Volume 1, Episode 8
008
The instructor for this tutorial batch was Kim Seung-yeon.
He was notorious among the many instructors within the Association for having a terrible reputation.
“Did you hear who got assigned as the instructor for this tutorial batch?”
A tutorial was, as the word itself implied, a course that taught the basics—the fundamental virtues that any Hunter ought to possess.
That was why the instructor’s role was so important.
Because no matter what you did, the basics were always the most important.
“They say it’s Instructor Kim Seung-yeon.”
“Instructor Kim Seung-yeon?”
His fame was widespread among the Association’s employees.
Especially among those involved in tutorial duties, there wasn’t a single employee who didn’t know him.
“This batch... must be completely out of luck.”
The batches Kim Seung-yeon took charge of were infamous for having accidents.
Whether big or small, if he was in charge, an accident always happened.
“They’re in for quite a rough time.”
That was why, whenever Kim Seung-yeon was selected as an instructor, the employees instead worried about the Hunters who would be taking the tutorial.
Because his teaching methods were uniquely harsh compared to the other instructors.
“How in the world... did someone like that become an instructor?”
Kim Seung-yeon was a man whose character had been shattered beyond repair.
During every tutorial, baseless insults directed at novice Hunters were a given, and he habitually used his position as an instructor to wield violence.
The employees had always questioned how Kim Seung-yeon had become an instructor.
“They say Instructor Kim Seung-yeon was quite skilled back when he was active as a B-rank Hunter.”
Kim Seung-yeon had once been a capable Hunter who had made quite a name for himself as a B-rank.
But even so, it did nothing to improve his image.
“So what if he’s skilled? His personality is trash.”
This was what the majority of the employees knew him as.
Such was Kim Seung-yeon, currently active as an instructor.
But there was one thing such a man hated above all else.
‘Little punks.’
It was those who acted out without knowing their place.
‘They probably think being a Hunter will change everything.’
People thought the world would change once they became Hunters.
An ordinary person becoming a superhuman.
And indeed, the power of a superhuman brought great changes to their lives.
‘Power.’
Immense power they had never possessed before.
‘Benefits.’
And the countless benefits an ordinary person could never enjoy.
The gazes filled with admiration directed at Hunters, and so on.
That was why most people thought that way once they became Hunters.
Because Hunters were revered worldwide.
‘You can’t survive on that alone.’
But a Hunter was not someone who could survive on that alone.
Others thought wrong.
They only did so because they hadn’t experienced it themselves.
In the end, they were no different from those chasing empty dreams.
‘There’s no way they’d know.’
They didn’t know.
How lonely and arduous a Hunter’s life truly was.
“You.”
That was why Kim Seung-yeon intended to teach them.
“What’s your name?”
Kim Seung-yeon said in a blunt tone to the person who had stepped forward.
At his defiant attitude, the Hunter answered.
“Yun Hyeon-gi.”
* * *
“Yun Hyeon-gi.”
A man speaking while looking straight into the eyes of the instructor, Kim Seung-yeon.
“Yun Hyeon-gi...? Don’t tell me you’re...”
Hearing the voice, Kim Seung-yeon seemed to realize something and trailed off.
“I belong to Tyrion.”
As if continuing Kim Seung-yeon’s words, Yun Hyeon-gi opened his mouth.
At that moment.
“......!”
Hearing Yun Hyeon-gi’s voice, the numerous Hunters around them widened their eyes.
‘The goal.’
The place all Hunters held as their greatest interest.
The place everyone wanted to enter and aimed for.
‘The Three Great Guilds.’
That was one of the Republic of Korea’s Three Great Guilds.
But a Hunter who hadn’t even taken the tutorial yet belonged to Tyrion, one of the Three Great Guilds?
Moreover, if his surname was Yun...
“Tyrion!”
He was undoubtedly the youngest son of the guildmaster leading Tyrion, one of the Three Great Guilds.
“I heard the youngest son of the Tyrion Guildmaster finished his Hunter registration recently and would be attending the tutorial soon.”
“Huh? Really? I’m taking the tutorial this time too... don’t tell me we’re in the same batch?”
The Hunters’ faces were colored with shock because they knew this fact.
“I hate brats like you.”
Kim Seung-yeon, who had been momentarily taken aback, spoke to Yun Hyeon-gi with an inferiority complex.
‘Born with a silver spoon in your mouth, and that’s all.’
Guys who didn’t know the true face of a Hunter.
Kim Seung-yeon hated guys like Yun Hyeon-gi with a passion bordering on loathing.
“I’m talking about brats like you who strut around with no skill of your own, relying only on your background.”
As Yun Hyeon-gi furrowed his brow at Kim Seung-yeon’s words.
“Take this.”
Kim Seung-yeon held out a sword to Yun Hyeon-gi.
Hum.
Then, a blue aura began to swirl around the sword Yun Hyeon-gi held.
Swoosh.
At the same time, his demeanor changed noticeably.
“Not bad.”
The momentum of Yun Hyeon-gi, changed the moment he gripped the sword.
Feeling that, Kim Seung-yeon spoke.
A high-level Hunter could tell things just from the posture and appearance of someone holding a weapon.
Nod.
Yun Hyeon-gi nodded as if it were only natural at Kim Seung-yeon’s words.
“I wielded a sword even before I Awakened as a Hunter.”
He said to Kim Seung-yeon.
“Does that mean you received prodigy training?”
At that, Kim Seung-yeon said with a slight sneer at the corner of his mouth.
Srring!
And unlike when he had faced the Hunters moments ago, he drew the sword at his waist.
Hum.
A blue aura began to swirl around the sword Kim Seung-yeon held.
At that moment.
“But that’s as far as it goes.”
Kim Seung-yeon’s body moved.
Swhack!
The blade came down toward Yun Hyeon-gi’s head.
“......!”
The Hunters who witnessed this exclaimed in surprise.
‘Crazy...!’
They thought that if this continued, Yun Hyeon-gi would suffer a grave injury.
And from their own instructor, Kim Seung-yeon, no less.
“Huh.”
But a completely different scene unfolded from what they had expected.
Clang!
Yun Hyeon-gi blocked it with the sword he held.
Swhack!
And he even launched a counterattack toward Kim Seung-yeon.
“Hoo. You weren’t all talk. This is it, then?”
Kim Seung-yeon said, looking at Yun Hyeon-gi.
“But merely that doesn’t mean you can skip the tutorial.”
“......”
“I’ll thoroughly teach you that your skill amounts to nothing.”
“Do as you please.”
Yun Hyeon-gi said, narrowing his eyes.
He seemed to be in a foul mood.
“After all, proof is done with the body.”
Yun Hyeon-gi’s attitude as if he was confident facing Kim Seung-yeon.
Swoosh.
Kim Seung-yeon silently directed his gaze toward such a Yun Hyeon-gi.
“......”
Their gazes collided.
A cold atmosphere hung between them.
And shortly after.
“The only reason you can say that.”
Kim Seung-yeon opened his mouth.
Tap-tap-tap!
At the same time, he raised an intense blue flame from his sword and rushed at Yun Hyeon-gi.
“Is because it’s right now.”
The two clashed.
Clang!
Once again, a screeching sound of metal echoed throughout the hall.
Sparks flew between the two crossed swords.
Tap.
Yun Hyeon-gi quickly moved to widen the distance.
“You’re certainly not bad.”
Looking at Yun Hyeon-gi, Kim Seung-yeon slowly lowered his sword.
“Worthy of acknowledgment.”
A brief clash.
But even with just that, Kim Seung-yeon could feel something.
‘A single exchange.’
A single exchange was enough to gauge an opponent’s skill.
Yun Hyeon-gi certainly had skill.
Even though Kim Seung-yeon hadn’t gone all out, the fact that a novice Hunter who hadn’t even finished the tutorial had blocked his sword and even taken a counterattacking stance...
“You’ve got skill. But stay focused on the tutorial.”
However, it wasn’t simply that which made him acknowledge Yun Hyeon-gi.
‘Damn it. If only he weren’t from Tyrion.’
He would have made a complete fool of Yun Hyeon-gi in front of everyone.
But even Kim Seung-yeon was helpless before such a grand name.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Yun Hyeon-gi’s reply.
Only then did Kim Seung-yeon put on a satisfied expression.
‘Now there’s one left.’
But there was one more person who got on his nerves.
“Hey. You there.”
Kim Seung-yeon pointed at someone else and opened his mouth.
“What’s your name?”
A voice pierced his ears.
“Lee Seo-jun.”
* * *
While numerous Hunters watched, Lee Seo-jun walked forward alone.
All gazes were focused on Lee Seo-jun.
Thud. Thud.
Lee Seo-jun walked with an attitude that suggested he didn’t care at all.
Tap.
Such a man stepped onto the podium with an expressionless face.
Swoosh.
Kim Seung-yeon fixed his gaze on Lee Seo-jun.
“Did you receive early training too?”
Kim Seung-yeon said to Lee Seo-jun in a cold tone.
“......”
But no answer came from him.
He merely stared back silently.
“Or are you the young master of some powerful guild?”
Kim Seung-yeon said mockingly, a faint sneer forming on his lips.
Swoosh.
Kim Seung-yeon held out a sword to Lee Seo-jun.
Lee Seo-jun received it and raised it.
“......”
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly at the sword.
No blue aura emanated from the sword he held.
“Do you need something else?”
Seeing this, Kim Seung-yeon pointed to the weapon rack hanging beside him.
“There are spears and everything else. Speak up if you want something.”
Kim Seung-yeon gave him options.
Crack.
But Lee Seo-jun gripped the sword.
It meant he chose the sword.
‘Doesn’t seem like he has a familiar weapon either.’
Seeing Lee Seo-jun hold the sword, Kim Seung-yeon thought.
‘His momentum is completely pathetic too.’
Unlike Yun Hyeon-gi, whose momentum changed the moment he gripped the sword, the posture of the novice Hunter named Lee Seo-jun was utterly sloppy.
‘Full of openings.’
Lee Seo-jun wasn’t someone Kim Seung-yeon needed to draw his sword against like Yun Hyeon-gi.
No, to be exact, he wasn’t worth it.
Because even while holding the sword, he was full of openings everywhere.
‘Pathetic.’
This was the level of skill he had, yet he had been slacking off during class?
It was truly absurd.
Lee Seo-jun clearly failed to understand the importance of the tutorial.
“Listen up, everyone.”
Kim Seung-yeon shifted the gaze he had on Lee Seo-jun to the Hunters below the podium.
“The tutorial is far more important than you think.”
The tutorial was practically the starting point for everything that would happen once you became a Hunter.
That was why Kim Seung-yeon once again informed the Hunters of the tutorial’s importance.
Swoosh.
The gaze of Kim Seung-yeon, who had spoken, shifted back to Lee Seo-jun.
‘A brat like this too.’
Lee Seo-jun, slacking off during class despite not even having the basics down.
Leading even a brat like this properly was the duty of an instructor like himself.
And to do that, sometimes a whip was necessary.
Swhack!
Kim Seung-yeon’s arm whipped out like a lash toward Lee Seo-jun.
At that moment.
Thwack.
An unexpected sound echoed throughout the hall.
“......!”
At the same time, the pupils of the numerous Hunters watching below the podium widened greatly.
“Wh-what is that...!”
An unbelievable sight unfolded before their eyes.
“N-no way.”
At the astonishing sight, many Hunters were left dumbfounded.
The reason for their reaction.
Crack!
It was because the arm Kim Seung-yeon had swung was caught by Lee Seo-jun.
“Krrk!”
Kim Seung-yeon furrowed his brow.
And groaned in pain.
The greatest villain of all time has returned.