## Chapter 2457 – 2457. Seventh Tier
The training ground was quiet after the unexpectedly quick battle.
Usually, sparring matches between hunters of similar skill levels last about 3 to 5 minutes. When a match ends within 30 seconds, it’s either due to a clear difference in skill or one side being careless.
This time, it was clearly the former.
There was a man quietly smiling in the spectator seats. It was Kang Seok-soo, the guild representative of Seventh Tier.
‘Park Seo-woon was also careless. Unlike his fame, detailed information about Sung Yu-jin isn’t well-known. If you search online, there are a few videos, but they’re from years ago. His skills now are completely different from then.’
Sung Yu-jin mostly went to B-rank or lower gates alone. Was it because he was afraid of A-rank gates? No, there was no way he would be like that with his personality.
‘He must have done it because it was a hassle. Since he was going alone, his performance and income would have been sufficient with just B-rank gates.’
The puzzling thing was that it was impossible to drastically improve one’s skills with only B-rank or lower gates. Skills increase by experiencing difficult battles and accumulating experience.
‘Looking at the battle just now, he doesn’t seem to lack experience. Did he gain experience somewhere I don’t know about?’
Kang Seok-soo imagined himself as Sung Yu-jin’s opponent.
Closing the distance was suicidal. He had no confidence in winning a close-quarters battle against Sung Yu-jin.
‘I’m a mage. Keeping distance isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity. But even if I keep my distance, it doesn’t mean Sung Yu-jin becomes powerless. The lightning Sung Yu-jin used just now is on par with the attack magic I use.’
If it was ordinary lightning, an A-rank hunter wouldn’t have been stunned instantly. Ordinary lightning can’t incapacitate an A-rank hunter in one go. An A-rank hunter’s body is completely different from that of an ordinary person.
‘A sword in close range. His acceleration is so fast that even I can miss it for a moment. And it seems he can use lightning at any distance. Moreover, due to the nature of lightning, even if you block it, it’s not really blocked.’
Even if you block it with a sword or shield, it flows through. To block lightning, you need to actively use mana or strengthen your body to be immune to lightning. Either way, it’s exhausting for the opponent.
‘If he were an enemy, he’d be a headache.’
He subtly turned his head. The faces of the two A-rank hunters scheduled for the next sparring match weren’t good. Sung Yu-jin’s skills were far superior than they had anticipated, and their plans had gone awry.
‘But they can’t back out now. They’d be called cowards. Moreover, there’s the issue of the reputation of the guilds that sent them.’
The broadcasters? They seemed a bit disappointed. The longer the battle, the better it was for them.
The ordinary people he brought along, not wanting to completely ignore them, were stiff as boards. Sparring matches between hunters. Seeing it in a video and seeing it in person are worlds apart. Hunters die with the slightest mistake. They were forced to recall the fact they had been ignoring, blinded by the spectacle.
And the guild members of Seventh Tier.
They were watching the sparring match with sparkling eyes. The more Sung Yu-jin excelled, the more Seventh Tier’s pride rose.
An S-rank candidate. That is, someone who will become an S-rank hunter someday. In the future, Seventh Tier will have an S-rank hunter. Just that alone would attract investors, and hunters would envy the Seventh Tier guild.
‘Show your overwhelming power in the remaining sparring matches, Sung Yu-jin.’
It was then.
A man approached him from behind.
It was a man wearing a pristine white suit, to the point of being obsessive. His tie, wristwatch, and even his shoes were pure white. His sharp features gave him a cold impression.
Jeong Ji-hak. One of the guild masters of Seventh Tier.
“It seems I’m a bit late.”
“You are late. The battle just ended. It was an interesting sight.”
“I can tell the result just by looking at the reactions around me.”
Jeong Ji-hak looked at Park Seo-woon, who was lying on the training ground floor.
“Do you need my help?”
“Don’t bother. Sung Yu-jin controlled his power. He’s just unconscious, there’s no serious damage to his body.”
The next sparring match was with Kim Ji-oh from the Bluebird Guild. Kim Ji-oh stood in front, looking nervous.
The match ended in 3 seconds after it started.
Kim Ji-oh couldn’t even react to Sung Yu-jin’s attack using acceleration.
Sung Yu-jin’s instantaneous acceleration was hard for even A-rank hunters to react to. If you try to react just by relying on physical abilities, you’ll end up like that.
“Hmm. Impressive.”
Jeong Ji-hak said, as if admiring. Kang Seok-soo, just in case, asked him.
“Did you see Sung Yu-jin’s movements?”
“I didn’t. That’s why it’s impressive.”
“If you were Sung Yu-jin’s opponent, how would you have responded?”
“I’m not suited for combat… but if I had to face him, I would allow the first attack and aim for a counterattack. I don’t know if it would work.”
Kang Seok-soo nodded. It was a tactic only Jeong Ji-hak, a recovery-type, could use.
Soon, the third sparring match began.
“This one will end quickly too.”
“I don’t think so. It won’t be that quick.”
Kang Dong-woo from the Ihwa Guild.
An A-rank hunter whose name he had never heard of.
‘But it’s the Ihwa Guild. People dismiss the Ihwa Guild as the 10th among the top 10 guilds, but… I think the Ihwa Guild is hiding its claws. If they reveal their claws carelessly, they’ll become targets of the other top 10 guilds, so they’re hiding them.’
• • •
The sparring match began.
As expected, I instantly closed the distance using *Challa* and swung my sword. The lightning that lingered at the tip of the sword cut through the air.
[Using *Challa* (刹那). Remaining stacks: 7]
However, the sword cut through empty air. Suddenly, he had disappeared. He reappeared at the end of the training ground, 10 meters away.
“…Teleport? Is it an artifact?”
Teleporters are specially managed. There was no way one would be here.
“You’re quick to notice. Yes, it’s an artifact. You’re not going to call it a disqualification for using an artifact, are you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
*Noecheonryu* (雷天流) *Manroe* (卍雷).
I shot the *Manroe* gathered in my palm at Kang Dong-woo. Kang Dong-woo drew his hand in the air. An invisible barrier rose and blocked the lightning.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘An invisible wall. It doesn’t feel like he’s manipulating wind. Is it telekinesis? It’s quite a troublesome ability.’
The biggest advantage of telekinesis is that it’s invisible.
‘Even if I can’t see it, I can feel it.’
Telekinesis also has its limits if you only use the ability, so they mix it with mana. That’s how the power increases.
‘I just need to sense the mana.’
*Gigan*.
I recently increased my mana stat. My current stat is at the S-rank average. When I focused a little, I could feel many things. The energy surrounding Kang Dong-woo as well.
‘Well, I could use *Cheonan* to see the mana directly, but…’
I didn’t intend to show all my abilities.
‘I can feel it.’
Kang Dong-woo’s mana was fluctuating. The mana took an intangible form and flew towards me. Not as a point or a line, but as a plane.
I stepped back, using my footwork. The telekinesis cut through the air where I had been.
“…You felt my telekinesis? That’s an amazing mana sensing ability.”
“I just have a good sense.”
“Haha. Then how about this?”
Kang Dong-woo spread his arms wide. At the same time, telekinesis spread in all directions.
‘He’s planning to envelop the entire training ground and then slowly narrow it.’
The space is limited, so there’s no way to escape.
‘He’s much more skilled than the two before him.’
But what he could do, I could do too.
‘*Noejeon*.’
*Pajijik!*
Blue lightning spread in all directions from my feet. The floor, walls, and ceiling of the training ground flashed with lightning.
*Bang!*
The fluorescent lights on the ceiling shattered, and pieces fell to the floor.
Kang Dong-woo swallowed hard. He stopped the power he was deploying and put a telekinetic barrier around himself. That was the only way to avoid being electrocuted.
“…The range of your power is no joke. Honestly, isn’t this cheating? I’m only able to handle this because it’s me… other people wouldn’t have been able to attack or defend.”
“Are you going to keep doing that?”
“I can’t, can I? It seems I’m losing in terms of mana… This will probably be my last attack. It’s a technique that combines offense and defense that I recently developed. I’ll show you.”
I thought he had been talking too much since earlier, but now I see he was conscious of the camera, not me.
‘He’s trying to salvage his image since he’s about to lose.’
It might be wise. The two before him didn’t even last 10 seconds. The public’s attention would be drawn to Kang Dong-woo, who lasted relatively long.
The telekinetic barrier protecting Kang Dong-woo’s body began to rotate.
*Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!*
The rotating telekinesis scraped and shattered the floor and ceiling of the training ground with terrifying force.
*Noecheonryu* (雷天流) *Manroe* (卍雷).
The lightning I shot, which I had taken more time to make stronger than before, bounced off to the side. Ordinary attacks wouldn’t work.
He walked towards me with a stiff expression. He was sweating, so it seemed impossible for him to run.
‘It seems like it consumes a lot of mental power and mana. I could probably win just by maintaining this distance?’
But wouldn’t that be too unimpressive?
This video will be talked about for a long time, right?
I gripped my sword, watching Kang Dong-woo approach. The residual lightning that had been scattered around gathered around the sword.
Kang Dong-woo looked surprised. He seemed to have sensed something was wrong, but there was no way he could stop now that he had come this far. He took a step forward.
*Noecheonryu* (雷天流) *Noegangin* (雷罡刃).
The *ganggi* and lightning mixed together, forming a blade that shone with lightning.
As soon as he saw the lightning blade, his face hardened with a serious expression. I swung the sword at him.
His barrier split and disappeared as easily as tofu. The tip of the sword stopped in front of Kang Dong-woo’s head.
“…I lost.”
The sparring match was over.
After that, interviews followed.
The A-rank hunters who fought me desperately managed their expressions during the interviews, and I recited the script that Kang Seok-soo had given me.
After the filming ended, Kang Seok-soo approached. He had a satisfied smile on his face.
“It was perfect. You did well with the interview too.”
“What’s so hard about reading a script? Who’s the person behind you?”
The man in the white suit stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Jeong Ji-hak. I’m a master of Seventh Tier, just like you.”
“He has recovery abilities. His abilities as a rear support are the best. He can even recover severed arms.”
“Yes, that’s right. If you have any discomfort, please tell me. I’ll treat you. Of course, the cost is on you.”
“Cost? Do I just pay money?”
He smiled and shook his head.
“That’s not it.”
“Jeong Ji-hak’s recovery ability is amazing… but it comes with the condition of being accompanied by tremendous pain.”
“Yes. As the representative said. It’s an ability that even anesthetics don’t work on. That’s probably why people are reluctant to use my abilities. There are still people who seek me out because it’s better than dying.”
I had complete recovery. There was no need for me to borrow Jeong Ji-hak’s hands.
“By the way, that guy still hasn’t come.”
Kang Seok-soo frowned.
“Was someone else supposed to come?”
“One of the masters was supposed to come. He’s a belligerent guy. But seeing that he hasn’t come, he either forgot the appointment… or he might have gotten caught up in an incident and couldn’t come.”
“Does he often get caught up in incidents?”
“I told you, he’s belligerent.”
It was when Kang Seok-soo sighed. His smartphone vibrated in his pocket. Kang Seok-soo took out his smartphone and checked the caller. His face hardened.
“…It’s the association’s emergency contact line. It seems like something has happened.”
Kang Seok-soo answered the phone. His face became serious.
“The Bluebird’s raid team failed to clear an S-rank dungeon. As a result, a dungeon breaker phenomenon has occurred. Sung Yu-jin, Jeong Ji-hak. Your power is needed. Prepare immediately.”
