Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: 17. Countdown (7)
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It was a disconcerting question.
Even as Jeong Chan-woo, it was an offer plenty tempting enough, but he hadn't expected it to be thrown back at him like this.
'A test?'
Her intentions were unclear.
If she truly saw something lacking, she'd say it straight, but... Yoo Soo-young interpreted it in a completely different way.
'Maybe she's trying to get me to acknowledge her value instead. Better to be honest about what I felt than to nitpick unnecessarily.'
"...Well. I didn't notice any shortcomings in your play, Mr. Jeong Chan-woo. You covered the spaces at just the right moments, even timing your skill cooldowns to secure positions. That's why I made this offer—I'm convinced we'd generate tremendous synergy together."
"I see."
Jeong Chan-woo's response was impassive.
Her guess had been off.
Jeong Chan-woo had genuinely wanted Yoo Soo-young to point out his flaws.
At least, that's what Kang San would have done.
"At the end, when we faced that pack of red trolls. I felt my defensive approach wasn't all that efficient. Trolls are low-intelligence monsters, so if you lure them into position, you can fight them exactly where you want. In that last battle, there was tight terrain, and the backline dealers were prepping area attacks. If I'd had the capacity to handle those three trolls in the rear at once, I could've safely herded them and created an ideal cleanup situation. Call that a personal shortcoming."
His explanation went on and on.
Like a chain, Jeong Chan-woo kept listing them out.
"During the raid, I misjudged skill cooldowns multiple times, throwing off timings by two or three seconds. A C-rank dungeon is manageable enough that no issues arose, but those subtle mismatches could spell trouble later. 'First hunt' isn't an excuse. The one who taught me tanking said it plain: if you die to variables, excuses mean nothing."
"...Ah."
Her mind went blank.
It didn't make sense.
It was excessive.
If he was accounting for and regretting every little thing like this, no play in the world would ever be flawless.
That must have been why.
Without thinking, she asked,
"Do you really need to go that far?"
Yoo Soo-young's reaction.
Jeong Chan-woo understood.
He'd been the same once.
But after experiencing Kang San, Jeong Chan-woo lived by different standards.
"Yes, I do. And based on that answer just now, I don't think we can team up. I know my own shortcomings all too well, so I can't join a party that doesn't see them."
Over the phone.
Manager Shin Jeong-geun's irritated voice came through.
[What the hell are you doing? You have to know when to accept an offer. You turned this one down too? It's not easy finding a new raid party from internal contacts anymore.]
"Then find one externally."
[No, wait...]
Click.
He hung up.
Shin Jeong-geun was always dissatisfied with Jeong Chan-woo's decisions.
Lately, Jeong Chan-woo had built a solid reputation through various raids, and as his manager, Shin Jeong-geun had done his duty by lining up parties. But Jeong Chan-woo rejected them every time. For absurd reasons like "they didn't spot my flaws." It frustrated Shin Jeong-geun to no end, but he had no desire to force unwanted jobs on him.
Jeong Chan-woo thought to himself.
He truly believed he was lacking.
'Anyone who's experienced Brother Kang San would react the same. I'm perfectly normal.'
He returned home.
Jeong Chan-woo hit play on the video he'd watched hundreds of times before.
[Pull the tanker back first!]
[But you can't handle...]
[Do it now! Damn it, we're all gonna die!]
The isolation incident.
It was footage of Kang San facing the Werewolf Lord, barely obtained through Heavenly Firmament connections from Hunter Management Bureau archives.
In the video.
Kang San defied common sense.
With D-rank stats against an A-rank Werewolf Lord—an impossibility. Defensive plays seemed the only option, yet he charged in recklessly. Nothing in that one video was ordinary. That's why it captivated him. Reviewing it daily made his own play look deficient, and no amount of thumbs-ups from others could satisfy him.
Todays raid.
How would Kang San rate it?
He might nitpick even more points than the ones Jeong Chan-woo already saw as flaws.
His ideal.
He wanted to be like Kang San.
At home, they always told him to inherit the family business, but unlike his brother and sister, Jeong Chan-woo had a dream.
Like Kang San.
He wanted to save people.
Like Kang San.
He wanted people to trust him.
Maybe it was a naive young adult's reckless dream, but recent raids—where his reputation had shifted—only strengthened his resolve. Every single one of dozens of raids ended with party invites. This was the right path. That's why he refused to drift from Kang San.
He felt uneasy.
Hadn't Kang San warned him?
If the gap widened, they might not be able to stay together.
'I absolutely can't let that happen.'
Jeong Chan-woo replayed the video.
This time, it was today's raid footage.
Watched it countless times.
Imagined it endlessly.
In Kang San's style.
He'd long forgotten Heavenly Firmament's safety net.
Two months exactly since Kang San entered training camp. Jeong Chan-woo had been grinding through his own not-so-easy days.
At that moment.
It wasn't just Jeong Chan-woo feeling the heat.
Seoul Premium Training Grounds.
In that exclusive spot money alone couldn't buy entry to, Yeon Woo-bin unleashed magic at the surging monsters.
"Inferno."
"Wind Blade."
A flood of flames.
Fierce winds whipping up alongside.
Blazing inferno swept the monsters away.
D-rank trolls resisted magic well, but as their hides crackled and burned, they howled in agony. Too early to relax, though. The training ground's goal was monster containment. Yeon Woo-bin stood safely atop the wall, but crossing the marked line on the floor meant failure.
Thus.
A few kills didn't end it.
The endless monster wave trampled charred corpses, pushing toward the line.
Then.
"Rapid Fire."
Papapap!
Behind Yeon Woo-bin.
Jo Han-byeol loosed arrows.
He targeted outliers in the troll pack or unfinished threats. Timely shots halted the advancing groups at the line. His fingerprints worn raw and bandaged from endless training, but Jo Han-byeol never stopped firing with bloodied hands.
One shot.
Thud-!
One shot.
Splat-!
Trolls dropped.
Inexperienced archers missed often, but Jo Han-byeol held focus even now.
Thanks to him, Yeon Woo-bin bought time.
Circling mana, he invoked a powerful fire spell.
"Salamander's Breath."
Whoosh.
Roooarrrrr.
Perfect synergy.
Like meshing gears, their attacks exchanged seamlessly, ensuring no trolls crossed the line no matter how many charged. They paced their breathing. Dozens or hundreds—it didn't matter. Overextending stamina led to disaster, a lesson burned in deep.
Pour it on explosively.
But controlled.
Their goal was clear.
Finally, after one hour of training, not a single troll had breached the line.
Drenched in sweat.
Yeon Woo-bin, towel over his head, checked the record.
"...1 meter 80 from the line. Considering the starting distance, we were basically on the verge of a breach."
"Still, we held better than before, right? A few days ago, they broke through every time."
"No. This wasn't holding."
Jo Han-byeol's words.
Yeon Woo-bin shook his head.
"Me or you—we could focus purely on attacking with total safety guaranteed. D-rank trolls have tough hides, sure, but with my C-rank and your D-rank firepower, we should've sealed it airtight. When Brother Kang San returns, it'll be our chance to prove we're worthy of him. I refuse to show anything less."
"True enough."
Jeong Chan-woo and the rest.
They all knew instinctively.
Werewolf Lord incident.
A sign Kang San had entered another world.
And now he'd announced secluded training. If they couldn't match his level, what then?
The skill gap would end it. No matter Yeon Woo-bin's talent, he couldn't stay with Kang San. None of them wanted that. Kang San was the most reliable tanker they'd known. Ant cave, Director Yeon Gyu-seong's test—countless crises, but with him, victory was certain. They wanted to keep going together. While craving his sudden trial-forged strength, they'd spent the last two months training relentlessly.
Yeon Woo-bin said,
"Two dealers, two tankers. In this setup, firepower's our only gap. With faith in Brother Kang San protecting us, we need to deliver firepower beyond expectations. One hour rest, then afternoon session. Training grounds close soon."
"Again...?"
"Hyung."
"Fine, fine. Woo-bin. Not kidding—you've got that wild glint in your eyes lately."
Jo Han-byeol laughed it off.
Whining as it sounded, he didn't hate this.
Every night.
He did solo sessions too.
Fingers blistered, fingerprints gone.
Recalling talks with Kang San meant firing a thousand arrows daily to calm his nerves.
Sometimes parents asked.
Why push so hard?
Jo Han-byeol and Yeon Woo-bin never voiced the truth.
Someday, an overwhelming disaster would strike.
Like the family tragedies that cost them loved ones, with Kang San, any crisis felt solvable. Just the isolation incident: A-rank Werewolf Lord needed B-rank hunters like Kim Myung-min, Joo Seok-hoon, Yoon Ji-tae to handle. But when lives hung by a thread, Kang San shone brightest.
That was Kang San.
Ant cave collapse.
Director Yeon Gyu-seong's test.
Whenever common sense said impossible, he shattered it without fail.
That's why.
They wanted to stay by his side.
Heeding his warning, give it everything.
One month from now.
They'd team with Jeong Chan-woo for separate raids.
Individual training was good, but honing the trio's synergy mattered too.
If Kang San returned to a stunningly improved trio, his awe would be perfect.
"Let's go again."
Jo Han-byeol rising.
Following him, Yeon Woo-bin's back showed no fear of monsters anymore.
A repeating pattern.
Stats no longer rose, nor did Blood Demon Art.
Yet Kang San persisted in the loop.
Darkness blanketed the space.
Swish.
Kang San moved.
No monster presences yet, but his sharpened senses detected enemies first.
One week left.
The grueling eleventh trial finally neared its end.