Night Crow's Guided Blast
Lee Won-hyung, Director of the Awakening Management Bureau, let out a small sigh as he gazed out the car window from the back seat. His secretary, Kwon Si-young, who was gripping the steering wheel, checked on him through the rearview mirror.
“More white hairs again, sir?”
“Hm? How did you know?”
“Your sigh gave it away.”
Lee Won-hyung chuckled at her reply.
“Haha, so now you can read your superior’s worries just from the sound of a sigh? Having a subordinate who’s too perceptive isn’t always a good thing.”
“If you’d like, I can request a transfer anytime. I don’t want to end up like Prime Minister Hwang Hui from serving a boss who only knows work.”
“Don’t you think you’re overestimating your own abilities?”
“Flattery won’t work on me. Anyway, the reason for your new white hairs—could it be last night’s emergency meeting with the President?”
“Why don’t you open a fortune-telling shop? I’d be willing to invest.”
“I’d do it the moment you accept my resignation.”
“The VIP gave orders. Hunter recruitment rates across the guilds have been steadily declining, so we need to come up with countermeasures.”
Kwon Si-young narrowed her eyes at the Director’s answer.
“The VIP must be quite concerned as well. Wasn’t the privatization of hunter authority originally meant to increase recruitment rates?”
Hunter privatization.
In the early days, hunters had been a government organization directly managed and supervised by the state. That had been only natural. If the government failed to properly oversee the power of these transcendents who surpassed ordinary humans, it would pose an enormous threat to national security and public order.
But there had been limits. The hunter profession carried risks on an entirely different level compared to soldiers, police officers, or firefighters. No matter how high the compensation was set, there were inherent constraints within a government structure, and the brief surge in recruitment rates had quickly burst like a bubble.
Conquering the Tower wasn’t solely about profit. The Tower had something called “collapse time.” Once that time elapsed, the Tower would crumble, and a portal would form in its place. From that portal would pour forth countless monsters and powerful creatures never before encountered—like a flood.
More than a few nations had fallen that way. Korea was no exception. If all the collapse times of the Towers that had appeared in Seoul were to run out, not only Seoul but the entire Korean Peninsula would turn into hell.
The only way to reset the collapse time was to clear floors of the Tower and earn bonus time. After persistent persuasion from Director Lee Won-hyung, the government had finally taken drastic measures—hunter privatization.
Thanks to this, hunters could now be recruited not only by the government but also by corporations. They received generous sponsorships and earned enormous incomes based on their abilities and ranks. In return, corporations could use skilled hunters as models or in advertisements, like sports stars, and gained priority rights to purchase the various materials and Mana Stones brought back from the Tower. It was a structure where both corporations and hunters benefited.
Thus began the second hunter boom.
The problem was that even this second boom was losing its effectiveness.
“People’s illusions have finally been shattered. They realized that even if they try their hardest, the chance of becoming a billionaire or a world-renowned figure is far lower than the chance of becoming fertilizer beneath the soil rather than a star in the sky. No matter what noble cause you attach to it, no one wants to die.”
“So, Director, how do you plan to put the blinders back on people’s eyes this time?”
“If I knew a method like that, would I have gotten more white hairs? It seems it’s about time for me to retire. I’ve sat in this position for too long.”
Under the pretext of protecting Korea, he had sent far too many people to their deaths. The decisions had been theirs, but it was clear that the policies and systems he had proposed had greatly influenced those choices. And now he had to rack his brain to send even more people into danger—to protect this country, Korea… to safeguard the lives and property of tens of millions of citizens…
‘I won’t even be able to apologize in the afterlife.’
Because when he died, he would surely fall straight into hell.
“Special King Galbitang is served. Enjoy your meal.”
Gulp……
Bubble bubble~
The overwhelming visual alone made one swallow. The rich aroma that didn’t just stimulate the sense of smell but practically toyed with it before vanishing. As a child, he couldn’t afford it. In the training camp, meals were provided, so there was no reason to buy it separately. For one reason or another, he had never once eaten Special King Galbitang until now.
Yet at the age of eight, after seeing celebrities on TV devouring it with gusto, the image had burned itself into his mind, and he had never forgotten it since.
‘So I’m finally going to try it!’
When he lifted the large rib bone, a sizable chunk of meat clung precariously to the end. Afraid it might fall off, he blew on it gently before taking a big bite. The juices bursting in his mouth and the chewy texture made his eyes widen involuntarily.
‘This is insanely delicious……’
Perhaps because it tasted even better than expected, his sister’s face suddenly surfaced in his mind. He wished she could have come and eaten it with him. Promising himself to bring her next time, he picked up another rib.
This time, he dipped it in the special sauce that came with it before taking a bite.
‘This is even better?!’
After enjoying the Special Galbitang in various ways, the earthen pot was soon empty. Without realizing it, he raised his hand and called the auntie.
“Auntie! One more Special over here!”
“So you sent 3.6 million won to your sister and spent the rest—excluding motel fees—on King Galbitang?”
“Not just King Galbitang, but Special King Galbitang. Regular King Galbitang comes with three ribs, but the Special comes with five.”
“……”
The next morning, he contacted So-won early. She probably hadn’t expected him to call so soon. When he asked about her schedule, she said she had no plans, so they immediately set up a hunting appointment.
“Even on the lower floors, you usually need at least two days of rest after conquering a Tower for your body to recover…… Are you really okay?”
“Even if I wanted to rest, I don’t have a body that needs recovering in the first place. You need something to recover for recovery to happen.”
“True……”
Yesterday, the actual hunting had been handled almost entirely by the minion Penet. Ahn Humin and So-won had simply followed behind, collecting items. It had been practically automatic hunting.
“What about you, So-won? If your condition isn’t great, there’s no need to push yourself.”
“And then you’ll go find another porter? Not a chance. I’m going. I’m ready.”
So-won answered while securely adjusting the large porter’s backpack on her back.
After filling out the entry application, they entered the 2nd floor. While repeatedly hunting on the 1st floor wasn’t bad, both Ahn Humin and So-won agreed they were far too over-leveled for it, so they headed straight to the 2nd floor.
‘Honestly, to be over-leveled while solo hunting on the 1st floor, even an A-class would need to be over level 10. But I’ve already become over-leveled at level 1.’
If anyone claimed he was E-class, no one would believe it. Even he himself couldn’t believe it.
You have entered the 2nd Floor.
2nd Floor Objective: Ferocious Penet 0/50, Horned Rabbit 0/50
Reward: Collapse Delay Time +2 hours.
The terrain was similar to the 1st floor, but the difference was the presence of massive boulders scattered across the wide plains.
“You probably already know this, Humin, but Ferocious Penets are aggressive monsters, unlike regular Penets. They don’t have pack instincts, but if you’re not careful, you could get surrounded, so stay alert. Horned Rabbits are extremely dangerous with their linear attacks, so make sure you’re never standing directly in their line of fire.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Taking So-won’s advice to heart, they stepped out of the neutral zone, and monsters that had been invisible before came into view. The monsters noticed them as well.
Grrrrr!
True to being an aggressive monster, the nearest Ferocious Penet recognized Ahn Humin and bared its teeth, radiating hostility. Then it charged at terrifying speed. Because Ferocious Penets had higher stats than regular ones, their charging speed was much faster.
“It’s coming!”
Along with So-won’s shout from behind, Ahn Humin finished his preparations. Yesterday, he would have drawn his shortsword and attempted a risky close-quarters fight, but today was different.
“Night Crow!”
He extended his hand and chanted the skill’s activation phrase. A black shadow-like mass gathered at his fingertips, instantly taking form and shooting straight forward. It was none other than a crow.
The Night Crow, far blacker than any real crow, flew at terrifying speed toward the Ferocious Penet. The monster snorted at the approaching crow and twisted its body to dodge. Unless a tank or melee dealer was holding the monster in place, even low-floor monsters had no reason to fail at dodging an obvious frontal attack. That was exactly why he had chosen Night Crow.
Shhhheeeeek!
After missing the Ferocious Penet, the Night Crow gracefully banked in midair and began pursuing it from behind at breakneck speed, like a dogfight. The Ferocious Penet hadn’t expected the crow to chase it from behind. The Night Crow’s speed was faster than an arrow, and it caught up in an instant. Then……
BOOM!
The Night Crow collided with the Ferocious Penet, triggering a black explosion. It wasn’t fire. Rather, the compressed darkness of the Night Crow had detonated all at once, and the resulting shock dealt damage to the Ferocious Penet.
As such, Night Crow was a long-range magic skill with a homing function that tracked a designated target. Even if it didn’t kill, it had a high chance of inflicting the “Darkness” status effect on the opponent, making it highly effective for subduing enemies. Its only drawback was its relatively low damage output.
But even that wasn’t a problem for him. He had raised the [Intelligence] passive skill to level 2 from the skill card he obtained this time, and since the 2nd floor was bathed in a fresh morning light, the [Joy of Hemera] trait doubled all his stats. That meant the Night Crow’s sole weakness—insufficient damage—had been more than compensated for.
“You really obtained another ridiculous skill. Not only does it have homing, but it one-shot a Ferocious Penet…… Skills with homing usually have very low damage. Even an A-class flame mage would need to be at least level 10 to one-shot a Ferocious Penet with a fireball……”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect a one-shot either……”
As So-won approached and clicked her tongue in amazement, Ahn Humin nodded along. Of course, knowing his traits and skills, he had somewhat anticipated this outcome. But he couldn’t explain everything to her, so he let it slide.
“Bonus Looting.”
After So-won obtained additional items and Mana Stones through Bonus Looting and stepped back, Ahn Humin approached the fallen Ferocious Penet and activated his skill.
“Minion of the Underworld. Summon.”
Once the skill activated and the 10-second casting time ended, the dead Ferocious Penet rose to its feet. But that wasn’t the end.
Minion of the Underworld Lv.2
By obtaining another [Minion of the Underworld] skill card, the skill had risen to level 2. That meant not only had the minions’ stats increased, but the maximum number of summonable minions had also increased by one.
While glancing around, his eyes landed on a Horned Rabbit hopping mindlessly across the field.
‘You’re next.’
Licking his lips at the thought of summoning another minion, Ahn Humin approached the creature alongside his minion Ferocious Penet.