Chapter 184 – Serrated Teeth

Min Do-jun deliberately ignored Theodore’s surprised gaze.

‘Hmm… Did I reveal too much of my abilities right from the start?’

When Theodore said he would be monitoring him, Min Do-jun had two choices.

Either conceal his abilities or reveal them.

‘There’s no real need to hide my abilities.’

After setting a record as first place in the Tower of Infinity, it would be strange to hide his skills anyway.

Moreover, he needed to attract the Overlord Guild’s attention by showcasing his abilities.

‘He said they’d decide whether to accept me based on my skills, right?’

Although he had put the offer on hold, he would eventually need to join to take revenge on Justin Walker.

‘For that, I need to make a strong impression.’

To avoid rejection, he had to play along with the guild’s expectations.

That was why he decided to reveal his abilities.

‘I may not be worth 400 billion, but I should at least demonstrate some value.’

However, judging by Theodore’s expression, the impact had been greater than expected.

“D-did Hunter Min Do-jun kill all three of them?”

“Yes. I originally intended to kill only the two in front of me, but you looked like you were in danger, so I took care of yours too. I apologize.”

“No, no, it’s fine. But how can you move so quickly? What’s your agility stat?”

Min Do-jun’s current agility exceeded 4,100.

And that was without even stacking half of the Battle Avatar buff.

‘An agility of 4,100 at level 2,600? And it’s not even his main stat?’

Even if he told the truth, Theodore probably wouldn’t believe him.

Even an assassin couldn’t raise it that high.

‘Besides, agility alone isn’t enough to move like this.’

You need leg strength, which requires a decent amount of strength, and characteristics too.

‘Without the Hunting Dog characteristic and Quick Step characteristic, even I couldn’t move at this speed.’

The Hunting Dog characteristic increased movement speed by 20%, and the Quick Step characteristic increased running speed by 15%. The synergy between these two characteristics allowed him to move 1.38 times faster than normal.

‘I can’t reveal such secrets.’

Min Do-jun responded politely.

“No comment.”

“I… understand.”

Though he said he understood, Theodore still looked curious.

‘Was Hunter Min Do-jun always this fast? I couldn’t have seen wrong, could I?’

A speed that even he, an S-rank hunter, could barely perceive.

‘I’ll soon find out whether it was a fluke or not.’

Shortly after.

Growl-

Werewolves appeared once again, blocking their path.

Having decided to showcase his abilities, Min Do-jun beheaded each werewolf as soon as they appeared.

Slash-! Thud!

Theodore was left astonished by the display.

‘It wasn’t a fluke. It’s pure skill!’

The speed was so unbelievable that he initially thought it might be luck, but that wasn’t the case.

In fact, Min Do-jun seemed to get faster with each kill.

‘He’s precisely cutting off just their heads with incredible speed.’

That level of speed would require an agility of at least 3,000.

‘And his damage output is substantial too. Even with that speed, it’s not easy to sever a head in one strike.’

Perhaps his strength even surpassed Theodore’s own 3,000.

‘No, that can’t be right.’

Crunch!

Just as he had that thought, Theodore crushed the skull of a werewolf that had lunged at him with its claws raised.

‘Whew. That was close.’

Feeling a chill down his spine, Theodore looked over at Min Do-jun.

Three werewolf corpses lay scattered around him.

‘He took on three at once while I was dealing with just one.’

The way he dispatched them in 5 seconds suggested he could handle ten simultaneously.

‘So the first place in the Tower of Infinity wasn’t just an empty title.’

As he followed Min Do-jun with admiration, Theodore suddenly felt something was off.

“Excuse me, Hunter Min Do-jun.”

“Yes?”

“I think we might be going the wrong way.”

Though there wasn’t really a path in the forest, he could tell by looking at the trees.

‘These aren’t the trees we usually see.’

As a veteran who had conquered the Vampire’s Night dungeon five times, Theodore knew the terrain well.

‘This is my first time in the Russian dungeon, but it shouldn’t be that different from other countries.’

Even with a cursory glance, he could tell these weren’t the trees he usually saw during conquests.

Min Do-jun silently praised Theodore for his observation.

‘He’s more perceptive than I expected. I thought he wouldn’t notice.’

In truth, Min Do-jun wasn’t lost; he was deliberately heading toward a different forest.

‘Normally, an old castle should appear after the forest…’

He had taken a significant detour to reach another forest beyond the castle.

His purpose? To hunt the mid-boss.

‘Most people head straight for the castle, not this far out.’

By now, the other party members had probably discovered the castle and were preparing to enter.

Knowing this, Min Do-jun feigned ignorance.

“Did I take a wrong turn? I was just going where my feet led me.”

“We should have reached the castle by now. Plus, the tree species seem different…”

“Where’s the fun in following the predetermined route? Sometimes you have to explore new paths.”

As Min Do-jun continued walking, Theodore had no choice but to follow.

After walking for about 30 minutes, killing werewolves along the way:

“Oh? There’s a cabin over there.”

Min Do-jun, still pretending not to know, had found the mid-boss location.

Creak-

In front of the crackling fireplace sat a man.

Creak- Creak- Creak.

The man in the rocking chair stopped moving when he noticed Min Do-jun’s group.

“Oh? I didn’t expect to find someone here…”

“That’s not a person.”

“Pardon?”

Min Do-jun drew his ghost sword, correcting Theodore’s statement.

“Look at his teeth carefully.”

Theodore squinted, examining the man’s mouth.

“Huh? There’s something pointy…”

Grin-

As the man smiled widely, Theodore felt a chill run down his spine.

“P-pointy teeth, so many of them!”

Like serrated teeth.

Whoosh-!

In an instant, the man closed the distance and threw a punch.

Boom-!

Theodore blocked with his hammer but was sent flying through the door, out of the cabin.

“Ugh!”

After rolling several times, Theodore’s face tensed with alarm.

‘In-incredible strength.’

He had taken a defensive stance with his hammer, but was still sent flying.

Whoosh!

Without giving him time to recover, the man approached again and threw another punch.

However.

Slash-

He retreated quickly after being wounded by Min Do-jun’s sword.

Growl-

The man’s appearance began to change rapidly as he bared his teeth.

His snout elongated, muscles bulged, and mane sprouted all over his body.

“A-a werewolf?”

The creature, transformed from human to werewolf, glared at Min Do-jun with its distinctive serrated teeth.

It seemed enraged by the wound on its body.

Shing-

The werewolf’s claws extended like blades.

With ten blades raised, the werewolf vanished and reappeared in front of Min Do-jun.

Clang-!

Min Do-jun blocked the claws with his ghost sword and counterattacked.

The werewolf refused to back down, slashing with its claws.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-!

A fierce exchange ensued between man and wolf, neither giving an inch.

‘Th-this is…’

Theodore’s jaw dropped as he watched.

‘This goes beyond the level of an S-rank hunter!’

The exchange of blows was so rapid that it was difficult to follow with the naked eye.

Both sides were so fierce that neither allowed a single attack to land.

‘That werewolf is strong, but Hunter Min Do-jun matching it is just…’

Theodore was dumbfounded by the battle that he could barely see.

He knew he wouldn’t last even a few seconds in such an exchange.

Unable to even think of intervening, he watched with admiration, while Min Do-jun, who was swinging his sword diligently, was actually breaking a sweat.

‘Damn, this guy is tough!’

The Serrated Teeth Werewolf was the mid-boss of this area.

Its characteristic was a body far superior to ordinary werewolves.

Naturally, it wasn’t something an S-rank hunter could defeat alone.

‘I thought I could easily take down a mid-boss by myself, but…’

The exchange was unexpectedly fierce.

‘Our strength and agility must be similar since neither of us is giving ground.’

Currently, Min Do-jun had stacked Battle Avatar to 30, giving him a strength of 3,600 and agility of 5,000.

‘Even with such high stats, I’m not gaining the upper hand?’

Irritated, Min Do-jun decided to break the stalemate.

‘Gust Blade.’

Ten wind blades appeared behind him, coming to his aid.

Whoosh!

Slash- Slash-!

As the dancing blades cut into the werewolf’s skin, the balance shifted.

Stab-

Gurgle!

Min Do-jun’s sword pierced the werewolf’s eye.

Slash- Stab!

Next, he cut its throat and then stabbed its chest.

[You have defeated the Serrated Teeth Werewolf!]

[Experience +1,620,000] (100% contribution)

[Your level has increased!]

[S-grade magic stone obtained.]

[S-grade magic stone obtained.]

[S-grade magic stone obtained.]

[Superior Random Box obtained.]

[Skill Grade Transcendence Stone obtained.]

[Serrated Teeth Necklace obtained.]

[According to party rules, the roulette will automatically spin.]

[The winner is Min Do-jun.]

Numerous items entered Min Do-jun’s inventory.

This was the natural result of defeating it one-on-one.

‘A Skill Grade Transcendence Stone, huh?’

Min Do-jun used the transcendence stone without hesitation.

Transcendence stones needed to be used before reaching S-rank.

There was no reason to save it.

[Please name the skill to transcend.]

His current A-grade skills were Mana Sword, Enchant Sword, Gust Blade, and Magnum Burst.

‘Gust Blade.’

[Gust Blade’s grade has been raised from A to S!]

[Gust Blade’s damage per blade has increased from 125% of magic power to 200%!]

He enhanced Gust Blade, a magic he frequently used.

‘The damage has increased quite a bit.’

Min Do-jun checked the Serrated Teeth Necklace he had just obtained.

‘It increases physical damage by 20%…’

It was decent, but changing his necklace would mean losing the Trinity Set effect, so he decided to keep it in his inventory.

‘Still, with those good options, I could probably sell it for about 10 billion.’

Satisfied with his loot, he suddenly turned his head.

Theodore was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.

‘What’s with him? Is he surprised that I defeated the boss?’

That was part of it, but what truly shocked Theodore was the Gust Blade he had just witnessed.

‘He used magic? Come to think of it, his profession is Magic Swordsman, right?’

Until now, he had only seen Min Do-jun swing his sword, not use any magic, so he had forgotten.

‘Not only is his physical ability strong, but his magic power is high too?’

Just by seeing how the blades tore through the boss’s skin, he could tell.

This wasn’t just magic learned for show.

‘To think he was hiding such a trump card…’

Theodore had a chilling thought.

‘What if Hunter Min Do-jun has more hidden abilities?’

He was already incredibly strong, but what if he had even more tricks up his sleeve?

‘If that’s the case, he might even surpass Justin Walker!’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the 400 billion contract fee might not be enough.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Ah… yes.”

Theodore followed Min Do-jun with a dazed expression.

The hunter’s back looked incredibly broad to him.

Just like Justin Walker’s.