The S-Class Hunters
"How were the new kids this time around?"
The question came casually from a man with an easy, open face.
"Excellent. Freshmen get stronger every year."
The answer came in clipped fragments from a taciturn man whose entire body was sheathed in a black leather bodysuit.
"Yeah, kids getting better with every passing year is a good thing, all right~"
Something about it still left him unsatisfied. He clicked his tongue and let the thought hang.
"Not enough."
"Haaah~ So you think so too, huh?"
The easygoing man nodded, agreeing with the black bodysuit's blunt assessment.
The two men trading words were hunters who had reached S-Class — a rank reserved for those who had mastered the art of slaying demons, counted among the finest in the world.
The warm-faced one was Kim Subin, the Psychic — the finest hunter of Korea's Giwon Guild. The taciturn man painted head to toe in black spandex was Kim Jin, the Black Wolf of Korea's Tamrang Guild.
They always sat in on the new students' first class at the Great Demon Subjugation Academy, partly to promote their guilds and partly to take the measure of fresh talent. And both of them were thinking the same thing.
At this rate, we're in trouble.
Day by day, human talent continued to bloom and advance. But time was fair to everyone, and those goddamn demons were advancing even faster than humanity. That fact applied even to S-Class hunters.
"Damn~ I don't suppose a hero's just gonna drop out of the sky like in some movie or novel, huh?"
Kim Subin chuckled to himself. It was ironic that a man the media hailed as the greatest hero of all was searching for a hero of his own. But standing at the very peak, he understood better than anyone just how precarious this world truly was.
His own talent was woefully insufficient. This wretched world was beyond saving.
"Huh?"
That was when a peculiar student caught Kim Subin's eye. A boy strolling along at a leisurely pace, idly spinning a sword that had no business existing at the Great Demon Subjugation Academy. He was muttering something to the empty air as he walked, and a black armband was strapped around his right arm.
"Hey, isn't that the Swordsman freshman the board approved this time?"
"Correct. Only Swordsman the board ever approved."
"Well, well~"
Kim Subin watched him with genuine interest. If that mysterious but undeniably powerful Board had acknowledged someone and authorized an entirely new class... just how much talent did that kid possess?
"Let's go say hello."
Kim Subin clapped Kim Jin on the shoulder and pointed toward their destination — the one and only Swordsman. Kim Jin nodded without a word, and the two of them started toward Jeong Jojun.
They approached without any particular expectations. But if they had known Jeong Jojun's true identity, they would have understood that he was their only hope. The pinnacle of raw talent — a man who had cleared Hard Mode with nothing but potential and physical ability, without a single skill. If they had known he was the Player — the protagonist of this world.
"That so?"
"Yes, Player."
I was trading pointless banter with Angel when a pair of men stepped into my path.
"Hey there."
A handsome guy with an easygoing face, and a taciturn man whose entire body was painted in a black bodysuit. Wait. That black bodysuit guy was the pretty-boy Alice had been gushing over today.
"Uh, hello?"
The easygoing one tried again, apparently thinking I'd ignored him.
"Ah, yes. Hello."
I gave a slight bow, and the easygoing guy smiled as he looked me over.
"You're that Swordsman, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. Why?"
Two strangers popping out of nowhere to ask if I was the Swordsman was plenty suspicious. I eyed the easygoing one warily. My stare seemed to throw him. He blinked at me.
"Huh? Wait, you don't know who I am?"
"Should I?"
"You seriously don't know me?"
His expression went from startled to flat-out incredulous as he pointed at himself.
Okay, so who the hell is this guy supposed to be?
Ah. Alice's words came back to me. The black bodysuit next to him was a shooter from the Tamrang Guild, and an S-Class hunter. Which meant I could put the rest together.
"Ahh~ Are you hunters from the Tamrang Guild?"
The easygoing guy looked even more stunned. The taciturn bodysuit, on the other hand, cracked a grin and confirmed it.
"Correct."
"Hold on! You know the Tamrang Guild and you still don't know me?!"
He let out a hollow laugh. I shrugged.
"I only found out about the Tamrang Guild today 'cause my childhood friend mentioned it."
The faint smile on the bodysuit guy's face vanished.
"Pffhahaha! You're a hilarious junior, you know that?!"
The easygoing guy burst out laughing at his partner's frozen expression and slung an arm around my shoulder like we were old friends.
I hate physical contact with other guys.
"So... why'd you stop me?"
I shoved his arm off my shoulder with obvious annoyance. He just kept laughing.
"What, a senior from the 180th class is just supposed to walk past a cute, talented junior like you? Come on."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card, holding it out to me.
"Here!"
"If you ever need a hand, give me a call, yeah? I don't just hand these out to anyone."
Kim Subin grinned slyly, watching my face like he expected me to be impressed.
"Ah. Okay."
An S-Class hunter could be useful, so I crumpled the card into my pocket. Kim Subin's face twitched.
The bodysuit guy smirked at that expression and wordlessly produced a black business card of his own.
"Our guild. Scout offer. Think it over, then call."
"Hey, aren't you coming on a little strong?"
Kim Subin stared at him, startled. The bodysuit guy just smiled at me.
The thought of him smiling at Alice with that face instantly soured my mood.
He waggled his eyebrows at me, watching with the same expectant look.
"Uh. Thanks."
I offered a halfhearted thanks and stuffed his card in my pocket the same way.
"Pffhahahaha!"
Kim Subin exploded with laughter. Kim Jin's face fell. Once he'd more or less gotten ahold of himself, Kim Subin spoke again.
"So, junior. You're wearing a black armband. You must be pretty good with that sword, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess."
He kept asking questions, so I gave him a lazy answer and tipped my head. Even my half-assed attitude seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and stepped closer.
"Just a sec."
His hand closed on my black armband. And the instant he touched it, a sharp, alien sensation rang through my brain — the feeling of something looking at me. I jerked my arm away, knocking his hand off.
"Oh? Did you notice?"
Kim Subin asked, looking genuinely curious.
"What the hell was that?"
I glared at him. He waved it off like it was nothing.
"Relax, it's no big deal. I just used Psychometry — one of my abilities — to see how you got that armband."
No big deal? Casually stealing someone's memories and acting like it was nothing — was that supposed to be normal?
"Okay, seriously, why do you keep bothering me?"
I didn't bother hiding the irritation in my voice. Kim Subin ignored it completely, looking at me with something like awe.
"Whoa. Yeah, I can see why the board approved you."
He reached over and tapped Kim Jin on the head. That same unpleasant, alien sensation bloomed through the air.
"This level. Swordsman more than earned."
He must have passed the memories he'd just read over to Kim Jin. Kim Jin looked at me and nodded in acknowledgment. So that sensation happened whenever memories were being read or transferred. That much was clear.
Have my senses gotten this sharp?
"KYAAAAAH! It's Kim Subin and Kim Jin!!"
A chorus of deranged screams erupted from the female students. I turned toward the noise. A stampede of girls was charging across campus like a herd of water buffalo. Kim Subin shrugged at me, as if to say, well?
"See? This is just how we are, junior."
"Correct."
They looked at me expectantly. I gave them a lazy thumbs-up.
"Wow. Seniors. You. Are. Amazing."
My answer seemed to satisfy him. Kim Subin chuckled, spun around with a flourish, and tossed one last line over his shoulder.
"See you around, junior. I've got a feeling we'll meet again."
With that, Kim Subin and Kim Jin took off, fleeing the oncoming tide of girls.
"KYAAAAAAAH!!"
The screaming girls were now coming straight at me.
Shit.
I turned and ran too.
The sun was going down. Layers of orange stacked beautifully across the sky. I leaned against the front gate, breathing in the sweet scent of grass thick with the smell of spring.
Pat-pat-pat.
In the distance, a girl came running toward me, her red twin-tails bouncing with every step.
"Did you wait long?"
Alice came up to me, blinking her red eyes. The height difference meant she had to look up at me, and she was so cute I reached out and stroked her red hair before I even realized it.
"Not really."
"Mmmnn..."
She seemed to like the touch. She gave a little shiver and smiled, blissful.
"Let's go."
I held out my hand. Alice answered with a cute "Okay!" and took it in her small one. Her hand was soft and warm. Her body heat seeped into my palm.
"So, how was today?"
"Today?"
Alice's eyes lit up at the question.
"It was seriously amazing! Jojun, you should've seen it! An S-Class shooter is on a whole different level — he was swinging a sniper rifle around like it was nothing and hitting everything~"
She was so excited her grip on my hand tightened.
"Kim Jin is the best shooter there is, you know? He's a hero of Korea!"
Alice piled on the praise for that black bodysuit guy. Yep. That pretty-boy in the bodysuit, confirmed.
"Haaah~ I got so nervous doing my demonstration in front of him that I messed up a little... If I'd just done a bit better, I might've gotten a scout offer too..."
Now she was sighing and looking sad because of that bodysuit bastard. Making Alice sad? That elevated him from pretty-boy to actual bastard.
Wait. Hold on. Scout offer?
I pulled the black business card I'd stuffed in my pocket and held it up for Alice.
"This one?"
Her eyes went round like a startled cat's.
"H-how did you...?"
"Oh, I've got this one too."
I pulled out Kim Subin's card as well and showed it to her.
"W-wait? Isn't this Kim Subin? The Psychic?"
I nodded. Alice kept staring at me with those huge eyes.
"How did you get these?"
"They just walked up and handed them to me."
"Woooow~!"
Alice gazed at me with sparkling eyes, full of admiration.
"That's so like you, Jojun. Then again, with the skill you showed yesterday, anyone would want to recruit you."
Truth was, it had nothing to do with skill. That guy had stolen my memories with Psychometry and handed over the card before he'd even finished looking. Judging by Alice's reaction, these were a pretty big deal. What the hell had they seen in me that made them just hand them over?
Either way, I didn't need them. I held the cards out to Alice.
"You take them, Alice. Use them when you need to."
"Huh?"
She blinked at me. So cute I could die.
"What are you talking about? These are yours, Jojun. I don't deserve them."
She pushed my arm away. I didn't back down. I held the cards out again.
"Then at least take Kim Jin's. I'm a Swordsman — I don't need a shooter guild."
"But still..."
She hesitated. I pressed on.
"Alice. You saw me yesterday, right? How strong I am."
She nodded quietly.
"So if you want to stay by my side, you have to get stronger. You said you messed up today, right? Work a little harder, then give him a call. You'll become a shooter who actually deserves this scout offer."
I couldn't stand that pretty-boy bastard, but an S-Class hunter was someone Alice could actually learn from. If I wanted to protect her in this nightmarishly difficult Hell Mode, I had to accept her learning from that pretty-boy. That's right! I'm a generous man.
She hesitated a moment longer, then took the black card from my hand, rose up on her tiptoes, and planted a kiss on my cheek. The soft, warm press of her lips lingered on my skin.
"Thank you."
Alice smiled at me, bright and sweet.
That was enough. The value of that business card was more than paid for. Thanks, pretty-boy.
I offered my silent thanks to that pretty-boy bastard and walked home beneath the sunset sky, Alice at my side.