I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 68

Fame (5)

 

The moment they stepped through the gate, the scene that greeted the hunters was the gloomy, eerie interior of a castle.

A place you wouldn’t even want to set foot in.

An atmosphere that felt like ghosts could pop out at any moment.

“Kyahhh!”

“Grrrk! Grrrk!”

And instead of ghosts, a horde of zombies and ghouls burst out.

They rushed toward the hunters standing near the castle gate.

“Damn. Undead!”

“Of all missions…”

Go Chanwoo and Sung Soohyuk’s expressions stiffened.

They were C-rank hunters and considered promising prospects, but at the end of the day, they were still human.

The creatures looked grotesque, and the fact that they were dead made them feel deeply uncomfortable.

A physiological disgust.

Because of that, many people disliked dealing with monsters like insects or the undead.

It was at that moment that Kang Ian stepped forward.

He pulled out the shield strapped to his back and hurled it forward with force.

Bwoong bwoong bwoong!

The shield spun through the air.

Before long, blades protruded from its sides.

Then it crashed into the horde of zombies and ghouls.

Kwachijijik!

Kang Ian’s shield shredded them like a blender.

Ding!

 

[You have defeated evil.]

[Evil Soul +1]

[Evil Soul +6]

… …

 

The amount of Evil Souls gained from killing a single zombie or ghoul wasn’t much.

However, because there were so many of them, it added up to a decent total.

‘The shield’s performance is good too.’

After sweeping through the undead, the shield flew back and landed in Kang Ian’s hand.

The blades had already retracted.

It was said to have a built-in low-level Sharpness enchantment, though he hadn’t really felt it yet… but the cutting power was excellent.

“……”

“……”

Go Chanwoo and Sung Soohyuk stared at Kang Ian in shock.

They had seen the footage released by UHN’s CCTV.

Kang Ian fighting the Giant Mantis had certainly been impressive.

But seeing him in person felt completely different.

‘…Is he really the same C-rank as us?’

‘I thought I was looking at the team leader…?’

They could also handle zombies and ghouls with ease.

But wiping them out so overwhelmingly and effortlessly like that was a completely different story.

That single attack alone was enough to make them feel slightly intimidated.

‘When did Hunter Kang Ian get this strong?’

Even Team Leader Lee Jigwang, standing behind them, looked startled.

He had thought Kang Ian was a talented hunter when he first met him, but now… he looked like a fully developed top-tier hunter.

“Shall we keep going?”

“Ah, yes.”

Kang Ian snapped them out of their daze.

From his perspective, he needed to gather Evil Souls quickly… There was no time to waste.

“I can take the tank role, so I’ll go first.”

“Please do.”

As agreed earlier, Kang Ian took on the tank role.

He walked forward steadily, holding his shield in front.

A little deeper past the castle gate, a large central hall appeared.

From there, five paths branched out.

Which direction should they take?

The hunters looked to Team Leader Lee Jigwang.

He had the most experience and the highest rank, so it made sense for him to lead.

“Hmm. In cases like this, branching paths usually lead to something at the end. Let’s just pick one and head that way.”

It was a reasonable suggestion.

With Kang Ian at the front again, they set off.

At first, it was quiet.

But carelessness quickly becomes poison.

The Ohseong Guild members gripped their weapons tightly, fully on edge.

Then…

Pak! Pak!

“Grrr”

“Krrr”

Skeletal fingers burst up through the ground.

Skeleton soldiers!

But before they could fully rise, Kang Ian moved faster.

He charged toward the nearest ones.

Thud! Thud!

His mace smashed their heads like a game of whack-a-mole as they emerged.

At the same time, he threw his shield, and the skeletons appearing behind them were split in half before they could do anything.

Everything was cleared in an instant.

“Let’s go.”

Kang Ian moved forward again.

‘What the hell…?’

As time passed, the Ohseong Guild members gradually relaxed.

They had nothing to do.

The moment monsters appeared, Kang Ian at the front would instantly take care of everything.

Even when slightly stronger monsters showed up, it was the same.

“Grrraaah!”

A D-rank Blue Zombie.

Much faster and stronger than a normal zombie.

Thud!

With a single swing of Kang Ian’s mace, everything above its chest exploded as it collapsed.

‘What the… It’s like he’s fighting F-rank monsters.’

That was the common thought among the hunters behind him.

Normally, a tank holds the front line, and then the dealers deal damage.

But now, the tank was doing everything alone… leaving nothing for the dealers.

Kang Ian’s shield flew around on its own, and anything that came close was killed in one hit by his mace.

Before long, they reached the end of the path.

There was a small platform, and on top of it sat a black crystal orb.

Saaa…

As they approached, smoke began to seep out of the orb.

It slowly gathered, forming the shape of a ghost.

“Be careful. It’s a ghost-type with no physical form. Those are hard to damage with normal physical attacks!”

Team Leader Lee Jigwang warned.

Kang Ian already knew that.

A white light spread around him.

[Skill: Guidance of Xeros.]

A skill that granted low-level light attributes to up to four people, perfect for situations like this.

Light enveloped Kang Ian’s mace.

Thud!

He swung it, and the ghost-like smoke scattered before it could even fully take shape.

Ding!

[You have defeated evil.]

[Evil Soul +44]

“Uh…?”

Team Leader Lee Jigwang was stunned.

‘That’s not something that should be that easy to deal with…’

Ghost-type monsters, lacking physical bodies, were notoriously difficult.

You needed attribute-based skills or buffs to deal with them.

Crack

As the ghost disappeared, cracks formed in the crystal orb.

Soon, it shattered with a loud bang.

 

[You have destroyed the Lich’s Orb.]

[Destroy all orbs to summon the Ancient Lich’s subordinate.]

[Remaining Orbs: 4/5]

 

A mission message appeared before everyone.

“…Looks like each of the five paths has one of these orbs at the end.”

Team Leader Lee Jigwang quickly regained his composure and assessed the situation.

Having experienced many missions, he knew how to approach this.

“The difficulty of each path is probably similar. Destroying all the orbs will likely summon a boss. For efficiency, let’s each take one path.”

There were four paths left… and four people.

Since only skeletons and Blue Zombies appeared, everyone here could handle a path alone.

“Alright.”

“Then let’s each clear one and meet back in the central hall. If anything dangerous happens, retreat immediately. Wait in the hall and regroup before proceeding.”

Go Chanwoo and Sung Soohyuk nodded.

It was a solid plan.

However, Kang Ian looked slightly dissatisfied.

If it were up to him, he’d tell them all to rest and clear everything alone…

‘…That wouldn’t be appropriate.’

This was part of working life… You couldn’t just hog everything.

 

***

 

They split up into four paths.

Go Chanwoo swung his sword at the skeletons blocking his way.

Kwachijik!

Skeleton soldiers weren’t particularly difficult for him.

There were quite a lot of them, so it was somewhat taxing… but manageable.

Fwoosh!

He also had a skill that coated his sword in flames.

The skill that made him a promising C-rank hunter.

Thanks to that, he had risen steadily until now.

Slash!

But even after defeating four skeletons, his expression wasn’t bright.

‘This isn’t it…’

What Kang Ian had shown earlier wasn’t anything like this.

Before entering the gate, he thought the gap wouldn’t be that big.

After all, he was a member of the Ohseong Guild!

But once he saw it firsthand, the difference was overwhelming.

Crunch!

Slash!

Go Chanwoo wasn’t weak.

He was steadily advancing, defeating skeletons.

But compared to Kang Ian, it was like heaven and earth.

Kang Ian had the Gloves of Saint Bruta, which weakened undead by 50%… but since Go Chanwoo didn’t know that, he felt defeated.

The gap between them was this large.

Kwachijik!

After about 15 minutes of advancing alone, he still hadn’t reached the end.

By now, Kang Ian would have already cleared everything and destroyed the orb.

The difference in speed was incomparable.

His pride couldn’t take it.

‘Let’s go faster.’

He clenched his teeth and pushed himself.

And that’s when mistakes happen.

“Damn!”

A Blue Zombie suddenly appeared.

It was faster than a normal zombie, so his reaction was slightly delayed.

It lunged to bite his ankle… he thought he might not be able to avoid it.

At that moment…

Boom!

“You okay?”

A shield flew in from behind and crushed the Blue Zombie.

Then Kang Ian rushed over.

Go Chanwoo was stunned.

“Uh… why are you here, Hunter Kang Ian?”

“My side is already cleared. Waiting in the central hall felt pointless, so I came to help.”

“……”

Go Chanwoo stared blankly at him.

It felt like there was a halo behind his head.

Honestly, Kang Ian must have known that both he and Sung Soohyuk had been looking at him with jealousy and wariness.

Hunters’ senses were incredibly sharp.

And yet, he still came all this way to help.

What incredible generosity.

‘Ha… seriously… I… to someone like him…’

His face burned with embarrassment.

It felt like he had lost not only in skill but in character as well.

It would have been easier if Kang Ian had looked down on him or mocked him.

Then he could have fought back.

But with this kind of attitude, there was nothing he could do.

Kang Ian smiled gently and extended his hand.

“Here. Let’s go together from here. I’ll help you.”

“…Okay.”

After that, Kang Ian led the way, happily dealing with Blue Zombies.

Seeing him smile even while facing danger, Go Chanwoo finally understood why Kang Ian’s character was so praised.

‘He’s… truly amazing…’

His mindset was on a completely different level.

He must be struggling and anxious, too… yet he could still smile like that.

Wasn’t that the mindset of a true professional?

However, what Go Chanwoo didn’t realize was that Kang Ian was genuinely happy.

‘Good thing Hunter Go Chanwoo hasn’t progressed far.’

Ding!

 

[You have defeated evil.]

[Evil Soul +11]

[Evil Soul +36]

 

Looking at the flood of messages, how could he not smile?

He should finish this quickly… and then go check on Hunter Sung Soohyuk next.