Chapter 48: Chapter 48

“Oh... You’re confident. I look forward to sparring with you.”

Elisabeth grinned.

Among the new hunters who joined the Icarus clan, some lacked confidence. After all, this clan was filled with aces of other clans. Hence, there were only two possible endings for them: get recognition for the skills they'd show or be terribly broken and forced to run away in embarrassment!

“How do we spar? Do we just fight each other for real?”

“What are you saying? Of course, we do it within the Otherworld spell.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why don’t you tell me more about martial arts? I’m really curious. How did you learn martial arts?”

“Hmm... I’ve returned after thirty years of wandering in the Abyss.”

“... You can’t be serious.”

“Why would I joke about this?”

“You’re an Abyss returnee? So that is why you learned martial arts...”

“......”

Don’t be convinced so easily!

“I’m curious. I thought it was difficult to use martial arts in real life, but is it really possible?”

“Are you interested?”

“I am. I tend to learn anything I can use.”

Elisabeth took a stance and threw a fierce punch that tore through the air.

“Boxing?”

“I’ve learned everything I’d need in a fight, including boxing, jiujitsu, wrestling, and Muay Thai, since people like me find monsters getting close uncomfortable.”

It didn’t make sense for a melee hunter to be uncomfortable with close-quarters combat, but it wasn’t wrong. Her attacks were slow and heavy. Hence, she’d be in deep trouble if a small and swift monster could get close to her and dig into her defenses.

“It must be effective against people as well as monsters.”

“Uh. Don’t you know me?”

“?”

“I’m the powerful 19th placer in the UHC B-grade League. ”

‘Should a 19th placer really be called powerful?’?Choi Yeonseung thought. In truth, that rank was already great.

There were hunters who didn’t participate in the UHC, so a simple comparison couldn’t be done. Still…

She was known as the country’s 19th-strongest B-grade hunter! Elisabeth Gutierrez was popular due to her hot fighting style. The gaps in her style were big, but she showed an intense game. Not only was she ranked 19th in the UHC, she was also one of the ten most popular hunters!

“Alright, why don’t we give it a try?”

“What?”

“A sparring match. I want to see for myself what’s so good about martial arts. Follow me.”

Elisabeth grabbed Choi Yeonseung’s hand and went outside. The Otherworld was in a different training ground.

***

When they got to the training ground, someone was already in it. The hunter, who had been excitedly unleashing magic, stepped out of the Otherworld. His eyes widened.

“Hmm? I’ve never seen him before.”

“He’s new. A martial artist. Amazing, right?”

Antony smiled at Choi Yeonseung. “Welcome. I’m Antony. I’m sure you’ve heard of me!”

“... ? ”

What was with this crazy guy?

“I haven’t.”

“W-What?”

Startled, Antony’s eyes filled up with surprise.

“You don’t? I cleared the Akarasha’s Settlement dungeon, set a new record for the number of Night Gate subjugations, and I’m the quickest hunter to reach B-grade...”

“Hey. He’s an Abyss returnee. Whatever you say will just confuse him more.”

Elisabeth’s words made Antony stop.

From the Abyss? If so, then it was understandable why this person didn’t know him!

“Aha. It can’t be helped, then. I’ll introduce myself, so listen carefully.”

“No, you don’t have to...”

Antony continued, ignoring Choi Yeonseung’s refusal.

“I am Antony Schneider, this clan’s ace of aces.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re new, so the clan’s rules probably confuse you. However, they’re honestly very simple. Just trust and follow me, and all problems will be solved.”

“......”

“Understood?”

Antony genuinely seemed to think he gave a great explanation. He left looking satisfied.

“What was that? Is he crazy?” Choi Yeonseung asked, appearing to find it absurd.

“That’s just how he is. It’s better not to get involved with him unless you absolutely have to.”

Antony Schneider was definitely a great hunter. Even among the scouted ace hunters, his performance was outstanding. He had unquestionable talent as well, considering his achievements. However, his personality sucked! For Antony, raids were just a means to show off his power, forcing the other hunters to move on their own. Hunters who had already worked with him would be fine, but newcomers would find it hard to deal with him.

“Teams are meant to move together. But if Antony's a part of it, you better be extra careful”

“Why? Does he commit?friendly fire?”

“Not exactly... No. Can it be considered friendly fire? Just know that he’ll never help you. He only cares about himself.”

Without cooperation, a team would suffer from many disadvantages. However, that only applied to the average person. Choi Yeonseung didn’t care if he received help or not. He was confident he could win all by himself!

“Alright. Let’s fight against each other!”

Elisabeth quickly forgot what had just happened and entered the Otherworld.

‘Doing this a few times has allowed me to adapt.’

Choi Yeonseung was at the peak-class stage. Considering the amount of internal energy he could use here, the Otherworld's limit was barely above first-class. Nevertheless, he was confident he could deal with A-grade hunters, let alone a B-grade.

“Have you entered?”

“I’m in. Shall we start?”

“Yes. You probably have a lot of questions about martial arts.”

“I’m definitely curious about it!”

“If I could teach you one thing... It’s that you shouldn’t stick close to martial artists.”

Without changing stances, Choi Yeonseung executed the Origin of the Celestial Kick, a powerful kicking technique in which one of his feet would secure its footing on the ground while the other seemingly struck space. Realizing she had lost the initiative, Elisabeth hurriedly took out and swung her weapon.

“Aaack!”

Elisabeth screamed as she was flung away. She had blocked the strike, but the shock had pierced through her, causing her to tremble and her vision to flicker. Magic power protected an awakened person to some extent, yet it still managed to shake her insides.

‘This is martial arts!’

‘Pretty good.’

Choi Yeonseung admired Elisabeth as she flew away. Despite losing the initiative and being hit, Elisabeth responded quite sharply. She pulled her weapon out and quickly imbued it and herself with spells. At the same time, she launched herself off the ground and flew backward to absorb the shock.

Elisabeth seemed quite experienced.

“Ugh… This feels similar to when I was kicked by a wyvern.”

“Are you okay? Shall we stop?”

“Nonsense. Aren’t I completely okay?”

Elisabeth spoke like an old man and brandished her broad greatsword. Her weapon had been imbued with three spells: the ‘Akan’s Reinforced Blade,’ ‘Sword of Shock,’ and ‘Riholek’s Reflective Barrier.’?Thanks to ‘Advanced Magic Casting Speed Enhancement,’ her A-grade passive skill, she managed to prepare those three spells just before she was hit. She could cast quick spells even faster!

Elisabeth then immediately unleashed ‘Enhanced Reflexes Speed,’ ‘Battle Protection,’ and ‘Shock Amplification’!

“In the past, people would never get closer to their enemy if they were up against martial artistsI.”

“What does that mean?”

.

“Martial artists have a distance.”

Choi Yeonseung drew?a circle around him on the ground.

“Within this circle, we’re guaranteed to strike first.”

“Are you really that quick?”

“It doesn’t matter how fast you use magic. You’ll always be slower than a martial artist.”

“What if I don’t use magic and just smash them with magic power?”

Elisabeth said while taking a martial arts stance.

“That’s not a bad idea, but it won’t be better than martial arts.”

Honestly, in Choi Yeonseung’s eyes, close-ranged magic had... many errors. Though made for close-quarters combat, they were linked to each other. To be able to fight properly with them, magicians would have to keep a flow going from beginning to end. Otherwise, they’d be full of openings. While that didn’t seem like a big deal in lower levels, the more skilled the enemy, the more they aimed for that gap.

“I won’t know unless I try it!”

Elisabeth recovered her strength as she spoke, then kicked against the ground to launch herself forward. Having cast a speed-related spell on herself, her charging speed was no joke. As she rushed toward him, she dragged her weapon across the ground.

Their clash caused a loud noise.

‘An upward strike?’

Rather than from the top, her attack began from the ground. The reason soon became apparent.

-Earth Magic Absorption and Earth Magic Explosion!

Those spells absorbed and caused magic power to explode! With a loud boom, the greatsword violently surged up from the ground. This attack seemed capable of cutting him in two.

‘One, two, three.’

However, Choi Yeonseung, who had dealt with all sorts of attacks in the Abyss, wasn’t surprised. It was fast, but it was predictable since its trajectory never changed. For as long as one had quick reaction speed and remained calm, it could be countered.

‘Now.’

Choi Yeonseung’s Origin of the Celestial Kick hit the side of the flying greatsword. Due to the Covert Attack Reversal skill, the weapon then rose straight up. Elisabeth spun around, but instead of stopping, she tried to continue her offensive. The power within the greatsword didn’t disappear that easily! However, she had shown too many openings. Choi Yeonseung couldn’t just let this pass.

‘Magicians have too many gaps between their spells, even in melee combat.’

It likely wouldn’t matter that much if they were up against stupid monsters, but no martial artist would let go of food as mouthwatering as this. That was why?magicians went through various combat training and prepared for melee battles. Nevertheless...

That wasn’t enough to stop a martial artist. By the time Elisabeth tried to make an ‘oops’ sound, Choi Yeonseung had already dug into her defenses. He was so close to her that she could no longer use her long weapon properly!

Elisabeth gritted her teeth, let go of the greatsword, and grabbed Choi Yeonseung to fight back.

“Gasp!” She was prepared to get hit in the torso, but she didn’t expect this much power! Elisabeth protected herself with magic, but the hit still made her buckle. Her opponent didn’t even do anything that powerful. He just threw a light jab...

“What I did was hit your insides with pure strength. It's different from being hit by magically enhanced muscles.”

“Ah... I’m not done yet...”

Elisabeth grabbed Choi Yeonseung by the neck and tried to kick him.

“You have amazing willpower, but?that alone isn't enough. I can just keep hitting your vital points.”

“Cough!”

He delivered one more blow. It was a light hit, but it contained the Internal Heavy Strike Technique’s essence of striking the opponent’s insides with internal energy. In addition, he aimed for the blood circulation, so the energy and blood in the body had to shake when hit.

“How is it? What do you think of martial arts?” Choi Yeonseung asked with anticipation. He’d gladly teach her martial arts if she became interested in it. And once they had become closer, he would take that opportunity to attract her into his household!

‘... This somehow feels like an?MLM?(multi-level marketing).’

It was for the planet’s sake, so why did he feel so guilty?

“One... One...”

“One?”

“One more time...!”

“Alright, then...”

They sparred again. The result was the same. Elisabeth had the worst compatibility with Choi Yeonseung in the first place. It was easy to mistake their combat style as similar since they were both melee-oriented, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Elisabeth was like a cannon that dealt big blows. It was too easy for Choi Yeonseung to aim for her openings.

“Kuaaack!”

“Is it okay now?”

“One... One...”

“... Again?”

“One more time...!”

“... Okay.”

She fought unarmed this time, seemingly aware that she couldn’t deliver any skills with her greatsword. She planned to narrow the distance and deliver a low kick. If she found an opening, she’d strike at it!

… Of course, that worked even less on Choi Yeonseung. The difference in their experiences was too big. After all, he had been fighting for over 10,000 years!

Choi Yeonseung broke through the speed of sound, caught the flying low kick, spun once, and knocked Elisabeth off balance. He then used Origin of the Celestial Step and struck down at her.

“... O-One more time...!”

“Are you going to keep fighting until you win?”

“... H-How did you know?” Did you use mind-reading magic?”

“... Not really. In any case, Gutierrez. You're a great fighter.”

“What do you mean?”

“I like this type of persistence.”

He liked training that followed the idea of doing it as many times as possible!

Elisabeth flinched when she saw Choi Yeonseung’s burning eyes.

'… S-Should I stop?' she thought.