Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: House Burglary (3)
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# 75
As soon as the Berserk aftereffects wore off, Rokan began moving boldly without hiding himself, heading to none other than the Ashen Forest.
This place was merely a level 110 hunting ground, but in truth, it concealed a far greater secret.
‘This must be it. Damn, the details are fuzzy since I read about it ages ago.’
Thud thud thud.
Upon reaching the target point, Rokan suddenly pulled out a handaxe and hurled it somewhere.
In a steady rhythm, but at entirely different positions.
Pa-chut.
The handaxes embedded into a few particularly dark spots among the densely packed trees, and something appeared in what had been empty space.
Rocks.
Before he could even wonder why they’d bother hiding mere rocks with such mechanisms, a battle axe flew from Rokan’s hand.
“Bombardment.”
Kwaaang!
With the sound of an explosion, the rock shattered.
It was a device to test whether one could pierce the rock, so its actual hardness fell short of real stone.
“This must be the place.”
As the smoke cleared, stone stairs emerged.
He hurried inside before other users could swarm in after hearing the noise.
[You have entered the place where the legend of the Hunter began.]
A secret dungeon.
Normally, it could only be found after piecing together hints from countless quests, but Rokan had skipped it all.
He already knew the entry conditions.
It required precise aim, ranged attack capability, and finally, the courage to pierce rock—something genuinely difficult for Rokan’s berserker class—but his divinely precise throwing weapon control made it possible.
Once inside, Rokan walked forward without hesitation. It was pitch-black darkness without a single speck of light, but he knew that was how it had to be.
‘It’s useful in all sorts of ways.’
Even after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the space let in no light whatsoever, making it impossible to discern even someone’s silhouette—but for Rokan, who had gained night vision from his title effect, everything stood out quite clearly.
[Hunter’s Trial Stage 1 begins.]
And soon after, a new message appeared.
Seeing the familiar situation, Rokan grinned.
A hero’s trial!
This wasn’t a mere secret dungeon; it was one of the spaces designed to inherit ‘someone’s legacy,’ like a hero’s trial.
‘The difference is that its owner is still alive?’
One key difference: unlike Lion King Gaokan, the creator of this trial was still alive.
The legendary troll hunter, Kyarus.
‘A living legend.’
During the great war between the Black Dragon Legion and the Golden Lion Alliance—known as the Species War—this hunter had stood at the vanguard, striking terror into the enemy ranks. He was the master of this dungeon.
He surely never imagined that a human berserker—and not even a troll, archer, or hunter—would be the first to challenge this place.
‘I’ll chow down good.’
[Find the light in the darkness.]
The message that reappeared was exceedingly unfriendly.
Well, Lion King’s trial hadn’t exactly been hospitable either.
But since Rokan already knew the trial’s contents, he understood its meaning.
“Throwing.”
Pukeok!
Enemies stealthily approaching in the darkness. Confirming them and smashing them was the task of this trial.
‘Easy pass.’
However, it wasn’t about destroying every moving lifeform. One among them was a young troll, so discerning eyes were needed.
[You have passed Hunter’s Trial Stage 1: Hunter’s Eye.]
With the last one destroyed, the cave finally lit up.
The sole survivor: the young troll.
It laughed gleefully like an idiot even at the sight of a human like Rokan, scampering here and there again.
[Hunter’s Trial Stage 2 begins.]
[ Pierce them.]
Still unfriendly guidance.
This time, it demanded speed and accuracy.
The moment the challenger reached the designated spot, magical figures rose from all directions—pierce and destroy them precisely before they vanished.
One peculiarity: since this was a Black Dragon Legion trial, the targets to smash were humans, half-elves, dwarves, and gnomes.
Most would hesitate out of revulsion, but he was who he was—without a shred of doubt, Rokan rapidly flung handaxes in all directions.
Kung kung kung kung kung.
He’d anticipated major battles, so he had plenty of throwing weapons. He hurled them as wastefully as an archer loosing arrows, destroying every figure the moment it appeared.
[You have passed Hunter’s Trial Stage 2: Hunter’s Sense.]
After nearly a hundred figures were shattered, Stage 2 completed, and the vanished young troll reappeared.
“That way, huh?”
It vanished again after a brief gesture.
But Rokan knew it was guidance.
Following the direction the young troll disappeared, the third trial finally appeared.
‘I could’ve guessed this one.’
[Hunter’s Trial Stage 3 begins.]
[Destroy them.]
What emerged was a massive rock—no, rocks.
‘They call ’em golems too.’
More precisely, crudely assembled golems made by sticking rocks together.
But their crude appearance belied their power.
They were only level 130, but golems typically regenerated endlessly from mana until their ‘core’ was destroyed—so without finding or destroying the core, defeat was common regardless of level.
But none of that applied to Rokan.
“Wrists and chest, huh?”
A quick glance revealed the weak points.
No, calling it ‘finding’ was underselling it; the gem-like cores were glaringly obvious.
‘Even if you take the long way, as long as you reach Seoul.’
Confirming them, Rokan charged straight at it.
“Kraaah!”
A cry of madness. The force-infused shout severed the golem’s mana circuits strand by strand, halting its functions in an instant.
In that brief window, the handaxes leaving Rokan’s hand struck the gems on its wrists.
They didn’t shatter, but the gems lost their glow. Before the stalled golem could reactivate, Rokan launched into a leap attack.
“Force.”
Kwaaang!
He smashed the chest gem too.
“Hmm.”
Flash.
But not even a crack on the gem. No clue what it was made of, but since it was set by Kyarus, troll king of sorts, it wasn’t ordinary.
Confirming the gem’s light fade, he fell back slightly to watch for any counterattack—and red light poured from its head.
But its head didn’t open or expose a weak point.
It merely indicated the core’s location; destruction was on the challenger.
A test not just of speed and accuracy, but sufficient destructive power.
“Bombardment.”
Testing Rokan’s destructive power? Laughable.
Even a simple throwing toss would’ve shattered it, but in ceremonial fashion, he hurled the handaxe with full force, blasting the golem’s head to pieces.
[You have passed Hunter’s Trial Stage 3: Hunter’s Power.]
“Sorry. I’m not a hunter.”
Just as hero trials ignored class, the hunter’s trial ignored class too despite the name. Archery-related jobs just had a huge edge.
Being a hunter would’ve been ideal.
In the last one, a hunter could’ve used summons to tank or distract, kept distance, and sniped the gems.
The problem was that the one taking the trial was a class-ignoring monster.
[Hunter’s Trial Stage 4 begins.]
“Straight to this one?”
As if hearing him, the final Stage 4 began without prep or warning.
“……”
Yet nothing changed. No new appearances, no targets to smash.
Not even vague guidance.
All that remained was the young troll, beaming innocently as it ran about.
‘This must be……’
Sensing the oddity, Rokan instantly charged the young troll, smashing its head with Dash and Strike.
[You have passed Kyarus’s Trial: Poison Heart.]
[Defeat young Kyarus.]
Black smoke rose from the corpse. Apparently a magically created lifeform.
And what emerged was a strapping troll youth already over 2 meters tall.
Unlike the innocent child, this one’s eyes burned with desire—or madness.
“This’ll be simple.”
Fortunately, no specific method to defeat young Kyarus was given.
If it restricted to ranged attacks or such, it’d be tough—but having proven everything up front, no further instructions came.
“Then let’s have at it.”
As if understanding Rokan’s words, young Kyarus moved sharply.
He gained distance, nocked an arrow, and let out a long whistle to summon something.
[Frost Mane Wolf Leader Kantos][Lv 145]
A summon capable of freezing and turning melee opponents into walking sandbags. And a named one at that. The moment it appeared, Rokan launched into a leap attack.
“Spike trap, rope toss!”
Proving his prodigy from youth, it laid a trap at the landing spot, swiftly retreated while hurling a rope.
The magically empowered cord flew, binding Rokan’s wrist despite his resistance.
“Idiot.”
Whiiik!
He wasn’t caught. He’d allowed it.
Rokan yanked his arm hard, pulling Kyarus—who gripped the rope—toward him.
“Bombardment.”
Shrieeek!
Enough force to pulverize its skull in one go—but as expected of a hero’s youth, the response was swift.
It slammed its bow into the ground to halt, then backstepped into mobile shooting. Even attempted a rear attack with the summon.
“Too bad.”
Rokan effortlessly dodged every assault, smacking his lips.
He’d expected more from the youth of legendary troll hunter Kyarus, but at best, this was level 160.
Makes sense—it was just trial prep, so making it too strong would be troublesome.
“Charge.”
If it’d been stronger, he might’ve played around awhile.
Losing interest, Rokan shifted stance. His casually probing movements exploded forward.
No fancy moves needed. War Cry to bind its feet, Bombardment to draw eyes, finish with a lethal strike!
Young Kyarus’s body crumbled in one hit.
[You have passed Kyarus’s Trial: Proof.]
It yielded results far from the original intent of evaluating comprehensive hunter skills, but Rokan overcame every trial regardless.
Kugugung.
As the trial ended, an altar rose from the floor.
[Offer the heart of a level 170+ monster.]
The final mission. Even without prior prep, the setup allowed exiting and re-entering anytime—but for a level 170+ monster heart, he had the perfect one.
Tiller’s heart.
No separate drop items, but it yielded teeth, claws, scales, heart, and eyeballs as trophies—ready to use right away.
[Tiller’s heart confirmed.]
[Kyarus’s secret technique has been imparted.]
[You have acquired the imprint ‘Soul-Piercing Power (Growth)’]
[Soul-Piercing Power (Growth)][Epic][Quest]
Etches a tattoo-like imprint on the body, granting the deadly secret art of soul-piercing power.
Squeezed from a corrupted monster’s heart to create the imprint, adding special power.
-Activates [Soul-Piercing Power] effect on use
-Critical hit chance +10%
-Critical hit damage +50%
-Can grow by absorbing corrupted power
End of Volume 3