abcnovels
Chapter 117
Chapter 117
Chapter 117
‘Ah. The Mount Hua Sect.’
The Mount Hua Sect hunters had sworn allegiance to Choi Yeonseung in exchange for his teachings. Fortunately, they were martial artists. In Choi Yeonseung’s view, martial arts were better than magic when it came to things like this. They were quiet, agile, and could easily neutralize people... Above all, even if their opponents were prepared, wouldn’t they have only prepared countermeasures against magicians?
Martial arts could poke into that loophole.
“Of course, I was going to go with people.”
“Phew. I’m glad.”
Nguyen was relieved, having remembered what Hwang Gyeongryong had told him.
-He can be a bit reckless at times, so please stop him whenever that happens.
-What exactly does that mean?
-You’ll know once you start dealing with him.
… Looking at it now, Hwang Gyeongryong had to have been joking. Choi Yeonseung had a lot of common sense.
‘The chairman really… likes to joke around.’
***
“Congratulations!”
“Congratulations!”
On a street where many people passed by, hunters in suits stood in a line with their heads bowed. People started whispering.
-Who is that person?
-Shh. They must be bad hunters. Don’t make eye contact.
“... If you don’t stand up straight now, I’ll give you ten training sessions with ten times the intensity of the previous one.” Choi Yeonseung’s voice was mixed with killing intent.
The Mount Hua Sect’s young hunters stood up out of sheer fear. They were very chagrined. While watching Choi Yeonseung’s performance, they were like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing! How can he be so powerful even though he’s a martial artist? I’ll make sure to congratulate him when he comes back.’
“You look like crazy people. What are you doing on the streets? Are you asking for the police to arrest you?”
“The police don’t arrest hunters...” one of the hunters grumbled.
“Follow me in a mounted position. Don’t use your skills,” Choi Yeonseung calmly replied.
“......!”
The young hunters bravely shut their mouths upon witnessing their colleague groan in pain.
“Why are you congratulating me so loudly...?”
“B-because you’re really amazing,” the hunter following him in a mounted position said with a groan.
For ordinary people and other hunters, Choi Yeonseung was just a rising, young star hunter. However, that wasn’t the case for martial artists. For martial artists, Choi Yeonseung was the personification of dreams and hope. After all, he was the most powerful martial artist on active duty right now.
Among the magicians were several outstanding A-grade and S-grade hunters. On the other hand, there was no such hunter among martial artists. The A-grade hunter Li Yuyuan was involved in a rating manipulation case and fell miserably.
In fact, Choi Yeonseung was the only martial artist who could potentially become an A-grade hunter right now. Therefore, the Mount Hua Sect hunters were bound to be enthusiastic about Choi Yeonseung’s performance.
“I don’t care about my performance. Tell me about yours.”
“Huh?”
“The Endless Heavy Swamp ordeal. What happened? Did you pass?”
The Endless Heavy Swamp ordeal pitted the hunters against an agile doll in a swamp with water so heavy that they were rendered incapable of moving as soon as they fell in. Choi Yeonseung created that training ground in the Otherworld. It was the perfect place for martial artists to learn how to withdraw their strength and use their internal energy to harness the power of their surroundings.
The Mount Hua Sect hunters smiled.
“?”
“We all passed.”
“!”
Choi Yeonseung was shocked. All of them had passed?
-I should check their progress.
Choi Yeonseung examined the hunters with his constellation eyes.
[Louis Wang]
[Level: 107
Strength: 101
Agility: 188
Physical Strength: 187
Magic Power: 98
Intelligence: 94
[External Softness and Internal Hardness]
[Rank: C+
You look soft on the outside but strong on the inside. Harnessing and holding onto your strength will grant you a bonus.]
All the other hunters also had the External Softness and Internal Hardness skill, which they obtained by passing the ordeal of the Endless Heavy Swamp. It wasn’t a rare and powerful skill, but it was useful for martial artists since it helped them use the power of their surroundings and deflect attacks around them.
‘Amazing.’ Choi Yeonseung was impressed.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is surprised and thinks they are more persistent than it had expected.]
He did expect a hunter or two to pass, but not all of them.
“Can I ask how you passed?”
Choi Yeonseung asked Iris.
Iris jumped up flustered when asked a question. “T-That’s... Everyone... We worked hard together and did it.”
“......”
Was that all?
“Iris helped me a lot,” Louis, who was behind him, spoke as if sensing Choi Yeonseung’s bewilderment. Iris had the highest level among them and was the first to pass the ordeal. When she was done, she grabbed the others and helped them.
“Oh... You have a really good leader.”
The Mount Hua Sect’s young hunters showed subtle but proud expressions. Hearing that was heartwarming. However, the truth was a bit different.
-Gasp, gasp... I can’t do this any longer, Iris.
-K-keep fighting.
-I’ll just give up now and try again next time.
-N-No. Don’t give up until the end.
-... We can’t go out?
-That’s right...
Even if they were to leave the Otherworld, Iris would follow and nag them until they headed back inside. She used kind words, but nothing was as horrible and frightening as that from her victim’s perspective. She was like a water ghost following them to make them train! Those who were weaker and less skilled than Iris were forced to re-enter and clear it.
“Can’t we train separately next time?”
“It is a very moving story.”
“......”
The young hunters were taken aback by Choi Yeonseung’s reaction.
No...
We just told you!
“I’m glad you’re training hard... Is it because you’re Hunter Li Yuyuan’s daughter?”
“It has nothing to do with that...?”
“Please continue taking care of them,” Choi Yeonseung encouraged Iris.
Iris looked surprised for a moment, but then quickly clenched her fists and answered, “Y-Yes!”
“......”
The young Mount Hua Sect hunters had gotten an ominous feeling for some reason.
What? What was wrong with this strange atmosphere...?
***
“Before you go into detail, I would like to treat you to a meal.”
The training was hard, but they were grateful to Choi Yeonseung. Although they had a really difficult time, they weren’t stupid enough to decline to put in the effort needed to become strong.
“You guys?”
“Uh. It’s to show our gratitude. Please don’t refuse.”
Choi Yeonseung nodded at Louis’ words. It wasn’t polite to refuse someone’s heartfelt hospitality.
‘We can talk while eating.’
“I was wondering if there is anything you would like to eat.”
“Hmm...”
Choi Yeonseung was worried.
‘I better not choose anything too expensive, right? They don’t seem to be doing well financially.’
Choi Yeonseung misunderstood that the Mount Hua Sect clan was poor. If its hunters learned of his thoughts, they would be amazed and say, ‘What are you talking about?’
They had lost most of what they had and had gone into exile, but they were hunters. They could easily and quickly regain their wealth. The Mount Hua Sect had several businesses in Chinatown, including the auction hall and a high-end Chinese restaurant.
“Jajangmyeon should be fine.”
“... Huh?”
The hunters were taken aback.
Jajangmyeon?
Choi Yeonseung mentioned this because he thought it was Chinese food. However, just because they were from China didn’t mean they knew about jajangmyeon. In fact, a lot more people didn’t know about it.
“Is that Korean food?”
“Hey. Hurry and find a store in Koreatown.”
“Isn’t it too simple?”
“If that’s what Choi Yeonseung wants to eat, then It can’t be helped.”
***
‘I keep witnessing the strangest things in the world.’
Kim Sangdeok, who ran a Korean-style Chinese restaurant in Koreatown, looked dumbfounded. Well-dressed hunters were sitting and eating jajangmyeon as a group. Wondering if they were broadcasting, he checked for cameras.
‘Aren’t they Chinese? Why don’t they eat Chinese food...?’
Most of them were Chinese, so he was worried that they would think, ‘You call this Chinese food?’
Kim Sangdeok had no choice but to believe in his 20-year career.
“This Korean dish is delicious. What is this called? I’ll have to return and order this again next time.”
“Isn’t it Chinese food?”
“How come I’ve never heard of it? It has to be Korean food. This is a store in Koreatown, after all.”
“The guys at the other table said it was Chinese food...”
“Be quiet.”
Choi Yeonseung shut the hunters up and got down to business. Taking back a researcher called Ronald was a dangerous act against Pable.
“You’ve all sworn your loyalty to me, but I don’t really want you to sacrifice your lives for me. Don’t accept just because I’m asking you.”
Choi Yeonseung was a very realistic person. He taught the young hunters in exchange for their loyalty, but weren’t they people as well? It would only be natural for them to put up a bit of resistance should they be asked to recklessly lay down their lives.
“It really doesn’t matter if you don’t participate. If you aren’t confident, you can give up and step down now. That being said... Is there anyone who can help me with the task?”
All the Mount Hua Sect hunters raised their hands at the same time. No matter how indifferent, Choi Yeonseung couldn’t help being slightly moved by their behavior.
[The loyalty of the ‘Mount Hua Sect’ hunters has increased the power of your existence!]
***
Pable had a research complex in Mabrook, not far from LA. Nguyen guessed that Ronald would’ve been taken there if he was taken away.
“What are you going to do?”
“We can just walk through the front door and bring him out, but...”
To put it bluntly, Choi Yeonseung was confident he could take down other hunters even with his prowess limited to peak-class. Hunters weren’t monsters. A single attack could fatally wound them. In some ways, they were much easier to deal with than monsters.
“It is hard to handle the aftermath, so we’ll have to sneak in, figure out the situation, and quietly bring him out. Raise your hand if you are confident in your speed.”
The hunters who trusted their speed-style martial arts raised their hands.
“Among those who raised their hands, keep your hand up if you’ve got confidence in your stealth skills.”
There were only two people left. Choi Yeonseung spoke while looking at the two of them.
“The two of you can follow me. The rest will remain on standby.”
The hunters of the Mount Hua Sect murmured when Choi Yeonseung took the two hunters to the barbed wire near the huge research complex.
“Isn’t the security of Pable’s research complex amazing?”
“There will probably be dozens of layers of it. How is he going to pierce through those?”
“We’re talking about Choi Yeonseung here. I’m sure he has some ideas. He probably even has special equipment to neutralize security.”
“Indeed... He belongs to Icarus...”
They had infinite faith in Choi Yeonseung. However, Choi Yeonseung was completely unarmed. Martial artists usually didn’t carry such special equipment. All he needed was himself and his training.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ praises you for being reliable.]
-Thank you, cat constellation.
Beeeeeeeeep!
Beeeeeeeeep!
“......?!”
Choi Yeonseung turned his head in surprise. The alarm system blared. He hadn’t even approached yet. What...?
“I-It looks like it’s coming from the other side.”’
“Something must’ve happened there!”
Someone on the other side had triggered the alarm.