Me and Dokgo Yeong.
The moment our spar was decided.
The banquet hall staff hurriedly cleared the tables and created a large circle in the center.
Truthfully, the hotel manager and staff all wore flustered expressions at this turn of events.
It was only natural.
Nothing like this had ever happened at the Night of Transcendents before.
Although guilds had always kept each other in check, an actual spar had never taken place.
Yet the situation had already unfolded, and neither the hotel manager nor any staff member could resist.
They had no choice.
Not only Shin Daeho and Baek Inha, but every single major guild master here was a titan whose single word could not be taken lightly.
If anyone dared oppose them, even a hotel this massive would collapse in an instant.
In any case, once the circle was formed in the center.
The spar was prepared under the watchful eyes of the major guild masters, their companions, and the staff.
“It was Hunter Seo Juwon, right?”
Baekho Guild Master Baek Inha looked at me and continued.
“If you’re scared, you can still give up now. Don’t make a scene crying later.”
“There’ll be no need for that. Let’s just get on with the spar.”
“Pfft, acting tough. You should know your place before bluffing. You can’t beat our Hunter Dokgo Yeong.”
Baek Inha said while gently stroking Dokgo Yeong’s back.
Dokgo Yeong continued to glare at me with an icy expression.
“Are you really sure about this?”
Shin Daeho quietly whispered so only I could hear.
I nodded once more, conveying my resolve.
Shin Daeho then turned to Baek Inha.
“So, what rules do you have in mind for the spar?”
“Hmm, what’s your companion’s class?”
“Necromancer.”
“Pfft, necromancer? Wow, the class itself is already weak as hell. And you said a mere necromancer is going to conquer the world?”
“Stop the nonsense and decide the rules.”
“Hmm, this is getting complicated. Our Dokgo Yeong is a warrior, so I was planning swordsmanship. Even bare-handed fighting would’ve worked if he were a martial artist or rogue. But a necromancer? The excitement is already gone before we even start.”
Baek Inha shrugged with a dismissive look.
She was mocking me even before the spar began.
I opened my mouth.
“Let’s do that.”
“Do what?”
“Swordsmanship, as you suggested.”
“What are you talking about? You’re not even a warrior.”
“Even if I’m not a warrior, my skeleton knows how to use a sword. So let’s fight with swords. That would be clean, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah, planning to summon a bunch of skeletons and win by numbers? It still won’t work. Our Dokgo Yeong isn’t someone to be taken lightly.”
“No.”
I immediately continued.
“I’ll summon only one skeleton.”
“What did you say?”
“I will use only one Skeleton Soldier for this spar.”
“Puhahahaha!”
At my words, Baek Inha burst into laughter.
She laughed so hard her pure white hair shook.
She laughed as if she were watching the funniest comedy show in the world.
My words must have been utterly hilarious to her.
And the major guild masters reacted the same way.
“That guy has completely lost his mind.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, no matter how much he wants to look good in front of everyone, that kind of bluffing is useless.”
“That Dokgo Yeong hunter is at least Gold raid level in Myth Guild terms. Maybe even higher. And he’s only using one skeleton?”
“This is absurd. Even using all his skeletons would be tough, yet only one? Is something wrong with that guy’s head? What on earth was Guild Master Shin thinking bringing him?”
“Guild Master Shin is nearing sixty now. His judgment must finally be clouding.”
“Tsk tsk, looks like Baek Inha’s era is coming. We should remember the face of that Dokgo Yeong fellow. He might become the future guild master of Baekho.”
The major guild masters showed various reactions.
Some said I or Shin Daeho had lost our minds.
Others said it was time to side with Baek Inha and Dokgo Yeong.
Amid all the whispering.
Guild Master Shin Daeho said nothing.
He simply stood quietly, as if he truly believed in me.
“So, what will it be? Will you spar or not?”
I asked Baek Inha.
“You’re really going through with it? One skeleton against our Dokgo Yeong?”
“Yes.”
“Ha, seriously. I’m speechless.”
Baek Inha laughed in disbelief, then spoke to me.
“Fine. Let’s do it. You’re the one who wants this, so why would I refuse?”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you? We’re the ones who should be thankful. Just don’t regret it later. No whining about injuries or compensation since we agreed to this spar. Got it?”
Baek Inha looked at both me and Shin Daeho.
I nodded immediately, and Shin Daeho did the same.
“Good. Then let’s begin. Go ahead, Dokgo Yeong.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
At Baek Inha’s words, Dokgo Yeong drew his sword.
Shiiing.
A chilling sound.
At that sound, I also took out a single bone from my pocket.
You’re my only hope, Skeleton Soldier.
Me and Dokgo Yeong.
The moment our spar began.
Baek Inha.
She was Korea’s number two ranked powerhouse.
The Baekho Guild she led was also the second largest super-guild in the country.
A person of authority who could live lavishly anywhere in Korea.
Even in her twenties, she was immensely wealthy and beautiful enough to rival any actress.
Yet she had lived her entire life soaked in inferiority.
The reason was simple.
[Eternal second place].
That damned phrase that defined Baekho Guild.
Yes.
Baekho Guild was eternally second.
Despite possessing overwhelming military might, member count, and financial power, Baekho Guild could never escape the silver medal.
[Myth Guild].
It was all because of that damned guild.
That was why Baek Inha had always harbored a deep inferiority complex toward Myth Guild and its master, Shin Daeho.
Like magma boiling deep underground, a vicious, seething inferiority.
Of course, outwardly she acted unbothered and indifferent, but in truth she cared immensely.
Baek Inha was a woman of enormous ambition, and that ambition could only be satisfied by taking first place.
Yet no matter what she tried, she could not catch up to Myth Guild.
Just as a person can never touch the sky no matter how high they jump.
Just as no one can outrun a car no matter how hard they sprint; Myth Guild was forever far, far away.
Because Myth Guild and Shin Daeho were simply too strong.
That was why Baek Inha trained like a madwoman every day, waiting for the day she could defeat Shin Daeho.
Naturally, she subjected Baekho Guild members to military-level, grueling training.
Like raising a special forces unit.
While lying in wait for her chance at revenge.
Today, that chance had finally come.
That pathetic weakling is going to become Korea’s number one? And even conquer the world? What a joke.
Shin Daeho had said it.
That Seo Juwon, the companion he brought, would devour the entire world.
The moment she heard that, Baek Inha proposed the spar.
Let’s have the guild members we each cherish fight, she said.
Dokgo Yeong can definitely win. Overwhelmingly.
Baek Inha cherished Dokgo Yeong.
An orphan, Dokgo Yeong had been a street gang leader as a child and a notorious delinquent in school.
After graduating high school, he became a gangster and dominated his area.
After awakening, he became even more extraordinary.
As a hunter, Dokgo Yeong crushed hunters of the same level and, after joining Baekho Guild, overwhelmed most guild members.
Thanks to his astonishing talent, he had instantly grown to the level of a Gold raid member in Myth Guild terms, if not higher.
Dokgo Yeong, crush that guy in my place. Shatter that arrogant bastard who dares to fight with just one skeleton.
Baek Inha silently screamed inside toward Dokgo Yeong.
Destroy Seo Juwon.
Utterly demolish him and show everyone how strong Baekho Guild is.
Show them which guild will become the overlord of the Korean hunter world in the future.
But…
Things went strangely.
CRASH!
Dokgo Yeong collapsed.
Baekho Guild’s greatest prospect, Dokgo Yeong.
He had been knocked down by Seo Juwon.
By just one Skeleton Soldier.
W-what is this…
Baek Inha’s pupils trembled.
She could not comprehend the situation.
Dokgo Yeong lost?
To Seo Juwon?
Not to Seo Juwon’s damned skeleton, but Dokgo Yeong lost?
The pride of Baekho Guild, Dokgo Yeong?
Baek Inha was dumbfounded, and the surrounding major guild masters were the same.
“B-Baekho Guild’s hunter lost?”
“N-no way. How can a skeleton soldier be that strong?”
“It ended in an instant. Dokgo Yeong didn’t even get to do anything.”
“What the hell is that skeleton? How is it that strong? How did it beat a warrior with a sword?”
Everyone was shocked.
“It seems Guild Master Shin’s words weren’t wrong…”
The major guild masters each muttered.
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
In reality, Seo Juwon’s cyan skeleton had completely overwhelmed Dokgo Yeong.
Before Dokgo Yeong could even exert his strength.
“Do you yield?”
Seo Juwon, standing behind the cyan skeleton, asked.
Dokgo Yeong gritted his teeth and said with visible fury.
“I just slipped. The floor was slippery, that’s all.”
“Is that so? Then please stand.”
Seo Juwon said and gave an order to the cyan skeleton.
The cyan skeleton that had been pointing its bone sword at the fallen Dokgo Yeong stepped back several paces.
Dokgo Yeong rose again.
He gripped his long sword tightly with both hands.
“Haaap!”
With a battle cry, Dokgo Yeong thrust his sword, and Seo Juwon issued a combat command to the skeleton.
CLANG! CLING! CLAAAAANG!
Dokgo Yeong attacked the cyan skeleton like a madman.
An attack so desperate it felt less like a spar and more like a real fight.
Yet the skeleton blocked every strike with an eerily calm stance.
Having defended, the cyan skeleton finally counterattacked.
SWHOOOSH!
The cyan skeleton swiftly swung its bone sword after parrying.
Dokgo Yeong twisted his waist to barely dodge.
He tried to counter, but the skeleton’s follow-up strikes were faster.
SWHOOOSH!
A bone sword flying in at a sharp angle.
Seeing it aimed at his legs, Dokgo Yeong hurriedly stepped back.
WHOOSH!
At that sight, the cyan skeleton quickly stepped in and thrust like a fencer.
The tip of the thrust reached right in front of Dokgo Yeong’s throat, and he froze like a statue.
Because if the cyan skeleton hadn’t stopped its sword, his throat would have been pierced clean through.
“Do you admit defeat?”
Seo Juwon, standing behind the cyan skeleton, asked.
Dokgo Yeong gritted his teeth, then glanced around with only his eyes.
The stunned major guild masters and Baek Inha with a pale face.
Seeing their expressions, Dokgo Yeong shook his head.
He still refused to give up.
“Very well.”
At Seo Juwon’s words, the cyan skeleton withdrew its bone sword.
And thus the spar resumed.
“RAAAARGH!”
Dokgo Yeong charged at the cyan skeleton with a beastly roar.
But before he could even exchange a few blows.
CRASH!
Dokgo Yeong collapsed once more.
The cyan skeleton rushed at him, bone sword held in reverse grip.
STAB!
It drove the sharp bone sword into the floor right beside Dokgo Yeong’s face.
If it had been just a few centimeters off, his face would have been pierced.
Dokgo Yeong looked up at the cyan skeleton looming over him and muttered.
“I… I admit defeat…”
With those words, the sword slipped from Dokgo Yeong’s hand.
Seo Juwon vs Dokgo Yeong.
The victor of the spar had been decided.