The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

The next day at dawn.

As soon as the sky cleared, Kang-hoo immediately left the villa.

Jung Yuri, who had fallen asleep early in the evening, didn’t come out of her room even once.

She must have been thoroughly exhausted from the forced march through the dungeon. I even heard a faint sound, like she was softly snoring, before stepping outside.

Heading north, Kang-hoo summoned his Fallen Spirit, continuously scouting the surroundings.

And whenever necessary, he used the “Third Eye” constellation to position a watcher behind him to monitor the rear.

Since Ground Zero was full of monsters that moved silently, this was a precautionary measure.

Sssss! Sssss!

The Fallen Spirit diligently searched around, moving frantically to locate monsters emitting dark energy.

Relieving some tension from his body, Kang-hoo continued moving north.

As he went further, he felt the surroundings grow quieter.

Even the noise one would expect from nature seemed swallowed up by something and faded away.

It felt as if I had been dropped into a world where I was the only one left.

“…….”

White bones gradually came into view.

It wasn’t unusual to see human remains in Ground Zero.

There were corpses of hunters killed by monsters, and ordinary people who had died trying to flee north because they had nowhere else to go.

Sometimes, people were murdered and their bodies were discarded here, an occurrence so frequent it was almost routine.

Because of its geographical features, Ground Zero was a place where outsiders rarely ventured.

The situation was so bad that even the Public Safety Bureau said if they only focused on recovering the bodies of hunters from Ground Zero, they could uncover thousands of unsolved murders. ṙÅŊòＢЁS̩

About two hours after leaving the villa.

Arriving at the first point, there was no sign of the Mad Solarkium.

To be precise, someone had torn it apart, eaten part of it, and left remnants. Clearly, it was the work of wild animals.

Usually, a guardian known as the “Punisher” watches over the location of the Mad Solarkium.

However, this guardian only reacts to humans, so it wouldn’t have stopped the “gourmet” feast of wild animals.

And when the Mad Solarkium disappears, the Punisher leaves as well, leaving behind nothing but an empty space.

At that moment—

Ksshhrrrk!

The Fallen Spirit reacted.

‘Oh.’

Kang-hoo turned his gaze to where it had dashed off, and sure enough, there was a monster.

The Black Guide.

It was a creature he had encountered before.

A monster that could wrap its enormous body around you like a cloak, robbing you of sight and driving you to madness before killing you.

Before the Great Catastrophe – before forming a contract with darkness – I wouldn’t have known if there was dark energy present or not, so I would’ve had to attack first just in case.

But now, I could decide whether to hunt the black shadow or ignore it.

That’s because a number was displayed above the Black Guide’s name.

【3】

【Black Guide】

Could I really pass up a creature that gives me 3 units of dark energy? No way. I had to chase it down and capture it.

Right now, Ground Zero is in a “border period.” Monsters are stronger, but the rewards are greater.

‘This should be interesting.’

Just then, Kang-hoo detected another monster, halting in his tracks.

He had almost missed it while focusing on the Black Guide, but about 10 meters ahead, there was a mutant sunflower.

The last time he encountered it, he lured it into spraying its acidic fluid to capture it. It had been a somewhat risky method.

But this time, it seemed he could take it down in a different way. And it was a good opportunity for practice, too.

【Thorn Hell】

Kang-hoo chose Thorn Hell.

The full name was Ashen Thorn Hell, but it was often abbreviated unless specific configurations were required.

Upon using the Thorn Hell skill, dark energy slithered off Kang-hoo’s left hand and sank into the ground.

Then, a line became visible to Kang-hoo’s eyes—though it would be hard for others to see it—like someone had drawn a straight line with a pencil from where Kang-hoo stood to the mutant sunflower.

And the moment that line reached the desired position, Kang-hoo clenched his left hand.

This was the activation gesture for Thorn Hell, a move learned alongside the skill itself.

At that moment—

Crash!

Black thorns shot up from beneath the ground in regular intervals.

The first thorn rose near Kang-hoo’s position, and the final one erupted under the sunflower.

Kiheeeee…!

The mutant sunflower let out a nasty shriek.

It couldn’t detect Kang-hoo’s exact position yet, so it only screamed.

Crash!

The thorns would strike the target, sink back into the ground, and then reemerge at the next interval.

In terms of timing, the thorns rose and fell in about one-second intervals at the same spot.

‘So, the dark energy isn’t transforming into thorns, but it’s manipulating the terrain to create thorn-like shapes.’

Kang-hoo naturally confirmed the skill’s mechanism.

If this skill couldn’t be used in mid-air, it might only manifest thorn shapes composed of pure dark energy.

In that case, it would likely function more as a spiritual attack than a physical one, targeting ghost-like monsters.

‘I need to maintain concentration. The line keeps trying to waver and veer off in the wrong direction.’

Using the helpless mutant sunflower as a test subject, Kang-hoo checked everything he could.

Since dark energy was being consumed throughout the casting process, the expenditure was by no means small.

To control the line or band of dark energy extending from himself to the target, precise handling was necessary.

For a brief moment, his focus slipped elsewhere, and he felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips as the line veered to the side.

However, the firepower was undeniable.

Whether it was soil, rock, or concrete beneath the ground, the thorns manifested in the appropriate solid form for the terrain.

The physical damage they inflicted was substantial.

Since the sunflower was a plant, it endured being pierced here and there, screaming in pain, but it held on.

If it had been a person, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they were impaled somewhere.

Crack! Crack!

Screeeeech…

Sssshhh.

Before long, the mutant sunflower vomited up the acidic liquid it had stored inside its tightly closed blossom and died.

In the past, I would’ve used a risky method to lure out that acid, which could have easily filled a bucket.

But resolving it with Thorn Hell from 10 meters away meant I didn’t even have to get dirt on my hands or feet.

【Silence of the Commander】

【Stealth】

Immediately, Kang-hoo used Silence of the Commander to approach the Black Guide.

Though he had moved quite close, the Black Guide remained completely unaware of Kang-hoo’s presence.

Taking up a position behind the Black Guide, Kang-hoo prepared his Black Moon Strike. It was a wraith-type monster, after all.

He used only about half of his dark energy.

And the moment the charge was complete, without hesitation, he launched Black Moon Strike at the Black Guide.

The next moment—

Boom…!

The black shadow, pierced right through its center by the Black Moon Strike, burst like a balloon on the spot.

It happened so quickly that it didn’t even realize it had died, or what had happened.

【You have acquired 3 units of dark energy!】

【Your current total dark energy is ‘452’.】

‘Is it really this easy?’

At this level of power, it seemed like not just the Black Guide, but even the black shadows could be fair game.

They seemed to have been reduced to mere gatekeepers, no longer the terrifying threats they once were.

Now, I found myself actively seeking out monsters with numbers above their names, rather than fearing them.

‘Thorn Hell, this is a fun skill. I’ll be using it a lot from now on. It’s great for creating unexpected outcomes.’

Kang-hoo recalled the sensation he could still feel in his fingertips.

When using Thorn Hell, he felt like a black mage.

Black mage hunters typically used skills to control dark energy like this.

The unique aspect was that Kang-hoo wasn’t a black mage, but an assassin. That in itself was an interesting variable.

Two more hours passed after that.

During this time, Kang-hoo caught three more Black Guides, adding another 3 units of dark energy.

Considering that even getting 0.5 units of dark energy would be a blessing, he made sure to capture any creature offering a reward.

【(Emergency Alert) Warning. You are currently 50 meters from a no-communication zone!】

His smartphone kept ringing.

Since 300 meters away from the no-communication zone, it had been sending warnings every 5 meters.

Once you enter a no-communication zone, all forms of contact become impossible.

In truth, even if something went wrong here, no one could come to help anyway…

But still, it served as a notice that I would soon be completely cut off from the outside world.

In other words, this was the final boundary of the state’s influence.

Finally.

Kang-hoo entered the no-communication zone. The emergency alert messages stopped bothering him.

‘Now, the next point is…’

As he checked the map to set his new direction—

Rustle. Rustle.

Footsteps could be heard.

Kang-hoo quickly used Stealth and scanned the source of the noise, spotting a hunter walking.

It looked just like ‘Lee Gwon-su’ from the Kanashimi Dungeon, resurrected by the Brood Queen, undoubtedly a hybrid.

The name of the monster, which resembled a hybrid, was Ham Woong-ho.

He had the appearance of a middle-aged man, with about half of his head balding.

A strange feature was the uniform, similar to what high-ranking officials might wear.

As a result, unlike Lee Gwon-su from the Kanashimi Dungeon, Ham Woong-ho had a fuller body.

‘So the Brood Queen must be somewhere close by. Wait. But what’s that?’

Something in Ham Woong-ho’s hand caught Kang-hoo’s attention.

It looked like a bouquet, upon closer inspection.

However—

‘Mad Solarkium?’

That bouquet wasn’t just any ordinary flower—it was made of ten Mad Solarkium flowers bundled together.

Though crudely gathered and held tightly, the bouquet had everything it needed.

The flowers were intact, and the Mad Solarkium, too, was in its original state.

‘I didn’t expect this.’

He had thought about searching for another point, but now it seemed like a blessing had rolled right into his lap.

If he could kill this guy, he’d be able to collect the Mad Solarkium as well. Two birds, one stone.

In stealth, Kang-hoo began sprinting toward Ham Woong-ho at full speed. Strike first, win first, right?

Just then—

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, black and red energy surged from Ham Woong-ho’s body.

Swoosh!

He turned his head, detecting Kang-hoo’s presence.

【Curtain of Technique】

Kang-hoo quickly set up the curtain.

Once he entered full stealth, Ham Woong-ho seemed to lose track of him, looking around in confusion.

From the way he wasn’t directly following with his eyes, it seemed his vision had deteriorated—or maybe he had lost it.

‘Is he a black mage?’

Judging by the lack of any weapons or clear attack movements, he seemed to be in the magic category.

In this case, the best strategy was to strike fast and retreat quickly.

All he needed was the Mad Solarkium, so as long as he could steal it from him, he’d be good to go.

Just as Kang-hoo prepared to leap forward again—

Khaaaa!

Suddenly, Ham Woong-ho raised both arms high and let out a powerful roar.

‘Damn.’

Kang-hoo now understood why Ham Woong-ho was walking around Ground Zero so confidently, without any protection.

Buzzzzz!

From the previously silent trees around him, countless ‘black dots’ began to fly into the air.

【Bloodsucking Flies】

There must have been thousands of them—swarms of insect monsters that fed on human blood.

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