Chapter 62
As Jo Se-hyeok swept his hair back with his hand, his eyes gleamed with a predatory sharpness that could rival any beast's.
However, Lee Seong-jun's face showed not the slightest hint of agitation.
Instead, he let out a derisive snort.
"Hmm... No matter how I look at you, it doesn't seem like you have the skills to back up those words."
Jo Se-hyeok's expression twisted at Lee Seong-jun's mocking gaze, which curved like a crescent moon.
It felt like he was being ridiculed.
A braggart youngster, a has-been drunk on past glories.
That's how it sounded to Jo Se-hyeok's ears, and to be precise, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Rather, one could say he had accurately grasped Lee Seong-jun's intent.
"I look forward to it."
Jo Se-hyeok, his face contorted like a demon's, steadied his stance and watched Lee Seong-jun's movements intently.
"It seems your confidence has crossed into arrogance. To dare speak such words in front of me, the Rookie Slayer."
Seeing Jo Se-hyeok's cautious demeanor, Lee Seong-jun's expression shifted to surprise briefly before settling back into a smirk.
Indeed, he was no mere madman.
What stood before him now was a martial artist, and a formidable one at that, worthy of being called a master.
'If he were truly just a simple madman, he wouldn't have thought to escape Korea by joining hands with the White Tiger Guild.'
It had become a bit trickier, but it wasn't a problem.
The outcome wouldn't change anyway.
No, if he hadn't believed he could win, he wouldn't have set up this kind of stage in the first place.
The fact that he had engineered this one-on-one confrontation meant he was confident in victory.
"Whether it's arrogance or confidence, we'll see from the results."
The moment Lee Seong-jun finished speaking with a curved smile on his lips, Jo Se-hyeok, who had been narrowing his eyes, immediately stretched his foot forward.
Thump-!
Of course, it wasn't an ordinary step.
The qi concentrated in the sole of his foot dispersed, creating a unique and swift movement like gliding on ice.
Whoosh-!
As Jo Se-hyeok closed the distance in an instant, Lee Seong-jun recalled the information he had recently collected.
'Is this... the skill called Millennial Ice Formation?'
Millennial Ice Formation, the S+ rank unique skill Jo Se-hyeok was said to have gained upon becoming an Awakened.
As expected from what he had first heard.
'It's like seeing the ice techniques of the North Sea Ice Palace.'
Among those, it could be considered at the level of a supreme top-tier martial artist.
'...Not bad.'
With his exceptional physical abilities enhanced by the Millennial Ice Formation, it was certainly a movement worthy of reaching SS rank. However, it wasn't far beyond expectations.
While Lee Seong-jun was momentarily lost in contemplation, Jo Se-hyeok closed the distance in an instant and thrust out his fist.
Shik!
At the same time, sharp ice shards began to sprout from Jo Se-hyeok's hand.
'Is this an attack using Millennial Ice Formation?'
Since it wasn't a martial art, he couldn't know exactly what technique was being used, but judging from the visible application alone, it wasn't bad at all.
'Not half bad.'
Of course, what mattered now wasn't evaluating or analyzing Jo Se-hyeok's attacks.
Even as these idle thoughts continued, Jo Se-hyeok kept closing the distance.
He was completely exposed and defenseless.
Naturally, a sinister smile spread across Jo Se-hyeok's lips.
'I had expectations since he was hailed as a super rookie who even defeated Song Seung-jun, but he's below par. Was he just a puppet created by the Association and White Tiger?'
To think he wouldn't even react - it was foolish of him to have harbored expectations, even if just for a moment.
Just as he finished that thought, he suddenly felt a heavy impact on his arm.
'Why?'
As Jo Se-hyeok's eyes widened in surprise, the path of his outstretched fist was twisted.
'My attack was read? When? No, how?'
Even wondering about this was a luxury.
By now, Lee Seong-jun had approached to close range and was continuing a series of punches.
'Danger...!'
Jo Se-hyeok quickly moved his arms, desperately trying to block the barrage of fists.
Babababak-!
On the surface, it appeared to be an evenly matched exchange.
But in reality, there was an overwhelming difference.
Unlike Jo Se-hyeok, who had to move urgently each time, Lee Seong-jun's face was full of composure.
'Why?!'
No matter how fiercely he attacked, he couldn't land a hit.
As if predicting the next attack, Lee Seong-jun was smoothly and naturally receiving each blow.
'Don't tell me... he's reading all my movements?'
Just as this question bloomed in Jo Se-hyeok's mind, the balance of power he had barely maintained completely collapsed.
"Kuhup-!"
Jo Se-hyeok, struck in the abdomen, hurriedly moved his feet to create distance.
Something was wrong.
The Lee Seong-jun before him was no mere rookie who had yet to finish growing.
'...In terms of current skill alone, he's on par with the masters of the 5 major guilds.'
As Jo Se-hyeok's pupils shook like an earthquake at the skill far exceeding his expectations, Lee Seong-jun scratched the back of his head and expressed disappointment.
"This is... way below expectations."
* * *
In a dark alley of Seoul.
Hong Min-gi, the team leader of the Presidential Security Service's Team 1, and Jo Gang-hyeon, the team leader in charge of managing Hunter Lee Seong-jun, were walking out with red blood staining their suits all over.
"It seems they really prepared thoroughly."
"The resistance was certainly fiercer than we thought."
Even B-rank and above villains, quite renowned ones at that, had shown up and created quite a troublesome situation.
Of course, they were no match for the Presidential Security Service composed of the Association's elite.
"Teams 2 and 3 have also reported completing their suppression."
The operation was completed successfully without any of the three - Lee Su-hyeok, Kim Ji-young, or Lee Seo-yun - being kidnapped, but they couldn't be entirely pleased.
"...Jo Se-hyeok didn't show up."
The key target of this operation was nowhere to be seen.
Naturally, Jo Gang-hyeon's brow furrowed.
"In that case..."
"Yes, it seems he went to Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
Hong Min-gi and Jo Gang-hyeon urgently nodded and got into a support team vehicle waiting nearby.
"We'll depart immediately!"
Eeeeeee-!
Even as they sped down the road with emergency sirens blaring as fast as possible, the faces of those in the vehicle were all deeply shadowed.
"...Of all things, the worst-case scenario has occurred."
Hunter Lee Seong-jun's solo action - originally, they would never have approved such an operation, but he had pushed his opinion so firmly that they had no choice but to agree.
In other words, this situation where Jo Se-hyeok and Hunter Lee Seong-jun would meet alone was the least desired outcome for the Association, which could be considered the initial planner of this operation.
It was obvious why.
An SS-rank villain, moreover one called the Rookie Slayer, against Lee Seong-jun who had just become a rookie - there was no need to see the result to know.
Jo Gang-hyeon shook his head, trying to dispel the negative scenarios constantly popping up in his mind, and carefully spoke up.
"Still... since we passed on information beforehand, wouldn't there be some chance of victory?"
In stark contrast to Jo Gang-hyeon's earlier efforts, the response from Hong Min-gi, the leader of the Presidential Security Service's Team 1, was ice cold.
"...He won't last more than 10 minutes at most."
Considering the location of the abandoned construction site they had agreed on beforehand, they could arrive within 5 minutes if they moved quickly.
Just looking at travel time, it seemed like plenty of time, but due to the villains' resistance being fiercer than expected, they had used up the 10-minute golden time.
It meant they were not just pressed for time, but had long since exceeded it.
"Is there really... no hope at all?"
Hong Min-gi's heart ached at Jo Gang-hyeon's desperate look.
However, as this was the reality they would soon face, he couldn't lie even with comforting words.
Jo Se-hyeok wasn't registered as an SS-rank villain for nothing.
"In terms of sheer physical ability alone, Jo Se-hyeok is on par with the masters of most of the 5 major guilds..."
The shadow on Hong Min-gi's face darkened further as he spoke.
"But what's most troublesome is his S+ rank unique skill, Binding Arena."
There was a reason Jo Se-hyeok had earned the alias of Rookie Slayer.
"It's an ability that traps the designated target in a circular arena about 5 meters across, preventing them from fleeing or fighting flexibly by creating distance."
"..."
Jo Gang-hyeon bit his lower lip hard.
He understood what Hong Min-gi had said earlier.
Being trapped in a space just 5 meters across meant being forced into a situation where one could only rely on pure physical ability.
Of course, this put Hunter Lee Seong-jun, who was lacking in physical ability, at an overwhelming disadvantage.
However, what was truly hopeless was that Binding Arena wasn't Jo Se-hyeok's only unique skill.
"As you already know, Jo Se-hyeok also has the S+ rank unique skill Millennial Ice Formation."
As the skill name suggests, Millennial Ice Formation is an ice-type ability that allows free manipulation of ice.
Of course, if it were just manipulating ice, it wouldn't have received an S+ rank rating.
"...It's a very tricky ability that can rapidly lower the surrounding temperature to -100°C."
While hunters, who could be considered superhumans, wouldn't suddenly die from shock, even they couldn't prevent their bodies from gradually freezing up.
Given the clear difference in rank, Lee Seong-jun would inevitably be at a physical disadvantage. On top of that, his body would freeze up due to the sudden temperature drop.
In other words, an overwhelming gap was bound to form.
"Jo Se-hyeok... he really is the worst possible opponent for rookies."
As Jo Gang-hyeon trembled with hands and feet, unable to hide his anxiety, there was only one thing Hong Min-gi could say right now.
"...We can only hope we arrive in time."
* * *
"Is it because you've only faced weak opponents? You're terribly pathetic..."
Jo Se-hyeok's face contorted demonically at Lee Seong-jun's blatantly dismissive words.
Then, as Jo Se-hyeok steadied his stance, he continued speaking.
"You're certainly much stronger than other rookies... but it'll be different from now on."
"Now that's what I like to hear."
Despite Lee Seong-jun's relaxed smile, Jo Se-hyeok no longer showed any excitement. He simply assessed the situation quickly with a cold gaze.
'...Super rookie, Lee Seong-jun.'
Contrary to his initial expectations, he possessed quite remarkable skills. But winning wasn't impossible.
No, rather, victory was overflowing with possibility.
'In terms of technique alone, he's similar to the masters of the 5 major guilds... but looking at actual physical ability, he hasn't reached SS rank yet.'
This meant that if he used both his unique skills, Millennial Ice Formation and Binding Arena, he could overwhelm him sufficiently.
Of course, since Lee Seong-jun knew he would be attacked in advance, he might have made adequate preparations.
But there wasn't the slightest waver in Jo Se-hyeok's eyes as he stared at Lee Seong-jun.
'Even if he knows... he won't be able to prevent it.'
He hadn't just been playing around in China. He had consistently hunted rookies, gaining experience and growing.
Thanks to that, his Millennial Ice Formation, which had been stagnant at S+ rank for a long time, rose to SS rank, allowing him to lower the temperature not just to -100°C, but to -200°C.
This meant he could create an extreme environment capable of instantly freezing even hunters to death.
Unless he had some rare ability to freely control his body temperature, whatever preparations he had made would be useless.
Having finished his mental calculations, Jo Se-hyeok stretched out his hand with murderous intent blazing in his eyes, activating his unique skills.