Hunter Academy's Battle God

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The biomonitor showed her heartbeats. Liú Jùn looked at Liú Míng, who was sleeping.

Her skin was pale, and her face was expressionless.

After going through an operation that lasted for 11 hours, Liú Míng looked calm. Liú Jùn had given up counting how many times she'd gone through operations, it made him tremble whenever he tried.

'For what am I…'

Why was he trying so hard?

He'd sworn he'd help heal her, and although many years had passed, Liú Míng's state remained the same. 

She still had to receive mana healing and take remedies that were harsh, even for adults. Not only that, but she'd spent all that time locked in a hospital room without being able to meet any friends.

[Oppa!]

Even though her life was like hell, she still acted as if she were okay to lessen his worry. Because of that,  Liú Jùn visited her when she was asleep.

He didn't dare see Liú Míng smiling despite the fact she was going through a hellish life.

'Liú Míng…'

He tried to force himself to smile while looking at her. Although he looked awkward, his expression was warm.

'Even with such a small body… You're stronger than me.'

Even if he had to risk his life, Liú Jùn wanted to save her from that life. 

When he thought of her, he felt like something was pressuring him; at that moment, he heard the sounds of familiar steps.

Tap, tap.

He felt the pressure emanating from each of her steps. The Sword God suited men on either side of her.

"Congratulations. From what I heard, the operation was successful." The Sword God smiled and narrowed her eyes. 

To Liú Jùn, the Sword God's beautiful smile looked like a snake’s. It was a smile his master made only when she was satisfied.

"It's good news, but don't forget about this debt. Since I've saved your little sister, you must show me the peak of my swordsmanship."

The peak of swordsmanship was something the Sword God wasn't able to reach due to the way the Tower had changed her body.

Was it a curse or a blessing? The iron-like hands of the Sword God turned soft like velvet, and her trunk-like legs had thinned.

To her, swordsmanship was everything. She'd sacrificed 90% of her life for it, but her modified body made it so that, no matter how much she tried, she would never be able to reach the peak.

She was still China's strongest hunter, but she'd lost her goal.

Then she’d found Liú Jùn.

"My life was focused on completing the Sword of the Ruler. If you want to protect what's important to you, you must be ready."

He was just a person who could fulfill her desires. No matter how, the Sword God had to keep Liú Jùn tied to her.

"If… you aren't able to meet my expectations…" The Sword God smiled coldly. She didn't say anything more. Liú Míng was just a great tool to her.

'He's prideful enough to not care, even if he has a sword to his throat…'

Despite that, he quickly lowered his when it was about his little sister, Liú Míng.

"I'll remember it, Master…"

The Sword God smiled at Liú Jùn. 

He might have been a tool for her, but that was also the case for Liú Jùn.

He bowed before the Sword God because he needed her strength and authority—they didn't have a relationship worthy of being called a master-disciple bond.

As the Sword God raised her pipe to her mouth, white smoke emerged that didn’t match the way she looked inside at all.

"Master… You're saying things you don't really think."

The Sword God pointed to Liú Míng with her pipe. "As expected, that kid… Looks like you."

After saying that, the Sword God left.

At that moment, Liú Míng received a message from someone he didn't know.

Ting!

[imCheat!: That person called the Sword God… she's really good at acting!]

Liú Jùn looked around. Nobody else was there, but a CCTV camera was recording him.

[imCheat!: Don't make such a suspicious expression. Although I'm a villain, I think this is too much~ That's why I'm trying to tell you something.]

The person writing the message talked as if she were looking at the whole situation. It seemed like Liú Jùn's suspicion that the other person had hacked the camera was true.

[imCheat!: This is an ID that I hacked, so you know it's useless to try to track me, right?]

[imCheat!: We're trying to help you, to tell you the truth that they've hidden from you. To think that you've just been used. You poor guy. (｡•́︿•̀｡)]

The message treated Liú Jùn as if he were dumb, but he couldn't think of it as a prank. After all, they were cursing the Sword God and had hacked into the hospital's camera.

'…'

He was being used?

That was nonsense.

Liú Jùn had gone under the Sword God because he needed her. As the Association President, the Sword God had the strength to help Liú Míng.

[imCheat!: It seems like you still don't believe me, but I'm sure your opinion will change once you hear this.]

Ting!

Liú Jùn looked at the video the other person sent him.

- This is just a temporary solution. The backflowing mana is applying huge pressure on her heart, so a solution is fundamentally…

Liú Jùn's poker face didn't last long.

- How long can she endure?

The voice was familiar to him—it was the voice of the person he’d just talked with, after all, so there was no way he wouldn't be able to recognize it.

- Two years at most.

- Even after increasing the remedies?

- She's at her limit. Circulating her mana will only burden her heart more. The other way will increase the burden on her body. Enduring for more than two years is…

Liú Jùn clenched his fists.

"Two years…?"

If his little sister had only two years to live, that meant she would be gone from the world before he could graduate from the Academy.

Even if it was Liú Jùn, there's no way news like that wouldn't shake him.

 - Is that so…? Then don’t tell this to Liú Jùn.

The Sword God had tried to hide it from Liú Jùn, but he ended up hearing it anyway.

To make things worse, he'd heard it from someone he didn't know. He opened his mouth while trying to remain calm.

"Who are you…?"

The other person was looking at him through the camera. As Liú Jùn opened his mouth toward it, he got another message.

[imCheat!: Is that important?]

[imCheat!: We can save your little sister in less than two years.]

[imCheat!: Isn't that enough?]

Liú Jùn couldn't say anything. He just looked at the sleeping face of Liú Míng.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - SCM

Proofreader - ilafy

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* * *

Late at night.

She smelled the wet odor of dirt that came out on rainy days. EunAh didn't like her body getting wet, but she liked the refreshing feeling on rainy days.

Maybe that’s why, instead of sleeping, she fell into thought while listening to the rain.

'I wonder what he's doing…'

It'd only been a few days since they'd seen each other, but EunAh felt that it'd been a while. 

She hadn’t been able to believe it when she heard he’d be catching a dragon, but now, rather than being surprised, EunAh was getting used to YuSung's doings.

The only disappointing thing was that YuSung wasn't climbing the Tower with her.

Hunting monsters together, eating delicious things together, sleeping in a tent together…

Although it was an adventure that put her life on the line, the times she'd spent in the Tower were more fun than she'd thought.

'If YuSung were here… It would've probably been more fun.'

EunAh was thinking so much about him that she didn't find thinking about him all the time weird anymore.

In a sense, it was a bit disgraceful.

Unlike her, YuSung's head seemed full of other thoughts.

He was different from her. Because of her background, she hadn't put much effort into anything, but he always did his best at everything he did. In a sense, she found that dumb.

'There are so many entertaining things in the world, yet…'

EunAh thought that she would bother him more when he returned. She should take him to the shopping places she liked, go see the movie she wanted to, and take him to delicious restaurants.

No matter what they did, it would probably be YuSung's first time.

If it were someone else, she would've found it bothersome, but if it was YuSung, she thought it would probably be fun.

'Now that I think about it… He's probably only lived in the dormitories…'

What about taking him to her residence? If EunAh returned, her parents, oppa, and other familiar faces would probably be there as well, so the atmosphere would likely be noisy.

EunAh was thinking about YuSung without being able to sleep when she found something strange.

Her thoughts were that she'd like to spend a day having a date with YuSung before taking him home and making him meet her family. 

'But… I've also spent time with Sumire… It isn't strange to spend time with a party member, right?'

She would take YuSung home because her family wanted to meet him. As she thought about it that way, her face began to calm down.

'Now that I think about it, it sounds obvious. I'm sure oppa has a lot he wants to say to YuSung…'

YuSung had saved JunHyuk's life. 

EunAh quickly excused herself.

At that moment, she heard Amy talking in her sleep.

‘Wait, if that’s the case, then why haven’t I taken the other party members to my house?’

She wasn't sure about other people, but shouldn't she have taken Sumire at least?

"Then Sumire too…"

EunAh looked at Sumire, who was fast asleep, when…

Hug!

"Laplace… You're the best…"

Sumire, still asleep, hugged EunAh.

"Ugh!"

The pressure made it hard for her to breathe.

"Good. Good…"

Sumire stroked her hair, and she felt something warm and soft around her head.

'I should think about that next time…'

EunAh, who had been caught up in her thoughts, was finally able to fall asleep thanks to the pressure from Sumire’s hug.