Chapter 17

Strength Enhancement is a simple yet destructive skill.

Since it enhances the body itself, its versatility and applicability are exceptional.

Kwadeuddeuk.

He drove the halberd down vertically—a weapon larger than his own body.

The road shattered, and concrete fragments scattered mercilessly.

Faint cracks spread outward from the crater at the point of impact.

But that was not all.

Swaeeek!

His thick muscles bulged, and the embedded halberd swept diagonally.

The speed was unbelievably fast.

The halberd traced a curve, aiming for Siyoon’s flank.

Siyoon struck the halberd precisely, intercepting the attack.

“You slip away like a rat.”

“A rat, huh…”

The gunfire must have gotten under his skin.

Fair enough—a marksman was a troublesome opponent for a warrior.

Siyoon was quick, and his accuracy was sharp.

“What does that make you, then? A wild boar? All you do is charge blindly.”

“How dare you…!”

Kim Chulwon’s face flushed crimson with rage.

His presence was fearsome, but Siyoon calmly continued his assault.

Knee, shinbone, collarbone, shoulder.

Blood splattered with every step he took.

The damage accumulated, and the man’s speed diminished.

‘He’s certainly durable.’

The pistol had pierced even magic beasts.

But Kim Chulwon was holding firm.

Thanks to his various defensive gear, skills, and stats.

‘As expected, his raw specs far surpass those of an F-Rank hunter.’

It went without saying, but experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely.

The gap in stats was palpable.

Cheolkeok.

Right on cue, the pistol ran out of ammunition.

In the split second a gap opened in his barrage of fire, Kim Chulwon stomped his foot hard.

Kuwoong!

His body, having accelerated instantaneously, lunged forward in a flash.

A strike timed to the exact moment his ammunition ran dry.

Siyoon glared at the halberd plunging down toward his head.

A moment of crisis.

Kim Chulwon kept his eyes locked on Siyoon until the very end.

‘I can’t let my guard down. This one’s no pushover. No telling what card he’ll pull next.’

The man’s firepower had overwhelmed Kim Chulwon.

Bullets that pierced D-Rank hunter armor and flesh.

Subordinates dropping like flies.

Even his own body, hardened by Strength Enhancement, had been wounded by the pistol.

There was nothing about him that wasn’t threatening.

His rank was likely at least C-Rank or higher.

But unfortunately for him, the situation was not in his favor.

From the moment the marksman had given him distance, the tide of battle had already turned.

It was a stroke of fortune for Kim Chulwon.

At that moment, the pistol slipped from Siyoon’s hand.

Naturally, Kim Chulwon’s gaze followed.

‘Reloading would barely be enough—why would he discard his weapon?’

It was an incomprehensible move.

But his instincts were screaming a warning.

‘Come to think of it, where did the sniper rifle go?’

From what he had seen, the sniper rifle was the most dangerous weapon.

His subordinates had all died to the man’s sniping, after all.

The current exchange had shifted to close combat, true.

But that didn’t mean the sniper rifle was off the table.

If anything, using only the pistol was stranger.

‘He hid it.’

That was Kim Chulwon’s conclusion.

The question was how he had hidden it.

Cheolkeok!

At that instant, the sniper rifle emerged from behind Siyoon’s back.

It had been concealed masterfully, exploiting his blind spot.

‘Just as I thought.’

Kim Chulwon swung his halberd.

Siyoon swiftly aimed the sniper rifle and pulled the trigger.

At this range, aiming was unnecessary.

Jjeoeong!

The bullet embedded itself precisely into the blade of the halberd.

The force wrenched Kim Chulwon’s arm upward.

“Kuh…!”

A flash of light.

Siyoon stepped back and caught his breath.

‘Neutralize his attacks calmly, then target his lower body first.’

The wind-attribute mana stored in his sneakers propelled him forward.

For a brief moment, it felt as though the scenery itself had shifted in a blur.

Kung.

Kim Chulwon stomped forward, closing the distance.

His arms and thigh muscles, swollen as if ready to burst, were on full display.

Siyoon aimed the muzzle at those exact spots.

Pishut―

“……!”

The bullet arrived with the sound of gunfire, piercing clean through his thigh.

Kim Chulwon’s face contorted in pain.

In that moment, Siyoon pulled the trigger again.

Ppak!

The bullet tore through the opposite thigh as well.

The pain must have been excruciating, yet Kim Chulwon did not fall.

Instead, he hurled the halberd in his hands with all his might.

“Damn it…!”

Siyoon ducked to dodge the ferociously charging halberd. He avoided it by a hair’s breadth. Throwing aside his own weapon—it might have seemed like desperation, but it wasn’t.

Gulgeok.

In the split second Siyoon dodged the halberd, Kim Chulwon pulled something from his coat and downed it. It was a small flask, the kind used in laboratories.

“Keuheu…”

An ominous energy surged through Kim Chulwon as he emptied the contents in one gulp.

The muscles across his entire body swelled.

Veins bulged along his neck and forearms, and his eyes turned blood-red.

He looked like a berserker.

The aura radiating from him was far more menacing than before, sending a chill down Siyoon’s spine.

“Didn’t expect to use this now.”

“What did you take?”

“If you’re the one who took the commission, you should know full well.”

Should know full well, huh…

The words were cryptic, but Siyoon caught on quickly.

“Don’t tell me… you kept some of the stolen new drug instead of selling it all.”

“That’s right. For someone like me, you never know when your time’s up.”

Kim Chulwon rose to his feet.

Smoke rose from the thigh that had just been pierced.

The bleeding had stopped—the spilled blood had evaporated.

“Think of it as insurance. Exactly for dealing with bastards like you!!”

Hwoouk―

A gust of wind.

Kim Chulwon vanished for an instant, then reappeared right in front of him.

Simultaneously, a fist thrust from the side, and Siyoon raised the sniper rifle to meet it.

Jjeoeoeong!

“Keuk…!”

The arm that blocked with the rifle screamed as if it would shatter.

Even after blocking, the damage that followed was enormous.

And this was with increased defense.

If he had taken that hit bare, the consequences might have been irreversible.

“Where’s that proud confidence from earlier?!”

Siyoon pulled back.

Using the power of his sneakers, he created distance.

But the speed at which Kim Chulwon followed was terrifyingly fast.

‘It’s certain. After taking the drug, not only his strength but his speed increased as well.’

Even more grotesquely swollen muscles than before.

On top of that, the speed and focus tracking Siyoon’s movements.

The man was already dangerous with Strength Enhancement, using his body as a weapon.

Now he had become even more troublesome.

‘At this rate, I don’t stand a chance. I need a plan.’

The situation had completely derailed.

He needed a breakthrough to survive.

Siyoon thought.

His skill was Enhancement.

Normally, he only used it on weapons and armor.

But that wasn’t enough now.

‘Body Enhancement…’

At that moment, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind.

Enhance his own body.

Strictly speaking, there was no rule saying he could only enhance objects.

In the first place, Siyoon was not strictly a marksman.

He merely used guns whose power he amplified through his Enhancement skill.

His true identity lay not in firearms, but in Enhancement itself.

[ Enhancing ‘Eyes’. ]

[ Dynamic vision increases. ]

[ You can observe the opponent’s movements in greater detail. ]

The first thing Siyoon enhanced was his eyes.

‘First, I need to read his movement patterns.’

No matter how powerful, it was useless if he couldn’t respond to the opponent’s attacks.

Conversely, if he could see the attacks coming, he could dodge them to some extent.

‘I can see the attacks…!’

Enhancement was definitely working.

Movements that had been invisible until just now were readable.

Siyoon extended his leg backward to evade the man’s attack.

Hwoong!!

“…!”

A hair’s breadth.

The fist grazed past his nose.

As the attack he was certain would connect missed, Kim Chulwon’s face twisted.

‘How did he dodge?’

Until just moments ago, this was a man whose eyes couldn’t keep up with his attacks.

It must have been a fluke.

Thinking so, Kim Chulwon launched another attack.

Hwik.

At that instant, Siyoon’s eyes tracked the fist precisely.

And simultaneously, his body shifted backward once more.

‘It’s not a coincidence. He’s watching my attacks and dodging them.’

Once could be chance, but not twice.

Too short an interval to call it growth.

While Kim Chulwon felt a surge of alarm, Siyoon steadied his stance.

‘The more I concentrate, the slower his attacks appear.’

It was like watching slow motion. But it wasn’t enough. To kill a man who had instantly boosted his firepower, he needed to become stronger himself.

* * *

Kim Chulwon sensed his own victory.

‘A remarkably troublesome opponent.’

The drug he had taken was called Filester.

A new drug manufactured by Haind.

He had already sold most of it on the black market, but he had kept one dose.

A concept akin to an extra life.

But he never expected to use it like this.

And all because of a single marksman.

The man was a monster. A marksman, yet engaging in close-quarters combat against a warrior like himself. And not only that—he had even been pushed back.

‘If I don’t kill him here, he’ll become far more dangerous.’

From the midway point, he had deliberately used only the pistol to draw attention.

Then, at the decisive moment, he discarded it and switched to the sniper rifle.

Sniper rifles carried significant penalties at close range.

Heavy, with a long barrel that made aiming difficult.

They were never designed for close combat to begin with.

But Siyoon had used one anyway.

He could take pride in his long years in this field.

It wasn’t luck or coincidence.

It was a meticulously calculated plan.

‘Still, the end is in sight.’

No matter how exceptional the man’s talent.

The balance of victory had clearly tilted.

That was what he thought—until.

‘Damn it…!’

Kim Chulwon cursed inwardly.

Hwoong!!

It wouldn’t connect.

No matter how many times he attacked, the man dodged by a hair’s breadth.

Even the way he had grimaced in pain while blocking with the gun earlier now felt like a ruse.

Concluding that this was truly impossible, Kim Chulwon committed to pushing through despite his injuries.

He clenched his fist.

The tendons running from the back of his hand to his forearm bulged—tuduk—standing taut.

The moment he launched his attack, intent on ending it—

Hwiik!

Siyoon swung the rifle barrel upward from below.

‘What?’

It was a baffling counter.

His previous strike had been thrown with everything he had.

Meanwhile, Siyoon had swung the rifle without even a proper stance.

There was no way he should have been able to block it.

And yet.

Ppeoeok―

An immense force was applied, and Kim Chulwon’s attack trajectory was deflected.

The arm that had been struck throbbed as if it might snap off.

“Keuk, what did you do!”

Kim Chulwon pulled back, creating distance.

He couldn’t understand it.

Losing at range was expected.

But being outmatched in close-quarters combat against a marksman?

Pak!

Furthermore, Siyoon caught up to Kim Chulwon’s retreating speed in a single bound.

It was an unreal velocity.

He hastily twisted his body to avoid the thrusting rifle barrel.

Ppeoeok!

“Kup…!”

His reaction was good, but Siyoon was a touch faster.

Blood spilled from Kim Chulwon’s mouth as a knee struck him.

Siyoon bit his lip as he watched the man writhe in pain.

[ You have currently enhanced your ‘Arms’ and ‘Legs’. ]

[ Strength increases. ]

[ Speed increases. ]

[ Muscle flexibility and elasticity increase. ]

The martial prowess Siyoon displayed.

It was the result of enhancing his own body.

A single blow that rendered the stat gap between an F-Rank hunter and a doped D-Rank hunter meaningless.

However, it did not come without a price.

[ Warning! ]

[ Output exceeding recommended levels. ]

[ Overload occurring in the body. ]

Tuduk.

Beneath the bulging veins, his muscles trembled.

His legs were no different.

The knees supporting his entire body, the bones, the Achilles tendons.

They all ached as if they might rupture at any moment.

“Huu, hah…”

It hurt.

His entire body hurt.

But there was no other way.

To deal with Kim Chulwon—

‘I can’t maintain Body Enhancement for long.’

Body Enhancement. Enhancing each body part to momentarily boost output. Siyoon’s Enhancement skill made it possible. But perhaps because his body wasn’t sturdy enough to handle it, the recoil came as an overload.

‘Three minutes at most.’

That was Siyoon’s limit.