A Warm Bowl and a Cold Welcome
Busan.
"Aaaah...!"
When you think of Busan, you think of pork soup. And when you think of pork soup, you think of Busan.
"Is it good?"
"It's delicious!"
As soon as we arrived in Busan, Manager Maeng and I headed straight for a pork soup restaurant.
Apparently, it was a place he had frequented since before his retirement.
The meat was incredibly tender, and the broth was rich and savory. It was absolutely stellar.
It was on a completely different level from the soup in Seoul!
Gulp, gulp!
"Eat slowly."
"Yes, sir."
Manager Maeng and I had discussed many things before coming down to Busan.
What my plan was, and how I intended to use him.
At first, Manager Maeng couldn't wrap his head around it at all. But as I explained it to him with utmost sincerity, he eventually came around and began asking questions with a serious expression.
Well, even so, his attitude of not caring whether he died on Tsushima Island hadn't changed.
What's the point of stopping someone who's bent on dying anyway...?
It was his choice.
As for me, as long as he helped me until the Tsushima raid was over, that was all that mattered.
Slurp!
I took a big gulp of the soup and glanced at Manager Maeng.
He's actually a pretty decent guy...
To think he became a total wreck just because of a single nickname like 'Succubus'...
Well, of course, he must have gone through a lot of other things inside the tower too.
What a waste, what a waste...
Smack...
As I smacked my lips and stared at him,
"What? Still hungry?" Manager Maeng stopped eating and looked up at me.
"Yes."
"Then order another bowl. It's on me."
At those words, I raised my hand high.
"Excuse me, another bowl of pork soup here, please!"
"It's good to see a young man with a healthy appetite!" the owner chimed in warmly.
"It is incredibly delicious!"
First, I had to make sure my stomach was completely full!
The Korea-Japan joint training ground.
Currently, sixteen of the most prominent hunters from both nations were gathered here to participate in the Tsushima Demonic Outbreak raid.
Eight from South Korea, and eight from Japan.
Although they would eventually be split into two Korean teams and two Japanese teams, they would all be entering Tsushima Island together. Thus, they needed time to assess each other's abilities and combat styles to coordinate their efforts.
After all, once they actually set foot on the island, there was no guarantee the four teams would be able to move exactly as planned. It was a precaution for any worst-case scenario.
This is annoying.
I put on the automatic translator that had been distributed to us beforehand. It looked like a tiny earbud, apparently necessary for rapid communication.
While I was adjusting the translator, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
The Japanese hunters made their entrance.
"The facilities in Korea aren't half bad, are they?"
The speaker was a man with hair dyed an ambiguous shade between yellow and brown. His numerous piercings and punk-like attire left quite an impression.
So that's...
The World No. 4 hunter, Nakamura Ryohei.
His trait was Samurai.
Fitting for his trait, he wielded swords, which led to him being treated as Choi Muryeong's rival in every aspect.
They were of similar age, awakened around the same time, and their world rankings were right next to each other at 3rd and 4th. It was only natural that people compared them.
Recently, he had even obtained the Momotaro Wooden Sword from the Banquet of the Gods, supposedly elevating his skills even further.
Well, I wouldn't know for sure until I saw it with my own eyes.
According to the briefing we received beforehand, Nakamura Ryohei was the type to end fights quickly. That was the nature of the Samurai trait.
The more he slashed his enemies, the more his attack speed and power increased, but his stamina drained rapidly. Because of this, he favored finishing opponents in a single strike.
Since he lacked evasion skills, he was at a severe disadvantage if a fight dragged on. It was for this very reason that he was often mocked as a budget version of Choi Muryeong.
In other words, he's a perpetual runner-up.
His arrogant entrance was probably just an outlet for his inferiority complex.
"It has been a while, Nakamura."
In contrast, Choi Muryeong greeted Nakamura with a perfectly calm demeanor.
No matter what, Choi Muryeong was South Korea's representative hunter, so it was only right for him to welcome the guests.
In fact, Choi Muryeong was taking care of all the tedious administrative work for this Tsushima raid. Thanks to that, I had it easy, able to slip away and stay out of trouble.
"Where is Taetpyong?"
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my name slipped from Nakamura Ryohei's mouth.
Still shaking hands with Choi Muryeong, he looked left and right before pointing.
"There he is!"
Nakamura Ryohei's eyes locked onto mine. Since we had made eye contact, I couldn't just pretend not to see him. I gave him a brief, polite nod.
"I am your fan!"
Nakamura Ryohei brushed off Choi Muryeong's hand and marched straight toward me.
"Wow, you look much more ordinary in person than I thought!"
What the hell? Weren't Japanese people supposed to be polite? This guy was the exact opposite.
"Hmm, and who might you be?" I asked back with a smile.
Instantly, the training ground fell dead silent. Nakamura Ryohei's face went completely blank.
"I was messing with my translator and didn't catch it... Who are you?"
"M-Me...?"
"Yeah. Who are you?"
When I hit him with the "Do you know who I am?" counter, Nakamura looked around in flustered confusion.
Choi Muryeong was deliberately ignoring Nakamura's pleading glances.
"You... don't know me?"
"Of course I don't, I'm seeing you for the first time today. I asked who you are."
"Aren't Koreans super interested in Japan? How can you not know me?"
"Koreans are interested in Japan...?"
"You guys love ramen, tonkatsu, and curry!"
"Huh? What does that have to do with Japan?"
"W-Well, obviously!"
"Ramen is Chinese, tonkatsu is German, and curry is Indian."
Nakamura Ryohei's face flushed bright red in an instant.
I guess even a World No. 4 hunter was no different. He was just another Japanese guy living in a delusion.
"So, who are you again?"
"...I am Nakamura Ryohei."
"Nakamura Ryohei?"
"Yes! Japan's top hunter, the New Wave Samurai!"
"I know what a samurai is."
"No, not that!"
He looked ready to stomp his feet in frustration.
Just then, Manager Maeng tapped my shoulder and showed me his phone screen with a search result.
"Hey, kid. It's this guy. Him."
"Ah! You dyed your hair. That's why I didn't recognize you!"
As I played along with Manager Maeng, Nakamura Ryohei threw an even bigger fit.
"That's not the point!"
"Alright, alright. I get it."
"What exactly do you get—!"
"Anyway, since you're here for the Tsushima Demonic Outbreak raid, you must be pretty famous in Japan. Nice to meet you."
I casually grabbed Nakamura Ryohei's hand and gave it a shake. His face looked like it was about to explode.
Seriously, why did he even try to pick a fight? A guy from a country where the worst insult is calling someone an 'idiot' trying to pick a fight with a son of South Korea, a land blessed with a rich vocabulary of colorful profanity, was basically asking to be verbally slaughtered.
And I didn't even swear. I chuckled inwardly.
"Nice one, Brother Maeng."
"I stepped in so you wouldn't take the teasing too far, you punk."
"And I kept it moderate, didn't I?"
I snickered with Manager Maeng, but immediately wiped the grin off my face when I felt the gazes of the other Japanese hunters.
The atmosphere had grown incredibly tense.
Man, everyone was so sensitive.
"I'm sure you've already greeted each other, but please introduce yourselves once more for accurate information sharing."
Fortunately, an Association official showed up just in time, diffusing the heavy tension.
The introductions began. The Korean hunters were all familiar faces, but the Japanese hunters...
...I didn't really pay attention to the briefing, so I don't know anyone besides Nakamura Ryohei.
To be honest, I didn't care about Team 2. But Team 1, led by Nakamura Ryohei, was quite peculiar.
First was Kenji, who stood right behind Nakamura Ryohei.
His trait was Ninja, and his main skill was Clone Technique.
Unlike Nakamura, he looked incredibly plain. He felt more like an office worker than a ninja.
Was his world ranking 13th? 14th? Or maybe 15th? I didn't know, and I didn't care.
The second was Kurosawa Rei.
She looked like she had jumped straight out of a manga. Perhaps she was still a student, as she was wearing a school uniform.
Her trait was Exorcist. She reportedly controlled spirits, so she could be considered a type of summoner.
And finally, Shinya, who possessed the trait Torii.
He was said to have the ability to cast powerful barriers. Apparently, they had tried to seal Tsushima Island itself using his power.
However, the Kappa forces were far stronger than anticipated, causing the sealing attempt to fail and leaving Shinya severely injured. It seemed he had fully recovered by now.
So the Japanese side didn't bring a healer either...
I heard Shinya had an ability similar to healing, but since he wasn't a true healer, it wasn't particularly useful.
Because of this, just as we had Park Geumja standby in Busan, Japan planned to station a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel in the nearby waters with healers on board...
...Isn't that dangerous?
Kappas were water-attribute monsters. And they were going to deploy a ship in the surrounding waters?
Well, not my problem. Whether their ship got wrecked or not was none of my business.
The introduction of Team 2 that followed was standard. Two damage dealers, one tank, and one supporter.
It looked a bit precarious without a healer, but perhaps they planned to make up for it with items?
There's bound to be a limit to that...
Of course, that wasn't my concern either. I only had to focus on one thing: the Succubus... no, Manager Maeng.
If I could utilize Manager Maeng properly, clearing the Tsushima Demonic Outbreak might end up being easier than expected.
I heard the rewards Japan offered for a successful joint operation were massive. Not only money, but they had also put up a ton of national treasure-grade rare weapons and items.
Since Japan had quite a few item crafters, they apparently produced a lot of decent gear.
I didn't need money. What I wanted, as always, were the items. I was already getting excited at the thought of sweeping them all up...
"Is it time for a warm-up now?"
As soon as the introductions finished, Nakamura Ryohei leaped up from his seat.
It was obvious who he was looking at.
"Tsk, tsk..."
I clicked my tongue without thinking, but because the room was so quiet, everyone heard it. Nakamura Ryohei was no exception.
"I've been feeling this since earlier..."
With veins bulging on his forehead, Nakamura Ryohei pointed his finger straight at me.
"Taetpyong! You are too arrogant!"
"It's not Taetpyong, it's Taepyeong..."
"Yes! Taetpyong!"
There was no point in arguing. Instead, I stood up from my chair. My body was feeling a bit stiff anyway.
Whether he was Nakamura Ryohei or Samurai Ryohei, he felt like the perfect warm-up partner.
"Are you sure you want to go against me?"
"Taetpyong. What does that mean?"
"I mean, you're the World No. 4 after all..."
"Haha! Are you nervous because of that?"
Looking at Ryohei as he burst into laughter, I shook my head.
"No, that's not it..."
"...Huh?"
"It's not strange for the World No. 4 to lose to the No. 3."
"..."
"But for the World No. 4..."
"..."
"...to lose to a hunter who isn't even ranked yet is a different story."
"W-What did you say?"
"Can you handle the fallout?"