Chapter 225: Breaking the Record (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 225: Breaking the Record (1)
A rumor began to circulate through Korea University's Combat Faculty.
It was about none other than the club, ‘Waving the Hunter License.’
A rumor about the ridiculously named club, ‘Heonjahwi.’
“I heard from some people that Heonjahwi is getting a ton of support from the professors lately.”
“I heard that too. Isn't their club room huge for a club with only five members?”
“And they said the school bought them an insane amount of supplies.”
The gist of the rumor was this:
The ‘Heonjahwi’ club was receiving an incredible amount of love from the faculty.
A bizarre rumor, its origin unknown, even spread that the university president, who rarely showed his face on campus, was receiving prompt reports on Heonjahwi.
“Honestly, a sophomore passed the qualification exam as a B-rank. Doesn't that make sense?”
“True... They say he's the first sophomore in Korea University's history to pass as a B-rank.”
“Is that all? There are only a few cases like that even on a global scale.”
What lent credibility to the rumor was none other than the existence of Kim Do-jin.
As the president of the Heonjahwi club, he had rewritten Korea University's history, so it was only natural.
And what kind of stir did this greatly inflated rumor cause?
“I'd like to join the club!”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
“I'll do anything you ask!”
Students hoping to join Heonjahwi began showing up day after day, forming a line at their door.
They came for two main reasons.
Forty percent were trying to form a connection with Kim Do-jin, whose future was guaranteed.
The other sixty percent wanted to learn his secrets and pass the Hunter qualification exam.
However, none of them achieved their goal.
“We're not accepting new members for the time being.”
Shin Yu-jeong stood before the crowd of hopefuls and sent them away with a fierce glare.
After barely managing to chase away everyone who had gathered in front of the club room, Shin Yu-jeong collapsed onto the sofa and sighed.
“Hah... This is driving me crazy.”
Shin Yu-jeong's face was scrunched up in a deep frown.
She was not at all pleased with the current situation.
All she had wanted was a small hideout, but things had somehow gotten this big.
'That's one thing, but...'
What made her feel even worse was none other than Kim Do-jin.
'Son of a bitch.'
He was amazing.
In fact, he was too amazing.
It felt like just yesterday she was satisfied, thinking, 'I really picked a good one, mhm,' watching him stand out since his freshman year. But now, he had surpassed a level she could simply brush off with such words.
It was incredible, and at the same time, baffling.
“How can someone change so much...?”
She didn't know.
Even if a person could change because of some event, could they really change that much?
“Ha, fuck.”
Shin Yu-jeong let out a curse without realizing it, followed by an empty laugh.
It was absurd.
She never thought the day would come when she'd be this troubled over a man.
'I can't let this go on...'
She brought her beautifully manicured nails to her mouth and began to chew on them nervously, lost in thought.
Kim Do-jin was growing larger and larger.
So large that it was becoming difficult to hold onto him with her own two hands.
The larger he grew, the more the thick scent of anxiety stung her nose.
'He's not going to leave me, is he...?'
He was attractive.
So attractive that it wouldn't be strange for a woman prettier and more capable than her to cling to him.
They were on good terms now, but... she had even bullied him in the past.
Because of that, sometimes she even had thoughts like this:
'He's not sharpening his knife, planning to get revenge on me, is he...?'
Now that he was at the top of his game, could there be any revenge more satisfying for Kim Do-jin than dumping her and moving on to another woman?
Just as her worries were deepening...
Click.
Son Seo-yeon, who had come to the club room to rest after her morning classes, walked in.
“...Are you alone?”
“Yes, I have some time before my afternoon classes.”
“I see.”
Son Seo-yeon took an energy drink from the fridge and sat on the sofa across from her.
While drinking, she noticed Shin Yu-jeong's troubled expression and gently asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, not really.”
Shin Yu-jeong shook her head.
Nothing bad had happened just yet.
She was just trembling with the fear that it might.
When she shook her head so firmly, an embarrassed Son Seo-yeon held her breath and drank her drink.
'This is awkward...'
It was true she had grown much closer to her teammates after spending so much time with them, but she was still clumsy at dealing with people.
So, in a situation like this, she didn't know how to comfort the other person.
'Do-jin would have handled this easily.'
Suddenly, she thought of Kim Do-jin.
Her junior, who always took meticulous care of the team with a confident smile. He was young, but sometimes he felt like a father.
'Come to think of it... I don't think I've seen him recently.'
Curious, she asked Shin Yu-jeong.
“I feel like I haven't seen Do-jin around lately... Do you happen to know where he went?”
Her mind already in turmoil over thoughts of Kim Do-jin, she shot a sharp glare at Son Seo-yeon.
But only for a moment.
Shin Yu-jeong let out a small sigh and answered in a weak voice.
“He's probably... clearing a dungeon.”
“A dungeon?”
“Yeah. Said he wants to become an A-rank Hunter quickly or something. So he went to build up his record.”
“I see...”
Only then did it truly sink in.
The fact that Kim Do-jin was a B-rank Hunter.
At the same time, Son Seo-yeon's face flushed as she recalled the Hunter qualification exam.
She had made a fool of herself.
Unable to overcome her childhood trauma, she had fainted during the final test.
And that wasn't the end of it.
'My... my hand...'
Her aunt had told her that the hand she was so sure was her father's had, in fact, been Kim Do-jin's.
She had been so mortified and embarrassed.
'He must have heard me.'
She remembered calling her father's name over and over in her dream.
It probably slipped out of her mouth, too.
At the same time, in the same moment.
“Haaah...”
“Huuuh...”
Sighs escaped from the lips of the two women, each lost in their own worries.
* * *
There's an old saying.
If a monk gets a taste of meat, not even a bedbug will be left in the temple.
It's a proverb meaning that once you experience an intense flavor, you can't forget it and become captive to your desires.
Funnily enough, that was me right now.
I was tasting the flavor of women far more than I ever could have in my past life.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my life's direction was already moving in tune with the pleasures of the flesh.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Just when I thought I had fallen as low as I could go, there was a place even lower.
“It was really good, mmm.”
The memory my mind was chasing was the ecstatic moment of a threesome from just a few days ago.
If you were to ask what's the big deal about adding just one more woman to sex between a man and a woman, I would tell you that's nothing more than the ugly jealousy or poor imagination of someone who has never tasted it.
They say that because they don't know what kind of emotions the mere presence of one additional woman can evoke, or what kind of pleasure it makes you cry out for.
But I had already learned that taste.
A moment impossible to describe with words, a moment I just wanted to experience again and again.
Should I say it felt like a utopia you could enjoy, however briefly, in the mortal world?
Anyway.
Once I tasted it, it was a real wake-up call.
That this was no time for me to be lazing around.
That's the reason I'm here.
“We're about to head out. Is that alright with you?”
A warrior clad in heavy armor cautiously approached and asked me.
Has it been that long already?
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes, they all came early and finished their preparations.”
Over his shoulder, I could see my companions for the day.
An archer with a fully stocked quiver, a healer in a pure white priest's robe, and a spearman in light armor reinforced with steel plates only over vital areas.
Including the warrior—the tanker—in front of me, the four of them plus myself made up today's party of five.
All of them were B-rank Hunters.
Perhaps because every one of them had steadily built their careers from the ground up, their faces were full of experience.
“If you need more time, we can postpone it...”
The tanker, seeing me quietly observing the party members, touched me with his considerate words.
I wasn't even frowning, so I wondered why he was being so deferential.
Well... it wasn't that I didn't understand.
It was because mages were, without exception, a difficult and incredibly fickle bunch.
There were far too many of them who acted like kings just because they could use a little magic.
Nevertheless, the preference for mages... was likely due to the unavoidable desire for survival.
Because it was also a fact that having a proper mage in the party increased the chances of survival.
“No, I'm ready too, so let's head out right away.”
“Haha! Shall we?”
The tanker beamed.
Was my suggestion to head straight to the dungeon without being fickle really that moving?
I walked with the tanker toward the rest of the group, who were gathered and waiting.
I gave a fresh smile to the others, who were looking this way with extremely awkward expressions, and greeted them.
“Hello, everyone. I'm Kim Do-jin, and I'll be joining you for this dungeon clear.”
“Ah, yes...”
“Oh, hello.”
“It's a pleasure to work with you.”
I had no intention of becoming like those mages who acted like idiots, drunk on their own self-importance.
My only thought was to build a sane, common-sense image among them and use it to my advantage.
“The dungeon we'll be clearing today is... the 'Fire Lizard Lair'.”
“Yes, that's... right?”
Fire Lizards.
Literally, they were very large lizards cloaked in flames.
They shot fire from their mouths and body-slammed you with the flames covering their bodies.
From a melee dealer's perspective, they were tricky opponents in many ways.
That must be why they were being so deferential.
If I was cooperative, clearing the dungeon would become several times easier.
“I heard the average clear time is about 4 hours and 30 minutes... is that correct?”
When I asked with a smile, the party members nodded with bewildered expressions.
Did you know?
That the clear time for every dungeon is ranked.
What's so good about clearing it early?
Nothing.
The moment they say, "We'll give you a better reward for clearing it early," the death rate would just skyrocket from people attempting time attacks.
But one thing remains.
The record, and the honor.
“The fastest clear time for the Fire Lizard Lair is 2 hours and 58 minutes.”
“Why are you suddenly bringing that up...?”
There might not be any immediate reward, but the record I left behind would carry me to greater heights much faster.
I declared confidently to them.
“We'll finish our clear in under 2 hours and 30 minutes.”
“Wait, that's a bit...!”
To the flustered and utterly shocked group, I left them with one last thing.
“Alright, I'll take the lead, so everyone, keep up with my tempo!”