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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Sungjoon Lee’s brow furrowed.
‘What is this?’
It felt different from a normal gate.
The moment he finished his mental preparations and stepped forward, a fierce torrent pulled his body into the gate.
Simultaneously, his vision went completely dark.
It was the moment Sungjoon, sensing something amiss, urgently tried to expand his senses.
Whoosh!
A strong force pulled at Sungjoon’s body.
And at that moment, the scenery before his eyes transformed, revealing a yellow-ochre sand desert.
“Strange.”
Sungjoon slowly looked around, his eyes narrowing.
Sudden climate changes were something he experienced every time he entered a gate.
But strangely, the exit of the gate he had just passed through was nowhere to be seen.
“Hmm…”
The feeling of being swept away by something, the suddenly vanished gate exit… there was no room for doubt.
It was his first time experiencing it in person, but it perfectly matched the accounts he had seen on the internet.
‘…This must be what people call a special gate.’
He had originally come to clear an ordinary D-rank gate, so this was a completely unexpected situation.
However, Sungjoon’s expression remained completely calm.
There was nothing to be gained by panicking.
In situations like this, he needed to calmly and slowly organize his thoughts.
‘First… I need to check what kind of gate this is.’
A desert, a wide-open terrain, yet no monsters were visible.
However, the deep sand pits nearby indicated the presence of unusual monsters within the gate.
Sungjoon nodded his head as he carefully checked the surroundings and gathered information.
‘It’s highly likely to be a Frenzy Gate.’
A faint smile appeared on Sungjoon’s lips.
‘This actually makes things easier.’
Frenzy Gates didn’t have tricky conditions like strange monsters, coercive restrictions, special transformations, or traps.
A door to exit the gate would simply appear after defeating the boss monster.
It meant he didn’t have to waste his energy on unnecessary things and could focus solely on hunting down a single boss monster.
‘The odds are overwhelmingly in my favor.’
A C+-rank boss monster.
Even if it possessed strengthening buffs that could increase its stats, it wasn’t a monster that a mere level 30 Hunter could hunt alone.
But Sungjoon could confidently predict victory.
He possessed power that transcended levels and stats.
It was martial arts.
He could wield the immense power of internal energy drawn from the Blood Shadow Asura Divine Art.
Moreover, Sungjoon possessed the experience and skill to use it efficiently.
Even with the same stats, he would be overwhelmingly stronger.
And Sungjoon himself was aware of this fact.
There was no way he would even consider defeat against a mere C+-rank boss monster.
“The problem is, I don’t know where the boss monster is…”
But standing idly here wouldn’t provide any solutions.
Eventually, Sungjoon scratched the back of his head and slowly started walking.
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After wandering the gate for about an hour.
Sungjoon, who had been relentlessly walking, finally encountered the boss monster he had been searching for.
“Found it, finally.”
Rumble!
Sungjoon stared at the giant worm creating a sandstorm at the edge of his vision.
A massive body, 3 meters long and stretched out straight, brown skin, countless teeth lining its mouth.
It was a monster that had been mentioned occasionally during safety training sessions in the past, so he could easily identify the enemy.
‘Earth Worm.’
Despite being a boss monster, it didn’t seem to have any armor covering its skin.
‘Does it have a special ability?’
A question arose, but there was no way to confirm it immediately.
So Sungjoon boldly erased the question from his mind.
Instead, he checked his own condition.
‘My condition is perfect.’
The battlefield was also excellent.
There was only one enemy, nothing else to worry about.
He could pour all his power into that single monster.
‘I’ll be able to confirm my current strength for sure.’
Sungjoon smiled as he looked at the Earth Worm, over 3 meters away.
Ding!
Strength, Agility, and Stamina stats increased by 5 for 10 minutes…
Feeling the power surging through his body, Sungjoon clenched his fists and infused his legs with internal energy.
Thud!
Sungjoon’s body shot off the ground.
Sungjoon and the Earth Worm charged towards each other.
The distance between them closed rapidly.
“KIIEEEEEEK-!”
The Earth Worm shrieked, opening its mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth. It lunged with a ferocious momentum, as if to swallow Sungjoon whole in one gulp.
‘Ghost Shadow Step.’
Sungjoon’s figure blurred before his eyes and then reappeared near the Earth Worm’s flank.
‘Internal Destruction Technique is too risky.’
He could use it if he wanted to, but he didn’t know the Earth Worm’s vital organs.
Even if he did, the amount of internal energy he currently possessed would be insufficient to penetrate the outer skin and destroy the organs of the massive Earth Worm.
‘I have no choice but to crush it directly.’
Blood River Fist, Iron Strike, a martial art capable of crumpling even thick iron, exploded against the Earth Worm’s flank.
Crack!
With a dull sound, the brown skin caved in.
But that was it.
‘Too shallow.’
He couldn’t inflict any significant damage.
Instead, he only instilled a sense of crisis in the Earth Worm.
“KIIEEEE-!”
The Earth Worm shrieked, plunged its head into the ground, and disappeared into the sand.
Sungjoon’s eyes narrowed as he watched the scene.
‘It hides underground?’
This ability wasn’t among the known traits of the Earth Worm.
‘…It must be a special ability it gained by becoming a boss monster.’
While he was processing the information in his head, the Earth Worm’s gaping maw suddenly sprang up from beneath his feet.
Thud!
Sungjoon hurriedly moved away, his brow furrowing.
‘It has a lot of tricks.’
Not only did it have a hard shell that didn’t crumple even after being hit by Iron Strike, but its escape and ambush abilities were also outstanding.
It would have been quite a headache for ordinary Hunters.
However, it wasn’t a big problem for Sungjoon, who could freely manipulate internal energy.
‘Even if it can hide underground…!’
It couldn’t completely conceal its presence.
He spread his internal energy across the ground, and he sensed the Earth Worm’s presence not far away.
It was prowling around, waiting for an opportunity.
‘Should I wait for the right moment?’
Having reached the realm of a first-rate martial artist, there was no need for such trouble.
“No, I can just make it come out.”
Sungjoon smirked and placed his open palm on the sand.
‘Extinction Heaven Blood Art.’
A first-rate martial artist, and among them, a Grandmaster leading the Grand Unit.
A martial art with powerful destructive power that only those called true Blood Cultists could learn.
Of course, even the most threatening martial art was meaningless if it couldn’t reach the Earth Worm hiding underground.
However, since Extinction Heaven Blood Art was a martial art learned by first-rate martial artists who could materialize Qi, there was a technique that could inflict damage without direct contact.
‘Blood Flower Dance.’
A martial art where blood flowers dance, just as the name suggests.
A technique that annihilates the enemy by firing a large amount of condensed Qi projectiles.
Originally, it was a technique that could only be used at the peak level.
But Sungjoon used the experience and knowledge imprinted in his memory, and the power of the Blood Shadow Asura Divine Art, a divine art that only a Blood Demon could learn, to execute it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Of course, since it was merely an imitation, the power was somewhat lacking and insufficient to break the Earth Worm’s hard shell.
But it was enough to provoke the Earth Worm.
Indeed, the ground was shaking as the Earth Worm, hiding beneath the earth, writhed in pain.
Rumble!
Immediately after, the Earth Worm suddenly sprang up from beneath Sungjoon’s feet with its mouth wide open.
Sungjoon, who had already anticipated the attack, lightly jumped up to avoid it and then immediately used Supernal Flight to land softly on the Earth Worm’s head.
“KIIEEEEEEK-!”
The Earth Worm twisted its body frantically to shake off Sungjoon standing on its head, but it was a futile effort.
‘Suction Palm.’
In the past, when he was active in the Thousand Continents as a first-rate martial artist, he once crossed a cliff battered by strong winds and waves to complete an order from the Blood Cult.
‘Compared to that, this is laughable.’
His senses were even sharper than back then.
It was his first time using materialized Qi in a while, but since he had used it for a long time in the past, it felt as natural as breathing.
Thanks to that, there wasn’t a trace of awkwardness.
Sungjoon’s cold gaze was now directed at the Earth Worm’s head below.
‘I can… finish it off in one blow.’
Extinction Heaven Blood Art wasn’t a Blood Cult martial art for nothing.
As was the case with sects that could be called evil, it could unleash a power so strong that it had no equal among those of the same level.
Of course, there was a corresponding price to pay.
‘Most Blood Cult martial arts taint the user’s mind with madness each time they are used.’
It would turn them into a lunatic or a madman.
It was a truly terrifying price to pay, but the benefits were also clear.
If one could master the Extinction Heaven Blood Art, its powerful force would become entirely theirs.
‘Actually, it’s not difficult.’
Rather, the method itself could be considered simple.
‘Don’t get greedy and overuse the power of the martial art.’
Using power appropriate to one’s level was the most efficient and safe way to use Blood Cult martial arts.
Of course, with such a safe method, he wouldn’t be able to defeat the C+-rank boss monster, the Earth Worm, in one blow.
‘I need to accept all the madness emitted by Extinction Heaven Blood Art and control it with my will.’
By doing so, he could draw out the power of a higher level, even if only momentarily.
It meant he could unleash enough power to defeat the Earth Worm with its tough skin.
There was no need to worry about becoming a madman.
There was no way a being who had reached the level of a Blood Demon and a Demon God would be consumed by the mere madness emitted by Extinction Heaven Blood Art.
‘I tried not to use it if possible because it could put a strain on my body…’
But he had to push himself a little to firmly penetrate the Earth Worm’s hard skin.
Having made his decision, Sungjoon kicked off the Earth Worm’s head and soared into the air.
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