Chapter 76. Hero, Shall I Stretch My Legs for the First Time in a While?
Chapter 76. Hero, Shall I Stretch My Legs for the First Time in a While?
He began slowly twirling the spear in both hands.
Wind swirled around him, and the dust on the floor traced lines in its wake.
'There's his effective range.'
Dusting off my hands, I approached him.
The moment I stepped within his radius, the razor tip of his spear thrust straight for my uvula.
─ Shiiiiing!!
The instant he sensed his attack had missed, he retreated a single step.
And I was standing just outside his radius.
[Spear guys always meet a bad end though...]
[? How the hell would you know]
[I watched anime and all the spear users died, yeah?]
[Ah for fuck's sake, weeb fuck]
"You're pretty quick."
The spear's greatest strength.
It kept you at an advantageous distance with overwhelming reach, shutting down any approach.
I stepped into Emir's radius once more.
But this time, I gave him no room to dodge.
─ Whoong!
He swung the short spear he held in his other hand.
It wasn't just a sharp point—it was a blade-tipped spear.
"You really do have a great offense-defense balance."
Emir kept his tension high and nodded.
"This time, I'm coming!"
He twirled his twin spears and charged at me.
He pressured me with the long spear's extended reach.
And the gap created by thrusting the long spear was seamlessly covered with the short one.
─ Swoosh! Swish! Shiiiiing!
Then the dust kicked up by the long spear obscured my vision.
'He could even use the environment to his advantage?'
─ Shiiing!
The long spear shot out, piercing straight through the blinding dust.
The moment my eyes chased the flying long spear, he burst through the dust cloud with the short spear in hand.
"Hup!"
─ Clang!
I caught his short spear with my hand right in front of my uvula.
"A hunter who uses a spear throws his spear away?"
"No way."
I sensed something coming at me from behind.
I let the long spear, aimed straight at me, glance off, and it flew directly back into his grip.
"Those gloves..."
I'd expected them to be an artifact.
But I hadn't known they had an ability like that.
"Heh heh..."
His movements were spectacular.
He used the long spear to control distance and line of sight, then went for the throat with the short one.
His momentum was fierce but his motions were precise; his strength was ferocious but his calculations were meticulous.
"Hup...!"
─ Fwing!
He threw the long spear again.
And as if anticipating my dodge, he tried to recall it.
─ Tup!
But I grabbed the returning long spear with my hand.
The spear struggled in my grip, straining desperately to break free.
"What were you going to do if I caught it?"
"Huff... Because no one ever has until now!"
He charged fiercely.
─ Claaaaang...!
I held the captured long spear and pivoted, smashing it against his short spear.
Mana rippled outward, and he couldn't withstand the impact—he went flying backward.
"Urgk... you really are unbelievably strong..."
[The Hero still hasn't used his 'Holy Sword' yet lolol]
[He's probably going easy 'cause he's afraid everything will break if he uses it?]
[But man, that guy is cool as hell too]
[First time I've ever thought another guy looked beautiful lol]
It wasn't a contest of pure power—there was finesse and technique woven throughout.
'Tsk... this felt kind of unsatisfying...'
My body felt only half-warmed-up.
Like taking a dump and being cut off halfway through, or stopping in the middle of a stretch...
"Hmm..."
[Ah, this is the bastard's 'about to cause trouble' face]
[Whenever he makes this face something always happens, fuck]
I spotted Max, Reina, and Longwei watching the spectacle.
I looked at them and grinned.
Then I beckoned to them with my fingers.
"You guys, try rushing me too. All at once."
Max smiled a genuine smile, as if a golden opportunity had presented itself.
Longwei simply bowed his head and drew his sword.
Reina was flustered by the sudden proposal.
"Emir, you tired?"
"I'm not foolish enough to pass up a chance to fight alongside S-ranks."
"That's the spirit."
[A genuine dopamine addict lololol]
[Why do I feel like he's gonna win?]
[Do they see Unknown Hunter as some kind of joke boss?]
[He's not just some strong guy, even the Association couldn't measure him lol]
─ Tup!
While I was looking away, a strange talisman slapped onto my chest.
I looked forward and Reina was smirking at me.
"Surely Unknown Hunter wouldn't call this cheating, would he?"
"My fault for looking away."
The talisman burned white and burst into flames.
And those flames bound my body tight.
"Keuheuheu... Hoon, don't hold it against me!"
"Sir, forgive my impertinence!"
From one side came Max's fist, sharp as a stalactite, and from the other, Longwei's sword strike blazed in like a flash of light.
"Huuup..."
I spun the mana inside my body furiously.
And just before their fist and blade could touch me, I discharged it outward in a burst.
─ Kwaaaaaa!!!
Reina's binding, Max's fist, Longwei's sword strike.
The attacks of all three scattered in every direction.
'Why three?'
I turned my head. Emir had already set his stance.
His long spear was tucked tight against his hip, and he gripped the short spear in a reverse hold.
He had set himself up just like a lancer.
─ Kwang!
Emir's long spear connected with my abdomen.
It sent me flying straight into the far wall of the training hall.
Not satisfied with just the impact, he poured power into his spear and blasted me straight through the wall.
─ Kwoooong!!!
"Been a while since I took a hit from a person..."
I got up, brushing myself off.
There wasn't a scratch on my body, but this was the first time I'd deliberately taken an attack like that during a spar.
"You're the real deal, aren't you?"
"The real deal? What does that mean?"
"Uh... it's a Korean expression. Anyway, it's a compliment."
[Isn't this the first time this bastard's deliberately let an attack connect like that?]
[He got hit during the Forbidden City incident, but that was him letting them hit him.]
[Yeah, this is the first time being sent flying from a hit.]
[He did get hit at Mt. Fuji though...]
[But this son of a bitch doesn't have a scratch on him lololol]
Laila healed those who'd been wounded by the shockwave from my mana burst.
Laila glanced around, then suddenly fixed her gaze on me.
"?"
"Hero, care if I limber up a bit too? It's been a while."
[Gasp]
[Isn't this a goddamn big match?]
[fuck lololololol]
"If you use that, won't this place get wrecked?"
"Hmm..."
Laila fell into quiet thought.
Then she walked over to Emir and extended her hand.
"Emir, may I borrow your long spear for a moment?"
"You mean my spear...?"
"Yes, my main weapon is also the 'spear.'"
Laila made her request with a gentle smile, and Emir nodded and handed over his spear.
"Saintess, what about the gloves...?"
"It's fine."
[What? The Saintess is a power-based mage?]
[Courteous sparring is ON lololol]
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- You bastard, if the Saintess gets hurt you are actually dead!!!!
"No worry for me, huh?"
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- Why the hell would I worry about you lololol
"..."
Last time I checked the community board, you were posting acceptance proofs...
You're seriously dead if you get caught.
"Laila, you ready?"
"Of course~"
I felt oddly tense.
"You're not going to use that, right?"
"Perhaps...?"
Perhaps...
If the two of us fought each other with our actual weapons, it wouldn't just be the building—the whole city would be leveled.
"Hoo..."
[Why is this bastard nervous?]
[Reason he's nervous? He's thinking how lightly he has to hit her to not look like he's going easy lolol]
[Fights seriously > Gets cussed out for hitting the Saintess. Takes it easy > Gets cussed out for holding back.]
[A balancing game fuck lolololol]
─ Crackle...
Blue mana crackled from Laila's body like lightning.
"Shall I go?"
In a single instant, Laila's form vanished and she arrived right in front of me.
And she swung the spear at blazing speed.
─ Whoong! Tup!
I reacted to her speed and raised my arm, blocking Laila's strike.
I whispered softly to her at close range.
"Laila, is it okay to hit your boyfriend like this?"
"Oh my, but you don't even get hurt from things like this, Hero."
I blocked it, but my feet lifted off the ground and I was sent flying anyway.
─ Kwaaaaaang!!!
[???????????]
[What the hell just happened???]
[What is it fuck???]
[It was so goddamn fast I couldn't see it]
It wasn't just the viewers—even the S-rank hunters watching couldn't close their mouths.
Emir, who actually wielded a spear himself, was on the verge of his jaw hitting the floor.
"Emir, this is how you use a spear."
"Yes? Ah... yes..."
I charged at Laila again.
Every punch I threw, she either deflected or parried.
Emir watched, utterly entranced.
"Aman tanrım... (Good heavens...)"
Her spins and arcs flowed as smoothly as a melody.
In her unbroken chain of motion with not a hint of a gap, the spear was neither heavy nor slow.
She moved like the wind, like light.
And when I attacked, she dodged elegantly, planting the spear into the ground and leaping over it.
"Beautiful..."
─ Bang! Kwang! Kwaaaang!!!
The two's movements were a dance.
Offense and defense, pushing and pulling—like a duet that elevated each other.
Her spear flowed, chasing the wind, and each time its tip grazed the hem of my clothes, the breaths around us stopped.
"Our daughter... was incredibly strong, wasn't she..."
At his wife's words, her father could only nod.
"Hero, shall we wrap this up soon?"
Laila set down the spear she was holding and clasped her hands together.
─ Crackle...
"Huh...? You said you weren't going to use it?"
"I've adjusted the output, so don't worry too much."
The blue mana that had been crackling around Laila like lightning shifted to a golden glow.
Gradually, the golden mana gathered and coalesced, taking the shape of a spear.
And her aura intensified further.
'Should I draw mine too...?'
I toyed with my earring.
But soon I shook my head.
'It hurts my pride...!'
"Our Hoon, if he ever has a domestic fight with his wife, he's in big trouble..."