The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All-Chapter 243: Norway (4)

It wasn’t a particularly special question.

Even if it wasn’t Park Dong-jae, many hunters were curious about Jang Si-hwan or Chae Gwanhyeong.

There are only two types of hunters who aren’t interested in “Named” individuals:

those who have absolutely no interest in the world’s affairs or those who are Named themselves.

Right now, Kang-hoo was someone who knew far too much about both as the original author.

However, since he couldn’t reveal everything as it was, he opened his mouth with an indirect excuse.

“I had the chance to see them fighting from a distance when we hired mercenaries from outside for an exploration team once.”

“Wow, seriously?”

“Yeah. Jang Si-hwan is a black mage capable of manipulating space. Spatial abilities aren’t his main focus, but even with just that, he surpasses Hosaka Kenji.”

“Hosaka Kenji is almost an authority when it comes to spatial utilization, isn’t he?”

“Heh, he’s a joke in front of Jang Si-hwan.”

Kang-hoo let out a small laugh. From the start, Jang Si-hwan’s overwhelming Level 800 made comparisons with Hosaka Kenji, at Level 500, meaningless.

“What else? Other than the parts shown in the videos.”

“In terms of black magic, there’s a lot of instant casting. Usually, the process involves casting a skill and then having a projectile fly toward the target.”

“But here?”

“Yeah. If he designates a spot with his hand, flames spread, space oxidizes, collapses, and explodes.”

“…That’s insane.”

“On top of that, he’s also equipped with necromancy. That’s about all I can share.”

After listing it all, Kang-hoo himself found Jang Si-hwan to be a rather tricky opponent.

Overall, he was the most challenging type of mage to face.

Besides, although he hadn’t mentioned it to Park Dong-jae, Jang Si-hwan could also control the flow of mana in his surroundings.

Thus, he could strategically draw mana exclusively to himself, creating an advantageous environment.

“What about Chae Gwanhyeong?”

He wanted to open with, “That guy’s a jerk,” but he figured Park Dong-jae already knew that well enough and let it pass.

“He’s good at short-distance movement. His short blink skill is top-tier, making him incredibly chaotic to deal with.”

This made him highly mobile and an expert at creating unexpected variables in combat.

Moreover, having worked with Jang Si-hwan for so long, their abilities—Chae Gwanhyeong’s short-distance movement and Jang Si-hwan’s spatial manipulation—complemented each other perfectly.

“And for a swordsman, he has a lot of magic-related skills. It’s less confusing to just call him a ‘magic swordsman.’”

“Wow… You must’ve seen them up close in detail. The Jeonghwa Guild videos don’t show that much.”

“Usually, what’s shown is Jang Si-hwan combining spatial abilities with short-distance movement to perform aerial acrobatics.”

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“Oh! I’ve seen a lot of that, too. So, you’re saying he uses various magic skills beyond that?”

“Well, something like that.”

Kang-hoo casually dodged the specifics.

If he went into detail, he could talk about the two endlessly. After all, they were characters he had meticulously developed in the original work.

Naturally, memories of not just those two but also the other members of The Thirteen Stars surfaced.

‘Each one is so powerful. The more I delve into what I know, the more vividly I realize it.’

Though Kang-hoo rarely felt fear, he reacted differently when it came to The Thirteen Stars.

It was as if his body had learned to fear them, flinching instinctively.

Of course, if he were to fight them, he was prepared to risk his life and fight to the end.

And for some of them, he was confident he wouldn’t die, at the very least.

Winning, though? Not sure about that. He had won against them thousands of times in his imagination, but that was just imagination.

“I think you’re already like one of those Named individuals, hyung. Actually, you probably already are.”

“Stop with the nonsense.”

“Don’t you know? Your name is gaining so much traction on the Black Network these days. Don’t worry, I’m monitoring it and will let you know of any bad news early.”

The Black Network piqued his curiosity. What kind of conversations went on there?

It reminded him of “TakiFam,” depicted in the original story, which was related to Takashi.

But while TakiFam felt like a small private circle, the Black Network seemed more like a dark community for the masses.

At that moment.

“Wait.”

Kang-hoo stretched out his hand, stopping Park Dong-jae as they arrived at a point leading to the double dungeon route.

Since their purpose at Dungeon 13 was to reap gains by intercepting serendipities, there was no need to follow the conventional path.

Expending effort there would be a complete waste in terms of value.

“Huh? Why?”

With no monsters detected, Park Dong-jae looked puzzled as Kang-hoo blocked the path.

But he soon dropped his curiosity, waiting for Kang-hoo to speak.

Kang-hoo never acted without a reason. It wouldn’t be wrong to say it was 0%.

“Something’s visible.”

Kang-hoo nonchalantly pointed to a spot leading to the double dungeon.

It was a location impossible to detect without focused concentration, akin to the Imbalance Point.

It was a subtle anomaly—a place where the natural order didn’t align perfectly.

For example, while all the leaves swayed with the wind, a single leaf would sway the opposite way.

Without awareness, it could be dismissed as natural, but it was a distortion embedded with misinformation.

“Look at that flower. While the other flowers and leaves sway with the wind, that one’s completely still, like a freeze frame.”

“Where?”

Park Dong-jae tilted his head in confusion.

There were so many flowers in the area Kang-hoo pointed at.

And they all looked so similar that it felt like playing a high-difficulty spot-the-difference game.

As Kang-hoo casually guided him closer, Park Dong-jae eventually grasped the essence of the space.

“Wow! This… Isn’t this like a double dungeon? The space feels all wobbly, like a passageway?”

“Seems like it.”

Kang-hoo’s act of pretending not to know, as though discovering this for the first time, was quite natural.

Looking back, it was clear that they hadn’t taken a main route, so it was a location unlikely to draw attention.

It was easy to guess why the countless hunters who had passed through earlier failed to notice this space.

Well, maybe it was just the protagonist’s plot armor.

The kind of omniscient reasoning that makes something undiscoverable for thousands or even tens of thousands of reasons until the protagonist arrives.

Anyway, Kang-hoo intended to dig into the meal laid out for Jang Si-hwan and Chae Gwanhyeong before they could touch their spoons.

“Let’s go in.”

“How could anyone resist entering this?”

Just like Kang-hoo, Park Dong-jae’s mind was already beyond the passageway.

It seemed unnecessary to explain to him in detail how this place was discovered.

Kang-hoo stepped in with Park Dong-jae. They had entered a dungeon within a dungeon—a double dungeon.

The environment changed.

If the dungeon landscape before this had been rugged mountain trails and barren, rocky terrain, the double dungeon’s interior was a lush forest with trees lined up impressively. The air was exceptionally fresh.

“This is making my heart race.”

Unlike Park Dong-jae, who was overwhelmed with a mix of surprise, excitement, anticipation, and worry, Kang-hoo calmly observed his surroundings. Sensing the odd atmosphere, Park Dong-jae asked,

“Aren’t you nervous, hyung?”

“I’d say I’m using the time I’d spend being nervous to gather more helpful information. It’s not that I’m not nervous.”

“You’ve got nerves of steel, hyung.”

Kang-hoo smirked inwardly at his own casual excuse for not showing fear.

It was moments like this that reminded him how much of an advantage and a defining trait his memory of the original story was.

The choice of movement routes was simple.

As they moved, the dungeon constantly presented branching paths, almost forcing decisions.

The trick was to always choose the path that openly gave off suspicious and promising vibes.

In other words, the paths that appeared safe were all actually dangerous. One had to completely flip their thinking.

“For now, don’t worry; there are definitely scouts here.”

Kieeeeek!

Kang-hoo immediately summoned a Fallen Fiend.

Claiming the fiend’s gathered information as his own would further reinforce the justification for consistently picking the correct path.

Kang-hoo hastened his steps.

No one else was likely to enter the dungeon, but the desire to secure the serendipity as quickly as possible burned within him.

One hour later.

After ten deliberate choices, Kang-hoo and Park Dong-jae safely navigated through the dungeon and now faced a monster.

They hadn’t encountered any minor monsters along the way, and yet here was a middle-boss monster.

Its name was Odaph.

It bore the title “Corrupted Tree Spirit,” and the reason for it was apparent.

Starting from the thick roots beneath the ground where Kang-hoo and Park Dong-jae stood, every tree visible in the surroundings was under Odaph’s influence.

Some of these were parts of Odaph’s body, while others were loyal servants obeying only Odaph’s commands.

【Odaph – Corrupted Tree Spirit】

【Defeating it guarantees an increase of 5 levels.】

“This reward is insane!”

Park Dong-jae’s jaw dropped as he read the specially activated guide window related to Odaph.

The higher one’s level, the greater the perceived benefit, but obtaining it now was by no means a loss.

Recalling the method to keep Park Dong-jae safe from his memories of the original story, Kang-hoo spoke in a low voice,

“Dong-jae.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to stab a dagger into one of the trees. Stay there and don’t leave that tree, just focus on supporting me with buffs.”

“Which tree?”

“This one.”

Whoosh! Thunk!

Kang-hoo’s Grade 5 dagger, “Sky’s Delight,” shot through the air and lodged perfectly into the center of a tree’s trunk.

This tree was the only one functioning as Odaph’s “kind self,” retaining its purity from before its corruption.

Park Dong-jae quickly moved into position.

He skipped over questions like “Why? How did you know?” trusting Kang-hoo enough to forgo them.

“Here I go.”

Once Park Dong-jae safely nestled within the tree’s protection, Kang-hoo began to move.

Odaph, having sensed the presence of intruders, started shaking multiple trees and targeting Kang-hoo.

Boom! Crash!

Sure enough, seemingly dormant tree trunks suddenly stretched out, flying toward him with deadly force.

Not only were the trunks thick and fast, but many of their ends were sharpened to deadly points.

Even a single mistake could result in multiple tree trunks impaling his body in quick succession.

Amid the chaos of writhing tree trunks, the one Kang-hoo had designated for Park Dong-jae stood firm.

It was as if the tree itself was resisting external forces, holding its ground with sheer determination.

While Park Dong-jae refreshed Kang-hoo’s buffs, he couldn’t help but tilt his head at the strange peacefulness around him.

“Is this… foresight?”

A double dungeon was an entirely new experience for both him and Kang-hoo.

How could Kang-hoo have known to use this specific tree as a safe haven?

It felt as though Kang-hoo had already known the strategy before entering.

If not for the word “foresight,” nothing else could explain the unfolding scene. A chill ran down Park Dong-jae’s spine.