Chapter 491: Changing Incheon (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 491: Changing Incheon (4)
The neutrality of the Promotion Exam Site was supposed to be guaranteed.
Though it operated under the Central Government, it managed Hunter ranks recognized worldwide, meaning it strictly prohibited external interference. At least, that was the common understanding. Yet, the moment Investigator Moon Tae-jun handed down his orders, the Promotion Exam Site quietly arranged opponents for the Directly Controlled Unit in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion.
Go Seung-cheol.
He was one of those opponents.
Renowned as a powerhouse among B-Ranks, he was matched against Park Cheol-min of the Directly Controlled Unit.
'I was told to kill him.'
His opponent was a C-Rank.
Frankly, it was an easy matchup.
In this industry, someone of Park Cheol-min's caliber was considered quite skilled, but strength was always relative. A C-Rank Hunter? Go Seung-cheol could finish him off in ten seconds flat. If Park was taking the B-Rank exam, he must have had some confidence in his abilities, but that confidence would only carry him just past the threshold of B-Rank.
"I'm ready."
Go Seung-cheol stepped onto the stage.
He felt no guilt.
The Central Government had given the order, and as a Hunter living in South Korea, he couldn't go against the current.
'To avoid any issues later, I'll play around with him for a bit before killing him.'
Flutter.
"Begin."
At the signal, Go Seung-cheol lunged forward.
He didn't use his full strength at first. He intended to parry Park Cheol-min's attacks moderately, painting the picture of a fierce, closely matched battle. That way, if questions were raised later, he would have an excuse: The opponent's offensive was so intense that I had no choice but to fight back with everything, accidentally resulting in his death.
However...
Clang!
Cl-cl-cl-clang!
'What?!'
Go Seung-cheol's eyes widened.
He had initiated the clash intending to take it easy, but the counterattack that flew back at him was suffocating. Every single one of Park Cheol-min's strikes pierced forward with razor-sharp precision. It took less than ten seconds for Go Seung-cheol's complacent attitude to shatter into sheer tension. Before he knew it, he was forced to block the attacks with everything he had.
Whoosh!
Rumble!
An attack grazed past him.
He gasped for breath.
Even when Go Seung-cheol unleashed high-tier skills, Park Cheol-min remained unshaken. Park didn't seem to be using any specific skills, yet his attacks pressed in with lethal threat. Go Seung-cheol had no way of knowing the truth. The Asura Sword Technique and the Asura Mind Method were fundamentally different from standard Hunter skills. They were complete martial arts that controlled the entire flow of combat. As Park pressed his relentless assault, Go Seung-cheol—who was only accustomed to battles of trading cooldowns and skills—had no choice but to be pushed back.
It was a fierce struggle.
But as Go Seung-cheol resisted with all his might, his arm was violently deflected. His sword slipped from his grasp.
Tap.
"I believe this is over."
A blade leveled at his throat.
Looking at Park Cheol-min's calm expression, Go Seung-cheol had no choice but to accept reality.
"...I concede."
Only then did he realize.
The Directly Controlled Unit's mass application for the promotion exam was not some desperate, futile struggle.
* * *
The exact same phenomenon was occurring simultaneously across the board.
In the exam waiting room, the text scrolling across the massive screen sent a wave of agitation through the crowd.
[C-Rank Park Cheol-min, successfully promoted to B-Rank]
[D-Rank Go Yo-hwan, successfully promoted to C-Rank]
[C-Rank Min Chan-gi, successfully promoted to B-Rank]
.
.
.
Notifications of successful promotions flooded the screen.
It was unprecedented.
Normally, the promotion exam was a grueling barrier where only two or three out of ten applicants succeeded. Yet, as news of consecutive successes poured in all at once, the waiting room erupted into a clamor.
Buzz, buzz.
"This is insane."
"Were the Incheon Government's Hunters always this strong?"
"Not a single one of them is failing!"
Just moments ago, word of the Directly Controlled Unit's mass application had spread to everyone.
With the Incheon Government finally making a move in earnest, people were curious to see what kind of results the Incheon Hunters—who were treated as outcasts in South Korea—would bring back. Everyone's eyes had been glued to the screen. Common sense dictated that most of them would fail, but the information flashing before them defied all logic.
A continuous streak of successes.
It was shocking.
Those well-versed in the inner workings of the system understood the implications immediately.
"...Things are getting interesting. You know how it is. When people get on the Central Government's bad side, they unfairly get matched against top-tier powerhouses of that rank during their promotion exams. Knowing Investigator Moon Tae-jun's nasty temper, he definitely gave special instructions. Yet, the Incheon Government is overcoming that handicap and passing every single test."
"Then that means they aren't just barely passing; they're actually far stronger than their new ranks suggest."
"Exactly. And there are as many as thirty of them."
Their conversation made everyone prick up their ears.
Incheon was turning the tables.
Incheon, which everyone had expected to fall, was directly confronting the Central Government with an unprecedented display of strength.
If that was the case...
Everyone's attention converged on a single point.
"What happens if even Lee Tae-seong succeeds?"
One thing was certain.
An A-Rank.
The weight of that title was extraordinary.
A man who had drawn the attention of the crowd spoke aloud for everyone to hear.
"The entire landscape of Incheon will change. Following Roman Dmitry, another A-Rank powerhouse would mean they possess the strongest military force among all local governments."
* * *
At that moment, Lee Tae-seong was in the middle of his promotion exam.
When he first heard his opponent's name, he immediately realized what kind of trick Moon Tae-jun had pulled.
'A-Rank Hunter Jo Min-woo. For a master known as the Spear Ghost to appear just to evaluate an A-Rank exam...'
Jo Min-woo was a famous powerhouse.
A full ten years ago, during the 4th Great Disaster, he had displayed a godlike spear technique. A few years later, he was promoted to A-Rank and earned the moniker "Spear Ghost." He was not someone who belonged in a promotion exam like this. Usually, lower-tier hunters of the target rank acted as examiners, but Jo Min-woo was a top-tier expert far beyond what Lee Tae-seong should have been expected to handle.
If this had been a month ago, Lee Tae-seong wouldn't have even dared to fight him.
Yet, now that he was actually facing Jo Min-woo, Lee Tae-seong displayed a performance completely contrary to everyone's expectations.
Boom!
Rumble!
"Ugh!"
Jo Min-woo was pushed far back.
The moment Jo Min-woo frowned and looked ahead, Lee Tae-seong, who had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, launched a ferocious assault.
Clang!
Crash, crash, crash!
Attacks rained down without a moment's respite.
Wielding dual swords, Lee Tae-seong chained his strikes seamlessly. Even if Jo Min-woo blocked one, the other would immediately slash in, leaving the A-Rank's head spinning. Seeing Jo Min-woo's face pale with panic, a thrill ran through Lee Tae-seong's entire body at the realization that he was pushing an A-Rank Hunter to the brink.
'Roman Dmitry. That man exists in an entirely different dimension. Only that can explain the explosive growth of the Directly Controlled Unit.'
Over the past month, Kang Min-ho's teachings had been nothing short of shocking.
The Asura Sword Technique and the Asura Mind Method, which Roman Dmitry had bestowed upon them without asking for anything in return, were incredible arts that completely shook Lee Tae-seong to his core. It took Lee Tae-seong only a few hours after learning the Asura Mind Method to control his mana. When he manifested it as Aura and executed the Asura Sword Technique instead of a standard skill, the explosive power erupting from his dual swords gave him absolute certainty that he could become strong.
From that moment on, he placed his blind faith in Roman Dmitry.
Though he had initially harbored doubts about the man's identity, Roman Dmitry was far too extraordinary a being to have any petty designs on a place like Incheon.
It was a stroke of immense good fortune.
That such a being had taken a liking to Incheon.
And that Roman Dmitry was the one to whom Mayor Kim Jun-hyeok had sworn his loyalty.
He had immersed himself in training.
Lee Tae-seong and the rest of the Directly Controlled Unit were convinced they could grow stronger. For a month, they had not stepped a single foot out of the training ground, except to sleep. Their current martial prowess was the reward for that dedication. No matter how hard one worked, becoming this strong in such a short time should have been impossible, but Roman Dmitry's teachings had shattered the boundaries of impossibility.
Slash!
Blood splattered.
As a cut opened on Jo Min-woo's face, his expression twisted in fury.
"You little bastard."
He had tried to hold back as much as possible.
His superiors had ordered him to kill Lee Tae-seong while making it look like an accident, but Lee Tae-seong was not an opponent he could handle with half-hearted efforts.
Jo Min-woo's expression shifted.
From now on, things would be different.
"I promise you. You won't die an easy death."
Ghost Walk.
He activated the very skill that had elevated him to A-Rank.
* * *
Whoosh. Swish!
He vanished.
Jo Min-woo suddenly slipped into Lee Tae-seong's blind spot and thrust his spear like lightning before Lee could even react.
Boom!
Rumble!
The impact was immense.
Lee Tae-seong managed to block the strike by a hair's breadth, but Jo Min-woo continuously utilized Ghost Walk to repeatedly exploit his blind spots.
Boom!
Crash, crash, crash!
The Spear Ghost, Jo Min-woo.
From A-Rank onward, every Hunter possessed their own signature weapon.
Their reputations were not hollow; they had secured their A-Rank status because they possessed strength recognized by all. That was what the realm of A-Rank meant. Monsters, each capable of being called a one-man army. No matter how much Lee Tae-seong had improved, Jo Min-woo was a man who had reached A-Rank years ago.
Flash!
Crash, crash, crash!
He drove Lee Tae-seong back.
He no longer hid his bloodlust.
Setting aside the primary purpose of the test, Jo Min-woo openly revealed his intent to kill Lee Tae-seong.
Slash.
"Ugh."
His forearm was cut.
Under Jo Min-woo's relentless assault, Lee Tae-seong's body was gradually stained with blood. Even though he had trained in the Asura Sword Technique and the Asura Mind Method, he could not perfectly block all of Jo Min-woo's attacks. Combat was not decided by mere stats. No matter how incredible the techniques he had learned, he could not bridge the gap between himself and an established A-Rank Hunter like Jo Min-woo in a single bound.
'Damn it.'
Anxiety burned hot inside Lee Tae-seong.
If he lost here, the Directly Controlled Unit would be dismantled.
He could not allow that.
In this chaotic world, the existence of the Directly Controlled Unit was absolutely essential for Mayor Kim Jun-hyeok to achieve his goals.
Boom!
Clash, clash, clash!
The attacks flooded in.
Jo Min-woo's spear dominated the entire space.
Grit.
Lee Tae-seong clenched his teeth.
Since his opponent was openly displaying murderous intent, he knew he could never win without putting his own life on the line.
'I have to settle this in a single strike.'
In this touch-and-go situation, Lee Tae-seong's eyes grew calm and focused.
Some had called Lee Tae-seong a genius.
He was neither an Inheritor nor a Chosen One, nor did he possess any special background, yet he had secured his B-Rank solely through his own strength.
If so...
What would happen when someone like him learned the Asura Mind Method and the Asura Sword Technique?
These were techniques that had elevated even the ordinary Kang Min-ho to C-Rank.
Over the past month, Lee Tae-seong had not just trained blindly; he had practiced fusing these new techniques into his own existing skills.
He sheathed his dual swords.
He bided his time.
The moment his opponent closed in right before his eyes, Lee Tae-seong instantaneously slipped through the space and drew both swords simultaneously.
'Asura Sword Technique, Draw Sword.'
Flash!
The very space seemed to split.
Jo Min-woo's face, which had just been filled with bloodlust, was suddenly painted with sheer shock.
Spurt!
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
Jo Min-woo's head flew clean off.
* * *
Creak.
The door to the forge opened.
Thick smoke billowed out from within, and Roman Dmitry stepped out, bare-chested, to breathe in the fresh air.
"You've worked hard, sir."
It was Kim Jun-hyeok.
He was startled when he saw Roman Dmitry's upper body. His torso, flushed red from the grueling labor, was composed of muscles so finely defined that it was hard to believe it belonged to a human.
Roman Dmitry calmly asked as he slipped into the outer garment Kim Jun-hyeok handed him, "Has anything happened while I was inside?"
"...A problem has arisen."
Just moments ago, a piece of news had rocked the Incheon Government. Kim Jun-hyeok had been in the middle of mobilizing his forces, but since the time Roman Dmitry had promised had arrived, he had come to the forge first.
Kim Jun-hyeok spoke.
"To fulfill our promise to you, Lord Roman Dmitry, thirty members of the Directly Controlled Unit, including Commander Lee Tae-seong, applied for the promotion exam. However, it seems Investigator Moon Tae-jun pulled some strings, as their opponents all fought with lethal intent. In the process, Lee Tae-seong ended up killing his opponent, the A-Rank Hunter Jo Min-woo. As you know, the death of an A-Rank Hunter is not something that can be easily swept under the rug. Currently, all promotion exams have been suspended, and Lee Tae-seong has been taken into custody by the Central Government on charges of intentional murder."
Jo Min-woo's death.
It was undoubtedly something Moon Tae-jun had never anticipated.
Losing Jo Min-woo was a massive blow, so they would definitely demand an equivalent price. That was why they had dragged Lee Tae-seong away. Moreover, since he belonged to the Incheon Government—which had already rebelled against the Central Government—they couldn't just let him go.
Yet, Roman Dmitry reacted as if it were of no consequence.
"Does this mean the entire Directly Controlled Unit has passed my test?"
"...Yes, sir."
"Lead the way to Seoul."
He took the first step forward.
As Kim Jun-hyeok struggled to hide his bewilderment, he heard the voice that followed.
"The Directly Controlled Unit is now mine. From this moment on, it is my turn to fulfill my promise to them."
In that instant, goosebumps broke out all over Kim Jun-hyeok's body.
He didn't know why, but Roman's calm, indifferent voice made the crisis feel like no problem at all.
Kim Jun-hyeok shouted as he hurried after him.
"Understood. I will guide you."
They would head to Seoul.
The place called the capital by the people of South Korea, but regarded as enemy territory by the people of Incheon.
Right now, it didn't seem so terrifying.