I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 30 - Fame (6)

Kang Ian and Hong Dasom made a great team.

 

Hong Dasom’s ability allowed her to freely manipulate the wind, creating barriers and forcing zombies and ghouls to funnel into a single path.

 

Thanks to that, Kang Ian could hunt with ease.

 

It was naturally awe-inspiring.

 

‘Her skill is completely broken.’

 

Although Kang Ian hadn’t awakened long ago, he had seen the abilities of quite a few Hunters.

 

He had worked with Ohseong Guild hunters, even though they were E-rank, and during the Black Gate incident, he had seen various hunters hunting on the coast.

 

There were many truly remarkable individuals, but there were also many mediocre ones.

 

However, even from Kang Ian’s perspective, Hong Dasom’s ability was absolutely broken.

 

The ability to freely manipulate the wind without any limitations?

 

‘It’s a totally overpowered ability. Now I understand why the Association only sent two people into such a difficult Gate.’

 

He understood why the Association, burdened by the previous failures, felt reassured sending only two people.

 

It must have been because they trusted Hong Dasom’s abilities that much.

 

Even during the battle, Kang Ian glanced at Hong Dasom several times.  Of course—

 

‘Wow… Her ability is truly unbelievable.’

 

Hong Dasom was experiencing over 100 times the amazement Kang Ian was feeling.

 

‘My sister said the potential of my ability was the best among hunters…?’

 

She was dumbfounded.

 

Her older sister was none other than the A-rank Hunter Hong Dayeon.

 

Her ability was outstanding, enough for her sister to vouch for it.

 

The Association and the public also had high expectations for her future, calling her a ‘genius’.

 

But after seeing Kang Ian, her confidence rapidly dwindled.

 

The word genius was relative.

 

Standing before a true genius, a prodigy could be reduced to an ordinary talent—or worse, just another average person.

 

That was the difference in talent.

 

Watching Kang Ian, Hong Dasom could feel it.

 

‘He doesn’t get tired at all…’

 

Continuously thrusting his spear, Kang Ian didn’t show any signs of fatigue.

 

On the contrary, he even laughed, as if amused, in front of the grotesque zombies and ghouls.

 

It was chilling from Hong Dasom’s perspective.

 

However, Kang Ian couldn’t contain his laughter because of the constantly accumulating ‘Evil Souls’… but to Hong Dasom, it seemed as if he was enjoying the battle.

 

– Clang!

 

After a grinding sound, the shield flew back to Kang Ian.

 

It had once had golden trim, but now it was completely drenched in blood and unrecognizable grime.

 

He wielded his spear at close range and threw his shield for ranged attacks.

 

Seeing the shield grind zombies like a blender, she wondered if he was really a D-rank Hunter.

 

An unbelievable all-arounder who covered both close and long range!

 

All Hong Dasom could do was support Kang Ian to make hunting a little easier for him.

 

Of course, Kang Ian was also human, so he gradually grew tired.

 

No matter how efficient he was, endlessly stabbing with a spear and butchering zombies wasn’t easy.

 

Even the strongest martial artists—arguably the peak of ordinary human strength—would be completely drained after five rounds of five-minute fights.

 

That’s how much fighting demanded concentration and consumed the body’s energy.

 

Fatigue was inevitable, even for Kang Ian.

 

But just as he felt his spear slowing down—

 

– Ding!

 

[You have defeated a certain number of evils.]

 

[The Will of Valhalla embraces you.]

 

[Level Up!]

 

Along with the level-up message, strength returned to his exhausted muscles.

 

Not only was his lost vitality restored, but it became even stronger.

 

His muscle fibers became tougher and denser, and his overall physical abilities increased.

 

As a result, Kang Ian’s spear thrusts became even faster.

 

– Crack!

 

– Thud!

 

“······.”

 

Hong Dasom wondered how a person could be like that.

 

Quite some time passed.

 

– Ding!

 

[You have defeated evil.]

 

[Evil Soul…]

 

…

 

Kang Ian, who had been relentlessly thrusting his spear, suddenly stopped moving.

 

This was because the zombies and ghouls climbing the spire had stopped and were staring upwards from the ground.

 

Only then did Kang Ian have a moment to breathe.

 

‘Phew. That was quite tiring.’

 

Even though he had recovered his stamina once during his level-up, his body was stiff.

 

After rotating his shoulders to loosen up, Kang Ian approached Hong Dasom.

 

“You were amazing. Truly remarkable.”

 

“······?”

 

Hong Dasom stared at Kang Ian with a dumbfounded look for a moment, then bowed her head.

 

‘Is he teasing me?’

 

What did he mean, ‘amazing’, when he did all the work?

 

But Kang Ian’s eyes held no trace of deception.

 

He seemed genuinely impressed with Hong Dasom.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

In the end, Hong Dasom bowed her head again.

 

As she had seen, Kang Ian truly acknowledged her.

 

‘It would be great if a hunter with such ability supported me every day…’

 

Despite being surrounded by countless monsters, the battle had been incredibly easy.

 

If it weren’t for Hong Dasom, he would have had to run around all over the place to protect the spire.

 

He would have wasted a lot of stamina.

 

Sure, he might have managed to protect it, but not with such ease.

 

That was why he sincerely appreciated her help.

 

Kang Ian opened his status window.

 

[Name: Kang Ian]

 

[Class: Knight of Valhalla]

 

[Level: 6]

 

[Skills: Communication with Valhalla, Valhalla Knight’s Spirit (P), Valhalla Compressed Mastery (P), Blessing of the Golden Eagle, Floating Shield]

 

‘Leveling up takes forever.’

 

He had just leveled up, reaching level 6.

 

He could feel the physical changes each time he leveled up, but it was incredibly slow.

 

It meant he needed a lot of experience points.

 

‘Well, in Devil Lord 3, I slaughtered monsters every day, so my level went up quickly, but in reality, entering a Gate only happens every few days…’

 

Moreover, ordinary Gates didn’t have the same monster density as Devil Lord 3.

 

It was inevitable that leveling up would be slow.

 

‘I wish all Gates were swarming with monsters like this.’

 

If other Hunters heard that, they would curse him out.

 

For them, killing a lot of monsters only meant more work.

 

The best-case scenario for ordinary Hunters was to easily destroy the Gate’s core and obtain the mana stones.

 

And then at that moment.

 

– Ding!

 

[Final mission begins.]

 

[Tank Ghoul has awakened.]

 

[Protect the spire’s bell from the Tank Ghoul.]

 

A new mission message appeared.

 

Simultaneously, the zombies and ghouls that had been endlessly emerging from the ruins stopped.

 

The horde that had been approaching like a wave froze in place and began to clump together.

 

“Oh, no!”

 

Kang Ian raised a hand in disappointment.

 

Those were all Evil Souls, yet they were disappearing like this?

 

‘I haven’t accumulated enough points yet…’

 

It was as if he was watching gold and jewels vanish before his eyes.

 

Hong Dasom misunderstood his reaction.

 

“…With Hunter Kang Ian’s abilities and my support from behind, we should be fine.”

 

She thought Kang Ian was worried about the newly appearing boss monster.

 

It was understandable.

 

The creature that emerged from the merging zombies couldn’t be considered a zombie at all.

 

A giant, muscular zombie over 3 meters tall and almost as wide.

 

Its grotesque veins bulged atop thick flesh.

 

“Huff… Huff…”

 

Despite being undead, the monster’s breath caused its muscles to ripple.

 

Even from afar, it was clear how powerful it was.

 

“It… really looks strong.”

 

Hong Dasom muttered in a serious tone. 

 

And Kang Ian had a similar expression.

 

‘Black aura…’

 

Unlike Hong Dasom, Kang Ian saw a black aura swirling around the Tank Ghoul.

 

At the same time, a message appeared, visible only to him.

 

-Ding!

 

[Quest details have changed.]

 

[Quest: Suppress the Stirring of Evil.]

 

-Description: Having entered the Pangyo Station Gate, you have discovered an evil emitting a black aura. If you fail to defeat it here, it will cross over to your world and begin to taint it with evil energy. Destroy it.

 

‘That guy must be the quest objective.’

 

Kang Ian raised his spear.

 

He glanced at Hong Dasom and spoke first.

 

“It looks dangerous to let that thing get close.”

 

“Uh… you’re right.”

 

Hong Dasom flinched and nodded.

 

The Tank Ghoul was different from the other zombies and ghouls they had seen so far.

 

Just look at its physique.

 

It looked like it could destroy the spire with a single punch.

 

Even if it wasn’t to that extent, it was dangerous to let it get close.

 

The mission objective was to protect the bell on top of the spire.

 

If the spire collapsed, it would all be for nothing.

 

“The best course of action is to prevent it from approaching altogether. The other small fries are gone anyway.  I’ll go down and fight it.”

 

“······.”

 

Hong Dasom stared blankly, her mouth agape.

 

Logically, Kang Ian’s words made perfect sense.

 

But acting on them was not easy at all.

 

The monster clearly looked strong.

 

It took immense courage to face such a creature.

 

‘Self-sacrifice…’

 

Even for Kang Ian, a close-range warrior, it wouldn’t have been easy to decide to confront it.

 

Hong Dasom clenched her fists.

 

She felt ashamed of herself for being praised as a genius when hunters like him existed.

 

“I’ll go down and help you.”

 

“No. Hunter Hong Dasom, please stay here. Your ability is wind manipulation, there’s no need for you to come closer.”

 

“But…”

 

“It would be more dangerous for you. Staying here is the best way to help me.”

 

He meant it.

 

Kang Ian completely blocked Hong Dasom from approaching.

 

The reason was simple.

 

‘I don’t know how her presence might affect the quest.’

 

That was why he insisted on going alone.

 

Besides, since the mission was to protect the spire’s bell, keeping Hong Dasom here as a safeguard was the optimal strategy.

 

“Then, I’m going.”

 

With that, Kang Ian leaped off the spire.

 

He kicked off the wall a few times to slow his descent before landing smoothly and advancing toward the monster.

 

He held his spear in one hand and his shield in the other.

 

Since it looked like a formidable opponent, he intended to approach with a solid defense.

 

As the distance gradually closed,

 

– Whoosh! Whoosh!

 

– Crackle!

 

Multiple blades of wind rained down from above.

 

Hong Dasom had attacked from the spire.

 

However, the Tank Ghoul barely flinched, suffering only minor cuts.

 

From afar, Hong Dasom shouted.

 

“My wind weakens with distance, so that’s the limit of its damage!”

 

In short, it meant she wasn’t much help in terms of offensive power.

 

But seeing that, a good idea popped into Kang Ian’s head.

 

“Create some wind, please!”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Wind around me! It doesn’t have to be strong!”

 

She didn’t understand what Kang Ian’s sudden instruction meant, but she trusted his judgment and created wind around him.

 

“Raaaaaar-!”

 

At that moment, the Tank Ghoul roared and swung its fist.

 

A fist almost the size of Kang Ian’s upper body cut through the air towards him.

 

Kang Ian dodged sideways and leaped, stepping on air.

 

– Bang!

 

Then, instead of landing back on the ground, he continued to run, stepping on the air.

 

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

‘Blessing of the Golden Eagle’ allowed him to move by riding the surrounding wind.

 

And the surroundings were filled with the wind created by Hong Dasom.

 

Kang Ian walked through the wind, circling the Tank Ghoul.

 

And he continued to thrust his spear.

 

– Thud! Thud!

 

– Crackle!

 

– Stab!

 

– Pierce!

 

The spear pierced the monster’s skin, inflicting lightning damage.

 

The Tank Ghoul swung its fists at Kang Ian several times, but no matter how powerful the attack, it was useless if it didn’t connect.

 

The Tank Ghoul quickly became battered.

 

“Wow… what is that…?”

 

Hong Dasom, watching from atop the spire, gaped in awe.