Chapter 60
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Rotating Whirlwind
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“Really? Ban Seong-un was from Santa Maria too?”
The next day, I met up with Hye-rin sis and got more details on the conversation she’d had with him.
“Yeah. He was one of the few executives who survived back then. Afterward, he took the guild members and founded a new one.”
“That would be Black Bears Guild.”
“Exactly.”
“So… he got betrayed.”
“That’s what I thought at the time. But looking back, his actions made a certain amount of sense.”
The leadership was completely wiped out, and Song Hye-rin—the heir apparent—was in total meltdown, just sitting there dazed, waiting for her brother to return.
Santa Maria, once Korea’s top guild, lost all its momentum like that. The power vacuum in the Gangwon region plunged the whole area into massive chaos.
“In the end, that guy’s actions helped calm the chaos around here pretty quickly.”
Black Bears earned recognition for their role back then and became the dominant guild ruling everything from Gangneung to Wonju and Chuncheon—a huge territory.
“So we decided to let it slide. I didn’t exactly fulfill my own duties at the time, either.”
“Hmm. Anyway, what about that gate we’re touring?”
Hye-rin sis seemed to be saying it was all water under the bridge, so rather than keep stewing on it, I changed the subject.
“It’s a 2-star gate in Gangneung. Terrain’s open plains, monsters are centaurs.”
“Centaurs!”
Centaurs were those half-human, half-horse monsters from south of the Demon King’s Castle that used to steamroll orcs.
Their lance charges on the open plains were powerful enough to sweep away even orcs.
“What’s that? Got your interest now?”
“Curious how they’ll tackle centaurs, yeah.”
“Why’s that so intriguing?”
“Truth is, centaurs were too tough for me to handle, so I couldn’t push south past the Demon King’s Castle.”
“Oh… Alright, I’ll set up a date. Oh, and remember—you’ve gotta keep your identity hidden. Mr. Jang says the helmet’s done, so go pick it up.”
The last fight had torn my mask halfway off, so we needed a new one.
Since we were at it, we decided to go all-in on safety with a helmet made from orc leather.
I’d asked for something sturdy that’d fully conceal my face, and it looked like it was finally ready.
“Took longer than I expected. It’s been a while since I asked.”
“Mr. Go joined in midway and added a bunch of extras. They say it turned out pretty nice.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We might not be great at much, but we deliver on gear. Don’t worry.”
With two master craftsmen teaming up, they could probably churn out equipment rivaling big guilds.
‘This is getting me hyped.’
* * *
I headed straight to see the old-timers and picked up a helmet with steel plates layered over the leather.
[Steel Plate Orc Leather Helmet (D)]
[Defense 32. Durability 40. Weight 2]
Just like I’d requested, it was shaped to cover my face as much as possible. If I had to compare, it was like the helmets Roman gladiators wore.
Hard orc leather reinforced with steel plates on top, lined inside with cotton fabric. Tough, but comfortable to wear.
“Wow, this is nice.”
“We had to thin the steel plates to keep the weight down—took some work.”
“The chin strap should hold it secure unless you really yank it. Visibility good?”
“Yeah, crystal clear.”
They hooked me up with other gear too, and the specs were leagues beyond training weapons.
[Steel Javelin (D)]
[Attack 25. Durability 20. Weight 4]
[Steel Plate Orc Leather Armor (D)]
[Defense 38. Durability 40. Weight 18]
Mostly D-rank stuff, with attack and defense stats hovering between 20 and 30.
The armor had thicker plates for extra defense, they said.
“Bring me a mana stone with a decent skill, and I’ll socket it into a weapon or armor for you.”
“Thanks, Mr. Rajuk.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, nothing. Just saying the gear’s top-notch.”
* * *
Afterward, to test the new equipment, Hye-rin sis and I hit up a gate—one of the 1-star ones Black Bears had handed over.
“Ready to head in, sis?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“What’s up?”
“Nothing, just… ‘Sis’ sounds nicer than I expected.”
She scratched her cheek and stepped into the gate. It was just the two of us hunting today.
Pathetically small compared to a standard raid party, but no issue.
‘I’m a 3-star hunter now, after all.’
Honestly, I could solo it, so numbers weren’t a problem. Plus, sis was solid for a 2-star—she’d pull her weight.
“Grrr!”
“Gnoll, huh.”
Gnoll.
Dog-headed bipeds. Stronger than goblins, but weaker than orcs among humanoid monsters.
‘Dog versus pig, I guess.’
“Woof woof!”
The gnolls spotted us and charged on all fours, barking like dogs. No weapons visible—just sharp teeth and claws.
‘Would’ve been a workout at 1-star…’
Now? Not even a snack.
Whoosh—whoosh! Whoosh!
A few casual dart tosses, and the pack went down bleeding.
‘No need for me to step in.’
Killing them wouldn’t net me EXP anyway—nothing good about it.
“Go wild throwing, sis. I’ll handle any that get close.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
I funneled the EXP her way as we pushed deeper.
“Whoa! Boss room already? Hunting with you really speeds things up, In-hyeok.”
“EXP coming in nice and steady?”
“Yeah. Leveled up once already.”
“Alright, time for me to get in on the action.”
The boss room had a 2-star Lycanthrope, plus a bunch of 1.5-star scavenger gnolls.
Too many for sis alone.
‘Though more prey is always better for me.’
I thought about Breeze, but instead tied a leather strap to my ninja shuriken’s ring.
‘Gonna freak her out.’
Time to show off that Meteor Chase technique I’d been honing.
Whoosh—
The shuriken flew straight, piercing the lead scavenger gnoll’s skull clean through.
I snapped my wrist up, launching it into the air. It arced in a perfect semicircle back to me.
Flawless attack and retrieval. All those spider practice sessions paid off.
“W-what was that?”
“Heh heh heh! From today, call me In-hyeok of the Chain Sickle.”
“When did you even practice that?”
“Not long. Just about a week?”
“How is that even…”
“Hold that thought. Still getting the hang of it—need to focus.”
No time for chit-chat. The gnolls, enraged by their buddy’s death, charged all at once.
I fired the shuriken straight again. Front-runner sacrificed itself as expected.
“Woof woof!!”
These ones learned quick, closing in while it was stuck.
I rushed to retrieve it, but they were already nearly on me.
Too close to grab and throw again.
‘No time. Gotta attack now.’
I raised my forearm toward the returning strap. It coiled around, spinning the shuriken faster than usual.
Half a turn around my arm, then I extended—timing perfect as it shot forward.
Thwack!
The gnoll couldn’t react to the unpredictable path. Even I blanked for a sec on how I pulled it off.
‘Wha—how’d I do that?’
Retrieving again, the strap coiled wrong this time, shuriken grazing my thigh.
“Ow!”
It split open, blood flowing. Super Regen fixed it quick, but if it’d hit my head? Disaster.
“That looks risky. Changes are too wild—you’ll hurt yourself first.”
“Y-yeah. Can’t use that move in real fights.”
Wrapping the strap around my body for redirects had zero in common with slings.
Felt more like chain whips or flails—similar handling.
‘Gotta practice with those later.’
We finished off the last scavenger meanwhile. Just the boss Lycanthrope left.
“Grrrrr.”
Black-furred wolf-man with white stripes: Lycanthrope.
It switched between bipedal and quadrupedal, moving fast and erratic. Not Super Regen level, but minor wounds healed right up.
‘Useless against Breeze, though.’
Breeze swept the plains. Didn’t take long for it to turn into a bloodstorm.
“Grrrk…”
The bisected Lycanthrope closed its eyes. A mana stone popped out.
[Lycanthrope Mana Stone (F)]
[Agility +1. Durability 20. Weight 0.1]
[Special: ‘Tail Bite’ skill available.]
[Tail Bite (F-rank): Spin like biting your tail. Speed boosts 20% instantly, but may cause dizziness.]
“What’s this now?”
Some dogs chase their tails in circles.
That cute, dumb behavior—this skill enabled it.
“Helpful in combat? Hmm. Tail Bite?”
I half-doubted as I activated it. My body spun fast.
Fwoosh!
Diagonal steps in a circle packed power.
Spinning in place, I instinctively swung my weapon.
Whoosh—Boom!
The rock on my axe shattered. Rotation amped the strike several times over speed and power.
“Whoa! Combine this right, and it’s another AOE nuke!”
Maybe get leather boots made too? Lycanthrope hide would be ideal.
“Sis, let’s hit another dungeon.”
“Huh? More already?”
“Yeah. Got experiments to run.”
“Not tired?”
“Tired? Didn’t even fight properly.”
“You’re insane. What’s your vitality even at?”
“Vitality? Not much. Fifty-three?”
“What? Fifty-three? No way. How? I’m not even at thirty…”
Of course it’s high. Since hitting 3-star, I get 13 stat points per level.
Others get five, so I’m pulling nearly triple.
“Anyway, I’m tapped for more gates. Two of us clearing what took ten? Wearing me out.”
“Yeah, better to hunt in the otherworld instead.”
More EXP there, no prying eyes—way easier.
* * *
“Hiss! Hissss!”
“Thought I’d never come back here.”
I revisited the lizardmen nest after ages. No better hunting ground.
Swamp penalty was mostly gone thanks to baby naga’s skill, and at 3-star, paralysis poison barely fazed me.
‘Lizardmen are just protein now.’
EXP wouldn’t be huge due to rank gap.
‘That’s where kiting comes in.’
Gotta gather ‘em first.
“Hey, lizard!”
“Hiss?”
“Go fetch your friends.”
I flicked a knuckle-shot to a nearby one’s forehead. Soon, every lizardman in the area swarmed.
I looped around nests, herding a ton.
“Hiss!”
“Hissss!”
Suddenly, surrounded—half water, half lizardmen.
“Like this, Breeze alone can’t handle it.”
Breeze flies straight—max efficiency in lines.
Encircling? Barely 1/10th power.
So I prepared… this technique!
“Tail Bite!”
Breeze in left, Meteor Chase in right—I spun.
Breeze first.
Whoosh—
Anything it touched sheared off. Flesh tore, blood sprayed.
“Kreuk!”
Leather strap whipped over the blood-soaked gap.
About a meter long.
Perfect to hit the second row untouched by Breeze.
“Kieeek!”
“One more!”
Another spin, strap dangling longer. Green-bloodied shuriken carved a wide arc, slicing everything around.
Left hand still gripped Breeze—rotation birthed a vortex.
I yelled without hesitation.
“Rotating~ Whirlwind!”