Chapter 31
In the low Mid Tier hunting ground of the Monster field.
Kim Sae-Jin and Yu Sae-Jung were hunting together under a rather nice atmosphere.
It had been just over an hour, but her Expanding Pocket was nearly full with the Monster remains.
"Ah. There has been an increase in the number of Monsters rampaging around in cities lately."
As if she had abruptly remembered it just now, Yu Sae-Jung opened her mouth as they continued to search for their next prey.
"Is that right?"
"Yeah. So, Knights Orders have begun in-depth investigations into the matter but a lot of the stuff must be of a sensitive nature. They’ve been all labelled top secret."
"Hmm. That is strange. Oh, another Ebony Wolf is hiding over there."
He pointed at a bush and spoke. Since it was an Ebony Wolf, he sort of felt empathy towards it, but well, naught he could do for it now. The rule of the strong preying on the weak was heartless and cruel, after all.
"Alright. I’m on it."
It was a surprising thing for a human to spot an Ebony Wolf but, Yu Sae-Jung was now more or less used to it - she just replied calmly and gathered Mana into her sword. From the expensive sword in her hand, raging Mana rose up, quickly forming into a refined blade.
Her Mana, compared to when Sae-Jin first met her, every facet of it had taken a qualitative leap forward - the density of it, the richness of its colour, etc. When he asked her how she did it, Yu Sae-Jung explained that she too possessed a Trait which made it possible for her to grow so quickly. Of course, she also chose not to tell him the details of her Trait as well.
"Ha-aht!!"
With a loud shout, she kicked the ground and rushed forward. Her target was the Ebony Wolf hiding in the bushes.
*SFX for a blade slicing the air*
Her smooth horizontal swing sliced apart the tall grasses, and the Wolf hidden within issued a short whimper before expiring immediately. Sae-Jin lowered his head to mourn its passing without even realising it.
"Fut. What are you doing?"
After stuffing the remains of the Ebony Wolf into her Expanding Pocket, she approached him while leaking a smile.
"Oh, ah, it’s nothing."
He hastily made an excuse. Yu Sae-Jung tilted her head in slight confusion, before pulling out her phone in a hurry to check the time.
"Looks like I’ve got to go."
"Mm? It’s been only an hour, though?"
"I have to go to The Eden tomorrow for the rank advancement exam."
"Ah, is that right?"
The Eden was the name given to the tallest building in the skyscraper-dominated province of Gangwon. Often referred to as the holy land of the Knights, it was the place where the administrative work regarding all things Knight-related took place, such as the aforementioned rank advancement exam, as well as the education and training of the young, up-and-coming Knights.
"Well, since there’s still a bit of time left before my chauffeur arrives, why don’t we have a coffee while we wait?"
Sae-Jung smiled and made a suggestion.
He thought about this for a bit. Right now, it was 3:30 PM. It was still in the afternoon, and since he was planning to go on a solo hunt later on anyway, there didn’t seem to be a reason to be mindful of the time limit here.
"Yeah. Let’s."
So, he nodded his head.
"In that case, let’s go right away. I hear there’s a new coffee shop inside the Rest Stop called 'Dawn In Coffee'." (TL: the name of the
coffee shop is written in English in raw.)