Chapter 34 - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Having never directly entered a C-rank gate before, as the one that was originally C-rank suddenly changed into a Frenzy Gate, this was Lee Seong-jun's first time experiencing it firsthand.

However, contrary to what he had thought, he didn't feel anything particularly special.

'If I had to say... the air feels slightly heavier.'

The terrain itself was the same.

As written in the report, it was all just a dense forest.

Originally, as the gate's rank increases, the terrain changes to a harsh environment difficult for humans to survive in. However, the scenery of this C-rank gate before his eyes was not much different from the F-rank gates of the past.

Although the situation was somewhat contrary to his existing knowledge, he could easily guess the reason.

'...This must also be due to the Association's consideration.'

Even the most oblivious person would know by now that the Association has been showing considerable consideration and excellent treatment through their actions so far.

Although the hunter world is said to be meritocratic, where one is treated according to their abilities, as a person with a sense of decency, he didn't intend to just keep receiving.

'I should grow as the Association wishes.'

To be precise, he intended to show growth beyond expectations.

With a confident smile on his lips, Lee Seong-jun slowly moved his steps.

As he crossed through the bushes blocking his path, he soon encountered a tiger with blue fur.

'Blue Tiger.'

With a size of 3m and a weight of about 200kg.

In terms of appearance, it wasn't much different from an ordinary tiger, making it a relatively easy prey among C-rank monsters.

However, befitting its classification as a C-rank monster, the Blue Tiger's sharp teeth and claws were incomparable to those of an ordinary tiger.

In fact, the Blue Tiger's attacks were powerful and threatening enough to even crush rocks.

It was definitely not a target to be taken lightly.

Just as Lee Seong-jun was internally raising an appropriate level of tension,

"Grrrr."

The Blue Tiger also spotted Lee Seong-jun and charged at him, emitting a fearsome killing intent.

"Roaaar-!"

The distance closed in an instant, and now the Blue Tiger and Lee Seong-jun were only about 50m apart.

If he reacted any slower, his entire body would be torn to shreds like paper by the sharp claws.

Lee Seong-jun, having gone through countless battles, was well aware of this fact.

However, he was still standing still in his place, maintaining his position.

Of course, it wasn't simple bravado.

It was an action he could show because he had something to rely on.

Ding-!

[Using Strength, Agility, and Stamina enhancement on user 'Lee Seong-jun'.]

[Using Blessing of Earth and Wind's Protection on user 'Lee Seong-jun'.]

[Due to the effect of active skill Amplification, the effects of enhancement skills increase by 50% each.]

[Agility stat increases by 22.]

[Strength and Stamina stats increase by 15 each.]

[Due to the effect of buff skill Blessing of Earth, physical durability greatly increases.]

Lee Seong-jun was enveloped in colorful, glowing energy.

As if to prove that the words blessing and protection were not false, wind constantly lingered around his body, and energy from the ground continuously surged up, invigorating his body.

But this wasn't the end.

Following this, the existing Enhancement Specialist buffs were added.

His body became even lighter, and he could feel his muscles becoming tougher and bones harder.

Feeling the power welling up inside his body, Lee Seong-jun could tell.

That his current physical body had surpassed its limits.

'I'm looking forward to seeing how much stronger I've become.'

Just as he was filled with anticipation at the satisfactory effects, the Blue Tiger arrived within arm's reach and swung its front paw violently.

"Roaaar-!"

The Blue Tiger's front paw, swung with fierce momentum, grazed Lee Seong-jun's forearm.

Whoosh-!

Feeling a stinging sensation on his wrist along with hot blood flowing out, a smile curved Lee Seong-jun's lips.

'Is it because the Stamina stat itself has increased... It's become even tougher than yesterday.'

Even though he had used Blessing of Earth, he thought there would be a linear scar from the claw marks.

However, thanks to being further strengthened by various buffs, all that remained on his body was a small scratch.

With this level of toughness, unless directly bitten, he wouldn't suffer major injuries.

'Good.'

By withstanding the Blue Tiger's attack, he had more or less finished verifying his defensive capabilities.

Then what remained now was...

'Attack.'

Lee Seong-jun's eyes gleamed as he fixed his gaze on the Blue Tiger.

"Roaaar-!"

Sensing something amiss, the Blue Tiger cautiously prepared to retreat.

But it was a belated judgment.

It wasn't just strength, stamina, and physical durability that had been enhanced by the buffs.

Agility, his movements had also become much faster.

Tap-!

Lee Seong-jun closed the distance with the Blue Tiger in an instant.

"Roar!"

Feeling a threat to its life, the Blue Tiger desperately swung its front paws, but it was a meaningless struggle.

Thud! Thud!

Lee Seong-jun's body, which had silently received the barrage of front paws, charged towards the Blue Tiger with fierce momentum.

Seeing this, Lee Seong-jun infused strength into his body, enhanced by the buffs.

He could feel his skin becoming tougher, bones harder, and tendons and muscles tightening like a taut bowstring in an instant.

The Iron Golem External Technique, uniquely recognized as a divine technique for external martial arts not just within the Blood Sect but throughout the world, had been activated.

'This must have been how that Iron Mujin fellow felt.'

Using external martial arts in a real battle for the first time in his life, the feeling was strange.

But it certainly wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

'Rather, I like it.'

Although it had been somewhat overshadowed by internal energy, its effectiveness and power were clearly no less than internal energy.

No, it even surpassed it in some aspects.

That's why it's called the world's best external martial art.

'Iron Golem External Technique.'

Among them, the first.

'First Form, Iron Mountain Tiger Pounce.'

Lee Seong-jun's body, which could now be called a weapon without exaggeration, collided with the Blue Tiger shoulder-first.

Boom-!

A thunderous sound erupted, too intense to be thought of as a simple body collision.

Unable to withstand the impact that struck its entire body, the Blue Tiger's body seemed to float helplessly in the air for a moment before crashing into a nearby tree.

Crash-!

While the aftershock of the impact broke the tree that had been standing firmly in place.

The Blue Tiger's body, its eyes losing focus, fell to the ground.

Ding-!

[You have defeated the C-rank monster, Blue Tiger.]

[Experience points increase.]

A single strike, a victory that could be called overwhelming without exaggeration.

However, Lee Seong-jun's expression showed slight dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction.

The destructive power was undoubtedly excellent, needless to say.

'The problem is, it's too rough.'

The force didn't concentrate in one point but spread throughout the Blue Tiger's body.

The wound was large, but it meant the concentration of force was lacking.

To the eyes of an ordinary person, it might all look the same, but any martial artist above a certain level would immediately recognize, upon seeing the wounds of the Blue Tiger that Lee Seong-jun had dealt with, that it was almost pure force rather than an extraordinary technique.

'Iron Mujin's Iron Mountain Tiger Pounce wasn't like this.'

It was much more precise, with the power of the martial art concentrated more cleanly.

Lee Seong-jun clicked his tongue in disappointment but soon shook his head to clear away that sentiment.

'This is merely a matter of proficiency. It will improve with continued use.'

Above all, even if he was dissatisfied himself, the mere fact that he could now use external martial arts was a big advantage from Lee Seong-jun's perspective.

'Thanks to this, I can somewhat compensate for the weakness of lacking internal energy right away.'

Although he hadn't shown it outwardly until now, the issue of insufficient internal energy was an area Lee Seong-jun had been quite concerned about since his return.

'That's why I've been relying on the system's help and using it efficiently to get by until now.'

In fact, this would have been impossible without his experience as a Demon God, given that most of Lee Seong-jun's martial arts require quite a high amount of internal energy.

But even so, he couldn't help feeling frustrated at times due to the lack of absolute total internal energy.

Especially when hunting for over 10 hours a day, that frustration would hit even harder.

'If only I had 1 gapja of internal energy, I wouldn't have experienced this inconvenience.'

The problem was that there was no other quick way to rapidly grow internal energy in a short period without consuming special elixirs.

Even just 1 gapja that Lee Seong-jun easily thinks of is an enormous amount of internal energy that would take 60 years to accumulate through general internal energy cultivation methods.

In the past, he was able to accumulate it in just 5 years thanks to the divine technique Blood Shadow Demon God Art and his talent for bone-grinding effort, but perhaps because it's a path he's already traveled once?

Now even that time felt quite frustrating.

'But now it's different.'

With the addition of the Blessing of Earth skill and Iron Mujin's Iron Golem External Technique, he could now somewhat make up for the lack of internal energy he had been experiencing.

'With this level of efficiency, I should be able to move my hunting grounds to C-rank gates right away without any problem.'

An undisguisable smile spread across Lee Seong-jun's lips.

'The hunting efficiency might improve by 2 or even 3 times compared to before.'

Although D-rank and C-rank are just one rank apart, the difference in experience given by monsters is more than double.

In other words, being able to use the Iron Golem External Technique meant his leveling speed had become at least twice as fast.

'I can really accelerate my growth now.'

Having gained confidence through the recent battle with the Blue Tiger, Lee Seong-jun boldly moved forward.

And so began a massacre disguised as hunting.

Wherever Lee Seong-jun stepped, the cries of Blue Tigers could be heard.

After continuing to hunt like this for about 5 hours.

Ding-!

[Congratulations! Your level has increased to 41 as you've met the required experience.]

Leveling up in just 5 hours, considering that it took over 10 hours of hunting yesterday for a single level up, this could be called an incredible growth rate.

It was clearly a situation to be overjoyed about, but Lee Seong-jun's expression was hardened.

'What's this?'

He couldn't help it because he could sense a fairly powerful energy approaching from nearby.

'A boss monster?'

Lee Seong-jun shook his head.

There was still over a week left until the appearance cycle.

No, from the start, the presence itself was clearly that of a person, a hunter.

Of course, it could really be an Association employee visiting for a safety check of the gate.

However, in such cases, Kang-hyeon Jo would have contacted him in advance.

'Something's odd.'

For some reason, the name Hwan-seong flashed through his mind for a moment.

Lee Seong-jun nodded.

'I'll have to check it out myself.'

Having made his decision, Lee Seong-jun moved towards the presences nearby.