Master Hunter K

Chapter 22

Once Sungjin materialized in the Black Market, he walked until he reached a street side Tea shop. He entered the shop and took a seat. The Operator began an explanation.

[This is a street side Tea Shop run by shop owner ‘Xiu Ran’, First Drop.]

[You can enjoy various flavors of tea for free here.]

A large Panda demihuman approached Sungjin.

“What would you like to drink, dear Hunter?”

“Black Tea, Royal Blend please.”

“Understood. Will be right out.”

Moments later, the shopkeeper handed Sungjin a Chinese style tea. The aroma filled the air. Tasting the tea, Sungjin took out his equipment to inspect it.

He needed to know which items were worth keeping so he could decide to sell it or not.

First up was a cape which had the consistency and appearance of a jellyfish’s skin. It was extremely thin, billowed easily in the wind and was partially opaque. Parts of it were frozen.

Sael’s Breath – Mantle of Freezing

Heroic Mantle Damage reduction 5%

Passive Skill

Protection from Flame (III)

Reduce damage inflicted by Fire based attacks by 60%

Active Skill

Solidify(IV)

Mantle instantly freezes, briefly reducing damage taken by 99%. Cooldown 5 Minutes

Mantle once owned by Ice Queen Sael.

She, who froze a large number of people around her due to her inability to control her magic, learned to control her power thanks to the love and effort by her younger sister. (Note at the end)

‘… 99% damage reduction…’

It would definitely come in handy when facing enemies with undodgeable attacks – like the Lich’s Orb of Ice. The passive was also very helpful.

Sungjin held up the mantle.

“Equip”

The Mantle left his hands and attached itself to his back, and swayed in the wind. He could almost not feel the weight of the cape at all; save for the slight chill he felt on his back.

The next item was a strange looking hand bell. It was small and had minuscule engravings.

Manyata – Master’s Bell

Heroic Accessory

Active Skill – Call of Madness(IV)

Owned Summons become invulnerable for 10 seconds and raises Damage and Speed by 400%. Cooldown 10 minutes

Gravekeeper Oryx’s Bell.

He used this weapon to drive his subordinates like a slave.

The bell was well suited for the Necromancer.

‘Mmm… Summons… Summons eh? Where can I get one…?’

Now that he thought about it, he remembered he had Cain.

‘If I use this on Cain… I’ll keep it on me for now.’

Sungjin placed the bell inside his pocket. The next item he checked was a long skeletal finger.

Ring of Deathmond – Lich’s Finger

Heroic Ring

Active Skill

Lich’s Beckoning(III)

Absorb mana from the Corpses. Recovers 75% of the total mana. Cooldown 10 Minutes

Boost Magic(II)

The next magic cast by incantation becomes doubly powerful and costs twice the mana. Cooldown 5 minutes.

Lich Deathmond’s Finger bones.’

His finger caused many hearts to freeze over.

This was the main boss’s regular drop, so it was rather common. During his last life, many magic users had kept this ring around.

It was because both the active skills on it were extremely advantageous for a mage.

‘Magic…’

Sungjin had been purely a swordsman in his last life.

His primary weapon ‘Blood Vengeance’ had SS Strength and A Dexterity bonus stats, so he had raised Strength for extra damage, Dexterity for combat speed, and Endurance for the preservation of his life.

Surviving chapter to chapter was always a struggle, so raising INT or Mind were avoided entirely. Naturally, he never had an opportunity to use magic.

So whenever he received a mage type item, he would trade with other hunters or sell it off at the Black Market to buy potions. But, things were different now.

‘I think this time I should invest in trying out magic as well.’

He had invested a significant amount of points into Strength, Dexterity and Endurance to get through the first three chapters, but investing in magic for late game was a good idea. Trying to beat later part of the Raids with purely physical attacks had its own limitations.

Since he had a title which raised all stat points by 30%, he could afford to try investing somewhat into Magic Power and Mental Power. Investing into becoming a Magic Swordsman would definitely prove to be advantageous later down the line.

‘It would be preferable if there was an actual magician though…’

He couldn’t help but recall memories of his past life.

‘Leave your back to me’

Sungjin shook his head. He could not trust anyone. It was great if they were helpful. But he had to prepare for moments when others were not dependable. Sungjin lifted up the Lich’s finger and said

“Equip”

The Lich’s finger moved to his left ring finger and

‘Creak’

Made uncomfortable noise as it formed a ring around his hand by curling up. Judging purely by its appearance, it was an extremely unattractive ring.

After Sungjin had examined his three equipment pieces which he received from this round, he called the Operator

“Operator, give me both of the Spellbooks I got this round.”

The Operator gave Sungjin two Spellbooks from the cube. On the cover, the name of the spells was written.

Spell Book – Frostbite

2nd Class Blue Magic

The ground freezes, binding(rooting) enemies to the ground.

‘I don’t know when I’ll ever use it…’

Since he opted to try magic this time, he decided to try the spells he had obtained. Sungjin lifted up the book and shouted

“Memorize!”

The Spellbook – ‘FrostBite’ emitted bright blue lights, and spontaneously combusted. The Operator gave an announcement.

[Spell – FrostBite memorized.]

[Incantation for the spell is ‘Binding Frost!’]

The Operator explained expressionlessly about the spell.

“…Ok.”

Sungjin looked over at the other spell he had received.

Spellbook – Rise of the Dead

4th Class Black Magic

Revive Fallen enemies as undead summons to use in combat. 10 minutes duration.

There was no question about how this spell would be used. The only problem was how much utility he could squeeze out of revived monsters. Sungjin shouted without hesitation

“Memorize!”

The Spellbook – ‘Rise of the Dead’ emitted black light and burst into flames.

[Spell – Rise of the Dead Memorized.]

[Incantation for the spell is ‘Awaken and become my slave!’]

And so Sungjin was now able to use two magic spells.

‘I think I wouldn’t have any trouble clearing the next few chapters with just the sword… but I might as well try the spells out in the next round.’

Once he finished inspecting all his new items from the last raid, Sungjin wanted to stand up and leave. But he was reminded that there was yet another Item which he had received from the raid.

It was the “Moon Specter” hanging from his side. Sungjin pulled the sword out of the scabbard to inspect it.

Moon Specter – Possessed Sword

Legendary Katana – Strength S Dexterity A Mind Power B

Passive Skill

Soul Absorption(II)

Recover 2% of the total Mana per hit

Active Skill

Deathly Wail(IV)

A ghost will induce fear to all nearby creatures. Cooldown 10 minutes

Katana imbued with the power of ghosts. It is unknown if the vengeful spirit was originally the owner of the Katana, or if the soul became vengeful upon being slain by the Katana.

‘Deathly Wail… it was much more powerful than I expected.

The effectiveness of the skill was awe inspiring.

It caused fear to all beings (even undead) within 20 meters distance. It was like obtaining another ‘ace in the hole card’ like ‘Yanhurat’.

‘And this… doesn’t even have a side effect…’

It was a skill well suited for a legendary class item.

The status boost on this sword was slightly lower than the “Blood Vengeance’, but Sungjin already had extremely high number of points invested in Strength and Dexterity compared to the chapter he was in, Enough that even boss monsters were in danger of being instant-killed by so much as grazing them with his sword.

The B rank damage boost attached to Mind Power was quite good. Especially if Sungjin starts using Magic spells, he will need to raise Mind Power; Being able to improve damage by boosting Mind Power was definitely a big advantage.

The passive ‘Soul Absorption’ was also great.

‘Legendary sure deserves its reputation.’

After taking a moment to appreciate the blue glow of the Katana, Sungjin emptied his teacup and stood up.

“Thank you for the tea.”

The Fat Panda Xiu Ran came to see him out.

“Be Careful now.”

Sungjin left ‘First Drop’ and headed towards the ‘Last Edge’.

“Welcome, dear Hunter. Ssssss”

As always, Naga Kenneth greeted him. Sungjin asked

“Let me see that crimson Katana… Blood Vengeance again.”

“Understood, Dear Hunter.”

Kenneth entered deeper into the shop and retrieved the ‘Blood Vengeance’ for Sungjin.

“Here is the sword you requested.”

Sungjin gripped the handle of his beloved sword. The handle felt nostalgic.

“But… I don’t think I can use you this time.”

Sungjin apologized to the sword as if it was his lover. He already obtained a Legendary class sword “Moon Specter”; Purchasing ‘Blood Vengeance’ was too inefficient to justify.

It would have been great if Sungjin was able to Dual Wield, but he was not able to do so. Sungjin was right handed; even if he were to hold a weapon in his left hand, it would become nothing but a useless accessory.

Sungjin returned the ‘Blood Vengeance’ to Kenneth.

“I’m sorry I’m just looking without buying anything.”

Kenneth obediently accepted the Katana from Sungjin and replied.

“It is no problem at all. Do you have any other requests for me?”

At the Naga’s words, Sungjin thought of what other requests Kenneth could complete for him.

“Hey, Operator?”

[Please go on.]

“Give me the Basic Katana.”

Sungjin extracted the first Katana he received from the first Raid.

“I want to sell this.”

“Understood. The Basic katana can be sold for 10 coins. Do you really want to sell it?”

Sungjin nodded. Kenneth handed Sungjin 10 Black Coins. Once his business was complete, Sungjin bid Kenneth goodbye.

“Then, Bye.”

“I hope to see you again, esteemed Hunter. Sssss”

Sungjin put the 10 coins away into the cube and said

“Operator, How many coins do I have?”

[Currently, you have a total of 5978 Black Coins]

‘5978 Coins… I need 4022 more to complete it.’

He no longer had any dilemma about which item to buy first; there was only one choice left.

Sungjin decided to use ‘Moon Specter’ rather than ‘Blood Vengeance this time. As he walked back to the ‘Ninety Nine Nights’, Sungjin thought to himself,

‘I will obtain 4022 Coins and complete the book with the next chapter.’

When Sungjin returned to the Ninety Nine Nights,

“Awoo~”

Cain came to greet him. He was healthy without a trace of injury caused by the Lich’s attack. Cain circled around Sungjin few times, expressing his joy.

Sungjin embraced Cain by his neck and said

“Hello, Cain. You did well earlier. Thank you.”

“Woof”

Cain gave a short bark as if he didn’t mind. Sungjin and Cain entered into the Ninety Nine Nights together. Like always, the Innkeeper Dalupin greeted them.

“Welcome back Esteemed Hunter.”

Sungjin nodded.

“For today’s dinner…”

Sungjin ordered the food that came to his mind immediately.

“One slice of Cheesecake, please. Raw Lamb for Cain too.”

“Understood.”

Moments later, Dalupin returned with a radiating dish of Cheesecake, and a bleeding slab of Lamb meat.

Sungjin picked up his fork to eat, but Dalupin handed him a piece of paper.

“Ah… this is the next Raid’s information.”

Sungjin cut the edge of the cheesecake with his fork and placed it into his mouth.

“Put it on the table. I will take a look after dinner.”

“Understood.”