Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Manners Make the Man
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Before the newbie even stepped into the waiting room.
The hunters, who had already held seven meetings by this point, were gathered with extremely displeased expressions on their faces.
One hunter glanced around at the others.
They were all powerhouses, every last one.
Reverse heroes who had risked their lives to clear stages from the 1st floor all the way to this 5th floor.
A hunter wearing a mask, emaciated and gaunt.
A mad hunter screaming at the top of his lungs about when the final challenger would arrive.
And right beside him, a black-haired female hunter standing with a calm expression.
Each one had a wildly unique personality, and they were waiting for the meeting to start.
"Don't do it."
"Do what?"
The hunter instinctively spoke to the one next to him.
The woman's gaze turned toward him.
Deep, sunken eyes that seemed to pull you in.
Rumor had it she was a tribal warrior with exceptional combat talent.
"I already know the basics about you. You revere battle, you're aggressive, and you follow the law of the jungle."
"Yeah, that's right. I just can't stand weaklings."
"Graaaah!!! When's that final challenger showing up?!"
"..."
The two hunters' gazes momentarily shifted to the hulking figure rampaging about.
"Does that hunter look weak to you?"
"He's not the only one. They're all weak. I'm thinking I might just flip the whole table over."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to establish the pecking order clearly."
A rather vicious remark slipped from the woman's lips.
If it weren't for the crazy guy making all that noise up front, anyone overhearing would find it deeply unsettling.
"Hunter!!! When are you coming?!"
"...Sometimes I wonder if that guy's even a hunter or just a monster."
The woman stared at the madman with a perfectly composed expression.
"Hold it in."
"Who are you to tell me what to do?"
"Cause a problem in the waiting room, and the guards might arrest you."
"Just smash them too."
'She's nuts.'
The hunter immediately sized her up.
She was someone normal logic wouldn't work on.
If hunters had any shady contact, the village guards intervened right away and arrested them.
Arrested hunters were forcibly ejected from the tower without accomplishing anything.
And they'd have to clear floors 1 through 4 all over again, of course.
"Please, just hold it in this once."
"You've got good manners. Fine, I'll hold back just this time."
"Thanks."
But they weren't the only ones with mounting frustration.
"Can't we just head to the 6th floor like this? We're just wasting time."
"Impossible. We can't go up without meeting the unlock conditions."
"Maybe find another way..."
"If you're uncomfortable, shift in your seat. Or forfeit if you want."
"Forfeit? No way. You think I'd go back and face execution?"
'This isn't good.'
The hunter surveyed the situation.
"Hello."
The total rookie, blissfully unaware, showed up just as the tension was starting to boil over.
"...?"
A hunter with a battered shield and clothes that looked way too light.
"From Earth?"
The hunter naturally guessed the man's origins.
It was common knowledge now that Earth hunters always seemed clumsy and weak.
Apparently, their world didn't even have mana.
So they needed more time and effort to adapt to life inside the tower than others.
'He'll die quick.'
That's why, even as the beastman hunter eyed him warily while he grinned like an idiot, the hunter didn't think much of it.
He dismissed it as the attitude of someone who didn't know true hell.
By the time he sensed the presence next to him vanish, the hunter who demanded the most caution had already moved right up to the Earth guy's front.
'Crazy.'
"I'll teach you the proper truth. Come at me."
"Pardon?"
"Come at me."
The deed was done.
A brazen declaration of war unfolding in front of every hunter's eyes.
"Ho. Stepping up first, huh."
"Too arrogant to just let slide. And it's that hunter, after all."
That hunter.
The nickname they used among themselves for the woman.
From a world that was extremely aggressive and worshipped strength hierarchies.
Compared to puny Earth, the gap was brutally vast.
Pure curiosity flickered in the watching hunters' eyes.
What would he do?
Bow down and submit? Or thrash around to cling to his tiny shred of pride?
Either way, it'd make for a fun little spectacle.
"Do I have any reason to fight you? We're all hunters here—we should be working together on the raid."
"All hunters?"
The woman tilted her head.
To Do-yoon, it looked like a beauty striking a pose, but she was expressing displeasure.
"You and I being the same kind of hunter? How insulting. What a bold male."
"It's starting to bug me hearing that. Why keep calling it 'male' like that? Does that make you a female then?"
"...What?"
"I'm just trying to understand since it's a different world. Is that how you refer to gender?"
Instead of the hardening beauty with black hair, another hunter voiced his regret.
"Guy's got a death wish."
No one here could afford to mess with that woman.
A powerhouse.
You knew it instinctively, even without clashing strength.
She was someone you absolutely didn't want as an enemy.
"Just hit him. Violence is the answer."
And so, inevitably.
The woman raised her hand and swung at Do-yoon.
-Fwoosh!!
Mana seeping from every action meant her internal circuits were fully stabilized.
No need to draw a weapon against a weakling.
Her bare hand was plenty.
'Pretty face, if only she'd fix that attitude.'
With that confidence.
Her hand mercilessly flew toward Do-yoon's cheek.
-Thud.
"Huh?"
But seeing her own wrist so easily blocked by Do-yoon's hand.
The woman let out a dumbstruck reaction.
"This woman, seriously."
This was too much.
Being rude on first meeting was one thing—arrogant types often were.
But outright violence? That crossed a line.
'Over the top.'
Do-yoon glared at her with clear displeasure.
"Hey."
"...Huh?"
"This is self-defense, right?"
Hunter response rule number one.
Strike first before getting hit.
As Do-yoon roughly shoved the woman's shoulder per the teaching.
"Stop."
The beastman man, who had approached unnoticed, mediated between Do-yoon and the woman.
"Why?"
Do-yoon looked at the man.
'What kind of eyes...'
Still that same serene gaze from before.
The beastman man felt an inexplicable chill from eyes that treated what he was doing as a given.
"If things escalate here, the mood'll sour. You said it yourself—we need to get along with the other hunters to raid the floor."
"But she started it—"
"She's on edge and slipped up. As you can see, we've been stuck in this space for months before you arrived."
"..."
Do-yoon took a moment to collect his thoughts.
He was still gripping the woman's wrist.
"Sigh."
Deciding to show mercy, Do-yoon released her wrist and spoke.
"Be careful."
"..."
The woman's shoulders trembled faintly.
Her face showed a whirlwind of thoughts.
"...Am I seeing this right?"
"He blocked it? That easily?"
A ripple of murmurs spread, but Do-yoon didn't care.
"Don't say 'male' to people's faces, and next time use names. I'm Kim Do-yoon."
Do-yoon's gaze shifted to the other hunters.
Kim Do-yoon.
His name burned itself fiercely into their minds at that moment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thinking the situation had settled, Do-yoon stepped out.
To update the gallery on recent events.
"Call me if you need me. I'm out."
-Creak...
As the worn door opened with a groan behind him, the remaining hunters murmured about the man named Do-yoon, still lost in the aftertaste.
"Wasn't he from Earth?"
"Looks like it. I've seen Earth hunters' gear before."
"But how did he just..."
"Hey, shh."
A hunter trying to recap aloud was quickly hushed by another.
Their eyes turned to the woman still standing blankly in the center of the meeting room.
Staring down at her own roughly gripped wrist.
Like someone utterly defeated, she replayed the scene over and over in the swamp of heavy emotions.
And rightly so—the result was ridiculously pathetic compared to her bold words.
'Mana.'
The moment her mana touched the hand of the man called Do-yoon, it vanished effortlessly.
Not even resisted—just gone.
Had she ever experienced this in her life?
'No.'
She could say it with certainty.
Never, not once.
"...How dare you."
-Crunch!
The woman bared her fury and hostility.
Not content with being weak and loudmouthed, he'd humiliated her with that pathetic trick?
In the middle of the room, with everyone watching?
'Rakiya. Never show weakness.'
Her senior hunter's teaching flashed vividly in her mind.
"...Next time."
Rakiya Bells.
She, raised in a world that worshipped the black dragon where women were stronger than men.
Engraved Do-yoon's existence deep in her heart.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Boss Mob Gallery (My Post) Title: Made it to the 5th Floor (Photo of the themed stage village) -First time here and there's so much crazy stuff. Feels straight out of a medieval fantasy lolololol My eyes are having a blast Ran into some hunters in the waiting room too, and yeah, there were some sketchy ones like you guys mentioned Even picked a fight with me ㅇㅇ; 💬 Comments — Anonymous A fight? Hunters gonna hunter, ruining first impressions like always — Anonymous So you killed 'em? — Me (OP) First meeting, so just talked it out and done — Anonymous You let 'em live? — Anonymous Already feeling uneasy af; Newbie, you didn't forget what we told ya? ⭐ Top Comment — Aged Wine is... Hoooe...! Any rotten hunter who messes with our newbie gets punished by the newbie himself...! — Anonymous If you touch him the tower might collapse;; — Anonymous Yeah yeah, don't move — Paper Enthusiast He's done well so far, so I trust he'll handle it, but still kinda anxious — War God Beep boop beep! — Anonymous Long time no see, Beepster — Anonymous Nah it was Beepboop? — Anonymous No no it's Qu-Beep ; 📰 Boss Mob Gallery Title: First time seeing a waiting room pic -So freaking cool lolololol Living long enough to see pics of hunters living all huddled up — Anonymous Fr lololol hunters living it up — Anonymous But looks kinda cramped? They all really crammed in there? — Anonymous Teacher, don't judge by your huge ass size — Anonymous Looks small from a big boi perspective, but that's village-sized for newbie bod — Me (OP) Yeah spot on 📰 Boss Mob Gallery Title: Newbie, got any more pics? -Stuck here all day so the outside world looks insane If possible, could ya snap some more... — Me (OP) Pics are easy — Anonymous Kyaaaaaaa;;;;; — Poster Thanks... — Anonymous Newbie is god! Newbie is god! Newbie is god! — Anonymous Heuuung... Got all hyped thanks to newbie... — Anonymous Fuckin boomer Sensing the gallery users' bittersweet pleas, Do-yoon happily uploaded more photos of the village scenery.
After spending the day in an inn room in the village and heading back to the waiting room at another hunter's call.
"Raid date's set."
"Oh! When?!"
The mad hunter from yesterday was there too.
The beastman man confirmed the assembled hunters and got straight to briefing the plan.
"Strategy briefing today, full raid starts tomorrow."
The real raid was finally about to begin.
"..."
Ignoring the black-haired beauty staring right at him—
Do-yoon focused on the beastman hunter's words, grinning with excitement for the raid ahead.