The Assassin Hunter Stops Time
“Truly…… can we trust him?”
“Suddenly it’s a hunt? When every second counts……”
The hunters who had only just joined the Black Chain Guild were still struggling to grasp the situation unfolding before them.
Out of nowhere, the hidden boss—the Drake—had awakened. The dungeon’s clear condition had shifted in an instant, and the guild that had carried the main force, Red Circle, had been wiped out.
All of them. By an unknown hunter, no less.
But right then.
“Hold your hasty doubts. Hunter Ha Dojin did indeed kill some of Red Circle’s members. Not all of them, though.”
“How do you know that? He could have killed the others as well.”
“Hunter Park Namhee.”
Park Namhee, master of the Black Chain Guild and newly appointed raid leader, stepped forward. Tall and somewhat lean, with long limbs suited to a combat style that had already earned him a reputation as a thorn in the side of the hunter world. Here, in this dungeon, no one could match his skill at fighting fellow hunters.
Hyejin asked softly,
“Can you take down ten elite members of Red Circle by yourself?”
“That’s……”
“Even a level 200 hunter would struggle. How could someone who’s barely level 150—Ha Dojin—manage it?”
“……”
The answer was obvious. Level 150 was still low, yet the only person who could have taken on the nine elite members of Red Circle and China’s Yellow Dragon Guild’s main dealer, Hao Chen, was standing right here. No one else had the numbers to match.
Hyejin continued, voice steady.
“The tragedy is regrettable, but we must examine the facts. We cannot break the deadlock with baseless speculation.”
“……I apologize. I panicked. The situation is simply too absurd.”
“Hah…… No. The situation is truly dire. There’s no reason not to think the worst.”
Namhee’s apology made Hyejin step back a fraction, but nothing had actually changed. Nothing at all. Only one thing remained.
―Just give me a little more time. I’ll reach a level where I can activate the special blessing. If that happens, I can face the Drake.
‘Special blessing……’
Normally that meant the 50-level milestone. What he was talking about could not possibly be the usual one.
‘150 levels……?’
No. Three months after awakening and already reaching 150? That made no sense on its face. But was it even stranger that a level 150 hunter had fallen to Red Circle’s main three?
“……Damn it. I don’t know what the hell is going on.”
He had left his cigarettes behind. One more thing to regret later.
* * *
Kwaduk!
-[983000] HP
The Flame Golem’s body shattered completely under the blade. Dojin finished off every last one of the creatures that had surrounded him and let out a long breath.
“Hah……”
Had he been too hasty? A few small attacks had slipped through. They hadn’t been serious, but each one still counted. His arm had nearly been snapped in two.
“Still……”
There was no time to waste now. While the dungeon’s duration was longer than a normal one, they could not simply hunt at leisure.
“Status window.”
Name: Ha Dojin
Level: 89
Strength: 181.7 + 31 Agility: 430.1 + 64
Vitality: 160.2 Mana: 253.8 + 17
Bonus Stats: 5
After the recent level-up he was now 89. Dojin stared at the number in silence. He had to reach 100 before anything else.
‘The only thing I can rely on…… is this.’
Two special blessings had appeared so far—once at 50, once at 80. The ???? grade was clearly different. He had to believe that at 100 the reward would be even greater than before.
After reaching 100, the plan was simple: defeat the Drake, clear the dungeon, and walk out. Dojin’s mind was filled with only that thought. The dungeon must not break. Not at all.
Crunch.
Arkal’s Wrath gripped tight, he turned his gaze toward the other side of the mountain where the monsters still lurked.
‘Even if I have to kill every single monster inside, I will clear this dungeon.’
* * *
“……I’m going crazy.”
“How much longer do we have to stand here like this?”
It had been a full month since Dojin had descended the mountain to hunt. The sun rose and set inside the dungeon, so tracking days had been easy. The real trial had been enduring the oppressive heat for an entire month. The ice mage had kept the temperature bearable, but barely.
“Are you really planning to keep waiting for him like this?”
Na Jeong-hyun of the Hwarang Guild asked the group. Park Namhee, master of the Black Chain Guild, answered for him.
“Do you have any brilliant ideas?”
“If we keep waiting and miss the window, the dungeon break will happen. That alone would be a disaster.”
The Red Gate had lasted roughly two months—longer than a normal dungeon. A month had passed, yet time still remained. For now.
“Let’s wait a little longer. Ten more days. If he doesn’t show up then…… we’ll have to think of something else.”
“Maybe…… he’s already dead?”
Healer Seo Yuri spoke cautiously. Hyejin frowned slightly.
“There’s no need to say something so pessimistic.”
“No, hunting all the monsters inside the Red Gate by himself…… and now it’s been a month and he still hasn’t returned……”
“Seo Yuri hunter.”
“Enough.”
They were not close, yet even so the words needed no further exchange.
“After ten more days, as Park Namhee said, we’ll make a new decision.”
“Then in ten days we’re hunting that Drake?”
Raid leader Jeong Woo-hyun asked. No one answered. Of course not. The opponent was the Drake. No tank existed who could survive its blows, and its scales were nearly impossible to pierce.
If anything, they would need a weapon forged from materials that could cut through both scales and hide—something capable of delivering a one-hit kill.
The hunters’ faces grew grim under the weight of that single truth: the dungeon would break unless the Drake was slain.
But then.
“……Eh?”
Seo Yuri, who had been sitting, suddenly shot to her feet and stared in one direction. The others followed her gaze.
“Eh?”
“It’s Hunter Ha Dojin!”
“Ha Dojin!”
He walked toward them slowly from the distance, his appearance now ragged after a full month of suffering. His clothes were torn, his hair unkempt, his face gaunt. Yet……
“……”
Hyejin stared at the approaching figure. ‘He changed.’
Only a month. In such a short time could a person transform so completely? His aura was sharper than before, his footsteps heavier. Hyejin asked him directly as he neared.
“What exactly happened?”
Dojin met her eyes without a word.
* * *
“Explosion.”
The moment the despair he had absorbed was released in a single blast.
-[983000] HP
Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk!
The Flame Golems surrounding him exploded into dust. The shattered corpses fell heavily to the ground.
[983000] experience points acquired.
[983000] experience points acquired.
[983000] experience points acquired.
[983000] experience points acquired.
[983000] experience points acquired.
Level up.
“Finally……”
A spark of light appeared in Dojin’s eyes as he read the level-up message. At the same moment.
You have reached level 100.
Bonus stats acquired.
All stats have increased by 20.
Agility has increased by 50.
??? grade special blessing has activated.
Special blessing (Passive): The stronger you are, the stronger you become.
“……Hah.”
His head spun for a moment. Yet the result was clear.
‘I succeeded.’
It had been a gamble. From level 90 onward, the gains had slowed. Impatience had led to mistakes. There had been moments when death had brushed him close.
‘Every single Flame Golem…… was stronger than me.’
One blow from any of them had been enough to end his life. But he had never given up. The dungeon must not break. That was the only reason he had kept fighting.
And this was the reward.
“Status window.”
Name: Ha Dojin
Level: 100
Strength: 220.7 + 31 Agility: 532.1 + 64
Vitality: 198.2 Mana: 278.8 + 17
Bonus Stats: 50
Dojin stared at the status screen. Roughly a thousand Flame Golems had fallen. Each one had been higher level than him, which was why he had stolen their bonus stats. Strength and agility had come out even, but……
‘No mana at all.’
Disappointing. This time he would distribute the bonus stats more generously.
But……
“……Unbelievable.”
What kind of grade was ??? that kept showing him absurd results again and again?
“Agility over 530 at level 100.”
His total stats now exceeded 1,200. Only SR-grade hunters reached that level after surpassing 200. He had done it at 100.
And then……
Special blessing (Passive): The stronger you are, the stronger you become.
―When facing an opponent whose level difference is 30% or more, deal 200% attack power.
“……I finally understand.”
What kind of blessing did he possess? The trait of someone who had reached the absolute peak from the very bottom.
“Raising the lowest to the highest……”
He remembered the demon he had faced when first drawing his cards. Horns long enough to reach the ground, wings absent. Perhaps……
“From the lowest of the low to the throne of the king……”
By devouring the power of those he had killed? He had only guessed, but one fact was certain.
‘Against the strong, I can fight even stronger.’
And right now, that blessing was the best one he could have asked for when facing the Drake.
He turned his gaze.
Everything was ready.
Now……
“I’m returning.”
Dojin set off toward the mountain where the Drake waited.