Hunting Rush

Baek clicked his tongue.

“Shit.”

The woman who flew far away possessed even greater mobility than expected.

If he tried to follow, he could, but he would undoubtedly be discovered.

This place was highly visible to people’s eyes.

It was a spot where the gazes of clans converged.

Still, he couldn’t let her go.

He immediately sent a text message.

Near Dwarfneer, people from his clan were on standby.

These were individuals deployed nearby in preparation for when armed forces might attack Dwarfneer. There were other groups like them as well.

Moving them was a sensitive matter, but the Bronze Golem’s ‘level restriction’ function was tempting.

A reply came back right away.

[OK]

Americano landed in the middle of the forest after diving from the sky above.

“Let’s see…”

She opened the [Map].

There was a golden marker on the [Map].

Unexplored territory.

Only the marker stood out in stark contrast to the pitch-black space.

When she activated the tracking function of the [Quest], the [Quest] area was displayed.

Americano checked if the direction she was going matched the marker, and,

“Hup..!”

She firmly planted her legs on the ground, crouched, then used [Leap] to jump up into the forest canopy.

Her body fluttered in the wind.

The sun shone upon her.

Her shadow quickly crossed the green forest. As she traced a large parabolic arc over the forest.

Americano.

Landing.

She drew her sword.

“Orc?”

“Hello?”

[Phantom Sword]

[Form 2]

Charging slash.

After a brief charge, she slashed through the [Orc Warrior] and passed by.

The other [Orc Warriors] with it were startled and raised their axes, but,

“Ock?!”

“Kuk?!”

The [Phantom Swords] left behind when slashing [Orc Warrior] 1 cut down [Orc Warriors] 2 and 3.

“Kihi.”

Nice.

The [Phantom Swords] ejected and scattered at the moment of slashing with [Form 2] struck as follow-up attacks, cutting down the [Orc Warriors].

It didn’t necessarily have to be [Form 2], but she was practicing [Northern Empire Swordsmanship].

She occasionally used it when monsters appeared at landing spots as she flew through the forest canopy.

‘Ah, there are more over there.’

Landing and.

Where the orcs were seen.

She [Leap]ed towards that spot.

[Phantom Sword]

[Form 2]

The [Orc Warrior] was slashed and fell, while its companions were cut down by the trailing [Phantom Swords], wiping them out.

“Hahah.”

Using a new technique is always fresh and fun.

Americano [Leap]ed again and ran, then [Leap]ed up into the forest canopy to look for the next prey.

Though she couldn’t gain experience from it,

It stimulated a primal desire for destruction.

[Phantom Sword]

[Full Bloom]

Before landing.

She saw an open field.

There were many monsters in the field, and orcs were bossing goblins around like workers.

An orc village.

No, a bandit hideout?

Upon discovering the enemy base, Americano veered in that direction and [Leap]ed, activating [Full Bloom] with her [Phantom Sword].

[Phantom Swords] blossomed like flowers along the large circular trajectory she traced.

She rotated her body.

With the sword gripped in both hands,

[Form 3]

[Berserker]

The storm raised by the rotational slash.

It struck the orcs’ hideout.

‘Ah, failed.’

Americano, landing in the center of the hideout, clicked her tongue seeing the wounds left by [Phantom Swords] on the ground around her.

The [Phantom Swords] failed to spread properly and got stuck in the ground.

As Americano stood up,

“Orc!!”

“Gob?!”

The orcs and goblins shouted in surprise at her sudden appearance.

The orcs scattered for a moment then regrouped, and the orcs who had nothing in their hands just moments ago now held weapons.

While they were grabbing their weapons.

“Hup.”

[Phantom Sword]

[Form 3]

Rotational slash.

The [Phantom Swords] attached to her sword traced a huge circle following her [Form 3] rotational slash.

Gripping the sword with both hands and swinging it powerfully, she even destroyed the huts built in the orc hideout.

Total annihilation.

The orcs between Americano and the huts collapsed to the ground.

Only the goblins who had flattened themselves on the ground trembled.

“Hmm.”

[Phantom Sword]

[Full Bloom]

[Ejection]

The screams of goblins.

“Where was it again?”

Americano looked up at the sky again and checked her direction by aligning the [Map], [Marker], and her position.

She [Leap]ed towards where she turned her head.

A mountain range blocked the way, but,

The mountain range was merely an obstacle.

The mountain peak.

Americano, who had jumped higher than the mountain with [Leap], stepped on the branch of the tallest tree on the mountain.

Standing at the summit,

She looked down at the ground below.

Since there was a cliff right ahead, the ground spread out even larger and wider.

She stood at the edge of the cliff and gazed at the scenery.

The forest, brilliantly illuminated by the sun, was an expansive green as far as the eye could see, and the mountain range cutting through the middle of the forest created an awe-inspiring contrast in size.

Here and there, the backs and heads of animals larger than trees added to the forest’s vitality.

It strangely evoked a pleasure in observing.

That place visible from this high vantage point.

What could be happening down there?

Such curiosity arose for everything visible in the scenery. Americano summed it all up in one word.

“Nice view.”

She stood on the branch, lost in appreciation.

Being overwhelmed by scenery is a precious experience.

Though a bit out of nowhere,

“Full Dive really is a masterpiece of the century.”

Although a major disaster of players getting trapped had occurred, she fervently hoped it wouldn’t lead to ruin because of this.

‘To think all of this is a created world.’

It’s unbelievable even after experiencing it.

“Phew…”

She offered a prayer to God for such a world being invented in her lifetime.

Hop.

She threw herself off the cliff.

She raised her sword high.

More important than appreciation?

The prey that appeared just in time.

[Execution Sword]

The ordinary steel sword unfurled its magical power brilliantly, becoming a great sword of magic.

The great sword of magic,

“Kweek?”

A giant boar.

Became the blade of a guillotine, slicing off the boar’s head.

She exhaled a pleasant sigh between the cross-section of the giant boar’s neck.

“Haah… fun.”

The satisfaction of taking it down in one hit.

The giant boar was a crimson one, but its carelessness invited its own death.

Well, a crimson monster would have the strength to be careless.

She shrugged her shoulders.

The corpse?

She left it.

She didn’t feel like bothering to butcher it.

Growl.

“…”

She touched her stomach.

Did she bring anything?

The sun set.

Night fell.

She lit a campfire.

She roasted wild boar meat over the campfire.

Sizzle sizzle.

She ate and filled her stomach.

“The Tower was fun too, but.”

Nom.

She took a bite of meat.

After chewing and swallowing, she continued her monologue.

“The Field is pretty fun in its own way.”

In Gospel’s hunting grounds, she had to stay within Gospel’s boundaries, so apart from the fun of testing techniques and using new skills, it didn’t feel very engaging.

But the fun of the open world is the joy of exploration.

Setting a destination and running towards it without restrictions, the discoveries and battles encountered along the way gave more pleasure than expected.

Above all, unlike the Tower, in the Field you never know when or where you might encounter a strong enemy, so you can’t help but look around. It strongly stimulates curiosity about what might be hiding over there.

‘Chun Yura.’

She thought of her.

When she picked a fight with the Demonic Cultists to reclaim their settlement at Obram’s request, she met an absurdly strong woman.

‘What could she be doing now?’

If she was going to come rushing for revenge, she should have appeared while I was in Gospel, but Chun Yura didn’t show up.

Demonic Cultist Chun Yura.

What could she be doing now?

She was curious.

It was hard to forget the woman who gave the impression of an S-rank Hunter despite not having an Awakened Ability, and she felt a strange sense of admiration.

Rustle.

As she was about to let her imagination run wild.

Tap tap.

An intruder appeared.

After eating the last piece of wild boar meat, she stood up and turned around.

She suddenly felt something strange.

Why weren’t electrical signals being picked up?

She thought.

The reason became clear immediately.

[Skeleton]

Gray text.

Click click.

Bones appeared, clicking their teeth.

Americano used her Awakened Ability.

The steel sword received magnetic force and slashed upwards at the [Skeleton].

She licked the grease off her hand with her tongue, then opened the [Map] to check the direction she needed to go again.

Click click.

[Skeleton] appeared.

[Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton] [Skeleton]

“…There’s a lot.”

Seems there were many bones buried in the forest.

[Phantom Sword]

[Berserker]

[Full Bloom]ed [Phantom Swords] fly chaotically around.

The [Phantom Swords] slash the skeletons.

Skeletons in pieces.

Their remains scatter on the ground.

[Ejection] of [Phantom Swords] created from the trajectories of [Slash]ing the skeletons again and again.

The skeletons crumble into pieces without even getting close to her.

Whether it’s 100,

Or 200,

Since encountering them in Gospel’s dungeon, skeletons have been no match for her.

“…”

There’s still no satisfaction in cutting them.

But she cut them anyway.

Comparing them to real-world undead, she tried [Slash]ing first, but like in reality, they reassembled nearby bones and revived even after being cut.

But what she wanted was what came next.

[Skeleton]

Gray text.

Not this.

[Hard Skeleton]

Gray text.

Yes, this.

It was still weak.

[Slash]

The [Hard Skeleton] was split left and right.

The undead do not die.

They don’t die because they’re undead.

Full Dive’s undead absolutely do not die unless attacked with holy power.

Even if cut.

Even if crushed.

Even if burned.

Rather, dying over and over like that leaves behind an even thicker concentration of undead-ness.

Like heating water from life and leaving impurities of death in the water, death was like vitality to the undead.

[Hard Skeleton]

Green text.

“Oh, it got stronger.”

[Hard Skeleton].

The undead, reassembled from broken bones into one body, gathered more and more bones. The bones, thickening with each revival, soon began to fill the empty insides as if regaining their living form.

How many had she killed?

She didn’t know.

[Hard Skeleton]

Yellow text.

She was starting to get bored.

Should she do a bit more?

How much more would it take?

From gray to green.

Green to yellow.

She had to cut down many more undead, and the number needed to reach red seemed astronomical.

Even though she must have killed at least 1000 [Skeletons] with the flying [Phantom Swords].

As she continued cutting, that’s when.

The question ‘What about black?’ arose.

Her head started to spin.

[Slash]

She split the [Hard Skeleton] in two.

“I think I’ll go now.”

Raising it to black.

She realized how ridiculous that would be.

Americano turned back towards her destination.

She jumped high with [Leap].

“…”

The [Hard Skeleton], its body cut in half and lying on the ground, blankly stared at her back as she disappeared into the sky.

She didn’t know.

That in the [Divulging Secrets of Heaven] she had turned off, a notification saying [Karma is accumulating.] was scrolling by.