Long ago, ordinary hunters were among the heroes.
This is a legend that happened during the war thirty years ago.
At that time, a group of unusual hunters emerged. They dared to hunt those strange monsters.
These hunters are loners, the first heroes to fight alone on a war-torn battlefield.
In dangerous places that are difficult for the army to reach, whether they are deep in the dungeon, traveling through ruins of famous cities, or in corners forgotten by the world, they stepped forward and saved countless lives.
People hailed them as "heroes".
"That's all old news."
Li Junxi smiled bitterly, his eyes falling on the sword master and VIP seats beside him.
He found it a little funny.
Although he had no interest in swordsmanship, just because he was an S-class hunter, he was placed in a distinguished position.
"This is supposed to be a feast of swordsmanship, but why should people with superpowers be the focus?"
He murmured softly, then looked up at Li Yuxuan who was sitting on the Chen family's seat.
Once upon a time, ordinary hunters were revered as heroes for their bravery, fighting against huge monsters with only the power of swords and guns.
However, with the emergence of superpowers, everything changed.
These superpowers can subdue monsters at a lower cost, with higher efficiency, and in a more perfect way, and are far better than ordinary hunters in all aspects.
Class F?
For people with superpowers, such hierarchies are irrelevant.
People with superpowers are rated from the E level, which means that the F level is only a distinction between ordinary hunters.
With the advent of peace, the military has regained its strength, companies have resumed work and production, and superpowers have emerged and become ideal business tools.
Not only do they efficiently hunt monsters and collect "magic crystals", their outstanding abilities also amaze the world.
However, the number of superpowers was rare, and most of them at that time were still F-class hunters who still needed time to grow up.
In this context, the first "Hunter Association" came into being and began to recruit many ordinary hunters.
Their mission is one: to compile a comprehensive hunting guide using hunters' practical experience.
As expected, it was those hunters who lacked superpowers who contributed the most profound insights and played a key role in the development of the hunting industry.
However, their use is just that.
Li Junxi still remembers that when he first gained superpowers and became a D-class hunter, an F-class hunter who was nine years older than him once said to him:
"...They chose you to explore that D-class copy, not me."
"What? Didn't you say it was your turn?"
This confused him.
Guilds should distribute dungeon tasks fairly.
"Indeed. However, the Guild believes that the way you carry out your mission is more efficient."
"ah……"
At that moment, Li Junxi had only completed three hunts, while his predecessor was a veteran hunter with nine years.
The reason is that ordinary hunters consume too much money in each mission.
Compared with superpowers who only need a piece of magic equipment to complete the task, they appear to be inefficient.
From that day on, the senior hunter who mentored Li Junxi chose to quit the industry.
From then on, Li Junxi had to face the fact that the senior F-class hunters who once protected him gradually disappeared.
He began to feel an indescribable change.
"Even if they don't have super powers, but..."
"Junxi, I decided to quit this time."
One by one, his idols, the ordinary hunters, left the industry.
Guilds and corporations offer almost no jobs to ordinary hunters, and in a world that has achieved peace, finding hunting work independently is extremely difficult.
These hunters, who once made a difference in life and death for mankind, did not receive a single word of praise after retiring.
They were gradually forgotten by the world.
All this slowly became commonplace.
Every morning, news comes that F-class hunters have failed, and society implies that there is nothing they can do.
The F-class hunter who might have been humanity's savior during the war now seems to be useless in this peaceful era.
When Lee Jun-seok was finally promoted to S-Class Hunter, he began to use his influence to fight for change in the Hunter Association.
That's when it dawned on him.
"...Are they assigned these tasks on purpose?"
The mission success rate of F-class hunters dropped sharply because they were deliberately given "impossible missions."
In other words, they were sent to dungeons that statistically showed them to be extremely difficult to beat.
Moreover, when F-class hunters achieve significant achievements, the media reports on them are quite limited, as if their achievements are not worth mentioning.
This practice is not unique to a single company, but is practiced by hunter associations in many countries.
Li Junxi once raised this issue with the president of the Hunter Association.
The president’s words still echoed in his mind: “They are useless now anyway.”
"What?"
"That's why they will be eliminated. This era belongs to super hunters, not ordinary hunters."
The president even compared F-class hunters to "money-sucking ants".
With the establishment of the Psychic Academy, the need for ordinary hunters has dwindled.
"It's just the natural flow of life."
Looking at the indifferent association president, Li Junxi smiled helplessly.
There was a question in his mind: Who stepped forward at the critical moment and saved mankind? Who sacrificed himself so that he and other superpowers could survive? Who is all this effort for?
At that time, Li Junxi did not have the courage to say these words, and many years had passed.
Nowadays, people all over the world realize this: F-class hunters are no longer needed.
How many years have you been a veteran of the war?
The experience is certainly admirable.
But in this day and age, it’s just an amazing experience… nothing more.
Today, ordinary hunters are rarely seen as special, and even when they are, they are ignored.
Ultimately, there were very few active F-Class hunters left, and to be sure, there had been no active F-Class hunters for over 10 years.
Li Yuxuan is a unique existence.
He has personally experienced the political turmoil of the Pegasus Guild, and is someone who has returned from the Gate of Hell.
"We should bring him to our guild."
Pegasus Guild, Silver Wing Alliance and other guilds are afraid of the association's influence and are therefore unwilling to accept an F-class hunter, even if he has 15 years of combat experience.
However, when Li Junxi looked into Li Yuxuan's eyes today, he felt an unusual temperament.
"This person is indeed not simple."
"There's no way he doesn't know how he's being treated, unless he's a fool."
Despite this, Li Yuxuan still sticks to the hunter industry, and it seems that his eyes are always aimed at a certain target.
"...Are you interested in forming a guild? Do you want to get involved in politics? Or do you plan to get involved in business?"
Li Junxi is convinced that no matter what Li Yuxuan's plan is, he will be destined to achieve a great career.
At the same time, he is also thinking about how to work together with Li Yuxuan.
With a loud "pop!", the competition began. Many sword masters competed with real swords, but Li Junxi's eyes were always fixed on Li Yuxuan.
The traditional swordsmanship of the Chen family has long been the representative of "power type".
They have the superpower to strengthen their bodies, which is particularly effective when using magic swords to deal with monsters in battle.
However, how can someone who has never held a sword wield it correctly just by holding it?
Therefore, centuries-old swordsmanship families began to teach swordsmanship to superpowers, which is how the swordsmanship debate originally originated.
Still, the original purpose of the debate is no longer so clear today.
People with super powers no longer need to rely on ordinary people for guidance.
They prefer to learn from senior superpowers who have many years of swordsmanship experience.
Therefore, although the sword masters work harder to teach their skills,...
"This is nonsense."
Fencing debate has become a "social event".
One by one, superpowers replaced the swordsman family and became the new "sword masters."
They talked to each other and laughed at each other. They were no longer interested in the swordsmanship of ordinary people and felt that it was unnecessary.
Song Jialin secretly observed sideways.
Li Yuxuan.
She wondered what was going on in his mind as he watched the ordinary masters sparring.
For some reason, Song Jialin started to feel sick, so she got up from her seat.
"Where are you going?"
"The game is over."
"Chen Xuewei's game is about to begin."
"Oh, I'll be back before the game. I'm going to have a smoke."
She didn't want to smoke in front of Li Yuxuan, so she made an excuse and left.
The game ended up being a friendly competition between master swordsmen, showcasing their respective apprentices.
This is an expected result.
However, this has nothing to do with Li Yuxuan, and Song Jialin doesn't care either.
During the break time, people came and went in the corridor, which was quite lively.
Like Song Jialin, some were smoking while others went to the bathroom or socialized in the hallways.
There is also a person named Ye Lun.
Ye Lun is an S-class superpower who considers himself a member of the Master Swordsman Association and has a strong self-esteem.
Although he comes from a noble family, he is very good at swordsmanship and performance in the hunting industry.
It's just that he has a contemptuous attitude towards the weak.
He was talking to the participating swordsmen, but unlike his smiling face, they looked quite uncomfortable.
"Of course. As a master, this level of success is nothing."
A superpower among ordinary people.
Yellen may be basking in her own sense of superiority.
Song Jialin, a person who knows Ye Lun well, can confirm that this is indeed the case.
Obviously, this is the reason why ordinary master swordsmen show uncomfortable expressions.
"Ah, crap."
Song Jialin turned around hurriedly, but it was already too late.
"Oh, Song Jialin!"
Ye Lun's voice sounded behind her.
"...Ah, what the hell."
Song Jialin, who thought that today could not be worse, glared at Ye Lun angrily.
Unlike the expressions of the master swordsmen, there was no expression on her face.
"Say what you have to say and then get out."
"Haha, why are you so upset? I heard you came here, but I was too busy to look for you. Have you had lunch? How about we eat together later?"
Yellen asked, seemingly interested.
Song Jialin frowned in confusion.
"Me? And you? Why?"
"There is a restaurant near here, and I know the chef very well..."
"Hello."
She took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and sighed.
"I'm too fucking tired right now to do this. So shut up and get out."
"……Really?"
Ye Lun stared at Song Jialin and asked stiffly.
"Li Yuxuan. He's here too this time, right? As the swordsmanship coach of the Chen family."
"What?"
"Right? It's Li Yuxuan, right?"
Song Jialin stopped the cigarette in her hand and looked at Ye Lun coldly.
However, he seemed not to notice her indifference and continued.
"You know you've been acting strange lately?"
Yellen is now a 12-year veteran.
When he was still a recruit, Song Jialin had been a hunter for three years.
Even though it was only three years, Song Jialin was bolder, braver, determined, and more leadership than anyone else at that time.
Yellen knows her harsh words and actions are just to rally her team.
Maybe he became interested in Song Jialin from then on.
Therefore, he approaches her again and again because it doesn't matter to him whether she is in love or not, as long as she is not truly in love with someone else.
However.
"Aren't you tired of meeting Li Yuxuan?"
Song Jialin has never changed back to her former self, and she no longer looks at other people.
From his debut 12 years ago, no, 15 years ago, Song Jialin said that she only wanted to follow Li Yuxuan.
He couldn't understand.
There are many talented and outstanding people, why choose Li Yuxuan who has no superpowers?
Song Jialin smiled and asked a question.
"Hey."
"tell me."
"Then let me ask you, who is better than Li Yuxuan?"
"What?"
Ye Lun was confused by Song Jialin's question. He tried to answer, but...
"Superpowers? Wealth? I don't need any of that. You know why? Because I already have it all."
"Song Jialin."
"I don't need everything. It doesn't matter whether he is an F-class or S-class superpower. Just because Li Yuxuan is an F-class hunter, is his value as a human being F-class?"
Quite the opposite.
"S level...don't you only have S level?"
"…"
Song Jialin was almost speechless.
"You. I used to find you annoying. Now I've changed my mind."
She's always foul-mouthed.
However, when she is really angry, she doesn't curse at all, but smiles.
A very lively and refreshing smile.
"You're absolutely disgusting."
Song Jialin said with a sweet smile on her face, and then she walked away.
Ye Lun clenched his fists and stood there for a long time, lost in thought.
"...Li Yuxuan."
After all, this is an era where ability means everything, so he can't understand why Song Jialin is obsessed with Li Yuxuan.
A person whose "absolute value" is far less than his own.
"On the contrary, it would be great if I could completely defeat Li Yuxuan."
He returned to the stadium with a stiff expression.
When he tried to sit quietly in the Suzuki family's seat, he felt a strange atmosphere.
[Chen Xuewei VS Suzuki Hanako]
"Oh, it's already started?"
Thinking that she might be late after talking to Song Jialin, Ye Lun looked down at the stadium.
At first, he wasn't interested in the fight.
He personally taught Suzuki Hanako swordsmanship, but Chen Xuewei's level was already low and she was no match for the former.
So most people thought it was like a waterfall flowing backwards, and everyone had predicted the outcome.
Such a reason.
Oddly enough, the stadium went silent for some reason.
"…Um?"
Everything is peaceful.
Only the two women's voices and the clang of swords filled the stadium.
Yellen continued to watch with trembling eyes.
Suzuki Hanako.
She is losing to Chen Xuewei.
Class C is losing to Class D.
"is it possible?"
The difference between Class D and Class C is like the difference between a bicycle and a car.
Even if the car is driving slowly, it will never lose.
Or, like a battle between kids and adults?
No, it's more like a battle between mouse and cat.
But now the mouse bites the cat and the bicycle crushes the car.
Something incredible happened.
Is it because Chen Xuewei suddenly awakened to C level?
No.
Everyone here can see that she is still only D-level.
Well, there is only one reason to explain why Chen Xuewei was able to overwhelm Hanako Suzuki.
"Chen Xuewei's swordsmanship overwhelms Suzuki Hanako's swordsmanship."
This more than makes up for the difference in their physical abilities.
However, last time, Chen Xuewei did not overwhelm Hanako Suzuki's swordsmanship, but was basically equal.
So what's the explanation for her sudden growth this year?
Some people who thought about this looked at the "master" sitting in the Chen family section.
There, sitting an F-class hunter without superpowers.
