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Chapter 8: The Unexpected Encounter

High above, in the not-so-mighty mountain range, autumn was marking its territory with colorful fallen leaves.

Originally, this mountain range was located in Hanam, a place where the Martial Alliance thrived, promising prosperity and peace—at least in theory.

Even in this chaotic era of demon beasts running rampant, it was one of the rare places where herbalists could still operate legally.

That was why only a gentle serenity should have lingered in these mountains.

Grrrrr–!!!

Yet, for some reason, the cries of demon beasts could be heard echoing through the mountains.

Grrrrrr–!!!

The harsh, wild howls silenced any nearby beasts.

What could have prompted such a sudden surge of demon beasts? The answer was rather straightforward.

“I set them loose on purpose.”

With a range of mountains like this, the Martial Alliance would surely be keeping tabs on things.

In a situation where peace was claimed, whenever the Demonic Gate opened, the Sword Team usually managed to handle things right away.

Especially at this point in time, only green or blue demon beasts should be lurking, making clean-up pretty simple.

Yet the presence of demon beasts meant that the Martial Alliance had not mobilized to eradicate them.

“I heard they’ve been left here for almost a week.”

Most likely a setup for today’s training session.

However, there was one problem that arose.

“Doesn’t it seem like there are fewer demon beasts than usual?”

It was precisely the quantity of demon beasts.

“Right? Normally, they’d be sprawled all over the place, but why are there so few today?”

“Maybe the frequency of the Demonic Gate’s emergence has been low?”

“Can’t be. The last time the Flying Dragon team checked, there were more than usual.”

The seniors, who had ventured ahead, were pondering while the Sword Team members of the Blue Dragon Clan performed their light techniques, expressing their confusion. If they had banned entry up to this point, allowing for some demon beast backlash,

there should have been a significant number of demon beasts around, yet with everyone running about, they’d only managed to take down three at best.

It was odd.

“…What’s going on? Are the Iron Dragon guys moving faster?”

“No way. Their active territories are completely different. They still have at least an hour before they can truly cooperate.”

“Then why is there so few demon beasts… So-i, do you sense anything off?”

The seasoned member turned to So-i, trailing behind. However, she could only shake her head in response.

“I don’t feel anything at all.”

“…Huh, this is really weird.”

Their expressions showed clear bewilderment. Watching from the back, I couldn’t help but feel anxious too.

“…Ah, this is troublesome.”

The reason there were fewer demon beasts in this mountain range was entirely my doing.

“…No wonder there seem to be so many.”

On the very first day I arrived in this world, I had cleaned out demon beasts to make a place to rest.

At that time, I couldn’t help but wonder why there were so many demon beasts in Hanam.

“The reason was this.”

The reason there had been a surge of demon beasts was that I had left them untouched for nearly five days.

“Since I got rid of all of them…”

In a scramble for money, I had killed off all the demon beasts, which was why there were so few in the mountain range now.

“Ugh…”

It was an utterly awkward situation. I had to follow the other team members while awkwardly swallowing my embarrassment.

“Will it be okay…?”

I would likely not get found out, so that wasn’t an issue. It would actually be a relief if things just went smoothly without any further incidents.

“…But that’s unlikely.”

I had no real hopes for that.

Sure, they claimed it was a joint training, but it was essentially a competition.

“It’s a training focused on how many demon beasts you can hunt.”

Even though it was framed as a joint effort, the competition was evident. While they claimed cooperation for facing stronger demon beasts,

“I know that’s not going to happen.”

I was more aware than anyone that certain things were just impossible.

And for that matter, there were fewer demon beasts?

In such a case,

“There were definitely going to be problems.”

Problems were bound to erupt sooner than later.

And most likely,

“They would be issues between the people, rather than with the demon beasts.”

Following my instincts, sure enough, shortly after that,

the issues came up like a ghost.

*

Roar—!!!

With a ferocious roar, a demon beast plummeted to the ground. It was a green demon beast that resembled a bear.

Although it was classified as a demon beast, it was quite small, hardly bigger than an actual bear.

Grroooowl-!!

The sizable beast crashed down.

“I got it.”

A martial artist from the Blue Dragon Clan grinned at the fallen beast and approached it.

“Hey. Don’t touch that.”

A different voice came from across the way.

“What?”

With a frown at that comment, the senior advanced and met with a scowling face.

“That’s ours. Keep your hands off.”

It turned out to be a martial artist from the Iron Dragon Clan. As he stepped over, the senior raised an eyebrow.

“What nonsense is this? Anyone can see we took it down.”

“Check the back.”

Lowering his gaze, he noticed something lodged in the demon beast’s back.

A sword and a dagger.

The sword was the weapon the senior had thrown earlier, and next to it, the dagger was…

“We threw that to kill it. It’s pretty much a clean shot in the vital area, so of course, it’s ours!”

The martial artist pointed with his finger. Following the gesture, a young man with a blunt stare was looking back.

Upon seeing the young man, I recognized him.

“…The Poison King?”

Tang Cheon-gi, the Poison King, was the owner of the dagger.

“Ha. Nonsense, I know my girl wouldn’t have thrown anything when she just spotted the demon beast. Who do you think you’re calling a fool?”

‘My girl’ referred to So-i.

She had thrown her sword as soon as she had seen the demon beast.

“Besides, this is the territory of the Blue Dragon Clan. You guys have no business here.”

Two factions were assigned their own locations, and they had to hunt demon beasts only in those areas. That was the designated rule for this joint training.

“It’s been over an hour already, so there’s no way that would still apply.”

This was conditioned on just one hour, and after that time, hunting could occur in each other’s areas.

It seemed like we had already surpassed one hour. That said,

“Either way, our attack reached first, so it doesn’t change the fact!”

It was also true; after all, the Blue Dragon Clan’s attack had landed on the demon beast first.

Didn’t they see that? That was nonsensical and a clear sign of incompetence.

The Iron Dragon Clan probably knew this too, so that wasn’t mentioned, but instead, they focused on another point.

“But still, we struck the vital spot. Since we choked the life out of it, it’s fair to say the demon beast is ours!”

“Nonsense…!”

“Ugh.”

Sure enough, they didn’t seem willing to back down easily. The tension among the others started to rise significantly.

“I anticipated this kind of fuss.”

As I observed it all from the back, I couldn’t help but sigh. It was obvious this would come to pass.

Such friction was surely anticipated in the training from the beginning. Just, with the number of demon beasts being so low, I doubted even those who planned the training saw this coming.

“Are you looking for a fight?”

“Why? Do you think saying that will scare us? Ha.”

Swish-! Clang-

Both sides drew their swords. Seeing this, everyone else followed suit and drew their weapons as well.

The sudden clash between the Blue Dragon Clan and the Iron Dragon Clan was about to erupt.

As the internal friction grew, the newly arrived recruits were left looking stunned.

“What should we do?”

I pondered.

“Should we just slip away?”

To call it mere retaliation against a green demon beast would be an understatement; it was also rooted in pride.

They wouldn’t let it go easily. Most definitely, there would be some showdown to settle the matter.

Seeing that it was bound to escalate, I figured it’d be better to sneak off and watch the chaos unfold.

“Perfect.”

Yeah, let’s do that.

I nodded in certainty, quietly gathering my energy. Although I was keeping my qi perception and energy contained, I had to release a bit of strength to use my stealth technique.

Swiiish–!!

Priming my heart, I summoned my energy. Instantly, my senses returned to life.

At that moment,

Grrrrrr—!

“…!”

Startled, I halted my energy buildup and widened my eyes.

“Huh?”

I turned my head toward the direction where I felt the energy.

“What’s that?”

What was this?

The faint sounds of a demon beast’s howl could be heard. Naturally, even with the low number of demon beasts, my qi perception could still sense movements throughout the entire mountain range.

The problem was,

“Why is that thing here?”

It was the recognition that something that absolutely shouldn’t be present in this era was near.

Focus-!

I leaped into action.

In a flash, my perspective shifted. While they aimed to clash among each other, I raced toward the source of the energy I sensed.

Grrrrrrrr—!!!

Eventually, I confirmed the presence radiating with immense power.

“…Huh.”

Near the center of the mountain range, inside a cave with a gigantic hole, something was lurking.

Like the freshly caught beast, it resembled a bear.

Its appearance wasn’t vastly different, but

Grrroooowl.

This one was big enough to fill the entire cavern, and unlike the green one, it boasted bright red fur.

“A red demon beast…?”

This signified it wasn’t in the green or blue tier; it indicated the red-tiered demon beast.

“Why is it appearing now…?”

In this current era, it was a beast that was absolutely not supposed to show itself.

 

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