TRUFT 11

Chapter 11

We made tornado potatoes and put on a family movie.

“Mm! This is really good.”

“I think it tastes even better than last time, young master. This is seriously delicious!”

“Yeah. The movie’s fun too. This is nice.”

“Nice!”

The movie was fun, and the potatoes were great.

Looks like I’ve got one more memory tied to tornado potatoes now.

“…They’re all knocked out.”

Yuna had soda, the rest drank beer, and everyone fell asleep.

Of course, I have a high alcohol tolerance, so I was fine—but it seems the others weren’t.

‘Since I woke up so early… might as well go for a dawn jog.’

My stamina had long surpassed normal human limits.

But I still enjoy organizing my thoughts while breathing in the early morning air.

Conveniently, there’s a nice bike path along the stream below the pension.

So I decided to go for a jog for the first time in a while.

“Haah…”

This indescribable scent is really nice.

And the reddish sky forming as the sun rises is beautiful.

“Hey, Kang Suhwan! Why do I have to run with you at this hour…?”

“Come on! It’s good exercise for you too. When I become an MMA champion in Korea, you better treat me well.”

“Can you say that after you actually become one? You’re still a high schooler, idiot…”

Up ahead, I saw a well-built student and an average-looking one running while panting.

‘That well-built guy must be an MMA prospect.’

MMA—mixed martial arts—is really popular these days.

My older brother used to be a boxer in high school, so I know a bit about the fighting world.

‘If he hadn’t quit, wouldn’t he have at least won a medal at the Asian Games by now?’

He was really good.

For all three years of high school, he never once missed a gold medal at the National Sports Festival and trained continuously as a reserve national team member.

Then he got a minor injury and had to rest for about half a year.

During that time, he said studying was more fun than getting punched every day—and just quit boxing entirely.

Our family respected his decision.

“And hey, a friend of mine is entering his first competition next month. You should at least run with him!”

While I was thinking, the student named Kang Suhwan stopped and started shadowboxing, tilting his head.

“Ah, damn. Something’s off. This isn’t it…”

‘His punching speed is really fast.’

But… something about his balance felt off.

How should I put it?

It’s completely different from boxing, like my brother used to do…

Maybe there are just too many openings.

“Try raising your guard a bit.”

“Whoa, what the—!”

My brother suddenly appeared behind me and started giving advice to the high schoolers.

“When did you get here?”

“I just woke up too. Came out for a jog and to catch the sunrise.”

“I didn’t even sense you.”

“I was trying to surprise you, but I spotted an interesting kid. Great physique. His boxing form’s not great… but he’s got talent.”

My brother brushed past me and approached the students.

“You’re a southpaw, right? I am too.”

“Uh… who are you?”

“Oh, I used to do some boxing. Mind if I take a look at your form?”

“Ah! No, not at all! I train at an MMA gym, but boxing is my weakest area. Please teach me!”

Oh…

He’s so polite to a complete stranger.

And the way his eyes are shining—he’s definitely serious about training.

If it were me, I’d probably ignore him, thinking he’s suspicious.

‘Still… he does look cool.’

My brother always seemed innocent—kind, but a bit naive.

But seeing him teach boxing like that made him look genuinely cool.

“Usually, when a southpaw faces an orthodox fighter, they use their lead hand to knock away the opponent’s guard and open up an attack route, right?”

“Oh!”

That’s right.

When a left-handed fighter and a right-handed fighter face off, their lead hands meet, making it possible to parry each other’s lead.

An orthodox fighter who isn’t used to facing a southpaw gets flustered, while the southpaw takes advantage and attacks decisively.

“That also means you can be countered the same way. So keep your rear hand closer to your chin, but loose enough to move—slightly forward. Rotate your lead hand a bit left, tuck your chin. If your chin is tucked, even if you get hit, you won’t get knocked down.”

“Ah! Right, getting hit in the chin makes your legs give out immediately, right?”

“Exactly. You’re sharp.”

The average-looking friend beside Kang Suhwan was staring at my brother with admiration.

From a normal person’s perspective, they probably wouldn’t understand a word.

‘Still… it really is cool.’

“Wow, that’s amazing. Thank you so much!”

“And one more thing—relax more when you throw punches. Keep them simple.”

“Ah…”

“If you rotate your hips and ankles properly, you’ll generate enough power. Just focus on speed, hit-and-run, and pressure them to the ground. That’ll work better for MMA.”

“Ah, that makes sense. I was too focused on trying to get a one-shot KO… Thank you so much. This helped a lot!”

“With that alone, you’ll probably dominate amateur competitions. Keep it up.”

“Thank you!!”

My brother patted the student’s shoulder and came back to me.

“So? Was I cool? Pretty stylish, right?”

“…You would’ve been, if you didn’t say that last part.”

“Ah, shame…”

“Haha! Oh right—don’t you ever miss boxing?”

“Of course I do sometimes. But I don’t want to go back. I’m tired of getting hit… It’s more fun to just watch now. I had my fill of boxing, and I’m satisfied with my life as it is.”

“That’s good, then.”

The “Dragon Ear” I obtained from a dragon told me my brother was being sincere.

At that moment—

BOOM!

Something collapsed in the distance.

It was far away, so my brother just muttered, “Must be construction nearby.”

But I knew.

‘A gate has formed.’

Gates are usually divided into closed-type and open-type.

Closed-type gates are dungeon-like and sealed.

Open-type gates are also dungeon-like, but if not cleared within 6 hours, monsters start coming out and attacking civilians.

‘Of course, there are 6-hour, 1-week, even 1-month types, but this…’

This is a 6-hour open-type gate.

My instincts told me so.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Go back first. I’m going to the convenience store.”

“Let’s go together.”

“No, I’ll go alone.”

“…Alright then. I’ll head back first.”

“Yeah, I’ll be quick.”

Might as well clear the gate and gather ingredients for today’s business.

The Hunter Association’s Gapyeong branch was in chaos.

“Contact all the guilds in Gapyeong! Tell them there’s support funding too!”

“Deploy the government-affiliated hunters as well!”

Normally, gate subjugation takes at least 3 to 6 hours.

They had to clear it within that golden time to prevent civilian casualties.

“D-Director! One person just appeared on the radar!”

“What?”

The branch director stared at the radar.

A blue dot had suddenly popped inside the gate.

Blue dots indicated awakened individuals—hunters.

Meaning someone had entered the gate.

“How did they get in? The CCTV didn’t show anyone entering.”

Since the gate had formed in a park, its entrance was monitored by CCTV.

But no one had entered.

So how did someone get inside?

“Whew… it’s humid.”

The culprit was, of course, Hyunjoon.

“Mad Kraken… lucky me.”

Mad Kraken.

A C-rank octopus monster that can move on land and control water.

‘Five 3-meter ones and a bunch of small fry…’

Hyunjoon felt relieved he had come.

If it weren’t for an experienced hunter, at least one or two people would’ve been seriously injured.

“Perfect. I was itching for a fight anyway.”

Maybe it was because of that student chasing his dream earlier.

For some reason, he wanted a proper fight after a long time.

‘The hunters will take at least 10 minutes… I’ll fight without using my traits for now.’

He pulled out a longsword from subspace.

No abilities—just the sword.

Swish!

A Kraken’s tentacle lunged at him.

“Haah!”

Boom!

Without using his abilities, the strike lacked power.

Normally, it would’ve blown the limb apart, but it only inflicted a wound.

“This is more fun.”

Hyunjoon grinned and kicked off the cave wall, launching himself.

As expected, the creature extended its tentacles.

He thrust his sword forward.

Thud—

The blade pierced through the incoming tentacle.

“Got it!”

Using the recoil, he twisted his body unnaturally and landed on the creature’s back.

He protected his spine with mana, avoiding injury.

Then he dashed to its head and drove his sword into its eye.

Thud—

Thanks to knowing its weak point, he easily took one down.

‘Four left.’

The smaller ones acting as minions had already been cleared out with a few swings.

Hyunjoon bent his knees, then released a burst of mana.

Boom!

He launched himself again.

Dodged a tentacle, threw his sword—

Thwack!

Thud—

Another direct hit to the eye.

“…Two should be enough for business. Should I leave the rest?”

Hunters have a duty to protect civilians.

But they’re also businessmen.

They risk their lives—of course they want to earn money, buy better gear, and grow stronger.

‘With the two strongest ones down, they should be able to handle the remaining three without major injuries.’

They need to hunt monsters to receive government support and sell mana stones.

And the laborers who depend on them need income too.

And all of them are potential customers for Hyunjoon.

So it was best for him to leave now.

“Time to go make some takoyaki!”

“Director! The blue dot disappeared from the radar! And two red dots are gone!”

Red dots meant monsters.

“…What in the world just happened?”

Someone had entered the gate, killed two monsters, and vanished.

From the Association’s perspective, it was fortunate—but who could do such a thing?

Enter a gate, kill two monsters in 10 minutes, and disappear.

It was unbelievable.

“For now, don’t reduce the promised government support for the assisting guilds. And investigate who that mysterious hunter was.”

“Yes, sir!”

At least, if they entered and killed monsters, they were unlikely to be a villain.

‘Whoever it is… let’s just be grateful they’re not an enemy.’