Chapter 95
The government had been keeping an eye on Baek Do-woon.
His initial assigned monitoring grade had been D.
In other words, he was nobody important.
The only reason they watched him at all was because he was an executive of the Baekwooncheon Guild.
An A-class guild.
They were a bomb no one could predict the direction of.
A group of young hunters who chased dreams without thinking realistically.
They could look one way, and then, just as quickly, make cold, rational decisions as if they were an entirely different organization.
They were unlike the guilds that had, until now, chased nothing but commercial profit.
For that reason, the government had placed surveillance on the entire Baekwooncheon Guild leadership.
They had merely assigned different monitoring grades depending on the person.
In other words, the government knew that after using Heart Break, Do-woon had been left in a body that could no longer circulate mana.
Baek Do-woon has resolved the Heart Break aftereffect.
It appears to be thanks to consuming a medicinal fruit.
It is presumed to be a new kind of medicinal fruit never seen before.
When that report arrived, the government could hardly believe it.
Up to that point, the number of people in the entire world who had recovered from Heart Break could be counted on one hand.
And even that was only possible on the same odds as lightning striking a sandbar and somehow building an airplane.
Among them, there had never been a single case of someone recovering after taking a medicinal fruit.
Neither Seoljicho nor Udamhwa could cure the aftereffects of Heart Break.
They only altered the properties of mana or the body enough to seem like a different person, or else cured other illnesses.
But according to the report, after Do-woon consumed something, the body that had been unable to use mana was healed.
A new kind of medicinal fruit.
The government zeroed in on that.
They concluded that the Baekwooncheon Guild had manufactured a medicinal fruit that could cure the aftereffects of Heart Break.
Baek Do-hee, the White Saint.
Surely she had made a medicine that repaired the heart using materials taken from the Naksan Gate.
From that day on, Do-woon’s monitoring grade, once D-class, was raised to B-class.
That meant he was now considered someone important.
When his grade changed, his handler was changed as well.
The new manager was Bae Soo-hyun.
At a young age, she had been put in charge of the Hunter Ministry’s newly established A-Class Hunter Management Department, which made her an elite.
Since it was a department created personally by the minister, personnel had been pulled in from all over, but the problem was that talent was far scarcer than headcount.
It had swelled in size on the outside, but there were very few competent people who could actually manage A-class hunters.
As a result, she was forced to take over the A-class hunters that the incapable managers could not handle.
Guild members from Baekwooncheon Guild, or hunters like Han Jin-hwan, were prime examples.
And naturally, that meant she ended up responsible for Do-woon as well.
May 28, transfer of exclusive rights to the Ant Nest Dungeon (E-class).
On the same day, Baek Do-woon was reclassified as a B-class hunter.
Appears to be on friendly terms with Woo Chae-yeon of the One Person Group?
The first thing she did after taking over Do-woon’s file was, of course, read through his information.
What she checked first, especially, was the data recorded in the Trial Tower.
She wanted to verify Do-woon’s actual capabilities.
According to the records, his physical ability had been at the level of a B-class hunter.
There had even been brief moments when he rose to the level of an A-class hunter while facing Ji Sang-wook and the Cyclops.
He had grown strong enough to take on the Cyclops, the monster known for making people wail in despair, by himself, but that strength had not lasted long.
He had quickly returned to normal, and the Trial Tower judges had determined that the power had been a buff effect.
Based on the evaluation, he was classified as a B-class hunter.
“Other than me and my big brother, that bastard’s the strongest one here. You really think the lot of you can even measure his strength?”
After personally reviewing the information, Bae Soo-hyun did not believe that line for a second.
It had not been long since the Trial Tower test.
Not even half a month had passed.
There was no way that in just two weeks she, or Kim Tae-seok, could have become stronger than someone who was being drafted to help capture criminals at the level of an A-class hunter.
Not unless Do-woon possessed the potential to become an A+ class hunter like Han Jin-hwan.
She dismissed Han Jin-hwan’s words as simple bragging, and confidently began the spar.
But,
“Is that the best you’ve got?”
In less than five minutes, she realized that was a mistake.
Do-woon smoothly dodged the attacks of two B-class hunters.
All the while, he kept throwing out words that scratched at people’s nerves.
“Really? There are three of you and you still can’t handle just me?”
Originally, the spar had been scheduled as one-on-one.
But Han Jin-hwan’s challenge-like advice had changed the situation.
Bae Soo-hyun, Kim Tae-seok, and a B-class hunter from Gangwon Provincial Office.
Three hunters had ended up joining in.
They were from different organizations, but their coordination was excellent, as if they had trained together for years.
That was thanks to the fact that they all belonged to the government.
As people working for the government, their movements were strikingly similar.
They were movements meant to arrest the target directly in front of them.
The Anti-A-Class Hunter Formation.
A formation devised by the government to apprehend criminals at the level of A-class hunters.
Honestly, it was so simple it was almost embarrassing to call it a formation.
After all, it amounted to only two people with melee weapons taking the front while a mage supported from behind.
And yet there was a reason they gave it such a grand name as the Anti-A-Class Hunter Formation.
Bae Soo-hyun gripped her staff with both hands and began chanting.
At the sight of that, Kim Tae-seok and the Gangwon Provincial Office hunter attacked Do-woon with ferocity.
Within the two hunters’ onslaught, Do-woon said, “That’s it, give it some spirit!”
Kim Tae-seok swung his longsword.
The Gangwon Provincial Office hunter brought his giant hammer crashing down as well.
The attacks never reached Do-woon.
To the two men who failed to land a hit, Do-woon sent words of encouragement one after another.
He dodged the attacks as if by the skin of his teeth, then muttered under his breath.
Whoosh!
“Aw, that was close.”
Bang!
“Wow, if that had hit me I’d be done for. If it had hit me.”
That sort of thing.
Kim Tae-seok and the Gangwon Provincial Office hunter were breathing hard, or grinding their teeth.
They even glared at Do-woon as if they wanted to chew him to pieces.
Sensing their gazes, Do-woon gave a disgusting little smile.
He squinted, lifting one corner of his mouth as high as it would go.
It was the face of someone openly looking down on them.
With that expression, he asked, “Why? You think if you glare at me hard enough, the attacks will just magically hit me?”
“Again!”
“Yes!”
Kim Tae-seok tightened his grip on the longsword again.
The Gangwon Provincial Office hunter didn’t give up either and followed right behind him.
They could not afford to give up.
The true value of this formation had not yet been revealed.
The real moment would come once the spell Bae Soo-hyun was chanting finished.
“It’s good to be brimming with power, but are you sure you’re okay?”
Once that chant was unleashed...!
Kim Tae-seok and,
“Wow, that’s some nice strength. Would’ve been great if you could use it to actually hit me. Too bad. Missed again.”
That thought bloomed in the head of the Gangwon Provincial Office hunter as well.
At this point, they had long since abandoned the idea that this was a spar.
They were doing their utmost for a new purpose.
“Shuttern Stark!”
Bae Soo-hyun extended her staff and activated the spell.
From the tip of the staff, spiderwebs made of mana scattered outward in a wide spray.
Before long, they became a square-shaped space, one where the inside and outside could both be seen.
Do-woon looked back at the barrier that had opened into a broad enclosure.
“This is... a barrier?”
“That’s right. It’s a proud barrier created by the combined efforts of Korea’s most renowned mages.”
Kim Tae-seok answered.
The Kim Tae-seok who had been attacking with such savage intensity only moments ago was now standing still.
The Gangwon Provincial Office hunter had also stopped and was catching his breath.
It looked as though they no longer needed to attack.
Seeing that, Do-woon tilted his head.
“What are you doing now? The spar isn’t over yet, is it?”
“No. It’s over.”
“What are you talking abou—huh?”
Do-woon scratched his head and then stopped.
As if sensing something, his eyes widened.
He looked down at his own body with slightly widened eyes, then raised his head again to stare at the barrier.
“Could it be...”
＊＊＊
“...are you stealing my mana right now?”
He looked around the barrier as he asked.
It looked like a giant spiderweb.
Because of its appearance, it felt like he had become prey caught in a web.
“I can’t explain it in detail, but that’s close.”
“Impressive. I can see what kind of thought went into making this spell.”
“Exactly. No matter how strong you are, if you don’t have mana, you can’t do anything.”
As he said that, Kim Tae-seok glanced over at Han Jin-hwan, who was watching from the sidelines.
It was easy to tell what he wanted to say.
Even if he was an A+ class hunter, he wouldn’t be able to use skills without mana.
Then that meant the three of them, all B-class hunters, could subdue Han Jin-hwan.
That was probably what he wanted to say.
Kim Tae-seok looked back at me.
“...You should feel proud.”
“I should?”
“Yes. This spell is only used when capturing criminals at the level of A-class hunters. Do-woon-nim, you have been firmly recognized as an A-class hunter by us.”
“So you’ve confirmed my strength... is that it?”
“Yes. So now...”
Crack.
Kim Tae-seok clenched his right hand into a fist and pressed it against his left.
“Please just take a beating first.”
“......”
The Gangwon Provincial Office hunter standing beside him raised his hammer again.
Both men looked filled with nothing but the determination to hit me.
They looked like the kind of faces that wouldn’t be satisfied unless they landed a blow on my mouth.
Bae, the civil servant, was standing farther away and maintaining the barrier, but she looked like she wanted to do the same thing too.
“No.”
“This is a checkmate. Just give up.”
“I don’t think so.”
“If you keep resisting, we’ll hit you even harder.”
“Even harder? So hitting me is a given?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. Then if I say you won’t hit me, I’ll give up.”
“...Tch. Just please don’t give up that easily.”
“That’s harsh.”
“What’s really harsh is Do-woon-nim’s mouth... no, your mouth!”
Kim Tae-seok charged again.
The hunter beside him also lifted his hammer at once and rushed in.
Their will to hit me was obvious.
I guess I’d teased them too much.
“I’ll hit you just once!”
“Just one hit!”
Kim Tae-seok and the hunter, who had run all the way up to me, shouted.
At the same time, they swung the weapons in their hands.
After dodging the horizontal sweep of the longsword, a giant hammer immediately came crashing down from above.
“No, if that lands, somebody dies!”
“You said you have an A-class shield skill and a regeneration skill! You’ll be fine!”
“You’ll be fine? Did you just say ‘you’ll be fine’?”
“We’re not asking for much, are we? Please, just one hit!”
With that, a new kind of onslaught began, one driven by a very different purpose than before.
If earlier they had been buying time for Bae to finish deploying the barrier, now they were trying to force me to use skills so I would burn through mana faster.
Even while acting angry, they were doing their job.
“Hup!”
“Hah!”
The fierce attacks continued for a while.
One minute passed, then five.
The first person to notice something strange was Bae.
She was watching the exchange from a distance, so she wasn’t as absorbed in it as the two men in front of me.
She kept tilting her head and staring at me.
Why wasn’t Baek Do-woon getting tired?
That was probably what she was thinking.
Shuttern Stark was definitely a good spell.
Especially in how it only stole the mana of the designated target.
But it was useless against me.
The problem was twofold.
“Why...?”
Kim Tae-seok swung his longsword and looked at me.
He had realized I wasn’t tiring out.
“...Do you know how much mana it takes for me to keep Arca active?”
“Arca?”
“Creating a mana blade uses fifty thousand mana per minute.”
“Ah...!”
Even so, because my mana recovery was so fast, I could keep it active for what felt like forever.
Try to drain all my mana?
That was impossible.
Even now, mana was recovering faster than it was being consumed.
It wasn’t for nothing that Dishingna Tor had called it nearly infinite mana.
“But Shuttern Stark should be draining it much faster than that...!”
“It really is a good spell.”
I looked at Bae.
The other problem was that Bae was not a mage at the level of an A-class hunter.
At best, she was around B-class level.
There was no way she could fully deploy a barrier created by Korea’s most renowned mages.
Say a B-class hunter and an A-class hunter both used the same spell, Fire Bolt.
Would the result really be the same?
Of course not.
Bang-thud!
The Gangwon Provincial Office hunter tripped over his own feet and fell.
He was out of stamina.
Then,
“This is absurd...!”
Kim Tae-seok muttered as he dropped to the ground too.
He looked up at me with an expression that said he couldn’t believe it.
I gave him a faint smile.
Then I raised my right hand as if I were about to smack the mouth of the man who’d collapsed.
His eyes flew open wide, then he shut them to brace for pain.
“......”
I walked past without hitting him.
From the start, I had no intention of hitting him.
They had been singing about how badly they wanted to hit me, so I’d just played along a little.
As I walked over to Bae, I said, “Now it’s your turn. Going to keep this up?”
“......!”
When our eyes met, she took a frightened step back.
It couldn’t be helped.
She was a party-type mage.
She couldn’t handle me alone.
“...I concede.”
Easy win, then.