"Huh?" SooHyeok responded.
"It's garbage that smells so bad, I'd appreciate it if you took care of it as quickly as possible."
Thud.
The door slammed shut.
"Aaaargh—!"
It happened shortly after Vladimir disappeared. One of the two men who had been questioning his words let out a scream as he was heading down the stairs to the second floor.
"Holy…! A corpse…"
A brief, hushed commotion rippled through the Pioneer Inn.
This was the very first day Vladimir arrived in the Tranon Dimension.
Kyaaaargh!
Within a massive dome with an open ceiling, a giant bat-like monster soared into the sky, letting out a terrifying screech.
The sound reverberated within the chamber, echoing and pounding against the eardrums of SooHyeok and Seriniel.
With a hardened expression, SooHyeok quickly circulated his internal energy, layering a protective shield around his ears.
Then, noticing Seriniel growing pale, he swiftly approached her and used both hands to cover her large ears, wrapping them in a barrier of energy.
"…?!"
Seriniel looked at him in surprise.
It was an abrupt situation, but thanks to his quick action, the inner-tormenting vibration from the sonic attack had vanished.
'Thank you.'
She wanted to say it, but the situation didn't allow for it.
If she opened her mouth carelessly, it might undo the protection SooHyeok had just given her.
SooHyeok, seemingly unaware of her gaze, looked calmly to the sky at the most powerful being they had encountered so far in the Tranon Dimension. Including its wingspan, the creature stretched nearly 3 meters. Its entire body was cloaked in flames, yet it flew freely, unaffected by the heat. It was clearly on another level compared to anything they'd faced before.
No way this thing came from a Rank-6 portal.
'So this is a boss monster.'
Boss monsters from portals are typically considered to be two or three levels higher than their portal's rank.
Even a single one shouldn't be underestimated.
And now, in front of them, hovered a monster that might be Rank-8… or even Rank-9.
'Seriniel said she sensed Cosmo energy inside its stomach.'
As an elf navigator, Seriniel's senses were far sharper and more accurate than a human's.
That meant the monster had swallowed and was protecting the Cosmo energy inside its body.
'Come down… come down…'
SooHyeok locked eyes on the Flame Bat, which was now dodging sonic attacks with ease.
Attacking a creature that high in the sky wouldn't be easy.
He had to drag it down to the ground somehow.
Of course, it wouldn't just let that happen.
'There must be a way…'
As if realizing its sonic attacks weren't working, the Flame Bat closed its mouth and began circling in the air. It was deciding what to do next—attack again or retreat. SooHyeok could see it clearly. His hunter's instincts sparked.
'No way I'm letting you run.'
If only he had a rope…
Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the circling Flame Bat.
'Distance is more than 10 meters, huh?'
If he fired his Gwonpung (Fist Wind) at full power, it could reach.
But one hit wouldn't be enough to bring down a flying Flame Bat.
As he debated, his inner energy suddenly surged.
'Come to think of it…'
During his fight with Magnus and Lee Woojin, he realized that while his total energy was lacking, his recovery rate had increased exponentially.
A new potential, granted by the System.
'Should I try it?'
A rapid-fire barrage of Fist Wind—something he never considered when he was just an average martial artist at Hwan Daeryuk.
Back then, his recovery couldn't keep up with the energy consumption. But now, it might be possible.
Eyes gleaming, SooHyeok clenched his fist.
"If we're not careful, it might flee…"
Seriniel, murmuring with concern, fell silent.
SooHyeok's eyes were shining.
Overflowing with confidence.
'A man beyond imagination…'
That was the impression Seriniel had of him since they first met.
Maybe this time wouldn't be any different.
She turned her hopeful gaze toward SooHyeok's clenched fist.
BOOM—!
A compressed wave of energy erupted into the air with explosive force.
The Fist Wind shot forward and slammed right into the center of the Flame Bat's belly.
KIEEEE—!
The monster let out a shriek, staggering midair from the unexpected blow.
Then, just as it tried to turn and flee—
BOOM—!
Another blast echoed.
BOOM. CRASH. BOOM.
Three more in rapid succession.
The barrage of Fist Wind howled like a typhoon.
The Flame Bat, wings spread wide to escape, instinctively looked back.
A crushing wave of invisible pressure was right behind it.
It started with one wing tearing at the edge.
Losing balance, the Flame Bat was immediately pounded by the following strikes, leaving it a mangled wreck.
KEEEE—ARGH! ARGH! AAAAAH—!
With one final scream, unable to escape the dome, the Flame Bat began to fall.
Its dying eyes slowly dimming.
Once again, SooHyeok thrust his fist forward.
BOOM—!
At close range.
With the reduced distance, the impact was on a whole different level.
The air exploded—followed by the Flame Bat's head bursting apart.
That was the end.
Its corpse collapsed onto the cold stone floor of the dome, lifeless and pitiful.
The flames that once engulfed its body vanished without a trace.
'Incredible… my internal energy recovery efficiency.'
Even after firing six Fist Wind strikes in rapid succession, SooHyeok still felt a surplus of energy, prompting a smile to form on his lips.
If he had to break it down, the total amount of internal energy might still be low, but the way things were now, it was practically as if he had access to infinite power.
This was no longer just martial arts.
It was a transcendent force.
A spine-tingling achievement.
It wasn't just coincidence that SooHyeok had managed to easily overpower Lee Woojin—who was on par with Bak Moogi—even though he hadn't yet reached the level of super master. And now, even the Flame Bat, a monster that was undoubtedly powerful and tricky, had crumpled before him without much of a fight.
"Amazing."
Seriniel, watching SooHyeok, couldn't hide her awe.
Even Shahar's praise hadn't done him justice.
'Truly…'
SooHyeok was different.
'Special.'
No other word even came to mind.
Her gaze toward SooHyeok began to change—tinged now with admiration, even longing.
A rare, exceptional presence. Emotions she had never even felt for her teacher, Shahar.
The only other time she'd experienced something similar was when standing before the Seed of Elvenheim, the World Tree—but even that was more akin to divine reverence than this.
In just a short time, SooHyeok had gathered his thoughts about the new power he'd gained and moved into action.
He focused energy into his hand, tore open the Flame Bat's belly, and retrieved the Cosmo Energy it had stored inside.
"I think this is it?"
Despite having just been inside a monster's gut, the slate he pulled out shimmered with a luminous, rainbow-like glow.
Seriniel gave a nod.
"Recovery complete."
SooHyeok grinned with excitement.
It had been just one week since entering the Black Fang Mountain Range.
And now, they had already obtained Cosmo Energy from the Tranon Dimension—much faster than expected.
They'd been lucky.
That luck extended even to Magnus's group of criminals, who had been crammed in the rear compartment of the vehicle—only allowed out for water and bathroom breaks.
Not that their suffering was over.
SooHyeok planned to hand them over to the Guild Association through Oh Shinu.
For awakened beings who'd lost their powers, prison alone would be difficult enough.
And since they were part of Magnus's criminal group, it would likely be worse.
'I'll have to ask Oh Shinwoo more about Magnus later.'
For some reason, Oh Shinwoo hadn't mentioned it, but SooHyeok was sure he knew about them.
"Looks like the boss dropped a mana stone too."
"Oh…"
They'd killed over a thousand monsters while wandering the Black Fang Range.
Most had been rat-type monsters that spawned in large groups, so the numbers were high—but the quality, not so much.
Unfortunately, monsters in the Tranon Dimension didn't have very valuable corpses.
But mana stones? That was a different story.
Those could always be sold for good money.
And in the past week alone, SooHyeok had picked up eleven Grade-6 mana stones.
"I had a feeling this one was different. The mana in this stone feels stronger than the others."
Seriniel said this as she handed him the mana stone directly.
Coming from an elf navigator who was close to perfect, that meant something. The power inside was indeed stronger than the others they'd found.
A proper boss drop, through and through.
'Wait a sec… how much is all this worth?'
On average, a Grade-6 mana stone goes for about 160 million won. Eleven of those? That's 1.76 billion won.
And if this one turns out to be Grade-7?
Grade-7s are worth twice that—320 million won. So the total would be 2.08 billion won!
Even after the 20% tax for earnings over a billion, that's still over 1.6 billion won.
"Jackpot!"
SooHyeok clapped without thinking and shouted, his face practically glowing.
'Even if we split it, that's 800 million. I can cover the cost of the ATV in one go!'
Seriniel, watching his cheerful mental calculations, smiled and said:
"Just so you know—I don't need a share."
"Huh?" SooHyeok blinked in surprise.
"Honestly, elves don't really need Earth money. We receive enough support for activity expenses already."
"But… we hunted together…"
"You hunted far more monsters than I did, SooHyeok. And I could never have taken down the boss monster alone. Of course, it may have been easy for you."
"Still, I'd feel bad keeping it all."
"Well, elves don't exactly have much use for Korean won anyway. But if it really bothers you…"
Seriniel paused, resting her finger on her lower lip in thought.
"Then how about visiting Elvenheim sometime?"
"Just that?" SooHyeok tilted his head.
"Yes. And if you get the chance, maybe you could teach us a little martial arts when you're there."
"Martial arts?"
SooHyeok's eyes widened at the unexpected request.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]