Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Qualifying for the Finals
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With a thunderous boom, the arena floor shattered.
― Incredible, Yoo Chan-seok!
― No, he's smashing the arena floor! He's strong—truly strong!
As if I'd be weak. I swung my spear this way and that, then grinned at the opponent standing right in front of me.
"If you're scared, forfeit."
If my opponent was a wise person who could tell shit from soy paste without tasting it, I'd happily admire that wise judgment and skip the fight altogether.
"You think I'll back down here?"
"Always with that damn image management."
Reputation and honor—those monsters force people to stand their ground even when they know it's a death sentence.
Sure, there are crises you have to face head-on despite knowing you'll die, but that's only when protecting your parents or kids. No need to do it just to safeguard some image.
― They're not stopping. No excuses here—it's a clear skill gap.
― An overwhelming matchup continues. The opponent doesn't have any room to try anything.
― With this performance, a new name might actually climb onto the list this time!
Amid all the excited chatter, here we were scrapping in this tiny arena against someone who didn't need to be an enemy.
And everyone else was safely seated in the stands, watching the spectacle. It felt like being a dolphin trapped in a zoo.
Definitely not my favorite variety show genre.
"Take this…!"
The opponent charged. I had no intention of dragging out this ridiculous show. As he rushed in, I spun my spear and clocked him right in the jaw.
And that settled the match. It was over in seconds—such an anticlimactic fight. The more lackluster it was, the louder the commentators got.
― Over in an instant again!
― Truly dominant. No need to analyze—it's electrifying skill!
The commentators knew this match was a snooze. That's why they shouted even louder, pretending to be thrilled. Otherwise, the atmosphere would turn ice-cold.
Hey, it's their fault for putting regular folks in the circus ring and expecting a great show. If they want to make money, they should hustle for the hype themselves.
I checked my smartphone and grimaced. It was the Association President.
"Yes, Yoo Chan-seok speaking."
― Yoo Chan-seok Hunter. I just watched your match. How about dragging it out a bit longer next time?
What was he talking about?
"I'd drag it out if the opponent gave me something to work with."
It's not like they were unleashing some epic ultimate move. I just infused some mana and swung—hard. If that's my fault for them dropping like flies, I'd be heartbroken.
"The ones wanting tension from a tug-of-war between a tiger and ants are the problem."
Truth is, everyone already knows how it'll end.
― You'll face some real talent in the finals.
"I hope so."
But probably not. Right now, I could go toe-to-toe with Lee Se-eun for hours.
In a drawn-out fight, I'd even beat her handily. No way the prelim climbers could match that.
That's the gap between me and the hunters desperate to get on Hope's List.
"Oh, by the way, thanks for the contact. Sang-ah and Oh-hoon recently told me something interesting."
― What story?
Leaning against the wall, I replied in a casual tone.
"They said the refs were blatantly favoring the other side."
― No way. The tournament is run fairly under the Association's control.
I let out a laugh.
"Half right. It is under the Association's control."
The 'fairly' part? Not buying it. These guys lie every time they open their mouths.
― Look, Yoo Chan-seok. Participants get tense, so they might feel a bit persecuted. It's stress-induced. Probably those two…
"Don't bullshit me."
As the Association President tried to continue, I cut him off.
― What?
"Association President, you still see me as some dime-a-dozen hunter who couldn't even refuse that ridiculous mission you slapped on me after I cleared the Gyodong Island Erosion Core a few months back?"
He went silent at my words.
― Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, a bit of fame doesn't justify that foul mouth. Popularity and fame are mirages.
I agreed there. Vague things like fame and popularity shatter at the first mistake.
"But they're razor-sharp while they last."
Until they break, they slice through almost anything—like a monomolecular cutter made of glass.
What I'm saying is:
"Right now, no one can say shit even if I talk back to you like this."
― How long do you think that'll last? Plenty of people can smash your flimsy fame and popularity.
I burst out laughing.
"So where are those folks while I'm mouthing off? Want me to tell you?"
I brought my mouth to the phone's speaker and whispered.
"Touching me right now gets them nothing."
Every circle's the same. Hotheads who lash out emotionally never climb high—they crash first.
If the premise holds, so does its treatment.
Those at the top don't rage emotionally. They weigh pros and cons, moving only when it's a sure gain.
I switched back to a polite tone with the Association President.
"Let's drop this nonsense. Anyway, with complaints about biased judging, please be extra careful. I don't want bad blood with the Association over this."
Not over something this flimsy, anyway.
How laughable that respected tournament refs would take bribes for favoritism. Sure, World Cups and Olympics have bias scandals all the time.
"Like Wonder Club or Taebaek LLC."
Silence from the Association President. Among groups with pull in the Korea Hunter Association, ones who'd hate me? Wonder Club and Taebaek fit.
― The Association is running this tournament fairly.
"Is that so? Got it. Oh, one last thing."
I paused, gathering my thoughts, then spoke leisurely.
"A lot of snakebite cases share the same scenario. Know what it is?"
― …No idea?
What, it's not that hard—why can't he answer?
"You spot it, quietly back away. But people freak out, poke it with a stick, and that's how they get bit."
Don't poke, and you almost never get bitten. Sure, you might step on a hidden one unknowingly… but once you know it's there, stay calm and still, and bites are rare.
"Just saying."
I won't bite if you don't poke. But some people just can't resist.
― Fascinating story. Oh, congrats on advancing to the finals.
Our chat ended there.
"Finals, huh."
Time to pack. I figured there'd be interference. Never thought we'd breeze through unscathed—plenty hate our guts.
"…All the bad news has vanished."
While this clown show of a tournament dragged on, negative reports had mostly disappeared.
"Doesn't mean it's gone just because we can't see it."
Korea's power and water supply at normal levels? Down to a quarter of the day.
A third of U.S. farmland gone. Supplies to Korea steadily dwindling.
Like spreading poison, every indicator races toward doom.
Like it or not, the world's crumbling moment by moment. The crises I saw escorting the shield generator and raiding Bratsk's fridge? Just the tip.
But people won't look. They ignore the irreversible decay to stretch their fleeting prosperity.
"I know. And I won't ignore it."
I packed essentials, walked the hall, and gazed out the window. The city, cut off from power and water, drowned in demon-swallowed blackness.
Above, countless stars twinkled in the sky.
"The world sure spins pretty."
The sight I wanted upon returning to Earth wasn't stars in the night sky.
I'd seen plenty of that cheap, shabby crap in that other world.
What I craved was…
Civilization's glow from the ground so brilliant that heaven's stars dared not show—the majestic scene.
Dazzling, unnatural artificial light chasing away nature's night and dark—that's what drew me back to Earth.
I wiped the glass once and stepped out for the finals.
A red coupe flashed its high beams at me. As I approached, the window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.
"Hi there?"
"Owner Sa Seung-hee. What brings you all the way here?"
"Incheon isn't that far."
Still, not a distance for a busy person.
"Hop in. Heading to Seoul? I'll drive you."
I slid into the passenger seat.
"Congrats on the finals."
"Tougher to drop out at this point."
Sa Seung-hee nodded.
"Even hunters from across the country pale next to Yoo Chan-seok, who's cleared two Rank-1 Erosion Cores."
"Couldn't have without your help, Owner Sa."
She snorted.
"Most hunters couldn't act on the info even if I gave it. By the way, from what you said on TV, you don't seem humble."
"Nope."
Silence fell, then Sa Seung-hee spoke while driving.
"I heard what happened to Han Sang-ah Hunter and Jeong Oh-hoon Hunter."
"Biased judging, right? Glad it ended well."
She sighed.
"Can't touch what's happening in the Association. I have connections, but…"
"It's fine. Never planned to overcome everything with others' help."
Sharing 1st-Rank Erosion Core intel was plenty.
"But I wanted to warn you—some traps are mixed in this time."
"Traps?"
"You know Taebaek has an elite direct strike team?"
"Yeah, heard about it before."
Yoon Sung-hyun mentioned it while trying to intimidate me.
"A few joined this tournament."
"Know who?"
"Identities are airtight. If the rumors hold, they passed prelims."
Obvious goal: Taebaek hates seeing us succeed, so splash some mud.
"How do you hear stuff like that?"
"I dig up scraps on 1st-Rank Cores too."
Fair enough. Should share this with Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon in Seoul.