If You Want to Use Me, Come as a Dragon
Kang Moo-hyuk issued his final orders to No Song-rin.
"Everyone retreats in five minutes. Tell Mr. Jo and the other top hunters to buy time with delaying actions. See you at the patrol base."
With that, he asked No Song-rin to burn the map with mana. He might need it later, but he'd already memorized every detail. Better this than letting the enemy capture it and expose the plan.
No Song-rin watched Kang Moo-hyuk stagger forward, gripping his cane, and felt his steps grow heavy.
"You sure you're okay going alone?"
"The escape route's still secure. I'll manage."
"That's not what I—"
"Kim Gil-young will help support me. My body's holding up for now. Save that kid Cheol-i, no matter what."
"Hey, you little punk. Take good care of the boss."
"Yes, sir. I'll get him back to base safe and sound."
No Song-rin followed the info from Kim Gil-young to find Park Cheol-i. Thankfully, it was more precise than the note Mr. Jo had passed on.
In his haste, he soon spotted the collapsed building rubble.
No Song-rin pressed his ear to it. Faint breathing and pained groans came from below.
He carefully cleared the debris as he called out.
"Cheol-i. Park Cheol-i."
No response at first, but then a trembling voice answered.
"Uncle... Uncle No...?"
"Uncle No? Someone hears that, they'll think I'm some old geezer... already."
Spotting Park Cheol-i through a gap in the rubble, No Song-rin flinched. The kid was missing one arm. He'd known, but seeing it hit different. He didn't know what to say. In moments like this, he missed Kang Moo-hyuk's way with words more than his own rank.
"Uncle... here."
From the uncleared rubble, Park Cheol-i handed over the item he'd clutched protectively to his chest.
A karambit knife.
Nothing fancy or expensive—just No Song-rin's disposable weapon.
Stepping back out of sight, No Song-rin hesitated, then unbuckled his sword from his waist and tossed it aside casually. He cleared the remaining debris to secure the kid, then took the karambit.
"Uncle's knife... now you can fight, right?"
Park Cheol-i and Kim Gil-young had gotten one thing wrong. The common wisdom was that hunters needed their main weapon to perform at full strength.
Unfortunately, the karambit wasn't No Song-rin's primary. Just a preference. And at his level, only another top-tier hunter could make weapon choice matter much.
No Song-rin didn't bother correcting him. Instead, he gripped the karambit tight and replied.
"Yeah. Got it solid. Kid."
He checked Park Cheol-i's condition.
'Lost this much blood and still alive. A miracle. The mana cauterization helped. Cutting and searing the arm probably stemmed the worst of it. No regen, though. The rest clotted on its own somehow.'
Noticing No Song-rin's grim expression, Park Cheol-i's voice cracked with tears.
"I can't be a hunter anymore, can I? No arm and all..."
"What're you worrying about? You ain't even awakened yet."
"Still..."
"Hunters missing limbs? Dime a dozen. Hell, there's a famous one-armed swordsman out there. It's all up to you, kid."
"Oh... yeah. If I try hard, I can do it?"
"Yeah. Hustle enough and... damn, what am I even saying? This ain't me. Hey, you awake? Snap out of it, punk!"
No Song-rin tapped Park Cheol-i's cheek as consciousness faded. He checked the pulse—strong and steady, thank god.
He stared hard at the kid's face. Tear tracks streaked from his eyes.
"If not for that damn contract. Ngh!"
Clearing the last debris, he scooped up the boy carefully—then sensed presences closing in.
Six hunters—an enemy party.
No Song-rin activated the translation artifact he'd used in Russia and never returned.
He wanted to ask why they had to go this far. Hear their excuses.
No Song-rin laid Park Cheol-i on flat ground and reverse-gripped the karambit.
They advanced, weapons raised, smirking.
No Song-rin asked.
"You punks know what I hate most?"
"Kids crying. Hate it. But—"
"Why make kids cry, you bastards?!"
No Song-rin charged.
The karambit, warm moments ago in Park Cheol-i's arms, had cooled. The blade flashed repeatedly—blood arcs sprayed into the air.
The six hunters barely resisted, throats slit, gurgling as they collapsed.
"Fucking scum."
No Song-rin spat on the corpses, sheathed the karambit, picked up Park Cheol-i, and left.
Go Eul-ji answered a call from Kang Moo-hyuk en route to the patrol base.
His order for the final operation tensed her up.
— Confirming again, Go Eul-ji Hunter. At least three to four anti-monster AA batteries, maybe more. Plus multiple long-range mages and archers.
"Annoying. Even decent mages avoid air infiltration against that. Exposed on all sides? Ground-based, you can't dodge jack."
— True, average hunter couldn't. Even you might struggle, Go Eul-ji Hunter.
"Ugh, struggle?! Boss Kang, Grandpa always says I'm no ordinary girl. I'm no ordinary hunter."
Kang Moo-hyuk almost retorted for a second.
'That's about personality, not skill.'
But superhuman restraint kept it unsaid.
— Then I'll trust you. Ten minutes. Start the op.
"Worry not. It's me, Go Eul-ji. Time to show what an extraordinary hunter can do."
Call ended, she set a ten-minute timer on her smartphone app.
Sat, eyes closed, deep breaths into meditation. Timer buzzed soon enough.
Go Eul-ji slowly opened her eyes.
"Let's see who wins."
Bang!
She kicked off the ground, rocketing skyward.
"Ron!"
"Ugh, again? This guy's on fire today. How many hands has he won?"
"Heh heh! Your month's pay's heading straight to my wallet."
In a rundown rooftop corner of Sinuiju, hunters enjoyed mahjong peace far from the prison village's fury.
As a new round started, one with a cigarette froze, staring skyward.
"Huh? Shit! Six o'clock! Detection pinged! Ugh, it's huge!"
"What? Wyvern?"
"Nah... hunter."
His detection skill gauged size by power output, mistaking the massive presence for a big monster—until he realized and paled.
"High-rank! A-rank hunter!"
"Open fire!"
"Warm the AA guns! Mana stones!"
Mahjong board flipped as ranged dealers unleashed skills and arrows skyward.
Not just this building—AA defenses everywhere activated.
AA barrels swiveled skyward. Mana-charged, power-fed guns heated fast, spewing fire.
Impractical outside base defense due to size and power draw, but devastating against flying monsters or aerial mages.
But.
"What the hell? Missing everything?"
"Don't try to drop it! Just push it back! Don't let it get low!"
"Uwaaak!"
Kaboom! Crash! Crunch! Boom!
The mahjong building was now hellish chaos rivaling the prison village.
Mahjong crew? Wiped.
Other sites still spat dozens of beams.
"Phew, scary high schooler."
Hyeon Jeong-geon, spotting the AA nest en route, approached to neutralize—then sweated as the building exploded. Up there, even he'd be hurt bad.
"Boss Kang called her a secret weapon in the plan—didn't believe it. Really committed. Iron Will's C-rank, right? Unpredictable guild."
Unlike the close call, he grinned.
"Wonder if they'll recruit me? Boss doesn't like me, but cut salary and maybe. Titan was fun, but this'll be better."
Go Eul-ji rocketed beyond detection range, hovering over Sinuiju, scanning the city.
Her trait: telekinesist.
More precisely, spatial mastery—but first spotted moving objects midair, slapped with "superpower" label.
Later, as hunter levels rose, known as beyond telekinesis, but name stuck.
"Too far for full scan. Guess I gotta dive in."
She inhaled northern chill deeply.
"Ugh, throat freezing."
Grumbling at the sting, she began descent.
Freefall first—no ability.
Just before detection range, head-down, she blasted into high-speed flight.
'Ow, eyes watering. Shoulda brought goggles. Who knew I'd fly? Incoming fire! Speed up?'
Boom! Kaboom! Rat-tat-boom-boom-boom!
Sky erupted like fireworks. Blinding blasts scorching air—direct hit would hurt even her.
Luckily, none connected. Shells hit afterimages from her speed.
But not unscathed. Tactical retreat—no landing, just evasive maneuvers.
Zigzagging acrobatics over Sinuiju drew concentrated fire.
She bided time.
'AA guns ain't invincible.'
Big, resource-heavy flaws aside, real reason not frontline: overheating.
'Good. Fire slacking. Cooling barrels? Or swapping mana stones.'
She seized the gap.
Heavenly Punishment
Gravity hammers stacked over her upraised hand.
Then slammed down.
Kaaa-boom! Rumble!
One AA nest pulverized building and all.
"That's it! Don't mess with meee!"
Thud!
Skill pause—a magic bolt direct hit. Instinctive barrier saved her, but she grimaced.
'Wasted energy on junk. Plenty more foes.'
First phase of final op: smash AA net.
Helicopter support needed clear skies.
'Skills crush nests fast, but gotta stop. Vulnerable then.'
Drain defense, waste time.
She knew Kang Moo-hyuk was pressed—early call confirmed it.
Grandpa's brutal training flashed back.
'Calculated hunts best. But sometimes push limits—especially protecting others. Beyond self-preservation.'
Go Eul-ji pulled out her hairpin. Telekinesis coiled her hair. She pinned her bun, muttering.
"Sorry, Grandpa. Doing what you taught."
Pin glowed—her eyes matched.
"Time to push."
Sonic Boom
Whoosh!
Max acceleration.
"Ryeon Jeong-mun squad, 80% retreated! Hwang Dong-su too, over 70%. Rest... probably not making it."
"Cheon Deok-su squad... half made it. Other hunters' fates unknown."
Hunters flooded the patrol base at old Sinuiju prison.
Enemies and allies alike.
Leaning on crumbled concrete walls for defense, but walls offered little—just psychological comfort.
People crammed into the central building's basement. Too small for all, so kids, women, elderly first. Others in sturdy cells.
Kang Moo-hyuk stood in the empty yard. Nowhere safer. Better command with No Song-rin.
"Kid okay?"
"Handed to the medic. No meds, though. Who knows. Anyway, lose here, we're done."
"Win, then he gets treatment outside."
"We winning this? Feels like we're royally screwed."
"Did everything possible. They're all-in too. Now it's who strikes first."
Bad news messages piled up as he spoke.
"Chinese hit south and north. West too. East left... meaningless now. End of my life here."
Kang Moo-hyuk questioned his choices. Ran dozens of sims— no bloodless path.
Beg enemy mercy? Only option.
'Not that merciful, or no attack. Mr. Jo's silent—escaped solo?'
Orders pointless now.
Even No Song-rin couldn't hold crumbling lines.
Base walls shattered. Chinese hunters emerged from rubble.
Prison village survivors—barely alive, walking corpses more than routed troops.
Fought gearless, supplyless this far—impressive. Lesser skill, collapsed sooner.
Ryeon Jeong-mun from south, Hwang Dong-su north, Cheon Deok-su east—backs turned, retreating. All battered.
"Too many. How many can I take?"
No Song-rin grumbled, taking west where space cleared.
"These bastards ain't charging?"
Cheon Deok-su spat blood, steadying breath. Odd they encircled without attacking—rested for final clash.
Then east lines parted.
Jang Jung-shin emerged.
Kang Moo-hyuk extended a hand to No Song-rin.
"No Song-rin Hunter. Translation artifact."
"Give then take back?"
"Guild asset."
"Tch! Planned to take to grave."
Kang Moo-hyuk took it, stepped forward. Jang Jung-shin spoke.
"Real Kang Moo-hyuk?"
"Questioning real or fake now?"
"Seems real."
"So why encircle and pause?"
"Battle impressed. Didn't expect non-hunter to land punches."
"Not one—two, three at least."
"Ha! Sharp tongue too. Need that caliber to trouble me."
Victory assured, Jang Jung-shin laughed leisurely.
Overwhelming odds.
Perfect dominance.
Victory savoring natural.
"One proposal."
"Let's hear."
"Join me? Vice guild master spot. Show your talent under me. Waste to die like this."
Kang Moo-hyuk gazed skyward, lost in thought. Jang waited patiently.
Finally.
"Always had bosses, so subordinate fine. But not under you."
"Why? I lack? You don't know me."
"Snake head over dragon tail, they say. Prefer dragon."
"What...?"
"Just Chinese guild badge. Want me? Come as dragon, snake head."
Jang Jung-shin's face darkened.
"Won't listen nice. Fooled by your skill briefly—embarrassing. Grant your death wish."
He waved. Gaeryeo Alliance hunters tensed murderously. Mana-charged weapons charged.
"Damn, Boss Kang! This really end?! Anything left?!"
To No Song-rin's yell, Kang Moo-hyuk replied.
"Of course..."
Enemy hunters lunged. Cheon Deok-su blocked.
"...there is."
Kaboom!
Light from sky smashed ground. Charging hunters blasted back.
"Not late, Boss Kang?"
"Perfect. Final phase. Begin, Go Eul-ji Hunter."
"Roger!"