Chapter 31

After finishing the demonstration and returning to the dormitory, someone came to see me late at night. From the looks of it, they seemed to be a fellow trainee.

“Are you Lee Yun-seong, by any chance?”

“Ah, yes. That’s me. What can I do for you…?”

“Well… It’s not that I have business with you, but someone from the Hwashin Clan wanted to meet you personally…”

‘…At this hour?’

I checked the man’s status window, and he was indeed a fellow trainee like me. His stats were average.

“Are you referring to Chief Instructor Kang Seong-jun?”

“No, it was someone else. They were wearing the Hwashin Clan uniform, so they must be from the Hwashin Clan. They asked me to tell you to come to the place they mentioned.”

“…Where is it?”

When I arrived at the location, there was a man with a dagger strapped to his waist.

[Name: Joo Seung-hwan]

[Age: 29]

[Job: Bone Breaker (Legend Grade)]

[Titles: Anger Management Disorder, Abyss Monster]

[Unique Traits]

Bone Destroyer (Legend Grade) – If the weapon cuts through the opponent’s flesh and reaches the bone, it causes a small explosion. Permanently increases Strength by 4.

[Traits]

Dagger Mastery (Hero Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of dagger techniques.

Dagger Throwing Mastery (Hero Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of dagger throwing.

Magic Blade (Hero Grade) – Temporarily imbues the dagger with magic.

[Stats]

Strength – 90 Agility – 84

Stamina – 84 Luck – 63

Magic – 71 Resistance – 70

After checking his status window, I could see that while he wasn’t as strong as Kang Seong-jun or Yoon Yeon, he was still a top-tier fighter.

‘…Why is he looking for me?’

He didn’t seem to be an instructor, but rather someone related to the Hwashin Clan. I couldn’t figure out why he wanted to meet me personally.

“…Are you the one who called for me?”

“Ah, are you Trainee Lee Yun-seong?”

“Yes… that’s me, but…”

“I have something to discuss regarding clan membership. It’s important, so I wanted to talk privately…”

“Ah, I see.”

‘…What’s this about? Why me and not Yoo Ju?’

For a moment, I had a bad feeling, but there was no way this guy would do anything crazy. The graduation ceremony hadn’t even happened yet, and I was still a trainee.

“This place is a bit too public… Would you mind following me for a moment? Since it’s about the clan and all…”

I hesitated for a moment because something felt off.

As I was pondering, the man continued.

“It’s also an important matter for Trainee Yoo Ju and Trainee Lee Yoo-hyun.”

“…Alright.”

I followed the man into a small alley. I didn’t even know there was a place like this inside the training facility.

“So, what’s this about?”

“…….”

I was staring at the man’s back, and he remained silent, standing still.

“Hey…?”

The man turned around and looked at me, then spoke in a different tone.

“…I’m warning you, after this meeting, go meet the Clan Master and refuse to join. Of course, don’t mention Yoo Ju or the others. Just you.”

I was utterly baffled. The thought that my suspicions might be true was ridiculous.

‘…Is this guy insane?’

We’re still inside the training facility. Is he really going to pull this kind of crazy stunt?

“…What are you talking about? Refuse to join?”

“Trash… I saw you during the demonstration. You were a complete idiot. There’s no way we can accept someone like you into our clan.”

‘Sigh…’

I was already in a terrible mood after the demonstration, and now this lunatic had to show up.

If I didn’t resolve this issue here, it was clear he’d cause trouble even after I joined.

But if I lied and said I’d refuse to join, who knows what this guy would do afterward.

Once I’m no longer a trainee, I won’t have any protection. If I’m going to deal with this, it has to be now.

I didn’t want to talk to someone who seemed unstable, but I thought maybe I could at least have a minimal conversation.

“May I ask… why you’re going this far? Isn’t it possible that I could excel in other areas after joining?”

“…Hahaha! You? You think you can? You must be a chick who doesn’t know any better. If you wanted to do that, you should’ve chosen a production or support job. If you were an alchemist or blacksmith, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

“…….”

“Worthless bastard. Let me tell you something—those in combat roles without talent are utterly useless. You’re likely no different.”

The man continued to speak.

“From what I heard from the Clan Master, Yoo Ju asked to recruit you and Ahn Tae-woo in exchange for joining herself. Don’t you have any pride?”

‘Sigh.’

Of course, I thought Yoo Ju had negotiated our entry by offering herself. But hearing it directly from someone else felt different.

‘This sucks.’

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

“…Heh.”

“You bastard… How dare you laugh?”

“Pfft!”

As I laughed inappropriately, the man’s face turned red with anger.

It was clear I had to resolve this. If I didn’t want to be separated from my party members, I had to deal with this guy one way or another.

‘Whether it’s through physical means or social annihilation.’

Suddenly, I remembered his title.

Anger Management Disorder.

‘I need to use this.’

If you make enemies in life, you have to eliminate them. That was true on Earth, and even more so here where lives are at stake.

“Heh… Damn, this is hilarious.”

“…What?”

“No, why would I refuse to join? Hearing you talk makes me want to join even more.”

The man was momentarily speechless, clearly not expecting this kind of response.

“You idiot. Do you think your Clan Master knows about this?”

“How dare you! How dare you mention our Clan Master!”

“Your Clan Master is a wise person, but you? What’s wrong with you?”

Whoosh—

‘Huh?’

The man suddenly punched me in the stomach.

Thud!

“Ugh…! Ugh…! Ughhh!”

‘Good.’

“You worthless bastard!”

“Ughhh… Pff… Pfft!”



“Ugh… cough…!”

“Still laughing?”

The guy suddenly pulled out a dagger and hit my face with the handle.

Thud – !

“Ahhhh!”

“Keep laughing. You don’t even know your place…!”

‘Damn… this hurts so much.’

The way I solve problems is like this, but my goal is to get seriously hurt, not to die.

But my brain refused my body’s request. My body screamed to stop the pain, but thankfully, my brain followed my command.

“Ugh… you bastard…! Pfft… spit.”

The blood-mixed saliva I spat stuck to his face.

“…….”

He slammed the dagger handle on my right arm.

Crunch –

“Gaaaaah!”

It seemed like he had some restraint, stopping at the point where my arm bone shattered.

“Ahhhh!”

It was my first time experiencing such intense pain, so I couldn’t help but scream.

He pointed the blade of the dagger at me and said.

“Next, I’ll stab you. Say you’ll cancel your membership…!”

Even though he said that, he probably wouldn’t stab me directly. Because of his trait, I might die.

Bone Crusher (Legend Grade) – If the weapon cuts through the flesh and touches the bone, it causes a small explosion. Permanently increases strength by 4.

If I’m near death, I can be taken to a priest for treatment, but if that trait activates, no one knows if I’ll live or die.

‘But this is what I wanted.’

I also figured out how he uses his trait to attack.

Dagger Throwing Master (Hero Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of dagger throwing.

He probably usually throws daggers to attack. The explosion might not affect him, but I was half-sure it would.

No, forget being sure, this was the only way.

Once you’re targeted by such a strong person, there’s no safe way to resolve things.

If he drags me somewhere for treatment, all my actions against him would be for nothing. Then, the evidence that he threatened me would disappear.

I had to shake him off and escape with clear wounds that anyone could see.

I hesitated for a moment because of the pain I was about to endure, but I finally steeled myself.

‘Anyway… there’s no other way.’

As soon as he pointed the dagger blade at me, I stabbed my uninjured left arm into the blade.

“Huh?”

Boom!

Pfft –

He didn’t expect me to do this, so he couldn’t avoid the explosion. He staggered back, holding the hand that was gripping the dagger.

But I wasn’t unscathed either.

Thud –

My left arm, shattered by the explosion, fell to the ground.

“Ugh… cough…!”

My face, hit by the explosion at close range, wasn’t unharmed either. It was the first time I’d ever felt such physical pain.

Thankfully, it was a small explosion, so my head didn’t fly off.

“Ugh… cough…”

But the plan didn’t go as I thought. Because I was in no condition to move.

‘Am I… going to die like this?’

My consciousness started to fade. My eyes felt like they were closing.

‘I need to… escape…’

“You… damn bastard… cough…”

I laughed bitterly, realizing I was about to die because of some crazy bastard.

Just as my eyes were closing, I saw someone running towards me. Probably someone who heard the explosion.

And then I lost consciousness.

******

After returning to the dorm, I noticed Yoon Seong was gone, so I asked Yoo Hyun.

“Yoo Hyun. Where did Yoon Seong go? I stepped out for a bit, and now he’s gone.”

“Ah… him? Someone called him, and he went outside…”

“…Who called Yoon Seong, I mean, Mr. Yoon?”

“Yeah. Another trainee came and said something to him…”

Who would call Yoon Seong at this late hour? It didn’t make sense.

“Did you hear what they talked about?”

“…Sorry, I didn’t catch much, but I heard the words ‘Hwashin Clan.'”

I had a bad feeling. The Hwashin Clan wouldn’t call Yoon Seong personally. If there was something to announce, they would’ve called me.

“…Do you know which way he went?”

“I’m not sure… I think he went outside, not inside the building…”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll be back.”

“Sure, Yoo Ju.”

After hearing Yoo Hyun’s words, I started looking around outside. But no one was there. It was late, and most people were inside.

About 10 minutes into searching for Yoon Seong, I heard a faint explosion and sensed a weak magical reaction. It seemed quite far.

I channeled magic into my legs and ran towards the sound. I usually don’t use magic like this, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

My heart was pounding, not from running, but from a bad feeling.

‘Please… no, nothing could’ve happened…’

I had checked thoroughly. There was nothing in this round that could harm Yoon Seong.

I deliberately chose the Hwashin Clan because I thought it would be safe for him. After all, Kang Seong-jun was a good person.

The nightmare from the first round must be messing with my head.

But when I arrived, the scene before my eyes was hell.

“Ah… ah…”