The Assassin Hunter Stops Time
“Are you the one? That slippery eel stirring the waters.”
Ha Dojin stared silently at Kang Seungho.
Ordinary hunters always try to grasp their own power.
‘This guy exudes confidence.’
The man hadn’t restrained even a trace of the aura leaking from his body.
Anyone facing him would feel immense pressure just from his presence.
Perhaps some would even assume Kang Seungho was far stronger than others.
But……
“……This much?”
“What?”
Ha Dojin shook his head.
He operated in the shadows, but it wasn’t like him to simply overpower with raw strength.
Because he specialized in assassination.
‘Weaklings break under endless strength…… but they crumble when facing someone stronger.’
Of course, he had poured everything into defending his position.
After all, the only thing Kang Seungho could throw at me was brute power.
But……
“A bit disappointing.”
No, was the expectation simply too high?
Or……
‘Have I grown too strong in that short time?’
Ha Dojin pondered deeply while looking at the man before him.
“Why do you keep muttering to yourself?!”
Clang!
Kang Seungho drew his sword with a shout.
His straight, extended rapier shimmered with a cold blue glow.
This was the sword aura that any sword-style hunter could use.
But its presence was entirely different from a normal sword aura.
It carried a skill level that even the user could be proud of.
He had to admit it.
At this stage, a hunter with this level of ability was among the top few in Korea.
Ha Dojin reached behind his waist and pulled Arkal’s Wrath.
The moment Ha Dojin drew the dagger, his eyebrow twitched.
Kang Seungho’s aura had shifted.
‘No……’
It wasn’t the aura itself.
More accurately, it was the sharp killing intent that surged from his body.
Just by gripping the sword, the man had created a terrifying sensation that made the hair stand on end.
And then……
“You’re not even in the fight yet and you’re already frozen stiff?”
“What?”
Kang Seungho’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.
But Ha Dojin didn’t care about the man’s reaction at all.
Slowly, he slipped the new hunter-specific armor made by Kwak Hansu into his jacket.
The moment the hood was pulled over his head, the wearer’s stats would vary greatly depending on the user.
But……
Swoosh.
“……!”
Ha Dojin’s presence vanished completely.
Kang Seungho looked bewildered, unable to sense anything despite having the man right in front of him.
Ha Dojin spoke to Kang Seungho.
“A light warm-up before heading to Red Circle. So……”
Flash!
Ha Dojin vanished in an instant.
Kang Seungho flinched and desperately raised his senses, but nothing registered.
In that instant.
“Don’t die too quickly.”
“Hiiick!”
Whoosh!
The sound from behind made Kang Seungho swing his sword wildly.
The sharp blade slashed through empty air.
But what he had cut was nothing but air.
Soon, Ha Dojin reappeared on the opposite side and sliced deep into Kang Seungho’s flank.
Tear!
The alloy armor split open like paper.
Panicked, Kang Seungho whipped his head around to chase after him.
A speed that was almost impossible to track with the eyes.
Just who……
‘What is that agility……?’
Kang Seungho’s agility exceeded 400.
With that stat, he was among the top-tier assassins even in the ranks of agility-focused hunters.
Yet the gap was this huge?
‘That hood……’
He didn’t know what stats it had, but it was clearly an item that helped erase presence.
Did such an item even exist?
‘Damn SW Technology.’
He must have received support from there.
If he pushed them with item raids……
“I’ll crush you with pure strength.”
Boom!
A violent aura exploded around Kang Seungho.
If he couldn’t track him visually, he could simply make the man’s approach difficult.
Surrounded by oppressive pressure, Kang Seungho charged forward like a bull.
Tremendous speed.
His movements were quite clunky, but the sheer force made it look like his body would be torn apart.
Ha Dojin watched the charging Kang Seungho and moved swiftly.
Flash!
Night Walker.
In an instant, Ha Dojin split in two directions.
The hood’s effect made it even harder to pinpoint his location.
Grind!
Kang Seungho ground his teeth together.
Because it was impossible to locate the man who had vanished from his sight.
“This damn bastard!”
In that moment, Kang Seungho slammed his sword into the floor.
Boom!
A blue magical energy erupted in a ten-meter radius from the strike point.
It was his skill that exploded sword aura in a circular area after injecting it into the ground.
With this, he would be able to capture the man no matter where he was.
And……
“There you are!”
Kang Seungho swung his sword wildly at the presence he felt from the left.
Whoosh!
His blade, infused with intense energy, slashed toward Ha Dojin.
“……Slow.”
The plan had been good.
He had never imagined he would be caught by a range attack and then approached for the killing blow.
Since he didn’t know Ha Dojin’s skills, he had no choice but to take the hit.
The fact that he had a lot of real combat experience was clear from this.
But Ha Dojin’s skills were a mystery to Kang Seungho as well.
“Time Distortion.”
Whoosh!
The sword aimed at Ha Dojin’s chest slowed to an almost imperceptible degree.
The flowing mana waves around him and the microscopic air currents.
In the slowed world, the only one moving at normal speed was……
Slash!
Ha Dojin alone.
“Kyaaaah!”
Red blood splattered across the floor as Kang Seungho screamed.
Ha Dojin’s dagger had sliced deep into the man’s right thigh.
Kang Seungho twisted desperately and swung his sword toward the path Ha Dojin had passed.
Boom!
The sword aura he released from the blade scorched an entire area, but it never touched Ha Dojin.
“Hah…… hah…… hah…… you filthy rat……”
His breath had turned ragged from forcing too much mana into his body.
Ha Dojin watched Kang Seungho from ten meters away.
He had heard countless stories about the man.
Even after the man’s death, many still praised his strength.
But……
‘……Is this all there is?’
Ha Dojin looked at the man with a slightly disappointed expression.
Did Kang Seungho notice that look?
Kang Seungho’s eyes darkened with malice.
“What, that ugly expression like you’re looking down on someone.”
The hand gripping the sword trembled.
Had any man ever shown him such a look before?
It was as if he was being looked down upon from above…… this filthy feeling.
Kang Seungho bit his lip tightly.
If he ever fought Red Circle in the future……
‘I was hoping to use this then.’
Little did he know it would be used here.
Kang Seungho frowned and pulled up his mana.
Because using the skill placed too much burden on his body, he had avoided it as much as possible.
But……
“Know the glory of this technique. I don’t use it often.”
“……?”
Suddenly, the changed aura from the man made Ha Dojin’s expression harden.
The man’s mana……
‘Has it turned red?’
No, his skin itself was gradually turning red.
Boom!
The power of an A-class hunter pushed to the limit was enough to shake the surroundings.
Ha Dojin’s eyes calmed as he took in the completely different aura.
That red mana. And the aura.
“……A berserker type.”
Not common even among sword-class hunters.
There were occasional hunters who rose in power by devouring their own life force.
It was true that the power made you overwhelmingly strong.
‘But the longer it lasted, the more your mind would collapse……’
Precisely, many lost themselves to their own desires and never returned to normal.
Ha Dojin knew quite a few who ended their lives as madmen after becoming berserkers.
All of them had died trying to keep the power of the berserker.
‘This man too……’
He probably wouldn’t be any different.
But there was one difference.
The berserker would die before his mind shattered.
Right here.
“At this place.”
“What the hell are you muttering to yourself?!”
Bang!
The charge was completely different from before.
The floor Kang Seungho had been rolling on cracked as he rushed toward Ha Dojin.
In the blink of an eye, the distance had closed.
Flash!
Ha Dojin hurriedly retreated.
But……
“You’re not getting away.”
Kang Seungho’s eyes, bloodshot and glaring, stared him down.
The sword that had launched into the sky was already falling toward Ha Dojin’s head.
Boom!
Unlike before, he hadn’t used any special skill.
Just a sword aura condensed into a blade striking the floor.
But the destructive power was not to be underestimated.
‘As expected…… berserker.’
No matter what else, the raw destructive force was overwhelming compared to any other type.
That was why berserkers showed cruel sides to those weaker than them.
They crushed them under this absurd power.
But……
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case this time.”
Clang!
“What?!”
Ha Dojin flicked away the sword swinging toward him.
His wrist stung with pain, but it was far less than what Kang Seungho felt.
Ha Dojin, the assassin type, had counterattacked and repelled the man’s sword.
‘That would be an enormous shock to the guy.’
Moreover, the man’s level was in the 220s.
At least in Korea, no assassin hunter would have expected to receive an attack like this.
And just as he thought.
“Your expression actually suits you.”
Ha Dojin said while looking at the tragically twisted face of the man.
Soon, Kang Seungho gripped his sword again and pulled up his sword aura.
“Time Distortion.”
Whoosh!
Once more in the slowed world.
Slash!
Ha Dojin’s blade sliced through the man’s right arm and shoulder almost simultaneously.
“Ugh……”
Kang Seungho staggered back.
Because the man’s attacks were too fast to even perceive.
No, even more……
‘This ability…… could it be……’
Kang Seungho’s eyes widened in shock.
It wasn’t a binding spell that suppressed his movements.
He had clearly seen it.
Just for an instant, the flowing mana and the microscopic air currents had slowed.
What all of this pointed to was only one thing.
“Y-You have a skill that controls time?!”
Kang Seungho shouted in a panic.
But the answer that came back was……
Thud!
“Kyaaah!”
The pain from behind his left thigh.
Thud.
Kang Seungho unconsciously dropped to one knee.
The thigh had been pierced and the tendons severed.
He couldn’t put any strength into his leg.
An overwhelming difference.
How…… how could there be such a gap……!
Kang Seungho screamed.
In his eyes, fear, anger, and shock were all mixed together.
And……
“The reason is…… you’re the one who should know it.”
“……What?”
Ha Dojin answered Kang Seungho’s question.
“The path you walked to get here is different.”
You said you’d crush me with strength?
Ha Dojin restrained his aura and sharpened it.
The moment a razor-sharp presence shot toward Kang Seungho.
“H-Hah!”
A grim reaper appeared before him.