Episode 39: Ground Zero (4)
Still, the Punisher had his own grit.
I tried my best to hold on and fight back somehow.
I clenched my teeth, tried to forget the pain, and turned with all my might to counterattack Kang-hu.
It was superhuman strength.
If it were any other monster, it would have vomited blood and died right away.
However, the belief that he would protect Mad Solakium at all costs allowed the Punisher to exert his might.
widely!
Unfortunately, the Punisher’s fighting spirit was in vain with one snap of Kang-hu’s finger.
Blood ignition has been activated.
Then, like a paper doll caught in a strong wind, the Punisher’s body continued to shake and then fell forward.
The blood flower that exploded through the gushing blood caused unbearable damage all at once.
No matter how much mental strength a Punisher had, he could not withstand pressure that exceeded the limits of his body.
“after.”
Kanghu let out a hot breath.
His resistance was so strong that I thought it would have been difficult to kill him without blood hwa.
Did it make you nervous?
For the first time in a long time, my confidence in victory almost dropped from 100% to 90% or even lower.
Anyway, with the Punisher’s death, there was no longer anyone to protect Mad Solarchium.
He used his leap to climb the rock wall and gained time by holding on to the beak of a rock in between.
If you continue to use the leap continuously, it is easy to overload, so there is a short delay.
Thanks to the improved strength, it was not difficult to support the weight of the entire body with one or both arms.
If I had been the person I was when I escaped the Cheongmyeong concentration camp in the past, I would have never dreamed of holding on.
But now that I had steadily increased my strength stats, it was as easy as doing light push-ups.
Soon, Ganghu arrived in the middle of the rock wall and finally faced Mad Solarchium.
The appearance was so different that I wondered if it was the same type of Solarchium.
If Solarchium had a similar appearance to aloe, Mad Solarchium was closer to tulips.
If you compare the two without prior knowledge, you will not be able to recognize that they are the same at all.
Sigh!
The Mad Solakium was pulled out just by applying a little bit of force to the hand.
“at las.”
Kang Hu showed a satisfied expression.
This is the guy who makes Ganghu complete in 30 minutes. It frees you from all restraints and worries.
Of course, after 30 minutes, there will be repercussions as you overdo it during the calming time.
However, it meant a lot to be able to focus on the battle for 30 minutes without worrying about anything.
This is because congenital mana hypersensitivity makes it so that there is no need to worry about mana supply.
In other words, if you have Mad Solarchium, you have infinite mana for 30 minutes. It is the same as infinite skill.
“This little flower is worth 100 million won… It’s more than a gold bar.”
I burst into laughter.
Of course, I have no intention of selling it.
And there aren’t that many hunters actively looking for Mad Solarchium.
This is because drugs such as narcotics are much more effective in relieving pain and awakening people than Mad Solakium.
Furthermore, in terms of price, it was much more cost-effective than Mad Solarium, which costs hundreds of millions.
Anyway, I got my first Mad Solarchium. There are still 5 more flowers left to obtain.
You have to move diligently.
“huh?”
Then, after some time, something suddenly rose from the body of the dead Punisher.
It was a green magic stone.
It is worth 100 million won.
I thought that earning magic stones was quite rewarding.
It is not common to see magic stones, but it seemed to reflect the characteristics of Ground Zero, which had a stronger negative energy.
This means that you are in an area that is less touched by hunters.
This is because the rewards are better in places that are less explored, such as dungeons and external spaces like this.
It is also a verified statistic.
“….”
However, there was one thing that bothered me from earlier.
The fact is that there is one eye watching this.
What is interesting is that the owner of the gaze moves freely over the trees.
There wasn’t even a sound during the process, and it was just quietly changing positions.
If Kang-hoo didn’t have night vision, he wouldn’t have even realized that someone was watching him.
The reason Ganghu did not respond in particular was because the opponent was clearly maintaining a certain distance.
It didn’t seem hostile and seemed more in the realm of curiosity. It feels like I’m just watching.
‘Well, you’ll figure it out when the time comes.’
Without thinking much, Kanghu started moving to the next point.
If necessary, he will show himself first, and if he is going to fight, he will close the distance.
All you have to do is respond appropriately to the situation. There was no need to think complicatedly.
* * *
midnight.
Ground Zero was covered in thick darkness and was filled with silence and stillness.
Occasionally, the screams of monsters or hunters could be heard, but no one paid attention to the sounds.
I just thought it was someone else’s problem, thinking that the monster was dead or the hunter was dead.
In the first place, this only happened when there were hunters around, and there were many cases where people didn’t know what was happening.
Thanks to this, ‘she’, who was watching Kang-hu from afar, was able to focus her attention solely on him.
Her name is Jeong Yu-ri.
His level was 250 and he was a hunter who had lived at Ground Zero for quite some time.
There was no pressure at all about living in the wild.
Rather, I thought it was much safer than living in a crime city where I didn’t know what kind of danger I could fall into.
Moreover, since I dislike sunlight, the environment of Ground Zero, with its dense bushes and trees, suited my taste.
It wasn’t particularly difficult to carefully follow Ganghu.
With her ability to transform, she was able to change her body from human form to the form of black smoke.
Then, I could remove the pressure of gravity and focus only on moving lightly through the air.
In some cases, it was possible to open a shortcut by using the space utilization ability.
‘Isn’t that person even tired? It seems like there are no gaps against this difficult punisher.’
Kanghu was busy working to obtain Mad Solarchium. I continued to fight the Punisher.
Jeong Yu-ri, who watched the entire battle, was amazed at Kang-hu’s skills.
Punishers are hard on everyone. This is because it is adjusted according to the opponent’s skill and level.
Therefore, in order to attack the Punisher, an ingenious strategy to catch the enemy off guard was essential.
No matter how skilled a hunter is, there is a limit to the skills they can apply.
However, Kanghu continued to create variables in the situation.
There are already more than 10 skills that she has confirmed with her own eyes.
To get to this level, your level must be at least 200.
Then, 8 basic skills are given, 1 10 20 30 40 50 100 200.
This is because if you count the additional 3 skills that fit your job group, you have about 11 skills.
Jeong Yu-ri currently possesses a total of 10 skills. So, you can’t help but think that they are roughly at the same level as you.
‘The offense and defense transition is clean.’
What Jeong Yu-ri noticed most was that there was no unnecessary movement in Kang-hu’s movements.
As a result, switching between attack and defense was free, and above all, there was no waste of movement or movement.
Among the hunters I’ve seen at Ground Zero recently, he was the most skilled hunter.
‘It doesn’t seem like he was the one who ran away.’
Jeong Yu-ri was sure.
He is not a criminal who committed a crime and came here to hide, but an outside hunter who came here on business.
Maybe that’s why I became more interested.
How can I just find the place where Mad Solarchium is, as if I had an internal map?
“….”
Jeong Yu-ri disappeared into the darkness again and followed Kang-hu from a distance.
There was still quite a bit of time left before dawn.
* * *
30 minutes later.
‘I’m feeling a bit sweaty now.’
Ganghu, who defeated the Punisher and obtained the sixth Mad Solarchium, sat down on a rock to rest for the first time.
This is the point of Mad Solarium that Kanghu knows.
From then on, it is uncharted territory.
If you go looking for it, you may be able to find it, but it is not an easy task since you have to search the entire ground zero.
Looking at the 6 Mad Solarchium flowers made me feel like I had the whole world.
In terms of time, this is a guy who will make it easy for you to fight 6 times if you look at 3 hours of battle and 30 minutes.
There will be many elements that will be used strategically in the future. It will also be very helpful in creating variables.
‘Level 42.’
I also steadily raised my level.
I only dealt with six punishers and a few minor monsters, but the experience points I received were definitely significant.
If we hadn’t come as a group or when the yin energy was strong like now, we would have barely passed level 41.
He was a strong player who once again realized the strength of solo play and the importance of timing.
Sigh.
Ganghu glanced at the top of a tall tree.
I’ve been watching for a really long time.
Or appear in the middle.
Or, he thought he would lose interest and leave, but the owner of his gaze was steadily watching him.
‘Shall we play a joke?’
Ganghu immediately deployed illusion techniques and shadow steps, scattering his clones in all directions.
Then, my gaze could not focus on one place and began to wander in various directions.
I must have been more embarrassed as I was looking in the dark.
Shapes that closely resemble Ganghu’s appearance are scattered in all directions.
in between.
Sigh! Sigh!
He plunged the dagger into the tree with all his might and climbed up the tree in an instant.
As I moved using leaps and acceleration, I reached the end of the 40m tree in just a few seconds.
“hey.”
“Ahh!”
“Why are you so surprised? “Did you think I didn’t know?”
“That’s not it! “Where did you know this from?”
“From the beginning. I didn’t seem to have any hostility, so I just didn’t respond. But it feels like I’ve been watching you for too long?”
“I know he’s an assassin, but is it possible for him to suddenly climb a tree like this?”
“You’re unnecessarily curious.”
Kang-hu sat next to her.
Even though I was on a tree so high that I felt dizzy when I looked down.
Both Kang-hoo and Jeong Yu-ri seemed to be sitting comfortably without any worries.
at that time.
Kang-hu’s eyes sparkled as he looked at her face closely.
Because there were faces and names that came to mind. His appearance matched the description in the original work.
A face with clear features and clear lines.
Her hair was styled in a unique bun and her eyes were two completely different colors.
When viewed from the side, the nose looks as if it could cut through paper, and the lips are quite thick.
And the strong acacia scent emanating from the body. There was a character that matched this in the original work.
Yuri Jeong.
She is a female hunter living in Ground Zero who absolutely hates the Purification Guild.
His emotions are deeper than Ahn Young-ho’s because he has a record of being betrayed by a hunter from the Jeonghwa guild.
The story is long.
To put it simply, this is a character who strives to kill Chae Gwan-hyeong, a key figure in the Jeonghwa Guild. Because I have a deep, bad relationship with him, my deep-rooted resentment will never go away.
‘The fate is so intertwined.’
Ganghu nodded and accepted the coincidence at the truly strange progression of fate and fate.
That’s what meeting people are like. It is not always inevitable.
There are also unexpected coincidences where you meet an important person in an unexpected place.
Jeong Yu-ri was a very important figure to Kang-hu, who was determined to turn the tables on Jeong-hwa’s guild.