Ch. 30 - Chapter 30

"If I hadn't seen you take down the hyena, I would've been fooled."

Unexpectedly, Oh Jiho praised my technique.

In fact, infiltrating from behind the enemy was the right move.

Because no attack would land on me.

"With that level of mobility, I see now how you were able to collect the rare herbs."

I shrugged my shoulders slightly.

In reality, the ruthless toxicity of the Black Aether also played a significant role, but there was no need to offer additional explanations to the black market folks.

The more I revealed that I was a Poisoner, the more people would come after me.

That was the most important principle Kiril had taught me.

“No matter what I try, I just can’t land a hit on you. It’s driving me crazy. Are you a ghost by any chance?”

“I’m human.”

So, he was not one for jokes it seems.

He must have concluded the testing was complete.

Oh Jiho turned on the video player next to him.

Poof!

A bright light beamed onto the gloomy underground wall, and soon a somewhat decent screen came into view.

"Now's not the time to talk about technique. You need to learn how to use your body first. A fight between elementary school girls would look better than your movements."

I was at a loss for words at the constant praise.

Fuck.

"Whenever you have time, please repeat these movements. From what I can see, not only do you have healing abilities, but it looks like you've also developed a 'reinforced body' like a Knight type... If possible, I recommend performing the movements with your Aether fully activated."

Perhaps people's eyes get sharper as they become a master.

He already seemed to know that my body was at the level of a ‘D’-rank Knight.

"Oh..."

Repetitive training usually brings to mind a boring, monotonous process.

But Oh Jiho’s movements in the video weren’t the same even once from start to finish.

From the fingertips to the elbows, from the shoulders down to the waist and feet.

Each movement connected seamlessly, naturally engaging the entire body.

“Huff... huff...”

I activated the Black Aether and followed the movements, but my stamina was depleted in less than ten minutes.

They seemed like such simple moves, but why were they so difficult?

“It’s because you lack the knack for using your body. Even a well-built man won’t perform efficiently if you suddenly put him to hard labor without experience.”

"Huu. I may not know about other things, but I can imagine how my movements must have looked to you earlier, Teacher.”

"Teacher…?" 

A slight ripple passed through Oh Jiho's thick eyebrows.

"Yes. What's wrong with being called a teacher? Anyone who teaches you something is a teacher. Or would you prefer something more formal, like 'Master' or 'Instructor'?”

"No. That won't be necessary."

After saying that, Oh Jiho turned off the device and handed it over to me.

"From now on, keep this device with you at all times during practice. I won't teach you any techniques until the movements are completely ingrained in your body.”

"Don't be so harsh, just teach me next time."

"Absolutely not.”

"Damn. You said you learned the technique from Yaksha, right? How long did it take you, Teacher?"

"It took ten years to master the basic movements.”

"That's crazy."

There was no way I could spend ten years just on this.

For the first time, I considered just giving up.

Oh Jiho turned to me, frowning.

"You address Father so freely but you keep calling me 'teacher’."

"What's wrong with that? If you want, I can use informal speech with both of you."

"...Never mind."

With those words, the first combat training session came to an end.

* * *

"Oh my! Look who we have here! The S-rank Hunter!"

As I turned toward the cheerful voice, a familiar face appeared.

"It's been a while."

A pickpocket from the black market with Stealth skills.

Bisu.

Her fiery red hair and delicate features remained strikingly beautiful, while the scar tracing her lip wasn’t something one could look away from, a shame really.

"The newspapers are filled with stories about you. Is it really okay for you to be frequenting the black market like this?”

"I don't care about that. If I want to come, I come. I even told the reporters at the testing centre."

"What did you say?”

"No interviews for a while."

"Wow. Going off on the wrong foot from the start, aren't you?"

Bisu gave me a provocative smile and patted my shoulder.

I looked at her carefully and then asked.

"Have you been slacking off lately?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Your cheeks look a bit chubbier."

"You little... you should know there are things you say and don't say to a woman..."

Bisu swung her fist, and I lightly dodged it.

"Work has been slow lately. I think the busiest I ever was back then was when I was following you around the Poison Dungeons. And now, more than ever, is a time to be careful.”

"Careful?”

"Yeah. Recently, dungeons have been popping up like mushrooms. Times like these call for even more caution. The probability of dungeons where 'the wall' collapses is higher.”

"Hmm."

The ‘wall’ collapsing.

It means another world opening up inside the dungeon.

These are the so-called second dungeons.

Second dungeons are difficult to detect even with the Hunter Association’s most advanced equipment, and their emergence is treated as an immediate state of emergency.

That’s because the monsters become significantly stronger, causing the dungeon’s difficulty to spike drastically.

On top of that, if a certain amount of time passes in a secondary dungeon, a gate opens above it.

For that reason, when a second dungeon appears, not only the guild in-charge but also all nearby available hunters are mobilized immediately.

“No matter how important making money is, I can’t be sneaking into unlicensed zones in times like these. So that’s why…”

“Your cheeks have gotten chubbier.”

“My cheeks got chubbier…”

She parroted without thinking then glared at me when she realized.

“You really wanna die?”

Seeing Bisu hopping around and making a racket somehow made me feel relieved.

The image of her crying so pitifully when parting with my sister had lingered in my mind for quite a while.

Seeing her looking so spirited now, it seemed like she was doing just fine.

“How was your lesson with Manager Hwan Gyeok?”

“Hmm… if I had to sum it up in one sentence, I felt like I got scammed.”

“Hehe. I think I know what you mean.”

Bisu, grinning mischievously, suddenly raised her index finger.

“Wanna hear a tip?”

“A tip?”

“Yeah. A tip about the technique Manager Hwan Gyeok uses.”

“...How would you know that?”

“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure myself. Hmm… maybe you could call it a kind of intuition?”

“Oh, intuition. Got it. I’ll be back next week, so stay safe.”

“Hey! You’re totally ignoring me, aren’t you? I’m telling you, it’s a legit tip!”

It's not ignoring, it’s called managing expectations.

You’ve gotta stroke her ego like this if you want to squeeze information out of her.

Otherwise, this sly little fox might demand something in return for sharing her so-called tip.

“Not that I’m expecting much, but let’s hear it.”

“Ugh, what an annoying jerk. Maybe I should just shut up.”

Despite saying that, Bisu leaned in close to my face.

“I think there’s something special about Manager Hwan Gyeok’s technique.”

…Should I kill her?

Of course there was something, that’s why an E-ranker can beat a B-ranker.

But then a tempting remark reached my ears.

“Every time Manager Hwan Gyeok uses his technique, I catch the scent of poison flakes.”

"Poison flakes….!!”

A psychoactive substance made by processing plants that grow in the Poison Dungeons.

In simple terms, a drug.

Why does Oh Jiho emit that scent when he uses his technique?

"It's not really a scent... it's more like, how should I put it, a unique kind of feeling, you know? Anyway, it's not just about physical strength, it feels like there's something invisible."

Something other than physical strength.

After hearing Bisu’s words, something clicked in my mind.

The source of the abilities used by Espers.

Psychokinesis.

When psychokinesis is added to physical strength, their abilities increase exponentially.

Just look at how rare and highly regarded Hunters with dual abilities are.

Indeed.

You’d need at least that level to surpass your original rank.

“Not bad, I guess? I thought stealth was the only thing you knew how to do.”

“Ugh. I knew it. Spouting nonsense instead of saying thank you… I’m the idiot here.”

“Hehe. Here, take this.”

I pulled a paper envelope from my coat and handed it to Bisu.

“Ooh! Is it money?”

“No. A letter. My sister asked me to give it to you when she heard I'm heading to the black market.”

“Oh…”

Bisu’s eyes, which had been sparkling just moments ago, suddenly turned hazy.

It was easy to tell that the change didn’t come from ‘disappointment’.

Bisu held the letter from my sister tightly in one hand, then waved to me.

My cheerful friend.

Let’s meet again next time.

* * *

Psychokinesis.

The fundamental power of an Esper.

The ability to emit the Aether within the body outward and transform it into a special substance.

If a top-tier knight can slaughter everything visible to the eye, a top-tier esper can incinerate hundreds of monsters with just a single wave of their hand.

If, as Bisu said, Oh Jiho’s martial arts were enhanced with psychokinesis, then in the end, I have to learn the skills through psychokinesis too…

“Where am I supposed to summon psychokinesis from when I don’t have any?”

-Kieeeek.

As monsters fell dead right before my eyes, I let out a short sigh.

Developing psychokinesis isn't as simple as buying something from a convenience store.

It’s basically saying you have to awaken twice to acquire a different type of skill.

Since Oh Jiho came to the black market and learned the skills, it seemed like there was some way after all.

“Hwaap!”

A young man with brown hair, his stylish cape billowing, unleashed a bolt of lightning.

Crackle!

Some of the small wyverns hovering in groups in the air fell to the ground.

Hmph.

Espers really are a convenient bunch.

Just stand still like this and shout ‘Yah’ and the monsters will die on their own.

"Haha! Hunter Chun Haesun! Just wait a moment! I'll clean them all up right away!"

Lee Yechang, a fellow rookie hunter, clenched his fists and exclaimed with determination.

A promising Esper who started out with a ‘C’ rank right from the beginning.

Is it a bit weird to call someone older than me promising?

Well, whatever.

He signed with a smaller guild called ‘Orenoton’, a man with the kind of personality that would rather be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon.

One of the reasons he chose the ‘Orenoton’ guild was because it had many young rising stars like himself.

Since his awakening stats came out fairly high, he had set his sights on gaining experience and taking the ‘B’ rank exam the year after next.

How did I know all that?

Because from the moment we entered until now, he had been rambling nonstop right next to me.

At first, I pretended to listen. Then I ignored him, acted distracted, even told him to shut his babbling mouth, but none of it mattered. He just kept yapping away, completely unfazed.

I had been listening to him say for two hours straight that being with me was an infinite honor for both himself and the Orenoton guild. I thought I was going to lose my mind.

"Hup!"

Crackle.

Although it was a 3-star (★★★) difficulty dungeon, there was no problem defeating the boss monsters.

After all, today’s team consisted largely of experienced hunters from Orenoton.

Two newly contracted rookie hunters and seven existing members.

And, inevitably, one S-rank rookie hunter who needed to complete his probation period.

With four B-rankers in the group, clearing the dungeon wasn't particularly difficult.

“Ouch, that hurts! Could you please heal this?”

“...Just put a band-aid on it.”

Some even purposely get scratched by monsters just to come find me.

They even went on about the honor of being healed by an S-rank hunter.

Well, whatever, it was still a pretty laid-back schedule.

The party lineup was far too impressive for the dungeon’s difficulty, and all I had to do was heal the occasional, rare injured teammate.

Since I was moving with the guild, there was no one demanding ‘protection fees’ like last time.

“Diiieeeee!!”

Just the minor inconvenience of having to keep hearing that idiot Esper’s shouting energetically, but all things considered, it was a peaceful dungeon.

After confirming the boss monster’s defeat, we turned back toward the dungeon entrance.

“Hunter Chun Haesun! This must be fate, then how about joining us for a team dinner tonight?!”

“Yeah! You teamed up with our guild, so it wouldn’t feel right if you just left like this!”

“Hunter! If it’s not too much trouble, could we maybe take a quick photo together on my account…!”

With a smiling face, I firmly turned down all their requests.

We’ve each achieved what we came for, let’s all go our separate ways.

I have to go home and repeat those damn movements all over again...!

“Hm?”

But suddenly, the Orenoton members heading toward the dungeon entrance all came to a sudden stop.

By the time I, walking slowly at the rear, got close to them, the faces of all the hunters had already gone stiff.

“What’s going on?”

“Hunter Chun Haesun.…”

Their anxious eyes all pointed in the same direction.

The dungeon entrance, now completely shrouded in something dark and ominous.

The entrance, previously accessible even without defeating the boss monster, was now completely sealed off.

“This… this looks bad.”

Rumble.

Rumble.

Rumble.

Each rumble resounded more loudly by the end of each one a crack formed underneath.

Before the party leader could even finish speaking, the ground beneath us began to collapse.

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