Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter

Duel

The physical talent Gaon gained after being transported to this world didn’t mean he lacked intelligence.

By nature, Gaon was the epitome of a smart and capable elite.

If he weren’t sharp-minded, he never would have landed a job at the prestigious Yuseong Group, let alone been promised a record-breaking promotion to department manager at such a young age.

So, telling Ren the location of the tentacle spiders wasn’t a foolish or impulsive decision. It was simply the most efficient choice in Gaon’s eyes.

Once the tentacle spider materials were sold, it wouldn’t take long for others to realize that some of the ones Gaon fought had survived.

Pinpointing their exact location might be tricky, but a group of people searching would find them soon enough.

At the end of the day, Ren was a broker.

Even if he only leaked information about the tentacle spiders and collected commission fees for the materials, it would still be a profitable deal for him.

Of course, Gaon had considered hoarding the materials and keeping the information about the tentacle spiders to himself. He could monopolize the hunt, after all.

But then he asked himself: “Do I really have the confidence to hunt down those tentacle spiders again?”

The answer was no.

They wouldn’t just stay put in the same place.

They’d keep moving in search of prey and would inevitably encounter other beast-hunting parties.

Some of those parties might be wiped out, but others might succeed in taking down the weakened tentacle spiders Gaon had fought.

Even if that didn’t happen, survivors of those battles might escape the now-loosened encirclement and return to the outskirts to spread rumors.

The point was, the odds of everything playing out in Gaon’s favor were slim.

In that case, it was more strategic to erase any lingering debts by sharing the information with Ren.

The time Gaon had spent with Ren, though brief, had been enough to recognize that he was a calculating and reliable individual. This played a significant role in Gaon’s decision.

Either way, Gaon now had a lot of money.

“This should be enough to learn proper combat techniques. And—”

The faint smile on Gaon’s lips faded.

“—I’ll need a replacement for my broken dagger. And armor too.”

Gaon reflected on his previous battle.

Looking back, there were definitely areas where he’d been far too complacent about combat.

Subconsciously, he’d thought, “With my physical abilities, I’ll manage somehow.”

When he first held a dagger, it felt as if he instinctively knew how to wield it. He could use it skillfully from the start.

His body was both strong and agile, and his heightened senses were sharp enough to detect the creeping presence of an invader as it approached silently.

He relied on his limitless recovery.

But those experiences had made Gaon overly complacent.

Despite his advantages, there were clear limitations, which this fight had highlighted.

Being skilled with weapons doesn’t mean much if you lose your weapon.

His extraordinary recovery ability, while able to erase even severe injuries, had limits when it came to healing wounds sustained mid-battle.

“It’s close to omnipotent, but not truly omnipotent.”

One day, he might reach a point where his wounds could heal instantly during a fight, granting him nearly infinite combat endurance.

But that day wasn’t now.

He needed to grow much more.

Until then, he would have to rely on the protection of armor.

It was only natural for the thought of a blacksmith shop to cross his mind.

“…First, I need to recover.”

The throbbing pain in his shoulder kept him from heading straight to the blacksmith.

In the end, Gaon decided to return to the inn and postpone his plans for later.

And so, two months passed.

Two months.

It had been both a short and long time.

Short if one considered that no actual medical treatment had been administered, but long if one took into account that Gaon hadn’t been able to do anything productive during his recovery.

Either way, now that Gaon had confirmed his body was fully healed, he opened the door and resumed his activities outside.

The first place he headed to was, unsurprisingly, the blacksmith shop.

“Welcome!”

A clerk at the counter noticed Gaon and approached him.

“What are you looking for today? A weapon? Armor?”

“Both.”

“Oh, I see!”

Jackpot!

The clerk’s face lit up at Gaon’s words, and their voice became noticeably more enthusiastic as they stepped closer.

“Could you tell me exactly what kind of weapon you’re looking for?”

“A one-handed sword,” Gaon replied without hesitation.

His trusty dagger had broken, but he had no intention of returning to using a dagger.

There was no reason to.

Daggers, by nature, had more drawbacks than advantages as a primary weapon.

While there were exceptions, most magical beasts possessed tough bodies.

It was extremely difficult to inflict meaningful damage with a dagger.

So there was no reason to cling to it.

The familiarity he’d developed while using one wasn’t even worth considering.

His innate physical talent would guide him to wield any weapon efficiently.

“A one-handed sword, then. Many people choose those. Please follow me.”

The clerk led Gaon to a section where one-handed swords were displayed.

The variety was impressive, but one sword, in particular, stood out.

Hanging on the wall behind the counter, it gleamed faintly with a silver hue.

“Ah, that one is a masterpiece from our forge! It’s made from an alloy containing mithril and was tempered for ten days straight. We’re very proud of it!”

“Mithril?”

It was a familiar term, often seen in other games and stories.

Still, Gaon couldn’t be sure if its properties here matched what he knew.

Sensing Gaon’s thoughts, the clerk eagerly explained.

“Since it contains mithril, its mana conductivity is exceptional! And after prolonged tempering, the sword’s durability is unparalleled—”

“Is that so?”

The clerk continued their enthusiastic pitch, but Gaon’s interest quickly waned, and his responses grew increasingly indifferent.

The issue was mana conductivity.

Gaon had no aptitude for using mana.

What use was high mana conductivity if he couldn’t make use of it? It was like owning a painting he couldn’t hang.

There wasn’t even a “what if” to consider.

Even the goddess—arguably the pinnacle of divine power—had only exchanged a few words with him.

If the goddess couldn’t grant him such abilities, it was foolish to expect a mere equipment attribute to make a difference.

A feature he couldn’t use would only increase the sword’s price.

Quickly losing interest in the sword on the wall, Gaon turned away.

“Show me a different sword.”

“A… different sword?”

“Yes. Forget features like mana conductivity—I just want something with absolute durability.”

“Understood…”

The clerk’s smile faded, likely feeling that their pride in the sword had gone unappreciated.

Still, Gaon made no effort to explain further.

What could he even say? That he lacked the talent for mana and didn’t need such features?

“This one will do. Now, could you show me some armor?”

“Right this way.”

After selecting a sword, Gaon moved to another section, where he chose a set of armor made from tanned magical beast leather reinforced with metal plating over the chest.

The clerk’s previously stiff expression brightened again as the purchase finalized.

“It seems money makes everyone smile, whether in this world or the one I came from.”

With that thought, Gaon handed over the coins.

“Thank you!”

Gaon gave a slight nod and left the blacksmith shop.

Although purchasing equipment had cost him a significant amount of money, Gaon’s spending was far from over.

This had been part of his original plan, but it had been delayed after his unexpected encounter with the Tentacle Spider, which left him gravely injured.

The plan? To learn systematic combat techniques.

Gaon headed to a dojo he had scoped out earlier.

As he approached, the sounds of shouts and kiai grew louder and clearer.

Soon, he could see trainees practicing with training swords, swinging them at the air, or striking logs that had been set up as dummies. A few others were honing their skills while supervised by an instructor moving among them.

“Hah!”

“Focus! Don’t let your form collapse!”

“Hup!”

“Even if it’s just one move, execute it with full effort!”

As Gaon stood at the entrance watching quietly, the instructor, who had noticed him belatedly, came over to greet him.

“What brings you here?”

“I want to learn combat techniques.”

“Ah, then you’ve come to the right place.”

Though the instructor had been strict with the trainees, he showed no reaction to Gaon’s blunt tone. Likely, this was because Gaon had not yet registered at the dojo.

“As you can see, we help our students build a solid foundation from the basics.”

The instructor gestured to the students he had been coaching moments before and continued,

“All of them are working hard with the goal of becoming beast hunters. After all, the byproducts of magical beasts fetch a high price.”

The instructor glanced at Gaon’s physique, appraising him.

“You seem to have trained on your own, judging by your build, but—”

Gaon simply stared back without responding.

The instructor, interpreting Gaon’s silence as confirmation of his assumptions, allowed a hint of confidence to show on his face.

“—there’s always a limit to what you can achieve alone. You’ve come to the right place. Our dojo never turns away those who need help.”

Hearing this, Gaon couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

“Hah.”

He quickly stifled the laugh.

It seemed he had come to the wrong place.

Without a word, Gaon stood up.

“Uh, uh?”

The instructor, startled by Gaon’s sudden movement, awkwardly rose to his feet.

“Why?”

The instructor looked at Gaon, clearly puzzled.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

Not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, Gaon gave a vague excuse rather than simply walking out.

“What do you mean by that? You came here because you weren’t ready. Training alone has its limits. Do you know how many of our students have gone on to become successful beast hunters?”

The instructor, failing to grasp Gaon’s true intent, became even more determined to persuade him.

“Beast hunters…”

“Yes, exactly! Beast hunters! If you want to become one and get recognized as soon as possible, don’t hesitate to register with us!”

Perhaps the instructor had mistaken Gaon’s muttered words as indecision, as he pressed even harder, looking genuinely regretful.

But he couldn’t have been more off the mark.

For someone like Gaon, who was already a beast hunter, being asked whether he wanted to become one was nothing short of absurd.

“Who knows. I’m more interested in learning how to use my body properly.”

“Of course, of course! Just trust us, and we’ll teach you everything you need to know!”

There wouldn’t be a second time.

Gaon turned away without hesitation.

Despite his explanation, the instructor’s misguided focus showed no signs of realigning, and there was no point wasting more words.

“Uh, uh? Why are you being like this?”

The instructor, however, seemed to believe Gaon’s actions were part of a negotiation tactic to lower tuition fees.

“You won’t find much difference at other dojos. Just stick with us.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Ah… This is such a loss for us, but—”

The instructor, now looking conflicted, lowered his voice and leaned closer to Gaon.

“I’ll set you up for a hunt in the contaminated zones within three months. Just don’t tell the other trainees.”

At this point, Gaon couldn’t suppress his laughter any longer.

“Hah!”

“…What’s so funny?”

Even the clueless instructor couldn’t ignore the implication behind Gaon’s laughter, and his expression hardened.

“You must make a habit of running this sort of scam on others, don’t you?”

“What? Scam?”

“After all your sales pitch up to now, I don’t see why you’re pretending otherwise.”

“You’re being rude.”

“Funny, I thought the rudeness started with you.”

The instructor, who had maintained a smug demeanor throughout, now had his face stiffen like stone.

“Get out of my dojo immediately.”

“You’re the one who stopped me from leaving in the first place.”

“You—do you think you can act like this and still become a beast hunter?”

The instructor tried to intimidate Gaon.

“With that kind of insight?”

Gaon was so exasperated that he couldn’t even finish his sentence.

The instructor, now sensing something odd, narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Gaon.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Ah, finally catching on?”

“You…!”

The sound of Gaon clicking his tongue made the instructor’s eyes widen in realization.

At last, the instructor understood: Gaon was already a beast hunter.

“A-a beast hunter? What are you doing here, then…?”

“Remember when I said I wanted to learn how to use my body properly?”

“A beast hunter… learning something like that?”

The instructor began to say something, only to abruptly stop, his expression turning cold.

“Who are you?”

“What?”

“Who sent you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Was it Tigran Dojo? Or Cheil Dojo? Who hired you?!”

The instructor exploded in anger, convinced this was a ploy by a competitor.

Gaon crossed his arms, deciding to see how far this absurdity would go.

“You plan to humiliate me in front of my students so they’ll lose faith and leave? Not a chance.”

With a sly grin, the instructor drew his sword.

“Draw your weapon. It’s a duel.”

The Genius Beast Hunter in a Dark Fantasy World