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15. The Goblin Chief

After sending off the five people and one corpse, Han Seol, who was left alone, adjusted his breathing while sensing the presence that was slowly approaching.

‘For now, I think I can sufficiently handle it with my remaining stamina, but…’

That also depended on the opponent.

The opponent who finally revealed himself… couldn’t be anything but the worst result Han Seol could think of.

Krrrrr!

The physique that was difficult to believe was the same goblin was a head taller than Han Seol, its build was like a bear, and wrinkled folds covered its belly and face.

And next to the huge physique were two dark pink goblins.

‘A goblin chief and two hobgoblins?’

Hobgoblins were elite monsters, a superior species of goblins.

A monster called a goblin chief, leading two hobgoblins like lieutenants, was classified as a champion monster, and it was no exaggeration to say that its combat power was on par with a young troll.

Kuku!

Perhaps because it was very angry, it pointed at Han Seol with its finger and shouted, and the two hobgoblins threw their bodies toward Han Seol.

Pat!

‘As expected, hobs are different, huh?’

If goblins had the image and strength of small rascals, hobgoblins were literally small warriors.

Their physique was only slightly larger than goblins, but their combat power was on a different level.

Moreover, they were equipped with middle swords, shorter than longswords and longer than daggers, and small round shields.

In that state, the two that approached Han Seol like an arrow tried to skillfully occupy Han Seol’s left and right sides and launch an offensive.

However…

Puff. Puff.

Thud… Saaaa…

The result was absurdly ridiculous.

The two hobgoblins, who were full of poison, were shot in the head by Han Seol’s compressed Magic Missile… also known as Magic Bullet, and collapsed, dying instantly.

This was the reason why Han Seol could confidently take this position despite extreme physical fatigue and stamina reaching its limit.

For him, ‘swordsmanship’ wasn’t everything.

Kruk?

When the opponent used magic to bring down his two cherished subordinates, the goblin chief’s expression immediately crumpled.

Thump thump!

As if threatening, it struck its spiked club on the ground a couple of times and then rushed toward Han Seol at a terrifying speed.

Tak.

At that moment.

When Han Seol flicked his finger, the magic Grease, which reduced the coefficient of friction on the floor close to 0, was activated.

Thud!

Then, the goblin chief stepped on the part that had instantly changed from an ordinary floor to an icy road and ungracefully fell backward.

With such a huge physique, just slipping and falling backward while running would have been a considerable shock.

But naturally, that alone couldn’t kill it.

Kraaaaah!

The goblin chief, who became even more enraged by the fact that it had fallen, got up from its spot, revealing its viciousness.

At that moment.

Fwoosh!

Cold sweat ran down the goblin chief’s forehead at the intense heat emanating from Han Seol.

It was because of the bright yellow ball spinning at ultra-high speed in Han Seol’s right palm.

‘The goblin chief has thick skin and solid muscles and bones, so my current level of Magic Bullet can’t penetrate its skull or heart.’

But it didn’t matter.

There were many other ways to kill it.

One of them was the Fireball spinning above Han Seol’s palm.

However, as always, it was quite different from an ordinary Fireball.

Because the surface of the sphere was bumpy, the more it spun, the more oxygen it could draw in through those protrusions, and as that oxygen burned, it repeatedly increased the power of the Fireball.

It was a way to use a more powerful Fireball without investing more mana than necessary.

“Your whole body is a lump of oil, so it will catch fire well.”

Swoosh!

Han Seol threw the completed Fireball at it.

The balance of the protrusions themselves was perfect, so it flew straight without drawing a curve like a modified Magic Bullet and hit the goblin chief.

Kwakwakwang!

There was no need for oil to catch fire.

The Fireball, with condensed thermal energy, exploded with tremendous flames, instantly incinerating it before it could even scream.

At the same time, not only Han Seol’s stamina but also his mana was depleted.

It was because he had used quite a few Magic Bullets during the battle so far, and the mana consumption of the Fireball was quite luxurious even by his current standards.

But now the time of endurance was over.

What remained was the sweet time of settlement!

First, Han Seol checked what the hobgoblin that had dropped closest had left behind.

“45 silver 10 bronze and 46 silver 22 bronze…”

With 100 silver equaling 1 gold, the two combined had earned almost 1 gold.

However, there wasn’t much in terms of items.

He acquired a few useless items and one middle sword of the hobgoblin, but even if he put them up in a hunter’s store, no one would probably buy them.

‘Still, I can’t neglect junk items. In this world, there’s also a system called the Exchange Box.’

The Exchange Box referred to an item that exchanged useless items for money.

They were usually available at each hunter branch and could be used under the condition of paying a 10% commission of the exchange amount.

The goblin chief gratefully dropped two D-grade skill books.

As expected of the nest’s owner, it also dropped a large sum of 1 gold and 78 silver.

One was an action skill related to blunt weapons called ‘Power Bash’, and the other was an action skill called ‘Guard Up’ that increased the defense of a shield.

Both were skill books that could easily fetch 2 to 3 gold, so it was truly a windfall.

However, Han Seol’s luck ended there.

The items left by ordinary goblins were quite shabby.

On average, they dropped 3~4 silver per individual in terms of money, and most of the items were junk, not to mention skill books, they didn’t even drop trashy equipment items.

Since the bag was not enough to collect all the junk items, he had no choice but to discard them.

If he had purchased an inventory skill in advance, he could have collected everything, but now he could only carry as much as the bag allowed.

‘When I save up money, I should also consider a portable Exchange Box. Although the price is high, if I can exchange the junk items that are discarded like this on the spot, I’ll be able to replenish quickly. Above all, there’s no commission fee.’

The pure money collected in this way amounted to 13 gold and 89 silver, and if he disposed of the skill books and acquired junk items, he could expect a profit of roughly 20 gold.

When converted to old currency, 1 gold had a value of about 1 million won, so just the profit obtained from this goblin lair was close to 20 million won.

Therefore, 20 gold was by no means a small amount of money.

If someone living in a poor neighborhood was given the large sum of 20 gold, it was enough money to easily survive for 2 years without doing any work alone.

However, for a hunter, 20 gold was by no means a large sum.

Rather, it was fine to think of it as pocket change.

‘Even calculating with the minimum team composition of a 3-person team, first, the 20 gold would have to be divided into thirds. Then, after treating injuries at the hospital, repairing equipment, stocking up on bandages or medicine, and using it for the family’s living expenses… forget about saving, it would be tight to even buy a single D-grade skill book.’

For a hunter, skill enhancement was indispensable.

But if one couldn’t enhance their skills, in the end, they would have no choice but to retire after only dealing with small monsters like goblins, kobolds, or gnolls.

This was precisely the reason why most hunters worldwide mainly possessed D-grade skills and had one or two C-grade skills as a hidden trick.

Even if you searched the whole world, there weren’t as many hunters with high-grade skills of B-grade or above as you might think.

‘This has made it clear.’

For Han Seol, who had been contemplating whether to form a team and operate after graduation or move alone, this experience provided a definite basis for making a decision.

He thought that if he formed a team and operated, he might be able to quickly challenge stronger monsters and expect fast results…

‘At this rate, it would be much faster to grow alone.’

He had already obtained permission from the leader, Cha Ha-neul, that all the income earned here would be Han Seol’s share.

Therefore, Han Seol could use the nearly 20 gold entirely for himself.

He hadn’t taken any damage, so there would be no medical expenses, and there was still time left until graduation, so there was no reason to prepare for the next hunt.

Equipment repair also wouldn’t cost much since he had used standard-issue swords.

Because of that, although Han Seol had quite a wide range of choices for using the 20 gold, his mind had already been made up on one thing.

* * *

“Oh my gosh…”

“You, you really defeated the lair’s owner alone?”

“There were three hundred goblins stationed here. With that many, the owner must have been at least chief-level, and there must have been a few hobs mixed in, but you handled all of them alone?”

“I was lucky.”

Cha Ha-neul’s teammates were still unable to close their mouths from the shock.

However, Cha Ha-neul had a vague expectation that it might turn out this way, so he was a bit less surprised than the other teammates.

“N-now, now, everyone calm down… What’s done is done, no one died and it’s over, so let’s wrap it up with that. And…”

Cha Ha-neul approached Han Seol.

“As promised, all the income earned here is yours. In the first place, this goblin lair was infiltrated to cultivate your exploration skills, and there was no plan for actual combat.”

The hunters who came for support began to search the lair, recover the victims’ bodies, and clean up the scene.

In particular, collecting data left on the surface while cleaning up the scene like this was also a big gain for them.

It was because when evacuating from the surface to the underground, they had no choice but to leave behind a lot of data and information from modern civilization.

“You have been specially granted permission from the academy to take a break during this training period… What do you think? Do you want to rest?”

Cha Ha-neul’s consideration was felt in his words that he had obtained permission from Cheongsol Academy for Han Seol to rest, but he politely declined.

“Thank you for your kind words, but I want to continue like this. Because being able to train under the guidance of skilled and capable hunters like Cha Ha-neul’s team is a good experience.”

“That’s a tearfully grateful thing to say, but… somehow I feel like it’s an experience you don’t need.”

Cha Ha-neul, who now somehow felt Han Seol was more of a veteran than himself, smiled brightly, hiding this ironic feeling.

“Still, take a break for now. The other guys decided to rest thoroughly until this week anyway. Above all, we want to rest. If there’s anything you want to do during that time, do it.”

“Yes.”

* * *

The first place Han Seol, who received a short vacation like that, visited upon returning was the hunter’s store located in the Sangam branch.

Surprisingly, the operator of this store was ‘God’, thanks to which things that seemed only possible in games were actually possible.

‘It’s definitely not an ordinary store.’

The store wasn’t an ordinary store, as the name suggested.

Entering through the store’s entrance, one could enter alone into one of the countless finely divided parallel spaces, where a huge monitor and keyboard existed.

By searching for desired items with this keyboard, the goods posted by hunters worldwide were neatly arranged on the monitor, and the arrangement could be customized as desired, such as price, quantity, and quality grade.

In short, it was like an online marketplace.

And the product Han Seol searched for there was none other than…

{Divinity(D)} skill book.

14. A Prodigy of Hunting

Having received permission that didn’t seem like permission, Han Seol immediately moved swiftly towards the goblin lair.

He had hunted goblins so much in his previous life that he was sick of it, so there wouldn’t be any problems.

Rather, it was just a bit frustrating that he couldn’t hunt them as carelessly as in his previous life with this body.

‘I never thought the day would come when I would have to use my head while fighting against goblins.’

When Han Seol spotted the goblin sentries ahead, he hid his body nearby for a moment and created a bean-sized Magic Missile on the tip of his index finger.

It was a feat that was impossible unless one’s understanding and mastery of magic had reached the extremes, but what was even more surprising was that the Magic Missile was not a perfect sphere.

Han Seol made the slightly distorted sphere spin at ultra-high speed and shot it in a completely different direction from where the goblins were.

However, the amazing thing was what happened next.

The Magic Missile that was flying in a completely wrong direction turned like a pitcher’s breaking ball at high speed and penetrated the side of the goblin sentry’s head, not from the front.

Thwack!

Squeak?
Squeak!

Han Seol’s Magic Missile could shatter solid rocks in a single blow.

Naturally, it penetrated the goblin’s skull.

The problem was what came next.

Swish… Thwack!

The Magic Missile that came from a completely different direction and trajectory than before produced the same result without fail.

The surviving goblins were terrified.

They couldn’t tell what was flying from where to kill them, so it was natural for them to panic.

In the end, the fear-stricken goblins gave up their watch and tried to run inside, but they didn’t know that was exactly what Han Seol wanted.

Thwack thwack thwack!

There was no need to use multi-angle Magic Missiles on the ones who had turned their backs.

Han Seol fired three Magic Missiles in rapid succession, flying straight and fast, eliminating the fleeing goblins in an instant and infiltrating the lair.

If other mages had seen Han Seol’s Magic Missile hunting now, they would have been shocked.

Honestly, the way Han Seol controlled the Magic Missile could be imitated by overlapping the ‘Homing’ guidance magic on long-range magic.

However, calculating the mana consumption efficiency and the resulting effect, it was an absurd waste.

Han Seol was already creating compressed Magic Missiles, using only half the mana originally required for a Magic Missile.

But if other mages tried to imitate the result he produced now, they would need enough mana for twenty Magic Missiles per shot…

It showed that power wasn’t everything even in magic.

‘It’s this way.’

As he entered the 1st-floor lobby, he could feel the commotion coming up from the underground.

Han Seol followed the sound and found the stairs leading underground, but there were already goblins waiting with weapons.

Goblins were weak, but they were never stupid.

As soon as they realized there was an intruder in their nest, they didn’t all rush there, but they were meticulous enough to block the narrow entrances and stop additional forces.

The problem was that the person standing in front of them was none other than Han Seol.

Puff puff puff!

Since there was some distance, the goblins used blowguns to shoot poisoned needles at Han Seol.

The power of the poisoned needles themselves was weak, but they were fast and the needles were thin, making them difficult to see and deflect.

Above all, the problem was that as soon as you were hit, a neurotoxin would spread and paralyze the body.

Even skilled hunters often met a terrible end by getting hit by these poisoned needles if they were careless.

But Han Seol was different.

Woong.

Han Seol, who had coated his entire body with a thin mana shield less than 1mm thick, ignored the poisoned needles and swiftly threw his body towards the goblins.

Even in the 3rd circle, there was a magic called Mana Armor with the same effect, but efficiency was important as always.

The 1mm mana shield couldn’t block an arrow shot by a child, but it had enough defense to block thin poisoned needles.

Of course, if mages who had envisioned the mana shield as a one-dimensional form like a wall or shield had seen it, they would have been shocked.

He jumped into the crowd of goblins like a predator, ignoring their poisoned needles thanks to the mana shield wrapped around his body.

And what followed was truly a massacre.

Slash! Slash! Crunch! Swish! Slice!

He slashed with his sword, crushed with his fists, kicked with his feet, stabbed with his elbows, and smashed with his knees, mobilizing all available body parts to massacre the goblins.

The goblins had no way to stop Han Seol.

They resisted to the best of their abilities, swinging daggers and clubs, but it was just a futile struggle that didn’t even reach Han Seol’s toes.

The completely doomed goblins turned to ash and disappeared, leaving only money and items where they died.

Just like a game…

When a monster kills a monster, the laws of nature apply and the corpse remains, but when a human kills a monster like this, money and items are left behind.

‘But I don’t have time to collect these now.’

Han Seol had massacred all the goblins blocking the entrance.

There were piles of money and items left by the goblins, but collecting them was for later.

He hurriedly went through the stairs, broke through the pandemonium on the underground 1st floor, and headed straight to the 2nd floor.

From the corridor on the 2nd floor, numerous goblins had already occupied and were moving like a current towards somewhere.

There was no need to find out where their destination was.

The moment Han Seol’s gaze and the gazes of the goblins who spotted him overlapped, they threw their bodies at each other without hesitation.

‘I thought I had trained my stamina, but my breathing is already…’

Dealing with goblins was not a problem at all.

Even if they swarmed in groups, their simple methods seemed visible to the eye, and their movements could be predicted as accurately as future foresight.

If there was a problem, it was Han Seol’s stamina.

He had poured as much… no, more effort into stamina training than swordsmanship training.

However, unfortunately, due to inheriting genes from his ordinary human parents, Han Seol’s stamina, no matter how much he trained, had clear limitations, although it was far superior to his peers.

‘I’ve only killed about thirty goblins so far…’

It’s not just thirty.

Massacring thirty goblins alone was something that even decent hunters would stick their tongues out at.

But what if it were his previous self at the same age?

Thirty goblins wouldn’t even be a warm-up.

But what about now?

No matter how much he tried to hide it, his rough breathing was showing.

His whole body was soaked with sweat, and his aggressive offense had turned passive, killing only the attacking goblins with minimal movement at some point.

Fortunately, Cha Ha-neul, Gong Sang-hun, and Park Seong were also doing their best to reduce the number of goblins.

‘Has the support already arrived?’

They also felt that the goblin offensive swarming at them had drastically decreased.

Thanks to that, they, who had been defending the narrow entrance of the room, gathered their momentum and stepped out into the corridor.

“Triple Thrust!”

Swish swish swish!

As Cha Ha-neul’s action skill activated, three streaks of light burst out from his sword and created an opening by piercing the goblins ahead three times at an amazing speed.

And Gong Sang-hun perfectly shattered that opening.

“Charging Horn!”

Gong Sang-hun’s body, with his shield in front, glowed.

He threw his body towards the densely packed goblins ahead with a mirage of light.

As the goblins hit by the charge were shattered into pieces, they were finally able to escape the narrow room.

“Park Seong, you stay here and deal with any goblins that might slip in!”

“Understood!”

Although Park Seong was also very tired, he could handle that much, so he answered with confidence.

Meanwhile, Cha Ha-neul, who had annihilated the remaining goblins with the support troops and finally identified the identity of the support troops, couldn’t hide his exasperated feelings.

“You, don’t tell me you came all the way here alone?”

He looked around here and there while asking, but there was no one else except Han Seol.

“I received permission from the guiding instructor Oh Seong-hee to do as I pleased.”

“What? This woman finally…”

Hearing Han Seol’s words, Cha Ha-neul roughly understood the situation.

He let out a deep sigh and spoke to Han Seol.

“Regardless of the circumstances, it’s true that we were saved thanks to you. But let’s save the thanks for later. Right now, we need to get out of here quickly.”

Cha Ha-neul, Gong Sang-hun, and Park Seong, who went back into the room and came out carrying the naked women on their backs, appeared.

They all looked in very poor condition.

The woman Cha Ha-neul was carrying was even a corpse swarming with flies and maggots.

‘So that’s why they were caught up here.’

As Han Seol’s gaze turned to the women, Cha Ha-neul drew a bitter smile.

Park Seong bowed his head with a very guilty expression.

Before arguing about right or wrong, the fact that he had endangered them remained unchanged.

Cha Ha-neul briefly explained the situation to Han Seol as they moved to the surface.

“This also happens when novice hunters fall into a goblin trap. The men had already been killed as ‘food’ and couldn’t be saved, but fortunately or unfortunately, the female team members were still alive. So I used a little force.”

‘T-team leader?’

Park Seong was startled and raised his head.

He was the one who had used force.

If this fact became known to the academy, he would not only be expelled but also have to face legal lawsuits.

But Cha Ha-neul had taken the blame for his fault instead.

“That’s why we trust and follow him.”

“I’m sorry. And thank you so much…”

At Gong Sang-hun’s words, Park Seong apologized and thanked him at the same time with tears.

However, everything was not completely over yet.

“Damn it! As expected, they’re following us. Well, if I were them, I wouldn’t let us go easily either.”

An evil presence was felt rushing up from the underground 3rd floor towards the surface at a terrifying speed.

Even without explanation, anyone could guess that he was the owner of this lair.

If he was the owner of a lair where more than three hundred goblins lived in total…

“What do you want to do?”

“What do you mean? We have no choice but to fight here!”

When Cha Ha-neul made a decision at Gong Sang-hun’s question, Han Seol proposed a different opinion.

“Right now, the two injured people are in an urgent situation at a glance. Park Seong will also become the weakness that he will target first when the battle starts. If you two fight while protecting them in your exhausted state, I think the chances of winning will be slim.”

“So what do you want us to do? Do you have any other alternatives?”

“You three should immediately evacuate to the checkpoint as you are. I will handle things here. Instead, just promise me one thing.”

“Do you even know what kind of crazy nonsense you’re spouting right now…!”

Cha Ha-neul froze and couldn’t say a word when he saw Han Seol’s eyes looking at him.

‘What kind of human eyes are those…!’

“I am perfectly sane and proposing the method with the highest survival probability for everyone. So I demand compensation. Please allow me to take all the gains that can be obtained here today. Anything less than that wouldn’t be a fair trade-off.”

“…If you’re spouting such nonsense, you must be quite confident?”

Han Seol silently nodded.

“Alright. I’ll come back as soon as I get these people across safely, so just hold out until then. If you do that much, I’ll grant your request. So if you feel like you can’t do it, run away no matter what! Got it?”

“Very well.”

It wasn’t that he was leaving Han Seol behind based on guts alone.

He had examined the traces of his fights on the way up here.

There were traces that were definitely impossible for a student to have done… traces of a fighter who was at least stronger than himself, no matter how low he estimated.

‘Still, he’s a student. He won’t be able to hold out for long. Wait for me. I’ll definitely come back.’

“Increase the speed. Even if it’s tough, don’t cry and keep up!”

“Yes!”

“Got it!”

13. Is a Reason Necessary?

“From now on, think about each breath you take. And from now on, all conversations will be replaced with sign language. You definitely memorized the hunter sign language at school, right?”

“Of course.”

Park Seong, along with Cha Ha-neul and the tanker Gong Sang-hun, stealthily approached the entrance with the most lax security among the guard zones they had scouted with the drone.

-Since it’s a scouting mission, we won’t kill them here but only knock them unconscious with sleeping drugs.

If they killed the goblins standing guard at the entrance, even if they finished scouting and withdrew, the bodies would remain and it would be troublesome.

Puff puff!

Cha Ha-neul, who approached precariously close, used a blowgun to silently shoot poisoned needles.

The poisoned needles had little pain but strong effects.

Perhaps because of that, the goblins that were hit soon yawned, leaned against something nearby, and fell asleep.

-Let’s go in.

Cha Ha-neul, who signaled Park Seong to enter, took the lead and entered the abandoned building with Gong Sang-hun.

-Let’s go down.

The 1st floor of the abandoned building had an open structure on all sides, so there seemed to be nowhere to hide or use as a shelter.

As they continued scouting, the three found stairs leading underground and carefully started descending.

If possible, it was better not to encounter goblins, but in unavoidable situations, Cha Ha-neul knocked the goblins unconscious with the blowgun.

Knocking out too many could make the goblins suspicious, so it was best not to overuse it, but in inevitable situations, there was no choice but to use it.

Thanks to that, the three who came down to the underground 1st floor could now see the true appearance of what could be called the goblins’ main base.

-This seems to be the soldiers’ quarters. During the day when the sun is high like now, they’re often sleeping. Also, the food storage is usually together with the quarters.

The three carefully moved and found the food storage.

Sometimes goblin soldiers who had woken up would wander the corridors sluggishly, but such goblins were secretly sent back to dreamland by hiding.

Then, Cha Ha-neul, who discovered the food storage, checked it first and warned Park Seong.

-It might be better not to look now. I won’t stop you if you decide to check, but you’ll have to decide quickly. It could become a lifetime trauma if it’s your first time.

There was no need for an explanation.

Even without an explanation, the rotten smell flowing out from the food storage made it seem like the nose would fall off.

What was certain was that Cha Ha-neul’s expression after checking the food storage was also not very good, so Park Seong’s fear outweighed his curiosity, but he steeled his resolve.

He had decided… no, he had to become a hunter.

He couldn’t give up because of fear after coming this far.

-It’s alright.

When Park Seong signaled that it was okay, Cha Ha-neul silently moved his body slightly to the side.

Park Seong, who poked his head through the gap and checked the goblins’ food storage…

‘Ugh!’

Park Seong hastily covered his mouth with both hands and forcibly swallowed the vomit back down.

But tears and mucus were already pouring out from his eyes and nose, making it difficult to even see in front.

Amidst that, it was fortunate in misfortune that his nose was blocked due to the snot.

Otherwise, he would have had to keep smelling the stench of human corpses rotting inside the food storage.

Naturally, the corpses were not normal.

They were cut into pieces, torn apart, rotten everywhere with maggots crawling…

It was a sight too frightening to even describe with words.

If there was a small hell in this world, would it be here?

-Rookies who lack experience sometimes fall into traps set by goblins and meet this result. For example, if they find two or three goblins and excitedly chase after the fleeing creatures, they might end up with this conclusion. Even though goblins are among the weakest monsters, belonging to the lowest tier. Shall we go back?

Park Seong shook his head at Cha Ha-neul’s question of whether to return.

-I can’t cause problems for the operation because of me. Let’s keep going.

If there was a lair of this scale, there must be a leader of the group.

No one knew whether the identity of the leader was an elite or a higher-level champion monster.

They could only hope it wasn’t a named monster.

If the leader was a named monster, their chances of survival would be extremely slim.

That’s why if they could just identify its identity and report the location, scale, troops, and type of leader of the lair to the command branch, they could receive a certain reward if the extermination succeeds.

The three quickly and stealthily passed the underground 1st floor and descended to the underground 2nd floor.

The 2nd floor was the goblins’ playroom.

It could be said to be the most important facility for goblins who enjoyed pleasure and amusement as much as humans.

And this place could be called… perhaps a worse hell than the food storage.

Squeak! Squeak!
Squee-eak!

Three goblins playing in the playroom.

But their so-called toys were not the kind of toys we commonly think of.

“Please… kill me…”

Squee-eak!

“…!”

-No…!

There was no time to stop him.

As if Cha Ha-neul’s order to never act recklessly had already been erased from his mind, Park Seong leaped forward like crazy and instantly drew his sword, slicing off the head of one goblin.

“You bastards!”

To make matters worse, the anger that had knotted up in Park Seong’s chest exploded, and there was no longer any reason left in his eyes.

Something that absolutely should not happen was unfolding before his eyes.

At least for Park Seong, it was a sight that far exceeded the level of patience that could be endured for the sake of strategy and plans.

Before he could even think of patience, the goblins’ laughter shook his eardrums.

Just looking at the faces of the creatures enjoying and laughing at people’s screams made him want to vomit.

Telling him to just endure and watch that sight?

It might be a possible request for others, but definitely not for Park Seong.

The hunter that Park Seong dreamed of should never turn a blind eye in a situation like this.

“That crazy bastard!”

Cha Ha-neul’s mouth was cursing Park Seong, but before that, his body had already sliced the neck of another goblin that was next to him.

At the same time, Gong Sang-hun also turned one goblin into a bloody pulp in an instant with a charging leap.

The problem started now.

“Run away immediately! Don’t even breathe and scram!”

There wasn’t even time to grab Park Seong by the collar and curse at him.

They had to escape from here as soon as possible before the goblins swarmed in.

However, Park Seong’s thoughts were different.

“But!”

Thwack!

At that moment, Cha Ha-neul’s fist struck Park Seong’s face.

“If you say one more word, you’ll die by my hands, not the goblins.”

“It’s clearly my fault for putting you two in danger as well. I’m sorry! But if I have no choice but to leave these people here, I’d rather stay and protect them until I die!”

“This crazy bastard! We really don’t have time…”

Thudding sounds could be heard from above.

The goblins would probably fill the passageway within 5 minutes.

In other words, if they couldn’t escape from here within 5 minutes, they would die here.

“Why the hell are you doing this? You crazy bastard! Is there someone you know here?”

“No!”

“Then why the hell…”

“Does a person need a reason to want to risk their life to save another person?”

The sudden question momentarily stunned Cha Ha-neul.

“What?”

“When I was young, I was trapped in a collapsed building for a week and almost died, but the firefighter Jin Sang-cheol who saved me said those words. He worked day and night for a week, clearing the rubble to save me, whom everyone thought was dead, and he died from an illness because of that. That’s why I can’t run away. I know I have to run away… But I still think I shouldn’t do that. I’m sorry. So please, at least you two, hurry and escape! And I’m sorry again!”

“Damn it…! Hey Park Seong, listen carefully! You really met a good person. My motto is ‘Be a father who isn’t shameful to his child.’ So you should really be grateful to our princess. Got it?”

“You have a daughter?”

“I’ll see her face next month. Ah, is this what they call a death flag? Whatever. I won’t die anyway.”

Click.

“So that’s how it is.”

-I got it. I’ll request support right away and go, so just hold on a bit.

Thanks to Gong Sang-hun, who had already relayed the situation to Oh Seong-hee by radio, the situation was relatively quickly communicated without much time loss.

“Sa-save me… Please save me…”

Park Seong moved the woman who had collapsed and couldn’t move to a corner.

So that the effects of a possible battle wouldn’t reach her.

The problem was that another woman in the same situation as her was already withering and dying in the corner.

Nearby, there were already corpses rotting with flies and maggots crawling.

“Trash-like bastards…!”

“They say other monsters hunt humans to eat, but goblins rape and kill other species solely for pleasure. But above all, goblins are monsters that excel at learning by observing human behavior… It’s quite ironic, isn’t it?”

“But that doesn’t justify their sins.”

“I’m just saying. There’s no forgiveness or anything in the first place, right? We’re hunters and they’re monsters. Our job is to hunt them down, that’s all.”

“They’re coming!”

As the sound of goblins’ footsteps began to be heard from a nearby corridor, the three readied their formation and steeled their resolve.

* * *

“As you all heard, the training is no longer the problem now. We’ll return immediately, so get ready.”

Since the city was deep underground, communication with walkie-talkies was impossible.

Therefore, even if they wanted to request support, they had to go to the last checkpoint where wired communication was possible to contact the branch.

At those words, Yoo Jun-sang, Seong Yu-ra, and Lee Jun-mo finished preparing to return, but… only one person, Han Seol, did not.

He was preparing, but his preparations were a bit different from the others.

“What are you doing?”

“I heard the situation is urgent. I will go and save the three of them now.”

“Is he in his right mind? Are you crazy? What can a student do alone…!”

Oh Seong-hee couldn’t understand Han Seol, and Lee Jun-mo also tried to dissuade Han Seol from his recklessness, but Seong Yu-ra was different.

“It’s no use stopping him. Once this guy says he’ll do something, he does it…”

“I have a question. I heard that in field training, any mishap caused by individual actions is the responsibility of the individual. Then, is it correct that any gains resulting from it are also the individual’s share?”

“This guy, really…! Do as you please! I don’t have time to argue with you here.”

For Oh Seong-hee, the safety of her teammates who would be left in the lair was more concerning than the safety of Han Seol, whom she had met for the first time today, so she decided to move quickly.

A small smile spread across Han Seol’s lips as he watched the group leave.

“You clearly said to do as I please.”

12. Standing on the Earth

Usually, it was common for a team to be named after the leader.

In the case of Cha Ha-neul’s team, since he was the leader, it would become ‘Cha Ha-neul Team’.

Cha Ha-neul Team and the trainees, including Han Seol, filled out an exploration application at the branch and finished preparing to go to the surface through the surface elevators located at each branch.

“There are mainly two types of surface elevators. One is for passengers and the other is for cargo, but the only difference is the price, and you can use either one if you pay the money.”

Even if you took the elevator, you couldn’t go directly to the surface.

“There will be inspections. Please cooperate.”

The elevator stopped at each section heading to the surface and had to have their identities and applications verified at checkpoints, and there were a total of five such checkpoints until reaching the surface.

“It’s a bothersome but necessary procedure, so make sure to take a good look. If you cause a commotion here, you’ll be arrested unconditionally regardless of the reason, so keep that in mind.”

“Yes!”

The members of Cha Ha-neul Team generously shared ‘pro tips’ that would be good for the trainees who were new to the field to know.

Usually, when they had a long experience as a guide, they often skipped these tips because it was bothersome, but it seemed to be thanks to their kind nature.

“Inspection complete. Pass!”

After passing through the five checkpoints like that, the trainees were finally able to set foot on the surface for the first time since birth.

“This is…”

“Look, look, it’s really the sky!”

“Is this what natural wind is like?”

The children, excited by the first experience of the surface scenery, couldn’t control themselves and were overjoyed.

“Shh! Everyone, quiet. From here on, it’s a danger zone. If you make such a loud noise, monsters with keen ears will swarm in an instant.”

When Cha Ha-neul warned the children, they finally became aware of their reality and began to get tense rapidly.

That’s right.
They hadn’t come here to play.
Although the scenery of the surface was simply beautiful, unimaginable threats were lurking in it.

Unlike them, Han Seol was looking at the surface from a slightly different perspective.

‘Is this the true appearance of this world?’

The buildings, structures, and roads that could be called the remnants of ancient civilization had completely turned into ruins or half-collapsed, losing their functions.

And it had been so long that the buildings and roads were covered with vines, and the clean air that was unimaginable in the past metropolis penetrated deep into the lungs.

It was a cleanliness on a different level from the air in the underground.

Especially for students attending Cheongsol Academy like Han Seol, they were all children from poor families, so many of them had grown up in environments with poor ventilation.

For such children, the clean air on the surface could be considered a tonic in itself, but…

‘This mana is truly absurd!’

For Han Seol, it couldn’t be said that it wasn’t a truly tonic-like air in a different sense.

Unlike the rat dropping-sized mana remaining underground, the mana on the surface was overflowing and compressed to the point of being sticky.

‘Well, in a world where anyone can purchase mana with skills, there’s no need to choose a dangerous and difficult method. They probably don’t even know the method.’

If there was someone who knew the mana breathing technique, the surface would be a treasure trove and bonanza of mana.

And the fact that he was the first protagonist of that someone, Han Seol expressed joy with his whole body for the first time since birth.

“Seol-ah, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“He wasn’t like that before, but he’s suddenly laughing like crazy, it’s unpleasant…”

At Seong Yu-ra and Yoo Jun-sang’s words, Han Seol, realizing his mistake, fixed his expression and waited for Cha Ha-neul’s next instruction.

“Has everyone sorted out their sentiments? Then let’s move quickly. Fortunately, the area near the elevator is relatively safe thanks to frequent extermination, but it’s still better not to let your guard down.”

“Yes! Team Leader.”

Cha Ha-neul began moving using a paper map and GPS coordinate receiver.

If it were the days when Korea’s satellites still remained, he could have used a GPS radar map instead of a coordinate receiver, but unfortunately, that was impossible now.

The reason was simple.

They lacked money and resources.

Just building underground cities the size of the Seoul metropolitan area and provincial large cities made New Korea’s finances hit rock bottom, and they even had to take on massive debt from several countries.

It wasn’t just a problem for Korea.

Almost all countries in the world had similar situations.

In such a situation, launching satellites, which were money-eating monsters, was something they couldn’t even dream of.

At least the United States was the country where such a miracle was possible, so Korean hunters purchased and used GPS coordinate receivers by paying a fixed fee like this.

“The place we will explore today is a Goblin Lair. Goblins are cunning and relatively intelligent monsters, but their physical strength is not that strong. At most, they’re like a 10-year-old boy? Their physique is even smaller than that age group, but they know how to handle tools well and above all, they use poison, so you should never let your guard down. Well, this level of information is basic stuff taught at the academy, so you guys probably know it well too.”

Although they had learned it once, the trainees took Cha Ha-neul’s words to heart as if they had heard it for the first time.

“So today, you’ll experience firsthand how different the field is from what you learned in books.”

Cha Ha-neul carefully moved while checking the GPS coordinates and map, as well as the traces and remnants on the ground.

Meanwhile, watching the front and being vigilant of the surroundings was solely the job of the tanker and dealer.

At that moment, Cha Ha-neul raised his hand to about head height and clenched his fist.

It was a signal to stop.

Cha Ha-neul silently pointed down, and the trainees’ gazes also turned downward.

Where he pointed, there were small footprints like a child’s along with dry droppings.

“It’s goblin droppings. The fact that their droppings are here means there’s a high possibility that their lair is nearby. From now on, we move even more carefully.”

At Cha Ha-neul’s whispered instruction, the tension rose even higher, and the trainees heavily nodded their heads.

After that, Cha Ha-neul skillfully followed the traces of the goblins and easily found their hidden nest.

Of course, since they were waiting at a distance, the probability of the goblins discovering the group was very low.

“This place is far from their lair and located in a blind spot, so it’s difficult to be discovered. And thanks to this wall, even if there’s a headwind, there’s little worry about being detected by scent. Therefore, we’ll temporarily designate this as Point A and execute the next strategy.”

Then, Cha Ha-neul’s gaze turned to Seong Yu-ra.

“Here’s a surprise question. What should we do next?”

“Scouting… right?”

“Correct. We need to check how large their scale is, how big their nest is, what their range of activity is, if there are escape routes… We have to check all of that. That’s why we need this.”

What Cha Ha-neul took out of his bag was none other than a drone and a controller.

“If the budget is ample, I recommend this, but if not, it’s better to buy bandages and medicine instead. The information you can get from this is quite limited. Still, it’s better than nothing.”

Cha Ha-neul immediately flew the drone high into the sky and sent it over the goblins’ lair.

Squeak! Squeak!

Naturally, the goblins who discovered it tried to shoot it down with slings or slingshots.

They thought it was a bird, not a drone, so they tried to catch and eat it.

“So we can’t fly it below this height. It would be shot down immediately. But with just this, we can roughly grasp the escape routes around their lair and the size of the lair.”

“If they run away, they might escape this way.”

When Park Seong pointed out a part on the controller screen where the drone’s footage was projected, Cha Ha-neul nodded with a smile.

“Bingo! You have great eyes. That’s right. If we have enough personnel, we can hide near these escape routes and easily hunt down the fleeing goblins. But for a 3-person team like us, that method is impossible. Then what should we do?”

“Do we block the escape routes in advance?”

At Seong Yu-ra’s question, Cha Ha-neul shook his head.

“The escape routes are places where the goblins’ surveillance is strict. If we have a lot of personnel, we might be able to ambush the lair and the escape routes simultaneously, but for a 3-person team like us, the moment we ambush the escape routes, the main force will be alerted and it will backfire instead. So…”

“Goblins usually prefer humid and dark environments. The fact that the air is humid is proof that ventilation is poor. Also, for nocturnal creatures, the time when the morning sun rises is when their vigilance is the most relaxed. At that time, if we eliminate only the sentries guarding the entrance and fill the inside of the lair with poisonous gas, then wait at the escape routes, the creatures will flee out on their own. Cutting the necks of the creatures who have lost their minds after being struck by lightning while sleeping is easier than snapping a reed.”

At Han Seol’s explanation, not only the trainees but even Cha Ha-neul and his teammates couldn’t hide their surprise.

It was because the hunting method Han Seol had just described was not something taught at school.

“That’s impressive. Where did you…”

“It’s something I overheard somewhere. More importantly…”

Han Seol pointed to the drone that had returned.

After putting the drone back in the bag, Cha Ha-neul looked over the children and searched for volunteers.

“Now that we’ve roughly checked the size of the lair, escape routes, and the monsters’ state of vigilance, we need to directly infiltrate the inside of their lair and scout the internal situation… Although it’s something everyone has to do in turns anyway, is there anyone who wants to try it first?”

Cha Ha-neul hoped that Han Seol would raise his hand if possible, but instead, everyone except Han Seol and Yoo Jun-sang raised their hands.

Yoo Jun-sang still lacked determination, and Han Seol wanted to calmly perform the mana breathing technique here if possible.

‘In a place like this, concentrating on the mana breathing technique for even 1 minute is more effective than an hour underground.’

“Then you would be good. You said you were an attacker, right?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best.”

The person Cha Ha-neul chose was none other than Park Seong.

It was because an attacker who had a relatively wide field of view and required multitasking was the most convenient to work with.

And if the vanguard completed the job well and returned safely, the remaining children would also gain confidence, so the role of the vanguard could be said to be the most important.

“Seong-hee, please take good care of the remaining children.”

“Don’t worry and come back safely. You know what will happen if our handsome Seong gets a scratch on his face, right?”

“Seriously, stop acting so flirty. Someone might think you’re not an ajumma.”

“What?”

“Ah, sorry. You’re not an ajumma, but a gold miss.”

“This guy, really…!”

The reason they joked around like this before taking action was to relieve each other’s tension and move more smoothly.

Also, the reason Cha Ha-neul left Oh Seong-hee here was because, although her multitasking was inferior to an attacker, a dealer who had the widest field of view was in the most advantageous position for defending the base.

He had faith that if anything happened, she would be able to evacuate the children well.

11. Field Training

After the midterm exams ended for the 3rd years, there was something the remaining students had to do during the vacation period.

It was the hunter field training in preparation for graduation.

This was a mandatory task for 3rd years, regardless of whether they were from a private or public academy.

It was because it was an important process to find out one’s aptitude as a hunter.

It was a relatively safe job of assisting and supporting hunters’ work from the rear, but that didn’t mean there was no possibility of losing one’s life.

Because of that, many students voluntarily dropped out even after working hard up to this point because they were scared.

After all, voluntarily going to a dangerous place where one could lose their life required that much courage.

“Are the application forms done with this?”

Yoo Jun-sang asked, tapping and organizing the stack of application forms.

The classes determined in the 1st year at Cheongsol Academy continued the same until the 3rd year.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the class was good and the bonds were that deep.

That’s why Yoo Jun-sang’s expression couldn’t help but be dark.

The number of participation application forms was less than the number of children remaining in the class.

There was no need to separately check who were the children who couldn’t participate.

They all had gloomy expressions, were crying, or weren’t even in their seats to pack their bags.

“Sob sob, I’m sorry. But I’m too scared…”

“It’s okay, Da-hee. What are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong.”

“Damn it! I really wanted to do it. After coming this far…”

“Jae-ha Seo, you bastard. Why are you bowing your head in shame? Raise your head, you jerk. No matter what anyone says, you did your best.”

Giving up even after enduring up to this point was difficult and required great courage.

Students who couldn’t acknowledge their fear and forcibly went to the battlefield mostly panicked and lost their lives.

Even when they stood on the battlefield with determination, their minds went blank when their lives were in danger, so how much more so would it be for them?

However, among them, there was an oddball who was looking forward to the field training more than anyone else.

“It’s obvious, but… you’re really amazing. Han Seol, how can you be unfazed even in this situation? My heart is pounding like it’s about to burst right now.”

“Because there’s nothing new.”

“Nothing new about what?”

“The act of killing and being killed.”

“…”

Seong Yu-ra couldn’t tell if Han Seol was joking or being serious.

It was impossible to deny the fact that he was the same age as them and had spent 3 years together, but his atmosphere seemed very awkward, as if he were a different person.

“Don’t worry. We won’t have much to do even if we go anyway. If we just do what we’re told and don’t stand out, there won’t be anything particularly dangerous.”

“Th-that’s right, isn’t it? Somehow, I feel a bit relieved when you say it.”

“Of course, if we’re unlucky and get placed under incompetent guys, there’s nothing more dangerous than that.”

“…”

* * *

The summer vacation that some had been waiting for and others had hoped would never come began.

Unlike the 1st years who went home and the 2nd years who remained at the academy to train, the 3rd years took a bus to the nearest hunter command branch.

“So this is Sangam-dong Hunter Command Branch…”

“Wow… It’s huge!”

“If the branch is this big, how big would the headquarters be?”

The students who arrived at the Sangam-dong Hunter Command Branch couldn’t close their gaping mouths.

While the students were looking around inside the branch, the branch head, who had finished the handover with the escorting instructor, approached the students and greeted them.

“Can I have everyone’s attention here? Welcome, prospective hunters from Cheongsol Academy. I am Bang Jong-hyun, the head of this Sangam branch. Starting today, you will be divided into teams and will be practicing the battlefield that you will be part of as hunters for a month. Of course, it will be a very dangerous practice where you may lose your life if you’re not careful, but don’t worry. The hunters who will be guiding you are all veterans with more than 10 years of experience.”

Fortunately, what Han Seol was worried about didn’t happen.

Most of the hunters guiding the field training were veterans with more than 10 years of experience.

Usually, hunters consider retirement in their late thirties or early forties, which is their 20th year of experience, so 10-year hunters who are experienced and physically in their prime are guiding the students.

“If any of you ignore and do not follow the guiding hunter’s instructions independently, it will lead to a big accident, so you must listen carefully to the guiding hunter’s words and act accordingly. Also, what I and the faculty members of Cheongsol Academy want from you in this field training is not to earn merits. We just hope that you will accumulate the overall experience of the field atmosphere, how veteran hunters deal with situations, the threat of monsters… and how they plan hunts and improvise in the face of that threat. That will be your great asset and a sturdy lifeline in the future.”

“Yes! Branch Head!”

“I like the resounding answer from Cheongsol’s students. Hohoho!”

With that, the branch head’s speech ended, and they began dividing into teams and assigning guiding hunters.

Hunters with more than 10 years of experience also received various benefits such as tax exemptions, pensions, and compensation after retirement according to the number of times they took on the role of a guiding hunter.

Because of that, quite a few people applied for it even if they had to risk being tempted.

Some people also applied for this job out of a sense of duty to nurture the next generation.

“Were you here?”

The person who came to find Han Seol was none other than Han Ji-woong.

As obvious as it may sound, he had also applied for the hunter field training.

“Do you see those guys over there?”

Han Seol threw his gaze in the direction Han Ji-woong pointed with his chin.

There were academy students wearing different uniforms from theirs, and they looked obviously noble at a glance.

“They’re from the private Sehwa Academy. They’re noble young masters and ladies that lowly beings like us can’t even look up to. And I heard that the top-ranking students from such academies are directly assisted by guilds for their field training. Isn’t it infuriating? Even though we have the 1st and 2nd place students in our year, they don’t even glance at us.”

“Is that a big problem?”

“I thought so too, but according to a close senior who graduated last year, it could be a problem.”

Even though Jeong Seong-min also graduated at the end of last year, he didn’t say a single word like this.

Han Seol inwardly cursed Jeong Seong-min as a useless bastard and listened to Han Ji-woong’s words.

“As I said before, the top ranks of Sehwa are taken by each guild, but not all of them are like that. The remaining leftovers will be mixed with us to form teams.”

“Mixing students from Sehwa and Cheongsol?”

“Yes. It’s because hunters have to do their part no matter when, where, or which team they belong to. Anyway, a crappy situation could occur here…”

“You mean they discriminate based on money.”

“As expected, you catch on quick.”

Their conversation was small, so no one could hear it, but at least it was clear to see that the students from Sehwa were looking down on the students from Cheongsol.

“If this were normal, it wouldn’t matter. If it’s not a particularly dangerous situation, there’s no problem at all, but… when such a situation arises, the story becomes different.”

In the same situation, if you had to save one of the rich kid and the poor kid, who would you choose?

Of course, it’s human greed to choose the rich kid, right?

That way, you could at least hope for compensation, so if you became a hunter for money rather than a sense of responsibility, you would be even more likely to do so.

“What’s the reason you’re telling me this?”

“Because I don’t want you, of all people, to die for such a ridiculous reason. Well, you’re not the type to die from something like that, but anyway, we still have one more chance left, don’t we?”

“Aren’t you tired of it?”

“As if. And I’d prefer if the other guys didn’t know about this as much as possible. It could cause unnecessary strife from the start, and it’s not like that situation will definitely occur.”

Han Seol nodded, and Han Ji-woong returned to his class.

Han Seol didn’t tell the other kids about this fact, but instead, he asked Park Sang-tae, an instructor he was usually friendly with, to make sure Seong Yu-ra and Yoo Jun-sang could be on the same team as him.

“Three people… Luckily, there’s a team with extra spots. Alright. But keep this a secret from the other instructors.”

“Thank you.”

Instructor Park Sang-tae, with whom he had an evaluation match during the 1st year midterm exams, gladly accepted Han Seol’s request.

* * *

“Are we really on the same team? Awesome…!”

“I smell something fishy…”

Seong Yu-ra was surprised and moved by the fact that she, Han Seol, and Yoo Jun-sang were on the same team, but Yoo Jun-sang was different.

He knew that their team was formed like this after Han Seol talked with Instructor Park Sang-tae, whom he was usually friendly with.

“There shouldn’t be any problems.”

“There won’t be any problems since you’re here. That’s why I’m more worried that we might develop a habit of relying too much on you.”

Yoo Jun-sang’s words were sincere.

After the 1st semester midterm exams, they had always acted as a team of three whenever it was evaluation season.

It was definitely reassuring and comfortable to have Han Seol on the same team.

However, there were times when it was chilling to suddenly lose a sense of crisis while indulging in that sense of security.

“The fact that you’re thinking like that means there’s no need to worry about that. The problem is that girl who is happy like a naked thunder god.”

Han Seol pointed his chin at Seong Yu-ra, who was innocently happy that she was on the same team as him and Yoo Jun-sang.

“Hahaha…”

Yoo Jun-sang could only let out a hollow laugh while looking at her.

And as Han Ji-woong had heard, the remaining two spots were filled by two young masters from Sehwa Academy, completing the team of five.

“Nice to meet you, friends. I’m Lee Jun-mo, a 3rd year 4th class dealer from Sehwa Academy. Although it’s a short time, I look forward to working with you.”

“I’m Park Sung, a 3rd year 3rd class attacker. Nice to meet you.”

Lee Jun-mo had a gentle impression with droopy eyes, and Park Sung seemed to have a frank personality with a sporty haircut revealing his forehead.

Both of them didn’t seem to have any elements that would flaunt being from a rich family or cause problems, as far as Han Seol could see.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Seong Yu-ra, this guy is Yoo Jun-sang, the class president. And that expressionless stone statue is Han Seol. The three of us are in the same class.”

“Is that so? Then you must have more experience coordinating with each other than us. We’ll do our best not to interfere.”

“I’ll try my best too!”

After finishing the introductions, the team that would become their guiding hunters approached the five of them.

“Nice to meet you, students. I’ve been watching from afar, and I like the heartwarming atmosphere. I’m Cha Ha-neul, an attacker with 10 years of experience. And this person is…”

“I’m Gong Sang-hun, a tanker. I’ve been coordinating with him for over 5 years. Nice to meet you, our future juniors.”

“And this is Oh Seong-hee, the dealer. It’s already been 7 years since I’ve been coordinating with her.”

“Nice to meet you. Ah~ This reminds me of the old days. I was once like you guys…”

The attacker had an experienced aura, the tanker was like a small but solid stone, and the dealer naturally exuded a relaxed atmosphere.

These were the veteran ‘pro hunters’ with over 10 years of experience as hunters.

10. I Need My Own Swordsmanship!

From that day on, Jeong Seong-min didn’t even show his shadow in front of Han Seol.

It was because Han Seol had forcefully made an agreement to hand over the data card on the day he graduated, on the condition that he wouldn’t catch his eye.

From Han Seol’s point of view, having him chase away the flies in his place was much more beneficial than kicking him out.

‘The psychology of such guys is obvious.’

Even if he disclosed the data card and expelled Jeong Seong-min, it was clear that another fly would take his place.

Whoever became the 2nd year fly boss, Han Seol honestly didn’t care.

The problem was that he thought it would be troublesome if a fly boss who knew nothing showed off his power and bothered him.

When he graduated, Han Seol would also become a 3rd year.

So if he just held out at the top, Han Seol could quietly do what he had to do without the touch of his seniors.

The effect was certain.

Since that day, Han Seol was able to do his best in his training without any surrounding noise.

* * *

Right after finishing the 1st year final exams in 1st place.

Han Seol realized his big problem.

‘It’s a bigger problem than I thought.’

In his previous life, Han Seol had lived his entire life in Rohan’s body.

That was only natural.

It was impossible for one person to use two bodies in their lifetime.

Because of that obvious fact, he hadn’t realized it.

No, rather than not realizing it, he couldn’t understand it.

The fact that there were things that didn’t work out even with effort…

‘Certainly, my body from my previous life and this body from my current life are different. It’s impossible to unfold swordsmanship or magic like in my previous life.’

The swordsmanship that he could naturally unfold in his previous life without being conscious, like breathing, now often put a strain on his body even when he consciously unfolded it, unable to fully do it.

The reason he didn’t realize this at first was because he thought it was simply a difference in proficiency.

Compared to his previous self who had mastered the sword and magic, it was natural that this young body of only fifteen years old had not yet adapted to the swordsmanship and magic of his previous life…

He had mistakenly thought that it would work out if he put in the effort.

Fortunately, it was a stroke of luck that he was able to realize early on that it was a misconception.

If he hadn’t been able to erase that misconception and had just believed that he could do it if he worked hard and trained…

He might not have become stronger, but rather his body would have been ruined and he might have had to lie in bed for the rest of his life.

* * *

During the year he became a 2nd year, Han Seol focused solely on fixing his swordsmanship, even putting his magic training on hold for a while.

He newly realized that the swordsmanship created by the sword genius, Jebius von Tristan, was the supreme swordsmanship that lacked consideration and understanding for ordinary people, let alone finding even a speck of it.

That was only natural.

Because he wanted the strongest swordsmanship that only he could use and created it.

So as soon as Han Seol became a 2nd year, he spent the entire year throwing away all of the emperor’s swordsmanship.

Discarding swordsmanship meant breaking the form, style, and transformations.

It wasn’t easy to break the swordsmanship that was deeply imprinted from the head to the soul.

However, Han Seol, who had desperately worked on it for the past year, finally succeeded in discarding all the forms, styles, and transformations of the emperor’s swordsmanship, leaving only the root that formed the foundation.

Only after leaving the root did Han Seol realize.

The fact that he was a monster among monsters that could not be explained simply by calling him a sword genius…

Han Seol unhesitatingly threw his evaluation of Jebius, whom he had fought and felt at that time, into the trash can.

‘I thought I at least made him use his full power… Not only did he not use his full power, but even that wasn’t his true self?’

Fortunately, the fact was that Han Seol could also use this ‘root’ that formed the foundation of the emperor’s swordsmanship.

This root was a very good foundation.

It was such an excellent basic skill that, although it was infuriating, it could be evaluated as impossible to find a better foundation than this.

‘Even if you graft a third-rate swordsmanship that a wandering mercenary would learn onto this, it would be reborn as a first-rate swordsmanship.’

However, Han Seol had no intention whatsoever of planting a mere third-rate swordsmanship in this good root.

‘If he created his own strongest swordsmanship based on this root… I will also make use of it. I will create my own swordsmanship with the root you created!’

Fortunately, Han Seol had the experience, knowledge, and effort to create his own swordsmanship.

As he laid this foundation, Han Seol had already become a 3rd year before he knew it.

During the time he became a 3rd year, Han Seol never missed 1st place in a total of four midterm and final exams.

Thanks to that, he was able to acquire four copies each of {Aura(D)}, {Aura Recovery(D)}, {Aura Consumption Reduction(D)} so far.

Han Seol kept all those skill books without using a single one.

It was to sell them when needed and add them to buy divinity skill books.

Of course, even if he sold all the aura-related skill books he currently had, it was only enough to buy one D-grade divinity-related skill book, but even that much was a big help to Han Seol.

* * *

And time passed, and the 3rd year midterm exams arrived.

“I absolutely won’t lose this time, Han Seol. This time it’s for real!”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

As it was two years ago and last year, the main event of interest in this midterm exam was also the confrontation between Han Seol and Han Ji-woong.

The level of this confrontation was so high that from last year, the teachers started recording the matches of the two separately to use for video education for the students.

Han Ji-woong’s guard was, as expected… no, much more solid than expected.

Moreover, Han Ji-woong, who had independently studied Han Seol’s tanking and adapted it to suit himself, now had skillful knacks in addition to a solid guard.

In other words, it had become difficult for even Han Seol to guarantee victory in a 1:1 match.

Was that why?

A smile formed on the lips of Han Seol, who was strategizing against Han Ji-woong while sweating heavily.

It was because among his peers, Han Ji-woong was the only one who could stand as his equal, not asking for his teachings.

Of course, if he overexerted himself and abused his body to unfold Jebius von Tristan’s swordsmanship, he could easily achieve victory.

But that would be meaningless.

The confrontation with Han Ji-woong was a way of finding his own sword path from the ‘root’ that was becoming obsolete in his swordsmanship.

He was in the process of finding a swordsmanship that suited him.

‘Now!’

Han Ji-woong intuitively caught Han Seol’s movement, quickly turning without leaving a gap to dig into his blind spot.

Unlike the past, Han Ji-woong was able to predict his movements in reverse because of his too honest movements.

Of course, that was a read that was possible because he had the experience of sparring with Han Seol whenever there was an opening.

Whoosh!

“…!”

Han Seol widened his eyes at the mace that pierced in front of his path and urgently twisted his body.

At that moment, a very brief… stiffness that would not be visible to others’ eyes grabbed his body.

Han Ji-woong never missed that moment.

“Strike!”

With a short and thick shout, Han Ji-woong’s round shield popped out like a wall and charged at Han Seol.

The reason Han Ji-woong switched from a tower shield to a round shield was due to Han Seol’s advice.

For Han Ji-woong, who not only had a large physique but also outstanding reflexes and ways of using his body…

Han Seol’s advice was that even if the defense was somewhat reduced, widening the field of view and freely using the body would rather increase the overall defense.

And that advice was clearly proven through Han Seol himself now.

‘Ugh!’

“Where are you going!”

Han Seol tried to minimize the damage from the charge by bouncing his body back as much as possible, but Han Ji-woong, who had read that move, extended one foot forward and swung down his club.

It was a linked attack that would never have happened if there was no premise that Han Seol would react to his charge by bouncing his body back.

However…

While skillfully deflecting the falling club, Han Seol twisted his body at the same time and attempted an armbar by grabbing Han Ji-woong’s arm.

Han Ji-woong, who already knew painfully that Han Seol’s whole body was a weapon, would not allow the armbar.

But the armbar was just a bait.

The real aim was to make him pull his arm towards his body to shake off the armbar.

Han Seol, who had already fallen from his arm, quickly lowered his posture and turned his body.

The target was Han Ji-woong’s ankle.

Noticing that, Han Ji-woong curled up his body and lowered his shield to protect his ankle, but the expected attack didn’t come.

Rather, Han Seol’s real aim was Han Ji-woong’s…

Thwack!

Face, which was empty as both arms were blocked downward.

Han Seol delivered a roundhouse kick to Han Ji-woong’s face instead of his shield, putting rotational force into it.

Han Ji-woong’s head was thrown back, bleeding from both nostrils, but that alone was not enough.

If he had let his guard down, Han Ji-woong might have been knocked out in one blow.

However, the opponent was Han Seol, whom he had sparred with countless times, officially and unofficially, over the past 2 years.

That meant he was fully prepared for an unexpected blow to come from a place he didn’t expect.

Thanks to that, even after taking an unexpected blow, Han Ji-woong, who had endured and stood, opened his eyes wide and searched for Han Seol, but…

Thwack!

At that moment, the second consecutive attack strongly struck the back of Han Ji-woong’s head and buried his face in the ground.

It was a consecutive attack that would not have been possible if he had not expected Han Ji-woong to sufficiently withstand his counter.

This meant that not only Han Ji-woong understood his opponent.

Splash.

Han Seol poured the bucket of water that Seong Yu-ra had brought onto Han Ji-woong’s head.

Then, Han Ji-woong, who got up with a surprised look, looked around and asked Han Seol after grasping the situation.

“…Did I faint again?”

“Strangely.”

Han Ji-woong expressed strong regret to Han Seol, who answered while extending his hand.

“Ah, damn it! I really thought I could win this time!”

There were only two chances left, and losing one of them was bound to be regretful.

Especially this time, unlike last time when it was just bluffing, he was really close to victory, so the regret would remain even more…

“This time, I was definitely tense too. That’s proof of how much you’ve grown.”

“Even if you praise me like that, it’s not pleasing at all. But you…”

“…?”

“No, nothing.”

Han Ji-woong was about to tell Han Seol that somehow his skills seemed to have regressed compared to before, but he swallowed his words.

Rather than regressing, he felt that Han Seol was deliberately not doing what he could do and trying something new.

‘If that attempt was a joke, I was going to pour a bucket of curses on him… But somehow, that guy also seems to be desperate. He’s really an unpredictable guy.’

Then Han Ji-woong made up his mind.

If such a monster was desperately working hard to become stronger, and he himself didn’t work harder than this, it would be impossible to surpass Han Seol, let alone catch up to him.