The Level 40 Warrior, Lee Sang-yeop
Those who recently applied for rank advancement may already be aware through prior embargo, but these changes take official effect as of today.
Level thresholds serve as general benchmarks; final rank certification is determined through demonstrated combat proficiency and gate subjugation evaluations.
The hunter rank criteria had officially changed. While the news was only breaking to the general public now, I had caught wind of it well in advance.
The moment I reached Level 36, I had intended to apply for B-rank right away. With our guild's combat strength, getting B-rank on the spot wouldn't have been an issue, but promotions had been completely frozen during the interim before the official announcement.
Even after the revision went live, I could have applied immediately. Our track record spoke for itself. Yet, I deliberately held off.
There's a reason I've always matched the level baseline before applying.
When you stand under the spotlight, every single step you take gets dissected. Rank evaluations were no exception. I needed to tread carefully.
The association claimed that level was merely a guideline and that evaluations depended on demonstrated skill and raid history, but that was mostly because hardly anyone ever promoted early in the first place.
Starting from C-rank, you typically needed to be at least two or three levels above the minimum requirement before an advancement was granted.
Under the old system, you generally had to reach Level 28 or 29 just to get into C-rank. Only an exceptional few jumped the gun the instant they hit the benchmark.
Under the new rules, rushing an early promotion served no real purpose. It would only paint a target on my back and invite scrutiny. The slight difference in benefits was well worth enduring. In fact, Seo Woong had actively advised me to wait until Level 41.
"Once the current Association President steps down, the master of Dae-eop Guild could very well take the seat. If that happens, they might seize on anything to cry favoritism."
"Of course, we are well aware of your capabilities. If this were even a year ago, we would have approved it without a second thought... I can only apologize."
I appreciated the advice, knowing he gave it to steer me clear of future political headaches. I agreed with him anyway.
The root of every annoyance was Dae-eop Guild. It would be best if the current Association President could simply stay in office, but...
The law prohibited consecutive terms. It was codified, leaving me powerless to change it. I couldn't exactly go hold a protest in the streets, nor was it something Lee Shinhee's grandfather could overturn with a snap of his fingers.
I can't stand unnecessary hassles.
Ultimately, there was only one solution: rapid growth. If I climbed to an overwhelming height, there wouldn't be room for anyone to challenge me.
Right now, our guild ranking was capped slightly above the middle tier, but that would sort itself out as we leveled up. Gates above Level 50 offered vastly higher guild evaluation points because hunters capable of clearing them were practically non-existent.
I hadn't stressed over our guild rank for that very reason. Time would resolve it.
Whether it's Liu Zhen, Dae-eop Guild... or even Übermensch.
The remedy for every nuisance was the same: get stronger. I wasn't worried. Hadn't I been shattering world records at every step? All I had to do was keep moving forward.
Of course, before embarking on the next phase, there was one last chore to finish—the final touch on solidifying my foundation. It was time to put everything I had honed to the test in a spar.
"Ready, Uncle?"
"Always."
Since Shin Chang was currently inside a gate, my first match would be with my former swordsmanship instructor, Lee Sang-yeop.
"Good work."
"Whew, good work."
Lee Sang-yeop smiled as he concluded his spar with the Dragon Knight. This was his second time observing the man in combat. During the Trial of Mana, he hadn't seen the Dragon Knight wield a spear, so he had looked forward to this session.
Not bad.
Setting aside his distant past, it had only been a few months since the man had taken up the spear again—the exact same amount of time as Han Hye standing beside him. Considering that, the Dragon Knight's spearplay was remarkably solid.
Coldly speaking, he didn't appear to possess monstrous genius with the weapon, but for his class, that wasn't strictly necessary. Especially given that his primary combat style involved riding atop a dragon. If a Dragon Knight had to dismount and fight on foot, circumstances had already turned catastrophic.
A talent like Han Hye isn't something you come across twice.
The Spatial Mage, Han Hye, had stunned him from the moment they first crossed blades. Sang-yeop's past praise hadn't been empty flattery. In his eyes, the young man was sharper than a knight. Among everyone he had ever seen, Han Hye had the finest aptitude for the sword.
And during their second spar, Sang-yeop had been outright horrified. Han Hye had progressed far faster than anyone could have imagined. The gap between him and Sang-yeop—built over years of swinging a blade—was shrinking at an alarming pace.
"Shall we take a short breather?"
"Yes. About ten minutes should do."
And now, having sparred regularly...
Sang-yeop felt a prickle of nerves. With every session, he could feel the distance closing. Naturally, it wasn't just about swordsmanship; there was also the stat disparity.
When they first sparred, Sang-yeop had held back his strength. Lately, however, it was the other way around. He could tell Han Hye was the one pulling his punches. Whenever an urgent defense forced Han Hye to react, his burst speed and power defied imagination.
As a warrior, Sang-yeop was supposed to have allocated his stat points far more aggressively into physical attributes than any Spatial Mage, yet he couldn't even fathom Han Hye's stat pool.
"Shall we?"
"Let's."
And this time, Han Hye was even stronger than before.
The fusion of Cresea Swordsmanship and Fighting Rooster. On defense, his Imperial Basic Swordsmanship formed an impenetrable wall despite being an E-rank form.
Clack!
Clack!
Wooden practice swords collided in rapid bursts. The swift sword techniques Sang-yeop had once offered guidance on had long since evolved beyond his ability to advise. Han Hye had internalized the tips from both Shin Chang and Sang-yeop, refining them completely within the crucible of gate battles.
This was no longer the swift sword that Sang-yeop could parry with casual ease. Thrusts that looked textbook-orthodox would suddenly bend their trajectories mid-strike. The problem was how impossible they were to predict.
Is it a textbook thrust, or a feinted variant?
Reacting visually left you half a beat too slow against the standard swift sword; trying to anticipate got you caught by the altered trajectory.
What made it worse was that his hand-to-hand martial arts were now bleeding seamlessly into his swordplay, amplifying the swift sword's lethality. And whenever Sang-yeop attempted a counter, the defensive sword form Han Hye had carried since the beginner workshop proved rock-solid.
Despite being two entirely disparate sword styles, they complemented each other flawlessly.
"Hup!"
With a sharp exhale, Han Hye parried Sang-yeop's blade, planted his left foot forward, and drove his right knee upward. A strike from the Fighting Rooster.
The instant Sang-yeop instinctively moved his left arm to block, Han Hye pivoted on his left foot, snapping his torso into a reverse spin.
A roundhouse kick?
Just as Sang-yeop braced for a kick, the wooden sword darted out from Han Hye's spinning flank, spearing straight into Sang-yeop's midsection.
Thud!
Dazzled by the feint with the right leg, he had lost track of the blade.
"Ugh!"
Sang-yeop winced, stumbling backward in pain.
"Ah, I'm so sorry! I only recently picked that up, so my control was..."
"I-It's quite alright."
It was not alright. It hurt like hell. He had anticipated a stat difference, but for it to pack this much force... Han Hye's physical power vastly exceeded anything he had imagined.
Just how high are this man's stats?
Right then, Han Hye asked with an earnest, innocent face:
"Sang-yeop-ssi."
"Yes?"
"Just now, wouldn't it have been better to step back and chop down with the deflected sword, or maybe step inward instead and sweep my left pivot leg?"
The moment he heard it, Sang-yeop realized he was right. He had been so fixated on the kick that he had misjudged the spacing. If he had maintained proper spatial awareness, he wouldn't have been caught.
Wait... step inward?
Stepping forward would have been far better. Close the distance and counter-thrust while taking away the opponent's leverage.
In that split second, a flash of insight struck Sang-yeop's mind. Simply by reimagining how to collapse the distance, his existing sword techniques unfurled in an entirely new dimension.
The skill Palgeo Swordsmanship (B-rank) has increased in level.
Distance was the absolute fundamental of combat, yet he had only ever focused on opening space rather than daring to choke it. Fighting monsters, his instinct had always been to prioritize maximum safety, which naturally led him to neglect closing the gap.
"Ah... did you let me hit you on purpose again?"
Han Hye, seeing Sang-yeop's dazed expression after receiving the advice, asked casually with an innocent, naive smile. Because Sang-yeop's skill level was higher, there had been times in past spars where he knowingly took a hit to help Han Hye learn.
"...Excuse me?"
To Sang-yeop, who had been fighting with all his might, the question was devastating.
Was this beyond a humblebrag—was he straight-up teabagging him?
As the thought crossed his mind, an old memory resurfaced.
"Did you let me hit you on purpose, Master?"
"...Haha, of course I did."
Back when Sang-yeop was an inexperienced rookie, he had a swordsmanship instructor who had since retired. He had once asked his master the exact same thing.
Had his master felt this exact same humiliation back then? Except Sang-yeop refused to force a lie like his master had.
"...No."
"Pardon?"
"I didn't let you hit me on purpose. That was an exceptionally sharp strike."
Knowing Han Hye was a good person, Sang-yeop knew there wasn't a drop of malice in the question. He had meant no harm when he asked his master, either. Even so, a wound had inexplicably opened in Sang-yeop's pride.
"And... thank you."
"For what?"
"Thanks to you, Han Hye-ssi, my swordsmanship skill leveled up."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Aw, don't give me the credit. That's all because of your own skill, Sang-yeop-ssi. You were bound to level up soon anyway."
"Master, forgive me..." Sang-yeop muttered under his breath.
"?"
"That was great, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. Really good. Sang-yeop's got real skill, so it feels just like an actual battle. He parried everything so cleanly."
"See? I told you sparring with him was worth it. Real combat is fine and all, but no monster is gonna match our tempo and trade blows like that."
"We should do this often."
Uncle enjoyed the sparring just as much, which left me feeling satisfied. On top of that, Sang-yeop's skill leveled up. It was a bit of a shame that my own skill hadn't increased, but that was fine.
—Once your foundation is completely forged, your rate of growth will accelerate.
Chunbae had already reassured me. Sang-yeop had agreed as well.
—Han Hye-ssi, you've become far more fluid than before. Your skill hasn't leveled up yet, you said?
—No. It feels much smoother, but the level hasn't budged.
—It's likely because you're blending two styles—no, three, if we count your defensive form. When it finally clicks, they'll probably all level up at once.
Indeed, I was weaving the Fighting Rooster and Cresea Swordsmanship right on top of the Imperial Basic Swordsmanship. Rather than drilling a single skill, I had focused on reviewing and fusing everything I knew, so this plateau was only natural. Keep at it, and just like Sang-yeop said, they'd probably jump all together.
Afterward, I met up with the guild members at our guildhouse. The goal was to select our next gate, timed with the weekly public listing.
"Should we save our Priority Pass until Hancheol-ssi joins us?"
"Ideally, yes. But if something really good pops up, we might not have a choice."
That was fair. Even though he was our prospective member, we couldn't let a golden opportunity slip away just to wait for him. In fact, Hancheol would probably hate that even more.
Remember how he acted when we picked out the Hanwoo beef?
He was the type to beat himself up if he found out we missed a great gate just because we were being considerate of him.
And so, as we were combing through the newly posted gate announcements...
—Master Han Hye.
Chunbae spoke up.
—A gate containing Divinity has appeared.