Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Biased Judgment
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The tournament had begun. Han Sang-ah was advancing through her matches with ease.
They were hunters who had made somewhat of a name for themselves in their respective regions, but the gap in skill was obvious.
In the blink of an eye, without any major surprises, Han Sang-ah reached the semifinals and took her place on the prepared arena. Her opponent positioned himself directly across from her.
— Then, let’s begin!
This was a fight where no equipment was allowed, and unique patterns were forbidden. Victory would come purely from one's mana and combat prowess.
The moment the words rang out, Han Sang-ah's opponent charged forward, swinging his gauntlets. At the same time, Han Sang-ah drew her sword to counter.
A sudden whistle pierced the air, and Han Sang-ah halted her attack. Her opponent, however, did not. The swung gauntlet smashed into her temple, sending her flying backward. She rolled across the ground a few times before regaining her footing.
"Urgh."
Han Sang-ah staggered for a moment before glaring at the referee. But the referee showed no sign of penalizing her opponent's attack.
She immediately raised her hand.
"Referee, my opponent continued his attack even after the stop whistle."
The referee checked something briefly before shaking his head.
"Analysis shows that's not the case."
Han Sang-ah turned her indifferent gaze back to her opponent, smoothing down her disheveled hair.
Three referees judged rule violations.
"I request video review."
The referees nodded without protest and initiated the review, sharing the footage of the moment.
"…."
One thing was clear: the video Han Sang-ah was watching had been tampered with. She remembered the fight vividly.
She had heard the referee's stop whistle before taking the hit. But in this footage, the opponent's swung fist landed a split second before the whistle—by the tiniest margin.
"Resume the match."
In the end, Han Sang-ah had no more to say. The video contradicted her memory, and the referees had ruled the attack legal.
Her mind raced. With video review lying outright, this wasn't a mistake on the referees' part.
They were blatantly favoring her opponent. This went beyond just the referees.
'They're trying to make sure I don't win.'
A match wasn't the same as a real fight. Yoo Chan-seok had drilled that into her. Though the method differed slightly, Han Sang-ah was experiencing that difference now.
This was combat under rules, judged by outsiders.
"You can lose even when you could win."
Han Sang-ah raised her sword and reset her stance. The unfavorable conditions were beyond her control.
Even with biased rules, she had to win this match.
'Even if they tamper with the video.'
There were limits to that. If the discrepancy was too subtle for ordinary people to notice, tampering wouldn't raise eyebrows.
But if it was blatant enough for bystanders to question, they couldn't fake it.
"Your reputation outshines your actual skill, it seems."
With a loud clang, her opponent clapped his gauntlets together and grinned.
"Fame and skill aren't proportional."
Han Sang-ah readily agreed. It was the truth.
"What, pretending to be weak now?"
"I've never done that."
She'd simply stated a fact. She hadn't called herself weak. Han Sang-ah couldn't fathom why her opponent twisted her words that way.
'One solid, perfect hit.'
That was Yoo Chan-seok's advice for her, and she agreed it suited her fighting style well.
The same applied here. Slowly wearing down an opponent until they couldn't resist wasn't her specialty. That was Yoo Chan-seok's way.
Han Sang-ah gripped her sword and calmly dodged her opponent's swinging gauntlets.
His attacks missed her entirely. No matter how "standard" the judging, their accumulated experience and skill levels were worlds apart.
Finally, enough mana had gathered in Han Sang-ah's sword to incapacitate her opponent in one strike.
"?!"
Just as she prepared to unleash it, the stop whistle blew again. Following the rules, she reluctantly dispersed the mana from her blade.
"What's the reason this time?"
She sheathed the practice sword and asked.
"An issue was detected with the arena's video equipment. We're inspecting it now. This is essential for a fair match."
Hearing the answer, Han Sang-ah didn't argue. The referees weren't on her side anyway. Protesting here would only backfire.
"Understood."
The timing was suspicious to anyone watching. But no one could gauge exactly how much mana had built up in her sword.
The match resumed.
She truly had to fight with extreme caution. With rules skewed heavily in her opponent's favor, any action even brushing foul territory could result in disqualification.
Her opponent could break rules with impunity, while she might get called for fouls even when playing clean. Blatantly unfair conditions.
"Doesn't matter."
All the tournament rules were etched in her mind. She was confident she could win while adhering to every single one. Compared to the gimmicks of the Rank-1 Erosion Cores she'd faced before, these weren't that tough.
If they blocked a one-shot finish, she'd aim for massive damage in one blow instead. That would be harder to interfere with.
'If I wind up for an attack, they'll disrupt it again.'
They'd blow the whistle at the last possible second. Then rule her post-whistle attack a foul and disqualify her.
With a clang, Han Sang-ah's sword clashed against her opponent's gauntlet.
"You can't win. That's how this fight's rigged."
Her opponent declared her defeat with brazen confidence, as if he'd been tipped off.
"You'll just get pummeled helplessly until you're eliminated. The moment you gather enough mana for a real hit, the refs will step in."
Han Sang-ah said nothing, sliding back before resetting her stance. Moments later, her opponent dropped into a sprint and charged.
'If raw power falls short…'
She'd use his power against him. Not true ihwajipmok, but through repeated training with Yoo Chan-seok's guidance, she could now pull off similar feats—redirecting an enemy's force—on demand.
She didn't need such tricks.
A counter. One perfectly timed counter blow. Sense the opponent's attack with all five senses, understand the moment of impact and peak damage.
Then perfectly control her body to execute the motion flawlessly, without flaw.
"Now."
She unleashed a slash lacking the power or speed for a decisive hit.
"Gr… haaah!"
The flat of her blade slammed into her opponent's side as he swung his gauntlet. A crunch echoed, the sensation of cracking ribs traveling up her sword into her hand.
'Perfect hit. That ends it.'
Not some half-hearted counter. Her sword had arced along a precise path at the exact right moment, striking the perfect spot.
With a heavy thud, her charging opponent lost balance and tumbled across the ground.
Only then did a belated, meaningless whistle sound. Anyone could see Han Sang-ah had landed her hit before it blew. And since she'd used the flat of the blade, not the edge, his injury was a deep bruise—painful, but recoverable with time.
"Hunter Han Sang-ah wins."
No matter how one-sided the conditions, even they couldn't deny her victory here.
"I wonder how Jeong No-hun's doing."
Han Sang-ah muttered as she descended from the dueling arena. If she'd faced interference, so had he, obviously.
And since Jeong No-hun's personality differed from hers, his response would be entirely different.
Jeong No-hun quickly realized the referees were handing down one-sided rulings shortly after entering the arena.
"Kim Sun-hyeok, was it?"
He slipped past his opponent's attack with fluid ease and spoke.
"So?"
Jeong No-hun grinned lazily.
"You had a girl you kept under you back in the day, right?"
He'd already dug up personal info on every hunter in his prelims bracket. His opponent's face hardened instantly.
"You bastard."
"Heard she quit abruptly around two years ago… Turns out she had an abortion record."
Jeong No-hun regarded him with a dry expression.
"The timing lined up suspiciously with when you ghosted the job."
Kim Sun-hyeok's attacks grew increasingly savage. But Jeong No-hun deliberately dodged them by hairsbreadths, continuing his taunt.
"What good's swinging your dick like a pro if you can't swing a hammer half as well, you piece of shit."
Of course, Jeong No-hun's intel-gathering methods weren't exactly aboveboard—bordering on illegal, even.
Han Sang-ah had overcome a cowardly rigged setup with honest play and pure skill.
Jeong No-hun wasn't that type. He had no intention of pushing straight through unfair odds with integrity.
His nickname "Scum" wasn't for show. He didn't care about the morality or legitimacy of his methods.
"Daddy, why'd you abandon Mommy? Why'd you let me die?"
"You son of a bitch!"
His opponent's strikes turned even wilder.
"If half your dick-swinging talent went into your hammer work, you'd shred a guy like me in seconds."
Jeong No-hun slipped back from another wild hammer swing, smirking mockingly.
Kim Sun-hyeok's shadow suddenly bubbled and boiled like an overheated cauldron. Pitch-black blades and spears erupted from it.
"Oh dear."
The whistle blew immediately. Talking during the tournament wasn't a foul. But using a personal unique ability was.
"Tournament? Fuck that. I'm ripping your mouth off."
Instead of replying, Jeong No-hun shouldered his rifle and said,
"Bring it, if you've got the skill."
He hadn't provoked out of weakness. This was the surest path to victory in a rigged match.
— Hunter Kim Sun-hyeok is disqualified for rule violation. The match ends now. Repeat.
Kim Sun-hyeok, already livid, ignored the order. Which meant this was no longer a match—it was over, and he'd lost by default.
Fighting him now wouldn't count as tournament combat. Jeong No-hun, as if waiting for this, lightly levitated and smoothly dashed across the arena, engaging the guy.
He'd left his usual gear behind, but mana patterns were fair game.
And absent the one-sided rule favoritism, he was confident he wouldn't lose to trash like this.
Fifteen minutes later, Jeong No-hun had subdued him.
The berserker who'd raged with shadows moments ago now lay sprawled, a bullet in each limb.
Jeong No-hun was the winner of his regional prelims. Both he and Han Sang-ah had advanced to the main tournament, each overcoming the biased rules in their own way.
Only Yoo Chan-seok remained. Though in different venues, Han Sang-ah and Jeong No-hun shared the same thought.
It'd be harder for Yoo Chan-seok to lose.