[Mission Completed. Returning to your original world.]
[400 days of lifespan will be rewarded.]
[Remaining Lifespan: 681 Days, 9 Hours, 34 Minutes.]
With a plop I was lying on the cold floor of the studio breathing heavily.
I'm terribly tired.
Although none of my equipment was completely destroyed like before, expensive ammunition, two magnetized bombs, and an E4 were used.
I'll have to run around a lot to make up for all this money.
What could only be described as bitter.
The more I think about getting only 100 million won in severance pay the more pissed I got.
Forcing my stiff body to sit up I spoke.
"Status Window."
The increased abilities made me dazed.
Besides, I even got a S-Rank skill!
Perhaps because it was a sword and had no ability or talent all I could absorb were skills.
But I saw a very trashy skill called 'Sword Transformation (A).'
Which would literally turn me into a sword.
It was also impossible to revert back to human form.
If I had the additional skill called 'Forced Possession (SS),' then I wouldn't mind living as a sword.
I wonder what I would do if I had absorbed it, but fortunately I succeeded in absorbing the highest S-Rank skill the Holy Sword had.
It was also a skill I needed the most right now.
Swordsmanship.
No matter how good an A-Rank talent is, it is more comfortable to go on a reliable path than to carve out a path myself.
And Swordsmanship (A+) is like providing a clearly paved road for a sports car.
[White Swordsmanship (S), a sword skill that can be said to be every sword skill in the world. It has no form, but also many forms. It has no style, but also many styles. It is a blank canvas and you're the painter. That is White Swordsmanship.]
"…"
What are you talking about?
So I read it over and over again 30 times, and then I realized.
"Oh. I can use my dick as a sword?"
< … >
There is no clearly defined form for White Swordsmanship.
It was a skill that would improve my form from time to time to fit the swing of my sword.
This is the skill that enabled whoever held the Holy Sword Barette to become the best swordsman.
I did not receive any vision that was passed down for hundreds of years.
Nor was it a skill that destroyed enemies in one swing.
Just a sword skill that changed into the most suitable form for me.
That is White Swordsmanship.
When I closed my eyes and focused, a picture was drawn in my head.
The way I wielded my sword.
In my imagination I was wielding an aether blade that was 1m 20cm tall, 2.5cm wide, and weighs 1.4kg.
Much shorter and lighter than what I'm using now.
I swung it as if I was flying, and the body actually floated in the air.
Hup!
I got off the floor, picked up the aether blade, and took a big breath.
Suddenly my lungs sucked in 'Mana.'
'This is…a Mana breathing method?'
So far I have been forced to scrape together Mana.
However, as soon as I learned White Swordsmanship I quickly understood how Mana flows through my body.
My hands were shaking.
Having acquired the talent Swordsmanship (A+) I thought I could handle all the swords in the world.
But it was delusional.
Genius talent was just a wild instinct.
Just as a tiger instinctively knows how to effectively bite off its enemy and tear it apart.
But, now there is a clear path.
"…"
I wanted to test this sword right away.
Looking at the clock it was 1PM.
The only place I could test this was at Geumgang Gym.
Suddenly, I thought of the golden sandbag training at the gym, so I immediately left.
I just had a big battle and my whole body was stiff, but I wasn't in the mood to rest.
Whenever I went out I always took an aether dispenser, but unfortunately most of my equipment was broken so I couldn't.
Rich hunters wore suits that can be activated at a press of a button, but I didn't have the money, so I used an old-fashioned aether coat.
Suits were easy to remove, easy to clean, had great defense, and could regulate the body's temperature.
On the other hand, coats were cumbersome, inconvenient to store, had simple defense, and there were huge disadvantages of using it in the summer due to the heat.
I'd like to buy a suit someday.
I had no choice but to leave my coat at home.
All I took with me was an aether pistol that was easy to carry and an aether blade that could be held in a carrier, then I went to the subway in sweatpants.
I bought a motorcycle for transportation, but didn't use it unless it was really urgent.
By the time I got to Konkuk University Station the surrounding area became noisy.
The vibration from my cell phone was making a lot of noises.
[A D-Rank gate has opened within a 30-meter radius of Konkuk University Station. Citizens please evacuate.]
Times have changed, and now people were no longer afraid of monsters.
With more accurate forecasts than even weather forecasts, people were good at evacuating in advance, and even when low-level 'anomalies' occurred spectators would flock to check out the scene.
In fact, no one took the evacuation notice seriously.
Korea was one of the 12 countries with the lowest hunting failure rate in the world.
"Damn it. I'm going to be late for my appointment."
"So unlucky."
There were people complaining.
"Ooh. Can we see the hunters?"
"Let's take a picture!"
Some people were excited.
I could see the subway platform was shut down as I approached.
It seems that there is a gate in the subway area.
I wouldn't mind coming forward if that was the case, but I didn't because it seemed like there were already others to take care of it.
Even if I didn't, the gates and dungeons were scattered.
Hunters would take care of the monsters in a flash anyway.
When the police and public officials stepped in to slowly put the citizens behind a line I decided to follow and wait patiently.
But it was strange.
According to protocols if a gate occurs underground it would have to be transferred above ground using a gate transfer device, but there was no sign of that.
Already there's not much time left.
Eventually I sneaked up to a man who seemed to be in charge and spoke.
"You're not transferring the gate above ground?"
"Huh? Haha. You must have heard that somewhere, but that's not necessary for D-Rank gates."
"Why?"
"The reason to transfer underground gates to above ground is if there were 'medium size species,' but there's no such monster in a D-Rank gate."
"…What are you saying? Why not?"
As I began to argue with him he slowly became annoyed and sighed.
"You're just an ordinary citizen, what do you know."
I took my ID out of my wallet.
F-Rank Hunter, #15.
The person in charge had a sullen look after seeing my rank, but his eyes opened wide when he saw the number next to it.
The #15 means a veteran hunter with 15 years of experience.
"This is not the first time I've seen something like this happen. Just tell your boss what I just said. Don't take the blame for someone else's mistake."
"Ah, yes. For the time being…"
Then, someone suddenly shouted.
"I thought I heard a familiar voice. Aren't you Yoo Seodam?"
Turning my head, a man wearing the armband of the Lost Day guild was approaching.
I recognize his face.
Kim Jitae.
From my memory he had the ability of D-Rank.
"I heard you retired, but you're still here. Do you want to use an expensive gate transfer device because you're a little scared?"
"What are you talking about? The citizens' safety is a hunter's top priority. If it's a medium…"
"Senior."
Kim Jitae shrugged, smiled, and pointed behind him.
"Five D-Rank hunters. And the team leader is a C-Rank superhuman hunter. You may be scared, but this is enough. It's overkill."
Looking back, five hunters stood with the Lost Day armband.
'There were people like that?'
It was such a huge guild that I can't remember all the faces.
Also, one of them felt kind of strange.
It was hazy, and weirdly I felt my appetite growing.
Have I been drinking?
I said what I wanted to say and felt it was pointless to continue.
"Fine, suit yourself."
"Yes, we can take care of ourselves."
In fact, Kim Jitae was right.
As a F-Rank hunter I had to be prepared for every situation, but it was different for superhumans.
They're allowed to make minor mistakes.
Because they were capable of overcoming them.
But my point wasn't whether they could deal with it or not.
Among the D-Rank monsters there were many medium-sized monsters and if those came out, the subway would be in a terrible mess.
So I thought it would be safer to transfer it above ground.
But the chances are so low that everyone else ignored it.
Wiing!!
As the gate began to open, hunters, including Kim Jitae, quickly disappeared into the subway.
Soon I heard the sound of gunshots.
Seeing that there was no problem on the ground I knew it wasn't a medium-sized monster and was worried for nothing.
But.
Something is off.
If the hunt is successful only the sound of an explosion should be heard, but a wild beast's cry came from inside the subway.
"What the hell is happening down there…?"
Then.
Someone shouted over the speaker.
"Damn it! An unknown monster has appeared! Citizens, please evacuate immediately!"
"W-what?"
Ba-boom…!!
The rail between the intersection started to crack, then it slowly collapsed.
I still heard screams in the subway, but this time it was humans.
"What is happening all of a sudden?"
To be honest I was flustered too.
Sometimes strong monsters would appear in weak dungeons.
There are always such variables.
But I've never seen this phenomenon before.
'A C-Rank hunter, five D-Rank hunters, and more than ten soldiers yet they're still struggling?'
When that thought came to mind, something smashed the ground and ran up.
Red skin all over, gross muscle mass that seems deformed, and a massive size that is likely over 5 meters tall.
It was unmistakably a monster, but it looked very human.
"Crazy…! What the hell is that!"
"H-hunter! What the hell is that?"
The field leader panicked and asked me, but honestly, I don't know either.
I've hunted on the front line for decades, but I've never seen such a human-like monster.
No.
Wait a second.
I've seen a similar case like this a long time ago.
But it was so different from what I remembered that I wasn't sure.
"Damn it. Call for backup right now!"
After shouting for backup I took out my aether blade and jumped into the scene.
My equipment was lacking.
Only one portable aether pistol and one aether blade.
There is no proper protection, so an ordinary hunter like me who doesn't have a strengthened body will die if hit once by that thing.
That monster is probably at least B-Rank.
If I had enough equipment I could break through its defense with a pistol and a blade.
Every monster has a layer of protection made of aether or qi-like properties.
And it was also the only thing that could penetrate the flesh of the monsters.
However, ordinary hunters needed to break that protective layer first.
So aether guns were invented.
The average rifle can break a monster's protective layer and cause huge damage at the same time, but with a small pistol it'll just strip the protective layer.
Also, the area that had been stripped of the protection must be precisely cut off with a sword.
That's how ordinary hunters without superpowers dealt with monsters.
Should I try it?
In fact it was extremely difficult.
So I've never tried it in my life.
But now.
'I can do it.'
Looking at the sword in my hand I was full of confidence.
"Ugh! Damn it…"
Kim Jitae crawled out of the subway.
His strength ability was good in many ways, but his disadvantage was that he could hardly use his strength against an enemy who had a stronger power than him.
I hurried up to Kim Jitae and slapped him on the cheek.
Because I needed answers now.
"Hey. Wake up!"
"S-senior. Damn it, let's retreat! That's not something we can deal with!"
"What the hell are you talking about? We're the only hunters on the scene, what would happen if we left?"
"They're going to die anyway! It would be better to retreat and wait for support…"
"No, you've seen all these idiots."
Kim Jitae.
Did he say it was his second year as a professional hunter?
The hunters from the city are rather hopeless.
Their ability to cope with emergency situations was lacking as they only hunted when they were in their best condition with the best equipment and was certain of victory.
Moreover, Kim Jitae seems to be very skilled when it comes to close combat, especially for his ability.
"Hey. Shut up and tell me. What is that monster?"
"T-that's…"
"Was it mana poisoning?"
Kim Ji-tae shook his head to my question.
There seems to be a situation where he couldn't answer, but that's none of my business.
'In the end, it's another human hunt.'
I don't know why a person suddenly appeared here with mana poisoning.
This is because they have to absorb an excess amount of mana where it overloaded their body for it to happen.
But it doesn't matter.
First of all, there's a hunt in front of me, so I will hunt.
That's what a hunter does.
Kim Jitae seemed useless, so I loaded my pistol with the intention of dealing with it alone, but he grabbed my ankle.
"Well, what are you going to do with such equipment?"
"Bastard, let go of me."
After swinging my foot roughly and stomping him in the face, I spoke.
"Do I look like a beginner like you?"
"Y-yes?"
C-Rank.
It was strong enough to be a threat.
Kim Jitae, who is still inexperienced, came out to hunt with a C-Rank superhuman, and acted if he was invincible.
But monsters above B-Rank, which are higher than him, would be beyond his reach.
But not to me.
It is what I'm used to dealing with when I hunt.