Chapter 344: Gathering the Team Once More

"The target is... The Ghost of the Black Forest and the fastest beast in Arth, Swift Diak!" Seong Gook yelled once the clip was over.

Swift Diak!

It was ridiculously fast. The claim that it was the fastest beast in Arth wasn't an exaggeration. Thus, it wasn't beatable. No, hitting it was almost impossible, let alone killing it.

"Now then, the fourth monster has been revealed... How do you feel? Are you confident, Mr. Marco?" Seong Gook asked.

"We'll have to find out, but it won't be easy." Marco sighed.

"What about you, Mr. Kang Oh?" Seong Gook stared at Jae Woo.

"No monster is unbeatable."

"Oh, I would expect nothing less from one of the Numbers!"

"But... there are several monsters that can't be beaten at this point in time," Jae Woo added.

"Does that include Diak?"

"For the time being, yes."

'It'll be different when I face it though.'

Seong Gook nodded and said, "I see. Then, Mr. Strong Punch! How would you fight it?"

"There are two ways. Be faster than it, or slow it down somehow."

Strong Punch was exactly right. However, if asked 'How exactly would you go about it?', he couldn't say. After all, executing the plan was the hard part.

"Then what about you, Ms. Snow Flower? Are you confident that you can beat it?" Seong Gook stared at Snow Flower.

"Galmoss, Benolov... They were once called unbeatable monsters too. Even so, we defeated them, and I feel like this time will be no different."

"Thank you for your comments. Then let's reveal how much Diak is worth. Everyone, please take a look at the screen!"

Drum roll!

The bounty showed up on the screen.

200 million won ($200,000 USD)!

"The reward is 200 million won! However, our production crew has added in a new rule this time."

The contestants tilted their heads. They hadn't gotten any prior notice.

"If you go early, then you'll get a bonus. In other words, if you go first, then you'll get 300 million won! If you go second, you get 250 million! And if you go third or fourth, then you get the original 200 million."

Seong Gook briefly caught his breath and continued. "They came to the decision that it wasn't really worth going 1st or 2nd, compared to going 3rd or 4th, so the production crew changed things up a bit."

The contestants fought these unbeatable monsters in a certain order. Normally, going earlier would be better, but when fighting monsters like Galmoss, Benolov, or Diak, going later was a huge advantage.

After all, you'd be much more likely to fail than succeed, while the other contestants' chances rose by watching you fail. Thus, First Hunter 's production crew decided to reward those who went first.

"Now, let's figure out who goes when. We'll decide the same way we always do. Who would like to go first? As I've told you before, if you go first and succeed, then you will be rewarded 300 million won!" Seong Gook emphasized '300 million'. Someone took the bait, and raised their hand.

"Me."

It was none other than Jae Woo. The reason he'd raised his hand was, of course, because of the money. But that wasn't the entire reason.

During the Benolov hunt, Kang Oh had been stuck in fourth place. At the time, he could do nothing but sit on the sidelines as one of his competitors got paid.

There was a chance that would happen this time too. He'd rather go first, damn the risks, and get a shot at the 100 million bonus.

He also believed that with Gluttony and Transcendent Blade, he would be able to surpass Diak's speed.

"Then Mr. Kang Oh will go first..." Seong Gook was interrupted by another hand.

"I'd also like to go first," Snow Flower said.

Her reason for raising her hand was similar to Kang Oh's. Although the money was great, it wasn't her main concern; she had experienced the same thing as him. Ironically, it had been at the hands of Kang Oh himself. In the first round, Kang Oh had volunteered to go first and had killed Galmoss before she got her chance.

Thus, she decided to come forward in the event that Kang Oh volunteered to go first.

Marco and Strong Punch couldn't just stand there and watch. Kang Oh and Snow Flower had both succeeded before. If they could do it once, then they could do it again!

"Me too!" Marco raised his head.

"I as well." Strong Punch also raised his hand.

It was truly a bizarre sight. The contestants, who had avoided going first, were now fighting over the spot.

"Alright. Then we'll draw lots." Seong Gook sent the staff a signal. Then, they brought a box into the middle of the set.

"Whoever draws the red ball will be first."

"I'll go first." Jae Woo immediately stepped forward. It was initiative that Seong Gook had never seen before in their interviews!

He placed his hand into the box.

It'd be so great if his Hyper Intuition activated at times like this! Unfortunately, that's not how it worked. If it did work that way, then he'd be buying a lottery ticket right about now.

'Please!'

Jae Woo pulled out one of the balls.

"Ah!"

"Tch."

"Whoa!"

Groans and exclamations filled the studio. The contestants groaned, while the staff exclaimed. Jae Woo had pulled out the red ball.

"Yes!" Jae Woo cheered. To think there'd come a day where he was happy about going first!

"Mr. Kang Oh will hunt Diak first," Seong Gook declared.

After that, the remaining slots were filled. Kang Oh was first, Marco was second, Strong Punch was third, and Snow Flower was fourth.

"Mr. Kang Oh, please hunt Diak within a week."

"Understood," Jae Woo replied with a passionate gaze. His eyes seemed to say, 'I'll kill Diak and take the 300 million for myself!'.

"I wonder what Mr. Kang Oh has in store for us. Will he succeed or will he fail? Please look forward to it." Seong Gook gave his closing statement, ending the shoot.

* * *

Kang Oh gathered his companions.

Eder and Sephiro obviously joined in. Karin and Soren, the twins that'd helped him with Galmoss, happily joined in too.

The Gravity Witch, Soren!

The Desert Fairy, Karin!

Their gravity and sand magic would really help in the fight against Diak.

Kang Oh hired Darion too. He planned on using him as an off-tank and a melee damage dealer.

He also asked Bart if he was interested, but as expected, he declined.

"Kang Oh Oppa!"

"It's been a while."

Kang Oh and his teammates gathered at Eder's house. Everyone but Sephiro had been part of his Galmoss hunting team.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Sephiro." Since he'd never met them before, Sephiro introduced himself to Soren and Karin.

"Hello, my name is Karin!" the ponytailed tomboy, Karin, said cheerfully.

"My name is Soren." The twin-tailed Soren bowed her head.

Gyaa!

Waryong unfurled its wings, reminding them that it was here too.

"Oh my, is that a baby wyvern?"

"It's so cute!"

Karin and Soren were completely drawn to Waryong. Waryong acted like a baby and jumped into their arms.

'It looks a lot happier now than when it's with Sephiro. I must be imagining things.'

"Now that we're all acquainted, we'll have a quick discussion. Everyone, please sit down."

Kang Oh clapped, causing everyone to focus on him.

"Our target is Diak."

"Diak?" Eder tilted his head.

"It's a beast that lives in the Black Forest. It looks like a wolf, but it's extremely fast," Kang Oh said.

"Anything else?" Eder asked. He wanted more information on the target at hand.

"It's about 3 meters large and has silver fur. Other than that, I have nothing else for you."

"Then I suppose we'll have to gather information first," Eder said.

"That's right. So please gather as much information as you can." Kang Oh looked at his teammates.

"Yes!" Soren and Karin replied simultaneously. The rest of his teammates slightly nodded their heads.

Eder would peruse the books in the library, while Sephiro would use his information brokers. Soren and Karin would look through the community sites like Arthtory. And...

"Darion," Kang Oh said.

"Yes?"

"Ask Burkan, Mr. Dion, and the other gladiators about Diak. Wait, they might not recognize the name, so ask them if they know a ridiculously fast wolf-like monster that lives in the Black Forest."

"Understood."

"Alright then. We'll be hunting Diak in a week! We'll focus on gathering information for the first three days, and then we'll meet back here and have another discussion. After that, we'll hunt together for three days in order to improve our teamwork, and then hunt Diak on the last day." Kang Oh explained their schedule.

Once the meeting was over, Kang Oh secretly called Eder and Sephiro over.

"Eder, Mr. Sephiro."

"Yes?"

"What is it?"

"I'd like your help with something."

"Help with what?"

Kang Oh grinned, and brought Eder and Sephiro to the underground arena.

* * *

Kang Oh stood at the center of the arena!

Eder pointed his skull staff at Kang Oh, ready to unleash a spell at a moment's notice. Sephiro notched an arrow, and pointed his bow at Kang Oh.

Grr.

Waryong snarled and leaned over, ready to burn him to a crisp.

"Let's begin." Kang Oh raised Ubist.

"Hehe, anytime."

"Don't worry about failing. Just leave it to me."

Eder and Sephiro said.

"I won't fail," Kang Oh said decisively, and used Devil Trigger. A tail gently swished around from behind.

How much time had passed?

Kang Oh, assuming his Jet-Black Demon form, received a system message.

[Demon Sword Ubist's assimilation rate has reached 200%.]

[Demon Sword Ubist's trial has begun!]

Kang Oh's vision darkened, and Ubist appeared before him. It was much stronger than before, as it shared levels with its wielder.

Of course, Kang Oh couldn't see Ubist's new form; compared to last time, it was larger and more hideous, and its claws were sharper than before. What's worse, Kang Oh couldn't see anything in front of him, as the darkness obscured his vision.

"Hoo, hoo." Kang Oh breathed out and waited.

Kuhaaahk!

Ubist charged at him with an angry roar!