Chapter 52: The Hunter Becomes the Prey

:The Flame Mountain, which I visited alone, was dark and silent.

Flame Mountain.

It seems I should probably drop that name now.

It’s packed with so many trees, it no longer matches its name.

There’s no trace left that it was ever a dungeon.

Now, it’s a complete forest.

“Dungeon purification… I wonder if it’s possible elsewhere, too?”

That question came to mind.

Honestly, I hadn’t intended to purify the Flame Mountain Dungeon.

I was just pruning to improve my physical abilities.

The dungeon being purified was just an extra result.

Still, seeing it purified like this makes me want to try it again.

Since there are so many lands that have become dungeons in this world, maybe I could put this to good use.

But to do that, I’d need to figure out how.

Surely it isn’t as simple as just pruning again, is it?

“If that’s the case, I’d rather not bother.”

As I walked deeper in, I could hear the sounds of insects in the grass.

With the Flame Golems gone, new inhabitants had quickly moved in.

Somewhere in this forest, where the new residents now lived, Lee Jaewook and Kim Sangcheol were probably hiding, watching over me.

I told them there was no need, but they insisted on coming along, saying they were worried.

In the end, I had to tell them to stay hidden—only if I was alone would Kim Muyeon show up.

Their concern is touching, but I’m not sure if I’ll actually need their help.

[The World Tree Seedling says there’s something big to the right.]

Following those words, I turned my head to the right.

A huge cliff loomed, blocking my view.

Wondering what a cliff was doing here, I walked toward it and found a staircase wrapped in brush and tree roots.

Climbing the stairs slowly, I realized it wasn’t a cliff after all.

It was clearly the wall of the Seoul World Cup Stadium, which had existed before the Gate appeared.

A stadium would be the perfect place for a fight with Kim Muyeon.

“As expected. Good job, Seedling.”

I gently rubbed the Seedling on the screen.

In response, the Seedling rubbed its topmost leaf with its right leaf.

It looked just like someone scratching their head in embarrassment.

Ah, so cute.

“Hm, I wonder if the electricity will come back here?”

Curious, I looked for and pressed the light switch.

No lights turned on.

I used my smartphone’s light to walk through the dark stadium corridor.

The passage wasn’t long, so I quickly made it through.

A wide stadium with green grass stretched out before me.

If the trees and bushes that had grown unchecked were cleared away, the stadium could be used again.

Maybe if we advertised it as a “stadium that used to be a dungeon,” a lot of people would come visit?

Thinking such idle thoughts, I walked to the center of the field.

At my chosen spot, I sat down, untying the hairband I’d used to tie my hair back.

I tossed the hairband, which Dohee had given me as a gift, onto the grassy ground.

The hairband landed softly, as if embraced by the lush grass.

[The Seedling senses a sneaky gaze.]

[The Seedling warns that the gaze is coming from the front.]

A sneaky gaze.

Its owner was surely Kim Muyeon.

Right now, he was the only one who’d look at me like that.

I tapped the screen to praise the Seedling.

“Eye of Shadow, Armus.”

I muttered the names of my armor and bracers.

The light armor, overlaid with the Skeleton Lord’s Shadow Cloak, and the bracers given to me by Wooyeonhoo, popped into the air and automatically equipped themselves on my body.

“Thanks, Seedling.”

[The Seedling says it’s ready to start throwing stones at any time.]

Seeing that message made me smile.

Kim Muyeon strode out from the passage exactly opposite the one I’d entered.

Unlike before, he was now wearing heavy armor.

The look in his eyes as he glared at me was filled with fighting spirit.

Was it because we came out from opposite sides of the stadium?

I felt like a gladiator who had to defeat the enemy before me.

“So you’re the one with the ‘Song of the Sword’ skill, blessed by the sword itself…”

Fitting the skill, he had a huge greatsword slung over his shoulder.

Size-wise, it was even bigger than Arca, but Kim Muyeon didn’t look strained at all.

Right, for someone who fights with a weapon like that, it makes sense he thought he could handle Arca.

Looking back, after watching a video of me struggling against a Cyclops, he told me I didn’t deserve to wield Arca.

From his point of view, my movements must’ve seemed downright clumsy.

Saying I’d rarely fought with such a large weapon was just an excuse.

Kim Muyeon stood before me.

He looked down at me.

“Finished wandering around by yourself?”

“Mind your own business, whether I wander or not.”

“You’d better watch your mouth. There’s nobody here watching us.”

“Yeah, right. Like you’d go easy on me even if I was careful. You came decked out in full armor, so don’t give me that.”

“……”

“Anyone who sees you would think you’re off to hunt a dragon or something.”

At my added remark, he snorted.

“Dragon, my ass. A lion does its best even when hunting a rabbit.”

“So, you’re the lion and I’m the rabbit, is that it?”

Kim Muyeon just grinned instead of answering.

That smug face really is hard to look at.

Maybe I should mess up that face a bit.

“But did you know? The reason a lion goes all out to catch a rabbit is because it can’t catch it otherwise.”

“What?”

“A lion’s top speed and a rabbit’s top speed are about the same, you see.”

Moreover, lions usually don’t bother hunting rabbits.

There’s just not enough meat for it to be worth the effort.

Realistically, the only time a lion would use its full power to catch a rabbit is in a desperate situation where it’ll die if it doesn’t eat.

Kim Muyeon’s face twisted with embarrassment, clearly unaware of that fact.

Of course, having lived easily as the strong thanks to your skill since childhood, how would you know what it’s like to be the rabbit?

“So go all out. Otherwise, you’ll be the one getting hunted.”

At my words, Kim Muyeon snorted, mocking me.

“I’m the Hunter ranked 47th in the country. You’re just a B-rank Hunter.”

“Yeah, me.”

“Bullshit! Let’s see if you’re still running your mouth in a minute!”

He gripped his greatsword tighter with his right hand.

The huge sword lifted easily and then crashed down vertically.

It was so fast, I couldn’t believe he was swinging it one-handed.

I probably couldn’t even match that speed swinging Arca with both hands.

If I hadn’t dodged back, my body would’ve been cut in half in an instant.

And that’s even with my Barkskin active.

The speed at which he swung his sword was that threatening.

When he gripped the greatsword with both hands, silvery mana wrapped around it.

Sword energy.

“That was just a greeting!”

“I figured.”

If he’d really meant to cut me down in that first strike, he would have swung with the sword coated in sword energy.

The gap in our abilities was obvious.

Even though my physical stats were boosted thanks to the World Tree-related ring, there’s still a difference I can’t close.

“Arbor Carpulus.”

When I called its name, Arca appeared in my right hand.

Seeing the Arca in my hand, Kim Muyeon’s eyes glinted with greed.

“Disgusting bastard.”

“Heh, think what you want.”

Kim Muyeon even licked his lips.

If someone saw, they’d think Arca was some delicious food.

[The Seedling feels disgusted by Kim Muyeon.]

“Hey, congrats. Our Seedling says you’re disgusting.”

“What?”

“You’re the first human. Or, actually, since you’re disgusting, maybe you don’t even count as human?”

“What are you babbling about?”

“I said you’re disgusting, you subhuman jerk.”

“If you want to die so badly, I’ll make it quick.”

Crunch.

I could hear his teeth grinding.

I gave an exaggerated, mocking laugh.

“Think you can manage that?”

I planted Arca firmly in the dirt.

I even put on a relaxed expression, as if I felt no danger at all.

I knew all too well that the gap between us was plain as day.

That’s why I set a trap.

If this were an official match, or if Kim Muyeon cared about fair play, I wouldn’t have set up a trap.

But this fight started because that bastard wanted to kill me and steal Arca.

When your opponent acts like trash, you have no obligation to be noble.

Suddenly, the hairband I’d dropped emitted a white glow.

“Magic? Hmph! If I kill you first, that’s all that matters!”

Kim Muyeon lunged forward with his right foot.

At the same time, he swung his greatsword from low left to upper right.

It looked almost like a quick-draw sword technique.

This time, I didn’t dodge his greatsword.

There was no need.

CLANG!

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out.

The white glow from the hairband faded away.

“You…!”

A man clad head-to-toe in silver armor was standing before me.

He held a shield so large it could cover his entire armored body.

That shield, as far as I know, is the absolute shield that no attack can penetrate.

Kim Muyeon shouted in shock.

“Lee Taecheon! Why are you here?!”

The Sky Knight, Lee Taecheon.

My one and only friend, who bore that nickname, stood in front of me.

He’d intercepted Kim Muyeon’s greatsword in mid-swing.

“Uh, because my friend called me?”

Taecheon spoke in his usual airheaded voice.

Hearing it made me smile.

Kim Muyeon’s face, on the other hand, turned grim.

He glared at me over Taecheon’s shoulder.

Yeah, now that’s more like the expression I wanted to see.

I smirked and curled up the corners of my lips in a sneer.

“Are you sure you’re okay glaring at me like that?”

“What?”

I lifted my chin.

There was no way I would’ve called only Taecheon.

Up in the sky, Dohee was floating, holding a white staff and dressed in white mage robes.

From head to toe, she was all white, like snow.

Because of that look, she’s called the White Saintess, but the way she glared at Kim Muyeon like she was ready to tear him apart looked nothing like a saintess.

Who would see that face and think ‘saintess’?

She looked every bit the white-haired witch.

“Baek Dohee…!”

Spotting Dohee floating above, Kim Muyeon quickly retreated.

He clearly didn’t want to be caught between Taecheon and Dohee.

Keeping his distance, he demanded,

“Is Baek Uncheon stopping me?”

“You really are as dumb as you look, saying something so stupid. I’m here as Baek Dohee, Baek Do Un’s little sister. Not as the vice guild master of Baek Uncheon.”

“Same goes for me.”

“You’re not here as a member of Aigaion, are you? If you were, maybe we’d have to bring up the Baek Uncheon name on our side, too.”

“……”

At Dohee’s perfectly reasonable words, Kim Muyeon was at a loss for words.

Wait, so he’s with Aigaion?

No wonder they were so pleased when we talked about Kim Muyeon.

Aigaion is one of the guilds suspected of commissioning my assassination from Libra Guild.

For the two people dreaming of revenge, this was a stroke of luck.

I stepped forward, putting my hand on Taecheon’s shoulder.

“So, what are you going to do? If you just back off, maybe I’ll be generous enough to let you go this once.”

My face was full of a sneer as I spoke.

Dohee and Taecheon didn’t stop me, since they knew I didn’t mean it.

They just smiled faintly and shook their heads, as if to say, “Another one of his nasty jokes…”

It was a nasty joke, after all.

Letting him go if he backed off?

That’s nonsense.

How could I send away a guy who came to kill me, just because I had a bad dream?

Saying I might let him go was only to mock Kim Muyeon.

He knew it too, and started trembling.

“Disgusting! Look at you, acting all high and mighty behind your amazing friends—”

“Oh, then why don’t you bring some friends, too?”

I dug my pinky into my ear as I spoke.

It’s one thing if you didn’t have time to prepare, but if you had time and didn’t even do this much, you’re an idiot.

And then, a thought struck me.

“…Don’t tell me you don’t have any friends?”

“I do, you bastard!”

“Sure you do. Like someone who covets other people’s things would really have friends.”

“You—!”

“Should’ve lived your life better.”

“Baek Do Un!”

Kim Muyeon screamed my name and charged.

Falling for such cheap provocation—pathetic.

“Even a brainless Skeleton is better than you.”

[The Seedling wholeheartedly agrees with Baek Do Un’s opinion.]