Hunter Academy’s Battle God

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“This is, uh… a bit of a weird request, but…”

“Mmm… I-I’m also awake…”

Sumire took that moment to announce that she had woken up.
EunAh, seeing the girl approach them, immediately shut her mouth. 

“EunAh?”

YuSung peered up at her curiously.

“I’ll tell you later.”

It seemed like she wanted to talk to him one-on-one.
YuSung pocketed the small container that stored the grey-ed sap and stood up, walking towards the large boulder, he then opened the lid and poured its contents on a leaf.

Drip. 

He then used the leaf to spread the sap all over the boulder.

“Okay, everyone.
Let’s hide before the sun rises.

YuSung wasn’t just satisfied with setting the trap.
He pulled up bits of grass and foliage as he made his way back to the other two.
EunAh was bemused.

“Hide? And what’s that for?”

“We have to disguise ourselves if we want to hide,” he answered as if it were obvious.
“First, let’s rub mud all over our hair.”

“H-huh? Mud?!” Sumire gulped and eyed the girl next to her.

“Y-you’re kidding, right?”

But YuSung was serious.

Employ every advantage you have and do your utmost to prepare against your opponent, even when you’re fighting a monster weaker than you.
That was YuSung’s philosophy.

* * *

 

Reaper Scans

Translator – Bob

Proofreader – ilafy

Join our discord for updates on releases! 

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* * *

The rising sun in the sky…

Shin YuSung, Kim EunAh, and Sumire—the three were crouched down and hiding in the foliage as if they were predators waiting for their prey.

EunAh was upset.
Why? Blades of grass were tangled into her hair.

‘Do we really have to do all of this?’

Her persistent arguing had, at least, spared her hair from getting dirt all over it.
In any case, the three had become one with nature.

Time passed.
Just when EunAh’s body was about to relax due to the warming weather, she heard a sound in the distance.

Boom! Boom!

The lake dragon emerged from the water, signaled by the sound of its giant footsteps.

“Grr… Kaaa!”

It raised its head into the sky and bellowed out a large cry into the air.

Flap flap!

The birds in the area, surprised by the noise, flew away from the nearby treetops. 

The emperor of Mount Everline…

The lord of the lake…

The dragon stalked towards the boulder with confident strides befitting its many titles.

Womp!

“…Krr?”

And it lay down on the rock—that was its mistake.
The dragon began struggling to free itself from the boulder that had been slathered with the sap of the viscous herb.

Boom!

The lake dragon managed to tear itself away from the boulder but lost its balance and fell.
Sumire, seeing her chance, yelled towards the woods.

“Death Knight-ssi!”

“Master’s or… ders… everyone, att… ack!”

Roooar!

Various types of skeleton knights rushed towards the lake dragon, the death knight riding its trusty steed included.

Toss!

The knights threw a net over the dragon in order to stop it from moving any further.
Enraged, the lake dragon swiped at the skeletons with its front leg.

Bash!!

The skeleton knights hit by the attacks crumbled instantly and despawned.
It wasn’t a big deal, however—in the first place, they were nothing but bait to stall for time.

EunAh and YuSung looked at each other.

As their eyes met, EunAh gave the boy a nod and smiled.

“Thanks.”

Then she began running towards the lake dragon.
YuSung, on the other hand, stayed in place.
That was all due to the promise they had made earlier.

[…Hey, YuSung.
Can you let the two of us defeat the lake dragon?]

[H-huhhh?! D-do you mean, just you and me… without Shin YuSung-ssi?]

EunAh herself knew that her request was unreasonable.
It wasn’t a training session; it was real life, with all of the dangers associated with it.
Normally, one would use YuSung’s strength to conclude the hunt as quickly as possible.

However, EunAh’s gaze was more sincere than it ever had been up to that moment.

What she was trying to attempt right then was important.
If she kept making excuses for herself by blaming element compatibility—if she kept giving up whenever a situation wasn’t in her favor—then nothing would change, and EunAh had already avoided many situations of that nature.

She was scared of being used.

She was scared of being betrayed.

She was scared of losing someone like her brother again, someone she had opened up to.
Thus, EunAh avoided getting close to others.

She would never have to say farewell to anyone as long as she never got to know another person.

She would never have to get hurt as long as she never felt happiness.

She had put up walls all around her heart, built using various justifications she had concocted by herself. 

Watching YuSung, however, made EunAh understand.

‘If I…’

If she never tried something, nothing would happen; nothing would change.
All she could do was stay in one place and wait to rot like a stagnant pool of water.

EunAh didn’t want that. 

She already knew what would happen if someone broke under the weight of all of the expectations and tried to run away from it all.
She had seen it happen with her own eyes, after all.

‘…No matter how much I try to avoid them, my problems will not solve themselves.’

What EunAh needed at that moment was courage—the courage to try and change herself.

YuSung smiled as he saw her determination.

“EunAh, you really are strong, aren’t you?”

He had known it since the first time the two had locked eyes with each other, and as expected, his instincts hadn’t failed him.
EunAh was one of those ‘hunters with incredible potential’ that his master had taught him about.

Ring!

“Kuohhhh–!”

The lake dragon continued to roar into the sky, head tilted upwards.

Clap! Bzzt!

EunAh clapped and surrounded her entire body with electricity.
She answered the boy with a confident grin.

“‘Course.
Who do you think I am?”

Tup!

With those words, she ran towards the dragon. 

There was no guarantee of one’s safety if they faced off against a monster with a bad match-up.
Despite that fact, YuSung stayed firmly in place and watched. 

He believed in his party member, 

And EunAh wanted to change herself more than she had ever before.
To them, how efficiently the hunt went wasn’t important.