I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 76

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 76. Approaching Malice (2)
Nam Woo-i, now an incarnation of a demon, pulled a black hat low over his head, concealed his face with a black mask, and wore clothes several sizes too large as he circled a mansion in Seoul with utmost discretion.
Though the mansion stood in Seoul, it was so isolated, surrounded by ample places to hide, and devoid of CCTV that surveillance proved remarkably simple.
“You’re certain this is the place? But why doesn’t anyone appear?”
-Certain. The curse’s location definitely passed through here before cutting off. I confirmed it moved into a private domain owned by someone, but the curse vanished there. They must have noticed.
Deriachs, the demon, clicked his tongue. He had expended considerable coins embedding the curse of damp tracking into the man’s hair without detection.
Originally, for a higher-stage existence to influence a lower-stage one, a price was necessary. This was precisely why demons and fiends demanded human sacrifice or brutal offerings.
What was fortunate was that by bestowing the curse through a dead Apostle’s corpse, he hadn’t consumed as much as anticipated. Embedding the curse covertly while the target was complacent, believing the enemy defeated, proved effortless.
Moreover, rather than directly embedding the curse into flesh or soul, suspending it from a strand of hair meant no System Message appeared—making it far more likely the target remained ignorant.
Thus, he wandered freely, exposing his entire route.
-I sense one presence inside, so don’t emerge. Abandon surveillance and gather offerings first. Though I’ve granted you my power, you’re permitted only a single use, so you must conclude this in one attempt. Therefore, you must gather as many offerings as possible.
Contracts with demons or fiends offered the advantage of obtaining power beyond one’s limits with ease. Yet while certain thresholds could be achieved through contract alone, anything beyond required staggering prices.
As mentioned, it mirrors the principle of a higher-stage existence influencing a lower one. Simply put, the first contract the system provides as a service at no cost, but from the second onward, it demands exorbitant fees.
The enormous cost of exerting influence plus system fees accumulate into a staggering price, which is why the souls or bodies of living creatures—among the most valuable offerings—are sacrificed.
-I granted you the position of incarnation and infused maximum power. Though usable only once and incomplete, I’ve even bestowed my core unique ability.
Nam Woo-i had become a mature C-rank Hunter, one who could aspire to C+ rank with the right opportunity. He bowed his head to the void.
He had heard from his brother about the status an incarnation possessed—the highest position a Divine Seat, demon, or fiend could grant through contract.
Literally becoming a vessel for a great existence, capable of containing their power as completely as possible.
That value was so tremendous that upon joining the Demon Palace—a collective of demons whose influence stretched across dimensions merely by becoming incarnations—one could receive a rank-5 position immediately.
-If you fail, if I must witness my plaything humiliated by that cursed bastard once more…I will tear your body and soul to shreds myself.
“Have no concerns, sir. I am not that foolish brother. I swear! With this unique ability you’ve granted me, Deriachs, I will plunge that wretch into despair.”
Certainly, as a race existing at a stage humanity could never reach, the unique ability of a demon possessed formidable caliber and power. Yet Deriachs’s pride matched that strength.
The fact that he would go this far to avenge himself against a Player who had overwhelmingly slaughtered his plaything and insulted him as an inferior demon alongside that plaything spoke volumes.
Well, it wasn’t unfavorable for Nam Woo-i either. Regardless, the contract that would have merely made him an Apostle had transformed into an incarnation contract, and as a bonus, he could exact revenge on his brother.
Though only a single use, and even that incomplete, requiring many offerings to wield properly, he had been permitted to employ a core unique ability directly connected to the demon’s very nature.
If he concluded this matter well…he might even receive this unique ability permanently.
‘Though this ability isn’t directly combat-related, strictly speaking.’
It possessed value far exceeding that—an extraordinary ability. One wondered why an existence wielding such power remained merely a mid-to-low-tier demon.
By human standards alone, they would rank among the world’s elite.
Nam Woo-i turned his body. As Deriachs said, offerings came first. Ultimately, to properly wield the ability and create favorable circumstances, offerings were essential.
Naturally, the offerings that came to mind were human.
Just as Nam Woo-i attempted to vanish into darkness, as if waiting, a figure emerged from the shadows and drove a syringe directly into his neck.
“This…is…it….”
Caught off guard, Nam Woo-i lost consciousness immediately.
The assailant hoisted the fallen Nam Woo-i onto their shoulder, gazed at the mansion for a moment, then disappeared through the shadows.
***
“He’s not coming.”
A week had passed. That much time had elapsed since Seo Ye-rin destroyed the tracking curse that clung to my hair.
I’d installed countless traps throughout the mansion, expecting him to assault me at any moment, yet Ma-in hadn’t even shown the slightest intention of coming.
Hmm….
Time to decide. Should I endure like this and see it through to the end, or step outside now?
“This feels unfinished.”
Yes, leaving like this felt far too unresolved. It was like putting on clothes without wiping yourself clean.
In truth, even if I found myself in a disadvantageous position, I didn’t think I’d lose to a mere fledgling Ma-in.
The demon contracting with the Ma-in I’d killed was at most a mid-tier demon or lower.
The demon hierarchy was simple.
Lowest-tier, low-tier, lower-mid-tier, mid-tier, upper-mid-tier, high-tier, highest-tier. These were the standard ranks for common demons, and beyond that existed the ranks of Baron, Count, Viscount, Earl, and Duke—titles granted only to the seventy-two Demon Kings.
In essence, the Demon Kings were Divine Seats, so they paid no attention to this insignificant remote planet called Earth. High-tier demons and above likewise showed little interest in Earth.
The fact that the Demon Palace’s Korea branch director was merely a low-tier S-rank Hunter proved this. A high-tier demon could grant S-rank or higher power in their first contract alone.
No matter how much power a mid-tier or lower demon granted their contractor, there were definite limits—unless they sacrificed hundreds of people as offerings in this short span of time.
‘Probably somewhere between D+ and C+.’
The total amount of power a mid-tier or lower demon could grant in their first contract. Yet he hadn’t come seeking me out.
“If he grows stronger by offering sacrifices and comes back, that’ll be troublesome.”
Time was running short. In about ten days, the Monster Wave would begin. I had no time to spare on Ma-in anymore.
‘Could he be trying to gather sacrifices using the Monster Wave as cover?’
No. The Monster Wave repeated roughly every ten years, but no one except me—someone with knowledge of the future—knew exactly when it would start.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the worst-case scenario. Especially since this wave would record the highest casualty count in history.
It was inevitable. After all, the Imoogi would personally take the stage. Until two SS-rank Hunters arrived, the Hunters participating in the wave had to hold back the Imoogi, a calamity-class monster, among themselves—massive casualties were guaranteed.
‘This time, with my participation, I might be able to mitigate some of it.’
I would participate in the Monster Wave, but I planned to hunt only the minimum number of monsters and immediately focus on activating the Spear of Longinus.
The moment the Imoogi appeared, I’d unleash a single strike to deal a critical blow, preventing it from causing maximum damage.
It wasn’t out of some trivial sense of justice, duty, or desire to prevent sacrifice. After all, I needed to deal at least 1% damage to the Imoogi to enter the Tower of Ascension and receive its rewards—I was simply killing two birds with one stone.
‘I’ve already unsealed all six wings.’
I’d gathered one-quarter. But obtaining more immediately wouldn’t be easy. New wings wouldn’t appear for several years yet.
Still, it was sufficient. With all six wings unsealed, my skill grades and proficiency had risen considerably, and set effects had been activated.
〚Skill: Wings of Pride
Grade: Mythic
Rank: C+
LV 3
Description: Master of Pride, one of the Seven Sins. Once a great archangel, but fell and became a demon. The skill manifested from the power of this being’s twelve pairs of wings.
Abilities
-Wing Deployment: All stats +30, Pride stat +30 additional increase. Duration: 1 hour, Cooldown: 1 hour.
-Set Effect 1 pair: Chaos (Pride) stat awakening
-Set Effect 2 pairs: Skill: Chaos Magic [Mythic-F] awakening
-Set Effect 3 pairs: Unique Ability: Chaos Body [Mythic-S] awakening〛
Chaos Magic utilized the Pride stat, specializing in light and dark magic—nothing particularly special. Just mythically absurd spellcraft.
The truly excellent ability was Chaos Embodiment. As I mentioned before, if one masters all sorts of abilities indiscriminately, they collide and cancel each other out—a bizarre phenomenon that would turn one into a useless jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, as games would say.
Chaos Embodiment completely erased that risk. Given that Lucifer had arrogantly positioned himself at the apex of every domain, it seemed he possessed an ability to free himself from such constraints.
No, more than that—he possessed both Holy Power, the representative of light attributes, and Magi, the representative of darkness attributes, and even dared to merge them into one. Such constraints were meaningless from the start.
Thanks to that, I, who inherited his power, was also freed from such constraints. When the set effect of two pairs produced magic, I did experience a slight headache.
Especially since the most typical collision between skills was the repulsion between martial arts and magic attributes. From the moment I obtained the Limitless stat, I couldn’t learn magic-type abilities if I wanted to acquire the martial art I had planned for, yet I suddenly awakened a mythic-grade magic skill!
Of course, since it was mythic-grade magic, abandoning that martial art posed no problem, but considering the harmony with the Limitless stat and the potential that martial art could have reached, it was truly regrettable—until Chaos Embodiment saved me.
An ability that could make me an all-master instead of a useless character.
“The preparations are complete….”
It was difficult to make any more perfect preparations than this. I decided to wait just a few more days before making my move.
Then, exactly three days later, on an evening, Ma-in finally launched a surprise attack on the Mansion.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————