Chapter 12

“Guh...!”

The specter looked down at its body in disbelief. Two axes were buried in its chest.

“Th-this is why these feeble human bodies...”

THUD.

Kim Yongjun’s eyes rolled back as his body toppled backward.

[Number of enemies to defeat: 0]

[Number of enemies defeated: 1]

The quest was over.

[You have completed ‘Emergency Quest: Defeat the Enemy!’]

[You have leveled up!]

WHOOOSH!

At that moment, Suho’s exhausted body returned to peak condition in an instant. But he did not let his guard down. He had killed Kim Yongjun, but the thing controlling the man’s body was the sword in his hand.

‘Ruler’s Authority!’

CRUNCH!

A stone axe whistled down from the air, severing Kim Yongjun’s sword arm.

[Well done! This sword is its true body!]

As though he had been waiting for this, Beru flew over and hefted the sword Kim Yongjun had held, straining with the effort. At that instant, a menacing voice thundered inside his head.

—Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch of Fangs!

[Young Monarch, may I eat this sword?]

—W-wait. Why don’t we talk this through?

The sword’s voice suddenly turned gentle. The look on Beru’s face as he eyed it and smacked his lips was far too sincere.

Meanwhile, Suho was in no position to answer Beru.

GRRR!

He had dealt with the specter, but the wolf magic beasts, now bereft of their leader, were all lunging at him. Still, his recent level-up had fully replenished his stamina and mana. Every stat had also increased by one, making his movements sharper than before.

SLASH! SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!

[You have defeated a Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

[You have defeated a Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

Cutting down the beasts charging him all at once, Suho called to Beru.

“My weapon’s too short! Can I use that sword?”

—Who dares covet the Fang—

[Of course you can! A mere specter like this could never corrupt your mind, Young Monarch!]

“Okay!”

Suho eagerly took the sword from Beru.

[You have acquired ‘Item: Rakan’s Fang.’]

As though it had been waiting for that very moment, the specter within the sword howled ferociously.

—Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch of Fangs! I shall devour your body!

WHOOSH!

Red energy surged from the sword and engulfed Suho. In response, shadows rose from beneath his feet and swallowed the sword.

—Wh-what is this power!

The bewildered specter’s voice grew fainter.

—Can this be the Shadow Monarch’s...!

The specter could not believe it. It was the sword of the great Monarch of Fangs. Not just any ordinary sword, either, but an incarnation the Monarch of Fangs had created from one of his own fangs.

It had inherited that magnificent power. The very idea that a human could resist its control was absurd. Especially when this human was so obviously weak!

[Hmph. However weak the Young Monarch may be, there is no chance some insignificant creature could overpower his mind. Of course not! Not with his bloodline!]

—Wh-what! You call me insignificant? Take that back this inst—

“Oh, shut up.”

Ignoring the specter’s screams, Suho swung the sword at the wolves it had commanded.

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!

The blows cut mercilessly through the wolves. Its durability was on an entirely different level from the pickaxes and stone axes that had shattered between their steel fangs!

“It’s a good weapon, at least.”

—Of course I am! Do you have any idea whose sword I am?

Even now, the specter found room for pride.

Suho was still completely surrounded, but now that he had a little breathing room, he immediately checked his reward.

‘Give me something useful! Even stats would be fine!’

[Your completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to check your reward?] (Y/N)

‘Yes!’

[The following reward is available.]

Reward: ‘Rune Stone: Storm Slash’

‘A skill!’

It was the best reward he could have asked for. Suho immediately examined it.

[Rune Stone: Storm Slash]

Break the rune stone to absorb the skill.

CRUNCH!

[You have learned ‘Skill: Storm Slash.’]

As Suho crushed the rune stone, the power of a storm filled his body.

WHOOOSH!

“This is...?”

Suho understood instinctively how to activate the skill—and how to put it to use. With no time to waste, he used it immediately.

“Hah!”

[Activating ‘Skill: Storm Slash.’]

WHOOOOM!

A fierce wind erupted from Suho’s sword. The storm of blades struck all the wolves in front of him at once.

“Yelp! Yip!”

[You have defeated a Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

[You have defeated a Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

[You have defeated a Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

...

Countless messages scrolled into view.

“Wow.”

Suho was impressed. A single use of the skill had killed more than ten wolves at once. Terrified by its tremendous destructive power, even the wolves that had barely survived scattered and fled.

Suho had no intention of pursuing them. That one use had drained his previously full mana reserves.

[Skill: Storm Slash Lv.1]

Active skill.

Mana required: 50.

Imbues the sword with the power of raging winds.

Can attack multiple enemies simultaneously.

It cost a full fifty mana, but its effect was impressive enough to justify it. Suho stared at the skill window, mesmerized.

Beru could hardly believe what he was seeing.

[What? You are impressed by a mere skill like that? Shadow power is thousands—tens of thousands—of times greater!]

—What nonsense! It wasn’t the skill! That power came from what an extraordinary sword I am!

The sword’s specter was no less proud than Beru.

“Both of you, quiet. This is a historic moment. I finally have an attack skill.”

[But—!]

—No, I’m far more...!

Ignoring their bickering, Suho returned to the miners hiding in the distance.

“Are you all right?”

“R-rookie, you...”

The miners were astounded by the swordsmanship they had just witnessed. Swordsmanship that could conjure a storm!

“If you had a skill like that, why didn’t you use it until now...?”

‘Oh.’

Suho looked awkward at the older men’s reactions. Naturally, they would never believe him if he said he had acquired a new skill during the fight.

“Using it once completely drains my mana. That’s why I saved it until the last moment.”

“Well, I’ll be.”

His answer impressed the miners even more. Suho had only awakened a few days ago. Today was even his first time entering a dungeon. Yet he had kept his fangs hidden until the very end, waiting for the decisive moment?

Wasn’t that how a seasoned hunter who had cleared countless Gates would act?

‘Unbelievable. Does that mean everything he’s done so far was carefully calculated?’

‘Even all that hiding and running away...?’

“You... Just how far ahead had you planned?”

“Sorry?”

“Haha. Never mind, never mind. No need to explain.”

“We shouldn’t have asked.”

“Anyway, thank you for saving us. If it weren’t for you, we really might never have seen another sunrise.”

Only now did their survival seem to sink in, and the miners sighed in relief.

* * *

Word of the incident in Hankuk University’s dungeon broke that evening.

“What? The raid party was wiped out?”

“In a mere D-rank dungeon?”

“Wasn’t the leader of those hunters C-rank?”

“What on earth happened?”

Reporters flocked to Hankuk University, racing to uncover the truth. But the miners who had barely survived were already long gone.

“Haha. Allow me to explain.”

Teaching Assistant Im, of course, was still at work in his office. Thanks to his running skill, he had managed to keep escaping even amid that fierce battle. Perhaps that explained why he looked perfectly healthy, without so much as a scratch.

‘Perfect. This is my chance to repay Suho.’

Teaching Assistant Im told the reporters everything he knew about the incident in the dungeon, going into particular detail about Suho’s exploits.

Whether they believed him, however, was up to them.

“Sorry? An E-rank hunter did that?”

“A summoner-type hunter? Does that even make sense?”

“We heard even a C-rank hunter died in this incident. How could a bottom-rank hunter like that...”

“What’s wrong with being E-rank or being a summoner? Are you looking down on him because he’s in the minority?”

Teaching Assistant Im bristled at the reporters’ dubious reactions.

“I’m going to post every word you’ve said on the E-rank hunter community forum!”

“Now, now. No need to get angry.”

“Let’s all calm down.”

Sweating nervously at his response, the reporters began gently placating him. The E-rank hunter community was a tricky group for reporters to deal with. For one thing, its members were incredibly numerous, and every guild had E-rank hunters.

As a result, all sorts of little tidbits of information circulated through that community. Getting on their bad side could make a reporter’s life very inconvenient.

“Ahem. So, in short, this hunter named Sung Suho played the biggest role?”

“He used his summons to distract the enemy, then cut off the arm of the hunter who’d gone berserk?”

Summed up like that, it sounded exactly like a summoner’s fighting style. Of course, his close-combat abilities did seem far too good for a summoner, but the reporters chalked that up to Teaching Assistant Im’s favoritism toward a student from his own painting department.

“Well, anyway. We’ve got our story.”

Articles appeared online that evening. They described how an E-rank hunter’s quick thinking had resolved the incident, but the public response was lukewarm.

—Summoning? And he’s E-rank?

—Talk about a niche within a niche.

—Is this stealth marketing for summoner-type hunters?

—Are reporters really that desperate for stories these days?

—Anyway, so that E-rank hunter is a summoner. Didn’t he rescue students there a few days ago, too?

—Guess he used his summoning skill to save them then, too. Really making the most of that summoning skill, huh.

—I’m telling you, it’s summoner stealth marketing.

Some of the guilds that read the articles did take an interest in Suho.

“He’s pretty good for an E-rank.”

“Even allowing for the reporters’ exaggerations, it means he’s promising by E-rank standards.”

“Isn’t it about time we hired a few more porters?”

“Actually, the collection team has been asking for more staff.”

“Good timing. Everyone’s snapping up even E-rank hunters these days. There aren’t many decent freelancers left.”

“That’s why we need to hire a few E-rank hunters as permanent employees, too.”

“Permanent employees? Hmm. Am I too old-fashioned? I still think contract work or day labor is just right for E-rank hunters. Young people these days, honestly.”

“Ahem. Anyway, I’ll send this Sung Suho a recruitment offer.”

“Let’s do that. Imagine how thrilled he’ll be to hear from us. Lucky little fellow.”

And so Hyunmoo Guild, one of Korea’s fairly large guilds, sent Sung Suho an offer for a permanent position.

‘Such an incredible opportunity for a rookie who’s only just awakened. The other E-rank hunters would be beside themselves with envy if they knew.’

* * *

Some time later...

“... What?”

Lee Youngho, chief of Hyunmoo Guild’s Second Management Section, could not believe his ears.

“H-he turned us down? Hyunmoo?”

“Yes...”

“Does that make any sense? Some E-rank rookie rejecting Hyunmoo’s offer? Wait, don’t tell me! Did Baekho beat us to him?”

“That is possible.”

“Ugh. Yes, those Baekho bastards would certainly do something like that. But even so, isn’t offering an E-rank hunter better terms than ours going overboard? Do they have money to burn?”

Section Chief Lee Youngho could only curse the blameless Baekho Guild.