Into the Dungeon (2)
It seemed that once rage reached its limit, it turned into something eerily calm instead.
Na Sang-min clamped his mouth shut and strode straight toward me.
Instructor Nike stepped in to stop him, but it was useless.
“Move.”
At that, Nike flinched and backed away.
Na Sang-min came to a stop in front of me.
“Say that again. What was it?”
Before I knew it, I was swallowing hard.
The air felt like needles, stabbing at both my cheeks.
So this was what it meant to stand against an S-class hunter. Nothing about it was normal.
“Go on. Say it again.”
I forced myself to look composed, but cold sweat was already running down my spine.
Dragging Na Sang-min into this had been an unavoidable choice.
Duel with a Strong Opponent: 0/1
I’d tried to clear the mission in one shot, but it had failed.
With dungeon entry right around the corner, gambling was the only way to get my hands on a new hero.
No choice. I’ll just have to do this.
I straightened my shoulders and met Na Sang-min head-on.
“I’d appreciate a little instruction.”
“Not that. What, you trying to run away?”
“……”
Right. Na Sang-min really was simple.
A little provocation, and he lit up instantly.
In the razor-thin tension between us—
“Fine.”
Na Sang-min smirked and leaned in close enough that only I could hear him.
“I was planning to beat the shit out of you sooner or later anyway. Looks like today’s the day.”
He turned his head toward Instructor Nike.
“Hey. What were you all doing just now?”
“We were sparring, but it’s a knockdown exercise, not a strike-based one. Mana is prohibited.”
Na Sang-min nodded.
“That’s it? Pretty lame. Guess I’ll loosen up a little for the first time in a while. Feels like internship days.”
Instructor Nike hurried over and placated him, buttering him up as carefully as he could.
“Ah, so you were an intern once too, Hunter Na.”
“Of course. I was a useless little punk like the rest of you once.”
“No, no. Hunter Na, you were never on that level to begin with. Anyway, on behalf of Hunter Choi Yongki, I’d like to apologize for his behavior—”
“No, no need to apologize. If anything, the senior can teach the junior a lesson by example. Right, Choi Yongki?”
Seeing him up close, I could tell the mana circling around Na Sang-min’s body was unusual.
If Go Ju-hun was like lava erupting from an active volcano, then Na Sang-min was a torch with a steady, low flame.
If I can already sense that much while I’m still only F-class, then once I get stronger, the difference between them will be obvious.
I dipped my head slightly to Na Sang-min.
“First, I apologize if I was rude. What I meant was that you shouldn’t run away—”
“I told you not to apologize.”
Na Sang-min kicked my ankle out from under me.
I barely managed to break my fall, but the impact still shot through my chest.
“Guh.”
It had all happened in an instant.
Na Sang-min looked down at me.
“Get up. Didn’t you ask me to show you something?”
There was no question—Na Sang-min hadn’t used mana.
He had relied entirely on raw physical strength.
Even so, my ankle was already swelling up fast.
Unbelievable.
There was no rule saying mana couldn’t be used in a sparring match meant to knock the opponent down.
Instructor Nike had made that up on the spot to protect me.
If he hadn’t, that last attack would have broken my ankle bone for sure.
Good thing it only went this far.
I brushed off my tracksuit and stood up.
I couldn’t let myself get carried away and start matching Na Sang-min’s tempo.
Stay calm.
Ping.
A cheerful alarm sounded.
I immediately focused on the mission window.
Duel with a Strong Opponent: 1/1
Condition met. A new Hero has been awarded.
Yes!
At last, I’d gotten what I came for.
By the system’s standards, the “strong opponent” in question was an S-class hunter.
Good. Now I can settle this quietly—
“You bastard. Where the hell do you think you’re looking? You think you can ignore your senior?”
Na Sang-min grabbed the collar at my back and swept my leg out from under me with a reap.
The impact was even fiercer than before, and I crashed onto the floor again.
“Ghk!”
I sprawled out flat on my back, gasping for air.
The mission was a success, but the real problem still remained.
How the hell do I calm this monster down?
Bang Su-hwan shouted, “Hyung-nim! Are you all right?!”
“I’m saying this in advance,”
Na Sang-min said, glaring at everyone in the room.
“Try getting involved, and I’ll rip you all apart.”
Bang Su-hwan, Lee Ji-jun, Ha Se-na, and everyone else froze in place, none of them daring to step forward.
My wrist throbbed where I had planted my hand on the floor.
I pulled something.
Every time Na Sang-min threw me down, the strain on my body piled up without mercy.
What surprised me was that, when he flipped me over, he seemed to make a point of not letting my head strike the ground first.
Is that consideration for me?
Or was he just trying to avoid getting disciplined by the Dio Guild later?
Either way, I dragged myself upright like a wobbling toy.
“Huh. You’ve got a solid constitution.”
Na Sang-min seized my wrist hard.
Thud!
He executed a modified fireman’s carry, and I went sprawling across the floor once again as if it had been inevitable.
My skull rattled, and a high-pitched ringing filled my ears.
That made three times already.
My breath caught in my throat.
My legs had gone limp, and my body wasn’t recovering properly at all.
“Hah… haah…”
Only after watching me wheeze did Na Sang-min finally seem to let some of his anger go. He straightened with a satisfied little shrug.
“Do you finally know your place? I’d like to turn you into a half-broken mess, but I’m busy, so I’ll let it slide. Tch.”
He clicked his tongue and turned away.
“Stay flattened like a cockroach. That’s about your level.”
I lay stretched out on the floor, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
Bright lights burned against my vision.
The gap between us was so huge there wasn’t even room to try anything.
Honestly, I never expected to win anyway.
This had only ever been about completing the mission.
Still, the objective had been achieved exactly as planned.
Now it was time to pull back.
But then—
That’s a little irritating.
Cockroach, huh.
That was the one thing I hated being called.
I stood back up.
“This isn’t over yet.”
“……”
Na Sang-min stopped walking.
“Now, let’s—”
Crash!
In the blink of an eye, Na Sang-min flew in, took me down, and climbed on top of me.
He clutched my collar and refused to let go.
“Yeah. A naughty brat needs a beating.”
Riiip.
His grip was so strong that the thick training uniform I was wearing tore open.
It felt almost as if he were using Judgment of the Superhuman.
Bang! Bang!! Kwang!!!
I kept getting thrown down, again and again, without pause.
I couldn’t even breathe properly.
The world spun.
He was pressing so hard I didn’t even have time to execute a proper breakfall.
At one point I bit my tongue, and blood started dripping from the corner of my mouth.
I was a complete wreck.
Na Sang-min grabbed me by the front of my shirt and lifted me with one hand.
“Hey, Choi Yongki. Don’t you know the most basic rule of hunters? If you don’t have a chance, don’t rush in blindly.”
That was an actual line from the hunter manual.
If a monster burst out of a Gate and its power exceeded yours, you were supposed to avoid direct combat.
You were instructed to stall for time or request backup.
Na Sang-min clenched his teeth.
“I hate arrogant bastards like you the most. You Awaken, and suddenly you think you’re somebody? There are so many people stronger than you in this world—”
“Then what?”
I looked straight at Na Sang-min.
“What if the other side is the bad guy? What if a monster is slaughtering people? Am I supposed to give up just because it’s stronger than me?”
“……What?”
“I know better than anyone that I’m weak.”
When I brought down Big Lava, I’d made a decision.
Once I chose to become a hero, I would never compromise on anything that went against my beliefs.
“Are the weak not allowed to protect other people? Are the weak not allowed to stand up to bastards?”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
Na Sang-min yanked me closer by the collar until our faces were almost touching.
“Listen carefully. Justice without power is incompetence. You hypocritical little bastard.”
He was quoting the famous French mathematician exactly.
Justice without power is impotent; power without justice is violence.
I agreed with that completely.
Only—
“You’re wrong. Being weak now doesn’t mean you stay weak forever. Someday I’ll—”
“Shut the hell up with that bullshit!”
“You shut up!”
I grabbed the hand clenched around my collar and hurled myself upward.
Then I wrapped both legs around his arm.
A flying armbar.
“Ghk!”
Na Sang-min’s brow creased, and he staggered as he lost his balance.
If he kept resisting like this, his arm was going to snap.
In that instant, fierce mana surged from his body.
A shuddering chill raced over my entire body.
If he struck me with the hand not trapped in the armbar—
…I’m in trouble!
With both arms and both legs effectively tied down, I’d be helpless.
What do I do?
Should I activate Aura of God?
Just as I was hesitating—
CRACK!!!
Na Sang-min and I both went down at once.
His fist drove straight through the floor.
The reinforced wooden planks buckled and caved in.
For some reason, his attack hadn’t connected with me.
No. He must have chosen not to hit me.
This was only a sparring match between senior and junior.
It wasn’t a duel meant to kill the other side.
If Na Sang-min had used mana, then he had broken the rules.
He held back.
As soon as the overbearing killing intent vanished, a heavy silence settled over the room.
“Ugh.”
Na Sang-min strained against the armbar, thrashing in place.
This was the first time—just once—I had actually gained the upper hand against an S-class hunter in a spar.
Instructor Nike, who had been watching with his face pale and pinched, rushed over in a panic.
“Hunter Na! Are you all right? Hunter Choi! Hurry up and release him!”
Only then did I let go of Na Sang-min’s arm.
For a long moment, he simply stood there, dazed, before quietly getting back to his feet.
There had been almost no damage, in truth.
Na Sang-min let out a light, relieved breath.
Then he held out a hand to me.
I took it and stood up.
“Hey,”
Na Sang-min said.
“You’re still a ridiculously arrogant bastard.”
I stayed quiet and listened.
There was no need to pull the whiskers of a lion I’d only just calmed down.
“You’re really going to get stronger from here on out? Fine. I’ll see just how strong you become. And also—”
Na Sang-min looked like he still had more to say.
“Well. You did good.”
Did good?
When had that been?
“During the first test. Attacking me and stealing my chair—now that was a pretty fresh idea. Losing your composure as a judge and reacting emotionally was—”
Na Sang-min made a face like he was swallowing vomit.
“Dammit! I’m leaving!”
He stomped away.
He probably wanted to apologize but couldn’t quite let his pride permit it.
It was childish and immature, sure.
And yet, for some reason, I found myself growing fond of him.
I watched Na Sang-min’s back and fell into thought.
Maybe the Dio Guild’s disgrace was the result of the wrong policies and the wrong system.
It wasn’t too late.
If someone could still point it in the right direction now, perhaps even those called villains could be guided back toward the path of the good.
“Hunter Choi Yongki, are you all right?”
Instructor Nike, who had come over, asked me that.
My whole body ached.
“Nothing’s broken.”
When I looked unharmed, Nike clutched his forehead as if he were dizzy.
“You provoked an S-class hunter? Have you lost your mind? Those men have already stepped beyond the realm of human beings. You almost got yourself killed.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Looking at the hole Na Sang-min had punched into the floor, I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
If that blow had landed on my head instead of the floor…
Even if I’d activated Aura of God, I would have died instantly.
“Yes. I was lucky.”
The angelic expression on Nike’s face hardened.
“Hunter Choi Yongki. No more impulsive behavior. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“As punishment, run one hundred laps around the training hall.”
“Pardon?”
“Right now.”
“……Yes.”
The other agents who’d been passing by took over the cleanup.
They repaired the broken floor, and the other rookie hunters were moved along to their next class.
Alone, I started running laps around the gym.
Then I suddenly summoned the floating window in front of me.
A new Hero has been awarded.
It was a message I’d failed to check earlier.
“Oh.”
Joy welled up in me little by little, and the brutal fatigue that had been weighing me down began to fade away.
“So it finally came out!”
Six days remained until dungeon entry day.
The third hero I’d waited for with such desperation had finally been born.