Chapter 49: Chapter 49

“Good. Stick closer!”

“You should?do it this way.”

Choi Yeonseung beat up Elisabeth over and over again until?she gave up.

-Wake up! Aren’t you going to do it again?

-You did well! Let’s do it one more time!

‘Why is he like this?’

Elisabeth had never met anyone more persistent than she was. No matter the type of training, nobody could normally last longer than Elisabeth. The same was true for this type of confrontation. Hence, it didn’t come as a surprise that the other Icarus clan hunters were reluctant to fight her.

-We are here to kill monsters, not fight people, Gutierrez.

-I dislike your tendency to fight until you win.

-Being hit by your greatsword is way too scary. I hate it.

However, Choi Yeonseung was different. This man was crazy about training!

“Come on, get up! Again!”

“N... No. Can we stop?”

“What are you talking about, Gutierrez? Stand up! One set—no, you have to do one more session!”

“We have training tomorrow! I’m going to go and rest!”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Have you become a bit interested in martial arts, at least?”

Choi Yeonseung asked with anticipation. If she took an interest in martial arts, he could draw her into martial arts. Instead of asking, ‘Do you know the?dao?’, he could ask, ‘Have you heard of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training?’

“I know you're strong, but if martial arts is this powerful, where are the other martial artists? Shouldn't there be many like you?”

“... That’s because it takes too long to become strong, and you won’t be able to do anything if you’re weaker than your opponent.”

“... I-I’m sorry I asked.”

Magicians could become stronger just by learning new magic, while martial artists had to keep?practicing one martial art. In addition, there was little they could do if they were weaker than their opponent whereas magic could create a variety of variables...

“But once you've established your martial arts, it'll constantly get stronger. It's a type of skill that's initially weak but becomes extremely powerful upon development.”

“I-I get it, so stop...”

For some reason, listening to him made her heart ache!

“Would you like to learn martial arts?”

“No,” Elisabeth immediately responded. “I’ll break your martial arts with my own strength. I’ll come back after some more practice! Just wait.”

“... Learn martial arts to get rid of your weaknesses...”

“I don’t want to. This is a matter of pride.”

“What pride?”

“The pride of not learning from the opponent! From now on, you’re my enemy.”

She’d treat him like an enemy until she?won!

At Elisabeth’s words, Choi Yeonseung felt like he chose the wrong person. Didn’t she seem a bit strange?

“Of course, this doesn’t mean I will ignore you completely., I will greet you if I see you passing by, but I won’t help you. Understood?”

“I don’t...”

“I’m going!”

“......”

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says you should’ve been more considerate of your opponent.]

‘No, I can’t force myself to lose...’

Was finding a household member supposed to be this hard?

***

The next day, the Icarus clan had training. They were training to build a team! Choi Yeonseung and Odaigon had nothing to do, so they came to the training ground early and waited there. As time passed, the others arrived one by one.

‘Their personality is no joke.’

Perhaps it was because they were all hunters, but their personalities were insane. Some of them didn’t even want to?treat others as human!

“I see everyone arrived on time.”

Ernest, a hunter who looked like a soldier, soon arrived and stood in front of them. Even the hunters who were sitting comfortably in their respective positions corrected their postures when Ernest came out. That alone showed his charisma. One had to be a lion to lead a pack of wolves.

Just then, a sports car stopped in the distance. A hunter rushed out of it. “I’m sorry, I’m late.”

“You don’t have to apologize”

“?”

“Get lost. The Icarus clan doesn’t need someone like you.”

“......”

The hunter looked puzzled. “No. I’m just a bit late.”

“Raids have to be executed on time. Are you going to make that excuse when raiding a dungeon as well? Are you going to say that after your mistake has caused irreparable damage? Would that bring the dead hunters back to life and destroy the monsters?”

“......”

“I certainly said everyone arrived on time. You’re not one of them. Get lost.”

“D-Don't you know who I am? Your chairman himself scouted me and brought me in...”

Seemingly outraged by the treatment, the hunter tried to raise his voice.

“Hey. Get lost.”

“A bastard like you is a dime in a dozen here.”

“You can't even join the 1st team...”

The other hunters booed loudly. It had been a month since this guy joined the clan, but he was still a kid who couldn’t grasp the atmosphere—a kid who trusted only his own skills! No hunter wanted to team up with such a guy.

“......!!!”

The late hunter shuddered and was forced to step back.

“I see a few new faces. I hope you become good hunters. I say this all the time, but it will be more meaningful since there are newcomers. What do you think is the greatest weapon of a hunter against monsters?” Ernest asked Choi Yeonseung.

He replied without much thought.

“Self-confidence?”

The strength to firmly believe in oneself. He couldn’t do anything without it. The reason Choi Yeonseung could spend so many years in the Abyss was that he believed in himself.

I can be stronger.

What I am doing now isn’t in vain!

At Choi Yeonseung’s answer, the other hunters burst out laughing. His answer was wrong.

“That’s correct.”

“? ?! ”

“No, what? This is different from last time!”

“If you believe so, then that is the answer. That hunter seriously believes it.”

“What... ”

“Is Mr. Ernest sober?”

Ernest looked away and asked?Odaigon?the same question. Odaigon quickly put away Gold Run, which he was playing.

“What do you think?”

“A strong person who can help me!”

“You aren’t wrong, but I want a better answer. You?”

Ernest asked Richard this time. Spotting Richard, Choi Yeonseung waved at him. Of course, Richard couldn’t afford to respond.

“... I think it’s teamwork.”

Ernest smiled, which made Richard feel relieved. After all, Ernest didn’t seem the type to smile.

“You got that right. A hunter’s weapon against monsters isn’t magic or items. The greatest weapon is unity! Would an S-grade hunter enter a dungeon alone?”

“No!”

“Regardless of whether they have awakened or have a high rank, humans are fundamentally weaker than monsters. Fight together! Attack in groups.”

Hunters who had been in the clan for a long time yawned. They had heard this so many times that they had it memorized by now.

“We don’t know what will happen in a dungeon. That’s why a hunter has to be prepared for every situation.”

‘How can I prepare for a situation when I’ve been wandering in the Abyss for over 10,000 years?’

As Choi Yeonseung thought of something senseless, Ernest pulled out a die and rolled it.

“Number 2 came out. Pair up.”

“? ?”

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback. No, this human?

‘What about the people who don’t have friends?’

Choi Yeonseung wasn’t a particularly sociable person. He got along well with the members of his previous clan simply because they had known each other for a long time...

‘Fortunately, Odaigon?is here!’

Of course, Ernest wasn’t such a ruthless hunter that he didn’t care about those without friends. In fact, close friends would naturally stick together if left alone. He couldn’t let this happen. How could one know which hunter they would enter a dungeon with?

The ball that Ernest threw out shot out strings of light and started to tie them in groups of two at random. The one tied with Choi Yeonseung... was Antony.

“......”

“......”

Choi Yeonseung looked very disgusted, but Antony appeared confident.

“Are you nervous? You don’t have to worry. I will take care of everything. Let me show you my brilliant magic.”

“I’m really looking forward to it...”

Choi Yeonseung answered nonchalantly. Antony was very strange, but...

Choi Yeonseung first had to see how this training worked and adapt to his surroundings.

‘... Do I have to fight these guys?’

Choi Yeonseung was a constellation. Did he really have to deal with such strange hunters?

“Huhu. You seem to understand. Very good.”

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says that the other person is a bit amazing. It asks if all humans are this optimistic.]

‘No. He’s a bit of a lunatic.’

The hunters could cut the string of light with magic, but that wouldn’t be training anymore. They were training to respond to various situations while tied to each other!

-Advanced Illusion Secret Arts.

The moment Ernest used magic, the space suddenly started to shake tremendously.

Illusion-type magic!

This 6th circle illusion magic made anything that could be imagined possible. Fierce-looking wyverns appeared behind Ernest. He could feel the hunters inadvertently becoming nervous. They had confirmed again and again that it was fake, but there was enough intensity in these illusions that the hunters couldn’t just ignore them. This illusion magic could completely deceive one’s five senses! Proper illusion magic did far worse damage than half-hearted attack magic.

There were only two people here who weren’t nervous. Odaigon?saw through the illusion since he was a better magician than Ernest. Be it an illusion or the real thing, seeing wyverns didn’t even make Choi Yeonseung blink.

“......!”

The sight surprised Ernest.

‘As expected... The chairman didn’t just thoughtlessly recommend him.’

Courage was one of a hunter’s important qualities. Ernest continued to the next task.

“Avoid it.”

“!!”

"Run!”

The wyverns cocked their heads and made a loud noise. The hunters who had dealt with wyverns before knew what that meant. This unique posture and sound… were signs that the wyverns were preparing to unleash a Breath!

“Raise a shield!”

Get ready!”

“Are you serious?! We don’t have time for that! Dodge!”

A hunter tied to someone with shield magic urged him to create a shield, but it wasn’t something that could be cast that quickly. Dodging was better!

“We can’t! We don’t know how far the Breath’s range is! Use the shield! I’ll cast secondary magic.”

However, the more sudden the situation, the more disagreements there were.

Ernest nodded. An instructor hunter standing beside and assisting him said, “There are still some who don’t get along.”

“That’s because they blank out when something unexpected happens. They’ll become more proficient once they’ve gone through this a few times.”

The hunters who had matched with each other a few times already had skillful responses. In contrast, those who were tied together for the first time were flustered. If they thought about it calmly, a wyvern’s Breath wasn’t that difficult to deal with. It was a powerful monster that was treated as between C+ to B-, while the hunters here were also B-grade or higher.

Its Breath required long and obvious preparations, so they could easily avoid it.

‘Hunters shouldn’t just be used to winning. They should be used to losing.’

That way, they could escape with their lives if they ever found themselves in an emergency.

***

‘Even if the range of the wyvern Breath is wide, my magic is enough to dodge it.’

Antony quickly made a decision. What was the most perfect and coolest choice in this situation?

-Hashansha’s Acceleration!

The 3rd-circle magic, Hashansha’s Acceleration made the user quickly rush in a straight line. In the current situation, it was a great way to escape. Since the man next to him was tied to him, the man was bound to follow along even if he fell.

‘This jerk?’

Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. Looking at the magic, it seemed like Antony was planning to drag him...

Could he roll on the ground?