Chapter 70
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Hell Hound (1)
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Kang Sa-hu possessed more than one core from the Monoliths.
The first one came after his awakening, during the rank measurement.
Adding the nine more provided by Lee Jae-man, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, for rank measurement made a total of ten cores obtained from Monoliths.
Yet, among those ten Monolith cores, only one stood out, quietly asserting its presence with a subtle yet powerful glow, as if it had been chosen.
And Kang Sa-hu immediately knew what set that Monolith core apart from the others.
'This core...'
It was the one he had used in the past—after learning from the Prophet about the Monolith's hidden functions, the "Shop System" and "Job Change System," to forcibly activate them with his own mana.
The same core used to purchase his current favored weapon, [Duke of Hell Demadr's Blood-Drinking Scythe], and also when he experimentally infused mana into it for Bae Deok-ho to access the Shop System.
Unlike the others, this Monolith core was reacting differently, drawing attention to itself.
Kang Sa-hu, who had been silently gazing at the core in his hand, infused mana into it just as he had when forcibly unlocking the previously locked system.
You can use the Job Change System.
"...Hah."
Kang Sa-hu let out a short exclamation at the words "Job Change System."
"...No way. Does 'evolution' mean job change?"
The Job Change System—one of the functions the Prophet had said hunters would use far in the future.
It led to an advanced class from the one chosen upon awakening.
And indeed, many people—especially Koreans who were avid gamers—had speculated as much.
-Hey, my class is Swordsman. So if I get stronger here, doesn't that mean I become Sword Saint or Sword Sovereign?
└Crazy. Sword Saint, Sword Sovereign my ass. You read too many martial arts novels, huh?
└└Live in reality, you pathetic Swordsman hunter. If you awakened as a Swordsman, you'll be a Swordsman till the end. Sword Saint? Sword Sovereign? Get real.
Of course, it was all just speculation, and since it sounded like something straight out of games or novels, it didn't gain much traction.
Unlike them, Kang Sa-hu had heard directly from the Prophet that it was possible, so he knew the speculation was true.
"Who would've thought monster evolution meant job change..."
The Job Change System has been activated.
Kang Sa-hu accessed the Job Change System through the Monolith core.
Normally, it would next prompt him to check his own class.
But since an anomaly had occurred with the Monolith core, the Job Change System guided him down a different path.
Entities eligible for job change have been detected.
[The only entity currently eligible for job change is the Giant Hound, numbering 30.]
"So that's how it works."
Confirming the Job Change System functioning properly for the first time, Kang Sa-hu focused to commit the experience to memory.
Giant Hounds can change to 1 class: 'Hell Hound'.
Proceed with job change?
Yes / No
Kang Sa-hu's eyes grew serious as he read the message.
'You can even choose the job change class. But then why can Giant Hounds only change to one class? Is it the difference between hunters and monsters?'
He had simply intended to test the evolution system, but the Monolith core got involved, leading to the Job Change System—closely tied to hunters' future. Kang Sa-hu tensed up.
His hand hesitated at the sense that things were escalating.
But soon, steeling his resolve, he selected [Yes].
Giant Hound job change commencing.
Giant Hound evolving.
The system's inconsistent terminology—job change one moment, evolution the next—would unnerve others.
But having seen all sorts of quirks from the system unique to him, Kang Sa-hu paid it no mind; his trust in it had eroded long ago.
Instead of dwelling on the system's oddities, he fixed his gaze on the Giant Hounds to observe their changes.
Then, the Giant Hounds' "evolution" began.
Krrrng!
Kwoooong!
The Giant Hounds' bodies were enveloped in a faint glow.
The light gradually transformed them, causing what looked like immense pain.
Fortunately, through his will, Kang Sa-hu sensed they were more excited and joyful than suffering, and he relaxed.
Soon, the glow faded.
The creatures that emerged—no longer Giant Hounds—stood before Kang Sa-hu with glowing red eyes.
They were no longer Giant Hounds.
Their previous 3-meter height now exceeded 4 meters easily.
Their bodies, charred black like burnt coal, were wreathed in blood-red flames.
A faint sulfur stench emanated from the flames running from their foreheads to tail tips.
Likewise, intermittent bursts of fire escaped whenever some panted.
Fearsome, powerful, savage, terrifying.
Yet Kang Sa-hu felt no fear.
Not just their appearance had changed; their behavior remained the same as Giant Hounds. Their sparkling eyes gazed at him adoringly, tails wagging.
After checking their exterior, Kang Sa-hu focused mana in his eyes, scanning them thoroughly. Soon, their details appeared in a system window.
"Hell Hounds."
Reading the description, Kang Sa-hu was quietly stunned by the beyond-expectations result.
"Jumping from E-Rank to B-Rank is shocking enough. But gaining four skills at once from a single evolution?"
Skills weren't easy for Awakeners to acquire either.
One came at initial awakening; afterward, only grueling life-or-death hunts and level-ups might grant another—if lucky.
Most hunters possessed only three or four, they were that rare.
Yet here, four skills manifested from one evolution.
At this unbelievable change, Kang Sa-hu focused on the skills.
Understanding his intent, the system promptly displayed their details before his eyes.
[Regenerating Flesh]
-Grade: B-Rank-Description: A skill obtained through mysterious power from a 'Troll'. Lost flesh regenerates to peak condition.
-Mana Cost: None
"Ah."
Only after reading did Kang Sa-hu realize [Regenerating Flesh] came from Devaura's predation ability, not the evolution itself. He nodded.
Still, three skills from the evolution alone kept the amazement intact.
"I'll know once I check."
At his thought, one Hell Hound eagerly bounded forward and lay down, offering its back.
Habitually leaping on as he would with Giant Hounds, Kang Sa-hu halted just before kicking off, spotting the fiercely burning flames on its back.
Whine?
The Hell Hound, tail wagging in anticipation, looked puzzled at him.
Its eyes seemed to say, "Why aren't you getting on?"
"The fire on your back. It looks hot."
Pointing at the flames, Kang Sa-hu made the Hell Hound finally notice them. It startled.
Ku, whine!
Whine whine!
The other Hell Hounds also jumped in surprise, eyeing their own and others' backs.
To carry their master, they instinctively rolled on the ground to extinguish the intense flames.
Roll.
Fwoosh!
Roll.
Fwoooosh!
But the gate they had entered was a forest.
The moist soil rapidly dried from the Hell Hounds' body heat.
Once the grass's moisture evaporated too, the flames spread to the surroundings.
"Wait, hold on...!"
Kang Sa-hu tried to stop them as they rolled, heat palpable from afar, but it was too late.
Thirty Hell Hounds rolling ignited the forest in moments; nearby trees blazed rapidly.
Kueong?!
Whine whine!
Their backs still burned, and now plants were aflame. The Hell Hounds panicked.
As toxic smoke billowed from the burning forest, Kang Sa-hu hurriedly commanded.
"Everyone follow... No, just return to your soul cores."
Ku, whine.
The order might have felt dismissive, but aware of their mistake, the Hell Hounds obeyed silently, returning to their soul cores.
Collecting them, Kang Sa-hu kicked off to escape the rapidly burning forest.
Fwoooosh!
The forest was devoured by massive flames.
Safely evacuated to higher ground on a rock, Kang Sa-hu stared blankly at the sight.
"Almost got myself in trouble if I'd jumped on."
With his vast mana, he could have coated his body for some fire resistance.
But the Hell Hounds' flames evaporated moisture instantly and ignited even fire-resistant leaves—extreme heat.
A huge boon in combat, but as mounts for long-distance travel—which he relied on Giant Hounds for—it was a fatal flaw.
"Now who's going to give me a ride..."
As Kang Sa-hu muttered dejectedly, a loud, pitiful scream echoed from afar in the forest.
Shaaaaaaa...!
The gate's boss monster, terror-stricken and hiding, burst into the sky thrashing, engulfed in flames.
But with its dragonfly-like transparent, thin wings, it quickly lost flight capability.
Its light, small body flailed back into the inferno.
"......"
As Kang Sa-hu watched, sweat beading on his forehead, a familiar system window appeared.
You have cleared the E-Rank Gate.
You have obtained 500 points.
The message confirmed the boss's death cleared the gate; space began contracting.
Then, from where the boss died, a soul core flew toward him.
"......"
Kang Sa-hu looked down at it with slightly trembling eyes.
"......"
Reading the durability, potential utilization, and ashen body's state, Kang Sa-hu quietly clenched his fist around the soul core.
Absorbing soul core to recover mana.
Fsssh...
As a final mercy, to let it pass peacefully, he absorbed it for mana recovery. The High Protother's soul core crumbled powerlessly, as if waiting.