TOP 92

Chapter 92

Teaming

I looked at the trio in front of me — Kim Musik and his gang — and spoke first.

“Come in.”

“You son of a—!”

The ones who felt thoroughly insulted instantly reacted with rage.

But then—

“Calm down.”

Kim Musik seemed to have regained some composure.
That change began right after Namgoong Myung appeared.

【He’s trying to look good for Namgoong Myung!】

‘…Yeah, I can tell without you saying it.’

The guy who used to get worked up at the smallest provocation suddenly had a change in attitude.
He even kept glancing at Namgoong Myung sitting on the side.

You’d have to be blind not to notice.

Whatever the reason—

‘I’ll have to focus.’

Even if it was just to impress Namgoong Myung, the fight had clearly become more difficult.
It’s always tougher to face calm opponents than angry ones.

【Yujin, want me to help?】

‘No.’

I turned down Pril’s offer.

【Why not?】

‘Because they might notice you.’

Using one of Pril’s skills would draw attention.
Most people would just think, “Oh, he must have a new skill,” and move on.

But—

‘An eighth-rank Hunter could recognize the presence of a spirit.’

And standing here right now was an eighth-rank Hunter: Namgoong Myung.
Using Pril in front of him was way too risky.

【Then what are you going to do!? You said you won’t even use a weapon!】

She sounded worried.

‘It’s fine.’

【You can’t be serious. How are you going to deal with Aura Blades then?】

‘That’s easy—’

Without a weapon, you can’t use Aura Blade.
That’s common sense.

But my opponents had weapons. Which meant they could use Aura Blades.
So I’d have to fight while sealing away that one, powerful technique.

Of course, thanks to Dragon Body – Stage 3 and its aura resistance, I could technically just take the hits.
But there was no need to reveal that yet.

‘—I’ll just not get hit.’

Simple enough. Why overthink it?

【…Yujin, you’re insane. That confidence is insane!】

Pril covered her face with both hands and muttered.

Anyway—

“Slowly. We’ll press him from three sides. Don’t screw up and embarrass yourselves.”

“I’ll take the left.”

“Alright. Then I’ll take the right.”

The trio advanced carefully, clearly intent on fighting at full power from the start.

As they approached, I too took my stance.

‘Front and left — swords. Right — spear.’

One of them had a different weapon.
Not surprising. They weren’t exactly a coordinated team.

But that difference—

—was the key to my strategy.

“Haah!”

The first to reach me was the one on the right.
He thrust with his spear, using its long reach to his advantage.

I twisted my body, narrowly avoiding the aura-coated spearhead.
At the same time—

Shff—

I stepped in close to his right side and grabbed the shaft.

Without aura, the wooden part of the spear was easy to catch.

‘…Well, even the blade itself wouldn’t cut me that easily.’

Thanks to Dragon Body – Stage 3’s aura resistance—
and the Dragonskin Gloves I had absorbed, my hands had ridiculous defense power.
Even aura blades wouldn’t slice through them easily.

But that was for later. For now, this was enough.

“Let go! Let go of that!”

He struggled to pull his spear free, but if I were going to give it up that easily, I wouldn’t have grabbed it in the first place.

“Hrrgh!”

Crack.

I tightened my grip and twisted the spear sharply.

And the direction I turned it—

“W-What the hell!”

“Move the spear!”

—lined up perfectly with the direction Kim Musik and the other one were attacking from.

Their attacks collided with their own ally instead.

‘Too easy.’

A paid “launcher” and three wannabes who paid to use him.
No way these three had ever practiced teamwork.

‘Not a chance.’

I’d guessed as much—and I was right.

Crack!

“Gahk!”

I started with a punch right to the spearman’s face.

Whish—thud!

“You little rat bastard!”

“Hey, that’s an insult to rats.”

“Damn it—take this…!”

Clang!

“Get out of my way!”

“You’re the one getting in mine!”

Their sword swings tangled, confusing them both.

And one by one—

Thud!

Pow!

I slammed my fists into their jaws and stomachs.

“Urgh…”

“Ugh! You son of a—”

For the record, it was Kim Musik who got hit in the gut.

“Hitting me in the stomach over and over….”

He groaned, clutching his belly. I shrugged.

“What can I say? It keeps opening up.”

It wasn’t like I was trying to target the same spot — it just kept being there.

And with that, I’d effortlessly taken down three sixth-rank Hunters.

‘It’s not a death match, so this is enough.’

If it were a real fight to the death, it wouldn’t have ended here —
but since neither side intended to kill, that was that.

【Wow… that was way… easier than I expected.】

Pril sounded dazed.

‘Of course.’

【Wait, did you know it would be that easy?】

‘Yeah. Fights aren’t just about stats.’

If their coordination had been even half-decent, I wouldn’t have won so easily.
But their movements only got in each other’s way — all I had to do was stir things up a bit.

‘Besides, I might not have used a weapon, but my stats are still better.’

There was a difference in physical ability.
But ultimately, victory came down to combat sense.

“Holy crap!”

“Damn it! My money! Those idiots!”

“Ha! I won the bet!”

The crowd’s reactions were loud and chaotic.
Well, who wouldn’t be excited?

It’s not every day someone beats three sixth-rank Hunters barehanded.

“Who is that kid? He looks young.”

“No idea. But is he really sixth rank?”

“He must be. You can’t even enter here without certification.”

“Good combat instincts… Should we scout him?”

“Hello, Guild Master? There’s an interesting rookie here.”

“…We should contact him first!”

Whether I was already affiliated or not didn’t matter —
they all wanted to recruit me.

But—

Clap. Clap. Clap.

This was the Destiny Guild’s territory.
And the man with the greatest authority here—

“Impressive. You didn’t disappoint, Hunter Kim Yujin.”

Namgoong Myung himself was watching.

“Ah…”

“Of course. He already has Namgoong Myung’s eye on him.”

“Damn, so he was a Destiny Guild rookie? Hell of a debut.”

A bit of a misunderstanding, but not entirely wrong.
I had already gotten on Namgoong Myung’s radar.

“Thank you, Hunter Namgoong Myung!”

I straightened my back and bowed deeply, putting on my best act.
It was necessary to stay on his good side.

“Well done. Normally, you’d have to participate in the survival test… but I doubt anyone would complain if we skipped that, right?”

He spoke loudly, making sure everyone heard.
Then he walked up to me—

Tap.

—and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll use my authority to pass you. Try leading one of the mercenary squads.”

Like he was granting me a tremendous favor.

‘…Tch. Damn it.’

I almost flinched at the feel of his filthy hand on my shoulder.

But I had to endure it.

‘Disgusting… really disgusting.’

It’s not easy to smile in front of the man who murdered your parents.

And yet—

“Thank you! I’m honored, Hunter Namgoong Myung!”

If I had to praise that bastard to fool him, so be it.

Still, this put me in a difficult spot.

【Wait, Yujin. Didn’t you say you had to take the survival test?】

‘…Yeah. Hold on.’

To carry out my plan, I needed to take that test.

‘If I accept this, I’ll look like I got in through connections.’

Even now, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me —
seeing me as a lucky rookie who got promoted by favoritism.

Once that image sticks, it’s hard to shake off.
It’d take effort and time I didn’t have.

And besides—

‘I’m confident I can pass the test anyway. Why give that up?’

There was no reason to avoid it.

So, carefully, I spoke up.

“Um, Hunter Namgoong Myung.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I appreciate your kindness, but I’d like to take the test.”

“…Why?”

A flicker of irritation crossed his face.
Not a good sign.

So I said—

“I’d hate to tarnish your name, sir. Rather than risk that, I’d prefer to earn my position with my own ability.”

I made it sound as though I was doing it for him.

“I’ll prove myself and show that your trust was well placed.”

“…Hmm.”

The implication was clear:
I respect you, and that’s why I’m making this choice.

“I promise I won’t disappoint you!”

And again, I bowed.

‘Man, I’m bowing a lot today. Damn it.’

“…Fine.”

Thankfully, he didn’t seem suspicious.

“In that case, I’ll retract what I said.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“But if you disappoint me…”

He met my eyes, trying to look intimidating.

“It won’t be pleasant.”

“Understood!”

I answered immediately.

‘Phew.’

At least things were going the way I wanted.

Now, all that was left—

“Squad leader applicants! Move to the testing grounds!”

—was the real survival test.

* * *

We moved to the Destiny Guild’s combat testing field.

It was huge — about the size of two soccer fields put together.
Scattered containers, wrecked cars, and other obstacles filled the space.

Around thirty sixth-rank Hunters stood ready.

• As you all know, let me explain the rules once more.

A voice echoed across the field.

• Killing is forbidden. Anything else is allowed. Serious injuries will result in immediate retirement for safety. The five remaining at the end will earn squad leader status.

Simple.

Figure it out amongst yourselves.

• Then, prepare yourselves.

I looked around.
The Hunters were spaced out evenly.
Because of the obstacles, I could only see three of them directly.

• Begin!

Beep—!

The whistle blew, signaling the start.

My starting position wasn’t bad —
containers on both sides limited the angles of attack.

‘I’ll wait for now.’

So I minimized my movements and observed.

【Yujin! Everyone’s running toward the center!】

‘They’re probably going for teaming.’

【Teaming?】

‘Yeah.’

Before the test started, some Hunters had already formed small groups —
from their “launcher” crews or regular teams.
They’d move together, just like that.
Probably even agreed on where to meet up.

Clang! Crash!

Sounds of fighting began erupting across the field.

“Hmm. No one’s coming this way?”

Still, my area stayed quiet.

【Maybe they’re scared of you?】

“Could be.”

Pril’s guess made sense.

My strength had already been publicly demonstrated.
Why take the risk of fighting me first?

“…Guess I’ll have to go find them myself.”

Just standing around doing nothing wouldn’t help my image.
If I didn’t show results, I’d look like a lucky parachute recruit.

Just as I was about to move—

“Hello there, Hunter Kim Yujin.”

Someone appeared before me.

No—

“…You’re Choi Seunghyun, right?”

“An honor that you remember my name.”

A group appeared before me.

About ten of them.

“You’re the number-one target. Figured we should eliminate you first.”

Choi Seunghyun and his team — the ones who had grouped up before the test began.

“I see.”

“You drew too much attention earlier. If you’d kept a lower profile, you would’ve passed easily. Too bad.”

So, not everyone wanted to avoid fighting me.

‘Makes sense.’

With ten people, they probably thought they could overwhelm me.

They all drew their weapons and started approaching.

“…Hmm.”

They assumed that even I couldn’t handle that many at once.

But—

“Did you know?”

When I fought those three earlier, I was unarmed.

This time, however—

Shiiing—

—I could use Frostvein, the sword of eternal frost.

I answered their approach by drawing my blade.

Moments later—

“Get him!”

“Uaaaaaah!”

Ten sixth-rank Hunters charged toward me all at once.