I swung my fists and poured a flurry of blows into the wide-open abdomen. Puff, puff, puff!—with those sounds, the opponent collapsed onto the floor.
It wasn't over yet. If I stopped here, this bastard would definitely grab the sword again and come charging at me.
Only after hammering the one sprawled on the ground with my fists about five more times did I finally stop attacking.
"Ghk… ugh…."
The woman squirmed as she let out that sound, then slowly raised her left hand. I mean, sure, I told her to raise her left hand if she was in pain—but did she really have to do it? What a funny one.
— The final victory goes to Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. Please take sufficient rest.
At those words, I narrowed my eyes. Not that it was over—sufficient rest?
— Three hours from now, at this very location, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok will engage in an additional spar.
What the hell is this now?
— Your opponent will be Lee Se-eun, a partner hunter affiliated with Janabi, currently defending the Corrupted Zone along the Demilitarized Line.
A face appeared on the screen floating in midair. I turned my head and scanned the faces of the people in the stands. They, too, were murmuring in shock, their expressions stunned.
"Damn. I've never seen such a screwed-up situation."
Then I found her—the person whose face matched the one on the screen exactly. And in an instant, I grasped the level this woman named Lee Se-eun had reached. From where I stood now, it was impossibly distant.
The woman, a tobacco pipe clenched between her lips, met my gaze and broke into a crooked grin, silently mouthing words.
Use a spear.
Seeing that, my face fell.
Maybe I really should have fought with a spear from the beginning. I guess the fact that I started with a spear and then spent the rest of the fights just punching must have piqued her curiosity.
After quietly spending the allotted three hours of rest, I stood once more in the newly prepared sparring arena.
"You're Yoo Chan-seok, right?"
Whish—Lee Se-eun tossed aside the pipe she'd been holding and slammed the greatsword she had slung over her shoulder into the ground with a heavy thud.
"I was impressed. Honestly, I didn't come here expecting much."
"The kids' skills were a bit lacking," I replied.
At my words, Lee Se-eun nodded.
"Yeah. You've earned the right to say that."
"I'll do my best… to win."
At that, Lee Se-eun casually lifted the massive greatsword with one hand and pointed it at me.
"Good. If you're going to fight, you should do it with the intent to win."
I've never once in my life spouted bullshit about learning a lesson or gaining experience. Charging in with some half-assed mindset like that gets you nothing.
Even if you know how it'll end, you have to rush in thinking you'll win—that's the only way you take something away from the fight.
With the spear in hand, I took a deep breath and set my stance.
"What is that?"
Lee Se-eun stared at me, greatsword still in hand.
"That's not a stance for using a spear."
That's right. A spear is my main weapon—but I don't use it like a spear.
"What does that matter?"
I charged straight at Lee Se-eun and swung the spear.
Clang!—with a thunderous crash, my spear collided with the greatsword in her grip. I twisted my entire body in an instant, dispersing as much of the impact as possible, and stepped back slightly.
The greatsword that followed had no intention of allowing even that brief retreat. Like a rampaging beast, the massive blade—over two meters long—whirled about in a mad dance.
"Kid. Just enduring won't win you the fight."
Kid?
This barely grown woman just called me a kid?
Does she even know how many bowls of rice I've eaten in my life?
Still, right now, all I can do is endure.
There are openings—but I don't have the physical ability to force my way in. Being able to see it but not reach it is enough to drive a man insane.
"Hah… khk…."
If I'd known it would be like this, I should've asked to keep something before returning to Earth! This is so damn unfair I could scream.
No—if I'd known my homeland would end up like this, I wouldn't have agreed to those terms in the first place!
"Thirty minutes, huh…."
Lee Se-eun said that and flashed a thumbs-up in my direction.
"You held out well. I was thinking five minutes, tops."
As she spoke, Lee Se-eun rummaged through her pocket.
"It's not over yet."
Who decided the fight was finished? I may look pathetic right now, but I have no intention of ending it like this.
At my words, Lee Se-eun snorted while still digging through her pocket.
"I don't have a hobby of trampling seedlings, you know."
"I said it's not over."
Everything I lost is something I have to reclaim myself anyway. And after a month of relentless effort, there's a fragment of my strength that I've managed to recover.
I took a deep breath. Gathering the mana flowing through my body, I coaxed a tiny flame into existence at my fingertips.
A black flame, flickering weakly like a candle about to go out.
"What, you awakened a unique trait? But what can you possibly do with such a tiny spark—"
Lee Se-eun was staring at the small ember in my hand when she suddenly fell silent. Then her expression hardened.
"What is that?"
"This," I murmured, "is what it does."
I pressed the black spark against my own body. The flame clung to me, slowly igniting as if feeding on something.
Paradox Blackflame.
It was my signature technique—the power I had relied on most, used without rest until the moment I returned to Earth. A unique trait awakened through mana resides within the soul.
Since my soul had crossed over into this world intact, it was only natural that I could use my unique trait immediately.
This black flame cannot burn matter. Instead, each flame feeds on countless abstract concepts I designate as fuel.
For example—fatigue, accumulated in my body right now.
Looking at the black flames clinging to me, I clicked my tongue.
Still too weak.
That was my own assessment. Paradox Blackflame is powerful, but it isn't invincible. Aside from the fact that it burns things that normally cannot be burned, it has far more in common with ordinary fire than one might think.
'The output is too low.'
Everything has its own ignition point.
At this level of output, there's no chance of burning high-threshold concepts like ego, reason, or memory.
It's like trying to light firewood in a campfire—the flame fails to catch and just goes out.
"The mana density in the air…?"
Lee Se-eun muttered cautiously as she surveyed the space around me.
Just as fire releases heat while burning matter, the black flame I wield releases mana while consuming abstract concepts.
I use mana to ignite Paradox Blackflame. Paradox Blackflame burns abstract concepts and emits mana in return. I absorb that released mana and put it to use in combat.
A continuously looping cycle.
In other words, I specialize in drawn-out, grind-you-down battles—clinging on like a parasite.
"Do you happen to like people who just won't let go?"
"No. I hate them."
"Then take this chance to get used to it."
Life throws people like me at you sometimes.
The fight that followed finally ended in my defeat—four hours and seventeen minutes later.
"Huff… haaah…."
There was no helping it. When you burn wood, ash remains. And ash cannot be burned again.
The same goes here. Even when Paradox Blackflame burns fatigue, it leaves behind residue—something like ash. And that residue cannot be consumed by the black flame, so it stays.
The remnants of fatigue left behind by Paradox Blackflame kept piling up until I finally hit my limit.
Lee Se-eun lifted my chin slightly with the tip of her greatsword, her expression complicated.
Of course, the only reason I lasted this long was because she wasn't fighting seriously. If she had been, I doubt I could've lasted even fifteen minutes against her.
"You're nasty. Want to keep going?"
"No. Please spare me."
My body wasn't in any condition to keep fighting—and this was a sparring match, not a battlefield where we were trying to kill each other.
Something was offered to me.
"Here. Candy."
What landed in my hand was a rather large lollipop. After handing it over, Lee Se-eun casually tossed her greatsword aside and passed me a business card.
[Janabi LLC — Team 3, Partner Hunter: Lee Se-eun]
"Once you get your license, someone will approach you."
"I feel like it won't be just one person."
A newly licensed hunter lasting four full hours—no matter how much leniency Lee Se-eun showed, that wasn't something just anyone could pull off.
"You can't catch tuna with a little fishing boat."
I understood what she meant. If the big companies set their sights on you, the smaller ones naturally fall away on their own.
The companies that would approach me would all be major players—ones with both capability and resources.
"Anyway, don't decide right away after you meet them. Call me again first."
"So Janabi rates me pretty highly too, huh."
At my words, Lee Se-eun replied with a smile.
"We'll talk details when the time comes. Just call me for now."
She made a phone gesture with her hand, wiggled it a few times next to her ear, then turned and left the sparring arena.
What followed immediately after was the hunter certification ceremony.
I looked straight at the association president standing in front of me. He didn't look like someone related to combat at all. Then again, as the association president, his job was mostly administrative—there was no rule saying he had to be good at fighting.
"Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. You showed an excellent performance that gives us great expectations."
With those words, the president handed me my certification. In truth, it wasn't just a certificate—it was a smartphone fitted with a special SIM card.
"Think carefully, and act with caution. To the enemies before you, bring fear. To those behind you, bring peace."
"Thank you."
Holding the smartphone known as a 'license,' I examined its functions.
Through the apps installed on this phone, a hunter could carry out a wide range of tasks.
Communities for hunters, selling equipment and byproducts obtained from hunting monsters in Corrupted Zones, checking emergency notices sent by the Association, and even messaging and calling via military satellites…
"So personal transactions are strictly prohibited."
Well, that was only natural. Looking at the items listed for trade, there were plenty of pieces of equipment that could produce powerful effects even without using mana—things like pistols that fired mana rounds when the trigger was pulled.
If such items circulated freely, the already unstable public security situation would deteriorate even faster.
"Based on my experience…"
The fact that personal transactions were officially banned paradoxically meant that there were hunters secretly engaging in them anyway.
If there hadn't been cases like that, there would've been no need to include such a clause in the first place. Sure enough, a quick search turned up plenty of related articles—robberies committed using hunter gear, and the like.
"Not something I need to worry about right now."
That would only matter after we'd pushed back the Corrupted Zones to some extent.
As I was about to move on myself, someone suddenly blocked my path.
When I looked up, I saw a mountain of muscle, veins bulging as if barely containing its own strength.
One arm—thick as my thigh—was marked with a large dragon tattoo. He was easily about thirty centimeters taller than me.
Which meant he was just over two meters tall.
"Nice tattoo."
"Yeah. Thanks for the compliment."
The walking slab of muscle replied and held something out to me. The business card read Taebaek LLC.
I took the card and spoke up.
"You must be Hunter Yoon Seong-hyeon from Taebaek."
At my words, Yoon Seong-hyeon nodded.
"Come to Taebaek. More specifically, come to my team. If you build up enough experience, you'll definitely shine."
A partner hunter. Lee Se-eun's card had said the same thing. My curiosity was suddenly piqued.
"By the way… what exactly is a partner hunter?"