Buffs Require Skill Too (2)
The official hunter exam center boasted an enormous scale and luxurious design, as if to advertise, 'This is the treatment you receive once you become an official hunter.' Built in the heart of expensive Seoul, the building offered free accommodation for every applicant. However, not everyone received the same room.
Flower Warrior Pavilion
Private garden and swimming pool
Twelve dedicated security personnel
Personal chef and condition manager on 24-hour standby
This entire space operated for a single person.
“Lady Cheon I-hwa. The bracket for the third test has been released.”
Cheon I-hwa, who had been sitting in a lotus position, only moved her lips.
“Leave it there.”
Every time she exhaled, the thick fog filling the room rippled along with her breath. That fog was no ordinary vapor. It was a magical mist brewed from spiritual elixirs. With each breath she took, pure and refined mana was evenly absorbed throughout her body.
“Huuu……”
Once the magical mist had completely thinned, she opened her eyes and clenched and unclenched her fist.
“Looks like I’ve raised all the stats I can with elixirs.”
Her level was only 72, but after consuming dozens of spiritual elixirs worth billions of won, her combat power could easily be considered on par with a level 150 hunter. That was why she didn’t even glance at the bracket the errand runner had left behind. No matter who her opponent was, they stood no chance. It was boring. Tedious.
‘But if it’s that man……’
Because there was a chance the one person who had dared to reject her might appear, she picked up the printed bracket.
“Not here.”
The surname Chae was rare, so if she didn’t see it at first glance, it simply wasn’t there. Just as she was about to tear the paper in disappointment—
“Kim Yeo-ul?”
She spotted another familiar name. At first glance it hadn’t rung any bells, but looking closer, she remembered. He was the hunter that Chae Mu-jin—the same man who had rejected her—had personally sought out and recruited. She had been so curious about what kind of extraordinary person he would bother recruiting that she had looked into his background, only to be utterly dumbfounded.
There was practically no background to investigate. A hunter with zero dungeon experience, who had only received basic training. An F-rank. A mage whose traits and skills were only D-rank.
“Why on earth would he pick someone like this?”
Wondering if they were acquaintances, she had ordered a background check, but that wasn’t the case either. The bell bracelet on her wrist, which never rang no matter how violently she moved, suddenly chimed even though she was standing still.
This was the first time in her life she had ever been ignored like this. She had no idea what to do about it. If he hated or despised her, at least she could understand. She had seen enough jealous people since childhood to last a lifetime. But Chae Mu-jin didn’t even hate her. He simply… ignored her.
“I can’t accept that he would just ignore me.”
Whether it was status, appearance, or talent—she was the top class in all of South Korea. How dare a mere supporter ignore her?
“It’s strange that Father is letting this slide too.”
Unexpectedly, Cheon Mu-jong had not touched Chae Mu-jin. This was the same man who always retaliated even when she begged him to stay quiet. In reality, he had already met Chae Mu-jin and decided to leave him alone because he rather liked him, but he kept that a secret from her.
“Good. I was getting tired of him always handling things behind my back anyway.”
She would simply show Chae Mu-jin what happened when he ignored her. She would make him watch as the hunter he had chosen, Kim Yeo-ul, was crushed in utter incompetence and misery. Then he would realize his mistake and regret it. He would wonder why he had ever turned down Cheon I-hwa’s offer.
Just imagining Chae Mu-jin’s relaxed expression twisting in agony gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.
“Ufufu. I don’t even have to wait. Meeting right away feels pretty good.”
The third test would begin in one hour. Cheon I-hwa and Kim Yeo-ul had been matched against each other in the very first round.
“M-manager. Please stop drinking. I won’t take the wish ticket.”
Kim Yeo-ul tried to stop Chae Mu-jin from drinking his chocolate latte. The problem was that three empty cups already sat on the table. All of them had been chocolate lattes. Chae Mu-jin was now working on his fourth with a very serious expression.
“Huu, my head is finally working again.”
Only after finishing four cups did Chae Mu-jin stop ordering more. He looked at Kim Yeo-ul.
“Sorry for dragging you to a café out of nowhere. I get low blood sugar when I use my head too much.”
“If it’s because of the wish ticket, I’m really fine. Truly. Who could have guessed you’d get matched against Lady Cheon I-hwa? And in the first round, no less.”
“Hm? Cheon I-hwa doesn’t matter to me.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t offer you the wish ticket out of pity. I gave it to you because I’m confident I can win no matter who the opponent is. That obviously includes Cheon I-hwa.”
“But… Lady Cheon I-hwa is over level 70, and I’m only level 13?”
Cheon I-hwa had publicly revealed her level—72. Her physical stats from the level gap were far superior, and she even had one more skill than him. Of course Kim Yeo-ul trusted Chae Mu-jin. His buffs didn’t just offset level differences; they completely overwhelmed them. But Cheon I-hwa wasn’t someone you could handle with level gaps alone. She wasn’t just a strong and fast hunter.
She was the hunter raised by both the number one hunter in Korea, the Association President, and the number two, the Great First Sword. Could someone like him, who was only level 13, possibly beat her? Even with an enormous amount of favorable conditions, it seemed impossible.
Chae Mu-jin knew exactly what Kim Yeo-ul was thinking.
‘She’s far stronger than what you’re imagining.’
Since Kim Yeo-ul was an ordinary hunter, he was only considering the stat difference from levels. He didn’t know about the elixir difference. Most hunters didn’t even know what spiritual elixirs were. They were treasures you couldn’t obtain even if you had the money.
‘She’s probably been consuming them since birth. If we’re only talking stats, she easily surpasses 150.’
And that wasn’t all. She had also learned martial arts. Martial arts weren’t traits or skills. They were techniques and miracles created by humans.
‘The National Sword Style is an S-rank sword technique acknowledged by both Japan and China, and the mental technique, Mirror Mind, is also S-rank.’
In other words, Cheon I-hwa was 164 times stronger than what Kim Yeo-ul was imagining. Yet even knowing this gap, Chae Mu-jin judged that it was still worth trying.
‘I’ll have to get serious too, but of course that’s necessary to beat her.’
Above all, this wasn’t a real fight. It was a spar with rules and regulations. Every rule favored the weaker party, Kim Yeo-ul.
‘And crucially, at this point in time, Cheon I-hwa is extremely conscious of the public eye.’
Going all out against a weakling like Kim Yeo-ul? It would damage her dignity. The fact that she didn’t even consider him a real opponent to begin with. That was where Chae Mu-jin saw a fragment of victory.
He checked his watch. Roughly one hour. There wasn’t enough time to teach everything to Kim Yeo-ul in front of him.
“Yeo-ul. If you can’t believe in yourself, then believe in me. You can win. I’ll make sure of it.”
“……”
Kim Yeo-ul took off his glasses and gently pressed his eyes with his fingers. No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible. It was like trying to extinguish lava by pouring water on it. But Chae Mu-jin was asking him to believe. Was there any reason not to?
There wasn’t. It wasn’t like he would die if he didn’t believe. It was simply the difference between forfeiting or at least facing her once. There was no shame in losing. Losing was expected. Winning would be a miracle. Besides, he was still in the process of getting to know Chae Mu-jin, wasn’t he?
‘This is a chance to see just how much I can trust the manager.’
Having finished his deliberation, Kim Yeo-ul put his glasses back on.
“I’ll do it. I’ll do everything you tell me to, Manager.”
“Even if I tell you to lie down?”
Thud.
Kim Yeo-ul immediately lay face-down beside the table. Chae Mu-jin was taken aback by the sight.
“Not right now……”
“Ah!”
Kim Yeo-ul quickly sat back in his chair and covered his face with his arms. His ears, which he couldn’t hide, were red as apples.
At that moment, four men in black suits entered the café.
“We’re sorry, but could you please leave?”
They handed the café customers checks worth a million won each and asked for their understanding. There wasn’t a single fool who would refuse such a generous offer.
‘Are they filming a drama?’
Chae Mu-jin thought this was a stroke of luck. He had just come to a café and suddenly received a million won for free. But the men in black suits didn’t approach them. They had even sent away the part-timer.
At this point, Chae Mu-jin finally caught on and stood up from his seat, his face deeply furrowed.
“If you have business with me, shouldn’t that money be given to me?”
The answer didn’t come from the men in black suits, but from a new customer who had just entered.
“You like money so much, so why are you acting like this here?”
Cheon I-hwa, wearing sunglasses, gestured to the men in black suits, and they finally left the café.
“Hwa… ya, what brings you here?”
“Did you just call me Hwa-ya?”
Hwa-ya was the nickname her father, Cheon Mu-jong, used for her. Chae Mu-jin had called her that in his previous life, and Cheon I-hwa’s sudden appearance had caused the old habit to slip out unconsciously.
“I said Cheon I-hwa, didn’t I?”
He played innocent as if he had never said it. Cheon I-hwa found it suspicious but decided to chalk it up to coincidence. Cheon Mu-jong never used the nickname in public settings. It was a name only family knew. How could Chae Mu-jin possibly know it?
“Anyway… is that person Kim Yeo-ul?”
Kim Yeo-ul only slightly lifted his head to look at Cheon I-hwa before lowering it again. He had said he would fight her, but meeting her in a private space like this made him nervous and embarrassed.
“You can’t even look me in the eye properly.”
It was true, but Chae Mu-jin felt strangely annoyed.
“He’s just shy. It’s not because he’s afraid of you.”
“You’re really planning to fight me?”
“Did you come here to tell us to forfeit?”
“No. Quite the opposite. I came to ask you not to forfeit. If all my opponents forfeit, what will people think? That hunters are cowards. That Cheon I-hwa pulled strings because she’s the Association President’s daughter… It would damage my reputation in many ways.”
“For free?”
“Didn’t you say earlier that you would fight?”
“Hearing that makes me want to forfeit instead.”
“Hehe.”
Cheon Mu-jong had once told her that a woman should not laugh too easily. Especially not in front of a man. But right now, she couldn’t hold back her laughter. The man who had ignored her so blatantly was showing weakness for money. So he was no different after all.
“Here. This should be enough, right?”
She usually left all financial matters to her secretary, but she didn’t want to do that now. She wanted to show this man her wealth. So she took out a single magic stone from her inventory and handed it to him.
It was clearly on a completely different level from the lowest-grade magic stones they had seen in the goblin dungeon. Unlike the cloudy lowest-grade stones, this one had a vivid clarity. A cluster of light that seemed to contain the universe itself. Its perfect oval shape was more beautiful than any jewel in the world.
“Hmm.”
Chae Mu-jin accepted the highest-grade magic stone and pretended to be indifferent, but in truth he was extremely surprised. He had expected maybe ten million won at most, but she had given him a highest-grade magic stone? Even if sold in a hurry, a highest-grade stone could fetch a billion won. With this, securing the deposit for the management building was practically guaranteed.
“Well, if you insist that much, I suppose I have no choice. We won’t forfeit.”
There was no way the rich young lady Cheon I-hwa would give something worth a billion won by mistake. He needed to leave before she could change her mind.
“It was nice talking. We’ll be going now.”
Chae Mu-jin grabbed the arm of the still face-down Kim Yeo-ul and quickly left the café. Cheon I-hwa smiled for a moment, thinking she had won, then frowned beautifully.
“He just left without talking to me more.”
The conversation had ended after only business-like exchanges. She had so many things she wanted to say. Why he had rejected her. Why he had chosen Kim Yeo-ul. Whether he regretted it. That she would give him another chance right now if he accepted, and so on.
She had stopped him from forfeiting, so she should have come out ahead, yet for some reason she kept feeling like she had lost.
“Ugh, this is so annoying.”
Anyway, the match would start soon. If she knocked Kim Yeo-ul down in one second, she would naturally have a chance to talk with Chae Mu-jin.
“Hehe, then you won’t be able to ignore me, will you?”
Time passed, and ten minutes before the match.
Kim Yeo-ul and Cheon I-hwa met again in the sparring arena. Even though the match was expected to end in one second, quite a large crowd had gathered. They were fans who wanted to see her fight, even for just a single moment.
Cheon I-hwa pretended to look at Kim Yeo-ul while scanning the spectators and smiled.
‘He came after all.’
She had spotted Chae Mu-jin among the crowd. But his expression didn’t please her.
‘Why is he making such a serious face?’
Her spar with Kim Yeo-ul wasn’t really a spar. If she wanted, she could end it in 0.08 seconds from the start. It was nothing more than a show for the public. Nothing less, nothing more. So why was Chae Mu-jin watching so seriously?
“Hey, do you have some kind of secret weapon or something?”
Her curiosity got the better of her, so she asked her opponent, Kim Yeo-ul.
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you an idiot? You’re supposed to hide that.”
“I-it’s fine. My manager said it was okay to tell you.”
“Manager? What manager?”
“Chae Mu-jin, my manager.”
“Why is that guy your manager?”
“Um… I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not included in the things I’m allowed to say.”
“……You’re weird too.”
Five minutes before the start. When the referee entered, Cheon I-hwa stopped talking. Normally, the referee would explain the precautions before a spar began. That a red light meant the match was over and they must stop immediately. That they couldn’t wear items so they must remove them. That predictive starts were only allowed within 0.5 seconds, and so on.
But the referee decided there was no need for explanations. After all, it would end the moment it began.
“Please put on the sparring equipment on the table.”
Magic weapons linked to the user’s mana would transform into whatever shape the user desired, and armor would manifest as a transparent membrane over their clothes.
“Please stand at the designated positions. There is a monitor in the center. Once the sixty-second countdown ends, the spar will begin.”
Kim Yeo-ul and Cheon I-hwa moved apart. Even so, the distance between them was only about ten meters. Only then did Cheon I-hwa look directly at Kim Yeo-ul’s face. It was serious. Just like Chae Mu-jin’s. And he was staring straight at her.
‘This is ridiculous.’
She could understand a little why Chae Mu-jin had ignored her. His buff was estimated to be S-rank, after all. But Kim Yeo-ul was nothing. Just one of the countless mages that existed everywhere.
‘Just because Chae Mu-jin ignored me doesn’t mean you get to ignore me too.’
The numbers on the monitor rapidly decreased. The moment they reached zero, Cheon I-hwa was standing in front of Kim Yeo-ul, and the tip of her blade had already sliced across his chest.