"Hmmhmmm~"
River humd quietly to himself, his voice muffled beneath the smooth surface of his toy white mask. A soft, catchy lody filtered through the internal speakers of his mask—sothing electronic and cheerful that felt completely out of place in the aftermath of a brutal monster battle.
Yet here he was, walking calmly and confidently toward the fallen Alpha Rotling like he was taking a stroll in the park.
The corrupted mini-boss lay still, its grotesque body twitching in its final death throes. Around it, the green liquid that had once swirled thickly now began to lift. And near its corpse—just as River had anticipated—was the shimring glow of loot drops, softly pulsating in colors;
River’s eyes imdiately zeroed in on the items: a glowing yellow vial, what looked like a jagged piece of bone covered in ancient runes, and a faintly pulsing black crystal that radiated dark energy.
Jackpot, he thought, his heart fluttering in anticipation. He quickened his steps.
But before he could take even two more strides, bullets sprayed the ground in front of his feet—dirt exploding in a line that stopped him cold.
River paused.
Then slowly, ever so calmly, he turned his masked gaze toward the source of the attack.
"Hey... that’s rude," River said with a dramatic sigh, placing both hands on his hips as he stared at the bear-like man who had fired the warning shots.
"You piece of sht!" Kayl’s voice cracked from fury as he pointed one of his Gatling Guns directly at River’s chest. His body still trembled from the adrenaline of the fight, but it was clear his rage had now shifted focus. "You took my kill, motherfcker!"
River tilted his head, pretending to be puzzled. "Ah... is that why you’re so angry? I thought we were all fighting that thing together?" His tone was laced with innocent surprise.
"Don’t play dumb!" Kayl shouted, his voice rising in pitch. "You kill-stealing bastard! You knew exactly what you were doing!"
River shrugged. "I an... you were about to die. I just sped up the inevitable."
"Surround him!" Kayl barked, spittle flying from his mouth.
The rest of the Limo Group, who had just caught up and were still recovering from the shock of watching the Alpha Rotling’s head explode into mist from a bubble, now snapped to attention. They ford a loose semi-circle around River, weapons drawn and eyes full of uncertainty—but they followed orders.
River let out a slow breath, his shoulders dropping slightly.
I didn’t want this... he thought to himself, casting a quiet glance to the sky. I didn’t want the attention. I didn’t want the drama. So why the hell am I standing in the open now, surrounded by a bunch of E-Rank Hunters with guns and swords pointed at like I’m the real monster?
And yet, deep down, he knew the truth.
The mont he saw the Alpha Rotling, he knew he wanted what it could bring to him. EXP and loots.
Kayl stepped forward, his weapons still trained on River’s chest. "You stole the final hit. The EXP that was supposed to be mine."
His voice was lower now, colder. Rage mixed with wounded pride.
River didn’t flinch. "And yet, here we are. You’re alive. The monster’s dead. I’d say that’s a win."
"You arrogant bastard." Kayl’s eyes twitched. "How much experience did you get, huh? Don’t lie to ."
River hesitated for a mont. Then, a small smile played across his lips.
"Enough to level up a few tis."
Kayl’s pupils narrowed.
"A... few?"
River brought up his Status Screen silently. The familiar blue interface floated before his eyes.
STATUS SCREEN
Na: River Faelan
Skill: Bubblecrafter [Tap to see details]
Class: Mage
Level: 18
Experience Points: 590 / 6955
Status Points: 3
Title(s): Undying Soul [Tap to see details]
BASE STATS
HP: 100
MP: 100
STR: 14
AGI: 12
INT: 15
WIS: 14
VIT: 11
DEX: 10
Not bad. Not bad at all.
His level had risen by three after killing the Alpha Rotling—an enormous leap considering how slow progression usually was,
Eighteen thousand EXP in one battle. Most E-Rank Hunters would grind for a week and be lucky to accumulate that much.
But beyond the levels, what truly mattered was what it ant.
A three-level jump ant three more Status Points. Three more steps closer to power. Three more reasons why he should’ve taken that kill.
His masked gaze drifted to the loot still pulsing faintly behind Kayl. And there’s still more to gain.
"I earned what I took," River said at last, eyes returning to the fuming squad leader. "If you were stronger, faster, or smarter, maybe you’d have landed the final blow. But you didn’t."
Kayl’s lips curled in fury. His finger hovered near the trigger.
"I should kill you where you stand."
"Go ahead." River opened his arms. "But be warned... I’m not out of bubbles yet."
As if on cue, several small translucent spheres shimred into existence around him, orbiting like a quiet storm. Each one pulsed with potential energy, waiting to be unleashed.
Kayl flinched slightly. Even his teammates took a hesitant step back.
They had seen what a single bubble could do to a mini-boss.
How many could they take?
A long silence followed, heavy with tension.
Kayl’s teeth ground together audibly. His eyes flicked between River and the loot behind him. His mind was racing as he recalled what happened.
His heart pounded, not from fear—but from instinct. Deep, raw, primal instinct honed from surviving dozens of near-death encounters in dungeons. Sothing about this masked man rubbed him the wrong way.
That bizarre man with the toy-like mask had been struck directly by the Alpha Rotling’s heavy crush—an attack vicious enough to shatter bones and rupture organs. Any E-Rank Hunter without reinforced gear or defensive Skills would’ve been reduced to a pulp, thrown into trees like a broken rag doll.
Yet the man ca out unscathed with only his clothes slightly torn. No bruises. No blood. No limp.
Then, just when Kayl was about to finish the Rotling with a perfectly tid critical shot, sothing interfered. A blur had crashed into the barrels of his Gatling Guns mid Resonance Beams. His trajectory veered just a few inches to the right, enough to botch the killing blow and only blow off half of the Alpha Rotling’s skull.
That blur... he was sure of it.
A bubble.
No—at least, sothing like a bubble. Translucent. Fast. It shimred oddly before impact, just like the bubble that had exploded earlier on the Rotling’s regenerating head.
Everything had happened so quickly. It was the kind of fleeting mont one might mistake for a hallucination. But Kayl had trained himself to replay battle scenes in his mind like video footage. Details others missed, he rembered.
It might not even be a bubble... Maybe a Skill—sothing involving an unknown elent that looks like one, Kayl thought, narrowing his eyes.
He hated not knowing.
Fighting a Hunter with a strange, unfamiliar Skill set was dangerous. The battlefield was already unpredictable—add an unknown variable, and it tilted the odds of survival.
But they weren’t alone.
Four against one.
Two Physical Class Hunters trained in close-quarter blitz assaults. One Mage Class with decent mana control and Fire type Skill. And him, a Modern Class Hunter—ard with twin mana-fed Gatling Guns capable of tearing through mid-level to high-level E-Rank monsters.
A complete squad even without their missing Archer.
So what was he afraid of?
Kayl’s eyes flicked to his team. The two close-combat Hunters were already on edge, fingers twitching near their weapons. The mage had summoned a small orb of fire, hovering just above his open palm.
Kayl nodded once.
That was all it took.
The squad moved as one.
"You got the last kill," Kayl called out coldly, raising his Gatling Guns. "There’s nothing we can do about that. But you will have to pay the price!"
His words echoed through the dim forest, mingling with the creaking of dying trees and the distant cries of Rotlings.
"Kill him!"
The forest erupted.
The two Physical Class Hunters vanished into blurs of motion, darting toward the masked stranger from opposite flanks. Blades drawn, their forms twisted mid-sprint to strike from left and right simultaneously.
The Mage Class unleashed his fireball. It burned white-hot, illuminating the skeletal forest in a sudden burst of orange and gold, the flas leaving a streak in the air as it launched toward its target.
anwhile, Kayl’s twin Gatling Guns roared to life.
The barrels spun, growling like twin monsters. Then ca the thunderous hail of bullets—sharp, deadly, and relentless. The muzzle flashes lit up the forest like lightning, cutting through the darkness as the rounds rained toward their mark.
And through it all, the strange man in the toy mask stood calm.
Amidst the rush of fire, steel, and lead—he did not panic.
He didn’t even flinch.
"Oh," River raised an eyebrow, the smile on his face not disappearing. "Good move."
Fighting the unknown, one must use their all before sothing goes wrong. This Limo group made a smart move.
But these attacks?
River didn’t put them in his eyes.
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