A New Weapon.
After receiving the Blood Sea Devourer, Park Kang-chul, with Nam Bora’s help, was immediately assigned an rank 8 Gate.
In truth, he wanted to challenge an rank 9 Gate despite the risks, but rank 9 Gates were not something you could challenge just because you wanted to.
That was only natural, since rank 9 Gates were so rare that they could be counted on one hand even in Korea.
If rank 9 Gates were common enough to challenge at will, the world might already have been destroyed.
The fact that rank 8 Gates had become so numerous recently was itself an unprecedented anomaly.
[Rank 8 Gate, Ancient Snowfield]
As soon as he stepped inside the Gate, a biting cold assaulted him.
The temperature was fitting for a place called the snowfield.
In the past, he would have gritted his teeth and pushed forward through the cold with sheer willpower.
“Clack.”
But now it was different.
Park Kang-chul took out an item and slipped it into a gap in his armor.
In an instant, blazing flames erupted, enveloping Park Kang-chul’s body.
“Fwoosh!”
The cold chill of the snowfield was canceled out by the flames and vanished.
This was not just to ward off the cold.
Most monsters in the Ancient Snowfield had a weakness to fire, so it was also advantageous in battle.
This was the power of the ‘Parts’ developed by Vulcanus.
“I like it.”
But the real star today wasn’t this.
As he moved forward searching for enemies, the main monsters of this Gate appeared.
“Pruoooooo~!”
A mammoth.
A mammal covered in long, thick fur with menacing tusks protruding forward.
Its appearance was similar to the extinct mammoths of Earth, but this was no illusion.
That was a monster.
Far larger and more threatening than any ordinary mammoth.
Not only did it charge with its massive body, but it could also freeze enemies with a blizzard blown from its trunk.
Facing such a foe—
“Ta-at!”
Park Kang-chul charged.
“Pruoooooo!”
The mammoth’s roar thundered out, but ignoring it, he closed in and swung his colossal greatsword.
The mammoth’s thick fur boasted such defensive power that even Park Kang-chul couldn’t cut through it in one strike.
“Swoosh!”
The mammoth’s fur, its thick hide, and the sinewy muscles beneath were sliced as if they were soft tofu.
Blood gushed from severed veins, soaking the fur and dripping down, staining the snowfield red.
“Whoosh!”
The blood that soaked the fur and snow was miraculously drawn back, absorbed into Park Kang-chul.
His armor was stained red, and the greatsword emitted a wild, ferocious aura as if it were alive.
“Yes, this is it! This is what I needed!”
It felt like the shackles that had held him back were breaking.
Like wings sprouting on his back.
Like riding a favorable wind across the sea.
Rank 8 monsters that once required risking his life to defeat were now being cut down with astonishing ease.
“Khahahahaha!”
“Pruoooooo~!!”
As he wildly swung his blade, a mammoth so large it seemed to reach the sky stood before him.
Was it even possible for one person to take on such a beast?
While other Hunters would lose their will to fight upon seeing such a monster, Park Kang-chul burst into a feral laugh instead.
“Swoosh!”
With a slash of his greatsword, a small wound appeared on the mammoth’s massive body.
Considering the mammoth’s size, the wound was minuscule, but—
[Blood Siphon]
“Whoooooosh!”
The wound widened over time, pouring out an enormous amount of blood.
The blood was immediately absorbed into Park Kang-chul’s greatsword, Blood Sea Devourer, flowing like sharp fangs of blood energy.
“Kwang-kwang-!!”
The longer the battle dragged on, the more blood the mammoth lost.
In proportion, the blood energy within Park Kang-chul’s body surged, reaching skyward.
“Boom.”
The mammoth staggered backward, its strength drained from losing too much blood, folded its weakened hind legs, and collapsed.
The boss monster of the rank 8 Gate, Ancient Snowfield, had knelt before a mere human.
“Khahahahahahaha!”
Park Kang-chul was certain.
Joining the Vulcanus Guild was the best decision he had made since becoming a Hunter.
What was wrong with having a leash?
The reason he had not worn one until now was that no leash strong enough to hold him existed.
And Vulcanus—
Vulcanus was the perfect leash.
Driven by an insatiable hunger, he had been aggressively clearing Gates, and now—
“With this power…”
He recalled once again sparring with Korea’s number one ranked Hunter, Sword Saint Han Yu-ra.
***
“Wow, you fight well. I always thought Park Sang-hyun had the best combat sense, but I guess a ranker is a ranker after all?”
Sharing Park Kang-chul’s vision and watching the Berserker’s Gate run, I couldn’t help but admire.
With every swing of the greatsword, monsters fell helplessly.
And all those monsters were rank 8 Gate monsters.
To see such foes fall so easily—
Not long ago, I had challenged an rank 8 Gate myself, so I understood how absurd this was.
“Do you think our team leaders will be like that someday?”
I briefly imagined it.
Team 1 Leader, Park Sang-hyun, rushing in like a beast to end the mammoth’s life.
Team 2 Leader, Yoon Hee-joo, wielding her scythe with grace, harvesting souls like the grim reaper.
Team 9 Leader Jeon Ji-min, cracking her whip to summon lightning strikes in all directions.
Imagining the future forms of the team leaders overlapping with Park Kang-chul made me even more excited.
“Well, they better show something like that.”
My admiration for Park Kang-chul wasn’t unfounded.
The greatsword I had made for him, Blood Sea Devourer, had performed beyond my expectations.
[Blood Sea Devourer]
Form: Greatsword
Grade: L (Legendary)
Restriction: Level 300+, exclusive to Vulcanus Guild’s 0th Team Leader, Park Kang-chul
Description: A custom weapon forged by the Hephaestus’s Descendant using a Molar of the Colossal Ogre, crafted exclusively for the 0th Team Leader of the Vulcanus Guild.
Attack Power: 7,000
Abilities:
1. Before Meal – Worsens wounds inflicted on the enemy and accelerates bleeding.
2. Blood Lust – Absorbs and stores the enemy’s blood. The amount absorbed generates blood energy in the greatsword, increasing attack power and range.
3. Blood Energy – Evaporates the stored blood in the sword, generating blood energy within both the weapon and the wielder, enhancing all physical abilities.
4. Blood Madness – Feeds the user’s blood into the weapon to massively strengthen the blood energy.
5. Blood Explosion – Explodes all blood stored in the weapon and any blood in contact with it, delivering damage proportional to the quality and quantity of the blood.
A legendary-grade weapon.
When I made the spear Pinnacle of the Earth using Cheonjeoseok for Combat 3, that was my first legendary-grade weapon.
But, now, after quite some time, I had created a second legendary-grade weapon.
It was a bit regrettable that it was Park Kang-chul’s weapon.
But no, there was no reason to be.
Park Kang-chul was now a member of the Vulcanus Guild.
It was only right to be pleased that such a fine weapon had been made.
Now that he had been given such a great weapon, Park Kang-chul would likely follow my orders more diligently than ever.
Once someone uses a weapon this good, it’s impossible to settle for anything less.
If he ever refused to obey, I could threaten to revoke his 0th Team Leader status and deny him the right to wield the sword by enforcing item restrictions.
Well, if he still refused and couldn’t use the greatsword, I could simply modify it and make him my assistant.
As I absentmindedly watched Park Kang-chul’s Gate run, Park Kang-chul asked the empty air, “Vulcanus, are you listening?”
“Uh, you are the guildmaster, right?”
…I got it, guildmaster.
It was just a random comment.
I didn’t expect Park Kang-chul to actually accept my words.
The fact that he obediently called me guildmaster meant the equipment I made had truly pleased him.
“Well, of course it should. It’s an L-grade weapon, after all.”
Honestly, even to me, Park Kang-chul’s power had increased so much that I wondered if he could defeat rank 9 monsters alone.
All thanks to the equipment I made for him.
Now satisfied with the title of guildmaster, Park Kang-chul continued.
– “I have a request.”
“What is it?”
– “I want to spar with the Sword Saint.”
“With Han Yu-ra?”
An unexpected request.
A spar with the Sword Saint.
It wasn’t strange, though.
After receiving the Red Berserker’s Veil from me and clearing an rank 8 Gate solo, Park Kang-chul’s confidence had skyrocketed, and he immediately rushed to the Hunter Association.
I clearly remembered his defeat in the sparring with the Sword Saint.
“Well, he’s much tamer now.”
In the past, he would never have made such a request.
At least if he had informed me he was going to spar with the Sword Saint, it would have been better.
Given his original temperament, he probably would have recklessly charged at her.
I wondered why he had changed, but it was not an unreasonable request.
“I’ll ask the Association.”
– “Thanks.”
Even though it was Park Kang-chul’s request, I didn’t intend to push it.
I just told Nam Bora to ask casually.
– “They said it’s possible.”
“Really?”
– “Apparently, the Sword Saint wanted to try sparring with him too.”
With Park Kang-chul, reborn through Vulcanus’s equipment.
“Reborn is a bit much…!!”
– “Even I think Park Kang-chul’s recent performance has been nothing short of a rebirth.”
– “Didn’t you see it?”
His ranking has risen.
“Already?”
His ranking had already improved.
They had fought fiercely for so long; had he finally risen?
Checking the rankings,
[Ranking 2nd Place: Park Kang-chul]
“2nd place?”
– “Yes. It’s causing a huge stir. The Berserker joined the Vulcanus Guild and immediately soared to 2nd place.”
Park Kang-chul, who had lingered at 4th place, had jumped up to 2nd.
His ranking climbed much faster than expected.
After all, he had solo cleared several rank 8 Gates recently.
Not with great struggle, but with the ease of a leisurely outing.
So it made sense he rose to 2nd place.
In fact, almost no other ranker could clear rank 8 Gates so easily.
“Well, getting good Gate assignments helped too.”
Park Kang-chul was strongest when his opponents had abundant blood.
Conversely, he was extremely weak against bloodless enemies like golems or spirits.
I heard that until now, the Association had assigned Gates to him “fairly,” which often meant unfavorable ones.
But since joining the Vulcanus Guild, he had only been given advantageous Gates, so this result was inevitable.
“So, when is the sparring scheduled?”
– “If possible…”
Are they still coordinating?
Nam Bora hesitated before answering.
– “She wants to fight as soon as tomorrow.”
And so, the greatest Hunter, Sword Saint Han Yu-ra, and the rapidly climbing Berserker, Park Kang-chul, were set to face off in a sparring match in Korea.