Chapter 16: Blood Demon Art （4）
The speed of news reports these days was truly fast.
When Kang San arrived home and finished showering, the TV was reporting on the Wangsimni E-rank Link incident.
『An E-rank Link incident occurred near the M Hotel in Wangsimni this evening. This incident, which could have resulted in significant casualties, was prevented thanks to a brave citizen who stepped forward and bought time for people to escape safely. The following video is an interview with Private Kim Chun-sik, who spoke with the ‘hero’.』
The screen changed.
Kim Chun-sik, looking very nervous, faced the camera in what seemed to be a location near the scene of the incident.
『Private Kim Chun-sik. Can you explain the situation at that time?』
『When we arrived at the scene, we witnessed a single person confronting dozens of Lizardmen. To be honest, it looked incredibly dangerous. He didn’t seem to be a very high-ranked Hunter, but he was risking his life to hold back the Lizardmen. And… he left after saying those words. Responding to this interview might go against his wishes, but I still wanted to let everyone know that such a person exists.』
『Thank you for the interview.』
“…Why on earth is he doing that?”
Kang San wore a dumbfounded expression.
It was absurd that Kim Chun-sik was wearing the rank of Private, and he was highlighting Kang San with words he never even said.
Thanks to this, the Wangsimni incident briefly trended in search rankings.
The so-called Wangsimni Tanker.
People were even more moved because it was the sacrifice of someone with a low rank, but their interest didn’t last long. It was just an E-rank Link. Such incidents had occurred many times before, and with further reports that stimulated people’s curiosity, the term Wangsimni Tanker quickly disappeared from the search rankings.
A brief happening.
The incident was concluded like that.
However, a new problem arose for Kang San.
‘The effect of the Blood Demon Art. What exactly was that?’
『Growth-type skill』
『Blood Demon Art First Stage』
1. Attack power temporarily increases by 1% each time an enemy is killed. （Stackable）
2. When you take a hundred lives, the rank of Blood Demon Art increases. （20/100）
3. Attack power increased by 10%
The effects of the Blood Demon Art remained the same.
Only the number of Lizardmen he had dealt with was recorded; there was no explanation whatsoever about the side effects.
‘The power of the Blood Demon Art is not of this world. That’s why the system might not be able to explain it perfectly.’
His head was filled with complex thoughts.
What was certain was that the Blood Demon Art started reacting when he killed about 10 Lizardmen. Come to think of it, it was similar to the scene he had witnessed in his past life’s memories. The Blood Demon, who massacred innocent people, hadn’t shown great power from the beginning; rather, he exhibited explosive power as more and more people died. The martial arts of the man called the Hwasan Swordsman, Do Jang-hyun, were truly formidable, but they were no match for the Blood Demon’s sword that had tasted the blood of dozens.
Side effects.
This was a big problem. Kang San hated variables.
Didn’t the presence of an unknown problem mean that he couldn’t control that variable?
‘The only fortunate thing is that the Guardian’s Will canceled out the Madman state. The Guardian’s Will is a skill that completely restores the caster when their health drops to a life-threatening level. Maybe when the power of the Blood Demon Art exceeded the controllable range, the Guardian’s Will judged it as a dangerous situation and its effect was activated.’
It made sense.
At the time the Guardian’s Will was activated, Kang San wasn’t in a situation where he was being attacked by Lizardmen.
The moment he dealt with the 20th Lizardman.
The moment the power of the Blood Demon Art was about to become even stronger, the Guardian’s Will restored Kang San’s mind to a sound state.
‘I think I need to learn more about the Blood Demon Art.’
This issue required some time.
Blood Demon Art.
He needed to understand and control that dangerous power for sure.
“But on the other hand, my mind feels lighter.”
His serious expression relaxed a bit.
Although an unexpected variable had occurred, he had found the answer to the biggest problem through a series of events.
‘I am not the Blood Demon.’
Witnessing his past life.
The part that had made Kang San the most troubled was the suspicion that he might be a monster like the Blood Demon, an inhuman scum.
The monster who massacred people.
Could that be his true nature?
That’s why he couldn’t come to his senses.
At the sight of the man with the same face as himself reflected in Do Jang-hyun’s eyes, Kang San couldn’t trust himself.
But not now.
He didn’t ignore the deaths of people; rather, he felt positive emotions when he helped them.
“I’m different from that monster. If that guy killed people for no reason, I’m someone who, like other ordinary people, feels the value of life when I help someone. No matter what kind of person I was in my past life, I can’t say that I’m the same person in this life.”
Those were words for them, who might be watching him, and for himself.
The past was the past.
He had the right to live his own life, and he had no intention of ruining his present life because of his past life.
However, something had changed.
‘I can accept the karma now.’
Azmoon’s Trials.
He understood.
Now that he had seen what kind of scum the Blood Demon was, he was willing to accept it a little more humbly.
Of course, he had no intention of collapsing under the trials.
He wanted to survive tenaciously no matter what and prove to everyone that the Blood Demon and he were completely different beings.
His head became clear.
The burden on his mind that had been tormenting him disappeared.
And then.
『Your faith has become stronger.』
『Divine Power has increased by 3.』
‘This b*stard, really.’
For some reason, Kang San felt annoyed.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
Having strengthened his resolve, Kang San returned to his daily life.
And the first thing he did was to accurately grasp the effects of the Blood Demon Art.
‘I need to figure out what the side effects of the Blood Demon Art are. And I also need to find out what the conditions are for the rank increase that the Blood Demon Art mentions.’
First, he checked the second issue.
Blood Demon Art.
It accumulated 1 stack every time he killed an enemy, and when it reached 100 stacks, the rank increased.
Currently, the Blood Demon Art’s stack was at 20.
It had increased by dealing with the Lizardmen.
Kang San wondered if it might be possible with creatures other than monsters, so he visited a nearby slaughterhouse and experimented himself. The result was a failure. He tried repeatedly, but the stack didn’t increase at all.
‘Livestock are not included in the creatures that the Blood Demon Art refers to. Monsters, or….’
Humans.
Considering how the Blood Demon trained the Blood Demon Art, he knew without experimenting that it would work with humans.
But he excluded that option.
The reason he had checked with livestock was because of the possibility that it might be an easy way to accumulate stacks. Humans were not included in his considerations from the beginning. Because Kang San wasn’t a monster like the Blood Demon, he intended to accumulate the Blood Demon Art’s stack solely through monsters from now on.
Now the remaining issue was the side effects of the Blood Demon Art.
Before training the power of the Blood Demon Art, he had to clearly understand how that power would negatively affect him.
The problem was that he couldn’t check it in actual combat.
If any variables occurred during the process of testing his power, the damage would extend to others. Since he couldn’t go on a raid alone, Kang San needed another method.
Suddenly, he remembered the previous battle.
Kang San had to risk his life against the Lizardmen, but the firepower of the soldiers who arrived at the scene wiped out the Lizardmen in an instant.
Firearms that spewed fire.
The Lizardmen couldn’t even resist.
Some of them charged at him, risking their lives, but they couldn’t even take a few steps before collapsing, riddled with bullets.
Not even C-rank, the E-rank hide couldn’t withstand the firepower.
‘It was embarrassing that I was a Hunter.’
Hunter.
Ordinary person.
There was a clear boundary between him and the soldiers.
Naturally, the abilities of Hunters were unattainable for ordinary people, but at the level of lower-ranked Hunters like Kang San, the difference wasn’t that big. Weapons specifically designed to deal with monsters. Kang San’s abilities didn’t surpass the power of those weapons. Perhaps at his current level, it would be more efficient to learn how to fire a gun and carry ammunition than to confront monsters with a shield and a sword.
That’s why he felt a bit disillusioned with the situation at the time.
He had to utilize an uncontrollable power to barely deal with them, while the soldiers, who were just ordinary people, wiped out the Lizardmen with the easy method of using firearms.
‘Kim Myeong-min is a truly remarkable person. What was he thinking when he tried to recruit me, an E-rank Hunter?’
He was a B-rank Hunter.
Then, he was a superhuman who had clearly reached a realm superior to the category of ordinary people and Hunters.
He saw Kim Myeong-min in a new light.
Despite his high social standing, Kim Myeong-min didn’t hesitate to reach out to Kang San.
“I guess I need to get stronger.”
He realized it after going through this incident.
Power.
He needed what was called absolute value in this world.
To overcome the trials.
To avoid dying in any situation.
Instead of whining that only unfortunate things happened to him, he had to grit his teeth and strive to become stronger.
Thus, his next destination was decided.
A space to check the side effects of the Blood Demon Art and train his power.
Coincidentally, a place that fit the bill came to Kang San’s mind.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
The Wangsimni Tanker incident.
Reporter Kim Min-yeong, who had covered the scene at the time, watched the surrounding CCTV footage and showed an interested reaction.
“Oh ho.”
This incident didn’t receive much attention from the media. It was a great thing that a human had stepped up for the sake of others, but because it was an E-rank Link, people didn’t consider it a big deal. In reality, it was a more serious situation. The area where the Link occurred was a crowded downtown area, and because it was during rush hour, it could have led to significant casualties. Therefore, the courage of one person resulted in saving countless lives.
And above all.
“His abilities are unusual.”
A single skill.
The moment Kang San used the Trial’s Shield, it showed countless Lizardmen simultaneously attacking Kang San.
Ordinary people might ask what the problem was.
Even if a Tanker used the basic Guardian Shield, someone with sufficient skill could easily attract the aggro of dozens of enemies. The problem was that the Lizardmen were spread out widely. The Lizardmen, who were spread out over a radius of at least 100 meters, abandoned their easy prey and charged towards one person at the activation of a single skill. That was the point Kim Min-yeong was thinking about.
The realm of the extraordinary.
As far as Kim Min-yeong, a Hunter specialist reporter, knew, there was no Awakened being in the world who possessed such an aggro skill.
That wasn’t all.
“No matter how many times I watch it, it’s strange. Looking at how he deals with the Lizardmen, he doesn’t seem to be above D-rank, but his aggro skill and combat power are amazing. In the end, he single-handedly slaughtered about 20 Lizardmen. Has a new deity appeared?”
She smelled it.
Sometimes, when she covered a huge scoop, Kim Min-yeong had achieved results by being led by a strong instinct.
This time was like that.
The scent of a scoop.
Kim Min-yeong replayed the video repeatedly.
“This time, it’s you.”
Kim Min-yeong, the Scoop Hunter.
The woman called the Star Reporter had set her sights on a new target after a long time.
