[The first seal on the ‘Limitless Sword’ has been released.]
[You can now view some information about the ‘Limitless Sword’.]
‘Oh……!’
The Messages that had suddenly appeared seized my attention.
There were also Messages beside them announcing that my stats had increased and that I had awakened a new Skill.
However...
My attention was focused solely on the Limitless Sword.
‘Its seal was released?’
The first seal had been released.
SLASH—! SLICE—!
After quickly killing the Kiraks charging at me...
I immediately opened the Limitless Sword’s information.
【Limitless Sword】
[Grade] SSSSS
[Description] The sword of Jin Cheon-woo, the Martial God. The first seal has been released
[Effects] Attack Power +30%, Evasion +30%, Ego
There was a noticeable change in its information.
I could now view the Effects that had previously been hidden.
‘Wow……! This is insane.’
The Effects were shocking.
It increased both my Attack Power and Evasion by a staggering 30 percent!
Even with its high Grade, could it really possess Effects this absurdly overpowered?
Did that make any sense?
My first thought was that it made no sense.
However, I quickly changed my mind.
‘No, I suppose it does make sense. It isn’t an S-grade Item. It’s an SSSSS-grade Item, right?’
It was an Item of the highest Grade, one that had never existed in this world before.
Shouldn’t it be at least this powerful to live up to its Grade?
However, the ‘Ego’ Effect beside the others was difficult to understand.
It might have been different if I had ever heard of such an Effect, but I had never even seen the term ‘Ego’ online.
“Ego……? Isn’t that the thing where a soul or something dwells inside a weapon, turning it into what is essentially a living weapon……? Come on, what am I even saying?”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Even I thought it sounded ridiculous after saying it aloud.
“How could a soul dwell inside a sword? Hunters and Gates might exist in this world, but that would be going too far.”
Deciding that I would investigate the Ego Effect slowly...
SLASH—! SLICE—!
I swung my sword.
There were still many Kiraks remaining.
‘Oh! Moving feels different now.’
The Limitless Sword possessed an Effect that increased Evasion by 30 percent.
I could clearly feel its effects.
I had a powerful sense that I could move my body faster, and my movements really had become quicker than before.
Significantly quicker.
SWISH—!
I leaned backward and avoided a Kirak’s attack.
I immediately bent forward again and thrust my sword.
SHNK—!
The sensation of piercing the Kirak’s body felt light.
Astonishingly, it took almost no strength at all. It was like stabbing a kitchen knife into a block of tofu.
Despite that, the Kirak died instantly.
It was an unfamiliar experience.
‘This must be the effect of the 30 percent increase to Attack Power!’
The change had to be caused by the Limitless Sword’s other Effect, ‘Attack Power +30%.’
I began eliminating the Kiraks even faster.
SLASH—! SLAAASH—!
The more time passed, the more clearly I felt the Limitless Sword’s value.
The satisfaction it gave me was immense.
I found myself thinking repeatedly that it wasn’t an SSSSS-grade Item for nothing.
However...
There was another Item that satisfied me as well.
【Limitless Armor】
[Grade] SSSSS
[Description] The armor of Jin Cheon-woo, the Martial God. Currently sealed
[Effects] ???
The Limitless Armor was still sealed, so I couldn’t see its Effects.
Even so, I was certain that its defensive power was tremendous.
WHOOSH—! WHOOOSH—! SWISH—!
Kiraks swung their swords at me from every direction.
I tried to maintain my concentration at every moment, but there were times when an attack escaped my notice.
Whenever that happened, the Limitless Armor kept me safe.
Just like now.
CLANG—!
A Kirak’s sword bounced off the Limitless Armor.
Its defensive power was so great that not only was I unharmed, but I didn’t feel even the slightest impact.
Was that why?
‘Now this is SSSSS-grade armor!’
The longer I fought the Monsters, the more my confidence grew.
And then...
“Oh!”
A Message appeared that raised my confidence even further.
[Vitality has increased +1]
[Attack Power has increased +1]
[Defense has increased +1]
[Evasion has increased +1]
[Magic Resistance has increased +1]
***
SLASH—! SLICE—!
The Kirak struck by my sword collapsed to the ground.
THUD—!
There were no more living Kiraks in sight.
‘I think I killed quite a lot of them.’
I didn’t know exactly how many I had killed.
I had been too busy fighting the Kiraks attacking from every direction to even think about counting them.
At that moment...
“Um…… Hello?”
Someone approached me.
“My name is An Mi-hyeon. I’m with the Hunter Association.”
The woman who introduced herself as An Mi-hyeon had an astonished expression on her face.
“Yes. Hello.”
“Could we speak for a moment, provided you have the time? Oh, and this is my business card.”
An Mi-hyeon took a business card from inside her clothes and held it out to me.
When I accepted it and looked it over, I saw that it listed her affiliation with the Hunter Association, along with her telephone number and email address.
“I’ll accept your business card, but I don’t have time to talk.”
After placing An Mi-hyeon’s business card inside my clothes, I declined her request to speak.
I didn’t have the time for it.
For now, my top priority was finding somewhere quiet where I could calmly organize everything that had happened to me.
‘My Trait, the Limitless Sword and Limitless Armor, the books I found within Martial God’s Legacy, and even the Ego Effect. There’s too much I need to investigate.’
Judging by An Mi-hyeon’s reaction, she appeared flustered.
She looked as though she hadn’t expected me to refuse.
“Um…… It would only take a moment…… Would that still be difficult?”
“Yes. There’s something I need to do first.”
“Then! It doesn’t have to be now. Tomorrow or the day after would be fine, so couldn’t you spare me some time?”
She wasn’t giving up easily.
“I’ll contact you later using the number on your business card. Goodbye.”
“……Ah! Excuse me! Wait!”
An Mi-hyeon called after me in alarm.
Come to think of it, she was remarkably beautiful. It was rare to see someone like her in real life.
‘I’d believe it if someone told me she was a celebrity.’
However, it didn’t make much of an impression on me.
‘Why would that matter?’
What mattered to me now was becoming stronger.
I needed to become stronger so I could avenge my parents and earn enough money to pay their hospital bills.
“Please make sure you contact me!”
I turned away, leaving the desperately shouting An Mi-hyeon behind.
“Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
“……?”
Another person had approached before I knew it.
When I looked around, I saw several others standing behind him.
All of them were staring at me with shining eyes.
“My name is Kim Seok-min, and I’m from the Aran Guild! I was deeply impressed by the battle you showed us, so I gathered my courage and came to introduce myself!”
“Hello! You’ve heard of the Wolf Guild, haven’t you?”
“I’m from the Rain Guild……”
As it turned out, they were all Hunters affiliated with Guilds.
Some had fought alongside me against the Kiraks, while others had arrived here later.
SWISH! SWISH!
As though they were competing to be first, the Guild Hunters held their business cards out to me.
At the same time, they tried to persuade me with their own sweet promises.
“I’m sorry. There’s something I need to do first.”
I refused every one of them.
It might have been different after I finished everything I needed to do, but for now, I had no intention of joining any organization.
‘That wasn’t easy.’
I had clearly refused them.
Even so, some of them stubbornly clung to me and continued demanding that I join their Guild.
Perhaps that was why...
A wave of exhaustion even worse than what I’d felt while fighting the Kiraks washed over me.
“Please take me to the nearest private training center.”
Exhausted, I climbed into a taxi.
It was a Hunter-only taxi that I had hurriedly called while enduring the sales pitches from the various Guilds.
It cost more than an ordinary taxi, but I had chosen it because it allowed passengers to enter even while drenched in Monster blood.
“Yes! I’ll get you there safely, Hunter!”
Being called a Hunter sounded strange.
‘A Hunter…… I never thought I’d live to hear someone call me that.’
Still, it felt quite good.
***
The Kirak Dungeon Gate Incident in Seoul.
Kiraks had emerged from a Gate and attacked people, but the incident was resolved thanks to the Hunters’ efforts.
Furthermore...
More than one hundred thousand viewers had watched the entire process through livestreams.
- Woooooah! They did it! The Hunters pulled it off!
- What would we have done without the Hunters? Those Kiraks were terrifying, but they killed every last one! Hunters really are incredible.
- Apparently, the civilian casualties weren’t as severe as initially expected either. The Hunters really protected them well.
- Hundreds of people could’ve died. The Kiraks looked terrifying even through a video. If I met one in real life, I’d be too scared to do anything.
The people were ecstatic.
They celebrated the Hunters who had fought the Monsters and rescued the civilians from danger.
However, among the many Hunters, one person in particular attracted an extraordinary amount of attention.
- Who the hell is that guy? Has he ever appeared on a broadcast before? I’ve never seen him.
- You mean the guy who fought in worn-out armor with an old sword, right? He was seriously good. His movements looked kind of rough, but he was incredibly fast.
└ He wasn’t just fast. Didn’t you see two or three Kiraks die every time he swung or thrust his sword?
- That twist was fucking incredible, LOL. I never thought the Shabby Hunter would be that strong, LOL.
He was the Hunter who had appeared carrying an old sword and wearing worn-out armor, drawing ridicule from the viewers.
Because of his impoverished appearance, he had become known as the ‘Shabby Hunter.’
Now, interest in him was exploding.
Tens of thousands of people were curious about the Shabby Hunter’s identity.
It happened at that moment.
- Huh? That’s An Mi-hyeon!
An Mi-hyeon.
Known as the Goddess of the Hunter Association, she was far more popular than most celebrities.
- Whoa! An Mi-hyeon is here? She looked seriously beautiful in that commercial recently. She’s fucking gorgeous even on the broadcast camera.
- She really is beautiful. How can a Hunter be that good-looking too?
- I heard she’s highly skilled as well. There’s a rumor that the Hunter Association is training her as an elite Hunter.
└ Haven’t you seen An Mi-hyeon fight on YouTube? Search for it right now. She’s fucking incredible.
She was both exceptionally beautiful and a highly skilled Hunter.
Those were the reasons for An Mi-hyeon’s immense popularity.
However...
- The Aran Guild is here too!
- Oh! It’s Aran! Wasn’t Aran ranked fifteenth among Korean Guilds? Or was it fourteenth?
└ They recently reached twelfth place.
└ That’s incredible! They’ve grown even bigger?
- The Wolf Guild is here too! But where are all those people going? Why are they running in such a hurry?
- An Mi-hyeon from the Hunter Association too. Where are all of them going?
The viewers watching the broadcast tilted their heads.
They found it strange that impressive people from the Hunter Association, the Aran Guild, the Wolf Guild, and other organizations were all hurrying somewhere.
Then...
The viewers were soon dumbfounded.
- Holy shit! The Shabby Hunter rejected An Mi-hyeon!
- Breaking news! The Shabby Hunter just brutally rejected An Mi-hyeon, the Goddess of the Hunter Association, live on camera! An Mi-hyeon even kept asking him, but the Shabby Hunter flatly refused!
- After An Mi-hyeon, multiple Guilds are handing the Shabby Hunter their business cards!!!!
- Why is that guy accepting their business cards while refusing every Guild’s offer? What I understand even less is why he rejected An Mi-hyeon when she asked him to spare her some time.
- I’m so fucking jealous. Some people go to evaluations every month because they’re desperate to join a good Guild, but good Guilds are desperately trying to recruit the Shabby Hunterㅠㅠ
- He doesn’t even belong to a Guild, yet he rejected recruitment offers from every famous Guild in the country? How could anyone do that unless they were insane?
The Shabby Hunter...
had rejected every offer from An Mi-hyeon, the Goddess of the Hunter Association, and the country’s famous Guilds before simply leaving.
***