I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 4
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4. The Fox’s Cunning Scheme
Gal Sang-hyun, known by the alias Fox—the brilliant consultant ranked first in Black Money’s performance metrics and the organization’s greatest ace—was far from a clean individual.
Rather, he was so petty and cunning that he could scarcely be called a decent human being. Much like the sly fox depicted on the mask he wore.
His unique ability was Discernment Eye. Among emotion-type abilities, it ranked at the apex—an 【Ancient】-grade ability, no less.
Common—Uncommon—Rare—Unique—Epic—Heroic—Ancient—Legendary—Mythic—Primordial.
Of the ten confirmed grades, it ranked fourth from the highest. In truth, the 【Primordial】 grade’s very existence remained unconfirmed, and 【Mythic】-grade abilities were so scarce that fewer than ten individuals across the entire planet possessed them—making his power undeniably supreme.
Had he taken the formal Hunter examination, major guilds would have offered him substantial signing bonuses to recruit him as an appraiser, yet he never obtained a Hunter license.
Or rather, he couldn’t. At the moment of his awakening, he was fleeing from the police.
Born into poverty but consumed by greed and avarice, he had eventually turned to fraud—a crime that caught up with him, leaving him hunted.
Even after awakening, he never realized his grand ambitions, instead spending a month in desperate flight until, on the verge of capture, salvation’s hand reached out to him.
—Hmm, you’ve awakened to a fine ability. How about working with me? Under my wing, you won’t have to worry about being arrested for some petty fraud charge.
Following the man who introduced himself as Black Money’s headquarters director, he stepped into the underworld.
—All you need to do is appraise items customers bring in and handle their requests. The base salary is generous, and your incentives scale with your work. You’ll never need to risk your life on something as trivial as fraud again.
Fortune stacked upon fortune, and his life—once mired in petty crime—ascended rapidly to the position of Black Money’s ace, allowing him to accumulate considerable wealth.
Yet his greed and avarice knew no bounds.
‘It’s not enough!’
As money materialized from nothing and prosperity arrived, he began craving more, his hunger intensifying endlessly.
‘Those Hunters live openly and handle such enormous sums, yet why must I remain here wiping their feet?’
Handling and managing over a hundred million daily warped his perspective, and his greed inevitably dragged him back into crime’s embrace.
No longer petty fraud—robbery, murder, extortion. He targeted the very thing forbidden: the wealth and lives of those he counseled.
The card issued by Black Money served as both identification and currency in the underworld. Within the criminal underworld, higher card grades commanded greater respect and recognition.
In other words, a higher grade meant greater wealth and assets, suggesting the cardholder was likely a high-ranking Hunter.
Yet the card itself presented the greatest vulnerability.
Since cards and accounts were created through semi-legal means and the underworld itself harbored those concealing their identities, no names were engraved on the cards, nor was there any way to prove ownership.
Thus, if a card was stolen, the money within it changed hands along with it.
Of course, VIP-tier and above were managed directly by the boss, which changed matters—but such individuals were each monsters and walking bombs, and one mustn’t provoke their displeasure.
Therefore, Gal Sang-hyun—the Fox—devised a plan.
‘I’ll use Discernment Eye to observe and select my prey!’
Intelligent, cunning, and cautious, he never acted directly.
Through Discernment Eye, which could observe portions of a target’s status window, he targeted those with low levels, substantial wealth, and little notoriety.
To avoid leaving traces, he employed criminals parasitizing the Black Market’s Outer District, executing his schemes only when targets ventured into that crime-ridden periphery.
In truth, prey satisfying all such conditions was scarce.
Yet because each successful operation yielded enormous sums, the Fox never ceased hunting.
And today, precisely such a target appeared—one meeting every criterion of his selection.
The moment the target entered, I activated Discernment Eye, and their status window materialized before me.
『Status Window
Name: Shin Ju-ha
Title: X
LV 0(0%)
Stats
-Access denied!
-Access denied!
Remaining points: 0
!@#$!@#$!
Access denied!』
His unique ability seemed to function as mental defense—I couldn’t see anything except level and name, but those two pieces of information alone felt sufficient.
Moreover, when the novice Hunter Shin Ju-ha exchanged over 5 billion won in currency for cash, Fox inwardly cheered.
Soon enough, this money would fall into his hands!
The moment Shin Ju-ha disappeared, Fox excused himself to his colleagues for a brief rest, then headed straight to the restroom to make a call.
-Hey there! Partner! Long time no see?
-Got a jackpot target. Level 0 Hunter, name is Shin Ju-ha, wearing a black robe and black mask. Just left Black Money.
-Oho~. So what’s the pay?
-1 billion!
-….
Though 1 billion was an astronomical sum for hiring even an [F+]-rank criminal, Fox didn’t regret it.
He needed to offer this much to ensure the other party wouldn’t pull any tricks. He understood well that trust between criminals ultimately came down to money.
-Deal. This must be a legendary job.
-That too, but since it’s been a while, I bumped up the rate. More than usual. Well, he’s not famous, not some renowned Hunter’s kid either, so we can toy with him and kill him without consequence. He seemed decent-looking though.
-Kekekek! I like that. Then like always, I’ll leave it at the meeting spot, so find it yourself! Partner!
-Got it. Good work, partner.
Click!
Done! Now that vermin Shin Ju-ha would die, and over 4 billion won along with an A-rank card would fall into his hands.
Though he’d have to pay the mercenary 1 billion, that loss was negligible. Money was trust, after all.
‘This is why I can’t quit this game!’
Fox imagined what lay ahead, unable to suppress the smile spreading across his face as he returned to his consultation.
He had no idea what variable this deed would become, or how it would return to haunt him.
***
〚A petty curse imbued with murderous intent has drawn near to your very doorstep.〛
The message materialized before my eyes as I made my way toward the Outer District beyond the Black Market, having finished all business at Black Money.
‘What on earth…?’
Why would misfortune suddenly seek me out?
‘Did I make some mistake?’
No, I hadn’t. I hadn’t quarreled with anyone, nor had anyone discovered that I’d awakened as a Hunter mere hours ago.
I racked my brain trying to recall any misstep, but no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t identify a single error on my part.
I’d obtained a card—said to be as good as an identification document—at the impressive rank of A-grade, so even if someone tried to cause trouble as I left the Outer District, simply showing the card would prevent any complications.
Everything was proceeding flawlessly according to plan, so why?
No matter how much I wracked my brain and fretted, I couldn’t uncover what mistake I’d made.
Of course I couldn’t. Luck isn’t something you can see with your eyes, and how could I possibly know that this damned misfortune had consulted with Fox?
‘Right, as if I’ve ever been free from misfortune.’
Still, the concern gnawed at me. This was no ordinary bad luck—it was misfortune that targeted my very life.
Even if the Black Market was part of the underworld, they couldn’t openly kill someone in the middle of the shops.
If they wanted to kill me, they’d make their move in the Outer District.
I stopped walking. Even with this curse hanging over me, I had to visit the Outer District. It was the only way to safely move my sister away from the boss and the loan sharks.
And the misfortune will absolutely come for me. No matter if I try to avoid it, it will come.
Because this is a curse—an absolute, immutable law recognized by the system itself.
‘Then all that’s left is to protect myself.’
I clicked my tongue and made my way into the nearest restroom I could see.
“Golden Tower!”
As I invoked the power, my inventory opened, revealing infinite wealth and consumables.
“An item to overcome this situation…”
There were many. Starting with invisibility potions and extending all the way to small mana bombs. Countless options.
‘But nothing too conspicuous.’
Even in the true underworld of the Outer District where crime ran rampant, detonating a bomb would be no different than asking them to arrest me on the spot.
The invisibility potion would be ideal. Yet for some reason, my gaze drifted to the very bottom of the list.
The number of items I could retrieve right now was exactly three. And there was only one item with precisely three in stock.
《-Radiant Nectar×3》
Without an appraisal ability, I’d have to intuit its effects directly.
But as if something was pulling me forward, my hand reached toward the Radiant Nectar.
‘Let me just take one out and try drinking it.’
〚Item: Radiant Nectar selected. Proceed?〛
“Yes.”
Whoosh!
A goblet materialized from the inventory and settled directly into my palm.
I still had no idea what effect it would have, but I trusted it nonetheless.
Nectar—a drink that even the gods themselves call legendary. At minimum, it couldn’t possibly harm me!
Gulp! Gulp!
Without hesitation, I drained the contents of the goblet.
!!!!
As if my very soul were ascending to the heavens, I felt a celestial taste, and System Messages cascaded before me in rapid succession.
〚You have consumed the most radiant primordial essence of the supreme nectar, revered as mythical even among the gods!〛
〚A strand of possibility blooms from your origin!〛
〚Authority: Heavenly Fortune assists in nurturing the most precious of possibilities!〛
〚Congratulations!〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] has awakened!〛
〚Remaining nectar residue converts to Stat Points!〛
〚Remaining Stat Points: 10〛
“Insane!”
An Origin-grade ability—a rank that appears only in ancient texts of primordial races rarely discovered in the Abyss—had truly manifested in my status window.
Honestly, I had suspected the Golden Tower might be an Origin-grade ability, but since authorities don’t have separate grades, this was the first time I’d actually witnessed an Origin rank.
I averted my gaze without even examining the ability.
“But there are still two bottles remaining.”
A concealment potion? Give it to the dogs.
The Primordial Spring Water was the same—it was one of only two elixirs not in a locked state, and it seemed arranged for me to drink it first and grow stronger, which felt slightly odd.
Well, good is good.
I retrieved the other two glasses of nectar from that very spot.
‘Wait, before I drink.’
If Heavenly Fortune could aid me, then misfortune could ruin me.
I invested the spare stats I’d gained from the nectar into Heavenly Fortune and drank both glasses in succession without hesitation.
And Heavenly Fortune, befitting its Mythic-grade status, suppressed the mere Legendary-grade misfortune that threatened to occur, siding with me once again.
〚You have consumed the most radiant primordial essence of the supreme nectar, revered as mythical even among the gods!〛
〚A strand of possibility blooms from your origin!〛
〚Authority: Heavenly Fortune devours the misfortune about to strike and assists in nurturing the most precious of possibilities!〛
〚Congratulations!〛
〚Unique Ability: Boundless Celestial Meridian [Mythic] has awakened!〛
〚Mythic-grade Stat: Boundless awakens!〛
.
.
〚Unique Ability: Supreme Soul [Mythic] has awakened!〛
.
.
〚Remaining nectar residue converts to Stat Points!〛
〚Remaining Stat Points: 20〛
One Origin-grade ability and two Mythic-grade abilities had emerged from merely three glasses of nectar.
And that wasn’t all—another Mythic-grade stat had awakened.
“Status window, check the Boundless stat.”
〚Stat: Boundless
Grade: Mythic
Grade: F-(1/100)
Description: The power contained within Limitless—the boundless extreme, and the Limitless that discusses the extremity of nothingness.
Abilities
-Contains infinite mastery of physical stats.
-As stats increase, all talents falling within the category of martial arts rise proportionally.〛
The power of a Mythic-grade stat was staggering. If my previous strength had been like a newborn child, the force I now felt in my hands seemed comparable to at least a muscular adult.
A single stat containing all four fundamental stats—strength, agility, stamina, and durability—was extraordinary enough, but to also gain increased talent in martial arts was beyond expectation.
There was no reason to hesitate. I invested all twenty stats I’d obtained from the Nectar into Limitless.
〚As the Limitless stat surges dramatically, your bones undergo subtle rebirth and your body undergoes subtle transformation!〛
〚As your body grows, your authority over the Golden Tower ownership increases by an additional 4%.〛
〚Current ownership: 5%〛
〚The amount of currency you can use increases, and you can now extract an additional ten items.〛
Crack!
“…!!!”
I could only scream silently against the agony.
***
Ten minutes later, I staggered out of the bathroom, my body trembling violently.
“Damn it, this hurts like hell.”
Though the pain lingered and my body ached, paradoxically, I felt lighter and more energized than ever before.
“Is this what a true Hunter’s perspective feels like?”
The strength possessed by those who truly explore the Abyss, not a wretch like me still trapped in the tutorial.
“Though probably not. A Mythic-grade stat isn’t something you just stumble upon.”
Mythic-grade stats were rarer than Mythic-grade abilities, of which fewer than five existed worldwide.
“Our nation’s top-ranked Hunter possesses a Mythic-grade stat.”
Dangun Ji-hyuk, South Korea’s number one ranked Hunter and one of only seven SS-grade Hunters in the world, possessed the Mythic-grade stat Heaven’s Opening.
I didn’t know its exact performance, but through my experience with Limitless, it was certain to wield power beyond my imagination.
Hm…?!
Only after my senses expanded greatly through Limitless did I clearly perceive the killing intent, malice, and greed directed at me.
‘So these are my misfortunes.’
Evil fortune seeking my life. But now I felt no fear.
Rather, I felt anticipation. The thrill of wielding this power made my fighting spirit surge uncontrollably.
I savored their gaze and slowly entered the Outer District, deliberately luring them to a desolate place devoid of people.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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