I Stole the Number One Ranker’s Soul - Chapter 6

Kim Bongpal and Seo Hayeon (2)

“Hmm. I think it would be better to use a lighter sword with your strength.”

“I’m still going to use this. I want to use this one.”

Most of Seo Kang Jun’s equipment was destroyed, not his weapon. Well, it wasn’t his weapon anymore; now, it was Seo Hayeon’s.

“You’re just as stubborn as him. Fuck.”

Kim Bongpal grumbled at Seo Hayeon, but she smiled as if it was a compliment.

“Pick up the sword.”

Seo Hayeon’s special ability was the same swordsmanship Seo Kang Jun used. It was uncommon for special abilities to be inherited, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen at all. In addition, swordsmanship was a common enough ability that manifested in several awakened people. The fact that Seo Kang Jun became an S-class Hunter with such a common ability meant that he had everything: talent, effort, and will.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. Those born with the sword as a special ability were blessed with characteristics that differentiated them from other swordsmen.

“Draw your sword.”

“Yes.”

Most sword users invested one mana to create a sword that is proportionally equivalent in length. However, some could create a sword with twice as much for the same cost. In the case of Seo Kang Jun and Seo Hayeon…

Swoosh-

“It’s damn long, fuck.”

With one mana, she had created a sword on par with other’s three or four. Such swordsmanship was the only thing Kim Bongpal could be envious of, and this was the condition by which Kang Jun had become an S-class Hunter.

“Shorten it again. Just this much.”

Kim Bongpal said while waving his sword. Something similar to a sword aura was flowing through his sword, and it wasn’t a real sword aura, but it had a similar effect by wrapping the blade with mana.

“T-This much?”

“Smaller.”

Seo Hayeon shortened the sword’s length from 1m to 70cm and then to 30cm. However, Kim Bongpal shouted for more and showed his sword to Seo Hayeon. His sword was surrounded by about 10 cm of mana. That was the maximum length that Kim Bongpal could imitate with his mana, and…according to him, it was the best length for slicing down monsters.

Kim Bongpal was envious of Seo Kang Jun’s sword aura because he could become an S-class Hunter, but he also rated his swordsmanship like that: a dead tree technique that only made long unhandleable skewers.

“As I have said many times, I’ve made no hobby of teaching others.”

“…I know.”

“I’m going to do the same thing I did to your dad. I kill monsters, and you also kill next to me. You’ll know how to kill better by watching.”

“Okay.”

“Then if you die? It ends there. You’ll just get killed. Well, I’ll bury you next to your father, I guess.”

He said it like that, but Kim Bongpal knew that he wouldn’t be able to let Seo Hayeon die. Seo Hayeon also knew that fact, but neither mentioned it aloud.

It wasn’t just talent that Seo Hayeon inherited from Seo Kang Jun.

“The most basic thing is to reduce the sword aura by this amount. That way, even if you cut something, it consumes less mana.”

Anyway, that was how Kim Bongpal’s education began. He insisted he had no interest in teaching, but he taught Seo Hayeon for three years.

* * *

Three years was a long time, and a lot changed, such as the relationship between Kim Bongpal and Seo Hayeon and Seo Hayeon with herself. The Seo Hayeon, who used to get pale just by looking at blood, could no longer be found. She used to enjoy eating tteokbokki with her friends after school, but now she had become a hunter and remained vigilant at all times.

With three years of experience, Seo Hayeon slayed a 4-star monster with her own power. It was a Ternodon of the dragon species.

When Seo Hayeon knocked the Ternodon down, Kim Bongpal praised her for being far better than her dad, who used to be scared of them. However, he said that the tip of her sword was still shaking and scolded Seo Hayeon.

Inside, Kim Bongpal acknowledged that Seo Hayeon was better than Seo Kang Jun. She was far more talented than her father. To kill a 4-star monster alone meant that she was qualified to become a B-class Hunter, and in the case of Seo Kang Jun, it took five years to get to that stage. Kim Bongpal had taken three, but whereas survival had been his main goal, Seo Hayeon’s was growth.

And for those three years, Kim Bongpal realized that the world had changed. It was a change that Seo Hayeon, who had little experience, didn’t notice.

Fuck. Why are there so few monsters?

When he thought Seo Hayeon had reached the point where she could cover herself, Kim Bongpal headed to Yeonbaek Plain, previously called Hwanghae-do. The northern region, where their initial suppression failed due to the incompetent response of the North Korean government, was overflowing with monsters compared to the stabilized southern region. It was the same now.

On the first day, Kim Bongpal and Seo Hayeon arrived at Yeonbaek Plain; they encountered an average of three groups of monsters per hour. It was several times more frequent than the monster haunts in Gimpo, which Hunters in Seoul often visited.

But Kim Bongpal felt strange. He had brought Seo Hayeon to Yeonbaek Plain for one reason: the endless hordes of monsters. To deal with those numbers that wouldn’t reduce even after killing all day, one must push themselves to their limits. And only once the land ran red with blood would mere seconds of respite come. Here you could only survive if you became more of a monster than the monsters that attacked you. That was the Yeonbaek Plain that Kim Bongpal knew.

…We’re in Yeonbaek Plain, but can we rest like this?

“Whoo. Uncle, how was it?”

Seo Hayeon asked after finishing off the last monster. The present Yeonbaek Plain had become a safe place to the point where even the luxurious act of taking a breath wouldn’t cause your head to roll. Kim Bongpal was suspicious.

“What’s going on? What are you going to complain about? I gave a clear final blow this time, hmph.”

Seo Hayeon pouted, interpreting Kim Bongpal’s expression in a different way. He finally looked over.

“There is still a lot of wasted mana. And clear final blow? You would have known when you first cut its arms. The mana you put into your sword was too much, but you didn’t pay attention to it until the battle was over, did you? I would have killed it with half of the mana you used.”

“Hmph. If it were me if it were me. These days, if you say things like that, you’re treated like an old guy! I don’t know how an uncle can’t give a compliment to his niece, and it’s not that hard.”

“What, so what? I am old. Fuck, if you’re over 50, you’re old.”

Seo Hayeon frowned.

“Seriously! I told you not to talk about your age! Look old, then!”

“What? You’re getting cheeky, huh? I am old, not young. Fuck, I’m….”

“Ugh! I won’t listen to you!”

Seo Hayeon covered her ears with her hands and turned to the last monster she had cut down. It was a Gardon, treated as a 3-star due to its obvious weaknesses, but only in terms of combat power; it was comparable to a 4-star.

Seo Hayeon kicked the Gardon’s corpse.

“Shit! Annoying monster! Silly monster! Ugly Monster! O-Old monster!”

Kick- Kick-

Her personality had grown to be rather rough.

Hmm. She wasn’t like that, but she’s gotten a little weird lately. Is this puberty? Something like that?

Kim Bongpal watched Seo Hayeon lash out, wondering if he was like that too when he was that age. Of course, Seo Hayeon, now 20, had long since gone through puberty.

Kim Bongpal turned his gaze away from his pupil and looked around. The corpses of the monsters that Seo Hayeon defeated were strewn around. But it was still different from his memory.

Kim Bongpal once visited the Yeonbaek Plains alone while still on active duty. He would blow off steam on these monsters. Back then, he’d built up mountains of corpses, but this could hardly be called a hill.

* * *

Kim Bongpal and Seo Hayeon moved to a farmhouse located near the plains. Although most buildings collapsed after the Outbreak, a few maintained their shape.

It’s definitely weird.

Kim Bongpal pondered what he noticed today. The number of monsters had decreased; that was evident. In fact, sleeping comfortably like this now was also impossible in the former Yeonbaek Plain.

Kim Bongpal suddenly recalled a memory from when he was an active Hunter. From a certain moment on, the frequency of monster appearances decreased sharply. There was a lot of talk about the phenomenon at the time. Some said that the monsters were preparing for a large-scale battle, and some said that the number of monsters gradually decreased thanks to the hunting efforts.

Both opinions were wrong. There was no such thing as a large-scale battle, and the number of monsters that dwindled began to level out. That point was around when Kim Bongpal quit his hunter career. However, there was one fact that Kim Bongpal didn’t know.

When the number of monsters decreased and normalized again, special monsters called 7-stars started appearing. They started gathering lesser monsters as subordinates.

No way, what the dung fly said was true?

Come to think of it, there was a time when Seo Kang Jun said that to Kim Bongpal after he fought with Hwang Dongpal over his debt.

‘I don’t know what you did during the break, but your skills improved. Do you have any plans to return to active duty?’

He asked, not knowing Kim Bongpal was about to retire and live off his money’s interest.

Kim Bongpal’s thoughts didn’t continue past that point. Whether the number of monsters decreased or not had nothing to do with him in the end.

“Umm. Pooh.”

It was also because a noise coming from the side interrupted Kim Bongpal’s thoughts. Seo Hayeon exhaled a long breath and smirked as though she were dreaming.

When they first started, Seo Hayeon had suffered from nightmares every time she went to sleep. Her father’s death was followed by the death of her mother. After that, she started a monster massacre under the guise of training with Kim Bongpal, which would have been difficult for any Hunter. Those days must’ve been hell for Seo Hayeon.

But then Seo Hayeon asked Kim Bongpal if she could sleep beside him. From then on, the nightmares vanished. Three years since then, whenever Seo Hayeon wanted to sleep, she naturally looked for Kim Bongpal’s company. Even he had become used to it now.

“Pooh.”

Of course, it was still cumbersome to feel the warmth of her breath. Kim Bongpal rolled onto his side. It was then Seo Hayeon started sniffing as if she was looking for something that had disappeared, then followed Kim Bongpal and turned onto her side.

Seo Hayeon’s nose touched Kim Bongpal’s shoulder. With a smirk on her lips again, she pressed her face against his back. And.

“Ugh. Uncle, wash up.”

Seo Hayeon spoke in her sleep.

Their first day on the Yeonbaek Plain came to an end.