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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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My heart pounded as internal energy surged from my dantian.
Thump! Thump!
Feeling the throbbing in my ears and the scorching heat of the Blood Asura Divine Art coursing through my body, I extended both hands towards the energy I had dispersed.
‘Blood Blossom: Heaven and Earth Creation.’
A martial art of the Blood Demon, specialized for large-scale combat, and one of the reasons the Blood Cult, which had practically the entire continent as its enemy, was able to dominate the Thousand Continents.
Woooong—!
The energy I had scattered resonated, transforming into countless flower petals that danced in the air. The seductive red light of the Blood Blossoms filled the sky.
“낙화 (Falling Flowers).”
The petals rained down on the monsters below.
Whoosh—!
Although numerous, the Treasure Gate monsters were all rank B or lower. They had no chance of dodging the falling Blood Blossoms.
Kaboom—!
The Blood Blossoms exploded, showering the ground with flashes of light. The area was devastated. The endless horde of monsters was torn to shreds, reduced to mere chunks of meat. My vision cleared, revealing the surroundings.
‘…As expected.’
About a kilometer away, I saw a red rift surrounded by a group of shamans, and monsters pouring out from within. I had found the source of the monster wave.
Although I had depleted my internal energy using the wide-area attack, Blood Blossom: Heaven and Earth Creation, it wasn’t a problem.
‘I can just replenish my internal energy.’
I hadn’t come to raid this monster wave-infested Treasure Gate without a plan. I had declared that I would conquer it alone because I had a solid basis for my confidence.
I extended my hand. The bloodstains from the corpses scattered on the ground transformed into red energy and flowed into my body.
‘Soul Devouring Blood Absorption.’
As the name suggested, it was a martial art that allowed one to absorb the life force, the blood, of defeated enemies. Like Blood Blossom: Heaven and Earth Creation, it was one of the crucial martial arts that had allowed the Blood Cult to achieve world domination.
There was a reason why I hadn’t used it until now, despite knowing such a powerful technique.
‘My current level is too low.’
Soul Devouring Blood Absorption wasn’t a technique that could be used at the peak level. One needed to reach at least the transcendent level, with free control over their internal energy, to unleash it properly. While I could barely use it with my experience and knowledge as the Demon God, it wouldn’t be very effective unless used perfectly, so I hadn’t used it for hunting.
However, with so many corpses piled up, it was a different story. It was more efficient than any other martial art. Indeed, the absorbed blood flowed through my veins, instantly replenishing my depleted dantian.
Naturally, the shamans weren’t just watching while I recovered.
“Kraktuu… Shindujek…”
The shamans, chanting strange words, stabbed their own right arms with daggers.
Crack—!
The hexagram pattern drawn on the ground emitted a bright light, and my right arm suddenly turned black, the skin beginning to necrotize.
‘…A curse.’
It was a curse cast at the cost of their own flesh, so it wouldn’t be easy to shake off. Just a few days ago, it would have been quite troublesome. In other words, now, there was no need to worry.
‘Star’s Purification.’
As a golden light enveloped my body, my necrotizing right arm returned to its normal color.
“…!”
The shamans, caught off guard, widened their eyes and hurriedly started carving new patterns on the ground, trying to cast another spell. But I wouldn’t allow it.
Whoosh—!
Using Taeseon Sprint, I enveloped my feet in a strong gale and arrived before the shamans in an instant. I flicked my fingers.
‘Blood Blossom Martial Arts, Ten Transformations of Blood, Rapid Fire Projectiles.’
*Bang-! Bang-! Bang-! *
Red projectiles shot through the air, and the shamans’ heads exploded like firecrackers as they collapsed. As the shamans fell, the red rift that had been spewing monsters gradually disappeared.
The source of the monster wave was gone. I only had to deal with the remaining monsters nearby. It had already been an overwhelming mismatch, and now they had even lost their reinforcements. The tide had turned. A one-sided slaughter began.
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Yoon Min-soo, sitting on the sofa in his office on the top floor of Nuri Guild’s headquarters, frowned as he watched the news reports about Lee Seong-joon on the wall-mounted TV.
“He’s more than I expected.”
It had already been an hour since Lee Seong-joon entered the Treasure Gate alone. Considering that the greedy hunters who had entered before had returned as corpses within 30 minutes, he could infer that Lee Seong-joon had withstood the Treasure Gate’s monster wave.
‘So that’s why Seung-jun’s reaction was different…’
Since returning from the abandoned construction site a few days ago, Song Seung-jun had been singing Lee Seong-joon’s praises. He might not have been aware of it, but his words were laced with awe.
It was a side of him that even Yoon Min-soo, his master who had been with him for years, had rarely seen.
‘…He only reacted like that when he first met me.’
In other words, Lee Seong-joon’s true skill was on par with his, or even greater, possessing the potential to reach SSS-rank.
‘And that’s just a conservative estimate.’
Perhaps because of Song Seung-jun’s strong reaction, he couldn’t even imagine the extent of Lee Seong-joon’s power in the other world. A question arose in his mind, but there was no way to confirm it.
‘Lee Seong-joon absolutely cannot clear the Treasure Gate.’
The monster wave was just the beginning.
‘The true reason why Treasure Gates are considered so difficult is because of the boss monsters.’
Since the Treasure Gate appeared a month ago, the Nuri Guild had been steadily researching data on all previously discovered Treasure Gates.
‘There are three known types of Treasure Gate bosses.’
First, there were the Giants, boss monsters that reached a size of 100 meters. Their sheer size and destructive power were enough to be life-threatening with a single movement. They were tricky enough as it was, but Giant bosses also had exceptional defense.
Their skin was so thick and tough that it was almost impossible to inflict any significant damage without a magic-type hunter specializing in firepower. But these Giants were the easiest bosses to deal with in Treasure Gates.
‘If an Elemental boss appears, one might not even be able to attack it.’
Elemental bosses had special conditions that made them vulnerable only to specific attributes. Unless one had prepared thoroughly in advance, it would be impossible to defeat them. Of course, one could get lucky and encounter an elemental they could handle.
But the true terror of Elemental bosses wasn’t just their ‘attack conditions.’
‘Elementals are inherently powerful.’
They weren’t S-rank, Blue Gate bosses for nothing. Even SS+-rank hunters would struggle to solo an Elemental boss. Although Lee Seong-joon was exceptionally talented, he wasn’t SSS-rank yet.
‘Whether it’s a Giant or an Elemental, Lee Seong-joon’s chances of winning are slim.’
However, since there was at least a sliver of hope for defeating both Giants and Elementals, they were considered to have a relatively manageable difficulty.
‘The true worst-case scenario for Lee Seong-joon is a Doppelganger boss.’
Doppelgangers, just like in movies or comics, could copy the stats and skills of the enemy before them. If they simply copied stats, one could overcome the difference by growing stronger during the battle. But the problem was that there wasn’t just one Doppelganger boss.
‘There are three.’
If one had formed a party according to standard procedure, they could easily gain the upper hand by targeting a Doppelganger with an advantageous matchup. But Lee Seong-joon had entered the Treasure Gate alone.
It meant he had to fight three clones of himself, with the same stats and skills, simultaneously.
It was a hopeless situation, so he didn’t even need to imagine the outcome.
“Hunter Lee Seong-joon…”
It was truly a shame that such a talented individual, acknowledged even by his exceptionally gifted disciple Song Seung-jun, would die a pointless death. But it was also an opportunity for Nuri.
‘If Lee Seong-joon fails the Treasure Gate raid, Nuri is likely to be next in line.’
He had lobbied more than half of the director-level and higher personnel, and considering their past relationships and reputation, neither the Association nor other guilds or alliances would be able to object.
Since they had prepared thoroughly through preliminary research, if they secured the Treasure Gate raiding rights, obtaining tremendous rewards was a certainty. It meant that the Nuri Guild, which he had built over his entire life, could rise to become the undisputed strongest guild.
‘Finally… we’ll have the foundation to enter the world stage.’
Yoon Min-soo, his eyes gleaming with greed, turned his gaze towards the TV on the wall.
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