Chapter 48
The already bustling street was further congested with battles breaking out in various places.
In front, behind.
“That brat!”
“You hit me!? You know who I am…!!”
“Who threw a dagger just now!?”
Amidst the battle raging all around, shouts and clashing metal sounds never ceased.
Myself and Yeon Haneul were swept up in the flow.
Shiik!
A blade came at me from the edge of my vision.
Facing the examinees in front of me, I swiftly turned my body, narrowly avoiding the attack.
“…Huh?”
Confusion flickered across the face of the attacker who failed to land a blow through thin air.
I swung my sword before they could make their next move.
“I’ll strike you with the blade too.”
“T-That’s a blade…!”
Don’t worry, it’s a reverse-edge sword.
The one who couldn’t finish their sentence collided with my sword, flying back and hitting the guardrail hard.
Today’s test is as good as over.
By the time I come to my senses, the exam will likely be finished, and even if not, making it to the peak of the Misty Mountain with a body with broken bones would be impossible.
“Congratulations on failing.”
With that, I turned away from the guy leaning against the guardrail, his head bowed.
“We need to get rid of that guy first!”
“Be careful! Shin-Geum Doya!”
Meanwhile, some guys nearby seemed to have marked me as their primary target and rushed towards me, attacking in unison.
With no corner to evade to.
Thud!
“…What!?”
I rushed towards the least threatening one.
The guys next to him crowded in, trying to resist against me.
Even in that situation, I didn’t falter and untied the sheath at my waist.
Thwack!
I blocked the falling sword with the sheath.
Simultaneously, I leaped from the ground, stepping on the marked guy’s knees and stomach.
“I’ll make good use of this.”
“Cough!”
As I leapt further into the air, my vision spun around.
“You can’t do anything in mid-air!”
“Attack now!”
That’s what you think.
I rotated my body in the direction of the hand holding the sword.
Mana surged from my heart, enveloping my body and the blade.
＜Water Dragon Style Attack Form 1＞
Lion’s Roar
The military blue sword gleams.
I unleashed the mana imbued in the blade and shot downwards at the oncoming crowd.
Like a fool.
“They gathered on their own.”
I tried to adjust the trajectory of the True Strike, but in reality, it was hard to say I had control given the chaotic situation.
The True Strike that grazed through the crowd splattered blood, shattered the ground, and sent shrapnel flying.
“I can’t see ahead! Dust in my eyes…!”
“aaah! Blood! Blooood!”
“That bastard killed someone!”
“No one died.”
During the entrance practical exam at the Geumgang Academy, examinees are allowed to inflict injuries on each other in combat.
They might receive negative evaluations, but as long as they don’t abandon the Hunter’s Way, killing is permissible.
It was even written in the pledge.
So, I wielded my sword without hesitation against them.
“I didn’t kill anyone, though.”
Nevertheless, despite facing my blade, they seemed unfamiliar with the real sense of combat.
Those who saw blood lost their composure and fell into panic.
I passed by those kinds of people.
＜Air Bullet＞
On one side, Yeonha was using magic to repel examinees.
As the situation somewhat settled, she quickly caught up to me.
“There’s a good side to the battle. The path is clear now.”
“But if this situation continues, won’t it exhaust our stamina? There will be more things to worry about too.”
“That’s true.”
As if to prevent being overtaken, the leading runners who had filled the road without gaps, scattered.
Yeonha and I swiftly passed through them without missing the chance.
“It’s not just us.”
Even examinees who had not revealed their skills so far were seizing the opportunity and advancing.
That’s how the lead was changing.
Around that time.
“Gyeonwoo! Look over there!”
“That’s…”
Yeonha pointed ahead.
Various vehicles were parked on the road.
Motorcycles, cars, taxis, buses, the types were quite diverse.
“Could we possibly make use of those?”
“Even without the key, it seems like we can drive if we use mana…”
“If it’s your mana, the power should be sufficient.”
On the verge of a long journey, with no owners in sight and vehicles that seemed like they would run smoothly.
Perhaps it was the work of the evaluators.
My thoughts and Yeonha’s thoughts aligned.
“Let’s consider my mana as the power source. But hey, do you know how to drive?”
“Just step on the accelerator, right? Ignore the traffic rules.”
“Which one is the accelerator?”
“You’ll figure it out when you step on it.”
“I feel uneasy about this…”
Yeonha made a groaning sound.
But to reach the summit of the foggy mountain as quickly as possible, we had to somehow make use of those vehicles.
At that moment, a student who was ahead of us got on a motorcycle.
Vroom.
The motorcycle engine roared to life.
The student rode off swiftly on the motorcycle.
“Our idea was right.”
“Indeed.”
“Let’s quickly catch one and ride. Others have started moving too.”
“But what should we ride?”
“A taxi would be the best option, right? Or do you want to ride the motorcycle? You can sit behind.”
“Driving… Can I really entrust it to you?”
“You sit behind and just say, ‘Brother, go fast.'”
“…We’re not going to ride all the way to the afterlife, right?”
After confirming that the student who rode the motorcycle could drive the vehicle with mana, the students were speeding up to secure the remaining vehicles ahead of others.
We also rushed towards them with determination.
Vroom.
The students started getting on vehicles and driving one by one.
“Get out of the way! I got on first!”
“Block that brat from going!”
A fight broke out in some places.
The students threatened each other, positioning themselves between motorcycles or small cars with the least mana consumption.
In some cases, they even completely blocked the road, preventing them from moving forward.
‘This is…’
In that situation, it seemed difficult to even get into a car, let alone drive, and it didn’t seem easy to break through the road if one did drive.
Even if we managed to break through, we would have to control the cars chasing us from behind.
Screech!
Thud!
Moreover, hastily driven vehicles by the students led to hitting guardrails or causing rear-end collisions.
If such incidents occurred throughout the drive, it was evident that the road situation would be paralyzed.
‘So, motorcycles are cool…’
It seemed like a situation where one would have to intervene amidst a group of people wielding knives to claim a single motorcycle.
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
At that moment.
‘A boat?’
Something caught the eye on the sandy beach beneath the guardrail.
It was a sailboat.
The boat was anchored on the sandy beach.
“Oh my, let’s ride that.”
“That? What is that?”
“That boat over there.”
“A boat?”
There are too many competitors on the road.
But it’s different on the sea.
I leaped over the guardrail.
“You know how to drive a boat!?”
“I don’t even know how to drive a car. Can’t we just go with the wind?”
“So, in the end, you’re telling me to drive.”
“Sis, come on! If you were a real man, you’d go out to sea.”
“And what if I’m not a man?”
“From today, you are a man.”
“I don’t want to be.”
Going down the hill under the guardrail, passing the sandy beach.
First, I boarded the sailboat.
After cutting the rope tied to the stake with a navy blue sword, I climbed aboard.
“Oh my, magic, please.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Setting sail, Yeonhaneulho!”
“Can you please not put my name on the boat?”
Yeonhaneul reluctantly granted my request.
As she conjured up the wind with magic, the sail unfolded, and the boat began to move at a rapid pace.
With no obstacles blocking the way ahead, it seemed like we could sail smoothly.
“Hey! Dogyeonwoo!”
“Gyeonwoo! Oh my!”
“Give us a ride too!”
It was right at that moment that we heard voices calling out to us.
We could see triplets on the side of the road we were heading towards.
“As expected, it’s only you guys!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Wait there! We’ll be right there!”
“Will you take us too!?”
Driving down the road, the faces of the triplets waving their hands gleamed brightly.
They looked as if they were confident that we would give them a ride.
But that was a far-fetched idea.
I had no intention of letting them aboard.
“Oh heavens, ignore those little rascals.”
“Huh? There’s even space to accommodate them….”
“Exams are about relying on your own strength, not seeking help from others.”
“…Is that what you’d do?”
“And they are weaker than us, they need more training. When else would they train if not now?”
“Wow, pretending not to hear what I said at all. So what’s your real intention?”
“I can’t stand seeing them in a good light.”
“Yeah, that seemed likely.”
“Alright, Captain Nuna, let’s go.”
“What’s with Captain Nuna, Captain Nuna….”
Yeonha-nyul grumbled but eventually followed my lead.
The boat drifted further away from where the triplets were.
“Hey! Where are you going! Don’t leave us!”
“We’re right here!? Don’t go!”
“We want to go out to the sea too!”
The wailing of the triplets echoed like a reverberation.
Despite the sound, we didn’t look back and continued towards the sea.
◈
Starting from the second exam held at the Gate, the instructors couldn’t monitor all situations unfolding in every exam venue.
Due to the disconnect between inside and outside the Gate, communication devices were non-operational.
The instructors had to focus solely on the Gate they were stationed at.
But even that was a challenge.
“Move the screens closest to the starting point. There aren’t many examinees left there, and those who remain are practically eliminated.”
“Well, it’s practically impossible without a miracle happening.”
“Still, we need to keep an eye on the situation, so we’ll leave a few.”
Observing all examinees heading towards Mt. Angae was practically impossible.
The Gate was vast, and there were a considerable number of examinees.
The number of evaluators and assistant evaluators was far from sufficient.
There weren’t enough screen devices either.
“The density of examinees is increasing in the section with vehicles.”
“They’re engaging in battles as we anticipated, leaving their cars behind.”
“Arrange the screens around that area and assign one to each of the examinees who went ahead. What about the examinees from the famous families? Don’t leave out even one from the Ten Noble Clans.”
“What about the students of the Noun Masters?”
“Only examine the examinees with a crimson exam ticket. The rest won’t have any significant differences compared to the other examinees anyway.”
Given the circumstances, the evaluators had no choice but to observe the examinees differentially based on certain criteria.
Among them, the ones who received teachings from renowned scholars or were from prestigious families were the main focus.
Especially the disciples of the Ten Noble Houses.
“How are the Ten Noble House members doing?”
“They are all progressing smoothly. We will display them on the central monitor one by one.”
In their case, they were assigned screen eyes even before the exam began.
They had the backgrounds and skills to justify it.
The evaluators constantly brought their images to the largest screen in the center.
The figure currently appearing on that screen was also an examinee from the Ten Noble Houses.
[They rely on such contraptions; they lack spirit. If they were born as men, they should have the courage to leap with their own feet! Where do they think they’re going with those contraptions?]
Yongha of the Uihyeop Yong Clan.
Clad in black attire, he passed by the examinees without a hint of interest in the vehicle, as if he intended to climb the Misty Mountain on foot.
Though there was a way to go by car, he seemed determined to ascend the mountain on his own two feet.
[Spirit! Spirit! It’s all about spirit!]
“…Who is that guy?”
“He’s from the Uihyeop Yong Clan.”
“Or in other words, the Spirit Yong Clan.”
The evaluators couldn’t help but find his actions perplexing.
However, in the Uihyeop Yong Clan, individuals like Yongha, who were filled with spirit, were born sporadically.
In the world of hunters, it was said that the Uihyeop Yong Clan, aiming to produce excellent hunters, sometimes ended up creating outstanding fools.
[Pshaw!]
“…He split a bus in half with a single punch.”
“Ignorant, but quite impressive.”
Yet, one couldn’t disregard that fool.
Fools born in the Uihyeop Yong Clan… had a high probability of rising to become one of the leading hunters of their generation.
The current head of the Uihyeop Yong Clan attested to this, and Yongha was also showing some potential.
Hence, he was an exceptional fool.
“Let’s move on to the other examinees.”
“The Mado Minga and Sunchon Chaga disciples are nearly close to the Misty Mountain.”
“Then let’s focus on that direction.”
“However, their speed is too fast for the screen eyes to keep up.”
“Instead, we have a screen choker; let’s use that screen.”
The evaluators promptly decided to focus on the Mado Minga and Sunchon Chaga disciples, who were the likely top two contenders.
The screen changed.
The image displayed by the two people on the screen was blurry.
They were cutting through the clouds.
“All I can say is impressive. How many people at that age can fly for so long like that?”
“If nothing unexpected happens, one of them will take first place.”
“At the moment, it looks like the candidate from the Circulation Department is the frontrunner.”
The judges did not express any disagreement.
Just as they had given extra points to Yoo Haeng and Yonghae earlier, they now turned their attention to the examinee currently in third place, who was following the two.
[It’s boring just to keep running.]
“….”
Yeo Seong Namga’s Nam Yoori.
She was showcasing a feat of running on a frozen sea.
The judges couldn’t help but admire.
“To freeze the sea….”
“She may not have flown in the sky, but she’s truly remarkable.”
Her remarkable point was that she could freeze the sea without showing any signs of fatigue even as time passed, breathing as if it were natural.
Contrary to appearances, it meant minimal mana consumption and excellent mana efficiency.
The judges each bit their tongues.
“Who’s next?”
“It’s Dogyeonwoo from the Divine Inspection Department. Currently in fourth place.”
“He’s also a disciple of Instructor Hong Ye-na.”
“Show the screen.”
The screen changed again.
This time, the screen showed the sea.
A boat was cutting through the water at a fast pace on that sea.
It was Dogyeonwoo and Yeonhae on the boat.
“It seems like Instructor Hong Ye-na’s disciple is manipulating the wind to move the boat forward.”
“Compared to the examinees we saw earlier, there’s a somewhat ordinary feel, but it’s not bad.”
“However, in this situation….”
“Dogyeonwoo’s examinee is only taking advantage of the circumstances.”
Even if they were to give extra points to Yeonhae, who displayed skill in sailing, they couldn’t give any extra points to Dogyeonwoo.
The judges, feeling regretful, decided to observe the other examinees.
Just then.
[Screams]
At the moment they were about to switch the screen.
A monster suddenly appeared from the direction the ship was heading, reminiscent of a sea lion.
“Gyunwoo!”
“Keep driving as you are, Yeonhee.”
It seemed as if he was aware of the monster’s appearance. Gyunwoo, who was at the bow, drew his sword and stepped forward towards the creature.
—
“We have encountered a monster.”
“Brutal Sealion (Rank. 02) x 1”
Even before the message appeared, I had foreseen its approach.
“I wondered who was chasing us, turns out it’s this one.”
At some point, my instincts for evasion had been warning me of danger.
So, I could remain calm.
“A Rank 2 monster…”
Brutal Sealion.
I gazed at the creature, roughly the size of the ship we were on. For a Rank 2 monster, at least one of its physical attributes needed to exceed 50 to be a somewhat formidable opponent.
Stamina 65, Strength 59, Endurance 55, and Agility 71.
With four attributes exceeding 50, it was not a suitable match for me.
Above all…
“The environment favors me.”
As the creature emerged above the water, I observed the deck made of the sea itself. The battlefield was the sea.
Perfect for lightning-fast attacks.
Hence…
“Gyunwoo!”
“Keep driving as you are, Yeonhee.”
Comforting the worried Yeonhee, I drew my military sword as the creature approached closer.
“Do I need to help? It’s a Rank 2 opponent…”
“I can handle it alone. Be prepared for any sudden attacks, trust me and move forward at full speed.”
“Fine… I understand.”
There was no need to deviate the ship to avoid the creature. Even if we deviated at this point, collision with the creature would be inevitable.
I reassured Yeonhee while scratching the ground with the tip of my military sword.
Clang.
The sound of the blade scraping against the ground echoes.
I summoned the mana within me.
Ki-yaaah!
The creature waited for us to approach, its mouth gaping wide open.
Once our stomachs entered its territory, it planned to tear us apart with its long, sharp fangs.
Naturally, we had no intentions of letting that happen.
Clang.
The distance was narrow, and the path was set.
I leaped onto the deck immediately.
Kiii-yi-yi-yik!
The unpleasant sound of the Military Blue Sword scraping against the ground reverberates.
The sound intensified due to the friction caused by my running speed…
Crackle!
Lightning ignited.
The lightning formed by the blade quickly emerged along the track I had carved on the wet deck, shooting up from the entire surface soaked in water.
The lightning formed on the blade rapidly expanded, enveloping the entire sword.
Grasping the gathered lightning in my hand.
＜Combat Style of the Water King: Form 10＞
Lion Jincheon
A swordsmanship blending speed and strength.
Leaping from the bow, I swung the sword that had been pointing downwards with all my might.
—
Ki-yaaah!
Simultaneously, the lightning turned into a track and shot up into the sky.
A blue lightning strike sliced through the creature from its chest down to its shoulder.
“It’s not over yet.”
Soaring through the air, I could witness from above the creature howling and thrashing below.
But Lion Jincheon is a two-strike sword technique, striking upwards and then downwards.
The Military Blue Sword still had lightning lingering on it.
But I didn’t stop there…
＜Military Blue Sword: Current Concentration＞
With an agility exceeding 50, I used the second skill of the Military Blue Sword that had been unlocked.
Current Concentration.
A skill that condensed some of the lingering current around into the sword.
Crackle!
Thanks to that skill, the power of the Thunderous Wall wrapped around the Military Blue Sword became stronger.
When swinging the Military Blue Sword in this state, not only does the attack power increase more than usual, but the lightning attribute is also added.
And.
＜Military Blue Sword: Current Discharge＞
Upon reaching an Agility of over 60, the third skill of the Military Blue Sword is obtained.
When using Current Discharge, I could shoot out condensed currents.
Twisting my body in mid-air to adjust my posture, I struck down with the Military Blue Sword as if I was about to unleash a lightning bolt.
───!!
Kyaahhh!
The final attack of Lion Jincheon.
A blue lightning strikes down on him.
His body burns from the attack, turning into particles of mana and disappearing.
I grabbed the risen mana stone.
Around that time, the ship passed below.
“You see, I told you to drive straight, right? When monsters lose their mana stones, they turn into mana and vanish without leaving a corpse.”
“But you shouldn’t say ‘you see.’ If the timing had been a bit off, the ship might have capsized, right?”
“You just have to think about it when the time comes.”
Thanks to swinging the sword at him considering the timing of the passing ship, I could safely land on the ship from mid-air.
Then, to boast to her, I displayed the mana stone.
“Here, I got something. By the way, I didn’t give you the fare, did I? Take it. I’ll give it to you.”
“It’s fine. After the test, sell it and buy me a meal.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Well… Let’s see.”
“Buy me strawberry milk.”
“You’re not seriously just going to buy strawberry milk, right?”
“Should I get chocolate milk too?”
“….”
“Just kidding.”
“Hmph, just make sure to buy something delicious.”
And so, we headed towards the Misty Mountain.