I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 120

Commander of the Dead (2)

 

The sea in front of Haeundae, Busan.

Crack

Electricity sparked in midair.

Physically, it was an impossible phenomenon.

But not in this day and age.

This was a precursor… something that occurred before a certain event took place.

Wooooong!

Moments later, a pitch-black circle formed where the electricity had sparked.

With a surface rippling like water, it was a gate that appeared suddenly as if by coincidence.

Commonly referred to as a Black Gate.

Buuuuuuung!

Gooooooong!

Small boats traveling across the waters in front of Haeundae were startled and began changing course.

Since the Gate era had begun long ago, no one fainted in shock at a Black Gate incident anymore.

Evacuation manuals were also quite detailed.

“W-what is that?”

“What kind of gate is that big…?”

However, the crew aboard the boats could not hide their shock.

Even if Black Gates had become common, one of that size was not.

The Black Gate that had appeared off the coast of Haeundae was far larger than usual.

It looked to be nearly 50 meters in diameter.

A gate the size of an apartment building had opened above the sea.

Crack

Then, from inside the gate, a massive hand shot out.

It was a hand made of jet-black bones, and its size was enormous.

Judging by the size of the hand alone, the main body might even be larger than the Black Gate itself.

And slowly, it emerged from the gate.

A colossal monster made of bones.

As if formed from dark energy, it wore a robe that looked as though it were burning, holding a staff in one hand and a book in the other.

The creature floated in the air after coming out of the gate.

Then it looked down at its surroundings for a moment and swung the staff it was holding.

However, contrary to the motion, nothing visibly happened.

If a hunter had been nearby, they would have been horrified just sensing the movement of mana.

But ordinary people, seeing no immediate visible effect, focused on evacuating.

The creature did nothing, even as it watched the fleeing boats.

It simply hovered in front of the Black Gate.

 

***

 

 Ding!

 

[Intermediate Knight Promotion Quest has begun]

[Defeat the Necromancer Lord <Hometos>]

 

‘It’s here! My promotion quest!’

As the message appeared, Kang Ian’s eyes widened.

The fan beside him, who had asked for an autograph, shrank back slightly when his expression suddenly hardened.

“I-I’m sorry. Was I bothering you too much?”

“No. It’s not that. Please evacuate immediately.”

“Huh?”

“There might be an alarm any moment…”

At that moment…

 WEEEEE-OOO!

 

[A Black Gate has appeared off the coast of Haeundae.]

[Citizens are requested to evacuate promptly to shelters.]

[I repeat.]

[A Black Gate has appeared off the coast of Haeundae…]

…

 

Sirens blared, and warning broadcasts erupted from all directions.

Phones rang nonstop with emergency alerts and notifications.

“Go! Hurry!”

“Y-yes! What about you, Hunter Kang Ian?”

“I have to stop it. If not a hunter, then who will stop a Black Gate?”

“Ah…!”

The woman, who claimed to be his fan, nodded with a moved expression and ran toward the shelter.

Kang Ian also ran toward the ominous presence he had been sensing.

Kicking off the ground and leaping into the air, he soon saw the Black Gate in the distance over Haeundae’s coast.

And the undead that had come out of it.

‘So that’s the Necromancer Lord Hometos.’

If he defeated that one, the promotion would be successful.

And starting from Intermediate Knight, Valhalla’s knights were truly considered overpowered.

The day when he could dominate both magic and close combat was not far off.

At that moment, he saw the creature swing its staff.

A chilling sensation passed by.

At first, nothing changed.

But before long, countless undead began appearing along the shore.

Skeletons, ghouls, zombies, and many other kinds.

‘Was that a summons?’

They must have been summoned from the ground right after the staff was swung.

But since it was beneath the sea, it hadn’t been noticeable until they walked onto the shore.

Kang Ian quickly ran toward the coast.

 

***

 

Starting as nothing more than a skeleton mage, wandering through hell for countless years, and finally becoming the right hand of a demon…

The Necromancer Lord Hometos.

Its strength did not lie in its own combat power, but in commanding countless undead.

With a single swing of its staff, it could summon tens of thousands of undead.

And given enough time, it could even corrupt the land itself into an undead kingdom.

Wooooong!

Floating in the sky, it cast beneficial buffs upon its minions.

Attack enhancement, attack speed increase, resistance boost, hardened bones, sage’s intellect…

It was the hunters who were taken aback.

“What the hell? Why is a mere ghoul this strong?”

“Ugh!? Don’t let your guard down! If you underestimate them, you’ll die!”

As the Black Gate incident unfolded, all the hunters in Busan had gathered.

But most of them were low-ranked.

There were hardly any B-rank hunters, let alone A-rank.

To begin with, A-rank hunters were rare… and unfortunately, none of the A-rank hunters residing in Busan were present right now.

They were either clearing gates or had gone to Seoul.

There weren’t many B-rank hunters either, making it difficult to hold back the enhanced undead.

Crackle

Amid that, a bolt of lightning shot forward.

A ghoul dripping seawater was electrocuted, its body trembling before exploding.

Crack!

Crackle!

More bolts of lightning followed.

Being soaked in water, they were especially vulnerable to lightning magic.

No matter how enhanced they were, they weren’t that strong… each spell took one down.

Ding!

 

[You have defeated evil]

[+54 Evil Souls]

[+46 Evil Souls]

…

 

From the direction the lightning came stood Kang Ian, holding a magic staff in his left hand and a longsword in his right.

The longsword pointed downward while the staff aimed forward, but his expression wasn’t good.

‘There’s no end to this.’

There were too many undead.

They swarmed so densely that the sand on the beach was barely visible.

It was an advantage that any spell would hit something.

But at the same time, killing a few made no noticeable difference.

‘It’d be nice to drop a high-level lightning spell right now.’

One massive lightning strike from above to wipe them all out… that would be satisfying.

Wasn’t that the thrill only mages felt?

But Kang Ian didn’t have such a spell yet.

Even if he had the skill book, he wouldn’t be able to use it.

Right now, single-target skills like <Quick Lightning> were his limit.

With no choice, he drew his sword and plunged into the horde.

Slash!

Shhk!

After learning swordsmanship from Cheon Hajin, he had come to understand its principles to some extent.

Combined with his advanced sword mastery, he improved daily.

Even surrounded, Kang Ian cut them down like he was dancing.

With enemies everywhere, there was no need to choose targets.

Listening to Evil Souls pile up rapidly, he danced with his blade.

But even as he fought, his thoughts were complicated.

‘We’re getting pushed back. At this rate, we won’t be able to hold them at the sea… they’ll reach the city.’

That would be a disaster.

Even with evacuation broadcasts, some civilians would still remain.

They would be in danger.

At that moment…

Clatter, clatter

Undead with pure white bones rose and began running in all directions.

They were clearly different from the black-boned ones.

Kang Ian had seen them before.

Turning his gaze, he spotted a small silver-haired woman in the distance.

Necromancer Lee Chaewon.

A B-rank hunter from the same Happiness Office.

He didn’t know why she was here, but it worked out well.

Kang Ian quickly ran to her.

“Hunter Lee Chaewon!”

“Huh? Oh! Hunter Kang Ian?”

“What brings you to Busan?”

“I’m on vacation… 

“No time for that. Let’s cooperate first!”

“Okay!”

Kang Ian quickly swung his staff.

His buff skills shot out like spells.

Flash! Flash!

[Blessing of Judgment Flame, Guidance of Xeros, Shout of Suppression, and even the Minor Blessing of the Divine Beast Black Tortoise.]

Flames and light imbued Chaewon’s undead.

Their attack power and speed increased.

They began overwhelming the black-boned undead.

Meanwhile, Kang Ian continuously supported them with rapid lightning.

‘T-that’s holy power, isn’t it?’

Beside him, Chaewon stared in shock, her mouth slightly open.

As a B-rank hunter, she had worked with buffers before.

But no matter what, you couldn’t apply holy buffs to undead.

They would collapse.

Yet Kang Ian’s buffs caused no such issue.

Though not overwhelmingly strong, undead fighting while infused with holy power…

Their enemies, also undead, couldn’t respond and fell easily.

Moreover, lightning magic inherently possessed some anti-evil properties.

Together, the two of them cut down countless undead.

However, even their brilliant teamwork couldn’t stop them all.

While their area was perfectly sealed, gaps appeared elsewhere.

Undead began entering the city.

“Damn! Hunter Lee Chaewon! Change of plans. Let’s head into the city, evacuate people, and fight in the streets!”

“Okay!”

This would cause major damage to the city, but there was no choice.

Saving people came first.

Kang Ian and Lee Chaewon leapt forward.

Fortunately, the undead were slow and focused on destroying buildings.

Kang Ian grabbed a trembling civilian hiding under a café terrace table and carried them to the nearest shelter.

“Get inside quickly!”

“Th-thank you!”

Ding!

 

[You have saved a civilian in danger]

[+89 Nobility]

 

Most had evacuated, but a few stragglers remained.

Kang Ian searched for them quickly.

There wasn’t much time.

He would do as much as he could.

And the same went for Lee Chaewon.

She also had her undead assist civilians.

And then…

Ding!

 

[You contributed to saving a civilian in danger]

[+1 Nobility]

[You contributed to saving a civilian in danger]

[+1 Nobility]

[You contributed to saving a civilian in danger]

[+1 Nobility]

…

 

“!!!”

Kang Ian was startled.

When the undead he had buffed helped civilians, a portion of the Nobility came to him.

‘A-automatic Nobility gain!?!’

It was only +1 each, but Lee Chaewon’s undead were not few.

If dozens of them kept doing this…

“Hunter Lee Chaewon!”

Kang Ian grabbed both her shoulders with burning eyes.

“Y-yes?”

“Faster! Save more people!”

“O-okay! I get it, so please let go…!”

Under his almost predatory gaze, Lee Chaewon had no choice but to nod hurriedly.