Chapter 9

Chapter 9

K Channel’s ‘billboard’ reporter, Yu HanNah.

She made a beeline for the first-year F class while bringing her large cameraman along.

“I told you that it was a huge scoop back then, right?”

“Um, y-you did. But the producer told us to film the graduating year first…”

“Oh No! I’ll be the one deciding the order! If he doesn’t like it, tell him to splice the footage.”

Yu HanNah was the main anchor of the news station and the one with the last word. Even if she was eccentric, she had a good eye for news, so everyone pretended to look the other way.

As if in a good mood, Yu HanNah laughed, “fufu!” and showed her phone screen to the cameraman.

“Look at the comments on the video. He definitely has some sort of innate star quality!”

—Wow, K Channel’s Academy feature was sick… especially the Fist King disciple!

—Does he really have an F-rank Trait with those skills? Is his opponent even alive brr

—What the hell is up with God YuSung’s looks…? I just learned abt this great program sadge

An endless stream of viewer comments.

In just one day, the video of Shin YuSung’s spar had reached 280,000 likes. Of course, the number of views was currently several times that. Current ratings were 6% as well.

K Channel and Yu HanNah appreciated Shin YuSung’s star quality.

“…There’s a kind of, ‘wham!’ feeling from him. An F-rank Trait hunter defeating other hunters with high rank Traits!”

Yu HanNah shouted this towards the cameraman and made a fist.

“On top of that, the disciple of the Fist King who had suddenly announced his retirement! And, gasp! He’s super handsome! Enough for people to make a fuss about it!”

“Interviewing the graduating class? Phoo. I’m absolutely going to interview Shin YuSung. Okay?” She asked the cameraman a question she already had an answer to.

“O-okay.”

Right when the cameraman had finished responding, someone was trying to enter the classroom for F Class.

“Oh~ wait wait! Excuse me, cute student over there~ are you okay for an interview?”

Regardless of the answer, Yu HanNah caught the student. The female student who was sweating and trying to discreetly avoid Yu HanNah’s eyes was none other than Shin YuSung’s partner, Sumire.

“Huh? C-cute? I’m not that cute… everyone says I’m gloomy and depressing… and I can’t even speak all that well…”

Yu HanNah tried approaching her amicably even as Sumire’s face became paler and she tried to back away.

“Don’t be like that! It’s a really short question. You know the Fist King’s disciple from the same class, right?”

“Eh? …S-Shin YuSung-ssi*?”

Yu HanNah nodded at Sumire’s cautious response.

“Yes! Can you give me just one sentence! About what kind of student Shin YuSung is?”

“Um, b-but I don’t really know anyth…”

“Just say anything, don’t worry too much~ it’s fine even if it’s something superficial!”

“B-but still… oh, oh right!”

Sumire recalled what she had written in her notebook after seeing Shin YuSung get along with Lee SiWoo.

“Shin YuSung-ssi just… gets along very well with others.”

At her careful reply, Yu HanNah mumbled with a blank face:

“Hm, is that so?”

Yu HanNah was wearing an indifferent expression.

‘What a boring answer.’

It seemed like she wasn’t a fan of Sumire’s reply.

‘Isn’t there a way to make this a scoop…’

* * *

Shin YuSung and Lee SiWoo were practicing for the exam in their own ways.

Lee SiWoo, whose weapon was a bow, aimed at the target and drew the bowstring. He had an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. Lee SiWoo carefully controlled everything down to his breathing and, to not lose concentration, let go of the bowstring.

Whoosh! Snk.

The arrow hit the bullseye of the target.

“Woohoo! Yes! 10 points!”

While Lee SiWoo was happily hopping around, Shin YuSung—who seemed to have his interest pique —grabbed a pebble that was next to him. The distance between the target and Shin YuSung was around 100 meters. Shin YuSung briefly took a stance and, without aiming, lobbed the pebble.

Whoosh! Boom!

The target broke into pieces from the shockwave. Due to this, Shin YuSung’s score couldn’t be gauged.

“W-wow, you hit the target with a rock? You’re really…”

Lee SiWoo looked at him with an awed expression. Shin YuSung humbly replied:

“I was lucky.”

“I-is that so?”

Lee SiWoo went “hmm,” and fell into thought for a moment. He started muttering words mixed with praise for Shin YuSung.

“Hm, even still it’s unbelievable. To think you have to take the exam with the lower-rank classes…”

“Lower rank classes?”

“That’s what we call C Class, D Class, E Class and F Class all together.”

As Lee SiWoo had said, the exam was being held by first splitting the classes in half. C Class, D Class, E Class and F Class took their exams together while S Class, A Class and B Class—the 3 upper rank classes—took theirs together.

“It’s a huge advantage for us! Even when they split the classes like that, our test scores are kept as-is!”

Lee SiWoo had been shooting arrows for over an hour and was tired. He eventually wiped the sweat running from his forehead and sat down on a wide, flat boulder.

“Phew! I can’t train anymore.”

Voom! Fwt!

Shin YuSung performed a picture-perfect punch. Lee SiWoo watched him do so in amazement and opened his mouth.

“YuSung-ah, as expected your goal is the Seven Numbers, right?”

Seven Numbers.

A title given to the seven students with the highest student rankings per grade in the school. Lee SiWoo thought that Shin YuSung was the only individual in F Class who could try to be a Seven Number. Of course, to Shin YuSung, becoming a Seven Number was nothing put a part of the process. It wasn’t important to him how strong the students at Gaon Academy were; the moment that he had become the disciple of the Fist King, Shin YuSung’s goal had always been to become the strongest hunter.

This was his way of repaying the Fist King who had taken him in, and a unique form of revenge for the Shin-oh family who had abandoned him.

One deep breath.

Shin YuSung released his posture, and, remembering what the headmaster had told him, asked Lee SiWoo:

“Why is everyone so focused on becoming a member of the Seven Numbers?”

“Our school, you see~ treats you differently depending on your skills. If you become a part of the Seven Numbers, your dorm room is super fancy~ and they give you grants, and…”

Lee SiWoo beamed while looking at Shin YuSung’s face.

“You can participate in all of the difficult extracurricular activities as well. It’s great for getting your name out there.”

“So prominence is key.”

“Yep!”

Lee SiWoo nodded his head, then added more to his explanation.

“If you want to be selected by the voters, you have to at least be one of the Seven Numbers.”

“Then, I’ll have to raise my student ranking first,” Shin YuSung replied calmly.

If he wanted to become the strongest hunter, he should definitely be able to achieve something like becoming a member of the Seven Numbers.

“Heh~ it’s because of the facilities, right? No matter how you put it, the lower rank dorms are…”

“No. It’s because of my goal. I want to become the strongest hunter in the world.”

Lee SiWoo seemed surprised at Shin YuSung’s aspirations. The world was vast, and there were a lot of strong hunters. Even if Shin YuSung was the disciple of the Fist King, becoming the strongest hunter was a completely different story. Because of that fact, the Fist King had always told Shin YuSung to keep moving forward with a modest heart. Those were not empty words meant only to scare him.

“A-are you saying that you’re going to win against all of the hunters in the world?! Even the disciple of the Sword God from Skyscraper Academy?!”

Like the disciple of the Sword God that Lee SiWoo had mentioned, there were a large number of academies and highly skilled students all around the world. Those students having been born with talent was a given, and they also put in a lot of effort in improving themselves.

“The disciple of the Sword God?”

Sin YuSung unearthed a hazy memory.

[…Especially among them, the Sword God! He was the most annoying! Stubborn and inflexible, and with the same amount of skill as me!]

The Sword God was a hunter that Shin YuSung’s master, Yu WonHak, had talked about until his lips had worn down.

“The Sword God has a disciple as well?”

Interested, Shin YuSung asked Lee SiWoo, who nodded his head.

“Ho, you didn’t know about Liú Jùn? There’s no way you haven’t heard about him, unless you were living somewhere up in the mountains…”

The Sword God’s disciple, Liú Jùn, was that famous. His incredible reputation had spread throughout China and had even reached South Korea.

“…So his name is Liú Jùn?”

Shin YuSung repeatedly etched the name into his mind in an effort to remember it. Liú Jùn was definitely one of the strong hunters that his master, the Fist King, had warned him about.

‘Liú Jùn…’

Right then, someone panting and gasping ran towards the two from the direction of the Academy.

“Huff, huff! I finally found you! Shin YuSung! Wow! Why are the grounds so freaking large? It took me so long!”

That someone was K Channel’s Yu HanNah. After concluding her interview with Sumire, she had been searching for Shin YuSung all this time. After catching her breath, she pointed the mic towards him.

“Now, now, student Shin YuSung? We’re going to be doing a short interview with you. Wait, are you even listening to me?”

Yu HanNah sideeyed the cameraman, then asked the question that she had prepared.

“Is there a hunter that you, as the disciple of the Fist King, are concerned about?”

At her question, Shin YuSung mumbled a name as if he was ruminating on it.

“…Liú Jùn.”

Heavyset eyes.

A faint voice, as if he had waited a thousand years to say this. Shin YuSung had a far-off look in his eyes, as he was deep in thought. Liú Jùn was the disciple of his master’s acknowledged comrade, the Sword God.

“…That person is the most worrisome to me.”

“Hm~ so, do you have any goals as a hunter after you graduate and go off into the world?”

“My goal is to become the strongest hunter on Earth.”

Yu HanNah went “mhm,” and nodded her head at Shin YuSung’s adamant reply.

‘There’s a lot of nuance to this if I use the right angle for it.’

K Channel’s pride and joy, the devil’s editing that could make even an angel look evil. Anticipating a success, Yu HanNah laughed wickedly.

* * * *

China’s pride and joy, Skyscraper Academy.

The gigantic 100-floor building was installed with cutting-edge techniques for the development of its students.

Even in China, there was a man who was far and away the top contender for the strongest student out of the first years.

The Sword God’s disciple, Liú Jùn (刘俊).

He swept back his sweat-soaked bangs after finishing his training regime that was on par with an active hunter’s.

As he did so, Liú Jùn’s face, which had been covered by his hair, naturally relaxed. Thick eyebrows and cool eyes, and a lonely atmosphere that brought the two together.

Plip.

A bead of sweat snaked down Liú Jùn’s sharp jawline and dripped onto the floor.

“What business do you have with me?”

Liú Jùn asked this with a displeased expression, and his frigid voice rang coldly throughout the training area.

As he did so, a female student who was grinning ear to ear walked out from behind a pillar.

“Oh~ you knew I was there? I was waiting there to try and surprise you.”

“…I asked you what business you had with me,” Liú Jùn asked in an annoyed tone.

The female student grinned as if she had found something funny and offered him a Korean newspaper.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Unlike the female student who had come from Korea, Liú Jùn was fluent in Korean despite being from China. This was due to China choosing Korean, a mecca for strong hunters, as its second language.

Rustle.

Liú Jùn had no other choice; he opened the paper that the female student had given him.

[K Channel Shin YuSung! Exclusive interview!]

[Fist King’s disciple! Impressions revealed!]

[Sword God’s disciple is the most worrisome!]

[Announced his resolve! He will win against everyone to become the strongest!]

Liú Jùn, who was reading the newspaper expressionlessly, creased his brow. Liú Jùn was the pupil of the greatest hunter in China, the Sword God. He had never been provoked by a hunter from another country.

That was because he had overwhelmed everyone with his unprecedented skills. At the provocation of a newcomer like Shin YuSung, Liú Jùn mumbled in a cold voice:

“这小子于嘛呢? (Who is this kid?)”

It really was a strong first impression.

*-ssi is an honorofic used to refer formally to someone, usually of a higher status. In this case, Sumire is being just a little bit too formal.