Chapter 29: The Harvest and the Strom

Baek Woon-ho stuck close to Lee Tae-sung on the way, telling him various stories.

Most were about the owner of the ruins they were heading toward—Flame Master Avison.

“He’s a bit of a pitiful figure because he lived during the era when the Flame Emperor ruled the continent, but he was still one of the best mages of his time.”

“He must have been an incredible person.”

“His reputation isn’t that great. Even though he was a mage, he was treated like an idiot who couldn’t do anything after being beaten by a Hybrider.”

The pride of a mage belonging to a Magic Tower or a martial artist from a prestigious sect was sky-high.

In such a situation, a mage beaten by a Hybrider?

Naturally, they couldn’t help but look down on him!

“Of course, it’s said that the Flame Emperor was a disaster in those days. No one, whether mage or martial artist, could stop him.”

No matter how strong they were, Hybriders were usually treated as slightly inferior compared to mages or martial artists who specialized in only one field.

It was the Flame Emperor who completely shattered that perception.

“He sounds like a fascinating person.”

Lee Tae-sung also knew this because he was learning Hybrid arts, which were a mixture of martial arts and magic.

In terms of power, they weren’t bad, but when it came to the realm of true expertise, they were inevitably lacking.

Lee Tae-sung’s Heavenly Net Flame Art was legendary, so it was an exception.

Unless it was a truly outstanding Hybrid art, most were lower in quality compared to pure martial arts or magic.

“That’s why I’m so obsessed with the Flame Emperor’s legacy. To the point where I don’t even care about the deaths of my sworn brothers I’ve known for over ten years.”

The Crimson Brotherhood was completely ruined and disbanding, but Baek Woon-ho didn’t care.

That was how much he was currently focused on the clues related to the Flame Emperor.

“I really hope we get some decent results at those ruins.”

-Psssssh

The capsule lid opened with a hiss of steam.

Lee Tae-sung stood up. He immediately checked the clock.

“I have… about five or six hours of spare time.”

Inside the Dream World, the group from the Red Magic Tower was currently camping.

Lee Tae-sung had taken that opportunity to log out for a moment.

Since it had been over two years since the Outsiders first appeared in the Dream World, the NPCs also knew that they periodically had to attend to business in their own world.

‘It’s still amazing. To think that NPCs can understand that, and that there are even NPCs who find it disagreeable.’

In the case of long-term missions like this, users absolutely needed time to log out, which was naturally frustrating from the perspective of the NPC who commissioned them.

What client would be happy if the person they hired for the same amount of money suddenly vanished?

But Lee Tae-sung’s backer was none other than the Responsible Mage, Serina.

Since he had come through her recommendation, he was at least able to log out freely during the night.

Having come out like that, Lee Tae-sung would normally sleep or rest, but he had no intention of doing so.

“I have to go to a mission.”

His physical strength had increased as he learned Hybrid arts.

He didn’t feel tired even though he hadn’t slept much, and even while in the capsule, he could relieve fatigue in a state of light sleep.

Therefore, he planned to use this time to go on a mission.

Since the last mission had been so easy, he wasn’t particularly worried.

He was only thinking about earning scores!

After leaving a text message for Manager Song Sang-yeob saying he was going on a mission…

-Ding!

[You have entered the mission.]

Lee Tae-sung’s figure vanished from the room in a flash.

A new mission location.

When Lee Tae-sung opened his eyes, he was in a vast grassland.

Most of it was short grass, but large rocks and trees were scattered here and there.

-Ding!

『This is the sixth mission.』

『Mission: Survival.』

『You are currently in the Bakers Grassland. The Black Eagles floating in the sky consider you their prey. Survive for 1 hour while avoiding the attacks of the Black Eagles, and defeat at least 10 of them.』

『TIP! Utilize the terrain of the grassland. Black Eagles cannot descend well into areas with large rocks or trees.』
Mission Reward: 1350 SC.

The mission window appeared before his eyes. After reading the contents, he looked up at the sky again.

Far away, black dots were embedded in the blue sky.

Those weren’t dots, but flying monsters called ‘Black Eagles.’

‘They said their size is about 2 meters, but they look tiny from here.’

Thanks to Manager Song Sang-yeob, knowledge about these creatures was among the monster lore that had been forced into his head.

It was said they would fly around and, once they spotted prey, would drop in an instant to peck or claw them to death.

‘So he said I should stick close to large terrain features so they can’t drop down recklessly.’

He roughly knew how to tackle this.

A method of protecting himself from them by using the rocks or trees around the grassland, and then luring them one by one to defeat them.

The tip written in the mission window must have meant that.

Lee Tae-sung started moving.

Toward the rocks?

No!

Toward the middle of the grassland where there was nothing!

“Kyah!?”

“Kiririk! Kirik!”

The Black Eagles floating in the sky spotted Lee Tae-sung and their eyes flashed.

Prey had arrived after a long time.

Furthermore, there were no obstacles around, making it easy to eat.

Whoosh!

The Black Eagles began to dive.

To get a bigger bite than any other competitor!

Lee Tae-sung watched them descending.

And he drew his sword accordingly.

-Flare!

-Slash!

-Sla-slash!

The sword swung while clad in the flames of the Flame Sword Art.

With each strike, one Black Eagle was split clean in half.

Having consumed the Red Heart Nectar, his mana amount was now equivalent to nearly 20 years.

His body had become even stronger, and the development of his five senses was particularly brilliant.

When he concentrated mana into his eyes, the appearance of the rapidly diving Black Eagles looked like slow motion.

All Lee Tae-sung was doing was timing his strikes to defeat the prey that was flying toward him.

‘This is easier than playing a rhythm game.’

And compared to the difficulty, the reward was far too good.

-Ding!

『You have defeated a Black Eagle.』

『You have acquired 290 SC.』

『You have defeated a Black Eagle.』

『You have acquired 290 SC.』

They were such easy targets, yet they gave a whopping 290 points every time he defeated one.

Success was catching 10 and lasting an hour, but of course, he had no intention of doing just that.

Lee Tae-sung looked up at the sky again.

Just counting roughly, there seemed to be well over 100 of them.

He was going to catch them all before leaving!

“Kieeeek!”

“Kyah!”

However, the Black Eagles were smart.

As their companions were dying off, they realized that this prey didn’t just smell good.

He was hiding sharp thorns.

Therefore, they planned to fly back up into the sky and wait for an opportunity.

However, Lee Tae-sung did not just watch them leave.

Whoosh!

He pulled out the daggers at his back and threw them.

Flying Star Soul Chaser!

It had no mysterious logic, but it was fired as fast and powerfully as the mana he put into it.

-Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Since there were quite a few Black Eagles, he didn’t need to worry about missing.

They were large, and he could hit them anywhere even if he threw haphazardly.

-Ding!

『You have defeated a Black Eagle.』

『You have acquired 290 SC.』

『You have defeated a Black Eagle.』

『You have acquired 290 SC.』

‘This is why I specifically looked for and learned long-range skills.’

It was certainly a good choice.

Having only powerful skills like the Heavenly Net Flame Art didn’t make him invincible.

Unless he could deploy something like an Air-Shattering Palm, how else could he attack those guys far away!

However, the number of daggers was limited.

It was far too few compared to the number of Black Eagles.

Before long, he ran out of things to throw.

“Kyahak!”

“Kyah!”

The Black Eagles flew around Lee Tae-sung, wondering if it was finally over.

They never approached below a certain distance and were extremely wary.

That was when Lee Tae-sung moved briskly.

His destination was a large tree a short distance away.

-Crack!

He sliced it with his sword.

After chopping it into small pieces, he lined them up beside him.

It was a bit uneven, but it could be considered a type of dagger.

Loading mana into wooden branches was slightly more difficult and consumed more mana, but thanks to the elixir, he was much more comfortable than before.

Performing the Flying Star Soul Chaser with these was also feasible.

Whoosh!

-Whiz-whiz-whiz!

Wooden daggers soared into the sky!

The startled Black Eagles tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

The pieces of wood pierced through them relentlessly.

-Ding!

『Proficiency in Flying Star Soul Chaser increases.』

『The skill level of Flying Star Soul Chaser has increased.』

『Flying Star Soul Chaser (Lv.2) > Flying Star Soul Chaser (Lv.3)』

Lee Tae-sung grinned.

It was late at night, but the lights were bright at the National Hunter Association.

The task of managing Hunters had to continue at night, so shift work occurred, but Manager Song Sang-yeob and Director Han Kyung-jin were working overtime.

The reason was simple. Because they were still discussing the treatment of Lee Tae-sung!

For now, designating him as a Special Grade Rookie was confirmed, and other additional benefits were being added one by one.

However, the reason the meeting hadn’t ended yet was that they couldn’t be sure if this would be enough to prevent Lee Tae-sung’s emigration.

That was also why Manager Song Sang-yeob, the manager in charge of Lee Tae-sung, and his boss, Director Han, couldn’t go home.

Their team, as well as the executives above them, were still in meetings.

At that moment.

“Director! We’ve received word!”

“!! C-could it be!?”

“Yes! Hunter Lee Tae-sung has entered a mission!”

The eyes of the two men, who had been exhausted, snapped open.

“The interval is really fast. Well, he’s received a ‘Perfect’ on everything from the tutorial until now, so it’s understandable.”

“Won’t it be dangerous?”

“Well. He’ll probably clear it.”

His previous records were too overwhelming.

Although the difficulty increases as missions progress, looking at what Lee Tae-sung had done so far, clearing it didn’t seem to be an issue.

Therefore, unlike last time, they didn’t provide any separate forced education and only cheered for his safe return.

“…Then, he won’t get a ‘Perfect’ on the mission this time too, right?”

“No way. That’s difficult.”

Director Han shook his head.

“Manager Song, you know it too. Once you get a ‘Perfect,’ the difficulty spikes sharply after that.”

While clearing it might be possible, it changes so that getting a ‘Perfect’ is difficult.

That’s why, looking at the Association’s records, there were almost no consecutive ‘Perfects.’

It was only possible for a few truly talented Hunters.

“What if, despite that, he gets another consecutive ‘Perfect’?”

“Then, well.”

Director Han shrugged and pointed upward.

“The high-ranking officials’ meeting will continue, and they won’t be able to go home at all.”

They were people of a certain age. They must be very tired.

“Ack!”

Just then, a scream erupted from the adjacent partition.

It was the PR team side.

“T-this is bad.”

“So-eun? What’s the matter?”

“The reporters must have caught wind of it! An article presumed to be about Hunter Lee Tae-sung has been posted!”

The PR team employee held up a tablet and showed the news.

“…Sigh…”

Director Han and Manager Song put their hands to their foreheads simultaneously.

Nothing had even been decided on how to keep Lee Tae-sung in Korea, and in this situation, a news report like that?

Naturally, the public would love it.

The appearance of an outstanding Hunter meant the country would become stronger and more prosperous.

But what if it turns out that Hunter emigrates later?

The Association would take all the blame for failing to protect their own Hunter!

“…Sang-yeob. Let’s head up to the conference room. We need to go tell them this.”

“Those trashy reporters. How on earth did they find out this information? We were maintaining strict security… Argh.”

The two men let out a deep sigh and stood up from their seats.