A fist flew toward my face.
I immediately activated Momentary.
Eun Sangmin had recently become a C-Rank Hunter. Even though he hadn't infused his fist with Mana, his physical abilities were undeniably superior to mine.
Moreover, I hadn't expected him to throw a punch right then and there. Without Momentary, I wouldn't have been able to dodge it.
Should I just take the hit?
Considering the aftermath, it would be easier. I could claim he attacked first.
But... get hit by this piece of shit? Fuck that.
No matter how convenient it might be later, my pride wouldn't allow it.
I clenched my fist and dodged Eun Sangmin's attack. Channeling Lightning Strike and Mana, I swung my fist at his face.
Bang!
Eun Sangmin went flying. The cafe's glass wall shattered as his body hurtled outside, rolling several times across the pavement.
"This... this lunatic! Is he really trying to fight seriously?!"
Eun Sangmin trembled as he staggered to his feet. One side of his face was flushed crimson, and blood trickled from his mouth.
He's still standing after taking that? A C-Rank Hunter isn't just for show.
Perhaps because my opponent could also manipulate Mana, I couldn't electrocute him with Lightning Strike. If our physical abilities had been more evenly matched, I would have knocked him unconscious already.
"You threw the first punch, you little bitch. I was just defending myself."
I walked out through the shattered glass wall, ignoring my surroundings. This cafe was deserted anyway, with barely any customers.
"Alright, you son of a bitch. Let's have a funeral today."
Eun Sangmin clenched his fists, and sharp thorns began to sprout from his knuckles.
This was his ability: he could generate thorns on his body or objects, and even create them in mid-air to hurl as projectiles.
He was such a braggart that everyone in our department knew about his power. I'd even witnessed it firsthand before.
"Wipe the blood from your mouth. You already look like shit; someone might think you're a zombie."
Crackling.
Lightning Strike writhed in my right fist.
His physical abilities might be superior, but I didn't feel like I was going to lose.
Even as he fell, Eun Sangmin swung his fist at me. Stone spikes materialized in mid-air and hurtled toward me. I used my footwork to evade the spikes and close the distance.
Even without a blade, I can still use the Youngcheon Style's footwork.
We engaged in close combat. As a C-Rank Hunter, he showed signs of martial arts training, but to my eyes, his technique was clumsy. It was clear he rarely used his fists.
Using the Youngcheon Style's footwork, I evaded his punches and kicks while launching a relentless, one-sided assault.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Eun Sangmin roared in fury. I noticed the ground nearby begin to tremble.
I immediately activated Momentary.
The ground transformed into spikes, rising slowly toward me. I leaped upward, dodging the spikes, and kicked Eun Sangmin.
"Ugh!"
Eun Sangmin collapsed to the ground. It was the perfect moment to take the mount position, but I couldn't rush in. If he turned his entire body into a hedgehog-like mass of spikes, there would be no way to approach him.
"You're supposed to be a C-Rank Hunter. Why are you fighting so poorly? Are you even really C-Rank? Did you bribe the Hunter Association or something?"
"You bastard!"
Eun Sangmin was about to get back on his feet.
"Stop!"
Han Harin activated her ability to restrain us.
Gravity field.
A stronger gravitational force pressed down on Eun Sangmin and me. But it was far from enough to stop us.
Just as Mana granted my Lightning Strike resistance to prevent electrocution, it also gave me resistance to Han Harin's gravity. Her gravity couldn't subdue Eun Sangmin or me; at best, it only slowed our movements.
A long, sharp thorn extended from Eun Sangmin's clenched fist. He wielded it like a sword, displaying a level of skill far beyond his clumsy punches.
This bastard... he's crossed the line.
Bare hands versus a weapon the very weight of the words carried a different gravity.
In a flash, I created some distance between us.
Momentary activated. Remaining stacks: 2
I didn't draw my weapon. I wanted to keep the existence of my inventory hidden, and with Momentary, I figured my bare hands would suffice.
I've already beaten him enough. Let's just knock him out and end this.
He couldn't react to my Momentary. A proper C-Rank Hunter would have, but this guy was just a newly promoted C-Rank, a nobody.
I resumed my footwork, closing in on Eun Sangmin. His movements had slowed, leaving him vulnerable. I spotted an opening.
Eun Sangmin's eyes met mine.
The moment I saw the malice burning in his pupils, a memory flashed through my mind.
It was a voice I'd overheard while passing through a university hallway a classmate from the Hunter Department.
Ah, damn it. What kind of ability is "body elongation"? I can only stretch 30 centimeters! What's the point of having such a useless power? My life sucks. Should I just quit being a hunter?
"Hey, hey. Still better than having no ability at all, right? At least you can become a Hunter. Look at Sung Yujin he can't even awaken, yet he still drags himself to class every day. Honestly, isn't calling him 'potentially talented' just a flat-out lie?"
"Heh heh. Yeah, having this kind of ability is better than being completely useless like him."
I knew those guys were just pretending to care about me while secretly treating me like a cripple behind my back.
I could feel the subtle contempt in their eyes and imagine the mockery they whispered when I wasn't around.
I knew it all, but I couldn't do anything. I had no power. I'd often wondered if I should quit being a Hunter and just live as a normal person right now.
"Hey, you're that Hunter Department wannabe, right? It's been a year and you still haven't awakened your powers? What's a regular person doing in the Hunter Department anyway?"
"Sangmin-ah, you're too drunk. Calm down."
"Ah, come on. Let go of me. Did I say anything wrong? Huh? If you're powerless, you should just think, 'Oh, I guess I'm not cut out to be a Hunter,' and get the hell out. Why are you sticking around and making a mess of things? It's fucking embarrassing to have a junior like you. Seriously."
"Yujin-ah, don't worry about him. He's just drunk."
"Hey, this is what real power looks like. Scared? Why are you trembling? It was just a graze. A guy who wants to be a Hunter shouldn't be scared by something like this... Listen up, kid. Hunters always have to be ready to face death. You can't be a coward like you are."
"Eun Sangmin! What the hell are you doing?! He's just a normal person who hasn't awakened his abilities yet! Are you out of your mind?!"
"Aish... It was just a joke. A joke. Why are you making such a fuss over something so trivial?"
Crack.
Eun Sangmin's arm snapped, bending at an impossible angle.
"Kaaaaaah!"
Hearing his scream, I relaxed the grip of my left hand and raised my right. Dark Demonic Heavenly Energy surged from my palm.
I smirked at him. Fear filled the eyes of the man who cowered on the floor, trembling as he looked up at me.
"A C-Rank Hunter trembling over something like this... Aren't Hunters supposed to be prepared to face death at any moment?"
I used the Heavenly Demon Asura to kill Eun Sangmin. The Heavenly Demon Asura is a hand technique from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. He should consider it an honor to die by this technique.
"Kill... Huh?"
My vision suddenly widened. My mind had been completely consumed by the thought of killing Eun Sangmin, but those thoughts vanished, and the situation came into focus.
It felt like gulping down ice-cold water on a sweltering summer street, my body burning hot and drenched in sweat.
I stared wide-eyed at the Heavenly Demon Asura coalescing in my hand.
Shit, shit, shit! Demonic energy? Why now?
The black demonic energy in my right hand gradually shrank until it vanished without a trace.
No. More importantly, I never intended to kill that bastard!
Eun Sangmin was undeniably annoying, and I had plenty of resentment toward him. But that didn't mean I wanted to kill him.
If this were the Game World, I would have killed him without hesitation. But this was reality. Killing Eun Sangmin here would mean dealing with consequences I couldn't handle.
Even when I provoked him, I did so only because I was confident I could manage the aftermath.
Why would I kill that guy...?
The thought trailed off abruptly. Someone suddenly tackled me from behind, seizing both my arms and pinning me down in an instant.
"Ugh!?"
"Don't move! Hunter Association!"
Instinctively, I tensed to resist, but the words made me relax. There was no point in fighting back. They had the authority of the law and could even execute hunters on the spot under Hunter Law.
"What are you two doing in broad daylight? Are you out of your minds? Huh?"
"..."
"Get up! If you use your abilities or move your mana, I'll kill you instantly. Just get in the car quietly!"
I was locked in a detention cell at the Seoul Southern Branch of the Hunter Association. The cell was made of iron bars, designed specifically for hunters. I had already been interrogated by association staff and was now awaiting further instructions in the cell.
I glanced at the cell across from mine. Eun Sangmin, the guy I'd fought, was also locked up. He looked perfectly fine, thanks to a healing-type hunter among the association staff who had treated him.
This will probably just end with a fine.
Despite the opposite outcome, Eun Sangmin was a C-Rank Hunter while I was an E-Class Hunter. Due to the nature of Hunter Law, the higher-ranked Eun Sangmin would be at a significant disadvantage, even though I had thoroughly beaten him.
Han Harin, as a witness, wrote her statement and left. Judging by her demeanor, it seemed the cafe owner, not her, had reported the incident to the Hunter Association.
Eun Sangmin and I would settle this amicably. The Hunter Law was absurd; regardless of who was the aggressor or victim, any real-world altercation outside a dungeon resulted in punishment. In essence, it operated on the principle of mutual fault.
The best course of action was to reach an agreement, pay the fine to the Hunter Association, and have the incident erased.
Leaning against the detention cell wall, I sank into thought.
Forget about trying to kill Eun Sangmin... I actually used the Heavenly Demon Asura in the real world.
I had unconsciously activated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
No matter how I pondered it, it made no sense. Apart from the Heavenly Demon Asura just now, I had never successfully used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art in the real world even once.
But I unconsciously succeeded during the battle? Considering my talent, that's absolutely impossible.
There's no way this could have happened without a reason.
This is serious. There's no guarantee it won't happen again.
The only suspect... the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
It has to be the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. In most novels, the essence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is ultimately demonic energy.
I lost control and tried to kill Eun Sangmin using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art a technique I had never been able to use in reality before.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is a martial art given to me by the King of the Demonic Heavens. That bastard's true identity is probably a demon. His actions scream "demon."
My conclusion is that the King of the Demonic Heavens tampered with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
To use a computer analogy:
I'm an awesome computer. And the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is like the most mind-blowing porn ever. The problem is, this porn has a virus that's infecting my system.
I remember once having to replace my computer because of a virus. Mom chewed me out big time, but at least I got a brand-new one.
That won't work here. I can't just replace myself with another version of me.
Even Complete Recovery can't get rid of the virus.
That's because the virus originates from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art itself. Unless I eliminate the source, the virus will keep coming back.
...For a virus, you need an antivirus.
And I happen to possess one such antivirus:
Mental Resistance.
I can't be certain, but... it might offer some degree of protection.
Upgrading my Mental Resistance skill is impossible right now. I don't have enough points.
I need to go to God's Atlantis and investigate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. King of the Demonic Heavens... that bastard can't be trusted after all.
I was mentally cursing the King of the Demonic Heavens when a man approached the detention cell. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, a handsome man with a sharp jawline and round glasses.
He stared at me through the bars. Dressed in a sleek, high-end black suit, he didn't look like a Hunter Association employee. I met his gaze without flinching.
"Brother-in-law! Over here!" Eun Sangmin called out, recognizing the man instantly. There was only one person who could be Eun Sangmin's brother-in-law:
Han Suri.
The guild master of the Han Suri Guild, an A-Rank Hunter, and a mage.
Ignoring his brother-in-law's greeting, Han Suri addressed me directly.
"I apologize for the trouble my brother-in-law has caused."