Chapter 94: Chapter 53: The Hunting Dog (4)

“Me… I?”

Cha So-hee couldn’t believe it.

Kang-hoo had skillfully extracted the dagger.

Blood poured ceaselessly from the wound, making her question if it truly was her own.

She had known she was caught off-guard and anticipated Kang-hoo’s approach, countering with a magic skill.

She struggled with the Hallucination skill, yet she didn’t overlook Kang-hoo’s tactics.

Nevertheless, Kang-hoo broke through her magical defense and swiftly closed the distance, stabbing her in the abdomen.

0.1 second.

Had she had just that slight amount of time, she could have blocked Kang-hoo’s attack.

She had sensed something amiss and was about to protect herself with the Fireshape skill.

For others, 0.1 second might pass unnoticed, but for them, it was a crossroads of fate.

“I’m not… not yet…”

She wasn’t dead yet.

Certain of her lingering life, Cha So-hee tried to lift her hands towards Kang-hoo.

He looked at her nonchalantly, completely at ease.

Given time, she could have burned his face beyond recognition.

But her thoughts remained mere delusions.

Kang-hoo had already moved to his next action.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

[Blood Flower]

Boom!

The noble ritual of summoning the Blood Flower claimed Cha So-hee’s abdomen.

She watched as a burst of blood erupted from her wound, like fireworks planted through her belly, turning droplets of blood into a floating garden.

“Choke…”

From the gaping wound in her abdomen, blood gushed out uncontrollably.

It seemed as though not just blood but also her intestines, things that should never be exposed, were spilling out.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

Each violent cough ejected thick, dark blood, exacerbating her condition with every spasm.

The wound expanded with each cough, entrenching her in a vicious cycle.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

As Kang-hoo circled Cha So-hee, she couldn’t even twitch a finger.

Despite her will, her knees buckled, and her head, previously held high, now drooped forward.

Her arms, once upright, now dangled lifelessly, barely seeming attached to her body.

“Cha So-hee.”

“Creak…”

“It made me realize I need to put in more effort. Thinking I always need to dodge an attack is really dangerous.”

Tap. Tap.

Kang-hoo patted Cha So-hee’s shoulder. His conclusion was sincere.

From the moment he realized facing Cha So-hee’s flames head-on was difficult, he felt extremely limited in his movements and tactics.

He was fortunate to have the red jewel and skill enhancement opportunity saved; otherwise, things could have been different without that leeway.

“The ‘bullet’ I prepared as a contingency played its part well.”

With Protective Level 2 and Protective Barrier, I’ll be relying on these two quite a lot in the future, just as I do now.

“So then.”

Thump!

Without wasting any more time, Kang-hoo thrust Blood Tear powerfully next to Cha So-hee’s neck.

He didn’t forget to utilize Blood Tear’s special effect, ‘Taste of Blood’, and stabbed the same spot again.

Boom!

That was the end.

Cha So-hee, who had stopped breathing, crossed a path of no return.

“Phew.”

As he looked at her fallen body, he finally felt his tension release, and his body relaxed.

The effect of Mad Solarkium hadn’t worn off yet, but he felt a psychological easing.

He felt the four constellations that had been contracted with her naturally seeping into him.

The coveted constellations.

Especially, he was very interested in the Master of Manipulation, which he had successfully usurped.

[Manipulation]

[Recently used skills of the opponent can be replicated with 25% efficiency for one-time use, consuming 34% of total mana.]

A skill with high mana consumption, but it seemed ideal for creating variables.

Hadn’t Cha So-hee used Abduction in just that way to pull him in?

He had fortunately anticipated her next move; otherwise, he would have been burnt to death.

Then—

Vibrate. Vibrate.

The sound of a smartphone vibrating came from a spot not far from the battle site.

Driven by curiosity, he discovered Cha So-hee’s smartphone on the ground.

When she transformed into Fireshape, incinerating all her clothes, the phone must have slipped from her pocket.

An abandoned smartphone.

Upon inspecting the screen, he recognized the name of someone closely associated with her.

Kang-hoo accepted the call.

“……”

“Did you capture Shin Kang-hoo?”

“No, your hunting dog is dead.”

“Hmm? Did I dial the wrong number?”

“You dialed correctly. It’s just that the hunting dog who was supposed to answer has crossed the rainbow bridge.”

“Heh, so So-hee is dead, then.”

The voice was Kang Dong-hyun’s.

He was the third-ranking hunter of the criminal organization Eclipse.

A man who commanded numerous ‘hunting dogs’ like Cha So-hee.

Unlike the shadowy first and second in command, he was more involved in external operations.

There were rumors suggesting the first and second didn’t exist and that Kang Dong-hyun was the actual leader.

Speculation was that claiming to be third in the hierarchy served as a distraction.

Kang-hoo, from the original story, didn’t know the precise details, as they were deliberately ambiguous.

He recalled debating it often in the realm of his subconscious.

Whether to make the first and second ranks truly exist or to leave them as figments of the imagination.

Kang Dong-hyun pressed on.

“So-hee was level 250. She wasn’t someone easily defeated.”

“She had many weaknesses.”

“That’s true. So-hee trusted her abilities too much. Not acknowledging the possibility of being overcome was her fatal error.”

Kang-hoo’s insight into Cha So-hee’s vulnerabilities aligned perfectly with Kang Dong-hyun’s assessment.

Despite losing a valued subordinate, Kang Dong-hyun did not express any regret.

Was Cha So-hee merely a pawn to him, or perhaps even less?

Well, it didn’t matter anymore.

The job was done.

Kang-hoo had been warned.

“You have enough to worry about. Don’t bother with an insignificant hunter like me. It’ll only complicate things.”

“Insignificant? Don’t be modest. A level 10 hunter who escaped from Cheongmyeong Detention Center and killed an investigator. How can I consider you insignificant?”

“It’s not hard to kill once. It’s doing it again that’s the trick.”

“True. That’s correct. If prey can’t be hunted by hunting dogs, it’s not prey but a predator. But…”

“…?”

“Can’t we meet at least once? I’d like to see your face in person.”

“I’m single, but I’m not into men. Sorry, but I’m not interested.”

“Let’s see each other if we get a chance. It’s not about fighting. I’m just very interested in you.”

“If fate allows, we’ll meet. If you’re so curious, come find me yourself.”

“Ha-ha. Okay, okay! Fine. Shall we agree to keep quiet about this incident? Let’s not make it any noisier for each other.”

Kang Dong-hyun’s words were a suggestion not to spread word about this incident.

It was his way of proposing a truce.

An unspoken agreement to leave each other alone.

Kang-hoo nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

“Just leave So-hee’s body. I don’t care what you do with the rest.”

“Planning a funeral?”

“She believed in and followed me since she was young. I owe her at least a bottle of soju at her grave.”

Kang-hoo didn’t argue, understanding Kang Dong-hyun’s character.

He intended to collect all the items Cha So-hee had been carrying.

He would use what he could and sell the remainder in the market.

Kang Dong-hyun began to wrap up the conversation.

“Take care, Shin Kang-hoo. Eclipse is always open to you. You deserve to be treated well.”

“But you’re not worthy of that.”

Kang-hoo replied bluntly and ended the call.

Pretending to be a good person, Kang Dong-hyun was a colossal ‘trash’, a symbol of Eclipse.

At that moment, in Cheongmyeong Detention Center, inmates who had outlived their usefulness were dying, being discarded.

At the top of that system, at the center of command, sat Kang Dong-hyun.

That alone made him a villain.

The cleanup was swift.

Since Cha So-hee was a magic hunter, most of her items specialized in mana.

He planned to sell them all.

The estimated appraisal value was over 10 billion won.

However, one ring was too beneficial for Kang-hoo to hesitate to wear.

“No wonder she felt unusually sturdy.”

Wearing the ring taken from Cha So-hee, Kang-hoo understood her resilience.

[United Oath]

[Grade: 3rd Grade]

[Stamina + 200]

[Unity - Reduces all physical attack damage by 10%, separate from the Stamina stat.]

It increased the hard-to-raise Stamina stat by 200, which was equivalent to an increase of 400 in other stats.

And the special effect ‘Unity’ reduced damage first, making it easier to withstand attacks.

‘Now I can enter close combat more confidently. With this level of Stamina, even deep cuts should become shallow.’

With just one item equipped, his toughness, which was originally 70, leaped to 270 instantly.

To put it simply, it felt like he had a thick layer of pigskin wrapped around his entire body.

This meant his skin and flesh could endure more, reducing the size and depth of injuries he would have to endure.

The situation was settled.

Cha So-hee’s corpse would be dealt with by the station staff when the first train arrived.

Then, it would be time to blend in with the passersby and take the KTX.

Since Kang Dong-hyun had proposed a truce first, there shouldn’t be any more nuisances clinging on.

Even if there were, it wouldn’t be a problem.

It didn’t seem Kang Dong-hyun would recklessly cause more trouble.

For now, the plan was to head toward Pyeongtaek Station.

There were things to discover about the request from Lee Ye-rin, as well as handling Cha So-hee’s possessions.

“Ugh.”

As the effects of the Mad Solarkium subsided, his body began to feel unbearably heavy, as though it were melting.

It was like carrying a heavy refrigerator with one’s entire body.

He felt rooted to the spot, endlessly sinking into the ground.

Then, a voice.

[I was deeply impressed by this battle.]

The voice of the Dimension Plunderer resonated.

In the past, it had maintained a completely neutral tone, but now it was slightly higher.

Her voice initiated a conversation unexpectedly.

Clearly, she had something to say.

[It seems the time has come for you to take the test of the constellations.]

The Dimension Plunderer presented Kang-hoo with the next challenge he had anticipated.

The test of the constellations.

It was a process through which he could acquire the fourth effect from her and an opportunity to secure a lifelong ally.