1090 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Title: "The World's Best Martial Artist's Childhood Friend Episode 1090: Northern Hare - Web Novel Archives" On a not-so-tall mountain range. The fallen leaves, transformed in color, announce that it is autumn in this tranquil place. Originally, this mountain range was located in Hanan, home to a sect, and it should have been a place where prosperity and peace coexisted. Even in this era where monsters are rampant, it was one of the few places where herbalists could legally travel. Because of this, a quiet calm was supposed to envelop the mountains. Grrrrr--!!! Yet, inexplicably, the cries of monsters echoed through this mountain range. Grrrrrrr--!!! The ferocious roaring caused nearby beasts to hold their breath. Why had the monsters suddenly become rampant? The reason was simple enough. 'Because it was intentionally allowed.' If the expanse of this mountain range, the sect itself should be overseeing it. If it was peaceful enough to be said so, the sword unit would promptly handle the situation as soon as the demon gate opened. Especially at this time, most monsters would be green or blue, making them not particularly difficult to deal with. The existence of monsters indicated that the martial sect had not eradicated them. ‘I heard they left the monsters alone for nearly seven days or so.’ They probably set this up for today's training. However, if there was one issue here... "Why do there seem to be fewer monsters than usual for training?" It was the number of monsters. "Indeed. Normally, they'd be swarming all around, but... why are there so few today?" "Could it be that the frequency of demon gates opening has decreased?" "That can't be. Just last time when the Flying Dragon Squad checked, the number was higher than usual." The seniors moving ahead voiced their confusion. The swordsmen of the Azure Dragon Unit, using their light footwork, expressed their doubts. If the mountain range had been restricted until nearly seven days and the monsters had been allowed to resist... A considerable quantity of monsters should exist, but after running around like this, they only managed to find and deal with three. It was a curious situation. "...Could it be the Steel Dragon Unit has been moving quicker?" "It can't be. The activity area itself is different. There's still about one si-jin left before the joint action." "So how does it make sense for there to be so few monsters...? So-yi, do you sense anything?" A senior asked Geombong So-yi, who was behind them, but she could only shake her head. “I don’t sense anything.” "Hmm... this is really strange." They were at a loss for answers. The fellow novices at the back were equally puzzled. '...Oh, this is troublesome.' Following from the very back, I had to suppress a nervous sweat. The reason was none other than me. 'Damn, of all times to have this kind of training.’ The reason there were fewer monsters in the mountain range was because of me. '...I thought there were too many monsters here.' On my first day arriving in this world, I cleared out the monsters to secure a place to sleep. Even then, I wondered why there were so many monsters for Hanan. 'So that was the reason.' The overflow of monsters was precisely why. Left unchecked for almost five days, the monsters had been teeming. 'And I cleared them all out.' Needing the money, I had slain all the monsters, which is why there were now fewer monsters in the mountain range. 'Well...' Caught in an awkward situation, I swallowed a sigh and continued to follow the others. To think I inadvertently interfered without realizing it. 'Is it going to be okay...?' Still, as long as they don’t find out, it won't matter. It would actually be fortunate if things pass without incident. ‘...But who am I kidding?’ I wasn't optimistic about that happening. Although they called it joint training, it was undeniably a competition. ‘This is training to see how many monsters you can hunt.’ They had set up a competitive structure despite calling it a collaborative exercise. They talked about testing coordination and cooperation with other sword units to handle stronger monsters, but... ‘What a joke.’ I knew better than anyone that such things would never happen. And even so, the monsters were few? In that case. ‘Problems will definitely arise.’ Problems would surface soon. And. 'High probability it will be problems among people.' It would not be issues related to monsters but problems with people. As assured was my judgment, and not long after, Problems erupted as if on cue. * * * Kuaaaang---!!! With a ferocious roar, the monster fell. It was a green monster in the form of a bear. Although referred to as a monster, due to its low level, it was almost the size of an actual bear. Kuuung-!! The sizable monster collapsed. “Got it.” A martial artist from the Azure Dragon Unit smiled broadly at the fallen monster. As they approached the monster... “Hey. Don’t touch that.” A voice came from the opposite direction. “What?” The senior, frowning at the comment, saw someone appear on the other side, his lips curling slightly. “That’s ours. Don’t touch it.” It seemed to be a martial artist from the Steel Dragon Unit. As he approached and spoke, the senior's eyebrows lifted. "What nonsense is this? Anyone can see we took it down." "Check its back and say that." Looking down, there was something embedded in the monster’s back. A sword and a dagger. The sword was the weapon thrown by the senior. And the dagger... “We threw it to take it down. Clearly, it's closer to the vital spot. So, obviously, it's ours, right?” The martial artist pointed somewhere. Following his gaze, a young man with an expressionless look was watching this way. Upon seeing the young man, they recognized one another. ‘...Poison King?’ It was Poison King Dangcheon-gi. He was the one who owned the dagger. “Hah. Bullshit, I know full well there was nothing there when our girl threw her sword. Who do you take for a fool?” Here, 'our girl' referred to So-yi. She had thrown her sword the moment she saw the monster. “Moreover, this is Azure Dragon’s territory. You have no business being here.” In the collaborative training between the two groups, each had designated areas where they were supposed to hunt monsters exclusively. This was one of the set rules for the exercise, but... "It has already been one si-jin since then. That rule doesn't really apply anymore, does it?" The initial rule specified a time limit of one si-jin. After that period, they could hunt in each other's territories. By now, it seemed more than a si-jin had passed. However... "Even so, it doesn't change the fact that our team's attack landed first. Unless you're blind, you'd know that, wouldn't you?" This was indeed true. The Azure Dragon Unit had clearly struck the monster first. Claiming otherwise? That would be unreasonable, a mere excuse showing their lack of skill. The Steel Dragon Unit likely understood this and refrained from mentioning it. Instead, they focused on another aspect. "But it was us who struck the vital point. Since it was our team that delivered the finishing blow, it only makes sense that this monster is ours, right?" "You're spouting nonsense...!" 'Ugh.' As expected, tensions were not going to ease easily. The growing tension between the parties was palpable. 'I knew this would happen.' I sighed from behind as I watched the scene unfold. It was obvious things would escalate in this manner. This kind of friction was likely anticipated within the training itself. However, even the ones who planned the training likely didn't foresee such a confrontation due to the scarce number of monsters. "So, you want to fight?" "What? Do you think saying that would scare us? Ha." Slicing sounds filled the air as both sides drew their swords. Witnessing this, others also drew their weapons. A sudden clash between the Azure Dragon Unit and the Steel Dragon Unit loomed. As tensions within began to rise, the newcomers looked on in confusion. ‘What should I do?’ I pondered. ‘Should I just slip away?’ It seemed like too much trouble for just a response to green monsters. Emotions and pride were also at play. No doubt it wouldn't end easily. It was bound to result in a bigger altercation. Seeing how this could become a nuisance, sneaking away to watch from a distance seemed like a better plan. ‘Sounds good.’ Yes, that's what I'll do. Nodding with determination, I quietly suppressed my energy. My aura had been contained to avoid detection of my realm, but... To execute a stealth technique, I had to use a bit of force. Sssss-- I channeled my energy, securing my senses. My heightened sensory perception began to sharpen. At that moment. Grrrrr-! "...!" I flinched. Stopping my energy, I widened my eyes. ‘Huh?’ I turned my head toward the direction where the energy was detected. ‘What... is this?’ Grrrrr---!! A faint cry from a monster echoed. Of course, even with the reduced monster numbers, my sense was acute enough to detect signs throughout the mountain range. The problem was... ‘Why is this thing here?’ I felt the presence of a monster that should not exist in this era. Snap-! I swiftly moved. While the others were about to engage in a fight, I headed towards where the presence was felt. Grrrrr---!!! I finally confirmed the creature exuding its presence. "...Wow." Near the central location of the mountain range. Inside a cavern with a massive hole, something could be seen. It bore a resemblance to the bear-like form of the creature we just captured. It didn't differ much in appearance, but... Grr. The creature was enormous, filling the cave's interior. Unlike the others that were green, this one had a vibrant red fur. 'Red grade monster...?' This meant it was not of the green or blue grade. This was a red-grade monster. “Why is this thing here...?” In this era, such a grade of monster should not exist.