novelraw Chapter 48: I Haven’t Even Made a Move Yet
Chapter 48: I Haven’t Even Made a Move Yet
“Hunting dog?”
The Old Hunter’s face twitched. His crimson eyes blinked as he glanced at the monster deeper in the cave.
At this moment, the Pool Dweller had fully entered battle mode. Thick, powerful tentacles extended from the surface of its massive watery form.
Even though the werewolf-formed Old Hunter now stood at a towering two and a half meters tall, he still looked pitifully small and helpless compared to the enormous water orb.
And within that orb, those two glowing blue eyes were radiating a terrifying aura.
You call that a hunting dog? You’ve got jokes!
The Old Hunter coughed up a mouthful of blood, barely managing to stumble out of the wall.
The Pool Dweller had been sleeping peacefully—until the Old Hunter let out that loud roar and woke it up.
And boy, did it wake up grumpy.
The Old Hunter glared hatefully at Chen Qi. He hadn’t expected to be lured into a monster trap.And because he’d rushed to show off his power, he had underestimated the situation.
Still, he had no thoughts of retreat—in fact, he was even more excited!
Wasn’t he a monster too?
His body could endure this creature’s attacks. But Chen Qi couldn’t.
Which meant, as long as he tied the thing down, its tentacles would do the job for him and kill Chen Qi.
Boom!
The Old Hunter’s muscles bulged as he charged at Chen Qi!
At the same moment, the Pool Dweller flung out a thick tentacle, slamming it toward the Old Hunter.
Boom!
Chen Qi instantly drew his black blade and activated Burst to block the Old Hunter’s double-handed smash.
The black blade’s aura surged into the Hunter’s wounds, slicing out streams of blood.
But the Old Hunter just grinned. Once the tentacle reached them both, it would be the end for Chen Qi:
“This is my powerful body, my unmatched strength—”
BAM!
But something unexpected happened.
The Pool Dweller’s tentacle suddenly curved mid-air like a giant palm—and smacked the werewolf’s head!
Boom!
The Old Hunter couldn’t dodge in time. His massive body was knocked to the ground and tumbled like a ragdoll.
“What just happened?”
Struggling to his feet, the Old Hunter couldn’t hide his shock.
It felt like the tentacle had purposely curved to hit just him.
Why only him?!
What did he do to deserve that?!
Did this monster… have bias?!
They were both humanoid beings! Was it because he looked meaner?!
The Old Hunter couldn’t understand. He looked again at the Pool Dweller, which was still calmly sprouting tentacles.
An indescribable fear crept into his heart.
Could it really be… just like Chen Qi said—that thing was his hunting dog?!
Bam! Bam!
Before he could think more, two more tentacles whipped toward him with brutal speed.
He had no choice but to raise his arms and block.
Even so, the fierce strikes dug deep trenches into his thick forearms.
Nope. Time to bail!
The Old Hunter’s monstrous pride and bloodlust were completely shattered by the Pool Dweller.
He turned to retreat—
And saw Chen Qi walking toward him, black blade in hand.
The black blade scraped softly against the ground.
The look in Chen Qi’s eyes was like someone staring at prey caught in a trap.
And the Old Hunter—he was the little wolf that had just fallen into it.
“Ah…”
The Old Hunter looked at his trembling hands, stunned.
Even monster bodies could shake?
In front of him—Chen Qi. Behind him—the Pool Dweller.
A perfect pincer attack.
Boom!
They struck together!
The Old Hunter turned back to fight the Pool Dweller’s tentacles.
But the flurry of sword strikes and tentacle slams rained down on him like a storm.
Chen Qi didn’t hesitate, unleashing Burst and slashing with full force!
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
His monstrous body was instantly covered in fresh wounds.
Even with a raid-level BOSS body, the Old Hunter couldn’t withstand the dual assault!
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the cave.
“Stop!”
Chen Qi shouted.
With that, the Old Hunter’s huge frame collapsed with a thud.
His failing body looked up at Chen Qi.
He had fallen.
He knew Chen Qi wouldn’t spare him. Wouldn’t spare a monster.
Even after becoming a monster… in the end, he’d still been hunted.
Chen Qi took a deep breath and delivered the final slash.
With that, the Old Hunter fell completely silent.
“Whew… it’s over.”
Chen Qi exhaled long and slow, his hand gripping the sword slightly sore.
As a high-distortion raid BOSS, the Old Hunter could really take a beating.
He had used all kinds of skills midway—like Iron Wall, Regeneration, Indomitable, Combat Continuation—dragging things out for several seconds.
Luckily, while the monsterized Old Hunter was strong…
He and the Pool Dweller were no pushovers either.
Their combined assault had dealt massive damage!
This was the strength of Chen Qi and the Pool Dweller!
A raid BOSS? Just a warm-up.
Chen Qi clapped excitedly. In that fight alone, he contributed at least 20% of the total damage.
“Beautiful!”
He bumped knuckles with one of the Pool Dweller’s mini-tentacles.
If the Pool Dweller had kept attacking, there was a real chance it would’ve stolen the kill.
Thankfully, at the end, the Pool Dweller actually understood him.
Time to loot!
Chen Qi crouched down and took the keyring from the Old Hunter’s belt.
His hunting rifle was broken, and his clothes were plain.
This keyring was the most valuable item on him.
With it, he could open the Hunter’s warehouse and the treasure chests inside—getting the loot the Black Rabbit Gang had been after.
Just then, a notification popped up in front of him.
【Defeated hidden BOSS: Old Hunter. Gained 1000 spirit points.】
Only 1000 spirit points…? Chen Qi muttered.
That Old Hunter had been ridiculously hard to kill.
Clearly, spirit points were best earned through profession tasks.
Still, as long as he kept exploring, in most cases, he’d overflow on spirit points anyway.
And now, another inspiration prompt appeared:
【Defeated final hidden BOSS of the Hunting Ground. Distortion level reduced by 18%. Rift will end early—closing in three hours.】
Everyone in the Rift could feel this inspiration trigger.
The hidden BOSS had been defeated. The clear objective was gone. The Rift would now end early.
Chen Qi let out a long breath.
The biggest rewards, aside from the top-tier rating, were the treasure chests inside the Hunter’s warehouse.
Not bad at all!
Three hours was more than enough to get there.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, this Rift run could definitely be called a “full haul.”
And then—the most important prompt appeared.
【You have slain the hidden monster: Old Hunter...】
【Rift is now settling…】
…
…
Elsewhere in the forest, solo hunters hidden underground, in caves, in trees, and in water—
All came out from hiding.
Many couldn’t believe the inspiration they’d just felt.
The Old Hunter was defeated. The Rift would end early!
Without hesitation, they raced for the exit.
They exchanged glances. None of them had any idea what had happened.
All they could do was guess from the inspiration triggers.
“Unbelievable. The Old Hunter was actually taken down… Was it the Black Rabbit Gang? Half of them got wiped out.”
“No way. The Black Rabbit Gang couldn’t even protect themselves.”
“Prayers worked! The Sea Goddess, and the God of Daylight—they answered me!”
“Guess I didn’t need that insurance after all. I get to live!”
“I’m screwed. Spent all my money…”
“If it wasn’t the Black Rabbit Gang… was it the Floral Witch?”
“That was close. I almost died for nothing.”
“Don’t say that. We made it out alive.
And we even ran into the Floral Witch—maybe we’ll be featured in the White Dove paper!”
“True… We’ll have stories to brag about in the tavern. This was a high-distortion Rift!
And we ran into the Floral Witch!”
Even though they gained nothing, most of the hunters were thrilled.
The Old Hunter had been rumored to have insane regeneration as a werewolf.
In a Rift this distorted—and with a witch present—just surviving was already a blessing.
Plus, while they didn’t earn much, they’d still get settlement rewards. And now they had something to boast about at the bar.
No matter what, they sincerely thanked whoever defeated the Old Hunter.
If it weren’t for that person, the roaming Old Hunter could’ve blown their heads off at any moment.
As they walked toward the exit, they kept talking about the Floral Witch.
“You think it really was the witch who defeated the Old Hunter?”
“Is that even a question? Who else could it be?”
“She’s terrifying—solved the monsterized Old Hunter in such a short time.”
“I can already picture it—Old Hunter crushed into a pit by the Floral Witch, turned into fertilizer.”
“You guys probably never heard the poet’s legend. A hundred years ago, even the Ice Witch who repelled the great whale called the Floral Witch ‘Granny.’”
“Let’s go! Hurry! If the Floral Witch locks onto us, we’ll be fertilizer too!”
For various reasons, everyone assumed it was the Floral Witch behind everything.
The more they talked, the more hyped they got—bringing up the mysterious Floral Witch, even the Rift Tides from centuries ago.
In their minds, the image of the Floral Witch became increasingly terrifying and unknowable.
She was unfathomable!
She controlled everything within the hunting ground!
…
And at that moment, under the moonlight—at the Hunter’s Warehouse—
The supposed mastermind behind it all, the Floral Witch, looked up at the sky.
Tiny flowers shaped like question marks kept blooming above her head.
What just happened?
What just happened?!
She hadn’t even made a move yet—why was the Rift already over?!