Chapter 204 – Seeing the Weakness

[Shin Kyung-min]

-Description: Hunter born in 1995. Current level is 3,570. Member of Emperor Guild, and his profession is Mage.

-Combat Style: Uses a combination of magic and telekinesis. Typically restrains movement with telekinesis before landing magic attacks. Sometimes uses telekinesis offensively as well.

-Weakness: Though he seems to have no weakness as he compensates for the mage’s skill delay with telekinesis, using telekinesis consumes mental energy. If you can induce him to use as much telekinesis as possible, you can inflict mental damage.

Min Do-jun was surprised for a specific reason.

‘Weakness Detection is showing?’

Shin Kyung-min’s weakness, which had been marked with a question mark until now, was finally visible.

‘That means his combat power is lower than mine?’

Min Do-jun’s combat power was about 1.7 million.

Whatever the case, Shin Kyung-min’s was certainly below that.

‘I thought his power was incredibly high since I couldn’t see his weakness, but it turns out he was roughly at the same level as me when I was A-rank?’

Min Do-jun had already killed Heo Ji-pyeong, who was over level 3,800.

Compared to that, Shin Kyung-min’s level of 3,500 was relatively low.

‘Though level doesn’t necessarily determine strength, there’s no reason I should lose to him in a fight.’

Now that Weakness Detection was showing, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

‘I can kill him.’

He already had enough power for revenge.

‘Kang Hyuk-su, ranked 2nd, probably has visible weaknesses too. As a tanker, he can’t be stronger than Shin Kyung-min.’

The same would apply to Seo Jin-cheol, ranked 4th, who was also on his revenge list.

‘I’m not sure about Justin Walker since I haven’t seen him in person, but I can definitely kill all the others.’

Yet Min Do-jun didn’t point his blade at Shin Kyung-min.

‘If I kill him here and now, I might leave a trail.’

If Shin Kyung-min suddenly went missing, the police would first investigate his movements.

‘They’d check CCTV footage to see where he went in his car.’

Even though this area was relatively deserted, there was no way they wouldn’t be caught on nearby CCTV cameras.

‘They might also have footage of me arriving here by taxi.’

If that happened, he would become a suspect in Shin Kyung-min’s murder, and even without evidence, it would hinder his future revenge plans.

‘It’s not time for revenge yet. I need to be patient. My intuition is telling me so.’

If he wanted revenge, he needed to do it cleanly in a location that wouldn’t leave any loose ends.

As Min Do-jun was suppressing his desire for revenge, Shin Kyung-min asked:

“Do-jun, did you bring a car?”

“No.”

“Then let’s take my car. I’ll drive you home.”

Min Do-jun was about to refuse but realized there was no reason to push Shin Kyung-min away.

‘As they say, keep your dangerous enemies closest.’

With that thought, Min Do-jun smiled.

“Thank you, then.”

“Let’s go.”

After Min Do-jun got into the passenger seat, Shin Kyung-min took the wheel.

Soon, the McLaren roared down the road.

“You’ve been awakened for less than 2 years, and you’re already S-rank. How did you level up so quickly?”

“It’s all thanks to the dungeon you provided, of course.”

“Haha. I appreciate you saying that, but I know the real reason you grew so quickly is because you’re strong.”

“Still, I can’t compare to you, Kyung-min, who’s ranked 1st.”

“Come on, rankings aren’t strictly based on combat power. To be honest, I think you’re much stronger than me, Do-jun. Your track record proves it. Solo-killing an S-rank boss, ranking 1st in the Tower of Infinity, and hunting named bosses. I can’t do all that.”

Despite Shin Kyung-min’s praise, Min Do-jun couldn’t smile genuinely.

He couldn’t know what Shin Kyung-min was truly thinking.

So he asked directly:

“What’s the real reason you came looking for me?”

“Real reason? As I said earlier, I wanted to congratulate you on becoming S-rank…”

“So you have nothing else to say?”

“…Actually, there is something I wanted to discuss.”

Shin Kyung-min finally revealed his true purpose.

“Now that you’re S-rank, how about joining my party regularly?”

“Party?”

“Yes. Not just a one-time thing, but a regular party that meets periodically.”

Most S-rank dungeons have a fixed level requirement of 3,000 or higher.

This means that once you become S-rank, you can enter almost any dungeon.

That’s why S-rank hunters tend to group together.

It’s much more convenient to hunt with people you know and have established synergy with than to form new parties each time.

Min Do-jun had done the same before his regression.

Though they belonged to different guilds, he regularly hunted with the same group of S-rank hunters.

There were days when schedules didn’t align, but they made sure to gather at least once a week for hunting.

In that sense, it was almost like a club.

“Currently, I’m regularly coordinating with several S-rank hunters, including our guild master. If you join us, it would be perfect for strengthening our force…”

“Hmm…”

Min Do-jun appeared to contemplate Shin Kyung-min’s offer.

Or rather, he pretended to contemplate.

He didn’t want to accept too quickly and reveal his intentions.

‘This is an opportunity. A perfect chance to infiltrate a group containing my revenge targets.’

Currently, his revenge targets were Justin Walker, Shin Kyung-min, Kang Hyuk-su, and Seo Jin-cheol. Just these four.

Among them, he knew the locations of Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su because he had memorized their scents, but he didn’t know the others.

‘According to the twin hunters’ information, Shin Kyung-min and Seo Jin-cheol were high school classmates, so they’re likely in the same group.’

Being classmates, and with Seo Jin-cheol ranked 4th, there was no reason for Shin Kyung-min not to recruit him.

‘If I join Shin Kyung-min’s group, I can meet Seo Jin-cheol.’

Hiding his interest in Seo Jin-cheol, Min Do-jun casually asked:

“You mentioned other S-rank hunters?”

“Yes.”

“How many are there?”

“Excluding me and the guild master, there are two more. If you join, we’ll have five members, which is the perfect number.”

“That’s fewer than I expected.”

“Since the minimum entry requirement for S-rank dungeons is five, that’s how we’ve set it up. If we had more, someone would have to sit out when we enter dungeons with a five-person limit. Other groups operate the same way.”

Min Do-jun nodded.

He already knew this.

He had asked to determine if they were planning to expand their numbers.

‘From what I hear, it seems they have no such plans.’

He wanted to ask if a hunter named Seo Jin-cheol was a member, but he refrained.

To prepare for when he eventually killed him, he needed to maintain a clear distance from Seo Jin-cheol.

The same applied to his other revenge targets.

‘I need to keep a certain distance to avoid suspicion when they die.’

While the saying goes “keep your enemies close,” keeping them too close could make him a prime suspect.

“So, what do you think? Are you interested in joining our party?”

“Hmm. It doesn’t sound bad.”

It wasn’t just “not bad” – it was the perfect situation.

They had unwittingly provided him with a platform for his revenge.

Shin Kyung-min happily said:

“Great! Then we can start looking for a dungeon to enter together as early as tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow won’t work. I already have a dungeon appointment.”

He needed to enter the dungeon Hong Se-yeon had arranged for him before going with Shin Kyung-min.

“Oh, is that so? What dungeon is it?”

“The City of the Dead.”

“What? You’re entering that already?”

While all S-rank dungeons have the same level requirement, their difficulties vary.

That’s why hunters assign appropriate levels based on their experiences.

The appropriate level for the City of the Dead was 3,800.

This meant that a party of average S-rank hunters at level 3,800 could clear it comfortably.

And he was planning to tackle it right after reaching level 3,000.

“I’m currently in the process of conquering the City of the Dead…”

Shin Kyung-min was surprised by Min Do-jun’s rapid progress.

‘Well, he did recently visit Vampire’s Night at level 3,500…’

And not just visit.

Min Do-jun had solo-killed the named boss there.

For such a powerful hunter, a level 3,800 dungeon might be appropriate.

‘No, it might even be insufficient for him…’

He had a feeling that Min Do-jun might need an even higher-level dungeon.

“Do-jun, so you’re available next week, right?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. I’ll look for a higher-level dungeon considering your capabilities.”

“Thank you.”

After setting the dungeon appointment with Shin Kyung-min, Min Do-jun asked to be dropped off at the Guardian Guild instead of his home.

Hwang Eui-cheol had said he had something to discuss at the guild.

“Well, go ahead, Do-jun.”

“You too, Kyung-min.”

As Min Do-jun watched Shin Kyung-min’s car roar away, he frowned.

‘He really makes a noisy exit.’

He could have driven a normal car like Min Do-jun, but instead, he chose to drive a loud sports car.

‘I really can’t understand it.’

He wasn’t referring to the car.

He couldn’t understand how someone as seemingly friendly as Shin Kyung-min could suddenly stage a coup.

‘Could this life be different from the future I experienced?’

Just because a coup happened in his previous life didn’t guarantee it would happen again in this one.

‘Still, it’s better to eliminate potential threats preemptively.’

Even if he couldn’t be certain whether Shin Kyung-min was a threat until it happened, he had no intention of stopping his revenge as long as the possibility existed.

‘Huh?’

Min Do-jun suddenly stopped walking as he approached the guild office.

Four people were standing in front of the door.

‘Who are these people?’

According to Weakness Detection, they were all hunters.

And they were all low-level F-rank hunters.

“Ah!”

“Hunter is here!”

The four hunters, who seemed to have been waiting for Min Do-jun, rushed towards him excitedly.

“Hello, Hunter!”

“Who are you?”

“Oh, we’re your ardent fans.”

“Fans?”

“Yes. We even have a fan cafe called ‘Min-samo.’ Didn’t you know?”

‘What’s Min-samo?’

Min Do-jun was about to frown but stopped himself.

After all, they claimed to be his fans.

“So? What are you doing here?”

“We came to see you, of course.”

“To see the hero who saved Hongdae in person!”

“It’s truly an honor!”

Though they were all praising him enthusiastically, to Min Do-jun, it sounded like empty flattery.

His intuition was telling him that they hadn’t come because they were fans, but for some other purpose.

“What do you want?”

Slightly taken aback by his directness, the four people scratched the backs of their heads and revealed their true intentions.

“Actually, we came to seek your advice.”

“Advice?”

“Yes. We’re newly awakened hunters.”

“Complete novices who know nothing.”

“As you know, this is a crucial time when we need to decide on our profession, right?”

“And then we saw your video.”

“The way you hunted those lizards in Hongdae was so cool. Whew…”

“I fell in love at first sight!”

“I joined Min-samo right after watching the video!”

“So, could you share some know-how about being a Magic Swordsman with us?”

“I know it’s shameless to ask, but please.”

“We want to follow in your footsteps and become the best Magic Swordsmen.”

“Please!”

All four bowed their heads simultaneously.

It was quite an awkward situation for Min Do-jun.

‘If anyone could become a Magic Swordsman, I would have done it long ago in my previous life.’

The reason hunters don’t become Magic Swordsmen is simple.

Because it’s weak.

But the Magic Swordsman that Min Do-jun had demonstrated broke all conventional wisdom.

He had shown enough power to instantly kill dozens of rock lizards.

It was understandable that people’s perception of Magic Swordsmen would change after seeing him.

However, all of this was due to the Magic Swordsman characteristic, not for any other reason.

‘If I had the Magic Swordsman characteristic but chose a different profession, I wouldn’t be dealing this much damage.’

Of course, the Magic Swordsman characteristic was so overpowered that it would have been advantageous in any profession, but he wouldn’t have become incredibly strong.

‘Surely these people don’t have the Magic Swordsman characteristic.’

If they did, they would have started hunting immediately.

They wouldn’t have come seeking advice on how to develop.

‘Just raising magic power would make them strong enough.’

Min Do-jun shook his head and said:

“Choose a profession other than Magic Swordsman.”

“What? Why?”

“A hunter with an ordinary characteristic will only be treated as trash if they become a Magic Swordsman.”

“Ah… You mean there’s a specific characteristic for Magic Swordsmen…”

“Yes. You need a Magic Swordsman-specific characteristic to exert proper power. Not just anyone can become a Magic Swordsman.”

He didn’t reveal the effect of the characteristic, but he did disclose its existence.

That way, they would give up early.

As expected, the hunters left with disappointed expressions.

After all, one couldn’t change their characteristic at will.

At that moment…