Jaehwang was reading a blog about a traditional house in their country. “I’m thinking about remodeling the cabin in the mountains…”
“Ah…” Dongchul replied. He had only ever seen the cabin in the mountains twice. Although he wasn’t sure at the moment, he remembered a time when he went up to the mountains. It wasn’t too dangerous but it was physically taxing because of the density of its forest and valleys.
“Why are you remodeling it though?”
“It’s really old…”
“I see.”
“I also wanted to make it a bit more accessible. I haven’t had a chance to visit my parent’s graves for a while now…” Jaehwang thought about his parents a lot when he met his ancestor in Baekdusan. He really missed visiting them and he also missed seeing the shrine.
Mr. Song, his grandfather, was taking care of their graves and the cabin but it’s been two years since Jaehwang had the chance to see it for himself.
“Really? Well then, let’s go together…” Dongchul had been with Jaehwang for a long time but he realized that he became so caught up in training with Gwanjae. He felt the same way as Jaehwang did and wanted to escape but he didn’t think that he was allowed to. Besides, if he left his girlfriend, she won’t be able to live alone. He was also afraid of the thought of him getting injured or even killed.
He was afraid but he knew what he wanted to do. From that day, he decided to prepare himself for anything… His goal was to become even more powerful than Jaehwang or Gwanjae.
***
Gwanjae had a 100-meter wide square-shaped personal drill hall. The floors were made entirely out of a special type of steel alloy, a type of material that could only be scratched by the strongest of weapons. It got installed on the surface of the room and every morning, it would get cleaned.
There were two people sitting at a table in the middle of the drill hall and they were both sitting in quite strange ways. One was sitting on a big box and the other was sitting on a black stand.
“There’s no way that could have happened. Are you serious?” Mr. Choi asked Gwanjae who was sitting on the box. Gwanjae then replied with,
“I know, it’s been a long time since we made use of it… Did the test go well?” Gwanjae asked and Mr. Choi shook his head.
“No, it’s only been three days so far.”
They were talking about a custom weapon Gwanjae used in the past for his training. But, was Gwanjae overconfident? Even Gwanjae himself has his limits.
“By the way, what are you going to do with that?”
Gwanjae then just glanced at Mr. Choi. He was thinking the same thing as he knew it would take some time for him to get where he planned to be.
“I know that guy, he’s pretty tough. Although he’s good at catching monsters he’s not so good at a fist fight.”
“Right. Isn’t he also really tall compared to others?”
“Besides his usual attitude, he’s a little more serious and stubborn. What could you even teach him? Haha.” Mr. Choi said and Gwanjae remained in his place without a word.
“Alright then, let’s teach for eight hours. How about that?”
“That would be great.” Mr. Choi replied in agreement. Of course, Gwanjae and Mr. Choi were not interested in training Dongchul so they didn’t make an appointment for his training session.
“I can’t stand that guy.”
If Jaehwang was the monster then that would make his friend Dongchul a mutant. Dongchul was just simply not capable of reaching the level he wanted to reach.
In the beginning, Gwanjae agreed to train him as a favor because he was Jaehwang’s friend but after a while, he felt that the time was up. Gwanjae’s training was famous for making hunters stronger and even he knew that. He just couldn’t keep wasting his time training him.
Was he a good learner? No. He couldn’t understand a thing. Even when he gave him examples, he still couldn’t get it. He would have to do a year’s worth of training to get to the level he was aiming for. Trying to reach his goal in only a few months was clearly impossible.
However, Gwanjae could acknowledge him for his continuous hard work and determination.
In conclusion, training Dongchul wasn’t so bad but he wasn’t good at all either. But even so, he still knew that it wasn’t possible for him to surpass his friend Jaehwang as he wanted.
Inside the box that he sat on was a full set of armor that weighed a ton and was made with the same material that he had on his walls. He was going to let him wear it during practice if he didn’t give up. But… Would he ever get the chance to wear it? There was no way to tell.
“You seem to be working hard too, with teaching him and all…”
“Yeah…”
“Why isn’t he here yet? Did he give up?…”
“I’m not sure…”
They continued to wait there, not knowing if he would eventually show up for not.
***
Wooshhh… Pong
“That will be thirty dollars please.”
“Here,” Jaehwang handed his card to the cashier to pay for the item. He blankly stared at a taxi as it drove by, he then began to walk down a familiar lane.
“This neighborhood hasn’t changed a bit.”
Everything was exactly the same as when he first saw it. Even the trees and rocks were in the same places as they were before…
As he continued to walk down the lane, the spirit then said,
—Why couldn’t you have just taken a car?
—I don’t have a driver’s license.
—Then get one!
—You’re so annoying.
Jaehwang said and the spirit then replied.
—In dramas, they would usually take some form of public transportation. Why can’t you just learn to drive? Why not take a taxi instead?
—It’s a lot easier said than done, and taxis are expensive. Everything is made to be perfect in drama in novellas. They’re far from real life.
—But this is such a waste of time.
The spirit said in a disappointing tone. She always knew that Jaehwang was a very dull person who lived a boring lifestyle. He definitely needed something more exciting added to his life.
—You’re too boring. Let’s have some fun.
—Fun?
—You need a hobby. Yeah, that should do it!
The spirit insisted.
—I have a hobby. It’s archery.
—Mhm.
That was true. Archery was his hobby and it always places him in a better mood. And what did he do with the rest of his spare time? sleep, of course. Other guys usually go crazy over some branded expensive products but Jaehwang didn’t care about any of those things.
He had spent his entire life dedicated to his hunter career. He didn’t care what anyone else had to say about it. It was the most important thing to him.
However, he could use a bit of upgrading.
All he did was dress casually and on top of that, he almost had never bought any clothes at all. He was a cheapskate, but he was willing to spend most of his money on expensive arrows.
“You’ve been watching too many dramas.”
“It’s not only in dramas!” The spirit shouted in frustration. Suddenly, Jaehwang noticed a strange feeling but he didn’t notice anything unusual around the area they were in…
“I’ll be fine like this,” Jaehwang said, putting an end to their conversation. The spirit then took a deep breath and just accepted that fact.
“Fine. I guess you don’t have to worry.”
Hunters didn’t age very well. High ranked hunters would age slowly, especially if you’re like Gwanjae. He was 90 years old but he didn’t look a day past 50 and he could still move around well.
Jaehwang was currently in his early twenties and had a long way to go so he didn’t have to worry about wrinkles on his face just yet. But he would still wear a hood wherever he went to avoid some people staring at his face.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination and walked through the entrance. Jaehwang then stopped as he noticed a banner hanging from the ceiling.
[Dear mountain village residents, there is state-owned land on the opposite side of the area.]
[It’s a luxury house in a peaceful country village!]
[We guarantee that you’ll love it!]
Jaehwang looked at the banners in disgust. He became nervous, thinking about how long had it been hanging there. He quickly ran to the bottom floor and before he left, he took a look at the scenery.
The air in the mountains felt different than before.
At first, he didn’t see any people around, the only thing that he could see was the rice and corn fields sitting in the distance.
When he was young, he would always go to the city but there was a monster gate that was found close by. It appeared and disappeared and soon, their area was plagued by monsters.
He still didn’t see any people as he continued to walk further. He looked all over the village and suddenly, he finally saw where all the people were.
“W-Why are they all over there?…”
They were on the pathway, crowding at the entrance to the mountain. In front of them were four muscled men, holding their heavy equipment.
Ponggg
They began to approach the villagers with their giant weapons. The others tried to run away but there was an old guy with a cane in their way. He then saw Jaehwang and shouted,
“That idiot!” He shouted in anger.
Click… Deukk
Jaehwang quickly launched an arrow. His intention was to just scare the old man, not to hurt him.
“What the heck…” The old man was trespassing into the village.
Jaehwang was trying his best to at least scare him away but…
He tried to take a closer look at the old man’s face to see him clearly just in case it was Mr. Song.
“Exploding Arrow Shower!”
Click! Pang pang pang!!!
Jaehwang’s arrow caused a sonic boom in the entire area.
Nothing to Lose 2, The end.
