Chapter 177 (1/2)

Chapter 177 – The Chosen Ones (2)

Sungjin grinned widely as he greeted,

“Yo! Hiroaki.”

“Sensei!”

Hiroaki ran towards Sungjin.

“Have you been doing well? I occasionally heard stories about you! The strongest troll-killing hunter, Master Hunter K!”

It seemed that Hiroaki was as lively as he was in the past.

“Ah… Is that so?”

Sungjin gave Hiroaki a once-over and noted that he was covered from head to toe in ornate gear.

‘As expected… He was able to adapt well since he’s rather talented.’

Hiroaki examined Sungjin’s equipment as well.

“Ah! I see that you’re still using that sword!”

Hiroaki exclaimed as he noticed Sungjin’s Moon Specter; he had been in Sungjin’s team back when Sungjin had obtained it in Greysoul Cemetery.

“This is how the rumors went: An incredibly powerful swordsman that wielded a ghost’s sword. Whenever I heard that, I would say, ‘That person is Master Hunter Kei! He’s a hundred times stronger than the other hunters! And I’m that man’s apprentice!’”

‘… So… This guy was the one behind the rumors…’

It seemed that Hiroaki had a part in helping the rumors spread. At that moment, Franz came to them and spoke up,

“Kei. Are the two of you actually in a master-apprentice relationship? Really?”

‘… No.’

Sungjin denied it in his mind but did not actually say so because Hiroaki had exclaimed loudly,

“Of course!”

“Not that… A Korean and a Japanese? Did you know each other back in reality? Aren’t you from different countries? Isn’t it fundamentally impossible?”

Hiroaki faltered slightly.

“That’s not the case… We became master and apprentice when we participated in the raid together.”

Franz wrinkled his forehead as he said,

“Ehh… Then that means you only met once. To call someone you’ve only seen for a day master before going separate ways… If it’s like that, then I’m more of an apprentice than you. I was in a raid with him… Fought together with him… And even sparred with Kei in the morning.”

‘Spar? Ah… He’s talking about that time when I used Time Reversal…’

In truth, it was closer to an experiment than an actual spar, but Sungjin once again kept his mouth closed. Hiroaki spoke up in surprise,

“A spar? Really?”

Sungjin looked at Franz and nodded slightly.

“I’m saying that’s how it was. I probably learned more than you did.”

“How can this be! Sensei! Me too! Please spar with me! I’ve become stronger after going through raids these past few days!”

Hiroaki unsheathed his sword as if asking Sungjin to spar with him on the spot.

‘He’s still as energetic as ever…’

Sungjin glanced at the three hunters in the rear. They were staring blankly at the scene of Hiroaki and Franz crowding around Sungjin.

“Wait, before we think about sparring or whatever… Did you guys finish the raid?”

“Ah, we just killed the normal boss and were deciding whether we wanted to look for the hidden boss or not.”

“Really? Then… Well, let’s do the Baptism first.”

“Baptism?”

“Yeah. I can’t spar with you right now… But if you accept the baptism you’ll be able to meet me later. If there’s time, then we can spar.”

“Really? Then, of course!”

Since Hiroaki admired Sungjin and obeyed him, Sungjin was able to recruit Hiroaki easily. He took out a Holy Water of Baptism from his vest and poured it on Hiroaki.

“Baptism.”

Hiroaki’s cube made an announcement.

[You were ‘Chosen’ by someone. Title granted.]

Sungjin smiled when he heard that noise. With this, the future that he had seen yesterday had become reality.

*

“All together! One, two!”

Mahadas and Franz helped lift the table together at Baltren’s signal.

“Heave ho!”

The three men lifted it up and connected it to another table.

“Whew. This should be enough, right?”

“Yeah.”

Having moved the two tables next to each other, the hunters each brought up a chair and seated themselves around it. Sungjin sat at the head of the table as he looked about. Now, there were a total of eight Chosen Ones. Their number had grown to the point that they had to bring together two tables at Ninety Nine Nights in order to be able to sit together.

Clap

Sungjin clapped his hands together once, and the hunters all focused their attention on him. He said to them,