HWM 08

Chapter – 08

The next day, as soon as afternoon came, Taewoon visited the Association Center and personally picked up his Hunter license.

These days, everything was digitized, so there was no real need to carry a physical card around—but still, nothing beat the feeling of actually holding it.

‘Five days left until I get the All-Things Theater ticket.’

At last, Taewoon decided to attempt a dungeon raid he had only dreamed about for years.

There were two main ways to do it.

‘Join a guild and form a raid party… or create a temporary party.’

Joining a Hunter Guild had always been one of Taewoon’s dreams, but for now, he wasn’t planning to.

He felt he needed time to better understand the All-Things Theater and grow stronger on his own first.

‘If I were still staying at Hongsim Hall, finding a temporary party would’ve been easier…’

But since things had turned out this way, he had no choice but to search in person.

So Taewoon headed to the Center’s recruitment area—a place where hunters could quickly form parties and coordinate.

“Hey, you bastard! Why is this archive evaluation so bad? This isn’t veteran level—this is trash!”

“I’m telling you, two frontliners is the answer. Always two! Just two!”

“Why bother syncing strategies? We’ve all done this before. Let’s just do it the usual way.”

The atmosphere could only be described as chaotic—like a marketplace.

True to hunters’ strong personalities, even groups that were already formed were arguing heatedly about dungeon strategies. Now and then, someone trying to hide a bad record would get exposed.

Just watching made Taewoon’s head ache.

‘…Maybe I should’ve just used the online recruitment board.’

But he quickly shook the thought away.

‘Still, choosing dungeon partners face-to-face is safer.’

Temporary parties were notorious for problems, and this old-fashioned method was the best way to avoid disasters.

After browsing the list of low-rank dungeons available to temporary parties, Taewoon scanned for people whose goals aligned with his.

‘Mostly Level 1 and Level 2 hunters… Not surprising no one prefers beginners.’

It was the same in every profession, so Taewoon didn’t dwell on it and added his name to the list.

Not long after, he finally got his first response and met a potential party member.

“Um… h-hello! Hehe.”

“You’re Cha Yerin, right?”

“Yes! And you must be Seo Taewoon.”

She was a pretty woman with a gentle, friendly appearance. Her registered Trait was called Mystery Roulette.

‘Roulette?’

It wasn’t something you heard often. When Taewoon asked about it, Yerin wiped nervous sweat and explained.

“Ah—yes… once a day I spin a roulette and get a random ability. For example, today it’s this.”

Crackle!

She lifted her palm, and blue electricity sparked brightly in the air.

“What is that?”

“A one-and-a-half-star lightning spell. Basically, for today, this becomes my Trait.”

“…I think I get the idea.”

Now it made sense why she was willing to party with someone like Taewoon.

A Trait full of randomness was difficult to plan around, and you couldn’t guarantee the right ability on raid day—naturally making her unpopular in party compositions.

‘Still… for now it should be fine.’

Taewoon could use various weapons, so party structure didn’t limit him much. And by choosing less crowded dungeons, scheduling problems could be eased.

Plus, he also needed experience.

“Alright. Let’s team up.”

“Thank you! Then your Trait is…?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain, but you can think of me as a frontline fighter who mainly uses swords, spears, shields, and daggers.”

Just as they were about to officially form the temporary party—

“This has to be a dream. Am I hallucinating right now?”

A familiar face appeared.

After a brief pause, Taewoon recognized him—it was Yongcheol, one of Mansik’s lackeys who used to harass him.

“What do you want?”

“Tch, no need to be cold when your big bro’s here. More importantly—heard you awakened a Trait?”

Taewoon genuinely wondered where this idiot’s confidence came from.

Even before awakening, Taewoon had never feared Mansik or his crew.

He’d simply ignored them because fighting them brought nothing but trouble.

‘Fine. Let’s hear this nonsense.’

Yongcheol continued arrogantly.

“With news like that, you should’ve run straight to greet us. If I talk nicely to Boss Mansik, maybe we’ll let you back into Hongsim Hall. Of course, we’d have to renegotiate the contract.”

“No thanks. It’s already over.”

Yongcheol’s eyes drifted to Yerin.

“Tsk tsk. I wondered who you’d pick as a party member—turns out it’s this loser. You must be new and clueless. Without experienced help, beginners die fast. Know the accident rate of rookie parties?”

Taewoon covered his face in disbelief.

So this guy had once applied to party with Yerin, got rejected, and now jumped in to sabotage.

‘How pathetic can you get?’

Yongcheol slung an arm over Taewoon’s shoulder, loudly degrading him.

“Miss, this guy’s famous. The parasite of Hongsim Hall. Five years as a trainee hunter without awakening a single Trait—just beating wooden dummies every day. If you’re gonna get carried, at least choose a proper driver.”

Murmurs spread. People now looked at Taewoon with doubt.

‘So it comes to this again.’

Five years without awakening—a half-baked hunter.

Even though he’d succeeded now, first impressions lingered.

Seeing his words take effect, Yongcheol grew bolder.

“I know this guy well. He’s not party leader material. Let’s call this a life lesson and drop the party talk. I’m being generous here.”

“…Why are you the one deciding that?”

Everyone—including Taewoon—looked at Yerin in surprise.

She shyly but firmly rejected him.

“I already said—I don’t want to freeload. I want real experience as a hunter. And that flammable wastewater spray is kind of… my Trait is risky enough already.”

Some bystanders snickered.

Wastewater Spray—not exactly a brag-worthy ability.

“I-I didn’t mean to mock you! What was it—Toxic Garden? Cool name and all! It’s just not a good match for me.”

Though she wasn’t malicious, Yongcheol’s pride was shattered.

His anger turned toward Taewoon.

“Haa… I don’t usually go this far. But you’re really ungrateful. Hey—let’s spar.”

“…Spar?”

“Miss, once you see it, you’ll change your mind. This guy’s a total fraud. It’ll only take a moment.”

Yerin hesitated.

But Taewoon raised a hand to stop her.

‘I’ve tolerated enough.’

If this would keep happening anyway, it was time to end it.

“Fine. Let’s spar. Let’s move now.”

“Heh—got a Trait and you’re all cocky now? Don’t worry, I’ll go easy.”

Hunters quickly followed them—nothing beat a good fight.

At the training ground, Yongcheol picked up a wooden staff.

“So, what weapon you want? You can use your real one if you want.”

“Just give me the same thing.”

“…You little punk?”

Taewoon no longer felt like being polite.

“Tell me—have you ever actually watched me train?”

“What?”

“I’ve swung weapons every day for five years. Rain, snow, no breaks.”

Five full years.

He’d endured Hongsim Hall’s brutal training without even a Trait—something only a true fanatic could manage.

“You can insult me all you want. But I’m fixing that rotten attitude today.”

“YOU BASTARD!”

Whoosh!

Yongcheol charged.

He was almost Level 2—his attack wasn’t sloppy.

But—

‘So what?’

Taewoon had worked several times harder than anyone else.

Clack—!

With a swift strike, Taewoon knocked Yongcheol’s staff flying.

Before anyone could blink, Taewoon was already in front of him.

BAM!

A spinning kick smashed into Yongcheol’s stomach, lifting him off the ground.

Then came merciless blows.

Crack! Thud! Wham! Smash!

“Ghk! Kugh!”

Yongcheol collapsed, drooling, barely able to breathe.

Taewoon sighed and lowered his staff.

“And by seniority, I’m your senior. If you won’t respect that—then just pretend we never met.”

He didn’t wait for recovery.

He dropped the staff and left.

The crowd buzzed.

“Damn, that guy was trash.”

“No—Taewoon was insane. I couldn’t even see his swings.”

“Five years of pure fundamentals does that.”

People no longer looked at Yongcheol.

They remembered only one name.

Seo Taewoon.

And—

‘Holy crap… incredible.’

Han Saebom, a member of Korea’s rising mid-tier guild Baran, had witnessed everything.

Why recruit unstable prospects when you could aim for a hardened training monster with iron will?

Her fingers flew across her phone.