This F-Rank Bubble Mage Is Too OP!

Two advanced gatling guns swiveled with precision, locking onto River's position. A low mechanical hum followed, their twin barrels spinning faster and faster—like coiled serpents preparing to strike. In the dark forest of dying trees and cracked, ashen soil, even the monsters had momentarily hesitated at the sight.

River slowly raised both hands, palms out. "Hey, relax. I'm just here to help. No need to point your toys at me."

A pause.

Then the leader stepped forward—massive, towering, all muscle and threat. His battlesuit creaked under his shifting bulk, shadows sliding across the matte-black plating. His narrowed eyes scanned River with the precision of a targeting system.

"Just a motherf*cker, apparently?" the man growled.

River offered a faint, almost amused smirk. "You've got great hearing. But no, that's not me. I only heard your conversation."

He motioned casually to the battlecom earpiece visible on the leader's neck as if that somehow proved his innocence.

Boss Kayl didn't look convinced. The upper half of River's face was obscured by a cheap toy mask, but his mouth twisted into a sardonic smile that practically screamed liar. It was just subtle enough to provoke without crossing the line. Just enough to be infuriating.

Kayl spat on the cracked ground, a thick glob of disgust. "My archer's battlecom went silent five minutes ago," he growled, taking a step forward. The barrels of his gatling guns rotated faster. "Now you show up, alone, just in time for the Alpha to go berserk. Do I look stupid to you?"

River sighed dramatically, as if Kayl had just ruined a surprise party.

"Well… when you put it like that…" River slowly lowered his hands. "Then I guess there's no use denying it. I am that person."

Kayl's eyes darkened. "Good. Then di—"

Before he could finish, the ground erupted into a tremor. Loud, thunderous stomps boomed through the forest, the dying trees creaking and groaning in protest.

Both men snapped their attention to the right.

The Alpha Rotling burst away from the four Hunters—three meters tall, hunched, with elongated claws dripping with green liquid on the earth as it charged. Its mismatched fanged maw was smeared in black blood, its eyes filled with unfiltered rage.

"Sh*t!" Kayl bellowed. His body instantly flared with white and blue light—energy surging through the ports on his armor. The twin gatling guns pulsed, and with a sonic burst, twin beams erupted from beneath his feet, launching him backward like a rocket. He spun midair, narrowly avoiding the Alpha's claws, and landed heavily against a jagged rock outcrop.

Meanwhile, River didn't move.

He stood perfectly still as the monstrous creature charged directly at him. Its mouth opened wide, shrieking with fury.

"...Really?" River muttered.

Then the Alpha slammed into him like a battering ram. A bone-shaking crash echoed through the dead forest, splinters flying from shattered trees. River's body was launched into the distance, crashing through branches and disappearing into the gloom like a doll flung by a hurricane.

The dust settled.

Kayl gritted his teeth as he pushed himself to his feet. "That idiot…"

But deep down, he knew—no normal Hunter would take a hit like that and survive.

Which meant River wasn't just some fool.

If he defeated that dumb archer, then he's at least E-Rank…

Kayl narrowed his eyes, his finger hovering just above the trigger. His mind raced with possibilities as his teammates repositioned themselves around the Alpha Rotling.

What's his goal for coming here? To provoke us? For what? Or maybe… he's here for a Kill Steal… hmm, that's very likely, Kayl thought, his lips curling in annoyance as he raised his twin Gatling Guns once more.

He hated people like that—those who appeared only when it was convenient, aiming to take credit without doing the work. Scavengers. Opportunists. Cowards.

Meanwhile, the rest of his team spread out, trying to maintain a coordinated formation. Two sword users flanked the monster's left and right, striking at its limbs. Their shield Hunter stood front and center, blocking its wild swipes and screeches with gritted teeth. Behind them, the Mage Class Hunter began casting again, crimson flames gathering around his hands.

"Boss! This guy's too tough! We gotta focus on a weak point!" the caster shouted through the battlecom. A massive fireball formed above his head and then launched, exploding against the Rotling's back in a blaze of heat and sparks.

"I know! Don't tell me what to do!" Kayl snapped, activating his Modern Class Skill.

A shimmer ran through his weapons as his Skill: Resonance Barrage came alive. This Skill allowed every shot from his guns to build up Resonance energy—stacking with every hit. The more bullets that struck the enemy, the more power he could accumulate. Once maxed out, he could unleash it all in a devastating Resonance Beam—a concentrated burst of condensed kinetic energy capable of piercing even the Skill defenses.

It was a perfect Skill for Gatling Guns, and that's why he picked them. Maximum output, maximum hit rate, and, most importantly, maximum resonance buildup.

The problem? He had just wasted all that stored power.

Earlier, when the Alpha Rotling suddenly lunged at him, Kayl instinctively used the Resonance Beam to blast the ground beneath his feet—dodging the attack by launching himself backward like a human cannonball.

Had it not been for that damned white-masked bastard, Kayl wouldn't have been distracted. He could've used the Beam to damage the Rotling instead of the dirt. Now, his Skill was back to zero stacks, and his blood was boiling.

"F*ck! I wish I killed him!" Kayl hissed under his breath, the Gatling barrels roaring as he rained bullets onto the monster again. Each impact sparked a faint flicker of blue—proof that Resonance was accumulating once more.

The Alpha Rotling howled, a horrible sound that shook the withered trees around them. Its body pulsated, and in a burst of dark mist, several smaller Rotlings began oozing from its flesh—spawns made from its regenerative abilities. One of the sword users cursed as a zombie latched onto his leg, trying to tear through the armor.

"Damn it! They just keep coming!"

"This isn't normal for an E-Rank Dungeon!" shouted the shield bearer. "This thing's more like a D-Rank boss!"

Kayl's lips twisted. No… this thing's like a cheat code. If we didn't have decent formation and firepower, we'd be dead already. Bad luck right from the start. The moment they entered this forsaken place, they were immediately ambushed by the Alpha Rotling before they could even get a read on the terrain.

Then, they lost their scout—the archer who had scouted the area so other Hunters won't interfere with their fight. Based on the silence over the comms however, he was probably dead.

They were stuck in a dark, corrupted forest where the trees themselves looked like they were withering from disease, oozing black sap. The mist made visibility low, and any sense of direction was unreliable.

As Kayl and his team fought tooth and nail, hidden among the shadows of a dying tree, River crouched silently, his breathing steady.

He didn't have a single wound on him. His clothes was torn slightly, but only for show. The truth was, when he had been blasted away earlier by the Alpha Rotling, he had activated Bubble Shield, a sub-Skill derived from his oft-mocked Bubble Creation ability.

Thousands of micro-bubbles had materialized around him instantly, forming a cushion that absorbed and dispersed the shock. The blow that should have shattered his ribs instead sent him flying safely like a dandelion in the wind.

Of course, there was a cost.

His Mana Points had dropped sharply—from a full 100 down to 50 in seconds. That one moment of defense had consumed half his reserves.

"Haa…" River sighed, his eyes fixed on the ongoing battle.

He was currently meditating, passively gathering mana from the surroundings. The forest, as dead as it looked, still had ambient mana leaking through the ground and air. Not enough to sustain prolonged casting, but enough for recovery if he was patient.

"I need more MP," he muttered, frustrated. "If I want to use my bubbles more creatively, I have to increase my Mana Points."

His gaze turned sharp as he watched Kayl's group struggle.

"They're holding their own… barely," River murmured, rubbing his chin. "But that Alpha's going to evolve if this keeps up. They need to end it now."

And that's when a wicked idea that he's been considering bloomed in his head.

"I could just… wait. Wait until they've worn it down. Then…"

His lips curled slightly.

"Take the last hit."

A Kill Steal. Immoral by normal standards. But in the world of Hunters, rules and ethics were dictated by power. If you could take the kill, you earned the rewards—no matter how you did it.

It was savage, unfair, and real.

"Besides," River added with a smirk, "that guy with the Gatling Guns looks like he could use a little humbling."

He rose quietly from behind the tree, bubbles beginning to swirl faintly around his arm as he prepared his next move. He didn't plan on revealing all his cards. But one well-timed strike, one perfectly placed bubble bullet—and the Alpha would fall.

And once it did, he'd take everything it dropped. Experience. Loot. Credit.

The Limo Group could scream all they wanted. By the time they reacted, he'd be long gone.

A shadow flickered in River's eyes as he smirked. "Hopefully, you give decent EXP."