Chapter 13
A little later.
Having unintentionally scored some loot, Jang Sunam quickly descended the tower while his streak of extreme luck still held.
And the very moment he stepped out through the tower’s front gate—
“Been waiting for you, Crow.”
Security Team 1 of the White Authority blocked his path.
These guys… they’re the ones I saw on the stairs earlier.
Since they called him by the nickname “Crow,” their intentions were obvious.
The White Authority brass must have ordered them to recruit him, so naturally, they would try to drag him in by any means…
“You little bastard, you think you’re hot shit?”
…Or so he thought, but things went in another direction.
The team leader’s face was twisted with rage.
The reason was simple—trying to recklessly chase after Jang Sunam, most of his men had fallen from the 25th floor and suffered heavy losses.
“Do you even know how many of my men got hurt because of you?”
The hell is this idiot babbling about?
“As compensation, I’m demanding 100 coins. Refuse, and you die.”
The leader threatened, pointing his sword at Jang Sunam.
Jang just shrugged, casting his gaze behind them.
“Not sure this is the time to worry about me. Isn’t your second-in-command calling you from behind?”
“What?!”
Startled to hear his superior’s name, the team leader whipped his head around—
And at that instant—
“You actually believed that.”
Slice!
Jang Sunam swung his axe and cleanly lopped off the man’s head.
“You’re the one who threatened to kill me first, so no complaints, right?”
Thud.
The headless body collapsed, and there was no resurrection this time.
The man had already spent his three lives during the reckless tower raid.
Oh? This might be easier than I thought.
Hunters were usually harder to deal with than monstrosities because of their multiple lives.
But if they had none left?
Then it’s no different than hunting monsters.
“The team leader’s down!”
The remaining men drew their weapons in shock.
“That dumb bastard—why’d he have to antagonize him and escalate this shit?!”
The deputy leader cursed through clenched teeth.
Now that things had turned hostile, fighting was the only way forward.
“Hey, Crow. You went all the way to the top floor?”
“That’s right.”
“Hand over whatever you got there. Then we’ll call our idiot captain’s death an accident and let you walk away quietly. No need to make this worse.”
At that, Jang Sunam smirked.
As expected—they climbed the tower aiming for the vaccine.
Instead of answering, he flicked his axe, a clear “Come at me.”
“You’ll regret this, Crow.”
The deputy signaled, and the others spread out to surround Jang Sunam.
Five against one, huh…
The deputy was ranked F+, same as Jang Sunam, while the rest were F-rank.
Numbers aren’t in my favor. Time to pull out a little intimidation.
Smirking, Jang summoned a creature.
Flash!
A red glow appeared, meaning the summon had failed, but a massive magic circle formed anyway.
He instantly leapt back.
And from within the circle, a hulking wolf strode out.
“Wh-what the hell is that?!”
“Is that… some kind of summoning?”
Apparently, none of them had ever seen summoning before—they gripped their weapons tighter, wary of the wolf.
Well then… let’s see if this gamble pays off or not.
Jang stilled his breath, erasing his presence as much as possible.
The failed summon glanced around—
“Graaaah!!”
Then charged straight at the five hunters.
Success.
His luck still held. Now it was a three-way battle: 5 vs. 1 vs. 1.
I should use this chance to take out the strongest first.
Jang channeled the strength from his Mind and Body Discipline skill, propelling himself forward.
Slam!
All eyes were on the wolf, so the deputy’s reaction lagged just a hair when Jang closed in.
“Wha—?”
Swish—Clang!
Blocked.
Despite the perfect ambush, the deputy somehow managed to parry in time.
Tsk. He must’ve boosted his Swordsmanship skill. Probably at least Stage 1.
But Jang didn’t relent—his axe whirled with relentless variation.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Kh—!”
The deputy struggled, but like some acrobat, he managed to block every strike.
That was the power of skills.
Even a total novice could instantly fight at a master’s level, a gift of the system.
And his skill was even enhanced to +1.
Jang’s Mind and Body Discipline wasn’t enhanced yet, so breaking through a boosted Swordsmanship+1 was no small feat.
The fact that he was even holding his own despite the gap was impressive in itself.
Should I push myself…?
After regressing, his skill levels and body had reset, but the insights he had gained in previous rounds still lingered in his mind.
He’d learned how to surpass his physical limits and wield martial arts beyond his current body’s capabilities.
But…
…No. Better not.
Doing that with his present body could leave irreparable injuries—or even kill him.
And this situation isn’t dire enough for that yet.
It would be like strapping rocket engines to a human body. Sure, you’d move fast, but you’d also be guaranteed to burn out.
“What’s wrong? That all you’ve got?”
Having blocked all of Jang’s attacks, the deputy now wore a cocky grin.
“Hey! That wolf’s just an F-rank! Take it down already!”
“Deputy! This wolf’s not like any normal F-rank!”
The deputy dismissed the wolf after seeing Jang’s attacks weren’t landing.
But the wolf wasn’t an ordinary summon. Though classed F-rank, it was boosted to +3.
Even ganged up on, it would take them time to bring it down.
I need to finish this deputy before the wolf falls… where’s the opening…
Two of the deputy’s men began moving closer—one toward the wolf, the other toward Jang.
That left the wolf facing three opponents, and Jang facing two.
“Grrrgh!”
The wolf started accumulating wounds.
This is why hunters are more troublesome than monsters.
Watching carefully, Jang suddenly dashed in.
“Hah! That trick again? Won’t work twice!”
Thinking it was the same move as before, the deputy smirked and swung his sword.
But—
Whoosh—
Jang feinted past him, barely grazing the sword, and—
“Huh?!”
—lunged at the approaching subordinate behind him.
Slash!
“Arghh!!”
Without an enhanced skill to protect him, the man’s neck was split wide open by Jang’s axe.
“Ghck—!”
The man collapsed, and only then did the deputy notice, spinning back with a roar.
“You bastard!!”
Swish!
At that moment, Jang grabbed something perched on his shoulder and hurled it at the deputy.
“What—?”
Seeing a small, dark figure flying toward him, the deputy instinctively moved to slash—then stopped mid-swing in shock.
“A kid—?”
For a split second, he mistook it for a child and caught it instead of cutting.
“—No, it’s a doll?!”
What Jang had thrown was none other than “Mini Hail,” who’d been resting on his shoulder like an ornament.
“…You’d better not lay hands on my body without permission.”
From Mini Hail’s hand, nanomachines swiftly converged, forming a small sword.
Gripping it backward, Mini Hail stabbed the deputy’s hand.
“Gahh! That stings!!”
The startled deputy dropped him.
Not a combat weapon, so it lacked killing power—but it was enough to fluster him.
And in that instant—
“Aw, hell.”
He realized too late that Jang’s axe was already swinging from behind Mini Hail.
Slash!
The deputy’s neck was cleaved open, just like his subordinate’s.
“Kh—ghhh…”
Feigning an opening to induce carelessness—an effective tactic against difficult foes.
“Arghhh!”
“Yelp!”
At the same time, the wolf dragged one opponent down in a death struggle, both perishing together.
That left just two.
“Hiiiik!”
No—one of them bolted. Now only one remained.
“You know why you never turn your back on a battlefield?”
Jang hefted his axe and hurled it with all his might.
Whirr—Thunk!
Spinning like a buzzsaw, the axe embedded itself in the fleeing man’s skull.
“You idiot. Throwing away your weapon—what’re you gonna do barehanded?”
The last survivor swung his sword at Jang, thinking him disarmed.
But without enhancement, he wasn’t much threat.
“You’ll change your mind once you’ve tasted these bare hands.”
Jang slipped past the blade and drove his fist into the man’s gut.
“Ghhk!!”
It was a punch powered by his Mind and Body Discipline, stronger than most weapons.
Without solid armor or a defensive skill, no one could withstand it.
“Bleghhh!!”
“Ugh, gross.”
The man doubled over, vomiting violently from just one strike.
“Y-you son of—”
As he looked up, clutching his stomach, all he saw was Jang spinning into a savage roundhouse kick.
Wham!
“Ghhk!”
The man’s neck snapped like a twig, killing him instantly.
Phew… that got dicey.
One-on-one would’ve been easy, but fighting a group had dragged it out.
I’ll need to boost Mind and Body Discipline more, just like my summon skill.
Jang looked over the five fresh corpses.
Nice payout, though.
Eliminating Security Team 1 had netted him a total of 501 coins.
Hunters had begun stockpiling coins, so robbing them was far more efficient than hunting monsters.
Eventually, this would even give rise to hunter-killers who preyed exclusively on other hunters—but not yet.
Equipment-wise though, nothing useful.
He carefully checked through their drops to see if there was anything worth buying.
I already have an F+ axe, so no need for another weapon at the same grade…
Rummaging through the loot, he found something promising near the one who had tried to flee.
“Oh!! A Skill Enhancement Stone!”
Many hunters saved these for later, intending to use them only after acquiring a powerful skill.
Back in his first round, when he lacked information, Jang had hoarded quite a few that way.
Not bad. Real good find.
Grinning, he purchased it immediately.
Only 30 coins—much cheaper than the last time he bought one.
With this, strengthening his Mind and Body Discipline would ensure he never struggled against another deputy-level foe again.
Just then—
“Master, I’ve detected unsecured communications. Shall I intercept?”
Mini Hail, who had climbed back onto his shoulder, asked.
“Ahh, must be these guys’ radio. Go ahead and tap in.”
At his command, Mini Hail nodded and replayed the intercepted message.
<You useless bastards! Still haven’t found the vaccine? You want to get scrapped?>
The furious roar of the White Authority’s second-in-command blared over the comms.
As hot-tempered as ever, he was checking in to rush them.
“Ha! What a joke. Mini Hail—alter your voice to match the dead captain’s, and send this reply.”
Mini Hail nodded. Jang grinned as he spoke the words.
“I’m on my way to you now.”
