F-Class Destiny Hunter

Chapter 83

Upon hearing the sound, Seo Gangrim froze. The sound of a door opening could be heard from behind him. When he turned around, he saw unfamiliar faces standing there.

【What's this? Did other guys accidentally come in?】

【Hey, get out of here quickly!】

As the gods said, they seemed like people who had unluckily entered this place. They looked around the room, which was now on fire, with a considerable amount of surprise. However, despite their confusion, they didn't rush back outside. Instead, when they spotted Seo Gangrim, they urgently aimed their weapons at him.

"We found Seo Gangrim!"

"Darn it, I thought I lost him."

"We just need to eliminate him, right? There are six of us, so if we split, we'll get 50 million won each..."

These were the trainees from Zone One. Many of them had been eliminated when Seo Gangrim dealt with Hong Daehoon, but there were still some remaining. Moreover, the amount of money placed on Seo Gangrim was now up to 300 million won.

"Seo Gangrim! We don't intend to kill you. Just declare your withdrawal!"

They shouted, but he only stared at them in silence. The Zone One trainees whispered among themselves upon seeing him like that.

"Darn it, why is this place on fire? Shouldn't we get out first?"

"And there's that shadow monster over there. It looks dangerous."

"Seo Gangrim is about to escape, so we can follow him. Just hold on a bit!"

The room was engulfed in flames, and Shin Sooah's shadow was still alive. It was currently contained by the flames, so it wasn't attacking, but nobody knew what might happen. Therefore, it was natural to think that Seo Gangrim would escape, but he remained still. Seo Gangrim briefly glanced at the door behind him. He couldn't go in that direction since Shin Sooah was alone outside.

The remaining exits were the door through which the Zone One trainees had entered and the door connecting to the room where Shin Sooah was located—only two options. If he fled into the room where Shin Sooah was, they would follow him. Even though she had received treatment, Shin Sooah was not at her peak yet.

"The average stat level of the opponents is around 20, and their destiny rank is at the Spirit-class."

Many of the Zone One trainees who had come to capture Seo Gangrim were formidable opponents. If they were to attack the weakened Shin Sooah, the situation would become difficult. Hence, Seo Gangrim concluded that it was better to fight here. He drew his sword.

"You don't understand the situation. Are you going to fight here?"

"Yeah."

"Well, no matter where we fight, there's no way you're going to win!"

Although it didn't seem like he would lose to them, the problem was time. The shackle worn by Shin Sooah was currently constricting her. The key to the situation was how quickly they could resolve it. Then, a door behind the Zone One trainees opened.

"Did reinforcements arrive?"

If the number of people increased any further, it would be disadvantageous for Seo Gangrim. The door opened, and someone walked in, speaking with an interested tone, "Is that Shin Sooah's shadow over there? You've been holding it like this, Seo Gangrim! You've chosen a difficult path."

The person who entered was Dokgo Jun. He wandered around the room as if he found it interesting and spoke with a voice filled with admiration, "Seo Gangrim, you really have the aura of a protagonist. If you had left Shin Sooah in a critical condition, you could have easily broken out of this room."

Dokgo Jun's words were correct. Seo Gangrim had chosen a difficult path. Once again, if Shin Sooah harmed herself and entered a critical condition, the shadow would also become powerless. In the meantime, Seo Gangrim could kill the shadow and revive Shin Sooah, obtaining the victory. However, he couldn't bring himself to tell Shin Sooah to stab herself once more.

"Foolish, honest, diligent. Ah, really. You're the exact opposite of me, aren't you? You really look like the protagonist."

Dokgo Jun poured out his words without pause, wearing a happy expression. Upon seeing his behavior, the Zone One trainees urgently said, "Dokgo Jun, stop talking nonsense! We need to eliminate Seo Gangrim quickly and leave."

"Hurry up and fight with us!"

It seemed like Dokgo Jun was on their side with his attitude. Despite their reactions, Seo Gangrim remained unfazed, only holding his sword.

Dokgo Jun, in a nonchalant manner, said, "Seo Gangrim, you don't seem surprised. Did you know I switched to Zone One?"

"Yeah, I anticipated it."

Since he wasn't in this place in the beginning, Seo Gangrim had suspected the possibility of him moving to another zone. There had been significant vacancies in Zone One, and it was plausible for him to be scouted by other zones. It was also suspicious that he knew a lot about the rare item, the Temporal Arrow, and the Geohae's Shackle. It would only make sense if those were the price of scouting him.

Seo Gangrim continued to stare at him and asked, "Why did you move to Zone One?"

There was no reason for Dokgo Jun to go to Zone One. He already had plenty of money to be persuaded by others, and it was risky to clear the last room with unfamiliar trainees of Zone One.

Dokgo Jun chuckled lightly and replied, "I've reflected a lot since last time."

"..."

"When I was killing other people's snakes, I only thought about defeating Steel. I couldn't do it like you. Compared to your protagonist-like qualities, I fell far short."

Amidst the flames and the swirling shadows, Dokgo Jun spoke humbly.

"So I decided to give up being the Top Protagonist."

"Then, do you intend to become my enemy?"

Upon hearing this question, Dokgo Jun simply smiled. Other Zone One members who had been observing the situation urged him, "Dokgo Jun, stop talking nonsense and help us quickly!"

"Yeah, yeah. I should help, right?"

*Swoosh!*

At that moment, red blood splattered over the flames. The knife had pierced through one of the Zone One members' chests, and he spat out blood in disbelief.

"Why... Dokgo Jun, why...!"

As the man fell, Dokgo Jun quickly moved to Seo Gangrim's side.

Seo Gangrim glared at him and asked, "I thought you betrayed me by moving to Zone One."

"No way. I told you. I reflected after seeing you. I gave up on being the Top Protagonist..." Dokgo Jun smiled broadly. "I wanted to become your supporting character! That's why I went to Zone One. To become a double agent."

"Don't lie. Weren't you planning to attack me?"

When Dokgo Jun had entered this room, Seo Gangrim could easily sense the overwhelming aura emanating from him.

Dokgo Jun still smiled and said, "Oops, did I get caught? I did think about fighting you if you had made Shin Sooah harm herself to conquer this place."

Seo Gangrim couldn't completely trust Dokgo Jun, but for now, he had to use him.

As the remaining Zone One members shouted at them, "Dokgo Jun, are you betraying us...!"

"It doesn't matter now. Let's attack them both!"

While the Zone One members were shouting, a whip made of flames lashed out in all directions.

-Saaah!

Shin Sooah's shadow attacked them relentlessly, wielding the burning tree branches like a maniac. The shadow was still on fire, burning like charcoal. Amidst the sudden attack by the shadow…

-Swoosh!

Seo Gangrim charged forward without giving them a chance. One man who didn't manage to dodge the attack fell to the ground, bleeding. Seo Gangrim followed up with a series of strikes.

-Kagagang!

While they managed to defend against the attack this time, their weapons were quivering. The men gritted their teeth and parried Seo Gangrim's sword.

"What, what's with this strength?

Seo Gangrim's attacks felt incredibly heavy even though it didn't seem like he was exerting much force. They managed to block the attack, but it was far from reassuring. After all, Seo Gangrim wasn't the only enemy.

"Ack!"

The Zone One member who had been grabbed by Dokgo Jun was screaming in agony. His clothes were falling apart, his body was deteriorating, and his flesh was decaying.

[Ability 'Corrosion' activated!]

True to its name, he was gradually corroding away. When they tried to escape Dokgo Jun's 'Corrosion,' Seo Gangrim immediately appeared and attacked them. The enemies gasped for breath and staggered back.

"Damn it, the situation is getting worse...!"

Just facing Seo Gangrim was already difficult enough, but with Dokgo Jun, the flames, and the shadow all attacking them, things were dire. They narrowly dodged Dokgo Jun's subsequent attacks, but one person was hit by a tree branch and fell, spitting out blood.

"Kuk, kuh...!"

Shin Sooah's shadow didn't discriminate and continued its relentless attacks on everyone. Even while facing the Zone One members, Seo Gangrim skillfully deflected the attacks from both fire and shadow. The men of Zone One barely held back the urge to faint.

"Damn it, Seo Gangrim! How is he moving so freely within these flames? I'm a fire elemental, and even I find this heat unbearable...!"

People with fire elemental affinities could endure this heat somewhat, but over time, they were still taking damage. However, Seo Gangrim had more than just the fire elemental affinity. With both fire and water elemental affinities, he could withstand the flames.

He quickly assessed the condition of his opponents. 'We need to finish this quickly. There's not much time left before the Geohae's Shackle activates.'

Only two enemies remained. If he dealt with them, everything would be over. Just as Seo Gangrim was about to engage the remaining enemies, a sound of drums echoed.

"What... what's this? Could it be...?"

Someone looked at the blazing flames with a fearful expression. Amidst the roaring flames, a dark mass was emerging, wriggling as if being born from the fire itself.

"Damn it, why now? With Seo Gangrim alone, this was already...!"

-Kwahng!

Before the man could finish speaking, the shadow, brandishing a sword, charged towards the Zone One trainees. When the two swords clashed, an immense pressure created a shockwave that pushed back the flames, and all the Zone One members fell to the ground.

Dokgo Jun managed to withstand the pressure and flashed a maniacal grin. "It was so much fun, and now a bother has shown up!"

With madness burning in his eyes, he rushed towards the newly appeared shadow. However, just as he was about to activate 'Corrosion,' he froze.

"Huh? You...!"

-Chwak!

In that moment of hesitation, the shadow struck Dokgo Jun with an unseen, lightning-fast attack. Dokgo Jun was sent flying and slammed into the wall, spewing blood.

Seo Gangrim stared in astonishment. 'Dokgo Jun was taken down in one hit?'

It was none other than Dokgo Jun, who could be considered a top-tier Hunter in terms of strength. Just who was the original of the shadow that took down Dokgo Jun with a single blow?

-Kigig...

After knocking down Dokgo Jun, the shadow slowly turned its head to face Seo Gangrim. When they met eyes, a chill ran down Seo Gangrim's spine. Seo Gangrim felt an instinctual revulsion, as if his insides were twisting in disgust.

A red shackle.

Red shackles were around the shadow's neck and limbs. It was undoubtedly his own shadow.

-Kagak...

Making eerie sounds, the shadow approached Seo Gangrim. It didn't feel hostile, but something more unpleasant came from it. It seemed to desire Seo Gangrim.

'It's trying to absorb me...!'

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