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It was so silent that one could hear a pin drop. 

The first sound that broke the silence was Chun Hui Lim’s laugh.

“I guess your confidence wasn’t completely unfounded after all.”

The only answer Lim Seung Joo could give was labored breathing. All of his energy was being spent on keeping the hand holding the sword on Chun Hui Lim from shaking.

And Chun Hui Lim wasn’t looking at Lim Seung Joo but at Shin Jiho.

Though Lim Seung Joo’s sword had reached Chun Hui Lim at the speed of sound, unfortunately, that’s his limit.

Touching Chun Hui Lim is, in the first place, impossible for Lim Seung Joo to do on his own. Although Lim Seung Joo wielded the sword, the one who actually reached Chun Hui Lim was Shin Jiho.

About three months ago.

Jiho once used [Blessing of the Star] on an F-rank middle-schooler without adjusting it.

Because the middle-schooler couldn’t handle the enormous buff, he had used all of his mana on a single move; thanks to that, there were rumors of a new S-rank awakened one for a bit before the middle-schooler was tested.

This situation follows the same principle. Putting everything on the line for a single strike.

Of course, had Chun Hui Lim defended himself, it would’ve been difficult to beat him.

The reason Jiho usually sets limits based on ranks is because awakened ones can’t control their strength when it far exceeds their rank. For example, Lim Seung Joo is currently struggling to breathe as if he had poured all of his energy into that one strike.

That’s why Jiho needed to use his skill quietly to make Chun Hui Lim lower his guard and why Seung Joo needed to win in one move.

The moment Shin Jiho used [Blessing of the Star] is when Chun Hui Seong and Heaven’s guildmembers were all using their skills against Chun Hui Lim.

Essentially, when a skill is used, mana is lost, and people who use mana can perceive the current of mana as it flows out.

Today, Shin Jiho’s mana was particularly flashy when he used [Blessing of the Star]. Because him standing in the middle of an explosion of mana left such a powerful impression, no one thought that Shin Jiho would use [Blessing of the Star] in such a discreet manner. 

‘It’s a good thing I learned it.’

Actually, Jiho wouldn’t have succeeded had he practiced alone. This was possible thanks to him picking up various tricks from Joo Yiwon, who recently had nothing to do besides stick to him all day.

‘Hm, you can think of it as a magic trick. You know, those tricks that involve hands? The point is to divert their attention so that they don’t see what you’re actually going to do. That’s how you hide mana currents. All you have to do is make sure they don’t notice. It’s hard to understand, right? Naturally, I get bewitched by Honey’s face, so I’d fall for it right away….’

‘Is that really something someone who noticed it as soon as I made a move just now can say?’

‘Haha. Anyways, the idea is similar. Think of using mana like you’re trying to open a new path in a large river. You’ll get caught if it’s loud. But if you dig a pipe underground or open it up a little at a time, it’s harder to get caught, right? How you take that water… you just need to find a way that best suits you.’

‘Hm….’

‘And the best method for Honey is probably to channel your mana elsewhere.’

Joo Yiwon’s voice as he explained everything one-by-one instead of teasing Jiho echoed clearly in Jiho’s mind. 

Because Joo Yiwon’s a genius who’s never been lost as if he was born with his powers, Jiho thought he’d say, “You just do this; why can’t you do it?” Surprisingly, Yiwon’s explanation was both easy to understand and extremely helpful.

Naturally, Jiho can’t hide it perfectly yet. Especially from an S-rank like Chun Hui Lim. 

However, he succeeded this time because, not only were the mana currents confusing from all the skills being used, but Chun Hui Lim was also so stimulated that he wasn’t focusing on faint streams of mana. 

Before entering this dungeon, Jiho had explained the ace in the hole to Seung Joo just in case. Thanks to that, Lim Seung Joo held back his desire to lunge forward and instead waited for the right moment.

This is how they managed to turn the tides. 

“But there’s no way you think you won with this, right?”

With Lim Seung Joo’s sword on his neck, Chun Hui Lim used his skill without moving.

“Euk!”

As intense flames flared in front of him, Lim Seung Joo cried out in pain. Though he managed to not lose hold of his sword, his body stumbled, unable to withstand the flames. Seung Joo doesn’t have any strength to fight back. He clenched his teeth and wanted to mentally hold on somehow when….

“Just kidding.”

Chun Hui Lim grinned as if that oppressive aura just now was all a joke. The wave of mana that had made everyone tense also calmed down.

“You won.”

“…Chun Hui Lim!”

Chun Hui Seong’s voice resembled a scream as he called Chun Hui Lim. How can he accept his defeat so easily considering what’s on the line for this deal?

But unlike his previous playful whispers, Hui Lim turned to Hui Seong with cold eyes. 

“If this were a real fight, I’d already be dead.”

“…”

“I lost.”

Chun Hui Seong moved his lips, but he couldn’t say anything, as if he knew what those words meant. In the end, he kept silent.

As soon as he acknowledged his defeat, Chun Hui Lim swung his hand. Thinking it was an attack, Jiho meant to avoid it, but something distracted him, causing him to stumble instead. Hui Lim grabbed Jiho’s arm and pulled him in, as if he had planned it.

“Be careful.”

“…”

Jiho wasn’t in the place to argue back against what Hui Lim whispered in his ear. That’s because of the mass flood of system windows that popped up as soon as Hui Lim had acknowledged his defeat.

System Management

X cast your skill on someone with a lower rank than you

System Management

X cast your skill on someone with a higher rank than you

System Management

X cast your skill on an awakened one with a lower rank than you and beat an awakened one ranked S-rank or higher

System Management

You have met the hidden condition!

System Management

Currently, you do not have the EXP required to level up.

System Management

The skill [Blessing of the Star] has leveled up 1 level.

System Management

Currently, [Blessing of the Star] is a Level 2 skill.

System Management

The number of people you can use [Blessing of the Star] on has increased.

System Management

The skill [Blessing of the Star] can be used on two people at once.

System Management

Skill level-up bonus! Your MP has increased by 100 points.

System Management

Skill level-up bonus! Your XX has increased by 500 points. (Currently, the system is not fully unlocked. You cannot see this stat yet.)

Unexpectedly, his skill leveled up.

Moreover, perhaps thanks to his MP stat increasing, all of the MP he drained automatically filled back up.

Plus, Jiho had no idea how to level his skills up. Thanks to this, he now knows that to level them up, he needs to meet a certain EXP and hidden condition.

“Let go.”

Jiho only came back to his senses when Seung Joo growled dangerously at Hui Lim. Jiho received Seung Joo’s assistance to stand back up.

Although Lim Seung Joo appeared unbelievably exhausted for someone who just entered a dungeon, he looked both pleased and stunned at the same time. As if he was an athlete who, by some miracle, broke his own record and won a medal.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…. Hunter Lim Seung Joo, are you okay?”

“I am fine. Just….”

Not knowing why Lim Seung Joo trickled off, Jiho opened Seung Joo’s system window.

And Jiho found a new skill in his window.

Information

Insta Kill (Lv. 1)
Rank	A
Description	There are times when you must pour everything into that one blow. Gather all of your strength for an explosive attack. This skill consumes HP and MP to increase ATK by 1000% for one attack, and it increases the probability of a critical hit.

Jiho’s eyes widened.

Lim Seung Joo actually gained an entirely new skill; this is something Jiho really didn’t expect to gain. Did Seung Joo meet a condition like Jiho did?

Although it seems that Lim Seung Joo isn’t aware that he gained a new skill since he can’t see the system, like most awakened ones, he’ll eventually figure it out.

Feeling emotional, the corners of Jiho’s eyes turned slightly red.

Not only does Lim Seung Joo, who was once a disobedient dog, follow his orders perfectly now, but he even grew stronger. On top of that, since the new skill targets an individual, it contrasts his more wide-range skills, making it extremely useful.

Jiho put in a lot of effort to hide a foolish smile that’s unbefitting of the situation.

However, Seung Joo, who saw Jiho biting his lip with teary eyes, was flustered for another reason. Of course, it’s not simple to be tortured under the hands of an S-rank hunter, but….

‘He must’ve been very shocked.’

Actually, Seung Joo thought that if it’s Shin Jiho, he wouldn’t care much. Since he’s never shown signs of wavering to anyone else.

But even if he looks like someone who bravely overcomes any situation, his young guildmaster is still just 24 years old. There could’ve been times he’s cried all alone. 

His guildmaster holding back his tears… and adding on the power of his looks, made Jiho look so frail that Seung Joo’s pity surged. 

Lim Seung Joo wasn’t the only one to misunderstand.

Heaven’s guildmembers, who had been nervously observing the situation, had similar thoughts.

‘That violent bastard!’

‘What a brute….’

‘Ha… I knew that guy would cause an accident someday’

‘Apologize, you a**hole!’

Chun Hui Lim, who isn’t particularly popular as a guildmaster in the first place for doing whatever he likes in the guild, was shot by vicious glares.

Despite facing accusatory looks from every direction, Chun Hui Lim smirked as if he found something amusing. Seung Joo narrowed his eyes at Hui Lim’s fun.

“…Since I won, you should apologize to our Guildmaster-nim.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Hui Lim immediately dropped to his knees at Seung Joo’s words.

Jiho, who was absorbed in his joy, was startled by this sudden action. With a sincere expression, Chun Hui Lim faced Jiho before bowing his head.

“Sorry, Hunter Shin Jiho. I was wrong.”

Based on the result, Jiho should be thanking him for starting a fight instead. Moreover, although Jiho thought Hui Lim’s apology would be contemptuous, it was actually a clean apology.

“No, it is okay. I am good.”

With nothing left against him, Jiho simply smiled at Hui Lim and shook his head.

‘How can I get mad when we’ve gained so much?”

Yet everyone who saw Jiho’s action took it differently.

‘How is he real?’

‘He’s a saint.’

‘So kind. He was raised well.’

Everyone watched this scene with warm eyes. The misunderstanding resulted in a heartwarming sight. 

And in the middle of that, only Chun Hui Seong stared at Jiho with cold, unsettling eyes.

---

After the slight happening at the entrance of the dungeon, the team diligently started the raid. Thanks to the buff from [Blessing of the Star], it wasn’t hard to knock down monsters.

The difficulty came from somewhere else.

“Aren’t you exhausted?”

Jiho tried to ignore Chun Hui Lim’s cheerful voice.

But Jiho really is exhausted.

Because this dungeon looks like a swamp, the only sturdy things they can step on are fallen boulders or trees. But even those surfaces are unstable, with moss hanging off the branches and limescale on the boulders.

On top of that, the boundaries between the murky, rotten-smelling water and the surfaces are vague, forcing everyone to be extremely focused.

And on top of that, the monsters keep coming out of nowhere. The worst are those leech-like monsters that spring up to latch onto the skin. Though their rank and level are low, because they’re great in number and annoying, Jiho’s already had his blood sucked out by them multiple times.

“I said I can help.”

Shivering from the freezing cold water, Jiho shook his head.

“I don’t need it.”

“Why? I promise to carry you carefully this time.”

“I’m good. I can walk through this just fine.”

“Why be so stubborn? When you’re so weak.”

“I am an S-rank, and if there were just ten more of our guildmembers here, you’d already be dead, you a**hole.”

Hearing Jiho’s tone drop to informal from his irritation, Chun Hui Lim cackled. Jiho couldn’t be any more envious of Hui Lim, who was comfortably lying in the air.

Chun Hui Lim grinned at Jiho’s annoyed looks towards him before closing in. Then, he whispered quietly, as if telling him a secret.

“Hey, I’m going to be leaving this guild soon. Will your guild take me in?”

“Whether you leave or not, that’s not my business, and if your contract includes the condition to act dead under my command, I’ll take you in.”

“…I don’t want that.”

Chun Hui Lim considered it for a second before shaking his head. The fact that he even considered a contract Jiho thought he’d definitely refuse is quite surprising. 

“Why do you want to join our guild?”

“That’s because… if I join hands with you, I think I’ll have a chance of killing Joo Yiwon.”

“…”

“Ah I’m not actually going to kill him, I just want to crack his head open once. You look like you’re going to rip me apart.”

Jiho softened his glare and coughed as if nothing happened.

“Why do you want to beat Joo Yiwon?”

“Hm, do you really not know? Besides you, there’s probably not a single S-rank hunter who’d miss a chance to crack that bastard’s head. Since they’ve all been p*ssed off by that rude bastard at least once.”

Who’s calling who rude? Compared to Chun Hui Lim, Joo Yiwon is a saint. The problem with this line of work is the excessive competitiveness and craving to tear into each other.

Seeing Jiho look distrustful and unconvinced, Hui Lim suddenly blocked Jiho’s path. 

“I’m asking just in case.”

“What?”

“Did you actually sleep with Joo Yiwon?”

Hui Lim made a vulgar gesture with his hands. Jiho gave him a dirty look.

“No.”

“Then did Joo Yiwon, by himself, do….”

“Stop, stop right there.”

Jiho shouted, afraid of what he was going to say next. Finding it hilarious, Hui Lim laughed.

“Based on your reaction, I can tell you’re a virgin.”

“…”

Chun Hui Lim is known for his promiscuity with both men and women.

Jiho really shouldn’t get close to him….

Hui Lim pushed his face up to Jiho’s. So close that their lips could touch, Hui Lim whispered.

“Hey, do you want to go out with me?”

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LaZ Bird Corner

Get away from Jiho pt. 2. 

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