Chapter 13 – Red-Eyed Werewolf

Meeting a boss is not easy.

Especially the Red-Eyed Werewolf.

The reason is simple.

Grrrr-

Only the eyes of the Red-Eyed Werewolf were visible.

Its ability to turn invisible was what made it so terrifying.

“That’s the Red-Eyed Werewolf, right?”

“I’ve only heard about it, but really only the eyes are visible.”

Despite its notoriety, the warriors weren’t very afraid.

They were overconfident in their own strength.

“Can we take it down with just the two of us?”

“Of course. How hard can a boss be?”

The warriors had experience defeating a boss before.

And quite easily at that.

So they were brimming with confidence.

Of course, it was because they had worked together with many others, but now they had no time to think about that.

Blinded by greed.

“I heard the items dropped by the Red-Eyed Werewolf are really good…”

“If we take it down, we can hog all the experience and rewards, right?”

The warriors’ eyes were filled with anticipation.

They were already thinking about the rewards they’d get after defeating it.

They were grateful the mage team wasn’t here.

They could claim all the rewards for themselves.

“Let’s go!”

The warriors charged in with their weapons raised.

Their target was the pair of red eyes gleaming in the forest.

Though only the eyes were visible due to invisibility, it didn’t matter.

Where there were eyes, there would surely be a head and body.

“Haaah!”

They charged in boldly, but the warriors overlooked one fact.

The fact that being invisible was an enormous advantage for the creature.

Thwack-!

“Ugh!”

The hammer warrior was knocked down before he could even attack.

It was because he couldn’t gauge the distance when only the eyes were visible.

“Die!”

The one-handed sword warrior swung his sword at the red eyes.

Swish swish swish!

Fast and sharp sword strikes.

The skill Sword Slash was unleashed.

“Damn it!”

But nothing caught on the sword’s edge.

He only swung at empty air since the creature’s body was invisible.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The one-handed sword warrior was also sent flying by the Werewolf’s counterattack.

The warriors’ faces were now tense as they clutched their ribs in unison.

“Ugh… it’s difficult when we can’t see the attacks.”

“I thought we could somehow hit it since the eyes are visible…”

They couldn’t gauge the distance because the body was invisible.

Moreover, they could only be beaten one-sidedly since they didn’t know where and how it would attack.

“This is bad…”

The warriors gripped their weapons tightly as they looked at the boss, sensing the crisis.

The red eyes floated around like will-o’-wisps.

Grrrr-

The boss that had been prowling around the warriors suddenly rushed in.

Swish!

“Ugh!”

The boss’s claws left a wound.

They tried to counterattack belatedly, but it was another miss.

Its strength was only slightly greater than a normal Werewolf, but its movements were much quicker.

Not only that, but they couldn’t predict its movements since the body was invisible.

Swish!

“Ugh!”

Thud!

“Urk!”

Wounds appeared on the warriors’ bodies.

They could only be beaten helplessly against the swift movements.

“Huff huff…”

The confidence had now disappeared from the warriors’ faces.

This was the first time they had encountered a boss that was so good at hit-and-run tactics.

“Can we really defeat this?”

“I’m not sure…”

The situation was hopeless.

They didn’t say much, but both of them felt it.

The fact that they weren’t hunting it, but it was hunting them.

“This seems impossible…”

“We’ll both die at this rate. What should we do?”

The two exchanged glances in despair.

Then, as if having made a decision, they put on resolute expressions.

“Let’s run away. At least one of us should survive.”

“…We have no choice. Let’s do it.”

The two who had been looking for an opportunity while counterattacking soon fled with their tails between their legs.

But humans can’t outrun beasts.

Woof woof!

As if knowing this fact, the Werewolf chasing them leisurely soon hesitated.

Because its prey had split into two.

In different directions.

* * *

While the warriors were fleeing from the boss, Min Do-jun was well into his strategy.

Very comfortably.

Yelp!

Yelp!

[Experience +200] (100% Contribution)

[Experience +200] (100% Contribution)

He faced two at once.

Even three was no problem.

Not only his magic power but also his physical strength was considerable, to the point where he could hunt with just his staff.

‘But there’s no need to struggle with just the staff.’

Just two shots.

Two skill shots were enough to kill a Werewolf.

When skills were on cooldown, he bought time by dodging attacks with his high agility.

And when cooldown was over, he unfailingly aimed for the eyes and killed them.

-Strategy Progress: 79/80 Werewolves

-Time Remaining: 59 minutes 58 seconds

He had killed nearly 50 Werewolves alone like that.

His level had gone up once too.

‘What on earth are those warriors doing?’

He hadn’t seen the numbers go up at all while hunting Werewolves so far.

‘They’re only hurting themselves by slacking off…’

Min Do-jun knew how well Hunters looked after their own interests.

And how much they hated losing out.

It was evident just from how they had volunteered to go hunting first.

‘They hate getting penalized more than anything.’

Hunters are the type to hurt others rather than suffer losses themselves.

They’re definitely not the type to slack off on hunting.

‘Something must have happened.’

There was a high chance something had threatened their safety.

It made no sense otherwise.

‘There’s only one thing that could threaten their safety.’

The boss.

There was a high chance his party members had encountered the boss.

Normal Werewolves wouldn’t have been a threat to them.

‘It would be difficult for two warriors to take down the Red-Eyed Werewolf.’

With 10 years of Hunter experience, Min Do-jun knew the strengths and weaknesses of the Red-Eyed Werewolf well.

He had fought it directly more than three times.

‘It’s a bit of a tricky opponent.’

Since nothing was visible except the eyes, it was difficult in many ways.

It wouldn’t be easy not only for beginners but even for experienced Hunters.

Of course, this was excluding Min Do-jun.

‘If the boss has appeared, I can’t end the strategy like this.’

Though he only needed to kill one more to complete the strategy, Min Do-jun decided not to do it intentionally.

He couldn’t give up the bonus of the boss.

‘There’s plenty of time.’

Min Do-jun set out to find the boss instead of Werewolves.

He didn’t know if the warriors were still alive, but it didn’t matter.

As long as he could defeat the boss.

‘Hm?’

Min Do-jun spotted a pack of Werewolves prowling around while searching for the boss.

‘It’s annoying, but I have no choice but to avoid them.’

Since he couldn’t end the strategy until he defeated the boss, he deliberately took a different path.

After walking for about 20 minutes like that…

Min Do-jun was able to find a party member he had separated from.

It was Kang Taewon, the hammer warrior.

“Hey, Mr. Kang Taewon!”

Kang Taewon didn’t respond.

He was lying motionless, covered in wounds all over his body.

‘He’s not breathing.’

Now that he looked closely, he wasn’t even wearing his Hunter equipment.

He was already dead.

‘Was he killed by the boss? But even so, there’s no way the corpse would remain like this?’

If it was the boss, it would have devoured Kang Taewon’s corpse and then some.

But the fact that it hadn’t eaten him yet meant…

‘It went to catch other prey.’

As if on cue, the boss appeared.

But hanging from what seemed to be the boss’s mouth was Ko Sungmin, who had fled earlier.

“Ugh, s-save me…”

Due to the boss’s invisibility, it looked like Ko Sungmin was floating in mid-air, but he was definitely being held in its jaws.

After all, blood was trickling down from between his waist where he was being bitten.

‘So it went to catch the prey that had escaped.’

The situation became clear at once.

The warriors must have decided they had no chance of winning and chose to flee while fighting.

And in separate directions at that.

‘Their judgment was good, but…’

If it were him, he wouldn’t have engaged in the first place.

Confidence is good, but nothing is as important as knowing one’s limits.

‘If only they had worked together to at least take out one leg or something…’

It would have been much easier to escape.

And they wouldn’t have both been caught like this.

‘What a pity.’

But regretting now was pointless when one casualty had already occurred and one was hanging from the boss’s mouth.

The priority was to save the party member who was still alive.

“Mr. Ko Sungmin! Just hold on a little longer! I’ll save you…”

Crunch!

Before Min Do-jun could help, the boss bit through Ko Sungmin’s waist.

Thud-

And it carelessly dropped Ko Sungmin’s corpse, turning its gleaming eyes towards Min Do-jun, its new prey.

Grrrr-

“Oh no…”

All his party members had died.

It was regrettable, but there was no time to mourn.

The Red-Eyed Werewolf was charging towards him.

Grrrr!

Nothing was visible.

Only the red eyes could be seen approaching.

Yet Min Do-jun showed no signs of panic.

‘Ice Spear.’

As always, he simply prepared to cast his skill.

‘Calmly.’

After aiming.

‘Fire.’

He launched the skill.

Whoosh-

Thwack!

Yelp!

The ice spear struck precisely into the red eyes.

Followed by a Lightning Spear hitting the same spot.

Crackle!

Yelp!

A normal Werewolf would have died from one combo, but this one didn’t fall.

It only let out a scream the warriors had never heard before.

‘Because it’s a boss, huh?’

He hadn’t expected to kill it in one combo anyway.

That’s why Min Do-jun calmly waited for the cooldown.

To take out the remaining eye.

But the Werewolf wasn’t about to wait for that.

Grrrr!

It swung its invisible claws, filled with rage from losing one eye.

Thud!

A bluish barrier blocked the claws.

It was the Energy Shield he had cast in advance.

‘Weak.’

Its strength was below expectations, only its speed was impressive.

‘Ice Spear. Lightning Spear.’

He aimed the skills that had come off cooldown at the creature’s remaining eyeball.

Yelp!

With an agonized cry, the boss revealed its form.

Its invisibility had been dispelled.

‘So blinding both eyes disables the invisibility.’

It was the Red-Eyed Werewolf’s weakness, but it hadn’t been known until now.

After all, it wasn’t easy to hit the eyes of such a swift creature.

‘It’s easier to hit now that my agility has increased.’

In other words, it was something only Min Do-jun could do.

Min Do-jun raised his staff at the fully revealed boss.

‘Shall we end this now?’

The creature had been somewhat threatening when invisible, but now that its form was revealed, it was nothing special.

He could see exactly how it would attack and where it would try to flee.

Moreover, with its eyes blinded, it was no different from a toothless tiger.

Yelp!

Min Do-jun hit a skill on the Werewolf’s nape and then approached with his staff raised.

Thwack! Thwack!

And he beat it mercilessly.

Occasionally when the Werewolf tried to counterattack, he dodged with his high agility.

And whenever the cooldown was over, he unfailingly landed his skill combo.

There were no spectators to that one-sided hunt.

That’s why Min Do-jun could unleash his full skills in beating down the boss.

Yelp!

[You have defeated the Red-Eyed Werewolf!]

[You have achieved an accomplishment!]