish this quickly.”
First, to the Party Leader Yun Hyeon-gi.
Swoosh.
And lastly, he gave Lee Seojun the potion with the trace amount of poison.
“Let's do that.”
Yun Hyeon-gi received the potion and poured it into his mouth.
The moment Lee Seojun also tried to put the potion in his mouth.
Halt.
He stopped his action.
And after a moment.
“……….”
On Lee Seojun's expressionless face….
Smirk.
A smile formed.
Twitch.
Yun Hyeon-gi felt a chill run down his spine at the inexplicable eeriness, but only for a moment.
Stride. Stride.
Lee Seojun approached party member Kim Sang-uk.
And the next moment.
“……?”
Lee Seojun's hand reached out.
Feeling his vision go dark, Kim Sang-uk couldn't even get a word out before—
Crash!
He was slammed face-down into the ground.
“What are you—!”
Just as Lee Seungheon tried to shout at Lee Seojun.
Swoosh.
Lee Seojun had already moved and grabbed the second party member's throat.
“S-stop!”
Yun Hyeon-gi shouted urgently.
The strongest villain of all time had returned.