Chapter 151: Chapter 149 — A New Faction“Black Hunt?”

I whispered in surprise.

"Yes."

The Ice Lord answered.

"One of the largest guilds on the southern continent."

The Ice Lord extended his hand toward me.

Then opened it.

Inside it was a shell...

Blue like the sea.

The moment I grabbed it...

The Ice Lord’s voice echoed inside my mind.

"It’s a communication shell."

"Once I pour my energy into it, I can mentally communicate with anyone holding it within a certain range."

"That’s impressive."

I whispered.

"But why use mental communication?"

"To tell you this."

The Ice Lord said.

"This tournament was originally meant to be exclusive to the Five Guilds and the masters currently inside the city."

"But."

He whispered.

He paused briefly.

Then continued.

"The grand prize allowed four masters to enter the private auction."

"For the Black Hunt Guild... participating in the auction directly is absolutely forbidden."

"But if the participation comes through a prize..."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Then nobody can stop them."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Forbidden?"

I whispered.

"Why?"

The Ice Lord sighed.

Then his voice echoed once more through the shell.

"Because they’re thieves."

"And killers."

"A guild built entirely upon hunting masters, beasts, and valuable relics."

"The major guilds and sects... hate them."

"But."

He smiled faintly.

"No one can ignore their power."

At that moment...

A voice rose inside the hall.

"The Black Hunt Leader."

The surrounding noise instantly fell silent.

Even the Fourth Rank masters...

Appeared more restrained.

The gigantic figure sat down in one of the side seats.

Then...

Slowly raised his eyes.

They swept across the entire hall.

For a moment...

I felt something cold run down my spine.

"Don’t stare at him too long."

The Ice Lord’s voice came quickly.

"That man..."

"He’s famous for remembering the faces of those who look at him."

I laughed lightly.

"That sounds like a children’s story."

But...

Despite my mockery.

I lowered my eyes anyway.

At that moment...

The other figures began entering.

Great masters.

Sect leaders.

People I had never seen before.

Then...

Suddenly.

Everything stopped.

BOOOOM...

The main hall doors burst open violently.

And a thin man entered...

Wearing completely white robes.

No aura.

No pressure.

Nothing.

But...

The moment he entered.

Several great masters immediately stood up.

Even the Black Hunt Leader...

Turned his head toward him.

"Who is that?"

I whispered quietly.

But this time...

The Ice Lord did not answer immediately.

Instead, he remained silent for several seconds.

Then he slowly said:

"One of the representatives of the private auction."

"The people here... aren’t afraid of the Black Hunt’s power."

"But."

His voice became clearer inside my mind.

"They fear the man who runs the auction itself."

"Then..."

I whispered.

"Why allow them to participate in the tournament?"

"It doesn’t make sense."

"Not because they arrived late..."

"Nor because five guilds together fear only one guild."

"In secret."

The Ice Lord whispered.

"None of the southern continent’s guild leaders truly consider the Black Hunt Guild an enemy."

"Because most of their raids happen beyond the borders."

"More importantly—"

He paused slightly.

Then added.

"They are secretly viewed as the hand that stirs chaos outside the borders."

"Keeping tensions alive."

"Conflicts."

"Assassinations of elites."

"All of it benefits someone."

"But."

He smiled mockingly.

"Of course the Council of Sects will never publicly admit they support such actions."

"Politics demands rejection and denial."

"That’s why many younger masters believe the Black Hunt Guild is merely a rogue organization."

"And in truth..."

"They are exactly that on the southern continent."

"Especially toward independent masters."

"I understand."

I whispered.

The Ice Lord’s words were completely true.

Even back on Earth...

Many nations sponsored organizations to spread chaos and destroy rival countries.

Yet publicly...

Those same nations denied everything and condemned those groups.

Even while secretly nurturing them.

And everyone already knew the truth.

But no one spoke about it.

Because everyone had their own interests.

And their own organizations.

"But."

I said.

"Why allow them to join this late?"

This time, the Ice Lord smiled.

But the smile...

Was cold.

"No one knows."

"But they paid something that may have been the price."

I narrowed my eyes.

"What?"

"They’re covering the rewards for the tournament rounds."

His voice echoed in my mind.

I looked once more toward the Black Hunt Leader.

He sat there calmly.

Massive like a humanoid beast.

But now...

I finally understood.

Why everyone treated him cautiously.

Suddenly...

A voice thundered from the main platform.

"Let the First Round reward distribution begin."

All eyes instantly lifted.

Then...

The names of the winners began appearing on the giant board.

And in the next moment—

My name appeared among them.

The rewards were distributed differently to each master.

One received a rare material.

Another...

A special weapon.

While one of the sect masters received a massive amount of accumulation.

Each reward...

Matched the master’s style and value.

Then...

It was my turn.

Unexpectedly.

Completely unexpectedly.

My reward...

Was a Greater Catastrophe Beast.

My eyes widened slightly.

Even the Ice Lord turned toward me in surprise.

"A beast?"

He whispered.

A woman descended from the platform.

She handed me a black metallic sphere the size of a human head.

The moment I touched it...

The system screen appeared.

{ Containment Egg }

{ Contains: Greater Catastrophe Beast — Unknown }

{ Status: Dormant }

"Unknown?"

I whispered inwardly.

That alone...

Greatly increased the beast’s value.

I accepted the reward.

And honestly...

I couldn’t say I was unhappy about it.

In fact...

It was far better than some ordinary material or weapon.

Especially for someone like me.

Someone who possessed the cave.

I smiled lightly.

"It seems luck is still on my side."

I whispered.

At that moment...

The second phase began.

The draw.

Immediately...

The atmosphere inside the hall changed.

The side conversations vanished.

Even the great masters...

Focused intently.

Then the voice from the main platform echoed out.

Announcing the start of the pairing selections.

"The masters who passed the first round..."

"Will now be assigned their Second Round matches."

"The rules remain the same."

"Surrender or death."

BOOOOM...

A gigantic board rose above the hall.

Names began moving rapidly across it.

One master beside me...

Clenched his fist nervously.

Another...

Muttered a specific name repeatedly, almost praying not to face them.

Even I...

Felt a hint of anticipation.

Then...

The first two names stopped.

{ Ice Lord }

versus

{ Lord of Whispering Winds }

"Hah?"

I whispered.

Several masters released low murmurs.

Clearly, it was a heavy matchup.

As for the Ice Lord...

He merely kept smiling.

But I noticed it.

His eyes...

Had become sharper.

Then...

The names started moving again.

One.

Two.

Three.

Until—

They suddenly stopped.

My eyes widened.

{ Ivory Mask Lord }

versus

{ Lord of the Seven Steps }

After some time...

The draw finally ended.

My opponent...

Was the Lord of the Seven Steps.

A fast opponent.

And one possessing some kind of exhaustion-based attack.

Just when I had finally strengthened my defense...

I ended up facing a master whose attacks didn’t rely on destruction at all.

Well then...

Time to analyze everything and prepare.

The matches—

"What are you thinking about?"

The Ice Lord’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I sighed.

"My opponent is troublesome."

I said.

"You’re right."

The Ice Lord replied.

"What about you?"

"What?"

"Your opponent possesses two different weapons."

"You should be careful."

"One more loss means elimination from the tournament."

I said.

"If I lose, then I deserve it."

"And if I win, then I deserve it."

"There are no excuses."

The Ice Lord answered.

Everyone inside the hall had begun talking among themselves.

Meanwhile...

The new Black Hunt Guild masters...

Stood motionless beside one another.

"Five newcomers."

I whispered.

"All of them are strong."

I didn’t stay long.

I quickly left the gathering.

I was eager to see what kind of beast I had obtained.

The moment I exited the palace...

I immediately transferred myself to the cave.

I requested the cave to create a temporary training space.

It finished quickly.

I stepped inside.

A massive green plain stretched endlessly before me.

I pulled out the black containment sphere.

Then narrowed my eyes at it.

"Let’s see."

I whispered.

Then...

I poured my energy into it.

Suddenly...

The sphere shook violently.

BOOOOSH...

Blue cracks spread across its surface.

Then...

A massive light burst out from it.

I instantly stepped back.

And in the next moment...

A huge shadow appeared before me.

A long body.

Four slender legs.

An extended tail.

Then...

Its full form was revealed.

My eyes slowly widened.

"What the hell is this?"

I whispered.

The beast...

Looked like a gigantic black deer.

But its skin wasn’t normal.

It was covered in silver lines constantly moving across its body.

Like living lightning.

Even stranger...

Its legs weren’t fully touching the ground.

Instead...

It looked as though it was gliding through the air itself.

The beast raised its head toward me.

Its silver eyes...

Locked directly onto mine.

And in the next instant—

It vanished.

"Hah?!"

I spun around instantly.

But it was already behind me.

Without sound.

Without presence.

Suddenly...

The system screen appeared.

{ Greater Catastrophe Beast }

{ Pale Lightning Deer }

{ Classification: Speed / Perception }

{ Current Status: Hostile }

A slow smile spread across my face.

Then...

I began laughing.

"Hahaha."

"Excellent."

I whispered.

"My next opponent is the fastest fighter I’ve ever seen."

I raised my eyes toward the deer.

"And meanwhile..."

The winds slowly ignited around me.

"It seems I just obtained the perfect training partner."