Isra's One Flash
Hong Yuri, the HR Director, tried hard not to let her awkwardness show.
Sparring with a C-class hunter?
She already knew Minho was a magic-type, specifically of the summoning branch. Even a quick analysis of the bodycam footage the Rift Bureau had released to the press made the estimate obvious. There was a reason he had earned the nickname Guui-dong Necromancer.
When the talk had turned to training, a refusal had been the natural expectation. She had smoothly steered the conversation toward sparring instead.
Multiple undead would be difficult, but one-on-one, a D-class hunter from the guild should be more than enough.
The hero who had stopped the Break. The leading candidate widely believed to be the same person who had passed the promotion exam with an S-rank. Even if his confidence had soared to the ceiling, it would not have been strange.
Suggesting a sparring match before the contract was meant to let him feel Mir’s level firsthand and break his spirit once. The matter had already been discussed with the Guildmaster. They had scheduled training for the C- and D-class hunters to coincide with Minho’s visit.
If he faces a C-class, losing is only natural.
That would make the original goal of humbling him hard to achieve. A C-class beating a D-class was only to be expected. She worried he would simply accept it with a shrug—well, rank difference can’t be helped—instead of truly feeling Mir Guild’s prestige.
—Proceed.
The voice sounded as if it were whispering right beside her ear. Hong Yuri almost bowed her head on pure reflex.
That was close.
And when she considered whose voice it was, the near-greeting made perfect sense. The man who had built Mir, one of the nation’s top five guilds, with his bare hands. Guildmaster Yong Cheonwoo’s voice. A method of mana operation only high-ranking hunters could manage. He had used telepathy.
“Can’t we spar with a C-class hunter?”
“Of course. It’s possible. Why wouldn’t it be!”
Hong Yuri shouted in her haste. Even so, her eyes rapidly scanned the hunters currently training. The best among the C-class. A skilled fighter who could properly display Mir Guild’s prestige…
There he is!
She cheered inwardly and pointed with as much composure as she could muster.
“Hunter Jang Minseok?”
“Yes, Director.”
The named hunter stepped forward. One hundred ninety centimeters tall. Perhaps because of the sleeveless top, the muscles on his fully exposed arms writhed vigorously. People sometimes claimed hunters had no need for physical training, but that was only half true. Even with identical Strength stats, power differed slightly according to mass—that is, the degree to which the body had been trained. Monsters over five meters tall, like ogres, even received a separate “large species” bonus. Bodybuilder-level muscle was never wasted.
“Would you be willing to spar with Hunter Park Minho?”
“Of course. To cross blades with the Guui-dong Necromancer… it’s an honor.”
His words said one thing; the clear sting to his pride at being asked to face a C-class said another.
Perfect choice.
Jang Minseok’s position was deal-tank—main tank with a sub-dealer role. She had already analyzed the Break bodycam footage several times.
Park Hunter’s undead were fast.
When stats leaned heavily toward speed, destructive power dropped accordingly. Jang Minseok possessed the finest combat sense among the C-class and could laugh off most attacks. He was the ideal counter to speed-focused summons.
Hong Yuri suppressed a smile. With this matchup, he could thoroughly educate Minho without the slightest mercy. After breaking the man’s pride once, what carrot should she offer to win his heart? Her mind was already busy weighing the conditions she would present after the sparring.
A ring roughly fifty pyeong in size. The designated hunter rolled his shoulders left and right, warming up with exaggerated motions.
Wasting strength needlessly, I see.
Showing off, no doubt. From the moment Minho had asked to be matched against a C-class, the atmosphere in the training hall had turned icy. Five years as a hunter had sharpened one thing above all: the ability to read a room. Being called the weakest weapon and eating cold stares had not been a one- or two-day affair.
But will it be all right?
“This is exactly what I wanted, Sir.”
From the moment he had spoken of gauging Mir Guild’s level, he had made no secret of his desire for a real fight. The skill of a hunter from one of the nation’s top five guilds. Honestly, he was a little curious.
“Hunter Park, how shall we conduct the sparring?”
“What do you mean by method?”
“Whether you will summon all your undead, or proceed in tournament style, and so on.”
I hadn’t thought about that. It’ll probably end with Sir Isra, so why plan for rounds after?
“Ha! Bring them all out. A proper sparring requires full power, does it not?”
The hunter opposite pounded his chest with both fists.
“Hunter Jang Minseok is a warrior-type. A C-class expert who serves as main tank and sub-dealer.”
Full plate mail encased his muscular frame. Mace in one hand, shield in the other—a classic tank build.
“You look quite strong.”
“Yes. Hunter Jang Minseok possesses the Super Strength ability.”
Super Strength. A considerably powerful unique ability.
What manner of ability does he possess?
It likely granted additional muscular power proportional to the Strength stat. Perfectly suited to a deal-tank.
“Since you are D-class, I shall yield the first move.”
Thud! Thud! The opponent lightly bounced his mace against the shield. The resonance was quite threatening. Thanks to the Necrosmith’s eye, Minho could glimpse a portion of the ability imbued in the weapon.
“That club can unleash a shockwave for area attacks.”
It appeared to spread impact around him in proportion to his strength. Exact range was unclear—perhaps two or three meters.
It is fine. Simply do not be struck.
Iron head. Don’t mess up.
Who do you take me for?
I know your skill well enough. Still, remember that if you fall, it will be a stain upon our master’s honor.
Worry not. Upon my knighthood, I shall offer victory to my lord.
Sir Isra fixed her gaze on the opponent.
“Hunter Park, Hunter Jang Minseok possesses defense sturdy enough to casually block a Dire Wolf’s attacks.”
Dire Wolf. Minho had heard it ranked among the top C-class monsters for aggression and instantaneous destructive power. They also hunted in packs. In other words, the man could tank an entire pack of Dire Wolves alone with ease. The claim that he was a top talent among Mir’s C-class did not seem exaggerated.
Minho felt no particular tension.
“It should be a fine match.”
Dire Wolf? Our Sir Isra has carved up a Magic Soldier squad leader in single combat. If they knew I had soloed a C-class gate, would they still be this confident?
The HR Director standing in the center took three steps back.
“We will now begin the sparring.”
3.
2.
1.
Start!
Body Enhancement → Mana Release
The instant the activation sounded, Sir Isra’s form streaked across the ring. The opponent’s eyes flew wide and darted left and right.
Wrong. Completely wrong.
While his pupils tracked the wrong direction—
Where exactly are you looking?
—Isra slipped inside his guard. No angle remained for the mace.
“Uoooooh!”
The enemy swung his shield forward, driving the edge with his shoulder for extra force.
I would like to praise the judgment, yet—
Whoosh!
Nothing caught on the shield. Having closed the distance with her first charge, Isra moved again, sliding diagonally to let the shield pass harmlessly by.
Know where the enemy stands before you swing that shield.
Her rear was now completely exposed. The very act of thrusting the shield to check her had only widened the opening. A razor-sharp blade lanced toward his back.
Mobile Fortress
“A skill that raises defense in proportion to Strength!”
“As expected of Hunter Jang Minseok!”
“That’s the skill that took a War Dire Wolf’s attack—C-class boss monster—head-on!”
Cheers erupted from the Mir hunters all around.
Aha. So that’s how it is. Mobile Fortress and Super Strength. Sounds like a formidable combination just from the description.
But… is that really enough?
Body Enhancement → Mana Release → Aura (Incomplete)
Imperial Sword Style (Modified) — Isra Form
1st Form – One Flash
Huh?
A portion of the mana that had been about to release outward suddenly gathered at the tip of the blade. A faint, pale energy coalesced there. It did not seek the joints of the armor. It simply pierced straight through the mana-reinforced full plate mail and stabbed the place where the heart lay.
Clang!
Impact exceeding allowable threshold detected.
Red Hunter has won the sparring match.
The sparring had ended in anticlimactic emptiness. The Mir Guild hunters watching were stunned.
“Mobile Fortress got pierced by a single thrust?”
“That’s impossible.”
“Hunter Jang Minseok’s defense is on par with B-class hunters.”
“Maybe he went easy on him?”
“Idiot. There’s a hole in rare-grade armor that keeps Protect active at all times!”
They had forgotten an outsider was even participating. The shock that struck the Mir hunters ran deep. Who was Jang Minseok? He had received an A-rank evaluation in the D-class promotion exam and acquired Mobile Fortress. Ever since, the guild had been grooming him as a future main tank. He was expected to reach A-class within two years; with a little luck, even S-class had not seemed out of the question. Yet he had fallen without ever swinging his primary weapon once.
“Ending the sparring the moment the armor is pierced feels a bit much, doesn’t it?”
“The shield activating means he could have died.”
“Ah… is that so?”
“It rarely triggers during sparring. That just proves how powerful the attack was.”
“Whoa.”
The hunters’ shock was considerable, yet the person most devastated at that moment was someone else entirely.
I-impossible!
Hong Yuri locked her legs with every ounce of strength she possessed. Otherwise she felt she would simply crumple. Was this the sensation people meant when they said the sky was spinning? Her vision swam. She had been the one who crafted the recruitment plan—show Mir’s level, win his heart. Yet what guild potential? A C-class hunter had lost to a D-class in less than ten seconds.
How am I supposed to recover from this?
Even setting the recruitment of Minho aside, she had just dealt a blow to the guild’s honor. She bit down hard on her lip in rising panic when—
“That summon of yours. Quite something, isn’t it?”
A man’s voice rolled across the entire training ground. The hunters’ murmuring vanished in an instant.
Thud— thud—
A man who looked to be in his fifties. Dressed lightly, as though he had just returned from vacation, his steps equally light.
An extraordinary opponent.
Isra stepped back and placed herself in front of Minho.
“I have not even released my energy, yet you sense it.”
Curiosity flickered in the man’s eyes for a brief moment before his gaze shifted to Minho standing behind her.
“Hunter Park, was it?”
“Yes. Guildmaster Yong Cheonwoo of Mir Guild.”
“You might have given me time for a proper introduction.”
The man laughed lightly. The second hunter in Korea to reach S-class, widely regarded as the strongest after Jeong Seungil. Mir Guildmaster Yong Cheonwoo smiled, baring his teeth.
“We’ve already warmed up here. How about we continue the conversation over a drink?”