Chapter 39
Choi Yeonseung yawned and looked around. Hunters were sitting comfortably in the large space. Some people were already talking to each other while others were sitting alone, seemingly not wanting to talk at all. There were also a few who weren’t hunters. Magic power couldn’t be felt from ordinary people who hadn’t awakened, after all.
‘Reporters, broadcasters... Is that a clan scout?’
Agents and clan scouts were known to be persistent and tenacious in the industry. That was only natural, considering they had to deal with obstinate hunters that did as they liked! People sitting in seats were frowning and either tapping on their laptops or on their smartphones.
“Ah, Team Leader. Why are you sending someone a message to say that a great hunter will appear in the qualifiers?”
“You must be having a hard time as well. ?I will give you a word of advice. If you wait, the participants will be filtered out... Hey. This is the first time I’m seeing your face. Where did you come from?”
“I’m from a clan.”
“Ah. A clan scout? That will be tough as well. We just have to pay for an article, but you have to come up with something.”
The man, Cuepi, nodded, but he had complicated thoughts.
‘That?measurer?bastard... He didn’t deceive me, did he?’
He was a scout for the Ambitus clan.
***
A call from the measurer who was bribed!
-It was really amazing! I’m telling the truth this time! The measuring instrument even got smashed!
-The measuring instrument got smashed? You don’t mean a measuring instrument that was on the verge of breaking, do you?
-...N-No.
An instrument had been destroyed. The level still needed to be measured properly to see if it was accurate, but there were definitely signs of a jackpot.
… If only the other person wasn’t a martial artist.
-An Abyss returnee? How many years? 30 years ago? Hah. His mind can’t be intact.
-Does it make sense to you that he broke the instrument? Did that jerk lie after he got paid?
-The person looks fine, but I think he’s festering deep down.
-He passed the test. There was nothing strange.
-Considering he’s from 30 years ago, it’s not surprising that he’s a martial artist.
-Should we send someone to?scout him?
-He is a martial artist... A martial artist. He’s at a disadvantage no matter how we look at it. Being a martial artist is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. That is a martial arts user.
-Should we just pass over him then?
-... No. The measurer has taken the money and probably contacted me because that person is useful. Even if he didn’t break the instrument, wouldn’t he still have a lot of magic power? We have to get our money’s worth. Go check him out. If his magic power’s amount is adequate, we can encourage him to master magic instead of magic arts...
-What do you mean?
-I’ll leave this to you. It doesn’t matter whether you go up to him and beat him up or ask him while buying a drink at a bar. Are you receiving a scout’s salary for free?
‘Damn...’
Asking such useless questions, Cuepi was scolded by their clan leader. Fortunately, his luck wasn’t too bad. Choi Yeonseung was a hunter who registered for the UHC qualifiers.
‘Is he thinking of joining the UHC? That’s not bad...’
New heroes emerged every day in this market, after all. The problem was the hunter’s skills! There were hunters who thought that hunter sports didn’t require risking their lives, but the industry was far colder than raids. In this industry, hunters without skills disappeared.
‘Let’s see what he can do with martial arts!’
***
“Please enter.”
Choi Yeonseung moved according to the examiner’s words.
[You have entered the ‘Otherworld.’]
[Your strength has to be restrained! Otherwise, the Otherworld could be destroyed!]
A message window about limiting his power popped up. However, there was something different from last time.
[Your power needs to be restrained even more!]
‘What? Even more?’
That was only natural. The Otherworld in Hwang Gyeongryong’s mansion was based on A-grade hunters. Meanwhile, this Otherworld here was based on C-grade hunter standards. There was no reason to raise its limit in the C-grade League, considering that would just waste power.
In addition, this made it possible to prevent higher-grade hunters from forcibly cheating with their rank to enter the C-grade League. No matter how strong they were in reality, it was meaningless if they were restricted to C-grade in the Otherworld.
[You have successfully moved into the Otherworld.]
[Your strength has been restrained.]
[Your agility has been restrained.]
[Your physical strength...]
[......]
[......]
‘Ugh. Isn’t this really close to first-class?’
He thought he’d be fighting hard upon returning to Earth, but it felt more like he had to hide his power. Currently, the martial arts stage that could be used in this place was barely first-class. Since the first-class stage was around B-grade in hunter rank, more restrictions had to be applied.
This was the C-grade League. It wouldn’t be strange to go?even further down to the second-class stage, but...
‘They put the limit on the amount of magic power.’
Limiting the amount of magic power that could be used essentially restrained a hunter’s overall abilities. It was the easiest way to apply restrictions! However, martial artists were different from magicians. Magicians needed a lot of magic power to use high-circle magic, while martial artists didn’t necessarily need a lot of internal energy.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with having a lot of internal energy. He could use his internal energy and techniques like sword energy freely. However, the higher forms of sword energy, such as concentrated sword energy, required a certain amount of internal energy. It was just that having a lot of internal energy didn’t necessarily mean that a martial artist’s martial art stage would rise.
There had to be enlightenment in order to raise the stage of one’s martial arts. Enlightenment could somehow make up for their slightly inadequate internal energy. In fact, Choi Yeonseung could still use martial arts in the first-class stage even despite the amount of magic power being enormously limited right now.
‘I think fist energy... can be used sparingly. I can use fist wind as well. Ugh. Look at how heavy my body is.’
[The skill ‘Overcome Oneself to Become Strong’ has been activated. Limiting your power and fighting in the Otherworld will increase your power of existence!]
[A huge restriction has been placed on you! The power of your existence has increased even more.]
‘......’
For a moment, Choi Yeonseung wondered if he had chosen the wrong constellation name. How could it be that the more he did things like this, the more his power of existence increased? This was also training, but...
‘The harder it is, the higher it rises. The logic itself is correct.’
“What is he saying?”
The opposing hunter, Oliver, growled as he watched Choi Yeonseung murmur.
“This will be a good experience.”
“Are you crazy?”
“You are a bit worn out. Are you scared?”
There was a reason people got angry and argued more than necessary. It was a fake world, but it was real for those who fought. There was nothing strange about being nervous.
Oliver blushed at Choi Yeonseung’s words.
“It looks like you want to die...”
“It’s a fake world anyway. What is with the threat?”
At Choi Yeonseung’s words, Oliver became even angrier. The moment he was about to curse, the examiner intervened. “Stop! Fighting before the signal will result in disqualification.”
The two of them stepped back at the examiner’s words.
“You probably already know the rules, but let me remind you anyway. You can use any skill without restrictions. If you surrender or become incapacitated, the match will end. If it doesn’t end within the time limit, you will rest and proceed again in the next round. If it doesn’t end even when the round is repeated, a decision will be made...”
Choi Yeonseung yawned. There was no need for these rules anyway. He was going to knock down the opponent no matter what! Being judged against mortals was a disgrace to a constellation.
‘Wait. Is this being aired as well?’
Choi Yeonseung was surprised when he saw the filming equipment installed in the Otherworld. It was a qualifier round at best. Was there really any need to film this?
However, this was Choi Yeonseung’s misunderstanding. In the past, broadcasting companies monopolized broadcasts, which meant broadcasts that didn’t deserve to fit into the tight programming schedule weren’t released. Therefore, the hunters aired were usually the aces of the clan who were about B-grade.
However, the times?had?changed. In this era, anyone could easily broadcast if they wanted to. Moreover, the interest in hunters had become hotter, not cooler. There was nothing wrong with hunters hosting their personal broadcasts.
-Is he yawning right now?
-It has to be a bluff.
-Still, that bravado is fun. Hunters don’t have showmanship these days. They just do the minimum service.
Many people watched the qualifiers with excitement. It didn’t matter that the hunters were low-rated or if it was just the qualifiers. Just being a hunter was enough! It was said that low-grade hunters were treated as lowly people, but they were the ones that broke through the slim odds and awakened. Hunters were still a symbol of the time. Hence, they attracted people’s attention with just their presence.
-A Korean, Choi Yeonseung? He is an Abyss returnee.
Some of the people watching were quick to gather information about the hunters. They were even capable of getting information beyond legally allowed! Others cheered at the information released by these big shots.
-An Abyss returnee?
-Wow. He is a frozen human. How long has he been away?
-Maybe that’s why he is a martial artist.
-Martial... A martial arts user?
-Martial arts?
-Wow. We’re actually going to watch a martial artist? Isn’t this really amazing? The qualifiers will be worth seeing.
-A fossil has returned to life!
‘He is a martial artist.’
Oliver stared at Choi Yeonseung. The way he stood there indifferently was somehow annoying.
A martial artist! Oliver had never dealt with one before, but he knew what martial arts were like. Wasn’t it a skill that only specialized in close-range combat?
Body strengthening? Even magicians could do that. A hunter’s body could easily go beyond human limitations even without using magic. They just had to infuse themselves with magic power. The only thing that bothered him was that the opponent was a C+ grade. Unable to accept the fact that he was only D-grade, Oliver couldn’t help feeling inferior.
‘The moment it starts, I’ll widen the distance and use the 2nd-circle magic ‘Levitation’ and ‘Enhanced Magic Missile.’ After all, he doesn’t know that I have the passive skill ‘Tracking Arrow.’’
Hunters never revealed all their abilities. It was inevitable for magic spells to eventually be exposed, but they could hide other skills as a part of one’s strategy. Tracking Arrow was a passive skill that added the properties of guided missiles to long-range attack magic! It was useless against monsters?since its attack power was weak, but the same couldn’t be said against human opponents. The passive skill made it possible to knock down an opponent who had grown careless just because they successfully dodged the attack.
Battles between hunters were definitely different from raids.
“3. 2. 1. Start!”
Oliver kicked himself off the ground after hearing the signal. He was quick due to magic power enhancement.
‘I moved first!’
Oliver thought so and was inwardly delighted. By taking the initiative, he had prevented his opponent from closing the distance—
Bam!
In an instant, Oliver flew backward. He had already lost consciousness.
“W-What?”
The people watching the scene couldn’t help exclaiming. Some unknowingly jumped to their feet. They knew that martial artists had faster reflexes than magicians. It was the fundamental difference between magic that drew magic power from external sources and martial artists that used the internal energy within themselves.
However, there was still a considerable difference between the two of them. Even if Choi Yeonseung had moved first, Oliver would’ve been able to respond as long as he wasn’t stupid. Nevertheless, Oliver flew away without responding. There was such an overwhelming speed difference!
‘Did he fake the rating?’
‘Even if he did, that would mean nothing in the Otherworld. It doesn’t make sense!’
Thump!
Oliver flew away and literally broke through the wall.
“Is it over?” Choi Yeonseung asked with a nonchalant expression.
“... T-The match is over! Hunter Choi Yeonseung emerges victorious!”
Choi Yeonseung left without looking back. His back gave off an arrogant feeling. It was an arrogance that only talented people could exude!
Everyone in the room felt it instinctively. A great rookie had appeared!
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