You Probably Know Who They Are

Taking a long breath, Yuseong focused his mind.

The world slowed down.

The world slowing down wasn’t a metaphor or anything else – it was literally what happened.

The sleet that had been whirling fiercely slowed until he could count individual snowflakes, and the flow of air against his skin felt so clear he could almost grab it.

While this was a realm that only those with deep training or extreme concentration could momentarily enter, Yuseong could enter it far too easily just by reciting the Asura Perception Way’s formula.

Creak.

Perhaps he pulled the bowstring too hard.

A sound emerged from the severely bent bow.

When Yuseong saw the target’s previously motionless body tremble, he released the bowstring without hesitation.

‘Missed.’

The creature that should have died in one hit was still alive and writhing.

Clicking his tongue briefly, Yuseong immediately nocked a second arrow and shot it at the target.

This time the target wasn’t so accommodating.

The target avoided the arrow with a slight tilt of its head, spread its wings while looking toward Yuseong’s position.

Kyaaaaaaak!

The monster bird flew toward Yuseong with terrifying speed that didn’t match its size.

Though the distance closed in the blink of an eye, Yuseong didn’t panic and nocked another arrow.

The third arrow.

The monster bird tried to barely avoid the arrow by slightly turning its body to maintain speed, but that proved to be the wrong choice.

The arrow Yuseong shot this time wasn’t an assassination arrow like before but an explosive arrow that would cause a blast.

Baaam!

As the monster bird caught in the massive explosion began to fall, Yuseong threw away the sniper bow he was holding and grabbed a rapid-fire bow.

Kyaaaaaaak!

Explosion, freezing, lightning, poison mist, gale, shockwave, disintegration, curse.

The monster bird hit by countless different types of abilities let out a miserable scream as it crashed to the ground.

After firing a few more arrows, Yuseong nodded with satisfaction after confirming the monster bird was no longer moving.

“This really is worth the price.”

The arrows he just used cost at least 100 gold each.

Considering the number of arrows, he had scattered thousands of gold into the air in the blink of an eye, but Yuseong didn’t regret it at all.

Just a few thousand gold.

Considering his financial situation, it was an amount not even worth noticing.

Coming down from the mountainside, Yuseong immediately began butchering the monster bird.

Using a specially crafted mithril butchering dagger to smoothly cut off feathers with steel-like hardness, Yuseong took only a few parts from the monster bird’s corpse before standing up.

Though there were still many valuable parts remaining, from a perspective of opportunity cost, it was more profitable to hunt another monster than continue butchering.

“It would have been convenient if everything could be solved with money.”

While most items could be bought from shops with money, stats could only be improved through fighting monsters.

Moreover, since monsters dropped special items and skills not sold in shops, hunting wasn’t optional but mandatory.

Kyaaaaaaak!

Kyeeek!

Monster bird cries echoing from far away.

When Yuseong pulled his hood down, his figure began melting into the surrounding environment.

While it didn’t improve stats much, for stealth ability there was nothing better than this.

The only regrettable point might be the murderous price of 30,000 gold?

Of course, this wasn’t a significant issue for Yuseong.

Yuseong moved on, leaving the dead monster bird behind.

‘Almost there.’

Excluding the central zone, four zones had boss monsters.

The existence of boss monsters was discovered through an accident.

A party hunting in the southern zone had accidentally discovered a cliff of unfathomable depth.

If they had just passed by nothing would have happened, but for some reason one party member randomly fired magic toward the bottom of the cliff.

And shortly after, a giant worm appeared from below the cliff and began attacking the party, completely wiping them out except for one person who barely managed to escape.

People called it a boss monster due to its strength being on a completely different level from normal monsters, and soon after, places likely to have boss monsters were discovered in other zones as well.

The problem was that boss monsters were so powerful that no one dared try hunting them.

They were at a level where even top rankers who had built up their power until the preliminary stage’s end would barely manage to take one down if they formed a party.

While people considered boss monsters a nuisance or postponed them for later, Yuseong thought differently.

“Let’s go hunt a boss monster.”

-…Did we hear the same story? How did you reach that conclusion?

“You said you read a lot of genre novels. Have you ever read a novel where the protagonist gives up because the enemy is too strong?”

-That’s only possible because they’re the protagonist, right?

“They say you’re the protagonist of your own life.”

This wasn’t a simple impulse or groundless confidence but a conclusion reached after meticulous investigation and calculation.

The shop sold special arrows with various abilities.

While normal archers couldn’t afford them or only carried one or two for emergencies due to the fatal drawbacks of costing at least 100 gold each and being single-use, Yuseong was different.

One or two shots?

Even thousands of shots weren’t a problem.

“According to rumors, I can handle it alone just fine.”

Boss monsters weren’t just for decoration.

Others simply couldn’t defeat them right now, but they could be taken down if parties formed near the preliminary stage’s end.

In Yuseong’s opinion, his firepower with unlimited special arrows was no less than what top rankers could achieve at their peak.

‘There it is.’

An ice palace built on a massive frozen lake.

Though no one had gone inside, this ice palace was the only place in the northern zone likely to have a boss monster.

Yuseong nocked a special arrow maximized for penetration in his sniper bow and activated the Hawk Eye skill that expanded his vision.

“Huh?”

Yuseong tilted his head.

According to people’s testimonies, ice golems should have been watching in all directions 24 hours a day from the palace walls, shooting ice arrows at anyone who approached.

However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t see any ice golems or anything similar.

He circled the lake just in case but couldn’t find a single ice golem.

After contemplating, Yuseong carefully moved toward the ice palace.

He received no attacks and encountered no monsters on the way to the main gate.

Creak!

The inside of the palace was devastating.

From ice decorations melted grotesquely, walls and pillars crumbled as if bombed, to ice golems shattered miserably – nothing remained intact.

The scene grew more devastating the further in he went.

And upon reaching the palace’s deepest part, Yuseong found what he wanted.

-Could that be the boss monster?

“Probably.”

On an ornate throne.

A pure white woman made of ice sat there.

A large hole in her chest, one arm cut off, and parts of her body melted.

Surprisingly, the northern zone’s boss monster had already been defeated.

‘How did this happen?’

Currently, no one besides himself should have the ability to defeat a boss monster.

‘If everyone in the current top 10 rankings gathered… No, that’s impossible.’

People expected to be in the top 10 rankings were all under separate surveillance.

While two or three people gathering might go unnoticed, it was impossible not to notice ten people gathering to hunt a boss monster.

“…Wait.”

Yuseong was struck like being hit in the back of the head with a hammer as he recalled a possibility.

Though it seemed far-fetched, it was definitely a possibility he had considered before starting the quest.

‘If they killed an ice-type monster, then their next target probably…’

Leaving the palace, Yuseong pulled his hood down low and began running straight in one direction.

He encountered monsters along the way but didn’t even spare them a glance.

This wasn’t the time to waste time.

Taking only minimal rest while running, Yuseong finally reached his desired destination.

A volcano spewing smoke like it might erupt any moment.

This was where the western zone’s boss monster resided.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosion sounds came from the volcano’s crater.

Much smaller and more irregular than natural explosion sounds.

When he reached the crater after climbing diligently, Yuseong’s suspicion turned to certainty.

“Fall back!”

“It’s fine! I can still hold…”

Bang!

“Kuhek!”

“Didn’t I tell you to fall back!”

“S-sorry!”

“Jia! Focus healing on the mister! Until he recovers, I’m the tank! Jungseok’s the DPS!”

Inside the crater, a battle between a lava monster and a party was ongoing.

A party fighting evenly against a boss monster.

And not a single face among the party members was in Yuseong’s memory.

‘How could I not know people strong enough to defeat boss monsters?’

It made no sense.

Yuseong had remembered every single person who showed even slight prominence from day one until now, without missing anyone.

The only possible explanation for him not knowing people of this skill level was that they had thoroughly hidden their abilities.

Clang! Claaang!

Most overwhelming was the young man fighting the boss monster head-on.

He was fighting advantageously against the boss monster.

It wasn’t just fighting well.

His swordsmanship, battle sense, practical experience, adaptability – everything was flawless.

Though he hadn’t learned swordsmanship himself, Yuseong, who had mastered high-level martial arts and combat technique, could glimpse traces of long years in the young man’s seasoned movements.

Crack!

As the boss monster, its core pierced by the young man’s sword, collapsed losing its form, Yuseong immediately stood up and began descending the mountain.

If the opponent was who he thought, there was absolutely nothing good about lingering nearby.

-W-who is that person?

Kim Hyun-jun asked with a trembling voice.

It was understandable to be shocked – like a bolt from the blue, someone appeared who was a level… no, several levels above even those ranked in the top 10.

After staying silent for a while, Yuseong only opened his mouth after completely descending the mountain.

“You probably know who they are.”

-But I’ve never seen them before?

“You’ll recognize the name immediately.”

Glancing back toward the mountain, Yuseong spoke in a low voice.

“A Regressor.”