The One Who Saved a World Before Will be Best at Saving Another

Fighting things like these without any technique and just relying on brute force wouldn't work. You had to move the tip of the spear smoothly, reduce the force received as much as possible, and deflect their attacks.

"The spear is really useful in this kind of fight."

It wasn't hard to deal with multiple enemies at once. Maintaining proper distance, a thrust could deal a critical blow to a specific target, and a swing could strike several at once.

The problem was space. On the narrow deck of a ship, the spear kept getting caught here and there.

"In that case..."

It seemed better to quickly take one down and switch weapons. I lit the Paradoxical Flame at the tip of my spear and focused on one of the charging corpses.

"I can see everything, idiot."

A corpse perched precariously on a mast that looked ready to collapse fired a soggy-looking matchlock rifle. The bullet bounced off the spear tip and embedded itself in another corpse’s head.

From the hole in the rotten corpse’s skull, a thick, dark green liquid oozed out. It was truly a sickening sight.

"I’m borrowing that."

Charging the corpse with a hole in its head, I gripped the spear short and pummeled it with the Paradoxical Flame. Its body collapsed in flames almost instantly.

In that gap, I snatched the cutlass from its hand. Holding the spear in one hand and the cutlass in the other, I swept across the ship’s deck.

"Whew."

I glanced at Han Sang-ah, who had crossed over to another ship, and saw that she was fighting pretty well.

"She learns fast."

Though clumsy, she was following the advice I gave her earlier on the ship. A short-term decisive battle. With a flash, her blade left the sheath and cut through a corpse’s neck.

I reached out with my hand wrapped in black flames and burned through the charging ghost’s head as I shouted,

"You're using too much power. Control it a little more!"

She needed to use just enough strength to overwhelm the opponent and take their head instantly. Unlike me, Han Sang-ah had to show maximum efficiency using limited mana.

I knew she was trying, but she was still wasting a fair amount.

"Got it- ah."

"Or rather, use more power now and take out several at once!"

Learning to reduce output could come later. For now, it was better to ramp it up and slash down multiple enemies in one go.

"Woah."

At that moment, I was honestly a bit impressed. Hearing my shout, Han Sang-ah seemed to choose the first advice over the second. A slash with carefully controlled strength split the waist of a ghost diving through the air.

She distributed her strength much more cleanly than before. I blocked the attacks of charging corpses and ghosts with my spear and sword, quietly impressed.

She was someone who made giving advice worthwhile.

"..."

Han Sang-ah’s eyes turned to me. And then...

"Well, look at you."

She was trying hard to copy me. More precisely, the way I blocked the corpses’ attacks.

After all, every attack followed a path, and on that path was a point where it reached maximum power.

If you read the trajectory first and blocked it before that point, you could deflect a powerful attack with minimal effort.

"Hey, don’t do anything reckless!"

I could tell she was ambitious. But that technique wasn’t something she could use effectively yet.

If your senses weren’t sharp enough and you forced it, you’d get seriously hurt.

At my words, Han Sang-ah pursed her lips, then obediently stopped mimicking me.

"Focus on what you’re already trying. Don’t attempt something else when you haven’t even mastered that."

After finishing off all the ghosts and corpses on one ship, I moved to another and repeated the process.

Deflect, dodge, block the moment they try to attack. While fighting, if I saw an opening, I quickly exploited it and turned the corpse into a corpse again.

"..."

After finishing off all the ships, Han Sang-ah looked displeased. While she dealt with one ship’s worth of corpses and ghosts, I had taken out three.

We cleared the last one together.

"Keep working hard."

At my words, Han Sang-ah clenched her fist.

"Thanks for the advice."

"No need for the thanks. There are plenty of people who can’t even make use of advice anyway.”

Han Sang-ah replied,

"At the academy, there weren’t many people who gave me advice. Is that normal?"

"What do you mean? The academy’s supposed to be where you learn."

If no one gave advice, what was the point of going? Han Sang-ah answered.

"They said I picked things up too fast and it made them frustrated."

I realized what she was implying and laughed in disbelief.

"You’re not thinking that if I keep giving you advice, you’ll become stronger than me someday, are you?"

"I learn very quickly."

Well, yeah. That’s usually what people call being naturally gifted.

"That’s cute."

It made me want to pat her head out of pity. For her to catch up to me, she’d probably have to be born again with her memories intact. Twice.

"That’s never going to happen, so don’t worry about it."

"Hearing that just made me feel terrible."

What can I say? It’s the truth. Even if Han Sang-ah sucked every last drop of knowledge from me, nothing would change. After finishing off the ghost ships, we returned to the boat.

"Will you be able to keep cooperating with us?"

At my question, the man piloting the ship swallowed hard.

"I’m not forcing you."

I could easily guess how scared these people were.

"We can do it. No, we have to."

With that determination, the ship moved forward again. Tsushima Island wasn’t far from now. The protective formation I had drawn was still active.

"I’ll contact you again once the job is done."

Even if another ghost ship attacked, as long as the protection held, we’d be able to escape and wait on Geoje Island.

"How long do you think it will take?"

As I unloaded the supplies we brought, I answered,

"To be honest, I don’t know."

I had a time limit too, so I planned to move quickly, but it was a grade 2 Erosion Zone. The size of it alone made it impossible to give a clear answer.

Still, I had prepared about a month’s worth of supplies, so I needed to finish within that timeframe. If not, these folks would have to deliver more to us again.

"Understood. Then we’ll wait."

The coast guard boarded their ship and departed again. Han Sang-ah and I faced the fog-covered island of Tsushima.

"I think we should start by setting up a base. If we use that protective diagram again..."

"We can secure a place to stay."

Unlike in Gyodong island, we didn’t plan to travel far this time.

"This is Hitakatsu Port, right?"

There was a small inn just a minute’s walk away. We decided to use it as our base, since it would be easy to move supplies there and there was a good chance the bedding and basics were still intact.

"Can’t you engrave that protective diagram onto a weapon?"

I shook my head. Even if I did, it wouldn’t mean anything. The diagram had to follow precise measurements. If the size deviated by even ten percent, the effect would be halved.

While Han Sang-ah carried supplies, I completed the protective diagram at the chosen base.

By the time she finished unloading, the drawing was done. I quietly examined the fog covering the island.

"I think they noticed."

I could hear movement beyond the fog. They were roaming nearby. I couldn’t be sure how many there were.

Some ghosts barely made a sound. Tsushima had become an island ruled by the dead and the spirits.

"The gas is cut off, the power’s out... but at least communication works."

Hunters’ smartphones used satellite connections in places like this.

I messaged the Association President to see if I could call, then dialed his number.

— Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.

"Sorry for the sudden call."

The reason I called wasn’t anything huge. My last meeting with him hadn’t ended on the best note.

"I’m in Tsushima now."

— I heard. There was a report that you took a mission to rescue captured fishermen.

If even the Association President had received that report, it meant people were paying attention to me.

In that case, my movements were probably being reported to Yoon Sung-hyun too.

"That’s the official story."

So instead of saying I was going to eliminate the grade 2 Erosion Zone, I made it seem like I was going to rescue fishermen.

— Official? What do you mean by that?

"I’m going to take out Tsushima’s grade 2 Erosion Zone."

A laugh came from the other end.

— You’re overestimating your abilities.

From his perspective, it was a ridiculous claim. I was only on my second hunt, and I was already talking about defeating a grade 2 Erosion Zone.

"I’m telling you in advance because if I succeed, there’ll be a lot you can do."

I didn’t hesitate to say what I wanted. And this was important.

"Do you really think Japan is effectively governing Tsushima right now?"

More specifically, could the island I was standing on still be considered Japanese territory? That was what I was asking.

— ...

Of course not. Electricity and gas were out, all civilians had evacuated, and the island was uninhabited. No one came and no one lived there. Japan had abandoned it.

The reason was the grade 2 Erosion Zone that had settled here.

"I heard Japan is barely managing to defend its own mainland."

Five grade 2 Zones, two grade 1 Zones, and countless grade 3 and unranked ones.

They had to rely on Korean companies to send Hunters just to hold the line, so they had no room left to care about a corner island like Tsushima.

— So, are you saying Korea should annex it?

"Even just pretending to do so will stir up all sorts of reactions from Japan."

But those reactions couldn’t take the form of threats or coercion. Japan had abandoned Tsushima of its own accord. It wasn’t due to outside pressure.

Besides, South Korea is undoubtedly the strongest powerhouse currently.

"If I succeed in eliminating Tsushima’s grade 2 Erosion Zone, on what grounds could Japan claim it again?"

It’s not that they couldn’t try, but Korea would have a lot to say too. If Korea pushed hard enough, Tsushima might even start being called Daemado.

— From Korea’s point of view, having the island or not makes no difference.

"Then we could use it as leverage to get something else."

And the Association President likely had connections with people who could prepare and act on that.

— And what if it fails?

"What would you lose from it?"

It was true I didn’t like getting involved in politics. But strictly speaking, this wasn’t political involvement. I was just doing my job, and the Association President might get a little benefit from it.

You only start doing politics when you put your face in front of things. And besides...

— What do you want in return?

"I want nothing. Korea and Japan have a very strange relationship."

Japan wasn’t even making noise about Dokdo anymore. They knew poking at Korea would cost them everything.

However, every Korean remembered the years of disputes and provocations over that island.

If I could use that built-up national sentiment to my advantage, then why wouldn’t I?