Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 15

Among the five training halls, Yeon-woo’s class was assigned to the third one. The interior structure of the training hall was reminiscent of a coliseum, making it easy to understand. The audience seats encircled the combat arena in the center.

While the grand auditorium, which bore the weight of the synthesis, supported various mechanics for naval battles or sieges, this place allowed students to observe one-on-one duels more closely.

The duels from first to third period were undeniably short, making it insufficient to get to know each student in detail. Of course, that was likely by design.

They may be talented, but let’s not forget they are still just 15-year-olds. If the fights dragged on too long, one kid’s head could end up snapping right off.

With three hours of short-breathed duels, the classes proceeded at a very relaxed and careful pace. Perhaps not just because of the brief nature of the duels, but also because they were under the supervision of Yoo Ha-yeon.

In any case, it meant there was enough time given to be prepared to face an opponent. Well, with training weapons that weren’t real blades, it’s likely that no one here was unprepared.

Inside the training hall, shimmering with green mana, Namgung Seong was pressuring a male student armed with a spear.

Swinging a powerful sword at that speed, which made each strike jolt the wrist, felt like cheating for a student level. Although he was on the defensive, the fact that he was managing to hold his ground meant that the spear wielder was quite skilled as well.

Other notable mentions included Je Gal Seong-ryong, who was positioning himself from a distance, swinging his beautifully crafted white spear while solely executing the technique of “Striking Air,” carefully pressuring his opponent as if playing chess, and Baek In-hwa, who quickly scattered her mana to cover the entire training hall with ice spikes, forcing her opponent to surrender immediately. These three were undeniably impressive.

Particularly, Baek In-hwa’s moves were dazzling. One could hardly count how few could display mana’s attributes so vividly at this level.

In this class of five, there were probably about five students capable of refining their mana types or, in other words, manifesting their aura or skillfully handling its attributes.

The three mentioned earlier would definitely be among those five. I was just trying to barely manage my mana. The difference between us was stark.

Of course, there were many other capable students. Darius Black Raven was one of them.

Contrary to the impression his surname gives, he wielded a red mana and demonstrated that the illustrious name of the Black Raven family was not just for show. With daggers held reverse in both hands, his strikes were a blend of transformation and illusion. His character might have been a bit shady, but his skills were genuine.

Fortunately, the one paired with Yeon-woo was not Darius. The difference in levels was too significant.

As for Yeon-woo, to be honest, he was more focused on utilizing his area than the duel itself. After all, there was something beyond the simple meaning of establishing distance.

In his past life, Yeon-woo had taken nearly two years to enlighten himself about the range of a spear, after discarding his sword. One could indeed reach mastery without mana. Think about it—he might have quite a knack for the spear.

If someone were to ask what use there was in talking about the weapon’s range, perhaps the terminology needed altering.

The “distance” referred to here meant the “aura field,” a process to transform into an aura user on the Alkeion continent and simultaneously a testament to being a top-notch martial artist.

How about on Earth? For hunters, such matters were irrelevant. Their judgment parameters solely focused on results. They were a clan where delicacy was scarce.

Had he become an aura user, he who had no knowledge of even the letter “m” in mana? That really was a testament to human triumph.

Yeon-woo’s opponent was a girl named Im Yu-bin. With her black hair tied back, she wielded a shield alongside a short, ordinary dagger, roughly a third shorter than regular swords. It seemed casual and uncomplicated, but Yeon-woo questioned if there was even a reason for her to use such a short weapon.

Yet, reflecting on it, outside of Yeon-woo, everyone else seemed to have connections. They must all have some kind of motive.

Nevertheless, in front of the unfolding monster march, she looked a bit intimidated. Given her usual demeanor, her timid nature suggested she might struggle to achieve greatness as a hunter.

“Let’s do our best.”

“Uh, yeah. Let’s do our best…!”

With a determined nod, Im Yu-bin held up her small round shield and took her stance. Yeon-woo assumed a light neutral position. There was no way a professor from the academy could miss the mana swirling around, so Yeon-woo decided to postpone the full deployment of his area until the match began.

“Then, ready… Start!”

With a rather lackluster start signal, Im Yu-bin dashed forward, as if to hide behind her round shield. Yeon-woo, about to disperse his mana to form his area, stopped and stared straight at the charging Im Yu-bin.

[Dad, should I step in here?]

‘No, if not now, when would I practice? If you need help, I’ll call for you then.’

Yeon-woo disregarded Shar’s intervention. Ultimately, it was crucial to know clearly when and how to use abilities in practical situations.

And a duel was the most suitable situation to practice those skills, so even though he said that, he probably wouldn’t need to ask Shar for assistance.

Before him stood a round shield and behind it, a quick, stabbing short sword. Rather unique strategy that was quite uncommon to see.

Given her small stature, her nimbleness was considerable. It seemed she intended to rely on dodging while using her shield to reduce impacts as she targeted the monsters.

Even though she wielded a training wooden sword, the wear evident on her round shield hinted at a lot of usage.

As Yeon-woo stepped back, he successfully avoided a flurry of rapid stabs.

Thanks to the difference in their strides, if Im Yu-bin had been ten centimeters taller, retreating alone wouldn’t have been enough to dodge her advances. Contrary to her appearance, Im Yu-bin had quite solid physical capabilities.

Perhaps aggravated, Im Yu-bin also bit her lip and shifted up a gear.

One breath, she pulled back her left shoulder holding the shield, pushing the dagger forward. Yeon-woo deflected the center thrust with his sword held in a neutral position.

Using that recoil, he twisted his body. Branding his sword wrapped in mana, he swung it, but the thrust from her shield blocked it.

[Clang!!]

She seemed well-versed in handling both her short sword and shield. Otherwise, how would one wield such weapons? But her lightness came at a cost—her striking distance was definitively limited. It struck him as a style requiring a lot of thought.

“Wow.”

From what he observed and from feeling the impact just a moment ago, she weighed around 52 kg, and was about 152 cm tall. He thought he could push her back, but she barely budged more than half his expectations. She must have been good at dispersing the force with her shield.

“Phew…!”

As she was pushed back, Im Yu-bin exhaled heavily and firmly planted herself back in the training hall. The prelude to her charge.

Seizing the moment, Yeon-woo dispersed nearly half his mana into the air. The sudden action caught Yoo Ha-yeon’s attention; she glanced at Yeon-woo, but he remained unbothered.

In an instant, overwhelming information flooded into his brain from within the area.

The pain exceeded expectations, and Yeon-woo frowned. It seemed the last time Shar filtered the information for him. Still, he had to get used to it…!

The magic of an area, when directed at a target, caused a rapid rise in mana consumption. Yeon-woo didn’t have enough mana to manage that.

Thus, he opted to stabilize himself to the ground. Meaning, he had to remain in place and absorb Im Yu-bin’s attacks to become accustomed to the range.

It was unfavorable, but on the contrary, he thought it was a suitable handicap to neutralize the advantage of ten years of overwhelming practical experience, and he took a deep breath.

Im Yu-bin sensed something was off but soon shook her head to dispel her hesitation.

Seeing her, Yeon-woo clicked his tongue.

Her mental fortitude was firmer than he had anticipated. Her timid personality wasn’t a penalty at all!

──[Whoosh!!]

With a sound that shattered the air, Im Yu-bin dashed forward once more.

Unlike her first charge which lacked mana, this time she was evidently channeling it. She reached zero to one hundred in just about a second. It was remarkable. She looked almost like she was disappearing.

“Not to say, but you’ve got a boar-like fighting style.”

“Thanks for the compliment…!!”

She’s cheerful too. He had half a mind to provoke her a little, but she would probably be quite formidable. How could someone like her not make a name for herself in ten years? As he pondered, the situation wasn’t favorable, and he turned his gaze to follow her trajectory as she charged in.

Catching his breath, Yeon-woo drew his sword down with roughly half of his usual effort.

It wasn’t a full-strength swing. He thought she would be fine even if she got hit by that, unlike Namgung Seong.

‘To deflect a charge by swinging down? Awkward thinking…?’

Im Yu-bin raised her shield upward to deflect the blow. However, an unease ran down her spine.

There was nothing she could do to ignore her instincts; at a crucial moment, she slammed the shield into the ground, pivoting her body to dodge.

The wooden sword grazed past her very nose.

Whoosh!

The sound of it slicing through the air reached her ears a moment later, sounding far away.

Without a moment to spare, Im Yu-bin, using her reflexes, spun around, channeling the momentum for a kick aimed at the side of Yeon-woo.

The area reflexively moved Yeon-woo’s body. The recoil from his downward slash was too great to block. He was first sent off in the direction he was being kicked.

‘W-What was that!!’

At that moment, the startled Im Yu-bin witnessed Yeon-woo grimace and flex his fingers.

‘That was a close one. I nearly lost my life there.’

He thought it was inappropriate to practice such magic in a duel. From the moment the opponent’s body entered the area, it responded reflexively.

The downward slash, concentrated to its utmost intensity, evoked a naturally optimal condition.

Had he not hastily shifted his aim, things could have ended disastrously.

[It’s fortunate that monsters don’t use such precision.]

‘If they did, the world would have perished.’

He genuinely thought so.

To compare it to a game, that was like having buffs affecting accuracy, critical hits, and counterattacks; was that even logical?

If monsters that outclassed him physically started using such tactics, he’d be done as a hunter!! No, he wouldn’t even begin!!

“That’s enough. Im Yu-bin, well done. Your quick thinking was outstanding. Yeon-woo, you… No, never mind. We’ll discuss that later. Next two, step forward.”

And so the match between Im Yu-bin and Yeon-woo ended. Yeon-woo, gasping from the residual effect of his downward cut, and Im Yu-bin, slightly dusty yet otherwise unscathed, were remarkably contrasted.

“Are you okay…?”

“Uh… yeah. Just a bit… out of shape, phew.”

“Ah…”

As Yeon-woo lolled on the nearest seat in the training hall, catching his breath, Im Yu-bin crouched next to him, whispering nervously. Thankfully, the headache had started to ease, but his body felt like it had been wrecked.

“Could we maybe have a rematch later…?”

“Yeah, sure…”

For now, let’s just take a break.

*

The academy’s freshmen are broadly categorized into three groups.

Hunter Department, Magic Department, and Support Department.

Starting with the Hunter Department, there are 200, 300, and 500 spots. In total, about 1,000 students are admitted to the academy each year.

From the sound of it, one might assume there’d be strict barriers between the departments, but during course registration, that’s not particularly the case.

As long as one registers for classes through the academy app, anyone can attend any course they’d like, regardless of department. That is, of course, as long as they are capable of achieving adequate grades in their home department.

The final grades are calculated based on mandatory core courses and any chosen lectures. This assesses how well students understand their abilities and how far they can go.

‘Damn, Shar!! The courses in the Magic Department keep catching my eye!?’

[Well, why not just take them…? But with me around, do you really need to…?]

‘Understanding Magical Engineering in the Support Department and practical work on magic stone processing in the Magic Department… If I handle these two at once, wouldn’t I be invincible?’

[Dad, that’s too greedy!!]

But for Yeon-woo, who had to gain experience and knowledge by rolling around and breaking stuff, registering for classes was like finding treasure.

Taking some time to think is nice, but of course, there are limits to class sizes, and there could be as many as 999 rival candidates in the courses he was targeting.

Thinking about that made decision-making difficult, so he was brainstorming with Shar to figure it out.

They decided that Yeon-woo would choose classes from the Hunter and Support Departments, while Shar would select ones from the Magic Department before finally making progress.

The classes he registered for were “Great Monster Combat Practice” in the Hunter Department, “Composition and Control of Mana Hearts,” “First Steps in Dealing with Magic,” in the Magic Department, and “Fundamentals of Magical Tool Crafting” in the Support Department, totaling four subjects.

Including the foundational course in the Hunter Department, it seemed likely he’d have space for one more, but he decided to leave that open.

Yeon-woo lifted his head. Ahead of him was a door adorned with intricate designs. The sign had “Department Head’s Office” etched beautifully on it.

He left room for an extra class because of the “Swordmaster” Yuri. No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason to refuse his offer.

No way could he turn down the offer of that man known as the Swordmaster when he claimed to teach swordsmanship, even if he knew the place might be hell.

From this moment, there were only about two months left until the time when Baek In-hwa would die in his previous life.

If he couldn’t clear a C-rank gate alone or alongside Baek In-hwa with Shar’s backing in that timeframe, there would be no conversation to be had.

Don’t hesitate to save whoever you can.

That was one of the major tasks set forth by the Hunter Guild for hunters.

(Continued in the next episode)