As night fell, Kang found himself climbing one of the abandoned skyscrapers to get a better view of the city. While his current goal was finding a weapon, doing so would help him locate the closest human settlement.
Given the corruption in this area, it was unlikely he'd find anything useful. Maybe another ruin at best, but certainly not an active human city. Still, since these were once human cities, he assumed there might be some loot—perhaps the remains of dead hunters.
Looking down at the city, Kang recalled Strife's words, sparking an idea in his mind.
"Well, I'll deal with that after I get my revenge." Adding it to his mental list, Kang decided to establish a guild dedicated to reclaiming land lost to corruption. Still, something didn't make sense—he hadn't found any source of corruption in this city.
'Gate or rift, it's definitely not here. Maybe I'm not at the center after all…' Deep in thought, Kang considered the possibility that he might be near the center, but other areas could have higher levels of corruption compared to where he was now.
A gate, being a small tunnel, couldn't cause this level of decay—unless it had been abandoned for an extremely long time. A rift, on the other hand, could produce this effect more quickly due to its massive size. Either way, he was sure he'd find the source eventually.
"Ah, there!" Scanning the surroundings, Kang spotted a medium-sized building with a large banner marking it as a guild office. Curious about his limits, he jumped from the skyscraper, testing the outcome. His body collided with the concrete below, turning him into a mess of blood.
Although he didn't technically lose any blood, he felt as if he'd lost his entire body except for his vision. Slowly, his spilled blood began to crawl toward his mask, reconstructing his form.
"No ordinary beast or human could survive a fall from this height unless they were ranked B or higher. I guess this could be useful for escape in certain situations. Anyway, time to move." Relieved, Kang weighed the possibility of using the ability in combat. While it might not work against higher-ranked enemies, it could still be useful against most.
Despite the building's size, it must have been beautifully decorated in the past. Now, however, all that remained were signs of battle and bloodstains on nearly every surface, though it was slightly less damaged compared to the rest of the ruin. It didn't surprise Kang, knowing that the guild likely had enough hunters to keep the monsters from wreaking havoc inside.
"This place is dark as hell. I'll definitely need to absorb an ability to enhance my vision sooner or later." The moonlight only illuminated the entrance, leaving the rest of the building shrouded in darkness. Acquiring a vision ability became a priority.
Daylight wouldn't help much either; the interior would remain dark regardless. Kang thought about how to create some light. Finally, he decided there was no other option but to return to monke.
After spending a few minutes gathering wood, he dug a pit where he placed the wood. He then searched the abandoned cars on the street for fuel to accelerate the fire. Once ready, he rubbed the wood together, setting it alight as the sparks slowly ignited the pit.
Using a wooden plank he had set aside, Kang fashioned a torch that would last long enough for him to explore the guild's interior. After some time searching, he stumbled upon what seemed to be the guild's weapon storage.
"Purple? Looks like these weapons mutated due to the high levels of corrupt mana in the air. The real question is, are they stronger or weaker?" Examining the mana stones powering the weapons, Kang was surprised to see most of them had turned purple instead of the usual blue.
A small percentage remained blue, while some were in the process of becoming corrupted, their colors shifting between blue and purple. While humans might be unable to use these corrupted weapons, it was a different story for Kang, as he was unaffected by the corruption.
"Detect!" He tried using his detection ability on the weapons but sighed when nothing appeared. It seemed the ability only worked on living creatures, which was a bit disappointing.
"They're C or D grade at best, but whatever. I just hope the corruption hasn't weakened them further." Deciding not to linger, Kang grabbed a short sword from the pile of weapons.
The next ruin was far off in the distance, across the horizon. Kang knew that whatever disturbance he caused here would have no effect on the surrounding area. If he couldn't see beyond the horizon, neither could the beasts. Rather than staying in this city, he chose to head to the next one.
Although he couldn't drive cars and had no idea how to, he didn't feel fatigued, meaning he could run indefinitely. His primary goal was to locate the corrupt source, and he could always return to this city if necessary.
It was simple: if the corruption decreased, he'd return and head in a different direction. Through trial and error, Kang was confident he'd find his destination eventually.
Proceeding with his plan, Kang sprinted along the first road he saw on the far side of the city. An hour later, he stopped abruptly as he noticed the corruption had decreased enough for him to make a reasonable judgment. Turning around, he began running in the opposite direction for the next three hours, feeling the corruption levels gradually increase.
"There you are!" he exclaimed. Gazing to the left side of the desert road, Kang spotted a massive crack suspended in the sky on the horizon. He continued making his way toward it.
Five hours later, Kang arrived near his destination. Various types of beasts roamed the area, their numbers giving him pause. He hesitated, unsure whether to engage in battle immediately or back off and search for territorial beasts like the eagle he had fought before.