Chapter 7

Siyoon leveled his gun at the lead Krakto.

One shot to start.

Ta-ang―

The bullet spat fire as it flew.

The Krakto twisted its body.

“…!”

The precisely aimed bullet only tore through its wing.

It was a split-second glimpse, but Siyoon caught it.

The Krakto’s eyes had tracked the bullet perfectly.

-Kyaaak!

Even with an injured wing, its speed didn’t falter.

If anything, it seemed enraged at Siyoon, its momentum only growing fiercer.

Even the lowest-rank magic beast was still a magic beast, after all.

It was a ferocious and terrifying sight.

‘Don’t panic. Stay calm.’

It was an unexpected outcome, but not an unforeseen one.

In a way, his hunts up until now had been far too easy.

He had anticipated that a situation like this might arise.

‘No need to tense up. Just aim again and shoot.’

There was still a fair amount of distance between Siyoon and the Krakto.

Siyoon fired again at the injured Krakto.

Peogeok!

There was no miracle like before.

The Krakto, having taken the hit, scattered blood and fell dead.

Siyoon immediately aimed at the remaining Krakto.

Tang, Ta-ang.

The pistol’s heavy recoil traveled up his wrist.

But the recoil was quickly dampened by the ‘Leather Jacket’.

This was why Siyoon could fire the pistol in rapid succession.

Consequently, the remaining Krakto couldn’t dodge the bullets.

Because they had already closed the distance to Siyoon.

From afar, they could spot the shots and reflexively dodge.

But at close range, the difficulty of evading skyrocketed.

“Phew…”

Siyoon shook out his wrist and approached the fallen Krakto.

Just like before, he harvested the eyeballs.

“Are there any more around here?”

Siyoon had wiped out a total of five Krakto in an instant.

He looked around, but no other Krakto were in sight.

“I should probably head a bit higher up.”

Since this was their habitat anyway, he was bound to find some if he wandered around.

Chik―

Siyoon chugged another drink and walked along the waterfront.

* * *

About an hour had passed since he began his hunt.

“I’ve gathered quite a lot.”

The pouch containing the eyeballs had grown heavy before he knew it.

After hunting the initial five Krakto,

he had caught eight more.

It was a scene that would have left any other hunter dumbfounded.

Siyoon was a newly registered F-Rank hunter.

Not only had he come to the dungeon alone, but he was also easily catching the notoriously difficult Krakto.

“Coming to the dungeon alone was a good idea.”

Siyoon smiled faintly as he gauged the weight of the pouch.

He had expected this to some extent.

He possessed tremendous destructive power against the lowest-rank magic beasts.

Why would it be any different for the Krakto, which were also lowest-rank magic beasts?

‘With this much profit, I could probably head back now.’

The Krakto eyes he had collected so far totaled twelve pairs and one extra.

Even excluding the one that had burst, counting only the pairs, it was easily worth millions of won.

It was an unbelievable amount of earnings for a newly awakened F-Rank hunter.

A typical F-Rank hunter made 100,000 won a day.

No, even earning 50,000 won was considered doing well.

“Hmm.”

Compared to that, his earnings were astronomical.

But Siyoon had no intention of being satisfied with just that.

It wasn’t arrogance or conceit.

He had the ability to make it happen.

Namely, his Singular-Rank skill, ‘Enhancement’.

If he were satisfied here, his growth would stagnate from then on.

Siyoon’s ability was the type that looked upward rather than settling down.

That said, it wasn’t that he wasn’t satisfied.

“I need to keep earning and get a new weapon.”

Siyoon stuffed the pouch into his backpack and surveyed his surroundings.

He had gathered enough information while hunting the Krakto.

“Their base should be to the east, based on this waterfall.”

Krakto classified as normal variants mainly lived near the water.

They had a habit of hunting prey there and supplying it to their leader.

So, Siyoon had hidden midway and observed them.

As a result, the Krakto all headed east carrying their prey.

‘The boss is probably located on that peak over there, for sure.’

Siyoon stared at the peak revealed through the trees.

As if to support his hypothesis, creatures that looked like Krakto were flying around it.

“What should I do?”

Siyoon’s current dilemma was simple.

Should he hunt the boss, or not?

His original goal was to hunt it and clear the dungeon.

But quite a bit of time had passed.

He had entered early in the morning, and it was already past noon.

“If I want to catch the boss too, I need to move right now without delay.”

If it turned to night, Siyoon would be at an extreme disadvantage.

His enhanced weapons and armor were strong.

But Siyoon’s body itself was not.

Especially at night, his field of vision would narrow drastically.

If that happened, aiming would become a major issue.

“Let’s go.”

The decision was made quickly.

Siyoon had decided to enter the dungeon for the sake of growth.

The timing was awkward, but as long as he caught the boss, he could leave whenever he wanted.

Siyoon decided to be a bit more bold.

* * *

A dungeon was not an easy place.

Even an F-Rank dungeon was no exception.

“Phew…”

Siyoon caught his breath, leaning his hand against a tree.

The peak that had looked close was actually quite far.

He had braved all sorts of dangers while traversing the forest alone.

Slipping on an uphill slope was par for the course.

He had almost fallen off a sudden cliff.

He had also been ambushed by lurking Krakto.

Still, it wasn’t all bad.

[ You have successfully defended against a magic beast’s ambush. ]

[ Your stamina has increased from continuous marching. ]

[ Stamina has increased by 2 points. ]

His stamina had increased through this series of events.

Thanks to that, a little vitality returned to his exhausted body.

“The System really is amazing in this regard.”

When stats increased, they were immediately applied to the body.

The sensation of his body changing and growing stronger in real time.

He felt he could understand why hunters became obsessed with getting stronger.

Beolkeok, beolkeok.

[ You have consumed ‘Special Vitamin +1’. ]

[ Vitality increases. ]

[ Your mind becomes peaceful. ]

[ You have consumed ‘Hot Seven +1’. ]

[ Concentration improves. ]

[ Fatigue is partially reduced. ]

Siyoon downed his last remaining drink.

Life returned to his exhausted body.

The dark circles around his eyes from fatigue also brightened.

The effects appeared instantly, rivaling that of a potion.

“Next time, I should pack some energy bars or something too.”

To think that mere caffeine and fatigue-relief drinks could have such effects.

An energy bar would probably have an option like stamina recovery.

Anyway.

After enduring all sorts of penance—rolling, getting pricked, and falling—

a peak finally revealed itself.

-Kiit!

-Kieeeeee.

Several Krakto were flying around the airspace near the peak.

They had larger bodies than the normal variants.

They were definitely elite variants.

Which meant Siyoon had found the right place.

Seuk.

He felt like cheering, but

That could wait until after he swept them all away.

Siyoon silently aimed his pistol at the Krakto.

‘There’s no time to waste. I’ll end this quickly.’

Ta-ang!

The gun spewed fierce flames.

In an instant, the bullet crossed the air and reached the elite Krakto.

The time it took was a mere fraction of a second.

Peogeok!!

The Krakto’s head exploded on the spot.

It fell, lifeless, scattering flesh in midair.

-Keureurek?

-Kyaaaaah!

-Kaaaak!

A dozen or so Krakto simultaneously turned their gazes toward Siyoon.

Each and every one of them was an elite variant.

Recognizing the enemy, they flapped their wings and headed toward Siyoon, who was quite a distance away.

Cheolkek.

Watching this, Siyoon leisurely reloaded.

He emptied the magazine and inserted another one he had kept in his pants pocket.

“Dragging this out will only make things harder for me.”

Siyoon was exhausted.

From wandering the forest, hunting magic beasts, and processing their carcasses.

His otherwise fine face was covered in beast blood.

The clothes he wore were also stained with dust and grass sap, looking a mess.

“So let’s finish this quickly.”

Cheok!

Siyoon gripped his pistol with both hands.

The sky was covered by the Krakto that had approached before he knew it.

Even the normal variants were the size of an adult male’s torso.

The elite variants were nearly two meters in size.

A typical F-Rank hunter would have trembled in fear.

But Siyoon was calm.

Ta-ang!

Peogeok―

Along with the gunshot, the sound of tearing flesh rang out.

The Krakto’s bodies flinched and trembled for a brief moment.

Because the Krakto that had been right next to them just moments ago was shot and killed.

“I had a lot of trouble because of you guys.”

Krakto possessed excellent dynamic vision and physical abilities.

Enough for even the normal variants to react to Siyoon’s bullets.

There was no way the elite variants, which were superior, couldn’t react.

“So I prepared a gift.”

Siyoon was thorough.

Especially when it came to things like this.

In other words, the feat he had just shown was the effect of his Enhancement.

+

【 RTB-002 Ammunition +4 】

Rank: Rare

▶ Bullet speed increases.

▶ Recoil decreases.

▶ Attack power slightly increases.

▶ Upon hit, the target’s defense slightly decreases.

+

Bullets enhanced all the way to +4.

Bullet speed increased, and recoil decreased.

On top of that, attack power increased and defense decreased.

It might not seem like much, but the implication was simple.

Tatatang!!

Sparks flew from the pistol in Siyoon’s grip.

Every time he pulled the trigger, blood spurted from the Krakto’s bodies.

Spraying.

Or rather, rapid fire.

Peopeopeok!

Blood rained down in the air.

It was a spray of bullets that originally would have been impossible with a pistol.

But Siyoon made it possible.

The recoil reduction effect from the +2 bullets.

Combined with the damage reduction effect of the ‘Leather Jacket’.

When the two combined, the recoil converged to near zero.

Peok!

Add to that the ‘bullet speed increase’ which accounted for the Krakto’s movements.

The bullets Siyoon fired slammed into the Krakto at unreasonable speeds.

-Kaaaaah!

-Kieeeek!!

Perhaps because he was literally spraying bullets indiscriminately.

The grazed Krakto let out fierce roars.

But it didn’t matter.

“I have plenty of bullets left.”

Taenggeurang.

He tossed the emptied magazine aside and quickly replaced it.

Then, he roughly aimed and pulled the trigger again.

Peopeopeopeopeopeopeok!

The pouring hail of bullets quickly showed results.

The Krakto, riddled with holes, fell one by one.

Their initial momentum vanished without a trace as they were attacked and killed outright.

Before he knew it, there were no Krakto left in the sky.

It had happened in the time it took to empty two magazines.

“Did I get all the elites?”

Siyoon loaded his third magazine.

He had slaughtered a flock of elite Krakto, but he didn’t let his guard down.

Because this was a location close to the dungeon boss.

Kkung.

Sure enough.

A heavy noise echoed from the peak.

The boss had been stimulated by the commotion that had just occurred.

“…Now I see why they said not to come here if you don’t want to die.”

Siyoon let out a hollow laugh as he saw the boss Krakto’s size.

A body far larger than even the elite variants.

It revealed itself at the edge of the peak, stretching as if waking up.

Dark gray feathers different from the normal and elite variants.

Red pupils revealed between them.

A sharp unicorn horn even protruded from its head.

No matter how generously he looked at it, it was over three meters tall.

Jjeolit.

Just facing it from a distance sent a shiver down his entire body.

It was a warning from his survival instinct.

Every nerve in his body was screaming.

That guy is dangerous.

“Hah.”

Siyoon let out a hollow laugh.

And they expect an F-Rank hunter to catch that?

Sure, it might be possible.

If four people came, it would probably be possible after one or two of them died.

Seuk.

The boss Krakto glared at Siyoon, its cold gaze shining.

-Kieeeeeeek!

It erupted in a roar filled with rage.

At that moment, the back of his neck stiffened, and a sensation of paralysis spreading across his entire body rushed through him.

[ Killing intent detected. ]

[ Your resistance to withstand it is insufficient. ]

[ Physical abilities decrease by 5%. ]

“Ugh…!”

A tingling sensation all over his body and cold sweat running down.

It was similar to when he had encountered an elite variant alone in the forest.

Since his stats had increased since then, the penalty was smaller.

Kwang!

The boss Krakto burst from the peak and spread its wings.

Every time its massive wings pushed the wind, the distance closed rapidly.

‘It’s coming.’

Siyoon steadied his stance again and aimed his gun to snipe it.

At that moment, the boss Krakto stopped and flapped its wings widely.

It was clearly different from the attack patterns of the Krakto he had seen so far.

As Siyoon felt a chilling intuition and rolled to the side,

Papapapak!

Feathers pulled from its wings embedded themselves in the ground.

If he had reacted even a little slower, he would have died.

Swaesaek!

While Siyoon’s attack was interrupted, the boss Krakto moved again.

‘It seems it can’t attack and move at the same time.’

He calmly observed the boss Krakto’s behavior.

The feather-scattering attack was dangerous.

It was enough to softly split and embed into even rocks.

Even if Siyoon tried to defend, it would obviously pierce through soon enough.

‘It doesn’t just attack blindly’

The feather scattering had a large telegraph.

The power was strong, but there was plenty of time to react.

Knowing this, it only used it as a check.

Nevertheless, the distance was steadily closing.

‘This isn’t good.’

Siyoon’s attack power was maximized when there was a large distance between him and the enemy.

In close combat, he had no chance.

Look at that bulk and those claws.

Siyoon, lacking both physical durability and strength, would be torn apart.

Tangtangtang!

Sparks flew from the pistol.

Along with the gunshots, blood spurted from the boss Krakto’s torso with a Pak.