Chapter 154 – What It Means to Become One (3)

The founding of the new Hanul Guild.

Through the merger and acquisition of Hanul and Hwarang, it became a mega-guild with over 100 Hunters.

Various broadcasting companies were in a frenzy to cover the situation.

It was reported on the news day after day, and rumors were flying around.

Officially, I stepped down as the leader of Team 3.

The members of Team 3 have grown well, and there’s no need for me to follow them around and manage every little thing anymore.

They can handle themselves now.

And so, I decided to prepare the training for the entire Hanul Guild.

Within Hanul, Team 3 is so exceptionally strong that the other teams tend to look relatively weak.

Of course, the members of Team 3 are exceptionally talented, but awakening as a Hunter doesn’t mean one is incompetent.

Everyone can reach their desired level through effort.

I’m just here to give them a push so they can get there a little more easily and comfortably.

Of course, they might find it a little… just a little painful.

Still, isn’t it better to feel pain that makes you think you’re about to die, rather than actually losing your life to a monster?

First, I prepared a joint training session to commemorate the merger.

“Oh my, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten to train with you, darling.”

The director and trainers of Star Gym—a really great guy, aside from being gay—put their heart and soul into preparing for the training.

This time, at my special request, we even added a new curriculum.

Training is only fun when it’s like a real battle. If it’s fun, people will take an interest.

The era of just relentlessly beating people down is over.

“Battle royale?”

Hunters with haggard faces muttered as they read the notice posted in the morning.

Everyone was suffering from full-body muscle soreness after the basic training.

In other words, they were exhausted.

“Thank you for diligently following the three-day training schedule. This instructor will now begin practical training to assess your performance.”

The people who had looked at me with admiration when the training first started…

…now all had faces as if they were looking at their mortal enemy.

I expected it, but it still hurts so much.

I only did my best out of a sincere wish for everyone to return safely when they go on hunts.

“From now on, all trainees will proceed to the specially constructed battle royale field by the Hanul Guild. In your backpacks, you will find essentials for survival. The use of inventories and personal weapons is strictly prohibited. All trainees will use the provided power suits and non-lethal mode weapons.”

It took quite a while to prepare all this.

I added some special functions to the power suits, and none of the weapons have blades.

However, there’s a special system that logs all the damage inflicted on an opponent into a database.

“If it’s a battle royale, does that mean we fight until only one person is left?”

“Yes, it’s the same as the method you’re familiar with. You will fight until only one person remains.”

When you have a battle royale, all sorts of schemes and tricks run rampant.

The battle royale format is the best for realistic training. There are no allies.

“Um, I have a dungeon raid scheduled for tomorrow…”

“Anyone with a schedule can choose to be ‘eliminated’ immediately. It’s all your own choice. Likewise, you can choose to be eliminated at any time once the training begins.”

Sensing something ominous in my words, the trainees glanced at each other.

Kim In-ho, in particular, looked at me with eyes that said he wouldn’t be fooled.

“Just in case… I’m asking just in case.”

Kim In-ho raised his hand to ask a question.

I listened attentively.

“What happens to those who are eliminated?”

As if it was the question on everyone’s mind, they all stared at my lips.

That’s our Kim In-ho for you. No, even without In-ho, they probably all had an inkling.

“Trainees who fail to rank in the top 10%…”

The total number of trainees from the Hanul and Hwarang guilds is 110.

For this day, all the guild’s Hunters have cleared their dungeon raid schedules.

It might be a huge blow to the guild, but what’s more important is building teamwork.

Right now, Hwarang and Hanul haven’t blended into one. There’s a high risk of factions forming among themselves.

Throughout history, there has been a very useful strategy.

The strategy of creating an external enemy to unite the inside.

In other words, I’ll make Hanul and Hwarang become one by facing an external enemy.

That is the reason I’m conducting this joint training.

“…will be deemed to have insufficient training and will undergo further special training with this instructor. For another three-day course, just like this one.”

“!!!”

It was as if the word ‘horror’ was written on everyone’s faces.

We had been doing high-intensity training that would put special forces to shame.

“Sudden attacks at night…”

“Getting attacked even while eating…”

“Having to eat that horrible food…!”

Everyone started muttering like their souls had left their bodies.

But soon, the light returned to their eyes.

The top 10%.

That meant at least 11 people would be exempt from the training.

“So, you just have to survive against me until only 11 of you are left.”

“What…?”

At my words, everyone blinked.

Were my words that difficult to understand?

“Survive against you, Director… I mean, Instructor…?”

“Yes. Once you all enter the forest, I will begin the pursuit.”

“…That’s not what a battle royale is…”

Anyway, a battle royale is about fighting until the last person is standing.

“Now, let’s begin.”

I’m definitely not doing this because I want to have fun.

Really.

I’m going to make sure everyone has a safe Hunter life, and I’ll win the Nobel Hunter Prize.

***

“Even if he’s an S-Rank, does he really think he can handle 100 Hunters?”

“…”

“Wow. This feels like he’s crossing a line. Shouldn’t we show him the power of the Hwarang Guild?”

“…”

When they said battle royale, he thought it would be fun, like a proper skills test.

But out of nowhere, it turned out to be a battle royale not against each other, but one where they had to run from Director Lee Hyunbin.

No matter how powerful an S-Rank he was, this was just too arrogant.

While it was realistic training, the battle would be fought with non-lethal weapons.

This meant that even if they didn’t inflict much actual damage on their opponent, they could still earn points.

It meant that even if they were quickly eliminated, just landing a few effective hits on Director Lee Hyunbin could naturally place them in the top ranks.

“Hey, let’s go for it. What do you say?”

“We have to.”

The more aggressive members of the Hwarang Guild were smiling, the corners of their mouths turned up.

They had already entered the forest where the battle royale field was set.

“Everyone hides, and when the Delivery Man comes in, we all jump him at once. How about it?”

“Then, shouldn’t we ask the Hanul Guild guys over there to join us?”

“Hey, hey, forget them. Let’s just do it ourselves. Is there any need to team up? Look at them, they’re already running for their lives.”

The man with the sharp, slanted eyes scorned the Hanul Guild members as they fled like madmen.

He laughed, seeing the Hanul Guild act so passively.

“We’ll stick to the Delivery Man as much as possible, harass him, and keep landing effective hits.”

No matter how strong he is, he doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head.

And while his somewhat weak defense is pointed out as a flaw, with Kim Cheol-su—nicknamed ‘Mad Dog’ for his reckless attacks—it was entirely possible.

“And then, if Cheol-su-sunbae just lands the finishing blow… Cheol-su-sunbae?”

The man with the slanted eyes saw Kim Cheol-su fleeing so fast his eyebrows could fly off.

The Hwarang Guild members who watched this blankly were at a loss for words for a moment.

“What the.”

Of all people, it was Mad Dog Kim Cheol-su. A guy whose foul temper was second to none. For him to be the first to run away.

It was an incomprehensible situation.

Was it because the opponent was an S-Rank? No.

One of the incidents that made Kim Cheol-su famous was when he got into a dispute with the number one ranker, Yeomje, and almost got into a fight.

Back then, Kim Cheol-su was only a mid-tier Hunter, yet he had picked a fight with the notoriously ill-mannered Yeomje. There was no need to elaborate on how foul his temper was.

“I heard he was trained by the Delivery Man before. Maybe he feels awkward attacking someone he knows.”

“Really? I guess he’s surprisingly soft-hearted, unlike how he looks. Anyway, let’s do it ourselves. It’s totally possible, I’m telling you!”

Even though Kim Cheol-su had run away, there were still 30 like-minded Hunters here.

Having all been brutally trained by the Delivery Man, they were excited with the thought of getting some payback.

The time for the practical training to officially begin drew near. The 30-man advance team scattered to their positions, waiting for Lee Hyunbin with bated breath.

They sneered at the other Hunters who were mistaking this practical training for a game of hide-and-seek.

“He’s coming.”

“The archers will strike first to distract him, the mages will tie him down with debuffs, and then we’ll unleash a barrage of damage without mercy. Got it? For the last three days, Lee Hyunbin hasn’t treated us like human beings!”

*Thud, thud.*

Hyunbin could be seen walking over. He probably never expected them to form an encirclement right at the entrance and wait for him.

The man with the slanted eyes twisted his lips into a smirk.

He had the face of a modern-day Zhuge Liang.

The man gave the signal. The archer-class Hunters, who had drawn their bowstrings taut, released them all at once.

*Swoosh, shhh!*

Eight arrows, imbued with mana, flew towards Hyunbin.

“Huh?”

They had definitely ambushed him at the perfect moment, without giving him a chance to notice.

But Hyunbin was gone.

“Dodge!”

Hyunbin charged straight at them. The flustered archers hurriedly aimed their bows again.

*Swoosh!*

But the hastily fired arrows didn’t even graze Hyunbin.

*Crack, thwack!*

With a single punch, Hyunbin took them down one by one.

“Debuffs, bind him!”

Despite the urgent shout, the mage-class Hunters couldn’t even cast properly.

They couldn’t aim their spells properly because of their allies. No, even without that, Hyunbin’s movements were so fast he left afterimages and disappeared.

In other words, he was so fast it didn’t even seem like a person was moving.

“Everyone, attack at once!”

It was no longer a situation where strategies or tactics would work.

Hyunbin was even more of a monster than the rumors suggested.

As if proving he wasn’t an S-Rank for nothing.

Now, they could only rely on luck and fortune.

Of course, he wasn’t an opponent they could handle just by ganging up on him.

The man with the slanted eyes saw it.

That people could be sent flying like bowling pins.

“You said they were non-lethal weapons! You said they were non-lethal!”

The people who took a hit from Hyunbin writhed in pain, rolling around like animals taking a mud bath.

“Oh dear, you must all be my fans.”

“What…?”

“Weren’t you all waiting here to get eliminated quickly on purpose?”

Hyunbin asked with a smile, and they were left speechless.

When there was no answer, Hyunbin’s expression turned cold.

“Oh, no? Don’t tell me you were trying to do something to me with a group ambush…?”

“That’s right. The training period was too short, we were so disappointed.”

The man with the slanted eyes shed a tear.

He could feel the cold stares of his comrades lying on the ground, but to survive, he had no choice.

“Aha, I see.”

Satisfied with the answer, Hyunbin beamed and moved on to find his next victim.

*’Cheol-su-sunbae, you should have told us about this.’*

The man now understood why Kim Cheol-su had fled without a second glance.

Not even five minutes after Hyunbin began the practical training, 30 Hunters were eliminated in droves.

Amidst the continuous flood of eliminations, Kim Cheol-su was wandering around, searching for a place where Hyunbin was least likely to find him.

*’Should I dig a tunnel? No, that man would find me even in a tunnel. Or should I head to the sea? No, there’s no sea here.’*

As he was lost in thought for a moment, a familiar voice reached his ears.

“Oh, Cheol-su-sunbaenim!”

It was a guild junior with a puppy-like face.

Hiding from the danger, his expression brightened considerably upon seeing a senior he was close with.

Kim Cheol-su also approached with a smile on his face upon seeing a trustworthy junior.

“You’re alive. That’s a relief. Thirty of our guild members were suddenly eliminated…”

The junior, mid-sentence, blinked as Kim Cheol-su suddenly stabbed him in the stomach with a knife.

It was a non-lethal weapon made of something like rubber, so there was no pain, but if he was processed as ‘dead’, he would be eliminated.

The attack he had just made was to a spot that would have been more than enough to cause death.

-Hunter Nam Woo-yeon has been processed as deceased.

“Huh? Sunbae, it says I’ve been processed as deceased because of your prank.”

The puppy-faced Hunter asked in bewilderment.

In that moment, he saw it.

“Woo-yeon. Life is the real deal.”

“What? Hyung? Hyung, did you just really… How could you do this to me!”

Leaving the aggrieved Nam Woo-yeon behind, Kim Cheol-su sneered coldly and started walking again.

Thinking it over, he realized it was better to end the training quickly rather than run endlessly.

To do that, he needed to coolly eliminate everyone, even people he knew.

“From now on, I will live for myself.”

Kim Cheol-su knew that life was much more enjoyable if you were just a little bit of a coward.