Ch.9797. Battle for Supremacy

“Are you seriously bringing me a few man-eating fish and asking me to grade them?”

At Hatan’s cold words, the student who had been laying out the captured magical beasts in the boat turned pale.

Man-eating fish ranked fairly high among the magical beasts that could be caught in the nearby sea right now.

Yet this was his reaction.

“It’s the Hunter’s Night. The Hunter’s Night. The time when all sorts of magical beasts emerge from everywhere. When I was your age, I could take down this many with my bare hands. Understand?”

“…”

What an insane old-timer.

That expression appeared on all the students’ faces, but unfortunately, Hatan was someone with the skills to justify such old-timer behavior.

It wasn’t for nothing that he was the only hunter in history to successfully hunt a large magical beast alone.

‘…They’re all below standard.’

Hatan clicked his tongue once as he brushed back his hair, which was starting to droop from the rain.

During the Hunter’s Night period, he thought there would be at least a few who would bring satisfactory results. But this…

‘…Is there really no one worth expecting anything from?’

He wasn’t even expecting someone to hunt large magical beasts like he had done.

But they should at least meet a minimum threshold.

“Chi-Chief. Chief Hatan!”

To make matters worse, even this kind of person was showing up.

Hatan barely suppressed the vein throbbing in his forehead as he turned toward the voice calling him.

Krun Ger-Do.

The son of Belua Ger-Do, who always showed an arrogant attitude at the tribal council meetings and grated on Hatan’s nerves.

“…Here, I would be the Dean, wouldn’t I?”

His fierce demeanor, so intimidating it hardly seemed like he was addressing a student, was certainly influenced by that background.

Indeed, Krun, who had been approaching with a swagger, froze momentarily at the sight of that expression.

‘Pathetic fellow.’

Swallowing those words, Hatan spoke with an irritated voice.

“What is it, Krun? If it’s something trivial, get lost quickly.”

“So-Someone assaulted me, the next chief.”

Hatan ran his fingers through his hair.

An unbearable migraine was coming on.

“So. What do you want me to do about it?”

“…What did you say?”

Krun flinched and took a step back after responding.

Killing intent was pouring from Hatan’s eyes.

“Listen, future chief of the Blue Boar Tribe.”

He continued in a growling voice.

“If you got beaten up, think about revenge yourself. Use those drugs or criminal organizations your tribe is so proud of and solve it yourself. Don’t come begging to me.”

“…”

Seeing Krun’s face turning dark beyond pale, Hatan snorted and turned away from him.

Considering this guy’s usual behavior, it was obvious what had happened.

He probably picked a fight with the Garda clan, unable to break his old habits.

He didn’t expect to get thoroughly beaten and chased away by them when they had no support base, but anyway, he wanted no part in it.

His job was to encourage the dirty, petty fighting among students. Some definitely grew through such conflicts.

‘…Was that guy involved with them?’

He slightly frowned and traced back his memories.

Darwood Campbell. A particularly noticeable guy among the Empire people whom he mostly disregarded.

‘He’s going to have a hard time.’

Krun was second to none when it came to playing dirty.

If they got entangled like that, he would likely suffer from the other’s petty tactics during the Hunter’s Night period.

But, well.

He didn’t seem like someone who couldn’t handle that much.

“The last boat is returning!”

“The last one? Who’s on board?”

“Riru Garda, Talion Armand, and Darwood Campbell!”

Speak of the devil.

Hatan turned toward them with a wry smile.

His expression soon became slightly furrowed.

‘Why is the atmosphere like that?’

Darwood, sweating profusely with a slightly pale face. Riru Garda with a deeply furrowed brow, and Talion Armand holding the wheel with a blank expression as if he’d had some strange experience.

“…Go back and tell the High Priest.”

He said with a sigh to the assistant standing beside him.

If Hatan’s guess was correct, Riru Garda would certainly be hoping for the “right of appeal” to meet the Grand Chief, but…

“There’s no one worthy of seeing the Grand Chief directly this time.”

That side would probably be pleased.

They were always trying hard to prevent the Grand Chief from contacting others.

From Hatan’s perspective, who was almost certain that Tatiana had done something to Grand Chief Allan’s head, it was a laughable maneuver.

‘…The more they meet others, the more everyone will realize the Grand Chief isn’t normal.’

So, they would certainly try to eliminate the traditional opportunity to meet him during this Hunter’s Night event unless someone achieved something truly significant.

Given the atmosphere of these returning guys, it was unlikely they had brought anything special.

“Hey. What do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“About the magical beasts. How much do you think they need to catch for approval from that side?”

“…Unless they catch a medium-sized magical beast alone like you did, Chief, they’ll probably be rejected for lack of merit.”

At the assistant’s answer, Hatan snorted.

That was certainly a record he set as a student. One that had never been broken.

“Well. Considering their attitude, even if someone caught a large one, they’d barely listen to what they have to say.”

“…Surely not. No student has successfully hunted a medium-sized magical beast since you, Dean.”

That had been the case for decades.

So, those guys probably wouldn’t have even a glimmer of chance.

That’s what he thought until he heard Darwood Campbell’s gloomy report.

“…What did you catch?”

Hatan asked blankly, not even thinking to wipe away the water flowing down his face.

The assistant beside him had his mouth wide open, unable to even think of closing it.

Well, given the magical beast this guy claimed to have hunted…

“A water dragon.”

“…”

Why on earth was he reporting this with such a gloomy expression?

That wasn’t even the issue.

Hatan looked back and forth between the massive piece of magical beast body that was tilting the entire boat to one side, and Darwood who spoke with that depressed expression.

“A water dragon?”

“Yes.”

“The, dragon race?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not the dragon race. You know that, Chief.”

I do know.

But I also know that even if it’s not the dragon race, this is something that no student could ever catch.

Even if it were Hatan himself, it would clearly be a life-risking hunt.

“…You killed it.”

“I couldn’t kill it.”

“What?”

“It ran away. So I just cut off one of its arms.”

“…”

That’s even stranger.

Magical beasts feel anger more strongly than fear. That’s their structure.

If he made such a beast flee, it means he must have unleashed an “overwhelming force” instantaneously enough to suppress that anger.

Against a mighty water dragon that even Hatan himself couldn’t wound.

“…”

“…”

While everyone around stood with their mouths agape in disbelief, Hatan cautiously approached the tarp-covered piece of the magical beast.

When he pulled it off, something immediately caught his eye.

Undoubtedly a massive “foreleg” that must have belonged to a magical beast large enough to be called a water dragon.

In a way that was beyond comprehension,

And the scales, a characteristic of the dragon race, imbued with magical power.

“…”

Hatan silently ran his hand over the scales.

It was genuine.

Without a doubt, these were dragon scales.

“…Hey.”

Hatan spoke in a stiff voice to his assistant who stood beside him with his mouth wide open.

“Go tell the High Priest.”

However, his face bore a smile mixed with an emotional torrent that even he, as a hunter, couldn’t hide.

Exhilaration.

“…Since the establishment of the Crucible of Struggle, this is the first time.”

Pure respect felt when witnessing those who have achieved an impossible, extraordinary feat.

“For the first time, we have students who have succeeded in ‘dragon hunting’.”

A silence mixed with astonishment spread around them.

●

< System Message >

[ You have achieved outstanding results in Phase 1 of the Hunter’s Night! ]

[ As a reward, you receive a ‘Hall of Flames’ one-time use pass! ]

[ You have fulfilled 35% of the conditions for the ‘Great Duel’ event! ]

“…Hmm.”

I stare at the system window that appeared before me while turning over in my hand the card I received from Hatan.

I got it right after he saw the water dragon’s foreleg.

He said it was a reward he was giving personally, separate from the right to appeal to the Grand Chief.

Judging by his hearty laughter as he said he hadn’t seen such excellent resources in recent years, he seemed genuinely pleased.

“…”

To be honest, I don’t feel much excitement compared to his reaction.

It’s just a free handout from picking up what Yuria tore off while chasing me to kill me.

The Hall of Flames refers to the forge inside the Crucible of Struggle.

I was actually aiming for it. There’s special equipment that can only be made there.

‘Finally I can use it.’

I’ve collected a lot of materials.

Ectoplasm left over from making the Soul Linker, star iron remaining after making a circlet for Yuria, adaptive leather from magical beasts I collected during the break, and even mid-grade relics.

To beat Allan and Tatiana to death, simply increasing specs won’t be enough.

Tatiana controls all sorts of magical beasts in the sea, but the Grand Chief Allan, whom they summon as a hidden card, is also a problem.

His original ability is at a level that can go toe-to-toe with the Count of Kendrid’s borderlands, and unless you bring the prime version of Kasa directly, there’s probably no one who can confidently guarantee victory.

And they wouldn’t just send out someone of that caliber without preparation.

They’ll likely equip him with various relics to boost his combat power, which means I need to craft items to counter that.

Unless I make something that’s practically the ultimate weapon for ‘bare-handed combat’.

“Excuse me, Riru.”

That’s why this person’s role becomes important.

That equipment, we’re going to share it between this person and me.

So please.

“I’m going to the Hall of Flames now. Would you like to come with me?”

Please don’t cause trouble when I’m not around…!

Thinking that, I spoke those words, and Riru mumbled while avoiding my gaze.

“…No.”

Considering this person’s usual confident and forthright manner of speaking, this demeanor doesn’t suit them at all.

As if they’re embarrassed just looking at me.

“Go-Go ahead. I have something else to do.”

“…”

So what is that something?

They keep refusing to show or tell me when I’m around.

But.

< Gift-Related Person Alert >

▼ Riru Garda

[ Interest Level 3 ]

[ 1.5H until related event occurs ]

This doesn’t seem to be going away.

“Wh-What are you doing? Hurry up and go!”

They’re even more aggressively trying to send me away now.

As if they have something they absolutely must do without me around.

“…Alright then.”

Then I have my ways too.

Seeing Riru’s expression brighten at my words, I mutter inwardly.

“Calivan.”

After confirming I’m at a sufficient distance from Riru, I speak to the Soul Linker.

[Hmm?]

“I think we need to follow them, don’t you?”

[…]

“That’s the most reasonable approach, isn’t it?”

[…I think this guy’s brain is getting more twisted by the day?]

“…”

I wish you’d tell me I’m just adapting to survive.

●

“-So now my relationship with Darwood is quite amicable. I could say it’s thanks to your advice.”

“…That’s good to hear.”

Veil responded while sweating profusely.

It was a natural reaction, given that Elnore was currently kneading what looked like a 5kg steel ingot with just a few fingers as she spoke.

These days she was doing such crazy things to build grip strength, claiming that moderate exercise barely registered for her anymore.

The increasingly bizarre feats of superhuman strength this woman displayed during their regular “check-ins” were getting more extreme, but this seemed excessive even by those standards.

“If he’s willing to do something that intense for me… I suppose I could overlook him hanging around with another woman for a bit.”

Elnore was aware that Riru Garda and Darwood had been spending time together.

But he was a man who had done… “that” with her not long ago. Unless he was an unfathomable scoundrel and trash of a human being, how could he seriously be going around with someone else after doing that?

As Elnore slightly blushed and touched her lips, Veil swallowed dryly and spoke.

“And the ‘usurpation’ operation of the Vagabond that you requested is almost complete.”

“That’s good.”

Elnore replied while rounding the ingot into a ball-like shape.

“It will make a nice wedding gift for Darwood.”

“…Are you really serious? Using an organization of this scale just for such a purpose?”

“Why.”

Elnore turned her head toward him with a slight smile.

She applied a bit of force to her hand, and with a crack, the steel ingot tore like paper.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“…”

How could he?

As Veil kept his mouth shut, Elnore suddenly frowned and stood up.

She sensed someone’s presence outside her private room.

“…A visitor. I’ll contact you again later.”

With those words, Elnore ended the video call.

When she opened the door leading to the corridor outside, there was someone unexpected.

“…Riru Garda?”

Elnore tilted her head in surprise.

She couldn’t think of any reason why this person would suddenly come looking for her.

“Hey.”

Riru sighed and said.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“…About what?”

“Grandma used to say that people grow strongest fastest when they’re fighting to survive or when they’re struggling for something they want to achieve.”

“…?”

What on earth is this woman talking about?

As Elnore blinked with that emotion, Riru cracked her knuckles and continued.

“And, in my opinion, through you, there’s a way I can satisfy both of those conditions.”

“What are you talking—”

“So.”

Riru cracked her neck and said.

“Let’s fight.”

“…What?”

With such a matter-of-fact expression.

As if there were no other options.

“Let’s try to kill each other. Over that guy Darwood.”

Killing intent rapidly filled Elnore’s face.

●