13 vs 1
Sunghyun immediately picked up a rabbit tooth from the ground and bound it to his hand with rabbit hide.
His instincts screamed louder with every wolf that joined the pack.
Run. Get out of here while you still can.
But Sunghyun just snorted.
"Shut up and tell me how to beat them. I'm done running."
The corner of his mouth curled up, electric with excitement. Gray mana swirled in eyes that burned with a strange, hungry light — proof he was already channeling power.
He never took his eyes off them, ready for the moment any one of them lunged.
"Hooo… this is fun."
He licked his lips. The wolves didn't dare approach carelessly. They knew. Charge in without thinking, and you die.
"One, two… thirteen in total, huh."
Overwhelming numbers. Pure violence by volume.
Awooooooo—!
The wolves stopped waiting. Fresh prey. Food. And it was alone. Judging by appearances, it didn't look particularly strong — but something about it felt wrong.
The instant they charged, Sunghyun's senses roared.
Duck.
He dropped low and snatched up a still-burning log from the fire.
Thud!
He drove the log into a wolf's belly and kicked his right foot back — one step, just enough to keep those jaws from clamping down on his leg.
Then he jammed the tooth into the throat of the wolf that had missed its attack.
Shunk!
Blood erupted from the wolf's neck like a fountain. At the same time, the others scattered in different directions.
His instincts rang out again.
Dive forward. Then roll.
Sunghyun threw himself forward. The moment his body hit the dirt, he rolled. In the space he'd just vacated, a wolf's jaws snapped shut on empty air. Two more, anticipating the dodge, came flying in — but he'd expected that too. Their attacks failed.
And the second they failed, the opening was his.
He swung at their pale underbellies.
Slash—.
He carved open the first wolf's stomach. Mid-swing toward the second, the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up.
Roll back.
He tumbled backward. Claws raked through the space where he'd been standing.
"Whew. Would've caught me if I hadn't dodged that."
He twirled the tooth in his hand, taunting them. Then his eyes found the two he'd already hit — the one with the slit throat and the one with the opened belly.
Dead.
Nice. Purchase body level increase.
From the Coin Shop he'd already pulled up, he raised his body level by two. Wolves had to pay out more than rabbits. Still, better not get greedy — two levels only.
"Whatever. The point is I'm stronger now, right? Isn't that right, doggies?"
Feeling the power surge through his body, Sunghyun flashed the wolves a vicious grin.
Hayato went looking for the head of legal the evening of the summoning day — after his conversation with Sasaki.
The team leader welcomed him gladly and offered a glass of warm milk. Hayato accepted it with a bow of thanks.
"Thank you."
The team leader opened with a question.
"So? What brings you here, student?"
He saw Hayato as a student. Hayato hated that. Maybe that was why he rushed it.
"Please help me. I want to become stronger."
He bowed his head as he spoke. The team leader scratched his cheek lightly.
"Stronger? What do you mean by that?"
"People. Teach me how to handle people."
At that, the team leader's expression shifted — the same face he'd worn when sealing the deal with the king.
"And what can you offer me in return?"
This is it.
A thrill ran through Hayato's entire body at the sight of that expression. I need to learn this. I need to become this.
Hayato was the Hero. That title brought rights, authority, made him someone important. But flip it around — without the title of Hero, Hayato was nothing. He'd realized that the moment he watched this ordinary man negotiate with a king.
At first he'd denied it, refused to accept it. But last night, the truth had settled in. If there was something he didn't know how to do yet — then he just had to learn it. He was the Hero. In this world, that made him someone of real consequence. And someone like that had plenty to offer.
That conviction was what brought him to Sunghyun's head of legal.
"Is there something you want? If it's within my power as the Hero, I'll give you anything."
The team leader didn't even pause to think.
"Ha! You're hilarious, kid. What exactly did you just see in me? Don't tell me you were impressed. If so, you're out. People aren't something you 'handle.'"
Crunch—.
Hayato clenched his teeth.
"……"
He had no answer. The team leader looked down at him, jaw locked tight.
"Leave. I've got nothing to teach you."
"Please. I'll help you find Representative Kim Sunghyun as well."
Whether that struck a nerve or simply caught the man in a mood, the team leader exhaled a long breath — the sound of someone holding something back.
"If you weren't a student, I'd beat you to death. Daring to insert yourself into the Representative's business deals? The likes of you?"
Hayato didn't flinch from that glare. It had to be now. He had to persuade this man.
"I'm begging you. I'm the Hero. I can be useful. Please — just hear me out."
Maybe sincerity got through. The team leader pushed his glasses up and studied Hayato.
"Haaa… what am I even doing with a high schooler… Sit down. It's going to be a long night."
He sighed, gazing up at the moon.
Clang!
Grrrrrrr—
Down to eight now, the wolves no longer held anything back. Which meant: stab one that overextends, and another might take your throat for it. Sunghyun's mind burned hotter with every exchange.
Is this attack a feint? If I strike, what comes next? Hit here. Then move where?
And then something arrived to make his headache worse.
"Ah, damn it. Tsk."
A crack had formed in the rabbit tooth. How many more hits could it take?
"Fine. Time for a swap."
He unwound the rabbit hide from his hand. With a sharp flick, he flung the hide across a charging wolf's eyes. Blinded, the beast flailed wildly — and its guard opened wide.
He wasn't about to miss that. He ducked low and drove into the wolf's chest.
Shunk—
He pierced the heart, then dragged the tooth straight down. The wolf's guts spilled out in a cascading waterfall.
"Seven left."
He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand and gave the remaining wolves a cold smile.
Then he poured maximum Fire into the cracked rabbit tooth. It glowed cherry-red, bone softening like heated iron. He hurled it straight at an approaching wolf's eyes.
Whoooosh—.
The wolf swiped with a forepaw to bat it aside. In that same instant, Sunghyun threw a rock. The rock struck the spinning tooth, spinning it once more — and it slipped clean past the paw.
It was almost miraculous.
Whir—.
The makeshift dagger, barely clearing the wolf's foot, punched straight into the crown of its skull.
Thud!
"Six."
The rest charged the moment they saw it. Sunghyun grabbed the nearest corpse and swung it hard. Blood sprayed from the body and drove into their eyes.
Yelp—!
Vision blocked. They could no longer track him clearly. But they weren't about to sit still either.
Awooooooo—.
The wolves shut their eyes and started snuffling the air.
"Ha? Would you look at that."
They lifted their heads, locking onto his position — but Sunghyun was already standing beside another wolf corpse. He needed a new weapon. So he took one.
He lifted the dead wolf's head, pinned the lower jaw with his foot, gripped both fangs in his palms, and pulled.
Huuup!
With a sharp breath, both fangs tore free into his hands. Each one was nearly the length of a military greatsword.
"Ah, but the grip is awful."
Blood and flesh made them constantly slip in his hands.
Fire [F]
He immediately kindled flame in his hands. The two fangs glowed red-hot on contact, and the portions pressed against his palms reshaped themselves to fit his grip.
The moment the fire caught, the wolves charged. Sunghyun cut straight through them and sprinted for the stream. The second he reached the water, he plunged the fangs in.
Hissssss—.
Forging. Heat with fire. Quench with water. Ordinary bone would shatter under that treatment — but the magical beasts of this world only grew harder for it, like tempered steel.
The fangs now had a proper shape. He gave them a test swing.
Swoosh—.
The sound of air splitting was deeply satisfying.
"These'll work."
He launched himself forward, accelerating straight at the pack. The wolves panicked. The prey that had been running — why was it charging?
Sudden speed, then a contraction of his body — their balance broke, and gaps opened everywhere.
Center-left.
Instinct and judgment fused into the optimal path. His target was the wolf on the center-left. The moment it realized it was marked, it bared its teeth and snarled.
"Scared?"
Then Sunghyun vanished. The wolf spun, searching — and found him already above it.
Slash—
"Four."
He looked at the remaining wolves with a blood-slick smile. They started backing away. They couldn't win. They had to run.
Now it was Sunghyun's turn to hunt.
"What, now that it's not going your way you want to run? I don't think so."
He immediately raised his body level by three and stomped toward them.
Body Level has increased.
Whooosh—
The moment his foot hit the ground, his body stretched forward in a single fluid line. With the level boost, he was faster than ever. The wolves couldn't keep up. Every swing of his arm dropped another one.
"Three. Two. Just one left, huh?"
The first one that had spotted him. Sunghyun sprinted straight for it. The wolf bolted toward the forest in a blind panic.
Where do you think you're going?
"You're the one who came looking for me."
No matter how fast a wolf ran, it couldn't shake a Sunghyun whose body level had hit 15. He spun, swept his right hand, and the wolf's head separated cleanly from its body.
"Done."
Whoosh—.
He shook the blood from the fangs, then sat on a convenient rock, catching his breath as he checked his account.
"Let's see… oh?"
Four hundred seventy coins had landed. Subtracting what he'd spent on body levels during the fight, he'd netted five hundred twenty coins from a single battle.
"Forty coins a head? Not bad at all."
He considered his options. Hunt for investment targets here — or grow his own power first and build up seed money.
The answer was already clear.