Chapter 23
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Hello Dart Technique
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“Alright. First, I’ll show you exactly how to grip the dart!”
The assistant instructor, Song, said that as she placed a dart in my hand. Unlike before, she carefully guided my fingers into the proper grip.
Was it from all that practice throwing darts? Her slightly calloused fingers scraped against the back of my hand.
It was a ticklish, rough sensation. Like a cat licking my palm.
“Perfect! Now give it a toss. For your first try, just lightly lob the dart to get a feel for the distance.”
I clutched my pounding chest and threw the dart. Was it nerves making my hand shake? It stuck into the board way off center again.
Worried that Instructor Song might be disappointed, I glanced over, but she just smiled and cheered me on.
“That’s pretty good for a beginner! You’ve definitely got talent. This time, aim a little higher. Get a sense of the distance bit by bit, adjusting your power and angle. You know Fortress, right? Like adjusting the angle in that...”
“Huh? For... what’s that?”
“Huh? You don’t know Fortress? How come? How old are you?”
“Born in ’02. Nineteen in Korean age.”
“Nine... teen? You’re twelve years younger than me?”
Instructor Song staggered back like she’d been struck. I could hear her muttering under her breath, ‘No way. The ’03 babies are already adults? A generation that doesn’t know Fortress is old enough to try out for hunter?’
‘Whoa, so Instructor Song and I are a full zodiac cycle apart? She doesn’t look it at all. Totally grown-up vibes.’
Instructor Song Hye-rin looked about my age at first glance. Big eyes, flawless skin—she appeared way younger than her actual age, and her short-cropped hair gave off a casual vibe.
I was about to say she looked young for her age but clamped my mouth shut. Bringing up ‘age’ here might be touching a raw nerve worse than dismissing darts.
‘Better keep quiet right now.’
Instructor Song seemed so shocked by the age talk that she went silent for a while. Her expression was even graver than when I’d dissed darts earlier.
‘They say hunting monsters slows down aging the more you do it. Looks like that rumor’s true.’
Surprisingly, constant mana absorption halted bodily aging. There were even studies showing that hunters rank 5-star and above actually got biologically younger.
If that was real, then maybe the eternal youth that Emperor Qin Shi Huang chased wasn’t such a pipe dream.
‘Rumor has it some people force awakenings chasing immortality...’
Forcing an awakening was simple: implant a mana stone—the rare drop from killed monsters—into a living person’s body.
The so-called mana stone implant surgery.
Succeed, and you become an awakener. Fail, and your body either bursts from overload or mutates into a monster.
Obviously illegal. Most civilians didn’t even know it existed, and even if they did, they wouldn’t know where to get it. It was underground word-of-mouth black market stuff.
The reason the rumors spread anyway? One thing: implant recipients supposedly gained more stats than normal awakeners.
‘Maybe those people ended up with a trait like my Half-Human Half-Demon?’
If so, my stat advantage might not be that special.
‘Could there be someone like that here? Nah, probably not.’
I shook my head and refocused on the throwing lesson.
* * *
“Mm.”
Lee Joo-hyuk frowned at the faint pain in his chest. The implant surgery had gone off without a hitch, but it still felt foreign.
His seniors said you’d get used to it over time, but who knew when that’d happen.
“We’re one body now, so let’s get along.”
Tap, tap. He patted his chest, and a subtle vibration pulsed back. A spike of pain shot through his whole body.
According to the back-alley surgeon who did the operation, you had to hunt monsters periodically and absorb mana to keep the pain away.
“Just hold on a bit. There’s monster combat drills in a month.”
Lee Joo-hyuk closed his eyes to suppress his boiling killing intent.
* * *
Thuk! Thud-thud!
Darts slammed into the target one after another. Nine darts clustered inside the red bullseye circle. The tenth nailed dead center.
“Whoa! You’ve got real talent! And with your agility still low, too!”
Her cheers of ‘Amazing!’ every hit, and Instructor Song’s delighted face, had this weird addictive quality.
It made me feel like I was the awesome one. I got why people read those light novels where isekai locals come off as total idiots.
‘So this is what praise tastes like? Haah. I could get hooked.’
That’s how I started learning throwing techniques—to see Instructor Song’s face and hear more praise. Before I knew it, a whole month had flown by.
‘What? Where’d my month go?’
I’d trained so obsessively for those compliments that throwing was muscle memory now. I’d practiced so hard I even unlocked a skill.
[Quick Draw (F-Grade): Draw weapons swiftly and accurately. Grants a 10% bonus to strength and agility on draw. Can link with attack skills. Evolves to Iaijutsu when linked with swordsmanship. Enables instant throws when linked with throwing.]
My first skill earned through pure effort, not minions—super emotional. And it didn’t even cost mana.
‘Huh? Then what do others use mana for? Does it drain a bit per skill?’
Gotta casually ask Instructor Song or someone later.
‘Still, who’d have thought I’d work this hard just to impress a 3D girl.’
I’d changed a lot. Back in school, I couldn’t even talk to girls properly. Now I was face-to-face with a 3D girl every day—what a normie situation.
‘Wait... 3D girl?’
Do other people even say it like that?
* * *
“Today, as announced, you’ll be facing monsters.”
A month after starting unarmed combat, monster practicals began.
“First up!”
At the instructor’s call, goblins in iron cages were wheeled out. Surrounded by a hundred awakeners, they didn’t cower—growling with short daggers in hand. Small or not, monsters were monsters.
“As you see, goblins. Weak one-on-one, but tricky in groups. Don’t worry, though—it’s one-on-one today.”
The instructor called from the bottom ranks up. Apparently, watching the noobs flail was entertaining. What a weird sadistic hobby.
“Block it! What’re you holding the shield for!”
Rookies facing monsters for the first time showed it. They’d get stabbed failing to block in time despite shields, or flail swords and cut themselves.
Still, they all won eventually. Goblins were that weak. Any fit adult male could take one one-on-one.
“Wow! First clean win!”
Higher up, veterans with real combat experience appeared, dispatching goblins effortlessly. Like Jin-hyuk hyung.
He seemed to know goblin patterns—easily parried the dagger, then smashed the shoulder with his axe. The goblin went limp and became hyung’s mana battery.
On the flip side, some underperformed for their stats. Kim Cheol-min was the poster boy.
“Ugh... just die already, you bastard!”
Kim Cheol-min swung wildly from a safe distance, more scaring it off than hunting. Total passivity.
180 degrees from how he charged me—baffling.
‘How’d this guy charge me if he’s scared shitless of a goblin?’
I could guess. Nearly died to a hobgoblin, so goblins spook him now. Like freaking out at a pot lid after scaring at a baby snake.
“Ugh! D-die!”
Finally, a wild swing lucked out, ending the long, pathetic fight.
Worst fight ever. Kim Cheol-min flushed red and slunk to a corner, embarrassed.
‘PTSD or something...’
Better not mock this.
I turned away, pretending not to notice.
* * *
‘Pathetic loser.’
Watching Kim Cheol-min’s non-fight, Lee Joo-hyuk recalled his chat with All-Kill Guild leader Lee Chun-bae.
“Big bro. You really think Kim Cheol-min killed a hobgoblin?”
“As if.”
Lee Chun-bae scoffed and shook his head. Lee Joo-hyuk pressed.
“Then why...”
“Spread the rumor, and the real killer’d show. Claiming they took down the hobgoblin. But no one did.”
Lee Chun-bae never bought Kim Cheol-min’s story.
Nine goblin corpses at school—all wounds suggesting one person. Some even looked like goblin infighting.
“The hobgoblin killer’s a mind magic user. Level 6 at least, maybe higher. But definitely a fresh awakener.”
“Can’t assume rookie. Could be an existing hunter. Scared of us, just killed and ran?”
“No mind magic users among local hunters. And sticking around this backwater with that power? Doesn’t add up.”
Mind magic was highly rated among magic types. Useless for monsters, OP against people.
Imagine brainwashing a government bigwig. One person could puppet a whole country.
Governments countered with awakener bodyguards, including mind mages. Like hiring cybersecurity against hackers. Demand for mind mages was skyrocketing.
“Mind mages get poached left and right. Vets would be guilded up—no reason to hide.”
“So the hobgoblin killer’s a rookie awakener.”
“Yeah. That’s why I called you. You’re heading to training camp, right? Spot anyone suspicious for the hobgoblin kill, report immediately.”
Lee Chun-bae was pulling every trick to dominate local rivals, the Marine Corps vet guild ‘The Marine.’
A mind mage recruit would tip the scales big time.
“What if they’re already joining another guild? Like The Marine.”
“Then...”
Lee Chun-bae’s eyes sharpened.
“No choice. Eliminate them.”
Flashback ended. Lee Joo-hyuk narrowed his eyes at Cha In-hyeok stepping up.
‘Post-gate at school, three new awakener registrations around here.’
One: Kim Cheol-min, claiming the hobgoblin kill.
Two: Himself, via mana stone implant.
Three: That otaku over there, Cha In-hyeok.
‘If he really got the hobgoblin, he’s higher level than me. Plus unknown mind magic. Big bro’d want him close as a right-hand man.’
Joining the guild would shrink Lee Joo-hyuk’s spot.
He’d risked it all with implant surgery to join All-Kill. Lose to that otaku? Ego wouldn’t allow.
‘How’s this chance slipping...’
Nothing certain yet, but goblin fight’d reveal his skill.
Real hobgoblin slayer or lucky like Kim Cheol-min?
‘Show me what you got... Huh?’
Thwack!
Goblin crumpled. Cha In-hyeok just swung from afar, and it flew back spraying blood.
Magic? How else hit from there?
Then Cha In-hyeok muttered weirdly.
“Heh heh. This is the Hello Dart Technique.”
‘Hello Dart Technique? What’s that? A skill?’
Lee Joo-hyuk’s brow furrowed deep.