Gun-hwa (8): The Flower of Blood
The C-rank monster, the ten-year centipede, lost a third of its body—including its head—from a single Man-gae-hwa bullet and plummeted straight from the wall.
Thud! With a body as massive as an adult anaconda, the sheer weight of the ten-year centipede crashing to the floor shook the entire cave, producing a thunderous boom.
"One shot, clean kill. These centipedes aren't gonna give me a proper read on its power," Kang Jinseong said to Yoo Seo-ah as he lowered the barrel of Gun-hwa, from which white smoke was billowing.
Why's it so squishy? His tone sounded almost like he was asking that out loud, leaving Yoo Seo-ah dumbfounded.
What he'd just done completely shattered her common sense.
Jinseong-ssi’s Man-gae-hwa bullet... what the hell is that? Back when I was a D-rank hunter, mine wasn't anywhere near that strong...
Yoo Seo-ah's Man-gae-hwa was a unique ability that bloomed slashing petals of sword qi along her blade.
It was a power capable of bisecting even an A-rank top-tier monster like the Grim Reaper if she had enough time to gather her strength—that was Man-gae-hwa.
But that didn't make it some omnipotent force that could deal fatal blows to superior foes.
Every unique ability scaled with the user's capabilities, and no matter how potent, it was hard to exceed one's own rank.
At best, you could wound someone a rank higher. That was the limit of ranks.
It was common knowledge in the hunter world, which was why everything hunter-related was rigorously ranked.
And yet, Kang Jinseong had just obliterated that common sense.
The moment the enemy appeared, he'd fired a single bullet and instantly executed a C-rank monster famous for its defenses.
"Seo-ah-ssi, there'll be stronger monsters deeper in, right?"
After pulling off something utterly absurd, he was this nonchalant. Yoo Seo-ah nearly let out a disbelieving laugh.
Jinseong-ssi doesn't realize it because he never had a unique ability before. He has no idea how incredible what he just did is.
Yoo Seo-ah's heart began to pound—not from the thrill of being with him, but from anticipation.
She couldn't wait to see how brilliantly his Man-gae-hwa would bloom in his hands.
"Of course! What you just took down was just a scout!" Yoo Seo-ah replied confidently, her voice brimming with excitement. She wanted to see for herself how far his Man-gae-hwa could go, right here and now.
"That was a ten-year centipede—the weakest in this place. Deeper in, you've got fifteen-year ones, twenty-year, twenty-five-year, twenty-nine-year, thirty-year... tons of tough bastards!"
"Twenty-nine-year...? Why's that one awkwardly twenty-nine?"
"They say it's especially strong because nine's an ominous number. Sometimes it even beats thirty-year ones."
"...Centipedes care about that stuff too? Hilarious. Now I'm hyped."
At Yoo Seo-ah's words about stronger centipedes ahead, Kang Jinseong's eyes gleamed with anticipation—the predatory glint unique to those aiming for the top.
Yoo Seo-ah couldn't stop her lips from curling into a smile.
"Let's go! I'll take point!"
Yoo Seo-ah plunged into the depths of the cave, buzzing with excitement toward Kang Jinseong.
Bang!!!Thud!
The sixth monster to eat a Man-gae-hwa bullet in this dungeon today—a fifty-year centipede—hit the ground headless. Yoo Seo-ah waved away the dust cloud from the impact, sticking out her tongue in awe.
I hoped not, but... he one-shotted even the fifty-year centipede.
The fifty-year centipede was the mid-boss guarding the entrance to the boss room in this C-rank Centipede Cave dungeon.
Excluding the dungeon boss, it was the strongest monster there, with defenses incomparable to the others.
And Kang Jinseong had blown its head off with one shot.
"One-shot this one too. All size, no substance!"
"Ha, haha."
Six straight one-shots on C-rank monsters. At this point, it was so ridiculous she could only laugh in disbelief.
As the hollow laughter escaped her, Yoo Seo-ah voiced a question that had nagged at her while watching him dispatch the centipedes.
"Oh yeah, Jinseong-ssi. Come to think of it, why doesn't your Man-gae-hwa bloom any flowers?"
Yoo Seo-ah's Man-gae-hwa bloomed slashing petals along her sword path.
Kang Jinseong's had been customized for him into blooming impact petals.
The nature of the petals differed, but it was still supposed to bloom flowers.
Yet everything she'd seen so far was just overwhelmingly powerful—no flowers.
Curious, she asked, and...
"Hmm, now that you mention it, yeah. No flowers. But it needs flowers to be Man-gae-hwa."
Even the owner of this custom Man-gae-hwa ver. didn't know why.
"Wonder why..."
"I'll check it out later. The system answers if I ask nicely."
"Really? The system tells you stuff like that? EX-rank abilities really are different."
"Doesn't yours answer if you ask?"
"Nope, just shows the status window and that's it."
"Huh... didn't know."
Asking more wouldn't help since he didn't know either, so they made small talk as they entered the boss room.
Normally, you'd tense up entering a boss room, but neither showed a hint of it.
This C-rank Centipede Cave posed no threat to them.
More precisely, not with Yoo Seo-ah there.
"Don't worry if the Man-gae-hwa bullets don't work. I've got you covered!"
"Yeah, I always trust you."
His words—"I always trust you"—made her chest ache sweetly, even though they weren't on the same team anymore.
Ugh, live up to that trust, Yoo Seo-ah! Make sure not a hair on his head gets hurt!
"Good thing about the glowing moss securing our light source. Can't see deep in, though—it's pitch black."
While Yoo Seo-ah basked in emotion, Kang Jinseong surveyed the boss room.
The boss room of the Centipede Cave was a rocky cavern blanketed in damp, glowing moss.
The entrance was lit by the moss, offering clear visibility, but the interior was shrouded in darkness.
Scrape-scrape-scraaaape!
As Kang Jinseong glanced around, countless skittering sounds echoed from the darkness—hard legs crawling on walls and ceiling.
The dungeon's master had awakened, sensing intruders.
Immediately after, baseball-sized eyes glowed blue in the dark.
The lord of the C-rank Centipede Cave dungeon: the hundred-year centipede.
Its body was as thick as a large sewer pipe, stretching nearly 20 meters long—an ultramassive centipede emerging from the shadows.
"KieeeEEEEEEK—!!!!!"
Its roar alone, head reared high, was enough to intimidate the weak—far beyond the fifty-year centipede they'd faced.
Swoosh. But Kang Jinseong didn't flinch, calmly aiming Gun-hwa at it.
The reason he remained unfazed by the hundred-year centipede's overwhelming presence was simple.
"Shut the fuck up, asshole."
He'd sworn never to live as the weak again.
Bang!!!
The final of the seven Man-gae-hwa bullets permitted to Kang Jinseong flew toward the massive body of the hundred-year centipede.
BOOM!!!
The unshaking barrel launched the Man-gae-hwa round, striking dead center at the targeted spot.
The gunshot evoked cannon fire—unbelievable from a pistol—echoing through the vast boss room.
"Kireeeek!"
The impact rocked the centipede's colossal frame violently.
Crack! A massive fissure spiderwebbed across its armored shell.
"Whoa...!"
Yoo Seo-ah couldn't hold back her gasp of admiration.
A D-rank hunter had landed a solid hit on a C-rank dungeon boss with a single bullet infused with his unique ability.
He probably had no clue how insane that was.
"I saw your Man-gae-hwa up close, Jinseong-ssi. Incredible. My heart's pounding—I can barely contain myself."
Feeling her chest swell with awe at his potential, she gripped her sword.
"Now I'll finish it o—"
She aimed to stylishly dispatch the unfinished boss in front of him and score points, but then...
Crunch. Cruuunch.
"...Huh?"
A strange noise came from the hundred-year centipede—like something hard being forcibly twisted.
Grrrind! Craaack!
Instead of charging in rage from the hit, it froze, and the eerie sound grew louder.
"What the hell is that noise... Huh?"
As she frowned at the bizarre scene and focused on the centipede, Yoo Seo-ah saw it.
"W-what is that?"
The centipede's shell around the impact site was twisting like a drill.
No—not just the shell. The entire massive body was slowly contorting too.
That was why it hadn't charged despite eating the first shot.
"Its body got twisted up so it couldn't move?"
It hadn't chosen not to charge—its body was locked in torsion.
A bullet that kept exerting force after impact.
One with enough binding power to halt even a C-rank dungeon boss.
She'd thought the initial hit was peak shock, but no.
Kang Jinseong's Man-gae-hwa had potential far beyond her imagination.
"This insane power... Jinseong-ssi! After this, come to Cheongmyeong Guild with me! They'd welcome you with open arms for ability like that!"
She was certain even Cheongmyeong Guild would embrace his Man-gae-hwa.
Truth be told, with the Safe House alone, he'd be welcomed anywhere—but she hated that idea.
If he joined a guild thanks to the Safe House, he'd offer its services to others too.
Kang Jinseong hugging and sleeping with other female guildmates to heal their internal injuries? Just imagining it made her shiver.
But if he joined Cheongmyeong on the merits of Man-gae-hwa, it'd be different.
They could stick together in the same unit like old times.
Her eyes sparkling with that hope, she proposed guild enlistment—but...
"Seo-ah-ssi, I figured out why my Man-gae-hwa hasn't bloomed flowers yet."
His response was completely out of left field.
"Huh? What do you...?"
"Get back for a sec... Shit, too late."
While she blinked in confusion, Kang Jinseong raised an arm to shield his face and dropped to one knee on the ground.
It looked just like crouching to brace against a bomb blast.
As she sensed something off in his sudden move...
GRIIIIIIND—!!!
An ominous sound erupted from the hundred-year centipede—like its shell screaming under excessive tension.
"Ah!"
Only then did Yoo Seo-ah grasp his meaning.
But as he'd said, it was too late.
BOOOOM—!!!!
Unable to withstand the tensile force from the Man-gae-hwa bullet, the centipede's body rotated and exploded.
Green blood sprayed in a ferocious whirlwind of rotational shockwave.
Facing it head-on, Yoo Seo-ah finally understood.
The blood caught in the spinning shockwave... it looks like a full bloom.
Why Kang Jinseong's Man-gae-hwa hadn't bloomed until now.
Why it bore the name Man-gae-hwa.
All previous foes hadn't survived even the initial impact, so no flower had bloomed.
The true power of Kang Jinseong's Man-gae-hwa bullets came after striking.
The rotational force within the bullet birthed a flower of blood from the enemy.
That was how his Man-gae-hwa earned its name—by making enemies bloom crimson petals.
Splaaaat—!!!
The green blood of the hundred-year centipede sprayed everywhere, naturally heading toward Yoo Seo-ah and Kang Jinseong too.
"Seo-ah-ssi, get down!"
They'd be drenched if they stayed put, so he urgently shouted for her to drop—but she didn't.
Instead of dropping, she drew her sword.
Shing.Slash.
A pure white sword path cleaved the air, scattering countless petals to form a wall.
Man-gae-hwa (Full Bloom) - Byeok-hwa (Wall Flower)
The wall of petals from Geom-hwa's technique perfectly blocked all filth.
With the petal wall at her back, Yoo Seo-ah looked at Kang Jinseong.
He was staring blankly at the wall of petals he'd indirectly prompted.
That expression—he still doesn't fully grasp the feat he just pulled off.
Kang Jinseong had one-shot even the boss of a C-rank dungeon, the hundred-year centipede.
A D-rank hunter dropping a C-rank boss in one blow.
Unprecedented, and unlikely to ever happen again.
So Yoo Seo-ah was certain.
Jinseong-ssi will climb to where I am soon. And surpass me in no time.
Kang Jinseong was no longer bound by hunter world common sense.
A talent dormant for ten years, unknown to all, had finally bloomed.
That it bloomed through her made her lips curl uncontrollably.
"Jinseong-ssi!"
Beaming, she said to him,
"I wanna go to your house!"
Overjoyed that his talent had bloomed via her Man-gae-hwa, she couldn't hold back anymore.
I'm gonna head to Jinseong-ssi's house and fangirl over him all I want!
Yoo Seo-ah yearned to indulge in her Kang Jinseong obsession freely at his place right now.