The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

Swoosh!

In the not-so-spacious corridor of the 7th basement floor, Kang Dong-hyun’s ‘Fist Wind’ devoured all the space.

[Protection - Stage 2]

Thanks to the quick deployment of Protection Stage 2, I managed to withstand the first wave of the most powerful Fist Wind.

But it was released in five stages, each slightly weaker than the previous one.

I had to block four more attacks that followed.

Combining protective barriers, rapid evasion, and leaping, I dodged the attacks with all my might.

Indeed, it was Kang Dong-hyun.

I thought to myself that even one direct hit by any of those five Fist Winds would have been devastating.

It was a clear indication of what would have happened to human bones.

But in the end, I took no damage. I dodged all of Kang Dong-hyun’s attacks, injecting more mana.

[Lightning Speed Blade]

Kang-hoo, pulling out a practice dagger, cast the Lightning Speed Blade skill and hurled it at Kang Dong-hyun.

An ordinary hunter would have either dodged or found a way to block the fiercely approaching dagger.

But Kang Dong-hyun, without hesitation, thrust his fist towards the flying dagger.

“Haap!”

The dagger and fist collided in an instant.

Although it was a practice dagger, it was an attack loaded with considerable momentum.

Apart from a few sparks from Kang Dong-hyun’s fingertips, there was no change.

I half-expected his body to be pushed back slightly, but he only flinched.

‘He’s ridiculously strong.’

While not underestimating his abilities, Kang-hoo had a simple image of Kang Dong-hyun.

Of course, he wasn’t just brutishly strong. He had his strategies and tactics.

But compared to other hunters of the same level, his physical prowess was indeed superior.

“Eurgh! Eryahh!”

Kang Dong-hyun, trying to hit Kang-hoo, who remained in stealth, thrust his fists everywhere.

Each time, strong shockwaves spread out, crumbling and shaking the inner walls, but he seemed unconcerned.

[Thunderstorm Array]

To complicate Kang Dong-hyun’s judgments, Kang-hoo laid a Thunderstorm Array, intentionally provoking him.

It was unlikely that the array would hurt Kang Dong-hyun, but it served to distract him with its triggered attack effects.

“A lot of tricks up your sleeve, huh! Let’s see how long you can keep up that stealth!”

Kang Dong-hyun had a point.

Maintaining stealth required mana. It was impossible to remain invisible indefinitely.

Thus, if Kang-hoo’s attacks were effectively blocked while he spread attacks in all directions in the confined space,

eventually, Kang-hoo would either deplete his mana or find it difficult to keep up his stealth, potentially ending the standoff.

Unfortunately, Kang Dong-hyun underestimated Kang-hoo’s abilities.

He thought he had gauged Kang-hoo’s skills highly, but in reality, his estimation fell far short of Kang-hoo’s true capabilities.

Feasting on a Mad Solarkium, mana consumption was Kang-hoo’s least concern.

Maintain stealth?

As long as Kang-hoo avoided direct impact, maintaining it for 30 minutes was effortless.

Kang Dong-hyun had not considered that under certain conditions, Kang-hoo could utilize mana without limit.

This was a critical oversight.

Kang-hoo continued to channel the mana that gathered endlessly into the dungeon, and the end began to come into view.

‘Good. I’m getting the hang of this.’

The 7th basement dungeon, voraciously consuming mana, was now absorbing significantly less.

This reduction signaled that the climax was near.

The dungeon was self-sufficient, not requiring more mana than a predetermined amount.

[Shadow Step]

[Illusion Technique]

[Sight Stealing]

Kang-hoo then unleashed several skills he had been conserving towards Kang Dong-hyun without hesitation.

Intent to attack? That had never been his strategy from the outset.

Kang-hoo’s strategy aimed to thoroughly disrupt Kang Dong-hyun’s vision and buy time.

After all, it was an incredible feat for a hunter below level 100 to confront one over 500.

It was like a 7-year-old child taking on a 25-year-old athlete.

Can you picture it?

Without significant handicaps, such a matchup would not be possible, nor should it happen.

The win probability for one side was not 99.9% but 100%. The current battle between the two hunters was exactly that.

‘Done.’

In the meantime,

The color of the dungeon’s entrance, having absorbed a generous amount of mana, began to change. It was ready to accept.

“Huh?”

Kang Dong-hyun tilted his head in confusion.

It didn’t seem like much time had passed, but had the dungeon entrance already opened?

It had only been a very short skirmish, akin to the start of a reconnaissance mission.

From Kang Dong-hyun’s perspective, he hadn’t even properly warmed up yet. But on the other side, the situation had concluded.

And then,

“Try to catch me if you can.”

Kang-hoo taunted Kang Dong-hyun, who wore a stunned expression, with a rude hand gesture and entered the dungeon.

A smooth entrance.

Kang Dong-hyun, like a dog that had chased away the chickens, was left with nothing to do.

He thrust himself into the entrance in a flicker of hope, but all he received in return was a cold rebuff.

“Hahaha. This is totally unexpected. Did I underestimate Shin Kang-hoo’s capabilities too much?”

Kang Dong-hyun wore a look of defeat.

He knew from the battle footage with Cha So-hee that Shin Kang-hoo could handle a variety of skills.

He had also confirmed that Kang-hoo used many skills liberally in the footage.

Meaning, he thought of Kang-hoo as a hunter with a certain level of mana richness.

But to keep him in check while dodging attacks and simultaneously infusing mana into the dungeon…

He hadn’t considered the possibility of Kang-hoo managing three tasks simultaneously. To do so required ‘a lot’ of mana.

But Kang-hoo managed to do it.

Kang Dong-hyun had completely misjudged Kang-hoo’s ability to handle mana.

“I really want him on my side. With him, the loss of So-hee seems like a small price to pay…”

Kang Dong-hyun licked his lips.

They say you can tell a promising tree from its leaves, and Kang-hoo’s potential seemed golden.

“For now, I must catch him when he comes out of the dungeon. Damn. My stomach hurts for the first time in a while.”

Kang Dong-hyun rubbed his stomach.

The thought of Kang-hoo effortlessly conquering a dungeon he himself couldn’t enter made his stomach churn.

But there was no choice.

Kang Dong-hyun couldn’t figure out how to enter the dungeon either.

He had been neatly tricked by Kang-hoo and ended up granting free admission without collecting a single entrance fee.

As soon as Kang-hoo entered the dungeon, he sped up and began his conquest.

Though it is referred to as the Limitless Mana Dungeon, this isn’t a unique name for a single dungeon.

There are many dungeons like this, where a large amount of mana serves as the entrance fee.

Furthermore, there are dungeons that demand other forms of entrance fees, like the blood of a living hunter or other sacrifices.

The worst cases are those that demand the life of a living hunter. In other words, the door opens only when someone dies.

Most hunters, for moral reasons, are reluctant to enter such dungeons.

However, the world doesn’t always follow moral and upright paths. Naturally, there were many hunters who brought sacrifices.

Despite the tricky dungeon entrance conditions and even the variable of Kang Dong-hyun’s appearance,

I managed to get inside without any issues.

Kang Dong-hyun’s carelessness played a part, and the decision to chew on Mad Solarkium was the right one.

“The overall level of the dungeon seems to be around 200. The experience points also appear to be twice what I expected.”

The dungeon had never been conquered before, and its internal energy had accumulated, resulting in generous rewards.

Even without special items or magic stones dropping, the experience points alone were plentiful.

“This opportunity comes only once.”

Once the conquest was over, the same benefits wouldn’t be available in this reset dungeon.

It would revert to its original state, offering only half the experience points it now did.

Then.

Boom! Boom!

A middle boss, standing about 3 meters tall with a muscular build, emerged from the darkness.

I approached a bamboo area, on high alert, when I spotted it.

But then.

[Ad]

[In this special dungeon environment, you can definitely obtain one Red Jewel.]

The content displayed alongside the middle boss’s name was something you wouldn’t normally see.

The message implied that special rewards had been added due to the dungeon’s accumulated energy.

And that reward was a Red Jewel.

Red Jewels were essential materials needed to upgrade skills; without them, upgrading a skill couldn’t even begin.

Kang-hoo already had one Red Jewel.

Possessing a Red Jewel allowed for the upgrading of the Protection skill to Stage 3.

Furthermore, it enabled the upgrading of complex skills requiring more than two Red Jewels.

The fact that the middle boss was offering one suggested that main bosses might yield at least two.

I could potentially amass a significant stock of Red Jewels here.

“The problem is that guy.”

Crack! Crunch!

Growl.

Kang-hoo, irritably snapping bamboo, fixed his gaze on the middle boss named Ad.

An bipedal crocodile-like monster, it had one of its arms sharpened like a blade.

Part of its body served as a weapon.

“Getting a Red Jewel is like reaching for the stars, but it’s worth a shot.”

Kang-hoo prepared for battle, emboldened by the effects of Mad Solarkium coursing through him; there was nothing to fear.

Meanwhile.

‘Seems like nothing’s wrong.’

Yun Sang-mi, engrossed in the pleasure-filled atmosphere of Hades, shifted her gaze.

Kang-hoo had been inside for quite some time without any news, which suggested he had entered safely.

“Who am I to worry about him?”

Yun Sang-mi briefly contemplated her concerns for Kang-hoo’s wellbeing.

Whenever she saw Kang-hoo, she harbored a conviction that he wouldn’t succumb to danger, despite it being an indistinct feeling.

This might have stemmed from her knowledge of Kang-hoo’s journey thus far.

Kang-hoo always appeared to have a backup or even a third plan. When he failed, he never seemed to panic.

Frankly, she envied that.

Strategic thinking required confidence in one’s capabilities, an impossibility without such confidence.

Yun Sang-mi was certain she couldn’t face crises as adeptly and calmly as Kang-hoo.

Thus, her awe and admiration for Kang-hoo’s abilities came naturally.

Moreover, her personal fondness for him remained unchanged. He certainly possessed the charm of a suave city man.

Then—

Rumble! Rumble!

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the closed emergency exit on the 6th basement floor.

The footsteps, heading downward, indicated movement toward the 7th basement floor.

“……”

She felt a twinge of worry.

The Kang-hoo who had entered was beyond her help.

But were they intending to capture Kang-hoo as he emerged from the dungeon?

Despite Kang-hoo mentioning he had an escape plan, she couldn’t quell her anxiety.

The brief tally of footsteps she heard suggested the involvement of at least twenty people.

How could he possibly evade a siege by so many hunters?

And with Kang Dong-hyun also in the club… could Kang-hoo truly make it out alive?

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