5 chapter - Rapid Corrosion Gate (2)

The pursuit of the gnolls was systematic.

I could feel the gnolls, positioned far to the sides, passing me and forming a tighter encirclement.

Meanwhile, a few gnolls were still chasing me closely.

They had split their roles.

The purpose of the ones chasing me closely was simple.

“Caw, caw!”

To stall for time.

They continuously rushed at me, creating time for the others to complete the encirclement.

“Caw!”

Then, whenever there was even the slightest opening, they rushed in without hesitation.

Every time that happened, I had no choice but to stop and swing my sword.

Swish!

By taking out one gnoll, the encirclement outside grew even more solid.

The time I stopped gave the gnolls on the outside more time to move and trap me.

Auuuu―

Meanwhile, the howling continued to echo through the forest.

‘...Those bastards.’

They were hunting in a pack now.

Constantly exhausting my stamina while simultaneously bringing in reinforcements.

It was clearly a strategic move.

To them, I was just a slightly stronger prey.

‘There’s no end to this.’

I had already taken down seven gnolls while fleeing. Yet, the number of pursuers had actually increased.

But there was still hope.

‘Just a little farther, and I’ll reach the Gate.’

Given the current pace, I believed I could reach the Gate before they fully completed their encirclement.

However, just before reaching the Gate, their trump card awaited.

“...!”

A group appeared ahead.

The pack that had arrived after hearing the howling had blocked my escape route.

‘Damn!’

If I stopped now, it was over.

The gnolls’ numbers had already swelled to dozens.

‘There’s no choice but to break through.’

I was almost there.

Just a little farther.

Then, I could survive.

I counted the gnolls while running.

There were nine in front of me, blocking my path.

Additionally, three were running close behind me.

It was like a small encirclement inside a larger one.

‘I’ll break through all at once.’

I couldn’t die this easily.

I had worked too hard to get this chance; I couldn’t let it end like this.

‘I...’

This life I had chosen was one where I gave up on being Park Jihoon.

‘I will rise higher.’

From D-Class to C-Class, from C-Class to B-Class, and from B-Class to A-Class.

And then.

‘I will definitely become an S-Class Hunter!’

I’ll reach the top.

I’ll live like a king at the pinnacle of the Hunter world.

No more looking over my shoulder. I’ll have freedom in my hands.

“AAAH!”

With my own strength.

“Grrr!”

I calmly swung my sword and beheaded a gnoll.

It wasn’t a full swing like before. The blade only lightly scraped its neck bone.

That was enough to sever the carotid artery.

I brushed past the gnoll, continuing my advance.

‘Keep the movements as concise as possible.’

It was something I had learned while fighting. There was no need to waste effort severing their heads.

To completely decapitate a gnoll would require a large movement, but cutting their carotid artery didn’t take much effort.

So, I kept my movements simple.

And simple movements allowed me to prepare for the next attack quickly.

“Ker-ung!”

I passed by, scratching another gnoll’s neck.

As much as possible, I had to incapacitate them with the least amount of force.

That way, I could handle multiple at once.

But still, the number of gnolls was too much, and

Crunch!

In the moment my movements slowed down while swinging my sword, one gnoll that had been following closely bit my calf.

Naturally, I couldn’t move forward anymore.

I couldn’t run with a gnoll clinging to my calf.

“Caw!”

At the same time, a gnoll from the front charged at me.

I swung my sword with full force, slashing its abdomen.

Thud!

The gnoll sprayed blood all over my face as it collapsed to the ground and died.

Ignoring that, I pulled out my dagger and plunged it into the gnoll clinging to my calf, right into its skull.

Thud!

Then I moved again.

‘I can’t stop.’

It wasn’t just about avoiding the encirclement closing in from the outside.

The moment I gave them an opening, they would cooperate and make sure I couldn’t move.

If four of them each clung to my limbs, I’d have no choice but to offer my neck.

So, I couldn’t stop.

Crunch!

Without even thinking about pulling the dagger out, I kept moving forward.

That dagger alone was worth over a million won, but I couldn’t afford to die over a million.

Swish!

I couldn’t stop.

Thud!

I couldn’t stop.

Swish!

I couldn’t stop.

I glared at the gnoll whose eyes were locked onto me after it impaled itself on my blade.

It snarled at me while the dagger was still deeply embedded in its stomach.

‘Son of a bitch.’

I kicked the gnoll away and pulled my sword out.

As soon as the sword was drawn, it died, spurting blood.

But it had already accomplished its purpose.

“Haha…”

Before I knew it, the large encirclement had been completed.

Dozens of gnolls were slowly closing in, tightening the circle even further.

“Unbelievable.”

It was the same sight as when Park Jihoon died.

Though the number of gnolls was much higher, back then, I was still surrounded like this and killed.

‘Back then, I died because of Changshik’s greed.’

But this time, I was about to die because of my own greed.

No, wait.

I am Changshik now, so is it really my own greed, or is it still Changshik’s greed causing this?

The situation was absurdly funny.

And so, I smiled.

“Fucking bastards.”

Back when I was surrounded by goblins, I fought until the very end.

This time would be no different.

I would take at least one more gnoll with me before I went.

“Come at me.”

Perhaps my words served as a signal.

A few excited gnolls charged at me.

“Grrr!”

Swish!

I decapitated the leading gnoll with a single strike.

At the same time, I turned my body and elbowed the gnoll that was about to attack me from behind.

Thud!

I slashed, punched, elbowed, and broke through.

Before long, the area inside the encirclement was filled with the bodies of gnolls.

No tree was free of blood splatter, and the underbrush was soaked in blood instead of dew.

Most of it was gnoll blood, but some of it was mine.

“Huff, huff.”

My armor and clothes were in tatters, some soaked in blood.

My body was covered in wounds from their claws and teeth.

“Grrrr…”

Not a single gnoll charged at me anymore.

But that wasn’t because they were afraid of me.

We had been at a standoff # Nоvеlight # since earlier.

“Huff. Huff.”

They knew it too.

If we just waited like this, I would eventually fall.

‘...I can’t move.’

I had already reached my limit.

The brief rest had become poison.

My body was beyond my control.

“Grrr!”

Then it happened.

A group of gnolls, having caught the scent of blood, was heading toward me from a distance.

Among them was one that looked a bit special.

A gnoll with a much larger build.

It was the appearance of the boss monster.

The gnoll calmly walked over and stood at the outermost edge of the encirclement.

It stared at me.

After confirming my state, the gnoll issued a command.

“Graaah!”

It gave the order to charge.

“Caw! Caw!”

“Caw-caw!”

Death was approaching.

‘Move.’

The gnolls that had been charging toward me on four legs leaped from all sides.

The cursed situation felt like it was in slow motion.

‘Move! Please!’

When I reached the threshold of death, blood flowing from my torn forehead dripped into my right eye.

At that moment,

Whoooom!

Something inside me wiggled.

And the next moment, the muscles in my arm swelled up.

Swish!

My sword slashed horizontally, cutting through the gnolls leaping at me from all sides.

“...?”

An eerie silence descended upon the forest.

The gnolls, who had been charging toward me on all fours, stopped in their tracks and stared at me.

I stood there, just as stunned as they were.

‘What is this?’

The muscles that had been barely moving just moments ago were now being infused with something lively.

“Caw-caw!”

I was confused, but for now, the important thing was that my body was moving.

First, I had to deal with the enemies right in front of me.

Whoooom!

Power surged through my entire body.

I could feel the adrenaline pumping as my muscles swelled.

The moment my feet hit the ground,

Thwomp!

My body shot forward like a cannonball.

In an instant, I was right in front of a gnoll’s foul-smelling maw, and I swung my sword.

Swish!

The gnoll’s body was split in half, and the underbrush was dyed red with its blood.

“!!”

I, too, was startled by the power I had unleashed.

I couldn’t control it.

My stamina had surged rapidly, and my strength had increased as well.

‘...No way?’

What had exploded out of me just now was the energy that had been dormant inside me.

It was undoubtedly a force flowing out from within my own body.

‘Then this is!’

There was only one source of energy within me.

‘...Mana! This is how you use it!’

Using mana to manifest power.

This is what the Hunter community collectively calls a "Skill."

The conditions for using a Skill vary from person to person, but in Changshik’s case, the condition was that ‘blood must enter his right eye.’

‘That’s why Changshik fought better in the Goblin Cave!’

The reason he looked stronger that day was because he had been using mana.

And now, comparing myself while using mana, I was far beyond the Changshik from the Goblin Cave.

‘I’m not weak!’

The moment I realized this, a wave of euphoria exploded inside my head like fireworks.

‘Hmm?’

My senses were sharper than before.

My heightened hearing alerted me to a gnoll approaching from behind.

The gnoll, now just inches away, leaped into the air, aiming for my neck.

Thwomp!

My fist crushed the gnoll’s head into pieces.

“......”

I had only intended to knock it away, but its head shattered.

The gnoll’s blood soaked my face.

A cold thrill surged up in me as I smiled faintly and looked around.

“Yelp!”

One gnoll, locking eyes with me, panicked and fled.

“Grrrr.”

The gnolls could no longer charge at me.

Fear filled their eyes.

I smiled to myself and charged toward the leader.

The gnolls, in a panic to avoid me, frantically moved their legs.

Like a parting sea, a path opened to the leader, and I quickly arrived in front of it.

“Graaah!”

I swung my sword once, but it dodged swiftly.

Instead, it lunged forward, aiming its sharp teeth at my neck.

Thwack!

“Gah!”

But in the middle of its attack, my hand grabbed its neck.

The gnoll, panicking, raked its claws across my chest, but it didn’t deal a fatal blow.

It managed to make four deep gashes, tearing through my leather armor and skin, but that was all.

I tightened my grip on the leader’s neck.

Crack!

The leader’s neck snapped.

Thud.

It was nothing.

The slightly larger gnoll’s corpse fell to the ground.

Whoooom.

‘Hmm?’

As soon as I killed the leader, my Trait suddenly reacted.

I had grown stronger.

‘Why suddenly?’

Just moments ago, my Trait hadn’t reacted.

‘What changed?’

The blood from the gnoll’s head spilled down my forehead.

It was the blood of the gnoll I had killed just before the leader.

The condition for using a Skill was...

Right eye. Blood.

‘Ah!’

If Changshik’s Trait only reacted to goblins because his right eye had been filled with goblin blood, then it made sense that my Trait would suddenly react now.

‘Let’s test it.’

Without hesitation, I beheaded a frozen gnoll next to me.

Swish!

Immediately, the reaction came.

It was weaker than when I killed the leader, but my Trait clearly responded.

I grinned.

I turned around and looked at the remaining gnolls.

Now, in my eyes, they were nothing but experience points.

The gnolls trembled and started backing away.

“Let the hunt begin, you bastards.”

From now on, it’s you who are the prey.