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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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This was the first time he had actually entered a C-rank gate, as the original C-rank gate had suddenly transformed into a Frenzy Gate.
However, contrary to his expectations, he didn’t feel anything special.
‘If I had to say… the air feels a little heavy.’
The terrain was the same.
Just a dense forest, as described in the report.
As the gate rank increased, the terrain usually changed into a harsher environment, difficult for humans to survive in.
However, the scenery of the C-rank gate before him wasn’t much different from the past F-rank gates.
Although it contradicted his existing knowledge, he could easily guess the reason.
‘…The Association must have taken care of this too.’
Even the most oblivious person would recognize the considerable care and excellent treatment the Association had provided so far.
Although the Hunter world was a meritocracy where one was treated according to their abilities, as someone with a conscience, he didn’t intend to simply keep receiving.
‘I have to grow as the Association expects.’
To be precise, he intended to show growth beyond their expectations.
With a confident smile, Sungjoon Lee slowly started walking.
As he moved through the bushes blocking his path, he soon encountered a tiger with blue fur.
‘Blue Tiger.’
About 3 meters long and weighing around 200 kg.
Its appearance wasn’t much different from an ordinary tiger, making it a relatively easy prey among C-rank monsters.
However, as a C-rank monster, the Blue Tiger’s sharp teeth and claws were incomparable to those of an ordinary tiger.
In fact, the Blue Tiger’s attacks were powerful and threatening enough to shatter even rocks.
It was definitely not an opponent to be taken lightly.
As Sungjoon Lee was mentally preparing himself,
-Growl.
The Blue Tiger also spotted Sungjoon Lee and charged at him, exuding a ferocious killing intent.
-Roar-!
The distance between them closed rapidly; they were now only about 50 meters apart.
If he reacted any later, his whole body would be torn to shreds by its sharp claws.
Sungjoon Lee, a veteran of countless battles, knew this all too well.
However, he still stood motionless, holding his ground.
Of course, it wasn’t mere bravado.
It was an action he could take because he had something he could rely on.
Ding!
『Using Strength, Agility, and Stamina Enhancement on user ‘Sungjoon Lee’.』
『Using Earth’s Blessing and Wind’s Protection on user ‘Sungjoon Lee’.』
『The effects of enhancement skills are increased by 50% due to the activation skill, Amplification.』
> Agility stat increased by 22.
> Strength and Stamina stats increased by 15.
『Physical durability greatly increased due to the buff skill, Earth’s Blessing.』
Sungjoon Lee was enveloped in colorful, shining energy.
As if the terms “blessing” and “protection” weren’t just names, wind constantly swirled around him, and energy surged from the ground, invigorating his body.
But this wasn’t the end.
The existing Enhancer buffs were added on top of that.
His body felt lighter, his muscles tougher, and his bones stronger.
Feeling the power surging within him, Sungjoon Lee knew.
His current physical body had surpassed its limits.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing how much stronger I’ve become.’
Just as his anticipation swelled with satisfaction, the Blue Tiger arrived right in front of him and swung its forepaw fiercely.
-Roar-!
The Blue Tiger’s sharp forepaw grazed Sungjoon Lee’s forearm.
Whoosh!
Sungjoon Lee felt a stinging sensation in his wrist and the warmth of blood flowing, but a smile appeared on his lips.
‘Perhaps because my Stamina stat itself increased… I’m tougher than yesterday.’
He had thought that even with Earth’s Blessing, the claw marks would leave a long gash.
However, thanks to the various buffs strengthening his body, all that remained was a small scratch.
With this level of toughness, he wouldn’t be seriously injured unless he was directly bitten.
‘Good.’
By withstanding the Blue Tiger’s attack, he had sufficiently verified his defense.
Then what remained was…
‘Attack.’
Sungjoon Lee’s eyes gleamed as he focused on the Blue Tiger.
-Roar-!
Sensing something amiss, the Blue Tiger cautiously prepared to retreat.
But it was too late.
The buffs hadn’t just enhanced his strength, stamina, and physical durability.
His agility and movement had also become much faster.
Tap!
Sungjoon Lee instantly closed the distance to the Blue Tiger.
-Roar!
The Blue Tiger, sensing a threat to its life, desperately swung its forepaws, but it was a meaningless struggle.
Thump! Thump!
Sungjoon Lee’s body, having calmly endured the flurry of forepaws, lunged towards the Blue Tiger with ferocious momentum.
Sungjoon Lee channeled his power into his buffed body.
He felt his skin toughen, his bones harden, and his tendons and muscles tighten like a drawn bowstring.
The Steel Body Iron Demon External Skill, the only external skill recognized as a Divine Art in the Blood Cult, or even in the entire world, was activated.
‘This must be how Mujin Cheol felt.’
It felt strange to use an external skill in actual combat for the first time.
But it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
‘Rather, I like it.’
Although somewhat overshadowed by internal skills, its efficacy and power were definitely not inferior.
No, in some aspects, it was even superior.
Therefore, it was considered the best external skill in the world.
‘Steel Body Iron Demon External Skill.’
And among them, the first technique.
‘First Form, Iron Mountain Tiger Strike.’
Sungjoon Lee’s body, now a weapon in itself, collided with the Blue Tiger with his shoulder.
BOOM!
A deafening roar erupted, far louder than one would expect from a simple body slam.
The Blue Tiger’s body, unable to withstand the impact that struck its entire body, flew limply through the air and crashed into a nearby tree.
Crash!
The impact snapped the tree that had been standing firm, and the Blue Tiger, its eyes losing focus, plummeted to the ground.
Ding!
You have defeated the C-rank monster, Blue Tiger.
> Experience points increased.
An overwhelming victory with a single blow.
However, Sungjoon Lee’s expression held a hint of dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction.
The destructive power was undeniably excellent.
‘The problem is, it’s too crude.’
The power hadn’t been concentrated in one point but had spread throughout the Blue Tiger’s body like ripples.
Although the wounds were large, it meant that the concentration of power was low.
To the untrained eye, it might look the same, but any expert above a certain level would immediately recognize that he had overpowered the Blue Tiger with brute force rather than sophisticated technique, just by looking at its wounds.
‘The Iron Mountain Tiger Strike Mujin Cheol used wasn’t like this.’
The power of the martial art was concentrated with much more precision and finesse.
Sungjoon Lee clicked his tongue in disappointment but soon shook his head and brushed it off.
‘This is just a matter of proficiency. It will improve with practice.’
Above all, even if he was dissatisfied, the mere fact that he could now use external skills was a huge advantage for Sungjoon Lee.
‘This will compensate for my current weakness of lacking internal energy.’
Although he hadn’t shown it outwardly, the lack of internal energy had been a significant concern for Sungjoon Lee since his return.
‘That’s why I’ve been relying on the system’s help and efficient usage until now.’
This too wouldn’t have been possible without his experience as the Demon God, as most of his martial arts required a considerable amount of internal energy.
However, even so, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated by the lack of absolute internal energy reserves from time to time.
Especially when he hunted for over ten hours a day, this frustration became even more palpable.
‘If only I had 60 years’ worth of internal energy, I wouldn’t have to experience this inconvenience.’
The problem was that there was no other way to rapidly increase internal energy in a short period, unless he consumed special elixirs.
Even the 60 years’ worth of internal energy that Sungjoon Lee considered a small amount was an immense amount of internal power that would take 60 years to accumulate with ordinary internal energy cultivation techniques.
He had been able to accumulate it in just five years in the past thanks to the divine skill, Blood Shadow Asura Divine Art, and his bone-grinding effort, which could be considered his talent. Perhaps because he had already walked that path once, even that amount of time felt quite frustrating now.
‘But it’s different now.’
With the addition of the Earth’s Blessing skill and Mujin Cheol’s Steel Body Iron Demon External Skill, he could now compensate for his lack of internal energy to some extent.
‘With this level of efficiency, I can move to C-rank gates as hunting grounds without any problems.’
An uncontainable smile spread across Sungjoon Lee’s lips.
‘My hunting efficiency could be twice, no, even three times better than before.’
Although it was just a one-rank difference between D-rank and C-rank, the experience points gained from monsters were more than double.
In other words, being able to use the Steel Body Iron Demon External Skill meant his leveling speed had doubled.
‘I can now accelerate my growth in earnest.’
Sungjoon Lee, having gained confidence through his recent battle with the Blue Tiger, took a decisive step.
Thus began the massacre disguised as a hunt.
The cries of Blue Tigers echoed wherever Sungjoon Lee walked.
After about five hours of hunting,
Ding!
Congratulations! You have leveled up to 41.
A level up in just five hours. Considering that he had spent over ten hours yesterday to level up once, it could be said that his growth rate was tremendous.
It was a situation to be undeniably overjoyed about, but Sungjoon Lee’s expression was stiff.
‘What is this?’
He couldn’t help it; he sensed a fairly powerful presence approaching nearby.
‘A boss monster?’
Sungjoon Lee shook his head.
There was still more than a week until the next boss monster appearance cycle.
No, the presence he felt clearly belonged to a person, a Hunter.
Of course, it could be an Association employee who came for a gate safety inspection.
However, in that case, Gang-hyun Jo would have contacted him in advance.
‘Something’s strange.’
Although he didn’t know the reason, the name “Hwansung” suddenly flashed through his mind.
Sungjoon Lee nodded.
‘I need to check it out myself.’
Having made his decision, Sungjoon Lee headed towards the nearby presence.
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