Tigris's First Real Battle

B-class hunter Lee Seongwon had been dispatched from the Rift Bureau. When he first looked over the details of the assignment, he hadn't thought much of it.

Just babysitting a rookie, more or less.

Park Minho.

The hunter who had the entire Republic of Korea buzzing lately. Claiming you hadn't heard the name would have been a lie. And he wasn't just anyone—he was the rising star recognized by Jeong Seungil, Korea's sole SS-class hunter.

Still, they say he only just hit C-class.

Lee had heard that Minho had beaten Tourang's First Squad. Supposedly by some trick that lowered their stats and faked the gate restrictions. At that level, Lee figured he could take the kid himself if it came down to it.

A C-class hunter would struggle with a troll, so I'll step in a little later.

Trolls were treated as near-boss monsters. Hide tougher than rock that shrugged off ordinary attacks. Regeneration so fierce that minor wounds closed in the blink of an eye. Their physical stats weren't low either. Their only real weakness was being dull and slow—but with high magic resistance and outstanding defense, you still had to risk closing in, so even that wasn't much of a drawback.

Even B-class hunters form teams to hunt trolls.

The hunters who had come to support Minho couldn't solo one either. Lee had been ready to jump in at any moment when—

This… is C-class?

Five undead cavalry clad in white armor—the Tigris unit—literally tore the troll apart.

Puhak!

Hide harder than stone was punched through with ease. The savage force riding the spear tips didn't just rip skin; it blew gaping holes clean through.

"KRAAAAAAH!"

The troll flailed its arms wildly. Whoosh—all it caught was empty air. The Tigris pack had already slipped outside its attack range.

One charge and the troll is already in tatters?!

Lee Seongwon clapped a hand over his mouth. Even using Mana Release, his own sword couldn't deal critical damage to a troll. The textbook method was to trade blows, wear it down, then obsessively hammer the same wounded spot.

Overwhelming it with raw firepower is impossible.

You needed at least A-class strength to inflict wounds regeneration couldn't fix. That was common sense in the hunter world.

So how is a C-class doing this?

While Lee swallowed a scream of pure shock, the troll staggered and charged the Tigris pack. Thud, thud. Green blood painted the ground. It thought it was running fast, but the distance it had already lost meant the gap barely closed.

Instead, the Tigris unit—already reformed—charged again even faster.

KWAJIJIJIK!

Bone spears punched into the troll's bulk. "Kroooh…" With a death rattle the house-sized monster collapsed.

"Huuuh."

"What the hell…"

"They hunted a troll in under a minute."

"Is he actually C-class?"

Lee Seongwon wasn't the only one stunned. Every hunter the Rift Bureau had dispatched shared the exact same thought.

"You ever seen undead like that?"

"No. First time."

"Director Jeong's words weren't empty after all."

Even Rift Bureau veterans who had seen every kind of hell had never encountered undead like these. Imagining themselves in the troll's place made them shudder and shake their heads. Escape across open plains was impossible. Taking those cavalry charges head-on? You die. Guaranteed.

I can't even tell who's supposed to be escorting whom.

Lee Seongwon stopped thinking altogether.

Tigris's first real combat hadn't gone badly at all.

【Hahaha! Magic user! Did you see that?!】

"It's Master's craftsmanship that's impressive. Your spear arts are optional."

【Think whatever you like.】

"Urrrgh."

Dame Isra's victory declaration made Ingrid grind her teeth. Please stop fighting, you two. I have a lot to think about.

【Is something the matter?】

"I can already see things that need improvement."

Using raptors as mounts hadn't delivered the charge power he'd expected. Probably because the Armed Zombie Warriors were so heavy. Right after the thrust they had staggered hard. Four-legged animals as proper mounts would be needed for true force.

【The point you raise will also affect their stamina, I suspect.】

"You've already finished analyzing it? As expected, you're amazing!"

【Great Lord, what if we lightened the armor?】

That would put the cart before the horse. A heavy cavalryman's power ultimately came from mass. One of Tigris's skills, Ferocious Charge, even scaled its bonus damage with weight and armor defense.

【Then the raptor corpses have served their purpose.】

"I'll either turn them into ghouls or try making light cavalry."

Corpses with high base specs thanks to the ancient-species bonus. If he differentiated them from Tigris, they would still be useful. Still—even with structural flaws, raptors had delivered this much power. Terrifying, even if he said so himself.

"Uh, hyung-nim. We'll collect the blood."

"Go ahead."

Troll blood was the absolute best byproduct. Every drop streaming from that shredded carcass was money. Harvest fast and you earned every last coin.

"Leave one person. The rest of us move."

"Understood, hyung-nim."

"I'm picking up the pace—keep up."

"We're going for SSS clear again, right?"

"Heh. Support team knows exactly what I'm thinking."

How huge would the rewards be for clearing a B-class gate at the highest rank? His mouth watered just thinking about it.

That was when the Rift Bureau hunter approached.

"Um, uh, Hunter Park Minho."

"Yes?"

"You're saying you'll SSS-clear a gate that spawns trolls?"

"Ah, well, we'll try. No guarantees."

After seeing Tigris's breakthrough power, how could he not attempt it? Failing to hit SSS wouldn't be the end of the world. But if it looked possible, of course you went for it.

【My Lord. There is one more.】

"Tigris. Go put some holes in it and come back."

"Groooaaaah."

Thud-thud-thud!

The Tigris pack thundered forward with heavy hoofbeats. A club the size of a man arced through the air, but they slipped past by a hair and drove their spears home.

Puhahahak!

"KRAAAAAAH!"

【My turn, it seems.】

Her blade slid into the wounds the spears had torn open and pierced the heart nestled among the ribs with surgical precision.

Damn. Truly, an incredible performance.

Dame Isra's pure specs sat at D-class monster level. Even with the synchronization bonus past 90 percent, plus the buffs from Undead Master and Corpse Crafting, she only barely scraped past D+. With stats a little short of a C-class hunter, she had still pierced a troll's heart.

"How underhanded, just waiting for the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to finish it off!"

Landing the last hit was a talent in itself. Tigris needed time to wheel around after each charge; full speed was required to maximize destructive power. Dame Isra possessed the flexibility that heavy cavalry lacked.

"Good. Let's pick up the pace even more."

【Follow me, cavalry! Offer victory to our Lord!】

She'd claimed she wouldn't treat light cavalry like heavy cavalry… yet she was casually riding the wave. Minho pretended not to notice.

Trolls were classified as large monsters, so they almost never traveled in packs. Three was the absolute maximum; usually it was one or two.

"Groooaaaah!"

Whenever the Tigris pack swept through—

【Haaah!】

—Dame Isra burst in with Mana Release and dropped them one by one. When three appeared at once, the Tigris unit that had wheeled around finished them off.

Gushhhh.

"Ugh. What a waste."

The support team couldn't keep up with the blood collection rate. This wouldn't do.

"Could you lend a hand?"

"Ah, well, that's a bit…"

"I'll set some blood aside for you."

"Mmm…"

"It's not a bribe. You're just taking what I can't process myself."

The Rift Bureau hunters were government employees through and through. Don't get too scared of the anti-bribery laws—just take a bottle each. Win-win is exactly this kind of thing, right?

They advanced straight down the linear gate, butchering every troll they met, and finally reached the end.

The moment they faced the Troll Shaman, the Tigris pack charged.

"Kroooh. A curse upon the invaders!"

A curse that randomly wrecked the senses and a hex that twisted the body's movements struck at the same time.

But even that proved useless before Tigris's charge. The skill ignored most debuffs while charging.

KWAJIK! KWAJIK!

"Kroooork!"

The Troll Shaman took heavy damage in the opening exchange. It held on with defensive hexes and prepared a counterattack.

"Oh my, dear. Can you not even see me?"

The heat of compressed fireballs rode the wind blades. Scarlet blades carved through the air and sliced across the Troll Shaman's chest.

Sizzle!

The heat pouring from the cuts hindered regeneration. The Troll Shaman's eyes went round. The rebound from its shattered defensive hex froze it for a critical moment.

The Tigris pack charged again and skewered the Troll Shaman.

"Krrrrgh."

Its hexes were broken. Even the troll's signature regeneration had been sealed. If the creature had been a pure martial type they would have struggled more, but as a hybrid tank-dealer-mage the damage had been lighter than expected.

【The finishing blow is mine.】

The Semiris magic sword carved a long line through the Troll Shaman's fully exposed vital point.

Nice. B-class gates really were on another level. Look at that experience gain. If he could just hop in and out of B-class gates, he'd hit the promotion requirement of level 150 in no time. Truly a shame.

The dispatched hunter clapped.

"Incredible."

"Not really. These things are just weak."

"Even an active B-class hunter couldn't have hunted trolls this easily."

That impressive? Tigris still had room for improvement, and both of his contracted servants needed further modification to raise their specs, so it didn't quite hit home. Once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠optimization was finished, they could hunt a troll's grandfather.

【My Lord. Please accept this.】

Dame Isra respectfully offered the item obtained from felling the Troll Shaman.

Oh.

Ooooooh.

Exactly the option he needed. An item with a built-in auto-defense skill!

"Ehehehehe!"

A smile bloomed on its own. Hell, he felt full even without dinner.

"By the way, when will the autopsies on the Chinese hunters finish?"

"They say it'll be done by tomorrow."

Perfect. He needed to take custody of all their items and corpses too. Hopefully something useful would turn up.

Heh. He'd even SSS-cleared a B-class gate. He'd leave the magic stone disposal to the boss.

He left the cleanup to the support team and hurried home. Maybe he'd overdone it lately restocking undead; his heavy eyelids won the fight and he collapsed onto the bed.

Darkness filled his vision.

In that instant, a familiar sensation jolted his mind awake.

"Don't tell me…"

The dream where he glimpsed his servants' pasts. Dame Isra? Or Zaug, who had joined only recently?

Unable to contain his curiosity, he watched the figure who appeared in the dream—

"What the hell is this!!!"

—and a shocked scream tore from his mouth.