If Discipline Is Necessary (2)
I dodged the claws and fangs of the enraged gnolls.
Then I threw my punches.
I was simply repeating that basic motion.
And yet—I could feel it.
There was not a single wasted movement in my actions.
What if I couldn't dodge?
What if my attack missed and I got bitten?
Would I bleed out and die?
Those were perfectly natural thoughts for any human to have.
But Grandfell's mind and body completely ignored those concerns.
『His pride is immeasurably heavy and unwavering. Even if it means sinking and drowning beneath its weight.』
That character trait was magnifying the pitiful abilities of a demon hunter by hundreds of percent—maybe even more. At this point, I was starting to be amazed myself.
'Wow… I really was a severe case of chuunibyou.'
A reckless guy who valued being cool more than his own life.
Even if it was just the effect of a persona…
The truth was, my unarmed combat skills were terrible.
'I never learned any martial arts skills.'
Smack—
I had thrown that punch with all my strength.
"Grr... grrrng!"
But it didn't deal any meaningful damage to the gnoll.
…Wouldn't a drawn-out fight put me at a disadvantage?
'As much as I hate to waste its durability, maybe I should use the weapon after all.'
Logically, that was the right decision.
But my actions didn't change.
How pitiful.
I was like a swan on a lake—graceful on the surface, frantic beneath.
To others, it might've looked like I was calmly disciplining the gnolls.
But I was dead serious.
Like a swan paddling desperately to stay afloat,
I was dodging and swinging with everything I had.
And despite that effort, my voice remained calm and aloof:
"Is your training still insufficient?"
That's when it happened.
Seo Jeong-yeon shouted,
"Casting complete! Get out of the way!"
Flames erupted from her staff.
Click—
I walked away with elegance once again.
The spell flying toward us was Fire Arrow.
I didn't know much about magic…
But I did know that was a low-tier spell.
Most of all, the projectile was slow.
At that speed, it might miss altogether.
I considered what to do next…
But strangely, the gnolls didn't move.
"Whimper... whiiine!"
Their tails drooped.
The growling stopped entirely.
Seeing that, I spoke again.
"As expected, disciplining stray dogs is inefficient."
…Even I thought that was unbelievably shameless!
I couldn't believe the words coming out of my own mouth.
But in the end, wasn't this all just karma from my past?
Pull yourself together, Lee Hoyeol.
This is all because of who you used to be.
"Yes! Nailed it!"
Pump—
Seo Jeong-yeon clenched her fist in celebration.
I quickly turned my eyes back to the gnolls.
Whoosh—!
Where the burning gnolls had once stood, only items remained.
[Shoddy Arrows]
Grade: Normal
Restriction: None
Effect: None
Description: Poorly made arrows.
[Shoddy Self-Defense Longsword]
Grade: Normal
Restriction: Lv. 30
[Effect: On attack, has a low chance to inflict the status ailment 'Rabies']
[Description: The blade is dull, resulting in reduced attack power.]
When you're in a party, experience points are generally shared.
Item loot, however, is distributed based on each member's contribution.
Of course, that system only applies to items of Rare grade or higher.
So these? No need to be polite—I could just take them.
"Thirty-two arrows, huh."
That should be enough for now.
I could always hunt more gnoll archers to restock later.
I took out a bow from my inventory.
It felt like it fit naturally into my hands.
───────Archery Mastery (21%): Increases accuracy with bows.───────
Only 21% proficiency.
"I spent more time doing quests than hunting, after all."
Compared to someone with an Archer-class, this was a pitiful number.
Still, the fact that I had a skill at all made this entirely different from fighting with my bare hands.
Seo Jeong-yeon spoke to me.
"Wow, you can use a bow too?"
Of course.
It was the only main weapon I had.
The other party members chimed in as well.
"Huh? I thought you were a martial artist type. That punching earlier looked exactly like martial arts. What's it called again…? Oh! Tai Chi! The way you deflected and countered attacks, that was totally it!"
That wasn't Tai Chi. That was just me flailing around.
"Anyway, I'm glad. I was kind of nervous since Jeong-yeon was our only ranged dealer."
Yeah, honestly, I felt relieved too.
I wanted to say that out loud—
But I didn't.
What was it again? Something like, "Now that I'm here, you have nothing to worry about?"
"Seriously, stop trying to sound cool. Do you really think you're in a position to act like that?"
I could feel another cringe-worthy line about to slip out of my mouth.
Thankfully, the topic quickly shifted.
Choi Jung-hoon, the man wielding the greatsword, muttered to himself.
"Still, what's up with him today? Hey! Cheol-min hyung!!"
He was calling out to Nam Cheol-min.
At some point, Nam Cheol-min had already passed through the ticket gate.
He motioned toward us.
"What are you all doing? Hurry up and get over here!"
Seo Jeong-yeon tilted her head.
"Is he always like that? I mean, I don't have a ton of party hunting experience… but I've never seen a tank rush ahead like that on their own…"
A warrior armed with a shield and mace.
Han Sung-wook also nodded.
"This kind of teamwork from the start… it's going to be a problem."
"Ha, seriously, I'm sorry. I'll apologize on his behalf. Cheol-min hyung isn't usually like this. I don't know what's gotten into him today. I'll talk to him later."
The mood grew tense.
And understandably so.
What he did would've been a problem even in a game.
And we were inside a life-or-death rift.
"Still, Cheol-min hyung did choose a good path. Running into another party would've just wasted time."
"…But isn't he way too far ahead by himself?"
"Exactly. Let me call him—Hyung! Cheol-min hy—huh?!"
Ffft-ffft-ffft—
It was an ambush.
Gnolls, lying in wait, suddenly revealed themselves.
One, two…
A total of ten.
We barely managed to avoid the arrows, but we were still outnumbered.
Even if Nam Cheol-min came back, they had us two-to-one.
"Cheol-min hyung! Hey, hyung!!"
But Nam Cheol-min didn't seem like he intended to come back.
Choi Jung-hoon's face flushed with frustration and twisted in rage.
"What the hell, man! What the hell is wrong with you?! Hey! Nam Cheol-min!!"
At the stairs leading to the platform—
Nam Cheol-min stood there, silently watching as we got surrounded by gnolls.
I looked into his eyes.
Pitch-black irises, unfocused and blank.
And strangely…
I felt a sense of familiarity from them.
"…Why? I don't even know this guy."
Shouldn't I be feeling betrayal, not recognition?
But regardless of that confusion, my body moved on its own.
Swish—
A perfect textbook stance. Not even the slightest deviation.
Like an archer in a competition drawing their bowstring.
I calmly aimed at the gnolls—completely unshaken.
Ffft—
Even as I released the string, my breathing didn't falter.
"Whimper!"
Headshot.
A direct hit to the head.
A gnoll warrior fell with a single shot.
Yet, not even a trace of joy stirred within me.
『The first thing Granfell mastered as the next head of the family was not to be swayed by petty emotions.
The position of the head of the Cloudy family was one that allowed no room for wavering.』
To feel joy over defeating a mere gnoll?
That was something unthinkable for Granfell.
And I was in the same position.
Ffft—
Another headshot.
"Eight left."
I nocked another arrow to my bowstring.
The gnolls weren't just going to stand by and watch.
"Grrrr!!"
Gnoll warriors charged at us.
Choi Jung-hoon and Han Sung-wook stepped up to block them.
Each took on two gnoll warriors.
But the numbers were still against us.
"Damn it…! Be careful!"
Two gnoll warriors were running toward me.
Two gnoll archers remained, loading arrows.
Seo Jeong-yeon, who had been casting a spell, cried out, flustered.
"W-What should I do…?!"
The gnoll warriors were targeting me and Seo Jeong-yeon.
The archers were aiming at Choi Jung-hoon and Han Sung-wook.
No matter what she chose, someone would get hurt.
Seo Jeong-yeon couldn't make a quick decision.
Ironically, I answered without hesitation.
"I'll take care of the gnoll archers."
At that moment, my arrow flew.
Hit.
The gnoll warrior charging at Seo Jeong-yeon collapsed.
Thanks to that, she was able to finish casting her spell.
"Please… Hit it!!"
Fwoooosh—!
The Fire Arrow flew toward the gnoll archers.
The gnoll archers, preoccupied with aiming at their fellow gnolls entangled with Choi Jung-hoon and Han Sung-wook, didn't even notice the incoming spell.
By the time they felt the heat—it was too late.
Now, only the gnoll warrior charging toward me remained.
"Grrr!!"
I didn't have a Rapid Fire skill.
There wasn't enough time to reload.
But I had a self-defense longsword I took from a gnoll.
If I could just swing it and block, maybe I could buy some time.
However—
"Unfortunately for you."
What I lifted wasn't a sword, but my right leg.
My leg, raised with elegance, struck the gnoll warrior's head directly.
Wham—!
Just like in the first battle.
The option of being counterattacked didn't exist in my mind.
That's why my body could display its maximum reaction speed.
"Whi—Whimper!!"
To the gnoll warrior knocked down by my boot—
"I won't allow even a drop of blood to splatter on me."
Thwip—!
Expressionless, I drew my bowstring once again.
.
.
.
Aside from me, the others were panting heavily.
"Haah… I really thought I was gonna die."
"Didn't expect an ambush like that."
"…But why didn't you say anything?"
No one had to say it aloud.
Everyone's eyes turned to Nam Cheol-min, still watching us from the top of the stairs.
The one most furious had to be Choi Jung-hoon.
"What the hell, hyung, do you have some grudge against us?!"
He stormed toward Nam Cheol-min, huffing with rage.
His voice grew louder and louder.
"This is a damn setup, isn't it?! Fine, say it was a mistake. Say you didn't know about the ambush. Then why the hell did you just stand there watching?! Huh?! Say something, you bastard! You've got a mouth, don't you?!"
The two were getting closer.
If no one stepped in, it was going to turn into a fight.
Seo Jeong-yeon and Han Sung-wook stopped Choi Jung-hoon from either side.
"I get it, but let's all calm down a little."
"Yeah. Fighting here won't help anything."
"No, let go. This is between me and him. Hey, Nam Cheol-min! You think you're someone just because I kept calling you 'hyung' and following you around? You're nothing without my brother, you goddamn coward—"
I took a step back and watched.
"Ha ha ha! Hahahahahaha!"
At that moment, Nam Cheol-min burst into laughter.
And at the same time—
Bzzzt—
The faintly glowing light above us began to flicker.
"What the hell? Did he go nuts? Why's he laughing like that all of a sudden?"
"Hahaha! Haaah… See? I told you this would be fun."
"You think this is fun?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
I stared at Nam Cheol-min through the flickering light.
An incomprehensible act.
A situation spiraling into chaos.
And those pitch-black, unfocused eyes.
That strange feeling of familiarity I'd felt when I saw those eyes earlier.
Most of all—
The text that appeared in my vision at that moment:
[Skill, 'Natural Enemy' has been activated.]
───────Natural Enemy: When fighting demons, combat ability increases dramatically.───────
Tap—
I looked straight at Nam Cheol-min and said:
"Just as I thought. You are a demon."
PLEASE SUPPORT ME HERE-https://ko-fi.com/p_verma