Gundric, who was leading a team of Hunters, couldn’t help but smile.
’It’s going well.’
His Jeong Group was expanding much more quickly than he had anticipated.
<Limbo> was a vast and dangerous world filled with countless ruins, and monster-infested regions. Unlike the relatively orderly bastions scattered throughout the safer areas, the wilderness was governed by a simple rule above all else.
Strength was everything.
Those who were strong enough could hunt monsters, explore dangerous regions, and claim valuable resources. Those who weren’t... well, they either found someone to protect them or became prey themselves.
Naturally, this created a demand for Hunters.
Hunters were essentially mercenaries who specialized in venturing beyond the safety of civilization. They hunted monsters for Soul Cores, explored dangerous territories, and occasionally accepted requests from settlements or other organizations.
It was a lucrative profession but also one of the easiest ways to die.
Gundric understood this better than most, which was why he had established the Jeong Group.
What had initially started as a pitiful duo had gradually grown into a proper squad of Hunters due to the aid he received from a private third party, of course. Though he still had to complete that unfinished "project" he had been tasked with. Regardless, the stronger the organization became, the easier it was to recruit even more Hunters. And the more Hunters they had, the faster they could expand.
’At this rate, we’ll be able to establish ourselves as a proper Group soon.’
Of course, there were still obstacles here and there.
For example...
[Boss, do you have a moment?]
– Jeong Group’s Vice Manager, Kane.
[What is it? Are you here to bother me about that again?]
[You already know how cautious I am. How do you expect me to turn a blind eye to something like this?]
[Don’t worry. If you notice anything, let me know.]
[Understood.]
Thought Transmission.
A common skill that allowed users to transmit their thoughts directly into another person’s mind.
Though, the skill had its limitations.
The range wasn’t particularly impressive, the mental connection could be disrupted by certain abilities, and maintaining contact with several people simultaneously placed a considerable strain on the user.
Still, for something that could be acquired relatively easily, it was an incredibly useful ability.
It was so useful that one could speak without alerting the "subject of discussion."
Gundric glanced at the subject of their discussion, who turned out to be a youthful woman, probably in her early or mid twenties. She had midnight-blue hair and matching eyes. Her skin was smooth, supple and as pale as a rose. If a comparison had to be made, one could easily mistake her for a living porcelain doll.
The beautiful stranger wore nothing more than a white button-up shirt, unbuttoned at the top with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of dark pants that accentuated her broad hips and full, shapely legs. She also wore a pair of bracelets that could easily fetch a hefty sum if sold on the black market.
[Nether] like her were not uncommon in <Limbo>, but it was difficult to determine exactly what kind of [Nether] this woman actually was.
Gundric remembered recruiting her back when they had been short one member.
The standard number of people in a party was six.
This was done as a safety procedure to prevent a single party from being wiped out in the event of an unexpected encounter with a powerful monster. Six members provided enough manpower to cover different combat roles while still allowing the group to function effectively if one or two members were injured.
At least, that was the idea. In practice, the Jeong Group had never been particularly strict about maintaining the standard composition.
And this woman was a perfect example. Still, she was someone Gundric barely knew, so he couldn’t help but feel somewhat anxious about having her along.
’Whatever. It doesn’t matter as long as she contributes.’
Gundric shrugged and focused on the more pressing matter. He glanced at the Tracker and asked,
"Well, any luck on your end?"
"Yeah. I’m picking up a scent from the north."
"How sure are you?"
"Completely certain. The scent is pretty strong, after all."
"Good. Let’s proceed as planned."
Their current objective was to hunt down the Behemoth. It was a creature that Gundric had been tracking for the past month.
He was confident that he could handle most monsters below his rank. However, the situation became considerably more complicated when confronting high-end monsters of the same level or, worse, those above it.
Once one reached certain thresholds, such as Level 10, 20, 30, and so on, their soul underwent an explosive transformation. It wasn’t simply an increase in physical strength.
Their very existence would be elevated to an entirely different whole.
Their bodies became stronger, and their capacity to manipulate their abilities increased dramatically. More importantly, the transformation fundamentally altered the quality of their Spirit Body, creating a gap that couldn’t be overcome through ordinary means.
And this phenomenon wasn’t exclusive to humans.
Monsters possessed stronger physiques and more powerful instincts by nature, meaning the difference became even more pronounced when a monster crossed one of these thresholds.
A Level 20 Behemoth was therefore far more dangerous than a Level 19 one. In fact, the difference could be so great that a Level 20 Hunter might struggle against a particularly powerful Level 20 monster, despite sharing the same rank.
For this reason, Gundric wasn’t planning on fighting the Behemoth like a reckless idiot. He had spent four weeks gathering information about the creature, studying its habits, tracking its movements, and determining the best way to hunt the beast.
Everything had been carefully prepared. All he needed now was the right opportunity to land a devastating blow.
"How far?"
"Not far. Maybe another thirty minutes."
"Then let’s move."
The Hunters began advancing.
A few moments later, they arrived at a different part of the forest.
The trees here were considerably larger but much more withered. Thick roots protruded from the earth, while patches of dense vegetation made the terrain difficult to traverse. Additionally, the ground was littered with the corpses of different slain beasts.
’What the hell is this? Did a territory war occur here?’
Occasionally, different monster species would battle for territory, resources, or simply dominance. The corpses scattered across the ground suggested that whatever had happened here had been particularly brutal.
But this wasn’t what caught Gundric’s attention. He crouched beside one of the carcasses and inspected it carefully with a narrowed gaze.
The creature had been torn apart. Its thick hide was riddled with deep holes, while several of its bones had been crushed completely.
’These wounds...’
From what he could tell, they didn’t seem to have been caused by another astral creature. It was more like someone had struck the creature with a powerful skill capable of piercing straight through its flesh.
There were plenty of Hunters capable of producing wounds like these, and they weren’t particularly rare. But that only made the question more important.
Who had done this?
"Boss. Come and take a look at this."
One of his Hunters was standing a short distance away, pointing toward something partially concealed beneath the undergrowth.
Gundric immediately stood and walked over.
"What did you find?"
The Hunter moved aside, revealing another corpse.
Unlike the others, however, this one hadn’t been torn apart. It had been pierced. A perfectly circular hole ran straight through its torso, leaving an exit wound on the opposite side.
There was multiple tearings here and there around the edges, as though something had passed through the creature with tremendous force.
’It’s the same.’
The same type of wound was present on several of the other corpses.
"Can you determine the direction?"
"Give me a moment."
The Tracker approached and examined the corpse. He sniffed around the wound before slowly turning toward the surrounding trees.
After a few seconds, his expression became strange.
"B-Boss... I think whatever killed these creatures came from over there."
He pointed toward the deeper part of the forest, where an oppressive spiritual pressure radiated through the trees. It was so incredibly dense and thick that it almost felt as though they were being pressed down. Worst yet, this was not merely the lingering presence of some powerful astral creature.
It felt as though the entire forest itself was being drowned beneath its overwhelming aura.