Into the Creations

"Noona. You said you'd support me, right? How exactly are you going to support me?"

If possible, I'd love it if you supported me with that amazing body of yours. I swallowed the rest of my words.

"Just wait a moment."@@novelbin@@

Contrary to my hopes, Jin Se-young stepped out of the training room and returned after about a minute. She was carrying a long box in both hands and approached me.

"There are five types of support. First, free membership fees. Second, a private training room. Third, personal training… that is, one-on-one guidance. I promise to teach you with all my heart. Fourth, field support. Fifth, weapon support. I'll give you the sword I'm holding. How does that sound?"

From my perspective, these are more than favourable conditions. Currently, I have no intention of joining a guild, so that's irrelevant. My goal is to become stronger, not to join a guild and work like a dog.

"Sounds good. But what's the sword you're offering me?"

My gaze shifted to the long box she was holding. The sword must be inside. Jin Se-young carefully placed the box on the floor, took out a key, and unlocked it.

Inside was a red-hued sword wrapped in high-quality cloth. The blade was single-edged with no guard, and the hilt was a luxurious black, contrasting with the red blade.

Beside the sword was a black scabbard that looked like a stick, but my eyes were only drawn to the red sword. I stared at it blankly. Although I don't have an eye for weapons, the aura it gave off told me this sword was anything but ordinary. The iron sword I currently own would be trash compared to this.

"The sword's name is Hwaryeonbido, and its type is Changpo Sword."

"Changpo Sword? But it's a sword?"

"In our Yeongcheon Style, there's no distinction between swords and knives. In Yeongcheon Style, a sword refers to any long-bladed weapon. We don't bother distinguishing between swords and knives. Also, due to the nature of the Yeongcheon Style, we prefer short swords or lightweight swords. Our combat techniques favour quick kills over prolonged battles. In that sense, the Changpo Sword is ideal."

"Ah!"

Thinking about it, the basic techniques of the Yeongcheon Style are based on one-handed sword movements. There are even moves where you grip the sword in reverse and swing it. It's definitely not a swordsmanship style that involves facing off head-on. For the free-flowing movements of Yeongcheon Style, a sword without a guard is better. The swords of the Yeongcheon Style, which emphasize speed and stealth, are better off being lightweight, and large swords would only get in the way.

"If you don't like this, I can prepare something else."

"No! No! No! Not at all! I really like it!"

"Really? That's a relief."

I casually reached out and ran my finger along the blade. I thought the red blade might be hot, but it was surprisingly cool.

"Hwaryeonbido was made by the poetic blacksmiths of Gangwon Province."

Poetic blacksmiths!

I've heard of them—a famous forge. Their craftsmanship is among the best in South Korea, renowned even overseas.

"The blade is made from black iron and the scales of a fire dragon, and the hilt is crafted from the bones of a fire dragon."

"Gasp! A fire dragon!"

It's an SS-rank monster that shook South Korea ten years ago. For reference, an SS-rank monster means its power is immeasurable. Fortunately, before it could emerge from the dungeon, the top ten guilds collaborated to hunt down the Red Dragon.

"Don't be too surprised. This is a failed product. That's why it has the name Bido, meaning 'sorrowful blade.' They originally intended to create a sword capable of wielding fire, but it failed. Except for its exceptional durability and the fact that the blade doesn't dull even without maintenance, it's just an ordinary sword."

"Even so, it's still amazing! How much would this sell for?"

"Not much. Around 300 million won? Based on performance alone, even 100 million would be overpriced, but since it's made from the scales of a fire dragon, the price went up."

"Are you really… giving this to me?"

Jin Se-young nodded without hesitation.

"Eugene. As long as you keep your end of the conditions."

I looked her straight in the eyes and spoke seriously.

"Noona. Hurry and bring the contract. I'm in a rush."

I was completely captivated by Hwaryeonbido.

***

Field Combat.

This is the biggest concern for novice hunters.

Hunters enter dungeons to hunt monsters. The problem is that dungeons, except for their entrances, are isolated spaces separate from Earth. This is why crimes frequently occur inside dungeons.

Parties hastily formed through the association avoid high-rank dungeons for this very reason, and the primary reason guilds exist is to prevent hunter crimes.

Untrustworthy comrades. Comrades who stab you in the back. Comrades who turn into robbers.

Novice hunters with no connections or backing can only join hastily formed parties through the association, making them hesitant to engage in real combat.

This was a concern I shared. But now it's different. By my side is Jin Se-young, a trustworthy comrade and bodyguard.

Jin Se-young is a B-rank hunter, and the dungeon we've entered is the F-rank 'Ratman's Den.' Even if nearby hunters turn into robbers and attack us, Jin Se-young would handle them in less than three minutes.

"It's your first real combat, but don't worry. You should have no problem dealing with ratmen."

Jin Se-young, wearing comfortable leather armour, said.

"If you say so, then it must be true."

I gripped the hilt of Hwaryeonbido at my waist and replied.

I was also wearing leather armour like her but with added protective gear on my shoulders and chest. I originally wanted to go fully armoured, but due to the nature of the Yeongcheon Style, movement is crucial, so I had to opt for lighter gear.

The armour wasn't mine; I borrowed it from Jin Se-young.

'Ugh… I'm so nervous.'

This isn't my first time entering a dungeon. I've entered dungeons for training and fought goblins one-on-one.

But that was different. Back then, there were many people around me, and goblins were the weakest monsters that even an ordinary person could handle if given a weapon.

I boasted and called it real combat, but in reality, it was just training. My true first real combat is now.

"You're too nervous. Take a deep breath."

"Hoo~ha... Hoo~ha..."

While taking deep breaths, I touched my smartphone instead of the sword hilt. Touching the smartphone was much more calming than gripping the hilt. Once I calmed down a bit, I placed my hand back on Hwaryeon Bido at my waist.

"It brings back memories. I was really nervous at first too."

"How did you calm your nerves, noona?"

"After my first battle, I calmed down a bit. You'll probably feel the same. After a few battles, you'll realize that being a hunter isn't such a big deal."

The F-rank dungeon 'Ratman's Den' is a swamp-type dungeon. The ground is muddy, and there are dense trees and marshes everywhere.

The monsters here, ratmen, are bipedal rats that roam freely through the swamps. They're about 150 cm tall and attack with their claws and teeth. Their byproducts are worth about 10,000 won per claw, and their magic stones are worth around 80,000 won.

We walked deeper into the dungeon while talking.

We avoided other hunters whenever we saw them. Since it's an open-type dungeon that any hunter can enter, we had to be mindful of other hunters' locations.

"Eugene. Look over there. A ratman."

I turned my head in the direction Jin Se-young pointed. About 30 meters away was a black-furred ratman.

Even from a distance, I could tell. It was much larger than a goblin. The saying that three goblins couldn't defeat one ratman seemed true.

"I'll demonstrate again."

Jin Se-young walked toward the ratman. The ratman saw her, raised its fur, and bared its claws, ready to fight. Most monsters try to kill humans on sight. Even if there's a significant difference in strength, monsters rarely run away.

"Squeaaaak!"

Jin Se-young didn't stop walking despite the ratman's charge. She swung her sword as if brushing past it. The ratman's head flew into the air and fell to the ground with a splash of red blood.

At a glance, it looked like the ratman just came over and died.

'That's the Yeongcheon Style's combat technique, Byeokgye. I'm not at that level yet. Noona's combat skills are incredibly refined.'

From a distance, it looked like she just walked past and slashed, but from the ratman's perspective, Jin Se-young would have appeared far away.

The combat technique Byeokgye uses a unique footwork to blur the opponent's sense of distance.

"Magic stones are usually near the monster's heart. If not, they're often in the head."

Jin Se-young carefully collected the magic stone and claws into her waist bag.
From one ratman, you can get a magic stone and six claws. That's 140,000 won.

By simple calculation, killing ten ratmen would earn 1.4 million won, but you have to pay 30% in taxes. Add equipment maintenance and dungeon entry fees, and the actual disposable income is about 500,000 won.

'From a hunter's perspective, it's hard not to resent the hunter association and the government for taking so much in taxes.'

Hunters usually form parties to act. The average party size is five. Killing 30 ratmen a day would earn about 300,000 won per person.

'That's still high income. In ten days, you'd earn 3 million won. And as your skills improve and you hunt higher-rank monsters, earning 1 million won a day is nothing.'

No wonder hunters are envied by ordinary people. But for me, with the Play Life app, it's a laughable amount.

If I were to seriously use the Play Life app to make money, I could easily earn 100 million won.

"Eugene. There's a ratman over there. You try hunting it this time."

"…Alright."

I drew my sword and approached the ratman. My body trembled slightly from nervousness. Although I've killed people in the virtual world, this was real life.

"Squeaaaak!"

The ratman saw me, squealed, and charged. I recalled Jin Se-young's movements from ten minutes ago and used Byeokgye.

As I stepped with the unique footwork, the ratman's eyes wavered, and it looked behind me. Success. The ratman's sense of distance was blurred, and it would think I was several meters behind.

'Compared to Se-young noona, it's a bit shaky.'

But it worked.

I swung my sword as I passed the ratman, cleanly severing its neck. My physical strength is below average for a hunter, but the sharpness of the sword made up for it.

"Wow, that was nothing."

I muttered while looking at the ratman's corpse. It wasn't bravado; I meant it. My voice trembled from the excitement of successfully using Yeongcheon Style's combat technique in real combat.

"See? It's nothing, right?"

"Yeah. I think I can easily kill ratmen from now on. Noona, how far do you think I can go?"

"You should be able to hunt lower E-rank monsters. But anything higher might be tough. Your Yeongcheon Style skills are solid, but your physical abilities are lacking."

Physical abilities.

Strength. Stamina. Agility. These are lacking compared to other hunters.

I nodded, acknowledging the issue. Her words implied that if my physical abilities were sufficient, I could easily hunt E-rank monsters.

I collected the magic stone and claws from the ratman's corpse and said to her.

"Alright. Let's keep hunting. Noona, I've got the hang of it."

"Yeah. Since we're here, we might as well make it worth our while."

I immediately approached and killed the ratmen as soon as I saw them. Even without using Yeongcheon Style's combat techniques, I could kill them with just the basics.

Five hours.

That's how long it took me to kill 24 ratmen.

I killed about five ratmen per hour, but finding them took much longer than the actual combat.

"Only 24 ratmen…"

"It can't be helped. Open-type dungeons have a lot of competing hunters. The main thing to watch out for in open-type dungeons is not stealing monsters. 80% of hunter disputes in dungeons are over monster ownership."

"I've heard that too. But closed-type dungeons are a bit dangerous… huh? Why'd you stop?"

"Shh! Someone's lying in wait ahead."

We were on our way back after finishing our hunt. We were carrying a lot of valuable byproducts.

"…Bandits?"

Hunter bandits.

As the name suggests, they're scum who rob other hunters. I peeked out to look at them. There were three, leaning against a large tree and chatting.

"Probably. We could just go around them, but… that would mean someone else might get hurt. Let's take them out."

Jin Se-young stepped forward, and I followed.

I wasn't worried.

This was an F-rank dungeon, and she was a B-rank hunter. The level of scum doing robberies here was obvious without even looking.

***

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