Chapter 33

"There are more people with Beast Transformation skills than I thought."

Far from other hunters, Suho was crossing the jungle without hesitation.

Of course, numerous specters appeared in front of him and attacked.

Everywhere, tree trunks contaminated with magic were relentlessly seeking lives.

Aaaawwwooooh-

[Banshee used 'Skill: Wailing'.]

[You lose your sense of direction for 10 minutes.]

Ghost Banshee howled overhead, disturbing Suho.

'Ruler's Power!'

Tuck!

Suho's invisible hand reached out and grabbed Banshee's neck and snapped it.

…!

[You have killed Banshee.]

['Skill: Wailing' has been canceled.]

"You shouldn't cry. Santa doesn't give presents."

Suho smirked and killed Banshee.

The ghosts infesting the place were all taken care of at once!

Suho's twin swords turned like windmills.

[Use 'Skill: Blade Storm'.]

Swoosh!

[You have killed a specter.]

[You have killed a specter.]

[You have killed a specter.]

…

Blade Storm is very useful in battles with bunch enemies.

However, even after catching so many specters, there was no sign of his level rising.

'I just need to catch more!'

He had no choice but to catch them all to move forward anyway.

[Use 'Skill: Blade Storm'.]

[Use 'Skill: Blade Storm'.]

Grumble-!

[You have killed a specter.]

[You have killed a specter.]

…

The days when mana ran out with just one storm cut were a thing of the past.

If it was the same now, he could use it eight times.

But something was strange.

'I don't level up even after catching this much?'

It felt like he did not gain any experience at all.

'Could there be more?'

Suho's eyes explored the surroundings.

His increased sensory stats now had the same senses as beast hunters.

'There.'

Suho found the place where he felt the most dangerous energy in the complex jungle.

He immediately turned and started running towards it.

-Where are you going?

Rakan's Sword asked.

"Let's stop by there for a while."

It was slightly different from the direction to the holy relic, but it wasn't quite the opposite, so it was enough to stop by briefly on the way.

"What is this again?"

Suho found a bizarre-looking tree.

[Wraith Tree]

"A ghost tree?"

-It is a sacred tree that protects the sanctuary.

Rakan's Sword recognized it.

"Sacred? This?"

Suho raised his head and looked up at the tree.

Rather than being sacred, it was a mysterious tree that looked haunted.

Just then…

Aaaaaaahhh-!

Kihihi!

Even at that moment, new ghosts were growing like fruits from the twisting branches of the Wraith Tree.

[It's like a ghost tree that grew up sucking the corpses of people who died on this land.]

Beru explained.

"As expected, there was a separate main body."

That's why no matter how many ghosts he caught, he didn't level up.

He seemed to have found the right one.

Suho smirked and launched Rakan's Sword into the air with the Ruler's Power.

Then he raised Vulcan' Horn and mercilessly struck the side of the Wraith Tree.

Slash-!

A great roar erupted.

But, the Wraith Tree was still standing there.

'Is it because it has a high defense?'

'Let's see who wins.'

Suho gritted his teeth and began striking the Wraith Tree.

Slash…!

It was then.

"Grrrr!"

Chills!

Evil red shadows attacked Suho.

Suho quickly fell back and hit their claws with his sword.

[Dungeon Jackal]

[Dungeon Jackal]

"Krrrk."

The dungeon jackals who landed on the floor surrounded Suho from the front and rear to prevent him from escaping.

They were already looking at Suho as prey.

As befits the guys who guard the trees that protect the sanctuary, the atmosphere felt different from the typical dungeon jackals.

That made it even more interesting.

"Great. You guys will be of some use."

Suho was exuding explosive energy from his entire body.

Swoosh-!

[The 'Title: Wolf Slayer' buff effect is activated.]

[All stats increase by 40% when dealing with beast-type monsters.]

"Krrrk?!"

Dungeon jackals instinctively lowered their stance.

The prey, which seemed weaker than them just a moment ago, suddenly burst out with the intimidation of a predator!

"… Grrr!"

Suho swung his sword at the dungeon jackals who were attacking at the same time.

* * *

[Shadow Jackal Lv.1]

Basic Class

[Shadow Jackal Lv.1]

Basic Class

[Krrrk!]

Shadow magicians shimmering with black energy.

Beru, who was riding on top of them, nodded with a haughty expression.

[Yes, from now on, serve as a loyal dog that protects Young Master.]

-This is why we lost the war…

A low voice came from Rakan's Sword.

Suho ignored the voice and was diligently cutting (?) the side of the Wraith Tree.

Tuck!

Krrrk-!

Numerous specters jumped to hinder Suho, but the shadow jackals reliably guarded his back.

Suddenly, a groaning voice was heard.

-Why are they protecting the intruder instead…?

[Whose side are you on?!]

-That wasn't me.

[Hmm?]

It seemed that someone was watching Suho from afar.

And finally.

Slash!

"Ah, that's it."

Grumble!

With a loud noise, the enormous wraith tree fell backwards.

[You have destroyed the Wraith Tree.]

[The ghosts around disappear.]

Swoosh.

The ghosts that hovered around Suho scattered and disappeared.

[Your level increased!]

"I leveled up right away?"

Suho's eyes widened.

He leveled up just from cutting down a tree.

Suho's eyes quickly searched the surroundings.

He climbed up a nearby tree and checked the situation elsewhere from that view.

Ghosts were still roaming around and attacking the hunters far away.

'There's not just one ghost tree!'

Suho's eyes flashed.

And that location would be best known to insiders.

"Lead ahead!"

[Kyao!]

At Suho's command, the shadow jackals took the lead and ran to the second Wraith Tree.

* * *

Grumble!

The sound of something collapsing was heard.

"… What?"

Baek Miho already dealt with all the hyena guild members and looked around. She turned her head in the direction of the roar.

'Is that where the man went earlier?'

She felt as though the ghosts around her had suddenly decreased slightly.

'No, it's not just a feeling.'

It definitely decreased.

About one-third.

Thanks to that, she could have some spare time.

Baek Miho looked back at the hyena guild members she had defeated to gather information.

Most of them died, but only one was bloodied and tied up.

Baek Miho asked while looking at his fear-stricken eyes with her vertically split eyes of the beast.

"Do you want to live?"

"Ack, I want to live!"

The werewolf desperately replied.

"Then, prove it. Why should I let you live?"

"W-What?"

"Tell me everything you know."

"Ack."

Grrrrr.

When Baek Miho revealed her teeth, the werewolf felt like it was prey in front of a predator.

Then…

"… Monarch?"

Baek Miho made a strange expression.

She didn't expect much, but surprisingly, the value of the information the werewolf gave was great.

"Are you saying that a king who ruled over the beasts existed?"

"Y-Yes! But the king died a long time ago and the throne is now said to be vacant!"

"So, is this a fuss about choosing a new king?"

"That's right. We also suddenly heard auditory hallucinations, so we rushed here."

The werewolf, who didn't want to die like his other colleagues, confided in the information he knew.

In fact, the hyena guild members thought that only they could hear the hallucinations.

They thought that because they were awakeners who drank the blood of the canine clan, they were qualified to become king.

But when they got there, that wasn't the case.

Any hunter with the power of a beast deserved to be king, and all of them were rushing and fighting.

"Hmm."

King…

Baek Miho was lost in thought for a moment.

Of course, it would be a lie if she'd say she wasn't greedy.

Even at that moment, the hallucinations asking to prove her qualifications were stimulating her desire.

-Prove your qualifications to be the king!

'… But it's also suspicious.'

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't imagine that the monsters would have approached humans with a good intention.

How much more if they would choose their king from among humans?

'That's interesting.'

Baek Miho sneered and folded her arms.

It was also right not to step up.

However, she wondered what results this test would eventually come to.

Actually, she was kind of scared.

What kind of scheme are the demon beasts here plotting under the pretext of having a King's Trial?

'My father was away at a time like this.'

Baek Miho sighed as he remembered her father, Baek Yunho.

In fact, if they were to choose the king of beasts among real humans, there would be no one more qualified than Baek Yunho, an S-Class hunter.

But, there was something she was sure of.

'If my father were here, he would have made the same decision as me.'

-Prove your qualifications to be the king!

"Argh. It's really noisy."

Even at this moment, Baek Miho's head was pounding because of the voice that stimulated her desire.

-Kill more!

Right then.

Grumble!

Again, like before, she heard the sound of something collapsing somewhere.

A strange thing happened.

-The one who survives until the end… Whoa! Please stop!

"Huh?"

'What's going on?'

The voice that had been heard on repeat all of a sudden sounded annoyed.

All the hunters in the forest, including Baek Miho, raised their heads in bewilderment.

Even the werewolf who was begging Baek Miho for his life perked up his ears with a puzzled face.

The auditory hallucinations that they had been hearing repeatedly all along then stopped.

Suddenly, the number of ghosts decreased by half.

'What happened? I hope the King's Trial is over…'

Of course, not.

After a while, the hallucinations resumed as if nothing had happened.

-Prove your qualifications to be a king… Ah! Stop! Just please! Now there is only one tree left!

"… Hmm?"

What the hell is going on?