"Whoa, don't shake."
Climbing the Crimson Venom Snake's body was no easy task as it thrashed about. I almost fell from a height equivalent to a skyscraper. Of course, the Crimson Venom Snake probably felt wronged.
Its body was thrashing because it was locked in a power struggle with the Kraken. -Kyaaaaaaak. The sound of the Kraken and the Crimson Venom Snake roaring at each other assaulted my ears. It was a good thing my endurance had increased.
Before becoming a Hunter, my eardrums would have surely burst. Step, step, step. After running a long way, I finally reached the top of the Crimson Venom Snake's head.
From here, I had a clear view of the top of the Kraken's head, which wasn't visible from below. The Kraken was larger in overall size, but the Crimson Venom Snake was longer. That meant I had the high ground.
I kicked off the Crimson Venom Snake's head and leaped into the air.
Vwoom.
The beast seemed to have been aware of me since I'd started running, slicing through its tentacles. The Kraken swung its largest tentacle. Wow, it really is huge.
I could probably dive right into the suckers on its tentacles.
Swish.
The Kraken's tentacle was sliced off cleanly, like cutting soft tofu with a sharp knife. The severed tentacle quickly turned black and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, however, the main body of the Kraken took no damage.
It had severed the base of its own tentacle before the poison could spread. For a human, it would be like sacrificing the shoulder after the elbow was cut. The only difference is that, unlike a person, this beast has dozens of arms.
As soon as I cut off a tentacle, another one flew in from the opposite side. It seemed to be operating on the logic that it only needed to land one hit, no matter how many times I sliced it.
"Using cheap tricks for a mere octopus head...!"
There was one way to deal a fatal blow to the beast. I had to hit its head, not the limbs. No matter what kind of mollusk it was, it couldn't just detach its head.
Whoosh.
"Oh?"
As I descended, slicing through tentacle after tentacle, the beast wrapped all of its tentacles around its head. Clearly, this was its weak spot. However, in the end, this turned out to be a fatal mistake.
For me, it was a chance to disable all its tentacles at once.
Shhh...
The black blade that had sprouted from Pracel disappeared. Instead, its energy gathered into a shimmering haze in my palm. No matter how many layers it piled on, an octopus is an octopus.
Just like with all seafood(?), there was an attack method just as fatal as a blade.
‘Poison Flame.’
Fwoosh.
A menacing black flame shot out from my palm. The flame wasn't very wide, only about the size of a torso. It wouldn't be able to pierce through all the tentacles, but I didn't need a large hole anyway. -Guoooooooooooooo!
A roar, slightly different from before, echoed out. No, it was less a roar and more a scream of agony. The jet-black, burnt tentacles crumbled away, leaving a gaping hole.
"Sniff, sniff."
Funnily enough, it smelled like the grilled octopus I ate when I was young. As I passed through the hole made by the Poison Flame, the Kraken's smooth head came into view.
"Farewell, octopus head."
Thwack!!
The blade of Pracel, which had already sprouted, pierced straight through the crown of its head. -......!! As my Poison-type level increased and I acquired the weapon known as Pracel, my Black Ether blade began to form longer than a dagger. But that was just for convenience; I could extend its length as much as I wanted.
I had extended the blade to be longer than most spears, just in case it didn't reach the beast's vital spot. If it survived this, I would acknowledge it as the greatest Monster I'd ever faced. The Kraken thrashed, but I didn't loosen my grip on the blade I'd driven into it.
Sssshhhh...
The beast's struggling body slowly began to tilt. I kicked off the crown of its head as it turned black and landed on the ground.
"Phew."
The spiraling pupils in the beast's eyes came to a halt.
KUNG!!!
Confirming that its life had been extinguished, I recalled the Crimson Venom Snake.
"Good work."
Shhh...
The Kraken was down, and the Crimson Venom Snake had vanished. The stage where a great monster battle had unfolded just moments before was now gone, as if it had never happened.
"..."
It was quiet. The chaos from moments ago felt like a dream. All that remained on the ravaged battlefield was the wrecked restoration site and the carcass of the Kraken.
And one more thing. The Core left in the carcass. My mouth began to water, something that hadn't happened even with the smell of roasting octopus.
The rank of the beast confirmed by the V1 was 7-star (★★★★★★★). I was certain it would provide me with great nourishment.
"Hunter Cheon Hae-seon-niiiiiiiiiiiiim!"
"Ah... you don't really need to come all the way here."
From a distance, I saw the retired Hunter uncle running over with eyes filled with emotion. I had planned to quickly extract the Core and leave, but things had just gotten complicated...
‘... No, wait.’
In a way, didn't I just solve a problem in the retired Hunter's assigned area? He probably hadn't been assigned a major role to begin with, but a savior was a savior. After recovering all the Black Ether left in the Kraken's body, I turned to greet him with a slight smile.
"Heave. Ho."
"Yes, a little more this way. Yes, that's good."
Following Cheon Hae-seon's instructions, Son Jeong-hee moved his hands busily. Right now, they were cutting open the Kraken's belly to extract the Core. The reason was that the beast's body was too large for one person to handle.
Sure, the reason was fine and all. Why am I doing such hard labor right now? A thick bead of sweat trickled down Son Jeong-hee's smooth head.
It was true that he had expressed his sincere gratitude to Cheon Hae-seon. Normally, wouldn't someone just wave it off and say, ‘I only did what had to be done’? But Cheon Hae-seon, as if he'd been waiting for it, had replied, 'In that case, could I ask for your help?' and then had him climb onto the Kraken.
"Here. From here to here, go aaaaaaaall the way. Got it?"
"Ah, I understand."
He had thought it would be easy since Cheon Hae-seon had sliced through the tentacles like they were tofu, but the Kraken's skin was incredibly tough. Even though it was dead, cutting through it was no easy task for Son Jeong-hee, a retired Hunter. After dozens of minutes of struggling and breaking out in a cold sweat...
Finally, he heard the welcome words.
"Work's done!"
"Ooh!"
Son Jeong-hee brought his trembling hands together. After rummaging inside the Kraken's body for a moment, Cheon Hae-seon emerged.
"Mister. Thank you so much."
"Haha. Not at all. Considering you protected this area, this is nothing."
"By the way, why are you clenching your fists so tightly?"
"Huh?"
Son Jeong-hee flinched and shook both his hands.
"Ha, hahahahaha. The Kraken's skin was tougher than I thought. I'm still feeling the strain."
"Ah, I see."
A strange smile played on Cheon Hae-seon's lips. Son Jeong-hee, having caught his breath, noticed Cheon Hae-seon's empty hands and asked.
"By the way, where is the Core?"
"Ah. I took care of it."
"Took care of it?"
He had clearly said the job was finished. That should mean he found the Core. But other than saying he'd "taken care of it," Cheon Hae-seon didn't elaborate.
Cheon Hae-seon could absorb the Core directly without any extra work, but there was no way Son Jeong-hee would know that.
‘What is going on?’
Even looking closely, there was nothing in his two hands. The only thing was that Cheon Hae-seon's complexion seemed noticeably brighter. In fact, he looked to be in better shape than before he had charged the Kraken.
Unaware that Cheon Hae-seon had already gobbled up the Kraken's Core, Son Jeong-hee could only stand there, speechless.
"What about the injured child?"
"Hunter Maria is taking care of him now."
"Eh?"
Cheon Hae-seon scratched his head. I thought she would have left, but it seems she came back here too. Well, Gaebang District is Glory Guild's jurisdiction, after all.
"Not just the injured child, she's gathering the nearby wounded and healing them. To see two of the best healers in person, today is quite a lucky day."
"I see."
"Of course, it's a bit ambiguous whether I should call you a healer anymore."
Son Jeong-hee looked at Cheon Hae-seon with renewed awe. When he saw the Kraken right in front of him, he had truly thought, ‘Is this the end for me?’ Because it was a beast on a completely different level from the Monsters he had seen so far.
A large Monster that would require an elite team from Glory Guild to be dispatched to hunt it. But surprisingly, the Kraken was completely subdued by Cheon Hae-seon, who appeared all alone.
"To be honest, when I heard the news that you beat Kang Hyeon, I was half in doubt. I even thought that maybe Kang Hyeon's skills had declined after he lost his Hunter license. But seeing you today..."
Cheon Hae-seon asked with a grin.
"And what do you think, seeing me today?"
"It seemed entirely plausible. I've been around dungeons long enough to know what I'm seeing. You're strong. There are rumors you have Esper abilities, but it looks like there's more to you than just that."
He saw correctly. Because Cheon Hae-seon already possessed versatile abilities that could not be described by just 'healer'.
‘Hmm...’
Cheon Hae-seon gazed for a moment at the man who had helped him today. If he hadn't desperately rushed to save the boy, even ruining his fingernails in the process, the child would have been crippled for life. If that had happened, he would have lived in pain, just like me before my Awakening.
Son Jeong-hee's contribution today was not small. Besides, didn't he just help with the Kraken's Core extraction?
"You said today was a lucky day, didn't you?"
"Hm?"
"I think you were right, mister."
Cheon Hae-seon fumbled around in his pocket and pulled something out. Soon, Son Jeong-hee's eyebrows shot up.
Piiiiiiiik!
After Cheon Hae-seon left. Along with the sound of a whistle, a party came rushing to the scene. Son Jeong-hee silently watched them.
"Whew. Excuse me, but who are you?"
The man who appeared to be the Team Leader asked after catching his breath.
"I'm the retired Hunter assigned to this area."
"Ah... then that..."
The team leader, who was searching for information with a device, nodded his head.
"You must be Mr. Son Jeong-hee. The one who sent us the rescue message."
"Yes."
"I am Dong Su-gwan, Team Leader of Glory Guild's Team 7. Could you explain the situation at the time?"
"The Kraken burst out from underground, and Hunter Cheon Hae-seon defeated it."
"Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?"
Team Leader Dong Su-gwan's eyes narrowed.
"And? Who defeated that Kraken with Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?"
"Heh heh."
At that, Son Jeong-hee gave a strange smile. Right, it must be unbelievable. Because it was a sight that even I couldn't believe after seeing it.
Son Jeong-hee replied again, emphasizing each word.
"There were no other Hunters. Hunter Cheon Hae-seon appeared alone, healed me and one civilian, and then defeated the beast by himself."
Team Leader Dong Su-gwan's mouth hung wide open. The officially confirmed difficulty of the Kraken was 7-star. The fact that a single-digit numbered team from Glory Guild was dispatched meant that the Monster they had to face was that strong.
But, he took down such a monster all by himself? Dong Su-gwan momentarily suspected Son Jeong-hee, but soon stopped. What would a retired Hunter have to gain by telling a lie?
"Well, then... ahem."
Team Leader Dong Su-gwan let out a few dry coughs, as if he himself was embarrassed. If it was confirmed that the Monster was dead, then the next most important thing was this.
"I don't see Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. Did he take anything with him when he left?"
‘These materialistic bastards.’
Son Jeong-hee cursed at Dong Su-gwan in his mind. Because he could feel their blatant desire for the Core. They didn't even catch it, and they couldn't even arrive on time, yet they're coveting the Core just because it's their jurisdiction?
Son Jeong-hee hid the contempt in his heart and smiled slightly.
"No. Hunter Cheon Hae-seon left empty-handed."
At that, Dong Su-gwan's eyes flashed wide.
‘Empty-handed? In that case...’
Dong Su-gwan urgently ordered his subordinates to the Kraken's corpse. If he hadn't taken anything, there must be valuable items left. Dong Su-gwan turned his back on Son Jeong-hee without even a proper greeting.
However, his face, which had been filled with greed, soon hardened like a crumpled piece of paper.
"There's nothing here...!"
"How does that make sense?! Look again!!"
Team Leader Dong Su-gwan shouted and then glared at Son Jeong-hee. Son Jeong-hee just shrugged his shoulders.
‘I didn't lie.’
Cheon Hae-seon really did leave empty-handed. I don't know what he did with the Core, and the other item he extracted...
"If there's no Core, then at least find the Kraken Ink sac!! It's small, so it's hard to see!!"
"We've rummaged through all the insides, but we can't see it."
"God damn it...!! No Core, no Kraken Ink, what kind of Monster is this?!"
Son Jeong-hee forcibly held back his bursting laughter and turned to leave. A small sac, the size of a fist. In truth, the Kraken Ink was in his bag.
[You can have this, mister.]
[This... isn't this Kraken Ink? If you refine this and make it into a jewel, you could get tens of millions of won... You're giving it to me?]
[Yes. Thanks to your help, I was able to find it quickly.]
[Still...]
[It's fine. I already got what I needed. And,] [??]
[I have a lot of money.]
Cheon Hae-seon, who turned to leave with a bright smile. Fiddling with the Kraken Ink in his pocket, Son Jeong-hee gave a meaningful smile.
‘Thank you, Cheon Hae-seon.’