One Strike to the Neck
Grrrrr.
"Team Leadeeeer!"
Lee Donggeul, standing right beside me, screamed my name. The Lycan had swung its right hand at me — fast, brutal, claws fully extended. If those connected with my face, the one part the suit didn't cover, I'd die on the spot.
If this were the old me.
Thud!
Impact slammed into my left cheek. I twisted my head at the same instant.
"Nooooo!"
Lee Donggeul's scream tore through the air. Sorry about that — I was completely fine. The Lycan's mana was already gone, and I had Auto Shield. No damage, no pain, not even a scratch left on my face. The only reason I'd turned my head was that I'd flinched a little. How could I not? Even stripped of mana, it was still a vicious monster. A terror nothing like what I'd felt with Min Hyeokju washed over me — having those sharp claws scrape past my face, flinching was only natural.
A cluster of flashing white light suddenly poured into my body. Lee Donggeul had used a heal on me. I spoke to her urgently.
"I'm fine — hurry and heal Baek Hwayeon!"
"Huh? Ah… yes!"
Looking flustered and dazed, she obeyed. Everything from the moment Baek Hwayeon was hit until now had unfolded in mere seconds, so Lee Donggeul still hadn't fully processed it.
"Heal her fast, then heal Jang Yong too."
Even as I spoke, the Lycan came at me two more times. Standing in place, I felt like I was swatting at flies. The first strike had been scary; after that, nothing. Still, a boss was a boss — unlike Min Hyeokju after losing his mana, striking my shield didn't injure its hands. So those claws of his must be worth something.
You picked the wrong day, buddy.
I drew the dagger I always kept at my waist and started attacking. I'd never needed it until now, but I knew a few basic martial techniques. I'd gone to various dojos since middle school, dreaming of becoming an Awoken. Of course, after failing the mana test I'd cut it all off cold — so that was already more than five years ago. But my body was in far better shape now than back then, and the fact that the enemy's attacks did nothing to me only boosted my confidence. And that wasn't all. I stood before the monster calmer and more composed than ever.
Shhk!
A sensation and sound like cutting into a leather bag. Monster that it was, my swinging dagger failed to pierce its hide. I'd been dismissing it as about the level of a wild boar — apparently not. But I was actually pleased. This tough hide would sell for a good price too.
That said, not everything was satisfying. If only I had mana, I could take this thing down alone. Not having that damn mana was so frustratingly pathetic.
"Team Leader! Are you all right?"
"What the hell are you doing right now!?"
"Kim Isol. One strike to the neck. Don't touch anything else. It'll drop the value."
After I'd been dealing with the Lycan for several dozen seconds, Kim Isol and Jang Yong approached. I wasn't sure whether to be glad or sad, but thanks to my attacks doing nothing at all, the Lycan hadn't fled.
And now.
Slash!
The Lycan's head fell to Kim Isol's sword. In a single blow.
"What? Why so easy…"
"You know my ability, don't you?"
"What? Then it was you after all…"
"Team Leader. What on earth happened? You took the Lycan's attacks with no damage, no wounds at all."
"Are you disappointed I took no damage from its attacks?"
"No, that's not what I meant…"
Jang Yong with that dumb look on his face. If you'd just moved according to the plan I gave you, this wouldn't have happened, you idiot. I told you to herd the werewolves to one side and then bolt straight to the Lycan, but you got stupidly surrounded.
I sighed deeply to myself and, ignoring the noisy Kim Isol and Jang Yong, headed toward where Baek Hwayeon had fallen. Fortunately it hadn't been a major injury — she was sitting on the ground looking this way.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes… Thanks to the increased mana, my defense went up too, so I survived. And I got healed."
Three claw marks ran across the front of her suit. Because of the suit's elasticity, the gaps wouldn't close no matter how she pulled at them with her hands. Through those gaps, pale skin and her breasts were visible. Finding this more erotic than full nudity — was that because I was gradually becoming a pervert? Thanks to the heal, no wounds remained on her body. Didn't seem like any bone damage, so I could rest easy. The suit gets insurance coverage for dungeon damage, so at least we wouldn't lose more than we'd earned today.
"That's a relief."
I extended my hand to her, and she used it for support as she stood. Hmm — the way she was looking at me was something else. Fallen for me, have you? No time for that fantasy. At that exact moment, the Blue Dolphin guys came toward us.
Nice timing.
"What. Those werewolf corpses — don't tell me you guys took them all down?"
The Awoken man from earlier. Four Awoken and two supporters carrying bags like mine behind them — six total. A fully equipped expedition team. They'd said three teams, right? Meaning the other teams from their company had gone different directions. Probably split up to find the boss. Even for Awoken, pinpointing the exact location from just wolf howls isn't easy — unless you got lucky and were nearby like us.
I had plenty to say to them. I ought to properly inform these guys who still didn't know we'd taken down the Lycan. That we — the ones they'd looked down on — had already defeated the boss with this small group.
"You're a step late. We got lucky."
"What? What's this nonsense all of a sudden?"
"The Lycan. We already took it down."
I pointed toward the Lycan's corpse. The man and his whole team approached it with incredulous expressions. Having been in denial, they found the body and their faces twisted in shock. I followed slowly with Baek Hwayeon, wearing a satisfied smile.
"What a shame. We would have preferred to leave it for you if we could, but we ran into it by luck and just took it down simply. It was getting in the way of our hunt."
"Looks like a single strike? No, there are wounds on the arms too. But the finishing blow was to the neck… Did you cut it? What's your name?"
This time the woman who'd been bragging about being Academy A-class spoke. She'd checked the weapon in Kim Isol's hand before asking. Seemed she was the actual leader of their team. Makes sense — Academy A-class, unless working under some impressive seniors, she wouldn't settle for not being captain. Even our company's inferior Awoken are like that. Which makes our team the unusual situation. A non-Awoken like me holding complete control. Of course a lot has happened. Three of them have gentle natures, so that's one thing — but managing to put a proper leash on that crazy filly was a real achievement.
The crazy filly Kim Isol answered the woman's question.
"Why should I tell you?"
"What?"
"What do you need someone else's name for?"
"Oh my, what a funny girl. Who said anything? I'm just asking your name. Small companies really have no class, do they?"
"Class? That's rich. Why'd you suddenly come over picking a fight?"
I found Kim Isol impressive. Look at that confident stance even against an elite. I'd thought she was just arrogant toward me because she was Awoken — but no. She was just a crazy bitch. Not just toward those weaker than her, but unbending even against the strong. I respect you, Kim Isol.
But preventing problems from escalating was my job. No need to lose points by getting into trouble with another company after a clean boss kill. I gave Kim Isol a look to calm down.
"Well, that's enough sightseeing. We got lucky. We're busy, so if you'll excuse us…"
"Wait. You're in charge of this team, right?"
"That's correct."
"Name?"
"And your name is?"
"Wow… are you all doing this on purpose? Aren't you afraid?"
"If I were the fearful type, would I have chosen this job without even being Awoken? And I don't see why insisting on basic courtesy counts as fearlessness."
"Hmm… fine. Big-hearted me will yield. I'm Choi Miso, Academy A-class graduate, currently with Blue Dolphin. Now will you tell me your name and affiliation?"
The way she endlessly emphasized Academy A-class showed how proud she was of it. Our info would be easy enough to get from the officials outside the gate with a little sweet-talking, so no real reason to hide it now. I'd just been feeling contrary because they'd been mocking us from the start. But since they'd at least made a surface-level concession first, I should show some courtesy too.
"Kang Junghyeok, new-hire team manager at Cool Support Company."
"Cool Support? Never heard of it…"
"We're based in Seoul."
"I already heard that. Kang Junghyeok… I have a favor to ask of you."
"Out of nowhere?"
"I'll compensate you, so don't worry. Can I see your combat footage?"
Why would they want our combat footage? Sorry, but we didn't record any. We never rented the special combat cameras from the company in the first place. Those cost money too. My plan was to properly grow our kids here until Thursday, then rent cameras only on the last day to film a proper hunt.
"We don't have any."
"What?"
"Look here. Neither I nor any of them are wearing cameras."
"Why aren't you wearing cameras? You're rookies, aren't you? How do you plan to get evaluated?"
"We were only going to film on the last day."
"Ha… I see…"
Then the big guy cut in to Choi Miso.
"You can tell from how they commute. Probably a broke company that can't even afford cameras."
"That so?"
Ah, maybe whisper that kind of thing. I trash-talk our company all the time myself, but hearing other people say it out loud still pisses me off. Kim Isol's furrowed brow suggested she felt the same. Not that I had enough company loyalty to step up and argue. Neither did my teammates. Maybe because we still hadn't earned properly?
They kept watching and murmuring nearby even while we dismantled the Lycan's corpse. Looking thoroughly shocked and envious. Fair enough. What three teams had planned to hunt together, we'd done with four people. Of course, without interfering werewolves, other teams might manage with four too — but that's just a hypothetical. Werewolves don't go easy just because you're a big corporation.
Anyway, why did they want our footage? Looking for something to pick at? I was disappointed we hadn't filmed too. It would have been perfect for a high evaluation. Though any scenes involving me would have needed editing.
It was awkward telling the Blue Dolphin guys to stop watching and go elsewhere, but there was one silver lining thanks to them. For the moment, nobody was grilling me about my ability. Just looking at Kim Isol staring daggers at me like she was dying of curiosity made that clear.
I pondered how best to keep these kids' mouths shut as I packed the sharp Lycan claws Jang Yong had extracted into the storage case. Those claws alone were worth several million won each. Time to wrap up today's hunt and get out of the gate fast. Rush the news to the company and have them come collect the loot.
Uwehk!
Watching Lee Donggeul throw up at the sight of the Lycan's hide being skinned, I thought we still had a long way to go to properly grow these kids. Still, we'd earned today, so I should buy them something good to eat once we got out.
On the company card, of course.