"Riko!!"
Ryu's voice echoed through the forest as he shouted Riko's name.
Riko's body was still pressed against the trunk of the massive tree after the violent blow he had taken, while leaves slowly drifted down around him.
Kang smiled as he looked at him with contempt.
"Weak…"
He shook his head slightly.
"I expected greater strength."
Then he turned toward Ryu, who was stepping back one step after another.
"Are you worried about him?"
Kang began walking forward slowly, his heavy footsteps making faint sounds over the forest leaves.
"It seems you're weak like him as well."
At that moment—
A window appeared before Riko's eyes.
[Player status in danger]
Riko leaned against the tree trunk, breathing slowly.
'Right…'
'I didn't use automatic healing after killing the pack leader.'
'I forgot…'
'When I kill a monster, the system rewards me with healing.'
Another window appeared.
[You will be healed automatically]
Suddenly—
Bright green auras appeared around Riko's body, slowly circling his wounds.
The injuries closed, and strength gradually returned to his muscles.
He pushed himself off the tree trunk and stood with difficulty.
He raised his head.
And saw Kang approaching Ryu.
'I have to save him… now.'
At the same moment—
Kang suddenly rushed toward Ryu with deadly speed.
But—
Riko appeared in front of Ryu at the last moment.
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air.
Riko blocked Kang's dagger with his own, while holding his other dagger in an attacking stance.
Kang jumped back several steps, his eyes shining with interest.
"It seems you won't die easily."
Riko looked at him with deadly coldness.
"Do you know the meaning of death?"
Kang frowned slightly.
"Did that blow make you lose your mind?"
Riko began walking forward slowly.
One step… then another.
"Answer my question."
He said it in a low voice.
Kang's eyes narrowed.
"You've really gone mad."
Riko stepped closer.
"Have you ever experienced death before?"
Kang smiled mockingly.
"I won't answer your strange questions."
Riko suddenly stopped.
"As I expected."
Suddenly—
Kang disappeared.
In the next moment, the stabs began falling like rain.
He appeared behind Riko—
A stab toward the neck.
He vanished—
A stab from the side.
He appeared above him—
A descending strike toward the heart.
But—
Riko didn't move.
He stood in place.
His daggers moved with deadly precision.
Clang!
He blocked the first strike.
Clang!
He blocked the second.
Clang!
He blocked the third.
Kang attacked from every direction, his body moving like a deadly shadow between the trees.
But Riko remained standing… cold and still.
'Am I imagining things?'
Kang thought while attacking.
'Did this person become stronger?'
Suddenly—
His dagger sliced the skin of Riko's left hand.
A deep wound.
But in the next moment—
The wound healed.
The blood disappeared.
Kang's eyes widened.
'This person…'
At the same moment—
A deep wound appeared on Kang's hand holding the dagger.
His body froze.
He immediately stepped back.
The shadow around him disappeared, and his body appeared directly in front of Riko.
The two stood facing each other.
Riko stared at him with glowing dark red eyes.
A faint red aura surrounded his body.
Kang stared at him.
In the next moment—
The world vanished.
He found himself in a place drowned in darkness.
No trees.
No forest.
Nothing.
Only absolute darkness.
Then—
Two massive eyes opened in the darkness.
Huge golden eyes… watching him.
Riko stood before him silently.
Suddenly—
Something invisible pierced Kang's abdomen.
His eyes widened.
Blood rushed from his mouth.
'Is…'
'Is this person… death itself?'
The world suddenly returned.
Kang was leaning against a tree trunk, breathing heavily while blood flowed from his abdomen.
He was taking his final breaths.
He raised his head toward Riko.
And said in a weak voice,
"Who… are you really, Riko?"
Riko replied coldly,
"I'm just a hunter."
Kang laughed faintly.
"That… is nonsense."
He breathed with difficulty.
"I want you… to know something, Riko."
Riko said calmly,
"Say it."
Kang spoke in a broken voice.
"Death… is waiting for you to make a mistake."
He coughed, blood leaving his mouth.
"It's watching you… everywhere."
"Waiting for a single moment of weakness… to take your soul."
He was silent for a moment.
Then Riko said,
"And what if I'm evolving quickly?"
Kang looked at him with nearly extinguished eyes.
"If that's truly the case…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Then become a monster that makes death hesitate before knocking on his door. Don't just evolve… make death search for prey weaker than you."
The forest fell silent.
Then Riko said,
"Thank you."
Then he added calmly,
"But I think it's time to say goodbye."
He looked at the deep wound in Kang's abdomen.
"You've lost a lot of blood."
Kang smiled.
"Yes…"
"I will die… within minutes."
Then—
His eyes went dark.
He died.
But the smile remained on his face.
Ryu stood at a distance, staring at the corpse with clear fear.
Riko approached him and said calmly,
"Come on."
Ryu looked at him.
"Let's kill the gate boss…"
Then Riko looked toward the depths of the forest.
"…and get out of this cursed gate."
Riko stood in the middle of the dense forest while the tall trees blocked most of the sky's light. Directly in front of him stood a massive goblin with dark red skin holding a huge axe. Its heavy breath rose like steam between its sharp fangs, and its muscular body was covered with old scars that showed it had fought many battles.
[Forest King — Rank B]
Riko stood without daggers in his hands, as he had already stored them inside the system.
'As I expected… this gate is like the one that had the Skeleton King.'
Directly behind him stood Ryu, frozen in place, cold sweat sliding down his forehead while his eyes were fixed on the giant goblin.
"When will you kill it, Riko? I want to get out of here as quickly as possible."
Riko replied calmly without taking his eyes off the monster.
"Alright… I will kill it."
At the exact next moment, two daggers suddenly appeared in Riko's hands, as if they had come from nowhere.
Ryu's eyes widened in shock.
"How did the daggers appear?!"
Riko replied while tightening his grip on them.
"I'll tell you… but later."
Before his voice finished, the Forest King suddenly moved, stepping forward heavily while raising its massive axe high.
Graaah!
The axe fell with enormous force toward Riko.
At the same moment, Riko grabbed Ryu's clothes and pulled him away quickly, avoiding the strike while the axe slammed violently into the ground, sending dirt flying.
Riko said quickly,
"Step back, Ryu."
"Alright!"
Ryu jumped several steps backward, moving away from the battlefield.
Riko dashed toward the Forest King quickly, but the monster suddenly moved and avoided the strike aimed at its neck.
Riko's eyes widened slightly.
'What… does it also have intelligence?'
Then he narrowed his eyes.
'It seems this will become a little annoying.'
Riko launched forward again with greater speed, his right dagger aimed directly at the goblin's neck.
But—
Clang!
The dagger collided with the Forest King's axe, which easily blocked the attack.
Riko stepped back.
'Do goblins also possess intelligence?'
He continued his thought quickly.
'That means intelligence does not depend on the creature's race.'
In the next moment, the Forest King rushed toward him with unexpected speed, its axe swinging horizontally to split his body.
Riko raised his daggers and blocked the strike.
Clang!
His body trembled from the impact.
But Riko didn't retreat. Instead, he immediately began delivering rapid and continuous strikes toward the monster's body.
Stab.
Strike.
Spin.
But the Forest King blocked most of them with its massive axe as if it were used to fighting.
Not far away, Ryu watched the scene with his eyes wide open.
Even so… he wasn't afraid that Riko would lose.
After all…
Riko had already defeated a B-rank hunter.
Hunter Kang.
'If Kang was human… that means this boss's intelligence is lower than humans.'
Ryu swallowed.
"Am I… just trash compared to these monsters?"
At that moment Riko was attacking without stopping, the daggers shining in the air while his strikes flowed like a storm toward the Forest King.
But the massive axe continued blocking the attacks.
Suddenly a notification appeared before his eyes.
[Fatigue will soon affect the player]
Riko narrowed his eyes.
'I must finish this quickly… I'm late for my mother.'
Another notification appeared.
[Warning: Fatigue is gradually affecting the player]
Despite that, Riko continued attacking, focusing on every movement, every angle, every opportunity.
He didn't want to repeat what happened in his fight against Kang.
But—
In just one moment, the Forest King moved faster than he expected.
Its massive fist rose—
Then—
Boom!
A single punch sent Riko's body flying backward at tremendous speed.
His body slid through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
But Riko managed with difficulty to regain his balance, bending slightly as he stood again before the Forest King.
'As expected… this fight is annoying.'
But suddenly a confident smile appeared on his face.
'But this won't help against me… Forest King.'
A new notification appeared.
[Death Poison has been injected into the player's daggers]
In the next moment, Riko dashed forward with terrifying speed.
His speed was so great that the Forest King couldn't read his movements.
Riko vanished from in front of it—
Then suddenly appeared directly in front of its face.
Slash!
A fast stab pierced the left eye.
Slash!
A second stab pierced the right eye.
The Forest King let out a massive scream that shook the forest.
Graaahhh!!
But after only a few seconds, its body stopped moving.
Then its massive body collapsed onto the ground.
Boom!
A notification appeared before Riko.
[You have defeated the Forest King — Rank B]
[Your level has increased]
[Your level has increased]
'Finally.'
[You can now devour the target's soul and technique]
Riko walked slowly toward the corpse and raised his hand toward it.
Suddenly a dense red aura surrounded the body.
After a few moments, the aura disappeared.
A new notification appeared.
[Technique Acquired: Iron Body]
[Technique Information: You can use this technique for one minute, during which nothing can penetrate your body]
Riko looked at the notification calmly.
'It seems this skill will be useful.'
He then turned toward Ryu.
"Come on… let's leave this gate."
The two began walking through the forest toward the gate they had entered earlier.
Four had entered…
But now only two remained.
Riko.
And Ryu.
While walking through the trees, they passed the place where Kang had fallen.
His corpse was still there.
Suddenly Riko stopped walking.
But Ryu didn't notice.
Riko stood silently staring at the body.
His eyes slowly glowed red.
Riko stood in the forest before Kang's corpse, staring at it with glowing red eyes while cold air moved between the trees around him.
[You can now devour the target's soul and technique]
Riko raised his hand toward Kang's body.
Suddenly a dense red aura surrounded the corpse.
After a few moments, the aura disappeared.
[Technique Acquired: Complete Invisibility]
[Technique Information: You can become completely invisible. No one will feel or sense your presence for five minutes]
[Technique Acquired: Instant Transfer]
[Technique Information: You can teleport to any place you have visited before, or imagine someone you have met before and teleport to them. This technique can be used once every six hours]
'What… I obtained two techniques?'
He continued in shock.
'Could Kang have been talented?'
'There are extremely rare SS-rank individuals who can use two techniques.'
'Those people once saved Korea from a powerful gate.'
'There is one person I believe is SS-rank or even higher.'
'Yes… I suspect Tsoma might be that rank or higher.'
'Because he is officially recorded as an S-rank hunter.'
'Why does he hide his real rank?'
'I truly feel sorry for Kang… he could have become an SS-rank hunter in the future.'
'It seems he destroyed his own future.'
'I also heard that an SS-rank hunter could destroy a country alone.'
'Anyway… I must leave before the gate closes.'
Riko quickly turned and ran through the forest, leaving behind the corpses of Kang and Hyun.
Moments later, Riko exited the gate.
Ryu was standing outside waiting for him.
The moment Riko came out—
The gate closed.
But Riko suddenly froze when he saw someone standing beside Ryu.
It was Rina.
She stood there looking at him calmly.
'What!?'
Ryu said,
"Why were you late inside?"
Riko replied quickly, tension evident in his voice,
"It seems I got lost in the forest inside."
Rina looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Hmm… it seems you're hiding something, Riko."
Riko waved his hands quickly.
"Nothing… I was just lost inside."
Rina asked while looking between the two of them,
"Where are Kang and Hyun?"
Ryu replied quickly,
"Don't misunderstand—"
But Riko immediately interrupted him in a cold voice.
"Anyway… I will tell you what happened inside the gate."
Ryu froze in place.
His eyes widened in shock.
For a moment he feared Riko would tell the truth.
But Riko began explaining calmly.
He told her that Kang had tried to kill them, that Ryu and Hyun were helping him, and that suddenly Kang cut Hyun's throat when suspicion began to grow between them.
Then he told her that he cooperated with Ryu so they could kill Kang.
Rina listened silently.
But inside her mind, the suspicion didn't disappear completely.
"So… that's what happened inside the gate."
Then she thought quietly.
'I know Kang well… how could these two defeat him?'
'He was expected to become an SS-rank hunter.'
Riko said while slightly turning his back,
"I think it's time for me to collect the gate completion reward and return home."
Rina replied,
"Yes."
End of Chapter (16)