Do-hyeon vs Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan (1)
The hunter association had quite a large area, one reason being the huge training center building.
It was a subtle way of showing off the immense power and authority of the hunter association itself, especially since it was such a large building on expensive Seoul land.
Back when it was first built, there had been quite a bit of opposition.
But because there was no place in reality for hunters to train before the Black Gates appeared, Han Mu-yeol had roared that they should build it anyway, lest the hunters sacrifice themselves inside the gates.
In the end, the training facility was built without much trouble.
All hunters belonging to the hunter association could use it, and it turned out to be more splendid than anyone expected.
It was the only place that could rival the facilities of the four major guilds considered the best in Korea.
Because of the benefits that came with joining the association, many more people chose to belong than might have otherwise.
And Lee Hee-jae was one of those hunters who had joined.
“Time to train hard today too.”
It had been two months since he left the training center, but Lee Hee-jae was already an E-rank hunter.
He had talent and was diligent, so he usually came to the gym on days when he didn’t enter a Black Gate to train.
He wasn’t the kind of person who would normally train this seriously.
When he first awakened and entered the training center, he hadn’t been particularly diligent at all.
He had been just like any other normal person.
But after joining the training center, everything changed.
He had awakened as a hunter, but he had been half-hearted, thinking that even if he worked hard, he would just hit a ceiling.
Yet after he first learned magic, Lee Hee-jae saw a genius for the first time in his life.
It was none other than Hana Rin.
A genius among geniuses who used magic freely, who was praised by the magic instructor and who demonstrated control superior even to the instructor’s at that very moment.
After seeing that, Lee Hee-jae had been involuntarily captivated.
The sight of her gracefully moving mana and blooming mana flowers around her had been enough to change him.
“Even if I can’t become like Rinn, I’ll work hard and climb even higher.”
He had resolved that if he ever met Hana again, he would never regret it and would give his all without missing a single moment.
In reality, Lee Hee-jae did have quite a bit of talent.
If he could have, he would have wanted to enter a Black Gate right away and experience real combat today.
But his assigned party members had a promise that kept delaying it for now.
He had heard that parties sometimes disbanded, but since they were usually diligent people, he wasn’t worried.
He had already learned all the training methods at the training center, so he wasn’t having any trouble practicing here.
Lee Hee-jae had entered the gym and was training, using various equipment. Since he was a sword user, he had tailored his regimen to strengthen his strength and flexibility.
Just then, he saw a woman entering with an oddly familiar atmosphere.
The training area for equipment training and the sparring field were adjacent.
Since she didn’t seem to want equipment training but sparring, she headed toward the sparring field.
There were cases where people sparred after talking briefly, or cases where they sparred with a party.
This woman looked like she was waiting for someone who hadn’t arrived yet.
Looking at her, Lee Hee-jae tilted his head.
“What? Why do I feel like I’ve seen her before?”
Even though it was his first time seeing her face, there was a strange sense of familiarity.
Still feeling the weird feeling, he shook his head and tried to focus back on training.
He continued to train, loading his muscles while using the equipment to build them even more.
Normally, once he focused, Lee Hee-jae would train intensely without stopping.
But today he couldn’t focus at all.
He set the equipment down, wiped his sweat, and took a sip of water.
As he was doing so, his gaze naturally drifted toward the woman he had been worrying about.
It seemed like someone was talking to her.
Then another man came, and more words were exchanged.
The woman who had arrived earlier and the man who had been there before were giving off a tense aura.
The man who had come later charged at the one who had been there first.
The first man used a dagger, and the woman poured all her power into magic.
Watching them, Lee Hee-jae blinked and muttered.
“Isn’t this sparring?”
And then, as he watched the magic the woman was using, his eyes widened even more.
He saw something familiar and couldn’t help but mutter.
“Hana… Rin?”
---
As Lee Hee-jae had sensed, the woman was none other than Hana Rin.
A little time earlier, before Lee Hee-jae had noticed Hana Rin and before Ji Yu-chan had arrived, the story goes like this.
Hana Rin didn’t look very happy, and in reality she was quite upset.
“Huuu…”
She even sighed deeply and unconsciously bit her lip.
Thanks to the transformation magic, her bewitching appearance was hidden, but that wasn’t what mattered to Hana Rin right now.
She had sent a message, and she was regretting too much.
She had hoped to help Do-hyeon, but what had happened?
“I ended up asking for help again….”
But other than him, she had nowhere else to turn.
Without Do-hyeon, she would have to pay 3 million points to interpret the text.
She had tried to interpret the manual herself, but unlike other manuals, even the title was difficult to interpret.
So helping her find the manual alone made Do-hyeon an angel.
But feeling guilty about asking an angel-like favor again made her feel like she would die.
Being this irritated, she was kicking the bare floor of the sparring field with her foot.
Not long after, Ji Yu-chan arrived and spotted Hana Rin first.
“Haa, you’re here.”
“Huuu, you came?”
It seemed the same feeling was shared by Ji Yu-chan.
He had asked for help from Do-hyeon too, and his expression wasn’t great.
Ji Yu-chan looked at Hana Rin and said.
“Huuu, I feel like I’ll die from feeling sorry toward Do-hyeon.”
“…Me too.”
“The fact that he found the book for us is already appreciated, but asking him to interpret it again…”
“…It’s too much to ask him to help us catch up to Do-hyeon Oppa.”
“Right.”
They had been close once, or at least their feelings had matched more than expected.
But it had been a long time since they had been this aligned, let alone today.
As the two were lamenting, Do-hyeon arrived.
Unlike the two who looked depressed, Do-hyeon looked quite cheerful.
He tilted his head at them and asked.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen to both of you?”
He had been enjoying samgyeopsal and a drinking party with them just yesterday.
Why were they so down?
When Do-hyeon asked, Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin couldn’t answer, like fish with a pebble in their mouth.
Do-hyeon scratched his head, thinking it was strange, and finally couldn’t hold it in.
He blurted out both of their answers at once.
“Even though Do-hyeon Oppa found the book for us, we feel too guilty asking him to interpret it.”
“We feel like we owe him for helping us, and now asking for even more…”
Both Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin said that, and Do-hyeon let out a light laugh, looking like he was saying ‘What now?’
“No, we’re in the same party, so we help each other.
When you need me, I’ll help you too.”
“That’s only natural!”
“Of course!”
Hearing their boastful words, Do-hyeon smirked and firmly remembered it.
He would use it later when needed.
The two who had said they would always help in his memories, overwhelmed by guilt, hadn’t noticed the current crisis and were boasting.
Anyway, Do-hyeon nodded, as if he understood.
Since he also had something to test, he lightly warmed up and said to them.
“Then let’s spar with me with killing intent.”
“…?”
“???????”
Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan stared at him in confusion as he said that.
Do-hyeon looked at the two of them and answered while lightly warming up.
“I just acquired a skill, and since it’s related to regeneration, I need to check how effective it is.
But I can’t harm myself, can I?
So you’re going to help me take damage.
Plus, real combat is more effective, right?
We grow together, it’s a win-win, isn’t it?”
“Even so…”
“With killing intent…”
They hesitated, thinking it was strange to use killing intent against the same party member.
Do-hyeon’s eyes turned cold as he looked at them.
And he said.
“Hmm, I understand what you’re worried about.
If the two of you attack me with killing intent, I might be in danger, right?
But even if you two pour all your power into it, can you really give me a single wound?”
It was a powerful provocation, and the atmosphere around Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan changed slightly.
They were the ones who had first challenged Do-hyeon to win against him from the beginning.
Yet Do-hyeon’s provocation that even if they teamed up they couldn’t give him even a single wound was enough to scratch them.
But because they still felt gratitude and guilt toward him, even though the atmosphere had calmed, their hesitation was strong.
Do-hyeon saw it and let out a light laugh.
They were people with big hearts after all.
Thinking that, Do-hyeon changed tactics.
They weren’t going to do a provocation.
They had to ask for help instead.
“I want to go into the D-rank area right now and test it, but D-rank is really dangerous, so I want to get used to it.
Who else besides you two would I ask?”
When Do-hyeon said that, both Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan nodded with effort.
If they really wanted to, and if it would help Do-hyeon, they would do it without hesitation.
When the two of them radiated killing intent toward Do-hyeon, he felt a chill run down his spine.
This…
The aura that even Do-hyeon couldn’t look down on spread out, and everyone near the sparring field had no choice but to turn their heads.
When all eyes were on them, Do-hyeon drew his sword and dagger with a serious expression.
Both were true swords.
Swish—
Realizing he was serious, Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin also drew their swords and staffs and aimed at Do-hyeon.
And Do-hyeon looked at the two of them and felt his Guardian’s Body activate.
It felt like a passive skill, but in this world that wasn’t a game, how could there be passive skills?
Guardian’s Body was like a cultivation inner skill in the wuxia world.
By circulating mana through a set path, it raised the body’s regeneration power to a ridiculous level.
Do-hyeon felt the activated Guardian’s Body and said to them.
“Come on.”
The words he spat with killing intent were sharp enough that Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin felt threatened for a moment.
As soon as they received it, both of them used the overwhelming pressure called mana compression to scatter Do-hyeon’s aura.
But the pressure enhanced with Sovereign’s Dignity was overwhelming compared to the pressure they had simply extended, and it began to squeeze the two of them.
Kugugugu—
It felt like gravity had grown heavier.
Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin felt it instantly.
They felt as if a giant monster stood before them, like a guide for the blind.
---
*END OF TRANSLATION*