Edited By: Sebas Tian
It was safe.
The hunt was going along so smoothly, that thatâs what he thought of.
The Blasting Spore was an extremely picky monster, so it was weird that things were going along smoothly.
Hyun-Soo was currently participating as a close-range attacker.
The reason was simple.
Itâs because the Invisible Attack was invisible.
That was the best advantage, but currently, it was a bit disappointing.
Itâs because it was difficult to show a visible effect since that was the skillâs specialty.
He could be a long-distance attacker and attack from afar, but he had to show his skill now.
Since he was doing the test, wouldnât it be much better if he could actually show them his skill?
For that reason, when Hyun-Soo was willing to become a close-range attacker instead of a long-distance attacker, Eugene and a couple of other hunters were confused, but didnât say anything.
Itâs because they knew he wouldnât bluff or life about his skills.
Zap!
He felt a heavy shock from the White Unicornâs sword, which costed $400,000 at the weaponry.
âThe recoil is still pretty strong.â
While attacking, Hyun-Soo concentrated really hard to find the Blasting Sporeâs weakness.
This was the place where he had to prove with worth and skills.
Even though his rank was low, he wanted to show that his rank wasnât everything.
âBut, why canât I see its weakness?â
Itâs possible that the activation rate of Interface is too low for it to display the weakness of monsters in the blue portal.
But stillâ¦
âWhen I was hunting the spider monster, I definitely saw their weakness.â
Despite of that, the Blasting Sporeâs energy field was decreasing.
Crack.
He heard something from above.
Hyun-Soo instinctively looked up.
Due to the battle, the spores that were hanging were moving around violently and hitting each other, but that wasnât where the sound was coming from.
It sounded like something was being cut off.
Crack!
Swoosh!
No one had to say it.
As soon as Hyun-Soo caught on, the other hunters were already prepared to dodge it.
Crack.
When this sound is made three times, that was a sign saying that the spores were going to be released.
As soon as they heard it for the third time, the spores fell like an aerial bombing at the same time.
The tanker got into position and made sure the spores behind them, which was on the other side of the close-range attackers, but the more ground the spores cover, the more likely the spores will be released.
Thatâs why the close-range attackers had to dodge.
When Hyun-Soo was about to move back, the other close-range attackers did the same and were catching their breaths.
Pant, pant!
Gasp, gasp!
Since they moved aggressively, their chests were moving up and down faster.
But no one looked tired or exhausted.
It was the same for Hyun-Soo.
His eyes met with one of the hunterâs.
Smile.
Even though they didnât exchange any words, the smile was enough to understand each other.
âItâs fun.â
Hunting by himself under Kim Yoo-Naâs lead wasnât that bad as well.
It was intense and there was some thrill!
It was also dangerous because if he didnât kill them, then he would get killed.
Those senses were so amazing that he didnât want to lose any of them.
However, this place would provide him a sense of fun that he hasnât experienced before.
âWhewâ¦â
Hyun-Soo released a sigh out of joy.
âThis is how a hunt should be!â
It was a monster he wouldnât be able to take down himself, so he was with his fellow hunters, who would watch his back, and they would take down the monster with him.
The feeling of sharing the same experience and time!
A sense of shock heâs able to feel through his hands!
It was as if that awoke every cell within his body and provided him life and energy.
It was a feeling he wouldnât be able to feel with those groups in Korea.
Crackâ¦! Crackâ¦!
He heard it for the third time.
Boom! Boom!
Boomâ¦!
A lot of spores were falling on top of Bradâs Kite Shield nonstop.
Brad lowered his body and made sure they fell behind him.
And at the same time.
Boooooooooom!
Bam!
Bam! Bam!
All the spores blew up at the same time.
Most of them were pushed behind him, but those that werenât near his shield blew up around Brad.
ââ¦..!â
Hyun-Soo was nervous, but Brad wasnât badly injured despite of the spores blowing up around him.
A faint green energy was being poured around his body.
It was a skill known as Heal Shower.
Thanks to that, Brad was able to endure the explosions without getting injured badly.
âIt looks like itâs time to go back in again.â
Going back in at the right time was much harder than backing out.
The Blasting Spore tends to act violently once the spores are released.
That meant that they turned their attention towards the other hunters that were getting ready to attack them.
Thatâs why, the hunters had to be cautious until the monster was paying attention to the tanker.
Butâ¦
âUh? Huh?â
While Hyun-Soo was looking back and forth between Brad and the Blasting Spore, he saw something odd.
If he didnât lower his head a bit, then he probably wouldnât have noticed it because he wouldâve been too busy looking at the monster.
âIt was just an ordinary ground a moment ago, but the color changed.â
And it was a color that made him feel bad.
Not too far from him, a dull dark red color was covering the ground.
Just looking at it made him feel unpleasant.
Hyun-Soo instinctively avoided that part and backed away.
There was no need to think more about it because as soon as he felt unpleasant, he kept his distance.
And then.
Crack!
ââ¦..!â
The monsterâs root shot out all of a sudden.
It was the same roots that made fast movements and attacks an important element since they didnât know when and where they would appear.
âThe distance is pretty close for those roots to shoot out.â
It was as if everything that they did up until now was a fake and monster was trying to catch them off-guard.
And it just so happens that the roots shot out in the spot that Hyun-Soo was standing in.
If he didnât dodge it, something bad definitely wouldâve happened to him.
âI couldâve almost died!â
It was a relief that he avoided it as soon as she saw the dark red color.
Before his head told him what to do, his body moved back first.
That saved Hyun-Sooâs life.
Thanks to that, he avoided dying a pointless death during the test.
Whew.
During that time, he was given a short break and Hyun-Soo was able to let out a sigh of relief.
But just because he avoided the attack, he wasnât in the position to just stand by and watch.
It was an odd situation since the roots popped out near the close-range attackers, but Hyun-Soo quickly made a decision.
Hyun-Soo held his sword up and aimed it towards the roots that shot out from the ground.
âItâs over there.â
A faint, white dot that was shining.
He thought there was an issue with Interface since he couldnât see it, but now his doubts disappeared all at once.
Hyun-Soo enveloped the sword with Invisible Attack.
It was to increase the swordâs offensive and cutting strength by adding the skill onto it.
âHa!â
Slither!
The Blasting Spore was using their roots to feel around them for their prey and he approached them while avoiding the roots.
One tiny mistake may cause the roots to grab him and put him in danger.
The most difficult part was that their roots didnât move in a certain pattern.
The only way he can avoid them is to rely on his senses, sight and quick movements.
Slither.
Is it because theyâre able to sense the hunterâs movement around them?
The roots created a spiral and was closing in so that they could try to capture Hyun-Soo.
If he grazed against the fast-moving roots, then itâll cause a lot of damage.
Hyun-Soo avoided those roots and looked at the tips that were trying to find him.
A smile appeared on Hyun-Sooâs face when he saw the tips of those that were trying to grab him.
âYou want to eat me? Thanks!â
Thanks to that, it got easier for him to attack.
The part that he was looking at was a section that was away from the tips.
The white dot was the young Blasting Sporeâs weakness.
Swoosh!
Swish!
The sword had many layers of Invisible Attack and it cut the white dot.
âDamn!â
He expected it to cut with one attack, but it didnât.
But, after waving the sword once, he spun and cut the white dot deeper.
ââ¦..!â
Swoosh!
He heard the sound of something being cut off instead of the sound of spores hitting each other.
Boom!
He also heard something heavy fall on the ground.
And.
Crack! Crack!
âWatch out!â
Someone behind Hyun-Soo yelled out and at the same time, the root that he cut off grazed right over his head.
The monster was either trying to hold on despite of the pain or they were being stubborn and was trying to get revenge one way or another.
There werenât any patterns, so it was impossible to assume.
It even seemed like their movement gotten faster by a couple of levels.
It was so dangerous that even if Hyun-Soo managed to come out of it, he would come out with injuries all over his body.
However.
The roots were flying above his head.
Fwoosh!
He slightly ducked his head and dodged it.
Next was the left leg.
Swoosh!
He slightly raised his leg as he was running.
They used that moment and targeted his right leg, but after he jumped, he twisted his body and escaped it.
After that, the Blasting Spore started attacking from all directions, but he dodged them all as they brushed by him.
âWow! Did you see that?â
âIs he really a C rank? His movements are crazyâ¦!â
âJust nowâ¦â
Even after he escaped, he felt puzzled for a moment and looked at the body that was holding the sword.
But he couldnât think for a long time.
A moment later, the Blasting Sporeâs roots shot up from the ground sporadically.
Craaaaaack!
âWowâ¦..â
He heard someone exclaim.
It was different from how they previous attacked.
But no one was confused or became scared.
Hyun-Soo immediately targeted the one nearest to him and threw his body towards it.
He had to focus on his attacks right now. He could think later.
âI was wondering why there werenât any weakness on its body. Theyâre all towards the roots.â
Because of that, no matter how hard he tried to find it, he couldnât find the white dot on their body.
He wasnât sure why, but the Blasting Spore was extremely enraged, so it kept on releasing the exploding spores.
Hyun-Soo could tell from their movements that they were no longer finding food to eat. They just wanted to get rid of the enemies that was invading their territory.
They mustâve figured out that the hunters werenât food anymore.
Fwoosh!
He heard something cutting through the air.
It started moving slower.
Some sort of white object was floating in the air.
âAgain!â
The feeling that he had after he cut off their weakness and escaped the roots that were moving violently.
He felt that same feeling.
The white object didnât stay in one place.
When it appeared, it disappeared, then it appeared and the moment Hyun-Soo dodged, it appeared again.
His target was the white dot that was shining.
He kept on avoiding the object and swung his sword.
Swoosh!
It rode up the fingers that was holding the sword, to his palm, to his wrist and as it rode up his arm, a heavy feeling was passed to him.
It was different from the time he cut off the root.
Moments ago, he was sure he cut off the root with one attack.
But the feeling that he had now made him question whether he even cut half of the root.
He turned around and swung his sword again.
Swoosh!
Boom!
Thatâs when he heard something heavy hit the floor.
âPant, pant, pant!â
âHey! Are you okay?â
âHuh?â
Hyun-Soo escaped the roots that were moving around violently due to the pain and he noticed that his hands were shaking.
Their question sounded muffled for a moment and later realized what they were saying.
âWhatâs wrong with my body?â
His hands werenât the only body part that was shaking.
His arms, legs and his entire body was slightly shaking.
The muscles in his entire body was screaming.
His eyes felt stiff and they were stinging as if he were cutting onions.
If this continued, then itâll be too difficult for him keep participating in the hunt.
âWhy am I feeling like this all of a sudden?â
Itâs not like he got hit by the monster or had a serious injury.
Then why was his body in such a bad condition?
Fwoosh!
While Hyun-Soo was supporting his body, a faint green light fell down on him.
âHeal!â
It seems like a healer used a recovery skill on Hyun-Soo.
Thatâs when he managed to escape from the exhausted condition he was just in.
Whew.
Passing out during the hunt wouldâve been embarrassing and he managed to avoid it.
Hyun-Soo started collecting his breath due to the dizziness he felt and thatâs when someone made an encouraging comment.
End.