Chapter 54 – Clark’s Reward

Outside the abandoned hotel, a man was pacing nervously.

It was Senzaki Ryoji.

Despite saying he was scared and wanted to leave quickly, he was still lingering around the abandoned hotel.

“You said to wait a little, but when are you coming?”

He wanted to go home, but he couldn’t. After reporting the portal to the Japan Hunter Association, they had told him to wait there.

After waiting for about an hour and a half, a black SUV appeared in the early hours of the morning.

Click—

Three men got out of the car, and even from a distance, Ryoji could tell they weren’t ordinary people.

‘Those must be the association’s hunters…!’

Though he had never seen a hunter before, he instinctively knew. Just their presence alone made it hard to breathe.

Gulp—

The men approached the car where Ryoji was waiting nervously.

“Are you Senzaki Ryoji?”

“Yes, yes.”

“I’m Nishitaki Kiyotsugu, a B-rank hunter. These are my teammates.”

“W-wow… B-B-rank…!”

Ryoji’s mouth hung open in genuine surprise. He knew that B-rank hunters were considered high-level personnel.

“You’ve been waiting long? It took us some time to get here from Shinjuku.”

“Oh… it’s fine.”

“Is this the hotel where you saw the portal?”

“Yes.”

“It’s eerie.”

Though Kiyotsugu said it was eerie, there wasn’t a hint of tension on his face. 

‘As expected of a B-rank hunter!’

Ryoji’s eyes sparkled with admiration. When else would he get a chance to meet a B-rank hunter? He wanted to start recording and ask for an interview right away, but he felt too awkward to speak up just yet. 

‘I’ll ask for an interview later… maybe even an autograph…’

While Ryoji was lost in thought, Kiyotsugu spoke up again.

“Can you show us where the portal is?”

“Oh, yes! Follow me!”

Kiyotsugu and his two teammates followed Ryoji into the abandoned hotel. The only light came from the moon, but once they turned on their smartphone flashlights, the darkness receded somewhat.

“It’s this room here.”

When they entered the room at the end of the hallway, something flickered on the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly a portal.

Kiyotsugu lightly jumped up and touched the entrance of the portal with his hand. Information about the dungeon appeared before his eyes.

“It’s a hidden dungeon. And it’s a type of B-rank dungeon I’ve never seen before…!”

“Whoa…”

“That’s amazing!”

His teammates couldn’t hide their surprise.

Hearing that it was a hidden dungeon made Ryoji’s eyes widen as well. It was common knowledge that hidden dungeons were easier to conquer and offered better rewards than regular dungeons.

“Mr. Ryoji.”

“Yes?”

“Did you see anyone enter this portal?”

“No, I didn’t see anyone enter. But when I woke up, the door that had been open was locked. And before I passed out, I saw something—whether it was a person or a ghost—entering that room.”

“As you might have guessed, it wasn’t a ghost. It was most likely a person.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There’s someone inside the dungeon right now. At least a hunter who is level 750 or higher.”

“….”

So what he had seen wasn’t a ghost but a person?

“Mr. Ryoji, did you see this person’s face?”

“No… It was too dark…”

“I heard you were streaming at the time. Didn’t your video capture anything?”

“I checked because I was curious too, but only their silhouette showed up; their face didn’t appear.”

“When exactly did you see this person?”

“Well, it was just after midnight… so about three hours ago.”

“Hm, since there’s a six-hour time limit, they’ll come out in another three hours.”

“Captain, does that mean we have to wait here for three hours?”

“Yes. We’ll report this to the association and wait for whoever is inside to come out.”

Since only one person could enter at a time, they couldn’t go in until that person came out.

The hunters settled down to wait as if they were prepared for a long stay. Seeing this, Ryoji hesitantly asked.

“Uh… what should I do?”

“You can go home now, Mr. Ryoji. But do not, under any circumstances, disclose the information about this hidden dungeon to anyone. Understood?”

“Oh… yes, I understand.”

With some reluctance, Ryoji turned to leave.

‘I wanted to get an interview and an autograph…’

It seemed like they were going to stay here for the next three hours, but the atmosphere wasn’t right for him to ask. Feeling regretful, he found it hard to walk away.

Once Ryoji disappeared from sight, Kiyotsugu pulled out his phone.

He was about to report to the association.

“Yes, it’s me. The portal? It turned out to be a false report. We came here and found nothing.”

“…!”

“…!”

While his teammates were shocked, Kiyotsugu remained completely calm.

“It’s late, so we’ll head home now. Thank you for your hard work.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, his teammates spoke in anxious voices.

“Captain… why did you lie to the association?”

“You guys… can you trust me and follow my lead?”

“Of course! You’re our team leader.”

“Then don’t worry. I’ll make sure we all get a big cut.”

“You’re not thinking of taking over the hidden dungeon, are you?”

Kiyotsugu nodded immediately.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. It’s a B-rank hidden dungeon. Just imagine how big the rewards inside could be.”

“Oh…”

Kiyotsugu was a man driven by greed. And his teammates weren’t much different.

Knowing this, he had made his move.

“If we report it to the association, we won’t get anything. You know how it works, right?”

“That’s true…”

“I’ll handle everything so that there are no loose ends. Let’s claim this dungeon for ourselves.”

The teammates hesitated for a moment but then nodded in agreement.

If they kept their mouths shut, they could walk away with a fortune.

“You’ve made the right choice.”

With that, they were all in it together.

“But what about the hunter inside?”

“What do you mean? We’ll just tell them that this is an association-managed hidden dungeon and pressure them to hand over all the items they’ve obtained.”

“And if they refuse?”

“Then we’ll take them by force. The three of us should be more than enough to handle it.”

Even though they didn’t know the exact level of the hunter inside, they were confident that three B-rank hunters could easily overpower them.

And so, the Japanese hunters settled in to wait for whoever was inside the hidden dungeon to emerge.

—

[You have defeated Death Summoner Clark!]

[Experience +648,000]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[You have obtained A-rank Magic Stone.]

[You have obtained A-rank Magic Stone.]

[You have obtained Skill Book: Ghost Wolf Summon.]

[You have obtained Ghost Mask.]

[You have obtained Ghost Sword.]

[Achievement Unlocked!]

‘These notifications are incredible.’

It wasn’t just the notifications; the amount of experience gained was also astounding.

‘Three levels at once…’

He had never leveled up this quickly in his previous life.

‘And I got two A-rank magic stones.’

Min Do-jun smiled contentedly at the thought of acquiring magic stones worth 360 million won each.

‘I also got another Ghost Wolf Summon skill book.’

Although he already had this skill book, it wasn’t easy to come by, so it wasn’t a bad find at all.

But what really made him smile was the items he had received.

—

[Ghost Mask]

– Type: Helmet  

– Grade: A  

– Defense: 9,000  

– Effect: Magic Power +150, Face Transformation  

– Durability: 15,000/15,000  

– Usage Requirement: Level 750 or higher (Bound)  

– Description: Allows you to transform your face into any desired appearance with just a thought. However, if your opponent’s combat power is higher than yours, your disguise may be detected.

—

‘A mask that can change your face…’

Wasn’t this an item specialized for deceiving and confusing enemies?

‘I’ve never heard of an item like this before…’

It seemed likely that this item could only be obtained by defeating Clark.

‘Whoever defeated Clark in my previous life must have kept this information hidden.’

They had only revealed that the Ghost Wolf Summon skill book dropped and concealed everything else.

Min Do-jun’s gaze shifted to the next item.

[Ghost Sword]

– Type: Weapon  

– Grade: A  

– Attack Power: 2,100~2,400  

– Effect: Magic Power +150, Weapon Transformation  

– Durability: 15,000/15,000  

– Usage Requirement: Level 750 or higher (Bound)  

– Description: Allows you to change the appearance of the weapon with just a thought. However, if your opponent’s combat power is higher than yours, your disguise may be detected.

—

‘This is insane.’

The sword’s attack power was already impressive, but its effect was even more extraordinary.

‘I can change its appearance at will?’

Min Do-jun equipped the sword to test it out.

Its default form was that of a flickering one-handed sword, resembling a mirage. But as he imagined a different shape in his mind—

Swish—

It instantly transformed into a bow.

When he changed his thoughts again, it morphed into an axe.

‘It can become a bow or an axe?’

The more he examined it, the more remarkable the weapon seemed.

‘I can adapt it to different situations by transforming it into various weapons.’

It was also perfect for confusing and deceiving opponents.

‘Come to think of it…’

Min Do-jun recalled the Weapon Mastery trait he had recently acquired from Yang Seung-hyun.

‘It doubles weapon attack power and allows me to handle any weapon proficiently.’

The ability to handle any weapon aligned perfectly with the Ghost Sword’s transformation ability.

‘But will I ever need to fight with anything other than a sword?’

As a magic swordsman, Min Do-jun was bound by the restriction of using only one-handed swords. His buff skills required him to wield such weapons.

‘The Ghost Sword looks like a one-handed sword by default…’

Deciding to test it out further, Min Do-jun restored the sword to its original form and activated his buffs.

Woooong—

A bluish glow enveloped the sword, indicating that the skills were functioning properly.

‘Now then…’

He changed the weapon’s appearance into a hammer.

Swish—

‘Oh!’

Even though the appearance had changed, the buff remained active. The same held true when he transformed it into a bow or a spear.

‘So it’s still considered a one-handed sword at its core?’

Being able to use buffs while changing the weapon’s form?

‘This is truly amazing.’

But that wasn’t all—there were even more rewards waiting for him.

‘I almost forgot about the achievements.’

When Min Do-jun checked his achievements, he was slightly surprised. There were three in total.

—

[Achievement – First Named Boss!]

– Condition: Defeat your first named boss in your lifetime.  

– Reward: Stat Points +5

—

[Achievement – Solo B-rank Boss Hunt!]

– Condition: Defeat a B-rank boss solo.  

– Reward: Experience +270,000

—

[Achievement (Hidden) – First Named Killer!]

– Condition: Be the first in the world to defeat a named boss solo.  

– Reward: All Stats +30

—

‘A hidden achievement too…’

All this from just defeating Clark? The rewards were incredible in every way.

As soon as he collected his rewards, Min Do-jun leveled up again.

‘Now there’s only 30 minutes left.’

Min Do-jun had achieved his goal of defeating Clark. However, since there was no clear exit from this hidden dungeon, he couldn’t leave on his own accord. 

With time remaining, he decided to spend it hunting ghosts to pass the time. As he continued hunting, he leveled up once more and reached level 780.

With about three minutes left on the clock, he stopped hunting and waited for the dungeon exit to open. 

As he waited, he recalled BJ—the streamer who had passed out before Min Do-jun entered the dungeon.

‘There’s a chance that hunters from the Japanese association might be waiting at the entrance.’

Although he had locked the door just in case, BJ could have broken it out of curiosity. The door was already falling apart; even a regular person could have easily broken through it.

‘If they entered and saw the portal inside, they would have definitely reported it to the association.’

And now, hunters from the association were probably waiting outside for him to emerge from the dungeon.

‘They’ll be curious about how I found this dungeon. Or maybe they’re waiting for me for another reason…’

Whatever their intentions were, Min Do-jun knew that the Japanese association wouldn’t be too happy about him claiming this hidden dungeon for himself.

‘I originally planned to use invisibility and sneak out without anyone noticing…’

But now he had thought of an even better plan.

Min Do-jun equipped both the Ghost Mask and Ghost Sword.

Then—

Swish—

He transformed into someone else entirely.