Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Kill Each Other From Now On
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‘Should I watch a bit longer?’
To gauge their overall level, it was best to hold off on the test as long as possible. Plus, jumping in now might mean running into Kim Cheol-min.
He wasn’t someone I feared anymore, but given our bad blood, I wanted to avoid him if I could.
I kept checking the ongoing tests. Excluding Kim Cheol-min, everyone else showed similar records. In stat terms, they hovered around 12.
Having walked this path once before, I could roughly guess their stats just from watching their movements.
‘Wait…… Most of these people are level 1, right? And their Agility is hitting 12? That’s almost on par with me at level 3. How is that possible? I can even allocate more stat points than average.’
There was only one explanation. Differences in base physical stats.
Come to think of it, my starting stats had been nothing to brag about.
[Strength 6, Agility 5, Vitality 4, Intelligence 20]
The combined total for Strength, Agility, and Vitality was a measly 15. I’d heard of Awakeners from athletic backgrounds who started with 14 in each of those stats, so compared to them, I’d begun with about a third of their capabilities.
‘Does this mean I’ll keep falling behind as we go up?’
Right now, my higher level gave me the edge, but once they became Hunters and started leveling, they’d catch up, narrowing the gap bit by bit.
No, even if they weren’t an issue, I’d definitely lag behind those who’d started Hunter work before me.
And that was a problem because not all Hunters in the world were righteous and kind.
Take the All-Kill Guild that recruited Kim Cheol-min—they were basically a mobster outfit. If he came back later with a whole gang, I’d have no way to stop them.
There was one solution: grow strong enough to take them all down.
‘It’s not cause for celebration that there’s already a gap. I need to widen it further.’
I had to train my Vitality properly while steadily raising my level. That way, I could prepare for the worst.
In the absolute worst case, my Half-Human Half-Demon nature might get exposed. I needed to get stronger as fast as possible for that.
‘Focus on the tests for now. Aim to crack the top ranks.’
I finished the Agility test in 18th place and headed straight to the Strength test area. Was I anxious? My pace quickened without me realizing.
Just as I stepped into the test area, exclamations erupted from inside.
“Whoa! Insane! He lifted that? That guy’s a total monster!”
“How many kilos total? Isn’t that over 1,000 for three reps?”
“He looks young…… Maybe high level?”
“Or maybe he dumped everything into Strength.”
Someone had apparently exceeded 1,000 kilos combined for three reps.
I hadn’t tried it myself, so I didn’t know how impressive that was, but the crowd’s shock suggested it was no ordinary feat.
‘Huh? That guy……’
Curious about the powerhouse, I glanced over—and yeah, his face rang a bell again.
Towering nearly 190 cm, body covered in muscle, fierce-faced guy. It was Lee Joo-hyuk, our school’s top dog.
‘No way, this isn’t a class reunion or something. Why are all these familiar faces? And they’re all delinquents?’
Lee Joo-hyuk topped the Strength test rankings. Second place was a measly 600, 400 less than him.
Even second looked pretty strong, but that gap…… Pure dominance.
‘That’s gotta be at least 20 Strength, right?’
That put him at level 3 at minimum. Both Kim Cheol-min and Lee Joo-hyuk—where were they grinding levels? Incredible.
“Heh heh heh.”
Lee Joo-hyuk finished with a smug laugh and swaggered off. Shoulders squared wide, strutting like a tattooed thug flexing his delts.
Sure enough, he bumped into people nearby, knocking them over. Could’ve sparked a fight, but everyone backed off quietly, intimidated by his strength.
I couldn’t just watch his antics, so I quickly averted my eyes.
‘No sense locking eyes and inviting trouble.’
Not that I was scared. Just preempting any potential conflict.
As I’d said before, I had to hide my identity, which meant staying low-profile. Unnecessary fights were a hard pass.
Worried he might spot me, I slipped into the crowd and activated Stealth. My presence faded, blending seamlessly into the masses.
‘Heh. This is “blending in.”’
‘Blending in’ was a skill from the game *Assassin’s Creed*, letting you melt into the background for stealth infiltration. Use it right, and you could slip past guards right under their noses.
Of course, this wasn’t a game, so Stealth alone wasn’t enough. I cast Illusion on him too, making him oblivious to my presence. Thanks to that, he passed right by without noticing me.
‘Good. Lee Joo-hyuk’s gone. Time to take my Strength test?’
* * *
All tests were done. Lee Joo-hyuk took 1st overall, Kim Cheol-min 11th. I barely scraped into the top ranks at 19th.
No issues so far. But then they divided us into squads of ten by ranking—and that’s when the problem hit. Kim Cheol-min and I ended up in the same squad.
“You! How the hell are you here?”
Kim Cheol-min spotted me and stuttered in shock.
“Huh? Well…… I’m an Awakener?”
“What? Awakener? Since when…… Ah! That time?”
Realization dawned on him as he let out an exclamation. Like he’d figured out why he lost our one-on-one.
Nothing to deny, so I nodded.
“Yeah. I’d already Awakened back then.”
“You sneaky bastard! An Awakener fighting a civilian?”
“Forgot? You started it. I was just…… self-defense.”
Truth was, I’d only knocked him out—didn’t lay into him after. Sure, I’d lost control mid-fight, but I stopped once it was over.
Kim Cheol-min didn’t see it that way, glaring with murderous intent like I was his mortal enemy.
‘Why’s he like that? What’d I do? Just a nosebleed?’
Totally baffling from my side. If anything, I’d saved his life from that Hobgoblin—though he didn’t know it.
“Because of you……”
“Huh?”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone up to the rooftop that day. Wouldn’t have lost my left hand……”
“Uh? What’re you……”
I was so stunned I couldn’t continue.
So, losing his arm was my fault? Couldn’t shake me down, so he dragged O Deok-hun to the rooftop early morning, got burned waiting—trace it back, and it’s on me?
‘No way he’s blaming me? He went up there all the time after meals…… No, wait. Extorting me was wrong from the start, wasn’t it?’
But he was deep in victim mode, beyond reason. Before I could speak, his fist flew.
I leaned back, dodging easily.
“Are you crazy? What’s this? Fighting in the Academy gets you expelled, you know?”
“Shut up and fight, you punk!”
Kim Cheol-min kept swinging wildly, too riled up to calm down. I was torn—fight back or keep dodging?
Then someone intervened, grabbing his fist.
A stern-faced middle-aged man scarred across his face. The Academy’s chief Instructor.
‘Phew…… Saved. This should calm things down.’
“Hey, what’s with the early brawl? You’ll be fighting bloody soon enough anyway.”
Huh?
“And if you’re gonna fight, might as well use weapons. More fun that way, right?”
The Instructor pulled two daggers from his coat and tossed them at our feet.
“Now, kill each other.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, fight like your life depends on it.”
“What the……”
As I reeled in confusion, Kim Cheol-min snatched a dagger and charged. No choice—I grabbed the other and met him.
‘Wasn’t this supposed to stop us? You’re escalating!’
The Instructor watched us clash, then addressed the crowd loudly.
“From here on, your training will mimic real combat. You’ll be pushed to physical and mental limits, maybe even suffer serious injuries. Anyone who thinks it’s too harsh, get out now. Can’t handle this? You’ll die in the field anyway.”
Kim Cheol-min’s blade aimed for my head. Like that kick last time, he loved targeting the skull.
I parried with my dagger and created distance.
Feeling my resistance, he paused, sizing me up.
A brief standoff. The Instructor picked up like he’d been waiting.
“So treat every moment like real combat. Fight like it’s kill or be killed! Oh, and don’t worry about injuries. No matter how bad, I won’t let you die.”
He raised a glowing white hand—classic sign of healing powers.
The trainees sighed in relief. But my face hardened.
‘Getting hurt would screw me over.’
Any injury meant healer scrutiny, exposing my secret.
No Hunter life then. Straight to lab rat.
Zero wounds allowed.
Perfect victory or bust.
‘I was gonna go easy…… No choice now.’
As I steeled myself, Kim Cheol-min caught his breath, fiddled with his steel prosthetic, and grinned cruelly.
“I’ll make you feel the same pain.”
No holding back now. Time to end it.
‘Bring it, Alchemist.’
I gripped my dagger tight.