079. The End of the First Journey
The path to survival is never smooth. Probably why even herbivores sharpen their own weapons in their own way. And Lee Yeon-ju was no exception.
This week's Hunter Survival. She must have faced dead-end situations like this countless times. Naturally, she had experience with them and knew how to cope. It was just that things were turning rapidly disadvantageous, so she didn't welcome it.
Lee Yeon-ju gritted her teeth and hurled a bomb resembling a Mana Bomber at her opponent.
"What, wanna die together?"
The opponent, seeing it as desperation, laughed and sliced the bomb cleanly in half. But surprisingly, it detonated without a hitch.
'Not a bomb?!'
Sensory Smoke
What erupted was none other than smoke. High-concentration mana particles designed to confuse the senses. It was one of the special mana equipment Lee Chang-hyun had handed her. The moment it triggered, she bolted toward the opposite end of the dead-end path.
"Where...!"
The SMB player naturally tracked her presence by sound and moved to block, but hesitated in the smoke. In that instant, something black surged from the air and bound her.
Huff... huff...
She burst through the smoke in a flash. To buy her teammates even a little more time, Lee Yeon-ju kept running.
Sudden regret washed over her. 'Did I tell Chang-hyun to come here for nothing?'
If she got eliminated soon, the opponent would head elsewhere. Lee Chang-hyun would waste time on a fruitless trip. Meanwhile, another teammate would fall.
Negative thoughts chained together as she sensed the opponent's position shifting rapidly.
'Already...!'
The sensory disruption wouldn't last long, and the opponent had acutely sensitive hearing. They'd catch up soon. No time left.
Lee Yeon-ju yanked open the door to a nearby spaceship corridor room and slipped inside. Futuristic angular furniture filled her view.
'This...'
She pressed a button, and a capsule bed emerged from the wall. Designed for sleeping inside, it looked perfect for hiding. Seeing it sparked a brilliant idea. Maybe even one to blast the opponent away.
***
SMB's Park Sun-mi. She was something of an ace striker in SMB, and right now, she was thoroughly pissed. From the team status board, several teammates had already fallen to the enemy—not enough that this 3rd-division trash was bothering her too.
"If you can't do shit, just get eliminated quietly, you pest."
Thought she'd cornered her in the dead end, but the girl chucked a mana dust bomb and fled. It temporarily crippled her superpower, Enhanced Hearing: A.
Enhanced Hearing: A
But only temporarily. Soon her senses normalized, and the fleeing presence sharpened into focus.
'Huff... run all you want, trash.'
She'd already gauged the opponent's mobility and combat power. The binding ability was annoying, but hardly a threat.
With little caution, she shoved open the door where the presence lingered.
"Here?"
A room crammed with glass furniture and machines. Strangely, the huge floor-to-ceiling glass wall was shattered.
'No way she jumped...?'
The thought flickered. Then, from the silent room, a tiny sound. One only Enhanced Hearing: A would catch—from a wall capsule.
'Oh ho...'
Seemed she'd shattered the glass to muffle external noise and divert eyes...
"Then you shouldn't have made a peep inside!"
Grinning, she hit the button. The capsule slid out. Synced with it, she stabbed at the voice's source.
But inside: earphones and a Mana Bomber.
Boom boom boom!!
***
Boom boom boom!
At the same time, behind a massive machine in the room's shadowed corner, out of Park Sun-mi's sight, Lee Yeon-ju held her breath, watching the blast site.
'Got her...?'
Extreme tension? The explosion's echo lingered, her breaths roaring loud. Something burned hot.
But briefly. Rustle. Rustle.
Movement from the collapsed debris. Incredibly, Park Sun-mi rose, blood streaming from her head.
She'd maxed her mana shield on instinct to blunt the shock.
"You..."
Incredibly, she locked eyes on Lee Yeon-ju through the dust. Heard something? Vivid blood trails from her head, eyes gleaming sharp crimson. Pure kill intent.
The aura chilled beyond fear, eerie. But Lee Yeon-ju's instinct screamed.
'Now's the last chance...'
Dazed state—bind her and land the finishing blow. Only way.
As she channeled her binding skill again, something hurtled at her.
'Fist...?'
Thud.
Air dash leap—happened before she registered.
"You fucking 3rd-league bitch dares... DARES!"
True 2nd-division caliber; her power felt impressive for surviving this long.
'Ah... out like this.'
No escape now. Mana gear depleted, no shake-off possible.
Yet her heart felt strangely at peace.
Different from before.
'Still... if it were the old me... long gone.'
Might not have even considered fleeing. Frozen by the wall. Terrified of the relentless pursuit. Ended doing nothing.
But now? Wall or no wall, pursuit be damned—she hadn't quit. Hit down? She'd roll on the floor to win.
'This is pretty good, right?'
The moment elimination sank in.
Swoooosh—
Thud.
A breeze whistled through the broken window into the dusty spaceship interior. Two gunshots cracked.
Bang bang!
Thud.
A familiar voice rang out. Not from earphones—from just beyond.
"What, you still alive?"
Beyond the fallen foe stood Lee Chang-hyun, flashing a playful grin.
***
In the spaceship room with its shattered glass wall, broken machines and furniture testified to the brutal fight. Charred scorch marks, swirling ash. A fresh corpse, head pierced by bullet, blood pooled thick.
'And Lee Yeon-ju...'
She wasn't unscathed either. Blood matted her hair. Yet she smiled.
"Smiling means you're fine, huh? Well, pain ain't 1st-league real."
"What're you..."
Once barely spoke; now chatty, even sassy. Didn't mind it.
Soon, the match-end chime blared.
The match ends.
As planned, Yoon Han-gyeol and Kim Do-jun had cleaned up the rest.
'Passed them the relic from the spaceship; opponent lacked Air Anchor and Air Beat, so outside fight favored us.'
Even so, they'd all exceeded expectations. Most shocking? Lee Yeon-ju's growth.
"Good work."
"Waaaaaaah!!!"
Outside the stadium, cheers roared hotter than believable for a 2nd-division promotion match. The 3rd-division underdog's win after five years—grit and bullheaded tenacity shining through adversity—had captivated the crowd.
Kim Do-jun waved to the stands like a fish to water; Lee Yeon-ju bowed her head. The others looked moved, eyes misty.
'Just hit 2nd and they're like this...'
Tongue click, but a smile crept naturally onto his face. One of the few post-regression memories worth keeping. Members once hopeless for answers, now each pulling their weight. Is this what nurturing feels like?
Then a booming voice filled the stadium.
***
After Yoo Hye-ju left, the RIX waiting room sat empty—save for one. Couldn't bear to leave the stadium in torment, slumped there. Even alone, the world churned on.
The screen broadcast PER vs. SMB live. Relay, map selection, commentator spiel.
A match thought unwinnable. Knew from SMB's practice with RIX. Knew from their loss to 2nd-division QQ.
Lee Chang-hyun's early fights impressed but seemed plausible. Talented guy.
But as it dragged, the unbelievable unfolded. PER members—thought scrub-tier sans a few—overcame SMB.
Soon, the end chime.
'PER beats SMB...'
Unbelievable, even watching start to finish.
But had they pulled godlike plays? Nah. No special powers, no wild tactics.
Just traces of extra thought, agony. Bullheaded clinging to the end.
They weren't prodigies lapping RIX.
Only then the realization: paths ahead, potentials untapped.
Not doomed to fade talentless in 3rd.
Talent drought might halt someday—but not now. PER showed one fork of possibility.
If RIX practiced harder. Pondered new angles.
Promotion not total wipeout; paths forward existed, maybe miracles too.
Cursed the world for no 2nd scout, nameless 3rd drifter.
Yet even I out-talented that PER support.
Reflect on today's loss, prep next calmly.
Surely, my legs would stand in 2nd someday.
'Yeah... 3rd's just the start of a long journey.'
Keep walking, falls be damned. Eyes forward, not down.
I wasn't some nameless RIX senior or fading 3rd-division ghost.
I was RIX's Kim Jeong-ho.