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Kim Gangsuk's active title effect was to reduce the movement speed of his enemies within range by 5%.

If I were a normal C-Rank hunter, I would have panicked when I fell into his trap.

However, my footwork and ability to dodge were more than enough to neutralize his title.

Waaaaaaaaaah!-

After we exchanged a couple of attacks, the crowd's cheers grew louder.

Kim Gangsuk's strikes were fast, splendid, and sharp enough to excite the spectator, but I was easily dodging those attacks with movements just as quick.

Kim Gangsuk, furious, stepped back and prepared for his next attack.

"You bastard! You dodge about as well as a mudfish."

"You're so slow that I just want to yawn."

"Psh! Dodge this too!"

I felt Kim Gangsuk's mana significantly increase.

The effect of Angel Dust was on display. He seemed to think he couldn't defeat me if he didn't do this.

[He's finally using it.]

'What difference does using it make?'

Kim Gangsuk applied the title effect again and dashed forward with his Haste skill. He still thought of crushing me with his speed.

But I wouldn't just stand there idly.

Pressing him in a battle of speed and stepping on his pride so he could never stand up again was my revenge.

"Did something change?"

"I'll crush that mouth of yours!"

"I could say the same."

Whoosh, whoosh!-

Kim Gangsuk's sword swished through empty air again as I evaded.

His eyes widened more.

"H-How?"

"I'll show you what it means to be fast!"

"What?"

Whooosh!-

There was no need for further talk.

I used the second movement of the Heavenly Demon’s Origin Art, the Heavenly Demon Replication.

Even though it was a fake weapon, I didn't feel the need to use the Demonic Dragon Blade against him.

Pow! Bubbeobuck!-

I followed up the Heavenly Demon Replication with the Perished Soul’s Eight Fists.

"Gasp!"

His screams abruptly stopped.

The effect was good, but I still didn't like the 'Faster than a Rabbit' title being used.

Since my attack speed increased by 10%, my punches landed too fast for him to scream.

Although I adjusted my inner power so he wouldn't die, the pain must have been indescribable.

And one last blow.

Pow!-

Baaang-

With a tremendous gust of wind, Kim Gangsuk flew out of the ring.

The place he fell was right beside Lee Seo-yoon.

Lee Seo-yoon called out his name in shock.

"Mr. Gangsuk!"

“…”

Kim Gangsuk, now unconscious, was unable to answer. Even if he were conscious, he wouldn't have answered because his face was horribly crushed. Especially his teeth.

It seemed only fair, given he said he would crush my mouth.

Even if he were treated with a potion, he wouldn’t be able to eat properly.

***

"!!!"

"Hmm…."

It took Oh Young-seok a while to understand what happened in the stadium.

Koh Tae-wook, watching the match next to him, also let out a low groan.

The room went deadly silent.

The match between Lee Byeong-gi and Kim Gangsuk, which he had thought would be an equal fight, had been decided in the blink of an eye.

No one could track Lee Byeong-gi's movements, but moments later, he had dodged Kim Gangsuk's attack and unleashed a flurry of blindingly fast punches.

Even though it was gleaned from the faint afterimages, it was clear Lee Byeong-gi had thrown more than 50 punches.

Finally, Kim Gangsuk was thrown back from the arena.

“Whooaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

A loud shout resonated in the arena, and the referee, standing to the side with a bewildered expression, declared it was Lee Byeong-gi's victory.

The medical staff waiting in the stadium hurried over to Kim Gangsuk and started pouring potions into his mouth.

Kim Gangsuk’s appearance was beyond words. Even looking at him objectively, it seemed difficult to imagine him working as a hunter again.

"I will file an official complaint with the Tournament Management Committee."

Oh Young-seok's trembling voice was low.

He was furious at the unexpected loss.

Koh Tae-wook, knowing that fact, laughed inwardly as he played innocent and tilted his head in reply.

"What do you mean official complaint?"

"It's unreasonable to have that much power as a C-Rank. There must be a problem with the rating scale."

Hearing Oh Young-seok's words, Koh Tae-wook almost shouted, 'Nonsense!'

The representative of the Phoenix Guild, who previously monopolized the tournament with a force that exceeded their rank, had no right to say that.

The miserable appearance of the fallen Kim Gangsuk was no different from the Probies the Phoenix Guild’s wrath fell upon.

In fact, the hunter who had been Kim Gangsuk's first opponent, was on the verge of death in the emergency room.

Koh Tae-wook thought it was rather refreshing to see the shoe on the other foot.

"Are you saying you want to take issue with the Awakened Registration Center's rating system?"

Oh Yeongseok shut his mouth. Koh Tae-wook continued.

"If you raise an objection in this atmosphere, only the Phoenix Guild will be criticized."

Koh Tae-wook had stabbed Oh Young-seok in a weak spot.

Whenever the tournament was held, the Phoenix Guild had a history of being engulfed in suspicion with the use of various drugs that allowed a hunter to fight above their Rank.

Nevertheless, the reason why they were able to hold on despite that was Oh Young-seok’s influence as the president of the Guild Association.

"If you say that…."

Koh Tae-wook continued to speak, but his words didn’t reach Oh Young-seok's ears anymore.

His eyes sank as he watched Lee Byeong-gi leave the stadium as he waved to the cheering crowd.

***

The Perished Soul’s Eight Fists consisted of the following moves, and regardless of the order, the power doubled as the punches overlapped:

First Move: Hiding Soul

Second Move: Grabbing Soul

Third Move: Hitting Soul

Fourth Move: Torturing Soul

Fifth Move: Throwing Soul

Sixth Move: Capturing Soul

Seventh Move: Killing Soul

Eighth Move: Ruining Soul

The naming sense was a mess, but looking at the meaning, it was a genuinely vicious combo.

If I had to interpret them, it would mean taking out the soul, grabbing it, hitting it, shaking it, and throwing it around. Then it was locked up, killed, and forgotten.

These vicious moves were carried by the Heavenly Demon Replication and spread to Kim Gangsuk.

Then, I put energy into the last one and hit the most sensitive joint of his spinal cord.

[You did a mean thing.]

'I wanted to explode him, like Seol-ah said. I held myself back.'

[To destroy his blood vessels like that!]

That joint governed stamina and was instrumental in kidney health and reproductive functions.

So, I broke it.

[Did you mean to step on him so he would never stand up again?]

'He won't have a problem standing up.'

[Evil bastard.]

It would be pointless to explain any further.

However, there was no doubt that Kim Gangsuk would live with futile hope and taste a little bit of frustration every night.

[Maybe we should give him the title of 'Faster than a Rabbit.’ Kukuku]

'Hehehe. If there is a title called Unfading, he will definitely need it.'

[Oh! Indeed!]

The Proby Ranking Matches came to an end.

Woo Seol-ah, who had a match at the same time as I did, reported that she quickly destroyed the Phoenix Guild's Proby with her overwhelming attack power.

However, since I had finished my match faster, she had to be content with the recorded video. Although she complained that my movements were so quick the camera hadn't properly capture them.

Woo Seol-ah won all the league matches the following day and won the championship.

The C-Rank winner of the women's division, belonging to the Phoenix Guild, gave up the challenge.

I also defeated all the Phoenix Guild members and won my C-Rank championship. Naturally, all my opponents were hospitalized.

After that, I challenged the B-Rank winner, but he withdrew.

The Phoenix Guild seemed concerned about their power leaking, as all their promising Probies had been hospitalized.

The result would be the same even if I pointed out other B-Rank Probies, so I received media attention by winning the C and B-Rank championships for the first time in the Proby rankings.

Woo Seol-ah and I declined all interviews because we were tired. Instead, Lee Seong-jin handled everything as our guild president.

According to him, Seol-ah and I would jointly be selected as 'the Probies of the Month' by Daily Korea.

The closing ceremony and awards ceremony followed, but the Phoenix Guild withdrew early and didn’t attend.

After completing my schedule, someone came to visit me as I was about to return to the guild.

"Mr. Lee Byeong-gi?"

He was a man in a black suit with neatly combed hair. It seemed I had seen that face before, but I couldn’t immediately place it.

He didn't seem particularly hostile, and seeing that my Insight skill didn't work, he wasn’t a hunter.

"Yes?"

"Our VIP is looking for you. Come this way."

"If it's a VIP…?"

"Your assumption is right."

Lee Seong-jin and Woo Seol-ah's eyes widened at the black suit's words.

However, the other members of Team Seolhwa didn't seem to have much thought on this. Only 'dinner' was displayed in their status window because we decided to have a big meal to celebrate today's victory.

I shook my head.

"Will it take long?"

"It will only take a moment. There will be an acquaintance of yours there too."

"Alright. Seong-jin Hyung, please get a table and text me. I'll head over when I'm done."

"Ah… There isn't enough space in the car..."

I didn't even think about it. If anything, I should take this opportunity to buy a new car for the guild.

I told them to wait and followed the black suit, wondering why the VIP asked to see me...

***

"Welcome."

Director Koh Tae-wook was my acquaintance the black suit had referred to.

And in the seat of honor was a person I had seen only on TV.

Seeing as he didn't show up at the guild meeting or tournament, it seemed this meeting was unofficial.

His name was Yoo In-seok, and he was the President of our country. His reputation marked him as the most upright president we ever had.

During his time as a member of the National Assembly, he played a significant role in establishing the Hunter Management Bureau. He was also the one who laid the foundation for all Hunter-related legislation.

[Is he the President?]

'Yes. If you’re curious about something, search my memory… But why did the president ask to see me?'

[I can feel it. Don't you think he resembles someone? That surname is also the same.]

'!!!'

"What are you doing? Come and sit."

"Ah… Right."

There was an awkward silence.

"Are you the actual president of the BnS Guild?"

"I don't have any titles."

"Is that so? Anyway, I heard many stories from Director Koh and my daughter."

"Is Miss So-eun your daughter?"

"Well, it's an open secret that only a few know."

I couldn't understand it.

Before my return, Yoo So-eun should have died at Hyehwa-dong Gate.

Even so, I had no memory of his daughter's death.

In other words, the President ordered those who knew of his daughter's existence to keep quiet.

There was no mention of the incident in the media either, meaning Yoo So-eun's death was kept entirely secret.

And now, I wondered why the President's daughter was in the military and working at the Hunter Management Bureau.

"It's So-eun's stubbornness. I don't want to let my only daughter work such a rough job either."

The President only looked at my expression and answered the question I was thinking.

I heard he was a skilled politician, and this confirmed it.

However, what happened before my return was unknown to him, so I couldn't ask about it.

"When I entered politics, So-eun was very against it. She said she hated people who mess with politics..."

For a while, there was no end to his stories about Yoo So-eun.

As I listened to him go on and on, I thought he was just an ordinary, albeit somewhat silly, father, rather than the president.

But as the story gradually grew longer, Koh Tae-wook interjected.

Apparently, he did this quite often.

"Sir, there isn’t much time left until the next item on your schedule."

[I was having fun. Why is he interrupting him?]

'Is it that fun?'

[I think I'll hear many interesting things if I have a drink with him, but it's a pity.]

‘…’

It seemed the President's taste in conversation matched the Heavenly Demon's well. Frankly, I was getting bored.

"Ah, that was a long talk. Thank you anyway."

"I'm sorry?"

"I heard you saved So-eun's life in Hyehwa-dong."

"Somehow, that happened."

I didn't enter the Gate to save Yoo So-eun. It had just happened that way.

But I didn't really want to deny it.

"Contrary to what I've heard, you're humble."

What the heck had they said about me?

"Then why did you ask to see me?"

"Well, this introduction turned out to be too long. There is something I want to ask of you."