I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 49

Assault (10)

 

Kang Ian kept watching Meladin.

Around the man’s body, a black aura… visible only to Kang Ian, was fluttering.

Since he was also the quest objective, there was no way Kang Ian’s attention would wander elsewhere.

So he secretly kept observing him. And as he did, something began to register through his superhuman senses.

‘‘It feels like he’s worried about something in his hand?’’

Like someone right on the verge of causing a major incident.

He kept glancing around nervously and occasionally letting anger burst out, but all of those movements seemed connected to whatever he was holding in his hand.

Normally, it would have been impossible to notice. But Kang Ian had been watching Meladin continuously, so he could tell.

Then, at one moment, the guy moved.

Kang Ian realized that this was the moment he had to follow as well.

As Meladin moved toward John Gibson, Kang Ian grabbed his shoulder from behind.

“Stop. Don’t move.”

“W-What the hell are you!?”

Kang Ian completely restrained the suspicious hand as well so that the man couldn’t do anything strange, and Meladin looked extremely flustered.

Then Kang Ian kicked the man’s hand, sending whatever he had been holding flying far away.

…BOOOOM!

Something exploded in midair with a massive blast.

The hunters who had been laughing and chatting happily instantly fell silent.

Feelings of shock and confusion spread, and in an instant, all eyes focused on Kang Ian and Meladin.

 

‘ ‘ ‘

 

Meanwhile, Meladin was greatly flustered.

‘‘W-What is this guy?’’

He suddenly grabbed him, and somehow even knew about the orb bomb he was holding, and knocked it away.

Because of that, the plan to eliminate John Gibson and numerous other hunters had completely fallen apart.

No. The plan wasn’t the important thing right now.

How did this guy figure out his intentions?

That was what kept bothering him.

And at that moment…

<That bastard! It’s Valhalla! Valhalla is here! Kill him!>

Ziiiiing…

The voice of “that being” rang inside his head.

The mysterious entity that had saved his life and granted him power.

The reason he had come here was also to carry out a terrorist attack following that being’s orders.

But…

‘‘N-Not right now!’’

For the first time, Meladin resisted the voice.

It was terrifying even to imagine defying it, but he had no choice.

Because of the commotion just now, the eyes of all the hunters in the forum were focused on him.

Secretly committing a terrorist act wouldn’t have been difficult. All he had to do was quietly scatter the orb-shaped bombs.

But killing another hunter right now would clearly become a problem.

He was planning to replace John Gibson and aim for the position of America’s top promising hunter in the future.

He couldn’t afford to do something like that.

<Kill him! Kill him, I said!>

The voice continued to pressure Meladin.

It wasn’t just verbal pressure.

There was also pain, like needles stabbing into his brain.

“Ughhh…”

Still, Meladin endured it.

The fear of ruining his future was greater than the pain.

And then…

“G-grrrrk…”

Meladin’s eyes rolled back white.

Kang Ian, standing opposite him, flinched and took a step back.

‘‘What the hell?’’

Meladin suddenly grabbed his head and started groaning.

When dealing with a madman, the best strategy was to keep your distance, so Kang Ian became tense.

But Meladin’s transformation started there.

“GRAAAAAH!”

The man screamed, and then his stomach split open…

and from inside, something like the leg of a giant insect burst out.

Nearly ten of those legs shot toward nearby hunters one by one.

Thud!

“Ghk!”

“Ugh…!”

Kang Ian instantly pulled out the shield on his back and blocked, but those who couldn’t react were pierced straight through.

After that, the monster crawling out from inside let out a shriek.

“Kyaaaah!”

The surroundings turned into complete chaos.

 

‘ ‘ ‘

 

The Hunter Forum was a major event hosted by the International Hunter Organization.

Commonly known as UHN (UNITED HUNTER NATION).

It was held separately for A-rank, B-rank, and C-rank hunters, and naturally, the higher-ranked events attracted more public attention.

However, even the C-rank forum had many future prospects gathered there, so plenty of people were curious about it.

Because of the public’s interest, many reporters had also been dispatched.

Inside the forum, things like which hunters were close friends, which ones were rivals and didn’t get along, and so on….

If you wanted to make news articles, there were endless possibilities.

So, around the outer area of the banquet hall were reporters with official permission.

From the moment Kang Ian kicked Meladin’s hand, their eyes lit up, and they jumped to their feet.

‘‘This is a scoop!!!’’

The Korean reporters already knew Kang Ian, so quite a few of them had been focusing on him.

On top of that, right before entering the banquet hall, there had been a report that he had greatly surpassed Ryusei’s record on the punching machine.

Because of that, they had been pretending not to but secretly keeping their attention on Kang Ian.

‘‘Is it a fight? If they do that at a Hunter Forum, UHN won’t stay quiet. It’s crazy, but the news will blow up!’’

Just the Hunter Forum itself already guaranteed a headline.

But if an incident happened here?

Citizens hoped nothing would happen, but for reporters chasing a scoop, it was a blessing.

However…

CRAAACK!

“Kyaaaaah!”

When a monster burst out from Meladin’s body, and several hunters nearby collapsed, their expressions changed.

“W-What is that?”

“A monster came out of a human body?”

What was this, some kind of Alien movie?

Even while thinking that it made no sense, the reporters instinctively kept taking pictures.

But the scene was complete chaos.

The monster that had burst out of Meladin’s body had now completely emerged outside.

It was a Giant Mantis.

However, unlike a normal Giant Mantis, it had far more legs, and its color was dark and blackish.

“Where the hell did this thing come from!?”

Except for the hunters who had been ambushed first, the others quickly prepared for battle.

For the symbolic nature of the Hunter Forum, all hunters were required to attend while wearing their equipment.

Because of that, everyone had brought their weapons.

Hunters quickly moved to surround the Giant Mantis.

The Giant Mantis was considered strong even among C-rank monsters, but they were confident.

If they were good enough to attend the forum, they were the top C-rank hunters from their respective countries.

They trusted their own skills, and there were so many of them.

Surely they could take it down quickly!

BOOM!

CRACK!

 

That confidence lasted only until they were struck by the mantis’s legs and sent flying.

“Ugh…”

“Ghk…”

The speed and power were overwhelming.

Most hunters couldn’t even react.

Only two people nearby remained unharmed.

John Gibson, known as America’s top rising prospect, had leapt high to avoid it.

And Kang Ian had blocked with his shield.

‘‘Tch… heavy…’’

Feeling the pressure through his shield, Kang Ian had to suppress a groan.

Thanks to the hammer’s option, his strength had increased by 1.5 times.

Even so, blocking the Giant Mantis’s attacks was extremely difficult.

Actually, he wasn’t even sure if this thing was truly a Giant Mantis.

Its appearance and color were somewhat different.

Meanwhile, John Gibson was watching Kang Ian with shining eyes.

He had never seen this hunter before, but he seemed to be quite the tanker.

Among the hunters who had been struck and sent flying into the walls were some Americans as well, and even they couldn’t endure it.

But this guy had blocked it.

“Hey, friend! Can you hold the front line? I’ll look for an opening!”

John Gibson shouted toward Kang Ian.

In English.

“……”

Kang Ian had learned English through elementary, middle, and high school.

But interpreting fast, sudden English flying at him was difficult.

Why did this problem appear right now of all times!

Still, the sentence wasn’t very complicated, so he understood it a beat later.

Kang Ian nodded and stepped forward.

Holding the shield tightly to guard his body, he gripped the mace in his other hand.

“Kyaaaak!”

For some reason, the creature kept its gaze fixed on Kang Ian.

Kang Ian tilted his head in confusion, but since he was going to play the tank role anyway, he thought it worked out well.

BANG!

Another heavy strike came down.

At the same time, Kang Ian swung his mace at the leg that had struck him.

CRACK!

The carapace covering the leg is dented inward.

At the same time, faint frost formed over it.

The effect of the Mace of Frost Strike had activated.

However, Kang Ian’s expression wasn’t very good.

‘‘If I try to kill this thing alone, it’ll take forever.’’

After landing just one hit, he realized it wouldn’t be easy.

But since Kang Ian was drawing aggro at the front like that, the other hunters could move much more comfortably.

Several hunters slipped around to the sides and behind the Giant Mantis and unleashed their skills.

Slash!

Cut!

Smash! Tear!

They unleashed the maximum power they had.

Among them, two stood out the most.

America’s John Gibson and Japan’s Nakao Ryusei.

John Gibson wielded something like a longsword, and its sharpness was incredible.

Ryusei wielded a greatsword, and it was hard to tell whether he was smashing or cutting the enemy.

‘‘So that punching-machine guy was impressive too.’’

Even though he was “only” a 120,000-point guy, he fought quite well.

Even from Kang Ian’s perspective… whose standards had risen after consuming an intermediate weapon mastery pill, John and Ryusei’s skills were excellent.

Thanks to that, Kang Ian relaxed a little.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

His mace danced.

The new item he had acquired was powerful, and Kang Ian’s weapon mastery combined with it.

Like a battering ram being slammed into a gate, Kang Ian shone more brilliantly than anyone else.

Because of that, the hunters kept glancing at him while fighting the Giant Mantis.

‘‘Who is that monster? Looks like a new face…’’

‘‘A Korean hunter? Why hasn’t his name spread yet?’’

‘‘I thought he was a tank, but his damage is insane. Wherever he hits, the Giant Mantis gets completely wrecked.’’

Kang Ian’s performance was so impressive that it naturally drew attention.

And then Kang Ian shouted.

“If this keeps going, it’ll take too long, so I’ll give you buffs! Please be ready!”

It was in Korean, so only the other Koreans understood.

Ignoring that, Kang Ian activated his buff skills.

First, Blessing of Judgement Flame.

An aura spread out from Kang Ian.

This buff, which could apply to up to four people, added fire damage to attacks.

Excluding himself, Kang Ian selected John Gibson, Nakao Ryusei, and one more hunter who had fought the best.

After that, he unfolded the newly purchased Guidance of Xeros.

This skill also granted a lower-tier light attribute buff to up to four people.

Flash!

Along with the flames of Judgement Flame, the light of Xeros’s Guidance spread over the selected people.

‘‘That thing is different from a normal Giant Mantis. It’s black and giving off an ominous aura. A light-attribute buff should work on it.’’

That had been Kang Ian’s guess.

And it turned out to be exactly right.

At first, John and Ryusei flinched in surprise at suddenly receiving buffs.

But as expected of rising stars, they adapted quickly.

Every time they swung their weapons, flames ignited on the Giant Mantis’s body, and it sizzled as it burned.

“Kyaaaaak!”

This time, its cry contained far more pain than before.

Kang Ian smiled in satisfaction as he swung his mace again.

The atmosphere reversed in an instant.

The Giant Mantis was slowly being pushed back.

However…

‘‘Wait… wasn’t he supposed to be the tank?’’

As things developed like this, the ones most dumbfounded were the other hunters.

So now… they were being outperformed by a damage-tank who also buffed?