The Predator's Predator
Flash!
As the energy of the Resurrection Herb seeped in, Choi Muryeong's body began to glow with a faint golden light.
The wound on his neck started to mend, and color slowly returned to his complexion.
A moment later.
"...Gasp!"
Choi Muryeong inhaled with all his might, drawing in air until his lungs felt ready to burst.
"You alright?" a man asked the panting Choi Muryeong.
Draped in a thick Ice Bear fur cloak that looked entirely out of place in the red wasteland, the man was none other than Lee Taepyeong.
"You're a bigger weakling than I thought."
Behind him loomed a massive shadow.
"...!"
It was the Giant Wyvern.
The fallen carcass of the colossal monster bore silent testament to Lee Taepyeong's victory.
"...You actually did it."
"Of course I did."
Lee Taepyeong tossed a potion bottle toward Choi Muryeong.
Catch!
"Drink up."
Choi Muryeong drank the potion without a word.
As the lukewarm liquid slid down his throat, the reality of being alive finally sank in.
"How did you..."
Choi Muryeong started to ask, but closed his mouth. There was no point in asking.
The appearance of a Giant Wyvern was unprecedented.
Yet Lee Taepyeong, who had never faced a normal wyvern before, had successfully slain this giant variant.
Even if Taepyeong explained how he did it, what good would it do?
It was bound to be a strategy that only Lee Taepyeong could pull off, simply because he was Lee Taepyeong.
Choi Muryeong pushed himself up. His body felt incredibly light.
All his accumulated fatigue had vanished, making him feel as though he had been reborn.
Well, I did literally die and come back to life, so I suppose that's not far from the truth...
He was already aware of the Resurrection Herb's effects. It was just so exceedingly rare that he had never had the chance to see one in person.
It was the kind of item where the seller could name any price. In fact, even if someone managed to obtain one, they would never sell it. It was simply too precious.
And yet, he had used such an item...
...without a single moment of hesitation.
There was no guarantee he could ever get another one, and it wasn't as if he had a stockpile of them.
He was an extraordinary man. No, 'extraordinary' was an understatement.
"Thank you."
Choi Muryeong bowed his head deeply to Lee Taepyeong.
Taepyeong stared back at him with a look of utter disbelief.
"Thank you for what?"
"Well, for..."
"I think you're getting something confused here."
"..."
"I'm the one who killed you in the first place."
Technically, he wasn't wrong.
As the flustered Choi Muryeong stammered, a sudden movement caught his eye.
Twitch, twitch!
Behind Lee Taepyeong, the Giant Wyvern's wing twitched.
"...!"
Choi Muryeong moved on instinct.
Flap! Flap!
The Giant Wyvern's wing began to thrash even more violently.
Just as Choi Muryeong grabbed Taepyeong and summoned his swords to take a defensive stance—
"Are you insane?"
The voice pierced his ears.
Before Choi Muryeong could even ask what he meant, Lee Taepyeong stood up.
"It's dangerous—!"
"Vel, aren't you done yet?"
Taepyeong brushed himself off, muttering something incomprehensible.
A moment later.
Rustle! Rustle!
Something emerged from beneath the wing.
A... dark elf?
It was a silver-haired dark elf, drenched in blood and covered in scars.
The dark elf, whom Taepyeong had addressed as 'Vel,' stared at him with lifeless red eyes.
Shake, shake.
The dark elf shook her head.
"Got it. Keep going."
At Taepyeong's command, the dark elf disappeared back under the wing.
"Taking longer than I thought," Taepyeong muttered, watching the twitching wing. "Must be because it's a giant."
Slice.
Squelch.
Rip.
A gruesome sound echoed through the air.
Choi Muryeong realized what was happening.
The dark elf was skinning the Giant Wyvern.
Looking closely, the skin around the head had already been completely stripped away.
That dark elf is...?
Skinning it? But why?
Weren't dark elves known to be even more eccentric and hostile than regular elves? Why was she obeying a human like Lee Taepyeong?
No, wait...
More importantly, this was a special map that only Lee Taepyeong and Choi Muryeong had entered.
Right up until the moment he died, he hadn't seen a single dark elf.
So how...?
Choi Muryeong swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward Lee Taepyeong.
"Hunter Lee."
"Yeah?"
"That dark elf..."
Unlike the cautious Choi Muryeong, Taepyeong's response was incredibly nonchalant.
"Oh, Vel? Don't worry about her."
He spoke in a tone that practically screamed, 'Don't worry, she doesn't bite.'
"She's already dead anyway."
"Excuse me?"
"Too lazy to explain. Just accept it."
Taepyeong waved his hand dismissively.
Knowing all too well how much Taepyeong detested annoying explanations, Choi Muryeong shut his mouth.
Taepyeong was staring blankly into the air, muttering to himself as if reviewing a system window.
In that case...
Step, step, step.
Choi Muryeong quietly made his way over to the Giant Wyvern.
He glanced at the dark elf skinning the beast, then positioned himself on the opposite side.
"..."
Choi Muryeong gripped his sword tightly.
An odd sense of anxiety washed over him.
What kind of anxiety, you ask?
Slice.
The anxiety of having his job as a pack mule stolen.
Scritch, scratch...
I have to protect my position as his supporter.
And that was why South Korea's number one ranker was currently skinning a monster with his own hands.
Oh. Another achievement?
"Predator of Predators..."
Was it because I killed the Giant Wyvern?
Not bad. Most monsters were larger than me anyway.
A 50% increase in critical damage was a massive win.
Sometimes, being a human had its perks.
This would be incredibly helpful not just for the 59th floor, but also when climbing the 70s later on.
I smiled and swiped to the next system window.
Giant Wyvern defeated successfully!
Rewards will now be distributed.
Reward: Breath Energy Condensation Core
Ah, this was the reward promised from the start, right?
When I pressed the claim button, the Breath Energy Condensation Core entered my inventory.
At the same time—
Sssss.
The Giant Wyvern's carcass shriveled slightly.
So the system literally ripped it out of the monster's body.
◈ A condensation core in its primitive state.
◈ Upon consumption, the user's heart will be replaced with a Mini Breath Core.
What is a Mini Breath Core?
Mini Breath Core
Passive: Grants high-heat resistance and energy accumulation.
⚠️ Warning: Excessive energy accumulation will cause an internal explosion.
Aha. So it's like a second dantian?
Does that mean I can shoot breath attacks now?
Damn. Who could say no to a breath attack?
I immediately pulled the Breath Energy Condensation Core out of my inventory.
It was a baseball-sized sphere of energy, bubbling and glowing brightly.
Gulp.
I swallowed it in one go.
Whether it was a ball of fire or ice, I couldn't tell.
Something both freezing cold and burning hot slid down my throat, and my heart began to beat rapidly.
It felt a bit like being drunk.
"Whew..."
Whenever it felt like something was about to surge back up, I focused my mind just like I did during dantian training. I channeled the wild energy rampaging in my chest into a single flow to keep it from exploding.
Whoosh...
The intense energy gradually subsided.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
My heart began to beat in its normal rhythm.
Or rather, should I call it the Mini Breath Core now?
It felt like a cool fire was burning right in the center of my body.
I felt overflowing with power.
Heh.
So, is it time to shoot a breath attack?
I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs to their absolute limit.
Thump!
And then, toward the sky...
Huuuuuuuuff!
A breath attack...?
Huh?
"Huuu...?"
What the hell?
Nothing's coming out?
Disappointed, I patted my chest.
Thump.
Thump.
The Breath Core was still beating perfectly fine.
No, if it's a Breath Core, why isn't any breath coming out?
Did something go wrong?
If it doesn't shoot breath, what am I supposed to do with this accumulated energy?
"Hunter Lee!"
I heard Choi Muryeong calling me.
I turned around to see his face completely splattered with Giant Wyvern blood.
What is he doing? I didn't even tell him to do that.
"I've finished."
Choi Muryeong had been organizing the leather, while Vel was pulling out the Giant Wyvern's teeth.
Leather, claws, teeth.
All of this was money, so I had to take every last bit.
Since it was a giant, the yield was enormous. It was an unimaginable amount for just one monster.
Since my Nexkia's Spacesuit had completely melted anyway, maybe I should make new armor out of this Giant Wyvern leather.
I could commission domestic artisans through Go Juhee.
Or I could send it to Nairin and have the Empire's master craftsmen make it.
It would probably be better to leave it to the Empire...
"You should take half."
"Excuse me?"
"We cleared it together."
Choi Muryeong stared at me blankly.
"Is it because there's too much wyvern leather and you don't need it?"
"Ah, no. It's different from a normal wyvern, so..."
"Then why?"
"I just... wondered if it was really alright for you to give me this much..."
Why wouldn't it be?
He had just died and... well, he literally died and came back to life.
I packed the wyvern leather, claws, and teeth that Vel had sorted into my inventory.
"..."
The Giant Wyvern carcass lay there, stripped bare like a raw chicken.
Looking at it only made me annoyed.
Why couldn't I shoot a breath attack?!
Thud!
Out of sheer frustration, I gave the Giant Wyvern's jaw a light kick.
At that exact moment—
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion...
Splat! Splat!
The Giant Wyvern's head blew apart.
Thud! Plop!
Fragments of the shattered head rained down everywhere.
And simultaneously—
Whoosh...
A cool sensation washed over my heart.
"...Oh?"
So it wasn't a breath attack, but this?