Chapter 44 : Into the Dungeon. (2)
Chapter 44: Into the Dungeon. (2)
When anger reached its extreme, it seemed to make one calm instead.
Na Sang-min kept his mouth tightly shut and walked toward me.
Instructor Nike tried to block him, but it was useless.
“Move.”
Instructor Nike flinched and stepped back.
Na Sang-min stopped in front of me.
“Say that again. What did you say?”
Before I realized it, I swallowed hard.
It felt as if the air had turned into needles and was viciously stabbing both of my cheeks.
As expected, standing up to an S-rank Hunter was no ordinary matter.
“Go on. Spit it out again.”
I tried hard to stand calmly, but cold sweat ran down my spine.
Pulling Na Sang-min in had been an unavoidable choice.
Spar with a strong opponent : < 0/1 >
I had tried to clear the mission in one go, but failed.
With dungeon entry just around the corner.
In order to obtain a new hero, I had no choice but to gamble.
‘It can’t be helped. I’ll just have to do it.’
I straightened my shoulders and faced Na Sang-min.
“Please give me some guidance.”
“Not that. What, huh? You gonna run away?”
“…….”
As expected, Na Sang-min was simple.
With a slight provocation, he flared up immediately.
Amid the hair-trigger tension.
“Well, fine.”
Na Sang-min smirked and whispered so only I could hear.
“I was planning to straighten you out someday anyway. Looks like today’s the day.”
He turned his head toward Instructor Nike.
“Hey. What were you guys doing just now?”
“We were sparring. Training to take down an opponent without striking. Mana must not be used.”
Na Sang-min nodded.
“That all? That’s nothing. Should I loosen up a bit? Brings back memories of my intern days.”
Instructor Nike approached, trying to placate Na Sang-min and gently soothe him.
“Ah-ha. So you had intern days too, Mr. Hunter.”
“Of course. I was a small fry like you guys once.”
“Come on. Weren’t you on another level from the start, Mr. Hunter? Anyway, I’ll apologize on behalf of Choi Yong-gi’s rude behavior—.”
“No, you don’t need to apologize. Like this kid said, a senior can teach by example, right? Isn’t that so, junior Choi Yong-gi.”
Seeing him up close, the mana swirling around Na Sang-min’s body was unique.
If Go Ju-hoon was like magma erupting from a volcano.
Then Na Sang-min was like a quietly burning torch.
‘If an F-rank like me can feel this much. Once I get stronger, I’ll clearly be able to tell the difference between the two.’
I slightly bowed my head to Na Sang-min.
“First of all, I apologize if I was rude. What I meant by not running away was—.”
“I told you not to apologize.”
Na Sang-min kicked my ankle.
I barely managed a breakfall, but the impact transferred straight to my chest.
“Ugh.”
It happened in an instant.
Na Sang-min looked down at me.
“Get up. You asked me to teach you, didn’t you.”
Na Sang-min clearly hadn’t used mana.
He had relied solely on pure physical strength.
Even so, my ankle quickly swelled up.
‘That’s insane.’
There was no rule forbidding the use of mana in a spar meant to take down an opponent.
Instructor Nike had made it up on the spot to protect me.
If not for that, my ankle bone would have broken from that attack.
‘Good thing it ended at this.’
I brushed off my training clothes and got up.
I couldn’t get excited and play along with Na Sang-min’s rhythm.
‘Stay calm.’
Ding.
A cheerful alarm rang out.
I immediately focused on the mission window.
Spar with a strong opponent : < 1/1 >
Conditions have been met. A new hero will be granted.
‘Yes!’
At last, I got what I wanted.
By the system’s standards, a strong opponent meant an S-rank Hunter.
‘Good, now I’ll quietly resolve this—.’
“You bastard. Where are you looking right now? Are you disrespecting your senior?”
Na Sang-min grabbed the collar on my back and swept my leg, flipping me over.
With an even more violent impact, I crashed to the floor.
“Ghk!”
I lay spread-eagle, gasping for breath.
The mission was a success, but a truly important problem remained.
‘How am I supposed to calm this monster down?’
Bang Su-hwan shouted.
“Hyung! Are you okay?”
“Let me say this in advance.”
Na Sang-min opened his mouth while glaring at everyone.
“Try interfering, and I’ll tear all of you apart.”
Bang Su-hwan, Lee Ji-jun, Hase-na, and everyone else didn’t dare step forward.
The wrist supporting me on the floor throbbed painfully.
‘A ligament’s gone.’
Each time Na Sang-min threw me down, the strain piled up directly on my body.
One unexpected thing was.
Whenever Na Sang-min threw me, he seemed careful not to make me land headfirst.
‘Is that consideration for me?’
Or was it to avoid reprimand from the Dio Guild?
Either way, I got back up like a roly-poly doll.
“Oh. You’re tough.”
Na Sang-min gripped my wrist tightly.
Crash!
A modified shoulder throw exploded, and once again I was sprawled across the floor.
My skull rattled, and a ringing filled my ears.
Already the third time.
My breath caught in my throat.
My legs gave out, and my body refused to recover.
“Hah, huff.”
Watching me pant, Na Sang-min finally seemed to have vented his anger and shrugged.
“Got a sense of your place now? I’d love to cripple you, but I’ve got things to do, so I’ll hold back. Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Na Sang-min turned away.
“Stay flat on the ground like a cockroach. That suits your level perfectly.”
I lay spread-eagle, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
The dazzling lights filled my vision.
The gap was so overwhelming that I didn’t even have room to try anything.
‘Honestly, I never expected to win anyway.’
This whole thing had just been to complete the mission.
In any case, I achieved my goal as planned.
Now it was time to withdraw.
But then.
‘It’s a little frustrating.’
A cockroach.
That was what I hated the most.
I got to my feet.
“It’s not over yet.”
“…….”
Na Sang-min stopped in his tracks.
“Now it begins—.”
Bang!
In the blink of an eye, Na Sang-min flew at me, knocked me down, and mounted me.
Na Sang-min grabbed my collar and didn’t let go.
“Yeah. For an ill-mannered bastard, a beating works best.”
Riiip.
His grip was so strong that the thick dobok I was wearing tore apart.
It felt as if he was using <Judgment of the Superhuman>.
Bang! Bang!! Bwaang!!!
I was thrown down again and again without pause.
I couldn’t even breathe properly.
The world spun.
He pressed the attack relentlessly, leaving me unable to even perform a proper breakfall.
At some point I bit my tongue, and blood dribbled out between my lips.
I was completely battered.
Na Sang-min grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up with one hand.
“Hey. Choi Yong-gi. Don’t you know the basic iron rule of Hunters? If you don’t have a chance to win, don’t rush in recklessly.”
It was actually written in the Hunter manual.
If a monster that burst out of a gate was stronger than one’s own capabilities, one was to avoid engagement.
It specified that one should buy time or request support.
Na Sang-min clenched his teeth.
“I hate arrogant punks like you the most. You awaken and think you’re something special now? Do you know how many people out there are stronger than you—.”
“Then.”
I stared straight at Na Sang-min.
“What if the opponent is a bad guy? What if a monster is slaughtering people? Should I still give up just because it’s stronger than me?”
“……What?”
“I know better than anyone that I’m weak.”
I had sworn it when I defeated Big Lava.
Once I chose to become a hero.
I would never compromise on things that went against my convictions.
“Just because someone is weak, does that mean they shouldn’t protect others? Just because someone is weak, does that mean they shouldn’t stand up to evil?”
“Bullshit.”
Na Sang-min yanked the hand gripping my collar and pulled my face right up to his.
“Listen carefully. Justice without power is incompetence. You hypocritical bastard.”
He was directly quoting the words of a famous French mathematician.
Justice without power is impotence, and power without justice is violence.
I agreed completely.
However.
“You’re wrong. Just because I’m weak now doesn’t mean I’ll be weak forever. Someday I—.”
“Cut the bullshit!”
“You shut up!”
I grabbed the hand clutching my collar and sprang upward.
I wrapped both legs around his arm.
The so-called flying armbar.
“Ghk!”
Na Sang-min frowned deeply as he lost his balance and staggered.
If I held on like this, Na Sang-min’s arm would break.
At that moment, ominous mana flared up from his body.
A chilling shiver seized my entire body.
If he struck me with the hand that wasn’t caught in the armbar—
‘……This is dangerous!’
With both my arms and legs essentially restrained, I was helpless.
‘What should I do.’
Should I activate <Aura of God>?
As I hesitated.
Kraack!!!
Na Sang-min and I fell at the same time.
Na Sang-min’s fist pierced straight through the floor.
The reinforced flooring caved in deeply.
For some reason, Na Sang-min’s attack didn’t hit me.
‘No, he deliberately didn’t hit me.’
This was only a spar between senior and junior.
It wasn’t a duel meant to kill the opponent.
If Na Sang-min used mana, it would violate the rules, so—
‘He went easy on me.’
As the surging killing intent vanished, a heavy silence settled in.
“Ugh.”
Na Sang-min struggled while caught in the armbar.
Just once.
Just this one time.
I had gained the upper hand in a spar against an S-rank Hunter.
Instructor Nike, who had been watching anxiously, rushed over in a hurry.
“Mr. Na Hunter! Are you alright? Hunter Choi! Release that immediately!”
Only then did I let go of Na Sang-min’s arm.
Na Sang-min stood there dazed for a moment, then quietly got up.
In effect, he had taken almost no damage.
Na Sang-min let out a light breath, as if refreshed.
Then he held out his hand to me.
I took Na Sang-min’s hand and stood up.
“Hey.”
Na Sang-min spoke.
“You’re still a fucking arrogant bastard.”
I listened in silence.
There was no need to pluck the whiskers of a lion I had barely managed to calm.
“You say you’ll get stronger? I’ll be watching to see just how strong you get. And then…….”
Na Sang-min looked like he still had more to say.
“That time, well, you did good.”
That time?
When was that?
“During the first test. Attacking me and stealing the chair was a novel idea. As for losing my role as a judge and reacting emotionally…….”
Na Sang-min made a face as if forcibly swallowing down vomit.
“Fuck! I’m outta here!”
He stomped away heavily.
He probably wanted to apologize to me, but his pride wouldn’t allow it.
In a way, he seemed childish and immature.
Yet somehow, I felt a fondness toward him.
Watching Na Sang-min’s retreating back, I sank into thought.
Perhaps.
The bad reputation of the Dio Guild stemmed from flawed policies and systems.
It wasn’t too late.
If someone were to present the right direction even now.
Those labeled as villains might yet be guided onto the path of the righteous.
“Hunter Choi Yong-gi, are you alright?”
Instructor Nike, who had approached, asked.
My whole body throbbed.
“Nothing seems broken.”
Seeing that I looked unharmed, Instructor Nike pressed a hand to his forehead as if dizzy.
“Provoking an S-rank Hunter. Are you out of your mind? They’re people who have already left the realm of humanity. You almost died.”
He was right.
Looking at the hole smashed into the floor sent chills crawling up my spine.
If it hadn’t been the floor but my head that got struck…….
No matter if I activated <Aura of God>, I would’ve died instantly.
“You’re right. I was lucky.”
The angelic expression on Instructor Nike’s face turned grim.
“Hunter Choi Yong-gi. No more impulsive actions. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“As punishment, run 100 laps around the training hall.”
“Pardon?”
“Right now.”
“……Yes.”
Other agents passing by moved to clean up the situation.
They cleared away the shattered floor, and the remaining rookie Hunters moved off for the next lesson.
I ran alone in the gymnasium.
Suddenly, I summoned the window floating in midair.
A new hero will be granted.
It was a message I hadn’t had the chance to check earlier.
“Oh.”
As joy gradually washed over me, the crushing fatigue melted away.
“So it finally came out!”
Six days until dungeon entry D-Day.
The long-awaited third hero was born.