novel
| ← Ch.077 | Ch.079 → |
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
While the sight of Seoul in ruins was causing the champion a great deal of stress, it also motivated him to bring things back to normal and create a safe environment for the stores and restaurants in the city.
"From here on, I'm going solo."
"What about me?" Ho Sung asked, blinking rapidly and nervously.
"Figure it out. Kill as many monsters as possible as soon as you can. If there's anything I need to know, call me."
"Yes, sir."
"Good, " Min Sung said, taking a few steps forward. Then, with what sounded like a gunshot, the champion disappeared in plain sight. When Ho Sung looked down at the spot on which the champion had stood, he saw a crater with a two-meter radius that was filled with pieces of asphalt that had shattered from the impact. At that jaw-dropping sight, Ho Sung shook his head.
—
[Lv500 Ho Sung Lee: The Head of the Diamond Clan]
"Sir? What happened to your level?" Min Wook, Ho Sung's right-hand man, asked in a daze as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"It's a long story, " Ho Sung said, smiling bashfully.
"How did you level up so fast!?"
"It's a secret, " Ho Sung said, shutting him down since he didn't want to talk about it. Min Wook, despite being filled with burning curiosity, refrained from asking Ho Sung any more questions.
"Where are the boys?" Ho Sung asked.
"They should be here any minute."
Nodding affirmatively, Ho Sung walked to a nearby bench, sat on it, and let out a long, heavy sigh. When he stuck a cigarette in his mouth, Min Wook rushed toward him and lit it. Breathing smoke out of his mouth, Ho Sung stared into the air, thinking, 'I'm level 500... '
It was the reward for being by the champion's side at the time of Heckel's death. On top of that, being level 500 also meant that Ho Sung was now at a high enough level to be able to use the incredible weapon that was the Death Knight's Sword. However, reaching level 500 didn't feel quite the same as the previous time he had experienced an explosive growth.
The memory of provoking Heckel while fearing for his life internally was still vivid in Ho Sung's mind. It was almost traumatic.
'I wonder if overcoming moments like those are part of becoming stronger... ' Ho Sung thought. His body shook from just thinking back to that time. Despite having reached an unimaginable level, Ho Sung was well aware that he was nothing but a snack to a monster like Heckel. In addition, sticking by Min Sung's side would surely entail more unimaginable dangers, be they the demons or their tower.
'I don't know all the nitty-gritty details, but whatever it is that's catching Min Sung's attention, it can't be good news on my end, ' Ho Sung thought.
However, bigger risks also meant bigger rewards, and his level was proof of that. He was at a level where even the Central Institute would recognize him as an authentic hunter. Because of that, Ho Sung found himself wrestling with fear and the desire to grow. Feeling uncertain about his future was certainly not helping him feel better.
"Sigh..." he let out in frustration, exhaling the smoke from the cigarette in the process. At that moment, his clansmen started to arrive one by one. Upon seeing their leader, the clansmen also responded in manners similar to Min Wook when he first saw Ho Sung.
"What the?! F-five hundred?!"
"Holy crap..."
Ignoring his clansmen marveling over him, Ho Sung waited quietly for the rest of them to arrive. Soon, the entirety of the Diamond Clan came together, and Ho Sung was caught by surprise by how much the clan had grown. After becoming famous due to his appearance in the national news, the Diamond Clan had also grown exponentially and absorbed the lower level hunters. Because of that, regardless of their levels, looking at the clan, which had grown to the size of an army, brought Ho Sung a sense of security. Looking at his clansmen, the head of the Diamond Clan opened his mouth and said, "I'm sure you all know the crisis our country is in. I'm also confident that we all know what our job is. We've been paid by the citizens. More specifically, we've been paid by the citizens to protect them."
With a serious expression on his face, Ho Sung kept on, "Now, since we were paid, I believe it's only appropriate that we make every penny count. Give your life to the cause. This is our opportunity to prove our worth to the citizens!"
Then, taking the Death Knight's Sword out of his inventory, Ho Sung looked down at it. The hefty sword surged with a dark, ominous aura, like nothing he had experienced before. It almost felt as though he was being enlightened all over again. Needless to say, Ho Sung wasn't the only one who was impressed by the sword. Enticed by it, the entirety of the clan also marveled at the mysterious aura given off by the sword.
Catching his breath, Ho Sung looked up from the sword and said, "Now, listen very carefully. Should I catch anyone looking to save their own life by running away from combat..." pausing briefly as he scanned the clansmen with ice-cold eyes."... I will NOT hesitate to cut you down."
At Ho Sung's fierce determination, the conference hall fell into a tense silence.
"With that said, if you are ready, follow me."
After that, Ho Sung led the way, leading waves of his clansmen into battle against the monsters taking over the city.
—
While the champion was running in search of monsters, his stomach started to growl. Finding monsters that had escape the labyrinth was much harder than he initially thought, causing him an even greater deal of stress. After sweeping across the city once, monsters with advanced intelligence hid from the champion either in the mountains at night or deep within the oceans. Despite that, the damage was significant to drive everyone off the streets and make all the stores and restaurants shut down.
"This ends today, " the champion grumbled irritably as he walked toward the mountains.
—
While the Diamond Clan was in the middle of searching for monsters, Ho Sung and his clansmen received an emergency message on their phones, causing all the phones to go off simultaneously. Like his clansmen did, Ho Sung checked the message. It was a notice from the Central Institute asking all hunters to cooperate if they came across hunters from the American Hunters' Institute.
"It's a good thing, I guess, " Ho Sung said, scoffing and putting the phone in his pocket. At that moment, a figure appeared on the street with a strange, mysterious sound, hidden in the dark. At which point, the clansmen tensed up and prepared for battle. Should they let their guard down for even a second, they would surely get torn to shreds. Being well aware of that, the clansmen gripped their weapons tightly. However, to their surprise, what came out of the dark looked nothing like a monster. If anything, they were people whose hair and eyes were of different colors. Upon seeing the badges on their chests, Ho Sung and his clansmen were able to identify the mysterious figures almost immediately. They were hunters from the American Hunters' Institute, who were at a-whole-nother class from the hunters in Korea.
'I didn't know they would get here so quickly, ' Ho Sung thought. Looking at him and his clansmen, Callis, the leader of Support Team 1, scoffed condescendingly and said, "I can just smell their incompetence."
Hearing that, Ho Sung, sniffling, called for Min Wook, who had graduated from the top university in the nation as an English major. There was no one better fit for the role of interpreter than him.
"What did he just say?"
Looking away from Ho Sung with a bitter expression, Min Wook replied, "He's talking down to us, " chuckling. Then, he added, "He thinks we're incompetent."
At that, Ho Sung looked toward Callis, scoffed, and said, "Shit, he sure as hell talks like a hotshot."
Startled by Ho Sung's remark, Min Wook replied in a hurry, "S-sir, we better watch what we say..."
"What? They don't know Korean, " Ho Sung said, chuckling. At that moment, Callis, looking like a furious beast, walked in his direction. With his face turned pale, Ho Sung stared at Callis.
There was no level indicator above Callis' head, meaning that, at least by Korean standards, he was a miscellaneous type. It was such a hunter that Ho Sung had the misfortune of provoking. Standing in front of Ho Sung, Callis tapped Ho Sung on his chest ever so slight. Although it was nothing more than a gentle tap, the tap sent Ho Sung flying as if he had been hit by a car. Astounded, the clansmen rushed to Ho Sung and helped him up.
"Come here, " Callis said, signaling to Ho Sung with his finger. Coughing up blood, Ho Sung rose to his feet with the help of his clansmen. His head spun, and his vision became blurry.
"Get your ass over here, " Callis said in a low, intimidating voice. Spitting blood on the ground, Ho Sung walked toward him. Although intimidated, Ho Sung wasn't all that afraid of the hunter.
'Hell, who would've thought he knows Korean?' Ho Sung thought. Perhaps it had something to do with his near-death encounter with the monster called Heckel. Or, perhaps it was the unwarranted confidence in the fact that an American hunter wouldn't kill a Korean hunter for no apparent reason. Or...
'Maybe this is the 'Min Sung Kang Effect?"
When that thought occurred to Ho Sung, Ho Sung grinned, revealing his bloody teeth. At which point, Callis' eyes grew cold.
Fearing that the American hunters would start attacking them because of Ho Sung, the clansmen watched nervously. Every moment felt like torture to them, and some even shook with fear. At that moment, Min Wook intervened, grabbed Ho Sung by the shoulder and pulled him back.
"There's been a misunderstanding. My boss here wasn't trying to insult you. He's just very, very eager to hunt down the monsters that are wreaking havoc in the city, " Min Wook said in fluent English. Hearing that, the ice-cold look on Callis' face subsided. However, glaring fiercely at Ho Sung with still-ice-cold eyes, Callis said, "I've got my eyes on you. Watch yourself."
Bowing to him, Min Wook pulled Ho Sung back cautiously.
"The search begins now. Each one of us will be leading a team of twenty of your people. I expect you all to cooperate in every way."
Wiping the blood off of his mouth, Ho Sung gave Callis a brief, affirmative nod.
"You and you, with me, " Callis said with a suspicious smile, pointing to Ho Sung and Min Wook. While Min Wook looked at Ho Sung nervously, the head of the clan shrugged nonchalantly. With that, teams of the Diamond Clan members led by American hunters set out on the search for monsters. While the American hunters led the way with confidence, the clansmen followed, looking somewhat discouraged.
—
With the champion's punch, the hobgoblin's head exploded into a bloody mess. Thick, sticky blood trickled down the champion's dagger. It was pitch black in the mountains, and there was a thick stench of blood in the air. Surrounded by the corpses of countless monsters that had fallen by his hands, Min Sung looked at them and furrowed his brow. Unlike when raiding a dungeon, killing monsters outside of dungeon yielded no reward whatsoever. No loot, no experience, nothing. On top of that, the more monsters he killed, the harder it became to find them because the monsters started to sense danger and hide from the champion, much like Heckel. Sure enough, Min Sung found traces of monsters nearby. With eyes glaring in the moonlight, the champion picked up the pace.
| ← Ch. 077 | Ch. 079 → |