The Rise Of The No. 1 Hunter

The remaining baby golems began stomping forward angrily, their stone footsteps shaking the entire chamber.

At the same moment, the nine King Golems all began to move, preparing to charge.

The ground trembled.

Raito crouched slightly then leaped high into the air as the two baby golems attempted to intercept him.

Two options for landing.

Daichi and Haruya each rushed toward one baby golem, shouting as they raised their swords.

"HAH!"

Their blades slammed down.

CLANG!!

The baby golems blocked effortlessly with their stone arms. Sparks flew.

Daichi and Haruya gritted their teeth, struggling against the pressure.

Raito landed gently behind the clashing fighters, his steps slow and precise.

The air around him grew cold.

The pressure rising from him was heavy, predatory.

The entire chamber fell into silence as the nine King Golems sensed it.

Even the baby golems stopped for a brief second, their rocky bodies vibrating.

Raito straightened himself and began walking forward.

His eyes sharpened.

His aura intensified.

Like a hunter closing in on its prey.

Raito's body began to glow, a vivid purple aura radiating from him, wrapping his entire form in raw power.

One of the King Golems, massive and terrifying over 20 feet tall, charged at him with incredible speed, its rocky fists swinging like battering rams.

Raito leapt into the air. The golem followed, jumping even higher. Its pure speed was shocking.

SWISH!

With a single strike of his dagger, Raito cut through its head. Solid rock shattered and rained down, and the enormous body collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Raito landed lightly on the ground below, where the remaining eight King Golems stood, watching him intently.

Without hesitation, he charged.

One swung a massive arm to crush him. Raito dodged effortlessly. He slashed one hand off. Another golem reached for him. Another hand gone in an instant.

He leapt again, dagger in hand, plunging it into a shoulder. Then, with a single, devastating punch, he crushed the golem's head. The body followed, crashing to the ground.

The rhythm continued. Slashes, stabs, punches. Bodies of stone shattered and fell like dominoes.

The remaining three King Golems stopped. They didn't move. Their eyes, carved from stone, fixed on him.

Raito's lips curled into a small smile.

"This is actually kind of fun."

He recalled the last time he fought golems. It hadn't been anywhere near this easy.

"This dagger, the Inferno Demon Claw, strong enough to cut through anything. And now my raw strength has increased drastically on its own. I don't need any physical enhancements. My speed alone is more than enough."

He flexed his fingers, feeling the aura of power coursing through him.

"Time to finish the last three."

The three remaining King Golems stared at him, frozen, unable to comprehend how one man had just destroyed six of their brethren.

Raito's purple aura flared higher, and the chamber trembled under the sheer intensity of his power.

Raito ran toward the massive King Golem, its aura radiating power. The dungeon's strange energy pressed down on him, heavy and suffocating.

"Something's off about this King Golem, twenty feet tall. King Golems are usually taller or shorter. I can't remember. But something in this dungeon isn't right."

Raito then sprinted forward.

The Golem lunged, its massive stone arm swinging like a falling mountain. Raito leapt, landing on the back of its hand, sprinting along the giant stone limb.

The Golem raised its other fist to crush him, but it miscalculated. Its swing shattered its own hand.

Raito jumped, landing on its shoulder, running up toward its neck. With a precise slash, he cut through the thick stone neck, and the massive body collapsed.

Another Golem launched a punch at him. Instantly, Raito raised his dagger and stabbed the fist with sheer force, then pushed it forward. Running up its shattered arm, he leapt high and slam-kicked the core in its chest. The Golem exploded, stone fragments scattering across the floor.

The last one paused, staring at him, then slowly backed away before bolting.

"Since when did Golems get smart? Even when facing hunters, they usually fight blindly. But this one, it knows danger. It's adapting, almost like a goblin. Something's definitely wrong in this dungeon."

Raito teleported in front of it as it fled, leapt, and attempted a punch. The Golem teleported too, narrowly dodging, but Raito teleported to its head, raising his right leg and smashing the solid stone skull. The body shattered from head to toe.

Raito landed lightly on the ground, his aura flickering with violet energy.

"Time to move to the next floor."

He glanced back. Haruya and Daichi were still engaged with the child Golems.

"Should I help them?" he thought.

No. Not yet. They were strong and still had room to grow. Raito could hear their struggles, their progress. Even if they were on the brink of death, they needed this fight. That's how hunters become stronger.

Raito's eyes glinted as he watched them, letting them face the child Golems on their own, learning and growing with every strike.

The child Golem, towering at eleven feet, swung its massive stone arm down to crush them. Haruya and Daichi jumped back just in time, the force shaking the ground beneath their feet. Fatigue was already creeping into their muscles.

Daichi swung his sword in a flurry, slamming into the Golem's body again and again, but the stone barely scratched. Haruya's strikes fared no better.

"What the hell is going on?" Raito muttered, observing them. "This isn't right."

The two C-rank hunters were pouring all their strength into attacks that weren't even denting the Golem's body. Raito frowned. "They have skills, but their power alone isn't enough."

He stepped forward, voice calm but commanding.

"Stop hitting the body. Focus on the joints. The big openings in its arms, its waist. That's where it's vulnerable. Even if you can't break it in one strike, keep attacking those points. Don't waste your strength on the solid rock parts."

"Focus and keep moving," Raito thought.