Chapter 316: The World They Live In (2)
Yu Cheonghwa had sensed early on that Kang-hoo’s status had changed and had been growing increasingly curious about it.
If Emilia’s gaze toward Kang-hoo was tinged with curiosity rooted in a strange sense of jealousy, then Yu Cheonghwa’s curiosity stemmed from suspicion about Kang-hoo’s backing.
The reason was simple.
Kang-hoo’s growth curve so far was incomparable to that of an average Hunter—it was far too rapid.
Even when considering so-called promising talents or current big names, Kang-hoo’s growth was still unusually fast. The number of skills he possessed was also far too many.
Yu Cheonghwa suspected that behind Kang-hoo, there might be an unbelievably powerful Constellation or that he had some special method for leveling up or acquiring skills.
Perhaps he gained experience by killing other Hunters, or maybe he received skills randomly.
There had been no documented cases of such a Hunter, but in the world of Hunters, nothing was truly impossible.
Even Yu Cheonghwa’s own skill-copying ability had been met with disbelief at first.
It was a one-time use, but no one expected someone to use a skill immediately just by seeing it once.Furthermore, if one repeatedly watched and learned through the eyes, it could become a permanent personal skill.
Because Yu Cheonghwa herself had an ability far beyond common sense, she wouldn’t find it strange if Kang-hoo had a similar ability. In fact, she was even more intrigued.
As the distance between them naturally closed and they ended up standing face-to-face, Takashi took the opportunity to introduce everyone.
With the introductions, handshakes were exchanged.
“I’m Shin Kang-hoo. My level is still low, and I lack skill, so I’m not sure I’ll be much help. But I’ll give my best effort in this raid.”
“This is great—really great! A perfect team of just four people, all ready to take on a dungeon!”
Takashi, already full of excitement, clapped his hands and welcomed the team formation.
Meanwhile, Emilia reached out her hand for a handshake with Kang-hoo.
“Emilia Rose.”
“We met before in the Hongcheon Liberation Area. This is our second time. Have you been well?”
Instead of answering, Emilia just stared intently at Kang-hoo.
Her gaze, as if it could pull one deep into the abyss, was cold and penetrating.
But despite that, her lips curled up gently, and she smiled as she asked, “Why didn’t you come to France? I made arrangements so you could visit Emilia Tower, remember?”
“You mean the facial recognition registration?”
“Yes. It was a rare invitation—I put quite a bit of thought into it, you know.”
“I’ve been busy. If I had any reason to go to France, I definitely would have. I just never got the chance.”
Emilia’s lips twitched at Kang-hoo’s nonchalant response, maybe even trembling slightly.
“I still have that Shackleton whiskey. Haven’t opened it since that day.”
“Oh, that whiskey.”
Kang-hoo smiled, vividly recalling their conversation from that day.
-Shackleton whiskey.
-Is it for commemoration?
-No way. It’s the whiskey Ernest Shackleton buried at base camp before his 1907 Antarctic expedition.
-You mean that one from Mackinlay’s?
-Exactly. That one.
A whiskey aged 125 years—unforgettable. And it tasted amazing.
“Please come soon. I’ll wait. I’ll wait for a while, but after a certain point, I might start resenting you.”
“I’d better brace myself.”
Kang-hoo responded with a playful shiver at Emilia’s half-threat.
With this level of enthusiastic reinvitation, it seemed he should definitely visit at least once.
And from now on, it would be even more important to build a connection with Emilia—there were reasons for that.
“Make sure you come.”
“Got it.”
“Promise me.”
Emilia adorably held out her pinky, and Kang-hoo chuckled and linked his own.
It was a gesture you’d normally only see in children’s games, but given Emilia’s youthful appearance, it didn’t feel awkward.
Then Yu Cheonghwa, standing nearby, smoothly picked up the conversation baton as Emilia stepped back a little.
“Kang-hoo. Do you remember buying an item from our VIP market last time?”
“Of course.”
Back then, Kang-hoo had bought a necklace from Yu Cheonghwa called the “Breath of the Reverse God.”
He still wore the second-grade necklace.
It suppressed poison affecting him while disrupting his opponent’s healing—a very useful ability.
Naturally, Kang-hoo remembered their conversation back then. It had included valuable information.
-I thought you might not know, so I’ll tell you. When you buy items from the Shinto Guild, you can exchange them once later. The value has to match, of course.
-I know.
-Hoho. Unusual service, right? That’s why we have so many loyal customers. Jang Si-hwan is one of our regulars.
-The Shinto Guild had a transaction system allowing exchanges of items of equal value at no extra cost.
With their vast inventory, the options for such exchanges were extensive.
Of course, for now, Kang-hoo had no intention of exchanging his necklace—its benefits were too good.
But if he got tired of its effects, or another item could replace its core ability, then switching it out would be perfectly viable. There was flexibility in that regard.
“Feel free to come by anytime. If you go through me, you might receive a bit more preferential treatment.”
“Thank you.”
“Looks like we’ll be together for quite a while this time. I’m expecting great things. I look forward to watching you work.”
“The pleasure’s mine.”
Kang-hoo bowed his head politely.
Since this raid included top-tier hunters, Kang-hoo also felt the pressure.
This wasn’t the time to hide his strength. He needed to perform at 120% of his capacity.
That way, others would find him “charming” and feel “goodwill” toward him.
Of course, there was also some risk of revealing his true abilities.
But he was convinced that the rewards outweighed the risks.
Besides, by continuing to stay close to Jang Si-hwan, they’d naturally learn more about him anyway.
Showing a little more now didn’t seem to pose any real danger, even after thinking it over multiple times.
The briefing was held at Takashi’s shelter, which had been set up in advance near the dungeon.
For a hastily constructed temporary building, it had everything one could need. It felt almost extravagant.
At any rate, a basic explanation of the dungeon was given inside.
It was a dungeon with far more unknowns than knowns. Takashi himself was tackling it for the first time.
From the start, the dungeon’s internal terrain reset every time, so prior information didn’t mean much.
In short, it was a semi-fixed dungeon—while terrain and patterns changed, the monster composition remained the same.
Takashi summarized it like this:
It’s a dungeon where you must rely on 75% experience and 25% analysis, and Kang-hoo agreed.
Moreover, since the level of monsters adjusts to match the average level of the four maximum participants, the fights would be difficult for Kang-hoo and slightly easier for the other three.
Of course, the difficulty didn’t feel different. Only the monsters’ levels would change.
Additionally, Kang-hoo was able to update his basic knowledge of the three who would be accompanying him.
They were open about sharing their abilities without hesitation—a sign of their confidence, no doubt.
Before entering, after the final check-up, Kang-hoo reaffirmed the abilities of the three.
‘Yu Cheonghwa. Her specialty is skill copy, with mental-type powers as a sub. But the distinction is meaningless given her versatile usage.’
Yu Cheonghwa’s skill copying ability branches into two types.
One-time copy and perfect copy.
For a perfect copy, the skill must be observed at least 1,000 times.
But a one-time use is possible just from a single viewing.
In other words, Yu Cheonghwa could use Shadow Step right after seeing Kang-hoo use it.
However, its efficiency is said to be only about 10% of the original skill. Still, it’s an incredibly unique ability.
‘Emilia Rose. Her primary abilities are mental and magical, with animal and plant communication as her sub.’
While much focus is placed on Emilia’s mental abilities, her magical abilities as a Hunter are actually more impressive.
In this four-person team, she would likely handle long-range area attacks and extreme damage dealing.
She certainly possessed that kind of destructive power.
‘Takashi. Uses clones. He steadily absorbs essence from slain monsters and uses various essence-based skills.’
The information on their abilities matched what was stated in the original story.
Meaning, they weren’t lying to Kang-hoo. In fact, they had shared even the finer details proactively.
This too was likely a product of confidence. Otherwise, they wouldn’t so willingly lay their cards on the table.
“Hoo.”
Just thinking that the three people with him were members of The Thirteen Stars made him sigh. And right now, as Justice, they were also three of the Eight.
Later on, after the final member joins, Jang Si-hwan will change the name from Justice to The Thirteen Stars.
“……”
Like water flowing naturally, his memories of the remaining members expected to join later surfaced effortlessly.
Ranbir Kumar.
An Indian male, a hand-to-hand combat Hunter.
He’s skilled at deflecting attacks and countering them, specializing in grapples.
So much so that he’s called the “Reaper of Melee.” He excels against close-range Hunters.
Miley Ann Rodrigo.
A young American-Canadian girl. Not just in appearance like Emilia—she is literally a child.
Her abilities are summoning type, and overall she resembles Kim Shin-ryeong in skill.
Cheon Yun-ha.
A Taiwanese woman with the English name Nikki Chen. She’s in the shaman class.
She’s essentially a vastly superior version of Yeon Su-a, whom Kang-hoo once saw in the Myeongga Guild.
She has the power to distort or isolate entire areas—an extremely dangerous individual.
Last is Dennis Jacobs.
His nationality is unknown even in the original, but he’s a man with exceptional archery skills.
He’s essentially an upgraded version of Jeon Se-hyuk, who is considered a top archer domestically.
‘Starting with Ranbir, these are the ones who were fond of Jang Si-hwan from the beginning. Their chance of betrayal is far lower than the three in front of me.’
Considering the nature of the future members of The Thirteen Stars, securing the three in front of him was truly crucial.
If he couldn’t win them over now, the plan to confront The Thirteen Stars later would collapse entirely.
Yes, the conclusion was simple.
These three must, without exception, become his people one day.