A Gentleman's Draw
World No. 4, Nakamura Ryohei.
And.
The unranked hunter, Lee Taepyeong.
The two stood facing each other.
The voice of the Association agent broke the silence hanging over the training ground.
"…Well then, let the match begin."
3.
2.
1.
*CLAAAAANG!*
The moment the bell rang, Nakamura Ryohei made the first move.
*Shring!*
The sound of a sword leaving its scabbard echoed—
—!
Or rather, the moment Taepyeong registered the sound, Nakamura Ryohei's shadow had already lunged right before his nose.
He's faster than I thought.
Taepyeong was genuinely impressed.
Nakamura Ryohei's speed was truly worthy of his title as World No. 4.
Of course, to Taepyeong, it was merely "faster than expected."
Thanks to Killing Time, which allowed him to slice seconds into fractions, it was literally just a case of, *Oh, he's got some moves?*
It was fast, but not surprising.
*Swoosh!*
Fitting for a hunter with the Samurai trait, his movement was clean and aimed for a single, lethal strike.
*Whoosh!* Nakamura Ryohei's sword cut through the air.
A vertical slash.
Along with the sound of parting air, *screeech!* The special alloy floor split open.
Oh, his initial burst is definitely good.
Taepyeong admired him once again.
Normally, high speed meant a drop in destructive power. However, Nakamura Ryohei's attack possessed both.
There was only one problem.
*Whoosh!* Taepyeong was no longer there.
Had it been before he inherited Alteon's bloodline, it might have been different. But to the current Taepyeong, who had inherited all of Alteon's combat techniques, every single one of Nakamura Ryohei's attacks was completely predictable.
It's similar to the dark elves' swordsmanship.
Yet, it fell short of it.
Thus, for Taepyeong, letting himself get hit by Nakamura Ryohei's strike would have been the harder task.
"…!!"
Nakamura Ryohei's eyes trembled as his decisive strike missed.
Until now, Nakamura Ryohei's strikes had never missed. They had been blocked, or deflected, but never had they failed to even graze the opponent. Not once.
"You bastard…!!!"
Was the reality too hard to accept? Nakamura Ryohei grit his teeth and unleashed a flurry of consecutive slashes.
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
Horizontal, vertical, diagonal—slashes rained down indiscriminately. A storm of blades poured out without giving him room to breathe!
*Swish!*
*Whoosh!*
*Swish!*
*Whoosh!*
Every single swing of Nakamura Ryohei's sword cut nothing but empty air.
"Ugh…!"
Nakamura Ryohei swung his sword, veins bulging in his neck from how hard he was gritting his teeth.
Of course, every attack missed. It didn't even require any grand movements. With just a single step—exactly one step—all of Nakamura Ryohei's attacks were rendered utterly useless.
Why isn't it hitting…?!
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no answer. The opponent Nakamura Ryohei was facing was an anomaly of a human… no, a hunter.
"Pant, pant…"
Nakamura Ryohei's breathing grew increasingly ragged. The weakness of the Samurai trait was slowly beginning to show.
The Samurai trait specialized in short-term showdowns. The initial strike was terrifying, but if the match wasn't decided then…
"Haah…!"
The speed and destructive power he prided himself on plummeted rapidly. On top of that, his explosive strength and stamina drained in an instant.
To put it in perspective, it was like a cheetah hunting. Just like a cheetah that could run a hundred meters in three seconds but had a limit of only three hundred meters, if Nakamura Ryohei failed to seize victory early and reached his limit…
"…Damn it!!"
His overheated body would refuse to listen. This was the greatest weakness of the Samurai trait.
I'm still just warming up…
Taepyeong wasn't being cocky or bluffing. It was the truth. It was a warm-up, or even less.
Had they clashed with technique rather than speed, Nakamura Ryohei might have stood a better chance. Even if samurai swordsmanship was similar to that of the dark elves, they weren't completely identical.
However, even after his first strike missed, Nakamura Ryohei refused to accept it and recklessly spammed his slashes. And the price for that…
"Let's end this now."
Was brutal.
Taepyeong drew Jeoldanchamgeuk.
Dan. The weapon Nakamura Ryohei had once obtained from a Diamond Box. When he acquired that S-grade item, the entire Japanese archipelago had erupted in excitement.
Finally! Finally, Nakamura Ryohei would surpass South Korea's Choi Muryeong and become the top hunter in Asia!
But as everyone knew, the outcome was different. Despite the Japanese government's underhanded tricks, Taepyeong had ended up with Dan.
Later, when news broke that Taepyeong had also obtained Jeol and completed Jeoldanchamgeuk, one could easily guess how Nakamura Ryohei must have felt.
And now, Taepyeong had drawn that very weapon, which held nothing but humiliating memories for him, declaring he would "end" it!
"Shut up!!!"
Nakamura Ryohei's eyes flashed.
"Who do you think you're looking down on?!"
*Boom!*
A powerful sword qi erupted from the special weapon Nakamura Ryohei held—the Momotaro Wooden Sword, which he had obtained from the Banquet of the Gods.
"Oh, if you're going to play like that…"
Before Taepyeong could even finish his sentence, *slash!* Nakamura Ryohei swung his sword.
You can't keep this up for long… Taepyeong clicked his tongue, dodging the slashes.
…Well, it's better for me anyway.
*Spin!* Taepyeong leaped into the air, dodging Nakamura Ryohei's strike.
*Tap!* He stepped right on Nakamura's head,
*Whoosh!* and landed two meters behind him.
*Swoosh!* The sword swung around as if it had been waiting.
*Swish!* Taepyeong lightly dodged it,
*Slide!* sliding across the floor,
*Thud!!!* The blunt pommel of Dan struck Nakamura Ryohei directly in the groin.
"Aaaaargh!!!"
"Oh, crap! That was a mistake! A mistake!"
"Uuuuugh…!!!"
"No, I was trying to attack without stabbing you!"
"Gaaah…!!!"
"I-I'm sorry!!!"
Knowing as a fellow man just how genuine that pain was, Taepyeong repeatedly apologized.
However, *bubble, bubble…* Nakamura Ryohei, who was already pushed to his limit, turned pale and began foaming at the mouth.
"Oh dear…"
Seeing the tragic sight, Taepyeong stopped his attack and covered his mouth.
Now was not the time to worry about the match.
"A-Are you okay—"
"Kek…!"
Even while making a sound like a dying goblin, perhaps out of pride, Nakamura Ryohei refused to fall and remained standing on his two feet. Even through the agonizing pain of his shattered eggs…
"T-The winner is…"
Nakamura Ryohei was clearly unable to continue fighting. Anyone could see this was Taepyeong's victory. Thus, just as the Association agent was about to declare the winner—
"Wait!" Taepyeong shouted.
Then, *grab*. Taepyeong supported Nakamura Ryohei.
"H-Hunter Lee Taepyeong…?"
The Association agent and the other hunters watched in bewilderment.
Taepyeong looked at them without a word, then quietly murmured in a sorrowful voice.
"…Let's call it a draw."
In the end, Nakamura Ryohei was carried off to the recovery room.
"What a mess on the very first day…"
The remaining hunters finished their joint training in an awkward atmosphere, while I just rested in the lounge, eating ice cream.
I'm pretty traumatized myself, you know…
*Ahem.* Ah, seriously. Since not killing is harder than killing, stuff like this actually happens.
"…You cruel bastard," Maeng Juim remarked, sipping his instant mix coffee beside me.
"You should've just killed him."
"Then what about Tsushima Island?"
Maeng Juim shook his head, looking like he didn't even want to waste his breath.
Hey, did I break them on purpose? It was an accident. I'm telling you, I'm mentally scarred too. Dammit. I can't even swallow my ice cream now.
*Stand.*
"Where are you going?"
"Just getting some fresh air."
"You're not going to break someone else's eggs, are you?"
"Oh, come on, Hunter Maeng!"
Leaving behind Maeng Juim, who was clutching his stomach and laughing, I walked out of the lounge.
Man. This is troublesome. I hope this doesn't turn into a diplomatic incident.
Should I go apologize…?
My feet naturally led me toward Nakamura Ryohei's recovery room.
*Step, step, step.*
The building was quite spacious, so I had to walk down a long corridor for a while.
*Slide.*
Just as I reached the recovery room, the door slid open first.
"……"
"……"
The ones stepping out of the room were none other than the Japanese hunters. The ninja boy, Kenji, and the ghost-seeing high school girl.
What's with this awkward vibe? Well, whatever. The one I have business with is Nakamura…
*Grab!*
The moment I tried to enter the recovery room, Kenji grabbed my wrist. He gripped so hard the veins bulged on the back of his hand.
"Are all Koreans as cowardly as you?"
"……"
What is this guy talking about?
"Instead of fighting fair and square like a man."
"Look, I think you're misunderstanding something—"
"Do you think Nakamura Ryohei's reputation will crumble just because of this?!"
Kenji suddenly began to shout.
…Is this bastard crazy?
I mean, Nakamura Ryohei is the one who got his eggs cracked, so why is this ninja boy throwing a fit?
"What happened today was—"
"The egg-cracking?"
"……"
"I told you, that was an accident."
I let out a deep sigh. If I had really wanted to finish Nakamura off, would I have hit him with the pommel? I would have just sliced him in half with the blade.
"Ryohei is the symbol of Japan."
Kenji glared at me, his eyes wide.
"He will never lo—"
"Let's get our facts straight."
"……"
"I won, but I was the one who suggested we call it a draw."
"The draw was because Ryohei—"
"No, let's lay it all out."
"Lay… lay what out?"
"Honestly. Let's be real. How many times did Nakamura swing that Momotaro or whatever wooden sword? The wooden sword! How many times?"
"That is…"
"You don't know, do you? Of course you don't, because he swung it a shitload of times!"
"……"
"And how about me? How many times did I swing?"
"……"
"Once! Exactly once!"
Kenji's face flushed red, then turned pale.
I knew it. He actually knew. He knew exactly what kind of match it had been.
"But I suggested a draw out of consideration for your great Nakamura-san's reputation, you know?"
"……"
"This isn't cowardly. It's gentlemanly."
"You…!!!"
Just as Kenji was about to say more, *grab*. The high school girl next to him, Kurosawa Rei, grabbed his hand and pulled it down.
"Stop it. Let's go."
Her voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
"Ku-Kurosawa…!"
"He's right."
"But!"
"Protesting a match that's already over will only…"
"……"
"…tarnish Ryohei's honor further."
Finally, someone making sense.
"Ugh…"
Kenji glared at me one last time before turning around and walking away. What an impolite bastard.
On the other hand,
"I apologize," Kurosawa Rei said, bowing deeply.
"Well, whatever. It's already over."
"…You are merciful," Kurosawa Rei murmured, looking surprised.
"I look forward to working with you on Tsushima Island as well."
"Ah, yeah, sure…"
"…Because you are the only one we can rely on."
Huh?
What was that supposed to mean?
"Well then, excuse me."
Before I could even ask, Kurosawa Rei's figure disappeared.