'Just having a strong sword isn't the end of it.'
That long battle had been wrapped up in a single instant.
'My body still can't keep up with this Demonic Sword.'
Although it had ended in victory, he could not rest easy.
Because he could feel that his stamina and mana had already hit rock bottom.
'If I want to wield it perfectly, I need training.'
The battlefield had become a complete mess.
"Haa... Haaa..."
Gyeom-shin was not the only one who found this beginner dungeon taxing.
Jang-pil was also breathing heavily.
'...Looks like this hyung's body isn't properly keeping up yet, either.'
All around them lay the corpses of countless Goblins.
'With this, hyung's real-combat experience as a Hunter must've gone up, too.'
Jang-pil had disposed of all the small-fry monsters himself.
Gasping for breath, Jang-pil asked.
"You... are you completely fine? After fighting for several hours without a break..."
"Well, I only hunted a single one."
"Th-that was the boss monster, wasn't it...?!"
He was dumbfounded by Gyeom-shin's unbothered demeanor, not even batting an eye despite being covered head to toe in dirt and dust.
"It was a slightly dangerous bastard, but as a training partner... well, it wasn't bad."
After all, in his past life, Gyeom-shin was a Hunter who had hunted thousands of these Dark Goblins.
"Haa... You monster of a bastard."
Gyeom-shin knew.
However, the man named Jang-pil was not originally a Hunter who possessed only this much strength.
'The word monster suits you much better than me, hyung.'
As a Ranker who had served as a Vice Guild Master in Gyeom-shin's guild, he was a man who used to go around smashing even top-ranking guilds all by himself.
"Haa... How on earth did you even find out about a dungeon like this to work me to the bone right from my first sortie?"
Truly a monster among monsters.
He was not a weakling who would exhaust all his energy against a mere handful of Goblins.
"Hyung, this was your first sortie?"
"...Yeah, punk. I've hunted plenty of monsters outside Gates... but this is my first time coming inside one. Haaa..."
The reason Jang-pil had struggled was simple.
This had been his first real battle.
It was the first time he had used his power as a Hunter inside a Gate.
"...Then it must've felt tough. Because the difference between the outside and the inside is huge."
The dungeon Gyeom-shin had brought him to had the hardest difficulty among beginner dungeons.
"Why won't these fucking bastards die even when I jam a sword right into their heads?"
Monsters that escaped outside a Gate lost their original strength and grew weak, but the bastards inside were different.
"These bastards are always like that. That's why strong Hunters are needed. If this was your first battle, you're actually amazing, hyung."
Monsters against which neither guns nor bombs worked.
In other words, even among Hunters, only those skilled in combat could dispose of them.
"...You talk like someone who's been to dungeons like this as often as eating meals."
A dungeon was where a Hunter belonged.
Apart from the time spent eating, sleeping, and breathing, this place—the dungeon—was the domain of a Hunter.
"You're a rookie Hunter too, you jerk!"
Moreover, Gyeom-shin had been a Master in his past life.
When it came to dungeons, he knew everything inside and out.
"Didn't you say it hasn't been long since you Awakened as a Hunter...?"
"Yeah, it hasn't been long."
Even so, just as Jang-pil said, it was true that he had come to places like this countless times, as often as eating meals.
Because appropriately dispatching guild members according to difficulty had been Gyeom-shin's job.
"...When exactly did you Awaken?"
At Jang-pil's question, Gyeom-shin suddenly thought of himself ten years ago.
So he answered playfully with a smile.
"Well... about ten years ago?"
Back then, he had not possessed this kind of composure, either.
Because his goal in life had been to risk his neck in competition against the strong and climb to the top by any means necessary.
"Haa, you crazy bas..."
"Just kidding, hyung."
However, things were different now.
Even while carrying out his revenge with resentment etched deep into his bones, Gyeom-shin always wore a smiling face.
Because he had regained the precious people he had foolishly lost in his past life.
"Hyung, since we've completed the mission, let's head back."
He did not want to live repeating a past life that had been dotted with nothing but pain.
Holding the severed head of the Dark Goblin, Gyeom-shin spoke with a smile brimming with confidence.
"To our new guild."
***
"Th-this is...?"
THUD—!
Da-hee's eyes were wide with surprise.
"The head of the beginner dungeon's boss monster that you told us to bring back."
"Aaah..."
Because the head of a Dark Goblin, no less, had been dropped right before her eyes.
"This is... a Dark Goblin!"
"...So what? Is there a problem?"
A Dark Goblin never appeared in ordinary beginner dungeons.
Due to its vicious trait of making even its fellow Goblins stronger, it was the biggest cause of rookie Hunters dying after letting their guard down.
"Th-there is no way a monster like this would appear in a beginner dungeon..."
"...It really was a beginner dungeon, Ms. Da-hee."
This bastard was also the reason why the Goblins in the monastery had been particularly strong.
Because of that, Jang-pil had also struggled quite a bit hunting the small fry.
"Haa, because of this crazy bastard, I nearly died right along with him."
"T-to think such a thing happened..."
With this, they had more than proven their skills.
Because they had hunted and brought back a monster notorious for being vicious even in low-grade dungeons.
"Now then, is it fine for us to proudly claim our spots in this guild?"
Before they left, Yeon Da-hee had promised to make Gyeom-shin the Vice Guild Master and Jang-pil an executive.
"......"
However, she could not answer easily and only hesitated, glancing around nervously.
Because while Gyeom-shin had been away, persuading the guild members had not gone well.
"...I, the Sword Flower, Yeon Da-hee, never go back on my word."
Even so, after falling into thought for a moment, she gazed steadily at Gyeom-shin and answered.
"Mr. Lee Gyeom-shin, you have now officially become the Vice Guild Master of our Gladius Guild."
However, there was an obstacle to this.
CREAK—!
"Absolutely not, Lady Sword Flower!"
Several men with grim, rugged faces flung the door open without permission and swarmed into the room.
"Y-you all...!"
"You are going to easily hand over the positions of Vice Guild Master and guild executive to people like this, whose identities we cannot even properly verify?!"
Their numbers easily reached over a dozen.
Since rolling stones from outside were trying to pry out the embedded stones, they could not simply stand by and watch.
"No matter how much the guild is crumbling and on the verge of ruin, this is not right! Don't you agree?!"
"Yes, that is right! Do you not know that all the other Rankers have already left?!"
"If you are going to act like this, Lady Sword Flower, then all of us will leave the guild as well!"
Newbies whose names they did not even know becoming the Vice Guild Master and an executive.
They pushed back fiercely.
'Right, bastards like these show up everywhere you go. Still, it shouldn't be a problem.'
There was no fool here who would sit back and watch their own rice bowl get taken away.
However, the same went for Gyeom-shin.
"Who are these people...?"
"...They are the executives who play a core role in our Gladius Guild."
"Is that so?"
On the contrary, Gyeom-shin found it intriguing.
He had expected even greater opposition, yet this was all there was.
"Are these the only ones?"
"Pardon...?"
"I'm asking if these bastards are the only ones dissatisfied with us claiming the executive spots."
The number of protesting executives did not even reach twenty.
'All of these bastards...'
However, they were high-flying, seasoned veterans.
'They're definitely stronger than hyung and me right now.'
They exceeded the levels of Gyeom-shin and Jang-pil.
In a bare-knuckle fight, the outcome would be obvious.
"This bastard! What did you just say?!"
"I told stray dog bastards like you to get the hell out of this guild right now, what about it?!"
"This son of a bitch...!"
However, Jang-pil had already grabbed one of the executives by the collar, looking ready to trade blows.
Judging by his personality, trying to stop a fight at a time like this would only be poison.
"You bastards aren't even C-Grade Hunters! So how the hell could you be executives?!"
"Yeah, that's right! Lady Sword Flower is a B-Grade Hunter, no less! And we have the skills of C-Grade Hunters ourselves!"
"How dare you mere rookie Hunter bastards act like this without knowing what kind of place this is...!"
In other words, Gyeom-shin had to settle all of this himself.
"Ah, so it's because of skill, then?"
Besides, what they were saying had a point.
"That's right! Even we can hunt a mere Dark Goblin like the one you bastards brought back!"
Because Gyeom-shin was only Level 60, and Jang-pil was only Level 20.
"If you want to become executives, show us your skills!"
"Is that so...? Fine by me."
From the executives' perspective, easily accepting this situation would have been stranger.
"Don't go back on those words. Got it?"
Before long, Gyeom-shin stepped forward, striking right at the core of their argument.
"Aaah, Mr. Gyeom-shin..."
"Don't worry, Sword Flower."
Da-hee looked at Gyeom-shin with apologetic and anxious eyes.
"Because I'll make sure your subordinates get hurt as little as possible."
"Aaah......"
Because she had failed to fully keep her promise.
Even so, Gyeom-shin reassured her with a smiling face instead.
"If we can't persuade them anyway, we can't really be called proper executives, right?"
This boundless, confident smile was something he had only learned after dying.
And right now, it was his greatest weapon.
"All right, then have just one person step forward."
"W-what...?!"
"The strongest bastard among you. No, if you think you'll be at a disadvantage, come at me in a pack."
And his other weapon.
"I'll smash every last one of you."
Being carried by this sword alone was more than enough.
"Th-this...! This crazy bastard...!"
"Sang-hyeok hyung-nim, let's kill that bastard!"
"Yeah, I was just about to do that anyway...!"
SWOOSH—!
At Gyeom-shin's cheap provocation, a burly Hunter launched an attack.
"No! Both of you, stop...!"
Yeon Da-hee tried to stop them, but it was no use.
A heavy iron mace was already being swung toward Gyeom-shin.
Flustered, Jang-pil shouted.
"L-Lee Gyeom-shin! Watch out...!"
Yet Gyeom-shin quietly closed his eyes.
['Analyzer' has been activated.]
Then, he analyzed his opponent.
His opponent was the man who had the most right to talk big here.
「 Name: Choi Sang-hyeok
Grade: C- / Level: 89
Type: Warrior / Attribute: Earth 」
'...Around Level 90, huh.'
In battles between Hunters, it was an unspoken rule that the government would not intervene even if a killing occurred, so long as both parties consented.
'However, that looks like a training weapon rather than a hunting weapon, doesn't it?'
In other words, dying here would be a dog's death.
However, the enemy did not seem to have any intention of actually killing Gyeom-shin.
'Is he planning to smash a few of my ribs and kick me out?'
Normally, if an ordinary person were hit by a training mace like that, they would die on the spot, but Hunters were different.
'...How amusing.'
Awakened Hunters did not die easily from something as mere as this.
After all, they were people who would not die even if shot by a gun.
SWOOOOOSH—!
Naturally, his opponent knew that as well.
In other words, he was not that bad of a bastard.
Therefore, there was no need to go so far as to kill him.
"......!"
ZZZING—!
"Keuk...! W-what is this...?!"
So he used his sword lightly.
ZZZZZING—!
"Y-you bastard...! How...!"
With his eyes closed, he blocked an iron mace weighing dozens of kilograms with a mere one-handed sword.
Of course, that was only possible because what he held in his hand was the strongest Demonic Sword.
"Watch your mouth from now on."
His opponent's attack had come to a complete halt.
Gyeom-shin, on the other hand, opened his closed eyes and spoke while radiating a frosty killing intent.
"Because I'm the Vice Guild Master of you bastards."
SWISH—!
BOOM—!
Then, with a light swing of his sword, he sent Sang-hyeok flying all the way into the far wall.
At that moment, Ades's dark-blue aura overflowed as though dominating the entire space.
"Kuhaaagh...!"
Of course, this power belonged to Ades as well.
Not a single bit of it was Gyeom-shin's own strength.
"Cough!"
Having slammed into the concrete wall, Sang-hyeok coughed up a light mouthful of blood and glared at Gyeom-shin.
"You dog of a bas..."
THUD—!
"Uuuugh."
However, as he tried to get back up, he lost his balance, collapsed right where he was, and passed out.
"H-hyung-nim...!"
At that moment, the enemies lost all will to fight.
Since he had knocked out the strongest bastard among them as if toying with him, it was only a natural reaction.
"H-how does he have that kind of strength...?"
"Gyeom-shin..."
Da-hee and Jang-pil also looked astonished at this extraordinary sight.
Because they had never imagined he would display such an overwhelming gap in strength against a veteran Hunter.
"All right, anyone else want to come at me?"
The Hunters were overwhelmed by his charisma.
"Anyone's fine, so come at me, all of you."
It was simply the result of his silver tongue.
And being carried by his sword.