Crushing Korea's Strongest
“Huh?”
Jo Dong-geun's face twisted in surprise as he spotted the talismans I'd flung his way.
“A sorcerer?”
He must've pegged me as your run-of-the-mill hunter. To him, tossing talismans probably seemed like the most natural move in the world for someone like me, who wasn't used to relying on standard hunter skills. My experience points were pitifully low, and my skill set was still pretty sparse.
But sorcery? I'd trained under Kang A-jin for a good long while. I had hundreds of talismans on hand. The ones I'd just launched were all infused with fire attributes.
His body was still reeling from the car explosion's damage, after all. Piling on more fire made perfect sense.
Shiiik!Shwak!Chiiik!
Nearly ten talismans activated in unison. They morphed into fireballs and flaming arrows, raining down on Jo Dong-geun.
Boom!Boom!Whoosh!
Against a monster like him, I'd gone with high-grade sorcery. Jo Dong-geun's eyes widened at the torrent of flames—clearly more potent than he'd bargained for.
“Urk!”
His form vanished completely in the inferno.
I moved to launch more talismans for a follow-up strike. But in that instant—
“Gah!”
Jo Dong-geun burst from the blaze. His speed was lightning-fast, utterly mismatched with his massive frame. I hadn't seen him tear through the flames at all—not from above, not from the flanks. Straight-on charge, right from the front.
Thwack!
He drove a fist into my chest. But I'd dodged first. His reflexes were insanely quick, yet my dynamic vision and movement speed held their own. No—considering I'd pulled back the moment I sensed the blindside, I had the clear edge.
Simple reason: I had Kim Seol-bi's abilities, the first woman exposed to my Unreasonable Favor trait.
Among all S-rank hunters in Korea, Kim Seol-bi's speed was unmatched. It was her core skill, her hunting style.
Jo Dong-geun flinched as I slipped away.
“Not a sorcerer?”
He looked utterly confused. Sorcerers rarely hunted dungeons as frontline fighters. They could rake in more cash elsewhere, but mainly, their powers just didn't mesh well with dungeon raids. Like ranged DPS hunters, sorcerers had blind spots in speed. And without prep time, snap reactions were tough—drawing talismans and activating spells took seconds at least.
Yet I'd shattered those limits and evaded his ambush. No wonder he was stunned.
Our back-and-forth kicked off. He swung fists and kicks wildly; I dodged. After dozens of chases and evasions, I knew it for sure.
He's manageable!
Valentina hadn't thrown me into this one-on-one for kicks. She couldn't know my full arsenal or predict every twist, but she had her reasons to bet on me. Sure, she had a reckless streak, but once hooked by Unreasonable Favor, none of those women ever put me in needless danger. It was damn near physically impossible.
His attacks weren't just manageable—they were predictable as hell. That let me close the gap bit by bit.
And counter.
“Urk!”
Jo Dong-geun reeled back, his cheek sliced open by my downward hand blade strike.
Hand Blade Cut. Another gift from Kim Seol-bi.
Confusion clouded his face—he was reevaluating my identity, my powers from square one. But in this frantic brawl, he had no time for deep thoughts.
My turn to press. I closed in and whipped my hand blade.
Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
He barely dodged. But unlike my effortless slips, his were desperate scrapes.
Thwack!
Got him again—opposite cheek this time. Both sides torn long, blood streaming.
“You fucking bastard!!”
Flames erupted in Jo Dong-geun's eyes. He detonated his mana.
Kaboom!
Just like the car blast—like he'd turned himself into a living bomb. Even closing distance made my skin prickle.
I sensed it: some kind of skill. Near-invincibility mode for a limited time. Such powers always had drawbacks—especially the mana burn rate. Several times faster than normal. He couldn't sustain it long.
That judgment in mind, I triggered another skill.
Whoosh—
“Huh?”
Jo Dong-geun glanced around, baffled. I'd activated Full Body Transparency, straight from Kim Eun-bi.
She was A-rank, yet pulled off miracles with it. Now S-rank myself, I wielded her near-perfect skill even more fluidly, potently.
No matter how sharp Jo Dong-geun was, up close or not, spotting me was a pipe dream.
I backed off far, watching his antics.
“Where are you?!”
“You coward fuck!”
“Come out already!”
Mana raging, he flailed punches and kicks. Realizing the futility, he dialed it back. Closed his eyes, focusing.
He knew I'd gone stealth—hunting my presence.
Idiot.
I floated more talismans. S-rank sorcerer and S-rank hunter. This fight showcased my merits.
At first, I'd questioned Valentina shoving me in here. But the longer it dragged, the clearer it became.
Like Lisa, I housed multiple souls' mana in one body! Wielded all their powers! Cheat-level stuff.
Valentina knew—hell, she'd built Lisa and kept her close for years.
I dropped low-tier sorceries around him.
Boom!Boom!Rumble!
Jo Dong-geun jolted at each blast. No way he kept focus amid that.
He rampaged his mana again.
“Raaagh!!!”
Boom!!
His fatal flaw: zero patience.
As he thrashed fruitlessly again, I closed in.
Thwack!Slash!
My hand blade shredded his clothes, carved his flesh. It cleaved high-rank monsters in one go.
His mana dwindling over time. Defenses crumbling—obvious as day.
I toyed with him, reducing him to a battered wreck.
“You bastard! Fuck! You goddamn mutt!!!”
He screamed near-hysterically. I almost pitied how pathetic he seemed.
No matter his tantrums, no matter he'd lorded over Korea's peak—he was weaker than me now. Zero chance he'd win.
I don't crave some generational shift bullshit.
No grand ambitions. Just one thing left: end Jo Dong-geun.
Not for Korea's future or humanity's sake. I hated this prick. The one who'd insulted Kang A-jin, scarred Jo A-young deep. I wanted him gone.
I pulled back again. Glancing behind, the barrier was loosening—couldn't withstand two S-ranks clashing.
Creating dimensional rifts to trap people wasn't easy sorcery. Only Valentina and Lisa held it together.
Time to finish this. No need for it to drag.
I floated talismans into the air. Their numbers swelled: 10, 20, 30...
No need to conserve. I could make more—child's play for me.
Boom!Boom!Boom!Kaboom!Rumble!!
Jo Dong-geun vanished in flames, glaciers, slashing blades, crashing boulders. No trace left.
Still, I kept unleashing sorcery. To erase every last remnant of this scum from the world.