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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Of course, he couldn’t say that hunting the Super Gorilla would be easy.
‘The armor is quite bothersome.’
Since it was covered in thick steel armor, there were no exposed vital points like the Orc Warrior before.
Fortunately, it wasn’t at a level he couldn’t penetrate with force.
If he continuously used Stone Cutter with his strengthened body, he could break even the thickest steel armor and defeat the Super Gorilla.
However, simply passing the test wasn’t enough.
‘I need to show clear results.’
He would definitively prove his worth to the Hunter Association by overwhelming the boss monster, the Super Gorilla, before him.
Lee Seong-jun’s cold gaze fixed on the Super Gorilla.
Confirming the giant Super Gorilla approaching across the swamp from a distance of just over 100 meters, Lee Seong-jun invested all his remaining bonus points into Blood Energy.
Ding!
『Stat ‘Blood Energy’ increased by (+8).』
Blood Energy: 15 (+13)
The 4 points he already possessed and the 4 points gained from hunting in the E-rank Gate, a total of 8 points, increased his Blood Qi.
Feeling the Blood Qi surging within him, a relaxed smile spread across Lee Seong-jun’s face.
‘The preparations are complete.’
All that remained was to deal with the charging Super Gorilla.
Naturally, Lee Seong-jun’s mind began to spin busily.
‘…A martial art that can defeat the Super Gorilla in one blow.’
For a moment, countless divine and esoteric martial arts flashed through his mind.
But Lee Seong-jun immediately erased them from his thoughts.
‘I’m only at the beginning of the first-rate level.’
There was no way he could properly execute martial arts known as divine or esoteric.
He needed a martial art he could perform with his weakened body and that could subdue the Super Gorilla before him.
As Lee Seong-jun recalled numerous martial arts, a smile began to form on his lips.
‘That should be enough.’
Countless martial arts existed in the Thousand Continents.
They all had various unique characteristics, but the most memorable among them were the Shaolin martial arts.
This was because, unlike other sects that mainly trained internal Qi, the Shaolin Temple focused on training external Qi.
While their training methods were brutally demanding, their effects were also outstanding.
With their unyielding bodies and physiques like steel, the Shaolin martial artists had achieved fame and renown even within the Thousand Continents, where numerous sects and masters resided.
But despite that, many sects and martial artists primarily trained internal Qi.
The reason was simple.
External Qi training had a clear weakness.
‘No matter how hard you train, you can’t train your internal organs.’
No matter how much one trained their body with external Qi, they would inevitably show some weakness against internal Qi striking techniques that targeted the inside rather than the outside.
In other words, it meant that even if the Super Gorilla before him wore thick armor, it was meaningless.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
To penetrate thick iron armor and reach the inside, he needed a large amount of internal energy and excellent control.
However, there wasn’t a shred of hesitation in Lee Seong-jun’s actions.
No, he had certainty.
‘I can penetrate it.’
Thanks to the recent increase in Blood Qi from the bonus points, he could say his internal energy was sufficient.
There was no lack of control either.
He was someone praised as the Blood Demon and had reached the realm of Demon God.
With certainty, Lee Seong-jun concentrated his surging Blood Qi in his thighs and legs, kicking off the ground and instantly closing the distance with the Super Gorilla.
“Kroo-?!”
The Super Gorilla, its eyes widening, hurriedly swung its fist at Lee Seong-jun.
He saw the giant fist flying towards him.
But it was already too late.
Lee Seong-jun’s figure, using Ghost Shadow Step, blurred and instantly vanished.
“Kroo…?!”
Just as the bewildered Super Gorilla turned its head urgently, searching for Lee Seong-jun,
Lee Seong-jun’s voice came from right below, near its chest.
“Vibrating Blood Explosive Thunder. Crushing Palm.”
As the Super Gorilla hurriedly lowered its head upon hearing the sound, Lee Seong-jun, with cold eyes, thrust his wide-open palm forward.
Thump!
The moment Lee Seong-jun’s palm crumpled the Super Gorilla’s armor, the internal energy of Vibrating Blood Explosive Thunder penetrated and spread like a wave inside the Super Gorilla.
Bang!
Immediately after, the internal energy that had entered the Super Gorilla exploded with a loud bang.
There was no way it could survive with all its internal organs destroyed.
“Gurgle-!”
Blood sprayed from its mouth as the giant Super Gorilla’s body fell backward.
Ding!
You have defeated the D-rank boss monster, Super Gorilla.
> You have defeated the boss monster alone.
> Additional experience points awarded.
> Experience points greatly increased!
> Experience points gained for first clear doubled.
『Congratulations! Your level has increased to 20 as you have met the required experience points.』
A smile formed on Lee Seong-jun’s lips as he checked the green holographic window that appeared before him.
‘Not bad.’
Considering his level was 10 before entering this E-rank Gate, he had achieved a ten-level increase.
While low-level Hunters had a fast growth rate, it wasn’t to this extent.
It usually took at least a month for normal Hunters to reach level 20, so his current growth rate was truly remarkable.
Moreover, the reward wasn’t just leveling up.
Lee Seong-jun immediately turned his head and checked the items appearing over the Super Gorilla’s corpse.
‘Judging by the size… the magic stone is about D-rank.’
Although he had obtained a high-priced magic stone worth 10 million won, Lee Seong-jun’s gaze was fixed on a palm-sized spherical orb.
‘Is this the Dimensional Nucleus I’ve only heard of?’
He had never seen it directly, but since it had been revealed to the public countless times through news and online articles,
He could infer that the spherical orb was the Dimensional Nucleus that maintained the world inside the Gate.
A big smile naturally spread across Lee Seong-jun’s face.
‘Quite a harvest.’
The Dimensional Nucleus was an item that could only be obtained by hunting the first appearing boss monster and was the only item capable of completely destroying a Gate.
In other words, if the Dimensional Nucleus wasn’t destroyed, the Gate could never be eliminated.
‘…Since it’s a troublesome Gate, I should be able to get at least 50 million won.’
It wasn’t just a pipe dream.
Managing and eliminating Gates within safe zones was the Hunter Association’s most important task.
However, it was impossible to manage all the Gates, which were generated by the dozens, or even hundreds, every day.
Fortunately, if a Gate had a favorable internal environment like the F-rank Gate he had visited earlier, or if it contained easy-to-hunt monsters, Hunters would form teams and hunt on their own, eliminating the monsters.
However, in environments like this E-rank Gate, which Hunters avoided, the association had to periodically dispatch its own Hunters.
It meant that it became a headache for the already understaffed Hunter Association.
Therefore, the Hunter Association had no choice but to prefer obtaining and destroying the Dimensional Nucleus, even if it meant spending a considerable amount of money.
‘Excellent.’
Combined with the D-rank magic stone, the Dimensional Nucleus, and the promised reward, he had earned nearly 90 million won in a single day.
However, today’s income was just the tip of the iceberg.
‘This is where it really begins.’
He had passed the test presented by the Hunter Association with flying colors.
Now that his abilities had been proven, he would attract a lot of attention.
And this attention tended to translate into big money.
But as with everything in the world, simply leaving it alone and observing wouldn’t yield the desired results.
He had to make appropriate efforts and preparations.
“I think the test is over, so I’ll be going now.”
“Yes, yes! Please be careful on your way back!”
Choi Gyu-jin, who had been staring blankly after witnessing the battle with the Super Gorilla, hurriedly snapped out of it and replied in a loud voice.
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Go Tae-hyun, Vice President of the Hunter Association.
The middle-aged man, Go Tae-hyun, sitting at a desk with a luxurious black nameplate and looking over documents related to Lee Seong-jun, raised his head and looked at Jo Kang-hyun.
His face was filled with an unconcealable, joyful smile.
“Huh… this much?”
It was a natural reaction.
Returnee Lee Seong-jun had set a record that could be described as unprecedented.
Even Jo Kang-hyun had found it difficult to accept reality when he first received the report.
“Yes, I knew he was unusual, but even I didn’t expect him to hunt a D-rank boss monster alone.”
At Jo Kang-hyun’s straightforward words, Go Tae-hyun’s eyes sparkled.
“He’s a returnee worthy of global attention, not just national.”
“I believe we should do our best to prevent information from leaking to outside forces, including the Returnee Association.”
Having shown potential surpassing even Yoon Min-soo, if today’s story spread outside, Returnee Lee Seong-jun’s fame and renown would skyrocket.
This meant that huge forces, such as guilds led by Awakened and returnee alliances, would be scrambling to recruit him.
“We won’t be able to keep it under wraps for long. But let’s do our best.”
“Understood. I’ll try to finalize negotiations with Returnee Lee Seong-jun within that time. But regarding the conditions…”
At Jo Kang-hyun’s careful words, Go Tae-hyun nodded.
“I’ll authorize everything within my power.”
“Thank you!”
Jo Kang-hyun, his face brightening, bowed deeply.
The current situation within the association was that the president had stepped down last year and transferred all authority to Vice President Go Tae-hyun.
With the president absent, Vice President Go Tae-hyun’s authority was completely equivalent to the president’s.
In other words, the Hunter Association could offer Lee Seong-jun the best conditions they could.
‘The only slightly regrettable thing is that our association’s funds aren’t that abundant…’
It was unavoidable.
The government didn’t allocate a large budget to the Hunter Association.
This was because the country’s security could be sufficiently protected by guilds and alliances alone.
But since he had received full authority from Go Tae-hyun, he had enough grounds to persuade Lee Seong-jun.
‘There are many special privileges that only the association can offer.’
He would use all of that to bring Lee Seong-jun into the association.
If he succeeded, he felt like he could speed down his career path, which had been blocked by Director Kim Dong-jun, who strongly opposed him, as if it were a clear highway.
Strength naturally filled his clenched fists.
Seeing him, Go Tae-hyun smiled and said,
“It’s good to see. I always feel sorry for relying on you like this.”
“It’s alright.”
“If this goes well, I’ll strongly push for your promotion to director.”
“…!!”
“Isn’t that what you want?”
“Well, yes, but…”
Wouldn’t Kim Dong-jun be greatly dissatisfied with such a sudden move?
To be precise, his backers could make a move.
It wasn’t like Go Tae-hyun needed to worry about a mere Kim Dong-jun.
“You’ve done well so far, and if you recruit someone like Returnee Lee Seong-jun, I think that’s justification enough.”
“Vice President.”
“So do your best. I’ll also do my best for you. Yerin is starting elementary school soon, isn’t she?”
At Go Tae-hyun’s slightly playful wink, Jo Kang-hyun, who was an association employee but also the head of a household, felt even greater passion burning in his eyes.
“I will definitely succeed.”
His already firm voice gained even more strength.
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