Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 35

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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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35
Ghouls crawled forth from the earth one by one, forming a grotesque congregation.
Ghouls were merely E-rank—hardly formidable. Hunters shunned them not for their strength, but for their repugnance. Their decaying flesh emanated a stench so vile it assaulted the senses from considerable distance.
Proximity only intensified the horror, and even a glancing wound risked necrotic poisoning. Should their putrid flesh splatter upon you, the toxin would seep into your very being.
Like skeletons, ghouls yielded no meaningful magic stones. Nutritionally worthless and tediously burdensome to process, they were the very definition of vermin monsters. Yet without suppressing them, a Gate Break would occur, forcing the Awakener Management Bureau to conscript hunters through promises of compensation and promotion.
Sang-heon hesitated to step forward.
“This is my moment to shine.”
Na-young conjured multiple mana spheres into the air and released them simultaneously. Each struck a ghoul’s head with perfect precision. Since acquiring her A-rank wand, her magical potency, control, and efficiency had elevated dramatically. With me training her and raising her level considerably, she had become unstoppable—a tiger given wings.
We dispatched the ghouls effortlessly, and before I could catch my breath, another monster appeared beyond the hilltop.
“There.”
I pointed toward the distant rise.
“A ghost? Far preferable to ghouls. Let’s capture it quickly.”
Sang-heon’s enthusiasm flared.
“No. I’ll handle this one. You two proceed to the right and make a wide arc around. I’ll circle left.”
These two, whom I had personally trained, were capable enough that I could entrust them with this without concern.
Besides, I needed to conduct special training against ghosts to elevate my Regeneration skill. Once Regeneration reached B-rank, I could externalize my life force to both attack and defend.
In other words, I would gain access to an aura—the minimum requirement of an S-rank hunter. However, while S-rank hunters could manifest aura abundantly, I could only expend the limited life force I possessed. Still, it was infinitely superior to having nothing.
“Understood.”
“See you later, hyung.”
Both trusted my abilities enough to accept my proposal without objection.
Watching them recede into the distance, I set down the bag containing the essence stones.
Oooooooo…
The ghost emitted its characteristic mournful wail as it approached within striking distance.
I hurled a punch at the advancing specter. Its form rippled, but naturally inflicted no damage—it simply passed through my body.
As the ghost traversed my form, a chill seized me and I felt my life force draining away. My body grew slightly heavier.
No matter how many punches I threw, my fists passed harmlessly through the ghost’s ethereal body.
A dozen ghosts took turns passing through me, each siphoning away fragments of my vitality. My life force exceeded that of ordinary hunters, preventing my collapse, yet had these been higher-ranked spectral monsters rather than E-rank, I would have sustained considerable damage.
The ghosts, realizing I could not harm them, intensified their assault.
Yet perceiving that no amount of attack would fell me, they merely circled my position before abandoning their efforts and attempting to depart.
I could not allow them to escape. I pursued and struck at the ghost’s form. Though it rippled as before, the specter seemed displeased and resumed its assault, passing through my body repeatedly.
Observing that I remained unscathed, they fled once more. And so the cycle continued.
As time elapsed, the ghosts’ numbers multiplied. Initially a mere dozen, now approximately thirty circled me in the air.
Though the damage was minimal and my life force abundant, enduring the assault of thirty ghosts without replenishment left my body increasingly leaden.
Breathing heavily, I recalled the sensation of life force projection from my previous existence and continued throwing punches. Yet still, they proved ineffectual.
As their numbers swelled and my exhaustion mounted visibly, the ghost swarm ceased their retreat and relentlessly passed through my form.
The sensation of dozens of ghosts traversing my body was anything but pleasant. Something repugnant and frigid flowed through me, dissolving my very life essence.
Gradually, movement became arduous.
This should trigger a level increase, yet the skill refuses to rise. Even if it does now, I’m uncertain whether I’ll retain enough strength to dispatch them all.
Have I grown careless, with levels and skills rising so rapidly of late?
Eventually, my consciousness grew hazy, and I collapsed to my knees.
Thinking I might actually die at this rate, I pulled out a small potion I’d tucked into my waistband and drank it. True to its high quality, I felt a considerable surge of vitality flowing through me.
I continued drinking potions while enduring the onslaught. Only when I’d consumed the last potion I had on me and no more remained did the ghosts finally give up and drift away one by one.
The color drained from my hands, leaving them ghostly pale. Any longer and I might have been in real danger.
I collapsed backward and rested for a moment, then returned to where I’d set down my bag earlier, replenishing my stamina with potions and rations.
Obtaining skills in just half a year that would have taken ten years in my previous life was proving far from easy.
After a brief rest, my body recovered enough for me to brush myself off and rise, resuming the hunt.
Skeletons and ghouls were manageable, but whenever ghosts appeared, I found myself relentlessly attacked, my life force drained away in an endless cycle.
I only used potions to recover when I felt consciousness slipping away.
I’d expected my regeneration skill to evolve if I was in danger, but it never leveled up—whether because it required more experience points or because I hadn’t truly been in mortal peril, I couldn’t tell.
A creeping doubt began to consume my thoughts: perhaps this method wouldn’t work.
I finally decided to abandon the strategy of simply taking hits from ghosts and instead switched to coating my body with holy water to attack them. Steeling my resolve, I moved toward the bag I’d set down, when a swarm of ghosts suddenly appeared.
Already weakened from having my life force drained, I could barely move. If that many joined the assault, my vitality would be depleted in moments.
I downed a potion from my pocket and ran at full speed, but I could only manage half my normal pace.
The relentless attacks made even that sluggish speed impossible to maintain, and I grew slower still.
I dropped to my knees, bracing my hands against the ground to keep from falling completely.
I thought to myself that this should be when the skill notification I’d been waiting for finally arrived, and then consciousness faded.
* * *
“Hey, Yang Sang-heon! You’re awake!”
“Brother! Are you alright?”
“Mm….”
My head felt heavy.
“What happened? The ghosts?”
“There were so many ghosts gathered that I thought something was wrong, so I came to check. That’s when I found you collapsed in the middle of the swarm.”
At least I hadn’t died. Considerable time must have passed, yet the ghosts hadn’t managed to drain the bare minimum of life force at my core. Was that why the skill didn’t level up?
“Did the two of you handle them?”
“Mostly my sister did it. She was attacking to save you, and I was so scared I got scolded. She was pouring out mana bolts like rain.”
Yang Sang-heon spoke in hushed tones.
“Please don’t push yourself so hard.”
Bae Na-young’s face crumpled as she spoke.
“I’m sorry. I never thought it would come to this.”
I truly hadn’t.
“But I have to keep going.”
I need to level up my skills. Now that I know ghosts can’t kill me, I have to push harder.
“No.”
“What?”
Her firmness caught me off guard, and I found myself asking for clarification.
“Then hunt with us instead. If it looks dangerous, I’ll save you.”
“It won’t level up that way.”
“But that’s how I leveled up. Let’s try it together.”
Bae Na-young gripped my hand tightly, meeting my eyes as she spoke.
“Understood.”
Overwhelmed by that gaze, I found myself accepting without thinking.
“Let’s head to the next Gate.”
I spoke as we exited the Gate.
“Rest today. We’ll do it again tomorrow.”
“No, I’m fine now.”
“That’s not happening. Yang Sang-heon, would you mind driving?”
She smiled and spoke firmly, then pushed me into the back seat and climbed in on the opposite side.
“Boss, you’ve really got a grip on things, don’t you?”
Yang Sang-heon’s comment seemed far too accurate for me to argue against.
* * *
“My goodness, Ji-seok sure does eat well~”
Na-young’s Mother piled food high on the table and watched me eat.
“I was shocked at first, you know. So skinny, yet eating so much.”
“He really does eat a lot. It’s been hard enough preparing meals alone, but thanks to Na-young’s Mother, I’ve been getting by.”
The mothers sat me down and began chatting away.
After the incident with Lim Sung-jun, Na-young and her mother had returned to their own home, but on days when Na-young and I went to the Gate, they would come by to talk with my mother and help with household chores.
“I’m so glad the two of you are getting along well.”
Na-young said, sitting beside me.
“My mother was feeling lonely after suddenly moving to such a remote place. Even on days without Gate schedules, I bring her here to visit often.”
“That sounds good.”
Our eyes met.
“You two are absolutely glowing. How could anyone without a partner bear to live?”
Yang Sang-heon grumbled from beside us.
“Oh my, look at the time. I should go prepare for the Gate.”
“Once you’re done eating, let’s get ready to head out.”
My stomach was full, so today I was heading to the Gate again to work toward raising my regeneration rank.
Unable to resist Na-young’s insistence, I gave up on going alone.
We decided that while exploring together, if we spotted a ghost, I would handle it first, and they would come to my aid if things got dangerous.
“Today will definitely work!”
Na-young encouraged me.
“Go for it, boss!”
“Thank you. And thanks to you too, Yang Sang-heon.”
I dispatched skeletons and ghouls at lightning speed and searched for ghosts.
“Found them. About ten or so ahead…”
The distance was considerable, and they were so translucent that counting them wasn’t easy.
“I’ll go first, so keep your distance. Don’t help unless things get really dangerous.”
I left those words with the two of them and charged toward the ghosts.
The ghost pack spotted me and rushed forward.
My fists still couldn’t damage the ghosts. Instead, as they passed through my body in unison, my life force drained away.
“I ate a lot today. Let’s see who comes out on top.”
The fact that my skill didn’t rise yesterday meant that my body and instincts had judged I wouldn’t die to ghosts. If that was the case, rather than hoping for a sudden spike when facing mortal danger, I needed to aim for steady skill growth through consistent exposure.
To achieve that, I’d eaten until I reached my limit.
The struggle with the ghosts continued, but my skill refused to rise while my vitality was slowly drained away.
I’d lost so much vitality that moving my body became increasingly difficult.
The moment I dropped to my knees, Bae Na-young and Yang Sang-heon rushed over and dispatched the ghosts in an instant.
“Are you alright? Have some potion.”
Bae Na-young spoke with concern for me.
“Thank you.”
As I drank the potion, my vitality recovered somewhat.
“Will it really rise this way? You look like you’re suffering terribly.”
“If not this way, I’ll need to find another method. But since I don’t know what the condition is, I have to try various approaches.”
I searched my memories, trying to recall when the skill had risen in my previous life, wondering if I’d overlooked something.

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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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