Chapter 321: Heart (2)
Emilia asked, “Doesn’t a situation like this feel burdensome?”
“Not at all. I actually think it’s a great opportunity to observe and learn. From my standpoint, I have nothing to lose.”
If one considered Kang-hoo’s perspective and his thoughts on the future, then yes, it was certainly a burdensome situation. But that was only on a personal level—what mattered was that to them, it had to look like he welcomed the opportunity. Wasn’t that right?
Hunters like these didn’t care much for timid, cautious, or overly careful Hunters. They preferred proactiveness.
“To be honest, I was really surprised by your skill. Given enough time, I’m confident you could grow tremendously.”
“I always think about evaluations of my potential. It’s fascinating and also something I’m thankful for.”
“So honestly, I’m a little jealous. As you can see, I’ve had to give up things to gain what I have.”
Emilia brushed her small hands through her hair. She looked just like a child. No one in the world, without knowing her background, would ever believe she was in her mid-to-late twenties. Having a baby face typically meant facial features, but in Emilia’s case, her entire presence felt youthful.
“I didn’t get lucky either. I’ve lost a lot of emotion along the way.”
Kang-hoo was about to say something more but held his tongue. It wasn’t something he should say to her. What he meant was this: from the moment he opened his eyes in this world, conflict with Jang Si-hwan and intense challenges were already predetermined. It was a penalty he incurred by starting life as ‘Shin Kang-hoo.’ If he had possessed Jang Si-hwan instead? His life would’ve gone much smoother. No—he would have been living as a powerful figure from the very beginning.Looking at Emilia’s wavering gaze, Kang-hoo spoke in an unusually gentle voice. “You are someone meaningful just by existing. I hope you don’t forget that. I believe no one’s existence is without meaning.”
“……”
At that moment, Emilia’s eyes shook more than usual. To Kang-hoo, it was nothing more than a few casually tossed words like pebbles. But for Emilia, who had never heard such words before, they struck with surprising weight. The pebble Kang-hoo tossed had become a boulder that caused a deep vibration in Emilia’s heart. It was an unfamiliar feeling.
After final preparations were completed, the party easily trampled through the mid-boss section with their overwhelming firepower. Their firepower was so overwhelming that when Kang-hoo took a brief pause to catch his breath, he nearly lost credit for contribution.
The name of the skill he barely managed to steal from the mid-boss monster was ‘Enhancement Technique – Summoned Beast.’ Its original form was a skill that strengthened the mid-boss monster’s summoned wolves. However, Kang-hoo’s ‘Corrupted Beast,’ which could loosely be called a summon, wasn’t recognized as one. So he had been on the verge of giving up, thinking the skill would be hard to use—until an idea struck him.
That idea? Applying the skill to the slime summoned through his “Cutesy!” skill!
It was a gamble, but when tested, it worked. This unexpected synergy resulted in the skill getting an upgrade.
【Cutesyyyyy!】
【Skill Proficiency: Lv Max】
【Summons one large-sized slime roughly 5m wide and 3m tall. It has no attack ability. You can use the skill once more to summon an additional medium-sized slime from the original Cutesy! skill.】
This was the upgraded form of the Cutesy! skill, now called Cutesyyyyy!
‘Every time I look at this skill, I’m so glad Hunters don’t have to actually shout the skill names out loud.’
Kang-hoo let out a dry laugh. What if he had to use this skill in front of a crowd and even call out its name? He probably would’ve collapsed—or even died—from sheer embarrassment. The cringe would’ve been unbearable.
Still, thanks to the upgrade, he could now summon a large slime. Slimes were often useful for completely blocking enemy vision and drawing aggro. Their adorable appearance naturally attracted attention, making them excellent for diversion. From Kang-hoo’s perspective, this was an ideal upgrade to a combat support skill—he couldn’t be more pleased.
After that, they had to pass through about seven special-pattern segments with no prior information. But as before, it didn’t take long for Kang-hoo to find solutions. His vast knowledge, linked to the original work, was immensely helpful for analyzing and testing patterns.
So much so that—
“Have you been in this dungeon before?”
“Do you have a skill that accesses some kind of system record? You’re figuring things out too fast.”
Even Yu Cheonghwa and Emilia began to wonder where Kang-hoo’s knowledge came from.
“You seem to consider even more possibilities than I do. You even think ahead to strange pattern applications.”
Takashi credited Kang-hoo’s rapid problem-solving to his wisdom, cleverness, and potential. In short, it was high praise.
At the same time, thanks to Kang-hoo, the dungeon was going so smoothly they couldn’t help but smile. Though expressed differently, the three of them all felt the same emotion toward Kang-hoo. They were surprised. Surprised in a good way—and they clearly saw that Kang-hoo’s reputation was no exaggeration or fabrication.
Kang-hoo, too, could feel it—thanks to their consistently warm reactions, he sensed his ‘showcase’ had succeeded. He couldn’t let his guard down going forward, but for now, he felt proud to have made a strong first impression.
If he could just stir their lingering emotions toward Jang Si-hwan… He felt confident he could quickly grow closer to the three of them. To do that, he had to keep showing a different side of himself—one unlike the unreadable Jang Si-hwan. A passionate Hunter who enjoys a challenge!
Kang-hoo planned to consistently present himself that way to the trio. And also, someone who’s sincere in every moment. That should be enough to clearly differentiate himself from Jang Si-hwan. And if that became Kang-hoo’s “charm”? Then surely, the balance of their hearts would begin tipping rapidly in his favor. Kang-hoo was certain of it.
Then, the final assault began. The name of the main boss monster was Karon. It wasn’t a particularly unusual name—it was a humanoid swordsman-type monster.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
The moment the battle began, Emilia immediately unleashed all of her dark energy, firing a beam directly at Karon. Karon darted back and forth agilely, but Emilia continued to track his movements. She didn’t reduce her use of dark energy, nor did she conserve her strength or pause her skills. She went all-out from the beginning.
Yu Cheonghwa copied Emilia’s skill and launched a series of attacks aimed at Karon’s eyes. Since humanoid monsters heavily rely on visual perception, that weak point was precisely what they targeted.
Takashi followed up, focusing his attacks specifically on the areas where Emilia’s beam had landed effectively.
Although the three of them fought in entirely different styles, their intentions were identical. That’s why, even without exchanging a single word, they moved like a single entity. No one asked for cooperation or gave commands—no one asked what the others wanted. They simply became “one.”
Kang-hoo also naturally slipped into their coordination and searched for the most decisive strike he could deliver. It was the skill he had directly copied from the Celestial Assassin—Celestial Net – Kill.
Right now, while the three hunters had Karon’s full attention, Kang-hoo was outside his awareness.
【Celestial Net – Kill】
So, moving stealthily to Karon’s rear, Kang-hoo activated Celestial Net – Kill immediately. The deadlier the spiderweb was spread toward its maximum radius, the more powerful it became, so buying time was crucial.
When Takashi saw Kang-hoo spreading the web using his dark energy, he seemed to understand and gave a subtle nod. He didn’t know the exact name of the skill, but his instincts told him how to sync with it.
Ka-ang! Ta-ang! Kaa-ang!
Takashi increased his firepower and kept pressing Karon backward. Though his clone body took several hits, it was all part of a calculated sacrifice, so he ignored it.
Then, as Kang-hoo fully charged Celestial Net – Kill, he gave a brief nod to Takashi.
Puh-eok!
Takashi thrust his elbow forward and shoved Karon back with raw power—slamming into him with full force.
In that moment, Karon’s battle posture broke. He lost his balance as he was pushed back.
Takashi wasted no time and inflicted a debuff of weakness, and Kang-hoo instantly went for the kill.
Ka-cha-cha-cha-chak!
The tightly stretched Celestial Net, like a rubber band on the verge of snapping, suddenly contracted.
The next moment—
“Kraaaaah!”
As soon as the debuff of weakness hit, the destructive force of the net that wrapped around his entire body made Karon scream in agony. The moment the net enveloped him, his skin began to shred apart, and fountains of blood burst out in all directions.
It was like throwing a slab of thick meat into a grinder—Karon’s body was minced into hundreds of pieces. For anyone not used to such sights, it would’ve been an unbearably cruel and nauseating spectacle.
“Gah—grrk! Gah-hhkk!”
Despite being the so-called “main” boss monster, his charge toward death was incredibly swift.
Kang-hoo believed that the groundwork laid by Emilia and Yu Cheonghwa’s earlier firepower had enabled the finishing blow. In other words, it was a humble heart and sincere respect, fully acknowledging their contributions.
However, the thoughts of the three watching this were slightly different from Kang-hoo’s.
‘Whether it’s a coincidence or not, I feel like there was a Chinese Hunter named Celestial Assassin who used a skill like this.’
Takashi had already noticed the existence of a similar—no, nearly identical—skill. That made it even more shocking.
The skills known to be used by the Celestial Assassin were notoriously brutal area-kill techniques. How had such a skill ended up in Kang-hoo’s hands? Did he have a copying ability like Yu Cheonghwa?
‘I’ve seen Celestial Assassin’s skills too, but they were so complex that even one-time copying was impossible. So why here, of all places?’
Yu Cheonghwa’s reaction was much the same. There was no way she, being from China, wouldn’t know about the Celestial Assassin. And that skill—was definitely his.
Sure, among Hunters, there were many skills with different names but similar execution. But what Kang-hoo had just used was too detailed to be written off as coincidence.
So did they think it was a skill too advanced for Kang-hoo? Absolutely not.
The way Kang-hoo deployed and prepared the skill had been clean and precise. He used his teammates wisely as tools, and thanks to that, he perfectly timed the boss monster’s deathblow.
And then—
“There’s nothing strange about calling that a hidden skill…”
Emilia’s reaction to Celestial Net – Kill was no different from Takashi or Yu Cheonghwa.
Kang-hoo’s showcase had now reached its climax. And at the peak of that climax, the three of them personally witnessed the most brutal death of a boss monster they’d ever seen.
Karon’s body, now torn to shreds, bore a vivid crimson web seared into what remained of it. It was the brand of death.