Chapter 82
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Why Are You Doing This To Me!
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I never thought he'd lend it to me easily, but ninety percent was a bit much.
“I'm telling you, I'll win.”
“That's why it's ninety percent.”
“I said I'll win!”
“You should at least have some conscience, freeloading without spending a single contribution point. I'm an independent!”
Is being unemployed something to be proud of?
I dragged that guy all the way here because he seemed so eager to fight, and now my own side was holding me back.
As I pouted, Choi Soo-hyun let out a reluctant sigh.
“Fifty percent, not a point more. And if you lose, be prepared to get acquainted with the bottom of the Han River.”
After speaking, Choi Soo-hyun made a call.
I didn't understand the correlation between lending contribution points and making a phone call, but my confusion didn't last long.
A familiar voice came from the other side of Choi Soo-hyun's phone.
─ What?
─ You need to come to the Association.
─ ……What?
─ I know you're at the guild headquarters, so just come.
Choi Soo-hyun unilaterally said his piece and then hung up.
Park Si-woo is truly pitiful.
To have a friend like that.
If it were me, I would've cut ties a hundred times over.
“Why? What? When did I say I was lending you *my* contribution points?”
“……”
“If you lose? You know what happens, right?”
It seemed like none of these guys, for Hunters, were normal.
* * *
[The 'Zero-Sum Game' will now begin.]
[Host Deity: Lux]
- Content: Mock Battle
- Time Limit: 6 hours
- Reward: All accumulated Contribution Points
- Participant List
[A 'Zero-Sum Game' is currently in progress. Would you like to participate?]
[The entry fee is 500k.]
['Kang Han-gyeol (Soter)' has entered the game.]
['Choi Jae-hyung (Lux)' has entered the game.]
Thanks to Choi Soo-hyun's consideration, I was able to borrow a training room in the basement.
“Is causing trouble a hobby of yours?”
Park Si-woo, who had suddenly become the contribution point shuttle, muttered as he handed over 500,000 points.
“Did I call you? It was Soo-hyun, wasn't it?”
“It would be far easier to get an interest-free loan from a loan shark than to borrow contribution points from Choi Soo-hyun.”
“Geez, what a cheapskate. The old saying that the rich are the greediest is true.”
“What did you say, you brat?”
Choi Soo-hyun flared up in anger, but he didn't deny it.
I knew he wouldn't lend them easily, but I never imagined he would drag Park Si-woo into it.
‘Well…’
I glanced over at Kang Moon-guk, who was sitting in a corner of the training room.
Even splitting it fifty-fifty with Choi Soo-hyun, that was still 250,000 points.
Not a bad price for dancing on stage with a rookie.
Besides, I wasn't the real actor here.
Strictly speaking, you could say *they* were the audience.
Choi Soo-hyun tossed something to me and Choi Jae-hyung.
It looked like a sticker, slightly smaller than the palm of a hand, but its texture was closer to cloth.
It was a special fabric called a ‘pointer.’
When placed on the chest, neck, and stomach, it stuck on naturally and began to glow.
The rules were simple.
No skills allowed except for buffs. Intentional harm would result in disqualification.
When the three pointers on the body are struck with a certain amount of force, their lights go out.
The first person to extinguish all three pointers wins.
Choi Jae-hyung, who had attached the pointers to the same spots as me, stepped forward.
Choi Jae-hyung's weapon was a sword.
While it was one of the most common weapons, it was also surprising.
This was because most of the Raon Guild Hunters I'd seen so far were magic-users.
Approaching with his sword in hand, Choi Jae-hyung spoke.
“I have to confess, knocking you out when we were trainees was a mistake. I didn't realize you were that weak. Honestly, getting knocked out by a single punch is a bit…”
Don't bring up someone else's embarrassing past that I don't even remember.
Even if I don't remember it, it's still embarrassing!
“I don't know what happened after you became a Hunter, but I can tell one thing.”
“……”
“You're different from the person you were back then. Standing here like this, I can tell. It's like you're a completely different person.”
“Ahem.”
W-well, I *am* a different person, right?
Unable to speak the truth, I cleared my throat and let it pass.
“Normally, I'd plan to go easy on you, but since the representative lent me 500,000 points, I can't afford to lose.”
“Uh, right.”
Watching him steel his resolve, I quietly flicked my fingertips.
There was no signal to start.
Choi Jae-hyung lunged first.
Unlike my plain-looking sword, his was incredibly ornate.
I now understood what he meant about being different from Han Jong-ho.
The difference was clear from the weapons alone.
Choi Jae-hyung swung his sword in an upward arc.
Standing my ground, I parried all of his attacks.
Just as I thought he was retreating, Choi Jae-hyung reset his stance and swung his sword vertically.
There was no way I could block that while standing still.
I took a step back and deflected the blade.
His stance should have faltered, but he immediately spun around and counterattacked.
“Hey! I almost died!”
The pointer attached to my neck was sliced in half and fell to the floor.
Blood trickled down from my neck.
It was no joke; if it had been any deeper, my head would have been lopped off, or I would have been seriously injured.
As I swung my sword around in irritation, Choi Jae-hyung took his stance.
“Treat practice like a real battle.”
“That's how accidents happen. What if someone gets hurt?”
“With that kind of resolve, it's better to have your arm cut off here than to die in a dungeon.”
“What are you talking about? Have you ever had your arm cut off?”
It seemed the world had truly become a harsh place to live.
People these days have no middle ground! None at all!
I took a healing ointment from my pocket and applied it to my neck.
Choi Jae-hyung's expression soured.
“Using ointment is cheating.”
“There was no rule against using ointment.”
“Who stops in the middle of a fight to apply medicine?”
“Who was it that said to treat practice like a real battle?”
Understanding the intent behind my words, Choi Jae-hyung shut his mouth.
Choi Jae-hyung's one-handed sword lunged forward.
The sound of clashing steel echoed ceaselessly through the training room.
*He's strong, too.*
Unlike my sword, Choi Jae-hyung's was quite large.
It could be used as a one-handed sword, but it was too difficult for just anyone to wield with a single hand.
It wasn't hard to figure out why.
You could tell from his impatient, power-driven swordsmanship and his stance.
Twisting my body to evade his attack, I subtly thrust my sword toward an opening.
The tip of my sword grazed his left shoulder, leaving a cut.
A look of bewilderment crossed Choi Jae-hyung's face.
Of course. His pointer was on his right shoulder.
He never imagined I would aim for the other side.
*Just as I thought.*
I sneered inwardly.
Choi Jae-hyung's attacks were certainly threatening, and despite being one-handed, they carried weight.
*He's killed before.*
Otherwise, there's no way he would have aimed straight for the neck like that.
But that was his limit.
Choi Jae-hyung's kills were probably closer to massacres than murders.
Killings where the opponent couldn't even fight back due to an overwhelming difference in skill.
You can't call that murder.
Choi Jae-hyung readjusted his stance and rushed in.
His sword aimed for my thigh.
I deflected the descending blade.
Since I had aimed somewhere other than a pointer, I knew he would try to do the same.
More importantly.
The very fact that he was aiming for specific spots was proof that he couldn't shake the thought of this being just practice.
And he had the nerve to talk about treating practice like a real battle?
Suddenly, I was starting to get pissed off.
Choi Jae-hyung's sword grazed my right shoulder.
The light on the right pointer went out.
I twisted my body slightly and aimed my sword at Choi Jae-hyung's neck.
“You…!”
Choi Jae-hyung hastily turned his sword to block the attack.
I aimed the tip of my Sky Sword at the paling Choi Jae-hyung.
The edge of the blade, touched by the light, shone with a blue gleam.
I flicked the sword slightly and spoke.
“Should I tell you your mistake? First, mentioning a real battle to me.”
The second is.
I quickly closed the distance to Choi Jae-hyung and swung my sword.
“If you consider me a rival, you should have at least come prepared to do everything you could.”
“What do you mean…”
“You little shit, who do you think you're sizing up?”
I pulled my sword back slightly and then kicked at Choi Jae-hyung's body.
“Wait… *Keuk!*”
Choi Jae-hyung's body flew through the air and slammed into the wall.
Sheathing my sword, I dusted off my hands.
“You crazy bastard. Hey!”
Choi Soo-hyun, who was watching from a distance, yelled, asking if I was out of my mind, but I feigned ignorance and looked away.
Spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, Choi Jae-hyung staggered to his feet.
“It's not… it's not over… yet.”
“What do you mean, not over? It is.”
After sheathing my sword, I pointed at Choi Jae-hyung's body.
All three pointers attached to his body were unlit.
*I thought something was strange.*
Choi Jae-hyung was better at defense than offense.
*That's not the stance of a one-handed swordsman.*
I knew it as soon as our swords clashed a few times.
This guy was a classic tanker.
“Next time, bring a shield. I'll smash that to pieces for you too.”
“How in the world did you do that just now?”
Choi Jae-hyung frowned, seemingly displeased that he had missed my movements.
“Skillfully.”
“What?”
“Skillfully! Are you deaf? If you were me, would you happily teach your technique to an enemy? Right?”
Unable to find a retort to my answer, Choi Jae-hyung pouted.
“We're not enemies, though.”
Isn't that the wrong thing to be upset about?
“We're rivals.”
“What… Then we are enemies.”
“I thought you were a decent guy. You can't be so two-faced.”
They say there's no arguing with someone who's completely illogical.
This guy was the perfect example.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“Let's go another round.”
“Were you not listening? Bring a shield!”
“So if I bring a shield, we can go another round, right?”
“No.”
“But you just said we would if I brought a shield.”
“You must have a lot of contribution points, huh?”
I turned my gaze toward the three onlookers.
There was Choi Soo-hyun, clutching his stomach and laughing his head off, a composed Park Si-woo, and Kang Moon-guk, with his shoulders slumped and a hand to his forehead.
[The 'Zero-Sum Game' has ended.]
[Winner: Kang Han-gyeol]
With perfect timing, the Zero-Sum Game ended, and the contribution points came in.
The color drained from Choi Jae-hyung's face.
“So if I bring a shield, will you give me another round?”
“I told you not to make me repeat myself.”
“That's not it. It's just that I feel like I have to at least break even.”
“What are you talking about…”
I felt a subtle killing intent from behind him.
Kang Moon-guk's face was smiling, but he wasn't really smiling.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Choi Jae-hyung whispered something to me.
“I'll bring a shield, so could you go easy on me? Our representative, for all his size, is, uh, really sensitive about this kind of thing.”
As Kang Moon-guk drew closer, Choi Jae-hyung backed away.
Why are you hiding behind me?
You're bigger than me, for crying out loud!
“Your skills are quite impressive. I didn't expect him to be pushed back this much. Representative Park certainly has an eye for… people… for Hunters.”
“What's your point?”
“Well…”
“Your point.”
“How about a round with me?”
500,000 points is a lot, isn't it?
What a shameless old man.
Why are you doing this to me! Why