Chapter 9

Swish!

The jungle knife sliced through the air.

Splat!

Blood spurted from where the jungle knife grazed.

Perhaps the sharp blade of the jungle knife wasn’t enough to pierce the Big Konga’s thick hide, but one thing was certain: the Big Konga’s movements had become incredibly sluggish.

Dash—

Kang Yuseong, showing no signs of fatigue, gripped the jungle knife once more and plunged directly towards the creature.

Slash!

The jungle knife spun, savagely tearing into the creature’s flank as it passed.

“Kwoo-oo-ong—”

The Big Konga pounded its chest, expressing extreme rage, but there was nothing it could do.

Kang Yuseong had never once been caught by the creature.

No matter how quickly it moved to pounce, Kang Yuseong evaded it as if he had already anticipated its every move.

He didn’t just evade, either.

That jungle knife.

Every time the creature missed, the blade of that jungle knife—a weapon easily found at any Hunter Market—would rip into and slash the Big Konga’s flesh.

It was maddening.

He didn’t deliver a single decisive blow.

Attacks that were initially mere stings were now proving fatally significant.

Bleeding.

The Big Konga had lost an undeniable amount of blood.

In the beginning, Kang Yuseong relentlessly targeted the creature’s ankles.

After focusing his slashes on the Achilles tendons, he effectively crippled its movements.

There was no need to sever the tendons completely.

Just wounding them would be enough; the creature would stop itself, wracked by the pain of its tendons feeling like they were tearing with every movement.

Kang Yuseong was cunning.

He possessed unparalleled skill in brilliantly exploiting an opponent’s weaknesses and turning them into fatal flaws.

If there were no weaknesses, he would relentlessly create them.

He would create a slight opening, then forcibly widen it to deliver death.

That was Kang Yuseong’s style.

What was crucial was that he had never let an opponent he fought against simply walk away.

Clang—

Whether his opponent was a monster or a human…

As long as he held a blade, only the opponent’s death signaled the end of the battle.

Kang Yuseong gripped his knife tightly once more and charged.

This wasn’t a test.

It was a one-sided torment of the Big Konga.

Beeeep—

At that moment, a loud beep echoed through the arena.

“Mr. Kang Yuseong, stop! That’s enough.”

As the examiners’ voices came through the speakers, tranquilizer darts were fired at the Big Konga.

“Kwooo-oo-urgh!”

Even after being hit by the tranquilizers, the creature thrashed wildly.

With the human it wanted to tear apart right in front of it, yet unable to do so, it was driven to madness.

Thwack!

Despite having been tranquilized, another dart was fired at the still-raging creature.

“Kwoo-oo…”

The Big Konga glared at Kang Yuseong with wide, bloodshot eyes, then collapsed.

The doors opened, and medical personnel rushed in.

Test monsters were valuable assets.

The medical team confirmed the Big Konga was tranquilized, then examined its wounds.

Their faces grim, they shook their heads.

They had also been watching the test on monitors, and seeing the wounds, it was a wonder the Big Konga had lasted this long.

One of them slowly turned his head towards Kang Yuseong.

His eyes were filled with shock.

He was a seasoned doctor who had spent years in this testing facility.

He could tell roughly how a fight had progressed just by looking at the monsters’ wounds.

But the wounds on the Big Konga now…

‘Im… impossible!’

After examining the wounds, he found himself trembling unconsciously.

The wounds etched onto the Big Konga’s body weren’t just any wounds.

Every single slash had been made with purpose.

Those slashes were relentlessly and terrifyingly precise, designed to incapacitate the Big Konga.

Goosebumps rose on his entire body.

A person with such terrifying blade skills stood before him.

Not even a formidable Chakra User, just that slender-looking person had made him instinctively step back.

The three examiners who had stopped the test felt the same chilling sensation.

“Whew…”

Since the test was stopped, a decision had to be made.

“This is driving me crazy.”

But it wasn’t easy.

Hunter licenses ranged from F-rank to SS-rank, and these could be updated based on hunting results.

In other words, catching a monster recognized by the state would add points, allowing one to advance to a higher rank.

However, those who passed their first test received a different colored license.

Even for the same SS-rank, a seasoned Hunter with a purple license was different from a novice Hunter with a white one.

SS-rank.

That was the limit of the license.

No matter how skilled, the license could not grant a higher rank.

But now, the three examiners couldn’t speak rashly.

Individuals with skills inferior to Kang Yuseong had received SS-rank licenses.

Though those were very rare cases.

So… what rank should they give this man?

“What else can we do?”

Heo Yoon-hwan said.

“It has to be… SS-rank… right?”

Kim Ji-hyeok slowly nodded.

“Because there’s nothing higher.”

Rules were rules.

Senior examiner Seong Je-yoon took the microphone again.

“We will now announce the results. Mr. Kang Yuseong has been—”

Kang Yuseong calmly looked upwards.

The voice continued from the speaker.

“—evaluated as SS-rank.”

Kang Yuseong showed no excitement or surprise at these words.

He merely offered a faint smile towards the three examiners.

“Thank you.”

“That was… quite an effort.”

It was the examiners whose voices were tense.

The three examiners watched Kang Yuseong collect his jungle knife and turn to leave.

As if he had expected to receive an SS-rank, his departing figure was utterly composed.

‘What an incredible man!’

Heo Yoon-hwan realized he had unconsciously clenched his fists.

He, too, was an S-rank Hunter.

Level 23, to be precise.

One of South Korea’s most skilled Hunters.

Yet, even he wouldn’t have been confident in taking down a Big Konga like that without manifesting his Chakra Force.

And without armor, using only a third-rate jungle knife…

‘I have to recruit him!’

He was the Vice Master of the Hwarang Guild.

The Hwarang Guild, one of South Korea’s top five guilds, wielded considerable influence, and with over two thousand registered Hunters, it was a massive organization.

The reason he was an examiner at this testing facility was precisely for situations like this.

To find individuals with the greatest potential and bring them into the guild.

But judging by the looks of his colleagues, the other two seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Until now, they were fellow examiners, but from this moment on, they were rivals.

“Well, I’m rather busy, so I’ll have to excuse myself.”

Heo Yoon-hwan, who had been observing, made the first move.

‘That cunning fox!’

Kim Ji-hyeok glared at Heo Yoon-hwan’s face.

Just then, Seong Je-yoon stepped forward.

“My Master is also urgently looking for me, so I must be going.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he exited the examiners’ room.

Heo Yoon-hwan followed him, leaving only Kim Ji-hyeok in the room.

Kim Ji-hyeok let out a scoff.

“Sly devils, all of them.”

It didn’t matter whether they left first or not anyway.

He pulled out a cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and lit it.

Then, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and made a call.

“It’s me. Kang Yuseong is leaving now. Make sure you get him. Don’t let him be snatched away, got it?”

One had to use their head.

“Hmph…!”

Exhaling a long stream of smoke, he gazed at the empty testing arena.

“Damn it… what a ridiculously impressive guy.”

A strange twist curved the corners of his lips as he spoke.

* * * * *

“Mr. Kang Yuseong! Your license has been issued.”

After the test, Kang Yuseong was able to receive his license immediately at the issuing office.

This was possible because it was the main headquarters.

He looked down at the license.

A white license with the two letters ‘SS’ clearly embossed.

He smiled as he looked at the license, then tucked it into his pocket.

Now, this was practically a credit card with no limit.

Even an A-rank would boost one’s loan limit into the hundreds of millions.

But an SS-rank…

He chuckled to himself and headed for the exit.

However, two men blocked his path.

Both men wore black sunglasses, were tall, and exuded a considerable aura of power.

They were clearly Hunters who had undergone intense training and real combat.

“Are you Mr. Kang Yuseong?”

One of them asked politely.

However, the thick, palpable killing intent emanating from behind his sunglasses could not be hidden.

Kang Yuseong smiled.

‘Good eyes.’

This wasn’t because they held any ill will towards Kang Yuseong.

It was the gaze only those who had crossed countless thresholds of life and death could possess.

Kang Yuseong had already sensed that he was quite strong.

“I am. And who might you be?”

Kang Yuseong met his gaze directly, unflinching.

Those who lived on battlefields where life and death were constantly decided possessed the eyes of a beast.

Like the man before him.

Yet, Kang Yuseong faced that gaze with complete composure.

It was the man who had spoken who was more surprised.

‘Well… look at this?’

The calmness he sensed in Kang Yuseong’s eyes.

It meant that even though Kang Yuseong recognized him, he remained entirely unfazed.

The Hunter, Jung Jun-hyeok, frowned.

What Kim Ji-hyeok had told him on the phone earlier was starting to feel real.

Kim Ji-hyeok rarely made calls.

He would often pass over even A-rank individuals if they didn’t impress him.

And this Kang Yuseong was the man Kim Ji-hyeok had specifically told him to ‘get’.

Kang Yuseong looked at Jung Jun-hyeok and smiled inwardly.

‘Has it begun?’

He had deliberately revealed his skills during the test.

Of course, one intention was to raise his loan limit by getting an SS-rank, but it was also to instigate the current situation.

Now, he had declared that Kang Yuseong had returned.

From now on, those who coveted Kang Yuseong’s power would flock to him.

If, until now, Kang Yuseong had been just an ordinary twenty-three-year-old with no name or power, things would be different from this point forward.

Because from this very moment, the history of South Korea would revolve around him.

He had deliberately created this monumental current.

They probably wouldn’t know.

That they were being drawn into that current without even realizing it themselves.

“My apologies. Jung Jun-hyeok… My name is Jung Jun-hyeok.”

Jung Jun-hyeok offered a cold smile and extended his hand.

The sharp gaze piercing from behind his sunglasses remained unchanged.

“I’ll be direct.”

He spoke politely, yet with an utterly impolite tone.

“Would you not consider joining our Immortal Guild?”

A smile spread across his lips.

The Immortal Guild.

The name of South Korea’s strongest guild, ranked number one, had been uttered.

With a smiling face, he awaited Kang Yuseong’s answer.