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Ji-young's match ended in an unexciting way.

In the beginning, they seemed to compete equally when she used her Superhuman Strength, Enhancement, and Iron Barrier skills, but that was only at the start.

Her opponent, noticing Ji-young's lack of combat experience, easily dodged her attacks and made her overuse the Superhuman Strength skill.

In the end, Ji-young had no choice but to surrender because she ran out of magic power.

Still, it wasn’t bad so far.

[They are evil. If it weren't for you, Ji-young would have been seriously injured.]

‘…’

Before Ji-young collapsed from exhaustion and gave up, the other Proby tried to use a powerful attack skill.

If I hadn't seen it with my Insight skill and pressed him with my energy, as the Heavenly Demon said, Ji-young would have been seriously injured.

The Phoenix Guild gave me a confused look when they noticed my energy, but they had no evidence I interfered.

"Are you okay, Ji-young Unnie?"

Seol-ah comforted Ji-young by giving her a BnS Vitality Potion.

"Sniff… I'm angry for some reason. If only I could have used Mitchell."

"This fake weapon has the same weight and shape as Mitchell."

"No, it's different. Mitchell and I are of one mind. It felt like fighting with a soulless shell."

"Unnie…."

"Seol-ah, I want to become stronger."

“…”

Tears fell from Ji-young's eyes. I hadn’t known she had wanted to win this badly.

I could see my past self in her.

Waaaaaaaah-

Just then, we heard a loud shout from the stadium.

Looking at the monitor, Kim Gangsuk was roaring as he thrust his sword in the air to celebrate his victory.

His opponent was covered in blood and unconscious, and it seemed he had fallen from one strike.

The opposing guild protested that it was an excessive attack, but Gangsuk wagged his index finger at the camera, not caring about them.

He mouthed the words, 'Lee Byeong-gi, you're next.'

‘Bastard, he really is a chūnibyō.’

The clip of Kim Gangsuk defeating his opponent repeatedly played on the monitor.

[It's a crude skill.]

'I think even I can imitate it.'

Seol-ah got up as if she didn't need to watch that scene anymore.

"He's such a jerk. Let's go, Oppa. We also need to prepare.”

"Okay, let's go."

I headed to the arena with my fake weapon in the shape of the Demonic Dragon Blade.

Now it was my turn to show him.

***

Kim Gangsuk and Lee Seo-yoon repeatedly watched Lee Byeong-gi's match in their waiting room.

Lee Byeong-gi's appearance on the screen didn't differ much from the usual C-Rank matches.

He deftly evaded his opponent's attack while wielding a peculiarly shaped sword they had never seen before, with movements that could only be seen in a martial arts movie.

"That Turbo Guild guy… Gosh, I can't remember his name all of a sudden. Manager?"

"Well. I don't remember either... Anyway, it sounded like a jungler name."

"Really? Anyway, that bastard also has a pretty powerful attack skill, but he's dodging it with those strange movements. And here is the final attack."

"I saw it myself. The camera didn't capture it properly, but it was similar to the technique you used at the end of your first round. Actually, he seemed faster."

"That must be the manager's misunderstanding. There's no one faster than me in the C-Rank. Anyway, it seems certain that one of his skills is the same 'Haste' as mine."

"He had no such skill in the data we investigated. All that is known is that he can track the location of Gates and Monsters through his magic power detection."

"Oh! Then he could predict where the enemy will attack through his magic power detection and dodge accordingly."

"That makes sense, but let's not jump to conclusions."

Lee Byeong-gi grew blurry on the screen and couldn't be seen properly. They couldn't even check his movements in slow motion.

In the place where his afterimage passed, they could only see his opponent lying there, foam on his lips.

In the end, Lee Byeong-gi provoked Kim Gangsuk by mouthing the following to the camera:

-You idiot. I'm faster than you, right? Boo.

"Such childish provocation!"

"At that moment, Lee Byeong-gi's mana exploded upward. You can't be careless."

"When we use a skill, our magic power will increase anyway. You don't have to worry too much."

"Still…."

Lee Seo-yoon rummaged through her bag and then took out something.

"Just in case, drink this before you go. It is the new type with minimal side effects."

What she held was an unknown potion.

Kim Gangsuk smiled sinisterly and stared at Lee Seo-yoon.

"I don't need any of this. Only….”

Kim Gangsuk pushed away the potion and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You can't do this here."

Lee Seo-yoon accepted Kim Gangsuk's touch, however.

"I'll make sure to smash that annoying guy's face."

She pulled Kim Gangsuk in by the neck, kissed him, and smiled with hazy eyes.

"When you beat him, make sure to smash his balls."

"I will do as you command. Hehehe."

"Should we continue this at a quiet place after the match?"

"I'll look forward to it, Manager."

***

Officials from the Management Bureau and Guild Association had gathered in the VIP seats to watch the match.

"There are many complaints that the Management Bureau is being too conniving with the BnS Guild this time around."

Koh Tae-wook's thick eyebrows twitched at Oh Young-seok's comment.

"What are you talking about?"

"The monopoly of that BnS Vitality Potion. No matter how much the Management Bureau acts like a sales agent, I don't think it makes sense."

"I don't think that's what the president of the Association which monopolizes the production and sale of general potions, should say."

"We have the cause of our hunters' profit and welfare behind us, but I don't think BnS has those altruistic goals. Of course, if the potion is effective, it should be managed by the Association..."

'Cunning bastard.'

During the First Cataclysm, Oh Young-seok forcibly merged the small and medium-sized guilds that produced potions so he could exclusively sell them. He had no right to say anything.

They said they created the Association to keep the Management Bureau in check, but then monopolized those profits under that name.

Koh Tae-wook wanted to curse at him, but he couldn't show his anger here.

"Isn't that why we said we would give away the right to sell them after one year?"

"Haha, still…."

'How far can his greed extend?'

Koh Tae-wook decided to change the topic.

"Are the preparations going well for the Korea-China-Japan matches to be held in the second half of the year?"

This friendly match would see the strongest hunters from Korea, China, and Japan fighting against each other.

And at this annual event, Korea had consistently ranked last, hurting their pride.

"This year, we plan to have the winners of each Rank of this competition also participate as representatives. Most of the Phoenix Guild will be selected as representatives this year."

Oh Young-seok was displeased when Koh Tae-wook led the conversation away from the potions, but he felt a little better when he thought of the enormous profits he would make around those matches.

'It's just a competition as a pretext anyway. I only need to get the money. Hehehe.'

"Well. We don't know what will happen this year."

Koh Tae-wook said something meaningful, but Oh Young-seok didn’t pay much attention to him.

"Don't we need to see the results to know that?"

"Kim Gangsuk's performance was quite impressive in the first match."

"His next opponent, that hunter named Lee Byeong-gi, seems to have equal skills to our Kim Gangsuk."

What came to his mind next was ‘he’ll lose anyway,’ but Oh Young-seok didn't say it.

He never even considered that Kim Gangsuk could lose.

He wanted to see Lee Byeong-gi, who had disrespected his guild, kneeling in defeat.

'Without that guy and Woo Seol-ah, they’re just a new guild with nothing special. I'll show him the superiority of our power and devour them slowly.'

Soon after, the players entered with tremendous cheers from the crowd.

As both opponents showed an overwhelming force in their previous matches, the expectations and enthusiasm of the spectators were high.

"It's about to start."

"Which side will you bet on, Director?"

"I bet on the side of the strong."

"You mean you're calling Kim Gangsuk’s victory."

"Well."

Koh Tae-wook's smile deepened.

***

Finally, I faced Kim Gangsuk.

Seol-ah grumbled and was upset because her match overlapped with mine, and she headed to her arena.

She said she would finish it as soon as possible to come to watch.

All the members of Team Seolhwa went to support Seol-ah's match, so only Lee Seong-jin remained.

"Is Seol-ah okay?"

"Don’t worry too much. From my point of view, Seol-ah is the top among the B-Ranks in Korea."

I stopped worrying. Seol-ah, the future top ranker, wouldn’t lose.

After checking my equipment, I entered the stadium with Seong-jin beside me.

A while later, Kim Gangsuk and Lee Seo-yoon appeared from the opposite end.

When they appeared, I sensed a strange energy with the Heavenly Demon’s Origin Art.

[I think they tried something.]

'I can guess what it is.'

I checked his condition with the Insight skill.

[User: Kim Gangsuk Lv. 34]

[Title: Enemy of Slime]

-Title Effect: (Enemy of Slime), (Active) Decreases the movement speed of enemies within a 3m radius by 5%.

[Skill: Lv. 2 Consecutive Hits, Lv. 2 Mana Strike, Lv. 3 Haste]

-Consecutive Hits: After the first attack, the user's attack skill can be cast three consecutive times without consuming mana.

-Mana Strike: Attacks with condensed mana inside the user's weapon. (Attack power and critical strike rate increased by 20%.)

-Haste: Instantly increases all speeds by 30%.

[Status: Expectation/Excitement/Fighting Spirit]

-Status Abnormality: Runaway - All stats increase by 20% when activated.

[Runaway! It's like the Reverse Blood Move. The strange energy seems to have come from there.]

'You're right. He must have drunk a potion called Angel Dust. It's like a stimulant that forcibly reverses your magic power and increases the body's potential for several hours.'

[Have you ever drunk it?]

'D-Rank and lower hunters were never provided with it. We talked too much. Ah, it's about to start.'

We stood facing each other in the middle of the ring at the referee's instruction to prepare.

Kim Gangsuk beamed with confidence.

"Is your mind blank with fear at the thought of being beaten?"

It seemed I was staring into space again while talking with the Heavenly Demon.

"No, just thinking about how to defeat you."

"Let's see if you can still joke around after the match."

"Will you be able to really see me?"

"Psh! I will finish it soon."

"It's no fun if it ends too soon."

The match started with the referee's signal, and at the same time, Kim Gangsuk's title effect was applied, and I could feel his Haste skill being used.

[Even if that title is applied, it won't have much effect on your speed.]

'I can't even feel it.'

Kim Gangsuk quickly closed the gap and swung his sword, activating the Consecutive Hits skill.

If I had blocked that attack, I would have immediately been subjected to three consecutive mana strikes.

For a hunter who didn't know his skill, it was a combination attack skill that was effective in delivering multiple strikes even if the first was blocked.

It wouldn't have been a major issue if I had blocked it, but I easily evaded his attack by moving faster than him. His eyes widened in shock.

"Even in the past, you relied too much on your speed."

"What nonsense!"

"Today, I'll play with you in a speed battle."

"Shut up!"