Chapter 55
Antony wasn’t just a hunter who liked to brag. Not everyone could become a fixed member of the Icarus clan’s 1st team. He was in the top 1% of talent among hunters! Antony decided to not just call out to Choi Yeonseung. He’d kill a monster and showcase his abilities himself.
-Intermediate Health Detection!
A 3rd-circle magic!
Low-grade Health Detection, a 1st-circle magic, couldn’t accurately pinpoint the rock chameleons. In fact, there were still times when he missed them despite already using Intermediate Health Detection, but?it couldn’t be helped. He didn’t have a stronger version of it, and he couldn’t just use magic beyond the 3rd-circle. Mana management was essential in dungeon raids.
-Anger and Confusion Inducement!
He followed up with a 2nd-circle curse magic that attracted the monster’s aggro and forced them to reveal themselves!
‘Found it!’
Fortunately, a rock chameleon was nearby. The Intermediate Health Detection spell made it emit a red light, and the Anger and Confusion Inducement spell caused it to prepare to jump off the wall. Antony excitedly prepared Hashansha’s Acceleration, another 3rd-circle magic! All it did was allow the caster to charge in quickly, but it was enough against a rock chameleon.
‘I’m going to showcase my skills and kill this monster!’
The newcomer would then be amazed and let him handle the monsters in the future!
-Hashansha’s...
Swish!
“?” Antony blinked repeatedly.
A flash appeared, and the rock chameleon he had found collapsed. Choi Yeonseung had thrust forward the Sword of Goujian, which he had received from Hwang Gyeongryong. Sword energy then extended from it and pierced the chameleon’s heart.
‘The sword stretches out well.’
They could bring their usual weapons with them to the Otherworld. He preferred fighting unarmed, but he didn’t mind using weapons in situations where his stats were restrained.
‘This is interesting, and...’
He would sometimes pick up and use other beings’ weapons in the Abyss, but he had never really used them in earnest like this. He held his sword and infused internal energy in it. He then thrust it forward, creating sharp sword energy.
Sword energy was a powerful weapon that only a martial arts master could make. It was weaker than concentrated?sword?energy, but it was still sharp enough to break through the defenses of various monsters. Above all, it consumed less internal energy compared to concentrated?sword?energy.
[The skill, ‘Three Flowers Gathering’...]
[The skill, ‘State of Perfection’...]
[The skill, ‘Heavenly Martial Physique’...]
[......]
Choi Yeonseung had limited his internal energy to the peak-class stage, but his level of enlightenment and his martial arts?were still the same. At the current level of Choi Yeonseung’s martial arts, he could maintain sword energy even while sleeping.
‘I should be able to go faster with this sword.’
“M-M-M...”
“?”
Antony stuttered, puzzling Choi Yeonseung.
“That was mine! I was the one who found that monster!”
“Haha. Thank you.”
“I don’t want you to thank me! I was the one who should’ve killed it!” Antony shouted as he stomped around.
“Antony. Think carefully.”
“?”
“Dungeons don’t just have a monster or two. Depending on the dungeon, there could be dozens or even hundreds of them.”
“... That’s right…”
“You can’t kill that many, can you?”
“Umm. That’s true.”
“Aren’t you the ace? Shouldn’t you let others kill these weak monsters and fight when the really strong monsters emerge, then?” “... Y-Yes?”
That reasoning was perfectly logical! Choi Yeonseung had persuaded Antony. Until now, he had always been obsessed with killing monsters. However, now that he had thought about it, killing every single low-level monster wasn’t that great(although the chameleon wasn’t a low-level monster). Killing a boss monster or something equally powerful was far more important.
“Will you let me kill any strong monsters that come out, then?”
“Hmm, I’ll observe the situation first.”
“... Hey!”
“Raids aren’t fixed, so I can’t give you a definite answer. Should I not kill the monster if your life is in danger?”
“There is no way that would happen!”
“Can you kill an A-grade monster alone?”
“... T-That could prove a bit difficult. Why would A-grade monsters appear here?”
“They could. A good hunter—”
“—anticipates every situation. Groan. Then unless we’re up against an A-grade monster...”
The feeling of being suffocated tormented Antony. He always felt like he lost himself when talking to this newbie!
“Listen carefully, newbie. I cleared the Akarasha’s Settlement dungeon, and I set—”
“Yes, yes. You set a new record for the Night Gate.”
Choi Yeonseung continued to move forward as he spoke. There was more than one rock chameleon. He?couldn’t just stay still while speaking. He was firing internal energy in all directions to sense the monsters’ auras.
Magicians used magic to prepare for monster attacks, while martial artists only had the energy they sensed! With their keen senses, they’d notice the internal energy or magic power of incoming monsters ahead of time.
Choi Yeonseung stretched out his finger and fired energy at the wall.
Swish!
Origin of the Celestial Finger tore through the wall, and the hidden rock chameleon moved in fright. Unable to withstand the impact that penetrated the wall, the monster popped out.
“!!”
Antony was startled. He couldn’t help but be surprised when he saw Choi Yeonseung’s response. Choi Yeonseung was fast, but that wasn’t all. He was flexible and his movements were smooth! Whenever a monster appeared, hunters would usually go through the process of finding it, thinking, then responding. Yet for Choi Yeonseung, this process was extremely short. He moved and attacked as if he was already expecting the monster to charge in. The speed of his reflexes left no time to breathe!
Frankly, Antony was overwhelmed. He had never felt that he wasn’t good enough before, but Choi?Yeonseung’s offensive?right now made him feel like he was losing confidence!
Clap clap.
Antony slapped his own cheeks, puzzling Choi Yeonseung.
“?”
‘So that man’s crazy, after all?’
Antony wasn’t insane.
‘I’m strong!’
That was simply caused by his reliable innate mentality. He could think, ‘I’m stronger!’ even in the presence of a constellation! That was Antony.
Antony became determined.
“Newbie—no, Choi Yeonseung. Take a good look.”
“At what?”
“Starting now, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I’ll show you my skills.”
“Uh... A-alright.” Choi Yeonseung just agreed since he had nothing to say.
Meanwhile, the other hunters cursed as they followed from behind.
“You two are crazy! How can you just move around on your own?!”
One person leaving the party was already fatal, what more if two of them left?
Elisabeth ran with gritted teeth. She thought she only needed to worry about Antony, but...
There were two crazy bastards!
***
“Ernest.”
“What is it?” “Do you intend to keep Antony Schneider on the 1st team?”
Ernest was this clan’s general manager, but there were various intelligence talents under him. Those with outstanding analytical skills when it came to hunters or raids worked for him as the clan’s analysts.
“Isn’t Antony Schneider an objectively great power?”
“Yes, but...”
Scouting ace hunters wasn’t an easy task. They lived like rulers in their clans, and there were few who would accept being selected, trained, and made to compete with other hunters. The clan’s scouts worked hard to get Antony, but it was worth it. He was currently considered the B-grade hunter most likely to reach A-grade.
“He’s too uncooperative. Team play goes out the window every time Schneider is involved.”
“Putting in a slightly weaker hunter could yield greater results.”
All the analysts had unanimous opinions. Antony was clearly an outstanding all-around hunter. However, there was a problem with his self-centered personality. It made him think he was the best! Hunters were basically arrogant and confident, but Antony’s case was a bit too much. There were times when he had to step back and play as a team, but if he didn’t feel good about it, he would fight against the monsters until the end. This behavior could put the entire team in danger.
“Besides, Ernest. Schneider has been growing too slowly recently. Other hunters are steadily increasing their metrics, while he’s...”
“He clearly doesn’t have the heart to train properly.”
The Icarus clan valued both stats and ability, but the same went for potential. There was no reason to bring in talented hunters whose potential?was?B-grade at best. They made this investment expecting everyone to have the potential to become A-grade! In this clan that gathered only the geniuses among hunters, ambition wasn’t enough to go beyond the B-grade realm.
They also had to have other factors, such as effort, talent, and luck. No matter how great a B-grade hunter was, they wouldn’t reach A-grade without effort.
Antony Schneider was a hunter who lacked that. Even in personal training, he’d just cast magic of his liking, then proceed to relax. Moreover, he focused only on himself when training with the team. It didn’t come as a surprise that his skills had stopped improving.
“It won’t hurt to demote him to the 2nd team and give him a shock.”
“No. It will backfire if he gets demoted.”
Ernest was cautious. No one was as difficult to deal with as hunters. Each person had to be approached differently. Antony’s pride would be hurt if he dropped to the 2nd team, and that could result in his growth becoming stunted.
“But...”
“Let’s observe him a bit longer. If things don’t change, I’ll make a decision.”
There wasn’t much they could do about it. Unless he asked for help himself, he had to emerge from this on his own. This wasn’t a private school.
“... ? ”
“What’s happening?”
“N-No. I think something’s wrong...”
“Something’s wrong? Which team was wiped out?”
“I think you better see this for yourself.”
***
Elisabeth preached once again about a hunter’s mindset. A party of six should form a formation, check the front, fight if there was a monster, advance if there weren’t, then check again... That was the classic dungeon raid method!
During her preaching, Antony moved quickly.
“So we should move together—you bastard!”
In the next passage, I will definitely go in first and kill monsters!
Antony moved with that thought.
However, Choi Yeonseung had already read through him.
Spin. magic
“?!”
Antony panicked as he was turned gently in reverse. Why was he walking this way?
“I’ll go ahead and drag the monsters’ aggro first.”
Choi Yeonseung smiled and ran forward. Furious, Antony chased after him.
“Stop! Stop right there! Ugh! Magic Arrow!”
A 2nd-circle magic. Antony didn’t immediately fire it. Rather, he held onto it and maintained it. It was a feat not everyone could do. An ordinary hunter wouldn’t have been able to keep it around and just fired it right away. He showcased incredible magic power control!
Even so, he couldn’t keep up with Choi Yeonseung. While Antony was casting it, Choi Yeonseung had already found the rock chameleon and was ready to attack. He just had to extend his sword now, and his sword energy would cut off the monster’s breath!
“...... ”
However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t kill it.
“? ”
“Well? Aren’t you going to shoot?”
“...!!”
Antony was startled. His face lit up and exclaimed, “Haha! I’m about to do that! Just wait!”