SWNOVELXO Chapter 219. Knockout Tournament (6)
Shhh… Ohhh!
[Wow, I thought B-Class battles were intense, but A-Class is a whole different level!!]
Doo-doo-doo!
Grrr!
As the audience’s concentration began to wane in the early matches of the second day.
Finally, the first S-Class Hunter participant, Kang Chang-ho, took the stage.
Naturally, the response was explosive.
Kang Chang-ho’s match could be described as rather uneventful—his relatively mild victory came from catching an A-Class runner and destroying the necklace for additional rewards.
Whoa!!
Amazing!
That guy is seriously S-Class!
Except for protecting the country, that dude seems to excel at everything!
After that, intriguing scenes popped up here and there.
The brutal struggle of a hunter from a struggling area, passionate about earning foreign currency to support compatriots back home.
Or the enthusiastic cheers from fans of a former celebrity competitor.
“Aah, another commercial!”
YTV Broadcasting Station, having secured broadcasting rights, played ads for cosmetics and beer at every opportunity.
Just when the constant ads and repetitive matches began to bore the viewers.
Finally.
A new subtitle appeared on the screen.
[[大韓民國][rank S][Gim Gi-ryeo]]
The moment that man’s face appeared on the camera, all streaming sites erupted in chaos.
Huh??
What?
Eh???
Originally, Kim Gi-ryeo’s participation had not been confirmed until just before the Hwangryong Tournament started, so it hadn’t been publicized internationally.
In just three minutes of appearing, this blond S-Class Hunter propelled YTV’s ratings to a staggering 14%.
【Dreamlike Turn-Based TCG Delta Karma Free Forum】
New Post
– Guys, turn on the TV right now! The tournament is going crazy!!
Comments
– What’s a tournament doing here? Isn’t this supposed to be a gaming café?
– This is not the time for card games!!!! AHH!!! Trust me and go watch!!!
Eventually, communities completely unrelated to Awakened began to fill with updates about the event.
“When is China going again?”
“Are they going for the Triaina?”
“To think we’d see Kim Gi-ryeo in action!”
“By the way, there are rumors that this Hunter is part of the Defense Department… is that true?”
People were glued to the screen, filled with various expectations.
However, what came next was truly shocking.
Kim Gi-ryeo.
Mmm…
From the start, he held the gemstone part of his competition necklace tightly in his right fist and fell silent.
And he maintained this posture for a stunning ten seconds into the match.
What was this Hunter’s intention?
Is he saying bring it on??
Is he just trying to fill his participation time to at least secure some rewards?
But what if he goes beyond three minutes?
Surely, he believes he can catch them at the end?
Before long, chat boxes on streaming sites flooded with reactions.
Unlike someone’s worries, the responses were far from critical.
It was an emotion that couldn’t simply be termed patriotism, but citizens felt an uneasy pride watching their national Hunter’s prowess being showcased abroad.
Amidst this, Kim Gi-ryeo appeared to be demonstrating a new strategy, as if to say he wouldn’t reveal his actual skills—this was clearly turning out to be fortuitous.
At that moment.
Boom!
Sofia suddenly initiated an attack.
Viewers were momentarily dumbfounded but soon recalled the special rules of this match.
If an S-Class Hunter could successfully evade for the full three minutes or pull off a coup, the reward would far exceed the participation fee, making it certainly worth the gamble.
Freelancer Hunter Sofia looked overly desperate, but couldn’t she just be a bit short on cash or in debt?
“Oh wow…”
Viewers opened their mouths, spellbound by the intense display of magic unleashed by an American Hunter.
And then came the scene.
…….
In the swirling smoke, a single eyelid slowly opened and moved.
With the drone camera, YTV captured someone’s piercing gaze, and once it was revealed online, netizens went wild.
Crazy!
Is he unharmed???
He’s not evading because he can’t evade?!
What the hell?!
Is he just standing there in the flames??
Whoa!
Huh!
Because even Kang Chang-ho hadn’t openly taken hits like that!
No matter how powerful an S-Class Hunter was, they couldn’t completely ignore attacks from beings just one rung down the power pyramid.
As such, Kang Chang-ho had shown evasive maneuvers against opponents in the first round when they desperately attempted to cast their skills.
But Kim Gi-ryeo was taking everything full-on and still appeared unscathed.
Could the camera’s quality be making his injuries undetectable?? Is this possible??
Even a quail might leave a mark when subjected to a human of larger stature.
Whether knowledgeable about the disparity between Hunters or not, this current scene warranted instinctual awe.
See? I told you Kim Gi-ryeo was a defensive type!
Impenetrable fortress.gif
Quick, someone’s already uploaded an edited clip on Y-Tube, lol! Kudos to the station!
Breaking News: Mentor didn’t realize he should be watching live and posted about his shock on SNS.
Sofia, having her summoning ability sealed so only weak auxiliary skills were available to her.
And with the Divine Tree Sapling, capable of ensuring defenses equivalent to an S-Class, as long as one was willing to endure the side effects.
Even amidst the bursting flames, maintaining her gaze as sharp as diamonds was truly a result of many fortunate elements aligning.
From an outsider’s perspective, it was honestly a pretty impressive scene.
Ugh, ugh…!
Right after that.
Just a minute and thirty seconds into the match, Sofia suddenly freaked out and forfeited.
Viewers had little trouble interpreting this.
[Anonymous]: Wait, it’s not even 2 minutes yet, and she suddenly gives up?
Reply: Slowing down the video to 0.1x speed, it looks like just before forfeiting, Kim Gi-ryeo was about to lift his left arm. Maybe if she hadn’t given up then, he might’ve used some skill on her.
Reply: Ohhh…
[Anonymous]: We might not feel it sitting at home, but it’s different in the field. Sofia must’ve felt Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter’s magic aura in a very real way.
[Anonymous]: That level of Awakening from when he knocked down Cho Sang-oh was no joke, huh? From what Han Je-heon said, Kim Gi-ryeo’s true power must be monstrous. I would’ve panicked too and reacted reflexively.
Scent, touch, and magic power.
Even if technology advances, modern monitors still can’t convey the nuances of such sensations.
Countless events had built up seeds of distortion.
Creating a chaotic situation completed without time to resolve anything.
Ultimately, contrary to the concerns of the S-Class Hunters, the community opinion shifted towards a positive atmosphere.
What is this? ㅡㅡ
Of course, as always, there could be no perfect narrative that everyone agreed upon in this world.
Are those S-Class Hunters, blinded by greed for stuff, seriously bailing on China??
Minutes later.
On YTV, another commercial featuring a famous celebrity’s car insurance aired.
But beneath the warm scenery in the ads, a fierce debate raged on the internet.
If two S-Class Hunters bail, who’s going to close the dungeon? The dungeon was meant to be safe, but what’s up with Kim Gi-ryeo?
Sigh… Here we go again. The little country folk in China must be saying money-hungry things again.
Looking at the schedule for the Hwangryong Tournament, it spans two full days, and these S-Classes are bailing for such reasons?
Honestly… with the previous Olympics, weren’t our athletes subjected to biased judgments?? It feels strange to participate willingly in an event held by such a country…?
Looks like they’ve got no pride, sigh… lol.
The three East Asian countries, being geographically close, had intertwined histories.
The accumulated bitterness from those experiences wouldn’t simply disappear with a Dungeon Shock.
A small number of netizens expressed concerns over their own S-Class Hunters participating in a Chinese event for materialistic reasons.
Huh?
However, surprisingly, this public opinion quickly evolved.
Oh, I accept it then.
This makes sense.
But is that a crazy move…?
Several hours later.
A breaking report hit the front page of Seonhan Ilbo.
*
In Tianjin, China.
At a hotel near the Hunter Tournament Venue.
Bam!
On the 98-inch TV in the suite, a certain broadcast was playing.
It was a match between South Korea’s S-Class Hunter and an American freelancer, and just as the shocking moment appeared on screen, Zhu Han burst into a loud laugh.
“Ha!”
The Korean appearing on the screen looked like a needle hidden in cotton.
‘Unavoidable Malice’ treatment?
That was merely cleaning up the remnants of what was left behind.
Siren.
An S-Class Hunter should naturally have a high resistance to song, so navigating Mermaid’s Cove should be something anyone at the top could accomplish.
And then there was Kagoshima, Japan’s S-Class Gate.
In the current era, active support in a place now dubbed the “Nest of Poison” amounted to little more than a supporting role.
With the help of the Public Security Bureau, I secretly reviewed the contract documentation between South Korea and Japan.
China had long assumed that man was merely an empty can with a nice facade.
“Kim Gi-ryeo…”
But after witnessing the morning’s match, that evaluation changed entirely.
Now, as Zhu Han’s first match concluded, more than ten minutes had passed.
Simultaneously, it was the official lunchtime for the event.
Zhu Han had returned to the nearby Tianjin hotel to maintain his condition, and waiting for the food to be ready, the video captured his attention.
“What an impressive hunter.”
Who could have guessed an unexpected figure would become the center of attention?
There were a total of five external S-Classes in the Chinese arena, yet Zhu Han had only been concerned about one foreign individual.
Enzo Chiano.
Due to the properties of his Awakening Ability, meeting him would necessarily seal several of his skills, so he had set the arena’s tricks accordingly.
“Hmmm.”
A few minutes later.
Finally arriving at Zhu Han’s room was a Chinese dish of stir-fried sea cucumber, bok choy, and bamboo shoots.
However, Zhu Han glanced at the food brought by the hotel staff before waving his hand dismissively.
“Take it away.”
“Excuse me?”
“Change of plans, so clear it all away. And have a car wait in front of the hotel.”
It seemed that along with this lunch, he would have to break bread with that impenetrable-wall-like Korean.
Initially looking down on someone from a small country, he found it surprisingly noteworthy that such natural talent existed.
Kim Gi-ryeo was a freelance Hunter.
Despite carrying the heavy title of S-Class, he had acted without decorum when leaving his country.
Blinded by the valuable prizes that China offered for the event.
If a South Korean were this materialistic, it would surely be easy to sway him with appropriate inducements.
‘His country used to be a tributary state of China. If you think about it, Kim Gi-ryeo could be seen as one of our people, right? If he were to naturalize, he shouldn’t have much difficulty adapting.’
A deeply rooted bias influenced by the Chinese mindset distorted judgments.
Zhu Han thought that rather than being subject to a nation as distant from both land and race as America, that man would probably prefer heading toward China.
And if Kim Gi-ryeo wanted to transition to the Chinese market, he thought he could ‘welcomingly accept’ him.