Kim Chul tried to silence his steps because every time he set foot on the snow, it creaked under his boots.
He cautiously approached the source of the smell.
Finally, he reached a clearing where Jin-Woo's team was situated.
Kim Chul's eyes widened in shock.
Them?
How?
How could this group of failures still be alive?
However, he didn't see one of the rank E Hunters.
The idiot must have taken the lead with such confidence. He had to die first and only, surprisingly, probably within the first few minutes.
It was obvious.
But what was not obvious was the scene before him.
How to make sense of it all? Everything here in front of his eyes didn't add up.
Warm clothing, blankets, tents, and other equipment caught his eye.
They were clearly prepared for the environment.
But how?
Where would they get all these items beyond the gate?
None of these Hunters could simply pull all of this out of their pockets!
As Kim Chul's tired and annoyed eyes surveyed the entire camp, something caught his attention.
It was a piece of bread next to the meat.
There was no way they found or made bread here. It had to be prepared beforehand. His confusion quickly turned into anger.
Bastards... Kim Chul gritted his teeth. These miserable creatures somehow had all of this with them and left on their own.
If his hands weren't so frozen, no, if he weren't so terribly hungry, he would have dealt with these elves more easily.
Thinking about how eagerly they gathered something that should have been shared with the raid team, better than them, Kim Chul couldn't take it anymore. He burst into the clearing.
Park Hee-Jin jumped in surprise and stood up.
- Kim Chul?! How did you get here?! Where is the rest of the group?
For none of Jin-Woo's group members, the sight of this Hunter was pleasant.
His armor was bloodied, frosted, and scratched, his face pale violet from the cold and fatigue, with huge dark crescent moons under his eyes, expressing desperation, madness, and fury.
- Our group failed to clear the dungeon. My squad was wiped out because we lacked the proper equipment and food. So, how the hell are you sitting here with all this gear and food?
Park Hee-Jin couldn't answer. Fearing that admitting it was all thanks to Jin-Woo would turn Kim-Chul's anger towards him, she didn't want to repay the man who saved her life in such a way.
From the beginning, she didn't like how Kim-Chul looked at Sung Jin-Woo. That contempt and superiority... Park Hee-Jin bit her lip.
Seeing how he defied his will, Kim-Chul's anger grew. The veins on his neck swelled.
- Who dared to hide information about supplies and send their comrades to certain death?!
His shouts echoed loudly through the entire forest.
- I'll count to three. If the guilty party doesn't reveal themselves by then, I'll consider that everyone was involved.
Han Song-I pulled on the sleeves of Park Hee-Jin's jacket.
Despite Kim-Chul's authority, none of the Hunters spoke.
Weak, useless Hunters refused to listen to him, despite his authority? It made Kim-Chul's blood boil with fury. He had already guessed that the traitorous Huntress who turned away from him was behind all this.
She knew there wouldn't be enough for everyone, yet she wasn't ready for a solo journey. So, she decided to join forces with a smaller group.
- Three!
Park Hee-Jin will die first.
- Four.
Something hit Kim Chul in the back of the head, and he fell face-first into the snow, sliding forward due to the force of the blow.
The eyes of all the Hunters widened.
- Captain!
Jin-Woo quickly dampened their joy by putting a finger to his lips.
Halfway to rushing to hug him, the four Hunters froze at Jin-Woo's gesture. Park Hee-Jin asked worriedly, - What's going on?
Jin-Woo looked angrily at the unconscious foolish Hunter.
- Kim-Chul dragged some guests along.
Jin-Woo felt a powerful presence coming from the forest. There was no time to worry about Kim-Chul. The real problem lay very close to them.
Realizing that Jin-Woo was staring directly at them, the elves canceled their "Concealment" and revealed themselves.
There were about 20 of them, with one standing out among the rest.
Jin-Woo gazed at the Elf with the longest hair sitting on a horse, while the others stood around him.
The boss came to them himself. Compared to the ice bears or even the ice elves nearby, the boss was incredibly powerful. Jin-Woo felt a slight tremor.
- So, it's true. One of those human trash turned out to be somewhat useful.
Opening his eyes wider and looking foolishly at the boss who suddenly started talking, Jin-Woo asked incredulously, - What? What did you call us?
Jin-Woo's response shocked the boss.
- You know our language?
In truth, it wasn't clear who was more shocked, Jin-Woo understanding the boss or the boss understanding Jin-Woo. How on earth was he communicating with the monster?
He could understand the language of the magical beast. Moreover, he could actually respond. Words he had never learned flowed from him as if it were his native language.
- Can you talk to them?
When Park Hee-Jin thought that nothing about Jin-Woo could surprise her anymore, it turned out she was terribly wrong.
Without answering that question, Jin-Woo himself wondered how it was possible.
Was it one of the effects of the system? Something like a universal translator?
Jin-Woo looked at the boss. The boss looked at him with an amused expression.
- You can talk to us... Interesting. Allow me to introduce someone.
The boss pointed to the elf standing to his right. It was the same elf who shot an arrow at Han Song-I, which Jin-Woo caught.
- He informed us about an exceptionally strong unit among humans. He wanted to face you directly...
A dagger from Jin-Woo suddenly appeared on the forehead of the smiling elf, and the body fell to the snow after a moment. Behind Jin-Woo, there were surprised cries that he ignored.
Jin-Woo reached his hand toward the lifeless body. The dagger embedded in the forehead trembled slightly, then shot back into Jin-Woo's hand. With the dagger back in his grip, the Hunter assumed a fighting stance.
- Anything else?
- You're really strong. How amusing.
He dismounted, but for now, he didn't seem to show hostility toward Jin-Woo or seek revenge for his dead subordinate.
- I have a proposal. It should be beneficial for you. But first, let me ask something. You're not human, so what are you doing among humans?
To this question, Jin-Woo furrowed his brows.
- What are you talking about?
- Don't you understand?
The boss chuckled, then pointed to his temple.
- In our heads, we constantly hear a voice urging us to kill humans. But when I look at you, the voice goes silent.
Voices...?
Something like the information given to him by the System?
If this voice only reacted to Jin-Woo, then the System had to be connected to it somehow.
- We don't have to fight. I don't need unnecessary casualties. Hand over these people to me. And you'll be spared. What do you say?
- Let me ask you something as well.
Jin-woo assumed such a chance to seek answers from an intelligent monster may not come again, so he wanted to take it.
- Go ahead.
- Who are you? Where did you come from and why do you hunt humans?
- We are...
Suddenly the boss's smiling face froze for a fraction of a second. Then he continued naturally, as if nothing had happened,
- We don't have to fight. I don't need unnecessary casualties. Hand over these people to me. And you'll be spared. What do you say?
What was that?
Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes. The boss reacted very strangely.
Like an NPC in a video game, forced to repeat his words after trying to act outside his programming.
- Do you agree to our proposal?
The boss's face didn't indicate anything had happened. He still maintained a carefree smile. His subordinates standing behind him also showed no change. As if Jin-Woo had never asked their boss anything.
Seeing that trying to get information out of them would be futile, Jin-Woo decided it was time to end this.
There was only one thing left. His answer had been decided long ago.
- I refuse.
He would defeat the boss and take his shadow. He would never allow harm to come to the people under his protection.
- You plan to fight us? Do you think you can take us all alone?
Jin-Woo smiled widely.
- I'm not alone. Not anymore.
At his will, the soldiers waiting in Jin-Woo's shadow appeared behind him.
Another terrified scream came from the hunters standing behind him.
Jin-Woo looked at the pale faces of his teammates and felt a slight pang of guilt. He didn't want to scare them. But this was a dangerous moment, there was no time for explanations.
- You still claim I'm alone? - Jin-Woo asked, amused as Igris stood by his side.
The boss finally showed hostility,
- What a cheap trick.
He understood the boss's unshakable confidence. In numbers, his shadows may have exceeded the elves gathered here, but compared to the boss his soldiers were weak.
But he had an idea.
Jin-Woo quickly glanced at his side. Kim Chul still lying in the same place he had fallen.
He was still unconscious.
And Jin-Woo felt guilty about wanting to do something so improper, but he had no choice. Additionally, Kim-Chul wasn't exactly the archetype of a "good person".
At the boss's order, the elves attacked.
Jin-Woo placed his bears in front of the knights and also ordered them to attack.
He knew his shadows would deal with the elves around while Jin-Woo focused on the lone boss.
Before leaving, Jin-Woo quickly kicked Kim Chul's sword closer to the unconscious Hunter.
The boss walked towards Jin-Woo with daggers in hand, seeing this the hunter summoned Fang of Rasaka and Knight Killer.
- My name is Baruka, and you? - The boss asked, smiling widely as if the whole situation greatly amused him.
- Sung Jin-Woo.
Seeing the chaos that had erupted the rest of the hunters ran further from the battlefield. Seeing the strange figures made of pure darkness fighting the elves and constantly regenerating after death the hunters understood their C and B ranks couldn't do much.
This fight was on a completely different level.
Jin-Woo struck, charged, and slashed, but each of his attacks was blocked and parried by the boss, who didn't look impressed.
After his attacks, the boss easily launched his own.
Here and there various cuts appeared on Jin-Woo's body. He didn't know how much longer he could endure. Even as he fought the boss, the regeneration of his army still drained his mana.
The Shadow Mages finished casting their spell. A fireball much larger than a volleyball crashed into the middle of the Elves.
A deafening sound woke Kim-Chul.
He raised his head, feeling a throbbing pain in it.
Through the fog blurring his vision, he saw terrifying elves fighting unknown black soldiers.
What the hell was that supposed to be?
He had no idea what was going on, but he knew why he was on the ground. The hand that struck him in the back of the head! That voice he heard as he fell!
It had to be Sung Jin-Woo.
As he regained consciousness, the humiliation and rage made his hands tremble and his teeth clench painfully. His hands felt for the cold sword that lay very conveniently next to him. Now, surrounded by elves, they were all practically dead already.
At least before he died he would kill that bastard Sung Jin-Woo.
His gaze fell on the back of the aforementioned hunter.
He was fiercely fighting one of the enemies, and his back was exposed, giving Kim-Chul a chance to attack. Kim-Chul jumped up from the ground and started running.
Sensing the approaching hunter he was waiting for, Jin-Woo smiled slightly.
This idiot reacted exactly as Jin-Woo expected.
Kim-Chul reached Jin-Woo and swung his sword with all his might at the rank E hunter's neck.
- Die!
The boss in front of him, Kim-Chul behind him. Seemingly between a rock and a hard place, but only seemingly so.
Igris emerged from Jin-Woo's shadow behind him and protected his master.
Kim-Chul's eyes widened in shock. Before he could say or do anything, Igris's sword pierced deep into his chest, going right through him.
Jin-Woo quickly moved away from the boss.
As the dead hunter's body fell into the snow, his eyes frozen in hatred and shock, Igris rushed at the boss, giving his master the time he needed.
Jin-Woo stood before the body.
- Arise.
A loud condemned scream full of agony came from an unknown place.
With it, from Kim-Chul's shadow, a huge hand emerged.
[ SHADOW EXTRACTION SUCCESSFUL ]
Jin-Woo clenched his fists. The path to victory in this battle had been a puzzle. And the final piece of that puzzle just fell into place.
He knew that with this move his victory would be bittersweet. However, he had no choice.
The black knight that grew from Kim-Chul's shadow was much larger and thicker than his original. In one hand he wielded an enormous hammer. On the other hand, he held a shield the size of a grown man. The knight gave off an incredible sense of menace.
Kim-Chul was a muscular guy and rank A but the posture and strength of his new shadow really surprised him.
[ PLEASE SELECT A NAME FOR THE SHADOW ]
Ah right, a name.
Strong shadows clearly needed a name.
Jin-Woo quickly glanced to the side. Igris was pushed back by the boss; his regeneration was the only thing still keeping him in the fight.
One of Igris's arms had been severed.
Jin-Woo had to hurry.
Should he just use the man's name? No, using a human's name as his shadow's name was simply in poor taste.
Since his name referred to iron, he could use that.
[ IRON LV.1 ]
[ RANK: KNIGHT ]
He had the rank of Knight just like Igris. But now was no time to celebrate that fact.
- Iron, Go forward.
Iron moved his massive body and took a step forward.
His gigantic body was brimming with power, but Jin-Woo doubted that with his stature his new shadow was even half as agile and fast as the boss.
However Iron exceeded Jin-Woo's expectations. The gigantic knight stuck out his chest and roared,
A message appeared before the bewildered Jin-Woo.
[ IRON USED SKILL: "TAUNTING ROAR" ]
[ DUNGEON BOSS HAS BEEN PROVOKED ]
Kim Chul was an A-rank tank. As expected, he possessed a powerful ability, and Iron, his shadow, perfectly mimicked that skill. The boss's head sharply turned toward Iron. Leaving behind Igris, whom he could have easily finished off, the boss rushed hurriedly at Iron, as if currently seeing only him.
Iron easily blocked the jumping attack, shielding himself with his enormous shield.
Interestingly, only now did the thought occur to Jin-Woo that when Kim-Chul found them at their camp, he didn't have either his shield or hammer, only the poor sword at his hip.
Most likely during the skirmishes both the shield and hammer were destroyed, but despite that their larger shadowy replicas were now wielded by Iron.
That was quite surprising.
Meanwhile, Igris's arm regenerated. Black smoke seeped from the wound, then transformed into the knight's arm. The boss was still focused on Iron. Jin-Woo and Igris took advantage of that and attacked his back.
In the meantime, Park Hee-Jin standing at a distance observed the whole event, unable to find words for what was currently happening before her eyes.
What she was witnessing seemed so unreal and impossible. At this point, she lost the strength to even be curious.
Standing next to her, Han Song-I asked in a quiet voice:
- Do all hunters fight like this?
The girl's voice was full of fear.
- If that was the case I'd have never gotten a license. I've never heard or seen anything like this.
- Is this a dream? - One of her two C-rank colleagues asked.
If it was a dream, it was certainly a nightmare. Park Hee-Jin could only watch with her mouth open as magical beasts fought "something" clad in black. At the same time, a concern appeared in her mind,
When we get out of here...
As survivors, they would be thoroughly interrogated and examined. How could she explain all this? Thinking about what Sung Jin-Woo had shown them here, she couldn't imagine how the guild would react. She told this to her colleagues.
- The very fact that we're worrying about things that will happen when we get out of here...
They were in a high-rank dungeon, on top of that a Red Gate. At the moment when they were cast aside by Kim Chul, they already had thoughts in the back of their heads that they would soon die. But now they were really worrying about what would happen outside, as if getting out of here in one piece was a given. All thanks to one man.
Rasaka's Fang pierced the arm of the unsuspecting boss.
[ EFFECT: BLEED HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ]
[ EFFECT: PARALYZE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ]
[ ENEMY'S RESISTANCE IS TOO HIGH. EFFECT HAS BEEN CANCELED ]
For some time now, the effects of the Fang had been becoming more and more useless as his enemies grew stronger. But even without those effects, the inflicted wound was still some small step toward victory.
Jin-Woo began attacking again, inflicting more wounds on the boss.
As more and more wounds appeared on his body, the boss's movements began to slow down.
The smile had long disappeared from the elf's face. Fighting solo against Jin-Woo, Igris, and Iron was very tiring, leaving him gasping for some time now.
Suddenly Iron managed to pull the boss into a bear hug, taking advantage of his slowed speed and growing fatigue and distraction.
Signaling to Igris, they both retreated some distance getting out of the line of fire.
The finished spells of the Shadow Mages fell on the place where Iron stood.
For the first time, the boss showed signs of pain. The icy elf twisted his body, and Iron's arms were torn off.
The boss sent Jin-Woo a crazily furious look.
Even with such great fatigue, he was still able to withstand one more attack from his mages.
He really was a high-level dungeon boss. However, the scales of victory in this battle tipped toward Jin-Woo the moment Iron rose from Kim-Chul's dead body.
Jin-Woo used the skill "Dagger Throw".
Realizing he couldn't dodge, the boss deflected the dagger with his weapon.
However, this move caused the boss's weapon to shatter in his hand.
Taking advantage of this moment Jin-Woo closed the distance between himself and the boss and stabbed him in the side with Fang of Rasaka.
The boss's eyes widened in pain.
Despite that, the icy elf grabbed Jin-Woo by the wrist.
The boss raised his tanto above Jin-Woo's head. Seeing the boss's action the hunter smiled, feeling the end of the fight.
An enormous hammer struck the icy elf's head.
With a nauseating crunch, the boss's head hit the snow. Behind him stood Iron with his gigantic hammer, his arms already regenerated. The enormous knight raised the hammer again and brought it down.
Igris also prepared to attack, but then put away his sword seeing the being that threatened his master was dead. Jin-Woo also returned his daggers to his inventory.
[ DUNGEON BOSS HAS BEEN DEFEATED ]
[ YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! ]
[ YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! ]
Jin-Woo breathed a sigh of relief.
This was without a doubt a difficult fight.
- That's enough. - Jin-Woo looked from under half-closed eyelids at Iron.
Iron had already struck the motionless and certainly completely dead boss's body several times.
Despite becoming a shadow, apparently, a small spark of stupidity remained in him.
The boss's corpse was now nothing more than one big bloody pulp.
Looking at it Jin-Woo understood where the saying "beat to a bloody pulp" came from.
Jin-Woo smiled widely again. His reward after the difficult fight awaited at his feet, even if it currently only resembled a bloody stain.
***
It was already 3 in the morning.
The faces of the four men guarding the area were grim. Unable to take it anymore, Hyun Gee-Chul spoke up,
- Guild Master, maybe you should go home?
Beak Yoon-Ho gently shook his head.
- How could I sleep when my people are inside? I'll wait at least until morning.
The man was very determined. As the Guild Master and a rank S Hunter, he could not leave this place. Suddenly Ahn Sang-Min shouted in surprise:
- The gate...it's opening!
Hyun He-Chul and Joo Sung-Chan looked at the wide open gate with wide eyes.
- They defeated the boss!
- Someone's coming out!
Baek Yoon-Ho clenched his fist in anticipation, expecting to see his new rank A hunter leading the way.
All four men ran closer to the gate. Unable to hide his excitement, Baek Yoon-Ho looked for Kim Chul's face among the survivors. However, even after everyone left the Gate, he could not spot him.
Even Joo Sung-Chan, who had everyone believe in Kim Chul, lost his confidence and had a bewildered expression.
- Hunter Park Hee-Jin! Hunters Go Myung-Hwan, Yoon Ki-Jong!
Seeing Jin-Woo following Han Song-I as she exited the Gate, a smile bloomed on Ahn Sang-Min's face.
He was right.
The moods of Joo Sung-Chan and Ahn Sang-Min completely flipped. However, the smile quickly disappeared from Ahn Sang-Min's face. After the five Hunters, including Sung Jin-Woo, left the Gate, the Gate quickly disappeared as if it was never there.
With tears in his eyes, Hyun Gee-Chul began striking the names of the deceased from the guild roster. It was sad work, but someone had to do it.
Baek Yoon-Ho stood in the same spot looking at the survivors' faces.
Only one rank B huntress and lower rank hunters returned?! And two of them were not even from his guild with E-rank?!
It was impossible. What happened in there?
- Let's go. I'll take you home.
The student cautiously followed Jin-Woo, looking at Baek Yoon-Ho distrustfully. Soon the pair got into the van they arrived in and left the scene.
His thoughts in chaos, Baek Yoonho quickly approached the only high-rank survivor of this nightmare.
- Who is he? And why is he so agitated?
The woman had a blanket over her shoulders and a cup of tea in her hands. However she looked surprisingly healthy. Not chilled, not pale, not sleepy or famished.
Their team overcame all adversity and left the dungeon intact, even if so few in number, so why was Sung Jin-Woo full of anger?
- I'm not sure. He dealt with the boss, stood over him for a bit then left looking upset.
- Strange. - Baek Yoon-Ho admitted thoughtfully, trying to understand what could have agitated that odd hunter.
Ahn Sang-Min approached his boss with an uncertain expression.
- He's usually a bit cold, but polite. - Sang-Min admitted. - It might be fatigue's fault. He's a good man...
- That's not the point. - Baek Yoon-Ho sighed.
The Guild Master looked ahead thoughtfully.
That hunter showed such confidence. He didn't shrink back or shudder when he saw his inhuman eyes.
Fighting him, he'd have to expect at least losing an arm.
Baek Yoon-Ho turned and faced Ahn Sang-Min,
- Why haven't you recruited him yet?
- I've been working on it the whole time.
- You have my full support. Get that man into our guild no matter the cost.
Sung Jin-Woo...
As expected, Ahn Sang-Min's eyes were never wrong.
Baek Yoon-Ho felt guilty for doubting him earlier.
- I understand.
***
Jin-Woo's face was grim as he stared at the road.
Jin-Woo failed to extract Baruka's shadow, which was a bitter disappointment.
Could it have been due to the difference in their strength?
Very possible, after all, that Baruka was stronger than him and if not for Iron and Igris, Jin-Woo probably wouldn't have managed to win.
He gained Iron so it wasn't too bad. His new soldier was only a bit weaker than Igris, but had the same rank as him.
Surely an opportunity would come up to defeat another high-level boss. The important thing was that when that chance came again, he would be strong enough not to fail like today.
He removed his left hand from the steering wheel and summoned the item from his inventory into his hand.
[ ITEM: BARUKA'S DAGGER ]
[ DIFFICULTY LEVEL: A ]
[ TYPE: DAGGER ]
[ A DAGGER WIELDED BY THE GREAT WARRIOR BARUKA. A SLIGHT MAGICAL ENHANCEMENT HAS BEEN ADDED. ]
[ ATTACK: +110 ]
[ AGILITY: +10 ]
The dagger he obtained was quite decent. It added as much as 110 attack and 10 agility points.
Neither Rasaka's Fang nor Knight Killer could compare to this dagger. Especially since the former was becoming less and less useful in combat and was quite worn down already.
As he analyzed the events at the gate the car pulled up to Han Song-I's house.
- Goodnight. Sleep will probably do you good.
- Yes...probably. Thank you for today. See you tomorrow...or rather later.
Later? Jin-Woo looked at his watch and realized it was past 3 in the morning already.
Watching the girl return home with slumped shoulders, Jin-Woo felt like he fulfilled his task.
Things got a bit complicated, but the original goal was to dissuade her from being a hunter and that seemed to succeed after what she saw today.
Her first real raid was a red gate and that event would probably make the girl think twice before deciding to enter any dungeon again.
If Han Song-I completely withdrew from anything related to Hunters, Yoo Jin-Ho's team would lose a member, which would delay their plans. Luckily it looked like the girl would at least finish the remaining raids. After all, she didn't have to enter the dungeon and could wait outside with the others.
With the Shadow Soldiers, the speed of clearing C-rank dungeons would increase greatly. Jin-Woo was certain he could finish the remaining raids in record time. He also looked forward to Jin-Ho's reaction to seeing his new soldiers.
< Episode 5: Red Gate > Fin.