Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 51

Due to her inability to move, Yeon-woo merely shifted her gaze towards the direction where Dang Sa-ryeon and her group stood.

Like a beautiful yet deadly venomous snake, Dang Sa-ryeon approached seductively, accompanied by a red-faced Nokpungdae member walking protectively beside her. She had been bothering Yeon-woo since earlier; just who was that Nokpungdae member? Were they perhaps an escort for poison extraction? Their distinct personality certainly stood out from a typical Nokpungdae.

However, this situation was quite troublesome. Yeon-woo couldn’t move, and no matter how much of a dragon Shar was, she couldn’t claim a good match-up against a poison master. It might be better to offer the internal organ of Heukdong Ogong than to keep it hidden that Shar was a dragon.

Still, she questioned if rumors about them, Yuri, and Kim Hyun-soo had spread to another academy within just a day.

“What a nice show we have here. Can you move?”

“…No, I can’t move at all.”

“Haha, with that much overkill, it’s only natural. So, shall I help you a bit?”

Yeon-woo thought to herself. Dang Sa-ryeon, watching Yeon-woo collapse silently, giggled softly as she drew out a glimmering silver needle from her thigh holster.

Seeing the needle, Shar shouted in panic.

“What are you trying to do to my dad??”

“…Dad?”

Time seemed to freeze as Dang Sa-ryeon halted and scanned Yeon-woo and Shar in sequence, comparing them. It was an odd reaction, but Yeon-woo wasn’t exactly pleased, so she replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

“…Well, let’s just say I’d rather you didn’t pry into private family matters, okay?”

“Hmm, looks like you know me quite well?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know the lady of the Dang family…?”

Dang Sa-ryeon despised discussions about her family. She didn’t like it when someone brought it up, nor did she want to bring it up herself. She hated the very idea of such situations.

In that context, Yeon-woo’s warning that she too would rather not discuss it was more about quickly making her research on her own a bit of a method.

No matter what, Yeon-woo’s tone sounded like she was admitting that she had done some background check, and clearly, she was eagerly wanting to inform her that there were connections to Yuri and Kim Hyun-soo on this side.

“It seems you’re quite wary of us… but I don’t understand why. I’m not particularly trying to do anything bad, you know? In fact, I’m here to detoxify the paralysis poison, so being this wary is quite unhelpful.”

Dang Sa-ryeon sat crouched, tucking her hair behind her ear, and regarded Yeon-woo with a playful smile as if to say, “What are you going to do about it?”

‘She’s enjoying this.’

She couldn’t help but feel that she was a rather unpleasant person. The way she acted immediately after realizing Yeon-woo was wary of her made that quite clear.

Identifying the state of the poisons in the Dang family’s needles was incredibly difficult. The needle could have been dipped in poison, or they could have used poison techniques to imbue the needle with venom. Even if the needle was poisoned, it could also be used for healing purposes.

There were dozens of methods for delivering a single needle, so it wasn’t easy to distinguish those… but.

‘A faint green poison. Given that it’s carried in a visible area like the thigh, it seems intended to distract the opponent.’

If she chose to use a poison without the usual deadly characteristics and instead went with a lighter shade of poison, it was plausible to consider it non-lethal given Dang Sa-ryeon’s characteristics.

Of course, that was only something a synesthete who could see the colors of mana could discern, and Yeon-woo only deduced this because she knew a bit about the Dang family.

“Well then, please do help. Shall I offer something in return? Maybe the internal organ?”

“……Huh? Um, no, that’s fine…?”

Since she had been on guard with Dang Sa-ryeon up until then, the sudden response that came out was so quick and unexpected that it left her flustered.

A moment of silence lingered in the air. The Nokpungdae member suddenly turned around, while Choi Yeon-woo maintained an incredibly stoic face out of immense patience. Even so, her mouth was trembling slightly.

“……Ugh, ahem!”

Blushing, Dang Sa-ryeon coughed loudly. It was something of value that could be received. However, she didn’t intend to retract her words. Covering her rosy face with her wide sleeves, she plunged the needle right into Yeon-woo’s arm.

Thus, at Yeon-woo’s declaration that she didn’t need to block it, Shar reflexively flinched back while Yeon-woo lay there, comfortable in her position.

“Have you received treatment from a Dang before? I didn’t think you’d stay so still while I set the needle.”

“I’ve had a similar experience.”

Of course, she’d been treated before in her previous life, so it was natural not to be surprised. To fight against the betrayer of the Dang family who was attached to the Demon King, she needed the Dang family’s medical skills. Only they could neutralize their own poison.

Yeon-woo felt a wave washing over her, pushing away the numbness that had spread through her whole body, starting from where the needle had been inserted. First her right arm, then her shoulder… every time the needle was placed, her senses began to return more vividly.

“You’ll feel your senses returning, but please don’t move and just wait.”

“Yes.”

“For now, I’ll concentrate the poison in one area.”

The numb sensation, which had spread away like a wave, slowly gathered into one spot. It felt like her back was getting numb as if under local anesthesia. With the paralysis poison gathered together, Dang Sa-ryeon began to speak.

“The Dang family’s poison techniques are extremely toxic but can sometimes serve as medicine. Especially with these types of low-grade poisons. They try to escape when they don’t want to get eaten by a stronger poison.”

“Seems to be like a great hunt, huh.”

“Aren’t you scared that a deadly poison is inside you? Are you a student, really?”

“You wouldn’t act in a way that would tarnish the Dang family’s reputation, would you?”

“Do I look like I care about something like that, even when there are no witnesses around?”

“I think you’d care. At least until I’m fully healed.”

The gazes of Yeon-woo and Dang Sa-ryeon clashed in the air, sparking a silent confrontation. It was Dang Sa-ryeon who looked away first, letting out a sigh as if she were incredulous.

She found it annoying that Yeon-woo kept talking about her as if she knew everything about her.

The reason she found it hard to retort was that the confidence behind her statements hit the nail on the head. While gazing silently up at Dang Sa-ryeon, Yeon-woo smirked.

“You aren’t planning to do anything until I repay the favor of having given you the needle, are you?”

Dang Sa-ryeon couldn’t help but laugh at those words. Not only was Yeon-woo acting as if she knew her innermost thoughts, but it was evident that she truly understood her principles of action. While stabbing the long needle into the center of the gathered poison, Dang Sa-ryeon laughed heartily.

While it made her feel irritated and entirely lacking in manners, it didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.

“Pfft, haha, hehehe…. Ahaha, yes. The kindness of picking up the trash I discarded ends here, right? That should suffice.”

“I’m grateful, indeed. However, how about some poison from Heukdong Ogong instead?”

“No, I don’t need it. Having that kind of low-grade poison doesn’t do anything.”

With those words, Dang Sa-ryeon patted her behind and got up from her seat. Along with her movements, the long needle that had been lodged in her shoulder was pulled out, and from the hole, a dark, viscous liquid began gushing out like oil.

“If you wait about three minutes, you should be able to move without any issues. I too must go about my duties, so let’s meet next time at the Academy’s competition, Unknown Rising Star.”

With a beaming smile that seemed strangely happy, Dang Sa-ryeon slipped away alongside the Nokpungdae member.

“…Aren’t we supposed to ask for names?”

“Yeah….”

Wasn’t it a unique emotional experience just for the martial world? A kind of romantic notion that you come across an unknown hero somewhere and hope to meet on a grand stage.

‘Ah, I get it.’

If you think of it as a martial arts version of hoping for a prince on a white horse or a beautiful woman falling from the sky, it makes sense.

Even Dang Sa-ryeon, who had been known as the “Poison Blood Maiden,” and carried the hard face from her past life, was still just a pure young girl dreaming back then.

“…I feel a bit sorry about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t fully trust the information from my previous life, especially regarding people’s personalities.”

Except for Baek In-hwa, whose temperament was widely known due to her death, it was unimaginable that Darius Blackraven, who had always been brutally proud, didn’t skip school in his childhood due to being embarrassed.

“I wonder how the other famous ones are doing. I’m starting to worry.”

“Probably doesn’t matter, right? After all, the strongest among them will be my dad.”

“…Is that so?”

After a moment of difficulty in speaking, Yeon-woo decided to change her thoughts. Of course, the hunters who would lead the next generation were strong. Some might touch the heavens, while others wouldn’t, but the question of whether they were the strongest in the world before her reincarnation was not necessarily true.

In that perspective, she had no reason to hesitate in claiming that she’d become the strongest among a similar age group.

She would grow stronger. She would save Baek In-hwa and, if possible, drive out the betrayer of the Dang family. Using all the knowledge she had, she would prevent any unfavorable situations for humans and swiftly rescue Nea from there.

Suddenly, Yeon-woo, who had been lying still, sprang up. She slapped her cheeks twice as hard as to leave red marks and murmured to herself.

“This is no time to be laid out. Let’s quickly gather our organs and move on to the next step.”

“Are you sure you’re okay after using so much mana on the Aura Blade?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. There’s hardly a chance of a fight happening there anyway. Sorry, but could you do me a favor and fight a little on the way?”

“No, I’m not. I feel bad for being no help against Heukdong Ogong….”

With a bit of a stammer, Shar’s head was gently patted by Yeon-woo, who walked over to the split body of Heukdong Ogong.

Worrying that she might have wounded the inner organ due to cutting closer to the center than she intended, she felt relieved to find the inner organ safe, just a hair’s breadth away from the cut near the chin. Yeon-woo wrapped it with the skin of the gorge lizardman before putting it back in her bag.

“I’m really happy, but why does it always feel like I have to practice more?”

Aura Blade, she felt joyful… but also contemplative. As she hugged Shar tightly, she headed back down the river following the gorge.

*

Before heading to where Dongja Sam could be found, it was necessary to introduce the most unique location in this Dam Hammer Gorge.

“A unique place?”

“Yeah, it’s a spot where no monsters exist at all.”

“…Are you kidding? No way that can be true!”

“I’m serious. There’s a lake and a waterfall, and only fish live in the lake. That’s why hunters often take breaks around there.”

“How can that be possible? Is there some… some mysterious mana effect happening?”

“No, nothing like that.”

Yeon-woo shook her head and grinned.

“Except for the king of the Dam Hammer Gorge living at the bottom of that lake.”

“Ehh??”

Just how strong must that be for no monsters to live there at all? Shar’s expression conveyed her curiosity.

“But it’s true.”

(Continued in the next episode)