Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: End-of-Month Evaluation (5)
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Yuri's expression turned crooked and roguish as they faced off, but Gunter failed to notice.
His eyes brimmed with such tangled emotions.
'Yuri Holland.'
The instant the top ten names went up on the bulletin board.
No, to be exact—from the moment he spotted the number one name—Gunter hadn't even registered his own ranking.
From that point on, his mind had been flooded with memories of the past.
The scrawny little boy summoned by Johan Redner.
The kid who could hardly grip a sword properly had unleashed an incarnation and taken down the Black Sword Soldier.
And claimed the Black Dragon Badge with such brazen confidence.
It was a memory of the rival he'd sworn to himself he'd crush if they ever crossed paths again someday.
Those past recollections soon got buried under more recent ones.
The beggar sprawled out all day in the black ship bound for the Cradle.
The thug who'd shoved a fellow cadet overboard, then yelled right back with shameless defiance.
The frontrunner who'd strode ahead of him during the Hundred Steps Ritual.
And...
[Crunch—CRUUUNCH—!]
[Arrrghhh!]
The desperate, noble warrior roaring in fury, grinding his teeth as he strained for that ninth step.
'That... all of it was Yuri Holland.'
Those jumbled past memories now overlaid onto the figure standing right in front of him.
'And that Yuri Holland... is right here.'
Having stumbled upon the rival from his mind in this unexpected place, Gunter's feelings were a mess.
Was he glad the guy was here?
Or betrayed by a reunion nothing like what he'd pictured?
Gunter couldn't even tell his own heart.
Yuri fixed Gunter with those complicated eyes and spat out a single icy word.
"What's with acting like you know me?"
“……?!”
"If you're gonna act like it, at least cough up your name first."
Gunter flinched at Yuri's frigid tone.
His eyes trembled as he asked,
"You... don't know me?"
"Why the hell should I?"
"My name... is Gunter Irons. Ring any bells now?"
"Ah!"
Yuri let out a burst of realization.
He looked like something had just clicked.
Gunter felt a flicker of hope that Yuri had finally clocked him—only to ball his fist tight at the words that followed.
"Aaah! So you're number four. What's your deal with this number one, down-there... I mean, Mr. Fourth Place?"
Gunter unclenched his fist at Yuri's smirking tone.
'I get it now...'
A hollow emptiness settled over his heart.
'Yuri Holland has no clue who I am.'
It hit him so hard he nearly let out a dry, bitter laugh.
Before stepping foot in the Cradle, he'd trained with that mental image of Yuri Holland as his rival.
And even after arriving here, nothing changed.
All to beat Yuri one day.
All to make his name known to him—he'd pushed himself to the limit right up until now.
But it had all been a fantasy.
The rival he'd obsessed over didn't even know he existed.
'Who the hell have I been chasing this whole time?'
He knew it wasn't Yuri Holland's fault.
He'd just been chasing shadows on his own...
'...So why does it piss me off this much?'
Gunter reined in his anger with calm, rational thought.
Even so, his voice came out a touch gruff despite himself.
"Hoo... I asked why you're here, Yuri Holland."
"No clue what nonsense you've been on about since earlier, but what's it to you if I'm here?"
"Well, you're..."
Shouldn't you be off training with Johan Redner by now?
The words welled up in his throat, but Gunter swallowed them down.
'That's just another one of my assumptions.'
To be precise, it was something his father, Ashraf, had said.
Gunter clamped his mouth shut.
Yuri puffed out his chest with haughty arrogance and tsked his tongue.
"Tsk. I get it—the number four itch to throw down with number one, but..."
Arin and Poppi shook their heads at that.
"...Doesn't seem like it?"
"Hungry?"
"Hey now, pipe down! What do a couple of lowly number-two wannabes like you know?"
“…….”
Yuri brushed off their dumbfounded stares and picked up where he'd left off.
"...Where was I? Right! Anyway, I get the itch for number four to pick a fight with number one, but..."
Yuri's smug gaze turned stone-cold in an instant.
"If you wanna pick a fight, come prepared to eat dirt. Consider this a warning—for today."
"Doesn't seem like picking a fight?"
"Hungry?"
"Pipe down, you lowly number twos."
With that, the three of them bickered their way off, still yapping.
The one he'd longed to meet for so long was walking away, but Gunter couldn't bring himself to stop Yuri.
His own head was still too muddled.
'What the hell would I even say if I grabbed Yuri Holland right now?'
Gunter clenched his fist.
That brief exchange between him and Yuri snagged a lot of attention.
Thanks to it, word spread that the black-haired guy who'd finally shown his face was Yuri Holland.
And that he was the one who'd snagged first place in the end-of-month evaluation.
A few folks drifted over to Gunter's side.
Nelly, part of the group, nodded knowingly, like she'd pieced it together.
"As expected..."
Pana cocked her head at Nelly's mutter.
"What? What's 'as expected'?"
"That insane pile of leather Bobikurtankapurtabi racked up in the leather quest. Wasn't solo after all."
"Then?"
"Those three from earlier. They teamed up for it."
Everyone pictured Yuri, Poppi, and Arin at Nelly's words.
She went on.
"With that much leather, first place was a lock..."
"They dumped it all on one guy for the tally! Gunning for the top perk!"
"Right—better to chase that hundred percent bonus from first than settle for second- or third-place scraps."
"Aah!"
"No way one person hauls that much leather solo, or takes down bears alone. Those three must've hunted 'em together."
"Makes sense. And that Bobi-whatever's million-point bet? The other two could swing those points 'cause they split the haul three ways?"
"Probably."
Nelly's theory was half right, half wrong—but plenty convincing for folks who barely knew Yuri.
Hell, they'd probably laugh in your face even if you told 'em the truth.
Who'd buy that Yuri soloed every wolf, deer, and rabbit in three days flat?
Arin and Poppi had damn near fainted just taking leather off him.
The ones who'd seen it firsthand could barely wrap their heads around it—imagining Yuri did it all alone? Forget it.
That's when Nelly and Pana were nodding along to each other's logic.
"So what about the tiger?"
Ivan Baskin, who'd stayed quiet till now, piped up bluntly.
Nelly blinked at him.
"...Huh?"
"Even if those three somehow bagged the bears together... how'd they get the tiger?"
"That's..."
Nelly couldn't spit out an answer.
She knew damn well why.
Even all three pooled together, a tiger was way out of their league.
If it was doable, her own crew would've teamed up for one too.
That's why she'd glossed right over the tiger in her breakdown—without even thinking.
Pana, meanwhile, griped at what sounded like Ivan's nitpick.
"We're saying those three pooled their leather haul—why drag tigers into it outta nowhere?"
"That's exactly why I brought it up. Tiger leather was in their pile. Means those three can tangle with tiger-tier beasts."
"So what? Quest's done—chewin' over it now changes jack."
Pana had a point: with the quest wrapped, hashing this out was pointless.
Tiger was dead, end of story—method be damned.
But the sheer curiosity gnawed at them.
Plus, a healthy dose of wariness toward those three had sparked the whole debate.
Nelly, who'd been listening to Pana and Ivan's back-and-forth, finally chimed in.
"What if some special condition was in play?"
Clarice perked up at that.
"Special condition?"
"Brute force on a tiger? No shot. So... maybe a gimmick to neutralize it somehow?"
"Hmm... tracks."
A few heads nodded at Nelly's take.
But then—
"Yuri Holland... it was him. That's why it worked."
Gunter muttered it blankly, snapping out of his daze.
He jolted, realizing what he'd said, and glanced around warily.
Just a whisper.
But those clustered nearby heard it crystal clear.
Every eye in the group swung to Gunter.
"What? What do you mean 'it worked because of Yuri Holland'?"
"Uh, that's..."
Gunter flustered under the sudden spotlight.
He'd been mulling how those three could've pulled off a tiger—assuming they teamed up.
And landed on one answer: Yuri Holland might've made it possible.
Then blurted it out like an idiot...
"Haa..."
Gunter let out a soft sigh at all the stares.
'No choice now.'
He'd said it—he'd own it.
In a low voice, he explained.
"If it was Yuri Holland... he might've pulled it off. The tiger."
"Huh? How?"
"No clue on the how. Just... felt like he could."
Vague as hell, like he was preaching gospel on Yuri Holland.
But coming from Gunter? That carried weight.
These weren't old pals—yet they'd rallied around him because Gunter Irons was solid.
The guy didn't spout off lightly; his honesty and caution were legit.
Pana Taylor spoke up for the pack, curiosity burning.
"Now that you mention it—you and that Yuri Holland, what's the deal? Looked cozy."
“…….”
"Got any other dirt?"
Gunter stalled, no quick answer.
Confusion roiled inside him.
'Do I actually know Yuri Holland all that well?'
Sure, in the Cradle, he probably knew more about the guy's backstory than anyone.
Johan Redner's disciple.
Boy who commands an incarnation.
But when you stripped it down? That was it. Bare minimum.
And now even that felt shaky.
Was Yuri really Johan Redner's disciple?
They sailed off together—does that make 'em master and pupil?
The incarnation, too—is it really his?
After a beat of thought, Gunter settled it.
'I... don't know him. Not really. Yuri Holland.'
But one thing stood out clear as day.
"Yuri Holland—he..."
The one unshakeable truth he had on Yuri Holland.
"Holds the Black Dragon Badge."
“……?!”
Shock rippled through the group like wildfire at Gunter's words.