abcnovels
Chapter 134
Chapter 134
Chapter 134
Lee Changsik wondered what he was talking about. He knew that Choi Yeonseung had returned after going missing in the Abyss. Didn’t he start with the Las Vegas raid, then cleared the red dungeon in New York?
“I’m relieved he seems to be doing well. His rank also went up to B. I don’t know how he’s doing that at his age.”
B-grade hunters could easily attract media attention due to their nature. A-grade hunters didn’t bother clearing dungeons anymore unless they were really needed, and there was a limit to the dungeons that C-grade hunters and below could enter. Hence, standing out among B-grade hunters wasn’t something that just anyone could do.
“Is it the power of self-care?”
"Don't spout nonsense. What do you mean Yeonseung posted a video?” Lee Changsik asked, seemingly unable to understand. Choi Yeonseung was currently under Hwang Gyeongryong, who would surely take care of him. Why was he suddenly posting a video? Was it for publicity?
“He posted it saying he would give a basic martial arts lecture. Take a look.”
Kim Jungyu played the video. The two sat down in a very serious and solemn posture and watched it.
-For those who are interested in martial arts, I would like to take this opportunity to teach them what martial arts are and how to learn them. Christopher from Europe is here to fight with me.
-I said I was from England, not Europe...
-Be quiet. There are many martial arts in the world, and each one has its own characteristics. I will be demonstrating one of the most basic martial arts today—the First Step Divine Arts.
“No... He’s really just going to teach that? What is the clan leader doing?”
Lee Changsik was shocked. He knew that there had been a sudden increase in interest in martial arts lately. Korean hunters had been asking things like ‘Hey, is it true that martial arts are resurfacing these days?’ and ‘Is it useful?’ while rummaging through the martial arts that they had practiced in the past.
Once a trend started, it would blow all over the world. Even Lee Changsik had no idea how this trend would turn out. Would martial arts become a new trend, or would it just shine momentarily and then disappear? However, he knew one thing. Now that it had become a trend, Choi Yeonseung should get a proper share of the benefits.
Wouldn’t he be coveted by all types of clans right now?
“Gyeongryong isn’t the clan leader anymore.”
“Shut up!”
“Why are you taking your frustration out on me?”
“Bah.”
Kim Jungyu grumbled from the side. He vividly remembered being stuck between Hwang Gyeongryong and Lee Changsik all the time.
“Considering Yeonseung’s personality, he probably just revealed this selflessly. The martial arts trend has made low-ranking hunters recklessly learn martial arts and fearlessly enter dungeons.”
To use a sports analogy, B-grade hunters were key players of any clan in the world. C-grade hunters weren’t as good as them, but depending on the clan, they could play as a starting or reserve player. These days, there were thousands or tens of thousands of times more low-ranking hunters in the world than B or C-rank hunters. And those hunters fearlessly entered dungeons even though they just had one skill.
Fortunately, things kept ending positively. However, no matter how low-rated a dungeon was, it could still kill or injure them. It was even more dangerous if they were unfamiliar with martial arts!
“Even if Yeonseung is selfless, the clan leader should’ve stopped him!”
“Why are you telling me that? No, more importantly, are you really in a position to say that, Changsik? When you were asked to go to the United States, you stayed in South Korea and fought...”
Lee Changsik turned red after being stabbed in his sore spot. He certainly wasn’t in a position to ask Choi Yeonseung to live selfishly.
“... This and that are different matters!”
“You have become a bit more shameless now that you’ve grown older.”
***
“No matter how much I think about it, Martial Arts for Beginners doesn’t sound good.”
“Beginner, first step... Hmm. I can change the name to First Step. It should sound somewhat more alluring if I add Divine Arts to it. Now that I’ve thought about it, Westerners don’t know Chinese characters, so they won’t know anyway even if I don’t think about it too much.”
“......”
“......”
The Westerners around Choi Yeonseung looked at him with very complex and subtle emotions. He was right, though!
“Basically, the video I’m going to post is about what martial arts are, how you can train in them, and how to use them. That’s about it. During the application part, I’ll divide it into fighting against hunters and against monsters.”
“... You’re going to explain all of that?”
Elisabeth was shocked. Of course, there were quite a few hunters who revealed magic or skills on their accounts. However, all they showed were already known magic and skills. No hunter would ever disclose rare spells or skills if they had one, considering they’d lose more than they’d gain in doing so.
“Well, I did name it First Step Divine Arts. This is much easier and simpler than the Beginner’s Martial Arts I taught you last time.”
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. It was easy for magicians to think, ‘Isn’t martial arts just wielding a sword?’ but there was a huge variety of martial arts. Martial arts such as Star Absorption Method were so difficult that they shouldn’t be touched by those who were below peak class.
In comparison, the Beginner’s Martial Arts that Choi Yeonseung taught to the Icarus hunters or the First Step Divine Arts that he was about to post now were really, really easy. It only had a few linked movements, and it didn’t take much to learn! Compared to magic, it would be around 1 to 2 circles.
“Even though it’s simple and easy, the way you train in it or use it is really important.”
“It’s fine. It isn’t like they can learn immediately just because I showed it to them.”
Martial arts was an endless and tough road. After crossing one wall, they would reach another.
Training and fighting were just maps or compasses, and watching a few videos didn’t mean one could already do everything.
‘I have to spread martial arts a bit more first.’
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ agrees.]
Choi Yeonseung remembered the charisma that Li Yuyuan had during the first generation. The idol of martial artists all over the world! The moment Li Yuyuan said something on air, the martial artists used to sit in front of the TV and shout, “This is the dignity of a peak-class martial artist!”
‘If I could sit in that position, it will have serious impacts.’
He wasn’t just an A-grade hunter, but humanity’s greatest martial artist. Being in that position would let him lead martial artists around the world! There was still a long way to go, but Choi Yeonseung tried to get there one step at a time. In the eyes of those who didn’t know martial arts, they would probably ask, ‘Why are you giving away so much?’ However, from Choi Yeonseung’s perspective, it was just a really insignificant level of information...
“Christopher. Come here.”
“I am a nobleman. Treat me like one—”
“Come here if you don’t want to be beaten like a dog.”
“Ugh.”
Choi Yeonseung showed a simple linked movement of the First Step Fist technique.
Hit, swing, dodge, and fall.
“You’re probably the only person who uses fists so much.”
“Well, I’m sure that most people will try it.”
“Really? I think swordsmanship or spear techniques will be more advantageous.”
Elisabeth was puzzled. Wasn’t it more advantageous to have sword or spear techniques since that would allow them to borrow the power of artifacts?
“Well, low-rank hunters normally don’t have artifacts since they don’t have money.”
***
“What are you doing?!?!”
Hwang Gyeongryong called Aine when he saw the martial arts video posted by Choi Yeonseung, which shocked him.
-What is it?
“How can you just upload something like that?”
-You know I don’t stop my client from doing what they want.
“......”
-I also figured it wouldn’t be bad for his image. Even if we don’t profit from it, it’s still publicity.
The reason why Aine didn’t stop him was simple. She thought that even if they wouldn’t get many material benefits from it, it would help him quite a bit with publicity. In fact, the reaction was similar to what Aine expected.
-He just released all of these? Why?
-Thank you, thank you...!
-In the future, I will bow three times in the direction of South Korea whenever I use martial arts.
-Isn’t it just trivial martial arts?
-Have you tried to use such trivial martial arts, you bastard?
-This guy has probably never revealed any magic.
-No, this is suspicious! Why would anyone post something that teaches the public in so much detail?
-First-generation hunters have a different mindset than the selfish hunters of today.
-Stop talking nonsense. First-generation hunters are the same.
-I can’t hear you~ Release one spell before you spout nonsense~
-Isn’t it disgusting when top-ranked hunters post videos of themselves using Magic Missile, which everyone already knows?
-By the way, isn’t the person helping him Christopher Winter? I heard he is Choi Yeonseung’s next opponent. Why is he with him?
-Really? There’s no reason for him to help at all, right?
“......!”
The responses surprised Hwang Gyeongryong. They were much better than expected.
Aine continued.
-We are doing a prematch interview right now. If you’re interested, take a look.
“Uh... I understand. Anyway, why was Christopher in the video?”
***
Originally, prematch interviews often involved ignoring, provoking, and swearing at each other. Hunters generally had dirty tempers, and that was how they could attract attention. But this interview was a bit different.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, you posted a detailed video before the match about what type of martial arts you use. Is this out of confidence that you can win?”
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, Hunter Christopher was, surprisingly, with you in that video. Do the two of you know each other?”
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, Hunter Choi Yeonseung!”
The atmosphere itself was different from the last interview. Back then, they were trying to sell the story of Choi Yeonseung ‘shamelessly manipulating the ratings to get benefits,’ but the reporters were now very favorable toward him. The UHC reporters were basically generous and kind to rising stars, and the public liked to be on the side of such stars, so they didn’t attack them either. Although they were friendly toward Choi Yeonseung, malicious questions flocked toward Christopher.
“Many people say that it is arrogant of you to compete with someone who’s already within the top twenty as soon as you passed the qualifiers, Hunter Christopher. Do you agree with them?”
“There are rumors that you are of British descent, and that you’re disrespecting the United States because you have aristocratic blood. Is this true?”
“There is a rumor that you ignored the tradition of the UHC and cursed at most of the B-grade hunters as bastards with no combat experience. Did you really do that?”
“N-No...”
Christopher was flustered. The reporters’ behavior portrayed Choi Yeonseung as a champion and Christopher as a cheap and arrogant challenger. Unfortunately, Christopher’s mentality wasn’t as solid as Choi Yeonseung’s. His face turned red, and he stammered.
“Are you really ignoring others because you are the household member of a constellation?”
“What do you think about the inclusion of the word ‘arrogant’ in the name Arrogant Light Elf?”
The brave reporters were fearless. They even bit at a constellation.
“There is a rumor that you almost died after being caught trespassing on the grounds of a hunter clan. Is this true?”
Surprisingly, some of the questions unexpectedly hit the mark. Choi Yeonseung raised a hand and stopped them.
“There seem to be many misunderstandings. Christopher isn’t arrogant, rude, or treats passersby like ants.”
“Ah, really?”
It was rare for someone to protect their opponent like this, so the reporters were surprised.
“Yes. He even came over to help me shoot a video.”
“Aha. As expected...!”
“What about the rumor that he was caught trespassing, got beaten up, and then forced to film?”
“That’s not true.”
“This is...”
The reporters became sad. Of course, they didn’t seriously believe it either, but...
It would’ve been fun if Choi Yeonseung said, ‘It is true!’