Volume 1, Episode 7
007
"…Sigh."
A splitting headache.
Kim Seungmin placed a hand on his head and let out a sigh.
"Watch the tutorial and cool your head."
The Association Chairman was stubborn beyond measure.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't accept what had happened then.
Damn it.
In the end, he had no choice but to accept the Chairman's words.
He couldn't defy the words of the man who stood at the head of the Association.
Trudge. Trudge.
Lost in such thoughts, Kim Seungmin walked somewhere inside the Association.
As he strode forward, he arrived in front of an elevator.
He rode it down to the underground.
Ding.
The sound announcing arrival.
Rattle.
The elevator doors opened, and Kim Seungmin stepped out.
Trudge.
Kim Seungmin took another step forward.
As he continued walking.
Tap.
He arrived in front of an enormous door that looked quite sturdy.
It was a gray door.
Kim Seungmin moved toward a small screen beside the door.
Swish.
And the moment he directed both pupils toward the screen.
Zeeeeng.
Blue light shot out from within the screen and scanned his entire body.
"Identity confirmed."
A woman's voice flowed out from the small screen.
Clang.
With that, the massive door, firmly shut, opened automatically with a noise.
Bustle. Bustle.
As the door opened, the sound of countless people murmuring echoed out.
Trudge. Trudge.
Toward the source of the sound.
Kim Seungmin directed his steps beyond the open door.
Clang.
The moment Kim Seungmin stepped inside, the open door closed automatically with a noise.
'Training ground.'
Thus, the place he had arrived at was none other than the Association's training ground.
"This time, I absolutely… must pass."
"How many times… is this now?"
"Is it really… that difficult to the point you need so many retakes?"
"From what I've heard, it wasn't all that hard."
Dozens of hunters filled the training ground.
There were so many that they couldn't all be counted at a glance.
Many were gathered in groups, huddled in circles.
"Hmm…."
There were also many who stood alone at ease.
Swish.
Standing before the door, Kim Seungmin swept his gaze over the dozens of hunters.
As he did, his eyes stopped at one spot.
"……."
Kim Seungmin fixed his gaze on somewhere.
Clench.
Just as he balled his fist.
Tap-tap-tap!
Someone was rushing toward Kim Seungmin.
A man in a perfectly fitted black suit.
"Haa…. Haa…."
It was Jo Yujin, an Association employee.
He quickly arrived in front of Kim Seungmin, grabbed his knee, and breathed roughly.
"Haa… If only you had contacted me before you came, Team Leader…."
As Jo Yujin panted and spoke to Kim Seungmin.
"I didn't know I was coming here either."
Kim Seungmin cut him off and said.
"It's the Chairman's orders."
Kim Seungmin's eyes changed.
"Ah…."
At that, Jo Yujin let out a small exclamation.
"He told me to watch this tutorial and cool my head."
It was probably because of the series of incidents that had occurred this time.
"But the tutorial is one of our important tasks as well. No matter what, I'll have to do my best."
As Kim Seungmin spoke while clenching his fist.
"Yes, sir! I'll keep that in mind."
Jo Yujin answered firmly, his eyes sparkling.
* * *
Hunters were the most important national power in the modern era, and they served as both that and as time bombs that could go off at any moment.
Therefore, there was a mandatory process they had to go through upon registering as hunters.
—The Tutorial.
A process that taught what life as a hunter was, and what kind of life they would have to lead going forward.
The Republic of Korea possessed a hunter system sufficient to make it a G7 nation, and this tutorial was a mandatory process.
Drip.
Cold sweat flowed down Kim Seungmin's forehead.
"Damn it."
His bestial instincts.
Because of them, his heart was racing.
'Why?'
He couldn't understand.
Ever since that day when an SS-rank Gate was judged to have appeared, his heart had continued to throb ominously, and now it was beating like mad again.
'Why?'
He didn't know either.
An anxiety he had never once felt before.
"Are you alright, Team Leader?"
Jo Yujin spoke to Kim Seungmin.
"I'm fine."
Kim Seungmin struggled not to show his discomposed state.
Trudge.
The moment he stepped forward, the closed door opened automatically.
"Who is it during the tutorial…."
The employees sitting before numerous monitors spoke irritably and turned their heads toward the opening door.
And the moment they saw Kim Seungmin, who had just entered.
They shot up!
Everyone rose from their seats and placed their hands on their chests.
"Team Leader!"
Kim Seungmin was also called the Reaper of the Hunter Association.
A sociopath who unconditionally completed any mission he took on, who knew nothing of forgiveness or mercy.
His appearance was as fearsome to the junior employees as the Chairman's own.
"Hoo. Sit down, all of you."
Looking at the employees who had risen in haste, Kim Seungmin spoke.
Tap-tap-tap!
One employee rushed frantically toward Kim Seungmin.
The employee's mind was quite confused.
'What the?'
Kim Seungmin, team leader of the Hunter Management Department.
It was absolutely rare for him to personally get involved down to the tutorial level.
"What brings you here, Team Leader?"
The employee cautiously asked Kim Seungmin, his face brimming with confusion.
Then, at that moment.
"Ah, could it be…."
A single thought quickly flashed through the employee's mind.
There was only one case where Kim Seungmin took an interest in the tutorial.
"Is it because of a special management target?"
Only when there were hunters called special management targets.
He flinched.
At the employee's words, Kim Seungmin's body flinched.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
Kim Seungmin spoke in a flustered voice.
"Didn't I receive a report that there were none in this batch?"
"Ah, well…."
The employee seemed troubled.
He scratched his head and spoke.
"At the last minute… one person was added."
"One person?"
Was this it?
Could it be that he, who was only ever assigned to important missions, had been sent to the tutorial under the pretext of disciplinary reflection for this?
Thump, thump.
And was his heart beating like this because of that as well?
The anxiety settled in Kim Seungmin's heart grew even deeper.
"Who is it?"
Who on earth could it be?
Since he hadn't received any report whatsoever, Kim Seungmin couldn't help but be in the dark.
"Yes. A special management target. His name is… Yun Hyeongi."
The employee spoke to Kim Seungmin.
His voice grew progressively smaller toward the end.
"……!"
Kim Seungmin's pupils dilated.
Something flashed through his mind.
"Yun Hyeongi? That brat from Tyrion?"
Tyrion Guild, one of the nation's three largest guilds.
He had heard that the guild master's surname was Yun, and that he had a youngest son who had yet to Awaken as a hunter.
"My son seems to be showing signs of Awakening as a hunter."
He had definitely heard that before.
"Yun Hyeongi. When he becomes a hunter, please take special care of him."
Memories rose to the surface in Kim Seungmin's mind.
"Wait, then…."
The reason his heart was beating like this was because of Tyrion's youngest son?
Kim Seungmin's eyes gradually sank.
A reason to watch this tutorial closely had arisen.
* * *
"Today, I will explain about weapons."
The tutorial was in progress.
A process of teaching those who had Awakened as hunters what a hunter was, and what the life of a hunter entailed.
To this, the hunters were focusing.
"Swords, spears, bows, and many other weapons exist. And once you grow accustomed to the weapon you use, you can imbue it with mana. For example, you there."
The instructor conducting the lecture extended a finger and pointed at one hunter.
"Yes, sir!"
"I've heard you're adept with the sword. Is that correct?"
There were some who looked into a hunter's aptitude before coming to the tutorial.
"Yes! That's correct."
The hunter singled out by the instructor answered confidently.
"Step up here and hold this sword."
Trudge. Trudge.
At the instructor's words, the hunter stepped forward.
Clench.
The moment the sword was placed in his hand.
Hummmmm.
A blue aura began to swirl around the sword.
Having watched this sight, the instructor opened his mouth to address everyone.
"Just like this, you can imbue a weapon with mana. A weapon imbued with mana has its destructive power further increased."
The instructor swept his gaze over all the hunters who were directing their eyes toward him.
"Understood?"
And he spoke to the hunters once more.
"Yes! Understood!"
At the instructor's words, countless hunters answered simultaneously.
As many, many voices spoke at once, the hall echoed.
At that moment.
Swish!
A sharp sound rang out.
The instructor's arm had whipped forward like a lash toward the hunter holding the sword.
"……!"
The flustered hunter hurriedly swung his sword, barely managing to block the instructor's arm.
However,
His sword shook uncontrollably.
"……!"
Among the many hunters who witnessed this scene before their eyes, the pupils of several individuals widened greatly.
In an instant, their faces were rapidly dyed with panic.
'If that were….'
If they were the ones placed in that situation, could they have blocked the instructor's attack?
Wouldn't they have suffered a fatal injury from taking the attack head-on?
It was these thoughts that panicked them.
"A weapon imbued with mana doesn't just have increased destructive power. Its defensive power increases as well. Understood?"
The instructor opened his mouth to address the panicking hunters.
"Yes! Understood!"
Countless hunters answered the instructor in unison.
"Step down. Next. You."
The instructor pointed at one hunter.
"Y-yes!"
"Come up."
The singled-out hunter climbed onto the platform with a bewildered face.
"Do you have a weapon you're familiar with?"
"Uh, no."
"Then pick whichever one you want."
The instructor spoke to the hunter.
"Yes…. Understood."
The hunter answered in a weak voice and picked up a spear.
Unlike the hunter who had held the sword before, no blue aura flared around the spear.
"And…."
Swish!
The instructor's arm whipped out again.
Crash!
The sound of metal breaking echoed through the hall, and the hunter holding the spear was sent flying far away.
Gulp.
A silence of deathly quiet enveloped the hall.
The sound of someone swallowing dryly among the hunters rang out loudly.
They were tense after seeing the hunter who had been sent flying by the instructor's attack.
"It was the exact same level of force as before. But since it's not imbued with mana, this is what happens."
The instructor spoke to them.
"Therefore, as hunters, you must find a weapon that suits you as soon as possible and grow accustomed to it."
The instructor was imparting information that any hunter ought to know.
"……."
But the hunters listening to this had a cold reaction.
The gazes directed at the instructor contained emotions that were far from pleasant.
They were bewildered by the instructor's extreme actions.
Then, at that moment.
"Hey, you there."
The instructor pointed at someone with a furrowed brow.
"You've been zoning out on your own since earlier. Are you saying you don't need a class like mine?"
A sharp, knife-like voice of the instructor rang out.
"That's not it."
At the voice that came in reply, the instructor's frown deepened even more.
"Get out here."
The greatest villain of all time had returned.