TOP 80

Chapter 80

Recruitment Attempt

“Huff… haah…”

“Phew. Impressive.”

I faced Cha Suho, breathing heavily.

“You’re definitely strong. Haah…”

A 7-star Hunter was indeed powerful.

Without using One Punch, I wasn’t sure I could even win.

“Well, isn’t that only natural? For me, it’s your strength that feels unbelievable.”

Cha Suho, instead, praised me.

Of course, objectively speaking, I was strong.

Among Hunters my age, there probably weren’t many left who could outmatch me.

But.

‘…Not yet.’

I couldn’t be satisfied.

The enemies I had to face weren’t ones I could overcome with a mere “strong for my age” level of power.

At the very least, I needed to be strong enough to defeat someone like Cha Suho without difficulty.

“You didn’t even fight me with your full strength, did you?”

In fact, Cha Suho hadn’t gone all out.

He hadn’t used any skills or items in this battle.

Of course, neither had I, but still.

“Even so, you’re remarkable. You can be proud.”

“…Well, fine. Let’s wrap this up.”

“Indeed.”

I had proven my ability enough.

It was time to finish the match.

Swoooosh—

Vrrrmmm—

An aura blade wrapped around Cha Suho’s twin swords, resonating with a humming sound.

He slowly moved both blades, trying to trap me within their path.

‘I have to close in!’

If I just stood here, I’d lose without being able to do anything.

Those aura blades could stretch out in an instant and cut me down.

Meanwhile, my aura blade couldn’t extend beyond the length of my sword.

In mid-to-long range fights, I was at a disadvantage.

So, I kicked off the ground and rushed toward him.

Tap-tap—!

His twin swords slashed, one from the upper left, the other from the right.

In those heavy trajectories, I spotted an opening.

‘Roll!’

Bottom left.

A gap only accessible by lowering my stance drastically.

I rolled, dodging past his attack range.

Whoosh—!

His aura blade grazed just above me.

I evaded the first strike, but I was still far from him.

‘Damn this attack range.’

The biggest difference between a 6-star Hunter and a 7-star Hunter was range.

The stronger the Hunter, the farther their aura blade could extend.

For 6-star Hunters, it only covered about 2 meters beyond weapon reach.

But for a 7-star like Cha Suho, it stretched nearly 10 meters.

That meant I inevitably took damage before even closing the distance.

And sure enough, more attacks flew toward me before I could reach him.

One slash from above, another from below.

‘No way to dodge both.’

Quickly judging, I gripped my Frostblade tighter, its edge wrapped in aura.

CLAAAANG—!

A thunderous impact slammed into my body.

“Urgh!”

Blood spurted from my mouth.

Still, I blocked one strike.

And that let me get one step closer.

Cha Suho swung again with heavy force.

One slash dodged, one blocked.

Whoosh—!

CLANG—!

Another step closer.

My arms trembled from the repeated collisions.

But—

‘I can reach him!’

Now, Cha Suho was within my range.

His advantage in reach was gone.

It was my turn to attack.

I swung the Frostblade.

Clang—!

He blocked with his right sword.

Redirecting the flow quickly, I twisted into another strike.

Blocked with the left sword.

Clang-clang-clang—!

I pressed down along his blades, driving in closer.

‘His shoulder’s open!’

A gap.

I thrust my blade toward it.

Thunk—!

But midway, his sword knocked mine away.

It was a light motion, but packed with such weight that I was forced back two steps.

‘Hah.’

I never thought I could win.

I never intended to.

But—

I didn’t want to lose so helplessly either.

‘Man, I really want to use One Punch…’

I knew the easy way out.

If I used One Punch, I could land meaningful damage.

If this were a fight to the death, I might even kill Cha Suho.

But.

‘…Not here.’

One Punch was not something I could reveal in a place like this, where the Gaia Cult’s influence was bound to reach.

So, without it—

I needed a way to land one solid blow.

‘Give bone, take flesh.’

I had a plan.

I charged again.

His left sword came to block me.

Whish—!

I weaved right, dodging it.

That much I could avoid.

But his right sword followed down.

No way to dodge.

I could parry—

But then I’d lose another chance to attack.

‘I’ll take it head-on!’

So I sacrificed an arm.

Slice—!

His aura blade cut into my left arm.

But—

“…!”

He stopped, startled.

Didn’t expect me to be that reckless, huh?

‘Probably.’

But it was just an arm I could reattach with a potion.

Nothing worth regretting.

And since he actually stopped his strike, I didn’t even need to use one.

Then—

‘…My chance!’

Cha Suho hesitated to avoid severing my arm.

And that created a bigger opening.

I stabbed my Frostblade at his exposed torso.

No hesitation.

So long as I didn’t die, it was fine.

My blade pierced toward his stomach—

Crunch-crunch-crunch!

‘Crunch?’

Instead of flesh, a strange sound and sensation came.

I looked—

Tough, soil-like substance was spreading over his body, trapping my sword.

“…Hoo.”

My attack had failed.

Disappointing.

Still—

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“……!”

“What the hell is this guy!?”

At least I’d earned astonished praise.

I quietly pushed aside his sword from my neck and said:

“I lost.”

My attack hadn’t broken through his defense.

Meanwhile, his sword could’ve cut my throat anytime.

It was a clear defeat.

After a pause, Cha Suho withdrew his swords and spoke slowly.

“…To think you’d force out my Guardian of the Earth.”

So that strange soil defense had been a hidden item of his.

If I’d forced him to reveal something he hadn’t intended to use, maybe that counted as landing a hit.

“Shame. I thought I could land some damage.”

“Hahaha. Well, you did plenty of mental damage.”

Cha Suho laughed hollowly, then asked:

“Are you really not going to join our guild?”

“As I said before, no.”

“A shame. You’d be such an asset.”

“Thank you for the kind words.”

I smiled, rejecting his offer.

As he said, I would only grow stronger from here.

I wouldn’t stop until I had my revenge.

Binding myself to a big guild like Royal Guard now would only be a loss.

Anyway—

The ability test was over.

“Hunter Kim Yujin!”

“Wow! That was amazing!”

Shin Chaeri and Yoo Seola ran up to me.

“See? I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I was worried for nothing.”

Chaeri had been anxious—
if I failed to prove my combat ability, things could get messy.

But we had proven it thoroughly.

Now things were simple.

Even the bald investigation chief approached and spoke:

“At this point, Hunter Kim Yujin, you’ve certainly proven yourself.”

Oddly, his tone was far more polite now.

Was he acting so harsh earlier just for the sake of procedure?

“That’s good. Then about the Red Hunter suspicion…”

“We’ll close it as unfounded.”

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, the result was good.

I had thought things might not end cleanly—

“I-I can’t accept this!”

Of course.

Someone had to object.

The Black Cobra guild master.

He shouted about unfairness:

“This is fraud! Just because he’s strong doesn’t mean he’s not a Red Hunter! It makes no sense!”

But no one agreed with him.

“Guild Master Choi Cheolsik.”

“I-investigator! Surely you see—”

“Weren’t you the one who agreed to this resolution?”

“T-that’s…”

Of course.

He had agreed because he thought it would benefit him.

But when the outcome turned against him, he threw a tantrum.

“Too bad, I can’t pay you compensation.”

“Urgh…!”

My taunt made his lips tremble with rage.

He looked ready to explode.

‘Looks like he’ll cause trouble later.’

It didn’t seem like he’d let this go quietly.

But what could he do?

“Do you have a problem?”

If he resisted, then what?

He had no moves left.

The investigator cleared me.

He couldn’t even beat Yoo Seola in a duel.

Too weak to take revenge even with underhanded tricks.

“B-but then, what about Hyuksoo’s death—”

“That’s none of your business.”

Hyuksoo had already left the Black Cobra guild.

Dragging out paperwork to try and milk compensation from his death was pathetic.

“Grr…”

Deflated, he shrank back.

Realizing there was nothing left he could do.

Thus—

The situation that could’ve branded me a criminal ended safely.

Later

The bald investigation chief visited the Gaia Cult.

To Priest Ahn Suhwan, a first-class cleric—
a man normally too high-ranking for someone like him to even see.

In the cult’s innermost sanctum, closed to normal believers, he bowed deeply.

“To your request, I’ve brought Hunter Kim Yujin’s battle footage.”

“You’ve done well.”

The priest stretched out a hand.

“I shall bless you.”

From his hand poured radiant divine power.

“A-ahhh…!”

The chief’s face melted into bliss.

The sensation was almost addictive—
filling him with such reverence for the Goddess Gaia.

While he basked in ecstasy, Ahn Suhwan reviewed the footage.

The battle of Kim Yujin versus Cha Suho.

“…Hmm.”

He frowned.

“So he really is a variable.”

Holding his own, to some degree, against a 7-star Hunter.

No wonder their previous plans had gone wrong, sending troops expecting him to be only 5-star level.

He tapped his desk thoughtfully.

“What now…?”

Their watch over Kim Yujin would continue.

But the question remained:

“Is he one who should enter the Goddess’s embrace…?”

Should they recruit him? Kill him?

Or perhaps—

‘Judge’ him?

That had to be decided.

“Normally, we’d attempt recruitment first… but hmm. Difficult.”

The cult’s leadership usually leaned toward recruitment when dealing with outsiders.

But Yujin’s case was complicated.

He had already clashed with them once, swept into their “judgment” of Geum Yugang.

That made it tricky.

Then—

“Priest, may I offer a word?”

The investigation chief, still trembling from his divine ecstasy, cautiously spoke.

“Speak, brother.”

“I felt it. Hunter Kim Yujin’s great strength exists for one purpose—
to serve the Goddess in great deeds.”

“…Hmm.”

“I am certain he will be of great use in the Goddess’s embrace.”

A common believer’s words, not that important.

But enough to tip the priest’s thoughts slightly.

“Very well. For now, we will attempt recruitment.”

And so—

The Gaia Cult decided its stance toward Yujin.

“Soon, I shall invite him for a talk.”

“I will pray to the Goddess for good results.”

They wished to bring Yujin into their fold.

Completely unaware—
of how much he hated them.
Of how deeply he wanted revenge.

That ignorance was what led to their decision.