Chapter 32
The association president’s brow twitched again at Saebyeok’s reaction.
There was a veteran subordinate who had long served under him with respect, and there was no way he would miss such a subtle change of expression.
“As the president of the association, I only had the duty to check. If you had deliberately destroyed the measuring device, it would be a serious issue threatening national security.”
The president stated the rules as calmly as possible, but he couldn’t completely hide the tinge of regret in his voice.
“In that sense, I’ll need to conduct a short investigation…”
He was keeping his tone even when—
Kaaang—!
Suddenly, a spear materialized in Saebyeok’s hand and swung straight toward the president.
It was a surprise attack, but all it managed to do was cut off two strands of his hair.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
The president’s sword, <Absolute Zero>, was blocking Saebyeok’s <Lance of Separation Anxiety>.
Though the assault came in a flash, the president responded just as fast, unsheathing his weapon and deflecting it. He frowned as he looked at her.
Screeeech.
The scraping of metal grated on the ears as the two weapons clashed.
“Is there a more certain way to confirm my rank and intent than this?”
Clang!
Saebyeok twisted her spear sideways, trying to break his stance.
But this was the Sword Emperor, not someone to be toppled so easily.
Kang!
He skillfully parried the incoming thrust and regained his balance with frightening speed.
Each collision of sword and spear rang out like metal screaming.
Saebyeok spun her body, adding weight and momentum to her strikes, forcing the president back with fierce pressure. Yet he blocked every single one of her attacks.
His sword strokes dripped with cold.
That was one of the passives of his weapon <Absolute Zero>: <Frost Blade>, which turned all his attacks into ice attribute.
“Ha—Han Saebyeok, what are you doing…?!”
Meanwhile, Park Woojun was flustered.
He couldn’t understand why Saebyeok suddenly attacked the association president.
Attacking him meant turning the entire association into her enemy.
That was something only villains would dare do.
But Han Saebyeok couldn’t possibly be a villain.
Why now, of all times, when the measuring device had just broken and the mood was already tense?
Kaaang! Screeeech! Kang!
Every time the sounds of clashing weapons tore through the air, Woojun stomped his feet nervously.
It was an S-rank battle—he couldn’t step in, nor could he break it up.
Even though he was a respected A-rank and a raid captain, S-rank fights were on another level.
He could barely follow their movements with his eyes. Many of their strikes weren’t even visible.
Since when did Han Saebyeok get that good with a spear? Does she have some kind of Spear Mastery passive?
Considering her title was Spear Magus, it wasn’t impossible.
Hunters below C-rank often had passive skills that automatically taught them specific spear techniques.
Otherwise, they had to train themselves to wield weapons.
Woojun himself had learned sword-and-shield techniques to better use his skills after awakening.
Even the president, despite being the Sword Emperor, had no sword mastery skills and thus trained every single day.
And now, Saebyeok was holding her own against someone who had practiced the sword for nearly a decade, achieving absolute mastery and combat power worthy of his title.
There was no other explanation except “skills.”
“Han Saebyeok, why are you doing this? Please…”
Woojun strapped on the shield he carried on his back, just in case.
But there was no way he could block the president’s attacks.
Knowing how terrifying the president’s skills were, Woojun was suffocated by dread.
If Saebyeok got hit even once by one of them…
The thought was horrifying.
And yet, there was nothing he could do. Woojun cursed his own helplessness.
Unlike him, trembling with worry, the other S-rank hunters didn’t look concerned at all.
They weren’t on guard at Saebyeok’s sudden attack, nor did they prepare to defend in case she struck at them.
Ipado looked like his blood was boiling with excitement at the fight, while Kim I-han watched with his arms folded, eyes gleaming with interest.
Hwang Taesan frowned as if slightly worried, but he didn’t seem intent on stepping in.
“<Heavenly Sword Descent>.”
At the president’s murmur, a massive sword aura appeared above Saebyeok’s head.
It tracked her automatically and came crashing down.
“<Glimmer>. <Sprout>.”
But at the flash of light bursting from her spear tip, Saebyeok rolled to the side. At the same time, vines sprouted from the ground, intercepting the sword strike.
The sword aura cut through the vines and vanished, leaving a perfectly smooth cross-section.
“You didn’t know that skill can only track if you’re keeping your eyes on the target, did you?”
Saebyeok stood up fluidly from her roll, grinning mischievously.
He wouldn’t learn that weakness until a year later.
Back then, it had also been through a duel with Saebyeok.
In her past life, after awakening and joining the association, Saebyeok had received help from the president in practicing spear techniques.
It wasn’t common for a high-ranked hunter to choose to join the association, so the president cherished her specially.
Though bound by fairness and cold impartiality, he often helped her with training directly.
But there was no way a beginner with a spear could defeat someone who had wielded a sword for over ten years.
So Saebyeok was always forced to think up tricks.
The first time she managed to block <Heavenly Sword Descent> after a year of failure was unforgettable, utterly exhilarating.
She had blinded him briefly with <Glimmer>, then tricked him with <Sprout> into thinking his sword aura had already hit its mark—a crafty tactic.
Defeating the president, who fought by the book, with such tricks had felt all the sweeter.
Of course, the present Saebyeok was different.
She had accumulated just as much battlefield experience as the president—no, more.
After the Fall, when nations ceased to exist, she had fought monsters twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year.
She had endured that hellish life for ten years.
Now, her spear techniques had long since surpassed the president’s swordsmanship.
That was why she could easily deflect <Heavenly Sword Descent> with her spear.
But she didn’t want to.
From the beginning, this sudden attack on the president wasn’t out of recklessness or malice.
It was for analysis.
Of course, the one doing the analyzing was not her, but the president.
Saebyeok knew he was a stickler for procedure—he would never issue her a hunter license without a proper reading from an official measuring device.
But she couldn’t afford to wait.
And she realized during the test: with her EX-rank Title, there probably wasn’t any device capable of measuring her at all.
So she swung her spear.
What better way for the Sword Emperor to grasp her true level than by crossing weapons?
A conversation of blades, so to speak.
Though mine’s a spear, not a sword.
That was why so many battle-type awakened got lost in the thrill of combat.
Clang! Clatter! Kaang!
The three S-rank hunters present stared, transfixed, at the metal clashing violently again and again—for much the same reason.
“<Breath of Frost>.”
The president suddenly widened the gap between them and delivered a clean vertical slash. A blast of icy vapor burst from his blade.
“Wah! Isn’t it cheating to use weapon skills? The gap is way too big! Mine’s only a B-rank, you know?!”
“Monsters won’t spare you such excuses.”
His cold reply was followed by a surge of freezing air from his S-rank weapon, <Absolute Zero>, overwhelming the atmosphere in the chamber.
“Ugh…”
“Impressive, as expected.”
“…”
“Wahaha! Now this is more like it!”
Woojun and the three S-ranks in the room were all affected.
But…
!! Alert !!
Abnormal status detected.
Negated by <Passive: Blessing of the Sky (S)>.
Saebyeok, however, was completely unaffected.
The president quickly realized his frost wasn’t touching her.
“Heh.”
Saebyeok grinned mischievously again, and he launched his next attack.
“<Frozen Barrier>.”
With a horizontal slash of <Absolute Zero>, a massive wall of ice appeared between them.
“<Ignite>.”
But flames whipped from Saebyeok’s spear like a lash and shattered it.
The broken wall instantly froze the surroundings, inflicting the <Extreme Cold> debuff.
But thanks to Blessing of the Sky, Saebyeok was immune. She charged straight through the icy blast.
“<Blow>.”
Wind carried her forward in a burst, closing the gap in an instant as she thrust her spear.
The president didn’t panic. He smoothly shifted back—
“<Droplet>.”
—only for countless water droplets to spray from her spear tip.
But the cold-choked chamber froze them instantly into ice shards, which then rained toward the president.
Cha-chang! Clang clang!
What was supposed to be a mere soaking skill had turned into hundreds of ice lances thanks to his own frost.
He had been harmed by his own environment.
Yet he showed no displeasure—on the contrary, the corner of his lips twitched faintly upward before falling again.
The ability to use the battlefield itself to one’s advantage.
That wasn’t something even endless experience could teach without innate sense.
And the girl before him was showing that ability.
No… at this level, calling it “potential” was an understatement.
“President, why aren’t you using that yet?”
Saebyeok raised her spear high, leaping with a sly grin.
As if waiting for him to unleash his trump card.
