60

This gate might just be the hardest gate that has ever appeared. Gi-Hoon was serious. This dungeon was much more dangerous than he had thought.

That was when Hwan called out to him.

“Can you give me your gun?”

“You mean the one you used before?”

“Yes.”

Gi-Hoon handed him the gun. Lee Hwan then murmured.

“It’s faster than I thought.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon and the other Hunters didn’t understand what he meant, but soon, his actions explained everything.

With a slight movement, the others finally noticed the presence of the monster. It was behind the three women.

It stood at least ten meters tall. If it weren’t for the size of the great hall, it wouldn’t have fit inside the structure.

To be honest, this seemed quite unrealistic. How and when did it come inside the castle? How could it just appear like that?

Lee Hwan raised the gun and quickly shot seven bullets. The bullets flew out of the barrel and moved as if they had their own minds. That certainly was not a bullet’s normal behavior. Everyone’s eyes were filled with surprise.

In an instant, Musmahhu’s seven heads were each hit by a bullet.

Crash!

With this, Musmahhu was pushed back.

“I told you that you’d survive if you stick with me.”

Everyone looked at Lee Hwan. This man is strong, Gi-Hoon silently exclaimed. Hwan turned to him.

“Now, Gi-Hoon, answer me.”

“Answer you what?”

“How can this monster be in the castle? There is only one entrance, but the monster obviously cannot enter through that. It would have broken the gate of the castle.”

Lee Hwan was strong enough to be able to give lessons while fighting with an SS-rated monster.

Jeong Gi-Hoon knew the answer.

“It moved through a shadow.”

“That’s correct. I’m surprised that you knew that.”

“I have seen that skill a few times before, that’s why I got the clue. In that video, the monster was slow. So the only possibility was…”

“Using a shadow walk?”

“Yes.”

“Well spotted. Then, the next question is how do we deal with it?”

While he was preparing to answer, Gi-Hoon noticed that Hwan was looking behind his back. In an instant, Hwan’s leg was striking the monster’s head like a whip.

Crash!

The monster was pushed back again.

Gi-Hoon knew that he was the next target. The monster has been using its shadow walk. Although it was fast, Lee Hwan was faster than it.

Jeong Gi-Hoon answered Hwan’s question.

“You have to get out first. This castle has shadows everywhere. We have to go out and make sure that there are fewer shadows around us.”

That was also the correct answer, but Hwan shook his head.

“All of you should listen carefully.”

Everyone focused on what he had to say. Lee Hwan started to explain.

“All of you should learn this skill I named ‘Breakthrough.’”

Lee Hwan turned his head and stomped on his shadow. The monster screamed from the shadow where it was hiding.

“There are three processes to use magic. Understanding, gathering aura, and activation. Theoretically, if you interfere with someone’s process of gathering aura, you can make this happen.”

He then shot Yoo-Jeong’s shadow with the gun. Once again, the monster screamed. Musmahhu’s skill has been blocked, and it was receiving damage as well.

“You can break someone’s magic by doing this.”

“Oh…”

“Of course, it’s not easy, but as far as I can see, all of you can learn this. I hope you understand the theory behind it.”

Everyone nodded. That was enough for Hwan.

“Gi-Hoon.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you successfully use the ‘Breakthrough,’ what will you do next?”

Jeong Gi-Hoon smiled. This was why he liked Hwan. His way of teaching was simple and clear.

“You don’t have to go out like I suggested. You can just smash your opponent.”

Lee Hwan also smiled.

“That is the answer, my friend.”

With this, he stepped forward. Musmahhu was waiting for them outside. The monster had realized that his skill did not work with Hwan, so it had only one option left.

As soon as it saw Lee Hwan, the monster screamed and charged toward him. Without hesitation, Hwan rushed toward the monster as well.

***

The basic foundation of fighting was to analyze.

What was the enemy’s weapon? How did they fight? One must collect data and find the opponent’s weaknesses promptly. This was something that I was good at.

Musmahhu was a dragon with seven heads. It looks more like a hydra from Greek mythology. It can think and have emotions, and I sensed its desire to kill me.

I stepped forward. One of its heads immediately rushed toward me, fast and long. Most importantly, I knew that its teeth were harder than iron.

I lightly struck the head that was rushing toward me, and it exploded. Its six remaining heads were surprised to see that.

In an instant, it came to attack me. I jumped.

Usually, a Hunter that was floating in the air would have a hard time countering attacks from his enemy. That was true indeed, but this also did not apply to me.

I moved around and easily dodged all of the monster’s attacks. As I was about to land, a golden aura gathered in my clenched fist. As soon as I touched the ground, I punched the monster.

Crash.

“@##^#$%^$%&%^&.”

I frowned. The monster was harder than I had expected. Aside from that, its necks were also more flexible. It brushed off my punch and launched a quick counterattack.

I blocked all of its blows. Soon, I could see that my arms were covered in monster blood and my clothes were burning. It didn’t cause me any damage, but I was surprised to realize that its blood was poisonous.

In Valhalla, there was a poison that, aside from being transparent, did not have any flavor or color. Five years ago, I was nearly killed by this substance. This monster’s blood was similar to that poison.

This type of poison was enough to kill an S-rated Hunter immediately.

I had finally collected all the information I needed.

I gathered my aura and the gold color changed to a dark red. Musmahhu’s body was shaking as I punched one of its heads directly, turning it into mush. I jumped up high and kicked another head on the left side of its body.

Crash.

Three heads gone, four more to go.

The remaining heads simultaneously attacked me. I gathered my aura to form a red shield that effortlessly blocked its blow.

I then folded my arms. The monster tried to escape, but it was too late.

As I folded my arms, three of its heads exploded from the inside. One head managed to escape the attack, but it wouldn’t last long.

The monster tried to use its shadow walk skill to escape, but I restrained it and attacked.

I gathered more of my aura and shaped it into a destructive sphere, throwing it in a quick motion. That put an end to the monster.

This monster was much eviler than I had expected.

It knew that it was going to die, so it was planning to shower its venomous blood in the direction of my team members.

“What a jackass.”

***

Jeong Gi-Hoon and the three women watched Hwan’s battle with wonder in their eyes. That was their priority. They were watching an SS-rated monster being brutally beaten by a man. This was truly a bizarre sight.

Their fight didn’t last long. Lee Hwan just killed it effortlessly.

After the monster had fallen, everyone went over to him.

“Got anything disturbing, sir?”

Lee Hwan replied to Gi-Hoon’s question.

“In our country, there’s a phrase that says, ‘Tigers leave leather after death.’ Correct?”

“Yes, it’s a Korean idiom. It has a similar meaning to, ‘He who leaves the fame of good works does not die.’”

Lee Hwan pointed at Musmahhu’s dead body.

“I think we can use that.”

Gi-Hoon’s face became serious. That monster’s skin was able to endure Hwan’s attacks. If used properly, it could become a great artifact.

“Can someone use this material to make artifacts? I think we can make a good uniform using this.”

The monster’s skin was white. White robes seemed alright for a uniform.

“In Cheon-Myeong, there’s an enchanter named Kim Chang-Jae. He manages all of Master Lee’s equipment, so I’m sure he can do that.”

However, that was not all.

“The monster’s blood has a dangerous poison in it. Can he treat poison as well?”

What had caught Lee Hwan’s interest the most was the poison.

“Unfortunately, he is not specialized in utilizing poison.”

“Then, do you have any other suggestions? This poison is a great resource.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon thought about it and soon found an answer.

“How about leaving this to the UK?”

“The UK?”

“Yes. I told you once that there are a lot of S-rated Hunters here in the UK. Some of them are scientists or have majored in chemistry. They have the largest number of scientists in the world. Maybe we can leave this to them.”

Lee Hwan thought about it.

“No one can deal with this poison in our country, and we can’t trust other countries as well. For now, I think the UK is the best option.”

Lee Hwan nodded, then he asked Gi-Hoon.

“Can it go inside your inventory?”

“It can.”

“Then put it there for now. We’ll talk about it later.”

Gi-Hoon placed Musmahhu’s dead body in his inventory. Things were now settled.

Gi-Hoon then asked, “What will we do with that sword?”

He meant Excalibur that was still inside the castle.

“Why don’t we just take it?”

“Should I try to go for it?”

“I can see that you’re interested.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes. Now I know how you felt when I talked to you about PMC.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon smiled awkwardly.

“Go on and give it a try.”

“Alright.”

They headed back into the castle.

Jeong Gi-Hoon grabbed the handle of the sword and tried to lift it, but he couldn’t.

Ee-Na and Yoo-Jeong also tried. They failed to lift the long sword as well.

Hwan just watched them from the back. When So-Eun attempted to lift it, no one expected her to succeed. To be honest, even Hwan didn’t think she would be able to do it.

Kim So-Eun grabbed the sword, and something miraculous happened.

She was able to lift the sword effortlessly.

“…Huh?”

“What the…”

“…Really?”

So-Eun, with a nervous face, murmured.

“It worked…?”