"First, TaeSoo, you have good eyes and know how to pull the monster's attention, but you rely too much on your strength. Even when you don't need to, you push them away and make them fall. This makes you waste a lot of stamina. Because of this, you have many openings. Being able to resist their attacks is good enough."
"Ugh… U-understood."
TaeSoo, who was happy to have successfully completed the first hunt, shrugged and nodded.
KangWoo turned around to Choi EunBi.
"EunBi, you don't need to finish a monster that's on the floor. Don't forget that ShiHoon is the main damage dealer. Your job is to support him. Just now, you were focused on the three monsters on the ground but didn't notice the five approaching you from the other side, right?"
"Y-yes. You're right, oppa."
"You can stun opponents with even weak lightning-type attacks, so save up your firepower."
"Yes, oppa!"
"And Seol-ah…"
"Yes, yes, Mr. KangWoo!"
After seeing the previous two receive criticism, she answered nervously.
KangWoo spoke in a calm voice.
"The timing of your buffing was great, but the arrow attacks were dangerous. Healers already drag too much attention. If you also attack, TaeSoo won't be able to control the attention of the enemies. You're not hunting alone, so even if you want to help, you need to be more careful."
"Oh… S-sorry."
"Don't worry. You just have to keep trying to improve slowly but surely. And Mr. ShiHoon…"
"Yes."
Lastly, ShiHoon calmly awaited KangWoo's words.
"There's nothing to correct… At least at this stage, you perfectly fulfilled your role."
"Ah… Thank you."
Kim ShiHoon let out a small exclamation and nodded. He didn't seem too surprised.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed he knew he hadn't made mistakes.
KangWoo fell into thoughts while looking at Kim ShiHoon.
'Amazing…'
Even from the perspective of someone with ten thousand years of battle experience, Kim ShiHoon's battle sense was impressive.
Because he didn't have a lot of battle experience, his movements weren't polished, but even considering that, they were still impressive.
'So this is what they call a genius, huh?'
Even though he didn't have much experience, he’d quickly gotten used to fighting.
It’d taken him approximately ten years to learn how to use his weapon properly, so KangWoo felt dejected.
'I guess Chae YeonJoo feels like this when she looks at me.'
It was the same in most jobs, but talent was especially important for players.
Since Chae YeonJoo didn't know about his past, she probably saw him as someone with impressive talent.
To be honest, KangWoo wasn't someone talented.
He could become strong thanks to the experience he had gained throughout the last ten thousand years.
But Kim ShiHoo was different.
'He's the real deal.'
Kim ShiHoon was someone with a frightening talent.
Even while hunting orcs, you could see that his movements were improving while fighting.
Kim ShiHoon was a diamond in the rough.
"Let's get a bit deeper."
He became interested in how much Kim ShiHoon could grow.
"Yes."
"Haha! I'll do it better this time, Hyeongnim!"
With an excited voice, TaeSoo lifted his shield.
The party members hunted orcs while moving into a deeper part of the forest.
Crack-!
"Ha-ab!"
Kim ShiHoon was someone abnormally talented, but the rest of the party was also quite talented compared to other players. And after listening to KangWoo's suggestions, they were growing quite fast.
'It seems like they'll be able to enter a C-rank gate within a month.'
It was quite fast considering that it took most people two months.
Of course, it’d only taken KangWoo five days, but it didn't make sense to compare them with him.
"Huh? Hyengnim, what's that monster? It isn't an orc."
"Huh?"
KangWoo, who was watching from the back, moved to the front at TaeSoo's words.
"Grrrr!!"
There was a wolf that had two giant horns on its forehead.
The wolf with black hair was glaring at TaeSoo.
'Demon wolf…'
KangWoo's expression hardened.
It wasn't as strong as the hellhound, but it was still a monster from the 1st Hell.
"GRRAAARRR!!!"
"H-huh?"
* * *
TaeSoo raised his shield after seeing the demon wolf leap toward him at an impressive speed.
But it was obvious that TaeSoo wouldn't be able to block its attack—that's how overwhelmingly strong the demon wolf was compared to them.
"Tsk."
KangWoo frowned and extended his hand.
He wasn't originally planning to act, but he couldn't stand still while watching.
Even if TaeSoo was a talented tanker, the opponent was on another level.
The party members were still too weak to fight a monster from Hell.
'Why did a demonic monster appear again…'
KangWoo frowned after seeing that another demonic monster had appeared.
He let the demonic energy flow inside his body.
But before KangWoo could do anything, Kim ShiHoon charged toward it.
Slash-!!
"GRRAARR!"
"M-mister!"
"Move away!"
A blue aura rose from Kim ShiHoon's sword.
Kim ShiHoon swung his sword at a speed that couldn't be compared to before.
The sword aura hit the demonic monster's back.
"GRRAARR!!"
The demon wolf that had been hurt roared and swung its paws.
Kim ShiHoon blocked the attack with his sword.
Clang-!
"Coff!"
But there was no way a player who had just finished the second Awakening would be able to block a demon wolf's attack.
Kim ShiHoon fell to the ground and rolled.
"Ugh, coff!"
Kim ShiHoon stood up while trembling.
The demon wolf once again charged toward him.
Crack-!!
"Arf."
KangWoo climbed onto the demon wolf’s back.
KangWoo increased his strength with the Authority of Divine Power and smashed the head of the demon wolf with his fist.
He destroyed the demon wolf's head with just one attack.
Ting-
[You've successfully eliminated a D-rank Fissure Fragment.]
[Your level has gone up by 1.]
A blue message window appeared in front of him.
KangWoo ignored the message window and turned around to Kim ShiHoon.
"Coff! Oof, oof. Th-thank you, Mr. KangWoo."
Kim ShiHoon bowed his head to KangWoo while letting out heavy breaths.
TaeSoo came to them while shouting.
"Woah!! As expected from hyeongnim!! You defeated that monster with just one hit!! Oof!!"
"…"
"Also, ShiHoon hyeong, wasn't that sword aura? Sword Aura!"
"Ah… That's…"
"Are you really someone who just completed the second Awakening? Your sword just shone very brightly!"
"I really just finished the second Awakening."
Kim ShiHoon looked at TaeSoo with a troubled expression.
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon with sunken eyes.
'He's strong.'
What Kim ShiHoon had just shown was something that defied logic—it wasn't something that went ahead of simple battle sense.
Even if he had obtained an A-rank attribute after he completed the second Awakening, he was too strong.
'I ended up thinking something similar to Moon YeongHo.'
Moon YeongHo probably thought that while looking at him.
'Is he really someone who just completed the second Awakening?'
There was a reason why he was overwhelmingly stronger than other people.
But Kim ShiHoon was different.
He didn't think Shihoon had also spent ten thousand years fighting in Hell.
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon with suspicious eyes and used the Authority of Observation on him.
Demonic energy came out of his body and went toward Kim ShiHoon.
Ting-
[Erasing the traces of Demonic Energy with the effect of Ruler of Demonic Energy (Rank: A).]
The traces of the unpleasant and sticky energy disappeared with a clear bell sound.
Thanks to its trace being eliminated, the demonic energy could get closer to Kim ShiHoon.
[Status Window]
Player: Kim ShiHoon
"Huh?"
KangWoo tilted his head after looking at the message window in front of him.
In the status window, it clearly said Kim ShiHoon.
'You can do things like this with the Authority of Observation?'
He wanted to see if Kim ShiHoon was hiding strength, but something unexpected happened.
To see if the Authority of Observation could check the other player's status window, he used a little bit more of demonic energy on Kim ShiHoon.
[Level: 14(2nd Awakening)]
'I can really see his status window.'
KangWoo's eyes shone at the unexpected turn of events.
'He really just completed the second Awakening.'
From what he could see, Kim ShiHoon was at level 14.
He'd said that he was level 12. His level probably went up by two that day while hunting.
'How…?'
It meant that he was really that strong at the 2nd Awakening.
KangWoo tilted his head and used a bit more of the Authority.
[1st Awakening Attribute: Martial God (Rank: SSS) * The power of the Martial God hasn't been completely absorbed, so you cannot fully use it yet.]
[2nd Awakening Attribute: Sword Aura Manifestation (Rank: A)]
"What?"
KangWoo couldn't hide his surprise after checking out ShiHoon's attributes.
[Class: Chosen One. The soul of the martial god, Cheon TaeHwang, lies within. He's the hero born with the destiny of becoming the world's protector.]
Strength: 15
Agility: 16
Vitality: 13
Qi (Unique Stat): 25
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 9
'What?'
KangWoo's mouth fell open after checking out ShiHoon’s status window.
'What's up with this bastard?'
SSS-rank attribute…
The person who was the soul of the martial god inside him…
The hero who was born with the destiny of protecting the world…
'He's really the protagonist?'
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon with surprised eyes.
