Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The Presence or Absence of Just One Person （8）

The Hobgoblin’s death.

The scales of balance tipped.

The undead, revived by Revival, collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, following the death of their host.

Fizzle.

It was effectively over.

But Kang San didn’t let his guard down.

Just because the boss monster was dead didn’t mean the danger in front of him had completely vanished.

“There are still quite a few monsters left, so stay focused.”

He roughly wiped away the flowing blood.

Simply based on his physical condition, his health was fully recovered, but perhaps due to lingering mental fatigue, he felt dizzy. He didn’t let it show, however. A variable could mean dying from a Goblin’s arrow even after defeating the Hobgoblin, and he was aware that he was the pillar of this party. Until the danger was completely eradicated, Kang San wouldn’t reveal a single weakness.

Thwack!

Kieeek!

The battle continued from there.

Finally, after a 30-minute struggle, there were no living creatures left before the group.

Stagger.

Thump.

Kang San collapsed.

He wanted to take care of the others first, but his darkening consciousness made it impossible for him to stand on his own two feet.

‘I can’t lose consciousness…’

He gritted his teeth.

Just as he was desperately trying to hold onto his awareness.

『You have passed the eighth Trial and Tribulation.』

『The promised reward will be given.』

His strength gave way.

In the end.

He had succeeded again.

A place to prove to himself that he could protect himself and his companions, no matter how dangerous the trial. In a fight that could be a turning point in his life, Kang San had finally succeeded. He felt relieved. Now, he could be with others. Even if it was unfortunate, he had the power to protect them.

Beyond his fading consciousness.

“Kang San-nim!?”

“Ack! Are you okay?”

Looking at the people approaching from afar, Kang San lost consciousness.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

If one side won.

It meant the other side had lost.

In an awkward atmosphere, Yeon Gyu-seong faced Yeon Woo-bin and, breaking the long silence, spoke with a complex expression.

“Woo-bin.”

“…Yes.”

“You see, I live my life with sincere gratitude for the people who live as Hunters. Without them, the world would be even more dangerous, and someone would experience the pain of losing their family like we did. That’s why the Hunter Emergency Center that I run prioritizes treatment. Rather than accumulating more money and wealth, it’s a group dedicated to the public good. However.”

Their eyes met.

Beyond his complex gaze, love for his son could be felt.

“That doesn’t mean I wanted you to become one of those great Hunters. If someone had to be sacrificed, I wanted it to be someone else, and instead of being praised as a hero, I hoped that all the sacrifices that had to be made wouldn’t be a burden for my family to bear. Some might call me selfish. A doctor, no less, and the one who saves the most lives in Korea, prioritizing his own safety could be seen as disgusting. Well, I don’t care about such criticism. If you had followed my advice and lived within a safe fence, I would have been your fence, as always.”

He sighed.

Running his hand over his face, he asked one last question.

“Do you really want to be a Hunter?”

“…I truly do. Not for others, but for myself and the people around me, I want to become stronger.”

“Alright. I understand.”

He had made his decision.

He liked the intention.

For himself, not for others.

Yeon Gyu-seong finally accepted reality.

“Seeing you fight today, I also realized something. Your talent is extraordinary. Ordinary people say you have enough talent if you’re just over D-rank, but despite my interference, even though you didn’t have enough time to train yourself, you showed incredible magical ability. It would be foolish to neglect such ability. Yes, I’ll allow it.”

“Dad!”

“However, there are conditions.”

Yeon Woo-bin jumped up from his seat.

To Yeon Woo-bin, who had a bright expression, Yeon Gyu-seong showed a firm gaze.

“I’ll accept any conditions.”

“There are two conditions. The first is to receive my full support. You won’t be casually going to hunting grounds like others, but you’ll have to actively utilize my background from training to hunting. I can’t accept you saying nonsense like you’ll stand on your own two feet.”

“Okay. I don’t intend to not use the background I have either.”

“And the second is.”

This decision.

There was a decisive factor that led to this judgment.

Even if he accepted the first condition, if the second wasn’t met, Yeon Gyu-seong was ready to reverse his decision at any time.

“Raids must be done with a party that includes Kang San, that person. No one else. If you’re going to take risks and do something, it’s my judgment that only he can protect you.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The conversation was over.

Yeon Woo-bin accepted the two conditions, and Yeon Gyu-seong was left alone in the place where he had sent his son off.

“…Was this the right decision?”

He still wasn’t sure.

If he lived as a Hunter, danger would inevitably follow, and his son would surely be seriously injured someday, making his father’s heart sink. Even so, there was no other way. What Yeon Gyu-seong felt in this test was that his son’s will wouldn’t be broken and that he was born with a very special talent.

He was an awl that would eventually stick out.

Then, it was better to do something under his control than to move secretly and become endangered.

And.

‘The secretary said it. Kang San is a very special person.’

Just now.

As the battle was nearing its end, the secretary explained with an admiring face.

“As someone who used to be a Hunter, the details that Kang San shows are truly amazing. First of all, the reason Woo-bin’s party was able to endure this unfavorable battle is because Kang San took on all the risks. Being attacked from all sides means being attacked from all ranges, including blind spots, but Kang San never showed a single sign of wavering. And the position of Kang San and Young Master Woo-bin. They always form a straight line. That means Kang San is constantly checking Woo-bin’s position and blocking him with his body so that he’s not exposed to enemies from the front.”

The secretary was a former B-rank Hunter.

As a secretary and the strongest bodyguard, he read the details that Kang San displayed.

“And it seems like he’s calculating the Mage’s cooldown time because every time Young Master Woo-bin uses magic, he shows movements to effectively attack the monsters by herding them to one side. I don’t know where such a skilled person came from. His surface rank is stated as E-rank, but the stats I’ve seen now are at least on par with C-rank. I can’t guarantee that even C-rank Tankers can withstand this much.”

He clicked his tongue.

Kang San.

He was truly a skilled person that he couldn’t help but acknowledge.

But the reason the secretary and Yeon Gyu-seong both acknowledged him wasn’t simply because of his skill.

“To be honest, if Young Master Woo-bin were to live as a Hunter someday, there would be no better choice than Kang San. Of course, someone might have better skills than him. But normal Tankers don’t easily sacrifice their only life, but Kang San threw himself in front of Young Master Woo-bin whenever necessary. Because of that, the Hobgoblin started attacking Kang San instead of aiming for the rear, and it’s very rare for such a skilled Tanker to have a spirit of sacrifice for his colleagues.”

He admitted it.

The point that Yeon Gyu-seong had noticed.

The way Kang San, who was called a colleague, threw himself to protect his colleagues.

It was fate.

The fact that a colleague like Kang San appeared at a time when his son was going through a period of storm and stress couldn’t be explained by any other reason.

“Honey, please protect Woo-bin.”

If he made a decision.

There was no other way now.

He had to fully support him so that he wouldn’t be in danger.

Yeon Gyu-seong immediately called his secretary and said,

“From now on, prepare the best plan for Woo-bin.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

How much time had passed?

Kang San opened his eyes with difficulty.

Drip, drip.

“…Ugh.”

A groan escaped his lips involuntarily.

What he saw was a luxurious hospital room and mana IV fluids being injected into his body at regular intervals.

He remembered.

The situation where he had fainted as soon as he succeeded in the mission.

‘What about the rewards?’

『Kang San』

━ Strength: 45

━ Agility: 53

━ Divine Power: 28

━ Reaction Speed: 20

━ Toughness: 18

━ Mental Strength: 20

He checked his stats first.

Seeing the stats that were clearly different from before, Kang San let out an exclamation inwardly.

‘Wow.’

The eighth trial.

The reward itself was an increase of 5 in all stats, but with the special event called Burning Time, his stats had been further enhanced. Compared to his previous stats, it seemed that his strength, agility, and reaction speed had increased by 3, divine power by 2, and toughness and mental strength by 5. It was an unbelievable result. With his agility exceeding 50, he had finally reached the average stats of a D-rank, and he felt that he had received sufficient rewards just from the stats alone.

And surprisingly.

The rewards didn’t end there.

『2-Star（★★） Skill』

『Dummy』

1. Summons a dummy that embodies 50% of the caster’s stats. The location can be specified arbitrarily, and the dummy, which cannot be healed, disappears when its health is completely depleted. （Cooldown: 30 minutes）

2. The number of dummies summoned increases according to the Mental Strength stat.

3. Currently 1 dummy

『2-Star（★★） Skill』

『Shared Pain』

1. Absorbs the damage received by a specific target instead. （Cooldown: 1 hour）

2. Shared Pain lasts for 1 minute, and the damage absorbed through sharing is applied at 1.5 times the original amount.

“…Should I be happy about this or not?”

Two skills.

Just by drawing a simple roadmap, the sacrifices that lay ahead were obvious.

Dummy would ease the burden of situations he had to handle alone, and Shared Pain, needless to say, was a skill that would be difficult to use unless he was a saint. Taking damage instead of someone else wasn’t simple. He might even face the worst-case scenario of dying in their place after taking damage that was applied at 1.5 times the original amount.

Really.

Azmoon’s intentions were clear.

It seemed like he was building him up, one step at a time, to become the most self-sacrificing person.

‘Still, if I only consider my stats as a Tanker, there’s no skill tree more perfect than this. Whether it’s voluntary or involuntary, good skills are definitely good skills.’

It wasn’t bad.

His current life.

He had already accepted it.

Since he had proven himself, he actually needed a reliable skill to protect someone.

He felt emotionally satisfied.

If he had failed this test or hadn’t been able to protect his colleagues, Kang San would have accepted the trials but considered working alone. The fact that someone might get hurt because of him was a pain that couldn’t be accepted normally. Unless he was a psychopath or sociopath who didn’t care about others, like Kang San, he needed a chance to prove and confirm himself.

And this party.

It was an unexpected gain.

It was true that Yeon Woo-bin had proven his explosive talent, but the other two party members also played their roles properly.

‘If I consistently operate with the current party and grow separately, I might be able to break the evil karma someday.’

He felt at ease.

From childhood until now.

The future, which had always been painful and blurry, finally felt clear.

For now, he rested.

Since he was getting an IV anyway, he intended to fully recover, but the door suddenly opened and a familiar face appeared.

“Are you awake?”

Yeon Gyu-seong.

He entered the hospital room alone.