Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Please Sign!
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“I'm screwed...”
Kim Min-jun muttered as he stared down at his sword, now reduced to little more than a hilt.
“Grrrrr...”
Only then did Kim Min-jun finally sense it.
The revolting stench of blood wafting from the wolf corpses.
The bone-chilling icy breath emanating from the Blood Fang.
'This is all real...?'
Blood Fang.
A massive variant of the Shadow Wolf, classified as one of the top-tier A-Rank monsters.
His legs trembled, refusing to move.
The Blood Fang was already right in front of his nose, its crimson maw gaping wide.
Saliva dripping from between its fangs splattered onto the ground, melting it with sizzles.
'I need to run...'
It wasn't just fear.
An inexplicable pressure crushed him down, making his body feel like it weighed a ton.
He couldn't budge an inch.
He, who had soared through the air on winds, now had his feet pinned by mere killing intent.
Never had he felt so utterly helpless.
“R-run! Min-jun hyung!!”
Han Se-mo screamed from behind, firing off ice spells, but they bounced harmlessly off the monster's gleaming fur without even a trace of frost.
Pointless.
This wasn't some training dummy—it was the real deal, the kind of monster that forced pro Hunters to risk their lives in raids.
Death approached slowly, reeking of decay.
Whoosh.
The Blood Fang raised its massive forepaw.
The moment it came down, Kim Min-jun's body would shatter like meat on display at a butcher shop.
And after that? Straight into the wolves' bellies.
'Ah... Mom...'
As the claws sliced through the air toward him, Kim Min-jun squeezed his eyes shut.
His pride as a White Tiger Guild apprentice, his A-Rank rating—they meant nothing against the raw violence of a true monster.
Right before death.
Oddly enough, the face of the B-Rank guy who'd come along with them flashed through Kim Min-jun's mind.
'Shouldn't have come... Got dragged into this and died for nothing. Sorry...'
Whoosh!
.
.
.
'......?'
Quite some time passed, but Kim Min-jun felt no pain.
Did he die too quickly to even register it?
Trembling in fear, he cracked his eyes open just a sliver.
“......?”
The Blood Fang's paw hovered right in front of him, frozen still.
As if blocked by an invisible transparent wall.
“Grrr...! Grrng...!”
Rage and irritation. The hulking beast, which had only exuded murderous intent until now, rolled its eyes in apparent panic for the first time.
For a moment, it even looked like it was sweating bullets.
“Grk... Grk...!”
Flustered, it let out guttural growls from its throat, as if pressing down harder with its paw.
But just as Kim Min-jun couldn't move now, the Blood Fang was equally rooted in place, unable to advance a single step.
“If you're not gonna swing... mind moving that paw outta the way?”
A familiar voice from the past few days rang out beside him.
Kim Min-jun slowly turned his head.
There stood the lightly dressed guy who'd been told to hang back—and had listened obediently.
Lee Sang-hyuk.
Just like in all the previous training sessions, his hands were still shoved in his pockets, exuding pure swagger.
He was even yawning as he said it.
Yet at his appearance, the magical beast was utterly terrified, frozen solid.
“M-Mister...?”
“Min-jun. Didn't you say you'd let me take it easy?”
Lee Sang-hyuk smirked.
In that instant, Kim Min-jun felt every hair on his body stand on end.
The mana radiating from the man was incomparably vast and razor-sharp compared to the Blood Fang's.
“Whew. Guess it had to come to this.”
Lee Sang-hyuk's eyes changed.
His pupils flashed a deep blue.
He was channeling mana.
“Let's start light with a hundred hits, shall we?”
Kim Min-jun was about to ask what that even meant.
No need.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!!
The Blood Fang yelped pitifully as it toppled backward, forepaw still raised.
Fist-shaped dents riddled its belly, as if pummeled by an invisible assailant.
“Tougher than I thought. Next up, a thousand? Super Acceleration.”
In an instant, Kim Min-jun's vision flipped.
Mana? No—a physically generated storm had blown him back.
Whooooosh!
“Uwaaack!”
“Kuh!”
Han Se-mo and Lee Hyung-seok tumbled across the ground too.
Watching them, reality suddenly sank in.
'This isn't a dream?'
The terrifying Blood Fang's presence, and this B-Rank guy casually thrashing it— all real.
By the time he shook off the daze and looked up.
The Blood Fang no longer exuded its earlier overwhelming pressure.
“Sorry. Accidentally hit it five thousand times. Wanna go ten thousand next?”
It was just a panting little puppy getting smacked around by a B-Rank guy.
“Grrrrr...”
“Oh?”
The Blood Fang began gathering a red orb of mana in its mouth.
Kim Min-jun wanted to flee, but his body wouldn't move again.
“I-it's... gathering pure mana ether.”
Han Se-mo shakily adjusted his glasses—only to drop them on the floor—then continued explaining.
Kim Min-jun had heard of this technique too, from lectures.
Normally, compressing pure mana into an orb doesn't make for a proper attack. Otherwise, mages wouldn't be so prized like they were now.
But for massive A-Rank monsters, it was different.
Boss monsters could forge devastating weapons just by concentrating mana infused with their traits.
A unique ability only true monsters could mimic—humans never could.
“The Blood Fang is charging up its No-no-no-no, Nova!!”
“Ah, that's a nova?”
Even after Han Se-mo's warning, Lee Sang-hyuk stepped forward as if oblivious to the danger.
No matter how you sliced it, that was reckless.
Even if he was slightly stronger than average among A-Rank Awakeners, no one survived a nova.
S-Rank named monster. Frost Giant.
A whole American village had turned into a permanent tundra after taking one head-on.
Even now, it was uninhabitable.
“Like this? Just gather mana, right?”
A terrifying mana orb formed before Lee Sang-hyuk's hand.
Three times larger than the Blood Fang's ether, conjured in less than a second.
Impossible.
No human body could produce that much mana.
Not even an S-Rank Hunter exhausting themselves to the brink.
Only then did the Blood Fang halt its attack and bolt away in terror.
But.
Thud...
It happened in a split second.
The Blood Fang exploded into chunks of meat, scattering everywhere.
“Done.”
With Lee Sang-hyuk's indifferent word, the battle ended.
Kim Min-jun had watched the fight from the closest vantage point, yet saw nothing in the end.
“What're you doing? People outside are worried—let's hurry. No more Formation B or whatever?”
I teased as I stepped past the Blood Fang's remains.
But the ever-confident White Tiger Trio fell silent.
They just stole glances at me like I was some horrifying monster.
'Did I overdo the flair?'
At first, I'd considered secretly taking it down to make them think they did it.
But that wouldn't work.
They might overestimate themselves and dive into a deadly dungeon—then it'd all be on me.
'Got exposed after all.'
As Kim Min-jun and Lee Hyung-seok shivered, Han Se-mo alone gleamed his glasses at me, staring intently.
“Overwhelming speed, bare-handed combat, combat power surpassing even S-Ranks...!”
Han Se-mo muttered nonstop, then waddled up and looked up at me.
“Could it be...”
“Could what be?”
“Are you... Blue Vest?! I'm a huge fan!!”
At Han Se-mo's shout, Min-jun and Hyung-seok snapped their heads up.
“Blue Vest...? The delivery guy who dismantled a Red Oak bare-handed?”
“The one who turned down scouts from all three major guilds—that's you, hyung?”
Kim Min-jun and Lee Hyung-seok's eyes sparkled.
Suddenly, I was 'hyung' instead of 'mister'.
Even though my age and looks hadn't changed.
“Whoa, dude! I knew you were no joke. When you tanked that mana shot without flinching, I felt it right then.”
“You dodged them all, right?”
Hyung-seok and Se-mo bombarded me with questions, eyes shining.
I could only scratch my head awkwardly.
“Whew. Sharp ones like you are such a pain. Yeah, that's right—so keep it quiet. No blabbing outside, got it?”
My admission only fueled Han Se-mo's frenzy of questions.
Watching him, my popularity hit home anew.
Half the Hunter Gallery concept posts were about me, so it made sense.
Though, what even were concept posts?
Overseas news and SNS were plastered with Blue Vest talk anyway.
“Hyung! Sign here, please!”
Han Se-mo proudly shed his White Tiger-emblazoned puffer jacket like trash and thrust out the work vest he wore underneath.
“I kept this on just in case something like this happened!”
“I don't have anything to sign with...”
Man, what a kid.
I say no, and he's practically tearing up.
“Fine, fine. Gimme a pen.”
“Thank you!”
How do you even do a signature?
Just writing 'Blue Vest' feels off, and 'Lee Sang-hyuk' is a no-go. Hmm...
“This work?”
[B.B]
“Whoa! Thank you! I'll treasure it forever!”
Feels good when he says it like that.
Even I think it's pretty cool for an on-the-spot invention. The handwriting's got a pro vibe too?
“But hyung... shouldn't it be B.V?”
Han Se-mo's words froze me like the Blood Fang had earlier.
V? Why V...? No way!?
“Se-mo. Did you sense the vest? Or just know I'm the best?”
“Obviously... hyung himself is the best!”
“Right. I'm the Best, so B.B. Don't tie it to the vest.”
“Such profound meaning...! Sorry! I didn't grasp your high intent!”
Han Se-mo beamed like a puzzle solved, stroking my signature and nodding.
Phew. Dodged that.
From now on, signatures are strictly B.B. One slip to B.V., and his becomes a fake.
“U-um...”
After signing the same on Lee Hyung-seok's White Tiger puffer, Kim Min-jun hesitantly approached.
What? He wants one too?
“You really are SSS-Rank...”
“That was just a joke.”
“Sorry for not recognizing you, hyungnim!”
Thud!
What's with this guy...?
As Kim Min-jun banged his head on the floor, I recalled his earlier words.
'Don't talk to me unless you're A-Rank,' 'If you wanna get to the middle, just lie down'...
They hadn't fazed me then, but from his view now? Cringe-worthy.
Like a cat showboating in front of a tiger.
Seizing the moment, I spoke up.
“So, can you guys do me a favor?”
The White Tiger Trio, including Kim Min-jun, snapped to attention, tense.