“This growth is unbelievable. It's enough to make one jealous.”
Oh Ji-ho readily acknowledged my improvement. Judging by his usual remarks, the expression ‘jealous’ was the highest form of praise.
“Haha…”
I was so drained I couldn't even manage a loud laugh. But it was truly a moving moment. Once I actually started training, I found that cutting down Oh Ji-ho was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
It had taken Oh Ji-ho two years to learn Phantom Strike. I even had moments where I thought it might take me even longer than that. But in just a little over a month, I was able to cut Oh Ji-ho’s real form.
It was more of a graze than a clean cut, but the attack had definitely landed.
“Your movements have also become clean, without any excess. It's to the point where I can't believe you're the same person from a month ago.”
Oh Ji-ho's praise continued. The video he sent me was not just about martial arts, but was also closely related to control over the entire body. Its purpose was not in the power of the techniques themselves, but in eliminating unnecessary movements.
Unlike other martial arts, it had no forms to speak of. There were only movements that simplified the path to the striking range, whether it was the fingertips, elbows, or knees. Perhaps that was why.
The process of unfolding an attack flowed as smoothly as water. Every single movement was an ‘application’ rather than a ‘form’.
“I realized something while watching the video.”
“?”
“It felt less like teaching a human and more like training a beast.”
Even the blunt Oh Ji-ho wore a faint smile at that moment.
“It can’t be helped. My father said that when he devised these movements, he based them on the fighting styles of Monsters.”
“No wonder… I felt a sense of strangeness when training.”
“You’ve realized in a month what took me two years of training to feel.”
Oh Ji-ho said he felt jealous, but he looked more proud than anything.
Hmm.
Who was it that defied the Yaksha, saying he didn't want to teach?
“Is there a secret to improving your skills so much in such a short time?”
Any martial artist, no, any Hunter would be curious. After all, compared to a month ago, both my physical movements and my psychic power had improved by leaps and bounds. I summed up the events of the past month in a single word.
“Cores.”
It was all thanks to Cores that my psychic power had improved dramatically and that I could train so efficiently. After catching the 6-star Monster ‘Singing Harpy’, my eyes were opened to psychic power, and whenever I got tired from training, I would absorb a Core like a packed lunch to recover my stamina.
After absorbing a Core, I could go without sleep without much trouble. Whenever my stamina ran out and my eyelids grew heavy, I would absorb the Cores I had obtained during my training period, and on some days, I focused on training for a full 24 hours. The reason I could grow several times faster than others.
It wouldn't be wrong to say it was solely thanks to the Cores.
“Cores… Clearly, your current growth cannot be explained by ordinary methods.”
There was no reason, nor need, to explain in detail. Master Oh Ji-ho probably hadn't asked the question expecting one either. It must have been pure curiosity about the ‘something’ that couldn't be explained by talent alone.
“We will proceed to the next stage of training.”
“Already? I’ve barely managed to graze you.”
“Considering your rate of improvement, you’ll adapt quickly. Get ready.”
Get ready?
Get ready for what? Just then, I saw the faint ‘shadows’ standing around him leap forward. They were things that had never moved unless I attacked first.
Thwack.
“Kugh…!!”
A sharp impact pierced my abdomen. Oh Ji-ho's Hunter rank was ‘E’, but this ‘Phantom Strike’ ignored the general laws of physics in the first place. Even at the same intensity, there was a world of difference between preparing for an attack you knew was coming and being caught off guard by a surprise attack.
Fortunately, since my body was at the level of a D-rank Knight, there were no particular after-effects.
“…So this is what you meant by getting ready.”
Oh Ji-ho, who had only ever ‘countered’ my attacks, began to ‘attack first’. In short, what he meant by ‘get ready’ was to ‘get ready to be beaten’.
“Don’t think of it too harshly. In terms of martial arts alone, it means you have already surpassed that fellow we saw at the black market.”
The Knight whose limbs had been shattered by Oh Ji-ho after causing a ruckus. B-rank Hunter Kim Gwan-tae. Setting aside my Poison-type trait, Oh Ji-ho saw my skills as being above his level.
“That’s an honor.”
With a short reply, I rushed into Oh Ji-ho’s domain.
My training period was over, and I was finally on the verge of my first dungeon. A 2-star Poison-type dungeon located in Ingye District. The entry permit for the dungeon had already been obtained under the name ‘Cleanup Clan’, so there were no other procedures to speak of.
Clan Leader Iron Arm and Cheon Hae-seon. All (?) members of the Cleanup Clan were being mobilized for the dungeon today. Before long, this dungeon would be closed under the name of the Cleanup Clan.
“Y-You’re going in just like this?”
“Yes. Why?”
“That is out of the question. A Poison-type dungeon is a place where even the air you breathe is mixed with dangerous substances. No matter how much of an S-ranker Hunter Cheon Hae-seon is, you cannot go in like this.”
Indeed, the Iron Arm before me was heavily armed. Not only was his entire face covered by a large gas mask, but he also wore thick gloves and boots on his limbs. To a normal Hunter without their own detoxification ability, a Poison-type dungeon was just that terrifying of a place.
Speaking of which, shall I check Iron Arm’s profile?
“Huh?”
What’s this.
I thought his rank would be pretty pathetic, but it’s a ‘B’? Although there are many high-rankers among the Knight-type, a B-ranker is talented enough to be a key player in any decent Guild. With talent like that, why was he working as a ‘cleaner’?
“Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
“Ah. It’s nothing. I thought I saw something for a moment.”
“This is serious. The harmful energy leaking from the dungeon entrance is already affecting Hunter Cheon Hae-seon’s mind…!!”
“Stop turning a perfectly fine person into a lunatic. Let’s go in now.”
“Are you really sure you’ll be alright like this?”
“Yes. I’m an S-ranker, for what it's worth. If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility.”
“Still…”
Iron Arm’s pupils swayed like a pendulum. I knew exactly what he was worried about. Having run through Poison-type dungeons several times, he must have keenly felt their deadly danger.
No matter how outstanding a healer's recovery ability is, they can't withstand it if the poison accumulates. In a Poison-type dungeon, one would have to activate their healing energy with every single breath. But for me, who was a ‘Poison-type’ before I was a ‘healer’, none of that had any effect.
‘I can’t tell if he’s a warm person or just a worrier.’
If I say I’m fine, he should just take my word for it. In the end, I pushed Iron Arm back using a suitable method.
“I’ve already drunk a special antidote. Would you like some too, Clan Leader?”
“Huh? Ah… no. I’m fine.”
“That’s a shame. You could have taken off that heavy gas mask and moved around.”
I hadn’t drunk an antidote, but it was true that I had one. The last time I met Bi-soo, I had taken a few of the antidotes she had. I had prepared it just in case Iron Arm had neglected his preparations, but seeing him so heavily armed now, I wonder if I worried for nothing.
“How long can that equipment last?”
“It should be fine for about five hours. What about your antidote, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
It was actually effective for 24 hours, but he definitely wouldn't believe that.
“Mine is about the same.”
“Excellent. Then let’s go in!”
Iron Arm clapped his thick-gloved hands a couple of times and opened the door to the dungeon entrance. The first journey of ‘S-rank Healer’ Cheon Hae-seon had finally begun.
“Ugh…!!”
As soon as Iron Arm passed through the entrance, he let out a groan. No matter how many times he came, he could never get used to these damned Poison-type dungeons. The gas mask blocked the toxicity, but the unique humidity and foul energy pressed down on his entire body.
To enter a space like this without any equipment? It was impossible. I have to persuade Hunter Cheon Hae-seon quickly.
Iron Arm turned his head to look at Cheon Hae-seon.
“Nngh…”
Cheon Hae-seon also let out a low groan. But it wasn't because of the atmosphere in the Poison-type dungeon. He had simply stretched out nonchalantly.
“??????????”
The saying ‘I can’t believe my eyes’ must have been made for times like this. Inside this foul space, Cheon Hae-seon acted like a fish in water. Not only did he move around to loosen up his body, but he even took a deep breath (!).
Unbelievable.
That thing is not human.
“It’s been a while.”
Cheon Hae-seon, who had been looking around, seemed to have spotted something. He turned his head and looked at Iron Arm.
“That thing you collect, Clan Leader. Where do you usually gather it?”
“Hmm… Considering the terrain, there should be a lot in that grassy area over there.”
“Hmm. That area seems to have quite a few Monsters.”
“Is that so…?”
He couldn't see anything with his own eyes. But Cheon Hae-seon’s gaze was fixed precisely on something.
“This will be a difficult journey.”
Iron Arm firmly shut his mouth and slowly took a step forward. What he mainly collected in Poison-type dungeons were minerals. The minerals, which could usually be found on the damp ground, were composed of special components that couldn't be obtained in the real world.
They were used as research materials by scientific organizations and also as raw materials for weapons like bullets. The toxicity mixed in the minerals was helpful when hunting Monsters, so they were in high demand among non-combat-type Hunters. Poison-type dungeons were places where ‘luck’ was a clear deciding factor.
If there were no Monsters in the mineral gathering area, it was ‘great luck’; if it was swarming with Monsters, it was ‘great misfortune’.
‘Today is one of great misfortune…’
Iron Arm gritted his teeth as he looked at the reddish-brown horses running through the strange, purple-colored field of grass.
Evil Horse.
When one hears of a horned horse, they usually think of a unicorn, but here, it held the opposite meaning. Its physical level was around ‘E’, but its mobility was so fast that it was a difficult creature to catch. It was a type that wore down Hunters with the various harmful substances that fell from its horn and mane.
For the slow-moving Tanker Iron Arm, they were his natural enemy.
‘Eleven… twelve…’
Once the number passed twelve, Iron Arm gave up on counting the Evil Horse. With this many, it was difficult for a party of two to work. And wasn't one of them a healer?
To have to retreat like this after getting a hard-won permit. Iron Arm opened his mouth with a heavy expression.
“It seems we’ll have to try for another chance. Hunter Cheon Hae-seon.”
“…”
Was he also disappointed? No answer came easily. No, he couldn't even feel his presence.
“Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
When Iron Arm, feeling something was off, turned his head, he was already gone. Like a wild horse crossing the plains, Cheon Hae-seon was running towards the Evil Horse.
“Good heavens… Hunter Cheon Hae-seon!! Come back!!”
Why on earth would a healer throw himself into a crowd of enemies? Iron Arm urgently moved to follow Cheon Hae-seon. The poison in the air must have driven Cheon Hae-seon mad.
With that conviction, Iron Arm cried out for Cheon Hae-seon.
“It’s dangerous!! Hunter Cheon Hae-seon!!”
Could he not hear him? Was he ignoring him? Cheon Hae-seon’s charge did not stop.
In no time, Cheon Hae-seon reached striking distance of the ‘Evil Horse’. A black blade flashed in his hand.