Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Basilisk Venom
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In the blink of an eye, two of his comrades had been struck down and were lying on the floor.
And all by a single opponent.
"So the rumors about him having a hidden class were true."
The suspicion that Kang Jin-hyuk wasn't your average hunter had spread widely ever since he'd taken down that new breed of monster.
Most hunters refused to accept it, chalking it up to sheer luck.
Titan's hunters were no different.
They figured he'd only managed it thanks to Seo Sang-ho's help. No way it was his power alone.
But after experiencing it firsthand, their thinking changed.
"That red glow—it's a hidden skill, right?"
One of Titan's hunters pointed at the aura swirling around Kang Jin-hyuk's bat.
Having been a hunter for years, he'd encountered all sorts of classes and skills.
None of them matched what Kang Jin-hyuk was using.
The fact that even a veteran like him had never seen it before was highly suspicious.
"Who knows? Got any reason I should tell you?"
Kang Jin-hyuk smirked deliberately, aiming to rile him up.
Then, as if showing off, he swung the baseball bat in wide arcs while slowly closing the distance.
"Only one of you left. What're you gonna do? Run? Or charge?"
As Kang Jin-hyuk's question flew out, the two fallen comrades looked toward the remaining Titan hunter.
He wanted to run. But with those two still conscious and watching, he couldn't make a cowardly spectacle.
If they later told the executives he'd abandoned them and fled, he might get kicked out of the guild.
"Damn it!"
Titan's hunter prepared his most powerful skill.
He assumed a stance, pouring strength into his legs for a single explosive leap. The floor caved in under him.
Seeing the crater form right in the middle of the living room, Kang Jin-hyuk's eyes rolled back in fury.
"You bastard, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
His laid-back demeanor from moments ago vanished completely.
Titan's hunter froze under the charging pressure of Kang Jin-hyuk, who came at him like an enraged bull.
"W-Wait...!"
He wanted to beg for at least a chance to use his skill.
But before he could finish, Kang Jin-hyuk's fist smashed into his face.
* * *
Thanks to the potions Kang Jin-hyuk had given them, Titan's three hunters could barely stand on their own two feet again.
But it wasn't enough to fully heal their wounds.
Still covered in blood, they knelt in the middle of the living room.
Kang Jin-hyuk dragged over a chair and plopped down in front of them, baseball bat in hand.
"......"
After a heavy silence, Kang Jin-hyuk spoke first.
"Why'd you come looking for Seo Sang-ho and kick up such a fuss?"
"......"
"Not talking?"
As Kang Jin-hyuk lifted the bat slightly, the hunters flinched reflexively.
Just one hit each. Yet the pain and terror were already etched deep into their minds.
"If we talk, we're dead......"
"Then you'll die right now if you don't."
"Eek! P-Please spare us!"
Tell them and die. Don't tell and die.
Faced with the hopeless choice, the hunters shed tears as they bowed their heads.
"We were wrong! Please just give us one chance!"
"We'll never mess around again!"
For C-rank hunters without a guild, begging for their lives was utterly humiliating.
But Titan's hunters didn't care.
Kang Jin-hyuk might be low-ranked, but he far surpassed them—A-rank hunters—in strength.
Pleading for mercy before the strong was no shame at all.
"What did you do wrong?"
"Huh?"
"Do you even know what you did wrong?"
Hearing Kang Jin-hyuk's words, the three hunters caught a whiff of familiar boot camp vibes.
Who'd have thought they'd hear that crap outside the military?
"We barged into your home without permission, Mr. Kang Jin-hyuk."
"And?"
"We got cocky beyond our station!"
"And?"
The two who'd spoken each time glanced at their silent comrade.
Receiving both his teammate's and Kang Jin-hyuk's stares, the hunter broke out in cold sweat.
He racked his brain desperately, but nerves left him blank.
When no answer came after a long wait, Kang Jin-hyuk exploded, veins bulging on his forehead.
"You've got eyes—did you not see THAT?!"
With a shout, he jabbed the bat's end at the small crater in the living room floor.
"What are you gonna do about this?! Huh?!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry my ass—what are you gonna do about it?!"
To save his skin, the hunter frantically pulled out his wallet, dumping all his cash and checks.
"We'll take full responsibility and pay for it! Please forgive us!"
"......"
Kang Jin-hyuk snatched the money and checked the amount.
The guy had some sense—it was more than enough to fix the floor and then some.
Pocketing the cash, Kang Jin-hyuk cleared his throat and composed himself.
"I wasn't planning to make a big deal out of this anyway. If you're still suspicious, go ahead and search the place."
"Huh? Why say that all of a sudden......"
"But if you don't find anything, you keep your mouths shut about today. Give and take—fair?"
Titan's hunters exchanged nods before all agreeing.
"We'd welcome that."
Coming to search for Seo Sang-ho, getting beaten by one guy, and slinking back—that wouldn't look good in the guild.
Titan's hunters rose cautiously and searched Kang Jin-hyuk's house.
They checked every spot big enough for a person, but no trace of Seo Sang-ho.
The attic was last.
Unless Kang Jin-hyuk opened it, it was just an ordinary storage space.
Confirming only junk inside, Titan's hunters bowed at 90 degrees to apologize.
"We're truly sorry for suspecting you!"
"We'll keep today's events completely under wraps."
Fearing he might change his mind, they kept bowing right up until they left.
In the finally quiet house, Kang Jin-hyuk let out a long, weary sigh.
"I can hear what happened from Seo Sang-ho himself...... No need to stir up more trouble here."
Hiding him in the dungeon was low-risk, but clashing head-on with a major guild was reckless.
Kang Jin-hyuk had no intention of diving into this powder keg where an S-rank hunter had shown up bloody.
"Alright, time to check on the man himself."
Kang Jin-hyuk opened the attic door and entered the dungeon.
Seo Sang-ho, whom he'd tossed near the entrance, was gone.
No leftover flesh or bones meant the goblins hadn't eaten him.
"See? Even while grumbling, the old man's good about keeping promises."
The dwarf was kind-hearted, rude only to elves.
Rushing to the dwarf's forge, Kang Jin-hyuk found Seo Sang-ho exactly as expected—laid out on the table.
"You lunatic! Who dumps a patient like that and runs off?!"
The diminutive dwarf leaped up and smacked Kang Jin-hyuk on the head with his fist.
"Ow!"
The hammer-like blow shook his skull, legs giving out.
Slumping to the floor, Kang Jin-hyuk spotted the bandages wrapped tightly around Seo Sang-ho and burst out laughing.
"Sorry. Guys chasing him showed up, so I had to bail quick."
"What'd this guy do to pick up a tail? He a criminal or something?"
"Probably not. We'll have to hear it from him......"
His condition suggested he wouldn't wake anytime soon.
No forcing a patient awake, so getting the story now was impossible.
"We'll hear it when he wakes up, then."
"That might be tough."
The dwarf eyed Seo Sang-ho gravely.
"Tough? Why?"
"Emergency treatment's done, but he's in a bad spot."
As the dwarf said, Seo Sang-ho's state hadn't improved.
Despite all those potions, his face was paler than when first found.
"Lost too much blood?"
"Nah. Looks like poison to me."
"Poison?!"
Kang Jin-hyuk finally understood why an S-rank hunter couldn't shake a single pursuer and fled here.
Even an S-rank couldn't perform at full strength with his body wrecked by deadly toxin.
"Know what kind?"
"You think I'm a doctor? Don't know the details."
"Lucia might......"
"Hmph. What makes that elf any different? She's got just basic knowledge at best."
"That's just your opinion, shorty."
Kang Jin-hyuk whipped his head toward the sudden voice.
Speak of the devil.
Lucia, whom he'd thought was still investigating the magic circle upstairs, now stood at the forge entrance.
"Why're you crawling out again, elf?"
"Mind your own business."
Lucia tossed him an empty candy wrapper from her bag.
"Candy's gone. Go buy more. Quick."
"You ate all that in one day?"
"Less talk, more fetching. I'm already getting irritable."
Once hooked on sugar, Lucia suffered severe withdrawal.
No candy, and her focus waned, hands trembling.
'Is it diabetes?'
Kang Jin-hyuk wondered if she needed a hospital more than Seo Sang-ho.
Though proper tests on a half-elf were iffy.
"Before I go candy shopping, got a question."
"About this guy's poison?"
"Yeah. Any idea?"
"Forget it. Wrong track."
Lucia stated flatly.
"Basilisk venom. Need its antidote? Hunt one down. But no basilisks in this dungeon."
Hearing the poison's name, Kang Jin-hyuk gasped, drawing a sharp breath.
Basilisk venom paralyzed even massive monsters in seconds, leading to death.
For a human to still breathe after that was miraculous.
"Heading out now to get some......"
"Impossible. Didn't you say people were chasing him?"
Lucia had overheard the dwarf and Kang Jin-hyuk's talk on her way to the forge.
With pursuers on his tail, scrounging rare antidote would draw eyes.
"Looking at him, he's got maybe 20 minutes left. Can you snag antidote that fast?"
"......"
No chance.
Unknown number of Titan pursuers, hunting an unknown basilisk whereabouts for its venom?
The miracles required were beyond counting.
But Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't just watch a man die.
"I'll do what I can."
No regrets—give it his all. That was his resolve.
Kang Jin-hyuk bolted from the dungeon, first searching basilisk appearance info.
Major guilds might be hunting them, but money could buy antidote.
"Or check markets for leftovers?"
Online search made him slap his forehead with a groan.
Every antidote on shopping sites was sold out, like someone orchestrated it.
"Then maybe Mr. Lee Jun-cheol......"
Flipping through contacts for black market leads, Kang Jin-hyuk jolted at the screen flip.
A blaring ringtone, and a name popped up.
Seeing it, Kang Jin-hyuk thought maybe it wasn't too late after all.