I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter – Chapter 50

Author: Cireng

Assault (11)

This was the first time Kang Ian properly experienced the power of his buffs.

Blessing of Judgement Flame.

Guidance of Xeros.

They were buff skills with fire and light attributes, respectively, but the funny thing was that he had never really had a chance to use them properly until now.

Even without these, most monsters inside ordinary C-rank gates were easy to deal with.

When he swung his mace hard, even Minotaurs, famous for their strength, collapsed easily… so why would he need something like this?

That was why he liked this Giant Mantis.

‘Wow. This is nice.’

It was a good opportunity to test what his buff skills could do.

Thud!

CRACK!

Every time Kang Ian swung his mace, the Giant Mantis’s carapace dented inward and shattered.

Filthy bodily fluids splattered out.

Those substances that landed on his armor were poisonous, but thanks to being wrapped in the Guidance of Xeros, they simply sizzled and burned away.

Flames gradually ignited across the Giant Mantis’s body while light burned through it.

On top of that, the mace’s option occasionally activated, freezing some of its wounds.

Burning, shining, freezing…

It was truly going through a miserable ordeal.

‘Ha… seriously… I worked so hard to gather all that Nobility, but it really wasn’t wasted.’

When he had spent the points he had saved up to buy skills and items, he had felt empty watching them disappear instantly.

But seeing how much his abilities had changed erased those feelings.

Instead, he only felt that he needed to work even harder from now on.

Because the strength of a Knight of Valhalla was nowhere near just this much!

“Kyaaaah!”

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down.

He blocked the Giant Mantis’s foreleg with his shield, but the sheer weight pushed his body slightly backward.

If that attack had landed directly, it would have been a disaster.

‘Just what kind of monster is this thing?’

He had never experienced it personally, but a Giant Mantis shouldn’t be this strong.

They were rare and powerful, yes… but still just C-rank monsters.

Even if it were a boss-class monster, Kang Ian should have been able to handle it alone.

Yet even now, with buffs active, it was extremely tough.

‘And a monster suddenly bursting out of a human body… what the hell is going on?’

There was no way the Valhalla quest had called him here for nothing.

He would have to ask about it later when he visited the Sanctuary.

Meanwhile, the other hunters were watching Kang Ian in shock.

‘That guy… he’s incredible.’

John Gibson.

America’s greatest rising star and the man often called the world’s best C-rank hunter kept glancing at Kang Ian.

While the other hunters admired his tanking ability and buff skills, John was instead moved by the weapon technique with which he wielded his mace.

The reason John Gibson was considered the best was simple.

His skill with a single longsword was extraordinary.

The ability to overwhelm opponents purely through weapon technique!

Well-honed technique could overpower raw strength.

And since his physical abilities were also excellent, John Gibson was strong both in anti-monster combat and in combat against humans.

But watching Kang Ian made the pride he had held until now disappear.

‘He looks human… but he’s as intense as a monster.’

Wrapped in white light, the mace burned, froze, and emitted light as it struck.

Seeing him beat down a gigantic Giant Mantis like that made John wonder how he would fight if he himself were the opponent.

That was how impressive Kang Ian’s shield-and-mace technique was.

And there was someone who was just as shocked as John.

No… perhaps even more shocked.

Nakao Ryusei of Japan.

A man who considered John Gibson his rival and believed that, aside from John, he himself was the greatest rising star in the world.

‘So that punching-machine record wasn’t a coincidence?’

No. It wasn’t even at the level of coincidence.

In fact, judging by how he fought, the punching machine’s score…

Combat wasn’t something that could be easily quantified with numbers.

Just being physically strong didn’t mean someone fought well.

However, Ryusei was famous for wielding a greatsword effectively with his immense strength.

He had thought that surpassing a simple machine score wouldn’t be difficult…

But seeing Kang Ian made that confidence vanish.

It felt like he couldn’t match him in either ability or skills.

As the two of them kept glancing over and failing to focus fully on the battle, Kang Ian shouted at them.

“What are you doing! Is this the time to be spacing out!?”

“!”

“!?”

Even though everyone was fighting hard, the Giant Mantis couldn’t be defeated alone.

And in real time, Kang Ian’s shield and armor were getting dented and scratched.

Do they know how much this equipment costs?!

He almost wanted to sigh, but he had to focus on the battle.

To avoid further damage to his gear, the monster needed to be killed quickly.

After all, he was already holding the aggro well.

He had given them buffs, too.

Now, the damage dealers just needed to do their job… but these guys weren’t concentrating.

From that moment, the two snapped into action.

They didn’t understand the Korean words exactly, but they could read the situation.

After all, they were hunters known as the best rising talents.

They truly fought well.

Other hunters also provided support from the rear.

A kind of raid had begun.

With Kang Ian firmly holding the center, everything ran smoothly.

Thrust!

CRACK!

BANG!

Finally, John’s sword, Ryusei’s greatsword, and Kang Ian’s mace all struck the Giant Mantis’s head at the same time.

With its brain pierced and skull shattered, even a monster couldn’t survive that.

The Giant Mantis collapsed with a heavy thud.

“Hoo… finally it’s down. That thing was a real monster.”

John Gibson muttered.

Ryusei nodded and stuck his greatsword into the ground.

It had been such a tough battle that the aftereffects would likely hit them hard.

“……”

However, Kang Ian didn’t relax.

Instead, he stared at the creature with uneasy eyes.

‘This thing… isn’t dead yet, is it?’

The message saying evil had been defeated hadn’t appeared.

He needed to see how many points of evil souls he would gain.

Besides, this creature was also a quest target.

Since the message saying the quest was complete hadn’t appeared either, Kang Ian stayed cautious.

And then…

THUMP!

CRAAACK!

The fallen Giant Mantis’s stomach split open.

Something slowly crawled out from inside.

“…!”

“!!!”

Kang Ian, John, and Ryusei… the three who stood closest to it, froze in place.

The moment they saw it, an alarm bell rang in their minds.

We’re going to die.

We’re definitely going to die.

All other thoughts vanished from their minds.

Only death remained.

Despite being hunters, they were close to hyperventilating.

‘You bastard!!’

But unlike the two who were paralyzed by fear, Kang Ian felt more anger than fear.

So that was the enemy that had been shouting so fiercely in the Sanctuary of Valhalla!

He realized it instinctively.

The moment he saw it, he knew he was no match if they fought.

But that didn’t mean he would run.

He would fight it head-on!

With that thought, Kang Ian tightened his grip on the mace.

At that moment…

BOOOOM!

A magic circle appeared beneath the creature’s feet, and a massive pillar of flames shot upward.

“!”

Turning around, Kang Ian saw a middle-aged man in a suit running toward them.

His face was frighteningly stiff.

“Is everyone alright?”

“Uh… y-yes.”

“Haa… that’s a relief. I am Song Sangmin, Director of the UHN Safety Council. I’ll handle the cleanup, so please treat your injuries.”

Mage Song Sangmin.

He had once been an A-rank hunter from Korea, but after retiring, he joined the international organization UHN and now worked as a director.

His job was dealing with international issues related to gates and monsters.

Since this C-rank forum was being held in Korea, Song Sangmin was the overall supervisor.

However, he had been delayed by scheduling matters and had been on his way to the banquet hall when he received the bad news.

So he rushed over as quickly as possible, and fortunately arrived just in time.

“GRAAAAH!”

“It’s still alive after taking that? Ha…”

Song Sangmin looked surprised as the creature tried to jump out of the flames, then waved his hands around.

The flames compressed inward and exploded.

It seemed that whatever was inside could not endure that.

Ding!

[Level Up!]

‘Ah. So it died.’

The first thing Kang Ian saw was the level-up message.

His level, which had been painfully slow to rise, had finally increased.

But this time was a little different.

[You have reached Level 10.]

[A special reward will be given.]

[You have obtained Valhalla’s Shining Random Box.]

‘Huh? What’s this?’

Because of the monster they had just defeated, Kang Ian had reached Level 10.

A level system that existed only for him, unlike ordinary hunters.

It made his body feel stronger as a bonus…

‘There were rewards every 10 levels, too?’

What kind of ridiculous system was this…?

Even if his class was overpowered, was this really allowed?

As Kang Ian thought that, another message appeared.

[You contributed to defeating evil.]

[Evil Souls +1942]

[Quest “Eliminate the One Who Spreads Evil” completed.]

[Reward: Valhalla Random Box obtained.]

“…???”

Kang Ian’s eyes widened.

‘W-What… how many points was that?’

Flustered, Kang Ian showed a dumbfounded expression that he had never displayed during the battle.

And Song Sangmin misunderstood it.

“You seem quite shocked. I understand. You’ve worked hard. You’re Hunter Kang Ian, correct?”

“Uh… y-yes.”

“Please step back and take some rest.”

He personally helped Kang Ian to his feet and then gave orders to the staff behind him.

“Escort these people to the infirmary.”

“Understood.”

***

Although killing the Giant Mantis at the right time prevented the worst outcome, the aftermath was still a problem.

UHN staff ran around frantically, while higher-ups immediately entered a meeting.

Director Song Sangmin and several staff members were gathered together watching a video.

It was footage from the CCTV cameras in the banquet hall.

Watching closely, they saw Meladin acting suspiciously.

Kang Ian stops him.

Kicking his hand, causing something to fly out the window and explode.

No one knew how he had gotten past security checks, but it seemed he had been trying to carry out a terrorist attack.

But the real problem came next.

A monster suddenly tears out of his body.

It looked as if it had burst out from inside his stomach.

“…Hmm.”

“This can’t be…”

Groans as screams echoed throughout the room.

This was already the third time they had watched the footage.

The first time had been far noisier.

The video continued.

It showed the hunters… led by Kang Ian, subduing the Giant Mantis.

Beep.

Director Song Sangmin stopped the video there.

“Well then… let’s discuss this.”

“….”

But even after he said that, no one answered easily.

A monster had burst out of a human body.

What exactly were they supposed to say?

Song Sangmin understood.

Even he felt a headache coming on.

“Then first, let’s control the information. We should have done that earlier, but the video was so shocking that we lost our composure. Contact them now.”

“Um… Director. I think it may already be too late.”

“What? Why?”

“Please take a look at this.”

The staff member showed Song Sangmin his smartphone.

News alerts were already appearing.

[Breaking News! A monster suddenly appears at the Hunter Forum!]

[Monster appears in Yeouido!]

[An event that almost turned into chaos. Was it saved by a Korean hunter?]

[Hero of the Gate Rampage, Kang Ian! Saving Yeouido this time!!]

The reporters who had been at the banquet hall.

They were ordinary people, so they had quickly evacuated the scene.

But it seemed they had written articles first during the process.