Chapter 17 - That Was Strong

Do-joon has three strengths now.

First, additional attack power, including buff skills copied from the potions, and additional options for stat runes.

Second, the Kujika single-edged axe and transparent gloves made from the skin of the glass snake.

Third, the mana core of ice attribute that he demonstrated in the first test.

Out of these, the third one had the same prerequisites as the other test takers. Since they too have their own skills.

As for the second one, it was well kept in the inventory. Since he couldn’t use personal equipment in the exam.

In the end, what made Do-joon the most extraordinary and special was the first one, the additional option.

[Additional Options]

– Additional Attack Power 54~81

Without a doubt, by far the best option of them all is the additional attack power option right away. A filial option that makes a fist with his bare hands more destructive than most weapon items.

Do-joon had known its practicality for a long time, so whenever a weapon item came out of a random box, he would pull out the additional attack option from it.

“Ah. Aren’t you the uncle from earlier?”

Even when he met Kang Je-joon, who is the best among all the guys this time around, Do-joon did not get nervous nor did he swear at his bad luck.

He just calmly pulled out his weapon.

Behind him was a four-member group barely wearing ragged suits. It seems that they already had a fight before Do-joon came.

Soon the relief team arrived and took them away. Looking at the situation, Kang Je-joon said.

“They say it was meant to be, what do you say, do you want me to look aside?”

Do-joon asked curiously.

“Look aside?”

“I’m letting you run away. You know that running away doesn’t really deduct points, right?”

In dungeons, it is also important to run away well when encountering stronger opponents. So in this test, when he felt that he could not win, then even if he ran away, there was no point deduction.

But.

[Kang Je-joon]

Fit Rate

– 23%

Does he really need to?

Do-joon didn’t feel threatened at all by the young man in front of him. So far, so many… He has overcome his own crises, if not ….

He took out his club without saying a word.

“Hey, you’re full of energy for your age. Do you still stay up well at night? Does your wife like it that much?”

Do-joon’s eyes narrowed.

He might just assume the reason for him being all mouthy. Being full of confidence was understandable because he gained great abilities at a young age.

But that kind of mockery was beyond the acceptable range.

Do-joon slammed the ground toward Kang Je-joon, who stood still and smirked.

“I’m not in a hurry, either.”

He made a sword in the etiquette golden light and swung it around. A bright light was engulfed in it, and at the same time, a triumphant smile appeared on his lips.

‘If he flinches in the slightest, I will immediately turn it into a spear and stab him.’

It was his winning pattern, which had crushed all the teams he had ever met. The moment he felt safe enough to evade an attack, he would transform it into a weapon with a longer reach and swoop in.

It was a simple but effective tactic.

However,

‘Uh… … ?’

The opponent’s response was different from what it has been so far. If it was as he expected, the opponent would have had to stop in a panic.

But isn’t Do-joon actually speeding up and digging in?

Often, when sparring, they do not avoid the opponent’s attack, but rather take it into consideration. In order to receive an attack with minimal damage by blurring the opponent’s aiming.

But that was the case only when the opponent was bare-handed or in a weapon-to-weapon battle.. It was suicide to jump into a weapon made of pure mana like now.

‘You can’t really kill it, even if you want to, isn’t it?’

He wouldn’t really be able to kill him, but did he actually think he’d be able to twist his path to a face-to-face encounter?

Kang Je-joon’s eyes glowed darkly. Even if he underestimated him, he underestimated him for too long.

Even if he didn’t really kill him, he had no objection to cutting off one arm at all. There’s a relief team, so if they take action right away, then he would get lucky.

Kang Je-joon snorted and swung his sword of light as it was. Instead of making it weaker, it was a sharper sword strike.

“…….”

Do-joon stared at the sword until the end. As he stared, he read the lines and the route of it. Like a trained fighter, his eyes never closed.

Whoooosh!

“Huh?”

A ridiculously huge swing.

Do-joon lowered his body in an instant and avoided it. Kang Je-joon’s hands stopped at cutting a few strands of Do-joon’s black hair.

For a moment, Kang Je-joon’s eyes widened as he looked down, and Do-joon’s cold gaze met his. Kang Je-joon felt the flurry growing below inadvertently.

“Haa, shield!”

Thwack-!

A short, concisely swung club struck the shield of light. It forced Kang Je-joon to take five steps back. He prevented the attack, but failed to relieve all the shock.

Crack! He was shocked to see the cracked shield of light.

‘No way!’

This doesn’t make sense. His output was close to 1,000 and that man was only 400. Since the fit rate was equal, the level of Mana Rune must be similar.

But it’s cracked just because he got hit once?

No matter how big the real difference was, the numbers weren’t everything, but it was hard to understand.

Do-joon swung his club in the air a couple of times and looked at Kang Je-joon. An expression of dissatisfaction.

Kang Je-joon flinched as he saw it. Do-joon’s eyes……. It wasn’t the eyes of the same applicant.

It was similar to that of a beast that found its prey.

Whoosh.

He hadn’t even attacked, but Kang Je-joon stepped back. Soon he realized that he was like that, he bit his lip.

‘Don’t be afraid, you bastard! From now on, you’ve decided to live your life off only with the glory of your power!’

When he was a porter, he suffered from hunters who treated him like a slave and did not see him as a human being. So he swore on the day he awakened this skill. That he doesn’t want to live under others like that anymore.

“Ha… Ha, that’s pretty good, mister.”

He tried to spit out strong words, but Do-joon didn’t move at all. From the moment they met until now, he was always calm.

Still, Kang Je-joon felt a little relieved. Could it be the power of words? Dojun, who only looked big for a moment, started to look a little normal.

Even if it was an illusion, it was the only hope he has now.

Kang Je-joon turned the shield of light back into the form of a weapon. This time it was a spear. He didn’t realize that the weapon with the longest reach came out unconsciously.

“Ahhhh!”

With a clumsy shout, Kang Je-joon rushed towards Do-joon this time.

A spear of light that penetrates. A powerful weapon made up of pure mana of light properties.

However, even though the weapon was mighty, the one who wielded it didn’t seem to be powerful like that. The tip of the spear was clearly seen shaking.

The movement of a beginner, not a master’s movement to put paint, that only made the posture unstable.

Do-joon raised his club and slammed the underside of the clumsy spear blade.

A spear blade that floats in the air. Kang Je-joon’s eyes involuntarily turned to the spear blade. But soon his vision was covered with something black.

It was Do-joon’s club.

Thwack-!

At last, he saw his vision flashing white and he passed out.

“That was strong.”

Do-joon murmured and looked down at the fainted guy.

Definitely, Kang Je-joon was the strongest among the test takers so far.

For the first time in this test, he was the one who made him swing his club several times.

* * *

“Oh my gosh… … .”

“…….”

“Huh…….”

Silence hovered in the hall. There was only the exclamation that he could not believe the sound he heard occasionally, and that it was absurd.

Nothing else.

The halves.

Nearly half of the people gathered here had no doubt that Kang Je-joon would win the first place.

The other half were people who didn’t know who Kang Je-joon was or who were completely ignorant about the Hunter exam.

Then he was out in 30 minutes.

The scores will have to come out, but managers have been able to get a rough idea from their experience.

He was out.

“…….”

The most shocking of all, of course, was Oh Sang-jin, who scouted Kang Je-joon. He couldn’t even close his open mouth and his eyes were glued to the monitor.

“kekeke.”

“You brought that for 2 billion won?”

There was laughter everywhere at once. Oh Sang-jin, who came to his senses, turned red.

“After pouring that amount of money into a new recruit, who couldn’t even pass a simple exam… … “

“Two billion won of wasted money.”

The fact that not too long ago, they were also greedy for Kang Je-joon has long since been erased from their minds.

Now they were busy talking behind Oh Sang-jin’s back.

Tap-tap.

Then he heard footsteps. One of the managers looked back and shouted.

“It’s Kang Je-joon!”

At that moment, all eyes in the monitor room were focused on him. But no one approached him. They were just staring or glancing.

Oh Sang-jin gritted his teeth. However, he had an obligation to take care of Kang-jun. It was under his responsibility no matter what, until it was officially handed over to the guild.

“This…… this…… ****!

(T/N: Abusive words need to be censored. Lol.)

When he took a step, Kang Je-joon spat out swear words with his earnest face. Then he ran out of the monitor room.

“Kang Je-joon!”

Oh Sang-jin followed right away. As soon as he left, he saw Kang Je-joon grabbing an employee by the collar.

“This is invalid! I took the test on my own! Everyone else goes around in groups of three or four. Does this make sense?!”

He opened his eyes wide. Come to think of it, it was. Definitely, Kang Je-joon was on a two-man team. But for some reason, he had to take the test alone.

If this wasn’t because of Kang Je-joon, but if it was a mistake from the association, or the collector’s trick…….

“Kek, Kek! Hey, let go of this! Didn’t you say you wanted to do it alone first!”

“You should’ve said no, though! Isn’t that what you guys do!?”

“The exam regulations only prevent you from taking unfair advantage, nothing about putting yourself at a disadvantage! Isn’t it you who brought it up first when it’s obviously a disadvantage?!”

“Still!”

Oh Sang-jin, who had seen some hope, listened to their conversation and cooled down.

He already had a feeling that way, but that guy, Kang Je-joon. The sense of harm or arrogance was no joke.

But what could he do. His brother ordered him to bring that guy at all costs.

“Stop it, Je-joon.”

“What did you say? Are you satisfied with this result now? Why am I eliminated like this?”

What should he do with this guy? Oh Sang-jin’s head started to throb.

Ring-!

Then his phone rang and the message arrived. It was a message that Jang had arrived with his men.

In the midst of a headache, he was able to come up with a simple solution.

To hand it over to someone else.

“I’m going to go make a call.”

Oh Sang-jin called Jang, leaving Kang Je-joon, who was bloodshot in his eyes, behind. When he heard the phone beep twice, the other person answered the call.

“It’s me, Chief Jang. I have an unexpected situation. I’ll tell you the details later, so take Kang Je-joon from here first. Uh. The people who came with you? Keep them on standby, too.”

He spoke secretly, blinking his eyes.

“Because I have something to do.”