055. The Watchers
“… … This concludes the team analysis.”
“Hmm… … Other teams are similar to last season and this season… … Surprisingly, PER is cruising along very well.”
“Yes. I think that’s because the so-called ‘bomber tactics’ that we presented earlier worked so well.”
“Have you thought about the destruction method?”
Silence falls across Team LTD’s conference room.
“Whew… … That’s why you shouldn’t be an analyst instead of a player. You don’t know actual combat. What’s the point of being good at analysis? Even if a slightly different tactic comes out, you can’t come up with a single way to defeat it.”
Everyone bows their heads to the director’s rebuke.
Whether that’s true or not, he was practically king here.
That’s why the one who broke the silence was LTD’s general manager, Lee Hyeong-geun.
“First of all, focus on managing the mental health of your team members. There are many ways to destroy them in my head. Okay.”
The meeting ended at the gesture of Director Lee Hyeong-geun, and everyone started leaving one by one.
A sigh from the heart resonated.
I didn’t want to worry about such trivial things right now.
Anyway, it’s just a passing position like the LTD manager position in the third division.
‘Whew… How much more experience do I need to build up before I can take charge of a team in a higher league…?’
I thought we had been doing pretty well in the third division so far.
In fact, it seemed that those above had no intention of transferring Lee Hyeong-geun to a higher league as a manager.
What can I do?
All we can do is wait while continuing to see results like this.
The most pressing problem right now is PER.
Honestly, when I was doing that ridiculous interview, I never thought the PER would go up like this.
Even with new tactics that no one has ever heard of.
Losing a game or two isn’t really a big deal, but…
The problem is, thinking about the guy’s interview, it seems like there would be a big backlash among the fandom if LTD lost.
Of course, that story will reach the ears of the 1st and 2nd LTD directors and front office staff.
Then, there may be difficulties in moving to a higher league.
‘More than anything, my pride wouldn’t allow it. And I can’t win over one little brat like that, so this whole thing happened.’
Lee Hyeong-geun slowly organized the documents on his desk.
And his eyes lit up when he saw the profile of one of the players on the bench.
Yeah, it’s about the time when you can block such a combination that has no basis. If you have this guy, you can easily come up with a way to counter it.
***
After the weekend of training, the games continued, and the ‘bomber tactics’ continued to be very effective.
‘I guess the lower the team level, the better it is to use one tactic destructively rather than to use a variety of tactics well… ‘
The bomber tactic, which was so well-received, was attempted in various ways, but in reality, it rarely worked.
This means that it has been proven to be a sound tactic.
So, the Hunters League 3rd Division started and the record was 5 wins and 1 loss. Well, they didn’t win everything. No team can win every game until the regular season.
The game I lost was also in an environment where I couldn’t use the bomber combination due to the nature of the map. My teammates fell into traps and all died at once, so I had no other way.
Of course, aside from that game, they had been on a roll, but there was no guarantee that it would continue to be that way in the future.
The reason why they were able to win so many games is simply because there were many lower-ranked teams in the matchup so far.
‘And the next game is LTD… … .’
It was the first time PER faced a top-tier team.
LTD isn’t in first place right now… … but they are currently in second place this season, tied with us in points.
Not only was this not an opponent to be taken lightly, but it was also a very important opponent as both sides were aiming for the third division championship.
Not only is it an opponent that can be tied with a one-point difference, but there is also a high possibility that they will meet in another match after the regular season ends.
“But Chang-Hyeon… … Even without that, it’s a time when you should be focusing on training before the LTD match, so why did you make Yeon-Joo train like that?”
“Oh my gosh… … .”
Even I couldn’t help but be shocked.
I didn’t even feel any movement.
At the Hunter Union Training Center, I was spying on Lee Yeon-ju to see if she was doing well with the new training task I gave her, and at some point, Lee Jong-gyu came and asked her questions… …
‘I didn’t really plan on telling Coach Lee Jong-gyu… … .’
Even if you ask why I’m telling you to do it, you won’t understand.
The training that Lee Yeon-ju is currently doing, ‘entering the map and capturing monsters or small minions alive’, was done to unlock the potential of the skill ‘Binding’.
That skill was known to be unlocked when you achieved a “sense of catching,” such as catching animals by setting traps, or even catching insects with a net.
But Lee Jong-gyu, who doesn’t know that, can’t help but understand it.
It is not easy to claim and make people understand that you know about the method of awakening potential abilities, which is completely unknown information to the world, and about Lee Yeon-ju’s potential ability [Binding].
So I decided to just talk nonsense.
“Coach, do you remember what I said last time that Yeonju needed to develop survival skills?”
“Uh… … Uh… … Right?”
“Then what is the most important thing?”
“Mobility?”
“That’s good too… … But… … The important thing is to understand the mind of the person you’re attacking. It means to think about where to attack from and how to capture them by putting yourself in their shoes and understanding the route they’ll take.”
“Ah… … such a profound meaning… … .”
At those words, Lee Jong-gyu’s eyes lit up as if he had realized something.
Just looking at the atmosphere, it feels like everyone had thought about it.
Of course, it doesn’t have such a deep meaning…
‘You believe that again. If you want to run away, you have to practice running away. Why are you practicing catching?’
For me, it was completely incomprehensible that I could understand and accept this explanation. Am I actually more of a conman than a hunter?
——————
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All sorts of useless thoughts swirled around in my head.
At that time.
When I came to my senses again and looked at Lee Yeon-ju, something had changed.
‘uh……?’
It was a change that occurred in Lee Yeon-ju, who was capturing minions by setting up mana traps.
At the moment when the minion was about to pass by, barely avoiding the mana trap, something burst out from Lee Yeon-ju, who was watching intently as if she was being sucked in.
Then, suddenly, a black energy appeared from under the minion and grabbed the minion.
“… … !”
Lee Yeon-ju, who saw that sight, seemed surprised herself, and took a step back from the pose where she was looking as if she was being sucked in, and fell on her butt.
“done!”
And of course, in the status window I saw again,
[Lee Yeon-ju]
[skill]
[Location Specific: B-]: Accurately determines the location of nearby opponents.
[Rapid Fire: C+]: Rapid fire.
[Bind: A+]: Temporarily binds a creature at a designated location.: Potential Ability Bloom
[Physical Ability]
[Strength: 5.6]
[Reaction speed: 5.6]
[Flexibility: 5.6]
[Stamina: 5.3]
[Mana amount: 7.6]
Unlike me, who was clearly aware of what had happened, Lee Yeon-ju seemed to have no idea what she had done.
So when he came out of the practice room with a very bewildered expression, he looked bewildered when he saw me full of joy.
No, rather, he showed reluctance.
“Wh… What’s going on?”
“Yes, there is.”
He said as he took a big step closer. Then he grabbed both of Lee Yeon-ju’s hands.
“Congratulations on your new ability blossoming.”
Lee Yeon-ju looked completely bewildered.
***
The Hunter Management Association. Although its functions have been significantly reduced now, it was an association that had absolute power when the Tower was conquered in the past.
And as such, Lee Geun-taek had no choice but to know many famous people and meet them on a regular basis. It was natural for him to become close to them as he met them often.
“… … It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, so you’ve changed a lot.”
“Me? Do I look like that?”
“Yes… … very much.”
The president’s office. The old man sitting across from Lee Geun-taek. He was Jo Jun-ho, a first-generation hunter and currently the head of the Korean Hunters League.
“You don’t know how worried I was when you stepped down from the front lines.”
“Why, but by the time I step down, there won’t be any dangerous monsters left.”
“Was it because of that monster? I did it because I was worried about you.”
“I?”
Jo Jun-ho recalled the past.
The sight of him climbing up the tower one step at a time, determined to conquer it.
And then there was the unexpected sight he showed when he finally conquered the tower. He was lost in a sense of futility, wandering around like burnt-out ash.
“Wasn’t your sole purpose to conquer the tower?”
“That’s right… … How many people died there? Now, I can’t even remember each and every one of my comrades. Even though it was such a vivid memory back then… … Now, it’s a blur. I feel so sorry for them.”
“The reason you attacked the tower was to prevent more people like that from appearing… … I know that. However, I can’t just leave alone the old people who have achieved their goal by burning everything they have. So many old people who have lost their purpose in life commit suicide and die… … .”
“Did I look like that kind of person to you?”
Jo Jun-ho laughed at Lee Geun-taek’s words.
“It was definitely like that back then. It looks a lot better now though.”
Lee Geun-taek looked as if he was troubled by those words.
It’s true that there have been things I’ve become interested in recently and things I want to see more of.
Even if it’s something trivial, it’s definitely true that there are more reasons to hold on to life.
“Actually, I heard everything. I heard you’ve been raising an interesting guy recently.”
“What about raising them? I’m just watching.”
“Hey… … A guy like that would hand over his entire team?”
“It wasn’t something I gave you; you earned it yourself.”
“If you didn’t want to hand it over, then how could it have been handed over?”
It was certainly true. Lee Geun-taek had no choice but to agree with that.
“Bring him over sometime. Since you’re interested in him, I can’t help but be interested.”
“I’m fine with it since I don’t have any direct ties to the Korean Hunters League, but if you did, you’d be seen as a biased Hunters League official who favors a certain player.”
“That doesn’t matter. I just see it when I want to see it. What could be more important in human relationships than that? Right?”
That was right.
No matter what position he holds, in the end, it’s all his choice. He’s probably experienced enough to know his position and will handle things well, so worrying about him might be overkill.
“Since you raised him, I think it would be fun to compete against other disciples you raised yourself… … .”
Jo Jun-ho seemed lost in his own thoughts.
That was understandable, as Lee Geun-taek was a first-generation hunter who had trained many later hunters, and they were also currently active in the Hunter’s League.
“Will the one who won be the one you didn’t raise yourself but kept an eye on and pushed for win… or will the one who won be the one you raised with great care during your time conquering the top tower, in case he died somewhere? That’s really interesting.”
“Huh… … I never trained him particularly hard. He studied hard on his own. By the way, didn’t I do that before? In the end, being a hunter is no different from a martial artist who builds up strength honestly. But… … Looking at that guy Lee Chang-hyun, I’m starting to doubt whether that’s true. Anyway, that’s it.”
“… … ?”
Jo Jun-ho tilted his head, momentarily unable to read the meaning of those words.
But then I thought about it again and it was obvious who he meant.
“Why, do you think the guy you’re looking at now might be stronger than the student you taught when you were a hunter?”
“Maybe so.”
Jo Jun-ho’s eyes grew wide.
Even so, even if it was only for a little while, I would have crossed the battlefield and attacked the tower with the first generation hunters, so how could a mere rookie be stronger?
Of course, unlike Jo Jun-ho’s reaction, Lee Geun-taek just silently looked for his next schedule.
‘Is it finally the next game…?’
If Lee Geun-taek’s prediction is correct, it will be a very anticipated matchup.
fantasy,
