Gyeongseong’s Hunter Academy

When they heard me telling them to hold hands,

『……Hands, you want us hold? Why-』

『Shi-Shirabayashi-kun, what? Why should I-』

Lee Yu-ha and Yang Bok-ja asked back, puzzled. Of course, I expected this kind of reaction, so I continued by explaining.

『……So, what I’m saying is to hold hands and make up. Your role is the most important right now.』

Lee Yu-ha is an ice release user, and Yang Bok-ja is a telekinesis user. Because of this, we operated so that whenever Lee Yu-ha released her ice or frost energy, Yang Bok-ja would be standing next to her and control that released energy to hit our targets.

However, there was no way that this cooperation would ever work properly if they just forced themselves to work together, especially considering what had happened just a few moments ago.

『Hurry up.』

『…….』

『…….』

At my urging, Lee Yu-ha and Yang Bok-ja reluctantly held hands, pretending to shake them for a bit and immediately let them go.

Of course, the reason for their argument was more than just a simple disagreement, so I didn’t expect them to be able to make up that easily,

But they must have understood the importance of them working together.

『Good. Now everybody, listen.』

I put on a serious expression and continued explaining to the squad.

『First of all, as I said earlier, Lee Yu-ha is going to throw the first blow at that monster.』

Lee Yu-ha nodded, making a nervous expression.

『Lee Yu-ha will release her frost at full power for 12 seconds, freezing that Devil, no, Onikumo. Of course, controlling the energy is Yang Bok-ja’s duty-』

『W-Wait.』

Lee Yu-ha interrupted and said.

『You said…… Full power?』

『Yes. Is there any problem with that?』

According to my calculations, Lee Yu-ha still had enough mana. Lee Yu-ha hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth.

『……If I hit the other students while releasing it at full power……』

So she had been worrying about that. I told her.

『Yang Bok-ja is responsible for aiming. You simply have to trust Yang Bok-ja and put in your best effort without worrying.』

『……!』

It was probably hard for her to trust Yang Bok-ja, someone who she had been fighting until just a few moments ago, and do her best whilst even having to hold her hand. However, she eventually nodded her head to say that she understood.

‘That’s a relief.’

This time I turned to Yang Bok-ja and asked her.

『You can do it, right? It’s a bit far, but the target is big, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.』

『Y-Yes……. But, why 12 seconds?』

『No matter how accurate the aim is if you shoot off frost for longer than that, it disperses into the air, It could cause damage to the cadets that are around the Onikumo.』

It was a calculation I had made, having measured Lee Yu-ha’s ability. Just enough to cause damage to the Onikumo, but not so much that it would be dangerous to the other students around it.

I would have been able to make a more accurate calculation if I had my status window, but this was the best I could do, taking into consideration possible variables .

I continued explaining.

『Of course, even if Lee Yu-ha’s maximum ice energy output were to hit the Onikumo directly, it wouldn’t be enough to kill it. It’s going to be just enough to freeze it on the surface and slow its movements . As soon as the ice attack stops, it’s going to run towards us right away.』

After saying that, I called Murasaki, who was standing at a distance.

『Murasaki, you can wield your sword, right?』

『……What, do you think I’m stupid?! Of course, I can!』

『Good. After them, it’s your and my turn. Five seconds after the ice release, you and I will run at the Onikumo and cut off one of its legs from both sides. We won’t be able to cut its body as it’s too tall.』

If this boy I had possessed, Baek Cheol-yeon, or Murasaki, had been at the level we could fly around, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but at our current abilities, it was impossible. The best we could do was cut one leg off each.

Murasaki asked.

『Why do we have to wait five seconds? If we go straight off and cut-』

『We need time for the frost to dissipate in the air between Lee Yu-ha and the Onikumo to blow over. Do you want to fight that thing amid the frost?』

『……Hmm. Understood.』

Murasaki nodded. Song Byung-oh spoke.

『Th-Then we will defeat it? You are amaz-』

『No, cutting off two legs won’t be enough to kill it. It will just lower its mobility, and the pain will make it hesitate. So……』

I put a hand on Song Byung-oh’s shoulder and continued saying.

『You have to deal the “last hit”. In its mouth.』

『Last… Last hit?』

……We were both speaking in Japanese, but it was hard to communicate because of the 21st century slang that I kept using due to habit. I then explained.

『I’m talking about the finishing blow. When the attack begins, you’ll continue infusing mana into a bullet, and when it opens its mouth, you have to shoot directly into it three seconds later. Three seconds because it takes three seconds for it to build up enough venom to release, and its poison glands are its weak point.』

In other words, it was Song Byung-oh’s role to kill that monster, the Onikumo. However, Song Byung-oh looked perturbed and shouted out.

『I-I can’t do that! Look at my hands! Even yesterday……』

He had done so well in hunting down the smaller monsters during the practice so far, but now his hands were trembling from nervousness.

But it was definitely not because he was scared.

Yesterday, when he was trying to take on the Cephalopods by himself, it was easy to see that he was definitely a guy full of courage and sense of justice. However, he was the type of person that would get really nervous and make mistakes in important situations.

『Tell yourself that this situation is different from yesterday. Yesterday we were attacked suddenly, but now, we’re actually out to hunt monsters. There’s nothing to be nervous about.』

『Huff, puff…… Damn it. Alright. Let’s do this…….』

This was it. This was the plan I had thought up in a hurry. I continued with the last bit of my explanation.

『Then, the last part-』

『Wait, wait! Shirabayashi-kun……!』

Yang Bok-ja urgently called out to me.

『All this talk about 12 seconds, and whatever seconds are so complicated. How are we supposed to time all of this?』

『That’s right. It’s difficult to estimate the time when you’re focusing on your abilities.』

Song Byung-oh backed Yang Bok-ja, and Lee Yu-ha also nodded with a nervous expression on her face.

『That’s what I was going to explain just now, but there’s nothing to worry about. There’s someone that will keep track of the time for us.』

I took off my watch and handed it over to Aikawa.

『Here.』

『Eeh……?』

Aikawa was taken aback, but she took the watch and asked me with a curious expression on her face.

『Hey, why, you, why are you giving this to me……? Are you trying to say……?』

『That’s right. You will keep an eye on the the clock and shout out when the timing of each person’s moves comes.』

『S-Such an important task…… How can I……』

Maybe it was because of her timid personality, but she was already scared. It was natural to feel burdened if the outcome of the entire operation depended on you.

However, the reason why I had given Aikawa the task of instructing the timing of the moves wasn’t just because she was the only remaining person, but most importantly, it was because I could trust her.

The fact that she was timid also meant that she was meticulous.

And although she gave off an attitude that looked weak superficially, I could tell how strong she was inside just from a glance.

The reason she couldn’t operate as a proper healer yet and all she could do was restore a bit of our energy was because she didn’t have any professional knowledge, but the fact that healing abilities are harder to master than other abilities had to be taken into account.

As with everything in the universe, it was because it’s more difficult to fix things than destroy them.

Even restoring some energy, although may not look like much, was something that could be done only if you had a fairly high level of concentration, composure, and, although unexpected, unshakable boldness because if something went wrong, it could have an adverse effect and ruin the body of the target.

This is why, since she was someone who could stay calm in such urgent situations, I could task her with instructing the timing of our attacks, something that would determine the outcome of this operation.

『Uh…… Okay! I’ll do it!』

Aikawa eventually nodded with a fiery look on her face, and hence ended my explanation of each person’s roles. I spoke to my squad members for the last time.

『We’ll get straight to it without rehearsals. Are you ready?』

***

Inside a breakroom located in the middle of the mountain at the entrance to the “3rd Training Ground”.

The cadets that had come down off the mountain earlier were sitting with their squads and resting. Each of the cadets held up their cages and said.

『I didn’t even get that many…… I couldn’t find them anymore in the afternoon. So I just decided to come back down.』

『It’s as you say. Maybe they didn’t even release that many monsters in the first place?』

『Anyway, I wonder what’s holding up the guys that haven’t come down from the mountain yet.』

As had been said, even though the pre-field practice was almost nearing its end, over 20 cadets had yet to return. One cadet said.

『Maybe they haven’t been able to give up because they couldn’t grab that many monsters. But it’s not even going to count towards our grades.』

One of the cadets looked up to the second floor and said.

『Still. Look at Lady Shimazu up there.』

The breakroom’s second floor had the same structure as an auditorium. There, Shimazu Renka was sitting down, quietly drinking tea.

Renka’s squad members’ cages were laid out behind her. The monsters that filled them were all a result of Renka hunting alone.

Although the school’s guidelines forced her to form a squad, in her opinion , compared to the members of the Shimazu Gumi Gyeongseong Branch that she has operated with so far, most of the cadets were only good enough to serve as porters.

Renka put down her teacup and looked outside the window, thinking.

‘Shirabayashi-san.’

Had she known that there was a cadet like him, she would have arranged for him to be assigned to her class…….

But it wasn’t too late yet.

Baek Cheol-yeon would eventually end up in Renka’s squad, even if it were late.

‘Squad members like that, they probably don’t even catch your eye.’

Although Baek Cheol-yeon didn’t know, Renka had been monitoring every move Baek Cheol-yeon’s squad took through people she had secretly planted in between the cadets.

Having received the report, it appeared that Baek Cheol-yeon’s squad members were holding him back, although they could have achieved so much more.

One of them was uncooperative, arguing and insulting him for being from Joseon, while two other members had even caused an internal strife due to a clash of opinions.

The other two members weren’t that impressive either.

‘Hehe……. Imagine being in the same squad as people like that for a whole year. You will soon realize that it is impossible and come to me.’

Renka thought in her mind, and this relaxed her. On top of that, she felt somewhat relieved to see Baek Cheol-yeon’s performance this time.

She had confirmed that, although he was absolutely outstanding compared to other cadets, he was not as good as herself.

This meant that he wasn’t enough to threaten the value of her 17 years of life, all those years going through harsh training ever since her childhood.

‘Of course, this does not change the fact that you are a person that sparks my interest…….’

Slurp.

Renka thought and then closed her eyes and leisurely tilted her teacup and took a sip. But at that moment, the cadets in the breakroom started muttering loudly.

『Wow. What is that……?』

『There was a monster like that on the practice grounds?』

Renka looked out the window indifferently at the noise. What came into Renka’s eyes was Baek Cheol-yeon, who had just come down the mountain and was making his way into the open space, and behind him, a bunch of cadets followed.

‘……?’

And the many cadets that were following behind Baek Cheol-yeon were dragging along a medium-sized, high-level monster, an Onigumo with them.

Renka looked out the window and muttered unconsciously, unaware that tea was dripping from the tilted teacup in her hand.

『What is this……?』