I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 143

Tactical Nuke (3)

 

Kang Ian had grown much stronger since his awakening.

No hunter in history had ever grown at such a speed.

The reason he was drawing attention from the media wasn’t simply because he did a lot of good deeds.

Just being a good person? That alone wouldn’t make headlines.

He possessed genius-level talent, and on top of that, an admirable character… so he was able to rise rapidly as a shining new star.

In just a few months after becoming a hunter, he had steadily grown into a B-rank hunter.

And not just any B-rank… he was among the top tier even within B-rank.

‘But it’s not enough.’

Kang Ian, who knew the truth, wasn’t satisfied even with his current growth.

Unlike other hunters, he was supported by Valhalla, meaning he could rise much higher.

Beyond A-rank, to S-rank.

Most S-rank hunters lived in seclusion, so their identities were barely known to the public.

All that was known was that they possessed absurd abilities, and even national-level organizations struggled to deal with them.

The reason Kang Ian came to Guam alone was to grow and to test his own limits.

An A-rank monster. The extremely venomous Imugi.

That was the true name of the green Imugi settled along the coast of Guam.

What would happen if he properly fought an A-rank monster?

Looking at the extremely venomous Imugi, Kang Ian came to a clear realization.

‘I can’t win.’

If he pushed himself to the limit and used everything he had, a fight might be possible… but victory seemed unlikely.

He felt it the moment he saw it.

So he immediately summoned Audhumla.

A giant appeared out of thin air and crushed the Imugi beneath it.

The creature looked up at the sky, grinned widely, and waved its hand.

A roaring cry echoed.

<It says, “You called me quickly, my friend.”>

Beside Kang Ian, Homertos suddenly appeared in midair and spoke.

After Russia, Homertos had disappeared, saying he would recover his strength, and hadn’t shown himself even once since.

“Recovered some strength?”

<Just a tiny bit. Barely as much as a tear from an ant. Still a long way to go.>

“Then come out and translate for Audhumla for now.”

<Understood.>

Because of their contract, he couldn’t refuse anyway, so Homertos willingly nodded.

Tap.

Kang Ian lightly landed on the coast.

Even then, the extremely venomous Imugi hadn’t regained its senses.

Boom! Boom!

Audhumla was continuously hammering it with both fists.

It had already been strong, but now it seemed even stronger than before.

‘Did it grow stronger after absorbing the heart of the Frost Phoenix?’

The extremely venomous Imugi, also an A-rank, couldn’t do anything at all.

It spread green poisonous mist around and repeatedly bit Audhumla with its sharp venomous fangs, but Audhumla didn’t budge.

Tssss

The poisonous mist gradually spread and reached Kang Ian nearby.

The moment it touched him, he felt dizzy.

At the same time, faint blue scales began to grow across his entire body.

The armor of Sea Dragon Scales had begun purifying the external attack.

Though some of it still managed to penetrate, it was at least bearable thanks to that.

‘Even if I go closer, I won’t be much help there.’

Even for Audhumla, it would take quite some time to kill the extremely venomous Imugi.

He could come back later and aim for the finishing blow.

When he asked through Homertos if that was fine, he readily agreed.

<That dumb giant. He’s laughing, saying he can easily yield that much to a friend. Isn’t he a sucker?>

Watching Homertos grumble about how it was embarrassing for the demon realm, Kang Ian held back what he wanted to say.

Who was really the embarrassing one here…?

Anyway, Kang Ian shifted his gaze.

There were countless monsters along the coast besides the extremely venomous Imugi.

He turned toward them.

Fwoosh!

Using <Mantle of Latent Heat>, he began setting fire to the surroundings.

In that state, he walked forward with a staff in his left hand and a longsword in his right.

Numerous monsters along the coast were burned by the flames, and those nearby were cut down by his sword.

His Heavy Rock Swordsmanship was growing more refined day by day.

Among B-rank monsters, not a single one could withstand it.

Crackle!

If any were a bit farther away, he used <Quick Lightning> to paralyze and capture them so they couldn’t escape.

‘It’s a shame that Quick Lightning has low power.’

It was an instant-cast, with one of the fastest casting speeds among magic.

No delay, low mana consumption.

That was why Kang Ian, who used both sword and magic, favored it the most… but its one drawback was its low damage.

Against B-rank monsters, it couldn’t finish them off.

He had to paralyze them first, then approach and finish them with his sword.

The extra step made it feel inefficient.

‘I should ask Lord Tezeros next time if there’s a way to enhance this further.’

Naturally, that led him to wonder how many points it would cost.

The better the item or skill, the more absurdly expensive it became.

Loans were possible, but the terrifying interest made them hard to approach.

Ding!

 

[You have defeated an enemy]

[Evil Soul +119]

[Evil Soul +205]

[Evil Soul +158]

…

 

Listening to the constant stream of messages, Kang Ian slowly moved inland.

A battle between two A-rank monsters wouldn’t be decided easily, so he planned to roam around Guam and deal with monsters in the meantime.

Guam was a small place, only about one-third the size of Jeju Island.

Even an ordinary person could circle the island quickly by car, and for a superhuman, it was practically like walking around their own backyard.

‘There are three A-rank monsters in Guam. One is the extremely venomous Imugi on the northern coast, and the other two are said to be… one inland, one in the south.’

As long as he avoided the one inland, it should be fine.

He could also take the opportunity to check the route toward the naval base.

With that in mind, Kang Ian gradually moved inland.

Homertos had said he would inform him from above when the Imugi was about to die, so there was no need to worry about timing.

<Um… hey. I think something’s gone wrong?>

That was what he thought… until he heard Homertos’s uneasy voice.

Whoosh!

Thud!

A white blur approached, and something landed a short distance from Kang Ian.

It was a monkey.

A monkey about 3.5 meters tall, with flowing white fur.

“……”

Kang Ian tightened his grip on his sword, his expression tense.

Just from the killing intent it emitted, he could tell it was no ordinary opponent.

Moreover, he already knew about it from the information provided by the U.S.

‘An A-rank monster… the Steel Monkey King. I heard its territory isn’t here?’

It was supposed to be located deep inland, and it was said not to leave its territory.

But what Kang Ian had overlooked was the aftermath of the battle between Audhumla and the extremely venomous Imugi.

The clash between those two monsters had provoked the Monkey King and drawn it here.

Regardless, what mattered now was facing it.

Kang Ian carefully observed it.

That flowing fur might look soft, but it was said to be harder than steel.

Because of that, most hunters couldn’t even penetrate its fur to deal damage, and the Steel Monkey King was both fast and incredibly strong, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

If it were a massive monster, that would be one thing… but small and fast types were much harder for humans to handle.

‘No choice.’

Complaining wouldn’t change anything.

Crackle!

The one who strikes first wins.

He immediately fired Quick Lightning.

The Monkey King leaped and dodged the lightning.

‘It dodged that?’

Kang Ian was startled.

Though there was some distance, Quick Lightning, being lightning magic, reached its target almost instantly.

The Monkey King had seen and avoided it.

“Kyaoo!”

It leaped and charged at Kang Ian.

Though small for an A-rank monster, it was still over 3 meters tall… a massive body compared to Kang Ian.

Confident in its strength, it threw a punch.

Kang Ian, seeing an opportunity, poured mana into his Heavy Rock Sword and swung.

Boom!

With an explosive sound, the sword and fist collided midair and stopped.

The Monkey King was shocked that its punch had been blocked by such a small human.

In that instant, Kang Ian unleashed sword energy and activated Dragon Fear, striking the briefly frozen Monkey King with a powerful slash.

Crunch!

“Kwaaah!”

Overpowered and cut, the Monkey King leaped back in shock.

‘They said its fur was tougher than steel. It really is.’

The thick fur on its chest dulled the blade, and its tough skin and muscles prevented the strike from reaching the bone.

But that was fine.

Crackle!

Crackle!

As it created distance, Kang Ian swung his staff.

Quick Lightning shot out continuously.

It had dodged once, but that didn’t matter.

If he kept firing, he couldn’t avoid everything.

Indeed, the Monkey King kept leaping around, but he did get hit a few times.

Still, since it was a low-tier spell, it only made it flinch.

‘But if I keep stacking it, it’ll eventually get electrocuted and slow down. I’ll aim for that moment.’

Kang Ian considered it a fairly solid strategy.

Boom!

“Ugh!?”

That was, of course, before the Monkey King grabbed a chunk of asphalt and threw it.

To the Monkey King, it was just a fragment… but to Kang Ian, it was nearly the size of his upper body, flying faster than a baseball.

Startled, he threw himself aside to dodge.

He could see the Monkey King grinning like a human.

“…It’s laughing?”

Seeing that mocking expression, Kang Ian’s eyes sharpened.

“Fine. Let’s do this.”

He pulled a shield out from subspace and levitated it in the air.

A floating shield.

He hadn’t used it much lately, but today he would.

Boom! Boom!

The shield spun and blocked the chunks of asphalt the Monkey King threw, while Kang Ian’s magic continued to fire.

Kang Ian stood his ground, while the Monkey King ran around, throwing anything it could grab.

Then, when it uprooted and hurled a massive tree, Kang Ian had to dive again.

That one was too much for the shield to handle.

“Ukkiki! Ukkikiki!”

As he rolled on the ground again, the Monkey King grinned once more and beat its chest.

It was practically a taunt skill.

Kang Ian wondered how to wipe that expression off its face.

And then…

“Earth Art: Earthen Prison!”

A voice rang out from afar. The ground surged upward, surrounding the Monkey King.

“Earth Art: Rapid Binding!”

Then vines sprouted from the ground, tightly binding its arms, legs, and body.

“Grrraaa!”

The Monkey King roared and strained, and though the vines stretched with a tearing sound, they didn’t break immediately.

In that moment, someone dropped down beside Kang Ian.

A woman wearing a mask.

“This is not a suitable place to fight that monkey. Follow me!”

“?”

“Quickly!”

She ran off immediately, and after a brief hesitation, Kang Ian followed her.

 

***

 

“This is a shelter created by layering concealment barriers over a long time. We won’t be discovered here.”

The place the masked woman led him to was a mansion that looked like it once belonged to a wealthy person.

There were many such houses in the area, but most were destroyed and abandoned.

This one was similar… but inside, it was neatly maintained.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Kang Ian started with gratitude.

Thinking about it calmly, continuing to fight that monkey there wouldn’t have been a good choice.

“But… who are you?”

Kang Ian asked, subtly gripping his sword.

This land had long since become a danger zone inhabited only by monsters.

For a human to be here…

He didn’t want to doubt someone who had helped him, but an ominous suspicion naturally arose.