The Sparring Match
After the sun had risen, I emerged from the Gate. I had tried to casually drop a hint to the attending Association staff member about the signs of collapse scattered throughout the interior, but the man remained expressionless and indifferent the entire time. 'Just the face of an office worker who wants to clock out early...'
After finishing the exploration, I arrived at the Central Headquarters immediately. I tried calling Hye-na, but she didn't pick up. 'Is she busy? After she was the one who called me here.' I had no choice but to head to the reception desk.
"Yes, B-rank Hunter Yoon Suhyun, your identity has been verified. How may I help you?" asked a somewhat fastidious-looking staff member with glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose.
"I'm here to see Bureau Chief Kang Hyena..."
The staff member typed a few keys with a puzzled expression, then looked at me with suspicion. "There is no appointment scheduled for Bureau Chief Kang Hyena. What is the nature of your business?"
"It's a personal matter."
"Sigh... If it's a personal matter, what kind of..."
The receptionist was looking at me with a mix of annoyance and doubt. I understand why. It’s only natural to be suspicious when a freelance B-rank hunter suddenly shows up at the Central Headquarters and asks to meet Bureau Chief Kang Hyena—an A-rank hunter and a high-ranking official—for a "personal matter" as if they were close friends.
"We... decided to have a sparring match."
"Excuse me? Sigh... If you want to spar with an A-rank hunter, we have designated sparring partners, so fill out these forms and wait at home for a few days." The receptionist sighed as if the whole thing were absurd and tossed a document at me.
Buzz-
Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. The name of the person I came to see was flashing on the screen. 'Kang Hyena.'
"Excuse me for a moment."
"Yes? Oh, yes..." The Association receptionist scratched his neck, looking somewhat flustered.
"Hey, why aren't you picking up? I'm at the Central Headquarters."
"Sorry, sorry~! I was in a meeting. I guess the exploration is over? Where are you?"
"Reception desk."
"I'll be there in a second."
"Alright."
After hanging up, I looked at the receptionist, and his expression now held a mix of confusion and fear.
"Ah, I apologize. Hye-na... I mean, the Bureau Chief says she's coming here now."
"Excuse me? No... it's nothing. Um... Hunter Yoon Suhyun...!"
As I turned around to sit on the chair in front of the reception desk, the staff member called out to me.
"Yes?"
Then, the receptionist jumped up from his seat, bowed deeply, and said,
"I am so sorry!"
"Yes? Huh? Why are you doing this..."
In an instant, the attention of everyone around us was focused on me.
"I sincerely apologize for my inappropriate attitude and conduct!"
I hurriedly approached the receptionist and tried to pull him upright.
"No, seriously, why are you doing this..."
"I didn't realize you were a close acquaintance of Bureau Chief Kang, and I showed such rude behavior and attitude, please..."
"Ah... I'm really fine. No, if you're truly sorry, please don't do this. Please..."
'Fuck, is this some new form of torture?'
A dozen people around us were glancing at me and the receptionist. The other receptionists sitting nearby were looking at the bowing staff member with expressions that seemed to say, 'What an idiot, tsk tsk.'
After barely calming the receptionist down, I fled to the central lobby and sat on a bench next to the water cooler.
'Right. I should let her know.'
After sending the text to Hye-na, I drank a cup of water and sat in the chair, reflecting on what had just happened.
'Wow... I guess a Bureau Chief really is high up.'
It was true that the receptionist's attitude had been a bit rude, but even if I were the receptionist, I would have found it absurd if someone just showed up and claimed they wanted to meet Bureau Chief Kang Hyena—one of the real power brokers of the current Association—for a "personal matter"... especially for a sparring match.
"Hey~ Yoon Suhyun. Why are you sitting all the way over here?"
"It's a long story..."
"Hmm. Then shall we go right away?"
Hye-na and I took the elevator to the training center in the basement of the Association.
"So, how was the Gate?"
"It was pretty easy for a D-rank..."
That was a lie, of course. That was a typical D-rank Gate difficulty level.
"Is that why it only took you a day?"
"Yeah, there weren't many monsters... and the boss was a mental-attack type, so it wasn't a big deal."
Honestly, I didn't even know what ability the boss had. I had cut its throat before it could even show me.
"Right. It wasn't even a registered Gate, so there's no reward. You were never there, got it?"
"..."
Actually, that was better. It was a secret that only Hye-na and I knew, one that wouldn't be left in any records.
"Why, do you have a complaint?" Hye-na asked, glaring at me.
"Is the Association being stingy anything new?"
"What?"
"Forget it... Are we really doing this? The sparring..."
"Would I be faking it?"
"..."
We arrived at the 12th Training Hall on the 5th basement floor. I went into the changing room, swapped into my sparring gear, and stepped into the hall. I didn't forget to put on the wrist guards. They were to hide the bracelet.
Hye-na was still standing there in her suit.
"What is this... No matter how much of a skill gap there is, you're going to fight wearing that...?"
"No? You're not the one I'm fighting."
"What?"
Just then, the training hall door opened, and a woman in sparring gear walked in. She had red hair in a ponytail and a sharp, piercing impression.
'She looks like a cat.'
"Bureau Chief... Is this the person..."
Unlike her sharp appearance, her voice was quiet and calm.
"Yes, this is B-rank Hunter Yoon Suhyun. And this is A-rank Hunter Min Serin! Introduce yourselves!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Min Serin."
"Yes, I'm Yoon Suhyun. Nice to meet you."
I glared at Hye-na, and she laughed.
"I said we'd have a sparring match, I didn't say it would be with me. Oh, and for your information, Hunter Min Serin was promoted to A-rank five months ago. Now, each of you grab a sword... I'll be watching from above~."
"Hey... wait a minute... hey!"
Hye-na disappeared up the stairs just like that. She was watching us from the glass window above.
"Then, shall we choose our weapons?" Min Serin said.
"Sigh... Yes."
There were only spears and swords. 'There are no daggers.' I had no choice but to pick up a reinforced steel training sword and walk to the center of the sparring arena.
My mind was a mess. 'Why? Why this? Could it be?' I had thought Hye-na asked for a spar just to relive old memories, but that wasn't it. A chill ran down my spine.
'Sigh... Yoon Suhyun, you idiot.'
I had been too complacent. Hye-na... no, the Association, was clearly suspicious of me. The only fortunate thing was that if they had been certain of something, they would have called me in to question me directly.
'I'm glad I wore the wrist guards.'
Calling an A-rank hunter to face a B-rank hunter was effectively the same as a "re-evaluation of rank." It was a system operated for hunters who were dissatisfied with their current rank. While hunters who were truly undervalued did occasionally appear, 99% of them were, naturally, crushed and failed to promote. Since I would obviously refuse if they brought up a rank re-evaluation, they were trying to force a re-evaluation this way.
'Should I lose on purpose? My opponent is an A-rank hunter... No, since they're already suspicious of me, losing on purpose might make them even more suspicious... Maybe it would be better to indirectly acknowledge that I've become stronger...'
"...If you're just going to stand there, I'll take the initiative."
"Excuse me?"
Clang-!
Min Serin rushed forward in an instant and swung her sword. My body reacted reflexively, raising my sword to defend. When I blocked the sword with one hand, Min Serin seemed slightly taken aback, withdrew her blade, and stepped back.
"Ah..."
Lying was meaningless now that I had blocked a sword swung with both hands by an A-rank hunter using only one hand without any difficulty.
'Think. Think.'
Min Serin rotated her shoulders a few times, did a few light jumps in place, and then said with a chilling smile,
"This... I think I can play a little rougher now..."
Clang-! Cling-!
An hour had passed, and the sparring was still ongoing. Min Serin was unleashing an absurd barrage of attacks.
'She looks about my age... A-rank hunter... I guess she's a genius.'
What was even more surprising than Min Serin, who was swinging her sword brilliantly without even getting tired... was myself, who was lightly parrying and blocking her attacks without letting a single one land.
'There are so many openings...'
Even though I saw openings, I wasn't counterattacking and was sticking to defense. I was blocking attacks I could have dodged with my sword, and even though I could block with one hand, I was holding the sword with both hands to block. There was an intention to hide the fact that I had become incredibly strong, but the biggest problem was something else.
At some point...
Next to Hye-na, who was watching us from the second floor... Association President Han Jihyuk was standing there with her.
'Fuck. I'm truly screwed.'
From the 30-minute mark, the smile had completely vanished from Min Serin's face. Instead, I could feel anger radiating from her. 'It's just my imagination... right?'
Now there was only one method left. An hour had passed, and since I had implicitly acknowledged that I had become somewhat stronger, I could just take one hit and lose at this point.
Min Serin gasped for air and took an attacking stance.
'On the next attack... I'll take a hit appropriately and collapse. No, I'll pretend to collapse.'
It was just as Min Serin was about to rush at me.
"Stop~."
"What?"
"Excuse me? Bureau Chief?"
"That's enough. Hunter Min Serin, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for granting my request. You may go and rest now."
"Yes? Yes... I understand."
Min Serin glared at me once and left the training hall.
"Hye-na... that person seems to dislike me for some reason..."
Hye-na stared at me and said,
"Suhyun, you... you've become strong."
"..."
Since I had already been found out, I didn't bother to reply.
"Just what happened that day..."
Just then, Han Jihyuk walked down the stairs with his hands behind his back.
"Well, well, Hunter Suhyun must be exhausted... Bureau Chief Kang, could you step aside for a moment?"
"Yes, Mr. President."
Hye-na smiled and left the training hall.
"I-it's been a while, Mr. President..."
"Hmm... it's only natural that Hunter Min Serin would dislike you... even I, watching, felt a little angry."
"Excuse me? What do you mean by that suddenly..."
"I could see that you were holding back while fighting Hunter Min Serin. Did you think the person fighting you wouldn't know?"
"Excuse me?"
'Fuck...'
The fact that my behavior of sticking to defense had been the worst possible move made my heart sink.
"..."
I couldn't think of any excuses. It seemed like lying in front of this man was meaningless.
"You should have just fought desperately without holding back... fighting while holding back is even more suspicious." Han Jihyuk said with a smile.
"I enjoyed the sparring match today. From now on, various requests will be coming from the Association. If you complete just a few of them, I'll have you promoted to A-rank in no time, so don't worry..."
"Mr. President..."
"Speak."
At this point, the Association was now the most dangerous place for me. I had heard rumors that the Association was in a precarious position after many A-rank hunters died or left for the private sector during the recent S-class Gate exploration. Just seeing Han Jihyuk's eyes sparkle at the thought of working me to the bone made my spine crawl. It's a pity, but now I have no choice but to run to the private sector.
"I appreciate you thinking highly of me, but I don't know why you assume I'll naturally accept the requests. I don't really have any ambition for promotion, either."
Han Jihyuk laughed loudly at my words, grabbed my shoulder, and patted it as if he found me amusing. Then he leaned in close and whispered softly,
"You've got some guts. I like you even more. I can't let a talent like you be stolen by the private sector. But Suhyun... I intend to take your secret to the grave... but what about you?"
"..."
With those final words, Han Jihyuk left the training hall.
"Whew."
I lay flat on the training hall floor and stared at the ceiling.
"Goddamn it... I'm truly, completely fucked."