Chapter 331: Knot (1)
An empty lot, neither too far nor too close to the airport. It was there that Kang-hoo met Yuji.
He quietly followed the Eclipse members without making a fuss and didn’t bother picking a fight with them. He was more than confident he could kill them all if he wanted to. But for now, meeting Yuji came first. He had no desire to waste energy on small fry.
“Don’t even think about running. You’d be better off begging Lord Yuji for your life.”
“If you’re done talking, then beat it.”
Kang-hoo snapped at an Eclipse member who had no combat ability yet wouldn’t shut up.
Truthfully, if he had decided to escape, it would have been all too easy. He just needed to use the teleportation ability, one of the perks of the Dimension Plunderer. But he chose not to. He wanted to tie off this grudge for good. And Yuji was an enticing target.
Fwoooosh—
Yuji, with his back turned, smoked his cigarette. There were already several cigarette butts on the ground, but he had lit another one.
‘Yeah, striking a cool pose—he’s always been like that. No change in constellation info, though.’
Kang-hoo checked the activated constellation data on Yuji and nodded to himself. No new constellations had been added since their first encounter. At most, his level might have gone up a bit. Given how much time Yuji had wasted out in the world, it wasn’t hard to guess he’d neglected his growth.‘At Yuji’s level, leveling up doesn’t really feel urgent anyway.’
Yuji’s level was around 525. A tricky opponent.
Of course, Kang-hoo’s skills far exceeded his level. He also had a tip from Ayane about Yuji’s weaknesses and his own personal analysis. But the opponent wasn’t a monster—it was a hunter. With superior strategic thinking, even a momentary lapse could be dangerous.
‘He really does have a lot of constellations.’
A total of five contracted constellations. Among recent enemies, that was the highest number. Meaning more constellations to plunder.
Yuji, who had a hybrid style of berserker and assassin, was a highly unpredictable opponent. Such an enemy must never be allowed the first strike. He had to rush in, no matter what. Even if the approach was reckless, it had to be relentlessly aggressive.
Click.
He popped a Mad Solarkium into his mouth. Thanks to Ayane, he now had a sizable stash—24 left. No need to worry about running out anytime soon.
The Awakened Heart Pill was in a coat pocket within easy reach. He could toss it in his mouth anytime.
Yuji finally threw away his cigarette and turned his head. A mismatched odd-eye came into view—remnants of a healing spell left behind by the black mage Nakanishi Gosuke. To Kang-hoo’s eyes, it was the lucky trace of powerful healing, but Yuji felt very differently. That eye had become the trigger for his obsession with revenge on Kang-hoo.
“Shin Kang-hoo.”
“…?”
“Because of you, I got this damn scar. Why did you attack me that time? We didn’t even have bad blood. I was just in Osaka for fun.”
“Heh.”
Kang-hoo couldn’t help but laugh. Anyone hearing that nonsense spoken so seriously would be speechless.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s hilarious seeing you whine like you’re the victim. Want me to tell you why I did it?”
“Go on, then.”
“I was out for fun too, and I saw what looked like a trash bag, so I popped it just for kicks.”
“You motherf— Why the hell did you stab me, I’m asking you!”
“Then let me return that question. Why did you go around stabbing innocent hunters of the Rikou Guild in Osaka?”
“Because I felt like it, bastard!”
“Exactly. Same here—I just felt like it.”
Kang-hoo shook his head. The fight was inevitable anyway, but expecting a decent answer had been a mistake.
He immediately took a stance. There was nothing more to say. It was time to end this grudge.
And he added:
“Come at me. The rest of you small fries, keep your noses out of it. If anyone sticks their head in, they’re dead.”
As Kang-hoo swept his murderous gaze around, the Eclipse members flinched and stepped back. The incident at Cheongmyeong Detention Center had already instilled learned fear in them. But their current mindset was different because Yuji was here.
They still feared Shin Kang-hoo but believed Yuji would soon teach him a lesson.
“Lord Yuji, show that psycho your power!”
“You’ll become the benefactor of Eclipse! We believe in your victory!”
The Eclipse members shouted their support for Yuji and recorded the scene on their smartphones.
Kang-hoo was fully aware of this. He didn’t bother stopping the filming. However, knowing his skill info could be exposed, he decided to exclude the newly obtained skill ‘Jeokran’ from his combat options.
Anyway, the fact that he had skills like the Wall of Perfection or the Black Moon Slash/White Sun Slash was already widely known—there wasn’t much left to hide.
Yuji pointed the dagger he held at Kang-hoo and said:
“Shin Kang-hoo. If you sincerely admit your wrongdoing and beg for forgiveness, I might spare your life.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“Then negotiations have failed!”
“Negotiations that were never going to happen!”
Flash!
Without either of them needing to say a word, both rushed toward each other at the same time.
A key trait of the berserker class is their ability to consume their stamina to dramatically increase their destructive power. That’s why Kang-hoo kept reminding himself that even if he took the same kind of hit from Yuji, the damage wouldn’t necessarily be equal.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
Rather than pulling out a different skill, Kang-hoo watched to see what move Yuji would make first. Since neither of them had revealed their hand yet, it was better to react and land a counter.
‘Clone Technique? Very assassin-like choice.’
Yuji’s first move was the Clone Technique. Being a berserker with assassin as his base class, he could only use basic assassin skills.
Upon seeing Yuji use the clone skill, Kang-hoo activated an item he’d barely touched until now. When linked with a skill he planned to use next, it would eliminate the mana cost for that one-time usage.
【Squishy Talisman】
【Emergency Use: Use one skill without any mana cost. 1-hour cooldown.】
He used the Squishy Talisman.
Immediately after, he activated the third perk of his main constellation, Strategist of the Wasteland.
【Third: Use ‘Soul Pulse’ to sever the connection between you and a spiritually linked enemy or summon. Consumes 250 mana and causes mental strain, but completely resets the enemy’s state.】
The talisman perfectly canceled the mana cost. Used this way, its value was maximized.
Whiiing—
“Huh…?”
The clone caught in the Soul Pulse collapsed helplessly, and Yuji, who had been preparing to chain his next move, stared in stunned confusion.
【Qi Blast】
At that exact moment, Kang-hoo fired off a strike aiming for Yuji’s brief window of vulnerability.
KWAGAGAGA!
The Qi Blast roared forward. At such close range, dodging it required an immediate response.
【Great Sage of Kangdong】
【Soul Tracker】
【Battlefield Pursuer】
Without even looking at Yuji, Kang-hoo applied the powers of three constellations to him. It was a contingency, in case Yuji went into stealth, to ensure effective tracking.
The triple tracker set for assassins.
Once those three constellation abilities were applied, there was no escaping—no matter how well he hid or how far he fled.
【Abduction】
Immediately after, he activated the Abduction skill. It was a calculated certainty—Yuji would be unable to react to it.
Then—
【Short Blink】
“Son of a…?”
Yuji’s face turned pale as he tried to use one of his core skills, Short Blink, to dodge the Qi Blast.
【Spatial movement is restricted.】
The skill was blocked.
He didn’t know why, but the message clearly indicated a “warning”—he couldn’t use the skill.
He never imagined that his teleportation would be countered by a constellation ability.
Even after over a decade as a hunter, this had never happened before.
“Ugh!”
In the meantime, Yuji was caught by Kang-hoo’s Abduction skill, which he’d confidently activated. His confidence had a clear reason. If Yuji couldn’t use his skill, he’d surely panic—and in that moment, he’d be unable to avoid the abduction.
Puhk!
“Guhk!”
Yuji, who hadn’t even been able to escape the Qi Blast’s trajectory, was dragged in by Abduction and forced into a direct hit.
Struck square in the abdomen, he spat thick saliva and bent over in a C-shape.
Even as his body reeled backward, the pull of Abduction yanked him back again—leaving him in a pitiful state.
The Eclipse members watching it unfold live and on their smartphone screens were stunned. They’d expected Yuji to overwhelm and dominate Kang-hoo at the start—but this was the worst possible scenario.
The only silver lining was that Yuji hadn’t been dragged into the abduction completely defenseless.
【Blood Spirit Defense】
Yuji activated a protective system by spending half his health and mana in one go. If he couldn’t at least protect his body in this situation, he might suffer a fatal wound.
Kang-hoo never expected to kill Yuji in the opening strike anyway. Rather, this level of success was better than he’d hoped. And the follow-up attack was already in motion.
Siiing!
Clutching a sharp dagger tightly again, he used Great Decapitation to aim for Yuji’s abdomen.
Both the Qi Blast earlier and this move targeted Yuji’s abdomen for one reason. It was the spot Kang-hoo had previously wounded deeply. Even if healed, it remained a weak point.
On the surface, it might look like he was at full health. But healing skills and magic don’t completely erase all scars or restore a body to its original state. Just like a car repaired after an accident can’t be called “new.”
Puhk!
“You bastard…! Guh!”
Kang-hoo drove the dagger into Yuji’s abdomen with force, then quickly leapt backward using his mobility skill.
Yuji, stabbed in the stomach, swung a dagger he pulled from his back pocket forward in a desperate counter. Had Kang-hoo basked in the thrill of landing a hit, that counter might have wounded him. But his preemptive dodge was successful—Yuji ended up taking the wound unilaterally.
Thanks to Blood Spirit Defense, it was still a manageable injury—without it, his organs would have been torn apart.
Yuji didn’t hesitate. He immediately activated another skill for recovery.
Skill: Blood Energy Infusion.
In a state where injury and further stamina loss were guaranteed, it was essential for rapid healing.
But then—
“Damn it, why isn’t it working?!”
【Recovery Suppression】
Yuji cursed upon seeing the Recovery Suppression debuff active in his status window. The skill had been used, but the debuff nullified all of its effects.
From the very beginning up to now!
Yuji had been completely dancing in the palm of Kang-hoo’s hand. At this rate, he was no better than a toy.