028. Misunderstanding (3)
028. Misunderstanding (3)
Watching Jin Yu-ha's back as he moved ahead, Kang Do-hee recalled a memory from the past.
A memory from right after she had awakened her status window and become a rookie Hunter.
Back then, she had been drunk on herself.
It could not have been otherwise.
Because she was born different from other people.
A high Specialization Rank.
Solid stats right from the start.
A special skill called Berserk on top of that.
Everything written in her status window was telling her, "You are special."
It was enough to plant arrogance in a young girl.
A C-Rank Gate she'd boldly charged into right after awakening, intending to test her strength.
There, she found herself on the verge of death.
The corpses of Lycanthropes—bipedal wolf monsters—littered the area around her,
and even more of them were surrounding her.
— Grrrrrr...
Those bastards were pack-hunting monsters.
No matter how powerful the strength she had awakened, it was still just a story of potential.
They were not easy enough opponents for a girl who lacked even a basic understanding of Hunters and Gates.
— Grrraaah—!!!
In that desperate moment, the largest among them lunged at Kang Do-hee.
SHNK—!
That person appeared.
The leader of the Parandis Guild, Choi Hye-seo.
Happening to pass by, she casually cut down one Lycanthrope and walked over.
— Looks like a new Hunter who just awakened? But you hunted this many by yourself? Whoa, you're incredible.
Without that encounter back then, she would not be standing here now.
— Why so tense? Heh-heh, I'll help you out, so relax.
Choi Hye-seo smiled as she stroked Kang Do-hee's rigidly frozen head.
— Ughhh... Let's just finish off these bastards and get inside to rest. I'm beat.
A back moving ahead without hesitation after saying that.
— Alright, rookie! I'll cover you! Go wild to your heart's content!
A command brimming with conviction.
Strangely, Jin Yu-ha's back seemed to overlap with Choi Hye-seo's in her eyes.
Jin Yu-ha charged at the Demonized Human, swinging his blue sword.
Clang—!
Blade met blade with a sharp ring.
"Kang Do-hee! I'll hold him off. Use Berserk!"
Jin Yu-ha's command reached her, layered over Choi Hye-seo's voice.
'...Berserk?'
It was not a skill she used often.
Using Berserk clouded her reason until everything before her eyes disappeared.
The feeling of losing herself was never a pleasant experience.
The only moment she used it was when someone who could control her—in other words, Choi Hye-seo—was by her side.
It was a skill she had not used once since Choi Hye-seo retired.
'How does that guy know about it...'
Such doubts briefly flickered through her mind.
But before she knew it, Kang Do-hee was already moving her feet toward the Demonized Human's illusion.
Lub-dub—
Lub-dub—
Her heart began racing, and her bloodstream surged powerfully through her entire body.
Her temperature spiked as if it were being heated,
and her head grew numb as if steeped in something hot, her vision flickering.
Clang—!!!
Skrrrk—!
Jin Yu-ha drove the Demonized Human's sword downward, as if certain she would come.
— Rookie! Now! You handle this one!
Within her hazy consciousness, instinct spoke.
Now, this very moment.
Hah—!
Kang Do-hee kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
Then she rotated her body in midair.
"Haaaaah!!"
A downward strike using centrifugal force.
Whoosh—!
Her heel split the air as it came crashing down toward the Demonized Human's head.
Even after using Berserk just as she had in the past, her current body, with most of its Mana restricted, was unbearably slow.
But,
why was it?
Not a single worry crossed her mind.
Crunch—!
Her heel slammed into the Demonized Human's head.
The moment its movements halted,
SHNK—
Jin Yu-ha's sword smoothly sliced through its neck.
Soon, the Demonized Human's illusion faded away in a pale haze.
Kang Do-hee turned her gaze.
There,
Jin Yu-ha was nodding,
as if he had trusted her all along.
"As expected, you're amazing. Kang Do-hee."
— Hey. Rookie, you're seriously incredible!?
*
The joint training ended like that, with Kang Do-hee's Berserk as the finishing touch.
Maybe the afterglow of battle still lingered,
or perhaps she was dissatisfied that her command had been seized and she had followed my orders.
Breathing roughly, Kang Do-hee was staring fixedly at me.
"G-good work?"
Her expression was terrifying for some reason.
"......"
At that moment, Baek Seol-hee approached from behind with a stiff face.
She raised a hand to her ear nearby and clicked her tongue.
"Tch. Didn't I tell you it was nothing."
Then, with an annoyed look,
without warning,
she drew her sword.
Shiiing—
Her sword stopped right near my neck.
The chill of the blade touched my neck.
I couldn't help but panic.
'What the hell is this all of a sudden?'
"Cadet Jin Yu-ha."
"...Yes?"
She looked at me with an expressionless face.
"First of all, let me state beforehand that this is not my own will."
"What in the world..."
"It seems there is someone at the Hunter Management Bureau who suspects you."
"...Suspects me?"
Baek Seol-hee gave a small nod.
"There is a probability that you are a Demonized Human. So, I recorded and shared footage of your training process to document it... but it appears that only fanned the flames of suspicion."
Demonized Human? Me?
'Ah, don't tell me this is...'
The moment I heard the words Demonized Human, something came to mind.
The Cheat Suspicion Event.
In other words, the "High Praise Event."
In Velvetsra, when you pull off god-tier plays against an enemy you shouldn't be able to beat at your current level,
or when you play like a Veteran,
sometimes a situation arises where the character becomes suspected of being a Demonized Human.
Of course, the devs' intent was to prevent bug-like play and cheating...
'Usually, it's an event only experienced by people who hear things like "Wow, are you trying to play this game like garbage?"...'
So Velvetsra Players used to call getting this event "High Praise" or a "Veteran Certificate."
I hardly ever spent money and pushed through with only tactics and strategy, so I got it fairly often.
'But this is the first time I've gotten High Praise this early on. Wait, I haven't even enrolled yet, right?'
Baek Seol-hee spoke in an annoyed voice.
"There's a bitch at the Hunter Management Bureau whose seizure button gets pressed whenever it involves Demonized Humans. The kind who stabs first at the slightest suspicious sign and asks questions later."
I know her.
A character made as a bug-catching element, yet on that subject a woman treated like a laughingstock because she can never catch an actual Demonized Human.
It looked like showing off god-tier veteran play with the Male Quota, One-Star Trash character Jin Yu-ha had drawn that woman's suspicion.
'Maybe it started from Camela Forest.'
Even though I was in a situation being suspected of being a Demonized Human, my heart was paradoxically calm.
Proving I wasn't one was simple.
I just had to go to the Hunter Management Bureau in person and take a test.
"Then, can I just go straight to the Hunter Management Bureau?"
I spoke toward Baek Seol-hee.
"No. I have the authority as well. I can confirm it right here."
"Huh...?"
With her other hand, she pulled out a device that looked like a diabetes test kit from her pocket.
'A Demonized Human Detector? Wasn't that thing originally set to be handled only at the Hunter Management Bureau? What the hell is this woman's real identity?'
"Cadet Jin Yu-ha. I'm sorry, but could you give me a single drop of blood?"
"Ah, yes."
Feeling a bit dazed, I nodded and brought my finger near her blade, brushing it along the edge.
Sting.
The blood seeping from my fingertip smeared onto Baek Seol-hee's sword.
Once she withdrew her sword and applied the blood to the device,
the Demonized Human Detector blinked with a yellow light.
Beep—
Beep—
Beep—
Ding—♬
The yellow light shifted to green,
[ Not a Demonized Human. ]
and the machine erupted in High Praise in a mechanical tone.
Baek Seol-hee let out a sigh.
"As expected, you're not one... I apologize for suspecting you. Cadet Jin Yu-ha."
She deeply bowed her head, as if she felt ashamed.
It was an unprecedented incident—an Instructor bowing her head to a cadet who hadn't even enrolled yet.
But that's what made her who she was, I suppose.
"Ah, no. You said you yourself didn't suspect me anyway, Instructor."
"Even so, being suspected of being a Demonized Human is not something that ends with mere displeasure. If things had gone even slightly wrong, it could have endangered your life."
"Cough—!!"
Suddenly, Kang Do-hee spat out a cough from behind.
"If there is something you desire, speak up. I will grant it to the fullest extent within my power to do so."
Now that the game had become reality, High Praise didn't just end with suspicion.
'Honestly, this isn't particularly upsetting, though.'
Baek Seol-hee gazed at me with composed eyes. I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
'Instructor Baek Seol-hee, huh... She's an unknown variable. But because of that, this might actually be worth a shot...'
While receiving training from her, I had already grasped that her Swordsmanship level was S-Rank or higher.
Considering there are no classes for S-Rank among the courses available to freshmen,
if I could continue learning the sword from her even after enrolling, it would certainly help me later on.
"Well then... Instructor, once I enroll, could you continue teaching me the sword?"
At that, Baek Seol-hee shook her head as if dumbfounded.
"Ha, I can't grant that request. Cadet Jin Yu-ha."
What, is it not allowed?
Does she not open classes?
"Your major has already been decided as my Swordsmanship course."
"...Pardon?"
...Me? ...Since when?
"So, ask for something else. If you want an apology, I can drag that bitch here and make her apologize. If you want money, I'll give you compensation. That is what it means to suspect a person who is not a Demonized Human of being one. It is absolutely something that should not be judged hastily based on circumstantial evidence alone."
'She's really a bitch I can't stand,' Baek Seol-hee clicked her tongue.
"Ugh—."
And for some reason, Kang Do-hee let out another groan from behind.
'Uh... So, would that also work, maybe?'
I looked at Baek Seol-hee and opened my mouth.
"Then Instructor. Could you grant me the Party Creation Authority immediately after enrollment?"