NOVPUBThe enemy was two.
At those words, Maeng Hyo-don felt a chill spreading throughout his body.
He could sense the presence of the enemy only through the voice. He had no other indication of their whereabouts.
The mere fact that there were two enemies with such an indistinct presence made him uneasy.
It wouldn't have been strange for him to fall into panic, but the combat experience he had built up over time, as well as Ham Geun-hyeong’s presence, helped keep him grounded.
‘Teacher is right next to me, it’ll be fine.’
Maeng Hyo-don prepared himself for battle, trying to assess the situation regarding the enemies.
Since they spoke, they probably weren’t the enemies themselves.
He had heard there were enemies who could speak, but the owner of this voice seemed like a Beast Tribe member.
And they were clearly strong enough to dodge Ham Geun-hyeong’s arrows.
Maeng Hyo-don’s thoughts didn’t continue for long.
‘It’s coming from over there!’
Without even thinking about what was coming, Maeng Hyo-don immediately launched himself into action.
Maeng Hyo-don had been suffering from symptoms of addiction due to overusing recovery items, and Tak Geosan had been ambushing him whenever possible.
This was because Tak Geosan was worried that Maeng Hyo-don, if not practicing his evasions, might get hurt in real combat.
Tak Geosan usually attacked moderately, but occasionally, he would launch a full-force ambush.
He always controlled his strength to the point where his strikes would feel like nothing more than a flick on the forehead.
But every time Maeng Hyo-don faced one of Tak Geosan’s genuine strikes, he couldn’t help but feel like he might actually die.
The sensation he felt then was the same one he was experiencing now.
‘If I don’t dodge this, it won’t be just a flick on the forehead!’
Although this was a surprise attack from someone much stronger than Maeng Hyo-don, the training he had undergone paid off.
He instantly responded to the sudden shift in energy, launching himself out of the way.
Whoooosh!
As Maeng Hyo-don leaped, Ham Geun-hyeong fired an arrow.
Ham Geun-hyeong had confirmed Maeng Hyo-don’s reaction and seemed to have aimed to hit whatever was targeting him.
Arrows shot toward the spot where Maeng Hyo-don had been standing just moments ago.
Thud, thud.
However, Ham Geun-hyeong’s arrows fell to the ground uselessly.
One of the arrows, rolling on the ground, had a strand of long hair caught in it.
It seemed like the hair had stopped Ham Geun-hyeong’s arrows.
The owner of that hair revealed themselves.
Step, step.
The new figure, though closer to a human than an enemy, had an abnormal physique compared to ordinary humans.
They were abnormally large compared to a typical adult male, with body parts that seemed different from those of a normal human.
This Beast Tribe member was none other than Do-ul, one of the Four Horrors.
Maeng Hyo-don didn’t know his name because it was rarely spoken aloud, but he simply thought of him as the "long-haired Beast Tribe member."
“How dare you dodge.”
Do-ul spoke in a deep voice as he glared at Maeng Hyo-don.
The energy from his hair seemed to be surging with fury, indicating that he didn’t appreciate this situation.
Instead of panicking, Maeng Hyo-don was puzzled.
‘Of course, if I attack, dodging would be normal, so what’s he talking about?’
Seeing Maeng Hyo-don maintain a stoic expression despite facing a powerful Beast Tribe member, Ham Geun-hyeong felt relieved.
He was reassured that Maeng Hyo-don hadn’t lost his fighting spirit, but he still gave him a cautionary piece of advice.
“Maeng Hyo-don, don’t fight.”
Ham Geun-hyeong made a clear and objective judgment based on both Maeng Hyo-don’s abilities and the Beast Tribe member in front of them, instructing him not to engage.
Maeng Hyo-don agreed with his words.
He recognized that, even if he focused all his energy on defense and evasion, this opponent would be too much.
No, the word “too much” didn’t even cover it.
Fighting now would result in certain defeat.
“Are you the famous marksman representing humanity? Why don’t you stop aiming and actually shoot?”
“......”
Ham Geun-hyeong didn’t respond to Do-ul’s provocation, nor did he release his arrow.
Though Do-ul was right in front of them, Ham Geun-hyeong couldn’t easily attack.
Maeng Hyo-don understood why without needing to be told.
Ham Geun-hyeong had already said that there were two enemies.
If they started fighting and created an opening, the other hidden enemy would aim for either Ham Geun-hyeong or Maeng Hyo-don.
‘If I send the long-haired Beast Tribe member out to distract them, the other one will probably hide and wait for an opening to target either the teacher or me.’
Maeng Hyo-don felt a sense of urgency.
It felt as though the invisible enemy would attack him at any moment.
Maeng Hyo-don’s battle instincts were firing at full capacity.
To allow Ham Geun-hyeong to use his full strength to fight Do-ul, Maeng Hyo-don would have to hold off the other one, but that would be difficult.
‘Where the hell is the other one? I need to find them to either use Gwanglim or anything else...’
Though Maeng Hyo-don had successfully used Gwanglim and the Fighter's Power twice that day, he couldn’t use them now.
The Fighter's Power was a skill that increased his status and allowed him to bind enemies to the battlefield. However, to use it, he had to target the opponent.
It was impossible to bind an enemy he couldn’t see.
For Ham Geun-hyeong to fight Do-ul with his full strength, Maeng Hyo-don needed to find the other one.
“Hmph, still not going to shoot? Then I’ll make you shoot.”
Do-ul didn’t seem willing to prolong the standoff and launched an attack.
His hair shot out toward Ham Geun-hyeong and Maeng Hyo-don, moving like it had its own will.
The hair moved as if it were a living being, aiming for Ham Geun-hyeong.
Swoosh!
Ham Geun-hyeong, unwavering, released his arrow.
The arrow precisely sliced through the hair.
As the shining arrow pierced the hair, the energy flowing through it was cut off, and it lost its power.
By hitting the rapidly moving strands and severing the flow of energy, Do-ul widened his eyes slightly.
“Impressive, that’s the troublemaker. We had no choice but to intervene.”
Do-ul muttered briefly, his voice still full of arrogance, but it seemed he acknowledged Ham Geun-hyeong’s skills.
Do-ul grinned as he looked at the severed hair.
Though it appeared to be just long hair, it contained the immense power of a thousand-year-old Do-ul, and severing it wasn’t something just anyone could do.
“Cutting off my hair while holding off the other one? Even if you borrowed the power of a higher being, this is quite impressive.”
“......”
Ham Geun-hyeong didn’t respond to the compliment.
He kept his face expressionless and remained on high alert, watching the surroundings.
Do-ul didn’t seem to expect a reply and didn’t press the matter further.
Instead, he gathered more power.
Goooohhh...
Do-ul’s hair, imbued with energy, began to spread wide.
It seemed he was preparing for a stronger attack, acknowledging Ham Geun-hyeong’s skill.
‘No, if that long-haired Beast Tribe member gathers more power, it’ll be dangerous!’
Maeng Hyo-don sensed the danger and tried to act, but there was little he could do.
Since Ham Geun-hyeong was standing between him and Do-ul, it was impossible for Maeng Hyo-don to use the Fighter's Power to hold Do-ul in place.
He tried to think of a way to overcome the crisis with his current abilities, but felt hopeless.
That hopelessness reminded him of his days in the Fight Club.
‘Isn’t there more I can do with this Gwanglim...?’
Back then, Maeng Hyo-don didn’t fully understand what Gwanglim was, but he knew it was something akin to a miracle that a player could perform.
As a 17-year-old, Maeng Hyo-don had hoped that this power would help him get out of the dire situation he was in, but reality hadn’t been so kind.
The Fighter's Power helped him grow stronger, but it didn’t help him escape the Fight Club or fix his addicted father, who was lost in alcohol and gambling.
So, Maeng Hyo-don couldn’t bring himself to fully appreciate the Gwanglim.
After joining Eun-gwang High, his opinion had slightly changed, especially after using it twice today to help his teachers.
But now, it was of no use.
Boom!
Do-ul’s dozens of hair strands whipped around before rushing toward Ham Geun-hyeong.
The strands detached from Do-ul and moved as if they had a will of their own.
It was almost as if they were mimicking the motion of the arrow, taunting Ham Geun-hyeong.
In the movements of the hair, Maeng Hyo-don realized that Do-ul was so relaxed and full of power that he was almost treating the battle like a game.
Without thinking, Maeng Hyo-don’s body moved forward.
“Maeng Hyo-don, stay back!”
Ham Geun-hyeong, who had said nothing to the enemy’s taunts, warned Maeng Hyo-don.
Though Ham Geun-hyeong cared deeply for his student, he wasn’t an overprotective teacher.
When it was time to fight, he let Maeng Hyo-don fight and observed his skills.
The reason Ham Geun-hyeong told Maeng Hyo-don to stay back was that he didn’t think Maeng Hyo-don was ready yet.
Maeng Hyo-don understood this and stopped dead in his tracks.
Though he agreed to stay back as Ham Geun-hyeong instructed, he couldn’t simply do nothing.
‘I need to find the other one.’
Maeng Hyo-don thought hard, trying to come up with something he could do without disturbing Ham Geun-hyeong’s fight.
As he thought about the battle scenes he had witnessed, he recalled his master’s fights.
‘The master struck back when he couldn’t see the opponent. How did he do that?’
He remembered how Tak Geosan fought.
Tak Geosan’s eyes hadn’t shone with Heavenly Eyes like Joo Su-hyeok’s or borrowed the gaze of a famous marksman like Ham Geun-hyeong.
Tak Geosan’s eyes didn’t seem to possess anything particularly special, as if they weren’t born with them or given by a higher being.
So how did Tak Geosan see like that?
‘It’s the result of enlightenment from long battles.’
The one who had honed their martial arts for years and studied the art of fighting saw the battlefield differently from ordinary people.
Tak Geosan had spent long years training and gained new eyes through his enlightenment during battles.
In that moment, Maeng Hyo-don’s skill “Fight” triggered a derived skill.
‘Fighter’s Eyes’ opened, and Maeng Hyo-don’s mind became clearer.
He now remembered every space he had seen and all the areas he had observed even though they weren’t in his direct line of sight.
From this, he identified the most effective places where the enemy could be hiding to take action.
‘If I were to ambush the enemy, and if I had a teammate like that long-haired Beast Tribe member, I would hide there and wait for an opportunity to strike.’
As soon as this thought came to him, the Fighter’s Eyes locked onto the enemy.
The enemy, who should have been out of Maeng Hyo-don’s sight from his current position, was now visible.
Something was lurking, happily deciding whether to take care of Maeng Hyo-don or Ham Geun-hyeong first.
Having clearly identified the enemy, Maeng Hyo-don was now able to bind them in the battlefield using his Fighter’s Power.
But Maeng Hyo-don’s thoughts didn’t end there.
‘Binding them with Gwanglim is not enough. Even if I stall for a moment, I won’t win. But I have to buy more time anyway.’
Even though Maeng Hyo-don’s vision had improved, he knew that the difference in strength was clear.
Still, there was something that worked in his favor.
No one knew that he had already noticed the enemy.
The enemy was completely unguarded.
Maeng Hyo-don tried to use this to find a way to fight.
‘Just like when the master ambushed me, I can do the same to this guy!’
Maeng Hyo-don thought of how Tak Geosan had gone all out with an ambush.
Imagining him right in front, he thought about how to move just like that.
Then, Maeng Hyo-don awakened his second derived skill.
