Chapter 140 – Skill Grade Transcendence Stone

[Distance to target: 834m]

……

[Distance to target: 626m]

……

[Distance to target: 448m]

As the distance to Shin Kyung-min decreased, Min Do-jun looked around, keeping his senses on high alert.

Checking if anyone was watching him.

Checking if anyone was following him.

He used his presence detection and killing intent detection abilities to make sure nothing was amiss.

The reason he was so tense was simple.

It was because his tracking target was none other than Shin Kyung-min.

‘I need to be careful. If my surveillance is discovered and we end up in a direct confrontation, there’s no guarantee I’ll win.’

He had to be extra cautious since he wasn’t confident whether he could defeat Shin Kyung-min yet.

‘If I’m discovered, it’s all over. I can’t even use invisibility.’

In front of someone with superior combat power, both invisibility and ghost mask would be useless.

With no means of escape, he had no choice but to act more cautiously than usual.

‘Judging by the lack of movement, he’s definitely sleeping.’

The problem was that as the distance shortened, questions began to arise.

‘His home is in a place like this?’

With less than 300 meters remaining, there were no buildings that could be called a house.

‘Could it be?’

The familiar surroundings made Min Do-jun feel an ominous premonition.

Finally, when he reached a point with only 100 meters left.

Halt-

Min Do-jun stopped in his tracks.

There was no need to track any further.

This was because this place was somewhere Min Do-jun was already familiar with.

‘This is the Emperor Guild…’

The Emperor Guild was not only Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su’s guild but also the guild Min Do-jun had belonged to before his regression.

Looking at the guild building that was as vast as a university campus, disappointment was evident in Min Do-jun’s eyes.

‘He sleeps in a place like this?’

Since scent doesn’t lie, it was clear that Shin Kyung-min was here.

‘I wanted to find his home, but he’s sleeping at the guild.’

Min Do-jun’s plan was to track Shin Kyung-min to find his house and then follow his family.

But things seemed to be going wrong from the start.

‘There’s no way his family would be in a place like this.’

Min Do-jun immediately turned around.

Because only Shin Kyung-min would be at the guild.

‘I came for nothing.’

Min Do-jun quickly left the area.

Although nothing was triggering his senses, it would be troublesome if Kang Hyuk-su or someone else saw him.

‘Today isn’t the only day.’

Although he couldn’t find the house, he decided to try again another time.

Shin Kyung-min probably didn’t live at the guild every day.

* * *

The next day, Min Do-jun received a call from Shin Kyung-min.

-Hunter Min Do-jun? This is Shin Kyung-min.

“What is it?”

-Ah, I was wondering if you’ve seen the articles?

“Yes, I have. Why?”

A sharp response.

It was a natural reaction since he was being ridiculed on the internet because of Shin Kyung-min.

Of course, it was an act.

-I’m sorry, Hunter. Those articles came out because of me. I should have been more careful with my words in front of reporters…

“It’s fine.”

-As an apology, I’d like to treat you to a meal. Do you have time?

It was a situation that felt somewhat familiar.

‘This is similar to what happened with Lee Se-yun.’

He recalled how Lee Se-yun had invited him to her home, saying she wanted to reconcile.

‘If he invites me to his home and I get a chance to meet his family?’

He might be able to make them hostages more easily than expected.

With a hopeful heart, Min Do-jun probed.

“Treat me to a meal?”

-Yes. I know a top-class restaurant. Our guild master also feels sorry and wants to come along. Would that be okay?

Upon hearing those words, disappointment flashed across Min Do-jun’s face.

‘He’s not inviting me to his home.’

In that case, there was no reason to meet.

“I’m a bit busy.”

-Ah, in that case, please contact me when you have time. I’ll see you then.

“Okay.”

He only postponed the meeting, not refusing it outright.

After all, becoming closer to Shin Kyung-min wouldn’t hurt Min Do-jun either.

‘It’s obvious they want to build rapport to persuade me to join the guild, but that’s not happening.’

Considering Kang Hyuk-su’s personality of needing to possess what he wants, it was somewhat predictable.

‘For now, let’s focus on following Shin Kyung-min.’

* * *

A week passed.

During this time, Min Do-jun kept an eye on Shin Kyung-min while conquering dungeons.

‘He’ll go home eventually.’

With that thought, he continued his surveillance, but contrary to his expectations, Shin Kyung-min’s destination was always the Emperor Guild.

‘Why does this guy always sleep at the guild when he’s not short on money?’

It was to the point where he suspected Shin Kyung-min might have run away from home.

‘Even if he doesn’t live with his family, he should have a home, right?’

It was incomprehensible, but not something he could ask about.

‘Maybe I should have probed when he called last time?’

Min Do-jun shook his head.

Suspicious behavior in front of him was forbidden.

‘At this rate, I won’t be able to locate his family members…’

There was a hitch in his plan to take Shin Kyung-min’s family as hostages.

Reluctantly backing down, Min Do-jun stopped following Shin Kyung-min.

* * *

Another week passed.

‘Given the similar distance, he seems to be sleeping at the guild again.’

Even after observing for several days, there was no change in Shin Kyung-min’s movements.

‘Did he also live at the guild before my regression? I can’t tell.’

Although Min Do-jun was part of the Emperor Guild before his regression, he didn’t know much about Shin Kyung-min.

‘I joined after Shin Kyung-min had disappeared.’

Before the regression, Shin Kyung-min, who had been thriving as the top-ranked hunter, suddenly disappeared after three years.

Because he stopped exploring dungeons, Shin Kyung-min’s level remained frozen for several years.

During that time, Min Do-jun, who had been below him, rose to claim the top rank.

‘If not for that incident, Shin Kyung-min would have remained the top-ranked hunter.’

After disappearing like that, Shin Kyung-min returned to the Emperor Guild seven years later.

It was only after that that Min Do-jun met Shin Kyung-min and went hunting with him.

‘It seems he was staying at the guild before I joined.’

In any case, at this rate, he couldn’t find Shin Kyung-min’s family.

A drastic measure was needed.

‘With an enhanced tracking skill, I might be able to find them.’

Currently, the ghost wolf’s tracking skill simply finds the scent of the designated target.

But if enhanced, could it also find the scent of family members?

It was just a conjecture.

‘I don’t know since I’ve never enhanced it, but it’s worth a try.’

However, if others heard Min Do-jun’s thoughts, they might all laugh.

Because there’s no known way to enhance a summon’s skills.

‘No, there is one way.’

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary method.

‘With the Pet Master’s ability, it might be possible.’

Pet Master had been a somewhat famous hunter even before the regression… ‘An old man who reached the top ranks by composing all his skills related to summons.’

His unique style of hunting only with summons was not just powerful but overwhelming.

Min Do-jun had experience partying with him before the regression.

‘The sight of six summons biting and tearing apart monsters was truly overwhelming.’

He had once asked Pet Master about it.

How one of his summons used an enhanced skill.

Pet Master revealed that it wasn’t the skill but his own ability.

‘If I obtain Pet Master’s ability and enhance the ghost wolf’s tracking skill, I might be able to find Shin Kyung-min’s family.’

It was just a guess, but if there was even a slight possibility, it was worth trying.

After all, Pet Master was someone he had to kill eventually for revenge.

‘His hunting dog bit my ankle.’

The face of the old man who had pointed and commanded his dog to bite him was still vivid.

‘He’s not well-known yet, but he’s a master among masters. He should never be underestimated.’

He was like a reclusive master known only in whispers.

As such, he wasn’t an opponent to be taken lightly.

‘I shouldn’t judge by level alone, but should I check anyway?’

Min Do-jun opened the ranking window.

He intended to check Pet Master’s rank and level through the system.

‘He was better known as Pet Master in the past, so I still don’t know his real name…’

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t check the level.

Among the top rankers, there was only one elderly hunter.

107th – Kim Byung-soo (Born 1951) – Level 2,502 (A-rank)

‘So Pet Master’s name is Kim Byung-soo.’

In the past, he hadn’t been interested enough to know his name, but now it was different.

‘I need to kill him.’

Of course, since Pet Master hadn’t committed any crime yet, Min Do-jun decided to monitor him first.

He needed to determine if he was truly an evil person who deserved to die.

‘But before that, there’s something I need to do.’

Min Do-jun took out two stones with purple inscriptions.

These were Skill Grade Transcendence Stones he had obtained from defeating sub-dungeon bosses.

‘There’s no reason not to use an item that upgrades A-grade skills to S-grade.’

Normally, to use an S-grade skill, one needs to be S-rank.

However, with a transcendence stone, an A-grade skill can be enhanced to S-grade in advance.

‘Eventually, when I become S-rank, I can upgrade skill grades with Skill Grade Enhancement Stones like I’ve been doing…’

The advantage of transcendence stones is that they allow early enhancement of skills, enabling the use of S-grade skills even while still at A-rank.

‘Which skill should I enhance?’

Currently, Min Do-jun had 7 skills.

Among them, 2 were buffs, 3 were magic, and the remaining 2 were utility skills.

‘There’s no need to enhance buffs and magic.’

Min Do-jun had grown to the point of surpassing his past 4,000 level.

With damage already high enough, there was no need to enhance buffs and magic to increase it further.

‘Of course, increasing damage to boost combat power wouldn’t be bad.’

Higher combat power had several advantages.

‘I could see Shin Kyung-min’s weakness, and my disguise or invisibility might not be detected.’

Not a bad choice.

But.

‘If even after all that, I can’t surpass Shin Kyung-min’s combat power, it would be a waste.’

Without knowing the combat power gap between himself and Shin Kyung-min, there was a possibility it could be a futile effort.

Enhancing two skills wouldn’t drastically increase combat power anyway.

‘In that case, I’ll safely choose utility skills.’

Having decided which skills to enhance, Min Do-jun picked up one of the transcendence stones.

‘Transcend.’

As he spoke the command, a bright light emanated from the transcendence stone.

[Please name the skill to transcend.]

‘Invisibility.’

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

[Invisibility’s duration has increased from 12% of mana to 20%, and cooldown has decreased from 45 minutes to 15 minutes!]

Min Do-jun’s eyes widened at the extent of the improvement.

‘As expected of S-grade, the effect has increased tremendously.’

While he was satisfied with the longer duration and shorter cooldown, Min Do-jun suddenly recalled one of his abilities.

‘Wait. Don’t I have the Intermediate Stealth ability?’

An ability that extends invisibility duration by 300 seconds and reduces cooldown by 15 minutes.

‘If this ability is applied as well…?’

Min Do-jun hastily called up the skill’s information window.

[Skill – Invisibility]

-Grade: S

-Effect: Makes the body and objects touching the body invisible for a certain period.

-Duration: 20% of mana (seconds) + 300 seconds

-Cooldown: None

He couldn’t help but be surprised at the changed information.

‘Insane! No cooldown?’

The cooldown, which had already been reduced by the S-grade enhancement, disappeared completely when further reduced by the ability.

‘Does that mean I can use it infinitely?’

Min Do-jun immediately tried using Invisibility.

Sruruuk-

His body became transparent.

[Time remaining: 16 minutes 2 seconds]

He could confirm that the duration had significantly increased.

‘If I use a skill or say “deactivate” in my mind…’

As he spoke the command, his body reappeared, and the invisibility was deactivated.

Then, when he used invisibility again.

Sruruuk-

His appearance vanished, and a duration of 16 minutes 2 seconds appeared.

‘There really is no cooldown.’

As he repeatedly activated and deactivated it several times, his body flickered like a blinking light.

‘Even with just the Intermediate Stealth ability, the effect is tremendous.’

Without the ability, he wouldn’t have been able to reduce the cooldown to zero.

‘Anyone with this ability should definitely upgrade their stealth skill to S-grade.’

Having no cooldown for stealth was an enormous merit.

‘I can maintain invisibility at all times when I need to move stealthily, and I can also use it during combat.’

If he used stealth after each attack, it would seem to the enemy as if he was teleporting.

‘However, it would be useless against opponents with high combat power.’

Still, when fighting opponents who couldn’t detect stealth, he could show an overwhelmingly strong performance.

‘But if there’s an Intermediate Stealth ability, there must also be an Advanced one…’

How good would the Advanced Stealth ability be?

‘Well, I’ll get it if I have the chance.’

Satisfied with transcending Invisibility, Min Do-jun picked up the remaining transcendence stone.

‘Now, should I enhance the ghost wolf with this?’

He was curious about how an S-grade ghost wolf would differ.

Min Do-jun used the remaining stone with a command.

[Please name the skill to transcend.]

‘Ghost Wolf Summon.’