Chapter 209 – Is That Really Level 3,000?

The party members all wore dumbfounded expressions.

‘What… what just happened?’

In the blink of an eye, the ghouls had turned to smoke.

No one even saw how they died.

The only thing they were sure of was that it happened as Min Do-jun passed by.

‘Could it be that Magic Swordsman…?’

They suspected Min Do-jun was the one who killed them, but that was just a guess.

No one had actually seen him swing his sword.

KIAAAAK-!

Just then, more ghouls appeared from the rear.

All eyes turned to Min Do-jun as he moved.

Flash-

The rainbow-hued buff on his sword flashed brilliantly.

As the flash passed, the ghouls were neatly sliced in two.

‘Unbelievable…’

The hunters who witnessed it were left speechless.

‘Is this really the power of someone who just reached level 3,000?’

They hadn’t caught it before, but watching closely now, it was clear.

Every time Min Do-jun’s sword moved, ghouls were cleaved apart on both sides.

“Hunter Min Do-jun, did you just kill those ghouls?”

“Yes.”

Jeong Hye-won asked, but still looked like she couldn’t believe it.

‘How can a level 3,000 hunter have this kind of strength and skill…?’

Wondering if her eyes were deceiving her, she checked the rankings again, but Min Do-jun was definitely level 3,000.

And ranked 14 places below her.

‘Maybe the monsters here are just weaker than we thought?’

She wasn’t alone in this suspicion.

Most of the hunters who hadn’t fought a ghoul yet were starting to doubt the dungeon’s difficulty.

But those who had actually faced a ghoul knew the truth.

It wasn’t easy to kill one in a single blow like Min Do-jun did.

“Ghouls are coming from all directions! Everyone, get ready!”

At the leader’s shout, the hunters gripped their weapons, tense.

Min Do-jun, as if giving the others a chance to hunt, lowered his sword.

KIAAAAK!

The melee began.

Twelve ghouls clashed with the nine hunters.

“Haaap!”

Jeong Hye-won’s fist smashed into a ghoul’s face.

Its face was crushed and it toppled, but it didn’t die from one hit.

GROOOAN-

True to their undead nature, the ghoul staggered back up and lunged again.

CRACK-! THUD!

It took a kick and two more punches before it finally turned to smoke.

‘They’re tougher and stronger than I thought.’

Jeong Hye-won wasn’t the only one struggling to bring down a single ghoul.

The other hunters were in the same boat.

So every time they managed to kill one, the same thought crossed their minds.

‘How does Hunter Min Do-jun kill these things so easily?’

‘Didn’t he just become S-rank?’

After facing the ghouls themselves, the hunters realized just how strong Min Do-jun really was.

When the fight ended, the party members looked at him with eyes full of awe.

All suspicion had vanished.

“Hunter Min Do-jun, I thought the ghouls were weak because you killed them so easily, but they’re actually pretty tough. How do you do it?”

Gilbert asked, and Min Do-jun answered nonchalantly.

“Maybe it’s just because I’m strong?”

“You seem even stronger than when I last saw you.”

Min Do-jun nodded.

He agreed.

‘It feels like I’m about six times stronger than before.’

He hadn’t had a proper “sandbag” to measure his true combat power yet, but so far that was his impression.

‘The problem is, it’s all too easy.’

What was a tough fight for the others didn’t even count as a warm-up for Min Do-jun.

‘Even a casual swing slices them like tofu.’

Not being able to test his limits was frustrating, but more than anything, it was simply boring.

‘There’s no tension.’

Why? Because with his Presence Detection trait, he always knew exactly when and where monsters would appear.

“Everyone, be careful. Soon they’ll start popping up from the ground!”

At the leader’s warning, the hunters watched the ground nervously as they walked.

The tension was palpable, but not for Min Do-jun.

‘Three of them are lying in ambush up ahead.’

His Presence Detection even revealed the positions of ghouls hiding underground.

‘Gust Blade.’

Summoning blades of wind, Min Do-jun struck first before the ghouls could leap out.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

At first, the party was startled to see him casting spells at empty ground.

But then-

“Wait!”

They saw ghoul flesh burst up from the earth and gasped in amazement.

“Ghouls?”

“They must have been lying in ambush here.”

“How did he know they were there?”

The hunters stared at Min Do-jun in awe, but he just kept calmly clearing out the “landmines.”

‘He can even sense ghouls hiding underground… That’s impossible!’

Jin Gar-yun, the leader, was dumbfounded.

He’d cleared the City of the Dead over ten times, but even he couldn’t predict where ghouls would appear.

You only found out when they popped up.

‘But that hunter knows exactly where they are?’

Every time Min Do-jun cast a spell, a ghoul died.

He wasn’t just randomly attacking-he clearly knew the locations.

THWACK! THWACK!

The wind blades burrowed into the ground and split the ghouls’ heads.

Jeong Hye-won, astonished, asked, “How do you know where the ghouls are?”

“Just a hunch.”

But that wasn’t the only surprising thing.

‘His spells move like they’re alive…’

‘Can he really control magic that freely?’

‘And what kind of spell can one-shot a ghoul?’

Each Gust Blade summoned ten wind blades, but a single one was enough to kill a ghoul.

Even Min Do-jun was a little surprised by this.

‘Since hitting level 3,000, my spell damage has skyrocketed.’

More precisely, it was after killing the twin brothers.

‘It must be because of the First Twin’s Blessing, which boosts skill damage by 60%.’

And on top of that, wielding Excalibur increased skill damage by another 20%.

‘No wonder a single blade is enough to shred a ghoul.’

If a single blade was this strong, what would happen if he focused all ten on one target?

‘Maybe I could even kill the boss with just magic.’

At this point, even most mages couldn’t match his power.

“Ahem, let’s keep moving,” the leader said, snapping the party out of their daze.

“Stop! Ghouls ahead! Watch the rear, too… Huh?”

Jin Gar-yun trailed off in disbelief as he looked back.

Five ghouls had already fallen, their heads missing.

Min Do-jun had acted first.

‘Damn it. Where did this monster come from?’

Jin Gar-yun was deeply displeased.

‘The one who should be getting all the attention is me…’

He wanted to be the star, but with Min Do-jun’s overwhelming performance, he was left in the dust.

‘No matter how flashy my swordplay is, no one’s watching.’

He couldn’t even think of trying to keep up.

Even as the highest-level hunter, he had to admit Min Do-jun’s strength.

‘As long as Hunter Min Do-jun is here, I’ll never be the center of attention.’

Jin Gar-yun glanced at Min Do-jun.

Flash!

With speed too fast to follow, Min Do-jun passed by and five more ghouls fell.

No one else had a chance to shine.

Seeing the other hunters’ frustration, Jin Gar-yun’s eyes lit up.

‘That’s it! I’ll use the other party members as an excuse to kick him out!’

With that justification, Jin Gar-yun approached Min Do-jun.

“Hunter.”

“Yes?”

“You’re only level 3,000, but you’re incredibly strong. Truly amazing.”

“You flatter me.”

“You’re on a different level from us. So, um…”

“You want me to hunt alone?”

“Huh?”

Jin Gar-yun was taken aback that his intentions had been read so easily.

“Ah… yes. Sorry, but could you do that?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t want to hog all the monsters.”

So Min Do-jun left the party to solo hunt.

Jin Gar-yun was almost disappointed at how easily he agreed.

‘He’s more reasonable than I expected.’

He’d worried Min Do-jun might argue that it was unfair to hunt alone in unfamiliar territory, but that was just needless anxiety.

‘Now that he’s gone, I can finally take center stage. Hehe.’

But Min Do-jun was just as pleased.

He preferred being able to hunt freely on his own.

Two Days Later

Ssssh-

Ten hunters emerged from the dungeon.

Min Do-jun reunited with the party at this point.

“Did you all manage to hunt well without me?”

Gilbert waved his hand, looking exhausted.

“Oh, it was tough. Especially when twelve ghouls popped up from the ground-I nearly died of fright.”

He looked pale.

The other hunters looked just as worn out.

“Seems like you all had a rough time.”

“Yeah. Without you, Hunter Min Do-jun, the difficulty shot up. Now I understand why people stick to appropriate-level dungeons.”

It was clear how much of a difference Min Do-jun made to the party.

“But you don’t look tired at all, Hunter. Not a drop of sweat.”

“Of course not.”

He pretended to wipe his brow, but in truth, he hadn’t sweated at all.

‘If anything, I was bored out of my mind.’

If he said that out loud, he’d just sound arrogant.

Just then, the leader, Jin Gar-yun, approached.

“Hunter, did you enjoy solo hunting?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I gained quite a few levels.”

“I’m glad. Hope we meet again.”

“Likewise.”

Min Do-jun knew Jin Gar-yun was just being polite.

To someone obsessed with attention, Min Do-jun was probably the last person he wanted to see again.

‘Still, he looks pleased. He must have enjoyed being in the spotlight.’

He must have gotten all the attention from the level 3,500 hunters.

‘Well, I’m satisfied too. Even if it was boring.’

After two days of solo hunting, he’d gained a huge amount of levels.

Enough to shock anyone.

“H-Hunter Min Do-jun.”

Jeong Hye-won approached, eyes wide.

He could tell immediately.

‘She must have figured it out.’

As a fellow Korean, she would have checked his ranking and level.

Sure enough, she asked about it.

“Weren’t you level 3,000 when you entered?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So you gained… 100 levels in this dungeon…?”

She sounded like she couldn’t believe it.