Background (2)

Fusion Cards could be extremely costly to use, and the ‘Wheel of Fortune – the Eye of the Storm’ was a card that most players could not use easily because of the high cost. However, it was at least less expensive than the absurd cost of the ‘Breath of the Raging Dragon.’ Moreover, the card was quite powerful.

The four cards created when Sang Hyuk used ‘Wheel of Fortune’ were thrown to the four cardinal directions to create a powerful wind barrier. Now Sang Hyuk and Cres were separated from the outside world.

The ‘Wheel of Fortune – the Eye of the Storm’ has been activated.

The user’s attack and defense is increased by five percent, and the player’s dodge stat is increased by fifteen percent. The enemy’s defense and ability to avoid attacks decrease by ten percent. The spell effects last for ten minutes.

‘I will end this quickly!’

Sang Hyuk deactivated Dark Wings and activated his Dragon Artifact, the Red Dragon’s Fang which was stronger than his flying armor. Cres looked surprised, and Sang Hyuk first checked the countdown timers after strengthening himself.

‘Even if his friends arrive, they cannot interfere while the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is in effect. I will finish him in ten minutes.’

If Sang Hyuk could not do so, things will become dangerous very soon.

“Let’s enjoy those ten minutes.”

Sang Hyuk took out another card and threw it on the ground. It was a high-class fusion card ‘Burning Grounds.’

It was a cheaper fusion card compared to ‘The Wheel of Fortune.’ While it would be expensive for general users, it was one of the cheapest for Sang Hyuk. However, the effect was quite nice, as it spread fire over forty meters for fifteen minutes. The reason such a card was so cheap was due to the fact the fire burned both enemies and friends indiscriminately. As the spell even burned the user, it was quite difficult to use.

When ‘Burning Grounds’ met ‘The Wheel of Fortune,’ a massive firestorm sprang due to the synergy between the wind and fire effects. Cres had to completely focus on protecting himself from the scorching flames.

‘He’s crazy…’

Cres thought that Sang Hyuk was trying to kill both of them simultaneously, as the dimension travelers often used such attacks on NPCs. Though the dimension travelers suffered penalties from dying, they did not die permanently like NPCs, so the travelers found this tactic effective.

However, Sang Hyuk had no such intentions. If he had not used his Dragon Artifact, it might have been suicide. However, his fire attribute was now increased to 124 due to the Red Dragon’s Tooth, and now he could even read and control the flow of the fire mana. If his fire attribute were over 150, he could completely control the flames, but he was not at the level. Also, his fire resistance was 164, which made him immune to flames.

Flame pillars flew around, one deliberately crashing into Cres and exploding. While Cres tried to block the flames, there was no way to hide. While Cres could endure one attack, the problem was that other flame pillars were rushing at him.

“How long can you last?”

Sang Hyuk let other flame pillars overtake Cres with an evil smile, and Cres experienced hell for ten minutes, which felt like forever.

Massive flames roared out after ‘The Eye of the Storm’ ended, and Cres’s three comrades jumped back from the heat while looking away to escape the heat. However, Cres had died two minutes ago and had turned to ashes. He had only left his weapons behind, but the three mercenaries could not know this. They only thought of Sang Hyuk as a cornered rat, and it was their biggest mistake.

The flames still remained, and one of them engulfed a mercenary. After removing Cres, the rest was easy if they were fought one by one.

“I’m the hunter now!  Run, rabbits, run!”

Sang Hyuk shouted as fire pillars shot everywhere, and he was telling the absolute truth.

***

You have completed the ‘Human Hunters,’ and the next quest, ‘Camille’s Goal,’ can now be accepted. A new Pioneer effect has been granted. Until your quest ends or fails, this effect allows you to check the locations of all ‘Camille’ NPCs, and your persuasion skills increase by thirty percent when talking with all ‘Camille’ NPCs.

‘Was this a chained quest?’

While this was the first time Sang Hyuk saw a sudden quest turn into a chained quest, he at least knew that Camille had sent the mercenaries. Sang Hyuk opened the quest window and checked the specifics.

‘So, the quest is telling me to block Camille and survive the attempt.’

The quest’s goal was simple, as Camille was trying to remove or neutralize Sang Hyuk as they had lost a valued client because of him. He could clear the quest by blocking Camille from doing so, and he felt like this was a bonus as he had to do this anyway.

‘However, the Pioneer effect suggests I should talk with them.’

Sang Hyuk thought that he would need to meet them again but decided he needed to secure Sun Stones first. While taking care of the Camille problem was a priority, Sang Hyuk needed to secure the amount he needed to supply. While he had hunted only for eight hours, he had only secured the minimum amount necessary.

So, Sang Hyuk thought about the Camille problem before logging out. The safe way was to negotiate with Camille, as Sang Hyuk would need to suffer a little loss, and give Camille a cut. Since he had high persuasion skills that had been reinforced with the Pioneer effect, he thought it may be easier than expected.

While he knew this, the problem was that Sang Hyuk hated extortion.

‘Do I have a reason to negotiate with them?’

Sang Hyuk thought for a long time and decided that he could not coexist with Camille. He would do this his own way, even if it were a bit dangerous.

‘I will talk, but not to negotiate with them.’

Sang Hyuk had gained confidence from this fight, as he thought he would need to avoid the Sun People for now due to his past memories. However, he realized that he had been too scared after facing them directly. If he could fight against them on equal footing, he thought that he did not need to suffer any losses.