Chapter 36: (2): Season 1: Preparation
“Surprisingly, the Slayer who claimed to achieve Platinum rank was a woman.
It might seem strange if you thought it would be a man, but considering that most high-level Slayers are men, it wasn’t that strange. It reminds of Lee Chae-rim, who had established a temporary guild in the past and focused on disrupting monsters with her swift movements.
‘Come to think of it, she’s similar to Lee Chae-rim.’
But she was slightly different from Lee Chae-rim. Assuming she probably had some special class, according to Jong-won’s speculation. However, Hyun-seok couldn’t figure out what her special ability was.
‘Well… now I’m just in normal mode. Not in the high-level mode or anything. There won’t be any tremendous brilliance from the hidden class in just the normal mode.’
Jong-won was the same. He also had a special class, but the merits of being a special class weren’t that significant. Perhaps because they were still in the normal mode.
Hyun-seok faced her. Jong-won read the criteria set by the Union. They included provisions such as not attacking the opponent’s weak points with critical shots. In fact, Hyun-seok brushed off most of them as things he already knew. They weren’t that important anyway.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yoo Hyun-seok.”
The woman spoke very little. She greeted him with a slight nod of her head. It seemed somewhat impolite in a way. She didn’t seem eager to talk about her name or any other personal information.
“I mean… if I say ‘that side,’ it might sound a bit weird, but could you at least tell me your name?”
“Hong Se-young.”
Maybe it was rude, or maybe it was due to nervousness, but Hyun-seok smirked.
After all, he had met plenty of women like her and he wouldn’t be affected by them. In fact, it was easier to deal with women who were initially aloof and had few words. Women who were too easy from the start were not only uninteresting but also easily drifted away after giving their affections. However, difficult women, once they opened their hearts, quickly became dependent on men. It was almost like a rule, Hyun-seok thought. Of course, now he had no intention of seducing women and taking them to bed, but based on his underlying experiences, he became more relaxed rather than getting angry or frustrated when faced with a woman’s attitude. Meeting an opponent who was the polar opposite of the usual woman was quite refreshing.
Hyun-seok smirked and spoke.
“Did you feel nervous?”
“…….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”
Hyun-seok shrugged with a relaxed expression. He probably touched her pride quite well. She had claimed to become a Platinum Slayer herself and had even engaged in PvP with Jong-won without hesitation. It seemed like she had immense self-confidence and pride. Hyun-seok had a mischievous tone as he spoke.
“Oh, by the way, did you hear my slaying condition? I thought the news would have reached you in advance.”
“……”
There was no such thing. It just occurred to him on the spot. In other words, it was a scam disguised as a joke. It revealed one of Hyun-seok’s bad habits. However, the woman remained silent and just stared at Hyun-seok.
With an even more relaxed and arrogant attitude, Hyun-seok spoke. He straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin slightly, looking at her with a condescending gaze.
“If I can’t reduce your h/p by more than 10 percent, I’ll give up on going to the United States and you should join our Inha Guild then… Are you ready to attack me even knowing that?”
The woman would probably be shocked and confused internally. It was information she had never heard before. Even Jong-won seemed surprised. It was the first time he heard about it.
And she would probably feel a mix of shock and anger. Hyun-seok had properly scratched her pride. 10 percent. She was the woman who had beaten even the best strength stat Slayer in the country perfectly. Of course, it couldn’t be denied that she had a significant advantage against Jong-won, but the result remained the same, and Hyun-seok had deeply wounded her pride.
Jong-won shook his head in disbelief.
‘He’s incorrigible. So, who the hell is he? Just recently, he was a female lover. It was a few years ago when the guys were buying him drinks to learn how to pick up women…’
He couldn’t remember exactly, but it hadn’t been more than five years. Hyun-seok, once again, with an even more relaxed expression and tone, said.
“No matter how pretty you are, I won’t take you. You have to prove your skills.”
Hyun-seok’s words had changed. The penalty for not being able to reduce more than 10 percent of his h/p had suddenly become a merit that required proving one’s skills. Actually, such factual relationships probably didn’t matter at all. The point that stands out is, ‘No matter how pretty you are, I won’t take you.’ By simply saying it, it wouldn’t have any effect. However, after scratching her pride and making her angry, it meant something. In simple terms, it meant, ‘You’re nothing special, and even though your face is pretty, that doesn’t matter, so prove your skills.’
Jong-won frowned.
‘Damn it… Does that make any sense? What kind of logic is that? Is it nonsense?’
But surprisingly, it made sense. It wasn’t even mentioned in the first place, but the woman acknowledged it. It was a logical structure that Jong-won couldn’t understand with his head. But whatever. Whether it was due to reasons or processes, the woman intervened with Hyun-seok.
‘Well… If I argue that this is a scam and the woman is unjustly treated, it won’t happen.’
In fact, Hyun-seok seemed to have calculated it to that extent. Now the woman had accepted his condition by chance. Hyun-seok had scratched her pride and was conducting a kind of scam. In that sense, this proposal and bet couldn’t be considered fair. If the woman set her mind to it, she could easily win.
Jong-won smirked.
‘It’s good if she falls for it, but if she doesn’t… well, whatever.’
But come to think of it,
‘Isn’t this the perfect situation for that woman to kneel down and beg to be admitted to the Inha Guild?’
Honestly, it could be said that it was the luckiest moment in the woman’s life. Hyun-seok had exceeded the standards of the normal mode and was a unique Slayer who could achieve impossible achievements solo. If she formed a party with that Slayer, she could accumulate tremendous achievements. For any Slayer, it was a situation that everyone dreamed of.
Thinking that far, Jong-won felt a slight chill on his arm.
‘So, it means that, due to her strong pride, Hyun-seok is making an excuse that seems plausible… to make her enter without losing her pride, without bending? It’s just her losing the bet and entering at my request, right?’
Hyun-seok had mentioned it before. To take a woman to bed, all he needed was a somewhat plausible excuse. Saying “Let’s go to make love at my place” and “Let’s watch a movie at my place” were different things. It didn’t have to be a precise excuse, just a somewhat plausible one. Jong-won recalled what Hyun-seok had said.
Jong-won clicked his tongue.
‘Wow, that bastard is really cunning. He said he’s a master manipulator. So, he’s using the same tricks he uses to seduce women here too?’
In essence, it was also very favorable for the woman, but still, Jong-won shot a glance at Hyun-seok for no apparent reason. Isn’t it a friend’s privilege to hurl affectionate curses at a friend for no reason?
Jong-won signaled the start of PvP.
Naturally, he thought Hyun-seok would easily win without a hitch. But an unexpected situation unfolded. Jong-won was taken aback and his mouth gaped open.
“What, what’s this?”
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