Hunter Academy’s Battle God

It was F Class’s victory.

The main characters of the test, Sumire and Shin YuSung, returned to the rest stop. Their classmates began to cheer for them loud enough for the roof to blow off.

“It’s YuSung!”

“Our hero!”

“We won! We really won against D Class!”

“…Is this really happening?”

“Of course it is. Our class has Shin YuSung! I knew we’d win!”

The students were causing an uproar, chanting Shin YuSung’s name. It was the first time that the constant losses experienced by F Class had come to an end, as they had secured their first win. It was no surprise that they were feeling exuberant about it.

Shin YuSung smiled pleasantly as he watched his classmates gather around him.

“It’s all due to you guys believing in me and carrying out the plan.”

No matter how high his combat capabilities were, it was impossible for Shin YuSung to win in the intramurals by himself. The rules were set in stone: to win, teamwork was crucial.

Shin YuSung had become the previously nonexistent central figure of F Class, effectively uniting the class as one as his classmates put their beliefs in him—that was how they managed to become victorious in the intramurals.

“And…Sumire was the one who performed the special mission and rescued the hostage all by herself.”

Shin YuSung brought up Sumire’s name while he was talking calmly. Shocked, Sumire tried to foist all of the praise back onto him.

“Eh, what!? E-even still, it’s all due to…Shin YuSung-ssi’s plan, and if you hadn’t given me the artifact beforehand…”

She was physically showing her resistance by waving her arms around. Shin YuSung grinned.

“No, you played a crucial role during this intramural test. You did well, Sumire.”

Sumire’s face grew redder and redder as Shin YuSung complimented her. It was the praise from Shin YuSung that she had been longing for all this time.

‘Shin YuSung-ssi complimented me…’

She tried her best to keep her grin under control, but even so, the corners of her mouth began to curve up.

‘…Me!’

She had managed to repay a person’s trust in her by meeting their expectations instead of disappointing them. She was on cloud nine. Subconsciously, Sumire began to stare at Shin YuSung.

He was laughing, placed right in the center of the throng of F Class students. A kind of greed began to slowly grow in Sumire’s heart.

‘…If possible, I want to… keep fighting at the side of Shin YuSung-ssi.’

It wasn’t because Shin YuSung was strong. All she wanted to do was repay the boy who had believed and supported a girl who had been smack dab in last place.

‘…I want to be of assistance to him.’

Of course, to do so, Sumire had to become strong. In order to be chosen by Shin YuSung, to help him, Sumire had to keep growing.

‘I will become stronger.’

Sumire clenched both of her fists to show her resolve. Sumire was slowly changing due to Shin YuSung. Her steps were slow but steady, and she was putting in the effort. It was an incredibly positive development for her.

* * * *

The theme park, after the tests had ended…

The students were allowed to use the facilities for free with permission from the Shinsung group. The amusement park was now open solely to students of Gaon Academy. The cries of schoolchildren rang in the air.

“Whoa! I bet there are more part-timers here than customers!”

“Hey, hey! The House of Horrors! I wanna go!”

“Remarkable. This is the first time in my life that I’ve seen an amusement park without a single line in it.”

The students were doing as they pleased, taking a break at the facility. While they were doing so, Lin Xiao, who had decided to make his way towards the restaurants, managed to bump into So HaeJung.

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

Their eyes instinctively met.

Lin Xiao squinted his eyes harder, in disbelief of what he was looking at. The usually strict So HaeJung wore a mascot headband and held a half-eaten churro in her hand.

“Looks like you’re having fun.”

“I’m the sort of person who takes her breaks as seriously as her work.”

Their conversation was rather stilted.

Lin Xiao figured he should show some common courtesy, as they had met in front of a restaurant.

“Have you had lunch yet?”

“Nope.”

“How about we eat together?”

“…What’s on the menu?” So HaeJung asked, smoothly adjusting her glasses. 

“China Moon*,” Lin Xiao replied curtly.

“Good. You pass.”

* * * *

Jin ByungCheol, still at Gaon Academy, gave a small, proud smile as he heard the news of F Class’s victory.

“So F Class won! It’s a given, considering YuSung is there! Hah hah!”

Jin ByungCheol himself had made an important contribution to the exam by using his power as the headmaster to allow the use of artifacts. He had played a huge role in Shin YuSung and Sumire’s exploits during the test, and thus F Class’s victory.

“All that’s left are the Representative Selections…”

He fell into his blissful musings.

Considering Shin YuSung and Adela’s skills, it was practically a given that the representative for the International Competition would be a student from Gaon.

‘…The real problem is figuring out which one it will be out of those two.’

Jin ByungCheol fiddled with his beard, deep in thought. The representative in the International Competition was, more or less, representing the entire nation.

‘Adela and Shin YuSung…’

First of all, Adela had an incredible amount of prominence outside of the school due to the various activities she had performed and the television appearances she had been in.

‘They even created a fan club for her when she isn’t a full-fledged hunter yet! That says it all…’

However, there was one aspect of Adela that marred her perfect record.

‘No matter how strong she is, the thought of someone from Italy representing Korea is a little…’

This was not an opinion that solely Jin ByungCheol held. There were only a few cases in the past where someone represented a country that they were not native to.

‘On the other hand, YuSung is… perfectly fine in that regard.’

He kept pondering the situation.

But only for a little while longer. It was in his best interests to set aside his thoughts concerning Adela and properly get his things in order, considering that he had already made his moves to support Shin YuSung.

“Then… It looks like I’ve decided on who to send.”

Jin ByungCheol reached towards his Pocket.

Shine!

[Extracurriculars Request Form]

[Contents: Busan, Metro City patrol]

[Participant(s): —]

A hologram appeared with the information in the request form. Becoming a city guard was one of the quickest ways one could gain the support of its citizens.

It was a fantastic opportunity for Shin YuSung, who was going to try and become the representative for the International Competition.

‘I was initially going to write Adela and YuSung here, but…’

Jin ByungCheol used his finger to slowly write out the names in the participant section of the hologram form.

[Shin YuSung. Kim EunAh.]

It was a little odd for Adela, who was 1st place in the rankings, to be excluded, but Kim EunAh and Shin YuSung were 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. So it wasn’t too odd.

“Good, that’s one weight off my back.”

The headmaster, Jin ByungCheol.

The Association president, Kang YuChan.

The strongest in Korea, the Fist King.

Shin YuSung had started out as an orphan but had somehow ended up receiving the kind of support that put him above many other people.

* * *

* * *

This was the first time that Shin YuSung had ever experienced a waterpark.

In the past, he had been hit with water by the waterfall at the Martial Spirits’ Mountain, but that was where the similarities ended. He ended up thinking deeply about the situation after nearly two hours of continuous playing.

‘…This place is… Too much.’

In contrast to the joyous times he had been experiencing earlier, Shin YuSung had a serious expression on his face.

‘Fun…’

To someone who had continuously trained most of his life while trapped on a mountain, the relaxation he was experiencing at a theme park was completely outside of his comfort zone.

‘But…’

In two hours, he could perform ten thousand punches. Shin YuSung ended up feeling unnecessary guilt over the break that he had a long time coming.

‘I haven’t even touched the Battle God Style’s 4th form…is it okay for me to spend my time like this?’

The life that he had lived up to this point was much too different compared to his peers. While regular students were sleeping in their homes, Shin YuSung had been stealing a quick nap inside a cave or on top of a tree.

While others students were eating meals that were cooked for them, Shin YuSung personally caught and cooked animals for himself to eat.

And now…

The sort of break that others were used to experiencing in their daily lives was completely foreign to Shin YuSung.

Sumire approached him carefully as if reading his turbulent thoughts.

“U-um… Sh-Shin YuSung-ssi?”

“Sumire?”

Shin YuSung turned his head towards her. Sumire fumbled with her lips, ears reddened. It seemed like she still needed more courage on her end.

“I-if it’s alright with you, do you…want to e-eat…”

Sumire was stuttering her words more than usual. Her face was also redder than usual, and she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Right then, the relief pitchers appeared.

“YuSung! Let’s eat together!”

“Team Leader-nim! I’m here! Fuhaha! Us A Class got curb stomped, you know!”

—F Class’s Lee SiWoo and A Class’s Amy.

Lee SiWoo was waving his arm in greeting, and the newly-joined Amy was holding a large water gun in her hands. It seemed like she had been playing in the water before.

“Lunch? Sounds good. I was just getting hungry.”

Shin YuSung smiled and sat at the table. Lee SiWoo took the spot next to him.

“I knew you’d say that, so I brought a bunch of food! I bet even you’d be surprised when you see the amount of food I fit in my Pocket!”

Lee SiWoo took out the food from his Pocket and placed it on the table. There were a great variety of dishes, all ones that he had never even seen before on Martial Spirits’ Mountain. 

Shin YuSung, thinking deeply of the whole thing, gave a small smile as he looked at everything spread out on the table.

‘A break isn’t that bad… every once in a while.’

At that, Sumire managed to gather her courage and took out her homemade lunch from her Pocket.

“Shin YuSung-ssi! T-try my food!”

Sumire had made the lunch herself at the theme park’s lodgings. Even at a glance, you could see the amount of care she had put into it.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

As Shin YuSUng lifted his chopsticks, Sumire’s eyes widened, brightening up her usually dull pupils.

Amy was looking at Sumire’s delighted expression with displeasure.

“…Hm.”

Unlike her timid personality, Sumire had decided to wear a rather daring black bikini. Amy’s eyes narrowed further and further as she inspected the other girl’s body.

“…Hmmmm.”

Snk snk.

Suddenly, she began pumping air into her water gun.

“Hiyah!”

Spuuuurt!

Amy pulled the trigger on her water gun. The stream of water hit Sumire’s chest in a bullseye.

“Hieek! Wh-why!?”

In shock, Sumire started tearing up and ran away, but Amy doggedly chased after her, screaming slang terms everywhere as she did so.

“Don’t run~ fight back!”

The respite that visited Gaon Academy after a long period of trials felt more peaceful than usual.

*There’s a restaurant named China Moon in Everland, the real-life equivalent to this theme park.