When the matches were fully announced through the screen, Yuki continued to explain.
“The portal will lead to a virtual space! So you don’t need to hold back. Use all of your strength!”
Yuki smiled.
“The map lottery will be one of the places that represent Japan~ So then, everyone, send your cheers to the participants!”
The audience began cheering.
Seiji felt his heart beat fast. There were countless people in the audience that were cheering for him. With a smile on his face, he extended his hand toward Shin YuSung.
“Let’s do our best!”
YuSung smiled and shook Seiji’s hand.
As the two party leaders shook hands, the audience began clapping, and the portal activated.
BZZT!!
As their fight drew near, YuSung’s atmosphere turned serious.
‘The 1st round…’
Since Kim EunAh couldn’t participate, Shin YuSung had to win, no matter what.
‘All Japanese team members have an S-rank Trait. Not only that, but I couldn’t check the last Trait.’
Thanks to the power of the fragment Sumire had obtained, she’d become a lot stronger, but she didn’t have much fighting experience, so knowing the outcome beforehand was hard.
Shin YuSung reassured himself while looking at the portal.
‘I’m going to win, no matter what.’
*
[- Silvermoon City -]
Shin YuSung looked at the hologram that appeared in the Pocket. There was a moon shining with a silver light over the city.
‘It seems like this map is fixed at night…’
Silver Moon city was a virtual city full of giant towers and was one of the virtual places prepared for the International Competition. The moonlight shone over his head.
‘I guess it’s better for me?’
He wasn’t sure how the opponent would react, so Shin YuSung calmly began looking at his surroundings and raised his senses to try to find Seiji.
‘I’ll have to be careful of shadowy places.’
It was the same theory behind why SuHyun, who could control water, was strong in a swimming pool. In a place with shadows, one could create a shadow that attacked.
On their map, it was nighttime.
Instead of a sun, the moon was illuminating the map. Because of that, one couldn’t see the shadows.
Tap, tap.
Shin YuSung hid his presence and began walking through the night city to find Seiji.
*
Kim EunAh was biting her lips in nervousness, sitting in a long limousine.
“Ugh…”
“You tried to act strong, don’t tell me you’re nervous…?”
As Lee SuHyun sighed and spoke while making a worried face, Kim EunAh replied.
“Shut up…”
Kim EunAh’s mother, Kim YunHa, was staying in Japan, so Kim EunAh got into a limousine to go and find her.
Lee SuHyun decided to give EunAh a chance, but she thought that convincing YunHa would be impossible.
“Do you really think you’d be able to convince the madam in such a state? Can you really do it?”
Since YunHa felt how dangerous a hunter’s life was through Kim JunHyuk, she wouldn’t stay still and let Kim EunAh do as she pleased.
“Now that I think about it, I’m surprised the madam let you do as you wanted until now. Realistically speaking, it wouldn’t be weird if your brother suddenly collapsed again. You know that.”
“Be careful with what you say…”
EunAh’s voice had a chilling tone, but that didn’t stop SuHyun from giving her a piece of advice.
“That’s why you need to stay focused!”
Lee SuHyun shouted so loudly that the bodyguards flinched. She raised her voice while looking at EunAh.
“If there’s something that you want to protect, say it confidently and be honest! Nothing will be solved if you just keep shaking in fear, okay?!”
EunAh nodded at Lee SuHyun.
“Okay…”
“You’re right. Now… No, I already knew how important your new party is to you.”
She knew that EunAh’s personality had changed thanks to the party. She was having fun and was starting to take things seriously.
SuHyun saw that all. That’s why she’d decided to go against YunHa’s orders for EunAh’s sake.
“Explain everything… After all, the madam doesn’t know how important your party and the hunter job are to you.”
As Lee SuHyun finished talking, the limousine reached a certain building.
It was the place that Kim YunHa personally managed. Just standing there was enough to make EunAh nervous, but that was only for a brief while.
EunAh made up her mind.
“Good, okay… Let’s go see mom.”
https://discord.gg/MaRegMFhRb
A city without a sun…
While standing in the middle of Silvermoon City, Seiji stood with his arms crossed and shouted loudly.
“Haha! To think that it would be at night. That was totally unexpected! It’s daytime outside of the portal.”
It was as if he knew where YuSung was despite him having hidden his presence. Shin YuSung began analyzing Seiji from a distance.
‘The opponent seems to want a frontal fight… but he isn’t moving from a determined place.’
Why would he be doing that?
Seiji’s Trait was shadow-related, and the reason was definitely related to that, but Seiji had chosen a park that was surrounded by four towers. Considering what one could see, it was an open field.
It wasn’t a good place for ambushing an opponent.
Tap tap.
Shin YuSung confidently stood in front of Seiji, who was smiling brightly.
“I’m sorry! I’m late because I was making preparations.”
Shin YuSung didn’t know how Seiji made shadows. The only thing he could do was sharpen his senses.
Pat!
Shin YuSung attacked first.
He leaped forward. It was so fast that a normal hunter wouldn’t have been able to react.
Swoosh!
YuSung’s fist got stuck in Seiji’s head.
BOOM!
Seiji’s head exploded and scattered away.
Rather than blood and flesh, there was just a hazy fog.
“Type 1 Shadow Bind!”
As Seiji made a seal and smiled, his shadow rose from the ground in a tentacle-like shape. It was a shadow Seiji had made through mana. It wasn’t that strong.
Paf!
As the tentacles tried to surround him, Shin YuSung easily cast them aside with a simple movement and retreated backward.
Pat!
Seeing YuSung’s reaction, Seiji swung his arm while smiling.
“That’s it!”
With Seiji’s signal, a huge amount of light began illuminating the park.
Shine!
The light was an installation-type flash that Seiji had prepared beforehand and put in his pocket for situations like that.
It was installed at the top of the tower, but he hadn’t installed just one. Some others were illuminating smaller buildings.
The installation-type flashes were some sort of hunter artifacts that Seiji had prepared. The intense light was creating shadows through varied angles.
“Type 5! Lunar Eclipse!”
Seiji’s eyes widened as if he’d been waiting for that moment. Thanks to the multi-angled flashes, a fog-type shadow began pouring toward Shin YuSung.
Fwoosh!
The mass made from mana was added to the fog created through the Lunar Eclipse—it had the capability to destroy everything it touched.
As the giant shadow wave approached him, Shin YuSung smiled.
“It was a good plan.”
‘Battle God Style 4th Form, Black Dragon’s Body Armor.’
Tss!!
The black energy that rose from Shin YuSung’s body began devouring the Lunar Eclipse’s shadow.
The thickness of the mana was on an entirely different level. It was Shin YuSung’s overwhelming strength.
‘This…’
Seiji’s best attack was devoured too easily. Seiji clenched his teeth, but he did not intend to give up.
“Type 4 Invisible”
After turning into a shadow, Seiji rushed forward at lightning-like speed with a dagger in his hands.
Pat!
“This is my best chance!”
It was a chance he’d created through careful planning. It was the only chance he would get.