Chapter 31 – 031. Yeongcheon Style
031. Yeongcheon Style
“Sis, you said you’d support me, right? How exactly are you going to support me?”
If possible, I’d like that support to come with that amazing body of yours. I swallowed the rest of my words.
“Just wait a moment.”
Contrary to my hopes, Jin Seyoung left the training room and returned about a minute later. She was carrying a long box in both hands as she approached me.
“There are five types of support. First, free membership. Second, a personal training room. Third, personal training… that is, one-on-one instruction. I promise to teach you with all my heart. Fourth, practical support. Fifth, weapon support. I’ll give you the sword I’m holding. How does that sound?”
From my perspective, these are the best possible conditions.
I don’t plan on joining a guild right now, so that’s out of the question. My goal is to get stronger, not to join a guild and work like a dog.
“Okay. But what’s the sword you’re giving me?”
My gaze went to the long box she was holding. The sword must be inside.
Jin Seyoung carefully placed the box on the floor, took out a key, and unlocked the lock. Inside the box, wrapped in a luxurious cloth, was a red-tinged sword.
The tip of the sword was angled, there was no guard, and the hilt was a luxurious black, unlike the red blade.
There was a black sheath like a stick next to the sword, but my eyes were only on the red sword.
I stared blankly at the sword. Although I don’t have an eye for weapons, the atmosphere it exuded told me that this sword was not ordinary.
My iron sword was nothing more than trash compared to this sword.
“The sword’s name is Hwaryeonbido (Fire-Forged Sorrow Blade), and its type is Changpogeom (Sweet Flag Sword).”
“Changpogeom? But it’s a sword?”
“In our Yeongcheon Style, the distinction between a sword and a blade is meaningless. In Yeongcheon Style, a sword refers to any long, bladed weapon. We don’t bother distinguishing between swords and blades. And due to the nature of Yeongcheon Style, we prefer daggers or light swords. Yeongcheon Style’s practical techniques favor quick kills rather than intense battles. In that sense, the Changpogeom is easy to use.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, the basic techniques of Yeongcheon Style were based on one-handed swords. There were even movements where the sword was held in reverse and swung. It’s definitely not a swordsmanship style where you face each other head-on.
To freely wield a sword according to the Yeongcheon Style’s defensive techniques, it’s better not to have a guard.
Yeongcheon Style’s swordsmanship, which focuses on speed and concealment, is better with lighter swords, and greatswords would only be a hindrance.
“If you don’t like this, I’ll prepare something else.”
“No. No. No! There’s no way! I really like it!”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
I cautiously extended a finger and ran it along the blade. Since the blade was red, I thought it might be hot, but it was surprisingly cool.
“The Hwaryeonbido was made by a poetic artisan in Gangwon-do.”
A poetic artisan!
I’ve heard of that famous smithy. Their skills are among the best in Korea and are known even overseas.
“The blade is made of dark iron and a dragon’s scale, and the hilt is made by processing a dragon’s bone.”
“H-huh. A dragon!”
That’s an SS-rank monster that turned Korea upside down ten years ago. By the way, SS-rank monsters are considered unmeasurable.
Fortunately, the ten major guilds cooperated to hunt the Red Dragon before it could leave the dungeon.
“Don’t be so surprised. This is a failed product. That’s why it has ‘sorrow’ in its name. They originally intended to make a sword with the ability to manipulate flames, but it seems they failed. The Hwaryeonbido is durable and doesn’t dull even without maintenance, but other than that, it’s just a normal sword.”
“T-that alone is amazing! How much would this sell for?”
“Not much. About 300 million? Performance-wise, it’s worth less than 100 million, but the price went up because the material is a dragon’s scale.”
“You’re really… giving this to me?”
Jin Seyoung nodded without hesitation.
“Yujin, if you keep the conditions, that is.”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said seriously.
“Sis, hurry up and bring the contract. I’m in a hurry.”
I was completely captivated by the Hwaryeonbido.
•••
Practical combat.
This is the biggest concern for novice hunters.
Hunters go into dungeons to hunt monsters. The problem is that, except for the entrance, dungeons are different spaces cut off from Earth. That’s why crimes frequently occur within dungeons.
This is why parties hastily formed through the association try to avoid high-level dungeons, and it’s also the biggest reason why guilds were formed.
Unreliable teammates. Teammates who stab you in the back. Teammates who turn into robbers.
Novice hunters with no connections can only join parties hastily formed through the association, which makes them hesitate to engage in practical combat.
This was a concern I also had. But it’s different now. Next to me is Jin Seyoung, a reliable teammate and bodyguard.
Jin Seyoung is a B-rank hunter, and the dungeon we’ve entered now is the F-rank ‘Ratman’s Lair.’ Even if hunters hunting nearby turned into robbers and attacked us, Jin Seyoung could take care of them in less than three minutes.
“It’s your first practical combat, but don’t worry. You can easily handle ratmen with your skills.”
Jin Seyoung, wearing easy-to-move leather armor, said.
“I-if you say so, then I guess so.”
I replied, tightly gripping the hilt of the Hwaryeonbido at my waist.
I was also wearing leather armor like her. However, I had protective gear on my shoulders and chest. Originally, I wanted to protect myself with heavy armor, but due to the nature of Yeongcheon Style, movement was important, so I had no choice but to choose light armor.
I didn’t buy the armor; I borrowed it from Jin Seyoung for the time being.
‘Ugh… I’m really nervous.’
It’s not my first time entering a dungeon. I’ve been in a dungeon for practice and fought a goblin one-on-one.
However, it’s different now. Back then, there were many people around me, and goblins are the weakest monsters that even ordinary people can handle with a weapon.
I called it practical combat with bravado, but it was actually just practice. This moment is my first real practical combat.
“You’re too nervous. Take a deep breath.”
“Hoo~ ha. Hoo~ ha.”
While taking deep breaths, I touched my smartphone instead of the hilt. Touching my smartphone was much more calming than touching the hilt.
Once I calmed down a bit, I put my hand back on the Hwaryeonbido at my waist.
“It reminds me of the old days. I was very nervous at first too.”
“How did you relieve your nervousness, sis?”
“After one battle, I calmed down a bit. You’ll probably be the same. After a few times, you’ll realize that being a hunter isn’t a big deal.”
The F-rank dungeon ‘Ratman’s Lair’ is a swamp-type dungeon. The ground is muddy and squishy, with dense trees and swamps everywhere.
The monsters that appear here, ratmen, are bipedal rats that freely roam the swamp. They are 150cm tall and attack with their claws and teeth. The byproducts are worth an average of 10,000 won per claw, and the magic stones are worth about 80,000 won.
We walked deeper into the dungeon while talking.
If we saw anyone else, we avoided them. It was an open-type dungeon that any hunter could enter, so we had to be mindful of other hunters’ locations.
“Yujin, look over there. It’s a ratman.”
I turned my head in the direction Jin Seyoung was pointing. There was a black-furred ratman about 30 meters away.
Even from a distance, I could tell. It was much bigger than a goblin. It seems true that three goblins couldn’t beat one ratman.
“I’ll show you an example first this time too.”
Jin Seyoung walked towards the ratman. The ratman saw Jin Seyoung, raised its fur, and extended its claws, taking a fighting stance. Most monsters try to kill humans when they see them. Even if there’s a huge difference in skill, there are hardly any monsters that run away.
“Kiyaaaak!”
Jin Seyoung didn’t stop walking even as the ratman charged, and she swung her sword as if she were passing by it. The ratman’s head flew into the air and fell to the ground with a splash of red blood.
At first glance, it looked like the ratman just came and died.
‘That’s the Yeongcheon Style’s practical technique, Byeokgye (Azure Stream). I’m not at that level yet. As expected, sis’s practical techniques are incredibly skilled.’
From a distance, it looked like she just passed by and slashed, but from the ratman’s perspective, Jin Seyoung would have appeared to be far away.
The practical technique Byeokgye is a technique that blurs the opponent’s sense of distance with its unique footwork.
“Magic stones are mostly in the heart area of monsters. If not the heart, they’re often in the head.”
Jin Seyoung carefully collected the magic stone and claws into the bag at her waist.
One ratman yields a magic stone and six claws. That’s 140,000 won.
Simply put, if you catch 10, you get 1.4 million won, but you have to pay 30% in taxes. If you also calculate equipment maintenance costs and dungeon entry fees, you can actually use about 500,000 won as you please.
‘From a hunter’s perspective, the Hunter Association and the country that take taxes are bound to be hated.’
Hunters mostly work in parties. The average party size is five people. If you catch 30 ratmen a day, you earn about 300,000 won.
‘This is also high income. If you do it for ten days, you earn 3 million won. And if your skills improve and you catch higher-ranked monsters, earning 1 million won a day is a piece of cake.’
It’s no wonder hunters are admired by ordinary people. But for me, who has the Play Life app, that’s a laughable amount.
If I were to seriously use the Play Life app to make money, I could easily earn about 100 million won.
“Yujin, there’s a ratman over there. Try hunting it this time.”
“…Okay.”
I drew my sword and approached the ratman. My body was slightly trembling with tension. I’ve killed people in the Play World, but this was reality.
“Kiyaaaak!”
The ratman screamed at me and started running. I recalled Jin Seyoung’s movements from ten minutes ago and used Byeokgye.
As I stepped with the unique footwork, the ratman’s eyes shook and it looked behind me. Success. The ratman’s sense of distance was blurred, and it would think I was a few meters behind it.
‘It’s a bit shaky compared to Seyoung sis.’
But I still succeeded.
I passed by the ratman and swung my sword. I accurately severed the ratman’s neck. My strength was lacking compared to ordinary hunters, but the sharpness of the sword made up for it.
“N-not a big deal.”
I muttered, looking at the ratman’s corpse. It wasn’t bravado; it was genuine. The reason my voice trembled was because I was excited that I had succeeded in using the Yeongcheon Style’s practical technique in real combat.
“See? It’s not a big deal, right?”
“Yeah. I think I can easily kill ratmen from now on. Sis, how far do you think I can go?”
“You should be able to hunt lower-level E-rank monsters. But anything higher than that will be difficult. Your Yeongcheon Style skills are solid, but your physical abilities are the problem.”
Physical abilities.
Strength. Stamina. Agility are lacking compared to other hunters.
It was a problem I was aware of, so I nodded readily. And her words meant that if my physical abilities were sufficient, I could easily hunt E-rank monsters.
I collected the magic stone and claws from the ratman’s corpse and said to her.
“Okay. Let’s keep hunting. Sis, I’ve got the hang of it.”
“Okay. Since we’re here, we should get our money’s worth.”
As soon as I saw a ratman, I approached and killed it. I could kill them with just the basics, without having to use the Yeongcheon Style’s practical techniques.
Five hours.
That was the time it took me to kill 24 ratmen.
I killed about five per hour, but it took much longer to find the ratmen than to fight them.
“Only 24….”
“It can’t be helped. There are many competing hunters in open-type dungeons. The thing to be careful about in open-type dungeons is not to steal monsters. 80% of the fights between hunters in dungeons are due to monster ownership.”
“I’ve heard that too. But closed-type dungeons are a bit dangerous… Huh? Why did you stop suddenly?”
“Shhh. Someone’s lying in ambush ahead.”
We were on our way back after finishing our hunt. It meant we had a lot of valuable byproducts.
“…Bandits?”
Hunter bandits.
As the name suggests, they’re bad guys who rob hunters. I peeked out and looked at them. There were three of them, leaning against a large tree and talking.
“Probably. We could just go around, but… then other people would get hurt. We have to take care of them.”
Jin Seyoung stepped forward, and I followed behind her.
I wasn’t too worried.
This was an F-rank dungeon, and she was a B-rank hunter. The level of the guys who were robbing here was obvious.
