I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 60

Light and Darkness (5)

 

“…What is this?”

Kang Ian was flustered by the suddenly appearing quest.

He carefully examined the message once more.

 

[Quest: Threat of Evil.]

– Content: The servants of evil have set foot upon this land. Punish those vile ones who dare target the Knight of Valhalla.

[Would you like to accept the quest?]

[Y/N]

 

‘So basically… someone came here to take me out, right?’

The part about servants of evil targeting him…

That he could roughly understand.

He didn’t know who it was, but hadn’t Kang Ian recently gone through something strange at the hunter forum?

He had stopped Meladin from carrying out a bombing and even killed the monster that tore through his body.

If there were someone behind all that, they’d probably resent Kang Ian enough to want him dead.

‘This could be pretty dangerous.’

If it were something trivial, a quest wouldn’t have appeared like this.

He’d have to stay cautious for a while.

Just as he was thinking that, Kang Hoopung called out to him.

“Hey, little brother. What’s wrong? Something bothering you?”

Kang Ian had blanked out for a moment, so he asked.

“Ah, no, hyung. Sorry. I’ll focus again.”

“It’s fine. You came here as a buffer anyway, right? Buffers and healers can zone out a little unless it’s an urgent combat situation. There’s a reason they’re called nobility.”

Kang Hoopung laughed heartily.

Who would dare complain if a precious buffer or healer spaced out?

If they got annoyed, they could just go somewhere else.

There were plenty of places willing to take buffers and healers.

Clatter, clatter.

“Grrraaaah—!”

At that moment, a grotesque roar echoed out.

A skeleton tiger… true to its name, it was a tiger made entirely of bones.

However, it was a monstrous creature over 3 meters in size.

Since it had no flesh, it didn’t even have vocal cords… normally, it shouldn’t be able to make any sound.

Yet every time it opened its mouth, a low growl echoed out.

Song Sangmin’s expression hardened.

“That’s not a simple roar. It’s a kind of curse. If you keep listening, it’ll affect your mind.”

“Really? Then we should finish it quickly. The buff the kid gave us won’t last much longer anyway.”

The duration of “Guidance of Xeros” was one hour.

They had spent most of that time exploring.

They had found the monster at just the right moment.

 

Kang Hoopung leaped toward the Skeleton Tiger.

The creature also kicked off the ground, targeting him.

The two collided midair.

Crack!

With a single punch from Kang Hoopung, one of its front legs shattered completely.

Failing to land properly, the Skeleton Tiger rolled across the ground.

Boom!

A magic circle appeared beneath it, and a massive pillar of fire shot upward.

It was Song Sangmin’s magic, the same one Kang Ian had seen during the forum incident.

The creature reacted quickly and tried to dodge, but it couldn’t avoid it completely.

One of its hind leg bones was engulfed in flames and disappeared.

In an instant, it had lost two of its four legs.

And there was one more person in the group.

Now a corporate CEO, but once a B-rank hunter.

Oh Youngjun generated a mist, forming it into weapons with physical force and firing them.

Though his rank was lower than the other two, the power… enhanced by expensive equipment was extremely threatening.

“Gyaaaak!”

The skeleton tiger struggled, but with only two legs left, it couldn’t dodge.

Another leg was severed.

Now it had only one leg remaining.

However, Oh Youngjun didn’t like what he saw.

“Song Sangmin. Why did you burn it like that? You should’ve just cut it cleanly.”

“Ah, sorry. I used the most convenient spell out of habit…”

“Hoo… be more careful.”

“Got it. Sorry.”

Oh Youngjun sighed.

The skeleton tiger’s entire body was material.

They needed to secure it.

Breaking it apart was fine since it would be ground into powder anyway…

But burning it into ash was a different story.

Recovering those remains would be a hassle.

“But… Kang Ian’s buff synergizes with me even better than I expected. I didn’t intend to burn it that thoroughly.”

“Oh?”

As Song Sangmin shrugged, Oh Youngjun’s eyes lit up.

So the flame blessing buff worked well with fire magic.

 

“Alright, shall we finish it?”

Kang Hoopung raised his fist and stepped forward.

At that moment…

“Wait a moment.”

Kang Ian interrupted.

“May I try fighting it myself?”

There were several reasons Kang Ian came here at Kang Hoopung’s suggestion, but two were the biggest.

One, he could safely fight a B-rank monster.

Two, he could obtain Evil Soul.

Even if someone else killed it, his contribution would count since he had buffed them.

‘But it’d be much better if I finished it myself.’

He would likely gain more Evil Soul that way.

That’s why he stepped in.

Still, he was a bit concerned.

Would they think he was overstepping when two A-rank hunters and a B-rank hunter were already handling it?

“Go ahead.”

However, Kang Hoopung nodded readily and stepped aside.

Song Sangmin and Oh Youngjun also showed no dissatisfaction.

They even crossed their arms, clearly intending to watch.

“It’s a good experience to fight a high-ranking monster. Now that I think about it, we should’ve suggested it to you first.”

The three already liked Kang Ian’s attitude.

There was no reason to refuse someone like him trying to improve.

Song Sangmin was even glad he could now see Kang Ian’s skills in person instead of just through CCTV.

The other two felt the same.

 

With all three watching, Kang Ian stepped forward.

A mace in one hand. A shield in the other.

“Grrr…”

The Skeleton Tiger simply glared at him as he approached.

Maybe it couldn’t move because it only had one leg left…

‘I can’t let my guard down. It’s probably waiting for an opening.’

It was instinct.

Kang Ian tightened his grip on the shield.

At that moment!

Bang!

The creature lunged like lightning.

It was astonishing that it could reach such speed with only one leg.

If he had been careless, it would’ve landed a direct hit.

But Kang Ian swung his shield.

With Intermediate Weapon Mastery applied, his shield-handling skill had improved drastically.

Thud!

He blocked the incoming attack with his shoulder and redirected it slightly to the side.

He didn’t take its full weight and power head-on.

At the same time…

An opening appeared.

Its ribs were fully exposed.

He swung his mace at that spot.

Whoosh!

The mace tore through the air and crushed its ribs.

Crack!

The creature staggered.

This time, Kang Ian swung the shield in his other hand… not its edge, but like a blunt weapon.

Bang!

He struck its head, then followed with another mace strike.

Crack!

 

Kang Ian’s mace wasn’t ordinary.

It was the “Mace of Frost Strike.”

A cost-effective weapon with two options.

It could deal frost damage and increase strength by 1.5 times.

Perhaps because of that, even though the Skeleton Tiger was a B-rank monster, it couldn’t withstand Kang Ian’s blows.

Even considering it had already been weakened, Kang Ian was clearly overwhelming it.

And as time passed, his advantage became even more certain.

Frost gradually spread across the creature’s body, making it unable to move properly.

Kang Ian steadily wore it down, then finally brought the mace down on its skull.

Ding!

 

[You have slain evil.]

[Evil Soul +219]

 

A slight smile formed on his lips.

For just one kill, it was a considerable amount.

It couldn’t even be compared to C-rank monsters.

At that moment…

Puff!

“!?”

Black smoke suddenly burst out from the collapsing body.

 

***

 

When the Skeleton Tiger was finished by Kang Ian…

The hunters watching from behind were deeply impressed.

“Incredible. I heard he’s still C-rank, but he’s that strong? Or have the standards for C-rank risen that much these days?”

“No. The kid’s clearly a special case. The others are still weak.”

Kang Hoopung snorted in response to Song Sangmin.

“I heard the Association offered to promote him to B-rank, but he refused.”

“He refused? That? Why?”

“He said going from D to B would cause controversy. He wants to compete fairly.”

“…Wow.”

Song Sangmin let out a hollow laugh.

No… could a person really be that kind?

If it weren’t about Kang Ian, he would’ve called it nonsense.

But after watching him a few times, it felt believable.

There were so many hypocrites in the world who only pretended to be kind and righteous.

Those people should learn from Kang Ian.

“We should really maintain a good relationship with him.”

“Same here. Plus, the kid shares my hobby. That’s what I like most. There are no bad guys among people who like working out. Heh.”

“What you do is more like muscle abuse. Anyone who enjoys that probably has something wrong in their head…”

As Kang Hoopung and Song Sangmin chatted…

Puff!

They had thought it was over and let their guard down.

Black smoke spread out.

Kang Hoopung, Song Sangmin, and Oh Youngjun were startled and stepped back.

They instinctively covered their mouths, but this wasn’t about breathing it in or not.

‘Ugh…’

‘My mind…’

It felt like their heads were being shaken violently.

The smoke affected the mind rather than the body.

However, the farther they got from the Skeleton Tiger, the thinner the smoke became, making it somewhat bearable.

The problem was Kang Ian.

He had been at the center to deliver the finishing blow…

and that area was so covered in smoke that he couldn’t even be seen.

“L-little brother!”

Kang Hoopung shouted in panic.

Even they were affected from a distance, would Kang Ian be alright at the center?

“Song Sangmin! Do something! You’re a mage! Or should I go in? I’ll rush in and bring him out!”

“No. Wait. This isn’t normal. Even you could be in danger at the center. I’ll try something first.”

Song Sangmin began chanting under his breath.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

“Don’t rush. Wait.”

Oh Youngjun restrained Kang Hoopung as he tried to charge in.

Song Sangmin continued casting.

All three stared anxiously toward the center of the black mist.

 

*** 

 

The black smoke spread rapidly, leaving no time to avoid it.

It wasn’t ordinary smoke.

The moment it touched him, powerful thoughts flooded into his mind…

Hatred, killing intent, malice, anger.

All kinds of negative emotions were condensed and transmitted, making his head spin.

‘Ugh.’

But only for a moment.

Kang Ian quickly regained his senses.

The Will of Valhalla was protecting him.

There was no way such vile evil could invade him.

If anything, he felt anger.

How dare such crude deathly energy attempt to touch a Knight of Valhalla!

—

But soon, his anger subsided.

‘Huh!?’

Above the corpse of the Skeleton Tiger…

A pitch-black stone was floating.

Lee Naeun’s wave detector had been accurate.

The stone before his eyes was the essence of evil.

Afraid it might disappear, Kang Ian immediately grabbed it and crushed it.

Crack!

Ding!

 

[You have destroyed the source of evil.]

[Evil Soul +250]

[Nobility +250]