Chapter 45

Through this incident, I too underwent changes of my own.

‘Appraisal.’

Ding!

【Han Kangyoon】

▶Level 34

▶Stats

【Stamina : C+】

【Spiritual Power : B-】

【Art Formula : B-】

【Mental Strength : B+】

▶Traits (5/10)

【Phantom Body (S)】

【Soul Combustion (A)】

【Challenger (B+)】

【Intracranial Spell Repository (B)】

【Life Returner (B-)】

My level had risen by a full two levels through the battles with Wang Wei and Hectail.

Now, even if just barely, I was at a level where I could be compared to the A-Rank cadets of the Academy.

It was a point where raising levels wasn’t easy anymore, but it seemed fighting high-level opponents had given me some advantage.

‘Level 40 shouldn’t be too far off.’

Furthermore, as a result, I had also acquired a new trait.

Its name was Challenger, a trait that granted stat bonuses the higher the level of the opponent fought.

‘Honestly, I deserved it.’

Until now, I had always faced opponents with higher levels than me, and this time, I had even fought a fierce battle, albeit briefly, against a formidable foe over level 60.

Since one of the conditions for acquiring the Challenger trait was fighting opponents stronger than oneself, I had thought I would get it eventually even if not now.

‘Anyway, it’s a good thing.’

Since most of the enemies I’ll face in the future will be strong, it will be a high-efficiency, premium trait for me.

Of course, its efficiency will drop later, but by then, there will be other methods.

After returning to the Academy to gather my belongings, I headed to Gokseong, Jeollanam-do, where Yoo Haon and his group were training.

The place I arrived at was Dongaksan.

It was a residential area where some of the Baek Family’s branch members lived, and also the location of a massive training ground created by the family.

And at the entrance to that Dongaksan, I was being flatly refused entry, unable to even take a step forward.

“Non-related persons cannot enter.”

“So, I was invited by Baek Eunseo…”

“The young lady is currently focused on training, so confirmation is impossible. We were instructed not to allow anyone until she gives a separate message.”

Honestly, I hadn’t anticipated this situation at all.

Perhaps because it was reality and not a game, annoyingly, problems often arose in trivial areas.

‘Does this mean I have to wait until they come out of Dongaksan?’

But the problem was, I didn’t know the exact location of the village controlled by Sorisoe.

In the original work, there was no specific mention because Baek Seoha, Baek Eunseo’s teacher, had sent Yoo Haon’s group, who were training, on an errand, causing them to get accidentally involved in the incident.

Therefore, if I were to miss Yoo Haon’s group, it would be nothing short of a disaster.

‘This is troublesome…’

As I was stuck at the entrance, unable to do anything, someone who had been watching me from nearby began to approach.

“Is there a problem?”

A beautiful woman dressed in elegant, traditional-style clothing. Upon seeing her face, I unconsciously made a disgusted expression.

‘…Now that I think about it, she was indeed set to live here.’

Baek Soyool, a genius Exorcist from the Baek Family’s branch faction, called a Mutation.

Instantly intuiting her identity, I cautiously began to read her information.

‘Appraisal.’

Ding!

【Baek Soyool】

▶Level 59

▶Stats

【Stamina : S】

【Spiritual Power : B+】

【Art Formula : B】

【Mental Strength : A-】

▶Traits (7/10)

【Gale (S)】

【Battle Specter (A)】

【Combat Instinct (A-)】

【Growth Acceleration (B)】

【Spiritual Power Amplification (B)】

【Sensory Expansion (C+)】

【Strong Body (C-)】

As expected, terrifyingly formidable.

A veritable 1st-Rank Exorcist, and at a level advancing towards Special-Rank.

However, with this Baek Soyool in particular, there was something to be more cautious about than just her strength.

Namely, despite her lovely appearance and refined speech, she possessed an unpredictable madness.

In the original, she kidnapped Yoo Haon out of interest due to his connection with Baek Eunseo, and under the pretext of testing the protagonist’s party, she would aid the enemy or, on a whim, kill an ally simply because she didn’t like them—a genuine psycho.

Moreover, the higher the game’s starting difficulty, the more pronounced this trait became, earning her the nickname “Mad Bitch” among users and causing numerous difficulties in clearing the game as a Named character.

‘Just how bad would she be here, presumably at Hell Difficulty…’

It’s truly at a level beyond comprehension. The best course was to avoid getting involved with her at all if possible.

“My, have I done something improper?”

“…No. I was just lost in thought for a moment. My apologies.”

I tried to quickly leave the spot, but Baek Soyool showed no sign of letting me go.

Thud.

“You said you came to see Eunseo, right?”

As expected, she had been listening all along while pretending otherwise. Feeling a creeping unease, I gave a small nod.

“Then, shall I relay the message for you?”

At the unexpected words, I looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression.

However, it seemed her real intention was something else.

“In exchange, if you would grant me one request.”

And so, I found myself at a separate Baek Family-owned training ground nearby with Baek Soyool.

“What kind of request requires a place like this…?”

I had a rough idea. If it’s something to do at a training ground, there’s only one thing, right?

“Hehe. It seems I’ve been a bit restless lately. Mr. Seoha says he’s tired and won’t meet me, and besides him, there hasn’t been any particularly satisfying opponent.”

To me, making a face of incomprehension, Baek Soyool continued her explanation as if adding on.

“Eunseo said you were quite skilled. That your fighting style is on a different track from ordinary people’s.”

“…You already knew who I was?”

If so, they could have let me in earlier. What a truly nasty character.

Ignoring my reaction entirely, Baek Soyool picked up a wooden training staff with an expectant look.

Whoosh.

Whoosh!

Swish.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen that child evaluate someone else so highly, so I couldn’t help but feel interested.”

Anyway, I roughly understood the whole story. This side was simpler, so it wasn’t a bad situation for me either.

“…It would be better not to expect too much.”

And as expected, I was soundly defeated in the subsequent sparring matches.

Swish.

Thud.

“Why is this…? Your movements aren’t bad, but is this all?”

It couldn’t be helped.

Part of it was because I didn’t want to attract Baek Soyool’s interest, so I held back, but fundamentally, the compatibility was just too poor.

Baek Soyool was a traditional martial faction member who faithfully followed the Baek Family’s style.

Neither the bonus from Forbidden Technique Value nor the counter-technique Severance held any particular meaning against her.

Practically, all I could do was bombard her with various Cursed Techniques, but with the overwhelming difference in specs, of course that wouldn’t work well.

‘As expected, compatibility with martial factions is worse than I thought.’

It wasn’t for nothing that I refused the match with Baek Eunseo during the mid-term evaluation of the previous Comprehensive Combat Training.

Of course, there were ways to compensate for it gradually, but for now, there was simply no solution.

I got up from where I was lying on the ground and slowly dusted myself off.

“This should be enough. As you can see, I still have a long way to go.”

Although getting beaten up thoroughly put me in a slightly bad mood, if I think of it as completely severing Baek Soyool’s interest and being able to meet Yoo Haon’s group, it’s not a bad result.

However, true to the name “Mad Bitch,” Baek Soyool’s thoughts seemed to be different.

“…If we end it like this, I think I’d feel a bit disappointed.”

On her face was a subtle hint of madness that had been hard to find until just moments before.

“That’s right. I heard you even subjugated a B-Rank Specter not long ago, so this much probably isn’t exciting. Hehe. Don’t worry. Actually, I’ve been feeling the same way all along.”

So she even knew about the incident with the Guard Unit; it seemed she had been secretly investigating me.

Moreover, this development was dangerous. The Baek Soyool I knew was someone who, if she decided to do something for real, would really do it.

“I gave it my all. Please calm down and keep your promise…”

“My, but there was no sense of crisis at all, was there?”

Baek Soyool drew in her Spiritual Power and swung the staff diagonally as if thrusting a spear.

Swoosh!

Crrrrack!

Boom!

Kaboom!

Watching several trees behind me get effortlessly sliced down, I hardened my expression and drew in my Spiritual Power.

Whoosh.

“Yes. Now I can see a bit of seriousness. So you were holding back after all? How insolent…”

Even if I was holding back, it was only with the gap between training and real combat in mind. I forcibly swallowed the rising sense of injustice.

In that tense, hair-trigger situation, what saved me was the sudden appearance of Baek Eunseo.

“Soyool unni! What are you doing? The elders are calling for you now.”

“…Sigh, just when it was getting good, what a shame.”

Perhaps even she couldn’t ignore the elders’ words, as Baek Soyool retrieved her staff and gathered her Spiritual Power.

Then, she smiled faintly at me and spoke.

“We’ll finish what we started next time, alright?”

“……”

Anyway, like that, I was finally able to join up with Yoo Haon’s group.

“An errand?”

After parting with Baek Soyool, I met Yoo Haon’s group and headed to their teacher, Baek Seoha, who was helping with their training.

And there, Baek Seoha made the same request to Yoo Haon’s group as in the original.

“That’s right. An elder who usually helps with medicinal herbs hasn’t been reachable since the day before yesterday. If possible, could you go meet them and bring back the items?”

“That’s nothing much. What is it? I’ll be right back.”

Baek Eunseo accepted with a smile, and soon Yoo Haon’s group decided to head together to the village near where the elder lived, taking a break for the time being.

“Phew, I was getting so bored training all day, I thought I’d die. Now I can breathe.”

“Aren’t you tired just after arriving? Oppa, you can stay here.”

“It’s not particularly difficult.”

“No. I’ll go along to look around the area too.”

It was there that Yoo Haon’s group, helping the dispatched Exorcists from the Association, would confront Sorisoe, who had swallowed an entire village. Naturally, I couldn’t not go.

Continuously pondering how the Hell Difficulty Sorisoe might differ, or what unexpected obstacles might suddenly arise, I finally took my first step towards the introduction of Story Chapter 2.