Chapter 15
[Strength +2]
As multiple Helhounds the size of small horses clamped onto my limbs, my muscles strained to their limit.
And then— I got stronger.
The moment my Strength stat increased,
I clenched my fists—
And crushed their skulls.
One Helhound down.
Another snapped like a twig.
The others hesitated.
They learned.
Instead of rushing blindly,
The Helhounds adjusted.
They kept their distance.
They switched to hit-and-run tactics.
Clever.
But this time?
I was faster.
I was stronger.
I had adapted.
For each one that lunged,
At least one or two died.
An hour later—
The entire den was cleared.
Some Helhounds escaped, dragging younglings with them.
It didn’t matter.
I would hunt them down soon enough.
I had a new problem.
I had gone too deep into the mountains.
Carrying these massive bodies back to the checkpoint?
An entire night’s work.
I needed a better way.
Then—
I had an idea.
I pulled out my Hunter App and dialed a familiar contact.
“Hello?”
The groggy voice on the other end belonged to Kwon Jong-il, the Hunter Bureau official.
“Hey, Kwon. I need an airlift.”
“…An airlift?”
“Yeah. I’m deep in the mountains. Too many bodies. Too big. Too much effort to drag them down.”
“…Airlift support isn’t standard—”
“I’ll send you pictures.
Check my location.
And tell your boss this—”
“If I get support, I’ll only take half the bounty payout.”
There was silence.
Then—
“Wait a moment.”
I hung up and sent over the photos.
Blood-drenched corpses.
Helhounds stacked in piles.
Larger than normal specimens.
Even for a government agent, that should be enough to convince them.
“Permission granted. Air support incoming.”
“But to keep it fair, we’ve extended this to other Hunters too.”
“If anyone meets a certain kill count, they’ll get air support as well.”
“ETA: 20 minutes.”
I sat on a rock.
And for the first time in a while—
I took a break.
The moon was bright.
The stars were countless.
For a few moments—
I simply enjoyed the view.
The airlift arrived.
A massive tarp was dropped.
I piled the bodies inside.
The helicopter lifted them away.
The pilot gave me a thumbs-up.
I casually waved back.
Now, with the bodies taken care of—
I could hunt non-stop.
I moved through the mountains,
Slaughtering Helhounds all night.
Another den was exterminated.
By dawn, I had killed over 80.
Enough to dominate the rankings.
At midday, my phone rang.
“Hyung… what the hell did you do?!”
“You just killed 100+ Helhounds overnight?!”
Sang-heon sounded completely shocked.
I smirked.
“Can’t lose the bet, can I?”
“…I didn’t know you were this competitive.”
“It’s not just that.
There’s money involved.”
“…Hyung. You placed the bet yourself.”
“I placed it because I knew I’d win.”
“Hyung, be careful.”
“Choi Cheol-min is pissed.”
“He and his party dumped all their kills onto him.”
“He’s catching up fast.”
I checked the leaderboards.
Lee Ji-seok – 186 kills.
Choi Cheol-min – 176 kills.
“Heh. He’s desperate.”
I ended the call.
And dove back into the hunt.
I pushed deeper into the mountains.
Something was wrong.
Too many Helhounds were gathering.
Moving in massive packs.
And heading toward the resort.
Not normal.
Not natural.
Not good.
Sang-heon called again.
“Emergency! Helhounds are moving in large numbers! They’re heading down the mountain!”
“Evacuations are happening! The government is freaking out!”
“Hyung, get back now!”
“No.”
“I’m not running.”
Suddenly—
A massive howl tore through the mountains.
The ground shook.
My senses screamed in warning.
Something… huge was coming.
Then—
The trees split apart.
A massive shadow loomed.
And I saw it.
A Hellhound the size of a goddamn truck.
5 meters long.
3 meters tall.
Eyes glowing like molten fire.
A true D-Rank monster.
It locked eyes with me.
And I knew—
This was a fight I might not win.
The beast’s mouth opened.
And fire erupted.
I reacted instantly—
Arms raised.
Face shielded.
But the flames swallowed me whole.
AGONY.
Pure, burning pain.
My skin sizzled.
My clothes burned.
I rolled—
Extinguishing the flames.
But my body was already smoking.
Vision blurred.
Muscles spasmed.
And then—
A massive claw slammed into me.
BOOM.
I was sent flying.
Trees shattered.
The ground cracked.
And for the first time in this entire hunt—
I felt truly outmatched.