One streak of cold sweat ran down Nam Ki-seol’s spine.
He hadn’t reached the rank of a Rank S Hunter by playing games. He had survived numerous battles and knew how to distinguish the aura emitted by a powerful being. Because of that, he could tell just how incredible Sang-woong’s aura was.
However, he couldn’t back down now. The Guild Master was watching this fight personally. Given everything he had done until now, if he tucked his tail here, he would never be able to hold his head high for the rest of his life.
‘How did it come to this?’
When he had walked into the Guild Master’s office with such arrogance, he never imagined things would turn out this way. It made no sense for such a powerful Rank S Hunter to be unknown, and he certainly didn’t expect to end up fighting him.
Despair washed over him, as if he were caught in a cruel trick played by a wicked god.
But the die was cast.
‘It’s already spilled water. There’s no turning back now.’
Whether he succeeded or failed, he had to see this match through. Nam Ki-seol gritted his teeth and raised his sword.
His arrogance had vanished, and he focused his entire spirit on Sang-woong. His back became even more drenched in sweat.
When he tried to attack, he couldn’t see any openings in Sang-woong. He felt like a moth flying into a flame, knowing he was headed for his death.
It was at that moment.
Sang-woong suddenly vanished from before his eyes.
Snap!
With a sharp sound, a burning pain flared in his thigh. He looked down to see a piece of his pants missing and a long gash on his thigh. It was as if he had been struck by a whip. Sang-woong had struck him with the flat of the blade as if it were a lash.
He hadn’t even imagined such an attack was possible. His pride was torn to shreds.
“Darn it…”
Nam Ki-seol almost spat out a curse but quickly swallowed it. He was furious, but he might actually die if he let an insult fly here.
Sang-woong moved again. Nam Ki-seol swung his sword desperately, but Sang-woong’s blade bypassed his defense as if it were a living creature.
*Crack! Thud!*
Dull sounds erupted from various parts of Nam Ki-seol’s body. While the impacts weren’t enough to shatter his bones, a heavy, pounding pain washed over him like a wave. Sang-woong had started his assault in earnest.
Since he was being hit by the back and sides of the blade rather than the edge, the wounds weren’t fatal, but every single strike was excruciating. With every hit, his spirit weakened, and his pride sank to the floor.
‘At this rate… if I keep getting hit like this… I feel like I’m really going to die!’
The fear of death soon swallowed his arrogance and anger. Eventually, to survive, Nam Ki-seol stumbled and fell to his knees before Sang-woong.
Having dropped his sword, his body was already a wreck. Sang-woong looked down at him with a cold expression as he gasped for breath.
Sang-woong sheathed his sword and stood right in front of Nam Ki-seol. A low but firm voice echoed through the Training Ground.
“Listen well. Guild Master Kyung Taeyoung and I are like brothers.”
Sang-woong added as he looked directly into Nam Ki-seol’s face, which was pale with humiliation and fear.
“If you ever act up like this again, I won’t let it slide. Keep that in mind.”
Nam Ki-seol, his face ghostly pale, nodded desperately and begged.
“Yes… yes… I understand. I will never… ever… act like that again… Just please spare my life…!”
When the duel ended, Guild Master Kyung Taeyoung and Kyung Yoon-seul approached Sang-woong, their expressions still filled with shock.
Kyung Taeyoung was speechless at the unbelievable sight. He looked at Nam Ki-seol, who was groaning on the floor, covered in blood.
Then he looked at Sang-woong, who was staring back at him without a single hair out of place. Looking back and forth between the two men, he let out a deep sigh of relief, unable to hide his overwhelming surprise.
Kyung Taeyoung’s heart swelled when he heard Sang-woong refer to him as a “brother” to Nam Ki-seol. To think that an incredibly powerful person who had crushed Nam Ki-seol as if he were playing with a toy would think of him that way.
The word “brother” coming from a man who could easily be considered the strongest in the Republic of Korea was an expression of deep trust and a bond that went beyond a simple title.
Kyung Taeyoung felt his eyes grow hot with emotion. Soon, having fully grasped the situation, he approached Sang-woong, took his hands firmly, and bowed his head in sincere gratitude.
Kyung Yoon-seul also felt a sense of awe at Sang-woong’s unimaginable strength and quietly bowed her head.
Kyung Taeyoung approached Sang-woong and gave another deep bow.
“Mr. Sang-woong… I really… I don’t know how to thank you! Thanks to you… you’ve perfectly and cleanly solved that problem, which was my long-standing wish and the guild’s biggest headache. I will never forget this favor for as long as I live!”
“It’s nothing. It was my business as well,” Sang-woong replied humbly before continuing. “It would be best to keep what happened today a secret between the four of us. For the sake of Nam Ki-seol’s honor… and to prevent unnecessary unrest within the guild.”
Sang-woong didn’t want to disrupt his quiet daily life. He liked things just the way they were. Nam Ki-seol was the first to agree desperately.
“Yes… of course… I will never, ever say a word…”
It was something he wanted to beg for himself. Kyung Yoon-seul also nodded quietly, promising secrecy.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
Sang-woong spoke in a light voice, as if treating the event like a minor incident. Leaving behind the fallen Nam Ki-seol and the still-shocked Kyung Taeyoung and Kyung Yoon-seul, he walked out of the Training Center with leisurely steps.
He found Ho Shin-woo waiting anxiously at the guild entrance. His face was still full of anxiety. Sang-woong approached Ho Shin-woo and patted his shoulder.
“Were you worried?”
Sang-woong’s voice was calm.
“It’s okay. We settled it well with words. Let’s go now.”
“That’s a relief.”
Ho Shin-woo let out a sigh of relief. Sang-woong climbed into the truck, started the engine, and left the town center. As they drove along the quiet national road, Ho Shin-woo seemed to gradually find his peace as well.
A smile he couldn’t hide spread across Sang-woong’s face as he held the steering wheel. A Rank S Hunter, someone he wouldn’t have even dared to look up at in his past life.
The fact that he had personally defeated such a being felt unreal, yet it brought him immense joy and a sense of achievement.
Seeing his strength, which he hadn’t been entirely sure of, manifest in such a concrete result made the meaning of his regression feel even clearer.
Sang-woong’s truck drove vigorously down the road.
***
A few months had passed since she settled in a new land. Yulli’s world was still filled with light. From the moment she was born, the world had cast a thick veil of darkness over Yulli. It wasn’t just the threat of monsters and the Demon Tribe.
Even the nature and air of this world were harsh, as if trying to prevent an elf from even breathing.
Thus, Yulli had lived a life of constant flight for survival since birth. With cold gazes following her back and fear creeping under her feet, she had never been able to close her eyes peacefully for even a single day. The slightest sound of a falling leaf would startle her, making her clutch her heart.
Yet, even in that harsh reality, her small shoulders didn’t completely slump. The reason she could occasionally let a faint smile bloom beneath the shadows on her face was because of her parents, who loved her more than the whole world, and the friends who stayed by her side.
No matter how heavy the weight of the world felt, the existence of those loved ones gave her the strength to keep from falling.
However, her small, precious happiness did not last long. One day, their small hideout, where they had been living in deep seclusion, was discovered by a scout unit of the Demon Tribe.
Peace was shattered into pieces along with a roar that seemed to tear through the forest.
“It’s the Demon Tribe! Blow the buffalo whistle!”
Cries of warning erupted from all directions along with screams. Demon cavalrymen rushed through the forest like shadows, followed by a hideous and hungry unit of monsters that made the earth tremble.
The elves froze in terror at the sudden chaos, but not everyone knelt in despair. Brave elven warriors stepped forward, clutching sharp bows and swords. Their steps were determined, even though they knew death awaited them.
“Evacuate the children and the elderly first! We will make a stand here!”
They desperately threw their bodies into building a defensive line. Facing the fierce attacks of the Demon Tribe and the merciless onslaught of the monsters, the elven warriors fought back, squeezing out every last bit of their strength.
Against the backdrop of the green forest, a desperate struggle for life and death was stained with blood and screams.
But the Demon Tribe and the monster units they commanded overwhelmed the elves with superior strength and numbers.
The defensive line of the brave elven warriors collapsed as easily as a sandcastle. The demons trampled over the bodies of the fallen warriors and stormed into the hideout with fierce momentum.
Terrified elves began to scatter and flee like falling leaves. Yulli also ran desperately, led by her parents’ hands, without even looking ahead. But they weren’t fast enough to outrun the mounted demons.
The sound of pursuing horse hooves, the roars of monsters, and the screams of elves mixed in her ears, freezing her heart.
Yulli’s parents briefly exchanged glances. In that short moment, it seemed as if countless words were being shared.
Then, Yulli’s mother shouted breathlessly.
“Yulli! You must live! Never stop!”
It was a scream and a final request for her beloved daughter.
“Yulli, we love you… our little daughter…”
Her father stroked Yulli’s cheek with a bloodstained hand. Through his trembling touch, a final love that seemed to contain the entire world was conveyed.
Yulli’s parents were the greatest mages of the elven race. Their magic was intended to be the final shield to save their beloved daughter and their kin.
To buy just a single moment for Yulli and the other elves to escape, they turned back and stood against the Demon Tribe behind Yulli’s back.
“Go! Yulli!”
She heard her father’s voice.
“We love you… our baby…”
Her mother’s voice echoed in her ears.
The Mana Cores within their hearts, prepared for death, erupted as if exploding. The forest wept sadly in response to their magic.
The ground cracked, huge tree roots soared, and sharp winds howled as they rushed toward the Demon Tribe.
Yulli’s parents poured their entire souls into the essence of elven magic, but it wasn’t enough. The swordsmanship of the demons was cold, and their magic was like a black abyss that easily swallowed even the soul-stirring magic of Yulli’s parents.
The painful screams of her parents reached Yulli from behind. A horrific sound that felt like a knife gouging out her heart. Instinctively, Yulli stopped running and turned her head.
And in that moment, the scene that unfolded before her eyes was engraved into the abyss of her soul as a nightmare that would never be erased.