Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Chapter: 4

Chapter Title: The Partner Hunter

—

I drove my knuckles deep into his exposed midsection, raining down a relentless sequence of blows. Slam, slam, slam—the pathetic wretch collapsed onto the tiles.

However, it wasn’t time to stop. If I relented now, there was no doubt the man would simply reclaim his blade and lung back at me in a frenzy.

I stepped toward his slumped form and delivered five additional heavy strikes before finally pulling back my assault.

“Urgh… hhh…”

The female groaned while squirming on the ground, then tentatively lifted her left hand. Unbelievable—I had told her to signal if the pain was too much, and she actually did? That’s hilarious.

⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Victory in the finals goes to Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. Please utilize this time for adequate recovery.
I squinted at the floating text. It didn’t say “the match is concluded,” but rather “take sufficient rest”?

⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
In 3 hours’ time, at this very location, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok will participate in an extra sparring match. Challenger: Partner Hunter Lee Se-eun of Zanabi LLC, currently assigned to the Erosion Zone defense at the DMZ.
What on earth was going on?

A portrait materialized on the translucent interface—the visage of the person I was to face next. I shifted my gaze to scan the spectators in the arena seats. Everyone seemed breathless, whispering in disbelief.

“Good grief. I’ve never witnessed a turn of events this bizarre.”

Then I spotted her: the woman who looked exactly like the image on the display. In a split second, I evaluated her power level. It was astronomically higher than my current state.

The lady, who was drawing from a pipe, locked eyes with me and smirked, her lips moving silently.

‘Grip the spear.’

My expression soured. I should have stuck with the polearm from the beginning. It seemed that my transition from the spear to bare-handed combat had grabbed her attention.

I spent the mandated three-hour break resting in silence, eventually making my way back to the center of the ring.

“You’re Yoo Chan-seok, right?”

Lee Se-eun tapped the embers from her pipe and brought the massive slab of steel she carried on her back down into the floor with a resounding crash.

“I’m impressed. To be honest, my expectations weren’t that high.”

“Your subordinates were a little underwhelming.”

She gave a small nod at my remark.

“True, you’ve earned the right to make that claim.”

“I intend to do everything in my power to win.”

Lee Se-eun hoisted that gargantuan greatsword with a single hand, pointing the tip directly at me.

“That’s the spirit. If you’re stepping into the ring, you should play for keeps.”

In my entire life, I had never entered a duel just to “pick up a few pointers.” That half-hearted approach results in zero growth.

Even when the conclusion seems certain, you fight for the win—that is the only way to gain anything of value from the experience.

I clutched my spear, inhaled a deep breath, and settled into my combat stance.

“Huh.”

Lee Se-eun watched me intently, her greatsword held ready.

“That isn’t a standard spearman’s posture.”

She wasn’t wrong. The spear was my primary tool, but I didn’t wield it in the conventional fashion.

“Does it make a difference?”

I lunged toward Lee Se-eun and lashed out with my weapon.

Boom! Our steel met. I twisted my torso to dissipate the impact as effectively as I could and leaped backward a step.

But her sweeping blade—stretching over two meters in length—offered no respite, moving with the fluidity of a wild predator.

“Little guy. You won’t win this just by playing defense.”

Little guy? This high-ranking brat really just called me a kid?

Did she have any inkling of how many years I had survived? Regardless, for now, all I could do was weather the storm.

I could see the gaps in her defense, but my physical vessel lacked the speed to exploit them. Perceiving the openings but being unable to reach them was enough to drive a person mad.

“Hah… gh…”

If I had realized things would be this difficult, I should have demanded to keep a few things before returning to this world! This was absurd.

No, if I had known my home planet would turn into this mess, I would never have accepted those conditions!

“Thirty minutes.”

Lee Se-eun announced the time, then gave me a thumbs-up.

“You lasted longer than I thought. I figured you’d fold in five minutes, max.”

She began fishing for something in her pocket as she spoke.

“It’s not finished.”

Who gave her the right to decide? Granted, I was weak at the moment, but I had no desire to end the fight this way.

Lee Se-eun let out a dry chuckle while rummaging through her clothes.

“I’m not in the business of snapping young saplings.”

“I told you, it isn’t over.”

Everything that had been stripped from me? I planned to reclaim it all myself. And through a month of grueling effort, I had managed to recover a tiny shard of my true strength.

I took a sharp breath, concentrating the mana coursing through my veins and sparking a minuscule flame at the tip of my finger.

It was a flickering dark fire, resembling a candle flame on the verge of being snuffed out.

“What, did you trigger your Unique Trait? But with such a pathetic little spark…”

Lee Se-eun’s voice trailed off as she stared at the dark flame in my palm. Her features turned grim.

“What exactly is that?”

“This.”

I whispered the word and pressed the dark ember against my own skin. It adhered to me, consuming something invisible to gradually grow into a bonfire.

⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Paradox Flame
Utilizes abstract concepts as combustible fuel. Cycle: Mana → Flame → Fatigue Combustion → Mana Discharge → Repeat.

Paradox Flame. My trump card, a power I had polished without rest until my return to Earth—the ability I relied on above all else. A Unique Trait manifested via mana, carved into the very essence of the soul.

Because my soul had transitioned entirely back to this reality, I was naturally able to utilize it immediately.

This dark fire does not consume physical objects. Instead, every lick of the flame devours whatever abstract concepts I choose as fuel.

Such as the exhaustion currently weighing down my limbs. I clicked my tongue as the dark tongues of fire licked across my skin.

The output was still far too low.

Self-reflection: Paradox Flame was incredibly potent, but not without its flaws. If you ignore the fact that it burns things that shouldn’t burn, it functions much like a standard fire.

‘The power is lacking.’

Every concept has its own point of ignition.

At my current level, high-threshold concepts like one’s ego, logic, or memories were impossible to ignite.

It was like trying to start a massive fire when the kindling just refuses to catch.

“The surrounding mana concentration?”

Lee Se-eun mumbled, surveying the air around me with a look of extreme caution.

Just as a normal fire radiates heat when burning wood, my dark fire discharged mana while devouring abstracts.

Mana is required to start the Paradox Flame. The Paradox Flame burns an abstract to liberate mana. I then channel that mana to keep fighting.

It was a closed, self-sustaining loop.

In short, I was a specialist in prolonged battles of endurance.

“Are you fond of the persistent, clingy types?”

“Not at all. I can’t stand them.”

“Then prepare yourself—this is your lucky day.”

Life occasionally throws people like me your way.

The duel stretched on… and on… until finally, after a total of 4 hours and 17 minutes, it concluded with my loss.

“Hah… pant…”

It was unavoidable. If you set a tree on fire, ash is what remains. Ash cannot be reignited.

Similarly, incinerating exhaustion with Paradox Flame left behind a residue akin to ash—and that byproduct couldn’t be burned away, so it simply accumulated until I reached my breaking point.

Lee Se-eun lifted my chin with the cold steel of her greatsword, her face showing a complex array of thoughts.

Naturally, she had been holding back, allowing me to survive this long. If she had been fighting with lethal intent, I wouldn’t have lasted even 15 minutes.

“You’re a resilient little sprout. Want to go again?”

“No. I beg for mercy.”

I was in no condition to continue, and this was merely a practice match, not a fight to the death.

She held something out to me.

“Here, have a treat.”

A giant lollipop was tossed into my hand. After passing it over, Lee Se-eun kicked her greatsword aside and handed me a professional contact card.

Zanabi LLC. 3rd Team Partner Hunter Lee Se-eun

“Once your license is official, people are going to start coming after you.”

“I imagine it’ll be more than just a few.”

A rookie with a fresh license who could endure four hours of combat? Even with her showing restraint, it wasn’t a feat just anyone could accomplish.

“You can’t catch a whale with a tiny net.”

I understood her meaning. The major players would step in, and the smaller groups would scatter.

Only the heavy hitters with the resources to back it up would be knocking on my door.

“Regardless, don’t make a snap decision—reach out to me first.”

“It seems Zanabi thinks quite highly of me.”

She gave a hearty laugh.

“We can talk details later. Just give me a ring.”

She mimed a telephone with her hand, gave a little wave, and walked down from the combat platform.

Next on the agenda: the official hunter licensing ceremony.

I observed the Association President standing at the front. The man didn’t have the look of a warrior. It made sense—the administrators dealt with bureaucracy, not the front lines.

“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. You have displayed incredible potential—the Association holds great hopes for you.”

He presented me with my “license”—which was actually a specialized smartphone equipped with a unique SIM card.

“Reflect deeply. Move with caution. Be a terror to your enemies and a source of comfort to those you protect.”

“I appreciate it.”

I accepted the license-phone and began scrolling through its various features.

Apps for the hunter social circles, marketplaces for selling equipment and materials harvested from Erosion Zones, urgent bulletins from the Association, and communication channels linked to military satellite networks…

“I see they’ve banned private trading.”

It was predictable. There was plenty of equipment that provided supernatural effects without needing mana—such as handguns that fired mana-infused rounds with a simple trigger pull.

If those flooded the black market, the already fragile state of public safety would crumble.

“In my experience…”

When they officially outlaw private commerce, it paradoxically ensures that hunters will just do it in the shadows.

If there were no incidents, there would be no need for the regulation. A brief search revealed various news stories: criminals utilizing hunter-grade gear and similar reports.

“That isn’t my concern for now.”

I’d worry about that after I started clearing back some of the Erosion Zones. I turned to depart, but a massive figure blocked my path.

I looked up: he was a mountain of muscle, his veins popping with a sense of suppressed power. His forearms were as thick as my own thighs, decorated with a large dragon tattoo. He stood at least 30cm taller than me—easily over two meters.

“That’s a nice tattoo.”

“I appreciate that.”

The muscular man with the ink replied as he extended a business card. Taebaek LLC.

I slid it into my pocket and replied.

“I take it you are Hunter Yoon Sung-hyun of Taebaek.”

He gave a firm nod.

“Come to Taebaek. Specifically, join my unit. You’ll get the experience you need to really shine.”

Partner Hunter. Lee Se-eun’s card had featured the same title. My interest was piqued.

“So, tell me, what exactly is a Partner Hunter?”