There was a difference in height between where the Fire Dragon’s corpse lay and where the stone bridge stood.
Considering that Kang-hoo’s base class was Assassin, there seed to be no way for him to get back up.
When fighting the Fire Dragon, he could simply leap down—but climbing back up was another matter entirely.
The Groo Guild mbers were racking their brains, wondering how to bring Kang-hoo back to the upper level.
[Wings of Corruption]
Kang-hoo, having shaped Corruption Energy into the form of wings, effortlessly left the area and soared upward.
With black wings fluttering as he rose, he looked for a brief mont like an angel—or perhaps a fallen one.
There was even sothing about him that reminded them of a grim reaper.
“No one’s going to believe what happened today.”
O Yu-jin shrugged as she approached Kang-hoo.
Who would believe it even if they said it aloud? But for those who had seen it with their own eyes, it was real.
Kang-hoo shifted the topic.
“How’s the forward scouting?”
“They just left. Sorry, everyone was worried you might have been hurt by the Fire Dragon.”
“As you can see.”
“I’m so glad you’re fine, really.”
“Then I’ll take a breather for a bit. From here on, it’s uncharted territory, right?”
“Exactly. We’re venturing into a blank spot on the map. This is the first ti we’ve crossed the stone bridge, after all…”
Reading the situation, O Yu-jin quietly stepped away.
A few guild mbers who had finished preparations were sent in other directions as well.
In an unexplored area, reconnaissance was critical. Sending multiple teams to the sa place was never a waste.
Often, the second scouting team gathered information that the first had missed.
anwhile, before leaving the area, Kang-hoo checked the skill he had taken from the Fire Dragon.
[Fla Enhancent]
[Can be linked to fire-related skills to upgrade them to an advanced form.]
[Linkable skills: Death Fla, Fire Dragon Spear, Dark Energy Ignition.]
[You may freely reassign up to three tis; afterward, each reassignnt requires one Hematite.]
‘This one’s for Death Fla.’
The decision didn’t take long.
The Fire Dragon Spear was based on a lance-type weapon, so it had poor synergy with daggers.
Dark Energy Ignition wasn’t nearly as frequently used as Death Fla.
Whichever way he looked at it, Death Fla was the most practical and efficient option.
[Fla Enhancent – Death Fla]
[Would you like to link it?]
‘Let’s see how much it improves.’
He pressed the link button.
Imdiately, the skill na and related tooltip were reconstructed.
Kang-hoo filtered the view to show only the new content—no need to reread what he already knew.
[Fla of Annihilation]
[Skill Proficiency: Lv. Max]
[… (Omitted) The thrown version launches a fireball, and upon impact with the target, “Total Annihilation” is automatically triggered.
Unlike before, Total Annihilation now scatters fireballs mixed with highly corrosive liquid upon explosion,
physically lting the target and persistently tracking those attempting to hide.]
Even in the detailed tooltip additions, it was evident that Fla of Annihilation offered far greater versatility.
Death Fla could create only one fireball, but Fla of Annihilation could create up to five depending on his use of Dark Energy and mana assistance.
Moreover, it consud 50% less Dark Energy than Death Fla—making it lighter to use.
Its firepower and efficiency both increased, while its consumption decreased. It was a genuine upgrade.
‘With this, even when considering non-flammable skills, I’ve reinforced both offense and defense for fire.’
He felt relieved, as though he had solved all problems related to the fire attribute at once—
and as an Assassin, not even a Mage.
A difficulty that plagued magic-type hunters had been effortlessly overco.
‘If I enter a fire-based dungeon now, this will be fun. Nothing there will even touch .’
Fla immunity.
He chuckled, imagining himself mowing down fire-type creatures without a care.
There were more single-attribute dungeons than one might think—he’d have to visit one soon.
Maybe he could even attract the curiosity of fire-aligned constellations—
perhaps Fla Emperor or Fla King. It wasn’t impossible that they might appear.
Later on, the raid progressed without incident.
With many experienced scouts in their ranks, they avoided danger before it happened.
That didn’t an the dungeon was easy, though.
Every monster required constant bleeding damage to be maintained, keeping Kang-hoo extrely busy.
O Yu-jin and O Hye-jin watched the entire process, forming contingency plans for future runs without Kang-hoo.
For now, his presence made the raid manageable, but they couldn’t rely on him forever.
Enjoying the bounty of first-clear experience bonuses, they pushed forward to the boss zone.
Their levels rose to 350.
Even with a sizable party, the monsters’ base experience was so high that their growth remained steady.
While preparing before facing the boss monster, Kang-hoo took out a charm that had been faintly glowing since earlier.
Infernus.
The item he had once obtained through Blessing of Strengthening had brought him many questions— questions that still remained unanswered.
What exactly were the Hell Gate and the Hell that could be accessed through Infernus?
And what kind of Constellation was the Wind of God?
‘I’ve never faced a Demon King directly before, and probably never will. There must be countless gatekeepers ahead.’
Kang-hoo believed there was no way he could face such an entity head-on.
It wasn’t like paying a visit to a neighborhood shopkeeper—those beings always had guardians at the gate.
Take Kang Dong-hyun, for example.
The only ti Kang-hoo had ever fought him was that brief encounter at Club Hades.
After that, all he’d t were Kang Dong-hyun’s subordinates fulfilling their gatekeeper roles—
and all of them ended up dead.
As for the Demon King… it was impossible to estimate how many lieutenants he would have to cut through first.
Kang-hoo believed that the Wind of God was one of those front-line gatekeepers.
Not the end, but the very beginning of beginnings.
Understanding the Wind of God, he thought, would be his first step toward the Demon King.
[Eye of Hell – Forces any being attempting ntal domination to see the Eye of Hell.
Depending on the caster’s Anti-Magic ability and ntal resistance, they may beco mindless.]
He naturally examined Infernus’s options again.
He figured the Hell Gate would need a dedicated visit later, much like a spirit training session.
As for the Eye of Hell—it was one ability he had yet to use.
ntal abilities were on an entirely different tier from standard hunter powers—
and thus extrely rare. He had hardly encountered such enemies.
Then—
“Uwaaaaaa!”
Ma Jin-ho, who had approached the boss monster out of curiosity, scread and stumbled backward.
So frightened that he flailed his thick arms wildly before falling on his backside.
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
Startled, O Yu-jin and O Hye-jin rushed over, only to see Ma Jin-ho trembling as he pointed forward.
“Fear! Illusion! Death! It was like—I just wanted to die! That crushing despair of giving up everything—Aaaaagh!”
Ma Jin-ho clutched his head and groaned, his entire body shaking.
It was irresistible.
His mind had been forcibly seized, leaving him unable to regain emotional control.
‘A mind-control boss, huh?’
Kang-hoo rose to his feet.
If it specialized in ntal domination, wasn’t he just looking at the perfect item to counter it?
He strode forward toward where the boss awaited.
Seeing the normally fearless Ma Jin-ho collapse in terror made the rest of them tense.
“Wait!”
O Hye-jin hurriedly grabbed Kang-hoo’s arm.
He was their main damage dealer and filled multiple crucial roles—
they couldn’t risk losing him, especially right before the boss fight.
But while concern filled her expression, Kang-hoo only looked at her calmly.
“Hmm?”
“It’s dangerous. I happen to have a ring that boosts Anti-Magic—”
“It’s fine. Keep it on. If it gets bad, I’ll fall back right away, so don’t worry.”
“And if you think it’s doable?”
“Then I’ll strike.”
“But still…”
O Hye-jin hesitated.
Ma Jin-ho, being the tank, had exceptionally high defense and Anti-Magic stats.
If soone like him couldn’t even put up a fight, that ant the boss’s ability was formidable.
Which made her all the more anxious when Kang-hoo stepped up without hesitation— he was far too valuable.
“I’ll just test the waters.”
Kang-hoo gently freed his arm from her grasp and widened his stride toward the boss.
Her full na: Saint Margarita.
She wore a white mourning robe, hands clasped together, her eyes glowing a dark crimson.
From her appearance alone, the title “Saint” didn’t fit— “Corrupted Saint” or even “Hypocrite” felt more appropriate.
Just then—
Shaaaaa!
Margarita’s eyes flashed as she locked her gaze on Kang-hoo. It was an unbreakable eye contact.
“Ah!”
Ma Jin-ho groaned, recognizing that look—he had been caught in it himself.
But then—
“…?”
Sothing unexpected happened.
Kang-hoo, staring straight into Margarita’s eyes, remained utterly calm and unchanged.
Instead, Margarita—who monts ago had radiated murderous pressure—suddenly slackened her jaw.
Her pupils lost focus as if she were hypnotized.
Even as Kang-hoo swiftly closed the distance, she stood frozen, unable to react.
At this rate, she’d be beheaded while standing still.
Yet Margarita remained motionless, unable to so much as twitch a finger!
“…Wow.”
“Phew.”
The others could only let out amazed gasps, a heat rising from deep within their cores.
Could Kang-hoo truly have a way to neutralize a boss monster in an instant?
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