The Way Forward
“Hey, how’d your debut go?”
“……”
At Jo Yeon-hwa’s question, Ryu Jae-jun—who usually snapped back with biting retorts—responded only with silence. Something felt off. He’d picked up the phone, so he was listening, but he wasn’t answering? That meant he didn’t want to talk.
And if Ryu Jae-jun didn’t want to talk? His debut match must’ve gone south, big time.
His reaction made her want to pull up the match replay herself. He wouldn’t give her a straight answer now that he’d lost, anyway.
She could understand his turmoil, to some extent. He’d probably figured himself on her level, thought the 3rd Division League was a joke. Experiencing a bitter defeat this early couldn’t feel good.
But understanding was one thing. Maybe because they’d trained together under Lee Geun-taek and Jo Jun-ho, her words ended up digging right into his wounds.
“Hello? Why aren’t you answering? Don’t tell me… you lost? In the 3rd Division?”
Imagining him fuming made her feel a little better. She could practically see him trembling with rage on the other end of the line.
“You said the 1st Division was no big deal, and you got wrecked by 3rd Division scrubs? Amateurs, basically?”
“Hey!”
“Why are you yelling all of a sudden?”
“If you’re just gonna talk shit, I’m hanging up.”
He really seemed pissed. But seeing the prideful Ryu Jae-jun broken and mentally rattled wasn’t something she could witness every day, so she had no intention of letting him off.
“Or was the opponent tougher than expected? I heard he’s pretty famous. What do you think?”
“Tough? It’s all the same level in 3rd Division.”
“Then why’d you lose?”
“An unexpected situation threw me off for a moment. That’s all.”
“Sure, sure~ Let’s go with that.”
With that, Ryu Jae-jun hung up.
Well, yeah. Back when they trained together, he’d always been the type to seethe like he’d die if he lost to her. He must’ve seen himself on par with at least 1st Division players, only to get crushed by some 3rd Division nobody. His pride had to be in tatters.
‘But that Lee Chang-hyun guy… maybe…’
No. That was jumping to conclusions. She let out a sigh. She was pretty shaken up herself, mentally.
Strong or weak—what did it matter? She was letting some pointless argument from last time get to her, doing things she’d never do.
A wave of self-pity crashed over her. No matter what he said, no matter how talented he was, nothing changed for her. She was up against a wall, already contemplating retirement at her age. Stuck in place.
‘Screw this.’
She had no idea why she was wasting time like this. The urge to check his match footage faded. Instead, she needed to head to the Hunter Union Training Facility to quiet her tangled thoughts.
No matter how many worries swirled in her head, throwing herself into mindless fights and spars let her focus solely on the moment. That was her one mental sanctuary.
Pushing aside her complicated feelings, she headed to the facility to clear her mind.
What’s the most important thing to become a top Hunters League player?
If you had to pick one, it’s talent, obviously. This game divides players sharply by skill limits and stat caps. Without talent, you’re left behind—no way around it. Even if you cover for it with mana gear or other tech, the innate starting line is just too different; you’re at a massive disadvantage.
But does talent alone get you to the top? Surprisingly, no. There are countless talented people out there, as many as Earth’s population. And in the hunter world, aside from a handful with overwhelming talent and skills, everyone’s about equal.
What separates the elite from the rest? How well you define your “direction” based on what you’ve got—how to become the player you’re meant to be.
With my Piercing Eye, I can read how a skill might be used, its limits, its potential. But others don’t get that luxury. They stumble through trial and error, patching together what works after awakening.
Figuring out their position in the Hunters League, how to advance—without guidance.
‘Self-study without a mentor? Unless you’re a genius, you won’t break out of average.’
Even with talent, it holds true. That’s why a team’s infrastructure for nurturing hunters is a key evaluation factor. Teams like LTD, with their tiered system across 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Divisions, get high marks for that reason.
Yoon Han-gyeol must’ve thrived on constant coaching in his original life with a powerhouse team. That’s why I had to handle him personally.
If I left him to his own devices, thinking he’d figure it out, he might stagnate.
“Yoon Han-gyeol. Get it now? Your swords’ greatest strength is they don’t use a ‘human body,’ so they ignore all the ‘defensive aspects’ of swordsmanship entirely.”
It took effort, but there was no choice. ‘Good thing I was right here to catch what he blindly accepted…’
If she’d moved on assuming he understood, the next match would’ve been a disaster.
Thankfully, this one-on-one session got through to him. He seemed to grasp his mistakes.
“……I get it. What you meant by not thinking in terms of conventional swordsmanship.”
Yoon Han-gyeol nodded gravely. Still, after getting smacked once, trust didn’t come easy.
“Feeling confident?”
“A few ideas are coming to mind.”
“Let’s run another ranking match. I’ll point out what still needs work.”
His eyes widened briefly at that, then he smiled. Probably confidence he could show something new.
“Got it.”
‘No way… what are the odds…’
Jo Yeon-hwa, who’d come to the Hunter Union Training Facility to clear her head, just sighed. She’d planned to sweat it out in ranking matches, focusing only on her opponent. Never imagined the guy messing with her mind would be there.
Well, since she was here, and he intrigued her, she decided to watch from behind.
Lee Chang-hyun was coaching a teammate with his coach, watching closely. A dealer who hurled swords with his ability.
‘Decent skill. But his style’s a mess.’
Throwing swords like projectiles? Rootless brawling. Or maybe the ability limited fine control?
The thought passed as the match ended. He got advice from Lee Chang-hyun and came back transformed—fighting ideally, just as she’d envisioned.
Three swords flying in sync. The opponent had to block what felt like a three-man assault, each sword striking independently.
‘Right. That’s how sword control should look.’
Unbelievable for 3rd Division. He’d rise fast.
The winner returned to Lee Chang-hyun for more advice—heavy atmosphere, like something was wrong and needed fixing.
‘At that level, only way is refining swordsmanship basics, right…?’
Advice like that doesn’t transmit by words alone, nor grow skills overnight. Did he really need to say it now?
But the next ranking match changed her mind.
Three swords launched simultaneously again. But something was different. Hard to pinpoint.
They unfolded swordplay individually, yet…
Puk—.
The outcome was anticlimactically swift, unlike before. The sword-hurler won.
‘What…? Weaker opponent?’
He clearly changed after the advice, but what exactly eluded her.
Well, swordsmanship grows leaps from tiny insights. Or maybe just a softer matchup.
Back to Lee Chang-hyun, more instructions…
This opponent was tough: low-tier 1st Division, solid frontline melee dealer. Skilled with swords, so the kid should get crushed despite three blades—skill gap too wide.
That’s what she figured. The boy’s potential was high, but raw power and technique weren’t 1st Division yet.
But another unbelievable result followed.
Ridiculously easy. Anticlimactic, echoing the last win—even simpler. The swords flew, struck in formation; the melee parried a few times, then a subtle… attack cleaved him.
‘No way… letting an attack through that easily?’
It didn’t make sense. Something felt missed, nagging. Like he threw the fight.
All from Lee Chang-hyun’s brief sword advice.
No way a short talk changes much. Yet swordplay shifted—subtly, minutely.
And that led to victory. That was Lee Chang-hyun’s input.
Jo Yeon-hwa only learned swords from Jo Jun-ho as a kid; she couldn’t pinpoint it now.
Still… an inexplicable curiosity and strangeness welled up toward him.
‘Maybe… turning a 3rd Division winless team to #1 wasn’t luck or chance…’
That thought hit her.
And though it might be false hope… maybe she too hid a path forward, like that sword-hurler.
Such thoughts stirred within her.