Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: 4. Blood Demon Art (4)
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News traveled incredibly fast these days.
By the time Kang San got home and finished showering, the TV was already reporting on the Wangsimni E-Rank Link incident.
The screen switched.
In what looked like near the incident site, Kim Chun-sik stared at the camera with a tense expression.
"Private Kim Chun-sik. Please explain what happened."
"When we arrived at the scene, the first thing we saw was one person facing off against dozens of lizardmen. Honestly, it looked incredibly dangerous. He didn't seem like a high-rank hunter, but he was risking his life to hold them back. And... he left those words behind before departing. I know responding to this interview might go against his wishes, but I wanted to let everyone know that such a person exists."
"Thank you for the interview."
"...What the hell is he doing?"
Kang San wore a baffled expression.
Not only was Kim Chun-sik sporting a private first class rank, which was odd enough, but he was also putting words in Kang San's mouth that he never said, elevating him unnecessarily.
Thanks to that, the Wangsimni incident briefly trended in searches.
The so-called Wangsimni Tanker.
People were even more moved because it was a low-rank hunter's sacrifice, but the attention didn't last. It was just an E-Rank Link, after all. These things happened often, and without any sensational follow-up reports to stoke curiosity, "Wangsimni Tanker" quickly vanished from the trends.
A brief commotion.
The incident was wrapped up just like that.
But for Kang San, a new problem arose.
'What was that effect of the Blood Demon Art?'
The Blood Demon Art's effects remained the same.
It only recorded the number of lizardmen dealt with—no mention of any side effects.
'The power of the Blood Demon Art isn't from this world. That's why the system can't explain it perfectly.'
His mind was a mess.
What was certain was that around the tenth kill, the Blood Demon Art started reacting. Thinking back, it matched the scenes from his past life's memories. The Blood Demon, who massacred innocents, didn't start out overwhelmingly powerful; the more lives he took, the more explosive his might became. Even the martial arts of the man called the Mount Hua Swordsman, Do Jang-hyeon, were formidable, but they couldn't stand against the blade of the Blood Demon after it had drunk the blood of dozens.
The side effect.
This was a major issue. Kang San hated variables.
Unknown problems meant he couldn't control the variables.
'At least Guardian's Will canceled the berserk state. Guardian's Will fully recovers the user when their stamina drops to life-threatening levels. Maybe when the Blood Demon Art's power exceeded controllable limits, Guardian's Will deemed it dangerous and activated.'
It made sense.
When Guardian's Will triggered, Kang San wasn't under attack from a lizardman.
The moment he felled the twentieth lizardman.
Just as the Blood Demon Art's power surged stronger, Guardian's Will restored his mind to full clarity.
'I need to learn more about the Blood Demon Art.'
This issue would take some time.
The Blood Demon Art.
He needed to fully understand and master that dangerous power.
"Still, my heart feels lighter now."
His serious expression softened a bit.
An unexpected variable had cropped up, but through it all, he'd found the answer to his biggest problem.
'I'm not the Blood Demon.'
Having witnessed his past life.
The part that tormented Kang San most was the doubt that he might be a monstrous scum unfit for humanity.
A monster slaughtering people.
What if that was his true nature?
That's why he couldn't pull himself together.
Seeing the man with his identical face reflected in Do Jang-hyeon's eyes, Kang San couldn't trust himself.
But not anymore.
He hadn't stood by while people died; helping them had brought positive emotions.
"I'm different from that monster. He killed without reason, but I, like any ordinary person, find value in life by helping others. No matter what my past self was, I can't say my current self is the same."
These were words for those watching him—and for himself.
The past life was the past.
He had every right to live his own life, and he had no intention of ruining his present one because of it.
Still, one thing had changed.
'Now I can accept the karma.'
Azmun's trial.
He understood now.
Having confirmed what a scum the Blood Demon was, he planned to accept it with humility.
Of course, he had no intention of breaking under the trial.
He'd claw his way through somehow and prove to everyone that he was nothing like the Blood Demon.
His mind cleared.
The mental burden that had plagued him lifted.
And then.
'This damn thing.'
Kang San felt inexplicably annoyed.
With his resolve hardened, Kang San returned to his daily routine.
His first task was to precisely gauge the Blood Demon Art's effects.
'I need to figure out its side effects. And check what it takes for the rank to rise as stated.'
He tackled the second issue first.
The Blood Demon Art.
It stacked 1 point per enemy killed, and at 100 stacks, the rank rose.
Current stacks: 20.
Gained from the lizardmen.
Wondering if non-monster lifeforms counted, Kang San visited a nearby slaughterhouse for a test. Failure. No matter how many times he tried, the stacks didn't budge.
'Livestock doesn't count toward the Blood Demon Art's 'lives.' Only monsters, or...'
Humans.
Considering how the Blood Demon trained it, humans undoubtedly worked—no test needed.
But he dismissed it.
He'd tested on livestock to see if it offered an easy stacking method. Humans were never an option. Kang San wasn't a monster like the Blood Demon; from now on, he'd stack solely through monsters.
Now, the remaining issue: the side effects.
Before training the power, he had to confirm its negative impacts.
The problem? He couldn't test in real combat.
Any variables during self-testing could harm others. He couldn't raid solo, so he needed another way.
Suddenly, the recent battle came to mind.
Kang San had risked his life against the lizardmen, but the soldiers who arrived wiped them out in seconds.
Flamethrowers spewing fire.
The lizardmen couldn't even resist.
Some charged desperately, but they were riddled with holes before taking a few steps.
Not even C-Rank hide could withstand that firepower; E-Rank was hopeless.
'It was embarrassing to call myself a hunter.'
Hunter.
Civilian.
A clear line divided him from the soldiers.
Hunters' abilities were beyond civilians, but at Kang San's low tier, the gap was small. Monster-specific weapons outdid his capabilities. At his current level, learning to fire a gun and stock ammo might be more efficient than shield and sword.
That's why he'd felt a twinge of doubt back then.
He'd barely held them off with an uncontrollable power, while mere civilians eradicated them effortlessly with firearms.
'Kim Myung-min's impressive. What was he thinking, trying to recruit an E-Rank like me?'
A B-Rank hunter.
Far beyond civilian or low-rank hunter levels—a true superhuman.
Kang San saw him in a new light.
Despite his lofty status, Kim Myung-min hadn't hesitated to reach out.
"I need to get stronger."
He'd realized it through this ordeal.
Power.
The absolute value in this world.
To overcome the trial.
To survive any situation.
No whining about bad luck—he had to grit his teeth and grow relentlessly.
His next destination was set.
A place to test the Blood Demon Art's side effects and train his power.
One spot matching perfectly came to mind from his memories.
The Wangsimni Tanker incident.
Reporter Kim Min-young, who covered the scene, reviewed nearby CCTV footage with keen interest.
"Oh ho."
The media hadn't made a big deal of it. One person stepping up for others was admirable, but an E-Rank Link didn't seem major. In truth, it was graver—the busy district during rush hour could have caused huge casualties. One person's courage saved countless lives.
And above all.
"That ability's no joke."
A single skill.
The moment Kang San used Shield of Trials, dozens of lizardmen charged him in unison.
Ordinary folk might shrug it off.
Even with basic Guardian Shield, skilled tankers could pull dozens of aggro. The issue? The lizardmen were scattered over 100 meters. Yet one skill made them abandon easy prey and swarm him. That was Kim Min-young's key point.
Beyond common sense.
As a hunter specialist reporter, she knew no one possessed such aggro power.
And that wasn't all.
"Something's off no matter how I look. His fighting against lizardmen doesn't scream D-Rank or higher, but that aggro skill, his combat prowess... He soloed about twenty lizardmen. A new divine being?"
It smelled like a scoop.
She'd landed big stories before, guided by sharp instinct.
This felt the same.
Scoop alert.
Kim Min-young replayed the footage obsessively.
"You're mine this time."
Scoop hunter Kim Min-young.
The star reporter had her new target after a long hiatus.