[Please give a short speech about your victory.]
“Uh, yeah? Umm…”
The host suddenly ran over to us, shoving a microphone in my face.
After much contemplation, Yeon-hee finally managed to utter a word.
“I hope this beautiful world remains unchanged in the future. That’s all…”
‘…Yeon-hee, where’s this coming from all of a sudden?’
Even I, her loyal summoned creature and lover, found it a bit out of the blue, but the host quickly wrapped up Yeon-hee’s statement.
[Wow—world peace! The aspirations of a tournament winner are truly different! A statement that they will strive for world peace as they grow. Well said!]
“Umm… it’s not that much…”
I tried to refute with a voice barely audible, but the host, filled with a godly level of energy, was more focused on gossip-related questions.
“I’ll ask a few simple questions, but we’ll get into details in the studio later…”
“Huh?”
Every time a question was thrown, Yeon-hee flustered, and I leaned in close to block the troublesome host from her.
[Ohh—!! Isn’t ‘Grim Reaper’, the strongest power of Summoner Lee Yeon-hee, here? If you had to sum up how you feel right now, what would you say?]
This wild-tempered host even directed a question at me.
Considering that my ‘Presence of Oppression’ prevents ordinary beings from approaching me easily, I realized this human had a remarkable mental fortitude.
‘I guess being non-awakened makes it less effective…’
“Clap, clap, clap!”
As I clicked my teeth against the microphone, igniting sparks in my eyes, the host seemed immensely pleased, prompting the audience to applaud.
– Wow──!!
‘They really do everything under the sun.’
I felt just as uncomfortable as Yeon-hee in this situation.
Fortunately, due to the arrival of high-ranking officials wanting to show their faces at the end of the tournament, we managed to escape.
Before we officially interviewed, we were spending time with our teammates in the waiting room.
Suddenly, Hwa-ryeon burst through the waiting room door.
Shin Hee-won followed Hwa-ryeon, but seeing their behavior during the representative selection tournament, I wondered how they could be hanging out together.
‘Ah, they got assigned to Hunt Team 3 and started hanging out already?’
“Hello…?”
“Hmph…”
Yeon-hee mustered her courage to greet Hwa-ryeon first, but Hwa-ryeon didn’t return the greeting after barging in.
‘Oh dear, that guy’s temper.’
“What are you two?”
“Ah, this is Hwa-ryeon, a hunter from our guild.”
“Hwa-ryeon? Ah— the one from the semifinals?”
“What? Crazy lady?”
Noh Ha-yoon instantly confronted Hwa-ryeon, having heard about her from us.
She even began to slowly channel magic power in her hand, preparing to counter Hwa-ryeon’s flames.
Eun-young and Ah-rin merely blinked, looking up at Hwa-ryeon and Ha-yoon, while I stepped in, worried there might be trouble between Ha-yoon and Hwa-ryeon.
“I’ll handle this. Ha-yoon, please hold back.”
Yeon-hee intervened, causing Noh Ha-yoon to reluctantly step back.
Hwa-ryeon strangely didn’t provoke any further either.
‘She must also know how the outcome would turn if she faced Ha-yoon.’
Although Yeon-hee was hanging out with Noh Ha-yoon, the latter was definitely formidable enough to be called the strongest in C-rank.
Hwa-ryeon was also considered a promising prospect to follow Seok Ryu-hwa, but when it came to pure talent, she was no match for Noh Ha-yoon. The elemental weakness was a significant factor, too.
“How are you feeling?”
Yeon-hee took a light sigh and cautiously asked Hwa-ryeon.
“Do I look unwell to you?”
“Not particularly… Is something wrong then?”
She seemed fine at first glance, but from my perspective, her internal injuries hadn’t fully healed yet.
‘By the way, using informal speech like that… how rude.’
Thud—!
“Ugh?! What, what is this? Let go!”
I figured I’d need to suppress her energy a bit since I didn’t know what nonsense she was going to say.
Even though we were on the same Hunt Team 3, we rarely fought together due to our different squads. Better to avoid an unexpected clash later.
“Ahhh!! It hurts!”
I pressed down hard on her shoulder, and with Irmana’s water over my head, I activated the Blade of Water, ‘Sikurarin,’ thrusting it toward her neck and wrist.
“Ugh… damn! Wh-what is this?! Sacred Water? Don’t! Get that away from me!”
Hwa-ryeon began to panic at the water blade made from Irmana’s water.
‘Elemental affinities… aren’t easy to overcome.’
As I brought the water blade closer to her, Hwa-ryeon’s fiery energy dissipated into smoke.
Water attribute skills are deadly for a fire attribute hunter. And Irmana’s water is a whole different threat.
Water attribute hunters are exceedingly rare, so she probably had never even faced a situation like this. It’s another level of threat compared to Ha-yoon’s ice skills.
‘Hmm, if turned into a demon servant, it would be easier.’
As I took Hwa-ryeon from behind, dark thoughts crept in again. I knew well how effective a demon servant could be, especially from Haseirin’s case.
The first demon servant, Haseirin, went straight to where Cha Jin-hyuk was, efficiently executing my orders.
Cha Jin-hyuk was baffled and asked Yeon-hee what was going on, but she only said to treat your fellow followers well.
Of course, Cha Jin-hyuk continued to serve faithfully. He seemed so moved by the revelation of other followers that he nearly cried.
‘Everyone really is out of their minds…’
Anyway, since that day, Haseirin has been reporting to Yeon-hee every day.
She has been recruiting several hunters, detailing their abilities thoroughly.
‘I need to get my act together.’
This line of thought arises not from pure chaos in my head. Hwa-ryeon has a bad habit of gaining the upper hand in relationships through unexpected actions that catch opponents off guard.
Knowing this well, I was almost glad that I wound up facing her.
“Damn…!”
Just as I confidently barged in to make a statement, the tables turned instantly on Hwa-ryeon.
Yeon-hee, who was glaring at Hwa-ryeon, asked with a cold voice that was never heard before.
“What did you come here for…?”
Yeon-hee doesn’t like repeating herself.
Especially things that are vague and lack reason.
With rich light gathering in her amethyst eyes, her mystical aura began to fill the room.
Overcome and physically restrained by me and overwhelmed by Yeon-hee’s energy, Hwa-ryeon eventually raised the white flag.
“Uh, uh! I just! Wanted to break the ice before going up. Why! It’s something Master mentioned too!”
What a funny thing to say.
Even if Seok Ryu-hwa gave her a mission, for the great Hwa-ryeon to come just to break the ice…
‘If she came to pick a fight, that’d be different.’
“Yikes…!”
‘She still won’t budge. Impressive.’
Even when the blade nearly made contact and her skin began to bubble, her pride remained unyielding. It was somewhat admirable.
“I-I mean it. I came only to greet you. I feel like I didn’t properly get to say hello at the tournament.”
Shin Hee-won, S-rank Hunter Cha Mu-yeol’s cherished disciple, hurriedly spoke to Yeon-hee.
I could trust her words, so I decided to give Hwa-ryeon’s claim some merit.
However, I should at least have a small insurance policy in place.
[Flame Cut]
I transformed my finger bones into blades and marked Hwa-ryeon’s nape with a flame-shaped mark.
Sizzle—
“Ahhh!! It hurts! Stop! What the hell are you doing, you jerk!”
– The Flame Mark has been overlapped!
A small flame mark indented on Hwa-ryeon’s neck.
The moment the message popped up, I released my grip on her and lightly sent her crashing into the wall.
Boom!
‘Now I can breathe easy.’
With that mark on her, I could keep track of Hwa-ryeon’s position anytime.
After rolling around unceremoniously, Hwa-ryeon’s face was flushed red, and when I shot her a fiery glare, she dropped her eyes to the ground.
‘Aah, why are there so many lunatics in the world? How beautiful would a world without Awakened Ones have been…’
Before the gates opened, the world was much safer and happier.
Doubtless, there wouldn’t have been such crazy people around.
‘I’m so tired. If you cause one more ruckus, I’ll really turn you into a demon servant.’
Even though awakened ones struggle inherently with emotional control, encountering Han Eul-min and Hwa-ryeon in succession was making me want to lose my cool.
[Calm]
‘Hoo—’
“Since we’re splitting off at that junction, we’ll be moving along our assigned routes. We’ll maintain communication to keep some distance, but there’s no need to force it, right?”
Noh Ha-yoon was still holding onto her ice while glaring sharply at Hwa-ryeon.
Fire and ice.
These two, with abilities on polar extremes, shot each other looks as biting as a winter’s dawn.
“Noh Ha-yoon from Vision Guild. When did we get close enough for you to speak casually?”
“Why are you using informal speech with Yeon-hee? I didn’t hear a ‘please’ in that statement?”
Hwa-ryeon, rubbing her marked neck, refused to back down.
“Please stop it, Hwa-ryeon. I was the one who suggested we come here. So if you have something to say, aim your complaints at me.”
Shin Hee-won, dressed in a somewhat muted two-piece suit, came in a surprisingly composed figure.
Thanks to the awakened traits seeking optimal physique despite being in a tank position, she didn’t lose femininity at all.
‘Going on a blind date? She’s wearing clothes she doesn’t usually wear.’
I only ever saw her in full armor within the guild, so this outfit was quite fresh.
For a brief moment, we calmed our excitement and casually exchanged greetings.
Hwa-ryeon seemed particularly upset, refusing to converse with the others and instead staring intensely at me from opposite ends.
‘I can’t figure out what’s going on in her head. Is her brain a goldfish?’
If I were to speculate, perhaps Hwa-ryeon was still shaken by the loss, appearing quite unstable, seemingly unable to sit still. Her judgment seemed cloudy.
‘She’s likely had her first defeat in a spar… It’s clear that losing is a poison for her.’
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was alright to involve someone like that in a national-level monster hunt. I mean, her mentor was assigned to team two, so they would probably find a way to fit her in.
Shin Hee-won, relieved to have taken off some tension, explained her purpose for coming once more.
“As Ha-yoon said earlier, we likely won’t have to cooperate much up top. However, it’s not as if we won’t have any chances of cooperation, so I wanted to loosen up a bit beforehand. Imagine a situation like this happening in North Korea.”
“Hmm… that’s definitely true.”
“Hoh… that makes sense.”
In any case, Hee-won, being a bit older, had some reasonable reasoning behind her words. Better to have the clash before going up rather than during the actual event.
“Then we’ll be heading out. Next time, the person who finds the monster should acknowledge the rest, alright?”
“Sure, see you in two days! Hwa-ryeon, how about you?”
“……..Hmph!”
In the end, the two made quite a ruckus before leaving.
Anyway, it was a positive development that our team realized the ticking time bomb that is Hwa-ryeon.
“So what should we do tomorrow? Should we focus on conditioning ourselves?”
Bae Joo-ah, who always concentrated on practical aspects, inquired about the tasks at hand.
Since we would need to leave at dawn in two days for the hunt, taking a complete day off was also an option.
“I’d like to do something special. I hear this mission would take at least two weeks.”
The operation duration is a minimum of two weeks.
During that time, we must eliminate as many ordinary soldiers from the Devouring Creeper’s army and rescue those in need of help.
Collecting the green mana stones they expel will prove our contributions.
‘If not… the most guaranteed goal would be to capture at least one elite soldier. But that’s not going to be easy.’
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