Chapter 17
Arahan Guild (1)
“Oh. Mr. Park Sungwook.”
“Mr. Park Sungwook? Watch your tone with your senior.”
“You should be grateful I’m not cursing you out.”
A bad connection from the orphanage days.
Back then, Park Sungwook had been trash who exploited the younger kids while avoiding the orphanage director’s eyes.
“Looks like your nose healed up pretty well?”
The moment Yujin slowly clenched his fist, Sungwook instinctively took a step back.
Back in the orphanage, when the bastard tried to hit a younger child—
Yujin had walked up to him smiling and crushed his nose with a punch.
Realizing he had unconsciously retreated, Sungwook twisted his face.
“Ha, fuck.”
His expression warped with rage as he spat out the curse.
“You’ve grown a lot since I last saw you.”
“I got about twenty centimeters taller.”
“Seeing you hanging around the Pantheon, I guess you’re some kind of hunter now too?”
“Yeah. Awakened a week ago.”
Sungwook slightly pulled back his left shoulder, awkwardly emphasizing his chest.
“Know what this is?”
“If you want to dance like an idiot, go to a club.”
“You little— You see the Arahan badge and still act fearless?”
A guild name Yujin had heard repeatedly after taking Fafnir under his command had suddenly appeared.
What a ridiculous coincidence.
〔Is this one from a hunter clan?〕
There are no hunter clans in Korea. Only guilds.
To officially establish a hunter clan, three conditions had to be fulfilled:
- A hereditary mana cultivation method unique to the clan
- A guardian star contracted to the clan
- The clan head must be at least 7-Star rank
Arahan only fulfilled the third condition.
A clan-exclusive mana cultivation method referred to techniques born from a hunter’s enlightenment—not skills shared through skill books.
You couldn’t just create one because your rank was high.
And on top of that—
〔Contracting a guardian star for an entire clan consumes far more causality and power than blessing a single hunter.〕
There was a reason people said the easiest requirement for founding a clan was reaching the 7-Star realm.
That was why no true hunter clan had emerged on the Korean peninsula for so long.
Still…
So this guy had been with Arahan?
Yujin hadn’t seen him during his previous life when he fought against the guild.
Guess he died pretty quickly while working there.
Or maybe he’d simply been too insignificant to remain in Yujin’s memory.
Either way, what a pathetic life.
“Rookie. Who’s this guy?”
“Oh, Team Leader Jung. Just an old junior I used to know.”
The man called Team Leader stepped between them and quickly sized Yujin up.
“So you know Team Member Park Sungwook? Nice to meet you.”
He naturally offered a business card.
[Arahan 5th Assault Division — Team 7 Leader]
[Jung Jinsu]
Yujin merely stared at it without reaching out.
“At this rate my arm’s going to fall off.”
“I don’t have a business card to give back, so there’s no reason to take yours.”
Hearing Yujin’s reply, Jung Jinsu smiled amiably.
“Young man, keeping my card might help you if you ever run into trouble.”
“The 5th Assault Division is the lowest-quality unit, isn’t it? Can you really help me?”
The 5th Assault Division was mainly where rookies were assigned.
But were the team leaders rookies too?
Not exactly.
Hunters who’d hit their growth limit or dropped out due to injuries.
That’s what Yujin openly implied.
Sungwook and the other team members’ faces instantly flushed red.
The atmosphere felt like it would explode if poked one more time.
“Khahaha. This kid’s got guts.”
Jung Jinsu laughed heartily and calmed the others down.
“Well, I am in charge of rookie recruitment, so you’re not wrong. But these are all talented people we personally selected.”
“Really? Hard to agree when you picked up human garbage like Park Sungwook.”
“You arrogant little—!”
Sungwook trembled all over as if he might charge at him any second.
“Hm. Then how about this?”
Jung Jinsu smiled pleasantly.
“You look like a hunter too, so why not spar with one of our rookies?”
“You want me to fight some martial-type guy barehanded?”
“Khaha! Of course that’d be unreasonable. I just meant you could show us your skills since you already know our rookie.”
“Sure. Sounds fine.”
The flow of conversation abruptly halted.
Jung Jinsu looked at him suspiciously.
“You serious?”
“Let’s do it. This sparring thing.”
Yujin grinned while staring directly at Park Sungwook.
Three minutes on foot from the Pantheon.
The Arahan Guild had purchased an entire building in Yeouido, one of Seoul’s most expensive districts.
A skyscraper towering into the sky.
Jung Jinsu led them into a newly built training hall beside the building.
“Here, you can compete freely without worrying about other people watching.”
“I see.”
“If you want, you can also use the equipment prepared in the guild training grounds.”
Telling a priest-class hunter to browse weapons.
He really thought Yujin was a complete beginner.
“I’m a priest-type. So I’ll choose a champion instead.”
“As you wish. Though I don’t see anyone here capable of becoming your champion.”
“This guy will fight for me.”
A sinister glow flickered from the Ring of Darkness, and a giant nearly three meters tall suddenly appeared.
【A fight?】
“Yeah. Just a little sparring.”
Fafnir looked at the Arahan emblem in the center of the arena and slowly clenched his fist.
“Well, junior, looks like you rolled a pretty good unique trait?”
Sungwook mocked him with exaggerated sarcasm.
Apparently, he mistook Fafnir for a summon created through some summoning or spirit-related ability.
【Master. I doubt you came here already planning my revenge. So why are we here?】
Since this place was practically enemy territory for Fafnir, he deliberately lowered his thought-transmission so only Yujin could hear.
“You should know who your future enemies are. Helps with motivation.”
【Hm. Fair enough.】
“And while we’re at it, we can advertise the intermediate potion too.”
【I suspect that was your real goal all along.】
Instead of answering, Yujin chuckled quietly.
Well, if that’s what he wanted to believe.
〔So you have another scheme?〕
The Arahan Guild has ties with the Romanov family.
Even without Fafnir’s issue, conflict with Arahan was inevitable.
He just hadn’t expected to cross paths this early.
Actually, this was even better.
Cutting off his thoughts, Yujin looked calmly at Park Sungwook across the arena.
“Heh. Chun Yujin, now that you’re actually up here, you look frozen.”
Shining armor.
A necklace radiating mana.
Several stat-enhancing rings on his fingers.
【Those all look at least Rare-grade.】
Probably.
Just estimating roughly, Sungwook looked like a walking sports car.
【Giving equipment like that to a rookie…】
They’re Korea’s number one guild.
In Yujin’s previous life, Arahan had become Korea’s first hunter clan and grown into a giant force influencing both politics and business.
If they hadn’t directly clashed with Yujin and been annihilated, they would’ve ruled for a long time.
So that’s why they joined hands with the Romanovs trying to become a hunter clan.
【Are you sure about this? You may have made an enormous enemy just to help me get revenge.】
“If I can’t overcome enemies like this, then I’m finished anyway.”
He meant it.
The enemies Yujin faced in his previous life were the Seven Great Clans that dominated the world.
He was confident he could surpass Korea’s top guild within a few years.
【To go this far for my sake…】
Looks like Fafnir misunderstood something again.
But Yujin let it slide.
[The Sparring System has been activated.]
[The defense and vitality of both hunters are being adjusted.]
[If their lives are endangered, a protective barrier will activate automatically.]
[3, 2, 1]
[The sparring match begins.]
“CHUN YUJIN! I’LL SHOW YOU YOUR PLACE!!”
Sungwook immediately charged toward Fafnir.
【How would you like me to handle this, Master?】
Don’t finish it in one hit. We need him injured enough to show the potion’s effects.
【Cruel fellow. Sounds like he used to know you personally too.】
Bad blood. Don’t hold back.
【Heh. It’s been a long time since real combat. I should loosen up a bit.】
Fafnir lightly kicked off the arena floor and charged straight ahead.
Boom—! Boom—!
The ground shook with every step.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
Sungwook’s narrowed eyes precisely tracked Fafnir’s movements.
“A close-range power type. Then all I need to do is avoid getting hit.”
[Kairak Spear Technique]
[Third Form]
[Reflective Movement]
Sungwook’s body sharply twisted mid-charge.
Sliding across the floor, he slipped to Fafnir’s flank.
[Kairak Spear Technique]
[Second Form]
[Single-Point Thrust]
He poured all his weight and strength into the spear thrust.
A perfect stab sharper than ever before.
Ecstasy flashed across Sungwook’s eyes.
“Oh.”
Even Jung Jinsu watching the match let out a brief exclamation.
Sharper than during training.
The essence of the Kairak Spear Technique lay in explosive bursts of power within an instant.
Even to Jung Jinsu, who had trained Arahan rookies for years, it was nearly a perfect strike.
Though it’d be a problem if the match ended too quickly.
Park Sungwook was a promising rookie Jung Jinsu had personally invested effort into lately.
As for that random junior who came out of nowhere? Jung Jinsu didn’t care about him.
He only hoped Sungwook would gain something through this realistic sparring match.
That was the real reason he brought Yujin into the training arena.
At least put up some resistance before collapsing.
Just as Jung Jinsu was thinking that—
【Did you really think such a slow attack could hit me?】
The blue ghost-flames within Fafnir’s diamond-shaped pupils followed Sungwook’s movements perfectly.
Slash!
The spear tip aiming for Fafnir’s chest cut through empty air.
Fafnir merely twisted his body slightly, letting the spear graze his side.
“W-What?”
【Pathetic. An attack so sloppy you didn’t even think about what comes next.】
Fafnir trapped the spear shaft against his side with his right arm.
Sungwook panicked and pulled hard—
But the spear didn’t budge.
Instead—
【If this were real combat, you’d already be dead.】
Fafnir violently yanked the spear shaft.
Like a hooked fish, Sungwook was dragged forward.
Completely exposed.
Fafnir clenched his fist to finish him in one strike—
Then suddenly paused.
Master said to break something.
He reduced his strength slightly and struck Sungwook’s arm instead.
CRACK!
Despite the armor’s protection, Sungwook’s left arm bent backward unnaturally under Fafnir’s monstrous strength.
“…?!”
Bloodshot eyes wide open, Sungwook stared blankly at his dangling arm.
“When I broke your nose back then, you cried your eyes out. Did joining Arahan suddenly make you tougher?”
“You bastard!!”
Sungwook immediately rushed toward Yujin—
【You’re not getting past me.】
The three-meter-tall Eldritch Dragon, Fafnir, blocked his path.
Sungwook activated his footwork technique again, trying to bypass him.
But—
BOOM!
A massive leg slammed down.
Fafnir stomped the sparring field, disrupting Sungwook’s balance.
“Ah!”
A groan escaped Jung Jinsu’s mouth.
At the same time, Sungwook—already moving low enough to skim the floor—lost control of his own momentum and crashed down.
【Using the same technique twice makes it obvious.】
Fafnir calmly pointed out his mistake.
Then—
CRACK!
“AAAAAAARGH!!!”
【People usually learn better when it’s carved into their bodies.】
He broke the leg Sungwook used for his movement technique.
One arm and one leg bent grotesquely, bone protruding outward.
The sparring field only activated for truly fatal injuries.
Unless limbs were completely torn off, broken bones weren’t enough for protection to trigger.
“Stop!”
Jung Jinsu rushed into the field, waving his hand sharply.
[The sparring match has ended.]
Just like that, the fight was over.
Boring.
And I’d only just started his personality correction training too.
Yujin clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Meanwhile, Jung Jinsu urgently inspected Sungwook’s injuries.
“Ugh… ngh…”
“Thankfully, there won’t be any lasting damage.”
“T-Team Leader…”
“I’ll call a priest immediately. Just hold on.”
“There’s already a priest right here.”
Yujin waved casually.
Anger flickered across Jung Jinsu’s face.
He’d tried to boost his rookie’s confidence and gotten humiliated instead.
But what could he do?
He was the one who put Yujin on the stage.
“…You do realize a 1-Star healing spell can’t fix broken bones?”
“That’s common sense.”
“Then I’d like to know how you intend to heal our rookie.”
“I’ve got an intermediate potion.”
Intermediate potions occasionally dropped from gate monsters.
Each one cost over ten million won.
“You’re using something that valuable on a rookie?”
“Looks like you haven’t heard that mass production of intermediate potions succeeded recently.”
Yujin held out the potion.
The moment Jung Jinsu checked the item information, his eyes trembled.
Pop!
Yujin uncorked it and poured the potion over Sungwook’s arm and leg.
“Hold them in place properly. Otherwise they’ll heal crooked.”
If you don’t want your rookie ending up crippled, better focus. Right?
[Intermediate Potion used.]
[Injuries are being healed.]
Crack— crack—
Broken bones fused back together.
Torn flesh rapidly regenerated.
Sungwook’s expression visibly relaxed.
“Junior hunter… where did you say you got that potion?”
A naked gleam of greed stirred within Jung Jinsu’s eyes.
