Chapter 121: A Horrifying Hybrid

“You can come in now!”

After a while, Franco emerged from the cave and beckoned the group to enter.

The group, with slightly nervous expressions, began to follow Franco into the cave.

Franco, holding a torch, walked for a while before stopping the group.

“This is it.”

The place Franco pointed to looked like an entrance to a large space.

The somewhat narrow cave suddenly felt much wider.

“This is the Twin Head Ogres’ habitat. It’s dark, isn’t it? But it’s teeming with Ogres inside.”

At Franco’s words, the group strained their eyes to see inside the space.

But no one could spot the Twin Head Ogres that were supposedly inside.

It was pitch black, with no light penetrating the darkness.

‘Hmm…’

But Kim Jinsung was an exception.

Possessing the traits ‘Expert Night Hunter’ and ‘Infrared Vision’, he could see clearly in even the darkest of places.

‘They’re there, but…’

Kim Jinsung narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at the massive figures lurking in the corner.

‘…But they look a bit different?’

There wasn’t a huge difference, but they definitely looked different from the Twin Head Ogres they had encountered on the island so far.

‘On their heads… are those horns?’

Just as Kim Jinsung noticed this,

**Boom!**

A loud explosion suddenly erupted above their heads.

Looking up, he saw the high cave ceiling collapsing from the impact.

“Whoa?!”

“What’s happening?!”

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

Franco shouted, pushing the panicked group towards the way they came.

As everyone started running, Kim Jinsung also turned to flee.

It was then that,

—

▶ Mana has been sealed.

▶ You cannot use mana.

—

‘What?!’

Kim Jinsung was startled by the unfamiliar notification.

At the same time, someone tripped him, and he fell forward.

As he quickly got up, he flinched.

He saw Franco, who was turning to flee, glaring at him coldly.

‘What’s going on?’

It was an incomprehensible sight, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Debris from the collapsing cave ceiling was falling right above him.

Kim Jinsung instinctively threw himself to the side.

**Rumble…!**

The cave entrance completely collapsed almost simultaneously.

“Phew….”

Kim Jinsung let out a sigh of relief as he saw this.

He had narrowly escaped by diving into the habitat just in time.

‘My high base agility saved me.’

Kim Jinsung, who had been continuously absorbing traits by killing countless monsters and villains, had significantly enhanced his physical abilities.

That’s why he was able to jump a long distance even with his mana sealed.

‘But what was that about, Franco?’

“Roar!!”

A loud roar came from behind him.

The monsters inside the habitat had gathered due to the loud noise from the cave collapse.

Kim Jinsung turned to look at the monsters.

‘…What are those?’

The approaching monsters looked strange.

At first glance, they resembled Twin Head Ogres.

But they were much larger than the ones he had seen on the island so far, and their entire bodies were covered in brown leather.

Above all, both of their heads were shaped like those of a bull.

‘They look like a fusion of a Minotaur and a Twin Head Ogre!’

Kim Jinsung was bewildered by the sight of the horrifying hybrid.

‘It’s like some kind of crossbred monster…’

**Roar!**

‘Whoa!’

Kim Jinsung rolled to the side to avoid the attack of a charging monster.

The Ogre’s fist, which Kim Jinsung had dodged, slammed into the cave wall with a bang, shaking the entire cave slightly.

‘It’s so fast!’

Kim Jinsung drew his sword with a serious expression, surprised by the monster’s unexpected speed.

It was then that,

“Are you alright?!”

Franco’s shout came from the collapsed entrance.

Kim Jinsung’s eyebrow twitched.

‘He’s acting all concerned after trying to kill me…!’

What was the reason for his brazen act after deliberately tripping him? Was he trying to mock him?

“Just wait a moment! I’ll bring someone to help you!”

As soon as Franco finished speaking, the sound of footsteps from the entrance faded away.

‘Telling me to wait here is basically telling me to die.’

It was utterly absurd.

Kim Jinsung chuckled wryly and looked at the hybrid monsters ahead again.

If it had been any other member of the group, they would have been killed by that single punch.

Karen might have been able to hold out for a while. But Kim Jinsung was certain that even Karen wouldn’t last long.

But the one trapped here was none other than Kim Jinsung.

‘And this is actually a good situation for me.’

**Roar!**

The hybrid monster in front of him swung its fist again.

—

▶ You have used the ‘Nullify’ skill.

▶ Mana seal has been lifted.

—

As soon as the two notifications appeared, Kim Jinsung activated his mana to the maximum.

Immediately, he began moving differently.

He effortlessly deflected the monster’s fist with a simple twist of his body.

—

▶ Activating ‘Union of Body and Demon’ state.

—

In an instant, Kim Jinsung’s sword deeply cut into the hybrid monster’s side.

The monster staggered and let out a pained roar.

As he sheathed his sword, Kim Jinsung thought to himself,

‘Because now I’m in a situation where I can take them all down by myself.’

New monsters weren’t a threat to Kim Jinsung.

They were a treasure trove where he could gain stats, skills, and Beast Karma points all at once.

And now he could have this treasure trove all to himself. What a great situation!

**Roar!**

Another hybrid monster charged at him, roaring.

Kim Jinsung effortlessly dodged its fist again, then lightly spun and swung his sword.

**Swoosh!**

The hybrid monster’s thigh was deeply cut, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Even seeing the wound that exposed white bone, Kim Jinsung had a disappointed expression.

‘It didn’t sever in one go.’

He had expected it to be completely severed since he had swung properly in his ‘Union of Body and Demon’ state, but he had only cut halfway through.

It was proof that the monster before him had tougher skin than he thought.

‘In that case…’

Kim Jinsung immediately kicked off the ground and jumped high.

He soared above the heads of the hybrid monsters in an instant, then spun around and swung his sword.

**Swoosh!**

This time, a clean slicing sound was heard as one of the bull heads fell to the ground.

The hybrid monster, having lost one of its heads, roared in frenzy.

Kim Jinsung landed a short distance away, nodded as he saw this, and thought,

‘The neck must be thinner, so it severed in one go.’

He looked ahead, sword in hand.

The hybrid monsters were rushing towards him.

“Let’s finish this quickly. I have someone to chase!”

He shouted loudly and leaped towards the monsters.

* * *

At the same time,

In the middle of the cave passage, a fierce battle was taking place, no less intense than the one in the Ogre habitat.

**Thud!**

“Ugh…!”

Rio’s eyes widened as he let out a death rattle.

The sword he was holding fell powerlessly. He looked down at his chest with trembling eyes.

Franco’s longsword was deeply embedded in Rio’s left chest.

“…W-why…?”

He asked with a disbelieving expression, struggling to speak. Franco replied with a cold expression.

“We don’t need weaklings who can only be used as cleaners. Besides…”

He glanced at the backpack Rio was carrying and continued.

“The magic stones you brought are worth far more than the cost of hiring you as cleaners.”

“……!”

“I’ll put them to good use, Rio. Now go meet your parents.”

**Swoosh!**

As Franco pulled out his sword, Rio collapsed to the ground.

Next to Rio’s lifeless body lay the corpses of his party members.

“Now, only one left.”

Franco looked ahead.

Karen stood there unharmed, unlike his companions who were already dead.

He was surrounded by seven of Franco’s companions, calmly holding his sword out in a defensive stance.

“Let’s finish this quickly before the black-haired bastard arrives.”

At Franco’s words, Ivan, a companion standing next to him, asked with a glint in his eyes.

“Is he strong enough that we should be worried about him joining?”

“He’s definitely stronger than this guy.”

“…Then we need to get rid of him quickly.”

The other companions nodded in agreement.

They had all realized from the previous battle that Karen was no ordinary hunter.

If someone stronger than him were to join, it would be a huge problem.

‘Above all, he broke my Mana Seal skill with his own power.’

Franco thought as he prepared to attack Karen.

The ‘Mana Seal’ skill he had cast on Kim Jinsung when collapsing the cave entrance had been broken shortly after.

‘Not many people have been able to break this skill so quickly…’

The only people who had broken his Mana Seal so far were masters far stronger than him.

This made Franco even more uneasy.

‘He might be much more dangerous than I thought. I can’t let him join them.’

With that thought, Franco shouted.

“Finish him off quickly!”

They all charged towards Karen simultaneously.

Just as Franco, who was leading the charge, was about to raise his sword above his head,

“……!!”

Franco’s eyes widened.

Karen had already closed the distance and was right in front of him. He had counter-charged before being completely surrounded.

Franco instinctively lowered his raised sword into a defensive stance.

**Clang!**

‘Ugh…!’

Franco stumbled backward, his face contorted in pain.

An excruciating pain shot through his hand that was gripping the sword he had used to block the attack.

Franco gritted his teeth.

“This bastard was hiding his strength!”

The Karen from before and the Karen who had just attacked Franco were completely different.

His speed and strength were on a whole other level, proving that he had been deliberately hiding his true power.

“He’s dangerous!”

A companion shouted from beside him.

Karen had charged at Franco again.

Just as Karen reached him and was about to swing his sword,

“……!”

Karen suddenly flinched.

As Karen’s sword swing noticeably slowed down, Franco swung his own sword with all his might.

Karen desperately tried to assume a defensive stance, but his sword-raising speed was also much slower than before.

He ended up taking Franco’s attack head-on.

**Swoosh!**

“Ugh…!”

Karen, deeply cut on his left shoulder, stumbled back, grimacing in pain.

Franco grinned at him.

“What’s wrong? Can’t use your mana all of a sudden?”

“……!”

Karen’s eyes wavered.

He realized that the reason he suddenly couldn’t use his mana was because of Franco’s ability.

—