Darkness erupted from the demon sword, devouring the gray eye patch.

[Demon Sword Ubist has consumed the Cursed Eyepatch of the Dead.]

[It is a BB-rank item.]

[Entering Gluttony mode.]

[For 10 minutes, the demon sword and character's abilities double.]

He used Baramut’s Roar while his body emanated jet-black energy. 

Kuheong!

Kang Oh's body was further reinforced by the King of the Jungle, Baramut's power.

Boom!

Kang Oh charged.

Dirt flew everywhere as if a bomb had gone off. 

Swish.

Kang Oh swung his sword at Hamir. He was empowered by Gluttony and Baramut's Roar, thereby increasing his attack power and speed. 

Kang Oh could see Hamir’s mouth and shaggy beard despite the bearskin covering half of his face. 

Hamir's mouth straightened into a tight line. It seemed like he was gritting his teeth too.

He simultaneously swung downwards with both of his hand axes. 

Boom!

The two weapons clashed, giving off a weighty 'boom', and Hamir retreated.

Kang Oh swung horizontally in a wide arc.

Slash!

A white line that divided heaven and the earth!

Hamir quickly pulled back, but he was grazed by the tip of the sword.

Whack!

Which left behind a wound on Hamir’s stomach. 

"Huahp."

Kang Oh immediately targeted the wound.

However, Hamir deflected his blade with his hand axes.

"Tch."

Kang Oh looked disappointed.

If he’d had been a bit faster, then he would’ve landed a critical hit. 

"Sir!"

Then, a gray leather-wearing Red Beard Bandit came out of the thicket.

"Eder, keep him busy."

"Alright."

"Just hold out."

Kang Oh didn't want to be interrupted so he asked Eder, who'd been preventing Hamir's escape, to keep the bandit busy.

"You bastard!"

The bandit didn’t have time to waste; he fiercely attacked Eder so he could go and help Hamir. 

However, Eder currently inhabited the remodeled body of the Immortal King, Arumode and had become a Curse Knight; thus, he wasn't someone who could be taken lightly.

The bandit's blade soared through the air, emanating a green energy, and struck the skull shield. The clash between the sword and shield produced sparks, and Eder's mace struck nothing but dirt.

They had engaged in a sudden bout of attack and defense!

While the two were otherwise engaged, Kang Oh and Hamir continued their bloody battle.

"Huahp!"

Kang Oh deliberately swung his sword in an exaggerated manner, exposing his side to Hamir.

Hamir evaded Kang Oh's sword and swung his hand axe at the opening.

'As I thought.'

Kang Oh's eyes glinted. He quickly swung his sword diagonally.

Whack.

Hamir's hand axe landed first. Shards of light burst from Kang Oh's side, but the shards were small and faint.

Kang Oh had slightly tilted his body, keeping the damage minimal.

Whereas...

Whack!

Kang Oh's strike hit true.

Large, beautiful shards of light scattered into the air!

Hamir wobbled around.

'This is my chance!'

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed, and he swung his sword downwards.

Tempest Tiger!

However, Hamir was no easy foe. Hamir gritted his teeth and forcefully twisted his body.

Bam!

The golden aura passed Hamir and hit the trees behind him.

'Tch. I'm an idiot.'

He shouldn't have wasted such a powerful attack. Instead, he should've used smaller attacks to inflict some more damage...

"Kuah!"

Hamir suddenly threw a hand axe.

Danger, danger!

The top of his head felt cold. At this rate, his forehead would be split open.

"Ugh!"

Kang Oh quickly leaned back.

Thwock!

The hand axe embedded itself in a tree behind him.

At that moment...

Hamir took the bow off his back, notched an arrow, and shot!

Whizz!

The arrowhead, engraved with a purple rose, shined.

'I have to dodge this!'

Kang Oh rolled to the side.

However...!

The arrow followed him like a homing missile. Hamir had used the Homing Arrow skill.

Bang!

The arrow attempted to pierce his heart. He briefly felt faint due to the strong smell of roses.

Then...

Baramut's set shined, creating a barrier of wind to protect him. 

[The Baramut set's special ability, Wind Shield, has activated.]

[The attack has been nullified.]

For a second there, Kang Oh couldn't tell what was happening.

'I would've died from a single arrow? Why?'

But Hamir wouldn't give him a chance to think about it. 

"Kuah!"

Realizing that his arrow hadn't worked, Hamir rushed forward and chopped with his last remaining hand axe.

Kang Oh quickly pulled the demon sword towards his body.

Clang!

Once they clashed, Hamir forcefully pressed down with his axe.

However, he couldn't overcome Kang Oh, whose strength was amplified by Gluttony.

"Uaht!"

Kang Oh pushed him away with pure strength alone and instantly threw Gladion's Dagger at Hamir.

Swoosh!

Once it struck Hamir's calf, lightning rained down from the sky.

Boom!

Hamir was struck by lightning. His lips quivered and his bearskin smoked.

Kang Oh rushed forward, as he believed that this was the best time to push his advantage. 

"Uaahk!" 

He let out a battle cry and swung upwards.

Spurt!

He left behind a diagonal cut across Hamir's body, which burst in shards of red light.

"Die!" Kang Oh screamed and swung downwards. 

Darkness Strike!

A jet-black savage beast erupted from his sword.

Hamir raised his weapon with his right hand and supported the axe head with his left. This was the best he could do to protect himself against Kang Oh's attack.

However...!

Kang Oh put all of his power into this strike. Not only that, but Darkness Strike was further amplified by Gluttony as well. Hamir wasn't powerful enough to defend himself against this strike, especially when he wasn't in tip-top shape.

Boom!

The hand axe went flying and his demon sword, coated in a wave of darkness, cleaved through Hamir.

Hamir fell to his knees, unable to withstand the force behind the attack.

"This is the end!"

Kang Oh decapitated Hamir.

Whack!

Hamir fell to the floor; he didn't stand back up.

[You have defeated the Red Beard's Bear Warrior, Hamir.]

[You have come out victorious against a powerful warrior.]

[The side stat, Fighting Spirit, has been created.]

[The higher your fighting spirit, the more powerful you become (exceeding your limits) against powerful opponents.]

[Gluttony is active.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Physical +1]

"I won!" Kang Oh roared.

'Bear Warrior, Hamir. He truly was strong. But I was stronger!'

Then, he heard Eder yell, "Mr. Kang Ooooh!"

He was struggling against the Red Beard Bandit. To be more specific, he was barely holding out.

"I'm going!"

Kang Oh rushed towards the bandit, who was swinging his sword at Eder. 

A short while later...

Once the two joined forces, the Red Beard Bandit couldn't compete.

"Hoo. That's a shame. We killed him after Gluttony was over," Kang Oh said, staring at the body below.

Because Gluttony's duration time was only 10 minutes, he had almost no time left after defeating Hamir. 

Thus, Gluttony had ended whilst fighting against the bandit.

"Good work. Oh, and here."

Eder passed him the rose arrowhead. It had been dropped by the Bear Warrior, Hamir.

[Purple Arrowhead Engraved with the Rose Family's Symbol]

The Rose family was called the 'Archery Family' during the time of the Altein Empire. This arrowhead is engraved with the symbol of the Rose family.

The Rose family wielded arrowheads of varying colors; the abilities of the arrowheads vary based on the color.

+ Trump Card (Purple): The worse the situation is, the more powerful the arrow becomes.

Rank: A

Abilities: Attack Power (Undetermined)

Minimum Requirements: Useable only once. 

"Trump Card, huh..."

Kang Oh realized why this arrow had caused Baramut's set to activate. 

Plus...

'It's an A-rank arrow... Should I push Sephiro to buy it?'

He thought of Sephiro, who was both the Wind Archer and his contract worker, when he looked at the arrow.

'I don't need anything from him right now, but I should at least see how he's doing.'

Plus, he would force him to buy the arrow too.

Kang Oh grinned and placed the arrow into his inventory.

"Let's continue our hunt."

He'd managed to take down Hamir, but he still had a long way to go.

* * *

In Oga’s waiting room...

Jae Woo was resting with his helmet on his knees.

Knock. Knock.

Then, someone knocked on his door.

"Who is it?"

"Hello, this is Park Tae Gyu."

He heard a young man's voice from outside the door.

'Yoon Se Hwa's partner, Park Tae Gyu?'

Jae Woo put on his helmet just in case.

"May I come in?"

"Yes, you may."

Park Tae Gyu opened the door and came in. As always, he gave off a good impression and was dressed immaculately. 

Jae Woo glanced behind him, wondering whether Yoon Se Hwa had come with him. However, Park Tae Gyu was alone.

"Hello, Mr. Oga."

"Ah, hello. Did you need something?"

Jae Woo was wary of Park Tae Gyu's sudden visit.

"Since I came over to say hello, I thought I'd ask you something too," Tae Gyu smiled and said.

"What about?"

"Are you in a guild right now?" Tae Gyu asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Ah. I saw The Named. You were amazing! Those movements, that quick skill usage, and that overwhelming charisma!"

Tae Gyu gave him compliment after compliment.

"So I'd like to invite you to the Jairus Guild."

The reason he'd come was to recruit Jae Woo into his guild.

'The Jairus Guild...'

The Jairus Guild wasn't one of the 5 great guilds, but it was still a large guild that was in the top 20.

Guildmaster Jairus.

In the past, he had very briefly assumed the lowest seat amongst the Numbers: number 9.

'I've heard it's just as bad and authoritative as other large guilds.'

These guilds would tyrannize others by hogging dungeons to themselves, taking an entrance fee for dungeons, or persecuting the minority with their large numbers!

Most of the large guild acted in that manner, and the Jairus Guild was no exception.

"Although we're not one of the 5 great guilds, we're still a prestigious guild that's never been pushed out of the top 20," Tae Gyu said.

Of course, Kang Oh wouldn't be fooled by the word 'prestigious'. After all, he hated huge guilds.

"I'll decline," Kang Oh declared.

"May I ask why? Are you already in another guild?"

Kang Oh had briefly been in the 'Going as Three' guild.

However, he'd immediately disbanded the guild after annihilating the Death Potion Guild, so he wasn't currently in one.

"No, I'm not. I just don't like being tied down."

"Ah, I see."

Tae Gyu looked disappointed.

"If you change your mind, just let me know. We'll welcome you at any time."

Tae Gyu passed him his business card.

"I will."

Jae Woo was thinking something along the lines of, 'That'll never happen.', but he outwardly nodded his head and accepted the business card.

"Then I'll see you at the studio."

Tae Gyu departed.

"Phew. He's finally gone."

Jae Woo removed his helmet and placed the business card on the table.

A short while later...

Knock. Knock.

"Oppa, are you in there?"

He heard Soo Ah's voice from outside.

"Yeah, come in."

Jae Woo's face relaxed.

"Hello."

"Hey. Have you been doing well?"

"Yes."

Jae Woo and Soo Ah exchanged idle banter. 

Then, Soo Ah noticed the business card on the  table.

"This is..."

"Mr. Park Tae Gyu invited me to his guild and gave this to me."

"Ooh. He invited you too?"

"Wait, he tried recruiting you too?"

"Yes. But I had to decline because I'm already in a guild."

"Oh, you’re in a guild?"

"It's called the Witch's Forest Guild."

"Is it a private guild?" Jae Woo asked, and Soo Ah nodded her head.

"I told you I got that necklace from a friend last time. That friend is the guildmaster."

"Mm. I see."

"If I get the chance later, I'll introduce you to her. She's a good person like you."

Soo Ah smiled sweetly.

"Sure."

At the time, Jae Woo had no idea... who exactly this 'good person' was.