Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Devouring Sword (2)
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Kang Hyun-soo arrived at the starting point of the third tutorial.
“Hyun-soo!”
Song Hana called out to Kang Hyun-soo in a delighted voice.
There were only two people present here right now: Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana.
“Nice to see you, Hana!”
“I’m glad to see you too. But where are the other people?”
Song Hana asked, looking around.
She seemed to be searching for Oh Sung-hyuk, Choi Woo-seok, and Park Ji-myung, who had started the second tutorial with her.
“Maybe people who were together at the end of the second tutorial start the third one together?”
“That could be.”
‘Actually, it’s not just possible—it’s exactly how it works.’
The mission of the second tutorial had been to cooperate and survive.
‘In simple terms, it’s about forming companions to clear the third tutorial together.’
That was why, if all five initial players survived, the player with the highest contribution received the Outstanding Leader achievement.
The system made players compete from the Starting Room onward through items.
At the same time, it wanted as many players as possible to cooperate and survive the tutorial.
‘Then they should make it work better.’
If the system cared a little more about player survival?
Song Hana wouldn’t have been attacked by Oh Sung-hyuk in the second tutorial.
Kang Hyun-soo wouldn’t have had to suffer so much in the tutorial before his regression either.
‘When I meet him this time, I’ll cleanly sever his head.’
Oh Sung-hyuk harbored a grudge against Kang Hyun-soo.
Kang Hyun-soo wasn’t the type to show mercy to his enemies.
“We can’t go any further this way.”
Song Hana said, tapping on the translucent wall.
“It means we’re supposed to go inside.”
The third tutorial was in the shape of a circular field.
The monsters on the outskirts were weak.
But the deeper into the center of the circle, the stronger the monsters got.
‘And right in the middle is the boss monster.’
With his current skill, Kang Hyun-soo could rush straight to the center, behead the boss monster, and clear the third tutorial in an instant.
‘But there’s no need to rush.’
Clearing the third tutorial quickly didn’t come with any special rewards.
The only advantage was drawing attention from major guilds when arriving in the Atlantis dimension.
That wasn’t particularly appealing to Kang Hyun-soo.
‘I’ll stick to the plan.’
Step by step.
Kang Hyun-soo started walking.
Song Hana followed behind him with a tense expression.
Kyaaang!
They hadn’t gone far when a wolf with a translucent jet-black body lunged at Kang Hyun-soo.
Slash!
Kang Hyun-soo severed the wolf’s head in one strike and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
The monster attacks kept coming.
There were various types.
Shadow Wolves, Shadow Panthers, Shadow Bears, Shadow Tigers, and so on.
Kang Hyun-soo silently traversed the forest, hunting down the attacking monsters.
After about half a day.
[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]
[Title: Shadow Wolf Slayer (A-Rank) granted.]
‘I’ve hunted all the wolves.’
The third tutorial was home to shadow-type monsters.
There were a ton of varieties, and surprisingly, hunting enough of them granted achievements.
‘It’s the final tutorial, so they’re handing them out generously.’
A bright smile bloomed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
“From now on, you handle any Shadow Wolves that appear, Hana.”
“You got an achievement.”
Kang Hyun-soo nodded at Song Hana’s words.
The two resumed walking.
Kang Hyun-soo hunted only non-Shadow Wolf monsters, while Song Hana took care of the Shadow Wolves.
The two focused silently on monster hunting without a word.
That was when it happened.
“Hey, Hyun-soo, do you know anything about job changes?”
Song Hana asked Kang Hyun-soo a question.
“You’ve hit level 10.”
“Yeah. Could you give me some advice?”
“Of course.”
“Swordsman F-Rank, Mage D-Rank, Magic Swordsman E-Rank. Those three options popped up.”
The highest rank was Mage, followed by Magic Swordsman.
“What job do you want to pick, Hana?”
“I think Mage would be good.”
“Because of the higher rank?”
“Yeah. And as a Mage, I wouldn’t have to wield a sword.”
Kang Hyun-soo nodded at Song Hana’s honest answer.
In truth, for Song Hana, who possessed the Magic Heart, Mage was the most suitable job.
She wouldn’t need to engage in close combat with monsters, which would be more psychologically stable.
‘Mage seems like the safest choice, but it’s a waste to give up her sword talent.’
Song Hana had picked up a sword for the first time in the second tutorial.
Her only swordsmanship training was the basics from Kang Hyun-soo.
Even so, she had hunted numerous monsters relying on a single sword and her will.
If she were an average player with ordinary talent and mindset?
She wouldn’t have even survived, let alone hunted.
‘If Song Hana is really the same person as the Slaughter Sovereign?’
Her sword talent was likely top-tier as well.
‘For an ordinary player, becoming a Magic Swordsman is the worst choice.’
It seemed good at first glance since you could use both sword and magic.
But conversely, it meant digging two wells while others dug one.
In most cases, you ended up mediocre at both.
However.
What if you succeeded in digging two wells while others dug one?
‘It’d be a huge jackpot.’
Kang Hyun-soo had confirmed her sword talent.
Her magic talent could crush most weaknesses just with the Magic Heart.
He had no info on the Slaughter Sovereign.
‘There’s no way the title of greatest assassin came from magic alone.’
It was more likely she used both sword and magic.
‘The odds are pretty high.’
Mage guaranteed stable growth, but she’d have to abandon her innate sword talent.
Magic Swordsman was riskier, but a success would be a massive win.
‘This isn’t my choice to make.’
Kang Hyun-soo opened his mouth and shared his thoughts with Song Hana.
“The decision is yours, Hana.”
After pondering his words for a moment, Song Hana reached out into the air.
Flash!
A bright glow emanated from Song Hana’s body.
“What did you pick?”
“Magic Swordsman.”
Song Hana answered briefly.
“Didn’t you prefer Mage more?”
“I didn’t want to waste the talent I have.”
A faint smile formed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips at her short reply.
In truth, Kang Hyun-soo had been certain Song Hana would choose Magic Swordsman.
Even if it was harder.
Even if it was riskier.
The desire to grow stronger.
‘She’s already tasted the joy of growth, so she couldn’t give it up.’
Choices like this made players strong.
Players who chose safety eventually stagnated.
But those who kept challenging took more risks yet grew endlessly.
The companion Kang Hyun-soo wanted was obviously the latter, not the former.
“They even give an achievement for job changing.”
Song Hana said with a beaming smile.
Job changing in the tutorial.
Since Song Hana changed in the third tutorial, her achievement reward would be less than Kang Hyun-soo’s from the second.
But more achievements were always better.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana resumed walking.
* * *
Three days passed.
Song Hana adapted well to the changed situation.
She hunted monsters quite efficiently using basic magic and swordsmanship.
Kyaaauuung!
Dozens of monsters charged at once.
Roar!
Flames arrows ignited in the air at Song Hana’s gesture.
Whoosh!
Boom!
With a massive explosion, the lead monsters lost their lives.
Shing!
Song Hana drew her sword and charged at the monsters.
Roar!
She swung her flame-wrapped sword while relentlessly firing magic.
The dozens of monsters were slaughtered helplessly without much resistance.
‘This is beyond expectations.’
Kang Hyun-soo, watching the scene, wore a satisfied smile.
Just the Magic Heart skill alone made Song Hana incredibly valuable.
But after job changing to Magic Swordsman, she exceeded Kang Hyun-soo’s expectations by far.
Continuous attack skill usage leveraging the Magic Heart aggressively.
Its destructive power surpassed players who became Mages.
Her swordsmanship growing ever more familiar and refined.
The growth speed was enough to devour players who became Swordsmen.
‘It really is a jackpot.’
If she kept growing like this.
Song Hana was sure to become a player renowned across the entire Atlantis dimension.
‘She’s definitely the Slaughter Sovereign.’
Someone born with this talent wouldn’t have died pointlessly in the tutorial.
She wouldn’t have failed to make a name in Atlantis.
‘I don’t know what life she lived before the regression.’
But this life for Song Hana would be completely different from before.
‘I’ll make sure of it.’
Kang Hyun-soo smiled brightly and fired a flame arrow at a monster he hadn’t gotten an achievement for yet.
Boom!
The monster hit directly by the flame arrow breathed its last.
Thanks to Song Hana’s expanding skills, Kang Hyun-soo could keep raising his Replica skill proficiency even without Oh Sung-hyuk’s group.
That wasn’t the only benefit.
Song Hana sensibly let monsters Kang Hyun-soo needed for achievements pass to him.
Thanks to that, both could comfortably collect achievements.
There was no experience loss either.
It was due to the level difference between Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana.
‘It’s only been three days. Plenty of time left.’
Hunt all monster types in the third tutorial in bulk to get achievements.
That was Kang Hyun-soo’s first goal.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah!”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, Song Hana followed with a bright smile.
Hunting monsters, gaining levels and achievements, growing stronger.
The pleasure from it was insanely addictive.
Kraaaang!
A monster’s roar echoed from afar.
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana ran toward the source.
“Huh?”
Song Hana, arriving at the destination, looked quite flustered.
Kang Hyun-soo subtly frowned as well.
The hunt was already over.
Other players had hunted the monsters.
“What are you guys?”
One of the players who hunted the monsters asked Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana warily.
‘Nine people. More than expected.’
The maximum group size from the second tutorial was five.
‘Looks like 2-3 groups merged into one.’
Their goal was probably survival.
More numbers made it easier to protect themselves from monsters.
“We heard the monster roar and came to hunt.”
Kang Hyun-soo answered in a calm voice.
“Hunt’s already done, it seems. We’ll be on our way.”
Kang Hyun-soo tried to leave with Song Hana.
“Wait!”
The first player to speak called out to Kang Hyun-soo.
“What?”
“Isn’t it tough with just two? Why not join us?”
“Pass.”
Two was perfect.
Adding more would just reduce the number of monsters available to hunt.
“With two, even standing watch is hard, right? Come on, join up.”
Kang Hyun-soo turned and walked away without responding.
Seeing that, Song Hana hurried after him.