'The world is filled with terrifying systems—so I must be clever in how I outsmart them.'
Ito's nerves had already been bewitched by the beauty of the lake, now glimmering with radiant blue crystals. He had fallen under the spell of a lake that had appeared out of nowhere.
"How is this even possible? I feel drunk on love... from all this shimmering blue." His fingers couldn't stop caressing each of the blue crystals, each shaped in ways that dazzled the human eye.
Ito swam and circled around the lake with a joyful heart. Until something odd caught his attention.
"I only see blue. Everything here is blue. Even the seaweed?" He held onto the aquatic plant, puzzled.
"Too bad my magic weakens in water. I can't stay down here for long." Ito quickly turned to swim toward the surface.
Passing through the eerie blue seaweed, unease began to settle in his chest. And yet, amidst the growing anxiety, he felt a sense of relief…
The twin-headed dragon was gone.
"Was it you who made that stinking beast vanish, O lake? If so, I owe you my thanks."
He bowed his head, though a strange sensation lingered within him.
'My body… it feels weaker the longer I stay here.'
His limbs grew heavier, as though his energy were being siphoned away. Ito's vision blurred, vanishing as fast as a cheetah, his body swaying like a leaf in the current.
Half-conscious, he saw a whirlpool inching closer.
'You must run.'
"How can I run… when I don't even feel like myself anymore?"
Ito's soul had been overtaken—possessed by an entity he never realized had entered him from the start.
The whirlpool surged nearer, and… someone was inside it.
It passed him, brushing close—
And a tall, shadowed figure within the swirl stole away what little awareness he had left.
In the vast courtyard of Oliga, a body lay motionless, eyelids beginning to flutter.
Ito awoke from his unconscious state. Sitting up, he heard faint voices in the distance.
"My system should've activated by now. Where are you, system? Am I the chosen one?" Ito rose to his feet, determined to search for the system.
Unaware that a marking band already circled his wrist.
Then, the bells of Oliga rang loud and clear—echoing across the land, a signal that the System had awakened and chosen the Official Blood Hunters, those who would traverse the five forbidden regions to seal the escaped convicts of Hell's Prison.
At that moment, Ito finally heard the voice of the System speaking to him.
[Hellhunt System Activated]
[Ito | Eastern Clan | Eastern Hunter]
[Status: Official Blood Hunter]
[Class: Soul Binder]
[Skill: 1 main skill | 1 variant skill]
[Mission: Destroy the Hell Bubble]
[Target: Liank (The Forked Dragon)]
[Threat Level: F]
[Location: Oliga Courtyard]
[Reward]:
• 200 Goldi
[Outcome: Mission Completed]
Ito let out a long breath, relief softening the tension in his chest—he had been chosen.
"Before I become the hunted… I will hunt. I will seal every last fugitive of Hell's Prison." A wicked grin tugged at his lips.
Meanwhile, the Central Hunter stood proudly, having already destroyed his assigned Hell Bubble. Unlike Ito, he had known from the start that the band was already clamped tight around his wrist.
[Hellhunt System Activated]
[Osa | Central Clan | Central Hunter]
[Status: Official Blood Hunter]
[Class: Wind Reaper]
[Skill: 1 main skill | 1 variant skill]
[Mission: Destroy the Hell Bubble]
[Target: Cong (The Gnawing Rat)]
[Threat Level: E]
[Location: Oliga Courtyard]
[Reward]:
• 100 Goldi
[Outcome: Mission Completed]
"Next, I'll be hunting for Goldi," Osa muttered, lips curled into a sly smile.
"Our clan's hunters always lead the way in everything. Sure, sealing fugitives earns you Goldi, just as the system intended… but stolen Goldi? That sounds even more tempting." He licked the corner of his mouth, eyes glinting with fire.
'If you want to be rich… steal Goldi.'
Osa had been raised in the Central Clan's territory, where that infamous slogan of the elite hunters had echoed in and out of his ears for as long as he could remember.
"When your target falls by my hand, the Goldi goes in my pocket. Just the thought of it… it thrills me."
He stepped away from the now-empty courtyard of Oliga. A thousand hunters had already vanished toward their fate, and none would return to their clans until one thousand fugitives from Hell's Prison had been sealed.
The same was true for the Northern Hunter, who had begun his brutal hunt even earlier.
Zhen—now a Brutal Hunter—was the one who had reawakened the Hellhunt System. He was already traveling toward the Forbidden Western Territory, ready to hunt as much as his hunger demanded.
"The journey west... I'll take it as the first cautious step of my wandering life," he told himself with quiet certainty.
The Hellhunt System had indeed been reignited. The title "Official Blood Hunter" rang with an elite prestige,—but it was also a veil.
A veil that hid the truth:
The system had unleashed not only chosen hunters…
…but brutal ones.
The Forbidden Territories had become a mandatory map—essential grounds for tracking down all manner of fugitives from Hell's Prison.
Zhen wore his cloak with purpose, face hidden behind a cloth mask that revealed only the gleam of his eyes. He was in disguise, already laying out the strategy for his execution.
His footsteps slowed as he entered the forbidden valley. A wave of heat surged through his body. The grass here was crimson, the shade of pomegranate blood.
By the time he descended further into the valley, his cloak was drenched—bathed in sweat. It poured from his skin like a flood, yet Zhen walked on, undeterred by the weight dragging at his body.
There was only one thing he longed for.
'I'm waiting for you.'
'I want to smell blood.'
'Bring me a superior entity—something worthy of the sweat I've spilled.'
[Hellhunt System Activated]
[Mission: Behead 10 Undead]
[Target: Zud (The Undead)]
[Threat Level: A]
[Location: Western Forbidden Valley]
[Reward]:
• 1,000 Goldi
• Pet Skull (Sono)
'You came at the perfect time. My thirst has peaked.'
Zhen pulled off the cloth covering his face, folding it slowly. Holding the folded fabric in both hands, he raised it before his eyes.
Then, with silent conviction, he tied it tightly—blindfolding himself.
'Now I'm ready to go feral. Come to me, Zud.'
With his eyes sealed shut and his sword clenched in his left hand, the only compass Zhen relied on was instinct.
Instinct forged in the company of Ice Wolves. And today, he would revisit that brutal lesson.
A foul, iron stench slammed into his senses. One by one, the undead emerged from the valley's shadows, limping toward him.
Two-meter-tall corpses surrounded Zhen, dragging their feet across scorched soil. Their bellies were hollowed out and oozing blood, skin the color of molten lava. Rows of jagged fangs clattered together with a bone-chilling sound. No ears. Maggots spilled from their torn flesh in sickening droves.
Some leapt—landing square in Zhen's open palms.
'Seems like closing my eyes was the right choice.'
They surrounded Zhen, hungry for flesh—yet Zud's minions moved sluggishly.
Zhen rotated his body slowly, tuning in to his senses—smell and sound sharpened beyond normal.
"The stench is growing thicker. I can hear their teeth grinding from all directions. The Undead are circling me in a perfect ring."
Maggots were already crawling across his limbs.
'Let me free you from this agony.'
His sword plunged into the gaping stomach of one of the Undead—but suddenly, the corpse gripped his right arm tightly.
'You picked the wrong arm.' Zhen dropped his stance slightly.
With a circular motion, he slashed through the creature's torso, letting the arc of his blade follow the curve of its hollow gut. The corpse collapsed to the ground, its belly split wide.
Blood spurted, splashing across the Northern Hunter's face—just as a shriek tore through the air, sharp enough to rupture bone.
Then, from the corpse's open stomach, the writhing maggots spilled out and formed another body.
The number of Undead doubled in an instant.
The maggots crawling over Zhen had already reached his ears.
"We hate you... we hate you… we will devour you… cursed hunter! Get out of our valley!"