chapter 27
27 – Kang Ji Hoon, fighting
-Shall we run away to a place where no one knows?
After cutting down dozens of demon worshippers and returning home covered in blood, I looked at Yeonhwa’s eyes and spoke.
She quickly wiped the sweat off my face and checked my body, trying to find any wounds.
-Are you very tired?
I grab her hand as she searches for wounds with a serious expression.
-No injuries. I’m not tired either.
She had been examining my body with a serious expression, but at my words, she quickly showed a bright smile like a child.
-That’s a relief. Really, it’s a relief.
Yeonhwa sighs with relief, wiping her tears and embraces me.
I continue speaking while looking at her.
– It’s been quite a while since I last got hurt. I’m not afraid of the ma-gyo anymore. They might keep coming endlessly, and even though I don’t know when this fight will end, I’m not afraid.
Yeonhwa’s face becomes slightly more relaxed at my words.
– I am worried about you, Yeonhwa. When I think about you worrying about me and being anxious every day…
– Kang Dae-hyeop.
Yeonhwa’s face remains calm, but a firm determination is embedded within it.
– Just as it is Kang Dae-hyeop’s duty to exterminate all the ma-gyo, it is my duty to worry about and wait for Kang Dae-hyeop.
She clears the cloth soaked in blood and rinses it in clean water, finishing cleaning my body.
– I know Kang Dae-hyeop won’t let the ma-gyo harm him. But how can there be a woman who can stay comfortably when her beloved prince goes to the battlefield every day? Don’t worry about me, and just focus on every moment.
– Is there a reason for me to continue even if I make you anxious every day?
– Of course there is.
Yeonhwa gently strokes my face with a warm and soft smile, meeting my eyes.
– The destiny of an absolute power. Kang Dae-hyeop is not a person who can live an ordinary life. Therefore, there is no reason to run away or hide. Wherever you go, the world will find Kang Dae-hyeop. Don’t pay attention to anyone, don’t worry about anything. Just swing your sword as you please. Until the whole world is at your feet.
Yeonhwa, who believes in me more than anyone else.
I am not special, she makes me special.
As I look into her captivated eyes, all my worries vanish.
And everything becomes simple and clear.
Yes, I cannot live hiding myself.
***
“-Ah, wake up…”
“Hmm… Yeonhwa… come here for a moment…”
“Jihoon! Wake up quickly!”
Hansuyoung shakes Jihoon, who is sleeping.
She thinks it’s amazing how he can fall into a deep sleep so quickly.
Jihoon opens his eyes and regains his senses, sitting up.
“Oh, I was having a good dream.”
Su-Young looks at Jihoon with a bewildered expression.
“Is it already our turn? How many teams have gone by?”
“Oh… it’s not our turn yet… but, I think we need to look at that over there.”
“Huh? What?”
Where Su-young’s hand pointed, there were four men setting up a substantial-sized placard on an empty seat.
The size of it and the elaborate design were so prominent that it could be clearly seen from the opposite side of this spacious dome stadium.
Furthermore, the text on that placard was something he had seen before…
“What’s that!!”
Ji-hoon exclaimed loudly, taken aback.
[Ji-hoon Kang, Fight On! Ares Guild is always with you!]
“Haah…”
Ji-hoon sighed deeply, running his hand across his forehead.
In the case of the Academy’s quarterly evaluation, it was natural for well-established guilds to send scouts to observe. Even among awakened individuals who had passed the Academy’s entrance exam, it was reasonable to assume they possessed Hunter abilities suitable for gate clearing.
Of course, guilds that sent scouts to the Academy were not particularly interested in lower-class students, those in the 9th, 10th, and 11th classes. Most of their attention was focused on hunters with a combat power of at least 6th class or higher.
There were some exceptions, as a few guilds also took notice of 7th and 8th class students with potential, but…
For an 11th class student like Ji-hoon, it was unprecedented for a major guild to openly show such interest. The placement, size, and wording of the placard almost seemed like an advertisement targeting Ji-hoon.
Guild officials muttered among themselves.
“Kang Ji-hoon? Who is Kang Ji-hoon?”
“What class is he, and why is Ares Guild pursuing him so aggressively?”
“No matter his class, this is not a matter of ethics… Isn’t this like telling us not to even look at him?”
The expressions of the guild officials who saw the placard ranged from annoyance to curiosity.
However, the reactions of the Academy students who knew who Kang Ji-hoon was were entirely different.
“What’s that… Isn’t that Kang Ji-hoon, the 11th class guy?”
“It looks like him… But why Ares Guild?”
“Did he personally make and put it up? Can Ares Guild use any design they want?”
As the murmurs of the crowd reached Ji-hoon and Su-young, Su-young felt embarrassed and lowered her head.
“Oh, I really liked that man…”
Ji-hoon was equally uncomfortable. While he usually acted without concern for other people’s eyes or opinions, the size of that placard was truly overwhelming. Moreover, why did they use such a cute font…
Ares Guild wasn’t some neighborhood club or anything like that.
At that time, the audience’s attention, which had been temporarily noisy with placards, was once again focused on the field.
“Team Choi Seung-joon clears. Clear time: 24 minutes 15 seconds.”
As the announcement echoed through the speakers, all the players and guild officials cheered.
“Wow, 24 minutes? Even clearing within an hour would be the highest score…”
“Wasn’t the team led by Kim Hyun-seok the first to clear it in 46 minutes? They’re almost twice as fast…”
“They’re real monsters. It wouldn’t be strange for them to immediately jump to Class 3 or 2.”
“After the score for this quarter’s evaluation comes out, there will probably be a reshuffle…”
The six individuals known as Team Choi Seung-joon confidently walked out of the field.
All guild officials were busy taking notes and looking for their assigned professors.
As the strongest team of Class 4 finished the test and left, the name of the next team appeared on the large screen.
[Class 11 Kang Ji-hoon / Class 11 Han Su-yeong]
Could it be because the Class 4 team that achieved the highest record just finished the test? The two names displayed on the screen looked quite meager.
“What? Only two team members?”
“Both in Class 11? Is this a joke?”
Ji-hoon and Su-yeong moved to the designated waiting room and put on their jump suits.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Su-yeong breathed in and out heavily.
“Why are you so nervous? It’s not even a real gate.”
“Still… I’m so nervous…”
“Don’t worry, whenever I ask for heals, use your skills immediately.”
“Ah, I can also use magic to fight! It might not be a big help, but… I’ll do my best.”
“There won’t be any monsters left for you to catch.”
Ji-hoon, who had put on the jump suit, walked towards the entrance of the field.
Seeing his broad and steady back, Su-yeong suddenly felt that the test would go well.
Ji-hoon and Su-yeong appeared on the field.
Doooon
With a majestic sound, virtual monsters appeared on various terrains of the field.
The virtual gate that Ji-hoon and Su-yeong were going to defeat had goblins.
Coincidentally, it was a virtual gate similar to the one rumored to be where Ji-hoon defeated the boss monster.
“Oh, goblins? I heard he took down a king goblin in one shot.”
“Is it just a false rumor? Let’s check whether it’s true or not, heh heh.”
“Oh, what on earth are those two doing in that gate…”
“They’ve been hiding and running around here and there for about 4 hours, who knows.”
Those who knew Jihun in the audience were more focused on the field than on the previous games of the upper-class teams. There were various rumors circulating about Jihun, and the anticipation that they could confirm the truth with their own eyes focused everyone’s attention.
“The distance to the center of the field is quite far. Are you confident in your running abilities?”
“Huh? Well, I’m not too bad with agility and stamina! But why?”
“Then just run to the center like crazy without looking back. Don’t worry about the goblins coming from the surroundings.”
“Hmm… Do you have something in mind?”
“Of course. Because we’re going to win, right?”
At Jihun’s words, Sooyoung bit her lips tightly, channeled her magic into her legs, and focused.
Beep—
With the sound signaling the start, Sooyoung began to run like crazy following Jihun’s words. She followed Jihun’s instruction to focus only on running without looking back and poured all her strength into moving quickly.
She was a healer by class, but an Awakened Being was an Awakened Being. With physical abilities and even magic power that far surpassed those of ordinary people, Sooyoung quickly approached the center of the field.
Finally, as she reached the central bushy area of the field, she panted heavily and looked for Jihun.
“Really? You’re quite fast?”
“Pant… pant… Yeah… I ran well…”
Raising her head to find Jihun, Sooyoung momentarily lost her words.
The countless virtual goblin corpses strewn along the path she had run.
As she turned her eyes to the large screen, she had no choice but to be horrified.
Elapsed Time: 4 minutes and 34 seconds
King Goblin: 1/1
Goblins: 237/500
In less than 5 minutes, over half of the monsters had already disappeared.