I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 8 - Exploits (4)

Kang Ian, an independent hunter, was assigned to Sector E-3.

 

A place with slightly weaker monsters than other areas.

 

He looked at the monsters swarming the beach.

 

Was he scared?

 

No. No way!

 

A knight of Valhalla felt no such thing as fear in the face of demons.

 

On the contrary, his fighting spirit burned even brighter.

 

‘Phew… Alright. Let’s do this.’

 

Kang Ian raised his one-handed sword.

 

The basic sword that was provided in Valhalla’s beginner set.

 

In the game, it was just a starter weapon, but in reality, it was a fairly useful one.

 

That only made him more excited for the future.

 

Countless overpowered items existed in the game.

 

If he had just one of them, he could wipe out all the monsters on this beach alone…

 

‘No use thinking about the distant future. Focus on what’s in front of you.’

 

Kang Ian looked at his sword.

 

Unlike the Krupan dungeon, today was slightly different.

 

[Lesser Rune of Lightning Imbuement]

 

– Imbues a weapon with the power of lightning for 24 hours.

 

– Lightning deals fixed damage to demons.

 

He had added a rune purchased with 20 Evil Souls.

 

‘A rune that grants fixed damage. It wasn’t very useful in the game, but…’

 

Devil Lord 3 was a hack-and-slash genre.

 

The defining characteristic of such games was the thrill of mowing down enemies.

 

So, even without enchantments, hunting was never difficult.

 

There was no reason to waste Evil Souls on a one-time, 24-hour item.

 

‘But in reality, this will be useful.’

 

That was in the game.

 

Reality was different.

 

It would definitely come in handy.

 

The way fixed damage applied might not be exactly the same as in the game, but he’d have to test it out to know for sure.

 

Taking a deep breath, Kang Ian loosened the unconscious tension in his body.

 

Then, he moved forward.

 

There were demons everywhere he looked.

 

“Die!”

 

And hunters entangled in battle againts them.

 

Those with long-range attacks fired skills from a distance, while those without had no choice but to engage in melee combat.

 

Everyone struggled against the numerous monsters—and then it happened.

 

“Kyaa!”

 

“Krrr—!”

 

A bear-like monster tackled a hunter, seemingly due to some mistake.

 

The monster’s thick paw looked ready to crush the hunter.

 

‘There!’

 

Kang Ian instinctively moved towards the hunter in danger.

 

A knight of Valhalla, true to his in-game role, was inherently righteous.

 

A warrior who fought against evil and protected the weak.

 

Naturally, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

 

Besides, even without the Valhalla knight persona, Kang Ian wasn’t one to turn a blind eye to someone in danger.

 

Gripping his sword tightly, he sprinted forward.

 

—Crackle!

 

The bear-like monster, a D-rank ‘Dark Grizzly,’ was too focused on the hunter beneath it to notice the approach from behind.

 

Kang Ian’s sword plunged into its back.

 

“Krrr…”

 

However, the Dark Grizzly’s eyes remained ferocious as it turned around.

 

It was said that wild animals had backs several times thicker than their bellies to protect themselves from attacks from behind.

 

For a monster like the Dark Grizzly, that was even more pronounced.

 

Kang Ian’s sword, which had slain Krupan in a single strike, couldn’t pierce through.

 

It only fueled the monster’s rage.

 

“Ridiculously tough.”

 

Kang Ian muttered unconsciously.

 

The attack had failed, but he wasn’t worried.

 

Because he hadn’t been relying on his physical strength alone.

 

—Bzzt!

 

Blue lightning crackled from Kang Ian’s sword.

 

The ‘Lesser Rune of Lightning Imbuement’ activated!

 

Even the enraged Dark Grizzly couldn’t withstand this.

 

The lightning coursed through its body, frying it from the inside.

 

Its fur stood on end, its eyes turned white, and it collapsed with a thud.

 

—Ding!

 

[You have defeated evil.]

 

[Evil Soul + 5]

 

[You have completed the quest ‘Slay the Demons Escaping from the Black Gate.’]

 

[You have received a quest reward.]

 

[You have saved a person from the clutches of Evil.]

 

[You have gained +17 Nobility.]

 

“Huh!?”

 

Kang Ian nearly shouted in surprise at the string of messages.

 

‘This is insane. How did I get so many rewards from just one kill?’

 

Gaining Evil Souls was expected.

 

He’d been skeptical, but he hadn’t expected to complete the quest by killing just one monster.

 

Come to think of it,

 

The quest window had simply stated to slay the demons escaping from the Black Gate.

 

It didn’t specify a number, nor did it say to close the Black Gate.

 

Moreover, what was even more surprising was the unexpected ‘Nobility.’

 

A stat that could only be obtained through virtuous deeds.

 

He had been going out of his way to help others, but he hadn’t known it could be obtained this way.

 

“Th–Thank you.”

 

A cautious voice came from below as Kang Ian was absorbed in the system messages.

 

It was the hunter who had been pinned under the Dark Grizzly.

 

A woman with short, bobbed hair. Despite being covered in dirt, her beauty was striking.

 

“You saved my life.”

 

“It’s nothing. I simply did what I had to do.”

 

Kang Ian replied casually.

 

He genuinely meant it.

 

As a Knight of Valhalla, it was only natural to save someone.

 

Especially if that someone was a lady!

 

“······.”

 

The hunter, Jeong Bora, looked at Kang Ian with a curious gaze.

 

Saving others was a common occurrence in this place, but there was something unique about Kang Ian’s eyes.

 

How to describe it…

 

Noble? Grand?

 

There was something indefinable about him.

 

“I’m Jeong Bora from the Red Rose Guild.”

 

“I’m Kang Ian. I’m not in a guild yet.”

 

“No way… you’re unaffiliated…?”

 

Jeong Bora was surprised.

 

She knew what it meant for an unaffiliated hunter to be here.

 

A strong sense of justice and a spirit of self-sacrifice!

 

‘That’s why he was so calm even after saving me.’

 

He came here for this purpose, so it was just another day for him.

 

She was surprised that such hunters still existed.

 

“I’m busy right now, so let’s talk more later. I’ll look for you.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Thank you again for saving me.”

 

Jeong Bora bowed deeply before running towards the monsters.

 

* * *

 

After Jeong Bora left, Kang Ian devised a strategy for how to move in this place.

 

‘I’ll go with the strategy of helping those in need while being keeping a low profile!’

 

Even if he had the Lesser Rune of Lightning Imbuement, Kang Ian was an F-rank hunter who had only awakened a week ago.

 

He might be much stronger than the average F-rank, but if he acted recklessly with his half-baked strength, he would just end up dead.

 

The reason he was able to kill the Dark Grizzly in one hit with fixed damage from the rune was purely luck.

 

Jeong Bora had already inflicted significant damage on it beforehand.

 

‘Hunting wounded monsters like that and rescuing hunters in danger will also earn me Nobility… Heh. This is what you call a creative economy.’

 

From then on, Kang Ian diligently patrolled the area.

 

And if someone seemed to be in danger?

 

He rushed over immediately.

 

—Bang!

 

A bash with the shield in his left hand, followed by a finishing blow with his sword.

 

Thanks to the embedded Lesser Rune of Lightning Imbuement, he could take down most E-rank or even D-rank monsters in a single blow.

 

Reality was different from the game.

 

Experience and items weren’t lost just because someone else stole the kill.

 

Items didn’t drop, and hunters didn’t have levels.

 

Therefore, the injured hunters expressed their gratitude to Kang Ian for his sudden intervention.

 

“Ha… I almost died, thank you so much.”

 

“Don’t mention it. Be careful.”

 

“Yes, I will. I was blinded by the Black Gate priority… Haha.”

 

Since Black Gate entry priority was granted based on the number of monsters killed, many hunters neglected their own safety.

 

Most injuries could be healed with potions or healers as long as they survived.

 

However, one small mistake could be fatal, making it a risky move.

 

Kang Ian lurked around, intervening only when someone seemed to be in danger.

 

Sometimes, he even crossed into sectors other than the one assigned to him.

 

Normally, other guilds would frown upon someone poaching monsters like this, but they didn’t do so with Kang Ian.

 

He wasn’t interested in hunting strong monsters.

 

For one thing, it was beyond his capabilities.

 

He avoided even D-rank monsters who were still intact, so there was no way he could target anything stronger.

 

Instead, he focused on rescuing hunters.

 

—Ding!

 

[Evil Soul +8]

 

[You have saved a person from the clutches of evil.]

 

[You have gained +16 Nobility.]

 

Because the monsters were of a higher rank, his Evil Spirit points didn’t just increase by one—they shot up significantly.

 

On top of that, he was gaining an unexpected amount of Nobility points.

 

‘At this rate, what will happen if I hunt throughout the entire Black Gate period?’

 

He could make a huge fortune.

 

Items from the Devil Lord 3 shop flashed through Kang Ian’s mind.

 

Just imagining it made him want to laugh.

 

‘Focus first. I’ll think about that later.’

 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Kang Ian refocused on rescuing hunters.

 

* * *

 

As dawn approached, the number of monsters emerging from the Black Gate gradually decreased.

 

Sometimes, they would pour out for a full day, and sometimes, for as long as three days, and this time, it was about a day.

 

“Phew… That was tough.”

 

“Ugh. My whole body aches.”

 

All around, hunters were dropping their weapons and slumping to the ground.

 

Even with their vastly enhanced physical abilities after awakening, they weren’t immune to exhaustion.

 

They wouldn’t tire easily from normal activities, but after fighting all day, their bodies were drained.

 

During battle, adrenaline kept them going, but now that it was over, all the accumulated fatigue crashed down at once.

 

However, there was no time to rest.

 

Soon, a temporary tent was set up on the beach, and a meeting began.

 

The purpose was to tally the number of monsters killed by each guild through the drones that had been flying around and to discuss priority for entering the Black Gate.

 

As an unaffiliated hunter, Kang Ian didn’t really have anything to do here.

 

But since all the hunters were heading to the tent, Kang Ian quietly followed along.

 

‘I’ll just stay in a corner and observe.’

 

Since he was here, he figured he might as well watch how the guilds handled their business.

 

It would all be useful knowledge for his future as a hunter.

 

“Um… Are you the one who saved me earlier?”

 

Just then, someone nearby tilted their head in recognition and cautiously approached Kang Ian.

 

“Hmm. I think so.”

 

Since he had saved so many people, he wasn’t entirely sure.

 

The other person’s face brightened.

 

“Haha. Thank you so much for saving me. I thought I was going to get seriously injured, but thanks to you, I made it out safely.”

 

“It’s only natural to help.”

 

“There are plenty of people in this world who don’t act on what’s ‘natural,’ you know.”

 

In truth, it wasn’t even something that could be taken for granted.

 

Truly malicious people might even ignore someone in danger, seeing it as a chance to eliminate competition.

 

This made Kang Ian’s actions even more commendable.

 

“Um… I was also saved thanks to you.”

 

“Me too!”

 

A few nearby hunters overheard Kang Ian’s conversation, and among them were those he had saved. They chimed in.

 

Suddenly, several hunters started gathering around Kang Ian.