Afternoon in Metro City…
Kim EunAh and Shin YuSung were walking around the city in their Gaon Academy uniforms. They could, naturally, hear the citizens murmuring to each other as they did so.
"Whoa, those are Gaon students!"
"This is the first time I've ever seen one!"
Their gazes were reverent.
To the ordinary people, hunters were being who conquered the Tower to spread previously-unknown knowledge and skills to the general public, and they also protected the world from the threat posed by dungeons and gates.
Of course, the hunters of then were heavily intertwined with the practice of capitalism, but even there, they were playing the role of a figure to be idolized by the common person.
"Whoaa! Hyung*! You're a hunter!? That's so cool!"
A bright-eyed young boy approached them. Kim EunAh scrunched up her face as if this annoyed her.
"Who's this kid?"
"Me? I'm! Baek Sungil! 5 years old!"
Her harsh reaction had no effect on the child, however.
'…Five years old.'
Shin YuSung thought for a moment as he heard the boy's age. Then, he delicately patted the boy's head.
"Do you think hunters are cool?"
The boy's eyes got even brighter at the question. He fiercely nodded his head.
"They're super cool! Hunters have weapons! And, uh…they kill monsters!"
His spiel was finished. His attention soon turned towards Kim EunAh.
"Oh yeah, pretty noona. Do you have a gun and a sword?"
Kim EunAh's mouth twitched when he called her pretty.
Even someone as haughty as her seemed to genuinely be touched by the child's honest compliments.
"Me? I don't have either of those things."
She answered him in a good mood. The child continued to pelt her with questions.
"No way! How do you kill monsters, then? Monsters are super ultra-strong."
Baek Sungil was at that age where he was curious about everything and anything. In lieu of a verbal response, Kim EunAh summoned blue lightning from her hand.
Bzt! Zaap!
"With this."
The boy covered his mouth with both hands at the display of power.
'That's sick…" he mumbled, eyes full of awe.
Kim EunAh continued to talk, though she was pretending as if she wasn't affected by his words.
"I guess… my Trait is a standout even in Korea, after all."
Shin YuSung watched the two, entertained. Kim EunAh and the five-year-old child got along better than one would've thought.
'…She's humoring the kid really well.'
The thought that the two might have similar mental ages popped up in his head. Just then, the child asked them something rather shocking.
"Is noona dating hyung, then?"
His gaze switched back and forth from Shin YuSung to Kim EunAh. Kim EunAh creased her forehead.
"What!? M-me?" she yelled, alarmed. Her face was shrouded in disgust. The kid looked disappointed in this.
"Aw, why won't you marry, though? Why?"
"And why should I marry him?"
Kim EunAh narrowed her eyes in staunch refusal.
"Because you're both hunters! And hyung looks pretty!"
He answered as if it was obvious, eyes glittering.
It was a simple thought process that a young child would have.
But Kim EunAh, who didn't know the meaning of failure, didn't give in to him, even despite the fact that her opponent was a five-year-old.
"Hey, brat. That has nothing to do with marriage. Got it?"
She was teaching the child this in full sincerity. A rare sight was beginning to unfold between a 17-year-old and a five-year-old.
"Then what is it?"
However, Kim EunAh became stuck by the boy's earnest question.
"U-um, so marriage is…"
She couldn't think of a way to describe it, no matter how much she rolled the idea around in her head. Kim EunAh sent Shin YuSung a signal while the child wasn't looking.
That was her call for help.
Shin YuSung grinned and called for her.
"Hey, EunAh?"
Kim EunAh took a moment to glare at the child, frustrated about the fact that he had pushed her back. She then turned away from him in an arrogant manner.
• * * *
Metro City was incredibly peaceful. The reality was that there were no traces of serious threats like gates and villains in the city, nor were there even small incidents such as car accidents.
Their patrol was due to end in two hours.
Kim EunAh, unable to hold her boredom in, let out a giant yawn while covering her mouth with her hand. She then began to talk to Shin YuSung.
"…How about a cup of coffee?"
She pointed at a café that they had seen earlier, but Shin YuSung firmly refused the offer.
"We're still in the middle of patrol."
The taste of coffee, to Shin YuSung, was similar to the taste of the special medicine that the Fist King had made for him using herbs. He did not want to drink coffee in a world where he could be drinking banana-flavored milk instead—especially considering that coffee had no strengthening properties, unlike the medicine.
Kim EunAh didn't back down but instead kept pressing him.
"Hey, this is a part of our job too, you know! What happens if a gate suddenly appears in that café?"
It seemed like she was quite adamant about drinking some coffee.
"My intuition is pretty good, you know?"
Shin YuSung eventually gave in to her stubborn reasoning and began to make his way towards the café.
'It should be fine to take just a moment's break.'
Right when they were approaching the building…
Ring! Voom–!
A sound erupted from both of their Pockets, and then a hologram appeared in the air.
"Warning"
—Gate appearance, Danger rank 4
—Type: [Dungeon]
—Dungeon Name: Nest of Monstrous Birds
—Location: 426th Street Café, Suite 152
Kim EunAh truly had good intuition.
Weewoooo–!!
An ear-splitting siren rang throughout Metro City through the pre-installed speakers as they delivered the details of the emergency situation.
[This is a city-wide announcement in Metro City]
[There is a gate currently forming on 426th Street. Civilians in the area, please evacuate the area as quickly as possible.]
Shin YuSung and Kim EunAh…
No further explanation was needed for the two Sevens.
Tup!
Shin YuSung pumped mana into his legs and began to run at incredible speeds. Kim EunAh used her own Trait, Electricity.
Bzz! Bzzt!
Kim EunAh, surrounded by electricity, disappeared in an instant. Her speed was comparable to a momentary flash of light. She covered a great distance in that short period of time, but as she looked ahead of her, she discovered that Shin YuSung was overtaking her.
'What, he's faster than me?' she thought.
To her eyes, Shin YuSung's speed was not the product of a Trait but was pure physical ability and mana control.
Shin YuSung, at the age of 17, was performing feats that active-duty hunters thought were impossible to do.
'Just who is he, anyways?'
[The Gate Bureau will repeat the announcement. Currently, the rift on 426th Street is growing larger. Citizens in the area…]
The bureau's announcement rang throughout the city once again.
"It-it's actually happening…"
Kim EunAh, who had been running until then, stopped in her tracks. She could see the rift, and next to it, Shin YuSung, who had already arrived at the location.
—A purple portal that led to an endless void.
She began to shout in joy at her correct prediction.
"Hey, hey, hey! I told you it would happen, right!?"
But unlike the ecstatic Kim EunAh, Shin YuSung was set with a serious expression on his face.
"Good job. Now, let's get ready to fight."
The gate that had opened was rank 4.
The opponents were around the same level as the rank 4 bosses that Shin YuSung had experienced no trouble defeating up to that point. Even so, he didn't let his guard down.
'…Let's close the gate in a way that causes as little harm to the city as possible.'
Shin YuSung was keeping in mind both the safety of the city and a way to conquer the gate.
Crack! Craaaack!
The sound of something shattering filled the air. The purple rift grew larger.
"Caw, kraaw?"
A mysterious cry came from the gate. Right after, something peeked its head out of the rift.
—A massive head.
—A large, yellow beak.
The creature was at least two meters large.
"Caaaaw! Kraaaaw!"
The monster bird tilted its head upwards and yelled towards the sky, then began to walk out of the gate.
"Hah! All this fuss for one bird?" Kim EunAh laughed confidently.
As if to mock her, more birds began pouring out of the gate.
"Kraw?"
"Caw!"
There were suddenly five monster birds.
Kim EunAh, dumbfounded, began to shout at the gate.
"Hey, why the hell won't they stop appearing? Is this really a rank 4 gate? Just go and send out a boss monster at this rate!"
"Caw!"
"Kraww!?"
The birds tilted their heads at the girl. And as if her words had planted a suggestion in the gate, the rift turned from purple to red.
Boooom, boom!
The ground shook from a large quake, and a metallic beak appeared from the gate. Seeing that, Kim EunAh immediately grew pale.
"…P-Pocket. Analyze info."
• * *
• * *
Name – Silver Beak
Origin Dungeon(s) – Nest of Monstrous Birds
Danger Level – Rank 4 Boss
Classification – Monster
Info – The feathers around its body are as hard as steel. Due to the weight of those feathers, it cannot fly in the air.
Details – The Silver Beak's feathers have high defensive ability and resistances to certain attributes.
"Fucking hell… what are the odds?!"
Kim EunAh grimaced in frustration. If the information on the hologram was true, then the Silver Beak, with its elemental resistance, was a horrendous match-up with her. She bit her lip.
'…This is.'
Calling this situation unlucky would be a misnomer.
The chances of running into a gate in a city of that size was less likely than getting hit by lightning on a clear day. And on top of that, the boss that appeared just happened to have an effective match-up against her.
'…Really dangerous.'
Boom boom boom!
The Silver Beak turned towards Kim EunAh. Its entire body had completely left the gate.
"Caaaaaaaaw!"
A wail tore itself out of the monster's gaping maw. Kim EunAh, instead of getting scared, steeled her nerves and strengthened the output of her electricity.
Bzz! Bzzzzzt!
She was a hunter representing her school who was sent to protect the citizens of the city. Even if the fight was a bad match-up, she had no intention of backing down.
"You think I'll panic just because you're running your mouth?"
Shin YuSung did not expect the sense of responsibility that Kim EunAh was displaying. She had prioritized the safety of the citizens over her own, even in a situation where she could lose her life to the boss monster.
That wasn't something that someone with an ordinary amount of courage could do.
Shin YuSung recalled something that the Fist King had told him before.
[Hm, a comrade you can trust? …You little brat. If anyone tells you that they can teach you how to differentiate one from the other, they're scamming you. Bash their heads in.]
[But Master, you told me that you had many good comrades back in the day, right?]
When seven-year-old Shin YuSung asked the Fist King how to differentiate good comrades from others, this was how he replied:
[Well…I can at least tell who has promise and who doesn't.]
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.
To simplify what he was saying when he meant someone with promise, he was talking about 'a hunter with great potential'.
[Please! Tell me how!]
Shin YuSung's eyes had glittered as he asked his master about the secret. The Fist King scratched his head, then replied to his disciple.
[Someone who would rather die than lose… Just like you, YuSung-ah.]
Watching Kim EunAh made those memories rush back to Shin YuSung.
"Hey, why aren't you coming at me?"
Kim EunAh looked nervous to anyone who could see her. Her body was curled up, like a cat raising its hackles. However, her finger was leisurely waggling in a gesture meant to taunt the Silver Beak.
"You scared?"
Shin YuSung snorted at the sight. For a moment, that different personality of hers reminded him of himself.
"EunAh. I'll handle the boss."
Shin YuSung walked forward, fist clenched. Kim EunAh backed off a step in response.
"What, really? By yourself? I'm okay with it, but… is-isn't that a little dangerous?"
"I'm confident I can do this. The others, I'll leave to you."
The Silver Beak took that moment to announce the start of the battle with a fierce cry.
"Kraaaw!!"
Boom boom boom boom!
The boss monster began to run towards them with its massive body. Shin YuSung lowered his stance.
"Caww!"
Right before its body was about to hit him, time stopped around Shin YuSung. Even if the monster was approaching him at high speeds, it was much too slow from his perception.
Shin YuSung began to formulate his own movements in this space of slowed perception.
'Dodge the beak approaching my left arm.'
Shin YuSung began to spin.
The Silver Beak's mouth firmly snapped onto thin air. Shin YuSung formed a fist with his left hand that he had just pulled back.
'The next thing I need to do is aim for the heart.'
But that was not knowledge that he could instantaneously obtain. Shin YuSung used his Trait, Heightened Concentration, to awaken his senses.
He could feel the boss monster's heartbeat in that slowed-down perception of time he was experiencing. All he had to do was to give everything he had to punch through the sturdy feathers.
'I'll finish everything in one blow!'
Shin YuSung's fist stretched out towards the Silver Beak. Only his fist seemed to move freely in that space of slowed-down time.
Battle God Style Third Form – Heaven Shattering Fist Strike
He had thrown out punches tens of thousands of times. The chances of making a mistake were nonexistent.
Wooosh!!
Time returned back to normal. A blue trail of light made of mana followed the path of his fist.
Baaaam!
A deafening boom erupted from the force of the attack, formed by his mana. Shin YuSung's punch made a clean hit on the Silver Beak.
Clang!!
The earth seemed to blow back from the shockwaves.
Shin YuSung had no reason to hold back as long as his opponent was a monster.
Boom! Thud!
The Silver Beak fell onto the road.
Its massive body kicked dust up into the air. His fighting style was based on the strength of his body, not his Trait.
"Wow, he defeated that… with his bare hands…"
—Genuine praise.
Kim EunAh muttered that while staring at Shin YuSung. She had seen him fight on Jewel Island as well, but the way he fought really was special.
Shin YuSung was an irregular existence that constantly defied the common sense of hunters. He was a monster that the Fist King had created who didn't need the help of his Trait to be strong.
"C-caw!"
"Kraaaw!"
The monster birds began to shriek once their leader had been taken down. Their previous confidence had completely disappeared, replaced with fear.
Kim EunAh somewhat inappropriately placed her hand on Shin YuSung's shoulder.
"It was insulting, fighting only small fry, but…"
Kim EunAh smirked as she looked at the boy. There was no need to show her full power, as Shin YuSung had already defeated the boss monster. Even so, she was a member of the Shinsung group. The one family motto that the Shinsung group's president, Kim SeokHan, had always enforced was this:
[Never forget a favor.]
Kim EunAh took out a blue-colored jewel from her Pocket as if saying it was her turn.
"You said earlier that you were curious about the strength of the ranked students, right?"
"Oh! Are you actually planning to… accept the spar after this?"
Shin YuSung's face brightened at the prospect. Kim EunAh avoided his gaze, perhaps in shame.
"N-not that, but…"
"But?"
"Adela and I are around the same strength, you know."
Of course, that was purely her own assertion.
Kim EunAh straightened her posture and began to talk in a confident manner.
"I'll show you myself."
She currently looked more motivated than she ever had before.
*Hyung is a title used by men for men who are older than them, and is usually used in informal contexts. It's also saved for those who are relatively close to each other, like noona, but children in general are more free to use these honorifics.
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