I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 146

Demon spirit (3)

 

Kang Ian charged at the Steel Monkey King, and almost at the same time, Airi used her sorcery to support him.

She didn’t know why the troublesome inland ruler, the Steel Monkey King, had ended up here impaled by a spear.

But she knew this was an important opportunity.

And for an A-rank hunter, an opportunity like this was never to be missed.

“Spell! Rapid Bind!”

Vines sprouted from the ground and tightly bound the Monkey King’s limbs.

Normally, it would have dodged or broken free quickly even if restrained, but being pierced by a spear and electrocuted, it was far from normal.

‘Damn. I can’t let her take it!’

Seeing Airi act like that also stirred a sense of urgency in Kang Ian.

This was an A-rank monster that had appeared like a bonus.

How many evil souls would he gain by killing it?

Moreover, he had personal grudges… he wanted to kill it with his own hands.

Kang Ian quickly pressed the attack with the Heavy Rock Sword.

Airi was an A-rank hunter; if given the chance, she could unleash powerful attacks.

He had to finish it before that.

Fortunately, the Heavy Rock Sword technique was perfectly suited for this situation.

Boom!

Crack!

Each strike was powerful enough to overwhelm even large monsters.

For the relatively small, speed-focused Steel Monkey King, it was too much to handle.

Fwoosh!

To make matters worse, flames ignited around Kang Ian and wrapped around him.

It was a close-range spell called Mantle of Latent Heat.

The excruciating pain rising from its abdomen, the aftereffects of lightning magic, the burning flames, and the relentless strikes of the Heavy Rock Sword…

“Grrraaaah!”

The end of the cunning A-rank monster was nothing more than this dying scream.

Ding!

 

[You have slain Evil]

[Evil Soul +4236]

 

‘Got it!’

Kang Ian’s eyes widened.

He expected a lot from an A-rank monster, but this amount of evil souls!?

Of course, the efficiency wasn’t as high as wiping out a large group of B-rank monsters, but considering it was gained in a single moment, it was substantial.

‘Next!’

Kang Ian didn’t relax.

With sharp eyes, he quickly turned his gaze to the side and dashed toward the Venomous Imugi, which was still barely alive, its body a mangled mess.

A hazy, poisonous mist… likely its passive skill, surrounded it, but he ignored it and threw himself forward.

He trusted the Lesser Blessing of the Divine Beast Black Tortoise he had cast on himself.

Since it was only a lesser blessing, it couldn’t completely withstand the poison of an A-rank monster, making his head spin… but he only needed to endure for a moment.

Stab!

Kang Ian’s sword pierced the Imugi’s head, turning its brain into mush.

The life faded from its already dim eyes.

Ding!

 

[You contributed to slaying Evil]

[Evil Soul +1006]

 

As expected, since it was already dying and he only delivered the finishing blow, the reward wasn’t that high.

Still, it was far more than the Frost Phoenix.

That must be because the finishing blow counted as a significant contribution.

“Whew.”

Only then did Kang Ian relax.

In just a few seconds, he had earned over 5,000 evil souls.

And a short distance away, Airi was staring at him in shock.

‘H-he was that strong?’

She had saved Kang Ian and even let him stay at her home briefly.

After that, she decided to move in with him, thinking she would have to protect him.

But now that things were revealed, Kang Ian wasn’t weak at all.

In that brief battle, he had displayed tremendous combat ability.

‘He could practically be considered an A-rank hunter.’

Of course, not quite at the level of true A-rank hunters… but still impressive.

Rumble…

At that moment, the massive Auðumbla approached. (Yeah, this is another name I won’t bother fixing… sorry.)

Startled, Airi quickly tightened her guard again.

Just from its presence, it felt even stronger than the Steel Monkey King or the Venomous Imugi.

Fortunately, neither of them was too exhausted, so they could retreat if necessary…

“Ah, Auðumbla. Thanks. You helped me a lot.”

“Slskdfh Lsdhfls.”

“Haha. That’s right. Friends help each other.”

“!!!???”

Seeing Kang Ian speak so casually with Auðumbla, Airi’s eyes widened in shock.

‘A-a summoner?’

It was astonishing, but among Japanese hunters, there were some who communicated with monsters like that.

Of course, those summoners couldn’t communicate with A-rank monsters, and their physical abilities were far lower…

Airi looked at Kang Ian, thinking that although he looked normal, he might actually be more of a monster than herself.

 

***

 

Defeating the Venomous Imugi and the Steel Monkey King wasn’t only beneficial for Kang Ian.

Auðumbla was also able to absorb portions of their essence.

After thanking him for giving it another chance to grow stronger, Auðumbla said it needed to cool off and entered the sea.

<It’s because it’s growing stronger too quickly, generating a lot of heat. And since it came from a cold region, this place must feel very hot. It’s good that the sea is right here.>

After Auðumbla went into the sea, Kang Ian and Airi headed inland.

There were a total of three A-rank monsters in Guam.

With two of them dead, they could move freely.

“The remaining one is in the south. Its territory is small, and it doesn’t leave it. As long as we don’t provoke it first, it won’t be a problem.”

“I see.”

“…What’s with that expression? You look like you really want to provoke it.”

Kang Ian nodded at Airi’s words, but his eyes gleamed with greed and competitive spirit.

After all, killing an A-rank monster solo guaranteed at least 4,000 evil souls.

‘Since I have to cleanse Guam anyway, I might as well kill that one too.’

Of course, he wouldn’t approach it recklessly.

Since it doesn’t leave its territory, he would cleanse everything else first, then go for it last.

Thud!

Ding!

 

[You have destroyed the source of evil.]

[Evil Soul +410]

[Nobility +410]

 

He destroyed another source of evil.

With the detector, it wasn’t hard to find.

At the same time, he hunted down every monster he could find.

Watching this, Airi thought he had a strong sense of responsibility for the mission… but in reality, he was just driven by greed for evil souls.

Since Airi had lived on the island for months and knew the terrain well, she was a great help.

“If you go that way, there’s a colony of Flame-Crest Azalea Birds.”

“Let’s go.”

The Flame-Crest Azalea Birds were small bird-like monsters with flaming feathers.

Interestingly, they lived in colonies.

Kang Ian temporarily stopped searching for sources of evil and headed there first.

‘A C-rank monster colony should yield a decent amount of evil souls.’

Individually, they weren’t worth much, but killing dozens at once made a difference.

As they headed toward the colony, Airi tilted her head.

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

“…The path is a bit different from before.”

They were on a low hill, long abandoned and overgrown.

But Airi spotted traces of human passage.

Something she hadn’t seen when she previously explored the island.

“…There’s someone else on this island besides us.”

“Could it be another hunter like you?”

“No way. If that were the case, I would have known. Didn’t I find you first?”

“That’s true. If it’s strange, should we follow it?”

“Let’s. Spell! Earth Tracking!”

As Airi formed hand seals, the grains of soil shifted and revealed the direction of the trail.

‘That spell… It’s incredibly versatile.’

He hadn’t seen its offensive power yet, but from defense to binding, and now tracking… it could do everything.

Following the trail deeper into the mountain, they eventually found what looked like an underground shelter.

They might have missed it by sight alone, but the spell led them directly to it.

However, a powerful mana barrier surrounded the exterior.

<Oh?>

Hometos, who had been resting in subspace, suddenly appeared and looked at the barrier with interest.

<What is this? A barrier made with demonic magic?>

‘Demonic magic?’

<Magic used by beings like us, not humans. Either there’s a mage like me here, or someone contracted with a demon. It’s quite advanced.>

‘Can you break it?’

<Of course. Who do you think I am? I’m a lich who has mastered the magic of hell!>

Though he had weakened to the point he couldn’t fully manifest, his knowledge remained intact.

After examining the barrier for a while, Hometos pointed to a spot.

<This is the weak point. The link is unstable. Hit it with that brute-force sword of yours.>

Following his advice, Kang Ian immediately swung the Heavy Rock Sword.

Boom!

The barrier shattered into pieces.

 

***

 

The lives of hunters shown in the news and media appear glamorous.

Health, power, authority, wealth… and some even have good looks.

They seem to have everything.

But that’s just the surface.

Most hunters do not live such lives.

F-rank and E-rank hunters, who make up the majority, have fixed limits to their abilities.

Even if they work hard, they may be healthier and earn more than ordinary people, but it doesn’t change their lives.

They envy promising hunters while boasting about being hunters themselves.

Asher, an American, was one such hunter.

He was F-rank, with unimpressive abilities.

In the United States, the strongest hunter nation, F-rank hunters were everywhere.

When he first awakened, he thought he was special… but realizing he was insignificant made him feel like his world had collapsed.

But Asher didn’t give up.

Despite being looked down on, he started as a porter and tried to build experience step by step.

But reality was harsh.

His skills didn’t grow, and the experience from being a porter had clear limits.

What he gained after all that hardship wasn’t wealth or fame… but injuries, exhaustion, and broken pride.

—I can’t live like this!

Asher refused to accept reality.

So he sought another way… and by chance, while entering a gate as a porter, he learned of demons.

A demonic realm in another dimension, far out in the universe… demons that targeted Earth.

And what he found was a grimoire containing their power.

[Demonic Grimoire: Monster Control]

After painstakingly deciphering it, he learned what it was.

The thrill he felt was immense.

—With this, I can take revenge on the hunters and America that looked down on me!

A demonic magic that controlled monsters.

And according to the early part, monsters weakened when crossing dimensions.

Using demonic power could restore them to 100%.

The temptation was irresistible.

Getting to Guam afterward was a long struggle.

Evading U.S. government surveillance to secretly reach such a dangerous area wasn’t easy.

‘But here, I can focus on deciphering the grimoire without anyone noticing.’

Connecting the demonic realm to Earth, forming a contract, and borrowing demonic power to decode the grimoire…

To avoid detection, Guam was the perfect place.

Now, the decoding was over 80% complete.

The grimoire floated in the air, radiating dark energy.

Just a little more… and he could fully decode it and control the monsters of Guam.

After that, he would control the creatures deep in the Pacific and attack America…

Boom!

“!!?”

Startled by a loud noise at the entrance, Asher turned his head.

‘W-what? A monster? That monkey?’

Swallowing nervously, he saw something rush into the room.

A man in a suit, holding a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

Crackle!

Before he could react, a bolt of white lightning shot forward and struck him.