I Stole the Number One Ranker’s Soul - Chapter 4

The moment my stomach growled, the chungwang halted its steps.

I got caught.

When my intuitions roared, woosh, the antennas turned towards my side. The antenna, which had been patrolling just moments ago, searched every nook and cranny with a speed that was uncomparable to before.

After checking that the antenna was close enough for me to see its fine hairs, I opened my inventory. I took out evitanis and pimtofis’ cores from inside and crammed them into my mouth, chewing on them.

[Strength has been temporarily increased by 8 due to the ingestion of pimtofis’ core.]

[Agility has been temporarily increased by 9 due to the ingestion of evitanis’ core.]

The maximum amount of cores that I could put in my mouth was eight or nine. When I ate the cores that were crammed in my mouth, something frightening and itchy brushed the nape of my neck. I could tell without looking. It was an antenna.

Without thinking, I thoughtlessly rolled over because of my spine-chilling hunch. The antenna, which was gently moving like a reed, turned hard like a skewer and penetrated where I was sitting. If I had stayed still, I would’ve died on the spot with a hole in my neck.

As I rolled over, I kept chewing and swallowing the cores from my inventory. Not having the opportunity to read the notification window, I managed to eat quite a few cores due to my busy hand and mouth.

“Kiii, kiiik.”

The chungwang, who found me rolling over behind the rock, started making a strange cry. If it were human, it seemed like it’d say ‘Where did this rat roll in from?’.

The chungwang, which was facing me from the front, looked much larger than when I had seen it from the side. Maybe this entity was just especially large. I tried not to be overwhelmed but I couldn’t stop my legs from shaking.

The confrontation didn’t last long. No, it’s embarrassing to even call it a confrontation. With one glance, the chungwang realized I wasn’t a combat hunter and it looked like it saw me as a good toy to play with.

I don’t know if it’s just because I have a grudge against them, but that was what it felt like to me. Maybe it was just a delusion that the wind blew my way.

Please, please let your guard down.

Please!

The chungwang swung its front leg. It was so fast I couldn’t see it with my own eyes. However, perhaps thanks to the fact I jumped to the side the moment I felt the attack coming, I succeeded in avoiding it.

I-I lived.

That was something I actually thought while avoiding it. I, too, was shocked by my improved reflexes.

Perhaps it was because it was unexpected for me to avoid its attack but the chungwang hesitated for a moment before raising its foreleg. I felt it intuitively. Something big is coming.

The moment I tensed up, continuous slashes came at me as if it would mince me. Blade-like attacks that used the forelegs and gushed at a certain range. Throwing myself away from the ground, I barely managed to escape the ranged attacks.

The moment I looked forward while regaining my breath, a flash-like shudder came to me. My opportunity had finally shown itself.

Maybe it was because of the big attack, but after I avoided them, the thing’s back was open.

Unlike its front, which was armed with blade-like front legs and antennas, its backside only had a plump ant-like belly, which made it look relatively easy to deal with.

Opportunities don’t come often. Without thinking forward or backwards, I flung myself towards it and kicked its belly.

“Kiiik!”

I did my best to pound on the thing’s stomach, but unlike its soft appearance, the outer skin was exceedingly hard. But even though it took no damage, the chungwang got irritated and swung its long and hard antenna. It closely resembled a cow’s tail driving away a fly from its behind.

To my surprise, I evaded the antenna. It was thanks to the increased speed I normally wouldn’t have thought of. But, just as I expected, my striking power was pitiful.

Even though my strength increased, was it really hopeless to face that thing with my bare fists? With how things are going, if it’s like this, there’s no chance of winning.

My physical strength was limited and even if I endured with mental strength, the effectiveness the cores had on my stats will end once the time limit ends.

There was nothing good about drawing out the time. I need a weapon.

While ardently searching for a method, something managed to catch my eye. It was the rock I hid behind earlier. Before, I just thought of it as a geographical feature, but now I’m stronger. Not knowing whether or not it would work, I tugged at the boulder.

“Uwaa!”

Whether it was the power of evil or the effect the cores had on my stats, I barely lifted the boulder. I tossed the rock I lifted at that thing.

Now, take this!

I anticipated seeing the chungwang struggle while being pinned under the boulder. The thing placed four legs on the ground, catching the rock with its two front legs and crack, it was smashed into bits and pieces.

Huh?

When I saw that, my hands and feet turned cold.

W-why did it break the rock as if it were a cracker?

The complacency I was holding onto took a fatal blow, but isn’t it retorting too easily? Yet again, I avoided the flying forelegs. With the blade-like front legs passing right next to my face, I couldn’t even feel a cold sweat.

Avoiding several attacks, I felt increasingly nervous. There was only a minute left for the effect the cores had on my stats. The chungwang didn’t get tired but got increasingly excited at my expression instead.

How did I know?

It was so excited to the point it swung so much it got its forelegs stuck in the floor and groaned while pulling them out.

That’s my opportunity. Fists won’t work. Rocks won’t work either. However, as I avoided its countless attacks, I found out that the chungwang’s front and back leg joints could only move up and down. Like a human knee joint. In other words, if you hit it from the side, it seemed to be the type to get gravely injured.

I grabbed one of the pieces of the big split stone and ran at the thing. It menacingly swung its antenna but I avoided it. My attack power was low so it became a habit to dodge.

After narrowing the distance, I slammed the rock I was carrying into the thing’s joint. With all of my might.

“Die, please die! I said die!”

“Kieeeek!”

Not knowing it would be possible for a lousy human like me to dare to attack it like this, the chungwang let out a horrible shriek.

After a few hits, the thing’s joints were in tatters. However, my mental state was also in tatters. It was because after that thing let out its scream, it’s obvious the others would come swarming in.

I have to finish this quickly.

I twisted the thing’s joint and pulled out its front leg. With the feeling of pulling out a leg from a chicken, the thing let out a scream of fury and pain.

“Kiaaaak! Kieeeek!”

“Shut up!”

What would happen if the other chungwang came because of that?!

I hurriedly stabbed the thing’s front legs with the one I pulled out. Stab, with the feeling of something being stuck, the thing stopped moving. I pierced its head.

My fists didn’t work, so how good even are these forelegs? Well, it has a record of chopping up rocks.

I wanted to indulge in the feeling of catching monsters for the first time, but I had no time to spare. With how much this thing screamed, I could already hear the sound of the other chungwangs approaching.

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

If I could hear the sounds, it meant that they’re quite close.

When I hastily used my collection skill on the chungwang to obtain items, the other things were already close enough for me to see them with my naked eye.

Mana stone, mana stone! The mana stone, where’s the mana stone?!

My inventory was jammed with the plants I had collected earlier and strange insect body parts I just got right now from the chungwang.

I managed to find the mana stone, but the three chungwangs were already about five meters away from me. I held the mana stone in my hand and smashed it. Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult because it was as strong as an apple.

I’m leaving, bastards!

I made an escape. As soon as the mana stone brightened in front of my eyes, I was deeply relieved. But it was too early to feel reassured.

I felt something touch my back and suddenly my stomach felt hot. Then, a terrible pain arrived. When my line of vision shifted to my injured area, I saw the front leg of a chungwang that dug through my stomach.

The next moment, I was lying on my bedding in my semi-basement room, bleeding profusely. If I was even a little bit late, the chungwang would have swung its leg and I would’ve flung away, split into two parts. But even now, my situation isn’t good.

Help me, it hurts so much.

I blocked my stomach where blood was pouring out from with my hands, making an effort to hold onto my dimming consciousness.

I need to call 119.

119, where’s my phone? The location of my phone was fixed. Next to my pillow. I tried to use my fingerprint on my phone without difficulty, but a message popped up on the screen.

[Please remove moisture to allow your fingerprint to be recognized.]

Ah, damn it. Really.

My fingerprint couldn’t be recognized because of the blood. I tried to use the emergency call, but couldn’t even do it because I couldn’t touch the screen with this dampness.

I’m dying.

Phone, please, can’t you recognize the atmosphere?

Rich people would’ve been able to drink a healing potion without having to deal with this. That had nothing to do with me. How can a salaried employee like me drink one when it goes beyond 1 billion won per bottle?

Wait.

Wait a minute.

I awakened.

Right.

Didn’t I awaken?

When I came back to my poor semi-basement room and saw my familiar surroundings, I forgot for a moment.

I’m a hunter. And now, I’m outside the dungeon. In other words, it meant I could access the hunter market controlled by the system.

Market, the hunter market. The flower of a hunter’s livelihood that only a hunter can access, you can use the market anywhere except in a dungeon to buy things.

“Access the hunter market. Uurghh. It hurts, arghh.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a market window emerged in front of me. Since it was a market only available to hunters, it was my first time seeing it.  It looked a little complicated but thankfully I’ve heard of related information about it due to my employee training.

To work with hunters, it was necessary to know the basics so that you can have a rough idea about what goes on. If a hunter says something and you don’t understand, you can’t serve– no, you can’t properly support them.