I wasn’t too worried about Yuhyun. If he was alone, he was a capable younger brother who could take care of himself no matter what happened. So, while watching the battle with Cho Hwawoon from a distance, I did some collecting. I threw down a wire with a binding function from Noah’s back.

Should I call it item fishing? It’s a waste to just leave them scattered around. The military seemed to have swept up all the items from the vast lands of China. Not only S-Rank Hunters, but even A-Rank Hunters had one or two S-Rank pieces of equipment—how could I not grab them?

“Mr. Noah, do you have inventory space?”

– Yes. I don’t need many potions, so it’s always roomy.

True, with his healing skills and high poison resistance, he wouldn’t need many minor potions. Potions take up a surprising amount of space.

I grabbed as many A-Rank pieces of equipment as I could, in addition to the S-Rank ones. Some A-Rank items, depending on their stats, were as expensive as S-Rank items, hitting the hundred-million-won mark. Fishing for hundred-million-won items made me feel much better. Oh, look at this—this sword is S-Rank. The options are so-so for its ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ grade, so maybe I’ll give it to Yuhyun for the Sword Devourer. Oh, S-Rank armor. I can give this to Mr. Seonghan.

I didn’t stray too far from my brother, since I didn’t know what might happen. But Cho Hwawoon fought surprisingly normally and lost normally. It seemed like he was up to something.

‘Was it Hwang Rim, not Cho Hwawoon?’

His absence was suspicious. For now, I headed toward Yuhyun. Seong Hyunjae was fine, and Chief Song would probably join us soon, so there were no immediate problems, but a deep sense of unease still lingered. It didn’t feel like it would end this easily.

“Be careful, Mr. Noah. If something seems strange, just run away. You can use me as a shield since I have Grace.”

– Still, that’s a bit…….

My younger brother looked up at me and smiled. Was Cho Hwawoon dead? Just as I was preparing an excuse for my physical condition—

– Hng!

Noah let out a short groan. My head also grew dizzy, and the Teacher skill I was using on Noah was cancelled. Before I could even figure out what was happening, Noah’s body began to change. No, the skill was being released.

His wings and tail quickly disappeared, and the golden scales covering his entire body shrank. Soft hair took the place of his sharp, hard horns.

– Mr. Yujin!

Noah’s harness loosened. The item’s effect was also not working properly. The moment I realized that, a chill ran down my spine. Then, could it be—Grace too?

The sky spun. Perhaps due to the shock of having the skills applied to his entire body forcibly released, Noah couldn’t move properly. As the loose harness came undone, the distance between us widened in an instant. At the same time, the ground approached at rapid speed. The hard ground, with its jagged building debris.

I’m screwed.

A short thought flashed through my mind. Grace is L-Rank, so it might be okay. Even if not, if it’s not instant death, I might be able to save myself somehow. In the urgency that made it difficult to even come up with a plan, I caught a glimpse of Yuhyun.

“Hyung–!”

At the same time, the tension in my body broke. I felt my brother’s hands reach out and pull my body desperately. We rolled hard on the ground, but I didn’t get a single scratch.

“Hyung! Are you okay?!”

A startled voice rang out. A moment later, my heart pounded loudly. It felt like even my vision was shaking. Was Mr. Noah okay? More importantly, what on earth was going on? My brother said he’d be fine since he was S-Rank, but I turned my head to look for Noah. In the distance, I saw a blond young man barely sitting up.

“Mr. Noah! Are you okay?”

“…Yes. I still can’t move well. But I’m not hurt.”

Fortunately, only the skills were cancelled, and his physical abilities seemed to remain S-Rank. I shouted to Noah that I was fine and not to overdo it, then turned my gaze back to Yuhyun.

“Are you hurt? That bloodstain on your shoulder is suspicious.”

Most high-rank armors had self-healing capabilities. If it wasn’t severely damaged, it would recover on its own over time. The Thunderbird attire was the same, so there were no torn parts, but that remaining bloodstain didn’t look like it belonged to the opponent.

“It’s just a scratch.”

“It bled, and you call it a scratch? But Yuhyun, you… look good with long hair.”

What wouldn’t look good on him? At my words, my younger brother beamed.

“It’s a bit cumbersome, but do I look good?”

“Yes. You’re handsome, my little brother. What are the clothes inside the attire? You came in full disguise.”

There was a lot to say, but it wasn’t the time, so I cut it short. First, it was certain that I couldn’t use active-type skills that I had to cast myself.

“But Hyung, your leg–”

“How about you, Yuhyun? Can’t you use skills?”

“The leg.”

“Iryn is quiet too—did he get stuck and can’t come out?”

“Hyung, your leg. And what’s this smell? It smells like sweet smoke.”

He’s persistent.

“The damn guards were smoking, so it rubbed off on me. I limp a little, but I’m fine. My leg is……”

My words caught in my throat for a moment. Even though I thought this wasn’t the time, I hesitated. If it weren’t for the effect of the cigarette, my stomach would have twisted in pain. It still hurt now. A dull, heavy throb, like I’d been punched.

“You’ll heal my leg, right?”

You will. Yuhyun gently lifted me into his arms and stood up.

“Of course. Of course I’ll fix it. You said not to use potions or healing skills carelessly, so I’ll get it checked by that person first. It really doesn’t hurt, right?”

“…Yeah. Well, it would be hard to heal normally……”

“Don’t worry. If it doesn’t work, I’ll buy the elixir from the Breaker Guild.”

“Hey, do you think they’d sell that easily? Even if they do, you should have it. It’s not like my life is in danger right now—what a waste.”

“It’s not a waste.”

My younger brother said, as if it were a matter of course. My stomach didn’t hurt anymore. Instead, it grew hot. I swallowed several times, feeling like tears were about to come out.

He would have wanted to say this too. To me.

“S-so. The skills.”

I said, trying to snap myself out of it by biting the tip of my tongue.

“It seemed like Mr. Noah had trouble moving too.”

“The mana, the magic—it feels distorted. Hunter Noah had skills applied to his entire body, so the impact must have been greater. I’m not in good shape either.”

Yuhyun extended the arm holding me a little and created a flame at his fingertips. A small red flame appeared, was about to turn dark blue, and then fizzled out.

“My flame resistance is still there, but I can’t properly use skills that manifest externally.”

“So, it doesn’t affect the magic within your body, but it becomes uncontrollable the moment it leaves your body?”

“Probably.”

I didn’t know what kind of trick they had used, but it was clear that the situation was serious. Not only could Grace not apply a skill to me, but it also meant I couldn’t use a skill on Yuhyun. Since Yuhyun couldn’t use attack skills either, if we were attacked now…… But then, wouldn’t the military Hunters not be able to use skills either? Do they have a way to prevent the distortion of magic?

“Is Cho Hwawoon dead?”

“No. To give him to you.”

“…Huh?”

“Deal with him as you please.”

Yuhyun said with smiling eyes. Uh, well.

“That’s great! Thanks. Then I can ask that bastard.”

You kept him alive well. As expected of my little brother. Yuhyun carried me and approached Cho Hwawoon. Seeing that his right leg was gone… he must have told him everything. About breaking my leg. Due to the severe bleeding, Cho Hwawoon’s face was pale, despite being an S-Rank. Even though he was lying there, unable to move all four limbs, his expression was still full of killing intent.

Yuhyun gently set me down. Then he took something out of his inventory.

“Hyung, here.”

A pure white gun was held out. The weapon’s skill probably wouldn’t activate properly now, but I aimed the gun at Cho Hwawoon. Then I lightly pulled the trigger.

THWACK!

The magic bullet grazed Cho Hwawoon’s head and embedded itself in the ground. Its power was about D-Rank? No, maybe E-Rank. Still, it shoots. GRIND—the sound of teeth grinding could be heard. Phew, look at him glaring. I’m scared to death.

“It’s a shame this is mana-charged. It’s best when you have to load the bullets one by one.”

I ran my finger along the smooth barrel, which didn’t even get hot. And one more time. THWACK! This time, it hit Cho Hwawoon squarely on the forehead. A light flick on the forehead? No, it probably hurt less than that, but Cho Hwawoon’s glare became as murderous as if I were his parents’ sworn enemy.

…Well, I don’t know if he’s the type to hate his parents’ sworn enemy.

“Sorry. What can I do when there’s no leg to repay you with? I’m disappointed too. I should have chopped it up myself.”

“I guess I should have left it.”

At my words, the strict Yuhyun looked sorry.

“No, you did well. It’s easy to say chop, but what strength do I have to slice that guy’s leg? You did very well, thank you, my little brother.”

“……”

Cho Hwawoon growled something inaudibly. What, why.

“General Cho Hwawoon, you seem to know something about this situation.”

I pulled the trigger again. This time, I poked his cheek. What a sharpshooter.

“If you confess honestly, I’ll let you live. After you sign a contract saying you won’t try to heal your severed leg.”

“…Han Yujin, you bastard.”

“Mr. Cho must be in a great mood right now. I mean, when else would he get slapped by an F-Rank?”

THWACK, POKE, THWACK, CLICK! Ah, it hit his tooth. I shot at Cho Hwawoon’s cheeks in succession. The pale cheeks flushed with blood. He looks healthy and good.

“What on earth did you do, General? And where did you lock up the goblins? Yun Yun? Don’t you know? Well, if she was really that important, they wouldn’t have let you lie here like this. Phew, you were going to end up like this anyway, so why did you act up? A bastard who doesn’t even know anything.”

Although he was as provoked as he could be, Cho Hwawoon didn’t open his mouth easily. Should I just kill him and find a way out of here? Since I can’t use skills, I’d have to swim out. There are no helicopters, let alone boats. Should I make a raft?

If military Hunters who could use skills rushed in, it would be dangerous even with Yuhyun, Seong Hyunjae, and Chief Song combined. This strange distortion of magic couldn’t possibly apply to the whole world—it would be limited to the lake at most, so let’s get out of here first. I can just carry Cho Hwawoon with me.

Having reached that conclusion, I turned my head to see if Mr. Noah could move.

SWISH!

A sharp sound of something cutting through the air was heard. At the same time, Yuhyun pulled me sharply and threw himself backward. CRACK! The spot where I had been standing was deeply gouged, and dirt and sand shot up high.

“What a mess.”

A familiar voice was heard. It was Hwang Rim. He appeared, looking neat as if he had nothing to do with this chaos, and lifted Cho Hwawoon like a piece of luggage.

“Our young master was raised so delicately, I knew he’d end up like this at least once.”

Yuhyun set me down and stepped forward protectively. Hwang Rim looked at us, specifically at me, with smiling eyes.

“Want to come with me?”

“…What nonsense.”

“It’s a waste. To let you die here.”

“I have no intention of dying, and even less intention of leaving my brother behind and escaping alone.”

I replied, giving him the middle finger. Hwang Rim, still with a smiling face, lifted Cho Hwawoon’s arm and waved it as if saying goodbye. At that playful gesture, Cho Hwawoon shouted irritably.

“Let go!”

“You have to say goodbye, Woon-ah.”

I felt sorry for Cho Hwawoon, for a hundredth of a hundredth of a hundredth of a second. Hwang Rim, who must have had a flight skill that didn’t suit him, jumped up high. “Well then, goodbye,” his voice was carefree. Damn it. So the military Hunters can use skills after all.

“For the sake of our past relationship, at least give me a hint before you go! What happened!”

“It’s the dominion of the domain.”

“What?”

“Hmm, a Grade 1 demon.”

A Grade 1 demon? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere. That bastard Hwang Rim moved away. Anyway, this wasn’t the time to think long and hard.

“Mr. Noah! Can you move?”

“Ah, yes! I can’t turn into a dragon, though.”

“Is there a door panel somewhere? Any furniture left that can float… what’s that arm?”

“That thing from before. I think that gauntlet was SS-Rank.”

“What? Let’s grab that! Mr. Seong Hyunjae! Hey, business partner! Are you alive?”

Can’t he hear me? At my shout, another figure appeared instead of Seong Hyunjae. An arm was torn off, and there was a hole in his chest… uh…….

“I think I killed him.”

Yuhyun said. The corpse blinked its eyes and raised the weapon in its hand. Behind it, other Hunters began to appear one by one.

“…Summer’s over, but you’re quite late to the party.”

I suddenly thought of the dead Mr. Jellyfish. He’s dead, so it couldn’t be him, but what if he had joined hands with the Chinese military before he died? Or if Chatterbox… no way. Rookie, Old Man, please! I believe you would have stopped him.

“Let’s join up with the Sesung Guild Leader first.”

Yuhyun nodded, then picked me up with one arm and moved quickly toward Noah. Noah also stood up and took out a large axe that didn’t suit him.

“Smashing is the best way to deal with the undead.”

“Have you caught many?”

“They’re common in England and France.”

I see. Undead dungeons are rare in Korea.

– Grrrr!

An S-Rank Hunter among the approaching corpses charged toward us. He’s fast, damn it

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep