The Assassin Hunter Stops Time
At SW Technology’s headquarters headquarters, Kim Gyeongtaek approached Chairman Gu Jinmo.
“Chairman-nim, it seems the Red Circle Guild has made their decision.”
The dungeon raid incident from earlier that morning.
They had only cleared two dungeons, yet their resolve was crystal clear.
A declaration of war.
They were prepared to burn the world down if their demands were rejected.
And…….
“What about the Firebird Guild?”
“They have not retreated.”
“Really?”
Gu Jinmo’s expression showed surprise.
Based on the Firebird Guild Master’s cautious moves until now, he had expected them to pull back.
“The Firebird Guild has also made a major decision.”
“It appears so.”
Kim Gyeongtaek answered with a slightly worried look.
The Firebird Guild, which maintained close ties with Dojin including Han So-hee.
Perhaps this war would.
“Quite a few hunters will likely perish. Especially those from the Firebird Guild.”
The Guild Master, Lee Hye-jin, could be in danger too.
Gu Jinmo let out a small breath at Kim Gyeongtaek’s words.
There was no way to manage the events unfolding right now.
It was a clash between two guilds.
But…….
“First, let’s aim to balance the scales.”
With SW’s support, they could even out the size of the forces slightly.
Even if that were only the case, they would have enough time.
Gu Jinmo told Kim Gyeongtaek.
“Directly support the Firebird Guild side.”
“Understood.”
Within the tense atmosphere, Gu Jinmo calmly maintained his position.
And…….
“Has Hunter Ha Do-jin arrived safely in Thailand?”
“Of course. Probably around now……”.
Kim Gyeongtaek glanced at the watch on his wrist.
“He seems ready to enter the Red Gate dungeon.”
At those words, Gu Jinmo simply nodded silently.
* * * * *
“……Who exactly is that man?”
“One of the members of the raid team that cleared the Red Gate dungeon that occurred in Korea this time.”
“The one that reached 130,000 MAH?”
Wanni Tamrat.
She was the President of the Thai Hunter Association.
She stood before the gate glowing red and blazing.
‘How… powerful must he be.’
The Thai Prime Minister had personally contacted her.
Name, level, abilities—nothing else was known.
All she knew was one thing.
He was one of the members who had cleared the Red Gate dungeon that had occurred in Korea recently.
Of course, one could make a rough guess based on the revealed information.
‘To let an unknown man enter a Red Gate dungeon.’
If it had been a slightly crooked politician instead of the Prime Minister, she would have cut his throat.
She knew all too well the dangers and terrors of the Red Gate dungeon.
But since the Prime Minister was vouching for him…….
“Are you prepared?”
“You asked if I am prepared.”
Do-jin nodded at the interpreter standing beside him.
Before the Red Gate dungeon entrance.
Standing there, Do-jin looked ahead.
‘A fallen world of ice goblins…….’
Just because the name Goblin was attached did not mean one should think of them as ordinary goblins.
The ice goblins had blue skin and were on an entirely different level from regular goblins in terms of strength and speed.
Moreover, the environment they inhabited was extremely harsh.
Snow-covered plains where temperatures dropped below minus sixty degrees.
The ice goblins who hid there and attacked were themselves a catastrophe just by existing.
If there was no proper way to face them, one might even be ridiculed and killed by them.
Do-jin raised the zipper of the special winter suit provided by the SW Technology technical team.
‘Again, I’m in debt.’
There would be a day when he would repay it.
“Hunter-nim, entering the dungeon! Everyone, step back!”
“Now prepare to enter! Take care!”
The manager in charge of the dungeon entrance shouted loudly.
The interpreter beside him shouted to Do-jin and quickly retreated.
And…….
With a smooth step, Do-jin moved toward the Red Gate.
Suddenly, a dazzling light swept across his entire body.
Thud.
Finally, Do-jin stood on the ice-covered floor.
A strangely cool sensation seeped into his clothes.
“Hoo.”
The breath he exhaled froze into a white mist and dispersed into the air.
The fallen world of ice goblins.
Not a beautiful background, as the name suggested.
The forest was filled with snow and ice; the tall trees had thick layers of snow instead of leaves.
Do-jin surveyed the surroundings.
The lack of mana reactions suggested the Thai vanguard was not nearby.
“First, then…… three days, was it?”
Since the Red Gate had occurred.
But there was no leeway.
The time given to Do-jin was limited.
‘150 levels.’
He had to reach it before regressing.
Considering the blessings he had received so far.
‘The higher the level, the better the reward for the blessing.’
He would not deviate from the basic system framework.
How much stronger would he become at 150 levels?
And when that day came…….
‘I can kill that bastard.’
Do-jin briefly recalled Kang Seungho’s face, then immediately erased it.
It was not the time to be concerned with him.
Now was the time.
“I will kill every single monster here.”
Ice goblins.
They were not to be taken lightly, but to Do-jin, they were not difficult.
He could see the movements of the enemies surrounding him.
And at that sight.
Crash!
Do-jin threw his body into the high snow pile on the ground.
The ice goblins surrounding Do-jin flinched at his sudden action.
“Kieek!”
“Kree, krek!”
The enemies whispered as if hurriedly discussing while Do-jin disappeared.
But…….
Fwish!
Suddenly, Do-jin leaped out from the snow pile in the back and instantly swung Arkal’s Wrath at the neck of the ice goblin in front of him.
Thud! Slash!
The blood of the ice goblin with blue skin turned red.
On the white snow plain, the red blood of the enemies was splattered like paint.
[683,000 experience points acquired.]
[683,000 experience points acquired.]
Considerable experience.
At this level, it was slightly below the Stone Giants he had caught before.
The difficulty of killing was much lower, yet the experience was quite high.
But the reason ice goblins gave high experience was separate.
“……They are coming.”
Ice goblins swarming at the scent of their comrade’s blood.
By now, Do-jin saw the ice goblins completely surrounding him.
“Kieeeeeeeek!”
“Kuaaaah!”
“Kiaaaaargh!”
The enemies shouted as if going berserk, centered on the spot where blood had been splattered.
The ice goblins surrounding Do-jin.
There were easily over five hundred.
Merely looking at the absurd number of enemies would have crushed the spirit of any normal hunter.
But…….
“This is a high-level farming zone.”
To Do-jin, it was simply delicious prey.
Do-jin looked at the enemies surrounding him and activated Dark Absorption.
Fwoosh!
Small flames instantly rose on the enemies’ foreheads.
And the moment he absorbed them.
[Dark Absorption: Achievement rate 100%.]
Despair surged in an instant.
At that, Do-jin said while drawing his sword downward.
“Detonate.”
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted with a snowstorm shooting upward.
The ground shook violently as the snow piles around began to collapse.
When facing a large number of enemies.
‘Nothing is a better weapon than confusion.’
Soon, in the chaotic atmosphere, Do-jin used the rising snow as a screen and began slaughtering the ice goblins.
* * * * *
“Hoo…….”
White frost formed around the lips even with a single breath.
Pakon Uysaworn was an A-Class hunter from Thailand.
Due to the scarcity of A-Class hunters in Thailand, he was quite well-known.
Therefore, when the Red Gate occurred, he was selected as the first raid leader.
“Hey, Ekachai. Have you found the way?”
“No, there are ice goblins everywhere in this opposite region, so we can’t pass through. If we make even one mistake, our position could be exposed.”
At Pakon’s words, Ekachai replied with a troubled expression.
He was a B-Class ranger hunter specializing in reading terrain and creating efficient routes.
He had skills for trap installation and auxiliary abilities, but in the current situation, there was nothing he could do.
“Actually, a hunter with an assassin-style skill would be better for something like this.”
“We don’t have anyone with stealth skills among us.”
“……Damn it.”
He had gathered the best hunters in the country as much as possible, but the combination was lacking.
Because in this freezing forest, one needed at least a 150-level blessing and high cold resistance to survive.
Even just selecting hunters matching the conditions could not fill all fifty slots for the Red Gate allowance.
‘Only 43.’
With this number, could they clear the Red Gate dungeon?
As time passed, only pessimistic thoughts came to mind.
Pakon looked at the Chakrit beside him.
“Chakrit, how many days has it been since we entered here?”
“Now a week.”
Even in the continuous attacks from repeated monsters, they had to reorganize the raid team’s situation each time.
Because his head was complicated, he could not even figure out how many days had passed.
At Chakrit’s answer, Pakon let out a small sigh and muttered.
“Is there still time left…….”
But he could not afford to relax.
In a week, they had only managed to pierce the entrance area of the dungeon at best.
They had not even seen the boss that was the core of the Red Gate.
“First, what are we going to do about that crazy number.”
“……Damn. Ice goblins are too many.”
“I estimate…… if we combine all the enemies in this dungeon, it would be nearly ten thousand.”
At Ekachai’s words, the hunters’ expressions hardened.
Just gathering, there were normally 300 to 400; how could such numbers keep appearing every time they moved?
If they added up all the ice goblins these had killed so far, it would be almost two thousand.
Pakon maintained his mental fortitude and told the raid hunters.
“For now, don’t think far ahead. Deal with what’s right in front of us, and soon we will reach the boss’s location.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Although rallying spirits did not change the bad situation…….
Pakon stared at the place where ice goblins were said to be, gripping his shield tightly.
“Ekachai, take the scout team and reconfirm the formation of the enemies.”
“Got it.”
Ekachai nodded and led seven hunters forward.
And how much time had passed?
Piyuuuuwuuuuwuuu!
Suddenly, a red signal flare shot up into the sky.
It was the signal flare used in the most urgent situations.
Upon that signal.
“Everyone, run to the location of the signal flares as fast as possible!”
“Damn! What the hell happened!”
“Ekachai! Don’t die!”
The people in their positions started running desperately toward that place.
But when they arrived at the spot where the signal flare had exploded, what they saw was…….
“……What is this.”
“Oh my god.”
“Oh God…….”
It was a snow-covered plain stained with blood.