Chapter 319: The World They Live In (5)
Takashi, sharp as ever, quickly grasped the reason behind Kang-hoo’s sudden move.
“Don’t tell me… the bleeding counters it…”
Before Takashi could finish his sentence, Kang-hoo had already made a cut and stepped into the purple mist.
Judging by how relaxed Kang-hoo appeared while surveying the area inside, it seemed his guess was correct.
“Takashi, want to try it yourself?”
“Bleeding?”
“If you’re curious, you’ll have to pay the tuition.”
“That sounds pretty ominous.”
“Don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that! Fine. If getting cut by you makes the bleeding last longer, go ahead.”Swish!
“Gah!”
Before he could even gasp, Kang-hoo’s dagger lightly grazed the back of Takashi’s arm.
It was a tiny cut, but enough to trigger the bleeding effect.
The bleeding lasted long enough.
When Takashi entered the purple mist in that state, a different status message appeared than before.
【Weakened Requiem】
【You lose 0.5% of HP per second.】
“Earlier it was just ‘Requiem,’ but now it’s weakened. If it’s only this much HP loss, we can push through, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Wow… Shin Kang-hoo, you’re seriously impressive. Did you already know about this pattern? How’d you figure it out?”
“How do you think?”
“Are you going to keep teasing me? I mean, it’s incredible! I never even considered bleeding could be the key.”
“I just kept it simple. Since it was draining blood—your HP—it made sense to draw blood first.”
“You want my blood? Then I’ll give it to you.”
“Well, something like that, yeah.”
Takashi believed Kang-hoo’s nonchalant explanation without a doubt. Honestly, it sounded reasonable.
Kang-hoo was once again reminded how much of an advantage it was to know things about this world. Everything became easier.
“Let’s hurry and move on! Just in case the dungeon acts up and the pattern changes!”
“Yeah, let’s cross quickly.”
“Emilia! Yu Cheonghwa! Hurry up! We found the way through! You just need to bleed a little! Just a tiny bit!”
Takashi called out to the two in a flurry.
Kang-hoo, now holding a dagger like a surgeon with a scalpel, stood before Yu Cheonghwa and Emilia.
It was a bizarre sight, but after hearing Takashi’s explanation, the two extended their hands without hesitation.
Minor cuts could easily heal on their own anyway, thanks to their natural recovery.
And so, the four of them passed through what could have been a highly troublesome section with just a drop of blood.
A normal team of hunters wouldn’t even have been able to attempt it.
‘Yeah, Shin Kang-hoo. Keep showing me. Prove you’re worthy of piquing my curiosity!’
Takashi beamed.
The fact that he was getting to know Kang-hoo better—and that each encounter brought fresh intrigue—filled him with joy.
Kang-hoo wasn’t someone who became predictable the more you knew him. He became even more surprising.
Around that time, at Eclipse’s bunker “S,” top executives including Kang Dong-hyun were gathered.
Eclipse had prepared several underground bunkers in case of emergencies.
They were labeled S, A, B, C, and D according to security level.
Among them, Bunker S was reserved for matters requiring the highest level of confidentiality.
Naturally, it was a facility not used under normal circumstances.
As usual, the two seats at the far end of the long rectangular table remained empty.
Those were reserved for ranks 1 and 2.
Kang Dong-hyun was seated in the third seat, meaning he was the third-in-command. Three others sat below him.
Rank 4: Son Yoon-ah. Rank 5: Cheon Seung-ho. Rank 6: Lim Jeong-wan. These were the core members of Eclipse.
Normally, the top 8 ranks joined these meetings.
However, Rank 7 Jo Hwan-seong had been killed by Kang-hoo not long ago, and Rank 8 Go Kyung-pyo had met the same fate.
So even though it was a full gathering up to Rank 8, only four people were present.
“I’ll tell you everything I couldn’t share before. Listen and give your input.”
Kang Dong-hyun shared all recent events and previously undisclosed information.
It wasn’t just about Kang-hoo, but the entire power structure surrounding them.
After listening closely, the executives began raising their hands. Kang Dong-hyun pointed first at Son Yoon-ah.
With a short-cropped hairstyle just barely covering her ears, a diamond-shaped tattoo near her eyes, and dark smoky makeup that exaggerated her features, Son Yoon-ah looked like a devil in human form.
Everything about her—from her hair to her clothes—was pitch black. The comparison wasn’t far off.
Son Yoon-ah spoke.
“Can we really trust Yuji-nim? He said he’d get revenge on Shin Kang-hoo, but…”
“That guy? I couldn’t care less if he lives or dies. If he kills Shin Kang-hoo, great. If not, he’s just a dumbass.”
Kang Dong-hyun’s formerly submissive attitude in front of Ishihara Yuji had completely vanished.
From the start, his groveling wasn’t sincere.
He simply wanted to use Yuji to kill Shin Kang-hoo—classic ‘killing with a borrowed knife.’
Kang Dong-hyun, who treated even his half-brother like a mortal enemy, would never hold any sentimental attachment to a cousin.
“Then let’s leave Shin Kang-hoo to Yuji-nim for now. I think we need to disrupt the current power balance.”
“Yeah. Shin Kang-hoo. Heuksaja. Cheong-an Mercenaries. Jeon Se-hyuk. They’re all coming for us as one force.”
Kang Dong-hyun clutched his throbbing forehead.
Just hearing Kang-hoo’s name again triggered a flood of bad memories. More than a few executives had died at his hands.
At that moment, Cheon Seung-ho, who sat next to Son Yoon-ah, raised his hand.
Bald and one-eyed, Cheon Seung-ho was a self-made man who had risen to power despite physical disadvantages.
“Yeah. Seung-ho, let’s hear it.”
“How about we reconcile with Kang Tae-yang-nim and merge with his organization? The Sun is actually larger than we thought.”
“What, you want me to crawl between that bastard’s legs? Do I look like a pushover to you? Cheon Seung-ho, did you take bribes from Kang Tae-yang or something?”
“…I’m sorry!”
“I asked for reasonable opinions, not crap like that.”
“I’m sorry, boss!”
“Unless Kang Tae-yang comes here and crawls under my crotch himself, there’s no deal.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Unbelievable.”
Kang Dong-hyun gave Son Yoon-ah and Cheon Seung-ho a disappointed glare.
Cheon Seung-ho was the typical brute-force type, and Son Yoon-ah was a rigid, by-the-book thinker, far from imaginative.
Naturally, his attention turned to someone unlike the two—Lim Jeong-wan, the brains of the group.
Lim Jeong-wan had once served as Kang Dong-hyun’s strategist before studying abroad in the U.S.
Most of Kang Dong-hyun’s blunders had happened during his absence.
Noticing the focus on him, Lim Jeong-wan cleared his throat. He had already organized his thoughts.
“Jeong-wan, your thoughts?”
“Boss. I believe it’s time to make it official. Let’s reveal that we have a sponsor.”
“What?”
“We’ve kept it top secret until now, but I believe it’s time to lay our cards on the table strategically.”
“…”
Kang Dong-hyun’s lip twitched at Lim Jeong-wan’s words, making his expression unreadable.
The existence of a sponsor.
Because of that, the top two seats in Eclipse were always left vacant. They were there, but not truly present.
While Kang Dong-hyun was effectively the number one, he could never become the true number one.
There was clearly someone above him. Lim Jeong-wan continued.
“Those reckless fools need to learn. Attacking us means they’re attacking the Fortuna Guild.”
“But wasn’t secrecy a core agreement with Casey Rex-nim? You want to break that?”
Kang Dong-hyun hesitated.
It looked like fear. And it surprised the other executives.
Even Kang Dong-hyun, who seemed afraid of nothing, couldn’t stay composed before certain powers.
As Kang Dong-hyun hesitated, Lim Jeong-wan quietly brought his hands together and leaned in closer.
Then, in a whisper barely above a breath, he said something that rang out with chilling clarity:
“If we don’t break it, we die.”
After passing through the purple mist zone, the dungeon raid progressed rapidly.
That was thanks to the battle shifting into a full-on firepower assault.
As a result, Kang-hoo was able to raise his level to 285.
The experience gains were so good that it made him wonder if something was off.
The four-person division of roles was clear.
Emilia focused entirely on area attacks. Her attacks were so powerful that “obliteration” felt like the unifying theme.
She never used her psychic powers—likely not out of secrecy, but because there was no need.
However, her ability to commune with animals and plants was on full display.
Whenever monsters approached, Emilia would use animals or plants as shields.
Then, she’d unleash AoE skills to eliminate the monsters and the temporary shields all at once.
Some might call it cruel, but to Kang-hoo, a pragmatist, it was the most efficient strategy.
Yu Cheonghwa copied and adapted the skills of Emilia, Takashi, and Kang-hoo consistently.
For example, she’d bond with an animal like a minion and then make it into a clone.
She’d send it charging at a monster and detonate it by overloading it with mana.
Takashi collected black orbs that dropped from slain monsters and occasionally unleashed a finishing move.
It was a feast for the eyes.
If he had been with normal hunters, Kang-hoo would never have seen such exotic abilities and brilliant effects.
It stirred something in him.
A desire to possess more—and more dazzling—skills than even these companions.
His greatest strength: as long as he learned a skill, he could instantly master it to the maximum level.
That eliminated what would normally take many months—or even years—of training.
So, securing more skills quickly to catch up to them became all the more urgent.
Soon, they agreed to take a 30-minute break.
Everyone relaxed on a hill with a clear view in all directions.
Kang-hoo, who had been thinking of lying down for a nap, sat up when he felt Takashi’s presence next to him.
Looks like the guy had something to say.
“Takashi. What is it?”
“Be honest with me. You’ve got more than 35 skills, right? I haven’t seen them all, but it’s gotta be around there.”
“You really want to know?”
“Of course I do! Do you know how hard it is to get even one skill?! Come on, tell me. It’s 35, right?”
Kang-hoo chuckled.
Had this guy really observed that closely?
If he told the truth, Takashi might faint—he couldn’t help but laugh.
At the same time, a meaningful certainty settled in Kang-hoo’s mind.
‘Including my base skills, I’ve long since passed 60. Even someone like Takashi, with boundless imagination, can’t fathom the variety I possess.’
It meant that not even a creative thinker like Takashi could accurately gauge the scope of his skills.
A realm far beyond the imagination.
And that’s where Kang-hoo resided.