Chapter 48

Chapter 48

“Oh... You’re confident. I look forward to sparring with you.”

Elisabeth grinned.

Among the new hunters who joined the Icarus clan, some lacked confidence. After all, this clan was filled with aces of other clans. Hence, there were only two possible endings for them: get recognition for the skills they'd show or be terribly broken and forced to run away in embarrassment!

“How do we spar? Do we just fight each other for real?”

“What are you saying? Of course, we do it within the Otherworld spell.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why don’t you tell me more about martial arts? I’m really curious. How did you learn martial arts?”

“Hmm... I’ve returned after thirty years of wandering in the Abyss.”

“... You can’t be serious.”

“Why would I joke about this?”

“You’re an Abyss returnee? So that is why you learned martial arts...”

“......”

Don’t be convinced so easily!

“I’m curious. I thought it was difficult to use martial arts in real life, but is it really possible?”

“Are you interested?”

“I am. I tend to learn anything I can use.”

Elisabeth took a stance and threw a fierce punch that tore through the air.

“Boxing?”

“I’ve learned everything I’d need in a fight, including boxing, jiujitsu, wrestling, and Muay Thai, since people like me find monsters getting close uncomfortable.”

It didn’t make sense for a melee hunter to be uncomfortable with close-quarters combat, but it wasn’t wrong. Her attacks were slow and heavy. Hence, she’d be in deep trouble if a small and swift monster could get close to her and dig into her defenses.

“It must be effective against people as well as monsters.”

“Uh. Don’t you know me?”

“?”

“I’m the powerful 19th placer in the UHC B-grade League. ”

‘Should a 19th placer really be called powerful?’ Choi Yeonseung thought. In truth, that rank was already great.

There were hunters who didn’t participate in the UHC, so a simple comparison couldn’t be done. Still...

She was known as the country’s 19th-strongest B-grade hunter! Elisabeth Gutierrez was popular due to her hot fighting style. The gaps in her style were big, but she showed an intense game. Not only was she ranked 19th in the UHC, she was also one of the ten most popular hunters!

“Alright, why don’t we give it a try?”

“What?”

“A sparring match. I want to see for myself what’s so good about martial arts. Follow me.”

Elisabeth grabbed Choi Yeonseung’s hand and went outside. The Otherworld was in a different training ground.

***

When they got to the training ground, someone was already in it. The hunter, who had been excitedly unleashing magic, stepped out of the Otherworld. His eyes widened.

“Hmm? I’ve never seen him before.”

“He’s new. A martial artist. Amazing, right?”

Antony smiled at Choi Yeonseung. “Welcome. I’m Antony. I’m sure you’ve heard of me!”

“...???”

What was with this crazy guy?

“I haven’t.”

“W-What?”

Startled, Antony’s eyes filled up with surprise.

“You don’t? I cleared the Akarasha’s Settlement dungeon, set a new record for the number of Night Gate subjugations, and I’m the quickest hunter to reach B-grade...”

“Hey. He’s an Abyss returnee. Whatever you say will just confuse him more.”

Elisabeth’s words made Antony stop.

From the Abyss? If so, then it was understandable why this person didn’t know him!

“Aha. It can’t be helped, then. I’ll introduce myself, so listen carefully.”

“No, you don’t have to...”

Their clash caused a loud noise.

‘An upward strike?’

Rather than from the top, her attack began from the ground. The reason soon became apparent.

-Earth Magic Absorption and Earth Magic Explosion!

Those spells absorbed and caused magic power to explode! With a loud boom, the greatsword violently surged up from the ground. This attack seemed capable of cutting him in two.

‘One, two, three.’

However, Choi Yeonseung, who had dealt with all sorts of attacks in the Abyss, wasn’t surprised. It was fast, but it was predictable since its trajectory never changed. For as long as one had quick reaction speed and remained calm, it could be countered.

‘Now.’

Choi Yeonseung’s Origin of the Celestial Kick hit the side of the flying greatsword. Due to the Covert Attack Reversal skill, the weapon then rose straight up. Elisabeth spun around, but instead of stopping, she tried to continue her offensive. The power within the greatsword didn’t disappear that easily! However, she had shown too many openings. Choi Yeonseung couldn’t just let this pass.

‘Magicians have too many gaps between their spells, even in melee combat.’

It likely wouldn’t matter that much if they were up against stupid monsters, but no martial artist would let go of food as mouthwatering as this. That was why magicians went through various combat training and prepared for melee battles. Nevertheless...

That wasn’t enough to stop a martial artist. By the time Elisabeth tried to make an ‘oops’ sound, Choi Yeonseung had already dug into her defenses. He was so close to her that she could no longer use her long weapon properly!

Elisabeth gritted her teeth, let go of the greatsword, and grabbed Choi Yeonseung to fight back.

“Gasp!” She was prepared to get hit in the torso, but she didn’t expect this much power! Elisabeth protected herself with magic, but the hit still made her buckle. Her opponent didn’t even do anything that powerful. He just threw a light jab...

“What I did was hit your insides with pure strength. It's different from being hit by magically enhanced muscles.”

“Ah... I’m not done yet...”

Elisabeth grabbed Choi Yeonseung by the neck and tried to kick him.

“You have amazing willpower, but that alone isn't enough. I can just keep hitting your vital points.”

“Cough!”

He delivered one more blow. It was a light hit, but it contained the Internal Heavy Strike Technique’s essence of striking the opponent’s insides with internal energy. In addition, he aimed for the blood circulation, so the energy and blood in the body had to shake when hit.

“How is it? What do you think of martial arts?” Choi Yeonseung asked with anticipation. He’d gladly teach her martial arts if she became interested in it. And once they had become closer, he would take that opportunity to attract her into his household!

‘... This somehow feels like an MLM (multi-level marketing).’

It was for the planet’s sake, so why did he feel so guilty?

“One... One...”

“One?”

“One more time...!”

“Alright, then...”

They sparred again. The result was the same. Elisabeth had the worst compatibility with Choi Yeonseung in the first place. It was easy to mistake their combat style as similar since they were both melee-oriented, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Elisabeth was like a cannon that dealt big blows. It was too easy for Choi Yeonseung to aim for her openings.

“Kuaaack!”

“Is it okay now?”

“One... One...”

“... Again?”

“One more time...!”

“... Okay.”

She fought unarmed this time, seemingly aware that she couldn’t deliver any skills with her greatsword. She planned to narrow the distance and deliver a low kick. If she found an opening, she’d strike at it!

... Of course, that worked even less on Choi Yeonseung. The difference in their experiences was too big. After all, he had been fighting for over 10,000 years!

Choi Yeonseung broke through the speed of sound, caught the flying low kick, spun once, and knocked Elisabeth off balance. He then used Origin of the Celestial Step and struck down at her.

“... O-One more time...!”

“Are you going to keep fighting until you win?”

“... H-How did you know?” Did you use mind-reading magic?”

“... Not really. In any case, Gutierrez. You're a great fighter.”

“What do you mean?”

“I like this type of persistence.”

He liked training that followed the idea of doing it as many times as possible!

Elisabeth flinched when she saw Choi Yeonseung’s burning eyes.

'... S-Should I stop?' she thought.