n

n

nMission Completed. Returning to your original world.

n400 days of lifespan will be rewarded.

nRemaining Lifespan: 681 Days, 9 Hours, 34 Minutes.

nWith a plop I was lying on the cold floor of the studio breathing heavily.

nI’m terribly tired.

nAlthough none of my equipment was completely destroyed like before, expensive ammunition, two magnetized bombs, and an E4 were used.

nI’ll have to run around a lot to make up for all this money.

nWhat could only be described as bitter.

nThe more I think about getting only 100 million won in severance pay the more pissed I got.

nForcing my stiff body to sit up I spoke.

n

n

n“Status Window.”

nThe increased abilities made me dazed.

nBesides, I even got a S-Rank skill!

nPerhaps because it was a sword and had no ability or talent all I could absorb were skills.

nBut I saw a very trashy skill called ‘Sword Transformation (A).’

nWhich would literally turn me into a sword.

nIt was also impossible to revert back to human form.

nIf I had the additional skill called ‘Forced Possession (SS),’ then I wouldn’t mind living as a sword.

nI wonder what I would do if I had absorbed it, but fortunately I succeeded in absorbing the highest S-Rank skill the Holy Sword had.

nIt was also a skill I needed the most right now.

nSwordsmanship.

nNo matter how good an A-Rank talent is, it is more comfortable to go on a reliable path than to carve out a path myself.

nAnd Swordsmanship (A ) is like providing a clearly paved road for a sports car.

nWhite Swordsmanship (S), a sword skill that can be said to be every sword skill in the world. It has no form, but also many forms. It has no style, but also many styles. It is a blank canvas and you’re the painter. That is White Swordsmanship.

n“…”

nWhat are you talking about?

nSo I read it over and over again 30 times, and then I realized.

n“Oh. I can use my dick as a sword?”

n< … >

nThere is no clearly defined form for White Swordsmanship.

nIt was a skill that would improve my form from time to time to fit the swing of my sword.

nThis is the skill that enabled whoever held the Holy Sword Barette to become the best swordsman.

nI did not receive any vision that was passed down for hundreds of years.

nNor was it a skill that destroyed enemies in one swing.

nJust a sword skill that changed into the most suitable form for me.

nThat is White Swordsmanship.

nWhen I closed my eyes and focused, a picture was drawn in my head.

nThe way I wielded my sword.

nIn my imagination I was wielding an aether blade that was 1m 20cm tall, 2.5cm wide, and weighs 1.4kg.

nMuch shorter and lighter than what I’m using now.

nI swung it as if I was flying, and the body actually floated in the air.

nHup!

nI got off the floor, picked up the aether blade, and took a big breath.

nSuddenly my lungs sucked in ‘Mana.’

n‘This is…a Mana breathing method?’

nSo far I have been forced to scrape together Mana.

nHowever, as soon as I learned White Swordsmanship I quickly understood how Mana flows through my body.

nMy hands were shaking.

nHaving acquired the talent Swordsmanship (A ) I thought I could handle all the swords in the world.

nBut it was delusional.

nGenius talent was just a wild instinct.

nJust as a tiger instinctively knows how to effectively bite off its enemy and tear it apart.

nBut, now there is a clear path.

n“…”

nI wanted to test this sword right away.

nLooking at the clock it was 1PM.

nThe only place I could test this was at Geumgang Gym.

nSuddenly, I thought of the golden sandbag training at the gym, so I immediately left.

nI just had a big battle and my whole body was stiff, but I wasn’t in the mood to rest.

nWhenever I went out I always took an aether dispenser, but unfortunately most of my equipment was broken so I couldn’t.

nRich hunters wore suits that can be activated at a press of a button, but I didn’t have the money, so I used an old-fashioned aether coat.

nSuits were easy to remove, easy to clean, had great defense, and could regulate the body’s temperature.

nOn the other hand, coats were cumbersome, inconvenient to store, had simple defense, and there were huge disadvantages of using it in the summer due to the heat.

nI’d like to buy a suit someday.

nI had no choice but to leave my coat at home.

nAll I took with me was an aether pistol that was easy to carry and an aether blade that could be held in a carrier, then I went to the subway in sweatpants.

nI bought a motorcycle for transportation, but didn’t use it unless it was really urgent.

nBy the time I got to Konkuk University Station the surrounding area became noisy.

nThe vibration from my cell phone was making a lot of noises.

nA D-Rank gate has opened within a 30-meter radius of Konkuk University Station. Citizens please evacuate.

nTimes have changed, and now people were no longer afraid of monsters.

nWith more accurate forecasts than even weather forecasts, people were good at evacuating in advance, and even when low-level ‘anomalies’ occurred spectators would flock to check out the scene.

nIn fact, no one took the evacuation notice seriously.

nKorea was one of the 12 countries with the lowest hunting failure rate in the world.

n“Damn it. I’m going to be late for my appointment.”

n“So unlucky.”

nThere were people complaining.

n“Ooh. Can we see the hunters?”

n“Let’s take a picture!”

nSome people were excited.

nI could see the subway platform was shut down as I approached.

nIt seems that there is a gate in the subway area.

nI wouldn’t mind coming forward if that was the case, but I didn’t because it seemed like there were already others to take care of it.

nEven if I didn’t, the gates and dungeons were scattered.

nHunters would take care of the monsters in a flash anyway.

nWhen the police and public officials stepped in to slowly put the citizens behind a line I decided to follow and wait patiently.

nBut it was strange.

nAccording to protocols if a gate occurs underground it would have to be transferred above ground using a gate transfer device, but there was no sign of that.

nAlready there’s not much time left.

nEventually I sneaked up to a man who seemed to be in charge and spoke.

n“You’re not transferring the gate above ground?”

n“Huh? Haha. You must have heard that somewhere, but that’s not necessary for D-Rank gates.”

n“Why?”

n“The reason to transfer underground gates to above ground is if there were ‘medium size species,’ but there’s no such monster in a D-Rank gate.”

n“…What are you saying? Why not?”

nAs I began to argue with him he slowly became annoyed and sighed.

n“You’re just an ordinary citizen, what do you know.”

nI took my ID out of my wallet.

nF-Rank Hunter, #15.

nThe person in charge had a sullen look after seeing my rank, but his eyes opened wide when he saw the number next to it.

nThe #15 means a veteran hunter with 15 years of experience.

n“This is not the first time I’ve seen something like this happen. Just tell your boss what I just said. Don’t take the blame for someone else’s mistake.”

n“Ah, yes. For the time being…”

nThen, someone suddenly shouted.

n“I thought I heard a familiar voice. Aren’t you Yoo Seodam?”

nTurning my head, a man wearing the armband of the Lost Day guild was approaching.

nI recognize his face.

nKim Jitae.

nFrom my memory he had the ability of D-Rank.

n“I heard you retired, but you’re still here. Do you want to use an expensive gate transfer device because you’re a little scared?”

n“What are you talking about? The citizens’ safety is a hunter’s top priority. If it’s a medium…”

n“Senior.”

nKim Jitae shrugged, smiled, and pointed behind him.

n“Five D-Rank hunters. And the team leader is a C-Rank superhuman hunter. You may be scared, but this is enough. It’s overkill.”

nLooking back, five hunters stood with the Lost Day armband.

n‘There were people like that?’

nIt was such a huge guild that I can’t remember all the faces.

nAlso, one of them felt kind of strange.

nIt was hazy, and weirdly I felt my appetite growing.

nHave I been drinking?

nI said what I wanted to say and felt it was pointless to continue.

n“Fine, suit yourself.”

n“Yes, we can take care of ourselves.”

nIn fact, Kim Jitae was right.

nAs a F-Rank hunter I had to be prepared for every situation, but it was different for superhumans.

nThey’re allowed to make minor mistakes.

nBecause they were capable of overcoming them.

nBut my point wasn’t whether they could deal with it or not.

nAmong the D-Rank monsters there were many medium-sized monsters and if those came out, the subway would be in a terrible mess.

nSo I thought it would be safer to transfer it above ground.

nBut the chances are so low that everyone else ignored it.

nWiing!!

nAs the gate began to open, hunters, including Kim Jitae, quickly disappeared into the subway.

nSoon I heard the sound of gunshots.

nSeeing that there was no problem on the ground I knew it wasn’t a medium-sized monster and was worried for nothing.

nBut.

nSomething is off.

nIf the hunt is successful only the sound of an explosion should be heard, but a wild beast’s cry came from inside the subway.

n“What the hell is happening down there…?”

nThen.

nSomeone shouted over the speaker.

n“Damn it! An unknown monster has appeared! Citizens, please evacuate immediately!”

n“W-what?”

nBa-boom…!!

nThe rail between the intersection started to crack, then it slowly collapsed.

nI still heard screams in the subway, but this time it was humans.

n“What is happening all of a sudden?”

nTo be honest I was flustered too.

nSometimes strong monsters would appear in weak dungeons.

nThere are always such variables.

nBut I’ve never seen this phenomenon before.

n‘A C-Rank hunter, five D-Rank hunters, and more than ten soldiers yet they’re still struggling?’

nWhen that thought came to mind, something smashed the ground and ran up.

nRed skin all over, gross muscle mass that seems deformed, and a massive size that is likely over 5 meters tall.

nIt was unmistakably a monster, but it looked very human.

n“Crazy…! What the hell is that!”

n“H-hunter! What the hell is that?”

nThe field leader panicked and asked me, but honestly, I don’t know either.

nI’ve hunted on the front line for decades, but I’ve never seen such a human-like monster.

nNo.

nWait a second.

nI’ve seen a similar case like this a long time ago.

nBut it was so different from what I remembered that I wasn’t sure.

n“Damn it. Call for backup right now!”

nAfter shouting for backup I took out my aether blade and jumped into the scene.

nMy equipment was lacking.

nOnly one portable aether pistol and one aether blade.

nThere is no proper protection, so an ordinary hunter like me who doesn’t have a strengthened body will die if hit once by that thing.

nThat monster is probably at least B-Rank.

nIf I had enough equipment I could break through its defense with a pistol and a blade.

nEvery monster has a layer of protection made of aether or qi-like properties.

nAnd it was also the only thing that could penetrate the flesh of the monsters.

nHowever, ordinary hunters needed to break that protective layer first.

nSo aether guns were invented.

nThe average rifle can break a monster’s protective layer and cause huge damage at the same time, but with a small pistol it’ll just strip the protective layer.

nAlso, the area that had been stripped of the protection must be precisely cut off with a sword.

nThat’s how ordinary hunters without superpowers dealt with monsters.

nShould I try it?

nIn fact it was extremely difficult.

nSo I’ve never tried it in my life.

nBut now.

n‘I can do it.’

nLooking at the sword in my hand I was full of confidence.

n“Ugh! Damn it…”

nKim Jitae crawled out of the subway.

nHis strength ability was good in many ways, but his disadvantage was that he could hardly use his strength against an enemy who had a stronger power than him.

nI hurried up to Kim Jitae and slapped him on the cheek.

nBecause I needed answers now.

n“Hey. Wake up!”

n“S-senior. Damn it, let’s retreat! That’s not something we can deal with!”

n“What the hell are you talking about? We’re the only hunters on the scene, what would happen if we left?”

n“They’re going to die anyway! It would be better to retreat and wait for support…”

n“No, you’ve seen all these idiots.”

nKim Jitae.

nDid he say it was his second year as a professional hunter?

nThe hunters from the city are rather hopeless.

nTheir ability to cope with emergency situations was lacking as they only hunted when they were in their best condition with the best equipment and was certain of victory.

nMoreover, Kim Jitae seems to be very skilled when it comes to close combat, especially for his ability.

n“Hey. Shut up and tell me. What is that monster?”

n“T-that’s…”

n“Was it mana poisoning?”

nKim Ji-tae shook his head to my question.

nThere seems to be a situation where he couldn’t answer, but that’s none of my business.

n‘In the end, it’s another human hunt.’

nI don’t know why a person suddenly appeared here with mana poisoning.

nThis is because they have to absorb an excess amount of mana where it overloaded their body for it to happen.

nBut it doesn’t matter.

nFirst of all, there’s a hunt in front of me, so I will hunt.

nThat’s what a hunter does.

nKim Jitae seemed useless, so I loaded my pistol with the intention of dealing with it alone, but he grabbed my ankle.

n“Well, what are you going to do with such equipment?”

n

n

n“Bastard, let go of me.”

nAfter swinging my foot roughly and stomping him in the face, I spoke.

n“Do I look like a beginner like you?”

n“Y-yes?”

nC-Rank.

nIt was strong enough to be a threat.

nKim Jitae, who is still inexperienced, came out to hunt with a C-Rank superhuman, and acted if he was invincible.

nBut monsters above B-Rank, which are higher than him, would be beyond his reach.

nBut not to me.

nIt is what I’m used to dealing with when I hunt.

n