The Assassin Hunter Stops Time (3)
“Reset”
―Activate when specific conditions are met, and the skill’s cooldown resets completely.
Only one line.
But Dojin already knew exactly what it meant.
He just needed to confirm the conditions.
‘So that means I can keep using the skills without pause?’
Every skill in the world had a cooldown.
The higher the rank, the longer it got.
A few seconds for basic stuff.
Days for the real monsters.
But if this thing reset the cooldown like the card said, then…
“……”
In the awakening world, ranks did create huge gaps, yet a kind of balance still existed.
Like a game.
But this…
“It could shake the balance…”
Conditions sounded too lenient.
Dojin turned to his unique skill.
Time Distortion.
The name alone gave it away.
And the system confirmed it.
**⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙**
【Unique Skill: Time Distortion】 Lv.1
―Activates, and all living beings within a 5-meter radius around the caster slow down to 1.5 times.
―Duration: 3 seconds.
―Cooldown: 10 minutes.
―Activation condition: Target at least one enemy and land a critical hit.
“Ugh…”
Still rank 1?
It felt weaker than expected, but the name was already telling.
Time-related skills were rare even back in his original life.
And these…
‘The ones who had them could do things that broke every rule.’
The effect was simple, yet powerful.
Slowing everything else down was basically…
‘Giving me 1.5x my speed for a few seconds.’
For a stalker-class hunter like him, that was priceless.
‘A true unique skill.’
No, even among uniques, this level of power was almost unheard of.
The range and time would only grow with levels.
But what truly hooked him was the activation condition.
“Critical hit…”
He had no idea how much damage counted, but there had to be standards.
“I should test it.”
The same way he always did.
Dojin finished running every calculation in his head.
The black card with the question mark.
He still didn’t know the rank, but it didn’t matter.
‘I got something far, far better than I ever imagined.’
A perfect start he never thought possible.
Before entering the awakening chamber, Dojin returned to his small office.
“Then…”
He picked up the A4 sheet that had fallen on the floor.
He still wanted to run home and see his parents right now,
but ‘time was short.’
The Yongin disaster in March.
He needed strength to stop it.
‘Seeing my parents can wait until then.’
Important tasks first.
And the very first…
“I have to rob some money.”
***
The hunter guild was basically a giant corporation.
Dungeon clearing and monster extermination were the main jobs, but they also ran tons of side businesses.
Red Circle stood at the top of it all, and their side business was debt collection.
“Long time no see.”
**【Red Capital】**
【Red Capital】
Red Capital was Red Circle’s financial arm.
Like their other operations, it looked clean on the surface but had plenty of filth underneath.
The fastest way to amass insane wealth and reputation.
Normal work just didn’t cut it.
Dojin stepped inside.
A woman with her hair neatly tied up stood behind the clean counter.
“Welcome. Red Capital.”
“I’m here to borrow money.”
“A normal civilian or a hunter?”
“I just awakened.”
“Oh, so you don’t have a rank yet?”
He nodded.
The woman smiled kindly and led him deeper.
“Boss, the customer is here.”
The office was immaculately tidy.
A man named Lee Woo-won rose from his chair, gave Dojin a polite smile.
“Welcome to Red Capital. Miss Park, two coffees, please.”
Woo-won offered him a seat.
“Sit. Now, how much do you need?”
Straight to the point.
Dojin liked it that way.
“10 billion.”
“……What?”
Woo-won’s eyes widened.
“10 billion?”
“Not enough?”
“No, it’s not that we can’t… but… you’re a hunter?”
He nodded.
“Rank?”
“I awakened today. Haven’t gone through the review yet.”
“You just awakened?”
Woo-won couldn’t hide his shock.
So level 1, then.
‘But…’
It wasn’t enough to scare him off.
There were still a few things to check.
“Which god’s blessing did you receive?”
“SR.”
Dojin answered.
That was high enough to be respectable yet easy to hide.
‘Epic would be impossible.’
Woo-won’s serious expression confirmed it.
Even at level 1, an SR blessing meant enormous potential.
The amount was the only wrinkle.
“……Wait a moment.”
Woo-won left the room.
A few minutes later he returned carrying a low-grade mana meter.
“You said you just awakened… do you know what element it is?”
“I heard the name Magician.”
“Magic, then.”
He nodded.
“Understood. We’ll do a quick mana check and help you right after.”
Dojin held his hand over the meter.
‘Low-grade. The max it can read is still under 30.’
His current mana was 56.
A mid-grade meter would have exposed the lie.
Whoosh.
The meter lit up.
00.
Unmeasurable.
Woo-won jumped from his chair.
“Hah—!”
Of course he was startled.
A level-1 hunter’s mana reading unmeasurable?
He asked.
“Can you check your exact number? Open your status.”
“32.”
“What?”
Dojin smiled at the stunned man.
“Normally it was 12. The blessing added 20.”
“20? So you got a special trait?”
Woo-won couldn’t hide his surprise.
Magic special trait…
‘Crazy bastard. Did he fight with a staff like a club?’
Some people still used staffs that way, but most never came back alive.
Woo-won forced himself to calm down.
“It seems you received the magic special trait. 32 at level 1 is impressive.”
Inside, Woo-won was overjoyed.
A high-growth mark had walked in on its own.
In a world where magic hunters were already rare…
“With the magic special trait, we can lend up to 30 billion. Interest rate drops by 2% from normal.”
Of course. They still charged over 70% compounded interest.
Two percent didn’t change anything.
But…
“30 billion, then?”
“Of course.”
Woo-won grinned.
If this guy borrowed 30 billion…
‘Hehehehe, 90% of whatever this idiot earns will be ours.’
His mouth twitched with excitement.
Dojin caught every flicker of that expression.
‘He’s already planning to fleece me dry.’
He nodded.
“Then 30 billion, please.”
“I’ll prepare it immediately. Just show me your ID.”
Dojin took out his wallet.
“Cash, no account.”
“The entire amount?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… then a large carry case.”
He signed the papers. Woo-won brought in the case.
“30 billion as requested.”
Inside, only 50,000 won notes.
“Use it wisely.”
“Payment is due on the 20th. Late payment means heavy penalties.”
Dojin ignored the voice from behind as he left the office.
He had no intention of paying.
Once registered as a hunter at the association, banks would lend him money too.
But the reason he came here was simple.
Here, knives and fists moved faster than paperwork.
No contracts. Just dirty business.
If the interest piled up, they would come with violence first.
And if he didn’t pay, kidnapping a hunter and making him a slave was nothing.
Dojin felt the weight of the bag in his hand.
He had come expecting 10 billion, but it was 30.
What would that bastard’s face look like when he learned the money was gone?
‘Doesn’t matter.’
He had money.
“Time to rest.”
***
The most common way for hunters to buy gear was through the hunter market run by the guild.
Anyone registered could shop there, and decent items at fair prices.
But…
‘I haven’t registered as a hunter yet.’
No, he had no intention of doing so.
Registering would mean giving up many benefits, but it wasn’t legally required.
‘Better to operate illegally and keep my real name hidden than risk exposure.’
Dungeons could still be cleared without registration anyway.
And for that, good weapons were necessary.
Dojin who hadn’t registered couldn’t use the official market.
But he already knew the black market.
“This way.”
He found the black market in the city.
“Hope they have what I need.”
He was looking for only one thing.
A single-edged blade with terrifying attack power.
‘I can’t get the stats I need at level 1 anyway.’
One-shot kill only.
The most efficient way was to find a weapon that could slaughter monsters in one blow.
Armor? No need.
Just dodge everything.
Low-level monsters usually hovered around 30 in stats.
Even four or five together could clear a dungeon.
But Dojin had no plans to join a party.
His stats already rivaled level 40.
Kill fast, level up fast.
“Hey, we’re selling blood-mixed potions! Health and strength rise a little for 10 minutes!”
“Black-scale crocodile leather armor! No knife can scratch it! Hey, young man, take a look!”
As soon as he stepped into the black market, loud haggling voices assaulted his ears.
Dojin walked slowly, eyes scanning the stalls.
He was hunting for cursed items.
Not sold in normal shops.
Cursed, but not evil.
High stats with a few penalties attached.
And then he saw it.
“Found it.”
A single-edged blade lying carelessly in an open stall box.
He pointed at it.
“How much?”
“……Just three pieces.”
3 billion.
Dojin picked it up.
**【Blood Bane】**
◈ 【Property 1】 Bloodline Cursed Weapon
◈ 【Property 2】 Attack Power: 360
“Blood of Destruction.”
The name fit the nightmare it could become.
Dojin pulled out 3 billion in cash from his bag.
The old man’s eyes flickered.
“You’re really buying it? Options checked properly?”
“Of course.”
He looked at the blade again.
**【Blood Bane】**
【Blood Bane】
―A single-edged blade made of blackened steel mixed with red stone. Sharp edge, deadly.
―But it carries the blood curse from the red stone.
『Blood Protection』
―Wounds refuse to heal and keep bleeding.
Attack Power: 360
Compared to the usual 10-level weapons averaging 30, this was over ten times stronger.
But…
‘It’s fatal.’
Blood Protection.
No matter what it was, not healing while bleeding constantly was a death sentence.
Healers couldn’t help.
One small cut could cause massive bleeding.
But it didn’t matter.
‘It won’t even leave a scratch.’
He placed the cash on the counter and sheathed the blade.
Three months left.
“I’ll wipe out every un-cleared dungeon.”