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Chapter 93
Smart Hunter
Ten against one.
And not just any ten — each one of them was a six-star Hunter capable of wielding an Aura Blade.
【But it’s fine! You’re beyond six-star rank, Eugene!】
Sure, as Prill said, I could show performance beyond a typical six-star, but still, ten-on-one wasn’t going to be easy.
To make matters worse—
“While the vanguard tanks restrain him, the rear-range dealers will take the high ground!”
The enemy had a competent commander and even a properly balanced party composition.
I let out a low chuckle.
“Wow. You came all prepared just to catch me, huh?”
【If they didn’t, they’d never be able to catch you, Eugene!】
I shook my head. “No, Prill. You’re wrong.”
【Huh?】
“Even like that, they can’t catch me.”
【Ah…!】
Ignoring Prill’s baffled response, I threw myself forward.
Of course, I wasn’t charging them head-on.
“He’s running! After him!”
I was moving to secure a better position.
‘If the ranged dealers seize the high ground, it’ll get troublesome.’
On both sides of where I’d been standing, tall shipping containers stood stacked high.
The ranged dealers began climbing up on them.
If they secured those vantage points and started sniping, the difficulty of the battle would easily double — no question about it.
That situation needed to be avoided.
‘I need to keep moving. And while doing that… pick them off one by one.’
As I started retreating, their formation began to falter.
They’d come in with a solid lineup of tanks, melee, and ranged dealers, but it wasn’t like they’d trained together — just like that improvised team Kim Moosik led during the rocket mission.
Among them, one tank was slightly out of position — the perfect target.
Slash—! KWAANG!
“Gah! What kind of power is that…!”
He blocked with his shield, but was shoved backward, skidding several meters.
He collided with his allies, breaking their formation apart.
“What the—?!”
“Hold the line!”
I took advantage of the confusion, striking the exposed ones without mercy.
Thud! Slice—!
“Argh!”
“Ghk!”
Some were only wounded; others lost half an arm.
No. 18, Kim Gwangsu — OUT.
“…Damn it! Just my luck!”
The melee fighter whose arm was half cut off was eliminated.
He probably thought, thanks to their team synergy, he’d make it to the later rounds just fine. Too bad for him.
As I continued breaking through their front line—
Whoosh—!
An arrow came flying from afar.
“Tch!”
I could’ve retired another hunter just now. What a shame.
“Support fire!”
“Triple Shot!”
“Wind Cutter!”
The ranged dealers who had taken their positions began firing from the back.
“Ha… So they’ve got mages too, huh?”
Their composition was more diverse than I’d imagined.
Cling!
Arrows aimed precisely at my head, chest, and stomach — I deflected them, while sidestepping a slicing gust of wind.
No major damage yet, but staying here was clearly not an option.
“Too bad, guess this turn ends here.”
Satisfied with retiring one opponent, I turned to move again.
“Don’t let him escape!”
Their leader, Choi Seunghyun, shouted — but a mere soundwave couldn’t stop me.
Unless it came with massive physical force—
【12 o’clock! Giant Shield incoming!!!】
BOOM!
“…Tch.”
A hulking figure wielding a massive shield suddenly blocked my path.
“If I catch you, I’ll be famous. I’m catching you!”
“…What are you, a barbarian?”
Over two meters tall, built like a mountain, with a colossal shield covering two-thirds of his body.
And above all—
“UOOOOOOH!”
CRASH!
Even with my strength beyond a six-star, the sheer physical power was staggering.
Scrrr—!
His shield charge hit me head-on; the pressure was immense.
‘That’s… inconvenient.’
This barbarian wasn’t from Choi Seunghyun’s team — I’d already identified their members before the test began.
This guy had been sitting quietly in the corner the entire waiting time.
Meaning…
‘A crossfire situation…’
I’d just happened to get caught between Choi’s team and this brute. Just my luck.
“Get him!”
“He didn’t get far— Wait, what’s that?”
And just as I feared, Choi Seunghyun’s group arrived on the scene too.
I should’ve kept fighting guerrilla-style while retreating.
Too late now.
A strange standoff followed.
I didn’t have an easy escape route, and—
“Hey, big guy! We’re not here to fight you! We’re only after that one in front!”
“…No. He’s mine!”
“If you say that, then we’ll have to attack you too!”
“Anyone who gets in my way, I crush first! I’ll be famous!”
Both the barbarian and Choi’s team were wary of each other.
‘Now what…’
【Why not use One Punch?】
‘Can’t.’
Sure, if I used 「One Punch」, I could end this situation easily.
【Why? You need to hide it?】
‘No.’
It wasn’t about hiding it. As long as I concealed the fact that I could use it repeatedly, the skill’s value as a trump card remained.
If necessary, I’d use it anytime.
Holding back too much and missing the right moment would be worse.
【Then why not now?】
‘Because if I use it here, they’ll die.’
【Ah… then, yeah, that’s bad.】
Exactly. The reason I wasn’t using it was simple — it was too powerful.
If anyone died, I’d be disqualified.
And then—
“UOOOOOOOH!”
Unable to bear the tension, the barbarian charged at me first.
He barreled forward behind his massive shield.
That’s when an idea flashed through my mind.
“D-damn it!”
I pretended to panic and stepped back —
Right toward Choi Seunghyun’s team.
“What the—?”
“He’s coming this way!”
“Damn! Just attack them both!”
A dangerous situation — trapped between two enemies.
But—
‘Perfect.’
What would happen if I suddenly changed direction now?
Grip— tap-tap!
I twisted my whole body, defying momentum, and threw myself sideways.
A few blind attacks grazed by, but nothing serious.
“Uoooo— wha—?!”
The barbarian couldn’t turn as sharply as I could.
“Get out of the way!”
“No, block him!”
“We can’t!”
BOOOOOOOM!
He couldn’t stop his charge in time and crashed right into Choi’s team.
“Ghk, that idiot…!”
“Where’d that guy go?! I didn’t feel him hit!”
The two groups collided, chaos erupting instantly.
Meanwhile, I—
“Ow. That stung.”
I yanked an arrow lodged in my arm and slipped away from the brawl.
【Using the enemy to fight the enemy! Eugene, you’re a genius!】
“Thanks to that impatient barbarian.”
【Your arm okay?】
“It’s fine. Just a scratch.”
The arrow had Aura imbued, so the injury was inevitable.
If I hadn’t raised my arm to block, it would’ve hit my chest — this was the better outcome.
From a distance, I watched the tangled melee.
“UOOOOOOH! Don’t interfere!”
“You pig! Get him first!”
“Triple Shot!”
“Wind Blaster!”
“It doesn’t hurt! It doesn’t hurt!”
BOOM! KRAAASH!
Rrrrip!
“He’s holding up surprisingly well.”
【Right?】
Despite being surrounded, the barbarian held his ground.
No — more than that.
No. 8, Song Lian — OUT.
No. 29, Yang Beomchan — OUT.
…He even managed to knock some of them out with shield strikes.
“It doesn’t hurt!!!”
“What kind of monster—!”
“Damn it, pour everything on him!”
But even he couldn’t withstand an endless barrage forever.
They were all six-star Hunters, after all.
No. 30, Park Manhong — OUT.
“No! I was supposed to be famous…!”
“Move, you’re out!”
And with that, the barbarian was eliminated too.
“Prill. That guy’s kinda impressive, huh?”
【Who, the barbarian?】
“Yeah. Not the fastest, but his shield work was excellent. Tough as hell too. Perfect tanker material.”
【Hmm… You think he won’t hate you?】
“I doubt it.”
He seemed to have clear goals — and was simple-minded enough to recruit later.
Anyway.
After the chaos subsided—
“Five of us taken out already…”
“Haa… Damn it.”
Only five remained from Choi Seunghyun’s team — three ranged dealers and two melee.
All visibly exhausted.
“…Leader, this feels like a bad call.”
“…Sorry. I didn’t expect some lunatic to charge in like that.”
“What matters is what we do now. That Kim Eugene guy — are we still chasing him?”
“……”
“Honestly, I was against it from the start. We only need to be among the final five, not fight the strongest.”
“M-me too. Let’s just avoid him and go after other Hunters…”
They debated among themselves.
I watched from hiding, amused.
“So they’re trying to avoid me now?”
【Looks like it.】
And yes — they seemed to decide to steer clear of me.
【Eugene, what will you do?】
“Isn’t it obvious?”
If I simply stalled for time, I could easily end up in the final five.
No one would willingly challenge me again.
But—
“When they attacked, it was their choice. But escaping? That’s not their choice.”
【That’s the Eugene I know!】
I couldn’t let it end like this — with me barely showing anything.
Without hesitation, I charged toward them.
“Then we’ll just stay away from—”
“That won’t do.”
“What—?! Argh!”
No. 14, Jung Woojung — OUT.
They hadn’t expected me to attack first, and the surprise worked perfectly.
Four left.
“Uaaaaah!”
Slash—
No. 15, Wi Jiheon — OUT.
Three.
“You bastard! Triple Shot!”
Cling! Cling!
“That skill is getting annoying.”
Stab!
“Ghk!”
“S-surrender!”
“Surrender accepted.”
No. 21, Choi Seon — OUT.
Two left.
“Sh-shield!”
“You got much mana left?”
Zzzap—!
“N-nooo!”
No. 2, Hwang Jin-ho — OUT.
Even the wind mage fell.
Now only one remained.
“So tell me — why’d you pick a fight with me in the first place?”
“…How was I supposed to know it’d turn out like this?”
It was Choi Seunghyun — the one who’d gathered the team.
But one thing puzzled me.
“Why didn’t you attack with them?”
He’d stayed in the back the whole time, barely pretending to help while his teammates went down.
Sure, it was a temporary team bound to break apart anyway — but still, why?
In a one-on-one like this, I had the clear advantage.
He just shrugged.
“Because I didn’t need to.”
And I soon understood what he meant.
The final five survivors have been determined.
The test is over.
The announcement echoed — apparently, other matches had also reached their conclusions.
“…So that’s it.”
He’d been keeping count of the eliminations all along.
Unlike me, who focused on fighting, he’d calculated everything.
“I see. Well then — let’s do our best, fellow team leader.”
He stored his crossbow in subspace and extended a hand toward me.
‘This guy…’
Thinking about it, he’d always stayed in the back.
Used disposable teammates as shields.
Showed no skills, no flashy moves.
‘Should I call him clever or just sly?’
If I had to pick — he was smart. He’d minimized exposure and still secured a leadership position.
In the end, results spoke for themselves.
“Not going to shake?”
He urged, still holding his hand out.
Well, why not?
“Kim Eugene.”
“Choi Seunghyun.”
