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Colossus Hunter

Colossus Hunter Chapter 19-20

You're reading Colossus Hunter Colossus Hunter Chapter 19-20 at BornBok.com.


'They must have followed my smell here.'

Gnolls were basically a dog species of monsters. That's just how astounding their sense of smell alone was. They had most likely caught onto my presence from the moment I started climbing Mt Bukhan. Or it may just have been the influence of 'Dominator' attracting them.

At any rate, this was a troublesome situation. Minshik was holding onto a sword before I knew it. To be specific, he was holding onto a sword made of fire. A style I used to enjoy using.

Minshik glanced at me.

"Hurry up and run I said!"

"Wait. Those are monsters?"

"You can't take them lightly even if they're the lowest-grade monsters. It takes no work for them to tear apart a person's fles-."

"They don't look like monsters to me."

It was all or nothing now. I decided to unlock a new ability.

I crouched over and slowly moved my hand up and down, and then the gnolls fixed their sights on my hand, shaking their heads up and down.

"What on earth…!"

Minshik's eyes became the size of plates, his jaws gaping wide. His surprise was plain to see.

However you looked at them, the gnolls held no hostility. In fact, they were following me. It was only natural from my point of view, but to Minshik it must appear very much like a miracle. Finally, the gnolls were gathered around me in an orderly manner. Minshik was being wary, but he couldn't attack recklessly.

"I saw it on the news. A mutation of bulldogs they said? They do look a bit strange though."

"No…how could that be. These are gnolls I tell you."

"There's alot of dog breeds in the first place."

As I merrily played with the gnolls contrary to his expectations, Minshik spoke as if confused,

"…didn't used to have such an ability…"

"What did you say?"

"Tamer, you must have the talent for a Tamer. It's not like there were no Monster Tamers before."

Monster Tamer. Every priest of Aletheia had some sort of talent related to it. However, making monsters follow you at first sight meant that talent was of overwhelming degree. A talent almost rivaling that of a chief priest. In their last bitter moments, they had even tamed a Demon Dragon.

Minshik's gaze grew complicated.

"These fellows are really obedient. Got anything to eat?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I get the feeling they're hungry."

I hadn't intended for this result but since I had decided on a course, I had to see it through to the end.

Minshik's expression completely went stiff.

"No way, can you hear their voices?"

"Not their voices really. But I think I can at least tell what they want. Does being a Tamer mean I can raise these guys?"

"Do you see any messages popping up? Th, that's not right. You haven't even Awakened yet. Man!"

Minshik gave a dry cough. He then took out a few strips of dried meat from a pocket and threw them over at me before falling into deep thought.

"Had his original talent regressed after changing occupation to Magic Swordsman? Then that would mean that this was his true calling to begin with…"

"What have you been talking to yourself about for a while?"

"This means that you're an unbelievable genius! This is something totally unbelievable!"

Ultimately, Minshik ended up raising his voice. What an overreaction.

A laugh escaped my lips.

"I can't see any messages though?"

"That's why it's a relief. My bad habit might have acted up again otherwise."

Bad habit. By that he must mean being envious to the point of resentment. After all, his motivation came from the gloriously shining figure of my past self. That's how my existence must have appeared to Minshik, though my insides were rotting at that point.

Ti-ri-ri-ring!

Minshik's cellphone began ringing at the moment. He took the call, and had a short conversation before nodding and opening his mouth to say,

"Linlin says she found the mutant. Let's head there."

"What about these guys? Can I bring them?"

I pointed to the 20 gnolls. Before I knew it they were circled all around me. They looked at me as if I was their owner, shaking their tails and they went round and round myself.

Minshik spoke in a half-resigned manner,

"…Do as you like."

..
..

Everyone was of one mind.

The moment they spotted me, and the gnolls following me, they readied themselves to attack, but soon after listening to Minshik's explanation they turned their gazes full of disbelief towards me.

Linlin spoke from a distance far from the gnolls.

"Does this even make sense?"

She was a warrior granted power by the Cait Siths. It didn't seem like she was particularly fond of the dog-resembling gnolls.

"What an extremely unusual talent."

Shaoting chipped in as well.

On the other hand, Syria was merely staring blankly at the gnolls.

'I recall that Syria liked dogs.'

We were lovers for no more than a few months, but the time we spent together was quite long. She counted as one among the heroes, and her 'Saintess' power was especially needed by everyone.

I did have my suspicions at the start when Minshik brought over Syria. But there was no one who knew that Syria and I were once lovers. It was a romance only between the two of us. He must have brought her because a Saintess was crucial to walking the path of a hero, so I hadn't thought much of it, but now that I saw her again before my eyes, I couldn't help feeling slightly nostalgic.

"The gnolls do not seem to have any intention of attacking. The reason why the gnolls are so obedient to him is because he possesses a peerless talent as a Tamer."

Minshik spoke in quite the severe tone.

Linlin and Shaoting had been watching me as if worried I would drag them down, but the looks in their eyes changed after hearing Minshik speak.

Linlin abruptly raised her hand and asked,

"Has he really not even awakened?"

"Indeed. He has yet to come into contact with a 'Gate' after all."

"I've met a few other Awakened before but never have I seen someone who stands out so much before awakening. He's not actually already awakened and fooling us, yes?"

"Is there any reason for him to do so?"

Linlin stared at me blankly.

"So there was a reason why you picked him. As well as there being a reason why my cat senses were rejecting him."

She further inched away from the gnolls even as she spoke.

Shaoting nodded and also interjected,

"If he awakens then our fighting power will instantly rise. A Saintess and Warrior, Magician and Cait Sith, and a Tamer on top of it all!"

"Shaoting. Is this not quite a good combination?"

"I do think so indeed."

Shaoting nodded in satisfaction.

Separate from them, I was throwing dried meat at the gnolls while in the midst of thinking.

'This does happen to be a chance to measure his current disposition…'

…to see if he would become a hero, or an evil-doer.

If I ever caught a hint of him turning into an evil-doer then I would have no other choice than to pick the easiest, yet hardest path. The path of staining my hands with blood!

His words were sincere. But I hoped that he would show it not with words but through actions and not disappoint me.

Clap!

Minshik clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, and then spoke,

"Now, let us go hunt the mutant."

..
..

The hunt for the mutant was simple. Linlin and Shaoting cornered it while Minshik swung his blade of fire from the front. The situation came to a close within merely 10 minutes after the battle had begun, so it could be said that this was indeed a capable party.

'He really studied me alot."

The performance he showed was similar to the way I used to lead a team to hunt. It wasn't a performance that was possible by simply watching me. It was evident that he had tried hard to become like me or had experimented on it. Had he done such preparation out of expectation that he would come back to the past?

Riiip!

Soon a golden Gate rose from the mutant's corpse.

"Hansung, follow me. A whole different world will unfold before you."

Minshik was the first to enter, and then after Linlin, Shaoting and Syria, finally it was my turn.

"A different world huh."

I had seen so much of it that it wasn't much different to me anymore.

I picked at my ear once before placing a hand on the golden Gate, after which golden streams engulfed my body and then my surroundings soon changed.

[You have discovered a 'Gate' leading toward the 'Altar of Ancients(Lv1~Lv5)'.]
[Only those with a total stat of 150 and below may enter.]

Words that I'd seen before.

Thankfully my current stat total was 148, below 150.

I took a look at the surroundings. s.p.a.cious wilderness all around. Minshik, who had entered ahead of the others, was making a serious face.

"Someone had entered before us after all."

Minshik's expression hardened at the fact that there was no reward for being first inside, however, it was me that had taken that reward. 1,000 points. It was only natural that there was no reward.

"The gnolls must have escaped at that time…just who was it?"

Minshik was frowning hard.

"Had someone apart from me also returned? Someone among the devotees?"

He had spoken very quietly, but I definitely heard it because my attention was concentrated on him.

'It seems that even he doesn't know how many succeeded during Aletheia's ritual.'

Aletheia had carried out a ritual of time. I had stopped it, but seeing how Minshik had returned, the possibility of someone else also having returned couldn't be ruled out. Indeed it made more sense to suspect whether another devotee had returned rather than doubting me. I was an outsider (to Aletheia) after all.

For an instant, killing intent sprouted from Minshik's eyes.

"We move quickly. There has to be a path leading to the altar."

His footsteps hastened, perhaps out of impatience.

..
..

The altar was to the west, but it appeared that Minshik didn't know the altar's exact location. We moved to the east without rest, however, there were much more gnolls waiting in the east. More than anything, the direction we were going in overlapped with the territory belonging to the 'chieftains' that were after me.

I was the main culprit behind disrupting the ecology of the gnolls of this place. The three gnoll chiefs who ruled over this territory were also aware of my existence. I had hunted their gnolls bit by bit, luring them away in small numbers at a time, so they were surely full of rage.

'How unexpected that a gnoll chief would set a trap.'

We were ambushed.

Or to be precise, they had attacked aiming for me in particular. The gnolls came at us from behind, having hidden themselves behind rocks and in holes they had dug out.

The problem was the number of gnolls. They appeared to number about a thousand. No ordinary gnoll could have gathered this many. They were definitely under the lead of a gnoll chief.

We had no other choice but to scatter, because everyone had no thought to spare as they fended off the gnolls that a.s.sailed us like hail. The gnoll chief's intent was obvious. To separate us all!

'Pretty good thinking for the likes of a gnoll.'

A chief it may be called, but a gnoll was still a gnoll. And yet to think it could employ tactics.

Puaaak!

I slashed open the stomach of a Giant Man-eating Flower and stepped outside. The gnolls I had Dominated had also been in there. I had thrown myself into the mouth of a Giant Man-eating Flower for the sake of throwing off the gnolls that were on my tail. I was sopping wet all over, covered in digestive fluids, but it was better than dying. Thankfully the gnolls that were chasing were nowhere to be found nearby.

I gave my head a shake, and turned my gaze around. My gnolls were carrying someone with their hands held up. I just stood there and called out a name.

"Syria."

Saintess Syria!

Syria was the first person to be targeted during the chief gnoll's ambush. I didn't know whether it noticed her instinctively or not, but it was true that it wasn't possible to battle for long without Syria's healing. That was the reason why our ranks quickly fell. Still, I was barely able to save her with the Dominated gnolls.

I scrunched my brows.

'This turned out for the better actually.'

Linlin, Shaoting or Minshik, they were all people who were capable of looking after themselves on their own. I wasn't worried for them. My plans were knocked out of course due to the gnolls' ambush, but this was fine as well. I could freely move as I wished now that it has come to this. Of course Syria was still left, but she was someone I knew well. I knew alot when it came to ways of winning her over.

Right now my eyes were gleaming with annoyance. It was truly filthy unpleasant, this feeling of the hunter becoming the hunted. By gnolls, of all things.

'I'll sweep them all off the face of the earth.'

As such, gnoll chief. I will have you clearly know just who you dared to provoke.

The first thing I did was to check our remaining fighters.

17 gnolls, an unconscious Syria, and me.

'The gnolls have grown quite stronger.'

In fact, the gnolls I Dominated had a fast rate of growth. Their stats were 50% more compared to regular gnolls. I picked the strongest one among them and examined it using Mind's Eye.

[Updating the information of 'Gnoll 22'.]

Name: Gnoll 22 (Value – 134)
Race: Gnoll
Str 25(24+1) Agi 23(22+1) Con 24(23+1)
Int 12 Mag 11
Potential(92+3/115)
Special Note: Currently Dominated by 'Hansung Oh' and is receiving the buff effect of 'From This Day We Are One(Str/Agi/Con +1)'.

This gnoll had survived the longest and had the highest potential among them. Its size was also bigger compared to the others; its body had developed along with the increase of its stats.

'The growth rate of the gnolls I had Dominated is much faster than regular gnolls.'

This was a conclusion I came to after previous observations: Regular gnolls wandering about in the wilderness that I hadn't Dominated also grew on their own. The total average stat of regular gnolls was about 50 while on the other hand, my Dominated gnolls reached around 80.

Why was this so? What was the cause of this difference?

'Was it because I had them survive for longer?'

I shook my head, denying it in my mind. If it was simply a matter of survival then the potential of all the followers of a chief gnoll should have been filled. But it wasn't so. This difference was definitely related to the power of the 'Dominator' skill I had.

'It's the same with Uriel Diablo's Authority.'

Just like Mind's Eye, it was an ability which employed an absolute kind of power. It seemed that there was something more to this skill which I didn't know.

I rubbed my chin.

'The points I hold amount to 7,700.'

This also counted as a power in my a.r.s.enal. Clearing the Ancient One's trial paid off with an earning of over 7,000 points. With this, I could Dominate around 150 ordinary gnolls, but I had a different idea.

'There are three gnoll chiefs. What if I used Dominate on one of them?'

There were a total of three gnoll chieftains that ruled over the nearby territories. I was attacked by one of them, but there were still two others remaining. My only concern was the value of the ruling gnoll chief. Their followers numbered, on average, a thousand or so, as such even 7,700 points may be insufficient.

'There's too many variables to how the decided value is calculated.'

But it was still worth challenging.

I still hadn't finished hunting gnolls so I could probably gather some more. Of course there was a limit to the amount of points I could gain through hunting regular gnolls. That was because strong opponents gave many points when killed, while weak opponents gave little.

"Mmm…"

Upon hearing a groan, I turned my head around to see that Syria had regained consciousness.

The sun was still up at this time. Syria looked at the dusk sky about to turn nightfall, and then at myself in turn, afterwards opening her mouth for the first time,

"Where…is this?"

"h.e.l.l."

"I'm not in the mood to joke."

There was a big discrepancy between her personality and her usual att.i.tude, as usual. Syria was always like this. She just didn't talk much, that was all.

'She hasn't changed.'

I laughed inside. It seemed that there truly were things that didn't change with time.

Syria looked at her own sticky body and gave a small frown.

"Will you wipe that carefree look off your mug, and explain why I'm in this state please."

Not to mention that once she opened her mouth, a torrent of words would rush out, most of it profanity. And to think, she was later called the Saintess.

"What's so funny?"

"How could you throw such words at the face of your saviour, isn't that too harsh?"

"Were you the one to save me? Where are the others?"

"It wasn't me that did the rescuing but my gnolls. And the others were scattered due to the gnolls' ambush. It's just the two of us here now."

I answered her questions in turn.

Before long Syria was staring at the gnolls lined up beside me. The gnolls were panting like dogs as they went to Syria's side right away. Their faces were similar to dogs so it was fortunate that she showed no signs of aversion in particular. Surrounded by the lively gnolls, Syria ended up collapsing to the ground.

"Ah…!"

"Looks like you go weak at the knees when you see cute things. Even though you've just been ambushed by gnolls."

"Those were bad gnolls though. By the way…our conversation isn't being translated. So, you know how to speak Russian."

Conversations between Awakened were automatically translated between each other, so they could communicate. Linlin and Shaoting could speak Korean fluently, but not Syria. The person who taught Korean to Syria was me after all, while it was Syria who had taught me Russian.

"I can speak a bit. Anyway, how about you go and wash up a little?"

Syria's face burned red when I pinched my nose. The odor given off by the Giant Man-eating Flower's gastric juices she was covered in was worsening as time pa.s.sed.

"Maybe I should have cleaned you up when you were unconscious?"

"Where can I wash up?"

"There."

A small spring was over where my hand pointed to. Syria got up from her spot and started quickly moving. But after she had walked for a distance, she came to an abrupt stop as she turned toward me and said,

"Thank you for saving me."

"I didn't quite hear that?"

"Was your personality always like this?"

"Yeah."

"…Thank you."

And then she ran toward the spring, not sparing a glance back.

That easily embarra.s.sed part of her remained the same as always. The reason behind her usual aloofness was for the sake of hiding her personality. I had always known…about her household. Her circ.u.mstances. Why she couldn't show outward weakness. Everything. She was an enchanting beauty, but she cut her hair short because she disliked giving off a ladylike impression. She would grow it out later on, but that's how she was at present.

Pant pant pant!

The gnolls were taking turns in looking at Syria, heading towards the spring, and me. This was most likely Dominator's influence. Because I, as the Dominator, felt good-will towards Syria, these fellows were also feeling good-will towards her too.

'I'll be going all-out from tomorrow.'

Gnolls had good eyesight at night. If we move carelessly and get taken from behind again, there was no guarantee that we would be able to escape in one piece like this time. The gnoll chief that ambushed us was quite smart. Prudence at all times was needed; looking carefully in all directions was necessary in order to overcome our disadvantage in numbers.

..
..

I was tossing and turning where I lay, feeling as if a snake was creeping all over my body.

'The same dream again.'

A dream where I intercoursed with the snake-like woman. The woman possessed a beauty to die for, but I was helpless once I was in her grasp. It all started from that day when I had fallen asleep for 7 days straight. From that day onwards I dreamt the same dream every night.

"Ahh!"

I was pressed down on, unable to do a thing. This situation had repeated several times over already…

'I won't just be on the receiving side today.'

..but this time it was different. Was it because of the conversations I had with Syria? I had no clue, but my body was given a certain amount of freedom. I changed my position. I pinned down the Snake Woman and then grasped onto her head by her hair. And then the Snake Woman laughed.

I couldn't not ask,

"Who are you?"

"You have quite the strong and firm lower parts for a false G.o.d."

And she was right. I had definitely gained freedom of my body, but my lower body was moving without rest to the point of exhaustion. It felt just as if I had fallen into a swamp. Her voice, which I was hearing for the first time, contained dignity, as well as a bewitching quality.

"A false G.o.d?"

"Did you not posture as a G.o.d within that Treasury? I mean the thing on your left hand."

A ring was all there was on my left hand. It used to belong to Minshik. Its current appearance with a magic circle engraved on it was a little different than before, but it was indeed not mine to begin with. However, there was no one who had seen it until, not even Minshik. That's why I had thought it was something only I could see and yet…

"That was the reason why I latched onto you."

"Jörmungandr!"

"The name is unimportant. For I was once an existence who swallowed the world. My goal is to borrow your strength and kill Odin…however, you are also not bad. If you can unravel the power of origin as well as the other power within you, then you shall be deemed worthy of the right to become my servant."

Jörmungandr's smile deepened, and the movements of my body became even more frantic. Finally, this world began to blur once again.

"The King's power resides within you. When will you draw it out? I ask you, who contains two souls in one body."

..
..

I raised up my upper body, entirely covered in cold sweat.

'Nothing but skin and bones will be left of me at this rate.'

Spectrophilia of all things.

I felt like every drop of vitality was drained from me. It felt so real to the point of doubting whether it was really a dream or not. However, I wasn't merely on the receiving end unlike usual. For the first time I heard the Snake Woman's, Jörmungandr's voice. I lightly touched the silver snake wrapped around my heart region as I fell into thought, recalling the words I'd heard at the end of the dream.

'The King's power.'

Two souls in one body, the King's power…was she referring to the Demon Lord? Apparently Jörmungandr was aware that the Demon Lord's and my soul were connected. However, draw out that power, she said.

'If I could bring over other skills apart from Mind's Eye and Dominator…'

I would do it a hundred times i that were possible. All of Uriel Diablo's skills were alike in that none of them were not powerful. That was especially true for his trademark skill, 'Black Star'. But as ever, the question of how I would bring them over remained. Perhaps I was supposed to use Transfer and once more enter the abyss.

"You've awoken."

"Aren't you the early bird. Are you the type who can't sleep well except on your usual bed?"

Syria put on a stony expression.

"…That's not it."

Syria was already wearing her dry clothes before I knew it, while my clothes had been carefully folded and placed beside my head. I had temporarily lended her my clothes because Syria had nothing to wear after washing hers. I laughed quietly before wearing my clothes and getting up.

I was feeling a slight sense of guilt because of the dream Jörmungandr showed me. Shaking my head to myself, I then looked toward the far horizon.

'I should begin.'

The time to hunt had come.

..
..

Kyaaa!

Krrrrr!

The 17 gnolls followed after me like one ent.i.ty as I once again set foot into the 'gnoll's ecology'. I picked out and attacked only the small groups of gnolls as I slowly drew near to the 'gnoll chief's' territory. It wasn't the gnoll chief that had ambushed us, but another one which I nicknamed 'Hulk'.

'It's the biggest and dumbest one among them.'

However, gnoll chief 'Hulk' was being protected by around a thousand gnolls as expected. I needed a fighting power that matched up to those numbers if I wanted to go closer. As such, I was in the middle of quickly developing my 17 gnolls. The hunting was endless thanks to Syria's presence. In fact, they were growing so fast that I almost couldn't cope with it. At the same time I searched for the others who were scattered and missing, but it wasn't easy to find traces of them.

In this manner we continued to hunt for a whole two days when a change occured.

['Gnoll Group' has ended their hunt.]
[19pt has been obtained.]
['Gnoll 22' has reached the limit of growth.]
['Gnoll 22' has evolved to 'Gnoll Warrior'.]
[The potential of 'Gnoll Warrior 1' has increased from 115 to 180!]

Gnoll 22 was the strongest among the pack of gnolls I lead. A light began to shine from Gnoll 22's entire body.

Finally, two small horns protruded from Gnoll 22's head while its body grew in size by about two times. It sweeped its surroundings with a fearsome gaze while extending its sharp claws as if showing them off.

'It evolved?'

I stood there dumbstruck, blinking repeatedly, as I blankly stared at the unimaginable scene that had occured before me.


——-
3 for today. Next one's tomorrow:)



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