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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Haa…”
Lee Seong-joon inhaled, his eyes turning crimson. The sudden red glow was a captivating light in the heart of the building, where the deepest darkness resided.
As all eyes turned to him, Lee Seong-joon slowly raised his head, gazing at Eliorus. No, Lee Seong-joon no longer existed here.
The martial artist standing there was the Blood Demon, ruler of the Blood Cult that had conquered the Thousand Continents.
As his true self emerged, a fierce blood Qi began to rapidly circulate within him. Power surged through his body, overflowing and manifesting as a crimson aura.
The power of the Blood Demon was taking hold. But it wasn’t complete. The true power of the Blood Demon was far greater than this.
Stronger!
He poured all his inner energy into transcending the limitations of his mortal body. The blood Qi coursing through his veins accelerated further.
It felt as though his blood vessels would burst. But Lee Seong-joon embraced the sensation, channeling the surging power throughout his body.
Eliorus, of course, wouldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Raaaa!”
With a roar, Eliorus, their body in tatters, struggled to their feet, gripping their remaining dagger. They knew instinctively: If this human completed whatever technique they were preparing, they would die.
They had to finish this now. So, they threw everything they had into this final attack.
-Rumble!
The world turned crimson, and darkness surged within. At its center, Eliorus’s black eyes, enveloped in dark energy, gleamed.
-Crack!
A streak of darkness sliced through the crimson world. The price of wielding power beyond their limits was a cracking sound as the bones in their legs shattered, and their muscles screamed in protest.
But Eliorus didn’t stop. There was no turning back. They drew upon the forbidden power of life essence, their innate true Qi, for one final strike. This was their only path to victory.
“Raaaaaaaa!!”
Eliorus, unleashing their final darkness, thrust their dagger towards Lee Seong-joon’s heart. A deep smile spread across Lee Seong-joon’s face as he watched Eliorus’s desperate charge.
“…An admirable spirit.”
But they’d chosen the wrong opponent.
“Let’s end this.”
As Lee Seong-joon spoke and moved his arm, the surging crimson aura suddenly vanished. As if it had never existed. But it was still there, condensed into a single point.
‘Heaven-Slaying Blood Earth Fist.’
A Blood Demon technique that slew the heavens and stained the earth with blood. The condensed blood Qi, the source of its power, collided with Eliorus’s dagger, which burned with all their remaining energy.
-Rumble!
A deafening roar shook the earth. Unable to withstand the impact, cracks appeared throughout the building, and it began to collapse.
At the same time, the black dagger, hurtling towards Lee Seong-joon’s heart, snapped.
-Clang!
But it wasn’t just the dagger. Eliorus, having clashed head-on with the Heaven-Slaying Blood Earth Fist, vanished completely, along with the darkness that had enveloped them, leaving no trace behind.
Ding!
> You have defeated the A+ rank named boss monster, Commander Eliorus
> Analyzing contribution points to distribute experience points.
✧ User ‘Lee Seong-joon’ has earned 91% contribution
✧ An overwhelming number
> Granting a significant amount of bonus experience points
✧ Experience points rapidly increasing
> Congratulations! You have leveled up to 68.
> With the defeat of the named boss monster, Eliorus, the raid gate has been cleared. Calculating final contribution points based on a total score of 100.
✧ 1st place: Lee Seong-joon, 87 points. 2nd place: Song Seung-jun, 5 points. 3rd place: …
An overwhelming victory. But no one complained. Or rather, no one was even looking at the contribution points.
“Oh my god.”
“That was a battle that took place in a Green Gate…?”
Kim Hye-young and Jeong Yun-ho, their eyes wide with shock, stood amidst the rubble of the collapsed building. They would have bombarded him with questions, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.
-Woong!
A white light enveloped the hunters, guiding them out of the gate.
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Raid Gate entrance.
“Haaam…”
Boredom filled the faces of the reporters guarding the gate entrance. Small talk was the best way to pass the time, so reporter Park Jin-soo from the Daehan Ilbo started a conversation.
“Who do you think will win this raid gate?”
Lee Hak-sung, his fellow reporter, replied casually,
“Song Seung-jun, of course. Why are you asking such an obvious question? They’re in a different league.”
“Well, you never know. I heard the Grim Reaper guild is really determined this time…”
Just as Park Jin-soo shrugged and continued,
“Look!”
“The raid gate!”
Park Jin-soo quickly turned and witnessed the change in the raid gate.
“It’s cleared!”
Unlike their earlier excitement, the reporters weren’t in a hurry.
Unlike regular gates, where hunters walked out on their own, raid gates had a specific exit sequence. Hunters emerged in reverse order of contribution, from last place to first. The hunter who took first place, the main story, would appear last.
And in this case, the data was clear. There was no need to rush.
But their composure didn’t last long.
-Woong!
The hunter who emerged from the fading white light was unexpected.
“Kim Hye-young?!”
“What? Kim Hye-young is last?”
Most of the reporters present were seasoned veterans, so their surprise was short-lived.
-Thud!
The reporters rushed towards the gate entrance.
“Hunter Lee Ye-rin, master of the Phoenix Guild, predicted 3rd place in a pre-interview. What happened to cause such a drop in rank?”
“Were Hunter Lee Ye-rin’s expectations too high?”
All attention focused on Kim Hye-young. But it didn’t last even a minute.
-Woong!
The white light shimmered again, and the Grim Reaper rookie, expected to be at least in 2nd place, appeared.
“Jeong Yun-ho is out!”
“W-Wait, then what about Hwan-sung and Baekho?!”
“They beat Jeong Yun-ho?!”
Both Phoenix and Grim Reaper rookies, expected to be in the top ranks, had fallen to the bottom. The predictions were completely overturned.
This was a story that demanded attention. For reporters, whose performance was measured by the buzz they generated, their eyes began to gleam.
“The initial predictions have been completely overturned. What happened inside?”
“Can you tell us how you feel right now?”
The reporters bombarded them with questions, but there were no answers. Kim Hye-young and Jeong Yun-ho just chuckled hollowly, their expressions vacant.
Meanwhile…
-Woong!
The white light shimmered again. The reporters’ eyes fixed on the light, their hearts filled with anticipation and excitement.
‘Baekho and Hwan-sung’s delightful upset, overtaking Phoenix and Grim Reaper…! This will be a great story.’
Most reporters were already thinking of headlines. But those headlines were soon erased.
“Wh-What?”
The hunter who emerged third was none other than Song Seung-jun! The top contender had appeared third.
“S-Song Seung-jun?!”
“What happened?”
“Song Seung-jun came in 2nd?”
Kim Hye-young and Jeong Yun-ho’s lower ranks could be attributed to terrain or monster-related variables.
But Song Seung-jun was different. He wasn’t considered the top contender for nothing. His track record and performance demonstrated overwhelming skill. It wasn’t just hype.
Song Seung-jun was a monstrous rookie who had even surpassed the records of his master, Yoon Min-soo, Korea’s only SSS-rank hunter. And this Song Seung-jun had taken 2nd place.
This was impossible. There had to be some unforeseen variable. Unexpected terrain, difficult monsters – many hypotheses flashed through their minds, but the most likely scenario was…
‘An accident occurred during the gate raid!’
The reporters, smelling a scoop, swarmed Song Seung-jun.
“Please explain what happened in detail!”
“Were there any casualties inside the raid gate?”
Amidst the barrage of questions, Song Seung-jun’s gaze fixed on one reporter, and he slowly spoke.
“Yes, unfortunately, there was a casualty during the raid.”
A fatal accident, something that hadn’t happened in nearly 30 years. While they had anticipated this possibility, hearing it confirmed was a different matter altogether.
“So, you mean the hunters from Hwan-sung and Baekho…?”
The reporter’s face hardened.
-Woong!
The light shimmered again. The reporters’ eyes widened. They had been told there was a death. But the light was flickering again.
“H-How?”
“What’s going on?”
As commotion erupted among the reporters, the light finally faded. And when they saw the face of the hunter who emerged, their eyes filled with shock.
“…Impossible.”
It was a natural reaction. The last hunter to emerge was Lee Seong-joon, the rookie from the Baekho Guild. The one they thought was dead had returned.
They were stunned. But the truly shocking part was yet to come.
“Th-This means Baekho’s Lee Seong-joon beat Nuri’s Song Seung-jun.”
“This is unbelievable…”
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