Infinite Evolution Hunter [NOVEL] - chapter 30
The branches of the Walking Trees burrowed into my body and sucked my blood. With the branches of dozens of Walking Trees coiling tightly around me, it felt like I was buried in a swamp made of wood.
Maybe because my blood was being drained, even regeneration wasn’t working well.
My consciousness drifted farther and farther away.
[Skill: Toxic Blood (A) acquired.]
[Regeneration skill level has risen from D to C.]
[Sturdy Body skill level has risen from D to C.]
The rapid chime of status-window alerts snapped my eyes open.
At C-rank, Regeneration can draw in surrounding life force and use it to fuel my healing. I stretched out an arm and drove my fingers into a Walking Tree’s trunk.
I felt the Walking Tree’s life force being siphoned through my fingers. In reverse, the Walking Tree shriveled like a mummy.
Transformed by the Toxic Blood skill, my blood melted the branches that had forced their way into my body. It wasn’t just acidic; it was a deadly poison, and the poisoned Walking Trees toppled like rotting timber.
I lost myself in the moment and smashed every Walking Tree my hands could reach.
[Level up.]
After I wiped out dozens of Walking Trees, I leveled up. I hadn’t leveled at all during this expedition, but it happened right when I needed it.
I absorbed life force from a few surviving Walking Trees, then turned my body toward the direction Na-young had been taken. Thanks to my keen senses, the footprints of the man who’d run off were starkly visible.
With the life force stolen from the Walking Trees, the wounds on my body regenerated, and my running speed rose to match.
Grinding my teeth hard enough to crack them, I tore across the mountains.
I tried to call while running, but whether it was the Walking Trees or the bullets earlier, my phone was in pieces.
“Damn…”
The curse slipped out on its own. It had taken too long to recover from the head wound and start the pursuit. He was a fast-moving hunter—I had no idea how far he’d gotten.
I drove power into my legs until the muscles felt like they would burst and kicked into a sprint.
After about ten minutes, I spotted him up ahead, running with Na-young slung over his shoulder.
I followed while killing as much footstep noise as possible.
He didn’t seem intent on harming her immediately, but with her in his hands I couldn’t attack recklessly. I shadowed him from as much distance as I could.
A black sedan was parked in a pull-off by the road. He threw Na-young into the back seat and hid his rifle under the trunk floor.
I held my breath, then burst forward the instant the trunk closed.
“Huh?!”
He flinched back in shock—but I stuck to him and threw a punch.
Even surprised, he easily slipped my fist. If he could dodge my blows with Agility over 50, he was at least B-rank—maybe even A-rank.
I kept swinging without pause, but annoyingly, he was faster than me.
Retreating, he drew a pistol from his waistband and fired at me. I couldn’t hope to match the agility of someone rapid-firing while falling back.
With Sturdy Body leveled up, even mana-charged rounds only pierced the skin.
“You’re supposed to be C-rank—how is this possible?!”
Seeing his bullets fail to penetrate, he shouted, full of frustration and anger.
“Who sent you?”
“Just die, you bastard!”
Since he was aiming for my head, I watched the muzzle and dodged only the headshots while doggedly pressing in.
But the bastard was so damn fast that shallow wounds kept piling up. If I dropped again, he’d pump my skull full of lead. Then he’d vanish with Na-young.
Now it was a question of whether my regeneration would give out first, or his mana would.
As I slipped another round and closed in, a bullet already in flight curved toward my temple.
For a moment, time seemed to slow. I saw the look on his face—a smile that said he finally had me. If that round lodged in my temple, my brain would rattle, and I wouldn’t be able to dodge the next shot.
[Agility has risen by 2.]
My Agility rose at the critical moment. My speed spiked, and I twisted my head out of the bullet’s path.
But I moved too late, and the round grazed my temple.
My brain shook; I dropped to one knee for an instant. It wasn’t as bad as the rifle hit earlier, but I lost my balance.
“This bastard is a handful… Let’s end it.”
He leveled the pistol and closed in.
There was still some distance, but I swung a fist at the oncoming man.
“What are you swinging at?”
Blood spattered from my fist and landed on his clothes.
“Huh? Huh?! Aaaagh!”
My blood ate through his clothes and began to melt his skin. If he’d been wearing heavy armor, that little bit of blood would’ve failed.
Poisoned, his breathing turned ragged and his eyes lost focus. If he’d been a lower-ranked hunter, he might have died on the spot—but his life force must have been high; he didn’t die immediately.
I shook my head clear, got to my feet. He raised the pistol and fired again, but his aim and power were a mess.
I slipped the shots, rushed in, clamped a palm over the muzzle, and drove a kick into his gut.
His abdomen caved and he crumpled.
“Phew…”
I’d lost count of how many close calls I’d had on what was supposed to be a relaxed expedition.
I went to his car and checked whether Na-young was safe. Her breathing was steady and her complexion looked good—no problem.
I took a healing potion and an antidote from Na-young’s pouch and trickled them into her mouth.
She didn’t wake immediately, but this was enough to set my mind at ease.
I took an antidote and went back to the shooter to dose him. He couldn’t die here—I had things to find out.
After I slapped him across the face a few times, he groaned and came to.
“Who sent you?”
“Who would send me?”
I grabbed his right index finger.
“Last chance.”
He stared at his index finger—the finger he needed to make a living—and seemed to weigh his options.
“I’ll end the suspense for you.”
I squeezed as if wringing the finger; there was a crack as the bone snapped.
“Gyaaaah!!!”
“A potion or an elixir can still fix that—for now. But if the finger’s gone, that’s it. You know that, right?”
“Shinwoo!! Shinwoo sent me!”
“Should’ve said so.”
I let go of the finger.
“Proof?”
“When the job came in, I recorded video for insurance…”
On his phone, the video indeed showed Tak Dong-yeon. Finally, I had him.
I restrained the man and drove him back to Baek Young-sin.
“An… assassination?”
At base camp, Section Chief Baek stared wide-eyed between me, Na-young, and the killer.
“It’s the same guy who blocked me from entering the gate last time. We have evidence, and he’ll testify.”
“This is bigger than I thought. This won’t stop with me—or even at the Awakener Management Bureau level. I’ll report it up the chain; please wait a moment.”
The Awakener Security Office, the higher department above the Bureau, is the most influential government body of our era.
A conglomerate like Shinwoo might bury financial crimes with bribes, but they can’t block a Security Office audit when Awakeners are involved.
Since losing top-tier hunters or talents like Jae-in overseas would be a direct hit to national security, the office is a powerful independent agency.
While I waited for Baek to handle things, I transferred data from my shattered phone to the new one the Bureau had issued—just then, a call came in.
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, this is Yoo Hyeong-bin from Hyunseong Investigations. Urgent intel: Tak Dong-yeon hired a hitman and sent him after you.”
Fast talker.
“He already arrived.”
“What?! Are you all right?”
“Are you actually worried?”
“O-of course.”
“I’m fine. Caught him and handed him to the Bureau. Next time, work a little faster.”
“I—I’m sorry.”
After that, everything moved quickly.
The hitman confirmed he’d been hired by Tak Dong-yeon, and Tak spilled testimony as if he had a personal grudge against Im Seong-jun, going on and on.
He’d even installed a camera in Im’s office and recorded their conversations—he’d been ready to betray him.
When we released the video of Im Seong-jun assaulting Tak, Im lost his mind yet again.
Thanks to Tak’s testimony, even more crimes came out than what he’d done to me and Na-young.
The PI office also dug up a surprising amount of information and was a huge help in putting them away. Turns out PIs are more useful than I’d thought.
Im Seong-jun was sentenced to life for murder, solicitation of murder, bribery, tax evasion, assault, and more. The hitman got 20 years. Tak Dong-yeon, recognized for his active cooperation with the authorities, received 10 years.
If they’d been monsters, killing them would’ve been the end of it, but I couldn’t just kill a chaebol heir—so it took far longer than I wanted. But now it was truly over.
—
“Thank you so much. I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve helped me—back with the Hellhounds, saving my mother, and this latest incident.”
When it was all over, Na-young sat beside me and spoke.
“It just turned out that way.”
“I’ll work even harder so I can repay you. Speaking of which, want me to curse you?”
I knew she meant to help, but it sounded… odd.
“Not right now. For the moment, just rest. Jae-in called—I’m going to stop by the workshop.”
“Can I come too? I haven’t been there even once.”
“Sure.”
The workshop where Jae-in worked was piling up with gear. It hadn’t been long since we built it, but it already looked like it needed expanding.
“Jae-in, where are you?”
“Over here.”
Jae-in emerged from a stack of boxes, dark circles under her eyes. She bowed to Na-young; Na-young bowed back.
“Boss, the item’s done.”
She handed me a box.
“Hey… I told you there’s no rush—why push yourself like this…”
The fairy suit I wore in combat was already much more useful to me than regular armor or clothes, so I wasn’t exactly dissatisfied.
“Once I got my hands on it, and then lay down… the ideas kept coming. I couldn’t stop.”
“I appreciate it, but please take it easy.”
“Okay. Try it on.”
She let my request for rest sail right past.
“But this color?”
When I opened the box, the translucent, iridescent color of the Queen’s wings was intact.
“Isn’t this a bit flashy?”
“Just put it on.”
“How… do I put this on?”
It wasn’t clothing—just a pretty fabric lying in the box—so I lifted it and asked.
“Huh?!”
In that instant, the fabric slipped into my clothes and began wrapping around my body.
“Whoa…”
I took off my shirt; a new, tight-fitting suit clung to me. It was extremely thin and didn’t restrict my movement at all—the feel was perfect.
“But the color is still a bit…”
“Try infusing mana and picturing the color you want.”
“Hmm… black…”
I don’t get to use mana often, so it took a bit of focus, but as I concentrated, the beautiful iridescence shifted to a matte black.
“It changed!”
Watching, Na-young was even more surprised than I was.
“It can cover your head too. It’ll shift to a similar color, so if you hide somewhere, you’ll be nearly invisible.”
I hadn’t asked for that feature, but she’d added it. It’ll be useful later.
“What about the levitation magic?”
“I implemented it using wind magic. Activation’s the same—infuse mana while picturing it, and you’ll float.”
As I pushed mana in, strips of fabric flared around my body and I felt lighter. My body bounced as if walking in very low gravity.
“It works. I’ll need some practice, though.”
“Attack pass-through is 95%. A perfect 100% was a stretch. But it has self-repair—given time, it will automatically fix itself using your mana. The item grade is only B, though. The specs are a bit… unconventional.”
“Grade doesn’t matter. Thanks for finishing it so quickly.”
Since it has no defensive properties, it probably counts as an accessory. Among accessories there are plenty with higher raw specs, hence the B grade.
“That… cost a lot of money. President Yang at Hwagok Collection fronted the materials for now, but you’re going to need to do some jobs later to pay him back.”
So we’d bought speed with cash.
“Money can be earned again. Great work.”
I was itching to test the item out right away—my body practically buzzed.