Chapter 2456 – 2456. Seventier
The first floor of the Seventier Guild headquarters was bustling with visitors from outside.
The broadcasting station crew, with their cameras and equipment, were nervously glancing around.
‘It seems Seventier’s situation is worse than I thought….’
‘Forget the general public, even hunters from other top 10 guilds have come. Did our schedule leak?’
‘The PD… he seems to be enjoying this. Is he really going to push ahead with the filming?’
The general public held up their protest signs even more passionately. The signs demanded that the guild hire ordinary people. Despite being allowed inside the headquarters thanks to Seventier’s consideration, there was no hint of gratitude towards Seventier.
‘If Seventier helps me, I can awaken too.’
‘Even if it’s a bit of a nuisance, I can repay them after I awaken.’
‘They’ll become a famous guild, so they can help us. And the broadcasting station is here too. If we ask for an interview, they’ll have to do it.’
The hunters from the top 10 guilds were quiet. They were all A-rank hunters. They hadn’t come to the Seventier Guild with good intentions. Their goal was to humiliate the Seventier Guild during the broadcast.
Would the Seventier Guild kick them out? They would retreat obediently then. However, afterward, rumors would spread that the Seventier Guild was cowardly. In the hunter world, where strength was everything, being labeled a coward would lead to various disadvantages. At the very least, Seventier’s growth would be stunted.
‘I heard Sung Yu-jin is going to be on the broadcast today.’
‘I’m going to challenge Sung Yu-jin to a duel.’
They hadn’t just come because of their guilds’ orders. Even top 10 guilds couldn’t just use their A-rank hunters recklessly. Their presence here wasn’t due to their guilds’ coercion.
‘Sung Yu-jin is inexperienced. Even if the Association recognized him, he just became an A-rank hunter. It hasn’t been long since he became an S-rank candidate.’
‘I don’t deny that Sung Yu-jin’s growth and potential are great. But for someone who just became an A-rank to be an S-rank candidate? I heard he’s close to Han Ah-young. He probably became an S-rank candidate with her help.’
‘If I can defeat Sung Yu-jin… I might become an S-rank candidate myself. Even if not, just the fact that I beat an S-rank candidate will solidify my career. There will be criticism, but I can just say my guild ordered me to do it.’
They had all finished their calculations.
Soon, Kang Seok-soo, the representative of Seventier, appeared. Kang Seok-soo looked around the bustling first floor and barely suppressed a sigh. The first place he headed was towards the broadcasting station crew. The broadcasting station, with whom he had a prior appointment, was not an unwelcome guest.
Kang Seok-soo approached Yoon Dae-shik, the PD with a bushy beard.
“PD Yoon.”
“Ah, Representative Kang. I’m sorry about this. It seems information leaked from our side. What should we do about today’s broadcast? If you want to cancel, we will.”
Despite his words, Yoon Dae-shik’s eyes were shining. As a former C-rank hunter, he was welcoming the current situation. It would be more sensational than a normal guild promotional video, and the ratings would be higher.
“The information leak… it’s unavoidable. Even if we tried to hide it, it would have leaked somehow. And we can’t postpone the broadcast schedule just because of this. I’ll talk to the hunters from the other guilds. However, we might have to change the filming schedule.”
“Haha. Don’t worry about that. We can use the whole day today!”
A deep smile spread across Yoon Dae-shik’s face.
Kang Seok-soo walked towards the hunters. They were slightly frowning, seemingly displeased that he hadn’t approached them first.
“What brings you here, and where are you from?”
“Don’t you know us?”
“Haha. Even if the Korean hunter world is small, I don’t know everyone in the industry.”
“…Park Seo-woon from the Sambak Guild.”
“Kim Ji-oh from Bluebird.”
“Kang Dong-woo from Ewha.”
Sambak, Bluebird, Ewha.
They were the 7th, 9th, and 10th ranked guilds. Of course, the rankings were unofficial. Strangely, people accepted them as official.
‘They’re the guilds with the weakest presence among the top 10.’
They were also the guilds that were most nervous about Seventier’s emergence. They could lose their top 10 status if they weren’t careful.
‘The difference between being in the top 10 and not is quite significant.’
The hunters stated their demands directly, as if their time was precious.
“We want to have an exchange with the Seventier Guild. In the form of a duel. Since this is the guild headquarters, you must have a training ground. What do you say?”
“…So suddenly?”
“Well, if you don’t want to, there’s nothing we can do.”
If they turned them away here, rumors would spread that Seventier was a coward that avoided duels. Behind Kang Seok-soo, PD Yoon Dae-shik was watching with sparkling eyes.
“Hmm. Very well. Do you have a specific hunter in mind as your opponent?”
“…Uh. I heard the representative of Seventier is bold… it’s as I’ve heard. I want to duel with hunter Sung Yu-jin.”
“I also came to see hunter Sung Yu-jin.”
“Me too.”
The hunters frowned and glared at each other.
Even so, three people couldn’t fight Sung Yu-jin at the same time.
“I came and waited before you two. I believe the opportunity is mine.”
“You didn’t even make an appointment with Representative Kang, so what’s the big deal about coming first? Since the Sambak Guild is ranked higher, I, as a member of the Sambak Guild, should go first.”
“Rank? That’s unofficial. That ranking was decided by ordinary people who don’t even know the hunter world. Our Ewha Guild is not just 10th.”
Kang Seok-soo chuckled as he listened to their conversation. Even the top 10 guilds considered each other rivals when you looked closely.
‘The relationships between the top 10 guilds aren’t solid. If one of the top 10 guilds suffers a critical blow, they wouldn’t hesitate to tear it apart.’
For Kang Seok-soo, who wanted the collapse of the top 10 guilds, this was a very fortunate situation.
“Everyone, calm down. Since you all want to duel with Sung Yu-jin… shouldn’t the choice be given to the person involved? Sung Yu-jin, what do you think?”
Sung Yu-jin walked out from behind.
Wearing designer clothes, a designer watch, and designer shoes, Sung Yu-jin, who was dressed head to toe in luxury brands for the broadcast, looked around at the crowd.
Hunters and ordinary people alike were momentarily overwhelmed. It wasn’t just because he was wearing luxury clothes. There was something indescribable about Sung Yu-jin.
The hunters, in particular, reacted more strongly.
‘This… it feels like I’m looking at our guild master.’
‘So there’s a reason he’s an S-rank candidate.’
Sung Yu-jin glanced at the hunters and smirked. A sneer that anyone could recognize.
“You can all go in order. The result seems to be predetermined.”
The hunters, who had been momentarily overwhelmed, were dumbfounded. What had they just heard?
“…Hunter Sung Yu-jin. Can you handle that statement?”
“Handle? That’s for you challengers to do, not me. Don’t you know that?”
“You’re being arrogant as if you’re an S-rank hunter. No, even S-rank hunters wouldn’t be as arrogant as you.”
“Did I seem arrogant? Well, there’s a difference in level, so it can’t be helped.”
The hunters’ foreheads were throbbing with veins.
‘I heard Sung Yu-jin had a good personality… but he’s actually very arrogant. I guess you can’t trust rumors.’
‘This cocky bastard….’
‘I was going to go easy, but I can’t now.’
The hunters’ eyes were blazing.
• • •
“There were people from the broadcasting station too. Did you really have to act like that?”
Kang Seok-soo started his nagging. The guy who wore a coat even in the middle of summer was surprisingly talkative.
“I knew the cameras weren’t rolling.”
“Still, rumors will spread. That Sung Yu-jin is a jerk.”
“I don’t care. I don’t plan on becoming a friendly hunter.”
“…You’re confident about the duels, right?”
“Looking at them, all three of them are mediocre. I can win even if all three of them attack me at once.”
The reason he hadn’t provoked them more was because he didn’t plan on showing his full power. There was no need to hide his strength, but the fact that someone knew his power was unpleasant.
“If you lose, you’ll be a laughingstock. Not just Seventier’s reputation, but your reputation will plummet.”
“I told you I won’t lose.”
Among the hunter ranks, the A-rank had the biggest difference in individual skill. Anyone who met certain skill and performance requirements could become an A-rank, but it wasn’t easy to become an S-rank.
Hunters who were slightly lacking in power and couldn’t become S-rank were A-rank, and hunters who barely became A-rank with the help of their guild or colleagues were also A-rank.
‘Those three are below average even among A-ranks.’
He could tell just by looking at them. They were probably the ones in ambiguous positions within their guilds.
‘If I win against all three of them in a row, my reputation will rise.’
This was reality, so he wouldn’t kill them. He didn’t plan on going that far.
A little later, the surroundings became noisy. The celebrities who were the broadcast MCs had arrived. I adjusted my clothes.
I frowned when I saw the celebrity coming through the main gate.
“It’s a guy.”
“He’s a popular actor these days. It was quite difficult to get him. If it weren’t for my connections, it would have been impossible.”
“I just want to give up and go home.”
Kang Seok-soo grabbed my shoulder.
“Don’t go. If you’re going to go, at least clean up your mess first.”
“I was just saying. Take your hand off. I don’t like men touching my body.”
“I don’t like it either.”
Kang Seok-soo quickly took his hand off. I headed to the waiting room, half-heartedly. I had been planning a fun one-night stand with a beautiful celebrity… it was a disaster from the start.
“You have to do the interview later. The questions and answers are prepared in advance. Memorize them.”
“Okay, okay.”
• • •
The Seventier Guild’s training ground.
I looked around from the center. Six cameras were filming me from different directions. The broadcasting station PD had a very gleeful expression.
In this era, videos of duels between hunters were common, but if my name was involved, it was a different story. The title of S-rank candidate was enough to gather the expectations of the entire nation.
“Where are you looking? Focus on me.”
My first opponent was Park Seo-woon from the Sambak Guild. His eyes were fierce, as if my earlier provocation had worked.
Park Seo-woon held a training sword without a blade, and I also held a training sword.
“What’s with that sloppy stance?”
“……Is that how it looks?”
“…Is there something to that stance?”
“……Don’t you know?”
Park Seo-woon gritted his teeth. Then, a sound rang out from the speaker, signaling the start of the duel.
Beep!
[Using Acceleration. Lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 11]
[Using Instant(刹那). Remaining stacks: 10]
Lightning Heaven Style(雷天流) Lightning Flash(雷光).
The fastest strike after double acceleration.
Park Seo-woon’s sword moved smoothly, blocking my attack.
‘He blocked it? This? No, he didn’t even see my attack properly.’
I could tell by his shocked, shaking eyes. He didn’t know my attack and block it. He only recognized my attack after blocking it.
‘It’s inexplicable. Is it an ability?’
[Using Instant(刹那). Remaining stacks: 9]
I narrowed the distance further and swung my sword where Park Seo-woon couldn’t see.
Clang!
But it was blocked.
‘He blocked an unknown attack. Judging by his expression, he didn’t sense it. Then… it’s an ability.’
I guessed it was an ability where his body moved on its own. In other words, an auto-battle-like ability.
‘If he can block my attacks… it’s a pretty good ability. But how will he block an unblockable attack?’
Lightning Heaven Style(雷天流) Ten Thousand Lightnings(卍雷).
Lightning gathered and rotated in my left hand. He tried to pull his body back, but I followed him and attacked, then released the gathered lightning.
Discharge.
Blue lightning spread in all directions. I, who was resistant to lightning, was fine, but Park Seo-woon wasn’t.
Thud.
Park Seo-woon, who was electrocuted, collapsed. He had fainted.
Perhaps it was because the duel ended faster than expected. The surroundings were silent.
