Chapter 80 – Avatar of the Battlefield

[You have killed Hunter Kim Peter.]

[You have stolen the trait Avatar of the Battlefield.]

[You have stolen 10 pieces of equipment.]

[You have stolen 12 mana stones.]

[You have stolen 1 skill book.]

“Phew.”

Min Do-jun let out a short breath.

It wasn’t an easy fight, but it wasn’t particularly difficult either.

‘It wasn’t as hard as I thought.’

He had been worried because Weakness Insight didn’t show information, but he managed to win without major damage.

‘Judging by how he saw through my ghost mask, his combat power was indeed higher than mine…’

Though his combat power was higher, it seems they were fairly evenly matched.

‘Maybe combat power isn’t that reliable after all…’

Kim Peter’s corpse slowly disappeared.

This was due to the Energy Recovery trait.

[You have absorbed the target’s corpse.]

[Your health is restored.]

The burn marks on his forearm disappeared completely.

‘As expected of an S-rank trait.’

Min Do-jun wondered if Kim Peter also had an S-rank trait.

With the excitement of opening a gift box, he checked the trait’s information.

[Trait – Avatar of the Battlefield]

-Rank: S

-Description: When you kill a target, all stats increase for 1 hour. 1% increase per kill. Applies up to a maximum of 50 kills.

Min Do-jun’s eyes widened as he read the description.

‘Stats increase by percentage?’

At maximum 50 kills, it would increase by 50%.

And that’s for all stats.

‘There’s a duration, but it should reset each time if I keep killing.’

This essentially meant he could enjoy a 50% stat boost the entire time he was in a dungeon.

‘So this is why Kim Peter suddenly got stronger.’

He had thought it was because of summoning ghouls, but it seems he temporarily got stronger by killing his attendants.

‘With this trait alone, hunting will be much faster from now on.’

Any trait that helps in combat is always welcome.

With a smile, Min Do-jun then examined the items.

‘4 B-rank mana stones and 8 A-rank mana stones.’

Totaling 3.36 billion won.

‘A decent profit.’

Moreover, he got many pieces of equipment too.

‘Probably because Kim Peter’s level was high, they’re all A-rank equipment.’

And they were all top-tier equipment above level 2,000.

‘I could get about 1 billion won each for these.’

Of course, none of these were suitable for Min Do-jun to use.

‘Aside from level restrictions, they’re all mage equipment.’

Things like skull staves and robes were cumbersome for Min Do-jun and had low defense.

For him, a magic swordsman, armor-type items with magic options were optimal.

‘Still, I could use accessories like these.’

The necklace especially caught Min Do-jun’s eye.

[Skull Necklace]

-Category: Necklace

-Rank: A

-Effect: Magic Power +164, Additional Magic Power +16 at night

-Durability: 14,589/16,400

-Usage Restriction: Level 1,500 or higher (Soulbound)

-Description: A necklace made with a real skull. Emanates a mystical aura.

‘I would have needed to get an A-rank necklace anyway, so this works out well.’

Though it was a used item with slightly reduced durability, it was quite good compared to other items.

‘It’s not bad to get soulbound items like this.’

Reaffirming the prestige of his EX-rank trait, he looked at the next item.

He couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘Why is this here?’

When he checked the skill book that was included, it was an unexpected skill.

[Skill – Soul Extraction]

-Rank: S

-Effect: Stores the soul of a dying target and explodes it when needed. Can store up to 10 souls.

-Damage: 300% of Magic Power per soul

-Usage Restriction: Level 2,500 or higher

-Description: A powerful AoE damage skill of the darkness attribute. You can also converse with stored souls.

One of the most coveted dark mage skills had fallen into Min Do-jun’s hands.

Soul Extraction was a precious skill capable of delivering a powerful one-shot attack.

‘Currently, S-rank skills can only be obtained from abroad, right?’

This was a skill unobtainable in Korea, where S-rank dungeons were just about to appear.

‘Kim Peter must have gotten this from another country, planning to learn it when he reached level 2,500.’

Though it was a skill fitting for a dark mage, in a system without job distinctions, anyone could learn it if they met the level requirement.

‘I’ll keep this and use it myself.’

The skill’s power was undeniably impressive, even to Min Do-jun.

After all, it was a skill that could deal up to 3,000% AoE damage with 10 souls.

‘Now I need to find this sacred relic…’

After finishing his item appraisal, Min Do-jun looked around.

Ghoul corpses scattered everywhere and shattered marble pieces.

It was utter chaos.

‘Is there anything that could be a clue?’

Since he couldn’t get information about the sacred relic from Kim Peter, he had to find it elsewhere.

Scanning the room, Min Do-jun found a space set up in the corner.

There was a bed and wardrobe, suggesting it was Kim Peter’s living quarters.

‘Nothing here that could be a clue.’

He searched everywhere but found no notebook or paper with any records.

‘Maybe I’ll take this.’

Min Do-jun took the elder’s robe Kim Peter had worn from the wardrobe.

He thought it might come in handy.

‘I’ll have to ask someone else about the sacred relic.’

If it was something Kim Peter considered important, his subordinates might know about it.

For now, he needed to leave this chaotic place.

Exiting the room, he saw a pure white corridor.

‘It must have been noisy during the fight, but no one’s showing up.’

It seems the attendants turned into ghouls were all the personnel in the basement.

Thinking he should return to the surface, he was about to climb the stairs he came down when-

‘Hm?’

He heard movement from a nearby room.

Opening the door, he saw two people sitting and trembling.

It was Gwak Seon-yeong and Kim Ye-seul.

The two startled but seemed slightly relieved seeing Min Do-jun.

However, their fear hadn’t completely disappeared.

Though Min Do-jun had saved them from danger, from their perspective it was hard to judge if he was friend or foe.

Understanding this, Min Do-jun spoke in a gentle tone.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

“R-really?”

Only then did the women fully relax and stand up.

“The Lord Heaven is dead.”

“Ah…”

The women accepted the news of a person’s death calmly, without surprise.

They weren’t generous enough to feel sympathy for the death of an old man who tried to assault them.

But they weren’t ungrateful either.

“Thank you for saving us.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Min Do-jun nodded as the two bowed their heads.

“By the way, how did you get here?”

Min Do-jun asked for details.

He asked hoping to get information about the sacred relic, but there wasn’t much helpful information.

‘So that’s why they’re wearing these robes.’

The women were still wearing robes.

It seems they couldn’t find their clothes.

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

“Ah… we didn’t know how to get out…”

“Couldn’t you just go up the stairs next to us?”

“We tried, but there was no button to open the door.”

“So we came back down. It’s shameless, but we were going to ask for help…”

They knew how to enter from seeing the button behind the bookshelf, but didn’t know how to exit.

“Since you’re a hunter, we thought you could somehow use your strength…”

In other words, they had been waiting for the battle to end.

“What would you have done if Lord Heaven had won?”

“…We would have kept hiding and looked for a chance to escape.”

For them, it was extremely fortunate that Min Do-jun won the duel.

If Lord Heaven had won, their chances of escape would have been drastically lowered.

In the worst case, they might have been recaptured and lived as playthings for life.

Perhaps because of such thoughts,

Gwak Seon-yeong recalled what Lord Heaven had said.

“Come to think of it, I think there are more people captured besides us.”

“More people?”

“Yes, he said there were many companions who would feel a sense of kinship.”

Min Do-jun fell into thought for a moment.

‘If this is true, it means there’s a separate place where women are being held captive… In any case, it’s clear they’re not here.’

He needed to search other locations to find clues about the sacred relic.

‘I should try to find the location of the sacred relic while rescuing people.’

Then Gwak Seon-yeong cautiously asked.

“Um… I know it’s shameless, but could you please take us out of here?”

“Please help us. We won’t do anything about hunters or whatever, just help us get home.”

The two women gave him desperate looks.

They desperately needed the help of the hunter before them to escape.

“Hmm…”

Min Do-jun looked at them while internally hiding his confusion.

‘I was planning to save them anyway.’

He had come looking because he couldn’t ignore Gwak Seon-yeong being in danger.

He had recklessly challenged Kim Peter to a duel, unsure if he could win.

‘I did end up winning, but…’

It was clear he had taken an uncharacteristic risk.

‘Maybe killing him now was for the best. If I’d been any later, I might not have had the chance to look for the sacred relic.’

It might be a stretch, but who knows if the sacred relic would still be here a month later?

‘The Black Sea Guild might really have targeted and taken it.’

Moreover, judging by the atmosphere, the two women were likely to cooperate with him.

‘If these two help, it’ll be easier to find the sacred relic.’

Finishing his thoughts, Min Do-jun spoke.

“Alright. I’ll help you escape. In return, could you cooperate with me?”

“Huh? Cooperate?”

“I’m trying to find and rescue the imprisoned people. I’ll need your help for that.”

“If it’s for that, I’ll help.”

“I’ll do anything if we can get out.”

There was no reason to refuse helping people in the same situation.

“Good.”

Min Do-jun gave instructions to the ghost wolf.

‘Awo, track the scent of all people except us.’

[Woof!]

The tracking skill can track the scent of specific individuals or similar species.

In cases like this where specific individuals can’t be found, tracking similar scents can find unspecified groups of people.

Just like finding monsters in dungeons.

[Multiple targets detected.]

[Distance to nearest target: 112m]

Confirming the tracking skill was active, Min Do-jun put on the elder’s robe he had taken from Kim Peter’s room.

“W-why are you wearing that?”

“You’ll see. Don’t be surprised.”

Wearing the robe, Min Do-jun transformed his face.

His smooth skin developed worm-like wrinkles, changing into Kim Peter’s face.

“Gasp!”

“Kyaaah!”

The women screamed with frightened expressions upon seeing his face.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t think you’d be this surprised.”

“L-Lord Heaven…”

“It’s me, just me. I only transformed my face, so don’t be too scared.”

True to his words, the face was Lord Heaven’s, but the voice was Min Do-jun’s.

Realizing this, the women started to calm down a bit.

“H-how did you change your face…”

“C-can hunters do things like this too?”

Min Do-jun, seeing no reason to answer, ignored them and explained the plan.

“From now on, I’ll pretend to be Lord Heaven to find out where the captives are held. You two will act as if I’m dragging you along. Please act naturally.”

“Ah… okay.”

“Then let’s go.”