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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
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Chapter 8
To think he had caught three at once.
Seemingly satisfied, Seonghyun opened the title window to check the title he had just acquired.
『Hunter』
→《Rare》
→A title given to users who have defeated 30 beast-type monsters in one strike.
→Increases movement speed by 10% when hunting beast-type monsters.
→Increases speed by 5% when chasing something.
"Oh!"
It wasn't just a title that helped with hunting.
So catching beast-type monsters was also considered hunting.
Moreover, it even increased speed when chasing something.
It was a satisfying title.
After checking the effect, Seonghyun closed the title window and looked ahead.
Two giant trees were blocking his path, and beyond them, he could see a huge figure.
It seemed he had arrived right in front of the boss.
It was a bit of a shame to interrupt his flow, but it couldn't be helped.
Once he cleared the dungeon, the first discovery reward effect would disappear.
'Let's butcher first.'
With the Excellent Butcher title effect and the Excellent Butchering Set, he easily butchered the deer.
The speed was on a different level compared to when he was only using a Normal grade butchering knife.
The dismantling show of several green deer was finished in just a few tens of minutes.
'I caught quite a lot.'
He had about ten green deer.
It wasn't as many as he had expected, but it seemed like the title appeared because he had caught twenty rabbits earlier.
Anyway, the only thing left was the boss he saw in the distance.
With that thought, Seonghyun looked at the creature presumed to be the boss, standing far away.
It had a massive body, boasting golden and black fur.
Even if he couldn't see it clearly, he could tell what it was just by looking at its pattern.
'It seems like one shotting the boss will be a bit difficult...'
Seonghyun scratched his cheek, looking perplexed as he looked at where the tiger was sleeping.
He didn't think about whether he could do it or not.
He would just push through.
Dash!
Seonghyun kicked off the ground with both legs and dashed forward.
As he entered the wide open space that seemed to be the boss room, a message popped up.
[The boss of the field-type hidden dungeon, 『Hunter's Forest』, the tiger, awakens.]
So it was a tiger, as expected.
However, unlike the green deer, it didn't have any other modifiers.
The tiger itself was more than enough to be a boss in this beginner village.
And how massive it was.
It was much larger than the tigers he had seen at the zoo, as if it had undergone intense bulk-up training.
It seemed to be at least twice the size of Seonghyun.
'As expected, it won't be easy.'
He didn't have the strength to cut through that thick hide in one go.
It wasn't just Seonghyun's judgement; the memories of the former instructor and the experiences of the hunter Apic were telling him the same thing.
But there was no need to cut it down in one go.
"Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
A tremendous roar echoed, and Seonghyun felt his legs, which had been running swiftly, falter.
[You have been exposed to the boss, Tiger's, 『Fear』.]
[Movement speed decreased.]
‘It even has this kind of a skill?’
He had heard that the low-frequency sound from a tiger's roar could paralyze a person's body.
But to think they implemented it like this.
In fantasy movies and novels, he thought only dragons used such skills, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
Decreased movement speed didn't mean he couldn't move.
He faltered for a moment when the roar spread, but he quickly moved from his spot.
And the tiger's two front paws slammed into the place where Seonghyun had been standing just moments before.
Crash!
Seeing the dust billowing up, Seonghyun swung his sword, cutting through the dust cloud.
As his vision cleared, he saw the tiger charging again, and like with the green deer, he tried to dodge by slightly twisting his body to the side.
But the tiger's eyes gleamed, anticipating this.
As soon as Seonghyun dodged to the side, it spread its front paws wide, trying to grab him, but Seonghyun, also anticipating this, gave up on attacking and lowered his stance further, using his momentum to slide out of the way.
Swoosh!
The tiger was more responsive than he had expected.
Although he saw the message about his movement speed decreasing, Seonghyun didn't feel that much slower.
'It's thanks to the Hunter title.'
It seemed like the increased movement speed when fighting beast-type monsters offset the Fear effect.
That was fortunate.
If it weren't for that, he definitely wouldn't have been able to react to that attack and would have been hit.
It seemed like it would be a big problem if he got hit even once.
He had to be careful not to get hit as much as possible.
"Grrrrrrr."
The tiger, seeing Seonghyun nimbly dodging its attacks, growled lowly and glared at him in displeasure.
Its eyes were by no means those of prey being hunted.
They were the eyes of a predator on the hunt.
Seeing this, Seonghyun recalled the memories of the hunter Apic.
How Apic had hunted tigers.
And vivid memories and experiences surfaced.
Wait calmly for an opportunity.
If you try to attack hastily, you'll be the one caught.
So strike at the right moment.
When it was time to attack, the memories of the former instructor flowed in.
When facing a charging beast larger than yourself, use the opponent's strength against it.
As those two memories and experiences flowed in, Seonghyun's eyes momentarily flashed with a pale turquoise light, like the color of a vengeful spirit.
The tiger flinched slightly, as if intimidated by the sudden flash of pale turquoise light.
Perhaps its pride was hurt, as it roared.
"Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
A powerful roar reverberated.
But his body didn't stiffen anymore.
He had experience and memories now.
He waited for an opportunity, confidently and calmly.
The tiger charged towards Seonghyun.
The tiger was overwhelmingly faster.
However, based on his reflexes and various experiences, Seonghyun dodged the tiger's attacks one by one, maintaining his distance.
"Roar!"
The moment the tiger roared again, spreading its front paws and charging towards Seonghyun,
Seonghyun's eyes flashed a pale turquoise, and he shouted inwardly,
'Now!'
Instead of dodging to the side as the tiger charged towards him, he ran forward.
An act that would seem suicidal to anyone.
But Seonghyun's eyes gleamed brighter than ever.
Reaching the charging tiger, he slid across the ground, quickly lowering his stance and raising his sword.
His own strength wasn't enough?
Then he would use the opponent's strength.
Seonghyun's sword definitely couldn't reach the tiger's heart.
Its hide was that thick, and its muscles were like rocks.
But if he combined the force of the tiger charging with all its might and his own force charging forward, the result would be different.
The unwavering tip of the steel sword was aimed precisely at the tiger's core, and with dexterity and agility, he thrust the sword swiftly and accurately.
Pierce!
[Critical Hit!]
[Effect of 『One Strike!』 activated!]
"Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Along with the critical hit message, a sound like air being sucked out echoed, and Seonghyun let go of his sword at that moment.
Maintaining his lowered stance as he slid, Seonghyun slipped under the tiger.
The charging tiger, pierced through the heart by the steel sword, collapsed onto the ground, and the steel sword was driven deeper into its body.
The tiger, with its heart precisely pierced, went limp, its body losing strength, but Seonghyun didn't let his guard down.
In the hunter Apic's memories, there were many beasts that pretended to be dead like this and saved their final attack for last.
He would wait a little longer.
Thud.
When even the tiger's paws, which had been concealing its claws, fell limp, a message popped up.
[You have cleared the field-type hidden dungeon, 『Hunter's Forest』!]
[The first discovery reward will be maintained until the boss, Tiger, is completely butchered!]
[You have defeated a beast-type monster boss in one strike!]
[You have achieved an achievement in the dungeon.]
[You have acquired an achievement reward.]
[Dungeon reward enhanced!]
[You have acquired the items, 『Tiger's Fang』, 『Tiger's Paw』, and 『Green Deer's Breastplate』.]
'Oh?!'
Wasn't it over after butchering the tiger?
Even if the dungeon reward was enhanced due to the achievement reward, he didn't expect to receive items like this.
It seemed like the butchering and dungeon clear rewards were different.
Seonghyun's eyes sparkled as he postponed butchering the tiger and examined the items.
To think he would acquire new items.
He wondered what kind of items they were.
『Green Deer's Breastplate』
→《Rare》
→A breastplate made using the antlers and hide of a green deer.
→Due to the tougher hide and harder antlers of the green deer compared to ordinary deer, it is much more durable than ordinary leather armor.
→Increases defense by +8%.
『Tiger's Paw』
→《Rare+》
→Boots resembling the claws of a tiger.
→It's questionable whether they were actually made from a tiger's paw, but they are just as fast and durable.
→Increases movement speed by +10%.
『Tiger's Fang』
→《Epic》
→A short sword resembling the fangs of a tiger, shaped like an awl.
→It is much stronger and of higher quality than ordinary iron or steel swords.
→It possesses penetrating power that seems capable of piercing anything.
→Increases penetration by +10%.
'Even an Epic item?'
He had heard that hidden dungeons were rewarding, but he didn't expect it to be this much.
And it didn't end there.
When Seonghyun equipped all the items,
[You are wearing the Forest Hunter Set.]
[Set options revealed.]
『Forest Hunter Set (3/4)』
→Increases movement speed by 10%.
→Increases attack speed by 5%.
He was already grateful for the Epic item, which was a rank higher than Rare.
But to think they even gave him set options!
It was a bit disappointing that he only had three out of the four pieces in the set, but what could he do about the missing piece?
This was enough.
After checking the rewards with satisfaction, he was about to butcher the tiger when he saw a large rock-like object where the tiger had been.
What was this?
He looked up and saw that it wasn't just a rock.
The sunlight was shining brilliantly through a gap in the leaves, illuminating a statue of the hero Hindel, which he had only seen in videos before.
The statue of Hindel, bathed in sunlight and looking up at the sky, possessed a sacredness and brilliance that was difficult to describe.
"Wow."
He was once again reminded that this was the hero's village.
A statue of Hindel.
The hero who defeated the Demon King.
It might be a cliché story, but he couldn't help but acknowledge this statue.
Mesmerized by its impressive appearance, like a hero from a fairy tale, Seonghyun gazed up at the statue.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
'They said the Demon King and the hero died here, right?'
That meant...
'Would the hero's spirit be here too?'
Usually, the reason spirits wandered around wasn't because they had many regrets or anything like that.
According to what Seonghyun had heard before, they naturally wandered around, regardless of any lingering attachments to the world.
Some ghosts had lingering attachments or regrets, but it wasn't a prerequisite for becoming a ghost.
The hero's spirit might be here.
‘I'll have to ask my sister about this later.’
With that thought, Seonghyun butchered the tiger hide and meat, put them in his inventory, and left the area.
Now that he had cleared the dungeon, there was something he needed to receive from the elderly ghost.
As he left the dungeon and was about to return to the village,
He saw a spirit lingering at the entrance of the Mist Forest.
It was a very familiar spirit.
In the form of an old man...
"Huh?"
-Oh! You've returned! As expected, you're amazing! You finished it so quickly!!!
It seemed it recognized him immediately.
As Seonghyun nodded in agreement,
-Ah! Then I'll tell you where our heirloom is buried!
The elderly ghost said so and guided Seonghyun.
-It's here! Here it is! If you dig here, you'll find it!
"Hmm."
The place he was being led to was within the Mist Forest, so it was a bit difficult to follow, but after arriving, he dug into the ground with the butchering knife, now unused due to the Excellent Butchering Set.
Since it wasn't a tool for digging, it was a bit difficult to dig, but he eventually found a wooden box buried there.
‘Why would they store an heirloom like this?’
Seonghyun thought so, but he didn't show it.
-Ehehehehe! Open it quickly!
"Yes, I gratefully accept it."
Since it was an heirloom, it must be a pretty good item, right?
At the old man's words, Seonghyun opened the wooden box.
Inside, there was a pair of leather gloves the same color as the green leather armor he was wearing.
Oh, this?
[You have found a hidden item!]
[You have acquired the title, 『Searcher』.]
[You have acquired the hidden item, 『Green Deer's Leather Gloves』.]
[Forest Hunter Set effect applied to the maximum.]
'Oh.'
So it was here all along.
It would have been a shame to miss it.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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