Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Shadow Hunter's Pursuit
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Chao's urgent voice shattered the peace around the campfire.
"Hurry up! What are you doing?"
"If pursuers are coming, why not just stand our ground and fight?"
Kang Seol had no idea what was chasing her, so he figured witnessing their true nature and power firsthand in this clash wouldn't be a bad idea.
'We have to progress the adventure anyway, so gathering intel early can't hurt.'
Kang Seol was confident.
He had three Legendary-grade summons.
On top of that, with all the fortuitous encounters stacking up, he believed his current combat prowess was unmatched by anyone.
That conviction had only solidified after completely demolishing the Temple of Fire.
He couldn't lose.
That was his cold, hard analysis.
'And even if things get dicey, I can always bail.'
It didn't make sense that his powerful summons couldn't buy him enough time to escape.
That's why he'd said it to Chao, factoring all that in.
But what came back was Chao's incredulous expression and her yanking him to his feet by force.
"What kind of idiot talk is that? You trying to die here? The pursuers are Shadow Hunters!"
"Shadow Hunters?"
Shadow Hunters.
Kang Seol vaguely recalled hearing the name before.
In the Eternal World, Pandea, players had a ton of basic job choices, but even more hidden ones lurked out there.
And beyond the visible differences in abilities and stats, there were invisible ones too.
Like how each job had ties to friendly or rival factions in the lore.
Heresy Inquisitors were tight with the church but eternally at odds with Zealots. Mages didn't get along with Mech Engineers.
Jobs came loaded with all sorts of rivalries, and Shadow Summoner was no exception.
'Shadow Hunters...'
A group that despised shadows, especially Shadow Summoners.
In Pandea's culture, yanking shadows from corpses to make minions was seen as vile sorcery.
Most folks just looked down on it, but Shadow Hunters actively hunted Shadow Summoners.
That was the extent of Kang Seol's knowledge.
'Never crossed paths with them.'
So he didn't grasp just how much Shadow Hunters meant to Shadow Summoners.
And maybe that's why...
Chao's over-the-top wariness stirred an ominous feeling in him.
'This... is dangerous.'
Chao shouted at Kang Seol.
"If you get it, run! Head west! We'll meet up there! If we both make it out alive, that is..."
Kang Seol didn't hesitate and bolted.
Soon, a shout echoed from afar.
"The witch is running! Catch her!"
That meant the pursuers were close, so Kang Seol kept sprinting without looking back.
Pop!
His ridiculously boosted stats no longer made him look like a caster.
Rustle...
Pop!
Parting the underbrush effortlessly, he moved like some agility-based job. No one seeing him now would peg him as a summoner.
Kang Seol was the type who committed when he had to.
Told to run? He ran.
He didn't stop until his lungs burned.
"Huff... huff..."
His stamina now outstripped most warriors or knights, so him panting meant he'd covered serious ground.
"Haa... haa... Where'd... everyone go?"
Whoosh...
The night wind howled fiercely.
The cold air flooding his lungs cleared his head a bit, and he continued.
"Huff... huff... Where the hell did they all go?"
Jamad and the twin knights.
They'd been chatting, then started running together and vanished soon after.
Back into Shadow Space, maybe?
Kang Seol felt puzzled by their sudden dip without a word.
Grrrr...
Woof! Woof!
"Damn it."
The pursuit dragged on.
That hunting dog's bark had been tailing him for a while now.
He'd think he'd shaken it, only for it to close in again moments later.
Tenacious enough to suspect magic.
'Gotta shake 'em off for real.'
With his summons intact, ditching a mere hound should be easy.
Vmmm...
Kang Seol gathered power in his fist mid-stride.
Dark energy coalesced in his hand, reaching toward Shadow Space.
But what it brought back wasn't Karuna or Karen or Jamad—just desperate news.
You are within the area of effect of Lightless Zone.
Shadow Summoning is impossible.
"...What?"
- What kind of idiot talk is that? You trying to die here? The pursuers are Shadow Hunters!
That was why Chao had issued her frantic warning.
- This adventure is a dangerous one.
That was why this adventure was no walk in the park.
All of it boiled down to that one line that had just popped up.
"Heh heh heh... Why not keep running?"
Only the pursuer's voice drifted from afar.
Warning lights flashed in Kang Seol's mind.
'This... is dangerous.'
Kang Seol didn't waver.
If speed wasn't enough to lose them, he'd just go faster.
Kang Seol kicked the heel of his left foot with his right.
Pop!
Boom!
Crisis Escape activates.
Movement speed greatly increases for a short time.
The Last-Chance Boots existed for moments like this.
Screeech!
Kang Seol shot forward several times faster than before, slicing through the forest like an arrow.
Monsters he encountered en route couldn't even react—his speed was insane.
"Haa... haa..."
Suddenly, an old memory surfaced.
Back when he'd first dropped into Pandea, before getting Karuna.
Nothing but his bare hands, wits, and Pandea knowledge to clear that ruin.
"Hoo... huff..."
And he'd scored a powerful summon.
Victory after victory.
More mighty summons joined his fold, growing ever stronger.
But looking back, it felt like he'd been standing still.
Powerful summons or not, without them, he was as frail as ever.
'Shadow Hand alone... won't cut it.'
Squaring off head-on with Shadow Hunters? Pure madness.
So he just kept running.
His mouth was too parched for spit now; only ragged breaths escaped.
And then.
Grrrr... Woof!
Again.
That damnable hunting dog bark closed in once more.
"Heh heh heh... Kid, be good now. You're new to me, so I'll hunt you later. Know where that woman with you went? Yeah, Mirei."
Kang Seol doubted his ears for a second.
'Mirei? Mirei?'
The woman with him was Chao. But the hunter was after 'Mirei'.
Even in the confusion, the name Mirei didn't feel unfamiliar to Kang Seol.
'Mirei! The Exiled Mirei!'
The woman chased from Gregory's domain.
She wasn't just any disciple of Gregory's. She was one of his three most cherished.
'Gregory's third disciple, Mirei!'
Kang Seol instinctively glanced toward the voice that uttered her name.
Soon, Insight captured the foe and read his info.
He believes using shadows as servants is wrong, tied to misfortunes from his youth.
He travels with his trusty hunting dog, Dirk.
Malacus and Dirk are nightmares for Shadow Summoners.
Basic Abilities: [Footprint Tracking 1], [Wild Vision 1], [Neutralizing Shot 2], [Tangible Pain 1], [Nocturnal 2]
Special Abilities: [Beast's Sense of Smell 2], [Lightless Zone 3]
'Lightless Zone... that’s what it was.'
Woof! Woof!
In the chaos, he fell back on the one thing he could do.
Keep running, of course.
"Kid, give it up. You'll just die in agony. Offer your neck to Malacus nice and quiet."
Kang Seol ignored him and kept fleeing. No point in chit-chat; it wouldn't save him, just tire him out.
Then, he felt a chill and twisted away.
Pop!
"Urk..."
Something grazed his earlobe.
An arrow, probably.
You are affected by Malacus's Neutralizing Shot.
Grace Ring activates.
Neutralization Curse is repelled.
"Ho! Got a trick like that, huh? Won't save you next time."
Grrrr...
"Dirk, rip his throat out."
Woof!
Woof!
From the darkness leaped a massive boar—no, a black hunting dog the size of a boar.
'This time... it'll be rough.'
Not giving up, but dodging unscathed seemed tough. Even if hit, he absolutely couldn't expose his neck.
Kang Seol steeled himself, raising one arm to shield his throat as Dirk charged.
Ready to lose the arm in the worst case.
That was when it happened.
Kaboom!
Someone rocketed to Kang Seol's side and booted Dirk away.
Kieeeek! Kieeek...
"Urh heh heh... As expected, Mirei. Took me ages to find you."
"Ah... so annoying. This popularity's a drag too. But clinging like this won't work. Not into older guys."
"Kuh ku ku, kid. Mirei saved your hide."
"You blow your load that fast? Still no romance in you, Marcus."
"Thought you could hide forever, Mirei?"
Chao—no, the woman whose identity was now in doubt—had saved Kang Seol.
"Chao, you tricked me?"
"Haha, sorry. Wasn't on purpose. You came begging for my help first, remember?"
"Mirei... Isn't that Gregory's third disciple?"
"Yep, you know your stuff. So you know I got excommunicated too, huh."
"Yeah."
"Haha... What now, Malacus? My secret's out thanks to you. Poof goes the mystique."
Screeech!
Malacus answered with an arrow instead.
Thwack!
And Mirei casually snatched it out of the air.
"This crap doesn't work on me."
Kang Seol marveled even as questions swirled.
'She a summoner?'
A summoner snatching an arrow barehanded? Something was off.
"Turn back now, Mirei. The other hunters will arrive soon and see you."
"Oh no, scary. But oops? I wasn't just playing around either."
"What?"
Snap!
Shhhhh...
She flicked her fingers, and black mist billowed up.
Mirei uses Black Mist.
"Damn... Black Mist! You still had some left? Should've known!"
"Haha, too late. Unless you get real close, you won't smell or hear a thing."
"Goddamn it!"
Shhhhhh...
Thanks to that, even Kang Seol vanished into the black mist.
Mirei pressed a finger to her lips, signaling silence, then slipped away carefully.
But Malacus, having lost Mirei right in front of him, suddenly addressed Kang Seol hiding in the mist.
"Hey, kid. That witch is fooling you."
Kang Seol wanted to yell he knew and shut up, but that'd waste the mist, so he kept walking without reacting.
"That witch is deceiving you! Hell, humans! She's deceiving humans!"
What the hell did that mean?
Mirei's face hardened.
"She's already dead! Mirei is definitely dead! I saw my arrow pierce her chest with my own eyes!"
Kang Seol couldn't parse Malacus's ravings at first, but then he noticed the tension in Mirei's gripping hand and sensed something.
'Her skin... it's black?'
Darker than pitch, her hand outdid even a single flame's glow, and a glimpse of her neck through the hood was jet black.
Malacus bellowed.
"She's a shadow! A dead being!"