Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Jeju Island (3)

While Kang-hoo marvels at the landscape and flow of Jeju Island, a place not deeply explored in the original work.

Bleeding dealers, members of the Gru Guild awaiting Kang-hoo’s arrival, were engaged in conversation with one another.

The person leading the raid team was a man named Ma Jinho.

Currently, he holds the position of third in command, acting in place of the guild master and vice guild master who are active abroad.

Ma Jinho, the main tank with a level of 435, had a physique that was the epitome of tanking, composed entirely of muscle.

“Why is this damn bleeding option only manageable by assassins and berserkers?”

Ma Jinho grumbled.

Other classes could also inflict bleeding effects, but these had very short durations and long skill cooldowns.

The bleeding effect isn’t just about cutting with a sword to make blood flow.

It’s a natural course of action that, during the process, inhibits internal recovery and healing.

This was heavily dependent on the class.

Assassins and berserkers had bleeding-type skills as their level 200 basic skills, always at their disposal.

Of course, there were exceptions.

One of the basic skills of assassins, ‘Accelerated Stabbing’, evolves into ‘Bleeding Stabbing’ when it reaches maximum proficiency.

But, easier said than done, achieving maximum proficiency was a very difficult and arduous task.

In simple terms, reaching level 200 was quicker than maxing out the proficiency of Accelerated Stabbing.

“Captain, do we have many bleeding options?”

“We have Bleeding Stabbing, not just Accelerated Stabbing.”

“Wow… They’ve surpassed level 100 not long ago, and they’ve already maxed out their proficiency?”

“That’s what they say. There’s no need to boast about it, especially when taking on a request. Lee Ye-rin wouldn’t introduce someone like that.”

“Did they just eat and practice stabbing all day?”

“Anyway, that seems to be the basis. There are also options to worsen or enhance the bleeding state.”

“Is it an item?”

“They lumped the explanation together because there’s no need to explain in detail.”

“If you believe exactly what it says, the specs are pretty impressive, aren’t they?”

“Indeed. It’s a pity that the level is too low, but we didn’t ask for a damage dealer.”

“Finding a real bleeding dealer is harder than finding a healer. Really valuable. Internal cultivation is too difficult.”

“You said it.”

Ma Jinho scratched the back of his head.

The Gru Guild had tried cultivating bleeding dealers before.

They couldn’t always rely on external mercenaries and had invested a lot in guild-level efforts for a long time.

However, assassins and berserkers, being based on close combat, were highly exposed to danger.

Especially when the key task was ‘maintaining bleeding’, they had to stick close to the target no matter what.

There were always casualties.

Bleeding dealers sometimes had to actively attach themselves to the target to maintain the bleeding as much as they had to.

High-risk situations were common, and there were no talents who could endure it.

High-level raid teams that couldn’t find bleeding dealers, therefore, sought dungeons where bleeding wasn’t necessary.

It was obviously a stopgap measure.

A dungeon without bleeding meant it was a low-level dungeon, and accordingly, the rewards were lower.

It would be safe and easy, but it meant a significant loss of growth momentum.

“Ah? A person named Shin Kang-hoo has just been added to the Eclipse’s hit list?”

“That was all discussed yesterday, Jihoon…”

“Ah, sorry. I must have dozed off yesterday.”

“Focus. I said to relax, but not to lose your mind.”

“Yes, sorry.”

Although raid member Jihoon mentioned it belatedly, in fact, everyone was curious about Kang-hoo because of this.

Even if they disliked Eclipse, hunters usually hesitated to challenge them.

Investigators from Eclipse can entangle you unfavorably. Still, they generally don’t take things to an extreme end.

They either keep avoiding or find a middle ground by cooperating somewhat with Eclipse.

That was the usual response of hunters because Kang Dong-hyun was unusually persistent.

But it seems Kang-hoo, without any hesitation, took the lives of two investigators who threatened him.

To put it badly, it felt like he was living on his own smugness; to put it nicely, it seemed like he was confident in his abilities.

Ma Jinho wanted to see whether this slight difference made Kang-hoo extraordinary or reckless.

-We will arrive soon.

Then, the message came.

The safety limousine carrying Kang-hoo had arrived.

“Everyone, get up. Let’s test quickly, and if there’s no issue, head straight to the dungeon.”

Ma Jinho stood up.

It was time to greet the guest.

“Jeon Jong-du would look like a child next to him. Is he a person, or a human model made by sticking tires together?”

The first word that came to mind for Kang-hoo when he saw Ma Jinho was ‘muscle monster.’

It seemed like even if three Kang-hoos stood side by side, they would be completely hidden by him.

Of course, he had his vulnerabilities.

“Ah! Bees! It’s bees!”

When a single housefly flew past his ear, he panicked, wrapping his head with both arms and crouching down.

“Captain, it’s just a fly, not a bee. What are you doing, this is…”

“It was a bee, man! Hm. Hmhm.”

He tried to act nonchalant, but since Kang-hoo had already seen everything, Ma Jinho’s face stiffened.

He had wanted to dominate the first meeting somewhat, but now he seemed like a coward afraid of flies.

Before the embarrassing atmosphere enveloped him completely, Ma Jinho loudly greeted Kang-hoo.

“Welcome! Welcome to Jeju Island! I am Ma Jinho, the executive director of the Gru Guild.”

“I’m Shin Kang-hoo. I am not affiliated with any organization. It’s nice to meet you and everyone else here.”

Kang-hoo politely greeted each raid team member standing behind Ma Jinho.

All the mages were men, and all the archers were women. It wasn’t intentional; it just happened that way.

“Shall we go straight to the test? I’ve heard from Lee Ye-rin that you dislike formalities.”

“Let’s go. We can talk enough while we move.”

“It’s right nearby. We will conduct a bleeding-related test in a dungeon we own.”

“That’s convenient. It’s an open type, I guess?”

“That’s right. The interior is perfectly controlled by our guild. There’s no problem at all.”

Following Ma Jinho’s lead, Kang-hoo matched his stride beside him.

Perhaps because of his large size, every step he took made it feel like the ground was shaking.

To satisfy his curiosity during the walk, Kang-hoo asked Ma Jinho a question.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Are the guild master and the vice guild master absent?”

“Yes. They are in Sweden, participating in a long-term dungeon expedition project.”

“So their absence isn’t a big problem?”

“That’s right. As you know, our guild, based in Jeju Island, is completely neutral.”

“Are there no variables?”

“Not at all. Even if Jang Si-hwan from the Jeonghwa Guild comes here, he’ll be treated just like any other hunter.”

“I see.”

Kang-hoo nodded.

Asking about the current situation in Jeju Island was a kind of insurance for the future, in case his life on the mainland became complicated due to entanglements with Eclipse or the Jeonghwa Guild.

He was considering using Jeju Island as a temporary refuge if necessary.

From the looks of it, it seemed entirely possible.

As soon as we entered the dungeon, the first thing that came into view was a monster tightly bound with thick ropes.

Its body glowed green at regular intervals before fading away, clearly possessing a self-healing mechanism.

Ma Jinho added an explanation.

“As you can see from the status window, its name is quite long. We just call it Subject No. 1.”

“I see.”

The monster’s name resembled the scientific designation of a dinosaur, composed of an extensive array of letters.

Not keen on committing it to memory, Kang-hoo opted to simply call it No. 1.

“This one has been frequently used for practice, so its patterns and condition are well understood. Please, proceed.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Kang-hoo immediately launched an attack on No. 1.

Since the objective was not to learn how to combat the creature but to test bleeding abilities,

Kang-hoo could engage without any sense of pressure.

【Bleeding Stab】

He initiated the attack with Bleeding Stab.

“Ooohooo!”

Ignoring No. 1’s pained reaction to the dagger attack, Kang-hoo adeptly performed the Bleeding Stab.

After the stabbings surpassed ten times and the bleeding stacks reached ten,

【Healing Limitation】

An additional debuff was inflicted on No. 1, constraining its healing capabilities.

Ssssh!

Shortly after, No. 1 attempted to heal itself using its standard recovery mechanism.

However, the healing lasted only about half its usual duration, and its effectiveness was significantly reduced.

Kang-hoo felt confident.

【Bleeding Enhancement】

【Skill Proficiency: Lv Max】

【Randomly amplifies the efficiency of existing bleeding effects from 2x to 3x.】

A passive skill named Bleeding Enhancement, which he had previously acquired in Yeosu.

Furthermore,

【Crimson Consumption】

【When bleeding is applied to a target, it intensifies the bleeding state by an additional 50%.】

Owing to the “Crimson Consumption” ring’s effect, the bleeding impact was maximized.

Although the bleeding from Bleeding Stab typically lasts only 2 seconds, necessitating rapid successive attacks,

Thanks to these two effects, the refresh timing could be prolonged from a minimum of 4 seconds to as much as 6 seconds.

Moreover, these enhancements substantially diminished the healing efficiency to below 50%.

Had he been tasked with demonstrating combat, his movements would have been more elegant.

However, since the test was solely to verify bleeding abilities, Kang-hoo simply plunged his dagger in a monotonous manner.

As a result, the unfortunate No. 1 continued to writhe in pain.

“That seems a bit overpowered.”

At that moment, one of the female archers spoke up, Kim Ji-hye. She was a seasoned veteran in the Gru Guild.

Ma Jinho had already figured it out, but wondering if everyone else felt the same, he asked Kim Ji-hye.

“What do you think, Ji-hye?”

“The Bleeding Stab makes maintaining bleeding too easy. Initially, the basic skill doesn’t even use much mana.”

“That’s right.”

“I thought that alone was impressive enough. We just needed the bleeding.”

“Go on.”

“But the efficiency and duration of the bleeding are too good. It seems to last at least 4 seconds, and the suppression of healing goes up to 75%, not just 50%.”

“You’ve seen it accurately.”

Meanwhile, No. 1 tried several times to recover its health, each time with poor efficiency.

Not only that, but it also tried to activate its self-cleansing buff to remove the bleeding.

Puff.

Kang-hoo easily renewed the bleeding.

“Yawn…”

He even yawned, stretching leisurely beside No. 1.

A valuable guest had arrived.

Although not openly stated, everyone internally acknowledged that a very capable mercenary had come.

Without further inspection, the verification was complete. Kang-hoo had thoroughly captivated the members of the Gru Guild.