Kim EunAh threw a blue-colored jewel on the ground. It was a piece of dark meteorite* that called rainclouds forth into the sky. It was an expensive elemental stone, created with sorcery in workshops. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Of course, to Kim EunAh, the sole granddaughter of the president of the Shinsung group, that much was nothing but loose change to her.
Shatter!
The jewel broke into tiny pieces as it hit the ground with a sharp 'tink'. Five monster birds were surrounding her on all sides.
"Caw…"
"Kraww!"
—But they did not approach her.
They were intimidated by the mana she was emitting. Kim EunAh began to talk casually, ignoring the monsters around her.
"Hey, do you know what standards the Association uses to classify Traits?"
"Yeah, more or less."
YuSung had read about the classifications of Traits before in Sumire's notes.
There were several dozen classifications if one got really specific about it, but four were considered the most important out of them all.
"The Association rates Versatility, Destructive Power, Safety, and Potential the highest. Adela, who you're going to fight, has S-rank in all of those."
Kim EunAh's explanation was thorough. It seemed like it was due to the fact that she owed him one for the Silver Beak.
"All S-rank…"
Truly the sort of talent that was a cut above all others, even in Gaon.
On the other hand, Shin YuSung's Trait was F-rank in all classifications except for Safety. The Association had, thus, determined the value of his Trait, [Heightened Focus], as low.
"But actually, there's a hunter in Gaon whose Destructive Power and Potential is higher than Adela's, with both evaluated at S+ rank."
After saying so, Kim EunAh laughed.
Pshhhh!!
Rain suddenly began to pour from the sky.
The dark meteorite* that Kim EunAh had shattered summoned the rainclouds.
"Yep, that's me."
Kim EunAh had a confident expression on her face.
Of course, her Safety was ranked F, which demoted her overall assessment to A-rank. However, there was no question that her Trait's Destructive Power and Potential were the highest in the academy.
'Then let's see what she's made of.'
Shin YuSung, trusting in her words, moved to a safe location. Kim EunAh stomped on the ground with her left foot, then pulled up all of the mana in her body upwards.
Boom! Zzzt!
Blue lightning was crackling along Kim EunAh's body. A sphere of concentrated lightning violently sparked in her right hand.
Bzz! Bzzzt!
"Krawww!"
The monster birds, sensing that something was amiss, began to run at her. Kim EunAh grasped the lightning in her hand.
Flash! Roar! Boom!!
Lightning struck all throughout the shadowed streets. For an instant, the asphalt was lit up by the fierce assault. By the time the darkness from the clouds hanging over the streets managed to completely swallow up the street once more, it was already over.
Kim EunAh had created the natural phenomenon known as 'lightning' with her own mana.
"…Heh."
It was an unbelievable scale of power for a student.
Kim EunAh turned her back to the charred-black monster birds to face Shin YuSung.
"This is the true power of a ranker. We hold back during tests."
Shin YuSung was impressed by her lightning display.
'…So this is the second-strongest student of Gaon.'
The destructive force of her skills was a sight to behold.
'However…'
That only extended to her Destructive Power.
Destructive Power was not everything in a fight.
Kim EunAh's Trait looked prone to coming across the danger of hitting her own allies. Its accuracy also seemed low.
'I'm sure even more flaws will begin to show in a close-combat match.'
More than anything, the activation time required for her skill was too slow. No matter how fast the lightning itself was, it was easy to handle if it had a long activation time. Of course, her Trait also had an advantage to it that could overthrow those disadvantages.
—An electricity element, which was rare.
Kim EunAh was able to use an element that was near-impossible to guard against both in a wide area and long distance.
'…It would be an incredible ability, so long as her teammates cover her weak spots.'
Shin YuSung had managed to calmly dissect the multitudes of information that he had gotten from observing just one fight done by Kim EunAh. Seeing that, the girl in question narrowed her eyes.
"…Hm. Hey, you. You're burning a hole in my head. Are you that scared of me?"
Kim EunAh herself was in a better mood from her own prowess. Her self-congratulatory display was evidence that she had a somewhat pure side to her, befitting her age.
'EunAh will be a huge help if she participates in the International Competition.'
But those thoughts never left his mouth. To Shin YuSung, it seemed like the walls around her heart were too thick.
'It's probably too much to expect anything to come from me asking her to join my party when we aren't even that close to each other.'
Even Shin YuSung, who had been raised on Martial Spirits' Mountain, was quick on the uptake for matters like that.
"Aren't you cold?"
He instead asked her that in a worried tone. Kim EunAh glanced at her soaked uniform and clicked her tongue.
...
"…Uhg, I guess using the dark meteorite really was going too overboard. Wait?!"
Kim EunAh found something odd with Shin YuSung's appearance.
"What the hell?! Why aren't you even a little bit wet right now?!"
Unlike Kim EunAh, who was completely drenched in rainwater, there was not a single drop of it on Shin YuSung's hair or on his uniform.
"Oh, this?"
Shin YuSung pointed to the area above his head. Kim EunAh had to crane her neck up because of their differences in height. As she did so, she could see a barrier created by mana at the location he was pointing at.
"A-a barrier? You created a barrier to avoid the rain?"
Kim EunAh yelled, taken aback. Her eyes were wide open.
That was how out-of-the-ordinary Shin YuSung's actions were, to create a mana barrier to merely avoid the rain. That was not something that anyone with a regular amount of concentration could even attempt.
'What is he? Even maintaining a barrier for a short period of time is super difficult…'
Shin YuSung was puzzled by her reaction.
"Doesn't everyone do this?"
Shin YuSung's master, the Fist King, had taught him the mana barrier skill.
[Hey, brat. Why are you hiding under a tree to avoid the rain? Hunters are supposed to avoid the rain using a barrier.]
He had learned how to do that trick when he was ten years old. To Shin YuSung, creating a mana barrier was as easy as breathing.
"Hey, who the hell uses a barrier to avoid getting wet from the rain?! That's something only you can do!"
While the two were bickering back and forth about the barrier, the armed city guards managed to arrive at the location.
"We're Metro City's guards! You can hand over the monsters to us."
The man in his mid-twenties performed a 90-degree bow. Even if Shin YuSung and Kim EunAh were students, they were also hunters who were in charge of patrol for the entire city. Their positions were, thus, much higher than the city guards', who were in charge of the safety for specific areas of said city.
"We've already received word from the top. You guys are the hunters sent by Gaon Academy for support…"
The head guard carefully began to speak up. Shin YuSung decided to respond in lieu of a disgruntled Kim EunAh.
"That's us."
"I've heard plenty of great things about Gaon, but you two really are amazing. To think you cleared a rank 4 gate…"
If the city guard had tried to take care of a rank 4 gate, there would have been a great list of casualties. A boss like the Silver Beak, especially, necessitated a skilled hunter to defeat.
The head guard couldn't stop his compliments as he stared at the massive size of the boss monster.
"A Silver Beak this size is considered top-grade, even among others of its kind. Silver Beak material fetches a good price, so even after the cleanup crew takes their share, there will be quite a bit of money left."
Shin YuSung was amazed at the man's words at how the monster's parts could be sold for money.
'On the mountain, all I did was… roast the meat for food.'
That was great news for him.
Shin YuSung, whose dream was to be a hunter, was always low on money. The students who were rich had many more options on their hands, up to and including their pick of hunter gear, and their livelihoods at their dorms became much more lavish.
'…So extracurriculars really are the best way to earn money.'
Shin YuSung felt rather good about that.
"So how much would these monsters fetch?" he asked.
Shin YuSung, who hailed from Martial Spirits' Mountain, wasn't even expecting all that large of a sum of money from the monster parts.
"Hm, if you combine the reward money for clearing the gate with the money earned from materials, each person should get at least 10,000,000 won**…"
But the amount that the head guard had told him was just too shocking.
That was around five times his current savings, 2,000,000 won. Considering that most first-year students' requests paid around 300,000 to 1,000,000 won as a reward, it was around ten times that number.
"T-ten million…" he mumbled to himself, staring at the Silver Beak.
If Shin YuSung was an Association hunter and the government had placed a bounty on the boss, he could have gotten even more money out of it.
A new world that he had never even known about before. To the pure Shin YuSung, the taste of capitalism was sweet on his tongue.
"Just sign here, please. The government agency will take care of the rest."
"Here you go!"
Unlike Shin YuSung, who had written his name with no further explanation needed, Kim EunAh's reaction was unenthusiastic.
"Sign this…? That's too much of another."
"But we need you to do this so that we can distribute the reward money to you hunters…"
One of the important duties that the city guard was in charge of was the distribution of reward money. The head guard was adamant on the subject. Kim EunAh yawned, then nudged Shin YuSung with her elbow.
"Just write your name down for the trash mobs as well."
One signature for ten million won. It was a deal that could be seen nowhere else. Shin YuSung, eyes wide, looked at Kim EunAh.
"B-but half of this money is yours, right?"
It was the rare sight of Shin YuSung fumbling over his words.
But Kim EunAh's financial power was not something that could be grasped with a common person's financial sense.
"Me? I'm good… It makes me look bad. I won't sign off for chump change like this."
To Kim EunAh, who had an entire theme park lent to her for a school test, 10 million won wasn't even considered money to her.
"We can do that. Hunters have the right to give their share of the rewards to another hunter they worked with for the request."
The city guard quickly thrust out the document towards Shin YuSung at the girl's words, in a hurry to get the procedure over and done with.
"…I understand."
Eventually, Shin YuSung wrote down his name once more, the letters proper and rigid on the document. The city guard gave the two another ninety-degree bow.
"Then, I wish you luck until it's time to switch rotations!"
Shin YuSung had suddenly gained a hefty sum of 20 million won.
The sky had cleared up sometime during their interaction. The sun shined pleasant rays over the city.
"I can't believe a gate opened up in the city… that was so scary!"
"Look, it's the hunters!"
As the restriction on 155th Street opened, the citizens began to populate it once more, filling the atmosphere with a vibrant air that seemed like it had never gone away in the first place.
Among those citizens, the manager of the cafe that had been situated near the gate bowed to Shin YuSung and Kim EunAh.
"Oh, goodness, thank you so much! The cafe is safe and sound thanks to you!"
"We only did our jobs."
The middle-aged manager shook their head vigorously at Shin YuSung's textbook reply.
"If it's alright with you… please! I wish to at least serve you a drink to express my thanks!"
Kim EunAh, who had been drying her clothes with mana, brightened as she heard that.
"Oho, a cafe?"
Kim EunAh had been badgering him to go to a cafe for a good while. Shin YuSung, who had obtained 10 million won from a single signature, eventually conceded, nodding his head after checking the time.
"Yeah. Let's go in."
"The best palate cleanser is~ definitely an americano."
Kim EunAh skipped towards the cafe, humming to herself the entire way there. She looked to be in high spirits.
Shin YuSung pondered the situation as he watched her go.
'How unexpected.'
She considered 10 million won a waste of her time but was that ecstatic over a cup of coffee. Kim EunAh fascinated him in more ways than one.
*The hanja for each syllable of ??? (known more commonly as black meteorite, TLed here as 'dark meteorite' to not confuse people into wondering if it's blue or black) can individually also mean 黑雲石, or literally Black Cloud Stone.
**Around US$10,000.
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