episode_0027

-Should I run away to some place in the mountains where no one knows?

After cutting down dozens of demonic cult bastards, I returned today again soaked in blood and looked into Yeonhwa’s eyes and said,

She soaked a cloth in water and diligently wiped my face. She also took off my clothes and looked for any wounds.

-Are you having a hard time?

I shake my head and take her hand, diligently searching for a wound.

-No injuries. It’s not hard.

She was examining my body with a serious expression, but immediately smiled brightly like a child at my words.

-I’m glad. I’m so glad.

Yeonhwa sighs in relief as she repeatedly touches her heart.

Looking at her, I continue talking again.

-It’s been quite a while since I last got hurt. I’m not afraid of the demonic cults anymore. There are countless things pouring out, I don’t know when this fight will end, but I’m not afraid.

Yeonhwa’s face becomes a little more relaxed at my words.

-The one I’m worried about is you, Yeonhwa. When I think of you who worries about me and is anxious every day…

-Kang Dae-hyeop.

Yeonhwa’s face is calm but radiant with determination.

-Just as it is Kang Dae-hyeop’s job to kill all the demonic cultists, it is my job to worry and anxiously wait for Kang Dae-hyeop.

She removes the blood-soaked cloth, takes a new, clean piece of cloth, wets it with water, and wipes my body.

-I know that Kang Daehyeop will not be defeated by the demonic cultists. However, what woman can stay comfortably when her beloved husband goes to the battlefield every day? Don’t worry about me, Daehyeop Kang, always focus on the moment.

-Is there any reason for me to keep going while making you feel anxious every day?

-sure. Of course.

Yeonhwa caresses my face and makes eye contact with me with a warm and gentle smile.

-The fate of the absolute strong. Kang Dae-hyeop is a person who cannot live an ordinary life. So there is no reason to run away or hide. No matter where you are, the world will find Kang Dae-hyeop. Don’t notice anything and don’t worry about anything. Just swing your sword the way you want. Until the whole world is at your feet.

Yeonhwa believes in me more than I do.

It’s not that I’m special, it’s her that makes me special.

When you look into her immersive eyes, all your worries melt away.

And then everything becomes simple and clear.

Yes, I can’t live hiding myself.

***

“-Oh, wake up…”

“Umm…Yeonhwa…come here for a moment…”

“Jihoon! Quickly open your eyes!”

Han Soo-young shakes Ji-hoon from his sleep and wakes him up.

She thinks it’s so amazing that she can fall into a deep sleep so quickly.

Jihoon opens his eyes, comes to his senses, and straightens his upper body.

“Oh, I was having a good dream”

Sooyoung looks at Jihoon with a bewildered expression

“Is it our turn already? How many teams passed by?”

“Ah… It’s not our turn yet… I think we should look at that over there”

“Huh? What?”

Where Suyeong’s hand was pointing, four men were placing sizable placards in the empty auditorium.

It was so big and the pattern was so colorful that it could be clearly seen from the other side of this wide dome stadium.

Besides, I’ve seen that sentence before…

“What is that!!”

Jihoon is startled and shouts loudly, which is unusual for him.

[Going Kang Ji-hoon! Ares Guild is always with you!]

“Ha…”

Jihoon places his hand on his forehead and lets out a deep sigh.

When it comes to the Academy’s quarterly evaluation, it was natural for all the most successful guilds to send scouts to observe.

Among the awakened people, it was reasonable to assume that those who passed academy admission would have some level of hunter ability suitable for gate subjugation.

Of course, guilds that send scouts to the academy do not pay much attention to the lower classes, 9th, 10th, and 11th class cadets.

In most cases, we take a close look at hunters of class 6 or higher who have excellent combat power.

Of course, as an exception, there are some cadets in classes 7 and 8 who show some potential for development, but…

It was unprecedented for a large guild to openly express interest in a class 11 cadet like now.

Judging from the location, size, and text of the placard, it was almost like advertising that Jihoon had been put on a needle.

Guild officials making noise

“Kang Ji-hoon? Who is Kang Ji-hoon?”

“What class of cadet does the Ares Guild court so actively?”

“No, no matter what class you are in, that is not commercial morality… Doesn’t this mean you shouldn’t even look at it at all?”

The expressions on the faces of the guild officials looking at the placard were half displeasure and half curiosity.

However, the reaction of the academy cadets who knew who Kang Ji-hoon was was bound to be different.

“What is that… If it’s Kang Ji-hoon, isn’t he from class 11?”

“I guess that’s right… Why Ares Guild?”

” Didn’t Ji make it and hang it herself? Can I use the Ares Guild emblem as I please?”

As the noise of people slowly reaches Jihoon and Suyeong, Suyeong lowers her head because she is ashamed of being the center of attention.

“Oh, I really liked that guy…”

Jihoon was also in trouble.

Jihoon doesn’t care at all about what others think or think of him and acts as he wants, but the size of that placard was so big that it was really burdensome.

Also, why did they use such a cute font?

Ares Guild is not some kind of neighborhood club.

At that time, the audience’s concentration, which had been temporarily noisy due to the placards, was focused on the field again.

“Choi Seungjun’s team cleared. Clear time 24 minutes 15 seconds”

When the announcement comes through the speakers, all the cadets and guild officials cheer.

“Wow, 24 minutes? Even if you clear it within 1 hour, it will be the highest score…”

” Didn’t Kim Hyun-seok’s team, who played first, clear in 46 minutes? Almost twice as fast…”

“They are real monsters. Isn’t it strange if I go straight to class 3 or class 2?”

“Once this quarterly evaluation score comes out, the placement will change…”

Six people called Choi Seung-jun’s team were confidently leaving the field.

All guild officials were diligently writing things down in their notebooks and looking for their professor.

When Choi Seung-jun’s team, said to be the strongest team in class 4, leaves after completing the test, the name of the next team appears on the large screen.

[Class 11 Kang Ji-hoon / Class 11 Han Su-young]

Is it because the Class 4 team, which achieved the highest record, has just finished the exam? The two names that appeared on the screen looked so shabby.

“What is it? Are there two team members?”

“Both 11 classes? Are you kidding me?”

Jihoon and Sooyoung go to the designated waiting room and put on jumpsuits.

“Phew…Phew…”

Suyeong continuously inhales and exhales big breaths.

“Why are you dropping like that? It’s not even a real gate”

“Still…I’m so nervous…”

“Don’t worry, just use your skills regularly every time I ask you to heal”

“Oh, I can also do some fighting using magical power! It won’t be of much help…but I’ll do my best”

“There will be no monsters for you to catch”

Jihoon, fully dressed in a jumpsuit, walks towards the entrance to the field.

His back is so broad and strong as he walks ahead, and for a moment, Sooyoung feels like the test will go well.

Jihoon and Sooyoung appear on the field

Duuut

Virtual monsters are summoned onto each terrain of the field with a magnificent sound.

The monster at the virtual gate that Jihoon and Suyeong will defeat is a goblin.

It happened to be a virtual gate similar to the gate where Jihoon was rumored to have captured the boss mob.

“Oh, it’s a goblin. He caught the King Goblin in one shot”

“So, we can check whether it was a rumor or not. Hehe”

“Ah, what on earth are those two people doing to subdue the gate…”

“I don’t know if I’ll be spending about 4 hours running and hiding here and there”

The cadets who knew Jihoon in the audience paid more attention to the field than the previous matches of high-class teams.

There were many rumors spreading about Jihoon.

The anticipation of being able to see the reality with one’s own eyes focuses everyone.

“The distance to the center of the field is quite long, are you confident about running?”

“Huh?…Yeah, my agility and stamina aren’t bad! But why?”

“Then run like crazy to the center without looking back. Don’t worry about whether there are goblins around you or not”

“Well…is there something on your mind?”

“Then of course. You’re going to win?

At Jihoon’s words, Sooyoung purses her lips tightly and gathers her magic power to focus on her legs.

Bleep-

With the sound announcing the start, Sooyoung begins to run like crazy following Jihoon’s words.

Following Jihoon’s words to not look back and just focus on running, I look straight ahead and use all my strength to run quickly.

Although he was a healer, he was clearly an awakened person.

With a physical ability that was on a different level from that of an ordinary person and even magical power, when he focused solely on running, Suyeong got closer to the center of the field at a fairly fast speed.

When I finally reach the bush area in the center of the field, I take a deep breath and only then do I find Jihoon.

“Is it true? It’s pretty fast, right?”

“Huuuk..huuk..yeah..right? I ran well…”

Sooyoung raises her head to find Jihoon and is momentarily speechless.

The corpses of countless virtual goblins littered the path she ran on.

She couldn’t help but be shocked as she turned her eyes to the large screen.

Elapsed time: 04 minutes 34 seconds

King Goblin: 1/1

Goblin: 237/500

In less than 5 minutes, half of the monsters were already gone.