Grasping the Leash of the Arrogant Hunter
The flames vanished from the greatsword atop it.
What should I call this sensation? It didn't feel like being forcibly crammed in.
Uncontrollable embers rose from my fingertips. My inner elbow sizzled.
"......Huh?"
Cha Do-yeon stared blankly down at her palm.
She clenched and unclenched her hand, as if straining to draw up mana. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
"You...... what the hell did you do to me......!"
Whoosh—
From my right hand, clumsy embers flickered up.
Measuring mana adaptation rate for the absorbed unique skill Crimson Flame (A).
Adaptation Rate: 27%.
For a new awakener, the initial adaptation rate is usually single digits. If you're lucky, around 10%.
Raising it over years is the normal growth curve.
But 27 percent?
Let me snap out of it and take a proper look. Up close, Crimson Flame burned rough yet vividly sharp.
I wonder how much control I can manage.
First, I flipped my palm over. The flames subsided like obedient lambs.
Next, I angled it upright. The fire shot up densely packed.
"That's mine......"
Veins bulged on Cha Do-yeon's trembling neck.
"Give it back, you fucking dog!!"
She lunged in a blind rage, but her coreless body was worthless.
Before she could grab my collar, she tripped over a jutting rock and tumbled pathetically to the ground.
Thud—
"Aaaack!"
Her face planted straight into the mud.
Cha Do-yeon couldn't lift her head easily.
Moments later, her ruined face showed terror where fury had been.
The Death Knight looming over her. And the man she'd tried to kill, now wielding her own power.
Cha Do-yeon clung to my ankle.
Her tightly pinned-up hair had come undone, her prim appearance wrecked by snot and tears.
"S-Sa-eon-ssi......"
"......"
"Please spare me! Just my life, please!!"
"This is insane."
"Money! I'll give you as much as you want! You know who my dad is! I'll even give you guild shares, just please......!"
I looked down at her sobbing face clutching my pant leg.
Cha Do-yeon, bearer of shining talent. Begging me now.
The world had flipped. What a ridiculous farce.
"Hunter Cha Do-yeon."
"Hic, y-yes, yes! Sa-eon-ssi......! I'll do anything, anything you say! Even lick your shoes if you command—"
"Do you remember what you said earlier?"
I brought Crimson Flame close.
She let out a short breath, and I threw her exact words back at her, word for word.
"You said it's rational to discard the worthless for something valuable."
"I-I must've been crazy! A bitch worse than a beast, running my mouth......!"
"Your innate talent. It was definitely far more precious than me, just a disposable. Excellent calculation."
I squatted down, meeting the eyes of her tear-streaked face.
"But what can we do? Right now, Hunter-nim's value is less than an unawakened's."
"Ah, aaah......"
"If the contract terms reverse, the deal should be void, right?"
Without even blinking, I pushed her frozen forehead with a finger.
I hadn't even applied force, yet she flopped backward limply.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Menacing footsteps approached from behind.
A scream calling my name erupted from back there, but I kept walking forward.
The distance between me and the Death Knight narrowed.
Hostility from target 'Death Knight' is unstable.
A few years back, I'd heard from a hunter.
'Death Knights slash anything in sight. If it catches you, no exceptions—just one-shot.'
......No exceptions, he'd said.
Definitely. So why was this one making exceptions now?
Doesn't matter. No time for old memories. End it before those eyes roll back.
"Crimson Flame."
Now the blaze finally earned its name, surging fiercely—just as the Death Knight sensed the threat and swung its greatsword down.
"C-Crazy! Dodge!"
One party member sprawled backward, yelling.
A non-awakened cleaner charging in? Obviously it'd cleave him in half.
"Too slow."
Damn, is this why they spout cliché lines?
The sword strike in my eyes looked slow as molasses.
Ten years crawling in the mud, stealing glances at thousands of hunters' combat data.
With the core's power enhancing my body, it swiftly matched my brain's thoughts.
The blade grazed my shoulder—missed.
Using the recoil, I plunged inside. The Death Knight's mana barrier came into view.
The barrier wrapped the armor's lining.
"Not living up to the name. Scared of dying again?"
Pouring flames from outside would've been useless.
It's built to trap heat inside. That's why Cha Do-yeon wasted firepower stupidly and got pushed back.
Let's think rationally.
Not hard. Defense inside? Target inside and blow it up.
The second strike came vertically. Instead of dodging, I advanced.
Whoosh—!
The blade nicked my side. My work clothes tore, blood flowed—but I ignored it.
"Knew you'd dodge?"
I kicked off its incoming arm and leaped.
Too late for you, bastard.
Burn fire in a sealed space? Outcome's obvious.
Helmet and armor would make a fine pressure cooker.
Caution.Crimson Flame output control is unstable.
"Blow up."
BOOM—!!!
Flames incinerated its head from within.
Fire spewed from every armor joint.
The scrap plate metal staggered, knees buckled, and it collapsed.
"Hoo......"
My fingertips trembled. Too mild to call rage.
'So this is what a dungeon looks like standing tall.'
......Ten whole years. Finally on two feet.
I clenched my fist, and Crimson Flame flickered up again from my fingertips.
Remeasuring mana adaptation rate for Crimson Flame (A).
Adaptation Rate: 34%.
Overload accumulating in body. Full assimilation required.
Up 7 percent. Sweet reward for overcoming the class gap.
Absurd growth. Even seasoned hunters endure long suffering to raise skill adaptation.
One thing's clear: I'm not normal. My eyes flicked to the status window's warning.
'Overload.'
Reason's obvious. If the skill's a bomb, the core's the engine.
Cha Do-yeon stayed C-rank despite her fancy A-rank skill because her weak core couldn't handle the firepower.
Problem is, it applies to me too? Shoved into a pseudo-awakener's body forcibly. Something's gotta give soon—
"Ugh...!"
Retribution hit before I could brace. Wonder how long I can hold out......
After leaving here, first fix this wrecked body balance.
"Just now... one shot...?"
"......What the hell am I seeing?"
Even after it ended, the party members couldn't snap out of panic.
A mere cleaner cooked a Death Knight.
And those vicious flames—weren't they Cha Do-yeon's skill until moments ago?
The healer stood dazed, forgetting to heal.
"Check my wound."
I offered my side to the healer. She finally snapped to.
"Y-Yes!"
Not deep, so treatment finished quick.
I turned to the rest.
"Done gawking? Everyone out."
Once they vanished, a metal shard on the ground glinted.
"This is..."
Cha Do-yeon's on-site record chip. Must've popped out when she faceplanted.
Unexpected spoils. Definitely useful.
As I stepped away, my name rang out, thick with despair.
"Baek Sa-eon......!!"
Cha Do-yeon lay on the ground, unable to rise.
"Give it back! Hand it over! That's mine, you fucking bastard!!"
Viscous scraping sounds from behind. She was clawing the dirt.
"My fire...... my core...... gone."
Guild master's blood and A-rank skill. Without them, what was left for her? That pathetic sight, probably.
My continued silence. The thief slipping away. Finally, Cha Do-yeon's eyes rolled back.
"I'll......! I'll definitely kill you, fuck!! I'll tell Dad and have your limbs torn off alive!!!"
Her curse spread like spewing blood.
"Tattle to your father."
Cha Do-yeon's wailing scream cut off.
"Right now, Hunter-nim—no, Miss Cha Do-yeon's body can't even beat a single goblin. Live out the rest honestly as an unawakened."
"Fuck...... fuck you......!! Aaaah...!!!"
"Good luck."
Mana circulated inside me, brushing against me in a novel sensation.
Hummm——
Status window lit up.
Basic sense of mana core holders—'Mana Detection'—activated.
Well, well. Rough guess, but with this...... I can gauge how much they have and their level.
Core holders live with this attached? Fucking convenient.
"Hoo."
Let me sort my thoughts.
Cha Tae-yoon's youngest daughter had her core stolen by a non-awakener.
Kill me now? Fortunately, odds are slim.
Unprecedented: skill and mana core snatched.
More urgent than ripping me apart: figure out how it was stolen.
Need cause and method to even attempt re-implanting in Cha Do-yeon.
Plus, clear gate front with witnesses everywhere—no blatant sword-waving idiocy.
"Someone's coming out!"
Crowd around the gate entrance. Eight cars.
Myth Guild's follow-up cleanup team waiting.
They'd never imagine: blood-soaked bottom-rung cleaner strolling out, leaking Cha Do-yeon's mana.
Unidentified mana reaction observing user detected outside gate.
Farther out? Feels different from the Myth Guild outside. Watching me from beyond the gate at this timing.
Curiosity piqued. How will they handle me?
And who's lurking out there.