Chapter 277: Type-V (2)
Tatang!
V leaped high into the air to evade the Collapse Skill while repeatedly pulling the trigger, aiming at Kang-hoo.
Kang-hoo blocked the shots with Impeccable Wall, waiting for the moment when V would reach the peak and begin to fall.
Jumping into the air was an easy evasive maneuver, but once reaching the peak, it was difficult to change the landing position.
Unless V had a rocket booster to provide thrust, the falling trajectory was fixed.
At that moment—
Ssshhh—.
Having reached the highest point, V started descending in a parabolic arc.
Even while falling, V fired several cursed bullets at Kang-hoo, but Impeccable Wall held strong.
‘As expected, regular monster-types have their limits. This is too careless.’Kang-hoo sensed that V was managing stamina and mana while fighting him.
If V had truly decided on a life-or-death battle, he would have unleashed high-powered attacks while still in the air, where Kang-hoo’s attacks couldn’t reach.
Instead, V only maintained a suppressive offense, showing excessive composure.
【Acceleration】
【Leap】
Kang-hoo rushed toward V’s landing point at full speed.
Since the location was already determined, there was no chance of error or miscalculation.
He also reinforced himself with Impeccable Wall and a protective barrier to prepare for any deadly counterattacks.
On top of that—
【Qi Cannon】
To prevent V from carelessly suppressing him, Kang-hoo launched a Qi Cannon toward the airborne target.
V had assumed that only he had long-range attack capabilities against Kang-hoo, an assassin—
That was a mistake.
Boom!
“Gah!”
Trying to block the Qi Cannon, V lost balance and fell in a twisted posture.
The proper way to absorb impact was to land on two feet, but with his balance disrupted, he crashed down on his arm instead.
Naturally, this meant he couldn’t use his twin handguns.
Kang-hoo took advantage of the opening and prepared the most painful trap at V’s landing point.
【Flames of Death】
Instead of an active skill triggered at his fingertips, this was a pre-set installation-type flame.
Whoosh!
“Arghhh!”
Since V was already falling headfirst with his arms and face exposed, the deep violet flames engulfed him, causing him to groan in agony.
His reinforced suit couldn’t cover his face, which was quickly becoming a serious problem.
His facial skin, directly exposed to the flames, rapidly melted and distorted.
【Annihilation】
Without hesitation, Kang-hoo activated Annihilation, unleashing a follow-up attack on V.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Kraah!”
Caught simultaneously in the heat of the flames and the explosions of Annihilation, V was flung backward the moment he landed.
He had no chance to counterattack Kang-hoo.
The pain of his burning face was one thing, but he had no time to regain his balance as he was repeatedly hit by explosions, leaving him dazed.
In that moment, Kang-hoo swiftly closed the distance and pulled out two extra daggers he had prepared.
Stab! Stab!
【Green Circle Formation】
【Red Circle Formation】
He deployed two formations.
The Green Circle Formation was placed along the direct path between V and himself, while the Red Circle Formation was set slightly open to V’s left.
“Ghh…!”
Despite his pain, V gritted his teeth, gripped his handgun, and aimed at the approaching Kang-hoo, pulling the trigger.
Bang!
Unfortunately for V, the Green Circle Formation distorted his perception, causing him to misjudge Kang-hoo’s actual position.
Zap!
The bullet hit a rock behind him, sparks flying.
Realizing his vision had been compromised, V resorted to the simplest countermeasure—firing cursed bullets in all directions, covering 360 degrees.
However, Kang-hoo had already anticipated this reaction and had been approaching while keeping his body low.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
‘What a convenient way to fight. A foolish mistake you’ll regret after you die.’
Kang-hoo smirked inwardly.
Why couldn’t V imagine that he might be crouched, hidden, and advancing toward him?
Perhaps that was what made him a ‘monster.’
Rather than thinking in complex ways, monsters sought the simplest solutions, even if they could do more.
At that moment—
Kang-hoo reached V’s face, stood up, and immediately executed a Decapitation Slash.
Even though he had secured an advantageous position, he remained vigilant—until he fully severed V’s life, the muzzle of that gun could still turn toward him at any moment.
Slash!
“Urgh!”
A vicious upward stab pierced through V’s lower abdomen at an angle.
Still, since he was a high-level monster, the dagger didn’t completely penetrate the heart in one go.
His natural resistance and endurance were high, making it feel like stabbing through tough meat—the final thrust lost some of its sharpness.
If it weren’t for the Claws of Hatred engraved into the dagger, the stab wouldn’t have gone this deep.
Thud. Clatter.
Perhaps overcome by pain, V momentarily blacked out and dropped his most important weapons.
Unintentionally losing his means to attack Kang-hoo, V desperately swung his fists.
At that moment—
‘This is my chance.’
Kang-hoo smirked as he saw V’s punches, which didn’t seem like they would be too damaging even if they landed.
It was a great opportunity for an ‘experiment.’
The unique skill he obtained after consuming the Black-and-White Fruit—Rotational Restraint.
There wouldn’t be many chances to test this skill in actual combat with such minimal risk.
Even if he mistimed it, taking a few punches wasn’t a big deal. It would hurt, but that was all.
Kang-hoo timed it carefully.
V’s fist was flying toward his face.
To match the perfect evasion timing for Rotational Restraint, Kang-hoo briefly held his breath.
It was his way of syncing to the rhythm. Matching a precise moment of 0.3 seconds was a difficult task.
Whoosh!
Just as V’s fist was about to smash into Kang-hoo’s face—
【Rotational Restraint】
The skill activated.
At the very last moment, V’s fist seemed like it would strike Kang-hoo’s face—but it sliced through empty air instead.
‘It worked!’
It was a success.
【Forced Restraint】
V was now affected by Forced Restraint. A whole second—a long time in battle.
Just as the skill’s tooltip described, Kang-hoo had automatically repositioned behind V.
V realized that Kang-hoo had moved but struggled to turn his body.
A stationary target.
For an assassin, there was no easier prey. A completely vulnerable target.
【Decapitation Slash】
Stab!
“……!”
And just like that—it was over.
With a single thrust of his dagger using Decapitation Slash, Kang-hoo struck the back of V’s neck, instantly disabling him.
No matter how high-level a monster was, it wasn’t immortal. It wasn’t indestructible.
Every monster had a weak point, and if exploited, it led to inevitable death.
Stab! Stab!
After two more consecutive Decapitation Slashes—
“Ugh…!”
The paralysis effect of Venomous Blood seemed to have kicked in, causing V’s entire body to stiffen like a wooden log.
A perfect one-second unilateral attack.
For some, a second might seem like an instant. But for Kang-hoo, it was more than enough time to kill his target.
【Blood Flower】
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A flawless finish.
V’s cervical spine had already been fractured by the first Decapitation Slash. There was no way he could endure any longer.
His body flailed like a deflated doll before he coughed up blood and collapsed, dead.
Kang-hoo’s level skyrocketed to 273.
Usually, killing a single monster didn’t raise one’s level by two ranks.
But since V had remained an undefeated monster for such a long time, the bonus experience was substantial.
Experiencing an explosive level-up, Kang-hoo anxiously checked the chestplate of the fallen V.
If he could obtain this chestplate—
The remaining set items were just the necklace in South Africa and the ring in China.
“At least I managed to get Lars’ gift as planned.”
Kang-hoo pulled a ring off V’s left middle finger.
It was a mana-related item, something entirely useless to him due to his Age of Barbarism restriction.
On the other hand, it had the perfect stats and ranking to be a great gift for Lars.
With the gift secured—
Now it was time to check his own reward.
Stripping the chestplate from V’s corpse felt a little strange.
No matter how he looked at it, he was undressing a fallen male-shaped monster. It felt weird.
Since the body had gone limp, it felt even heavier.
With rigor mortis setting in post-death, he hurried to remove the armor as fast as possible.
Finally, the Corrupt Series Chestplate emerged in Kang-hoo’s grasp, its name and details revealing themselves.
【Mark of Corruption – Chestplate】
Grade: Second Tier.
HP: +150.
Agility: +350.
Magic Resistance: +100.
Endurance: +100.
Mark – Imprints a brand on a Hunter killed by the user. The Hunter’s holy power or dark energy stats are inherited. (One-time use only.)
“This is good.”
A grin formed on Kang-hoo’s lips.
Compared to his current Pride of the Warrior armor, this chestplate provided significantly higher stats.
An extra 150 HP, 50 magic resistance, and 50 endurance—even though they were the same grade, this one had much better bonuses.
For Kang-hoo, who wanted more endurance, this reduced his remaining goal by 116 points.
“If I take down just one big target, I could completely resolve my stat concerns.”
Checking the tooltip, he found that as long as he personally killed a Hunter, he could apply the brand within one hour of their death.
Even if a battle brought unexpected gains, he wouldn’t need to stop mid-fight and make reckless moves just to activate the mark.
That was the end of the armor’s base effects.
But as a set item, its true value started now. The more pieces he collected, the stronger the set bonuses became.
【Greed – Upgrade this chestplate to First Tier using three Hematites.】
“This again? If I assume I’ll get Hematites, this is the best-value upgrade.”
The Greed effect had appeared again.
Once upgraded, the benefits were clear—Hematite was now an investment priority.
【Black Sun – Dark Energy will never drop below 1.】
“So, it prevents Dark Energy depletion. I can’t use it infinitely, but at least I won’t be completely drained.”
An interesting effect.
This alone confirmed that the chestplate was specialized for Dark Energy users.
Even if his Dark Energy wasn’t limitless, preventing depletion meant he could always use at least some Dark Energy skills.
The difference between having access to them and having none at all was massive—making this a highly useful trait.
And then, the final set bonus—
【Corrupt Beast Evolution – Summon a Corrupt Beast to attack enemies while maintaining aerial mobility.
The Corrupt Beast’s durability is linked to its Dark Energy. If depleted, it disappears.
It can be resummoned either after a 1-hour cooldown or immediately by spending 500 Dark Energy.】
“This is the real deal.”
Seeing the Corrupt Beast Evolution ability, Kang-hoo’s smile widened.
Until now, the Corrupted Fiend had only been useful for scouting and gathering Dark Energy.
But now, it had been upgraded into a combat-oriented summon.
A brand-new offensive tool had been added to his arsenal.