Weakling Extermination Debut
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' wishes to sponsor you.
You can receive sponsorship by registering as a Watch Constellation.
What was a Watch Constellation again...?
Information about hunters was hugely popular. In this day and age, hunters were more famous than celebrities.
So the public knew about constellations too.
Transcendent beings who couldn't directly interfere in this world.
Still, it was surprising.
They said it's rare for them to send the first message.
Constellations expressed emotions through system messages.
Occasionally, they'd sponsor an awakener they liked.
If this vast Earth was like one big internet broadcast,
then constellations were the viewers of that broadcast.
But I've never heard of Watch Constellations before.
Tap, tap.
No need to agonize—he pulled out his smartphone and searched.
- Watch Constellation: A formative, visual effect that draws attention
That's not it.
Nothing on the regular internet. It meant this wasn't public knowledge for civilians.
But there was a way to find out.
Just log in here.
Accessing Hunter Community.
Searching for term 'Watch Constellation'.
Oh, results.
Instant hits here. He tapped a question post that seemed promising.
Aha.
It summed up nicely.
YouTube subscribe.
Or a broadcast favorite.
But unlike regular subs or favorites, the hunter had to accept it manually.
Crazy. A hundred thousand coins on a paid comment.
No need to buy it himself.
At a glance, more Watch Constellations seemed good.
S-rank hunters wouldn't carry them around for no reason.
The Legend Token he'd gotten earlier mentioned it too.
Usable in trades with constellations.
Constellations seemed useful in many ways.
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' wishes to sponsor you.
Right. They wanted to sponsor.
He'd been told he needed to register as a Watch Constellation first.
No reason to hesitate.
"Register Constellation Master of the Black Star as Watch Constellation."
The constellation has been successfully registered as a Watch Constellation.
Master of the Black Star smiles in satisfaction.
"Alright then..."
Time to test the skill.
Should he register as a hunter first?
Wait.
"So... the sponsorship...?"
He'd almost let it slide.
It wasn't holding out on him—right as he spoke, black light shimmered around him.
Master of the Black Star sponsors the first gift.
◈ Cannot be detected by video or tracking devices.
◈ Movement Speed +3%
Flutter~.
A black cloak dropped from thin air.
So this was how sponsorships worked. Neat.
Picking it up revealed the item info.
Rare
Cannot be detected by video or tracking devices.
Movement Speed +3%
A cloak with simple effects.
He was quietly impressed.
"Oh..."
He got the intent behind gifting this item.
Clear dungeons without getting caught.
Nice instincts.
Bound to come in handy, so he stowed it in his inventory for now.
Cloak of Secrecy stored in inventory.
Current available inventory slots: 3. (Remaining: 2)
Inventory could be expanded with coins, it seemed. Coins were used to enhance various hunter abilities like this.
He had a million coins now.
Plenty of uses, but nothing urgent, so he'd hold off.
For now, he wanted to test the new skill, Weakling Extermination.
But that means registering as a hunter first...
He stopped short of heading to Association HQ.
"...Roads are jammed."
The road conditions on his smartphone were a mess.
The path to the Association was gridlocked due to the world boss. Public transport was at a standstill too.
What now.
Hard to sneak into just any gate or dungeon. Gate locations were only provided to registered hunters.
As he pondered,
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' recommends an Instance Gate.
Instance Gate...?
He opened the Hunter Community again and searched.
Turns out, paying coins opened a personalized gate.
Constellations really knew the system inside out.
"Oh, thanks."
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' feels quite proud.
Helpful advice. So that's why more Watch Constellations were good?
Let's do it right away.
"Open Instance Gate."
Activate F-rank Instance Gate?
Cost: 1,000 Coins
The gate auto-dissolves on failed clear.
This gate is solo-only.
If it didn't work, he'd just bail.
"Activate."
Woooong—!
Space ahead rippled, forming a circular purple gate.
Take it slow.
If he were still level 1, he'd worry, but after killing the imugi, he was level 10. With his cheat skill, it should be fine.
[Legend] Instant Death - Weakling Extermination
Whatever came out, he could handle it. Gripping the black annihilation sword in one hand, he stepped slowly into the gate.
Meanwhile, at Hunter Association HQ.
"Still no location on the Mumyeong hunter?"
"Sa Choiheon hunter has returned from the raid!"
"Bring him to the conference room now!"
"Guild reports compiled? Hurry..."
Association staff rushed about breathlessly.
Scorn from external agencies,
angry protest calls from citizens.
Reconstruction plans for the ruined city.
And now people demanding the identity of Mumyeong hunter.
No one in the Association had a moment's rest.
For the Association, this incident was a painful blunder.
The world boss that suddenly appeared in Seoul.
They'd failed to predict its timing.
And it was far stronger than expected.
Top rankers were absent too.
The whole city had nearly been obliterated.
...Without Mumyeong, it really would've been dangerous.
Awakening Management Division at the Association.
Director Yoo Jincheol.
His expression remained stern throughout. Even a slight delay, and foreign nations would have intervened.
At a national level, the cost would've been immense.
Guilds took heavy losses too.
Ending at this level was a miracle.
The sudden appearance of Mumyeong had saved countless lives.
But it doesn't make sense...
He sat in the conference room, replaying the footage over and over.
The intact imugi suddenly exploded.
No precursors or signs.
Beyond bizarre—it was chilling.
Then.
Creeak.
"Director, Sa Choiheon hunter has arrived."
A tall man entered the conference room door held open by a subordinate.
Director Yoo Jincheol stood and bowed.
"Ah, Sa Choiheon hunter. You've arrived. Congratulations on the successful S-rank gate clear. Sorry to call you when you're tired."
"No, it's fine. More importantly..."
Korea's number one hunter, Sa Choiheon.
He'd just finished an S-rank gate raid and come straight to HQ.
Sa Choiheon's cold gaze turned to the screen playing the footage.
"...So Mumyeong did that."
Sa Choiheon had heard the gist.
A powerhouse who one-shotted the world boss had appeared.
That's why he'd rushed here right after his raid.
Such talents popped up occasionally.
Those with reality-defying abilities.
But this was on another scale.
Sa Choiheon's brows furrowed as he watched gravely.
"What do you make of it?"
The director cautiously asked his opinion. This was high-quality footage shot by frontline guilds.
Not the low-res stuff circulating online.
That's why they'd summoned Sa Choiheon here—to show him this.
Sa Choiheon, staring intently at the screen, muttered unwittingly.
"I've never seen anything like this..."
"Pardon?"
To the director's question, Sa Choiheon shook his head.
"Nothing."
Sa Choiheon continued calmly.
"Hard to judge from footage alone. Could be mana or intent not captured on video. Or stealth skills."
Too many possibilities, in short.
"One thing's certain: a whole other level of power. Even I couldn't handle a world boss like that easily."
"Hah, I see..."
The director's eyes wavered.
If even Sa Choiheon couldn't do it easily...
Mumyeong.
What the hell was their identity?
Sa Choiheon added,
"An unverified powerhouse at S-rank or higher. Not a newbie. Likely been hiding their strength until now."
"Why hide their identity?"
To the director's question, Sa Choiheon answered without looking away from the screen.
"Who knows. Can't say."
Suspicious origins.
Strange timing.
Why now?
But in conclusion,
Mumyeong had helped at the critical moment.
So Sa Choiheon added one more thing.
"We should meet them in person. For the future ahead."
I stepped into the Instance Gate.
Goblin Kills: 0/30
Goblin King Kills: 0/1
A lush forest full of greenery and trees.
First time entering a gate.
Of course, he'd seen tons on YouTube. Hunters uploaded hunt videos voluntarily.
Swish.
He raised his sword, scanning the surroundings.
Ting!
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' is moved by this historic moment.
Whoa.
Startled by the sudden message.
Historic moment?
My first hunt?
Overreacting much.
"So where to start..."
As he scanned for magic beasts,
Kiruk, kirruk!
Two goblins burst from the bushes in the forest shadows.
Green dwarves clad in filthy hides.
Crude blades in hand.
Focusing slightly, their levels appeared. Any awakener could see levels floating above heads.
Level 3 or so...
Commonly seen as the weakest magic beasts, but dangerous in groups.
A moment's carelessness could be fatal.
Accidents happened every year.
Krr... Kiruk...
Having a magic beast right in front of him brought real pressure.
Drooling, but poised to charge anytime. One small opening, and they'd pounce.
No thought of testing the sword here.
Carelessness meant death.
Stay calm.
In solo play, injury was deadly.
No one here to help.
Full power from the start.
Swish.
Thrusting the black dagger forward, he spoke.
"Weakling Extermination."
And in that instant.
Whoosh!
Skill 'Instant Death: Weakling Extermination' activated.
Target's level is lower than yours.
Eliminating designated lifeform.
The targeted goblin exploded on the spot. Like a balloon popping—bang.
Wow...
So clean it didn't even feel brutal.
Splat.
Red blood soaked the ground and surroundings.
One goblin instantly deleted.
Ki, kiruk...?
The other froze, face blank, not grasping the situation.
But goblin intelligence was low.
Kiruk, kirruk!
Couldn't comprehend what happened.
It gripped its blade tight and charged.
"Kieeeek!"
No letting it close in.
He aimed his sword and said,
"Die."
Skill 'Instant Death: Weakling Extermination' activated.
Eliminating designated lifeform.
Whoosh.
Deleted just as pointlessly.
Didn't even reach him.
...
Two goblins down in seconds.
Ridiculously easy.
Was it supposed to be this simple?
Others had to sweat with weapons.
He just said a word.
Good was good, though.
Weakling Extermination worked just like the base Instant Death. Target and incant.
"Die."
Splurt!
"Die."
Splurt!
First, the incantation.
Unfortunately, mandatory.
Have to say something.
No words, no activation.
Like a magic hunter chanting.
Treated the same as magic incantation.
Probably needed conditions or a chantless skill for silent use.
Tch.
Hard to use in front of others.
Just embarrassing.
And one more thing.
Couldn't kill unperceived enemies.
"Die. Die. Die..."
He spammed into the forest depths.
Constellation 'Master of the Black Star' smiles.
"..."
Was that a smirk?
Post-chant regret was inevitable.
No chant, no skill. What could he do?
Anyway, grasped the mechanics roughly.
Couldn't kill unknown enemies.
No EXP, no death.
Need to at least perceive the enemy.
Obvious condition.
Incidentally, goblins hiding in bushes could be killed if spotted. Knowing something's there triggered it.
Ambushes or unseen attacks are dangerous.
This power wasn't invincible.
Cheaty, but...
He was a glass cannon with 9999 attack.
If his main body got hit, game over.
Couldn't get complacent.
Especially in labyrinth dungeons, where people died unnoticed all the time.
Leveling up should cover it.
Levels raised stats too.
Clear gates, gear up—should handle most situations.
"Die."
Whoosh!
Twenty goblins cleared in a flash, no issues.
Following the forest path led to a new area.
Goblin village.
Tense at first, but got used to the skill—felt like a stroll.
Still, no slacking.
"Boss room here?"
Goblin King designates you as enemy.
Kueeeek!
Goblin King with ten goblin minions.
The fat Goblin King sat on a throne, glaring.
Kirruk, kirruk!
Kiruk, kiruk!
Goblin King thrust his staff forward—goblins charged on command.
Tatata.
About ten at once.
Numbers made it tricky.
Ten incantations.
If endless foes, his jaw might literally drop.
But luckily, Instant Death: Weakling Extermination had a hidden feature.
He took a shallow breath,
infused intent, and spoke.
"Die."
Whoooosh—!
A wave of death swept them.
The ten charging goblins exploded simultaneously.
A movie-like scene unfolded before him.
Key point: even mobs cleared with one word.
"Ku, kueeek..."
The Goblin King's wail was mournful. Pupils quaking like an earthquake.
He checked the level above its head.
Boss, so maybe? But under level 10—good. Low-level F-rank gate.
Simple then.
He called lightly.
"Weakling Extermination."
Whoosh—!
Deleted in absurd seconds.
Thud.
Its magic stone dropped.
Hidden perk of Instant Death.
Magic stone without disassembly.
Normally need butchering skill for that.
Convenient, nothing else to say.
As he picked up the dropped stone, marveling at Weakling Extermination's cheat performance,
Ding!
F-rank Instance (Personalized) Gate cleared.
Clear rank: Legend
An unexpected system message popped up.
Instance Gates have separate clear rewards too?