Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 113 : The Responsible One (2)

The Responsible One (2)

A-rank Hunter Liam was a skilled individual on the verge of reaching S-rank.

Because of that, he was originally very reluctant to participate in the Challengers.

Typically, Challengers was an event in which only B-rank awakeners and below participated.

While up to B-rank could be adequately handled with sense and strategy, even that became difficult when facing an A-rank.

"Are you saying that I should enter the Challengers with Derick?"

"That's right."

After hearing from PD Heo Seong-man that Hwang Yeon-ji and Alencia were participating in the Challengers, Eugene called Liam in and brought up the subject.

"Derick already knows Alencia, so it'll be motivating for him."

"Alencia is at best an F-rank awakener, isn't she?"

At least, according to Derick, that was the case.

However, Eugene only chuckled at Liam's comment.

"If it were the old days, that would be true."

"The old days?"

Did something really change in such a short time?

"I just thought this would be a good opportunity to test the character of our talented newcomer."

"Test his character?"

"You'll see for yourself."

Liam frowned at Eugene's cryptic words, but he didn't bother to probe further.

Anyway, this man was not the type to answer even if you asked more.

"And frankly, the Challengers will be quite beneficial for you too."

"That's hard to accept, no matter what you say, vice-guildmaster."

There were five deputy guild masters in Pandemonium, with Eugene being one of them.

So, considering rank, Liam should have kept quiet, but he ended up answering impulsively.

"Is this because of Hwang Yeon-ji?"

"You catch on quick."

"No matter how much humiliation she caused you, I don't think it's right for you to take proxy revenge."

"Proxy revenge? Someone might misunderstand if they heard you."

Eugene shrugged and looked down at him, undisturbed by Liam's sharp words.

"If it had been about revenge, I wouldn't have left it to you, Liam."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Those kinds of things are usually entrusted to someone of higher skill than the target."

For a moment, Liam couldn't understand Eugene's words.

Those words meant that the young girl was as skilled as—or even on par with—himself.

No matter how she had bested him at arm wrestling, Liam felt this assessment was too generous.

After all, Eugene had not become S-rank through brute strength alone.

"This isn't simply because that kid beat me at arm wrestling. Of course, it's not about her smashing my head into the ground, either."

"I simply don't understand. How could that young girl possess such skill!"

"How should I know, Liam?"

Eugene laughed teasingly and patted Liam on the shoulder.

"The important thing is, that kid is a skilled individual on the verge of S-rank like you."

So, wouldn't this be helpful to someone like you who's been stuck at a wall lately?

It was as if Eugene was saying just that.

"I took this on just for appearances, but this has gotten quite interesting."

Muttering gleefully, Eugene prompted a sigh from Liam.

In the end, he was doomed to always be at this man's mercy.

***

"Only three teams left now, right?"

"It's three teams, but since two have an A-rank Hunter, it's pretty much over, isn't it?"

By now the Challengers match had reached its final stages, and viewers were pouring in.

Especially in Korea, the response was unusually high.

Until now, 'Challengers' didn't have much recognition in Korea; at most, the number of concurrent viewers never exceeded 300.

But now, viewers numbered nearly six thousand, twenty times the usual.

This showed just how high Korean viewers' expectations of Yeon-ji were, and just how much Alencia was being exposed to the Korean public.

"Hng, this is troublesome."

Checking her physical condition, Yeon-ji muttered to herself.

"Troublesome? Why?"

"When I looked him up yesterday, that Liam guy, he's a swordsman with really fast footwork."

On the night Alencia was having her last special training session with Jung-woo, Yeon-ji had looked through the roster of participants, searching for key individuals to watch out for.

Liam, without question, was the number one threat.

Like herself, formerly Ji Yeon-hwa, he was a man on the verge of S-rank.

Given the extent to which she could now use dark magic and her recently enhanced physical abilities, Yeon-ji was already nearing 'Ji Yeon-hwa's' level.

But it would not be easy to oppose Liam head-on.

"The match-up isn't great. People with fast feet are hard to handle."

"Why? Wouldn't it be good for you if it's close combat?"

"Oh my, I'm a mage, you know. Mages require preparatory time, so enemies with quick footwork are poison."

Mage?

Alencia had to think for a moment about what exactly a mage was.

'She flattened everyone like a terminator, and now she's a mage?'

Yeon-ji's physical prowess was truly immense.

With her strength, she could spin a telephone pole one-handed.

"I should take some boxing lessons from Manager Park later."

"Manager Park? Jung-woo is good at fighting?"

"Yes, well... He overdoes it often, but he's good at fighting."

Yeon-ji found herself suddenly worried about Jung-woo's physical condition, which she'd heard wasn't great.

He hadn't shown signs of it in America, but he was good at hiding things by nature.

"In any case, the opponent is too fast for me. If we fight head-on again, we don't stand a chance."

Alencia nodded, since Yeon-ji's words had never been wrong so far.

"Alencia, how much of your power do you have left right now?"

"Not a lot. I can hardly use electromagnetic waves anymore, and moving quickly for long periods is difficult now."

"Moving quickly is difficult? How long can you do it at maximum?"

"About five minutes, if I maximize it."

"That's really not much."

Alencia charged her magic power with electricity.

While it was an advantage that the more she charged, the more her magic capacity increased, unlike other awakeners, she couldn't replenish it naturally.

She unavoidably required the act of 'charging,' and, naturally, she couldn't do that during the Challengers.

"... But this charging, can you do it quickly if needed?"

"It's gotten faster lately... Jung-woo said it depends on my mindset."

But it was still such an unfamiliar ability, and there was something frightening about absorbing electricity into her body.

So, dramatic instant charging was still difficult.

And if she consumed her charge too quickly, the generator would usually shut down.

"Then, let's do it this way."

After some thought, Yeon-ji devised a strategy for defeating Liam.

And after hearing it, Alencia nearly choked in surprise.

***

'Where are Hwang Yeon-ji and Alencia?'

Three teams remained.

Among them, one team was honestly just two C-rankers, so he paid them no mind.

If he could just take out Yeon-ji and Alencia's team, it would basically be over.

'Don't tell me, did they hide because they'd be at a disadvantage fighting head-on?'

Yeon-ji's physical ability was impressive, but she lacked technical prowess.

Liam knew this well, so if they met face-to-face, he was sure he could end the match quickly.

'To have such ability at that age—it would be normal to be overconfident.'

She could size up her own strength and the enemy's accurately.

She really wasn't like an awakener of her age.

"Anyway, the final zone will be decided soon... Hm?"

If you kept hiding, the match wouldn't proceed, so ten minutes before the end, everyone would be forced into a specific area for a final battle.

Liam figured they'd make their move at that point, but then he spotted Yeon-ji and Alencia swiftly moving together.

'A trap?'

But since they were together, maybe not.

Probably just happened to bump into each other while moving locations.

Of course, Liam wasn't about to miss this opportunity.

Tap!

In a flash, Liam caught up to them from behind, making Yeon-ji turn her gaze.

As she reached out her hand, black chains shot out of her shadow.

'I've seen this so many times.'

He still didn't know what kind of trick it was, but since he had seen it several times, dealing with it was not hard.

He dodged the chains by moving faster, and if he couldn't avoid them, he cut them with magic-charged sword strikes.

Kagagak!!

Liam blocked the chains and closed in rapidly, making Yeon-ji click her tongue.

Kwaang!!

Liam's weapon struck the ground by a hair's breadth.

Yeon-ji had grabbed Alencia's hand and moved several meters instantly through the shadows.

"Damn, that's a new one."

He was late to react.

As distance opened up again between the two, Liam chased after them.

'Where are they going?'

The final zone was located far from here.

Time was running short, so heading that way would normally be safest...

"A dead end?"

Soon, Alencia and Yeon-ji stopped at a blocked alley, surrounded on all sides.

It looked like they'd taken a wrong turn while fleeing.

"You're really persistent, aren't you?"

"Well, that's what competition is about, right?"

You have to finish things when you can.

Eugene might be different, but Liam needed to see things through.

Bang!!

Liam stamped his foot, shooting forward like an arrow.

He closed the distance in an instant; Yeon-ji narrowly dodged his sword by tilting her head.

'Is that really a sword? Is it really safe to get hit by that thing?'

She couldn't help but think it, but she'd heard the sword was enchanted with an impact-absorbing spell. In any case, she had to believe that for now.

Vwoom!!

Liam dodged Yeon-ji's counterpunch effortlessly.

At the same time, chains shot out from the shadow, only to be cut down once again.

"──Dark Flame!"

As soon as Yeon-ji murmured, black flames burst from her two hands, engulfing Liam.

Fwwooooosh!!

Unable to break through the roaring fire, Liam had no choice but to retreat two steps.

As the flames brushed past his hair, Liam spoke in disbelief.

"But this... Even if weapons are one thing, isn't magic dangerous?"

"The gear I'm wearing protects me."

"Goodness!"

That said, there were rules against using excessively powerful magic.

Fortunately, Yeon-ji's magic didn't cross that line, so there was no warning.

'Tch!'

As Liam pressed his attacks, Yeon-ji found herself reaching her limit.

'Not yet?'

Of course, they hadn't run here without a plan.

Only here did they have their trump card to defeat Liam.

PAGAK!!

"Ugh?!"

At that moment, Liam's sword struck Yeon-ji's waist.

A harsh impact made the protection gear on her chest light up red.

She'd received a certain amount of damage—elimination.

"For someone your age, that's really incredible. You should praise yourself."

"......"

At Liam's words, Yeon-ji let out a sigh.

A young age.

She was indeed younger than Liam, but not to the degree worthy of that comment.

And then—

"You tried your best, too."

"...?"

It wasn't as if she took the attack just for nothing.

People tend to let their guard down when they believe they've won.

'Especially since Alencia is F-rank.'

No matter how outstanding her abilities appeared in testing, her rank was still F.

Naturally, Liam wouldn't see Alencia as a threat.

Yeon-ji used that against his psychology, lulling him into carelessness.

All for this very moment.

Thunk.

The light above Liam's head suddenly switched off.

"... What?"

That wasn't all.

One by one, the surrounding lights started switching off.

Thunk, thunk thunk thunk!!

With the disappearing lights, darkness began to blanket the surroundings.

As Liam wondered about the meaning of this, he suddenly recalled a forgotten piece of information.

'Alencia charges her magic through electricity.'

Liam hurriedly looked to where Alencia had been.

There was a generator there.

A generator partly destroyed during the battle between Yeon-ji and Liam.

Thunk.

The final light went out.

The place where their match was held was an arena.

And it was indoors.

With all the lights off, the entire area was shrouded in darkness.

Zzzt.

At the sudden development, the spectators quieted.

The noisy commentators also fell silent.

And so—

To Liam's ears, 'that sound' came through clearly.

The sound of electricity crackling.

Pazik! Pajjijijik!!

At that moment, Liam's surroundings flared with light.

But it wasn't because the lights came back on.

It was, rather, the light produced by a single human being.

"... Does the gear protect against that too?"

Liam muttered blankly.

A woman stood, shining brightly with electricity.

And that woman was now preparing to charge at Liam.

She crouched into a starting stance, ready to bolt forward at full speed.

"How should I know?"

Yeon-ji's answer had barely ended when a golden flash darted towards him.

A speed he could not dodge, not even with his swift feet.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Alencia taking the spotlight.

Also, the cliff last chapter is nonsense, what's in the message?

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】