Copying Runes to Become the World's Strongest - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 36
An office set up inside the Training Center.
The door, which had been shut tight, swung open and Choi Jaeil stepped through.
Nam Jaewoon, who had been sitting on the sofa, shot to his feet.
“Good evening, sir.”
“Between us? No need to stand on ceremony.”
When Choi Jaeil waved for him to sit, Nam Jaewoon lowered himself back into his seat.
Choi Jaeil took the chair across from him.
“How did everyone find it?”
“Words don’t do it justice. It was the best.”
The guild executives’ reactions had been explosive. It had exceeded every expectation.
“That’s a relief.”
“Honestly, I thought we were finished, but Hunter Go Hyeonjun saved the day.”
The other hunters had put up respectable results too. The problem was that those hunters already belonged to Seongsam Aegis and KS Hunters.
Their performance meant little to the other guilds.
Without Hyeonjun, who was unaffiliated, the guild executives would have jumped up from their seats long ago.
“If possible, I think it’s best not to send the guilds’ promising rookies to the orientation.”
“It won’t motivate anyone, one way or the other. Not the participants, not the guilds observing.”
The two of them talked about the direction going forward, building on the orientation held that day.
And so they went on for a while.
Choi Jaeil brought up the second day of tomorrow’s orientation.
“Are the preparations for Day Two finished?”
“Yes. I’ve put everything together.”
A side table sat between the two facing sofas.
Nam Jaewoon pulled a folder from the bag under the side table and held it out.
Its cover bore a title printed in bold letters: Monster Supply Log.
Choi Jaeil studied the folder for a long while, then spoke with a satisfied expression.
“This should be more than enough.”
“To increase the density, I added several more of the same rank.”
“Well done.”
The live gate-hunting exercise scheduled for Day Two.
The Management Bureau intended to release monsters stronger than the gate’s rank.
How to respond to unexpected situations inside a gate had already been covered in full during Day One’s theory lessons.
The purpose was to confirm whether the hunters would act as they had been taught.
“There will be safety personnel, but as a precaution, we’ll stay inside the gate with the monitoring staff.”
“Good. You never know.”
After that, the two of them spoke at length about the orientations still to come.
.
.
.
‘Now that’s something.’
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
In the hotel restaurant, Hyeonjun kept sighing in admiration as he chewed.
On the plate before him sat a steak cooked to the perfect doneness.
‘So this is what they mean when they say the meat melts in your mouth.’
Each time he moved his jaw, a dizzying flavor and texture stirred his taste buds.
He had never once in his life eaten meat of this quality.
“That looks delicious.”
“Want to let him have a bite?”
“Hah, why don’t we get steak?”
Hunters whispered among themselves, watching Hyeonjun with envious eyes.
Everyone else was eating from the buffet-style spread, but Hyeonjun had been given a special meal by the hotel.
‘I never thought I’d get to experience all this.’
He had always been the one envying others, and now he had become the object of envy. Just a few months ago, this kind of luxury had been beyond even his dreams.
‘Once we get out, I’ll have to treat Hyeona to this too.’
It felt a pity to be eating something this good all by himself.
It would have been nice if someone had been sitting beside him.
“Hey.”
A woman sat down across from him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It was Seong Sohui.
Hyeonjun let out a sigh.
“I didn’t mean to say that out loud…”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
Hyeonjun quickly changed the subject.
Seong Sohui tossed out a casual remark.
“That looks good.”
Hyeonjun flinched and covered his plate with his arm.
“Not happening.”
“W-who said I wanted it? I really just think it looks good.”
“Even if you say that, you’re not getting any.”
“I-I don’t need it!”
Sohui stammered several times, too flustered to form a proper reply.
Embarrassed by her own reaction, she cleared her throat pointedly before speaking again.
“Do you know what tomorrow’s training is?”
“No clue. They haven’t told us anything.”
“You’ll be hunting monsters at a Hunting Ground. Rankings will be decided by how many Magic Stones you collect.”
Hyeonjun’s eyes went wide as he stuffed a piece of steak into his mouth.
“How do you know that?”
“Don’t ask about that. Anyway, there are going to be people trying to get in your way tomorrow. Be ready for them.”
“Get in my way? Why?”
“You know I’m with Seongsam Aegis, right? There are a few others like me here.”
Sohui told Hyeonjun about their backgrounds and their goals.
Hyeonjun nodded along, though part of him still couldn’t make sense of it.
“Then why did you turn it down? You want to be first place too, don’t you?”
“What’s the point of winning through such a cowardly method? I’d rather stay a loser. That’s exactly why I’m telling you this much.”
“That’s a bit unexpected.”
“Hmph. I told you so you’d watch yourself. There’s no fun in trampling you if you’re not in one piece.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to fall for that kind of thing.”
After today’s experience, Hyeonjun had gained a great deal of confidence in his own strength.
A power and battle ability that didn’t fall short even of Seong Sohui, a D-Grade Awakened.
He was certain he could easily beat anyone weaker than her, even if they came at him all at once.
“Don’t get cocky. There are five of them, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the advice.”
With that, Hyeonjun picked up a piece of meat with his fork and held it out to her.
“I’ll give you a bite. Just this once.”
“⋯⋯.”
Sohui flinched for a moment.
Her mouth watered, but she barely managed to fight off the urge.
“Do you think I’m some kind of dog? I’m not eating it!”
“If you don’t want it, forget it.”
Hyeonjun gobbled the meat down in an instant.
Sohui stared at the fork with a trace of regret, then whipped her head around and walked away.
“You’re way more fun to tease than Hyeona.”
Hyeonjun snickered as he watched her retreating back.
She had no manners, but the fact that she’d warned him to be careful meant she wasn’t entirely a bad kid.
‘Or maybe not. Stealing that dagger was kind of bad, though.’
Well, that much could be excused as a matter of competitive pride.
‘Anyway, five of them.’
According to Sohui, the second day was scheduled for an entire day of hunting at an Open-Type Gate.
They would be taking over an entire gate, and the rankings would be based on the Magic Stones collected, she’d said.
‘I wonder how they plan to get in my way.’
He was confident in his skills, but he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Hyeonjun kept racking his brain, preparing for any contingency.
***
The morning of the second day of E-Rank Hunter Orientation broke.
A wake-up broadcast crackled through the speakers.
Hunters who had gathered since before dawn did their warm-up stretches, ate breakfast, then boarded buses bound for a nearby E-Rank Gate.
“Please board.”
Even so, Hyeonjun received special treatment reserved for the top ranker.
While the other hunters were served toast, he filled his stomach with a luxurious French breakfast.
Unlike the crowds riding the bus, he rode in a luxury sedan and arrived at the site more comfortably than anyone else.
“Ha, seriously, the lengths some people go to.”
“Honestly, I’m just jealous.”
“Breakfast looked amazing too.”
Today, too, the Hunters cast envious glances his way.
Nam Jaewoon gathered the Hunters and explained what would take place in today’s training.
“Today’s session is live monster hunting. You may hunt monsters freely within the Hunting Ground.”
Hunting: the most fundamental activity of a Hunter.
In the theory lessons, they had also covered hunting in detail.
How to track enemies, how to respond to ambushes, how to escape safely, and so on.
These were the basics of being a Hunter, yet they were the kind of things one could only learn through experience unless someone taught them.
Live hunting was the process of checking how well they had absorbed all of that.
“I’ll explain the rest once we’re inside.”
Nam Jaewoon stepped through the Gate first.
The Hunters followed him, vanishing one after another beyond the Gate.
Hyeonjun slipped in among them.
‘This place…’
A dense, overgrown forest.
Right in the middle of it stood a massive, out-of-place structure.
‘Is this a ruin?’
Statues that brought to mind a shrine.
Marble pillars, half-collapsed.
Thick, crimson vines covered the entire ruin, statues and pillars alike.
It was a building that was both magnificent and grotesque.
“This is the Abandoned Stone Ruins, an E-Rank Hunting Ground.”
The Abandoned Stone Ruins.
Also called the Abandoned Ancient Ruins, it was a Hunting Ground Hyeonjun knew well by name.
‘Traces of civilization found inside an anomalous space… that made headlines, didn’t it?’
Back when information about anomalous spaces was still scarce, it had happened quite a long time ago.
At the time, some argued that anomalous spaces were other dimensions, and the emergence of this place had lent that claim considerable weight.
‘These days it’s settled wisdom that the world’s information gets rendered inside anomalous spaces, but back then many people firmly believed in beings from some alien dimension.’
Well, that’s not what matters.
For an E-Rank Hunting Ground, this place was rather difficult.
What really gave Hunters trouble were those vines.
Even at a glance, the vines in that ominous hue were a sign that a monster called Blood Vine was lurking here.
‘It’s a pain to deal with because of its regenerative ability.’
It had even shown up on the theory exam.
‘That must be why they picked this place.’
The various countermeasures they had learned in theory class.
Would the Hunters actually be able to move the way they had been taught?
The Management Bureau seemed to be focusing on precisely that point.
“There are two criteria for evaluating live monster hunting. First, Magic Stones. Hunt monsters and collect Magic Stones. Your score will be determined by the weight of the Magic Stones you gather.”
Nam Jaewoon reached into his pocket, pulled out a small folded sheet of paper, and unfolded it.
“The second is to retrieve this Key from the depths of the Ruins. Separate from Magic Stones, whoever brings back the Key will receive a large bonus of additional points.”
A Key, printed on the paper.
It was the classic design that came to mind whenever one thought of a key.
“That one sounds easier.”
“Killing one monster only gets you a tiny Magic Stone. When are we supposed to gather enough?”
“If you play it right, couldn’t you aim for first place?”
At the mention of a large bonus, the Hunters began murmuring among themselves.
Nam Jaewoon continued in a voice without any rise or fall.
“If you aren’t confident in your abilities, don’t rush into this. You could really die. I’ll say it upfront: the Management Bureau will not intervene in any way. Recognizing your own strength objectively and making sound judgments is an essential skill for a Hunter.”
It was a warning, delivered in a calm tone, and all the more ominous for it.
The Hunters who had been toying with the idea of the Key lightly fell silent, as if they had all agreed to it.
“Before we begin, let me explain the rules. There is only one thing you must follow: return on time. If you fail to come back within the allotted time, you will be disqualified no matter how many Magic Stones you’ve collected.”
“So as long as we’re back on time, that’s it? There’s no limit on how many can hunt together, right?”
“Correct. Whether you hunt alone or in a group is entirely your choice. You’re also free to take someone else’s Magic Stones. Any secondary problems that arise from that, however, are entirely your own responsibility.”
If something went wrong, the Management Bureau would not be spared harsh criticism.
But to create an environment as close to real combat as possible, they had no choice but to accept such problems.
‘If some half-hearted protection system kicks in, nobody will move like it’s a real fight.’
Of course, it’s only talk. If a truly serious problem arises, Nam Jaewoon plans to step in.
Which also meant that for minor problems, he would simply be watching.
“Your watches will vibrate at set intervals. Use them as a guide while you move.”
Nam Jaewoon handed each Hunter a wristwatch.
Military-grade, the kind that rarely broke down.
“We begin in one minute.”
Not much time left.
Some stretched out their bodies, while others huddled together, discussing whether they’d move as a group.
Hyeonjun folded his arms and sank into thought.
‘Going after the key would earn more points than chasing monsters.’
The deepest part of the ruins.
Hearing Nam Jaewoon speak, it sounded as though some terrible danger lay waiting there.
And in a sense, he wasn’t wrong.
Because countless monsters stood along the way to that place.
‘That’s only true if you charge straight in.’
The ruins had several entrances, and the visible ones weren’t the only way in.
There was one so-called “entrance only the few know about.”
Hyeonjun intended to slip into the ruins through that route.
‘Take that path, and the innermost depths of the ruins are only a short walk away.’
Pleased with his own plan, Hyeonjun nodded.
Just then, he felt a gaze settle on him.
When he turned his head, his eyes met those of Hunters watching him from a corner.
‘Are those the ones?’
The scheme of Hunters from other guilds that Seong Sohui had passed along the previous evening.
He hadn’t known exactly who was behind it, so he’d asked Kim Changdong and gotten a rough idea of their faces.
‘Five in total. Four from Seongsam, and the last one from KS.’
Hyeonjun used Discernment to check their information once more.
‘They’re not nobodies, I’ll give them that.’
Since they had placed high in the rankings, their specs were genuinely better than those of the other Hunters.
‘Not that it matters.’
Hyeonjun curled up one corner of his mouth.
It didn’t matter how clever a plan they came up with.
Why?
Because they’d never get the chance to cross paths with him at all.
Woooong.
A vibration rang out from his wrist.
It was the signal that marked the start.
“Everyone, move out.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the Hunters dashed into the ruins.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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