Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: 27. Controversy (4)
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50% stat increase.
An enormous boost.
Even Kang San had been looking forward to the power of a 5-star skill, but he hadn't expected effects on this scale.
"This bastard."
Ryu Seung-ryeol ground his teeth.
With the priest healing him right away, he abandoned all defense and swung his sword wildly.
"Linked Strikes."
Flash.
Bam bam bam bam bam!
A barrage of attacks poured down.
Kang San's pupils dilated.
Just moments ago, Ryu Seung-ryeol's strikes had been too fast to follow, but now each one—even amid the flurry—seemed to come at deliberate intervals, moving in slow motion. With Glory Aura boosting his base stats by 30% and Mindset adding another 50%, a total of 80% enhancement coursed through him. What was mere split seconds to others felt like ample time to Kang San, who blocked or deflected every assault.
"...!"
Alarm stained Ryu Seung-ryeol's face.
He hadn't anticipated Kang San reacting so effortlessly, even under the priest's buff-fueled onslaught.
That was when it happened.
'Ailin?'
The blessing seeped into his entire body.
Ailin's prayer was a cheat skill that ignored distance to grant blessings, defying any rank classification. From beyond the cameras, she had invoked it while watching. In a normal test, outside interference would be forbidden. But with Im Chan-young leading this blatant malice on display, Ailin couldn't just stand by.
That made it a 121% boost.
Power surged within him.
Not content to merely block Ryu Seung-ryeol's attacks, he began countering the enemies pressing in from all sides.
Whoosh—
Boom!
The strike landed.
An A-rank hunter, just like Ryu Seung-ryeol, bulged his eyes in shock. Kang San kept advancing with fluid footwork, swinging his sword relentlessly. In the heat of such battles, memories of Seomunho surfaced. How he handled hordes of foes. Ordinary hunters treated skills as mere cooldown-bound tools, but the Blood Demon Swordsmanship ingrained in Kang San's instincts transcended such limits.
Whoosh.
Killing intent flooded from every direction.
He deflected the strikes shooting in from the right.
In a situation like this, Seomunho would step forward aggressively, targeting the enemy's exposed chest.
Flash.
"Guh!?"
He mimicked it.
The heightened stats let him replicate Seomunho's movements perfectly. The foe retreated in panic but couldn't escape fully—his forearm tore open. Kang San didn't stop. Blocking assaults from all sides meant to rescue their comrade, he clung doggedly. He slashed torsos, severed legs, aiming to render at least one completely combat-ineffective.
"Guardian Shield."
Thud—!
Rumble rumble.
The attack was halted.
The priest's defense.
Her quicker reaction foiled the strike, and ranged attacks followed immediately.
The world tinted red.
For a moment, he wondered if this was the world Seomunho had seen.
A blood-soaked realm, devoid of any sign of life.
Those backed by Drake Guild glared at him with the eyes of enemies once fixed on Seomunho.
'This won't end well if it drags on.'
Even buffs had limits.
Failing to thin their numbers would keep him at a disadvantage.
He raised his shield.
Kicking off the ground, he threw himself into the onslaught.
"Undying Will."
Boom!
Bam bam bam bam bam!
The attacks hit home.
Explosions rocked him with massive shockwaves, but Undying Will—reducing damage by 90% temporarily—let him endure. Victory wasn't the goal anyway. Kang San aimed to show he wasn't helpless against ten A-rank hunters. Even if he failed the S-rank test, this would prove his worth to the world. Like a rampaging bull, he charged ahead.
"Damn it."
"Block him—!"
Shouts erupted from all around.
They couldn't allow their rear to be threatened.
They were supposed to overwhelm him, but this deadlock had already bruised their pride.
"You little shit!"
Jo Dong-jae.
He stepped up to block the way.
Fierce energy swirled around his raised sword.
"You're not getting past me. Thunder Strike."
Flash.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Since joining Drake Guild.
A 4-star skill specially bestowed by the master.
Its destructive force plunged down.
Thunder Strike unleashed hundreds of lightning bolts in a simultaneous devastating barrage.
Rumble rumble. The rising energy split into hundreds of strands, crashing straight onto Kang San's head.
In that instant.
Jo Dong-jae saw it.
"...This psycho."
All hundreds of bolts.
Struck Kang San.
An unavoidable cataclysm, yet under Undying Will, his body glowed white as lightning pierced him—still, he didn't stop charging. It defied reason. Holding out this long against A-rank hunters was already unbelievable for a B-rank.
Doubt crept in.
Maybe, just maybe.
The Japan incident was true.
Before the thought fully formed.
Flash.
Splat—!
Kang San's sword felled Jo Dong-jae.
Drip, drip.
Blood trickled down the blade.
Jo Dong-jae's condition looked dire at a glance.
Beyond what the priest could heal instantly. Kang San gazed indifferently at the now-silent foes.
"Let's keep going."
He still had reserves.
Until they crumbled completely.
Kang San intended to clash relentlessly.
As he kicked off again, Ryu Seung-ryeol led the rush to block him.
Clang!
Clang clang clang clang clang.
It was a fierce deadlock.
Nothing like what they'd expected.
Im Chan-young, needing focus for his spells, couldn't hide his stunned panic.
'...How the hell?'
This made no sense.
He'd faced Kang San three times.
As an F-rank arrow sponge, during the B-rank test, and now.
In Im Chan-young's memory, he was just a talentless fodder. Yet each encounter showed unbelievable growth. Even the B-rank test results had been hard to swallow. Forcing the puzzle pieces together, he could grudgingly accept it as a miracle after years of effort.
But this? No.
Only months had passed.
A guy who'd barely passed B-rank couldn't face multiple A-ranks.
'No way.'
Ominous dread rose.
Like with Jo Dong-jae.
The possibility that Kang San had slain an S-rank evil spirit.
"No. That's impossible."
He shook his head.
His eyes burned with venom.
This stage meant to crush Kang San couldn't become his pedestal.
"No more. Fire Field."
Roar.
Fwoosh.
5-circle magic.
Intense flames erupted.
The skill that got him through the B-rank test. Flames rippled along his raised finger. In an instant, Kang San was engulfed. It precisely targeted the gap amid frontline clashes. Judging it insufficient to fell him, he immediately invoked memorization.
"Memorize, Fire Cannon."
Boom!
Rumble rumble rumble.
Flames blazed fiercely.
He won't survive this.
A 5-circle combo could overwhelm most A-rank hunters.
So he thought.
Whoosh.
"Why won't he just drop?!"
"Block him—!"
Unbelievable.
Kang San burst through the inferno.
Worse, the surrounding blaze hindered his allies from closing in quickly. Im Chan-young didn't know Kang San's abilities. With Undying Will cutting 90% damage and fire immunity halving another 50%, even a 5-circle flame combo posed no threat.
Crackle.
Crackle, crackle.
His body burned.
The Iron Fortress armor he'd crafted himself charred black, yet Kang San's gaze locked unerringly on Im Chan-young.
Im Chan-young reacted frantically.
"Fuck, Chain Lightning."
Crackle crackle.
He hastily borrowed an artifact's power.
Slashing cast time, he unleashed hundreds of electric bolts.
Boom!
Bang, bang, bang!
He dodged them all.
The incoming killing intent telegraphed positions, so Kang San evaded where possible rather than tanking blindly. To Im Chan-young, it was terrifying. Back at the B-rank test, he'd denied reality; now, Kang San felt like an insurmountable wall.
Whoosh—
Right in his face.
He'd reached him at last.
Im Chan-young tried to blast him with magic, but Kang San's sword already slashed his chest.
Stagger.
Thud!
He toppled.
Tumbling backward over his own feet spared his chest a deep cut.
But that was the end.
No more escape.
Not from the rear support, nor Ryu Seung-ryeol and the others rushing in desperately.
None could stop Kang San.
"Two down."
He raised his sword.
As he swung to impale, Im Chan-young squeezed his eyes shut.
But then.
Suddenly, Kang San's pupils widened.
13 years old.
"Congenital awakening test results: C-rank. Congratulations."
Was that day a blessing?
Or a curse?
Im Chan-young couldn't tell.
Born to an ordinary family, the moment he received his C-rank results, guilds and agencies showered him with massive offers. Billions, tens of billions. Money became trivial, and his arrogance soared.
He spewed insults.
Acted entitled.
No one checked him—not the recruiters desperate to sign him, nor his parents enriched by his success.
"No, we have to send Chan-young to Heavenly Firmament!"
"What nonsense! Daeyang's offering even more!"
Every night.
His parents screamed at each other.
For every extra penny, a better future.
For Im Chan-young's brilliant prospects, they claimed—yet they squandered it on luxuries. Soon, they posed troubling questions.
"Chan-young, do you love Daddy or Mommy more?"
"Chan-young, Daddy's a bad guy. Come with Mommy."
That was when it started.
His parents stopped being parents.
Strangers divided as father and mother.
They divorced eventually. By the time Im Chan-young could discern right from wrong, he loathed their money-eyed judgment. He cut ties. Ironically, even as a minor, hunters gained 'adult' status. The hunter world lay beyond ordinary parental sway. Standing alone sharpened his self-centeredness.
He'd discarded his parents.
He had to be special.
Live better.
Perhaps that's why.
Failing the B-rank test, stagnant growth bred impatience.
At 13, hailed as Korea's top talent with C-rank. But as years passed, whispers grew: maybe a fluke. His temper sharpened. People's gazes seemed hostile; he met strangers with antagonism.
Then one day.
He met Kang San again.
And from that day, Im Chan-young's life plunged into the gutter.
"Urk."
Memories flooded in.
Im Chan-young's life.
An utterly selfish existence, evoking zero sympathy.
As he wondered why this was being shown, the voice rang again.
Spin.
The world flipped.
The surroundings shifted again.
A man face-down on the ground.
And a familiar face watching from before him.
It was unmistakable.
"No need to apologize. You didn't wrong us."
He was Paeng Mu-jeong.
And in Im Chan-young's memory.
He existed as one of the Northern Hebei Paeng Family warriors witnessing the scene.