Chapter 17: Yakt Spinner
Koo Dae-Sung looks up at Leon in disbelief, realizing that he has been saved.
Captain Gnoll’s axe is… suspended in midair. Or more precisely, it was clutched in Leon’s fingers, trembling and unmoving.
‘How strong does he have to be…….?’
Captain Gnoll may not have the full strength of a C-class Hunter, but he’s on par with a C-class Hunter. He was the boss of the Seoul Station gate, which is the graveyard of the beginners.
Not only could he block Captain Gnoll’s axe with his fingers, but he’s holding it so tightly that he can’t even pull it out?
That was impossible, unless the opponent was overwhelmingly strong.
“Try again.”
For a moment, Koo Dae-sung wondered if he had misheard.
“What…?”
“Raise your shield and try again.”
“????”
And then Dae-sung realized Leon let go of the Captain Gnoll axe.
“Now, block his attack and counterattack.”
“No, what are you doing…! We’re all in danger!”
From a common sense perspective, Koo Dae-Sung is right a hundred times over. But in the eyes of the lion-heart king, it’s not only foolish, it’s impious.
“Rude! You have the honor of being guided by the Lionheart King, and yet you dare to disagree!”
“No…!”
Outrageous! What have I done wrong?
“As a Holy Knight by nature, it is an honor for me to lead a mere soldier. You cannot thank this king for such a favor.”
Leon spoke with a nonchalance that was already beyond insulting, an attitude that would have stunned even the gnoll next to him. But Leon could only glare pathetically at the dazed commoner.
“Raise your shield! Block the axe, counterattack!”
“Ugh…!”
Since Leon had let Captain Gnoll axe through, Koo Dae-sung had no choice but to raise his shield in order to stay alive.
“Krrr…!”
While Koo Dae-sung got up, Captain Gnoll glared ferociously at Leon. Of course, Leon attracted much more aggro than Koo Dae-sung.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Captain Gnoll swung his axe at Leon without paying attention to Koo Dae-sung but just as his axe was about to hit Leon in the head.
-Tup!
“Krrr?”
The axe blade stops in midair. The sharpened axe was once again blocked by his fingers, unable to move.
“Is this rabid bastard insane?”
Captain Gnoll cowered under Leon’s gaze while Leon stared at the axe for a moment, then grabbed the shield in the gnoll’ captain hand.
An unscathed hand wraps around the shield and the unbelievable happens as the iron shield snapped, crushed by the grasping hand.
It was a horrifying sight meant to send one message ‘don’t do it’.
Captain Gnoll understood immediately since wild beasts by nature understand the hierarchy of power.
His tail curled as he realized that he was no match for Leon. Instead, he directed his anger and embarrassment at Koo Dae-Sung.
“Uhhh…….”
Koo Dae-sung was stunned by the unexpected aggro, but the Gnoll Captain, who had lost his shield, swung his axe straight at him.
“Ouch…!”
Koo Dae-sung raised his shield with a gasp as a clang sounded and the impact was transmitted through the shield.
‘Strong!’
He was able to block the strong impact.
“Fool, how can you use your shield to block it?”
Leon yelled at the old man as he watched the battle from the sidelines and began to train him.
“Don’t go toe-to-toe with a being more powerful than you! Deflect like you did before, deflect his weapon and look for an opening, that’s how the weak fight!”
Damn, if it was that easy, who the hell would I be, a D-rank Hunter for 10 years?
But Koo Dae-Sung tried again to deflect the swinging axe with his shield.
He twisted the direction of the shield and slanted it so instead of taking the full impact, he deflected it diagonally.
-Bam!
“Boom…!”
But it was easier said than done since the Gnoll Captain also reacted to the twisting shield.
“Your opponent is no scarecrow! He is a living, breathing, learning beast! How can you expect to succeed by simply twisting your shield?”
“Ack! Damn it! What am I supposed to do──”
With a thud, Leon’s kick to the side knocked Koo Dae-sung off his feet.
“What, what are you doing──!”
Koo Dae-sung saw the trajectory of Captain Gnoll’s axe as he fell. The shield he’d casually raised in response to Leon’s words wouldn’t have blocked the axe’s blow.
“Stay focused. Take my advice like the sky, but keep your eyes on the enemy.”
Leon stops the axe-wielding gnoll in his tracks with a blow to the head and looks down at him.
“Get back on your feet.”
When he tried to plead ignorance, Leon said.
“Don’t let your talent rot. Unlock your potential. You can do better.”
Talented? Me?
Koo felt a strange sensation at the words.
A hunter without a single unique skill, a talentless D-rank hunter who just happened to be awakened.
Leon’s words of encouragement were so unexpected, and his voice alone filled him with a strange sense of trust.
I can do this.
I raise my shield. This is my first time using a shield since I’ve always used a sword.
-Bam!
It’s heavy. Damn, how did I block that attack earlier?
‘Keep your eyes on the enemy.’
I follow his advice. In the narrow field of vision blocked by my shield, I stare at the axe that the gnoll captain is wielding.
The trajectory of the swinging axe, if only I could read it!
-Bang!
The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out, louder than before and the attack was deflected.
“Stand, you’ve succeeded…!”
“Krrr!”
The gnoll’s front paw slammed into his abdomen and Koo Dae-Sung’s body flew into the distance.
“Tsk…! How pathetic. How can you not see the whole picture?”
Staring at the axe, he didn’t see the creature’s foot move.
Koo Dae-sung’s vision blurred and his eyelids finally closed.
This year, he received a D grade again.
* * * *
When Koo Dae-sung passed out, Leon, the gnoll captain, and Shin Tae-hoon were the only ones left.
“Cr, cr…….”
Captain Noll glared at the fallen Koo Dae-sung, but kept his eyes on Leon.
It could only stare at Leon in horror. With that alone──
“How much longer will you, a filthy son of a bitch who isn’t even human, stand by and watch this king?”
-Crack!
A finger snaps. It’s not even a fist, but the mere contact of his chin with the outstretched index finger sends Captain Gnoll’s head spinning thirteen times.
-Kududuk!
Captain Gnoll crumbles to the ground with a crunching sound as his neck breaks.
“Huh… dirty.”
Leon frowned like a dysentery patient who had touched something that shouldn’t have been touched, then stood in front of Shin Tae-hoon.
Sighing, he wiped his fingers where they had touched the Gnoll captain on the hem of his shirt but Tae-hoon didn’t dare say anything.
Captain Gnoll is the boss at the gate of Seoul Station, where there is no specific boss.
It’s a graveyard for beginners with a Class C-rank and not many novice Hunters survive with the help of the Association staff after encountering Gnoll Captains.
What kind of Hunter would play with a Gnoll Captain like that?
“Wait, an Association employee?”
As it turns out, even though it was a clear crisis, the Association staff didn’t step in. Instead, they keep their distance and act as if they expected this to happen.
“That’s right! Na-yeon…!”
Tae-hoon’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked in the direction of the cave.
“Ugh… Oh, big brother, it’s all taken care of.”
“You young men had a hard time.”
In front of the cave, where dozens of kobolds were about to emerge, Old Man Wu laughed and wiped the blood off his holster.
“Then… we’ll end the test.”
With those words, the hunt at Seoul Station Gate came to an end.
Moments later Han Ha-ri, who was waiting at the entrance to Seoul Station Gate, saw Leon and ran over.
“Your Majesty, how was it?”
“Just a walk.”
The Seoul Station Gate was nothing more than a walk for him. Even though he’s a weakened knight-king who’s lost most of his power, his body is still that of a demigod.
Even if tens of thousands of gnolls swarm around him they can’t put a dent in his jade body
“So… did you accomplish your goal?”
Leon had come to the Seoul Station gate in the name of testing to learn about the hunters’ physiology and find talent at the same time.
“No, I encountered several Hunters in the waiting room, but they were all lowly commoners. There is no one worthy of serving this king…….”
Leon remembered a man, D-rank hunter Koo Dae-sung.
His skill with a shield was unremarkable. Poor, to be sure, but he showed promise.
A professional soldier’s skill was to use a shield, so that was something worth cultivating.
“Well, he’s fit enough to be a sergeant.”
“I see.”
It was then that the Association staff and other party members who came out with Leon came into view.
Ha-ri was surprised to see the elderly man among them… or rather, the unmasked Oh Kang-tae.
“Association President?!”
“Ms. Ha-ri, it’s been a while.”
Oh Kang-tae. No, Oh Kang-hyuk, the president of the Hunter’s Association smiled a cheeky smile.
* * * *
A cafe near Seoul Station.
“Did you know?”
Oh Kang-hyuk, the president of the Hunter Association, assumed that Leon had realized his identity from the moment he stopped caring about the kobold cave.
“There’s no way a warrior of your caliber could be out there.”
Leon had known from the moment he approached him under his pseudonym, for the aura he carried was out of the ordinary.
“Hehe, I even wore a mask of illusion on purpose, but it must have been meaningless.”
The magic tool that transforms the face to look like someone else was meaningless to Leon in the first place, as he was an outsider who didn’t even know the face of the most famous Hunter in the country.
“I heard you’re forming a guild this time.”
“Only if you replace the name of the Knights with a guild.”
Oh Kang-hyuk wanted to know Leon’s intentions. He needed to know what he was after, where he was headed, so he could keep him in the small country of Korea.
“I would like to thank you on behalf of the nation for cleansing the Naju Plain. The President said he would like to see you soon to thank you.”
“It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t require the king to thank me.”
“We would like to make our own case, if that’s what you want-─”
“I’m not particularly anxious to leave the country.”
“……!”
The words hit the nail on the head.
What the Association wants from Leon is for him to stay in the country.
He has proven to be a powerful being in his own right, but more than that, his miraculous ability to cleanse the land of miasma contamination makes him more valuable than any other survivor.
If any other country realized what he could do, they would go to war to get him.
‘Even our ally, the United States, can’t be trusted.’
The United States has also lost all sorts of granaries to Dungeon Breaks so they’ll pay Leon any price to cleanse the land.
And that price, Leon seemed to already know.
“You are mistaken.”
“What… what do you mean?”
“It is not this king’s power or ability to cleanse the land of pollution.”
“What is it then…….”
He heard from the association staff that Leon cleaned up the plains of Hunan and Naju. He saw it on video, so how can it not be Leon power──
“You mean… by believing in Goddess Demera… anyone can do that?”
“Not just anyone. You have to be a priest with sincere faith and her approval.”
He was amazed. A mere priest could solve a problem that humanity has yet to fully solve?
“In this world, there is a basic freedom of religion.”
“……Yes.”
Religious conflicts still erupt, but there was no religious persecution in Korea. One religion has been a bit extreme, but it pales in comparison to bombings in the Middle East.
“It’s a problem that will be overcome naturally. If you want divine power, first prove it with your faith.”
“…….”
Oh Kang-hyuk wondered if he should really trust these otherworldly religious people. But regardless, he couldn’t deny the purified land.
“Your Majesty’s wishes are well understood, but if there’s anything else you need, we can help.”
“Perhaps I offer you the opportunity to serve this king.”
“How?”
“I need to improve my reputation.”
Reputation? Oh Kang-hyuk gave me a puzzled look.
“When you say reputation, you mean…….”
“I intend to raise this king’s reputation on this earth… no, in the world, so that I can have the opportunity to preach.”
In other words, he believed that the more fame he gained, the more he could spread the faith of the Ten Thousand Gods.
He wasn’t wrong, in fact, it was the most effective way.
“Hmm… I see… In order for Your Majesty to increase your reputation… That is actually the best way. His Majesty must have guessed.”
Oh Kang Hyuk remembered that he had joined the test to find talent.
He created a guild, accepted residents, and recruited guild members.
The simplest way to increase your reputation on modern Earth. Needless to say.
“First, I’d suggest you start building a track record to raise your rank as a Hunter. In this day and age, there aren’t many ways to spread prestige like force.”
“And how do you raise that rating?”
“Simple. You close the gates. Of course, this will be a complicated process for Your Majesty, who has only just settled on Earth.”
The first problem is the gates. Most high-ranking gates are pre-bid by guilds, and the only gates that Leon, a novice hunter, can enter are low-ranking gates owned by Association that no one has bid on.
“If you want to raise your reputation quickly, there’s nothing like a high-rank gate.”
“But, I heard that those are the ones that guilds bid on in advance?”
At that, Oh Kang-hyuk laughed and replied.
“Actually, there is a case of a failed attempt to capture the Vermilion Gate. It’s a specialty gate, and the Association is struggling with it.”
He pulled out his smartphone, played a video, and placed it politely on the desk.
On the screen, a “spider” appeared.
“This is a vermilion gate in the city of Cheongju. It’s a special gate that was recently upgraded to an actual ‘Vermilion’ gate.”
The eight wide-angle lenses covering all four directions are constantly moving, and the eight thick legs are too cold and hideous for a creature.
Huge cannons and bladders on thick, crab-like carapaces along with a railgun that emits a vicious electromagnetic pulse.
-Ahhhh! Run! Run! Run! Run!
-What the hell! We can’t beat that thing!
It was a nightmare that hops from building to building on eight legs, taunting the Hunters.
“The boss of this special gate, which no one has cleared in a year.”
“Either obtain or destroy the ‘Wisdom Gem’ guarded by the Yakt Spinner.”
