Chapter 141: Chapter 141

“Did I say something strange?”

“Kukuk... You did. Hiking? That’s ridiculous,” Chen Yuwei said with a laugh.

“I don’t know what friendly matches were like in the past, but a lot of thought is put into deciding them these days.”

Friendly matches shouldn’t give the hunters a chance to hurt each other’s feelings, but at the same time, they should still let the hunters showcase their abilities. That was why tennis and baseball were chosen—they were friendly events. Hiking was too slow.

“If tomorrow’s friendly event is hiking, then I’ll go up naked,” the hunters who were slightly drunk spoke in unison.

“Hahaha! We will do the same.”

“?”

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ wonders if they are perverts.]

-No. They’re not perverts. Hunters just do a lot of strange things.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ wonders why that isn’t called perversion.]

‘... If that’s what you think, then I have nothing to say.’

In any case, the hunters said they would run naked. Choi Yeonseung had no intention of stopping them.

“Don’t copy them, Changuk.”

“... I wasn’t planning to.”

The atmosphere became lively due to Choi Yeonseung’s nonsense. As they were talking about what the friendly match would be, the Japanese hunters started to pull out large glasses.

Lee Changuk frowned when he saw it. “What’s going on?”

“I think they’re trying to have a drinking contest.”

“Ahh. They’re still doing that, huh? That happened a lot in the past, and the Japanese kids liked it.”

Hunters would compare everything they could and brag to each other. It was the same in any country, but Japanese hunters especially did it a lot. Even Hwang Gyeongryong and Lee Changsik fought the others fiercely when they were young. Such was the story of everyone’s youth.

One of the Japanese hunters laughed as he frantically piled soju bottles on the table.

“South Korea is amazing. Soju is so cheap here.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but either way… don’t drink, Changuk.”

Choi Yeonseung was considerate of his nephew. Although Changuk had awakened, which meant mana strengthened his physique, he would still be affected if he drank alcohol like that. This competition was all about drinking like crazy tonight and waking up fine tomorrow.

“No. I’ll drink as well.”

“Why take responsibility when you don’t have to? It’s fine. Well, moving with a hungover is certainly also an experience,” Choi Yeonseung said, then moved his hand.

Using ‘speed’ and ‘diffusion’ martial art techniques, Choi Yeonseung blew off the lids of the bottles with lightning-like speed. He then filled every glass on the table with alcohol, the sight making hunters of the two countries cheer.

What a waste of talent!

"Beautiful!"

“We haven’t even started yet. Now, drink!”

The hunters started to gulp the drinks down with great fervor. Perhaps it was because they were hunters, but they emptied the large glasses in an instant. However, Choi Yeonseung swiftly filled the glasses back up again.

“N-No. Let’s take a break...”

“What? Already?”

“... No. Try to keep up!”

***

“The weather is nice today.”

The next morning, Choi Yeonseung woke up cheerfully. Like the warm sunshine, he was in perfect condition.

“Uhh... Ugh... Ughhhh...”

“Keeeek… Keeeeeek...”

On the other hand, the people in the lounge were suffering so much that they couldn’t even control their movements. They had drunk too much.

“What are they doing?”

“They learned a lesson from drinking.”

“That’s idiotic.” Antony laughed at the suffering hunters.

“Don’t American hunters do that during meetings?”

“Some of us certainly like to do such vulgar things, but I prefer more dignified confrontations.”

“For example?” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Poker.”

“... Isn’t that just a game of luck?”

“No! What stupid—Poker is a high-stakes psychological and intelligence game!”

“Alright, alright. You like poker. I get it.” Choi Yeonseung waved his hand and walked away, eventually coming across Lee Changuk, who was sitting with a pale expression.

“Changuk.”

“Ah. Yes. Hello...”

“I told you not to drink so much.” Choi Yeonseung put his hand on Lee Changuk’s back and made his internal energy sweep through Lee Changuk like a wave, driving out the turbid energy inside.

When alcohol-laced steam rose from his body, his condition stabilized.

“Are you sober now?”

“......!”

“A long time ago, Gyeongryong hyung asked me to do this without your father knowing.”

“... I-Is that so... ”

“It’s good to defend your pride while you’re still young, but don’t go too far when it seems meaningless.”

“Yes. Thank you!”

When Choi Yeonseung left, the other hunters from Bulgae curiously came over.

“Was that Choi Yeonseung? How is it? Are his skills okay?”

“I heard you fought with those foreign hunters yesterday.”

“Ah... That.”

Aside from being the son of the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor, Lee Changuk also drew attention as the Bulgae’s ace. Hunters from other clans also approached Lee Changuk.

“Everything worked out just fine.”

“What? How? What did you do?”

Rather than answering, Lee Changuk pointed toward the hunters dying in the corner.

“? ”

“That aside, Hunter Choi Yeonseung isn’t your friend. Don’t talk about him so rudely.”

“Ah... No. Changuk. Why are you so serious? You’re scaring me.”

***

“Stupid bastards. I told you to just drop by to say hello and come back right after. Why are you all drunk?”

Hasegawa, a B-grade hunter, criticized the group. He couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. Even though they were from the same clan, hunters normally wouldn’t listen to nagging unless it came from the clan leader or vice clan leader. However...

Everyone silently listened to Hasegawa. Hasegawa was a first-generation hunter. Not everyone could run around with the body of an old man.

“I-I’m sorry. Ugh. There was a drinking competition, and we couldn’t back down, so...”

“Martial artists have always been very good at drinking alcohol. You did something stupid!”

“I-I’m sorry. Ughhh.”

“... Drag them away and make them drink mana potions.”

“Huh?! Aren’t those expensive?”

“If they participate in the friendly match in this state, they would just get humiliated and disgrace the Nurikabe clan. Now go!”

“I-I understand.”

Hasegawa dragged himself to his seat. At that moment, the leader of the Golden Blood Fish, who was hosting this exchange, appeared behind him.

Blue Dragon Sword Jeong?Wonuk.

‘He’s amazing!’

Hasegawa watched the A-grade hunter with awe. E-grade and D-grade hunters dreamed of becoming C-grade hunters, and C-grade hunters dreamed of becoming B-grade hunters. However, B-grade hunters wanted to become A-grade hunters dozens of times more.

Hasegawa knew that he couldn’t become an A-grade alone. He had been on active duty for over 30 years and had made a lot of contributions, but he still hadn’t been able to go beyond B-grade.

The aura of an A-grade hunter was extremely cool.

‘That man must be thinking the same thing,’?Hasegawa thought as he saw Choi Yeonseung, who was sitting and having a conversation in the distance.

They had never exchanged a word, but he somehow felt a sense of familiarity. Why did Choi Yeonseung keep doing raids after surviving the Abyss?

Hasegawa understood. Wasn’t it because of lingering feelings? He was deeply sympathetic.

‘Why is that old man looking at me with strange eyes?’

If Choi Yeonseung had heard Hasegawa’s thoughts, he would’ve hit Hasegawa while saying, ‘What are you talking about?’

“Is that Jeong?Wonuk?” Choi Yeonseung asked.

“Yes, that’s Blue Dragon Sword Jeong Wonuk. He is a martial artist who uses a sword to unleash dozens of spells and tear apart monsters,” Antony said with a look of respect.

“I thought you only admire yourself, but you surprisingly seem to admire a lot of hunters.”

“... I respect all A-grade hunters and above.”

“Is that so?”

Choi Yeonseung looked at Jeong Wonuk.

‘... Is he the Jeong Wonuk I met before?’

He was pretty sure it?was?the same person who peed in the dungeon...

“Hunter Jeong Wonuk. I enjoyed watching the movie you starred in last time. I heard you filmed it yourself without any special effects?”

“Um. I’m embarrassed. At this age...”

“No! If the world learns how much the first-generation hunters have sacrificed, won’t they have more respect for other hunters?”

“Thank you. Do you really think so—?!”

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

Jeong Wonuk suddenly bit his lip, having noticed Choi Yeonseung at a distant table.

“... Th-that guy is here too?’

He knew that Choi Yeonseung’s value was rising, but Jeong Wonuk didn’t expect him to join the exchange. When their eyes met, Choi Yeonseung waved happily. Jeong Wonuk greeted him as sweat dripped down his back.

“Who’s that hunter next to the Blue Dragon Sword? She looks pretty strong.”

“You… I know you’re an Abyss returnee, but shouldn’t you at least learn about A-grade hunters? There are only so few per country. Anyway, that’s Han Seha, an A-grade hunter.”

The A-grade hunter was calm and quiet-looking. To step into the realm of A-grade hunters before reaching thirty years old was something that could only be achieved with a tremendous number of feats. After all, one of the most important things to do during a hunter’s teenage years was stand out and be the best among their peers.

“How great. I think I’ve seen her somewhere before, though.”

“She has a twin. Her younger sibling plays in the UHC B-grade League, so the one you probably saw was Han Sehui.”

Her younger sibling, Han Sehui, was ranked 8th in the B-grade League. Both of the twins had terrific talents.

“No... That’s not what I meant.”

“? ”

“Forget it. I can’t explain it.”

Choi Yeonseung couldn’t figure it out. He seriously thought he had seen her somewhere before...

At that moment, a Chinese hunter started chatting with his colleagues.

“Choi Yeonseung is attracting attention as a martial artist, but he’s honestly just doing noise marketing with the video. China is the root of martial arts. At this age, he should just retire. Does it make sense for him to keep working as a hunter after returning from the Abyss?”

‘I’ll have to beat that person up later.”

He was far away, but Choi Yeonseung clearly heard the Chinese hunter’s remarks. However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t even get the chance to act.

Han Seha had punched him.

Bam!

“Kek! Kek!”

“Who do you think you’re mocking, you bastard? Do you want to be ■ing?beaten?”

“H-Hey! Hunter Han Seha. Calm down!”

Flustered, Jeong Wonuk tried to stop it, but Han Seha ignored him and just kept throwing punches.

“Who do you think you are to mock Hunter Choi Yeonseung, huh?! You better watch yourself at night, bastard! If a magic spear flies from behind and pierces your heart, know that I was the one who shot you! No! Why don’t I just finish you now!”

“......”

Cocking her head, Illeya asked, “Do you know that woman?”

“I don’t. I’m honestly also a bit puzzled.”

“That’s probably because you are both Korean. As expected of an A-grade.” Antony nodded in admiration.

“... Is that really it?”

“Her hot-blooded personality is probably the effect of her contract with the constellation ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation.’”

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ gossips that it doesn’t seem like a good constellation.]

-Is it because it’s a dog?

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ grows silent.]

Han Seha turned the Chinese hunter into porridge, but no one said anything—not even the colleagues who came with him.

The strong would always be right. Such was the majesty of an A-grade hunter’s pride! To top it all off, considering her personality, Han Seha would likely attack them as well if they spoke up…

To change the atmosphere, Jeong Wonuk coughed and said, “Today is such a fine day. It makes me happy to see hunters from different countries gathered here.”

Jeong Wonuk then pointed out the window, bringing everyone’s attention to the beautiful view of Hallasan.

“The name of that mountain is Hallasan.”

“... N-No. Don’t tell me…” someone forebodingly stuttered.