Hunter Academy's Battle God

In an old-fashioned treehouse placed within a beautiful outdoor garden with a flowing stream, Sakura spoke in a serious voice.

"What brings you here?"

Unlike her usual self, she wore a ponytail. She was also wearing orange sunglasses and informal clothes. 

Lee SiWoo took a sip of black tea and casually asked,  "Please, become my sparring partner. It’ll last until I’m satisfied."

Sakura's eyes narrowed, and she ended up sighing. "You're going to keep the promise, right…?"

"Yes. You've also done a good job. If the dojo reopens, it will be recognized as a training place for City Guards again."

That was why Lee SiWoo had gone to see his father again. The family wanted him to use guns again and, after graduating from the Academy, for him to become his father's successor.

'Well, I have no intention of going under my father again.'

Lee SiWoo smiled at Sakura and calmly said, "So, what's your answer?"

Sakura had no reason to refuse Lee SiWoo's proposal, but she couldn't help but feel it was a bit unpleasant.

"But… why are you planning to help our dojo?" Sakura asked as she gave him a suspicious look.

"It just didn't feel good to leave things as they were. The archery taught in your dojo is indeed great, and I felt that my father forced something he shouldn’t have."

Sakura’s wariness eased when she heard his explanation. "Hmm… Then why do you want me as a sparring partner?"

SiWoo looked her in the eyes as he replied to her question. "There's no particular reason. It's just that you're the best shooter I know."

Sakura smirked, and it seemed like she enjoyed that answer.

"We’ll do it until the second round starts," she firmly said.

Lee SiWoo extended his hand.

"That'll be enough."

What Lee SiWoo needed was time to recover his shooting senses. He needed to wipe away the rust and regain his former skill.

* * * *

Two days had passed since he began absorbing the Thousand-Year-Old Jade.

It wasn’t enough time to get much stronger, but Shin YuSung felt a huge change within his body.

'This strength…'

Large amounts of mana moved deep within his body.

If the mana Shin YuSung already had was like a calm lake, the mana of the Thousand-Year-Old Jade was like a stormy sea.

'It's a massive amount of mana, but it's also dangerous…'

The strength was different from the strength of his normal mana.

'If I can control this strength, then I'll definitely…'

Shin YuSung clenched his fists. It was already impressive that he'd absorbed the strength of the Thousand-Year-Old Jade, but he was also trying to freely use that strength.

"YuSung, can I really go all out?" Kim EunAh asked him.

YuSung looked at Kim EunAh. She was laying on a tree, giving him a worried look.

She knew that YuSung was strong, but as a party member, she couldn't help but be worried.

Kim EunAh fiddled with her Pocket.

"Should I put the barrier up just in case?"

"No. It's better without the barrier." Shin YuSung shook his head. 

He needed to increase his senses, so having something like a barrier up was bothersome to him.

"Hmm… Okay…"

She was asked to attack a partner with all her might, but despite not liking it, it was Shin YuSung who asked, so she couldn't help but accept.

"Recharge."

Paf! BZZT!!

A blue light surged around her, and the electricity had no sense of speed to it.

EunAh’s only weakness appeared when she was preparing to attack. One could react to the attack just before she fully committed to it. If one missed that opportunity, the electricity would fry them.

'To think he'd try to go against such an attack head-on…'

EunAh focused mana onto her right hand. She was going to use a new skill she'd obtained after absorbing the Thunder Dragon's Orb.

"Orca!"

BZZT! BZZT-!

It was an image that was easy for her to envision.

As Kim EunAh shouted, an orca made of lightning came down from the sky. The orca stopped on the palm of her right hand.

Swoosh!

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Daniel Shin

Proofreader - ilafy

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* * *

She absorbed the orca’s figure, and an intense light shone from her hand.

BZZT-!!

It was so bright that it was even blinding.

It took a lot of preparation, but the destructive power of Kim EunAh's skill was on an entirely different level.

The land around them roiled, and EunAh gathered the mana onto her right index finger.

All she had to do was unleash it.

"Pierce-!"

Kim EunAh pointed her index finger toward Shin YuSung.

WHOOM-!!

It was as if all the world's light had gathered in a single point, and the lightning shot from her finger like a laser.

Pang-!

The recoil of the attack was so strong that Kim EunAh was pushed back. That was why Shin YuSung had chosen her as a sparring partner to develop the 5th form.

The electricity covered Shin YuSung's field of view.

'In terms of speed, it is faster than Telekinesis.'

Before the electricity pierced him, Shin YuSung concentrated harder.

'I can feel it. The mana gathered in a point, and there…!’

Shin YuSung felt a stronger wind pressure than when he was practicing the Battle God Style’s 5th Form. He sensed the mana surging from EunAh more clearly than he could before.

What Shin YuSung wanted to cause was a 'Mana Resonance' that normally only happened by coincidence.

It was hard to experience even once over the course of a lifetime, but YuSung was trying to take advantage of his Trait and senses to control it.

'Stomach! Center!'

Shin YuSung extended his hand as he figured out where the attack would land.

'It doesn't matter if the amount used is low. The problem is using a wave of the same wavelength…'

To use the technique in real life, you needed to read the mana wavelength of the opponent's skill quickly. Even if you could succeed in activating a 'Mana Resonance', if you were too slow, you wouldn't be able to use it.

Paf!

The mana that spread from Shin YuSung's hands transformed and resonated with EunAh’s at the same wavelength. 

'This is enough mana to deflect it…'

Thanks to the strength of the Thousand-Year-Old Jade, YuSung's [Heightened Focus] was more intense than ever.

It looked as if time had stopped, and he clearly saw the form of the blue mana.

Battle God Style 5th Form Wave Resonance

Shin YuSung's shockwave collided with Kim EunAh's.

Pang-!

It wasn't that YuSung made Kim EunAh's attack disappear, but he changed its trajectory.

BZZT!!

In the end, EunAh's attack was deflected into the ground, and the heat of her mana melted the rock.

"So s-suddenly! My electricity hit the floor?!"

Kim EunAh couldn't help but be surprised. Not only that, but she only saw that Shin YuSung had slightly moved his hand.

"You blocked my electricity with a simple hand gesture? How did you do that?!"

YuSung was also surprised.

'It worked…'

It had worked flawlessly.

All of his senses had become a step sharper through [Heightened Focus].

'So this is the strength of the Thousand-Year-Old Jade…'

Shin YuSung's [Heightened Focus] couldn't be called an F-rank Trait anymore. Also, thanks to the strong body he'd obtained through training, he could use the entirety of its strength.

With a naturally-born strong body constitution, the strongest teacher, and a Trait that had been optimized for him, Student Shin YuSung was already stronger than a rank 5 hunter. After some real-life experience, there was a chance he might even be stronger than a rank 6 hunter.

'I've absorbed so much of the Thousand-Year-Old Jade’s strength that I'm sure I'll be able to clear the 10th floor of the Tower…'

As Shin YuSung smiled while thinking about Kang YuChan's quest, Kim EunAh ran toward him.

"Hey! YuSung! How did you do that? Have you already reached a state where you can block an attack with a simple hand gesture?"

Such a thing required superhuman senses.

Although he'd created and used an entirely new technique, Shin YuSung spoke as if it were nothing.

"I just created a shockwave of the same wavelength to deflect the attack."

“A shockwave? What's that… Ah, don't tell me… Are you talking about Mana Resonance?"

"Yes."

Kim EunAh couldn't help but be surprised at Shin YuSung's calm answer.

"You freely triggered a Mana Resonance?"

"No. I cannot do it freely yet because I need to focus to do it. I need more training."

Kim EunAh was starting to feel a headache at Shin YuSung's answer.

"You sensed the wavelength of the skill and created a Mana Resonance? That's just a scam."

Kim EunAh had seen rank 7 hunters before, but Shin YuSung's Wave Resonance was something no other hunter had done.

'Just…'

Kim EunAh looked at Shin YuSung in surprise. She already knew it, but her party leader truly was someone who went beyond logic.

'How strong is he?'