Chapter 36 - My Sword Unit (4)

The name of the guy who had expressed dissatisfaction with my judgment was Choi Hyuk-joon.

Looking at his application, he was 23 years old, and his only experience was a 3-month contract position at the Orion Guild, after which he had been unaffiliated.

“Chamryongdan Leader, you're going to test me yourself?”

“You seem to have a lot of complaints about my judgment, so I’ll give you a chance.”

“Then, I’ll accept without reservation. Do I just need to win?”

Win against me?

Delusion is free, but this was too absurd.

“You don't need to win. If you can make me move even a single step, I’ll pass you.”

At my words, Choi Hyuk-joon stared blankly for a moment.

“I didn't mishear you, did I?”

I answered with a smile.

“You can't go back on your word!”

“Just start.”

I immediately drew the Reapersword.

In all my life, this was the first time I’d had such a laughable duel.

Chaeeng!

I lightly parried the sword Choi Hyuk-joon brought down.

I had already grasped a certain amount with my Mana's Eye, but after receiving just one attack, I could understand his full power to the bone.

It was a miracle, if anything, that he got his license with such skills.

Chaeeng!

Choi Hyuk-joon looked momentarily flustered, then resumed his attack.

Of course, it was still a pathetic strike.

In terms of mana quantity alone, he was superior to me, but his ability to wield mana was of the lowest grade.

He thrust, slashed downwards, and cut at me from all directions, but it was too difficult to even be struck by such attacks.

As time went on, his expression grew more and more distorted.

He panted heavily, his breathing became unstable, and the sword coming at me slowed to the point where it looked like it was in slow motion.

Of course, I still hadn't moved a single step and parried all of Choi Hyuk-joon's attacks.

“No way!”

He was denying reality.

“What’s so impossible about it? It’ll be the same even if you keep trying.”

“Haaaap!”

Chaeeng!

I once again lightly blocked the attack he laboriously brought down.

“Are you going to continue?”

Continuing from here would be meaningless for both of us.

He could never succeed, and the fact that I overwhelmed a guy like this would do nothing to build my authority.

“The promise that it's my victory if you move even a single step, is that still valid?”

“Of course.”

His skills were pathetic, but the moment I thought I should acknowledge his tenacity, he made an unexpected move.

The onlookers began to murmur.

“Heeol! What is that!”

“He’s using a move like that?”

It was an absurd thing to do.

He had moved behind my back.

“If the Chamryongdan Leader moves even a single step, it is my victory.”

Pfft.

This guy made me let out several hollow laughs.

This was not a clever method.

It was merely an act of abandoning a swordsman's pride.

“Young Master! This is ridiculous!”

“That’s right! We must drag this person out immediately.”

Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon shouted simultaneously.

“It's fine. In his own way, this guy is using the best move he can.”

I confirmed that the conditions for his victory were still valid.

“Then, here I come.”

Still, he was kind enough to announce his attack timing.

I could truly feel a murderous intent from behind me.

Choi Hyuk-joon was extending his sword towards me.

It was just as pathetic an attack as when he attacked from the front.

I heightened my senses and calculated the trajectory of the sword flying from behind me.

It took a little more time since I couldn't see it with my eyes, but there wasn't that big of a difference.

Hwiiing-

I swung the Reapersword behind my head, creating a semicircle in the air. And then.

Chaeaeeng!

The tip of the Reapersword struck down the sword he had extended, knocking it away.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“What was that!”

“What did I just see??”

The people watching this let out all sorts of exclamations.

Only then did I take a step and look down at the frustrated Choi Hyuk-joon behind me.

“I’ll give you a piece of advice that might be the most important in your life. I hope you won’t let it go in one ear and out the other.”

Choi Hyuk-joon looked up at me with a soulless expression.

There was no way to confirm if he could hear my voice, but I continued to speak.

“I don’t know how you obtained your license, but just don’t be a Hunter. If you stay in this field, you won’t die a natural death. I guarantee that on the name of the Chamryongdan.”

After that, I added a few more words and had Choi Ho-joong drag him away.

I hoped he understood my words.

And then, I immediately declared to the people.

“If there is anyone else among the failed applicants who has a complaint, they may come up to this stage now. Just like the guy before, I will conduct the test myself. However, I want you to keep this one thing in mind. From this moment on, I have no intention of going easy at all.”

It was a decision made from the judgment that my authority as a unit leader had still not been established.

Making a fool of one pathetic guy like Choi Hyuk-joon was as good as proving nothing.

“I challenge again!”

“I’ll try one more time too!”

“Me too.”

And so, four people came up onto the stage.

Of course, I didn't have the slightest intention of passing them again.

“Four of you. The method of combat will be to attack me simultaneously. If you touch my body, I will acknowledge it as a pass.”

At my proposal, the four people looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction.

The very act of re-challenging like this was proof that they were overestimating their own skills.

I intended to reveal my skills to those gathered here by thoroughly shattering that delusion.

“Let’s begin immediately.”

The four people scattered to the north, south, east, and west, surrounding me.

The conditions were much more difficult than when I faced Choi Hyuk-joon before.

I could move my feet freely, but their skills were not as pathetic as Choi Hyuk-joon’s.

Moreover, if they so much as grazed my collar, I had to pass them, so I needed to be on high alert.

“Advance!”

At one person’s signal, the four applicants began to press in on me.

The way to break a formation of many is simple.

To choose one target and neutralize it as quickly as possible.

I turned to my right flank and slid out of their combined attack. And then.

Paaaaak!

I struck the back of one person's neck with the side of my hand, knocking him out.

The tide of battle instantly changed to 1 versus 3.

“It’s as I warned. There will be no mercy for those who re-challenge.”

The meaning of this one attack was more than just eliminating one person.

It instilled fear in the multiple enemies while also crushing their hope.

Naturally, their movements couldn't help but become noticeably heavier.

Kwaaaak!

A moment later, one person, struck in the solar plexus by my fist, fell off the stage and collapsed.

Now the tide of battle was clearly tilted. Of course, I had no intention of stopping here.

A warning once uttered must always be kept.

Peok!

One of the remaining men was hit in the abdomen with the hilt of a sword and vomited.

Paaaak!

The last one, who had dropped his sword and lost his will to fight, collapsed from my kick.

“Anyone else with complaints about failing? Anyone else?”

I asked the crowd below the stage and waited for a moment.

Of course, there were no more.

They had clearly seen the fate of those who had re-challenged just now.

“Ho-joong, Ah-yeon. Resume the test.”

“Huh? Yes! Young Master.”

The two of them had blank expressions, and even their simultaneous replies were identical.

They were my right and left arms, who seemed to be in good sync.

***

“Fail!”

“Fail!”

“Fail!”

The parade of failures continued once again.

There were occasional applicants I liked, but most were chaff.

Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon had already faced dozens of people, but they didn't look very tired.

Because I was deciding on pass or fail in a very short time.

Just as boredom was setting in because no one had passed for quite a while, an interesting challenger appeared.

A 21-year-old female swordsman, Jo Jeong-ah.

Her opponent was Shin Ah-yeon, and the aspect of their duel was quite interesting.

Despite her ability to wield mana being in the upper tier among the challengers, her attacks against Shin Ah-yeon repeatedly ended up being powerless.

‘What on earth is she plotting.’

For this to be repeated even when Shin Ah-yeon was holding back a lot of her strength in the duel meant that it was definitely an intentional act.

That's why the testing time for Jo Jeong-ah, in particular, was getting longer.

Because I had declared neither a pass nor a fail.

“Ah-yeon! Increase the intensity a bit more.”

As Shin Ah-yeon’s aura changed, Jo Jeong-ah also matched her pace and increased her strength.

But it was the same; her attacks continued to end powerlessly.

“Fail.”

There was one reason.

I didn't know her intention, but she was not engaging in the duel seriously.

And she didn't possess such outstanding ability as to overlook this attitude, so I had no reason to pass her.

“Am I failed?”

I just nodded silently.

“Then I will re-challenge against the Unit Leader.”

“Was this your plan from the beginning?”

“Yes.”

In the end, this was Jo Jeong-ah’s scheme.

“The reason?”

“I felt the desire to be acknowledged by the Unit Leader directly.”

“A foolish act.”

“Pardon?”

“I will fairly accept the re-challenge. However, it’s the same that there will be no mercy in my hands.”

“I am prepared.”

“If you can touch my body, you pass.”

“I’m alone, so wasn't it about making you move one step?”

“The standard is for me to decide. Because I am the Unit Leader.”

“Yes. It doesn't matter.”

Jo Jeong-ah smiled brightly.

It doesn't matter.

Her arrogance was dumbfounding.

“Then, begin.”

I raised the Reapersword.

Jo Jeong-ah also raised her sword, facing me.

To be honest, her skill level would probably be enough to meet the passing criteria I had set for today.

Although she hadn't shown anything against Shin Ah-yeon, the true potential I had felt was not that.

However, I had not the slightest intention of reversing the failure and passing Jo Jeong-ah.

Not only is there no such thing as reversal in my dictionary, but I also have no intention of accepting this kind of presumptuous audacity.

Kwaaang!

Kwaaaang!

The clamor of sword meeting sword filled the training ground.

Her movements were reckless.

It must be a strategy to touch even just the hem of my clothes, even if it means allowing me to land a major attack.

Her dreams are big.

Kwaaaaaang!

A huge vibration occurred, and Jo Jeong-ah's face contorted.

The mana I had shot through the Reapersword had penetrated her sword.

In that moment, the strength left her hands, and I closed the distance and struck her abdomen with my fist.

Peoeook!

“Heo-eop!”

With a final groan, Jo Jeong-ah dropped her sword and fell to her knees.

“Fail.”

“Heop! Fail… you say?”

She caught her unstable breath and opened her eyes in surprise at my declaration.

“A swordsman has dropped their sword, so it is over.”

“But, I believe I exchanged meaningful blows with the Unit Leader alone! The attacks I made by myself were more significant than the combined attack of the four people earlier….”

“The condition for passing was to touch my body. And you did not succeed.”

“Actually, I did not do my best against Swordswoman Shin Ah-yeon! So if you would give me just one more chance.”

“Enough. It seems you have no fate with our Haewon Sword Family. Ah-yeon! If she keeps clinging, drag her out of here.”

“Yes, Unit Leader!”

She was an interesting challenger, but that was as far as it went.