Hunter lied on the ground as his blood kept flowing from his body. The slave slowly picked itself up and limply approached Hunter. Although it was a strong combatant, physical attacks took a huge toll on it and often caused permanent damage.
But, Hunter's attack wouldn't be that difficult to heal. All he needed to do was to find a mage and he would be healed. He approached Hunter and reached in for his reaper.
GRAB!
Hunter instantly grabbed the slave's arm and squeezed it as hard as he could, shocking the slave. With blood on his hand, Hunter grabbed his chain and tightened his grip around it.
[Heightened Awareness has been activated]
[Property Enhancer has been activated]
"You're stupid... if you think I'm going down that easily...!" Hunter muttered as he used the slave to pick himself up.
The slave was now in fear. It attempted to call its reaper back to it, but failed because of the cool down timer the spell had. Hunter smirked and pushed the slave back after standing on his feet.
He pulled the reaper from his body and tossed it aside. By using [Heightened Awareness], he managed to survey and find the best pathway towards the slave without exhausting himself too much.
He spun his now purple spiked chain and smirked. Then, he used a quick and effective path to close the gap between himself and the slave. With the addition of [Fast Break], he managed to whip the slave's head clean off in a second flat.
Within that second, Hunter could hear the slave's last words, "Thank...you..."
The slave fell on its knees and collapsed, dying instantly. Hunter began catching his breath as he sat down. System Rosana floated before him and sighed in exasperation.
[System Rosana has allowed you to use Healing]
[System Rosana has gifted you a new weapon]
[System Rosana has successfully healed you]
[System Rosana has gifted you $10,000]
Hunter thanked System Rosana and picked himself up after healing himself.
[You're extremely careless, Hunter Quinn]
"It's your fault, System Rosana. Why the hell do you start tweaking as soon as a strong monster approaches?" Hunter inquired.
[The monsters that appear in special quests were not in my scanner when we entered the dungeon. Special quests are added when a monster hasn't been detected within the right time]
"That's gonna kill me!" exclaimed Hunter.
[Quit your whining. You're alive, aren't you?]
"I wasn't the one crying when I was lying on the floor, System Rosana. You could admit that you care about me," said Hunter as he opened his [Infinite Inventory].
[I am merely a servant, Hunter Quinn. Your death will leave me with no objective in the future]
"Yeah yeah. What's my new weapon?"
[Death Reaper
- Inspired by the slave's reaper, the Death Reaper allows the user to call onto the weapon from a distance of 500 metres away, with a cooldown of 5 seconds per use. It boosts the user's strength, agility and mana by 45% while also drawing out its full potential.
Weapon Skill: Death Parade
- Allows the user to trap souls of their enemies inside the blade of the Death Reaper]
Hunter pulled out the Death Reaper from his Infinite Inventory and observed the weapon. The blade was slightly curved while the handle was about 5 feet in length. On the end of the handle was a section with a handle, where he could attach something like a rope or chain.
"It looks just like the slave's reaper..."
[These slaves are from the Quinn Dynasty, Hunter Quinn]
"My people?"
[That's correct. The reapers are from our people. The king of the kingdom of Sovereignty must've imprisoned a few of them upon discovering the length of our abilities]
"That's... cruel..."
[... In any case, if you feel the need to avenge your people, the king responsible for the imprisonment is at the top floor. Are you ready?]
Hunter gripped his reaper tightly and nodded. Then, he and the system made their way down the hall. One by one, Hunter slaughtered the mages, one by one, until each of them were taken care of.
The door on the wall emerged and allowed Hunter to traverse to the 8th floor. This level was different from the others. There were no windows or doors on each side of the hallway. Also, there was a single hallway that went northwards from the door on the wall.
A single torch lit up the path Hunter traversed through. But, thanks to [Prey Gaze], he was able to see in the dark. Because system Rosana healed him, he could use the skill for a longer period.
CLANK!
Hunter heard footsteps approaching. As the monsters emerged from the dark, Hunter deduced that they were the royal guards. He looked at his objectives.
Kill 200 undead [200/200]
Kill 200 skeleton knights [200/200]
Kill 150 armoured knights [150/150]
Kill 50 mages [50/50]
Kill 20 royal guards [00/20]
Kill the King [0/1]
Kill the Dungeon Master [0/1]}
"I guess I need to take care of 20 of you. Not that that'll be a problem," said Hunter as he coated his Death Reaper in his [Black Flames].
[Death Reaper has increased your properties by 45%]
The royal guards were clad in silver armour and towered over Hunter. Unlike the armoured knights, these were ghosts in the shell of humans. Simply put, they were a mixture of the undead, ghosts and armoured knights.
Not to mention the fact that they were intelligent, royal guards were extremely skilled. They ranged at a strength from tier 17 hunters to tier 14 hunters. From the aura that these knights were emanating, they must've been tier 15 guards.
Hunter would have his hands full if he didn't have a plan. But, his smirk said otherwise. He placed the blade of his reaper on his palm and cut himself. He smeared the blood on the handle and imbued his energy onto it.
[Property Enhancer has been activated]
His Death Reaper grew in size. The blade curved a bit and sharpened it's edge while the handle became easier to grab. Black flames surrounded Hunter as he smirked.
"Let's dance, you tin cans!" he exclaimed as he charged straight towards the royal guards.
[Meanwhile...]
Charlie Hiroyuki from the Hunting Guild Investigation Force sat in her cubicle and looked through some forms with a furrowed expression on her face. Anne peeked from behind her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
"Still lookin' for the stats on that rookie, Charles?" Anne asked as she sat beside Charlie.
"Yeah. I know I shouldn't be spending this much time on one rookie, but I can't just ignore the death of those high tier hunters while this weakling managed to stay alive..." replied Charlie.
"It is a lil' fishy, ain't it? Why not bring in a family member of the deceased? You should be able to find somethin' from them at the very least."
"That's not a bad suggestion... But, the fact that he awakened at age 17 just means that he could potentially become a hassle in the future."
Anne smiled gently and chuckled lightly. "Is that so...?"
Charlie looked at Anne and noticed a slightly sinister smile on her face as she emanated a menacing pink aura.
"He won't be a problem for either you or me. We're both tier 3 hunters and no one can beat us. Don't matter how hard they try," said Anne.
Charlie nodded in response. "That's right... No one can beat us."
While Charlie and Anne had their conversation, Hunter managed to kill 4 of the royal guards while minimising his damage. Unlike before, he had only exhausted about 20% of his energy.
Even if the change was barely visible, he could feel that he was getting stronger. Slowly, but surely, Hunter's stats were getting better.
"These guys are also slowly becoming easier and easier to deal with. But, I shouldn't get on my high horse yet. The king and the dungeon master are still behind that very door. I can feel it."
After a few minutes, Hunter piled up the remaining bodies of the royal guards and stacked them onto one pile. He dusted his hands off and smiled gently after standing on top of the deceased knights.
[You're still a child, aren't you?]
"As a man, I am obligated to stand above my fallen enemies. It's kinda like how when I pick up a stick, it instantly turns into a sword," replied Hunter as he jumped off the bodies.
[Whatever you say. Now, are you ready?]
Hunter nodded and approached the double door ahead of him. He placed his hands on them and pushed the doors open, creating a creaking sound as he did. Once that was done, Hunter's eyes widened.
Sat on the throne was a skeleton figure wearing a fur coat, a golden crown, balancing nonchalantly on its hand. Its eyes traced towards Hunter and a red glow emerged from them.
"Is that the king?" Hunter inquired as he gripped his reaper tighter.
[That's the dungeon master]
"Then... Where the hell is the king...?"
After Hunter asked that question, the dungeon master released a dry chuckle, similar to an old man's. "I'm afraid this is as far as you'll go, little hunter."