Hunter Academy’s Battle God

Most of the students who had used the Tower Records made defeated expressions.

"I failed..." Isshin was, along with Seiji, one of the strongest 1st-year students in Japan, but he'd failed to catch the dragon.

He'd tried to slay the dragon 52 times, but Isshin's Trait, 'White Ghost Nocturnal Travel', which made him stronger the more he cut his opponents, didn't work on the dragon.

"There's no need to be that sad. The Tower Records don’t give you information for free."

Rosa shrugged as if she were stating the obvious. Colt hesitated and made an embarrassed expression before he coughed and said, "I… I also failed."

More than two had already failed the exam. After she figured out that it wasn't just her who'd failed, Wei Lin’s expression made it seem like she found it unfair.

"There's something definitely wrong! He taught us nothing and asked us to fight a dragon first. Does that make sense?"

A smile crept onto Rosa’s face, and she laughed at Wei Lin. "Everyone with the right passes, and it's nothing strange. The weakest dragon is a rank 6 boss, so it's obvious that you'd fail."

Rosa smirked and then turned to Adela. It could have been because she was Arden’s disciple, but Adela had many nicknames, and that's why Rosa had a lot of expectations of her.

"What about you? Did you hear the answer from the Tower Records?"

At Rosa's question, Adela calmly answered, "Yes."

That meant she'd passed the exam.

"Wh-what? No way... You managed to deal damage to that monster?"

While Wei Lin was exclaiming in surprise, Rosa expressed interest and asked, "Your score?"

"B."

You could get an A if you'd heard information on the dragons’ 'Soul Language' or how to destroy their mana shields.

"Number 5661, Score B. That means you're as strong as a rank 5 or 6. After catching the Avatar, you have the right to participate in Sardonyx's subjugation."

Rosa's revelation was shocking, and it was the students’ turn to be surprised.

"S-Sardonyx's subjugation?"

"Then... This was a method to tell us about the subjugation and a test for the raid?"

As Wei Lin and Isshin spoke in surprise, Rosa narrowed her eyes and looked at Adela.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting much... but as expected of Arden's disciple. To think that you'd really pass. Although it's too bad that you didn’t get an A rank, you probably heard information about the Soul Language, so that’s an incredible achievement."

Everyone focused on YuSung after she said she'd passed the Tower Records.

"What information did you hear?"

At Rosa's question, YuSung calmly replied, "I didn’t hear anything."

"You too? As expected. The exam was hard, right?"

Wei Lin took the opportunity to get closer to YuSung.

"There's no way..." Adela mumbled in a low voice.

Adela knew that a dragon was a hard boss to subjugate, but she was also more aware of how strong YuSung was than anyone else there. She couldn't believe that he'd failed.

Rosa's expression turned serious, and she asked him, "Your score...?"

"S."

YuSung had gotten an S, which meant that there was nothing he could be taught.

"Y-you didn't fail but got an S?!"

"S...?"

"I knew he was strong, but..."

Wei Lin, Isshin, and Colt were all surprised. Adela held her emotionless expression, but she somehow looked proud.

'I believed in my rival...'

On the other hand, Rosa used her administrator account and checked Shin YuSung's saved file.

[No5661: Red Dragon Sardonyx]

[Person in charge: Dragon Slayer Aslan]

[Score: S]

[Review: A challenger that managed to defeat the dragon after one try. As the person in charge, I give up on teaching him. There's nothing he needs to be taught. He understands a dragon's mana. Not only that, but he also knows their techniques' destructiveness and how to make proper use of timing.]

Based on the saved data, it seemed like the person in charge had recognized YuSung, which meant that, against a dragon at least, YuSung was comparable to a rank 6 hunter or even stronger.

"Ha... Calling him a rookie? I'm not sure who's the mentor and who’s the mentee."

Aeden's granddaughter, Adela…

The Sword God's heir, Liú Jùn…

The 2nd Witch, Lorelei…

The 1st-year students of the generation were incomparably stronger than others, but even among them, YuSung was more eye-catching.

'As expected, is the leader of the next generation going to be born in Korea again?'

It was a small territory with a small population. It was ironic that, despite those factors, so many strong hunters had been born in Korea.

"You probably have to take a break, so you're dismissed. Try to rest so you can be at your best during the subjugation."

* * *

* * *

[Are they going to find out... or not?] Cheat playfully asked.

[I bet that they won't find out. The leader is a very precise person. Like you, he doesn't get swayed by his emotions, so he probably didn’t leave any traces behind.] With those words, YuWol walked out of the hideout. It didn't matter how much he thought about it; he couldn't get himself to hang out with Cheat.

Still, Cheat was someone that Nameless, 3017, Rebellion’s leader, trusted.

'What's Leader drawing...?'

To think Rebellion would try to make Liú Jùn join them. He was the Sword God's Disciple.

If things went wrong, there was a chance all of Rebellion would be put in danger.

'There's no way I'd be able to understand someone like him.'

In the end, YuWol trusted 3017's judgment, which was completely different from how he treated Cheat.

* * * *

The sound coming from inside the cave resembled thousands of horses stampeding over the battlefield.

Rather than horses, though, they were hermit crabs.

A group of giant hermit crabs that were three meters tall were charging at them.

"We're about to complete the 9th floor-! We can finally go home!! Everyone, cheer-!" As Amy, who was in the front, shouted while holding a toothpick, 30 skeletons began cheering.

"Let's go!" Sumire shouted a bit late.

"How can she be so energetic? I'm so tired due to not having enough sleep and having no bed..." EunAh looked tired.

[3rd Floor Entrance Condition: Eliminate the hermit crab army platoon.]

[297 hermit crabs remain.]

Amy made noises and drew everyone's attention. "Kill them all without leaving anyone behind! Stab them all~!"

Amy looked different from how she usually did. Not only was she more energetic than usual, but she was doing an exaggerated performance, and her fighting capability couldn't be compared to how it normally was.

Paf!

She stabbed a hermit crab with a giant toothpick; then she turned around, threw it, and killed two more.

A hermit crab swung its clamp toward Amy, but she lowered her position and then hit the crab’s shell with her bare hands.

Pang!

The shell exploded. Today's Amy was unbelievable.

"The world and viewers are looking at me! Kill them all-!" Amy clenched her fist and shouted like a barbarian.

There was a reason why Amy was doing so well.

[ON AIR]

[Streaming Title: (Live) 300 Giant Hermit Crabs VS Amy & 2 Subordinates!]

[Summary: Streaming until completing the 9th floor!]

[Current Viewers: 62,004]

The 9th floor, was one of the few where someone could freely stream. Thanks to that, almost 60 thousand people watched Amy's broadcast.

A normal person wouldn't be able to understand what the difference was, but with Amy's Trait, it made a huge difference.

[Transformation (Trait) - You can increase your body's specs for a set time. While transformed, you'll receive the mindset of a guardian.]

[Guardian's Heart (Skill) - The more people you have to protect, the stronger Transformation’s effect will be.]

Since they counted as targets to protect, Amy's Trait made her stronger as more people watched and cheered for her. Amy's condition was at its best when she was broadcasting.

"How many has it been? There aren’t even 100 left now." Amy smiled as she wiped her sweat away.

"Oh, boy." EunAh shook her head while looking at Amy. "She's quite excited."

"EunAh! Be careful!" At Sumire's shout, EunAh smirked, and then she vanished, leaving an afterimage behind.

"I know."

BOOM!

EunAh appeared behind the attacking hermit crab and swung her fist, paralyzing the monster as it was struck with her electricity.

"Everyone, hold out a bit more!"

As Sumire's undead army helped, the number of hermit crabs decreased.

10 minutes…

30 minutes…

And after 1 hour…

[0 hermit crabs remain.]

[You've successfully eliminated the hermit crabs!]

Amy, EunAh, and Sumire looked at each other while standing on top of the remnants of the hermit crabs.

And as if they'd agreed beforehand, they high-fived and shouted, "We won-!"

"We're finally going back!"

"We've successfully won!"

They were finally feeling the happiness of having won.

The three were happy at the though of finally being able to return and at having completed YuSung’s request.

The description of the 10th floor appeared before them.

[On the 10th Floor, you must do a party quest.]

[Quest Name: World of Innocence! Protect the Toy Kingdom!]

[Minimum number of members required: 6]

[Penalty: Everyone will become 10 years younger.]

The happiness of having won lasted for a short moment.

After reading the hologram, they mumbled, "What's this...?" in disbelief.