Chapter 7

A wolf charged, jaws agape.

Kang Yuseong, unfazed, watched it with a calm demeanor before raising his jungle knife and striking.

Whoosh!

The jungle knife sliced fiercely through the air.

Thwack!

“Yelp!”

The jungle knife grazed past the side of the charging wolf’s head, a hair’s breadth from impact.

The wolf hastily retreated from the powerful attack.

Kang Yuseong let out a wry chuckle.

“Damn it, missed?”

The jungle knife’s unfamiliar weight distribution was to blame.

“But there won’t be a second time!”

He grinned, fearlessly staring down the five wolves approaching him.

Thump-thump!

He immediately charged at one of the wolves in front of him.

“Grrrrowl—”

The wolf, not to be outdone, bared its fangs and lunged.

Kang Yuseong’s eyes tracked its movements.

Its attack was already perfectly clear to him.

It would attack with its teeth, and if that failed, it would follow up with a headbutt.

The combination was incredibly fast, an attack that even seasoned Hunters struggled to counter.

Whoosh-

The moment it drew near, Kang Yuseong immediately lowered his body.

The wolf, momentarily losing its target, passed him in confusion.

“One!”

Kang Yuseong spun his body and swung the jungle knife like a whip straight at its back.

“Yelp!”

Slish!

Blood splattered.

The sensation of the blade tearing through flesh was vividly transmitted to his hands.

‘This is it!’

This feeling!

This exhilarating sensation of tearing flesh and severing muscle!

Kang Yuseong’s smile deepened, having finally experienced that pure, visceral thrill after so long.

The wolf had a gaping wound clearly visible on its flank and back.

True to Kang Yuseong’s words that there wouldn’t be a second chance, he had inflicted a fatal blow in a single strike.

The critically wounded wolf stumbled, its tongue lolling out.

But four more wolves remained.

The moment he counterattacked the first, the second and third wolves were already lunging at him.

Clang!

Kang Yuseong blocked the second wolf’s charge by bracing the jungle knife’s blade with both hands, then immediately kicked up his leg.

“Ugh!”

The wolf, struck hard between the ribs, recoiled as if gasping for breath.

Kang Yuseong gave it no quarter.

He was one who had stood at the apex of Hunters.

He knew exactly when to sever his prey’s lifeline.

After delivering the kick, he rolled to evade the third wolf’s attack, then swung his jungle knife.

“Yelp!”

The jungle knife swept in a curving arc, targeting the leg of the wolf that had staggered from the rib strike.

Crunch!

The jungle knife tore through its skin and plunged in, but was stopped by the tough leg bone.

The moment the wolf faltered, Kang Yuseong sprang up like a coiled spring, gripping the jungle knife with both hands and yanking it free.

Gush!

A fountain of blood erupted from where the jungle knife had been embedded.

“Yelp, yelp!”

But half of its leg bone was already shattered and dangling.

Even for a fierce beast like a wolf, the pain was enough to completely break its will to fight.

Kang Yuseong did not stop moving, even for a moment.

“Haa!”

He gripped the hilt of the jungle knife tightly with both hands and brought it down.

This time, he aimed for the third wolf’s head.

The third wolf, after its previous attack missed, was just in the act of lunging its body to strike Kang Yuseong.

Smoothly deflecting that attack, Kang Yuseong brought the jungle knife down with the full weight of his body.

A move utterly impossible without knowing the beast’s attack patterns and habits!

A perfect counter-attack shook the third wolf’s skull.

Crack!

Blood gushed, and its skull, unable to withstand the heavy force of the jungle knife, split open.

The brain, protected by the skull, was violently concussed, then split cleanly in two by the penetrating sharp blade, like tofu.

Splatter!

Bloody brain matter sprayed high into the air.

Thump-thump!

In an instant, Kang Yuseong smoothly curled his body and landed on the ground.

Spotting the fourth and fifth wolves charging simultaneously, Kang Yuseong’s eyes flashed open, and he stretched out his left hand.

Grab!

He seized the fourth wolf by the throat and slammed it into the ground.

Thud!

“Yelp!”

He had used the force of its own charge against it, slamming it down.

It was a daring counter-attack that an ordinary Hunter wouldn’t even dream of.

In such a situation, they’d be too busy retreating, let alone reaching out a hand.

But Kang Yuseong, in that critical moment, precisely identified the opening and exploited it.

Clang-

Suddenly, he was flung into the air along with his jungle knife.

He had barely blocked the fifth wolf’s attack with his jungle knife, but the sheer force had sent him flying.

“Grrrrowl—”

The fifth wolf roared loudly and lunged fiercely at him.

The wolf, as massive as a warhound, pounced, pinning Kang Yuseong, who was sprawled on the ground.

“Grrr…”

But something was off about it.

Even though it had pinned Kang Yuseong, it wasn’t making its next move.

No, it couldn’t.

Thwock-

The sharp tip of the jungle knife had pierced through its spine and emerged from its back.

Drip-drip!

Hot blood poured out.

“Hah, hah…!”

Then, pushing aside the stiffened beast, Kang Yuseong rose from beneath it.

Covered in blood and wearing a faint, chilling smile, he looked like a demon.

He looked at the wolves that were still alive.

“Time to finish them off, isn’t it?”

He advanced towards them.

The wolves recoiled, stepping back.

Had they sensed the power of a predator stronger than themselves?

But Kang Yuseong showed them no mercy.

When you can sever a life, you sever it completely.

That was Kang Yuseong’s ironclad rule!

Kang Yuseong charged, and terror filled the wolves’ eyes.

Slish!

Blood spurted.

Thud-

The five wolves lay dead, either decapitated or with their hearts torn out.

In their midst, Kang Yuseong stood, holding his jungle knife.

“Ha!”

He laughed.

It was exhilarating.

He hadn’t known this feeling of being alive could be so enjoyable.

“Hahahahaha! Hahaha!”

The fatally addictive rush of hot adrenaline coursing through his body.

This intensity of fighting for his life, and in the end, standing alone, covered in blood.

This is what it means to be a Hunter.

Kang Yuseong wiped the blood from his jungle knife onto his clothes, his eyes gleaming coldly.

All his future plans.

He would face them head-on, risking his life, and in the end, he would stand alone, just like this.

Because he was a Hunter.

‘Just you wait. All of you.’

Those who had betrayed him.

Those who had orchestrated that betrayal from behind the scenes.

Recalling his plans for vengeance against them, Kang Yuseong walked forward.

And so, the dungeon was stained with blood by one man.

* * * * *

It was late in the predawn hours when Kang Yuseong finally returned to the motel.

He returned with his backpack full of monster byproducts and various gathered materials.

Anything he could sell immediately, he planned to entrust to the employment agency in the morning.

He could sell them himself, but considering everything, it amounted to the same thing.

He took a shower and then once again organized his future plans.

There were three crucial points.

First, he needed to acquire as many Chakra Cubes as possible, as quickly as possible, through reverse auctions.

If he started buying Chakra Cubes, people would become suspicious, and there was no guarantee that the processing method wouldn’t be discovered.

For now, he had to quickly secure a dominant position and push forward.

Although he had acquired about 200 Chakra Points through monster hunting, it was far from enough.

Second, he needed to become the ‘black hand’ that moved the market through the auction system.

Whether it was hunting or gathering people…

Every endeavor required ‘money’.

China and Japan, at a governmental level, were investing enormous funds into training Hunters.

They would soon target and invade South Korea.

Even before the Monarchs appeared, countless conflicts erupted over the interests of various nations.

To fight and win against such formidable adversaries, he needed to prepare.

In the past, he had endured with sheer willpower and determination, but ultimately, he was crushed by their financial power.

This time, he intended to rectify that from the very beginning.

‘Third…’

The third, and most crucial, was the conquest of the D-98-A Dungeon.

In other words, obtaining the Plunderer’s Legacy.

‘The Plunderer.’

A being capable of plundering the abilities of others and making them its own.

In the past, the Hunter who obtained the Plunderer’s Legacy had displayed abilities beyond imagination.

However, he had overestimated his own power and died after embarking on an overly ambitious raid.

Kang Yuseong had no intention of repeating his mistakes.

If his immense experience as a Monarch combined with the Plunderer’s Legacy…

Kang Yuseong nodded.

Having roughly reviewed his plans, he turned on his PC.

Upon logging into the Hunter Market, he found several messages awaiting him.

Kang Yuseong looked at them and smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes.

[Selling Green Dungeon Stones! 3kg available!]

[Selling Ochre Dungeon Stones! 11,000 won per kg!]

[Colorless Dungeon Stones available!]

Reverse auction.

Even though not much time had passed, several sellers had already placed bids.

‘I’ll need more money.’

Now, he could acquire as much money as he wanted.

Because he had awakened his Chakra Force and become a Hunter.

At this time, all banks were eagerly launching loan products for Hunters with near-zero interest rates, knowing that Hunters earned massive amounts of money.

Just as they used to offer large loans to professionals like doctors and lawyers.

‘Well then, shall we begin?’

Kang Yuseong gazed at the monitor, a smile playing on his lips.