I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter – Chapter 58

Author: Cireng

Light and Darkness (3)

This was only the second time Kang Ian had used a buff skill in actual combat.

The first time had been during the Hunter Forum.

While fighting the Giant Mantis, he had cast buffs on the hunters around him.

So he hadn’t realized it before…

‘What is this? I get Evil Souls just from casting buffs on others?’

A message said he had contributed to defeating evil.

Well, it wasn’t wrong.

By casting buffs, he had indeed contributed.

The monster Kang Hoopung killed was a D-rank Spotted Lion.

As Kang Ian thought about it, a natural guess came to mind.

‘If someone I buffed kills a monster, it seems like I get about 10% of the Evil Souls.’

It was only a guess, but he was almost certain.

Back when they fought the Giant Mantis, Kang Ian had personally stepped forward and killed it, so he couldn’t tell exactly how much the buffs alone had contributed.

However, even back then, by buffing the other hunters like this, he must have taken a portion of their contribution.

And Kang Ian quickly realized the advantage of this method.

‘Auto-hunting!’

What if he placed strong party members on the front lines and simply cast buffs on them?

Then it would basically become auto-hunting.

Kang Ian activated “Blessing of the Judgment Flame.”

Flash!

Not only Kang Hoopung, but Song Sangmin and Oh Youngjun behind him were also buffed.

“Hmm?”

Song Sangmin looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Kang Ian shrugged.

“I joined here as a buffer, so I thought the two of you might want to test my abilities as well.”

He quickly spoke first.

He said it was for testing, but in reality, he had the cheap idea of sucking Evil Souls from them like a mosquito…

‘Huh.’

Song Sangmin took Kang Ian’s words at face value.

‘He’s clear and decisive. Well, regardless of personal connections, if you’ve come here as a hunter, you should prove your abilities properly.’

He couldn’t help but admire him.

Even though Kang Ian was in a position where Song Sangmin and UHN owed him a debt, he showed no such attitude.

He looked like a humble junior.

‘Now I see why Kang Hoopung likes Hunter Kang Ian so much.’

He didn’t feel like a typical young person these days.

He was exactly that kind of person.

Song Sangmin and Oh Youngjun exchanged glances.

“….”

Though neither of them spoke, they sensed they were thinking the same thing.

Both men smiled with satisfaction at the same time.

“Very well. Since you’ve gone through the trouble of buffing us, I’ll give it a proper try.”

“I’ll put in some effort as well. Unlike these two friends, I’ve been out of active duty for quite a while… but I’ll do my best.”

Song Sangmin clasped his hands together and then separated them, and several fireballs appeared in front of him.

Meanwhile, mist began to swirl around Oh Youngjun’s body.

The two of them moved ahead, overtaking Kang Hoopung.

Because they were in the mountains, they soon disappeared.

Then, shortly afterward…

Ding!

[You have contributed to defeating evil.]

[Evil Soul +2]

[Evil Soul +3]

[Evil Soul +2]

… …

…

Seeing the messages appear, Kang Ian broke into a wide smile.

‘Yes! This is it!’

He clenched his fist tightly.

The amount wasn’t very large, but as the saying goes, many a little makes a mickle.

Even just standing still and breathing brought him Evil Souls.

He felt like dancing.

***

A monster had appeared at the Hunter Forum.

The high-ranking members of UHN held a meeting.

It wasn’t a meeting that Song Sangmin formally attended yet; the intention was simply to discuss the matter first.

Since the issue was extremely urgent, such a meeting had been arranged.

The Secretary-General and whichever directors of various departments had time gathered together.

“….”

Silence filled the conference room.

Even though they had replayed the footage several times, their expressions showed disbelief.

“…This is insane. How could something like this happen? A monster coming out of a human body…?”

Meladin, who had been classified as a talented C-rank hunter from the United States.

When he was discovered attempting something suspicious, a monster suddenly burst out of his stomach.

It was shocking.

So shocking that every member of UHN’s leadership had fallen silent.

“…What kind of change is the world heading toward…?”

According to UHN’s judgment, the world had barely avoided destruction through sheer luck.

The appearance of gates and monsters.

To be honest, it wouldn’t have been strange if every country on Earth had collapsed back then.

It was only thanks to the appearance of several heroes that the world was saved.

With their powerful charisma and overwhelming strength, they gathered humanity, which had been on the verge of scattering, into one force and showed them hope.

The S-rank and above hunters of the previous era, and the current S-rankers.

Each of them was called a giant, protectors of the Earth.

But even so, it still wasn’t enough.

Gates continued to appear, and some extremely dangerous ones emerged as well.

Even now, some gates failed repeatedly and eventually went into a rampage.

Danger zones were still being created.

Perhaps one day the entire Earth might be taken over by monsters.

In such a situation, what kind of despairing change would the emergence of monsters from within human bodies bring?

“…Still, the world is quite mysterious. It seems we’re not meant to despair completely.”

It was the Secretary-General who spoke.

Everyone in the meeting room turned their gaze toward the screen in the center.

Within the repeatedly replayed footage…

There was Kang Ian, wielding a shield and a mace, driving back the Giant Mantis before finally smashing its head.

Even though John Gibson and Nakao Ryusei, the greatest prospects, had been there beside him, they were barely noticeable.

Kang Ian alone dominated the entire scene.

Even through the video, they could feel it.

“A new hero…”

When someone murmured that, the others unconsciously nodded.

Though darkness had appeared in this era of peace, a hero had emerged to match it.

Just like in the days when gates first appeared, and humanity seemed doomed, when exceptional rankers emerged and protected the Earth.

At that moment, the three characters of Kang Ian’s name were firmly engraved within UHN.

***

At the same time that UHN’s upper leadership was holding their meeting…

A discussion about him was also taking place in deep darkness.

The voice in the darkness was calm.

However, the people kneeling before it trembled uncontrollably with fear.

“W-we’re sorry, Master… It’s entirely our fault.”

<It’s strange that Meladin refused the order, and it’s also strange that the demon summoned through him was defeated so easily. That was a C-rank hunter forum, wasn’t it?>

The monster resembles a Giant Mantis.

It was not the same as an ordinary Giant Mantis.

It was a demon, the source of monsters.

Even if the C-rank standards differed between countries, it would normally require hunters of at least B-rank to even attempt killing it.

<Moreover, the demon that would awaken from within couldn’t be killed even by a B-rank hunter. It should have required someone stronger. Yet there was no damage at all. Even if Song Sangmin stepped in, it was far too peaceful. Don’t you think so as well?>

“Y-yes, Master.”

The people agreed while trembling.

The voice in the darkness fell silent for a while, as if lost in thought.

For those kneeling, that silence was unbearable.

It made them imagine terrible things.

At any moment, something might fly out of the darkness and take their lives.

A suffocating fear.

Then…

“Y-you mean the one who resolved this incident?”

<Yes.>

“They called him Mr. Kang. A Korean hunter named Kang Ian.”

“Yes, Master!”

With those words, the voice in the darkness disappeared.

The two people who had been kneeling remained in the same position for quite a while afterward.

Eventually, they cautiously stood up.

“Let’s go. To Korea.”

“Yeah.”

They had barely been forgiven.

If they failed once more, it would be the end.

This time, they had to succeed somehow.

***

The reason Mount Yebong was classified as a B-grade danger zone was not because of trivial D-rank monsters scattered throughout the mountain.

Creatures like those could be eliminated easily by sending in mid- to low-level hunters.

The real danger began once you passed the middle of Mount Yebong.

“We need to be careful from here.”

Kang Hoopung, who had been leading the group, stopped briefly and spoke.

From the point where he stopped, the surrounding environment felt slightly different.

A place where faint black mist seemed to hang in the air.

“This is a field imbued with the curse called [Banshee’s Cry]. If you just walk in, you’ll keep hearing screams in your ears, and eventually you’ll become enchanted by the field itself.”

This was why they had brought a buffer, even though their group already included an A-rank hunter.

The entire area was covered in debuffs.

No matter how high a hunter’s rank was, stepping in carelessly felt unpleasant.

If danger could be avoided, why not avoid it?

That was why they needed a buffer who could use light attributes.

“Brother. Please give us the buff.”

“Yes.”

Kang Ian nodded and activated “Guidance of Xeros.”

Fwaaa!

A white light wrapped around them.

“The buff lasts for one hour, and after that it can only be used again after twelve hours.”

Kang Ian said that, but it felt rather disappointing.

Since the cooldown of Blessing of the Judgment Flame had been removed, he could cast it continuously.

Compared to that, the guidance of Xeros felt extremely inconvenient.

Only one hour in duration.

Where was he supposed to use that?

‘I wonder if another Scroll of Cooldown Removal will drop.’

However, unlike Kang Ian’s thoughts, Kang Hoopung laughed heartily.

“One hour is plenty.”

With that, they continued climbing toward the peak of Mount Yebong.

The air itself seemed dyed black.

Kang Ian walked at the very back.

Normally, as the one carrying a shield, he should have been tanking at the front, but since his rank was the lowest, this arrangement had been decided.

He didn’t really mind.

In a B-rank danger zone, B-rank monsters could appear.

He planned to step forward and test himself against one at least once.

Kang Ian had reached the point where he needed to start targeting B-rank gates, and monsters from that rank onward increased drastically in strength.

Many were large monsters, and they were far more powerful.

It was better to experience them beforehand rather than panic in real combat.

‘And while I’m here, I should enjoy some auto-hunting too.’

After all, he had come with people like Kang Hoopung and Song Sangmin.

Wouldn’t it be nice to comfortably gather Evil Souls?

Their goal was to find a Skeleton Tiger, but honestly, he hoped they would find it slowly.

That way, he could stay here longer and gain various experiences.

With those thoughts, he steadily climbed toward the summit.