As soon as all of his teammates had retreated behind the yeti, Baek Ho-seung tightened his grip on his modified hand axe.
All five of them were veteran hunters who had been working together for a long time. They exchanged signals indicating they were ready and were about to move—
But Baek Ho-seung raised a hand to stop them.
“Wait. Let’s attack in a bit.”
“What the hell are you talking about? We need to take it down while it’s focused on them!”
“Yeah, what are you thinking?!” Impatient complaints erupted from all around.
“You dumbasses. Think for a second. That so-called ‘pinch hitter’—doesn’t he seem suspicious? Did any of you sense him coming?”
A cold silence settled over the team.
‘Just as I thought.’
That guy was dangerous. If none of his B-rank teammates had noticed him, there was a high chance he was A-rank.
Baek Ho-seung made his decision instantly.
“Kill him. If we ambush him while he’s focused on the boss, we can take him out without much effort.”
“But if we kill him and the aggro shifts to us—”
That would be a hassle, sure. But leaving him alive was an even bigger risk.
“What, you want to let him walk {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} away from this?”
What if he reported them to the Management Bureau?
Not just this time—but every dirty thing they’d ever done could get exposed, and that would be the end of them.
At that moment, the so-called pinch hitter was moving toward the yeti’s Achilles tendon.
Baek Ho-seung raised two fingers and wiggled them.
A signal to strike from behind.
The team moved all at once.
‘I need to redirect its aggro first.’
For some reason, the yeti’s gaze was locked onto Hanguru.
Normally, a boss like this would target the three closest people, which should’ve meant Gidan would be its primary focus.
Even though he was standing near its leg, the boss wasn’t acknowledging him at all. Gidan frowned.
‘This feels off.’
He wasn’t about to stand by and let a threat linger over the kid.
With a single slash, he severed the Achilles tendon. He needed to cut off its mobility first.
The yeti’s balance wavered, but the severed tendon regenerated at an alarming speed.
The yeti twisted its torso and turned to look behind it.
As the boss’s gaze locked onto him, Gidan’s lips curled in satisfaction.
“Yeah, that’s right. Look at me, not our little Guru.”
The yeti let out a thunderous roar as it twisted its upper body toward him.
“Grrrrraagh—!”
Boom!
The yeti’s downward smash sent a shockwave through the snowy landscape.
Gidan barely dodged it, the impact sending debris flying in all directions.
He tilted his head slightly to avoid the falling rubble.
The fastest way to end a boss raid was to destroy the core.
The problem was, the yeti’s body was covered in thick fur, meaning his dagger wouldn’t have the reach.
Gidan flicked his wrist.
[Biat’s Aspiration (S)]
The blade of the guardian house of Biat. It transforms freely according to the user’s will.
This item is bound to the user.
The dagger in his hand elongated into a sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a fit of rage, the yeti started wildly spamming its skills.
But Gidan’s figure blurred like an illusion, and the yeti’s attacks hit nothing but air.
As he nimbly dodged, his eyes gleamed as he spotted something on the yeti’s hunched-over form.
‘Found it. The core.’
He adjusted his stance to activate a skill.
But at that moment, someone leaped from behind, weapon raised.
It was Baek Ho-seung.
[Activating Skill: ‘Skilled Executioner’s Strike’.]
The blade of the hand axe came swinging down toward Gidan’s head.
In that instant, Gidan turned, and their eyes met.
A cold, blue light stretched out with his subtle head movement.
‘Gidan?!’
A chill ran down Baek Ho-seung’s spine.
But it was too late to stop now.
The instant before the axe could land, Gidan flicked his fingers as if swatting away an annoying fly.
His thumb and middle finger struck Baek Ho-seung’s solar plexus.
Thunk—
“Guhh!”
Craaaaack—!
Baek Ho-seung’s body was sent skidding across the snow, carving a long trail.
“Urgh!”
Clutching his stomach, Baek Ho-seung trembled violently.
That wasn’t a skill.
That was pure, overwhelming physical power.
And in that moment, it wasn’t pain that gripped him.
It was fear.
“F-fuck! It’s Gidan! Run for your lives!”
Before his words had even fully left his mouth, Gidan had already adjusted his stance.
[Activating Skill: ‘Breath of the Dead]
Crack!
The ground beneath Gidan caved in.
Woooooom—
“Huh?!”
Within a 2-meter radius, everything was being sucked toward him.
“Oh shit!”
Baek Ho-seung collapsed on the spot, drained of all strength. His teammates were in the same state.
Their mana was being siphoned.
Everything within range was flowing into Gidan.
They tried to resist, but it felt like sinking into quicksand.
‘At this rate... we won’t be able to escape!’
While Baek Ho-seung and his team were drowning in despair, the yeti, having fully regenerated its Achilles tendons, straightened its massive body and activated a skill aimed at them.
Swoooosh!
A colossal hand began descending toward them, along with Gidan.
Shuuuuk!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Kuaargh!"
"Aaaaagh!"
Screaming, Baek Ho-seung and his teammates squeezed their eyes shut.
Tilt—
But instead of crushing them, the fur-covered giant suddenly tilted to the side.
Boom!
Gidan, standing atop the yeti’s head, had driven his sword deep into its skull.
He withdrew the blade and wiped the blood off against the yeti’s fur.
‘The blood...’
Not something a four-year-old should be seeing.
Satisfied with his clean sword, Gidan straightened up.
It was time to go retrieve Hanguru.
Wooooong—
"Hmm?"
Gidan frowned and looked down at his sword, Biat’s Aspiration.
The pitch-black blade was vibrating, resonating with something unseen.
“Gidan? Are you serious?”
“I told you, didn’t I...?”
An S-rank hunter, someone they’d only ever seen in news reports or video clips, showing up like a knight in shining armor?
The sisters still struggled to believe it, exchanging dazed whispers—until Hanguru, still nestled in So-young’s arms, tapped her with the hand holding his magnifying glass.
- O Hunter, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate being set down.
“A-ah, y-yes...!”
Flustered, Son So-young hurriedly placed Hanguru on the ground.
- My thanks.
Once his feet touched the ground, Hanguru waddled forward, positioning himself at the front of Son Ah-young’s team.
Hmph!
With his arms rounded like a flexing bodybuilder, he puffed out his chest confidently.
The debris from the collapsed building bounced harmlessly off a shield surrounding him—the defensive items the Hyeonak Guild had packed onto him working in full force.
Of course, Son Ah-young’s team were hunters themselves, so a few rocks wouldn’t have hurt them.
‘As expected, Hanguru is definitely S-rank. He’s so cool!’
But unaware of this, Hanguru remained completely immersed in his self-appointed role as the team’s human shield.
Son Ah-young’s team let out a quiet sigh as they watched the extravagant, multi-million-dollar barrier items deplete their durability over a few stray pebbles.
‘Hmph!’
Hanguru, misunderstanding their silence as concern, turned to them with a reassuring thumbs-up. His oddly expressive arched eyebrows twitched up and down.
“...Something about this feels...”
“...Kinda cute?”
“...Yeah... really cute...”
As the three of them stood there, bewildered by the strangely adorable teddy-bear-clad child and his absurd level of wealth, Hanguru suddenly blinked.
- Hmm?
He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.
‘It’s... warm?’
A mosquito bite?
Turning in circles as he scratched his neck, Hanguru decided to check just in case it was a lingering effect from the boss’s skill. He put on his magnifying glass.
[Scanning target...]
[White Eyebrow Yeti (Boss)]
Collectible items: Eyebrows, Fur, Teeth, Mana Stone
Skill: Skilled Flattening Slam!
‘I don’t get it!’
It sounded stronger than ‘Flat Slam!’, but it didn’t seem related to the heat on the back of his neck.
Hanguru tilted his head in confusion and turned around—
Crackle—
‘...Huh?’
The sound of something shattering.
And a familiar presence beginning to spread.
Behind him, ‘it’ was tearing through space.
Through the lens of his magnifying glass, Hanguru’s eyes widened.
[Scanning target...]
[Malikian (S)]
A Fallen Guardian, one of the eight belonging to the Hesed Knights. The last heir of the Biat House, who once ruled over the oceans.
Collectible items: Mostly unknown, Cursed Demon Sword ‘Biat’s Void’
Skills: Biat Swordsmanship 12 Forms, Cursed Blood’s Submission
Two hands attached to its body, and two more floating in the air.
All four were struggling to pry open a narrow space.
And from within, a massive figure draped in a tattered hood began to emerge.

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