The Twisted Training Ground

The effort I put into growing stronger over those twenty minutes felt utterly wasted. The ones tailing us gave us no meaningful information at all. To think there were still people using subway lockers to exchange requests? We stripped them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of every last rune and piece of equipment, forced them to swear an oath that they wouldn't breathe a word, and sent them on their way.

"Those guys are fallen hunters. They've already gone broke once, so their gear is trash. Even if we sell it, we won't get much."

Not every hunter lives a glamorous life. That truth held even for those who had reached C-grade. Drunk on power, drunk on money. People who overreached and ended up living miserable lives existed everywhere, and in this world, shady companies thrived by rounding up those poor souls and throwing them into dirty jobs like this.

These men were probably drowning in massive debt, being exploited by someone. Forced into an oath that prevented them from reporting anything—it was a truly wretched existence.

"Do you think they made them wear such low-grade equipment because they expected us to notice the tailing?"

"Nah, no way."

"Since they probably know our tendencies, it's not that strange. After all, they didn't kill Heo Min-sol even though she tormented Arin, right?"

"Their way of thinking is really sloppy. Did they seriously believe these pathetic grunts could slip past our surveillance network?"

'They're not exactly pathetic...'

In truth, maintaining a one-kilometer distance while accurately tracking and gathering information was an incredibly skilled feat for a guide. Without me, our party members probably wouldn't have noticed until the very end. All the effort I'd put into keeping information about myself hidden from the outside world was finally paying off.

'...But this doesn't seem like Hyun Woo-seok's work. Is someone advising him from the side?'

It had felt odd from the start that they accepted the duel knowing Yeonhee's approximate strength. Quite a few people had witnessed her riding a Shadow Drake while fighting a Great Calamity, so sending freshly rising C-grade swordsmen against us still didn't make any sense no matter how I thought about it.

'There has to be something... Wait. Hold on.'

As I frantically searched through my past-life memories, I caught onto a suspicious detail. I urgently asked Yeonhee where exactly our duel would take place, and No Hayun replied that she'd only heard it was at the Ilseom Guild headquarters.

"What's wrong, Yeonhee? It's probably just one of their training grounds anyway."

"No... I have a bad feeling about this."

"...Arin, is there any special facility inside Ilseom? Like a zone that grants body enhancement buffs or something?"

"Hmm... I think there was something like that... Oh! I heard there's a training ground that only master-level instructors can enter. It's a restricted area, so I've never even been near it."

"This feels off. Once we're outside, I'll look into it again. I need to know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly where in the Ilseom headquarters this is."

I stared intently at Arin until the memory surfaced more clearly.

'That's right. There was a space where mana becomes distorted, wasn't there? Sigh—why is this only coming back to me now?'

I recalled Master Hyun Joong-gil mentioning a place where mana would go wild on its own, making it difficult to use skills properly. Thinking about it now, it seemed he'd told me all sorts of things.

'He said it was because of the influence of a dungeon they exclusively manage. Hmm—so that's why they were so confident.'

It was a place where controlling mana was extremely difficult, and for someone stepping foot there for the first time, adapting to that environment was incredibly hard. Naturally, Yeonhee would be affected too.

'...It won't cause my summoning to be canceled, will it?'

If Yeonhee couldn't endure it, I wouldn't be able to remain in this world. Setting that aside for now, the opponents we'd be facing had surely been training intensively in that very place.

'Hmm... Thank goodness it's a winning streak format. It means they have one card they're confident in as well. But no matter who comes out, there won't be anyone we can't handle.'

Since it wasn't something we could investigate right away, we steadied our minds and set off once more.

Clink-clink— Clink-clink—

After hunting three Hanjarings before our first real battle, we were slowly regaining our usual rhythm when we finally encountered a pack of wolves.

Awooooooo——!

'There are a lot... And one of them is huge.'

"There's one really massive one... Is it a variant right from the start?"

"Its horns are thick and long too. Getting hit by that lightning won't end with just pain."

A massive variant 1.5 times larger than a normal Dire Wolf was leading an enormous pack. There were well over a hundred of them. We couldn't understand why creatures like these were so close to the entrance, but our first reaction was delight.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM——!!

Kyaaaghh!!

There was no need for words. The battle began with a massive barrage of bombs. I didn't even bother changing into my combat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠form.

Slash—!

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, I bisected a wolf clean in half with my greatsword.

'The sword moved before I even realized it.'

"Whoa— What the hell is Ilwol?!"

"He just cut a Dire Wolf in half with one swing?!"

"The cut is incredibly clean... Even cleaner than mine..."

My body had reacted on its own, unintentionally drawing the party's attention. I leaped toward the variant Dire Wolf arrogantly watching the battlefield from atop a small hill.

In that moment, the reward for killing my first Dire Wolf appeared.

'Looks like it didn't have any traits besides the one Lesser had.'

Even though it was the first one I'd killed, the only new thing I stole was a skill.

'Oh... It was a blessing-level skill? What did your ancestors do to earn the love of a god?'

Bulge—

The moment I obtained the Dire Wolf's skill, a horn protruded prominently from my forehead. I looked exactly like that cat from the mirror.

'I wish my appearance would stop changing like this.'

Crackle— Crackle—

When I channeled mana into the newly grown horn, golden lightning began to leak out and envelop my entire body. The moment I willed it back, the horn on my forehead vanished without a trace. Once the horn was retracted, the lightning energy disappeared along with it. It seemed the ability couldn't activate without the horn.

"Grrrr—"

I shook off my brief thoughts and carefully observed the creature's preparatory stance. The leader of the wolf pack was gathering every ounce of mana it could into its massive horn. That horn appeared to serve as a medium for infusing mana with an attribute.

CRACKLE—

Soon, a golden lightning bolt twisted at a bizarre angle and shot toward my side.

CRACK—!

?!

After lightly deflecting the wolf's lightning magic, it was my turn to unleash a spell.

Bulge—

RUMBLE— CRACKLE—!

The thick bolt of lightning released from my forehead bent at an unexpected angle and struck the creature's torso dead center. But the wolf only frowned slightly. Its stamina wasn't depleted at all. Instead, the discharged mana seemed to be recovering.

'So it takes less damage from lightning attributes because it received a near-blessing ability from a god. I wish it had given me that as a trait instead!'

If I took down a higher-grade Dire Wolf, I might be able to obtain such a trait. Gritting my teeth, I descended from above while simultaneously activating Special Strong Acid and Flame Chains.

"Grrrrraaah—!"

The beast quickly twisted its body sideways to escape, but it couldn't break free from the range of my Flame Chains. Unlike before, the variant Dire Wolf was now clearly in agonizing pain. Its massive body—easily twice my height when standing—was tightly bound by blazing red chains.

Sizzle—

'Just like I trained in that space...'

I indifferently slashed my blade across the creature's stomach, which was already melting from the acid. Thanks to Penetration and Spatial Slash, the destructive power of my swordsmanship had risen dramatically compared to just a week ago.

Swoosh——!

Shockingly, the variant Dire Wolf was sliced clean in two and tumbled down the hill.

"......?"

"Uh......?"

"No way..."

The party members rubbed their eyes furiously as they stared at the rolling corpse of the variant. But no matter how many times they looked, it was definitely dead.

"......?!"

Even as the party members below grew noisy with excitement, I didn't feel any particular surge of emotion. I swung my greatsword downward, flicking off the variant's blood.

'Not bad.'

The training I'd accumulated in the space my master had created, along with my absolute trust and faith in it, had elevated my swordsmanship to an entirely new level. Suddenly, the words of my first swordsmanship master, Hyun Joong-gil, came to mind.

And to possess such an unshakable mind, he had said there was no choice but to devote long years solely to the sword, honing it relentlessly.

'I don't know about Hyun Il-hwan, but the rest didn't seem particularly devoted only to the sword...'

I grumbled inwardly to my first master, who was probably doing great things somewhere out of sight, but it was clear that the time and effort invested hadn't betrayed me.

'Three days from now is starting to look promising.'

Although the training left my mind extremely exhausted and painful enough to want to die, seeing results like this reignited my motivation.

The loot from defeating the variant was a high-grade magic stone and the Thorn Rune.

'Thorn Rune. Like the Poison Rune, I can swap it in when needed.'

The Thorn Rune would clearly create incredible synergy when used in combat form.

'If I can just somehow stick to that Chaos Residue bastard—'

I nodded, keeping my job advancement quest in mind.

"Grrr!!"

A Dire Wolf came charging at me as I walked down the hill, drooling greedily. I thrust my sword into an infinitesimally small point in perfect timing with its swinging foreleg.

Slaaaaaash—!

The moment my movement finished, the Dire Wolf slid past me and continued skidding backward for quite a distance.

"??"

The wolf tilted its head in confusion, as if it had no idea what had just happened. I smiled with satisfaction.

'Oh, success on the first try.'

Maybe it worked so well because I hadn't expected much. Bran—the technique that returned both attack and defense to their original state as if nothing had happened.

While the other party members continued fighting, I kept practicing evasion maneuvers with that wolf.