Chapter 50: Unworthy Hands

A deafening roar burst from Baek Do-woon’s hand.

The sound was like a missile being launched, causing people to recoil in shock.

“Good heavens!” someone cried, collapsing to the ground, while another yelped, “Eek!” and leapt away.

Kim Mu-yeon’s reaction was hardly different from theirs.

He was startled at the sight of the massive wooden sword emerging from Do-woon’s hand.

Even more so when it flew at him with blinding speed.

“You crazy bastard!”

He cursed at Do-woon as he dodged the attack.

Arca shot past him and stopped right in front of the crowd.

A man who almost had the tip of the wooden sword touch his nose buckled and sank to the ground.

Kim Mu-yeon glared at Do-woon after watching Arca sail past.

“You coward, attacking out of nowhere!”

“Whew, you scared me, little sprout.”

But Do-woon wasn’t even looking at Kim Mu-yeon.

His completely disinterested attitude left the others flustered once more.

“Wait, did you just click your tongue? Are you seriously in your rebellious phase?”

Ignoring everyone’s stares, he just kept looking down at his smartphone.

He kept muttering things under his breath—most of which were incomprehensible.

“If you keep acting like this, I’ll get angry, you know?”

“No, I’m not punishing you.”

“You’ll sulk? Hey, seriously?”

The muttering continued.

Listening to him, the people exchanged looks.

They were silently asking each other if anyone could understand what he was saying.

All who received the unspoken question shook their heads.

They had no idea, not even a clue.

“Is he insane or what?”

Someone blurted out the thought that popped into their head.

The others couldn’t help but agree.

At that moment,

“Gasp!”

“The sword! The sword!”

“Is that sword technique?”

“Idiot! This isn’t some martial arts novel. Of course it’s magic!”

Arca, floating in the air, began to move slowly.

As if a video was being rewound, it returned naturally to Do-woon’s hand.

Do-woon slung it over his shoulder and apologized to Kim Mu-yeon.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. I’m not used to pulling this thing out yet.”

“You…!”

“You’ll let it slide, right?”

He flashed a cheeky grin.

If Kim Mu-yeon hadn’t dodged the wooden sword, he could have been badly hurt.

Had the blade traveled just a bit farther, someone might have been injured.

Yet Do-woon acted as if it were no big deal.

His shameless attitude left everyone speechless.

“Baek Do-woon…”

Kim Mu-yeon muttered the name, glaring.

The murderous look on his face didn’t last long.

Noticing everyone’s stares, he quickly pulled himself together.

He let out a long, deep sigh, then spoke calmly.

“…Fine. Whatever. I already knew you were a fool.”

“The way you talk is really irritating, you know that?”

“……”

At the harsh words, Kim Mu-yeon clamped his mouth shut.

Doesn’t this guy care about how people look at him?

Thinking that, he looked at Do-woon.

Do-woon was staring only at him.

As if he couldn’t care less about anyone else.

Soon, Do-woon offered the wooden sword slung over his shoulder.

“Here.”

“…Mm!”

He couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the sword held out to him.

It might look like a simple, oversized wooden sword, but it was a perfect weapon in its own right.

Maybe others couldn’t tell, but he knew.

Because Kim Mu-yeon possessed the ‘Song of the Sword’ skill.

Song of the Sword was an ability that let one be favored by swords.

He could tell a blade’s quality at a glance, and knew how to wield it.

With the skill’s correction, he could swing any sword regardless of size or weight.

So, Kim Mu-yeon confidently reached out.

“Once I hold that, everyone will see who the real pretender is. Hope you’re ready to be humiliated in front of everyone.”

As Kim Mu-yeon reached for Arca, Yu Jae-yi’s words popped into his head.

He smirked and shook his head.

This was the sword Baek Do-woon, a B-rank Hunter, had wielded.

There was no way he wouldn’t be able to pick up such a sword.

He dismissed Yu Jae-yi’s words as nothing but the spite of someone who disliked him.

However—

Thud!

The moment he received Arca, he toppled forward.

As soon as Do-woon let go, Arca fell to the ground, dragging Kim Mu-yeon down with it as he desperately tried to hold on.

“What’s going on? Why’s he like that?”

“Is it because he can’t lift it?”

“No way, must be a mistake. Why wouldn’t an A-rank Hunter be able to lift that?”

“But… he looks like he’s struggling…”

People whispered among themselves, but Kim Mu-yeon didn’t have time to feel embarrassed.

He couldn’t understand why he was unable to lift Arca.

He was the owner of the Song of the Sword skill—there was no way he couldn’t pick up a sword.

Yet he couldn’t lift it.

He tried again with all his strength, but Arca, lying flat on the ground, didn’t budge an inch.

It was as if it had always been part of the earth.

“What the hell is this….”

He raised his head in confusion.

Baek Do-woon, one eyebrow raised, was looking down at him.

Do-woon gave a brief, mocking laugh.

“Looks like the pretender here is you.”

Kim Mu-yeon’s face flushed bright red at those words.

*****

Seeing his crimson face made me feel at ease.

I liked the way people looked at Kim Mu-yeon with mocking expressions.

As expected, people love watching someone fall.

The guy stood up, his face still red.

I quite liked the sight of him kneeling there.

“…I admit it.”

“Hm?”

“I wasn’t qualified. It’s shameful that I caused this situation.”

“……”

I’d expected him to act irrationally, driven by his emotions.

But to my surprise, he didn’t.

He kept his composure to salvage his image to the very end.

He had no choice, but it was still impressive.

“Baek Do-woon, I acknowledge you as the owner of this sword.”

With those words, Kim Mu-yeon offered me his right hand for a handshake.

Wow, this guy really knows how to play the scene.

Honestly, I was impressed.

His image had just taken a huge hit because of this.

He’d insisted he was worthy and the other wasn’t, only to have the opposite result.

The only way to recover a shred of his reputation now was to apologize and step back cleanly.

If I refused his hand, I’d be the one ruining my own image.

“Thank you. For a Hunter ranked 47th in Korea to acknowledge me—it’s an honor.”

But hey, I know how to put on a show too.

My little sister and my friend are both amazing at this.

I took his offered hand.

And not just that—I pulled him into a hug.

I saw Kim Mu-yeon flinch and try to pull away.

I tightened my embrace and whispered softly.

“It was my sword to begin with—who are you to acknowledge me?”

“…I don’t know what trick you pulled, but that sword will be mine soon enough.”

“You sure talk big for someone who couldn’t even lift it.”

Our whispered words were tense, but maybe because we were embracing, the onlookers started to sigh in admiration.

Some even clapped, though awkwardly.

Still gritting his teeth, Kim Mu-yeon managed a smile.

Impressive ability, really.

Smiling and grinding your teeth at the same time.

“Just you wait, Baek Do-woon. I’ll repay this humiliation.”

“Stop being greedy and get lost, you damned thief.”

With that, I let go and stepped away from him.

He started to say something, but, noticing the eyes on him, kept his mouth shut.

Now that we were apart, even if he whispered, I wouldn’t hear.

People who care what others think can’t act rashly at times like this.

Kim Mu-yeon, unable to do anything, simply gave me a smile.

“……”

“……”

I smiled back.

It was a crooked smirk, raising just one corner of my mouth.

Even if he didn’t like that smile, with so many watching, there was nothing he could do.

Calmly, coldly, the only thing he could do was leave.

Kim Mu-yeon apologized to the police for causing a disturbance, then bowed to each of the bystanders before leaving.

Honestly, you’d think he was a celebrity.

Well, as the 47th-ranked Hunter in Korea, he kind of is.

Yu Jae-yi walked over.

“He actually backed down cleanly, huh?”

“It’s just an act.”

“An act?”

“Yeah. I bet he’ll come looking for me tonight to kill me.”

“…Seriously?”

Yu Jae-yi looked at me, worried.

I knew all too well how guys like that behave.

It wasn’t my first time dealing with them.

Guys like Kim Mu-yeon, who are full of themselves, can’t stand humiliation.

Like bulls driven wild by the sight of blood, they start doing all sorts of reckless things.

Especially Hunters, who don’t even hesitate to kill.

They’ll blame me for their shame and come after my life.

Maybe tonight, or at the latest tomorrow night.

“Of course, I’m joking.”

“Hey, why do you make jokes that don’t sound like jokes?”

Because I’m not joking.

I just shrugged at her bewildered expression.

Then I sent a message on my smartphone.

To the two people who must be watching this situation unfold.

[Jaewook, please tail Kim Mu-yeon.]

[On it!]

The reply came immediately.

Lee Jaewook didn’t even ask why.

I put my phone back in my pocket and slung Arca over my shoulder.

People gasped in awe.

Seeing me lift the sword that Kim Mu-yeon couldn’t pick up must have been amazing.

Honestly, I found it amazing too.

Why couldn’t Kim Mu-yeon lift Arca?

Yu Jae-yi was the one who answered my question.

“Arca chooses its master.”

“Its master?”

“Not that it’s sentient or anything. It just, well, decides who it’ll allow to touch it.”

“So the reason Kim Mu-yeon couldn’t lift Arca is…”

“Yeah, it simply didn’t permit him.”

Hearing that, it felt like Arca was wrapping me in a warm embrace.

Yu Jae-yi said Arca had no will, so it was probably just my imagination.

Or maybe I felt that way because it was made from a branch of the World Tree.

“So, show everyone here that you’re the master. For Arca’s sake too.”

Saying that, Yu Jae-yi pushed me forward in front of the crowd.

Though Kim Mu-yeon was gone, the people still hadn’t dispersed—they were all watching me.

At that moment, I remembered the World Tree quest.

It had told me to display the dignity of the caretaker so no one would speak ill again.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you.”

I gripped Arca with both hands and raised it properly.

Then I poured mana into it with all my might.

In an instant, a blue blade the height of a three-story apartment building formed.

People gazed up at Arca in awe.

“It’s huge and beautiful!”

“My God, it’s even bigger than in the videos!”

“Crazy! He’s actually swinging that thing?”

“That could cut a dragon, not just a cyclops!”

Standing in the middle of the crowd wasn’t easy.

My face started to flush with embarrassment, when Yu Jae-yi stepped forward.

“This sword’s name is Arbor Kapulus. It means ‘giant hilt’!”

“A hilt? That’s a hilt?”

“Oh, right! Yeah! The blue part is the blade!”

Yu Jae-yi’s face, as she introduced Arca, looked genuinely happy.

She looked like a proud mother watching her child answer a teacher’s question correctly at an open class.

She went on to explain the blade’s activation time for Arca.

It consumed 50,000 mana per minute, and even most A-rank Hunters couldn’t maintain it for more than five minutes.

Then she pointed at me.

“But this person is different. He once maintained this form for at least 30 minutes.”

At that, the crowd gasped and started buzzing among themselves.

“No way!”

“Don’t A-rank Hunters have total mana between 10,000 and a million?”

“Wait, if he held that for 30 minutes… that’s like, what, 100, 150 thousand?”

“In terms of mana capacity alone, he’s S-rank!”

Their stares were overwhelming.

They looked at me as if I were some otherworldly phenomenon.

In truth, my maximum mana, including the extra 50,000 from holding Arca, was 200,000.

The only reason I could sustain Arca’s output for 30 minutes was because my mana recovery speed was abnormally fast.

Of course, Yu Jae-yi and the others didn’t know that.

[You have fulfilled the quest conditions!]

[As a reward for success, you receive a leaf from the previous World Tree.]

[The reward will be sent to your mailbox.]

Thanks to that, I completed the quest easily.

I’d finished the quest and driven Kim Mu-yeon off, but I still felt uneasy.

Just then, a message arrived from Lee Jaewook.

[Kim Mu-yeon is observing the situation from a distance.]

[Be careful.]

Just as I expected.

Why do guys like that always act so predictably stupid?

Well, fine.

How should I deal with this guy to really make a name for myself?

[The World Tree Sapling is asking for another chance.]

[The sapling promises to add a spin next time.]