TOP 34

Chapter 34. 

You’re the One Who Needs to Know Your Place

‘Did I do the right thing?’

Ju Eunseol was worried.

The battle with the Mirinae-affiliated villain.

She had nearly died there, but thanks to a man who suddenly appeared, she survived.

‘He said his name was Kim Yujin.’

That much was fine.

The problem was what came next.

Fearing that he might later be swayed to the villains’ side, she had rashly thrown out a blank check of sorts—saying she would grant him any request.

A so-called “Wish Ticket.”

‘It couldn’t be helped, but still… ugh, what kind of favor is he going to ask for?’

At the time, the situation had been urgent, so it was unavoidable.

But after the fact, regret crashed down on her.

‘I should’ve just offered money! A billion won might’ve been enough!’

One billion won was certainly a large sum, but compared to the price of her life, it was nothing.

She could only lament her brain for not thinking of it then.

For now, all she could do was hope Yujin would make a “reasonable” request.

With that anxious thought pressing on her, she focused on her escort mission.

That was when Yujin finally spoke up with his request.

“About the promise you made earlier. You said you’d grant me anything.”

“Ah, yes!”

She tensed, waiting for his next words.

“Teach me swordsmanship.”

“…Swordsmanship?”

“Yes. My sword skills are kind of weak.”

“?”

She couldn’t understand for a moment.

Weak at swordsmanship?

She had seen him easily handle a hunter ranked above her, even if the man hadn’t been able to use Aura Thread, purely with a sword.

Objectively, Yujin’s swordsmanship was not weak.

‘If anything, it wasn’t refined, more like something sharpened in real combat… but still.’

His skills were undeniable.

‘Well, I guess this works out for me?’

It was much better than him asking for something bizarre.

Teaching a bit of swordsmanship wasn’t difficult.

“Alright, if it’s just general swordsmanship—”

“Oh, of course I mean Mujingeom.”

But if it was her clan’s secret sword art, that was another story.

“…What, what did you just say!?”

“Mujingeom.”

“……”

“Is that not possible?”

“W–wait, I mean…!”

“You’re not going to break a promise made under the name of the Royal Guard, are you?”

“Ugh…!”

Mujingeom (儛進劍).

A hunter sword art created by her father, Ju Changik, an 8-star hunter.

Its trademark was movements that resembled dancing—a secret sword art unique to their clan.

Of course, teaching it to outsiders was forbidden.

She averted her eyes from Yujin’s expectant gaze, deep in thought.

‘The value of the sword art isn’t the issue!’

If he had asked for a billion won, she would have gladly given it.

Even two or three billion, she would have.

But her clan’s secret sword art?

Revealing it with her own hands?

That was an entirely different matter.

‘If Father found out, he might cut off my arm.’

Even though she had left the family to pursue her own path instead of inheriting the clan, this was a serious problem.

It was truly troublesome!

Yet she couldn’t outright refuse either.

‘I promised I’d grant him any request….’

That stupid blank check was the issue.

And she had even invoked the name of the Royal Guard!

Now she had to choose between her honor and her arm.

But the choice wasn’t a long one.

“I—I’m really sorry, but…”

She had to refuse.

Instead, she’d offer something equivalent.

She valued trust, but this was one line she couldn’t cross.

However—

“That’s fine. You don’t need to apologize if you don’t do anything wrong.”

“……”

His hopeful expression made it hard for her to speak.

She squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out:

“I’m sorry, but Mujingeom is impossible! Instead, how about three billion won!?”

Three billion.

A huge sum, but still preferable to leaking Mujingeom.

But would he accept?

‘Probably not….’

If money satisfied him, he wouldn’t have asked for Mujingeom in the first place.

So she naturally assumed he would get angry.

But his response was nothing like she expected.

“Ah, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m not that shameless of a person.”

“T-then?”

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

It was the kind of smile that put people at ease.

“Just for about a month? Teach me lightly. I’m not asking for a secret manual or anything.”

“Eh? Oh… what?”

The concrete proposal left her dumbfounded.

She had thought he wanted a written manual.

That was why she agonized so much—because that would’ve been outright industrial espionage.

But just teaching him for a month?

That was much more manageable.

No, it wasn’t just manageable—

It was basically free.

‘There’s no way he could truly master Mujingeom in just a month.’

He would never grasp its core.

At best, he’d just imitate the outer form.

If anything—

“…Would one month even be enough?”

She was almost offended that her life was valued so cheaply.

“If you’d like, make it three months—”

“One month is plenty.”

“……”

“Or if you’d like, you can grant me one more light favor. Something optional.”

“Another favor?”

“Yes. Something small that you can refuse if you want.”

That wasn’t bad.

A deal with no real loss.

“Alright!”

After pretending to think, she accepted his offer.

“Thank you. Then I’ll be in your care for a while.”

She lightly took the hand he extended.

‘Glad this worked out.’

She thought it wasn’t bad at all.

At that moment, she couldn’t possibly imagine—

That this choice would lead to ruinous consequences.

‘Good.’

He had secured a one-month Mujingeom training as his wish.

One month might seem short, but it was enough.

Any longer would’ve just been a waste of time.

‘Honestly, if it’s just swordsmanship, even a month is long.’

That month was more about building rapport with Ju Eunseol than the sword art itself.

And with an extra “small favor” owed, it was a very satisfying deal.

【But Yujin, is that sword art really such a big deal?】

‘Of course it is.’

【Wouldn’t taking the money have been better?】

Sure, the money wasn’t bad.

Eunseol had offered three billion, and with bargaining, maybe even more.

He could have used that to learn other sword techniques.

But—

【This is something money can’t buy.】

Mujingeom was the ultimate sword art that had raised a hunter to the rank of 8-star.

Its value couldn’t be measured in money.

And having a 5-star hunter personally instruct him was a huge bonus.

Hunters of that caliber weren’t the type to just casually give lessons.

Most importantly—

‘Three billion? I can earn that myself with time.’

It was a lot now, but he’d make that someday.

Opportunities that couldn’t be bought with money or time had to be seized when they appeared.

With that, his deal with Eunseol complete, the train was already nearing Seoul.

‘Glad nothing else happened.’

Though he had accepted Han Sugyeol’s escort mission, he hadn’t really done much.

After the Mirinae attack, there hadn’t been any other threats.

It had just been a tense but uneventful mission.

In other words—easy profit.

‘Nice.’

The thought of earning reward without lifting a finger left him in a great mood.

Truly, freeloading was the best.

Chiiiik—

The train stopped at Gwangmyeong before reaching Seoul.

He stood up and said farewell to Eunseol and Sugyeol.

“This is where we part.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Hunter Kim Yujin.”

“I’ll contact you.”

“Y-yes, thank you!”

“I’ll visit the Blacksmith Guild tomorrow.”

“Y-yes! Just give my name at the entrance!”

But he had to get off here.

“All non-citizens must disembark!”

Officials shouted as they walked through.

【Huh? We can’t go further?】

‘Nope.’

He kindly explained to Frill.

Seoul.

The capital of South Korea and the only city where the Gate defense system operated properly.

Unlike the provinces that had to pick up the pieces after Gates erupted, Seoul had the ability to predict and prepare for them in advance.

With a huge population of resident hunters, Gates there were never left unattended.

And with the Gaia Church’s Korean branch based there, even catastrophic Gates were quickly handled.

In short, Seoul was the safest city in the country.

Naturally, everyone wanted to live there.

But—

‘To live in Seoul, you have to pay taxes.’

【Then just pay them.】

‘They’re insanely expensive.’

Maintaining Seoul citizenship required a minimum tax of one billion won per year.

And that was just the base—if your income was higher, the tax skyrocketed.

【That’s insane!】

‘What can you do? The ones with power make the rules.’

【Unbelievable…】

Frill fumed, but Yujin was unfazed.

This wasn’t anything new.

He stepped off the train and headed with the crowd to the entry inspection station.

A massive line had already formed.

【So many people!!!】

There were countless people, and the line moved at a snail’s pace.

Clearly, everything was being handled in classic bureaucratic style.

【Ugh… how long do we have to wait?】

“Who knows. A few hours, probably.”

【I want ice cream…】

She whined, but Seoul wasn’t a city where whims were indulged.

“All awakened individuals, this way!”

“Oh.”

Fortunately, there was a separate line for Awakened.

Probably because they were more likely to become tax-paying assets.

This kind of discrimination was welcome.

So, he began the boring wait.

At least it wasn’t dull.

The inspection line was full of real-time entertainment.

“Why won’t you let me in!?”

“You have a criminal record. Next.”

“What!? I’m not even asking for citizenship, just a short visit! I’ll pay!”

“Denied. Next.”

Cries of rejection rang out from all directions.

Some were ex-cons.

Some couldn’t pay.

Some had banned items in their luggage.

Some tried pleading anyway, while others wept, claiming they’d sold everything they had to come here.

It didn’t matter. The answer was always no.

“Should’ve bought popcorn.”

Since none of it concerned him, he just enjoyed the show.

It made the wait tolerable.

Then—

Thud.

“…?”

Maybe boredom had jinxed him.

“What do you want?”

“This is my spot.”

A massive bear of a man had cut in front of him.

And even shoulder-checked him while doing it.

“……”

Momentarily speechless at such brazen line-cutting, Yujin was spared when the man behind him spoke up instead.

“Can’t you see everyone’s lining up? Get to the back!”

He was right.

But the bear didn’t flinch.

“Hey.”

“What!?”

“What rank are you?”

The bear suddenly asked his hunter rank.

“Rank 2! Anyway, that’s not the point—”

“I’m rank 3.”

“Ghhk…”

The man faltered.

He was likely newly Awakened or just weak.

“Know your place and shut it.”

“……”

The man bit his lip in frustration.

And Yujin couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Seriously…?’

To witness such nonsense firsthand was unbelievable.

【Ooooh, Yujin! Are you gonna do it!?】

‘Yeah.’

At that moment, Yujin locked eyes with the bear.

“What are you looking at? I’ll gouge your eyes out.”

The man raised a fist in threat.

Yujin made up his mind.

“Hey.”

“What, you want me to teach you your place too?”

“No.”

He grabbed the back of the man’s head.

And then—

“You’re the one who needs to know your place.”

He slammed him into the ground.

BOOOOOOM───!!