Chapter 104: Special Instructor (2)

Someone raised their hand and shouted towards the girl.

“Instructor, is Silver Tiger the one I’m thinking of?!”

“Y-yes, yep. Probably…”

‘Probably,’ she says.

She really lacks confidence.

Yoo Jinhyuk found it hard to believe the girl’s words.

If it was the Silver Tiger, it was a monster that even all the students here couldn’t defeat if they teamed up.

It was also famous for never obeying humans.

Yoo Jinhyuk wondered if the girl was lying, but decided to believe her for now.

Since she had Jinhyang as an acquaintance, she wouldn’t do something so foolish.

**

The training ground in front of the building.

A mock battle using Silver was held.

The students win if they land a valid hit on Silver.

It was a mock battle with such simple rules.

Of course, I didn’t know if the rules were fair.

Everything was done under Jinhyang’s initiative.

I was worried that Silver might get hurt or lose, but it didn’t take long to realize that it was a pointless worry.

Silver was more powerful than I thought.

Thwack!

When Silver swung its front paw, the students rolled across the floor like fallen leaves.

Some were sent flying after being hit by its tail, which was swung like a whip.

If it weren’t for the safety gear that had been prepared in advance, the force would have been enough to break ribs.

“Wow.”

I felt sorry for the students who were getting hit and flying away, but Silver’s power was amazing.

I even unconsciously tried to imitate Silver’s movements.

Swish, swish!

I swung my claws and tail, matching Silver’s movements.

I also ran around on all fours.

If I grow, I’ll become like Silver, so there was no harm in learning the movements in advance.

Swish, swish!

As I was swinging my claws for a while like that, one of the students waiting pointed at me and said.

“Look over there, it looks like the instructor is directly controlling the Silver Tiger…?”

“Yeah. They’re moving almost simultaneously. Aren’t they connected to each other?”

It seemed the students thought I was moving to control Silver.

The reality was that I was imitating Silver’s movements.

Well, it wasn’t a bad misunderstanding at all, so I decided to leave it alone for now.

They would see me as a very powerful and scary being.

“But, isn’t our instructor kind of cute?”

“Yeah. Like a cat doing tricks. I want to pat her head.”

‘Cu-cute?’

Me, the apex predator who handles the Silver Tiger?

They didn’t deserve to be called hunters with such a lack of observation skills.

‘Hmph.’

The last two.

I remembered their faces.

I’ll have to ask Silver to drool all over them later.

I glared at them for a long time, then turned my head back towards Silver.

‘The roof?’

Silver was already on the roof of the building.

How did it get to the top of a building that was dozens of meters high?

I stared at Silver with surprised eyes.

“Krooooar!”

Silver, looking up at the sky, roared loudly and jumped down to the training ground.

Thwack!

“Agh!”

“Ugh!”

When Silver’s large body collided with the ground, a shockwave erupted.

The training ground vibrated, and most of the students were sprawled on the floor.

‘Oh my god.’

It was so terrible that it seemed like a one-sided bullying disguised as a mock battle.

To me, who knew nothing about hunters, it just looked like they were having a really meaningless fight.

‘Is this even helpful?’

I was anxious and wanted to ask Jinhyang, but she was managing the sparring.

She had to prepare for any possible emergencies.

For now, I had no choice but to watch Silver’s sparring.

As I sat on a chair and watched Silver’s fight, I was able to spot something strange.

There were a lot of people gathered around.

‘What is it?’

Cameras and strange equipment that I had never seen before were aimed at Silver.

There were also a lot of people who seemed to be spectators around.

It’s complicated and confusing.

I thought I should hide in a corner until the fight was over.

Jinhyang wasn’t here right now, and it wasn’t my base, the tower.

I couldn’t help but be a little weak without anything.

**

I was sitting in a corner at the back of the building, clutching my knees.

It definitely wasn’t because I was afraid of people.

It was to protect myself because this was the time when I was the weakest.

“Heeing.”

As I was holding my breath and looking down at the floor, someone put their hand on my head.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah?”

It was Jinhyang’s voice.

When I quickly raised my head, her face was visible.

As if I had received a surprise gift, my tail shot straight up.

“Why are you here alone?”

“I don’t know. Hug me.”

When I reached out my hands, Jinhyang picked me up.

The hug at this time, which I thought was impossible, was so good.

“So, why were you here alone?”

“Just, there were too many people.”

“Ah…”

Jinhyang nodded lightly and slowly put me down.

I felt a lot of regret as Jinhyang’s scent moved away.

Even though I knew I couldn’t hug her for a long time.

“Are there always this many people here?”

“No, it’s because the research institute, the broadcasting station, and the tourists are all mixed together.”

“Why are there so many…?”

“This is the first time we’re gathering training data with the Silver Tiger. I guess the rumors spread and people came from all over.”

Ah.

If it’s the first time, anyone would be interested.

What I should be worried about now was not the people, but the act of gathering ‘training data’.

“Boss. If you gather training data, won’t it be easier to fight the Silver Tiger later?”

“Maybe?”

“Th-that’s not good…?”

The Silver Tiger should never become an easy opponent.

It was the same as my dignity falling.

I quickly pulled on Jinhyang’s clothes.

I had to stop Silver’s sparring as soon as possible.

It was then that Jinhyang grabbed my hands.

“But, we can get a lot of money, including the data and the filming costs, right?”

“R-really…?”

“Yeah. It’s yours, so take it all.”

Well, whatever.

If they give a reasonable price, I can’t help it.

As someone who owed 50 billion, it was a proposal I could never refuse.

‘Still, it’s a little disappointing.’

I felt upset that all my secrets were being revealed.

Just as I was about to slump to the floor in exhaustion, Jinhyang put her hands on my cheeks.

“But it’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“It feels like Silver is getting stronger and stronger.”

“Silver?”

A monster getting stronger.

It was something I had never heard of.

Monsters each had a set rank, and it was impossible to exceed that limit.

“Do you have something to do with it?”

Jinhyang stared into my eyes for a long time, then slowly turned her head.

Towards the dark alleyway where no one was present.

‘That’s…’

Someone was walking from the end of the road.

It was definitely someone I remembered.

It was Yoo Jinhyuk, the most skilled of the students.

‘Ugh…’

Yoo Jinhyuk’s condition looked really terrible.

The armor he was wearing was half-destroyed, and his body was covered in wounds and dirt.

His face was also covered in blood, so it was hard to find a place that was intact.

‘Isn’t he going to get healed?’

Why was he wandering around in a secluded place in that state?

Surprised, I hid behind Jinhyang.

Go away, go away.

Swish, swish I wagged my tail, but for some reason, Yoo Jinhyuk was heading towards me.

‘Su-surely.’

Was he trying to get revenge for what happened to him with Silver?

In tension, I wrapped my tail around Jinhyang’s legs twice.

It was then that Yoo Jinhyuk reached me.

“Wh-why…?”

I peeked out from behind Jinhyang, looking at Yoo Jinhyuk.

With the intention of merging with Jinhyang if necessary.

However, what came out of Yoo Jinhyuk’s mouth was really unexpected.

“Thank you.”

He bowed his head, showing no hostility.

However, you never know what might happen, so I had no intention of letting my guard down.

“Wh-what are you thanking me for?”

“Thank you so much for providing such a valuable sparring opportunity.”

“Valuable…?”

“Yes. From a hunter’s point of view, being able to fight the Silver Tiger without dying is amazing.”

Is that so?

It was something I didn’t know.

I didn’t know anything about the hunter ecosystem.

I had no choice but to ask Jinhyang here.

She was like my answer key.

“Boss, is that true?”

“Yeah. You know that the Silver Tiger is the strongest of the beast-type monsters, right?”

“Yes. Of course. I know that.”

The Silver Tiger is the strongest.

Ahem.

My shoulders, which had been lowered, were raised up.

“If you know how to deal with the Silver Tiger, the rest of the beast types are a piece of cake.”

“Yes. But…”

Wasn’t he just getting hit instead of fighting?

I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t say it in front of the person who actually got hit.

“Experience is very important to hunters. And the Silver Tiger is an experience that you can’t buy with money.”

“R-really?”

Silver Tiger, valuable, experience.

Those three words echoed in my head.

As the Silver Tiger, I couldn’t help but feel confident with those positive words.

“Woohoohoo.”

Unable to contain my joy, I patted Jinhyang’s back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m the Silver Tiger, too.”

“Si-Silver?”

I heard Yoo Jinhyuk’s surprised voice, but this wasn’t the time to pay attention to him.

“Can’t I spar instead of Silver…!”

Before I could finish speaking, Jinhyang pulled on my cheeks.

It stretched like rubber, but it didn’t hurt.

“The kid’s going to get hit and cry again.”

“Why would I cry?”

My pronunciation was off because my cheeks were stretched out.

Anyway, I’m a very strong Silver Tiger.

Why would I get hit and cry?

I looked at Jinhyang with a bewildered expression, but she just kept stretching my cheeks.