RUMBLE!
An earthquake struck without warning.
“Aaargh! It’s a Rift……! We’re all going to die……!”
“A Rift……! A Rift really appeared…… in this Dungeon?”
“I don’t want to die……. I only became a Hunter because I wanted to make a lot of money……!”
The Hunters inside the Dungeon descended into panic.
I wondered whether these were truly the same people who had confidently fought the Goblins only moments ago.
Still, I could understand how they felt.
‘Of course they’re afraid. They’ve encountered a Rift, an event said to occur with an extremely low probability.’
A Rift was an anomalous phenomenon that occurred within a Dungeon.
Earthquakes would erupt intermittently, while the Monsters grew approximately one or two ranks stronger.
In other words, the F-Rank Goblins would become as powerful as E-Rank or D-Rank Monsters.
If they only rose to E-Rank, the Hunters here might still be able to handle them.
However, if they became D-Rank, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
Most of the Hunters here were beginners with little experience and low stats.
Just then, someone shouted in alarm.
“Damn it! The Goblins have become too strong! What’s going on? I’ve hunted E-Rank Monsters before, but my attacks are barely hurting this Goblin!”
If that man was right…… the Goblins had become as powerful as D-Rank Monsters.
‘This has turned into the worst possible situation.’
The Hunters in the Dungeon were already fleeing.
Some had been blocked by the Goblins and were reluctantly fighting through their fear.
Others were so terrified that they simply stood there, unable to do anything.
‘For now, I should fight.’
Unlike them, I was not afraid.
I did not feel as though I would die here.
CLENCH!
An SSSSS-Rank sword was in my hand.
SSSSS-Rank armor protected my body.
I had also diligently practiced SSSSS-Rank Martial Arts.
All of them filled me with confidence.
- Look at them, overcome by fear…… In that state, they have already lost before the battle has even begun…….
Martial God Jin Cheon-woo clicked his tongue in displeasure before asking me a question.
- You are not afraid as well, are you?
“Not at all.”
The moment I answered, I tightened my grip on my sword.
A Goblin was charging toward me at high speed.
“SKREEE!”
The Goblin had grown two ranks stronger, rising from F-Rank to D-Rank.
Its movements were clearly different. It was far faster than the Goblins I had fought before.
Even in a situation that could have caught me off guard, I tried to remain calm.
‘There’s no need to move differently just because the Goblin has become stronger. I only need to execute my swordsmanship with proper form.’
I performed one of the movements from the Limitless Sword Method that I had practiced repeatedly.
WHOOSH!
My sword swung downward from above.
The more agile Goblin quickly raised its shield.
However—
SLAAASH!
My sword cleaved through the Goblin and its shield in a single stroke.
“Gasp! What was that?! Did you see that guy? He cut down a Mutated Goblin in one strike!”
“That’s insane! What is he?! Didn’t that Goblin become incredibly powerful because of the Rift?”
The people shouted in astonishment.
I let their words pass through one ear and out the other. There were still many Goblins left to kill.
“SQUEAK! SKREEE!”
“SQUEAK-SQUEAK!”
The Goblins attacked the terrified people.
The Hunters were occupied with fleeing or desperately defending themselves while cowering in fear.
Some could not even defend themselves properly and suffered severe injuries from the Goblins’ attacks.
I charged toward the Goblins attacking them.
TAP! TAP!
I moved while paying close attention to the form of Limitless Footwork.
Rather than simply moving in a straightforward manner, I even incorporated feints between my steps.
The result was effective.
“SQUEAK?!”
When I moved as though I were about to charge forward, the Goblin flinched in alarm and swung its sword.
However, I had already retreated by one step.
The Goblin’s sword passed directly before my face.
‘When such a large attack misses, it inevitably leaves a glaring opening.’
With a concise movement, I thrust my sword forward.
The Goblin desperately attempted to raise its shield, but I was faster.
STAB!
“Squeak……!”
The Goblin died from a single attack.
I stopped for a moment.
Something had felt different while I was thrusting the sword.
‘Ah!’
I remembered.
“My Skills advanced, didn’t they?”
A short while ago, I had seen messages stating that the Swing and Thrust Skills had advanced.
The sudden appearance of the Rift had caused me to forget about them.
‘I should look again.’
One of a Hunter’s privileges was the ability to review previously generated messages.
The moment I thought about seeing the Skill advancement messages again, they began appearing before me.
***
[Skill ‘Swing(F)’ has advanced! F -> E]
[The effects of Skill ‘Swing(F)’ have changed!]
[Skill ‘Thrust(F)’ has advanced! F -> E]
[The effects of Skill ‘Thrust(F)’ have changed!]
The messages stated that the Skills’ ranks had risen and their effects had changed.
Perhaps the difference I had felt during battle was caused by those changes.
To satisfy my curiosity, I opened the Skills’ information.
【Thrust】
[Rank] E
[Description] Attack Power increases by 5% when thrusting with an object
【Swing】
[Rank] E
[Description] Attack Power increases by 5% when swinging an object
The Skills had originally been F-Rank.
They had now risen by one rank to E-Rank, and their effects even specified the exact figure of a 5% increase in Attack Power.
In other words, my swinging and thrusting attacks had become more powerful.
‘My Attack Power was increasing even further. That was why it felt different.’
Now that I understood the change, I swung and thrust my sword with even greater confidence.
SLAAASH! SLASH! STAB! SHNK!
Each attack killed one or two Goblins.
Sometimes, I killed as many as three.
“What is with that guy?! He’s slaughtering all of them by himself!”
“Gasp! I know him! He’s the man who was killing all the Goblins by himself earlier!”
“Of course he could kill them earlier! They were F-Rank Goblins then! But those Goblins have become Mutated Goblins because of the Rift! I fought one, and it seemed as strong as a D-Rank Monster…… How is he killing them in a single strike……?”
The people stared at me in disbelief.
I tried to ignore them and focus solely on fighting the Goblins.
However, even I was confused.
‘Is this really possible?’
The Goblins I was killing were as powerful as D-Rank Monsters.
They were one rank stronger than Kiraks, which were E-Rank Monsters.
Despite that, they did not feel any more difficult to kill than the Kiraks had been.
In fact, they almost felt easier.
‘I know it’s because of the Limitless Sword Method and Limitless Footwork. Unlike when I fought the Kiraks, I’ve now trained in swordsmanship and footwork. But even then…… isn’t this too extreme?’
I was already killing D-Rank Monsters in a single strike!
Had I known nothing about Hunters, it might have been different. However, I had heard all kinds of stories during my two years as a Dungeon Porter.
That was why I knew.
What I was accomplishing made absolutely no sense.
‘Forget it. I’ll deal with the Goblins first and think about it afterward.’
Just as I pushed the complicated thoughts aside and moved to fight the Goblins again, Martial God Jin Cheon-woo spoke sharply.
- Do not allow distracting thoughts to consume you during battle. You would do well to focus solely on what must be done.
“Yes!”
Since he was right, I answered immediately.
Then I eliminated the Goblins.
Every last one that entered my sight.
“Aaargh! These damned Goblins are too strong!”
“Damn…… We can’t handle them……. How can those things possibly be Goblins? They’re just Monsters!”
“Please help me! I’m going to die at this rate!”
The Hunters around me struggled against the Goblins’ strength.
However, the Goblins still felt weak to me.
Whenever I swung my sword, they fell in droves.
There were times when their attacks struck me, but even then, it did not cause any problems.
The absurdly durable Limitless Armor protected me.
【Limitless Armor】
[Rank] SSSSS
[Description] Martial God Jin Cheon-woo’s armor. The First Seal has been released.
[Effect] Vitality increased by 30%, Defense increased by 30%, Increased Martial Arts Proficiency Gain
As I continued eliminating Goblins, messages announcing increases to my stats appeared.
[Defense has increased. +1]
[Evasion has increased. +1]
My growth was rapid.
It was probably because the Rift had made the Goblins stronger.
‘They’re giving me more Experience Points because they’ve become as strong as D-Rank Monsters. In that case, I should kill them even faster.’
I expanded my search area.
I moved across a considerable distance while killing Goblins, but eventually, I could no longer see any living Goblins nearby.
‘I think I’ve cleared this entire area.’
Just as I considered resting briefly before moving elsewhere to search for more Goblins, the surrounding Hunters gathered around me.
“Thank you! You saved us! Thank you so much!”
“I truly thought I was going to die…… Your actions saved my life. I sincerely appreciate it.”
The people thanked me.
They were all Hunters who had been trembling in fear.
Several of them still appeared unable to recover from their panic.
‘They’re going to have a difficult time.’
They would probably need psychological treatment.
Otherwise, the mental trauma caused by such intense fear might prevent them from ever entering another Dungeon.
At that moment—
Someone approached me with his eyes opened wide.
“I know who you are! You’re Hunter Yu-gwon, aren’t you?”
He knew me?
I studied him while searching my memory.
He was a small man with a youthful face and a bowl cut.
I had absolutely no idea who he was.
“……Who are you?”
“You fought the Kiraks that escaped from the Dungeon last time! I watched it on a live stream! People call you the Shabby Hunter, but I could never agree with them. In my eyes, you only look classically stylish!”
“Ah…….”
Now I understood.
When I fought the Kiraks that had appeared in the middle of Seoul, I had noticed several drones overhead. Apparently, they had been broadcasting a live stream.
It seemed my battle had appeared in the footage as well.
Still, calling me the Shabby Hunter was rather cruel.
“I don’t even know how many times I replayed that video afterward! That was also when I became your fan!”
“My fan……?”
A fan?
I was neither a celebrity nor a popular Hunter. He was probably only saying it to be polite.
Surely he did not truly mean it.
“Yes! I’m not your only fan, either. You have many of them. Haven’t you seen the videos uploaded to YouTube or read the comments?”
“No. I haven’t.”
I had not had time to watch YouTube or read comments.
Even after fighting the Kiraks, I had done nothing but train like a madman.
“Ah! I see. Then you must also be uncomfortable with me approaching you like this. I apologize!”
At least he had manners.
Judging by the atmosphere around us, his words did not appear to be a lie.
The people were beginning to recognize me.
“Huh? Did you say the Shabby Hunter? Gasp! It really is him! It’s Yu-gwon, the Shabby Hunter! Wow! I’m seeing someone from YouTube in person!”
“I was wondering who could slaughter Goblins that had become as powerful as D-Rank Monsters, but if it’s the Shabby Hunter, that makes sense! He wiped out dozens of E-Rank Kiraks as well!”
“Wow! I’m seeing the Shabby Hunter in person. Now that I look again, his equipment really is incredibly worn out.”
The people whispered while looking at me.
You may think you are keeping your voices down, but I can hear everything.
Besides, your voices echo inside the cave, so I can hear you even more clearly.
‘I should leave soon.’
More people were gathering, and I still needed to eliminate the Goblins remaining throughout the vast Dungeon.
I was about to leave when—
“You saved my life today, so I would like to repay you somehow! Here is my business card. Please contact me whenever you need anything!”
The bowl-cut man held out a business card.
When I accepted it and looked at it, the name ‘Jeong Bo-won’ was written on it.
He belonged to the Rumor Guild, which was reputed to be the foremost intelligence guild in the country.
‘He belongs to a guild that handles intelligence, and his name is Jeong Bo-won—literally “intelligence agent”? Impressive.’
I could not bring myself to ask whether it was his real name, so I tucked the card into my clothes.
I did not need his assistance immediately, but I thought Jeong Bo-won’s help might prove useful someday, so I intended to keep it safe.
“I’ll contact you. Then, I’ll be going.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I activated Limitless Footwork and began running.
I headed deeper into the Dungeon, where more Mutated Goblins might remain.
After traveling for approximately ten minutes, I saw an unwelcome face.
‘It’s that bastard from earlier.’
It was the C-Rank Awakened I had encountered both at the Hunter Association and in this Goblin Dungeon.
He was the same bastard who had threatened to beat me half to death if he saw me again.