Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Hunter (5)
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'So that means...'
'Among the Hunters who use swords, there are Lee Eun-woo and Masa. You'd probably be more comfortable with Lee Eun-woo.'
'You want me to fight Lee Eun-woo Hunter?'
'Not a fight—a spar. If you want to face a Deadlock, you need to at least understand sword movements. Lee Eun-woo has excellent swordplay. It'll be good training for you.'
But whether Eun-woo would actually agree to spar with Su-ho was questionable.
'If he says no, ask his girlfriend. That guy's the type to play dead if she tells him to.'
Eun-woo's girlfriend was Erin.
'Just talking to Erin Helper feels like it'd get my head chopped off first.'
Jin Seong-hyeok burst out laughing at Su-ho's deadpan remark.
'Anyway, convince him somehow. You really need this.'
There was a saying about pulling out the iron horns while they're short—better to act fast.
Su-ho's footsteps, heading to the testing room, came to an abrupt halt. Then they turned precisely in the opposite direction.
'Hm? Where are you going?'
Su-ho grinned at Jin Seong-hyeok's question.
'To where Lee Eun-woo Hunter is.'
Su-ho strode forward confidently. There was only one place Eun-woo would be: right next to Erin. And where Erin would be was obvious.
The examination room.
He'd heard about it before. According to Kwon Oh, Erin's hobby during breaks was analyzing monsters.
It had started as a way to help Eun-woo by studying monsters, but it had evolved into something highly professional. Now, she even worked alongside the examiners.
After returning from the Dead Zone, Erin visited the examination room without fail to analyze its monsters. While scrutinizing their features with the examiners, she turned at the prickling stares.
"Eun-woo, how long are you gonna stay? I told you to rest in the room."
Her voice dripped with coquettishness.
"I'm staying here."
Even so, Eun-woo's firm gaze shifted to the men beside Erin.
Whether it was her innocent personality or her pretty face, men always tried to chat her up whenever Eun-woo wasn't around.
Eun-woo, whose obsession and jealousy knew no bounds, wasn't about to let that slide. Every time Erin came to the examination room, he followed, glaring daggers at the examiners like a guard dog.
"How is Helper Erin so good at analysis..."
Eun-woo's murderous glare fixed on the young examiner mumbling shyly, his face flushed toward her.
"If you've got nonsense to spout, say it to me."
The examiner froze at Eun-woo's words, staring fixedly at the floor.
"Eun-woo! I told you not to scare the examiners!"
"I'll tell you about the monsters."
"There are plenty you haven't seen. And ones we'll face in the future. I have to analyze them well so you don't get hurt."
"Erin."
"So go wait outside for a bit! Or else you're sleeping separately tonight!"
At the mention of sleeping apart, Eun-woo stiffened in shock. Erin switched back to her coquettish tone.
"You'll wait for me outside, right?"
With a helpless sigh, Eun-woo relented.
"Come out quick."
He shot warning glares at each examiner clinging near Erin before stepping out—just as...
"Lee Eun-woo Hunter."
Turning at the voice calling him, Eun-woo spotted Su-ho in his view. He tilted his head slightly, expression asking why he'd been summoned so suddenly.
"I came to ask a favor."
"A favor?"
Su-ho flashed a grin.
"Would you teach me the sword?"
"The sword?"
"Yes."
Showing up out of nowhere asking for sword lessons. And Su-ho was a mental-type Hunter using Jin Seong-hyeok's techniques—not even a physical-type—yet here he was. Eun-woo furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Why do you want to learn the sword?"
"Uh? Well..."
Su-ho paused, about to mention the Deadlock from the Dead Zone last time. But thanks to Jin Seong-hyeok erasing memories, no one else would remember encountering it.
So he needed another excuse.
"I... I heard the Dead Zone boss uses a sword. I figured knowing it would be important if I have to face it."
Eun-woo quietly scanned Su-ho from head to toe.
"The only one around who's great with a sword is you, Lee Eun-woo Hunter. So I wanted to learn from you. If it's too much, even a short explanation about it would..."
Dressed in black, Su-ho hardly looked like a Helper standing before Eun-woo. Whenever had he trained like that? His body was packed with muscle rivaling Eun-woo's.
Was he preparing to become a Hunter while working as a Helper?
Intrigue sparked. What if he sparred with this mutant-like existence—a Helper wielding Jin Seong-hyeok's power despite being a Helper?
After staring silently, Eun-woo's lips parted slowly.
"How about a quick spar, then?"
"...A spar?"
"I hear there's an arena here where Hunters can duel."
Eun-woo was curious. In a matchup between the legendary SSS-grade Jin Seong-hyeok, and Su-ho using the same techniques—who would win? His innate competitive spirit stirred.
"If you're curious about the sword, why not clash directly?"
Surprised, Su-ho's mouth fell open.
"Is that okay?"
"No reason it wouldn't be. But right now, I need to stay near Erin."
He glanced briefly toward the examination room where Erin was.
"Let's head to the arena once she's done."
The chance to duel Eun-woo, said to be the best swordsman.
'That's not like him.'
Jin Seong-hyeok muttered in surprise at Eun-woo's uncharacteristic initiative, aside from anything involving Erin.
'Great. I get to experience Lee Eun-woo Hunter's sword.'
'Well, experience is good. And even if he's lost his mind over his girlfriend, his swordsmanship is top-notch.'
Right on cue, the examination room door opened.
"Eun-woo, have you been waiting long? I... Oh, Su-ho's here too. Hi?"
Su-ho greeted the beaming Erin.
"Hello, Erin... Helper."
Catching Eun-woo's eye, Su-ho dropped the "noona" and Erin laughed.
"What, so formal. Feel free to be casual, Su-ho."
He didn't want to risk Eun-woo's axe-like glare if he got too chummy. Su-ho smiled awkwardly.
"Haha, this feels more comfortable."
"Okay, do what suits you. Were you two talking? Did I interrupt?"
Eun-woo wrapped an arm familiarly around Erin's shoulders and spoke.
"Erin. We have somewhere to go."
"Somewhere? Where?"
"There's an arena here. We can spar there. Helper Cha Su-ho wants to see me use my sword."
"You using your sword, Eun-woo?"
"Yeah."
Erin's gaze turned to Su-ho.
"You two aren't doing anything dangerous, right?"
"No. Just a friendly matchup...!"
"A matchup?"
Su-ho hurriedly explained as Erin's eyes widened round. Only after detailing why he wanted to see Eun-woo's sword did she nod in understanding.
"Still, nothing risky. And no one gets hurt, especially not Eun-woo."
Jin Seong-hyeok sighed at Erin's words.
'They're just alike.'
'Why? It's nice seeing them care for each other.'
'Jealous?'
'...Jealousy is defeat.'
Ignoring Jin Seong-hyeok's chuckle, Su-ho nodded.
"Don't worry. It's light sparring. I just want to learn from Lee Eun-woo Hunter's swordsmanship."
"Got it. So we're going now?"
"If it's okay, could we go right away?"
Eun-woo stared at Erin, awaiting her approval. She let out a short sigh.
"Promise no one gets hurt."
Both replied in unison.
"I'll do my best."
"I'll try."
Trevor's expression as he stared at the monitor was far from normal. Beside him, Derek kept glancing between Trevor and the screen, fidgeting anxiously.
[ "Examiner Derek." ]
Derek responded to Trevor's call with a tense face.
[ "Yes, Chief Examiner Trevor." ]
[ "Is this blood test value accurate?" ]
[ "...We couldn't believe it at first either, so we swapped machines and retested three times. Same result." ]
Derek rummaged through the file in his hand and handed Trevor a sheet of paper.
[ "Y-You'll see, but all three tests match exactly. We even tested it against existing SS-grade Hunter Clark's blood sample, and it came out the same. So it's not a machine error." ]
The paper showed printouts of the three test results. Astonishingly, the values were identical. No margin of error despite different machines meant the readings were real.
Trevor couldn't believe it. Whether the numbers before his eyes were reality.
[ "Examiner Derek." ]
[ "Yes." ]
Derek swallowed hard, staring at Trevor.
[ "Do you think this result is possible?" ]
[ "...We didn't believe it either. We even compared it to SSS-grade Jin Seong-hyeok Hunter's test results." ]
Even though the answer was obvious, Trevor pressed for confirmation.
[ "And the results?" ]
[ "Well..." ]
Derek continued, face full of bewilderment.
[ "Some matched Jin Seong-hyeok Hunter's, others exceeded them. And the primary abilities... they're absurd..." ]
Trevor turned back to the documents in his hand, understanding as Derek trailed off.
It was unbelievable. Normal SS-grade Hunters had three or four primary abilities. And they couldn't have conflicting ones—like fire and water, which were polar opposites.
Only Jin Seong-hyeok had defied affinities to possess his abilities. His SSS-grade primaries alone covered every Hunter's combined.
In other words, he could use all Hunter abilities and had resistances to them.
Impossible, yet that wasn't the end. Jin Seong-hyeok had even more abilities beyond what tests revealed. Trevor vaguely suspected as much but couldn't guess the extent.
Staring at Su-ho's test results—matching, no, surpassing the legendary Jin Seong-hyeok's—left Trevor's face a mask of confusion.
Derek cautiously asked Trevor.
[ "Um... Chief Examiner Trevor." ]
Trevor's eyes flicked toward Derek. He continued slowly.
[ "Based solely on this test result... does that mean Helper—no, Hunter Cha Su-ho... surpasses SSS-grade Jin Seong-hyeok Hunter?" ]