Chapter 101
Instinctively sensing that his upper dantian had opened, Lee Seong-jun moved forward, passing through the debris of collapsed walls.
As Lee Seong-jun walked along the path, the existing common sense and notions embedded in his mind began to create a new world.
Even in this process, Lee Seong-jun continued to step forward.
Finally, as his intense will shattered the existing world and opened up a new one, his physical body also reacted.
First, black liquid poured out from Lee Seong-jun's body.
The waste accumulated inside his body was expelled.
Of course, this wasn't the only physical reaction.
Fwooosh-!
A reddish energy spread from Lee Seong-jun's entire body like a dense cloud, engulfing the surroundings.
This energy, which boasted an intense presence as if it would dye the world in blood, soon began to swirl and be sucked into the area near the upper dantian above Lee Seong-jun's head.
Then, the energies of the lower, middle, and upper dantian produced a resonant sound as if about to explode.
Crack-!
The resonant sound was like something breaking.
Indeed, cracks appeared on the skin of Lee Seong-jun, who was sitting in a lotus position.
At first, they could be called small, but the cracks spread like a spider web in an instant, covering Lee Seong-jun's entire body.
Crack crack crack-!
And finally, at the moment when the cracks covered Lee Seong-jun's entire body.
Snap-!
With a sensation like throwing off heavy shackles that had been binding his entire body, a crisp sound rang in his ears.
Ding-!
[You have opened the Heavenly Acupoint and successfully completed the Great Heavenly Cycle, opening your upper dantian.]
[You have successfully achieved metamorphosis!]
[New changes occur in your body.]
"Huff..."
Lee Seong-jun, breathing heavily, opened his eyes.
At the same time, a deep reddish light burst from Lee Seong-jun's eyes, then quickly disappeared.
He had reached the realm of Fire Realm by opening his upper dantian.
By hunter standards, this was equivalent to reaching the upper ranks among SSS-rank hunters.
His existing body was further strengthened, and now he could use strong energy much more freely.
[Strength, Agility, and Stamina stats permanently increase by 10 each.]
[Blood Energy stat permanently increases by 15.]
[The absorption rate of energy from the atmosphere increases explosively, and Blood Energy stat will periodically increase!]
[The recovery rate of internal energy greatly increases.]
Checking the green hologram window that appeared before his eyes, Lee Seong-jun revealed a satisfied smile.
"Good."
His Blood Energy stat, which was initially 80, had now reached 105.
This meant he had somewhat made up for the internal energy he had been feeling greatly lacking.
Moreover, the recovery rate of his internal energy had also greatly increased.
Although it couldn't be immediately confirmed in the system like stats, having experienced it firsthand, he clearly knew how efficient it was.
These alone could be considered satisfactory growth, but it wasn't just internal energy-related things that had changed.
'Now I can freely use strong energy made from blood energy.'
Of course, this didn't simply mean handling strong energy.
For example, unlike using strong energy in a fixed form until now, it meant he could now extract that energy externally and shoot it, or transform its shape.
The number of things he could do because of this had increased immeasurably.
'Rajaka, was it?'
The king of the werewolves who had come down from the northern lands.
It was a moment when he looked forward to the fierce battle with him.
* * *
The next day, near the military demarcation line in Kaesong City.
A considerable number of hunters were gathering in this place that had become monster territory with no human presence.
This was inevitable because Rajaka and his werewolf army were advancing south much faster than the existing Hunter Association had anticipated.
Despite the somewhat startling situation, the hunters' expressions were visibly tense.
However, Lee Seong-jun, who arrived next, wore an expression that could only be described as composed.
Rather, with an expression that could be called leisurely, he was walking towards the temporarily constructed subjugation headquarters.
Whoosh-
It was the moment he entered the interior of the subjugation headquarters, pushing aside the tent blocking the way.
Ko Tae-hyun, with a bitter expression, bowed his head and opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry, we had to contact you somewhat urgently as Rajaka's southward advance was faster than we expected."
"Things in the world don't always go as expected, I'm fine, so don't worry about it."
Lee Seong-jun responded to Ko Tae-hyun's words with a smile, and also greeted Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, who were seated inside the subjugation headquarters.
"It's been a while since I've seen you all."
Though it was a casually thrown remark, there was no response.
Of course, they weren't ignoring Lee Seong-jun's greeting.
They were just too stunned by the situation to think clearly.
"..."
Indeed, after a brief silence, Oh Kyung-hyun burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! You really are an unpredictable person!"
"Certainly... This surprised me quite a bit too."
Having personally witnessed Lee Seong-jun defeat Kang I-ryeong, an SSS-rank hunter, during a friendly match with Soshimun in the past, they were well aware that Hunter Lee Seong-jun was strong.
However, the aura subtly flowing from Lee Seong-jun's body now had an even more profound weight than when he had defeated Kang I-ryeong.
Although they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, it was enough to surmise that Hunter Lee Seong-jun had achieved some growth.
'He achieved growth again in less than a month...?'
It was truly an unprecedented rate of growth.
'Even the members of the Guardians, known as the world's protectors, don't grow like this as far as I know...'
Seeing Lee Ye-rin's appearance, unable to hide her surprise with wide-open eyes, Ko Tae-hyun opened his mouth with a relaxed smile.
"I was very surprised at first too, but you get somewhat used to it after experiencing it a few times."
That's because it wasn't just once or twice that Hunter Lee Seong-jun had shown such incredible growth.
By now, he had shown growth that exceeded expectations so often that it would be embarrassing to count.
Even if one didn't want to get used to it, one had no choice but to become accustomed.
Of course, what was important right now wasn't how Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin accepted this reality.
It was that the heavy tension that had settled in the subjugation headquarters due to the impending tough battle was beginning to lighten somewhat.
"Still, I thought there would be some risk involved in subjugating the king of monsters, but it seems that was needless worry."
"That's right, it looks like we'll be able to subjugate much more easily than we thought."
Although he had defeated Kang I-ryeong, an SSS-rank hunter, Rajaka was evaluated as a monster that could rival Yellow-grade bosses.
In comparison, Hunter Lee Seong-jun had become SSS-rank less than a month ago.
Considering that usually even mid-tier or higher SSS-rank hunters need to step up to handle Yellow-grade raid gates, it was inevitable to think that a direct confrontation with Rajaka would be a somewhat grueling fight.
However, upon actually facing Hunter Lee Seong-jun, that thought was completely overturned.
'This is not the level of someone who just reached SSS-rank.'
He was comparable to Yoon Min-su or Tae Sang-cheon, who could be considered quite skilled even among SSS-rank hunters.
In other words, he had sufficient strength to hunt Rajaka, the king of werewolves.
Naturally, smiles appeared on the lips of Lee Ye-rin and Oh Kyung-hyun.
'Hunter Lee Seong-jun... He was an even bigger catch than I thought!'
'Securing a contract before Hunter Lee Seong-jun properly made his mark was truly a godsend.'
The tension that had settled in the subjugation headquarters earlier began to disappear without a trace.
At the same time, bright futures began to unfold in the minds of Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin.
'If this subjugation ends safely, we'll be able to widen the gap with other guilds a bit more.'
As bright smiles bloomed on the faces of Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, Ko Tae-hyun cleared his throat to regain composure.
"Ahem..."
Although there was no reason to think of defeat, it wasn't good to show carelessness.
Ko Tae-hyun summarized the current situation in a calm voice.
"As you all know, Rajaka is not alone. He's leading an army of werewolves... Moreover, as monsters from the surrounding areas have joined his forces during the southward advance, a monster wave has formed."
Ko Tae-hyun, with a stiff expression, spoke again.
"This means that everyone's strength and help are needed for Hunter Lee Seong-jun to focus solely on the battle with Rajaka as we planned in advance."
To be honest, he, Lee Seong-jun, could have carried out the subjugation alone.
But there was no reason to refuse a situation that could reduce variables.
No, it was even embarrassing to bring this up.
This was because Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin were also burning with strong fighting spirit in response to Ko Tae-hyun's words.
"No need to worry, I'll make sure to take care of the small fry."
"I can confidently say that our firepower is unmatched, so you can count on us."
Seeing Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin nodding without a moment's hesitation, a satisfied smile appeared on Ko Tae-hyun's lips.
"Yes, I'll trust and leave it to you all, as you're all excellent hunters. Furthermore, I'll leave the situations that arise in between to your autonomous judgment."
The moment Ko Tae-hyun finished speaking, Oh Kyung-hyun, showing a confident smile, rose from his seat.
"It seems we need to move quickly to open the way, so I'll get going first."
"Then I'll be off too. Let's all meet again in good health."
Lee Ye-rin also greeted as if she had been waiting, then followed behind Oh Kyung-hyun.
"Then I wish you good luck."
Sent off by Ko Tae-hyun, Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin soon stepped beyond the tent and disappeared completely from view.
* * *
The subjugation team was composed of 100 elite hunters who were quite renowned in South Korea.
Among them were Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, the masters of White Tiger and Phoenix, two of the five major guilds.
Moreover, Lee Seong-jun, an SSS-rank hunter who could be considered one of the strongest in Korea currently, also participated in the subjugation team.
There was no reason to think of defeat.
As morale soared, the hunters demonstrated skills even more excellent than their original abilities.
Oh Kyung-hyun and Lee Ye-rin, who were leading from the very front, also showed notable achievements by moving even more actively than usual.
"Drive out the monsters!"
"Don't give them any gaps and push forward!"
It was when the hunters' morale was soaring to the skies, to say the least, due to successive victories.
"Awooo-!"
As a fierce howl echoed across the wide plain, the werewolf army appeared at the edge of their vision.