Chapter 273: Scharfrichter (2)
Kwoooosh!
Rigid roots simultaneously targeted Kang-hoo.
At that moment, Ayane, who had just turned her gaze toward Kang-hoo, gasped in shock.
It was no surprise—Kang-hoo had no awareness of the roots flying at him from behind.
But it was already too late for Ayane to turn her gun and shoot—the thorns were far too close to Kang-hoo.
“Watch out!”
She rarely raised her voice, but this time, she couldn’t help but shout with worry.
However, the roots had already reached right in front of Kang-hoo.
And then—
Swish!Even though he had been staring straight ahead just moments ago, Kang-hoo suddenly twisted his body and sliced through the roots.
It wasn’t luck, nor a fortunate coincidence—it was an entirely calculated dagger strike.
Several roots had been targeting Kang-hoo, but the moment he effortlessly severed the first one—
Slash! Swish! Swish!
He continued cutting through the remaining roots in succession, neutralizing all incoming attacks from behind.
After all, he had been watching everything unfold through his Third Eye—there was no way an attack like this could catch him off guard.
‘…Does he have eyes on the back of his head?’
From Ayane’s perspective, there was no other explanation.
It was a counterattack not born of chance but of meticulous calculation. And yet, Kang-hoo had been facing forward the entire time.
How had he predicted and dodged every single root flying at him from behind—while counterattacking at the same time?
Unless he had literal eyes in the back of his head, it was impossible to comprehend.
While Ayane marveled at this feat, Kang-hoo, unfazed, continued pressing Schafrichter.
【Flame Attribute Infusion】
Infusing his dagger with flame, he began slashing at Schafrichter’s vines one after another.
Schafrichter, inherently weak against fire, spilled thick, sticky sap every time the burning dagger cut into its stem.
But it wasn’t just standing there and taking the damage.
Fwooooosh!
Gathering a massive amount of mana from the surroundings, it prepared to unleash an explosion of raw magical energy as a counterattack.
However—
【Protective Barrier】
【Forced Destruction】
Kang-hoo deliberately formed a fragile protective barrier and then shattered it himself, triggering devastation.
[When the protective barrier is destroyed, the ‘Devastation’ effect is activated, causing all mana within a 10-meter radius to evaporate.]
He had aimed for this exact outcome.
As a result, all the mana that Schafrichter had desperately gathered for its ultimate strike was completely erased.
Momentarily stripped of its ability to attack, Schafrichter hesitated as if time had stopped.
Kang-hoo seized this opening and unleashed a barrage of deadly strikes. He poured his full strength into the combination.
Not stopping there, he activated Blood Flower, causing all the wounds inflicted on Schafrichter to rupture violently.
Kiieeeeek!
For the first time, the Schafrichter flower let out a shrill scream, its petals trembling violently.
At the same time, its sap gushed out, following the wounds created by Blood Flower.
Like an oil well bursting open, the sheer amount of sap exceeded even Kang-hoo’s expectations.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
Kang-hoo had brought extra containers just in case. Without hesitation, he started collecting the sap in every available vessel.
The containers he had strategically placed quickly filled up, successfully meeting his objective.
Iieeek! Iieek!
Perhaps enraged by the pain, Schafrichter let out furious shrieks as it showed signs of entering its Berserk Phase.
Once in Berserk Phase, it would ignore pain entirely and focus solely on attacking.
It would twist and contort its body unnaturally to strike at its enemies, making it an incredibly troublesome opponent.
For that reason, Kang-hoo had no intention of letting the fight drag on any longer.
So far, Ayane had been successfully holding back the Descent Eagles—but now, a large flock of them was approaching from the distance.
Schafrichter was summoning every eagle within range, meaning the battle needed to end as soon as possible. The key to doing so was removing Schafrichter’s Core.
The core, which functioned like its brain, was located inside the flower. Kang-hoo needed to get to the top.
“…….”
Kang-hoo glanced at Ayane.
She seemed to have the same thought, her eyes filled with concern.
It was time to take a decisive gamble, and she was preparing to provide cover.
Kang-hoo shook his head.
Then, raising two fingers, he gestured toward his eyes before pointing up toward the Descent Eagles in the sky.
It was a signal—forget about covering him. Focus solely on sniping the eagles.
Understanding his intent, Ayane nodded and turned her full attention back to the incoming aerial threats.
At that moment—
Kieeek!
Kang-hoo unleashed a skill he had been saving just for this.
【Illusion】
As the mental disruption skill took effect, Schafrichter’s vines suddenly shifted direction.
Mistaking Kang-hoo’s position, it lashed out at empty space.
Taking advantage of this—
【Leap】
Kang-hoo vaulted upward, using Schafrichter’s own vines as stepping stones.
Now in front of the flower, he plunged a dagger deep into the stem—intending to use it as a medium for his next skill.
【Green Abyss Formation】
【Within a 5-meter radius, enemy vision of the user is distorted. The user can designate specific targets. The user's own vision remains unaffected.】
It was the Green Abyss Formation.
Since obtaining it from Deseo, Kang-hoo hadn’t had a proper chance to use it, but now was the perfect time.
A green circular zone, visible only to Kang-hoo, activated within a 5-meter radius.
Schafrichter’s flower was also within the field, meaning its entire vision would now be distorted.
Sure enough—
Whoooosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The vines that had been hastily reaching toward Kang-hoo suddenly flailed wildly, striking the air in erratic directions.
To Schafrichter, Kang-hoo’s position appeared completely different from reality.
For a brief moment, the monster became utterly clueless.
Kang-hoo wasn’t about to waste this opportunity.
Tap!
Leaping forward, he dove directly into the center of Schafrichter’s flower.
Normally, its surrounding vines would have reacted instantly, slashing at any intruder with relentless precision.
But with its distorted vision, Schafrichter failed to pinpoint Kang-hoo’s exact location.
That brief hesitation proved to be its fatal mistake.
Thrust!
Kang-hoo drove his dagger deep into the core. Immediately, he ignited Flames of Death, following up with Annihilation, triggering a devastating explosion.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Schafrichter was notorious for its massive size and incredible durability—it deserved an extra parting gift.
Boom!
A second blast tore through the now-tattered core, striking at its softened inner tissues with Qi Blast.
Crunch!
He followed up with Thorned Hell, lacerating the core even further.
Crackle!
As lightning surged through the wounds, Schafrichter’s regenerative abilities were utterly destroyed.
With Thunderstrike Formation pouring electric currents deep into its core, even the massive Schafrichter could endure no longer.
Sluuuump…
Drained of all life, the colossal flower wilted completely, its vines and petals sagging lifelessly.
The once-vibrant red bloom, the lively green stems—all had withered into a blackened husk.
Thud. Thud.
Four orange mana stones fell to the ground.
Splitting them with Ayane would amount to a total of 20 billion won each—not a bad reward for a short struggle.
With Schafrichter, the leader, now dead, the Descent Eagles were also retreating.
When Kang-hoo turned his gaze to Ayane, he saw her bangs, damp with sweat, sticking to her forehead like perilla leaves.
She raised her thumb and index finger in a circle.
Mission complete.
The raid was over.
Ayane cooled her overheated gun and searched the fallen Descent Eagles for any dropped items.
Meanwhile, Kang-hoo checked his status.
‘The Nightmare Constellation is still active… I was so focused on the dungeon raid, I didn’t even notice.’
Apparently, defeating a Masked Jester earlier—who had been put to sleep by Venom Blood—had contributed to his Nightmare stats.
According to the detailed tooltip, the first reward of 10 Mana had to be claimed immediately, raising his Magic stat to 31.
For the next 99 instances, he could postpone receiving rewards, and currently, 9 instances had accumulated.
Once he stacked 90 more, he would gain complete immunity to paralysis, sleep, or poison—his choice.
Next, Kang-hoo turned his attention to the skills he could steal from Schafrichter.
Though it had been a tricky opponent, its skills weren’t particularly high-level.
Most were only useful for beings capable of freely altering their body shape.
For Kang-hoo—who wasn’t a plant—these skills were difficult to adapt.
So, he settled on a one-time-use skill, something situational yet potentially game-changing.
A single opportunity—but if used well, it could be his trump card.
【Paxranil】
【Skill Proficiency: Lv. Max】
【Generates a liquid that suppresses all pain and induces a state of ultra-awakening for 1 minute.
When used on a container filled with liquid, the substance transforms into ‘Paxranil Solution’.】
【This is a one-time-use skill. Upon consuming Paxranil, the user enters ultra-awakening, gaining a stat multiplier of x3.】
‘A guaranteed overpowered burst.’
A threefold stat increase—
Estimating conservatively, this meant he could temporarily fight at Level 550 combat power.
Possibly even more. Since every single stat would be tripled, the boost could be exponential.
‘I need to think carefully about my target. This skill is too valuable for just any opponent.’
A few names came to mind.
Yuji? It would be like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken—overkill.
Vincent Meyer, on the other hand… That was a worthy opponent.
One minute was long enough to decide the entire battle.
As Kang-hoo finished his thoughts, Ayane—having completed her loot collection—walked over and tossed him two orange mana stones she had recovered.
Kang-hoo, in turn, held up the four he had collected, showing her the total.
“That makes six in total. Let’s split them when we get out. We’ll each take 30 billion won.”
“Should I take it in won instead of yen?”
“Huh?”
“Well… I might end up working in Korea, you know?”
“Suit yourself.”
Ayane had secretly hoped for a different reaction from Kang-hoo, but—as expected—his response was as dull as ever.
Not that she had really been expecting playful banter.
Ayane smirked and changed the subject.
“Kang-hoo. You know… I have to admit, you’re incredible! You’re hands down the best assassin I’ve ever seen!”
“You kept the eagles at bay, thanks to you, I could focus entirely on Schafrichter. I appreciate it.”
“Nah. You even saved me once in the middle of all that. You carried this entire fight, start to finish. That’s how I see it.”
“Maybe it’s just because I had a great partner—a woman who wields a gun so well.”
The exchange was warm, a rare moment of mutual respect.
For Kang-hoo, it was proof that a high-damage partner like Ayane could be just as valuable as a support-type hunter like Park Dong-jae.
For Ayane, it was confirmation that even without a tank, she could rely on the right partner to focus purely on damage-dealing.
But deep down, Ayane knew—
No other assassin could ever make her feel this secure in battle.
To her, Kang-hoo was irreplaceable.
She wasn’t about to let him slip away.