Chapter 52: The Hunting Dog (3)
[Shadow Step]
Boom!
Kang-hoo swiftly deployed Shadow Step and switched places with a far-reaching shadow.
Thankfully, he possessed a spatial movement skill; otherwise, he would have been burnt to death by the attack.
Whoosh!
The spot where Kang-hoo had just stood was now covered in black soot.
Due to the intense flames, a CCTV camera above had melted like ice cream.
Kang-hoo didnt miss the opportunity and threw Skys Joy at Cha So-hee, who was momentarily defenseless from the evasion.
The skill he combined with it was Blitz Blade.
While Great Decapitation is a close-range fatal skill, Blitz Blade is its long-range counterpart.
Whirr!
Skys Joy, charged with explosive energy and consuming a large amount of mana, flew towards Cha So-hee, tearing through the air with a deafening noise.
Tch.
Cha So-hee, spotting the flying dagger, crouched and conjured a protective shield in front of her.
As a magic hunter, she naturally had a defensive shield, often referred to in English as a shield.
[Abduction]
Kang-hoo had already activated another skill, Abduction, by the time Cha So-hee deployed her shield.
Normally, when a defense mechanism is activated, skills like Abduction either miss or are automatically evaded.
However, the premature use of the skill was because Kang-hoo had already envisioned the subsequent scenario.
Then.
Clang!
Ah!
Skys Joy, striking Cha So-hees shield, shattered it in one blow.
That was the power of Blitz Blade.
A mere dagger throw would have been easily deflected, but Blitz Blade was no ordinary skill.
It was a miscalculation on Cha So-hees part.
She hadnt anticipated that Kang-hoo would possess a throwing-type fatal skill.
Such skills were not commonly associated with assassin-type hunters.
Aaah!
Simultaneously, the Abduction was executed successfully.
With the shield gone, Cha So-hee, distracted by the dagger, failed to notice Kang-hoos Abduction and was suddenly pulled toward him.
Cha So-hees lips trembled as the distance between them rapidly closed.
It was an unexpected development for her.
Meanwhile, Kang-hoo seemed to have expected this, moving fluidly into his next set of actions.
Damn it.
Cha So-hees expression darkened.
Quickly regaining her composure, she immediately reacted, being pulled toward Kang-hoo.
[Fireshape]
Whoosh!
She activated the skill Fireshape.
She transformed into a giant fireball.
Typical Cha So-hee.
As he saw Cha So-hee turned into a blazing fireball hurtling toward him, Kang-hoo retreated without hesitation.
His original plan had been to injure her during the Abduction, but now he risked severe burns before he could even stab her with the dagger.
The fire, enhanced by her constellations, was now 500% stronger than its original intensity.
Even a brief touch of the flames was dangerous and not to be underestimated.
They could inflict more than mere superficial burns.
Having created enough distance between them, Kang-hoo shrugged his shoulders while watching Cha So-hees fiery form.
Hmm.
What, never seen a body like this?
It seems youve been working out.
Why dont you burn off your body fat like I do? It would get rid of that belly fat.
Cha So-hee, who had been in uniform, now wore only a sports bra and shorts.
Her clothes appeared to have burned off when she turned into a fireball.
Her underwear must have had some special coating treatment, as it remained intact.
Suddenly.
Whoosh!
Ugh!
This time, Kang-hoo was the one lifted off the ground.
Cha So-hee had used Abduction.
With the Master of Manipulation constellations effect, she could use the last skill she copied, though at only 25% efficiency.
Still, the speed at which she pulled him in was slower than Kang-hoos Abduction.
This might actually work to my advantage.
For both parties, closing the distance was beneficiala case of divergent dreams.
Kang-hoo needed to get closer for effective dagger attacks, while Cha So-hee could intensify the power of her fire.
Whoosh!
Cha So-hee, pulling Kang-hoo toward her, created a blazing red fireball in advance.
The mere color indicated that contact would completely erase anything in its path.
[Protective Level 2]
Kang-hoo had his own strategies but needed to defend against the fireball first.
So, he activated Protective Level 2.
Like Level 1, it followed the same composition but allowed for continuous deployment based on the situation.
Whoosh!
As Kang-hoo was being pulled, the fireball launched by Cha So-hee rapidly closed the distance.
However, caught by the evasive effect of Protective Level 1, the fireball evaporated before it could reach Kang-hoo.
What?
Confusion filled Cha So-hees eyes.
It was rare to see a skill just evaporate like that.
Moreover, she had never imagined that an assassin like Kang-hoo would possess such a skill.
Swoosh!
In the meantime, Kang-hoo used the Morris Maniche gloves to retrieve Skys Joy.
He quickly stabbed it downward, preparing to use the skill Wind Thunder Formation.
For Wind Thunder Formation to activate, a weapon had to be planted in the ground as a medium.
The weapon essentially acted as a completed magic circle.
[Wind Thunder Formation]
Wind Thunder Formation was a buff-type skill.
Within a radius of five meters, excluding the caster, it whipped up a fierce tempest and cold gusts against all targets.
Although low in probability, it could also induce a powerful electric storm, leading to possible electrocution.
Perhaps sensing Kang-hoo was up to something strange?
Cha So-hee raised her hands high into the air.
Suddenly, red clouds materialized out of nowhere, beginning to rain fire.
Just as the Wind Thunder Formation didnt affect Kang-hoo, the fire rain couldnt harm Cha So-hee. Instead, it protected her.
Kaboom!
Aaagh!
But Kang-hoo attacked quicker.
The fully activated Wind Thunder Formation began to lash at Cha So-hee furiously.
With her clothes already burned away, relentless red wounds appeared on her pale skin.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Damn it.
Kang-hoo wasnt unscathed either.
His body smoked and burned from the falling fire rain.
If the fire rain hit the same spot again, it felt like even the muscles and bones underneath would melt away.
Thankfully, the flames were large, so there were fewer of them than actual raindrops.
[Aim]
He used the Aim skill to identify the nearest flames position and trajectory.
Upon magnifying and observing the movement, he could anticipate the path and power of each flame.
Sh*t!
Cha So-hee, with deep cuts forming two lines on her cheek, cursed as she began to back away.
She seemed to realize that within its set radius, the Wind Thunder Formation was only attacking her and not Kang-hoo.
[Hallucination]
While Cha So-hee struggled within the Wind Thunder Formation, Kang-hoo launched a Hallucination skill at her.
He leaped through the predicted path of the flames, narrowly evading them.
If his calculations were wrong, he would have been drenched in flames, but accurate timing allowed him to escape the dangerous area with only a few brushes from the flames.
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, a fireball launched by Cha So-hee flew off in the wrong direction.
For someone as experienced as her, this was an entirely wrong direction a clear sign she was affected by the Hallucination.
Got her.
However, the duration of such tricks against a skilled hunter like Cha So-hee would never be long.
Time to play my trump card.
He decided to implement his second plan.
He never thought he could defeat Cha So-hee with just one red jewel.
Given the obvious difference in levels and stats, the longer the battle dragged on, the more variables would emerge.
In various scenarios, he knew he would eventually be at a disadvantage.
So, he made his decision.
[I will use Skill Enhancement.]
[The skill to be enhanced is Protective Barrier.]
Without hesitation, he used his one-time skill enhancement opportunity on the Protective Barrier.
While the Protective skill specialized in neutralizing a single attack, the Protective Barrier was designed for sustained defense with a set durability.
[Protective Barrier]
[Skill Proficiency: Ultimate]
[Creates a circular transparent barrier that protects the caster from all sides.]
[Can be either an installed type, placed in a specific space, or an integrated type, moving with the caster.]
[Continuously depletes mana regardless of durability reduction and activates a 0.1-second invincible barrier when durability reaches zero.]
[When the Protective Barrier is destroyed, the Devastation effect activates, evaporating all mana within a 10-meter radius.]
Following Blood Flower, Protective Barrier was his second ultimate skill.
It was an upgraded version of the original Protective Barrier.
Unlike the original, which could only be installed, this new version could move with Kang-hoo.
Even if not for this moment, investing in a defensive skill was a wise choice for the long term.
An assassin class must minimize the time spent on defense and maintain concentration.
With the Protective Barrier, there was no need to focus on defense until the barriers durability was exhausted.
In that case, I can focus solely on the attack. Its highly practical in many ways, he mused.
Whirr!
As Kang-hoo deployed the Protective Barrier, he charged at Cha So-hee.
He felt a huge amount of mana explosively depleting, but at that moment, it didnt matter.
Mad Solarkium was suppressing the pain perfectly, and there was no penalty to his mana supply for the moment.
There would be a backlash once the effect ended, but that was a problem for later.
[Acceleration]
[Leap]
[Shadowless]
Determined to settle the score, Kang-hoo relentlessly chained his skills.
In a state of maximum acceleration, the scenery around him blurred into lines.
The Leap skill that followed harnessed an incredible amount of kinetic energy.
Amidst this, Shadowless minimized his presence and sound, causing Cha So-hee to notice him later than she normally would.
She was just recovering from the mire of Hallucination, but Kang-hoos next move was a half beat faster.
[Great Decapitation]
Kang-hoo gripped Blood Tear with all his might, ready to deploy it.
Great Decapitation possessed the destructive power he needed at this moment.
Think you can?
Cha So-hees voice, laced with venom, resonated.
Kaboom! Whoosh! Kaboom!
Enraged, Cha So-hee unleashed flames in all directions, targeting Kang-hoo.
Yet, the Protective Barrier, with its substantial durability, withstood a direct frontal assault.
Being integrated, it had no trouble protecting Kang-hoo, even as he hovered in the air.
Suddenly, the distance between Kang-hoo and Cha So-hee shrank to less than a hands breadth.
And then,
Thump
In Kang-hoos right hand, a heavy sensation; in Cha So-hees lower abdomen, a cold sensationboth transmitted simultaneously.
It was the moment when the fates of two individuals, facing the same situation but headed toward entirely different destinies, intersected.
Time seemed to stop.
Cha So-hees eyes, having ceased all movement, cautiously and fearfully looked down.
At that moment,
Whoosh!
She saw it.
Blood, as red as her blazing flames, now soaked the previously unscathed skin of her abdomen.
And Kang-hoos cold voice chillingly echoed in her ears.
Ladies first. Ill maintain that courtesy even on the way to the afterlife.
Kang-hoo made this definitive statement, certain of Cha So-hees fate.
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