BOOOOM!
A surge of black energy erupted, soaring from the fortress to the heavens.
"He's gone berserk?!"
"Do you think I’ll let you rampage freely?!"
As Ji Wonhoon unleashed his power, Kang Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun immediately reacted.
Without hesitation, they swung their weapons: Hyunsoo’s twin swords unleashing Heaven Splitter and Jin Gijun’s massive axe generating a powerful whirlwind.
Clang! Clang! CRAAANG!
Neither attack could penetrate Ji Wonhoon’s protective barrier.
Despite wielding their strongest skills, they couldn’t even scratch the black shield enveloping him.
And Ji Wonhoon wasn’t finished.
"Is that all you’ve got, even with the power of beauty?!"
As Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun pressed their assault, Ji Wonhoon completed his transformation.
Raising both arms high, he gathered the rampant black energy around him, condensing it into an intense, controlled force. With a swing of his staff, he sent the energy hurtling toward them.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The black energy materialized into blade-like shapes, streaking toward Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun in a deadly straight line. The blades approached like falling dominos, closing in from afar.
“...!”
Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun tried to block with their swords and axe, but the energy blades tore through their defenses.
Slash! Slash!
The black energy sliced at their cheeks, shoulders, and thighs.
Ji Wonhoon’s attack wasn’t just creating sword-like constructs—it was tearing through space itself.
“Damn it, this is...!”
"It’s a spatial slash! We need to get out of range!"
Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun leapt back, putting distance between themselves and the source of the attack.
"Spatial slashes... That’s a skill reserved for SS-rank dungeon bosses or top-tier hunters. How is he using it?"
"It must be because of his left arm," Jin Gijun replied, pointing to Ji Wonhoon’s blackened arm.
Hyunsoo frowned. "His arm... Now that you mention it, it doesn’t look normal."
"Not surprising. I cut it off a while ago," Hyunsoo admitted reluctantly.
"You... cut off his arm?" Jin Gijun’s eyes widened.
During their last confrontation at Jaewon University, Hyunsoo had severed Ji Wonhoon’s arm so completely that reattachment should have been impossible.
But now, not only was the arm restored, it moved as if it were natural, radiating a mysterious black energy capable of spatial destruction.
That wasn’t the only problem.
The battlefield lay in ruins, littered with the remnants of the earlier clash. Amidst the chaos, a masked hunter who had been knocked unconscious crawled from the wreckage toward Ji Wonhoon.
“President... Please, help me...”
But Ji Wonhoon’s response was merciless.
"Out of my way, pest!"
Slash! Slash!
With a sweep of black energy, he sliced the operative into pieces.
Ji Wonhoon’s berserk state spared no one—ally or foe alike.
"Do you think I don’t see you creeping closer? I’ll kill every last one of you here!"
BOOOOM!
His voice thundered as waves of black energy blades lashed out toward Bang Ilhyung, Na Youngjin, Jin Seoyun, and the other hunters attempting a sneak attack.
“Damn it!”
“Everyone, dodge!”
The hunters were on the brink of being overwhelmed when—
"Grace of Swiftness!"
Yoo Hana activated a support skill, boosting the hunters’ attack and movement speeds.
Their enhanced agility allowed them to leap sideways, narrowly avoiding the deadly blades.
In the midst of the chaos, a notification flashed before Hyunsoo’s eyes:
[Your Charming Helper uses Weakness Detection.]
[Consumes 10% Charged Charm.]
[Weakness Detection Successful.]
[Identified Weaknesses: Heart, Left Arm.]
[Weakness points highlighted in red within your field of vision.]
“Master! His heart and left arm are weak points!” Swallow’s voice echoed in Hyunsoo’s mind.
Red markers appeared on Ji Wonhoon’s left chest and arm.
But knowing the weaknesses didn’t make them easier to exploit.
“Damn it, even if I know, I can’t get close enough to use it!” Hyunsoo cursed.
The closer they got to Ji Wonhoon, the more densely packed the black blades became, turning any approach into a suicide mission.
【Activate】
[Heaven Splitter (S)]
Screech! BOOM!
Hyunsoo unleashed another Heaven Splitter, but the black blades intercepted it, slowing its trajectory enough for Ji Wonhoon to evade.
Even Jin Gijun’s whirlwind strikes dissipated upon nearing Ji Wonhoon, shredded by the spatial slashes.
“Damn it! Those things are a nightmare!” Jin Gijun growled.
Meanwhile, Ji Wonhoon smirked.
"Ha! Looks {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} like Hayuri really gave me an incredible gift! The power of greed is beyond imagination!"
As if to prove his point, Ji Wonhoon conjured a massive Hellfire Specter, a demonic visage engulfed in flames, and hurled it at the hunters.
“That’s a Hellfire Specter?!”
“Damn it, that bastard...!!”
Hyunsoo attempted to counter with Heaven Splitter once again.
“Do you think the same trick will work twice?!” Ji Wonhoon sneered.
The black smoke lingering in the air transformed into blades, intercepting Hyunsoo’s attack and rendering it ineffective.
The Hellfire Specter morphed into the shape of a demonic face and barreled toward the hunters.
BOOOOOM!
The specter exploded mid-air, flames spreading beyond the fortress walls.
“Everyone, get behind me!” Yoo Hana shouted, forming a protective barrier to shield the nearby hunters.
Though Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun were too far to help, the others quickly took cover behind Yoo Hana.
But—
Crack! Crack! Shatter!
The barrier couldn’t withstand the flames. Yoo Hana winced, squeezing her eyes shut as the fire rushed toward her.
Yet the flames never reached her.
Wooooong!
“Tch, the fire’s too intense to leave unchecked.”
“Is that... a talking swallow?”
A blue barrier shimmered into place, formed by none other than Swallow, now wearing sunglasses.
Thanks to his timely intervention, Yoo Hana and the hunters behind her escaped unscathed.
Hyunsoo and Jin Gijun, though distant, remained unharmed as well.
“Phew! I almost took that hit directly. Thanks, Kang Hyunsoo!” Jin Gijun called out.
“Glad you’re safe,” Hyunsoo replied.
As the Hellfire Specter closed in on them, Kang Hyunsoo acted swiftly.
Grabbing Jin Gijun from behind, he activated Ejection, a skill that released a powerful shockwave through the blade, propelling both user and ally backward.
The distance from the incoming specter increased in an instant.
Though the explosion's fiery blast and shockwave grazed them, Hyunsoo’s Trust Armor shielded them, minimizing the damage.
Swallow also played his part, shielding the other hunters at the critical moment.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
Despite reducing casualties, the situation was far from favorable.
“Looks like your so-called supreme beauty is gone... You still can’t control its power, can you? Hah! That strength—I'll take it for myself!”
Ji Wonhoon, emboldened by the previous skirmish, conjured another storm of black blades.
“Hunter Kang Hyunsoo, can you still fight?” Jin Gijun asked, gripping his axe tightly.
“I’m fine,” Hyunsoo replied firmly.
“Then take Seoyun and the others to the boss portal. Now.”
“The boss portal?”
“Yes. I don’t know what’s going on, but with your skills, the dungeon boss shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll buy you time—defeat the boss and escape this place!”
Jin Gijun’s plan was clear: he intended to sacrifice himself to secure Hyunsoo’s and the others’ escape.
But Hyunsoo refused to back down.
“No, I won’t run,” Hyunsoo said resolutely.
Instead, he proposed an alternative.
“Deputy Guild Leader, can you buy me three minutes?”
“Three minutes? Do you have a plan?”
“The odds are fifty-fifty. If I fail, I’ll take everyone and head straight for the boss portal.”
“That’s good enough. I’ll hold him off—go ahead and start!”
Without hesitation, Jin Gijun charged toward Ji Wonhoon, swinging his massive axe.
BOOM! CRASH! BOOM!
Explosions and deafening sounds echoed as Jin Gijun engaged Ji Wonhoon in close combat.
Meanwhile, Swallow descended from above, introducing himself with his usual flair.
“My name is Swallow, a loyal pet to Master Kang Hyunsoo. Ji Wonhoon’s black arm is his weakness. His spatial blades cannot be blocked, but they only last three seconds—dodge carefully!”
“Where did this talking bird come from?!” Jin Gijun exclaimed, stunned.
“Who cares? It’s helping us!” shouted Yoo Hana, taking up position.
Swallow adjusted his sunglasses for style, then dropped his stealth, aiding the Samcheon Guild hunters directly. Even Jin Seoyun, Han Sungbin, and Yoo Hana joined the fray, attacking Ji Wonhoon from all sides.
Hyunsoo, meanwhile, knelt on the ground, planting his twin swords before him.
He tore the sleeves of his shirt with a quick motion, biting down on the fabric.
[Your outfit has been damaged.]
[Fashion stat decreased. Appearance Power -1.]
Though his Appearance Power dropped, it was necessary to brace for what came next.
“Alright... let’s see if you can block this. Heaven-Earth Gale!”
BOOOOOM!
Jin Gijun unleashed the SS-rank skill Heaven-Earth Gale, creating a massive whirlwind that erupted from both the ground and sky.
But Ji Wonhoon sneered, teleporting out of range before retaliating with a storm of black blades.
“Damn it, this bastard!” Jin Gijun growled as the relentless attack left him and the hunters battered.
Amid the chaos, Hyunsoo concentrated on his internal flow of mana.
He circulated it through his body: from his heart to his legs, legs to arms, arms to his head, and back to his heart. The flow followed a clockwise direction until—
Hyunsoo reversed it.
Redirecting mana from his legs to his head, he forced it to flow counterclockwise.
“Urgh!”
A searing pain shot through his body, forcing a groan from his clenched teeth.
Had he not bitten down on the torn fabric, he might have screamed in agony.
The excruciating process pushed him to the brink of unconsciousness, but Hyunsoo endured. If he faltered, it would all end here.
“Hold on. Endure. You have to.”
Victory and defeat were the only outcomes.
Hyunsoo’s high intelligence stat proved invaluable, allowing him to maintain clarity even under such torment. As sweat drenched his entire body, memories of training alongside Choi Taehun in his past life resurfaced.
Though the process was agonizing and managing reverse-flowing mana was no easy feat, Hyunsoo refused to give up.
[You’re sweating excessively.]
[Appearance Power -1.]
Every fiber of his being ached, yet he pressed on, unwilling to let Ji Wonhoon claim victory.
Finally, something snapped within him.
Snap! Snap!
It felt as though invisible strings in his mind had broken.
[Hidden Swordsmanship: Berserker’s Secret Techniques unlocked!]
The notification confirmed his success.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[Berserker’s Secret Technique: Exploding Sword (A) acquired.]
[Berserker’s Secret Technique: Frenzy (B) acquired.]
[Berserker’s Secret Technique: Roar (C) acquired.]
A cascade of skills appeared, gifts that could turn the tide of battle.