Anomaly Detection Translator: Xzy ***
Han Yu-jin couldn't properly observe how the battle between the two was unfolding, aside from just its aftermath.
It was like watching the battle from the perspective of a minor supporting character in some manga about collecting dragon balls to make a wish—the kind who appears briefly in the beginning before becoming a complete nobody.
Light flashed, and dozens of afterimages of unidentifiable trajectories remained.
Before the phenomenon of the sky shaking with incessantly spewing shockwaves could even fade, a jet-black tower of some kind appeared and began to emit a profound light above the pterosaur's head, then a crude stone sword appeared, struck the tower, and shattered it into light, and the pterosaur spewed a breath.
The moment it seemed that breath was split in half by something, the pterosaur let out an enormous shriek and flapped its wings, moving and breaking through an incredible distance in an instant.
Then, a clear metallic sound, its origin unknown, scattered through the air, canceling out the pterosaur's roar.
The only things he could properly tell were that the battle between the two was a fierce and evenly matched contest, and that the waves of spiritual energy and yao qi felt as though each and every move contained the power to split a mountain.
'If they gather their power properly and attack, they could probably split not just a mountain, but Mount Tai itself.'
Unfortunately, Han Yu-jin could not appreciate the battle of such Spirit Transformation Stage powerhouses for long.
This was because, separate from the battle between those two, countless members of the Yao Race were attacking Tianyuan Star.
"Defend the city walls—!!"
Someone's voice, amplified through a Dharma spell, echoed resoundingly across the battlefield.
One might wonder what use city walls were in a war between cultivators and the Yao Race, but once you knew that they were a medium for activating a certain defensive restriction, it was immediately understandable.
The sense of crisis that was first felt when the Central Restriction was corrupted was considerably diluted by the appearance of Gu So-bo, a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator and the city lord of this place.
The great battle unfolding high up in the sky was naturally having the effect of boosting people's morale, and Han Yu-jin was also naturally influenced by it, his courage growing a hundredfold.
'I should take this chance to see how well my skills work!'
With that thought, he climbed the city wall, and his mouth fell open and a shiver ran down his spine as he saw the offensive of the variously shaped Yao Race members rushing in like a veritable tidal wave from beyond the horizon.
It felt as if he had just caught a glimpse of the true face of the great war that was said to be waged using an entire world as a frontline.
KIYAAAAAAAK—!!
It was just then that a member of the Yao Race was flying low in the air, passing through the hole-riddled Central Restriction defensive barrier.
The attacks of Han Yu-jin and the surrounding cultivators were all fired at once toward the raptor-like Yao Race member.
Most of them were attacks using Dharma artifacts, and Han Yu-jin also manipulated the Five Elements Sword's Dharma script restriction to shoot out an attack of golden energy.
The raptor Yao Race member, which had charged in with great vigor, could not withstand the power of numbers and was thrown outside the city walls in a pitifully wretched state.
However, in the meantime, several other Yao Race members were infiltrating from different locations.
KHIHIHIHIK…!
A monster similar to a human but with a single eye and three heads, resembling a Cyclops from a fantasy novel but with three pairs of arms, a three-headed, six-armed monster, invaded and began to swing its six weapons.
The sight of it enduring most Dharma spells with just its body was the epitome of toughness.
Since Han Yu-jin happened to be nearby, he had no time to observe the Yao Race members invading from other places.
He focused all his attention on cooperating with the surrounding cultivators to kill or drive away that monster.
KWAKWAKWAKWANG—! PAGAGAK!
"Heuk…!"
A weapon gleaming with a sinister golden light flew in like a storm and struck a cultivator's defensive barrier, which was made through a Dharma artifact.
It was so fast that a strong wind blew and afterimages scattered, and it looked as if just a single graze would tear off flesh and shatter bone.
While the female Dharma Soul Stage cultivator inside was enduring with all her might, blood bursting from her seven orifices as if in agony, the other cultivators launched attacks with all their might to save their ally and to avoid becoming the target of the attack themselves.
All sorts of attacks and Dharma spells from various Dharma artifacts flew out and began to make the three-headed, six-armed monster bloody.
One of the attacks, which was shot out with a roar like a thunderbolt, even managed to finally sever one of the creature's arms.
However, despite such a serious injury, the creature finally broke the barrier it had been pounding on, and then stabbed the cultivator inside with a sword and brought her to its mouth.
There was no time for anyone to stop or interfere.
ADEUDEUK—!
A human's head was crushed in the mouth of the one-eyed, three-headed, six-armed monster like a fruit.
Blood and brain matter leaked from the corners of its mouth, and the creature continued to tear and eat the cultivator's remaining body like fruit flesh, while deflecting and parrying all the incoming attacks with the weapons in its other hands as it hastily retreated.
Despite its amazing physical abilities and weapon skills, the cruelty of it made one want to vomit rather than feel admiration.
It felt even more tragic because the cultivator who had died like that was at the Dharma Soul Stage, a stage Han Yu-jin had not yet reached.
His own attack could not even properly scratch the skin of that monster-like Yao Race member.
It was all blocked by a copper-colored radiance, as if hitting a rock with an egg.
His fighting spirit, which had been boiling for a moment due to the appearance of the Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator, the echoing mental message, and the magnificent battle that had unfolded, grew cold.
'The ones who cultivate for longevity… are dying like ants all over the place!'
He was looking around with an aghast expression without even realizing it.
It was the cruelty and madness of a battlefield, something he was experiencing for the first time in his life.
The appearance of the Yao Race members was terrifying, but the appearance of the human cultivators who showed no sign of backing down against such Yao Race members was also terrifying like monsters in Han Yu-jin's eyes.
They were on the same side now, but it was because he could naturally predict what a dreadful attitude they would show if he were to have a conflict with such people and fight them in the future.
Perhaps it was because his complexion was so poor.
It seemed that such a weak-looking target was more easily noticed by the enemy than by allies.
A Yao Race member with an appearance like a mix of a praying mantis and a scorpion, which had infiltrated inside the Central Restriction defensive barrier and was flying through the air, suddenly plunged towards him like a hawk aiming for its prey.
Han Yu-jin instinctively cast the Jade Skin Spell and created the Five Elements Sword's bell-shaped defensive barrier.
And he intended to explode that barrier as soon as he defended against the attack to shred the enemy to pieces.
The moment he thought that, the creature's scythe-like arm had already torn apart the bell-shaped defensive barrier like a piece of paper and was flying right in front of Han Yu-jin's nose.
'Fuck.'
Without even a chance to utter that curse, his entire vision went black with the final feeling of a huge impact rushing over him.
[You have died.]
Han Yu-jin stared at the mysteriously appearing silver characters in a slightly dazed state.
[Please select your reward.]
<><><>
The reward he had to choose was, of course, the book 'Yeondan Cho-hae' that he had received from the Core Formation Stage cultivator, Won Baek-ryeong.
Items like the jade plaque were almost useless in reality.
And so, awakened in his bed, he picked up the 'Yeondan Cho-hae' book that had appeared next to him and was lost in thought for a moment.
Although he had died in vain, it could be said that this visit to another world had fulfilled his original goal very well. Even his wish not to stay for too long had been fulfilled.
'Right… come to think of it, I think I died at an appropriate time.'
His plan to test how useful Yeon Bi-won's identity was had failed, but in any case, he had made very good use of the period when the Central Restriction was neutralized.
'I didn't even feel much pain when I died.'
If you excluded the shitty feeling of powerlessness that came from being unable to resist for even a brief moment, it would be difficult to die more cleanly than that.
At least my head wasn't chewed on while I was still alive like someone else, right?
Thinking of that scene made him feel sick to his stomach again, but it wasn't unbearable.
'I'm a person who has died in various ways too.'
One of them was being turned into a pile of cube steak by a terrifying ghost of some kind.
Thinking this, he roughly formulated a plan for the future.
Since he had gained a tidy profit from the Alchemy Arts lecture this time, it seemed like a good idea to spend two or three days organizing what he had learned, then visit Tianyuan Star again to listen to another lecture on the Four Great Arts of Cultivation.
'If I learn all the content of the Tianyuan Star public lectures, I should be able to make do with it until the Dharma Soul Stage.'
He also felt a desire for Dharma spell training, not just the Four Great Arts of Cultivation.
This was because he had keenly felt the importance of power in the last battle at Tianyuan Star.
It was also especially because he had witnessed several cultivators who, despite being at the same stage as himself, had displayed superior offensive and defensive abilities.
But after thinking about it a little more, Han Yu-jin shook his head.
He had died not because of a lack of types or proficiency of the Dharma spells he had learned.
In the first place, the opponent's power was simply so strong that it was impossible to resist with any means.
'If I were to learn Dharma spells anyway, it seems it would be better to learn how to hide and run away first.'
Continuing to think about it, he realized that in that battle, he had been too exposed, even though he was only in the Entry Stage.
It was a time when he should have been doing his best to hide and conceal himself.
It didn't mean he had to just run away. Wouldn't he have to survive first to be able to hold off the enemy for longer and ultimately make a greater contribution?
It was a chaotic battle in a large-scale war, completely different from the fights he had experienced so far, so it couldn't be seen as just foolish.
Fortunately, he had many opportunities and would be able to do better next time.
'As long as I don't do anything stupid in reality.'
And so, having finished organizing the results of this adventure, he began to prioritize the things he had to do in reality by recalling them in his mind.
<><><>
There was a lot to do.
Organizing the knowledge of Dharma spells was not difficult, but it required a lot of time, and in relation to that, a sample of the Ability Management Bureau's contract arrived, and he also looked for a skilled lawyer to review it.
It was separate from trusting the Ability Management Bureau; it was because he thought he had to do his best since it was such an important matter.
And after finishing the review by a legal expert, he felt much more refreshed.
In the meantime, the work of digesting the knowledge of Alchemy Arts he had obtained from the Tianyuan Star lecture, and obtained through the selection of rewards, took longer than he thought.
It was even more so because he was digesting it in connection with the Bloodwood Essence Fruit Brewing Art.
Naturally, time passed quickly, and the night class pre-training of the Hunter specialized school began.
There were more people taking the class than he had expected, a little over twenty.
It seemed that there were cases where even people who had awakened quite a long time ago were now receiving the training due to various circumstances.
The content of the education was not at all lacking.
Even though it had only been four days, he had learned a variety of content, from the common sense a Hunter should have, to how to operate, to how to deal with various dangers, and he also learned some of the legal knowledge and obligations to keep in mind.
It felt as if it had been compressed as much as possible within the short training period, and far from being lacking, the content even felt a little excessive.
Thinking that there were more than ten days of such training left, with strict exams in the middle and at the end, it was to the point where he was reminded of his third year of high school.
It was even more so because he had a lot of knowledge to organize and digest personally.
Anyway, the most impressive part of it was the points to be careful of when going out to clear a rift.
'They say all safety rules are written in blood.'
It was educational content that made such a thought naturally come to mind, where each and every point had a related case, making him understand well why such points of caution existed.
Although it was a little unfamiliar, they were very busy and fulfilling days. With no particular incidents.
Except for one thing: the private investigation request report, which, strangely, had not arrived for the past two days.
Tonight too, late at night after the training ended.
Han Yu-jin thought as he headed home in a taxi.
'Today is the last day of the contracted week…'
He wondered if he had been ripped off, but recalling that a report with substantial content had come in regularly until then, it felt as if some other situation had arisen.
That was why he had already waited for two days. He had thought that, depending on the situation, it could be delayed by a day or two.
But he couldn't wait any longer. If he waited quietly any longer, he'd be a complete sucker.
'If it doesn't come by today, I'll have to call right away during business hours tomorrow.'
Thinking this, he thought, what could possibly be wrong?
The incidence rate of ability-related crimes in the Republic of Korea was low enough to compete for first or second place globally, and the arrest rate, on the contrary, was high enough to be in the top three in the world.
The high arrest rate was probably thanks to the fact that there were fewer crimes to investigate, allowing for a more concentrated deployment of manpower, but in any case, that did not diminish the meaning of the high arrest rate.
And so, as he was watching the night view flowing past the taxi window, Han Yu-jin suddenly recalled Won-hee, the powerful ghost he had encountered at that school on the Earth After the Apocalypse.
A slight shiver ran down his skin, and a single concern naturally came to mind along with it.
It was an ominous thought, wondering if everything was really okay.
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