Chapter 72

072. The Ordeal of the 10th Floor (3)

There once was a man known as the Thunder Emperor.

He was one of the seven S-class hunters in Korea, an enigmatic hunter whose identity remained unknown.

Always wearing a mask, no one knew his face, and his voice had never been fully revealed. He reigned as a transcendent being.

Even when he rarely showed himself, whenever disaster-like gates appeared out of nowhere, the Thunder Emperor would always destroy them, displaying god-like power.

After easily and quickly clearing the gates, he would scold the hunters who had fled, saying:

―I don't understand how you, who can't even handle this, call yourselves hunters.

While his words might seem arrogant, he was the only one who fulfilled his duties without fail, even as other hunters, forcibly conscripted, found excuses to escape.

That's why he had the right to say such things.

No hunter could refute the Thunder Emperor.

This was because, in the current hunter industry, it was hard to find a hunter as powerful as the Thunder Emperor.

To the extent that the Hunter Association had said:

―A hunter of the Thunder Emperor's caliber is unlikely to appear in the hunter industry in the future.

He would dart through the rampaging monsters like lightning, unleashing thunder...

Afterward, he would scold the hunters who only sought power and abandoned their duties, which is what made him an S-class hunter.

However...

Since the Tower of Trials appeared, the Thunder Emperor's activities, which had always involved handling various gates, became less frequent.

This was because he, like others, had been helplessly dragged into the Tower of Trials.

Moreover, not at an easy or normal difficulty, but at the notoriously difficult difficulty level.

Despite this, the Thunder Emperor became even stronger.

The more trials he overcame, the closer he got to regaining his former abilities, eventually topping the ranking.

While the Tower of Trials had made things difficult for him, it couldn't kill him.

The same went for the integrated trials.

To the Thunder Emperor, and to Kim Seung-hoon, who was currently one of the top challengers in the Tower of Trials, the other challengers were mostly just window dressing.

Only one, the talented challenger Oh Chun-seok, who was originally a civilian, was recognized as a true challenger...

But apart from him, they all felt like hunters who had abandoned their duties outside the tower.

Until he saw Han Seong-yun in the 10th floor trial of the Tower of Trials.

“Guh, guh...”

Seeing Kim Seung-jun, who had just been engaging in cunning politics, now bleeding profusely, Kim Seung-hoon was purely amazed.

“This is different from what I expected...”

Originally, Kim Seung-hoon thought Han Seong-yun would be quite injured when he and Kim Seung-jun fought.

Or that it would take a lot of time and the use of many skills.

However...

‘Han Seong-yun dominated Kim Seung-jun in just a few minutes.’

Based on the ranking, Kim Seung-hoon's expectations were quickly shattered.

Han Seong-yun had suppressed Kim Seung-jun without even using all his cards.

It wasn't a kill, but a suppression.

He returned a portion of the damage accumulated from Kim Seung-jun's attacks, perfectly suppressing him.

Despite showing power beyond Kim Seung-hoon's expectations, Han Seong-yun seemed quite relaxed.

In other words, Han Seong-yun hadn't used his full strength.

Standing next to Kim Seung-hoon, Oh Chun-seok, who had been watching the fight, asked in disbelief:

“Brother Seung-hoon. Do you know who this hunter, or rather, this challenger Han Seong-yun, is?”

“...No. I've never seen anyone like him among the top-tier hunters.”

Even Kim Seung-hoon, who had earned the name Thunder Emperor, had never seen such a strong person.

Oh Chun-seok, who was originally a civilian, seemed equally excited as he continued:

“No, what... Does he have such insane skills? He blocked magic with a shield made of mana in an instant, and even absorbed some of the damage to store and release it. And he's a melee swordsman, not a mage.”

“Even more frightening is that he didn't fight at full strength.”

“...Yes, it wasn't full strength. He was just toying with him.”

“His fighting skills are proficient, but his face and skill set are unfamiliar. Skills not obtained in the tower usually require a specific aptitude. His aptitudes seem to be all over the place. His shield skill is closer to a mage's, while his sword and movement skills are closer to a melee fighter's.”

Before the Tower of Trials appeared, [skills] were not easily obtainable.

Innate talent determined everything, and whether one had the aptitude for a skill determined whether it could be learned.

Moreover, even if one had the aptitude for a combat skill, the effort required varied based on the level of aptitude.

Some might need hundreds of attempts to barely obtain a skill, while others could get it in just a few tries.

The hunter world was a perfect meritocracy of talent.

Until the Tower of Trials appeared, allowing skills to be learned separately.

That means...

“Then it means that a regular person, who was at the bottom, grew strong in the tower to this level.”

Like Oh Chun-seok, who was just a civilian, but became incredibly strong through the tower's rewards.

Moreover, from what he saw, Han Seong-yun had grown to a level not far from Kim Seung-hoon.

Kim Seung-hoon smiled slightly as he looked at Han Seong-yun.

‘A regular person who can grow to the level of a top-tier hunter...’

Kim Seung-hoon's smile was filled with both surprise and interest.

This was the second time the Thunder Emperor, one of Korea's top hunters, had shown interest in someone else.

***

“Guh, guh...”

Seeing Kim Seung-jun crawling on the ground like a bug, I slightly furrowed my brow.

I realized the damage from the lightning I released through the counter shield was stronger than I had thought.

I had reduced the shield's size to concentrate the energy in a smaller area, maximizing attack efficiency, but...

‘I just wanted to restrain his movement and give him some damage...’

I didn't expect to suppress him so easily.

Kim Seong-jun's desperate attack had led to a surprisingly good result.

‘Well, anyway, seeing him crawling like this, he's probably going to die soon.’

Kim Seung-jun was dragging his body away from me, a hole in his abdomen.

His fierce will to survive was evident, and someone might feel pity for him...

But to me, who had just faced a life-threatening situation due to Kim Seung-jun's cunning, this was the most satisfying sight.

The administrators watching me felt the same way.

「Administrator 'Iron-Blooded Overlord' is proud of the contractor's performance.」

「Administrator 'Glutton' is amazed by your overwhelming battle.」

「Administrator 'White Crane Sword Immortal' is pleased with your performance but slightly disappointed that you didn't use sword qi.」

Iron-Blooded Overlord seemed to take my victory as his own, acting smug.

Meanwhile, White Crane Sword Immortal, who had supported me with sword qi, seemed disappointed that I didn't use it.

Well, I had intended to use sword qi, but Kim Seung-jun was defeated before I could.

If I had known he would be so easily defeated, I would have used sword qi to cut his throat without hesitation.

Then, suddenly:

“This, inventory...”

Kim Seung-jun, who had been crawling on the ground, suddenly opened his inventory and took out a potion.

It seemed he was trying to heal the hole in his abdomen with a recovery potion...

‘I won't let him do that.’

As soon as I saw this, I quickly moved and stepped on Kim Seung-jun's hand holding the potion.

Crack!

“Guh, guh...!”

“Now, it's better to stop struggling.”

“P-please... Let me use the potion...”

Kim Seung-jun, on the brink of death, was desperately pleading.

It was hard to believe this was the same person who had just tried to kill me with cunning.

But I felt no pity for him.

Of course.

“Did you think that begging would save you after trying to kill someone...?”

I am not a saint, but I am not an absolute villain either.

With a mindset close to that of an ordinary person, my resolve was clear.

“Don't you think it's too late to survive?”

Fire with fire.

Those who try to control others with force should be controlled with force.

“Challenger Kim Seung-hoon and Challenger Oh Chun-seok.”

I spoke to the two challengers watching the scene with cold smiles.

“I hope you won't help Challenger Kim Seung-jun if something unpleasant happens. Can you cooperate?”

Kim Seung-hoon nodded, indifferent.

“...There's no need for cooperation. He's just a scum who tried to harm others with cunning. Do as you please.”

Then, Oh Chun-seok, a bit late, nodded and said the same.

“Y-You can do as you please. After all, I intended to kill him anyway, regardless of the outcome.”

It seemed they both intended to deal with Kim Seung-jun, so they agreed more readily than expected.

Usually, the Tower of Trials challengers would have fought over the items Kim Seung-jun was wearing...

‘At this level, they don't do such dirty deeds.’

They might have helped me if I had been in a difficult situation.

Of course, it was because Kim Seung-jun was such a despicable challenger that they cooperated so readily.

Now that I have their cooperation, there's no need to hesitate.

Crack!

“Guh, guh! My bones! My bones are breaking...!”

I immediately crushed Kim Seung-jun's hand bones and picked up the dropped potion to read its description.

「Rapid Recovery Potion」

「Grade: C」

「A recovery potion made with special alchemy after grinding a troll's mana stone.」

「When consumed, [Troll's Blood] flows through the body, rapidly regenerating it.」

「However, the concentration of [Troll's Blood] activated depends on the amount of potion consumed.」

“Not a bad potion.”

After reading that the concentration of [Troll's Blood] depends on the amount of potion consumed, I immediately uncapped the potion and let a little spill onto Kim Seung-jun.

Squish.

A few drops of the potion fell into the hole in Kim Seung-jun's abdomen, and he, who had been on the verge of death, started to move again.

“W-Why...”

Kim Seung-jun muttered, unable to understand.

This wasn't out of pity or to recruit him as a teammate.

“Mr. Kim Seung-jun, I have a proposal for you.”

I gave him a little of the potion for a specific reason...

“If you take out all the items in your inventory and hand them over, I'll use the potion to save you.”

Just like how he had suggested to Kim Seung-hoon and Oh Chun-seok that they divide the items he would take from me after killing me.

I was repaying him in the same way.

Of course, this was essentially a choice that would only delay Kim Seung-jun's death.

He probably knew I wouldn't keep this promise...

But Kim Seung-jun had only one choice.

“Make your decision.”

From the beginning, a defeated person like Kim Seung-jun had no real choices.