Chapter 15.

Today’s combat training came to an end .

Though I was exhausted, I still had to go to the academic club . After that, I had to do my daily workout . Thinking about the agony of my daily life, I became depressed . If I knew this would happen, I would have put more points into perseverance .

…In any case, I was currently heading to the academic club’s clubroom . Perhaps because this was the usual path she took or because we had a similar personality, I could see Yoo Yeonha in front of me .

Yoo Yeonha herself didn’t see me and continued walking . When she arrived at the clubroom, she stood in front of the door and took out a hand mirror . She lightly checked to see whether or not anything was on her . But at that exact moment, her eyes met mine .

“What a coincidence, right?”

“…”

Ignoring me, Yoo Yeonha walked in . I also followed . Yoo Yeonha sat on a sunny seat, while I took the dark corner seat .

Yun Hyuk, the club president, was already standing on the podium . Wearing his glasses, he seemed to be organizing today’s lecture notes .

Not long afterward, 43 first years arrived along with 20 upperclassmen . At seven on the dot, Yun Hyuk began the first academic club lecture .

“Good evening, everyone . The weather’s starting to get…”

Any useless talk went into one ear and left from the other .

“Today, we will discuss monsters’ vital points . As I’m sure you all know, the location of a monster’s vital point is an important piece of information in defeating a monster . You can see how critical this information can be by looking at senior Seo Youngji . By reaching the pinnacle of this ability, she has reached top 2000 on Hero rankings . ”

A hologram of Seo Youngji’s specs popped up on the projection screen .

A Hero’s specs were summarized into strength, dexterity, durability, constitution, and magic power . Other than dexterity, Seo Youngji’s specs were all under intermediate rank, but her dexterity was at the Master rank . For the record, only 300 Heroes in the world had Master ranked dexterity .

“Senior Seo Youngji even hunted a high rank monster by herself . ”

As he said, Seo Youngji was a well-known character in this world . Though she had an introverted personality, I was sure I would meet her since she played an important role in the story .

“But don’t think monsters’ vital points are the same as a human’s . For us, the eyes, heart, and head serve as vital points, but that isn’t always the case for monsters . ”

To add on, a monster’s vital point became stranger the higher ranked it was .

“Now, let’s take a look at an example . ”

In an instant, a hologram of a monster appeared on the screen .

Though it looked similar to a mountain tiger, its giant body, bloodshot eyes, and ferocious teeth clearly indicated that it wasn’t a normal tiger .

“This monster is called the Mountain Tyrant . It can be classified anywhere from intermediate rank to high rank . As one of the first monsters to have appeared during Outcall, it has been known for 50 years, but its vital point hasn’t been discovered yet . ”

With that, Yun Hyuk paused and made a meaningful smile .

“…At least, that’s how things are in public . In reality, even if an individual or a guild knew its vital point, they wouldn’t reveal it to the public . They likely weren’t allowed to either . ”

He was right . In this world, information was an industry . There were large corporations solely focused on gathering and researching information on monsters, and in a smaller scale, private detectives and detective agencies gathered and sold information . As such, leaking such information was heavily penalized .

Of course, requiring this information to be public would greatly help humanity fight against monsters, but the power of capitalism suppressed any debates on this topic .

“Now, where do you think this Mountain Tyrant’s vital point is?”

Yun Hyuk gave Yoo Yeonha a meaningful look . A Mountain Tyrant’s vital point, Yoo Yeonha likely had no clue . Even I only created the setting and never used it . There just wasn’t a chance for the main character to go tiger-hunting .

“…”

As I thought, she didn’t seem to know . Seeing as how she was fiddling with her hair and looking around, it seemed she was ashamed for not knowing the answer .

“Would anyone like to guess?”

I, of course, knew the answer . It was a good opportunity to stand out, but I didn’t raise my hand . Yun Hyuk was acting like he did . Though his pretentious face irritated me, I wanted to see what he was scheming .

“I…”

At that moment, a girl raised her hand . I was surprised . Who the heck was that?

“Is it his nose?”

She guessed with a flushed face .

She was just an extra who fell for Yun Hyuk .

*

The academic club continued for two hours . Unexpectedly, there was a lot to learn like the vital points of monsters, compatibility between attributes, and the difference between a magic and a spell . I learned in detail about things I had lazily explained in my novel, all the while I watched cute female cadets discuss the topic .

“We have an after-party planned at a nearby restaurant! It’ll be great if you can come!”

Anyways, after the club ended, Yun Hyuk announced that there was an after-party at a nearby restaurant .

For some reason, Yoo Yeonha seemed interested in going . Feeling a bit worried, I followed her . I knew she wasn’t the type to participate in things like after-parties .

“Hey, you going?”

I approached her casually and asked .

She didn’t respond .

Thinking it was because of the way I talked, I asked again .

“Are you going?”

She ignored me again .

This time, I asked with even more decorum and propriety .

“Are you also going to the after-party, Yeonha-ssi?”

Only then did Yoo Yeonha respond with a faint nod .

“Why? Aren’t you busy?”

“…Tsk . ”

‘This fool . ’

That was what Yoo Yeonha’s eyes were saying .

“Why are you going?”

“Aren’t you curious about the Mountain Tyrant’s vital point?”

“…Huh?”

Oh, I get it now .

Public information on the Mountain Tyrant was scant to say the least . Not only did its strength vary greatly from individual to individual, it also lived in an extremely remote place . Although the Mountain Tyrant’s leather sold for a hefty price, it was hard to plan a hunt when one couldn’t be sure of the efficient number of people to bring .

Yoo Yeonha was the successor of a major guild .

So the reason Yun Hyuk acted like he knew the Mountain Tyrant’s vital point was this . Because I didn’t write my novel from Yoo Yeonha’s point of view, I didn’t exactly write out how Yun Hyuk managed to coax Yoo Yeonha . It seemed ‘guild’ was the keyword for luring her out .

Yoo Yeonha had a guild lineage . Her clan had risen to power during Outcall 50 years ago, thanks to the massive success of her family’s first generation head .

Her family was still a successful Hero clan, but Yoo Yeonha had a bit of an inferiority complex . Compared to a true noble clan, she felt her family was lacking . This was why she saw Shin Jonghak favorably, and it was also why she was overly obsessed with face and decorum .

“…The Mountain Tyrant’s vital point?”

Was this a good chance to make an investment? There was a lot to gain from keeping a cordial relationship with Yoo Yeonha . With great proficiency in handling businesses and at calculating profitability, she was destined to become the ‘King of Seoul’ in the future .

“I’m not curious . I already know . ”

“What?”

Yoo Yeonha asked again as she furrowed her brows . She looked thoroughly annoyed on top of being in disbelief .

At that moment, I made my decision . Using this information that would be publicized one day, I would draw Yoo Yeonha’s interest and instill a sense of mystery into her . Considering the SP and additional benefits I would gain from it, it was an acceptable trade .

I lowered my voice to a whisper and relayed the information to her in a serious tone .

“The Mountain Tyrant’s vital point is on the heel of its hindleg . ”

“What nonsense are you…”

“There’s a blue mark on its hindleg’s heel . But its DNA determines whether it’s the right hindleg or the left . That’s probably why its vital point hasn’t been discovered until now . ”

I was the one who created the setting for the Mountain Tyrant . I was inspired by the story of Achilles’ Heel when I made the setting . It was unlikely that this setting was changed, as tiny details seemed to be left untouched .

“The Mountain Tyrant’s body is tough, but this blue mark on its heel is the only place that’s soft . That’s the Mountain Tyrant’s vital point . If you strategize around it, it should be easy to rob it of its two hind legs . ”

The value of this information had to be tens of millions of won . But considering my current credibility, it likely wouldn’t be over 100 won .

“…Nuthead . ”

As expected, Yoo Yeonha gave a disdainful look as though she was looking at an insect . She then began to walk away . I followed after her .

“It’s true . Believe me . ”

“Would you believe me if our positions were swapped?”

“…”

I, of course, wouldn’t have believed her .

“It’s your choice whether to believe me or not…”

I hoped she would .

“Hey!”

At that moment, Yun Hyuk suddenly cut in between Yoo Yeonha and me . Shoving me back slightly, he asked .

“Don’t you think you’re being too pushy?”

Because of this cheesy son of a bitch’s height, I had to look up at him . But instead, I turned to Yoo Yeonha .

“Am I bothering you?”

“Yes . ”

“Heh . ”

She gave a cold hearted reply . I grew angry at Yun Hyuk’s mocking laugh .

“By the way, are you also coming to the after-party?”

He spoke condescendingly . I shook my head .

“I’m not . ”

“Then don’t bother other people too much . Um, Yeonha-ssi…?”

However, Yoo Yeonha had already begun to walk away .

“Heh . ”

I returned what I received . With a distorted face, Yun Hyuk chased after Yoo Yeonha . I, on the other hand, simply watched them leave .

I gave Yoo Yeonha a valuable information, but I didn’t know whether she would use it or forget about it . In the case of the former, I would gain a likely ally, and in the case of the latter… nothing would happen .

In any case, I had nothing to lose .

**

On a dark winter night, Yoo Yeonha was deep in thought as she tapped on her desk with her pen .

Tomorrow, ‘Essence of the Strait’ guild’s elite team would go out to hunt a Mountain Tyrant .

They had secretly purchased information about a lone Mountain Tyrant living in Kumgang Mountain, and they had already confirmed its size with a scout .

It was estimated to be high-intermediate rank grade 1 . The strength of its pelt reached Promentium, a tough ore found after Outcall . As such, the guild would gain an astronomical income if the hunt was successful .

But Yoo Yeonha was worried about one thing . It wasn’t for the safety of the elite hunting team . The current vice-leader of ‘Essence of the Strait’ held too much power . She felt her seat as the guild’s successor threatened .

Right, Yoo Yeonha’s worry was about this . To succeed the guild without a problem, she had to start making contributions .

In the end, Yoo Yeonha turned on her smartwatch . Using its communication functionality, she made a phone call . Soon, the receiver picked up, and a hologram screen popped up .

“…Um, Uncle?”

—Yes, Young Lady .

On the screen was Kim Sangho . He was a veteran in his forties, who was her father’s most trusted right arm . Ever since she was a child, Yoo Yeonha treated him like her real uncle .

—What’s wrong?

Though she made the call, Yoo Yeonha was too embarrassed to say anything .

A blue mark on its heel? You can disable both of its hind legs by attacking it? Just what was I doing, fooled by that crazy’s nonsense?

“Um, I’m saying this just in case…”

But the possibility wasn’t zero and it didn’t seem like it would hurt to try . Though it came from that crazy nutjob, there had to be a reason he was so confident . Justifying herself, Yoo Yeonha caught her breath .

—Yes, Young Lady?

“Um, I know it sounds crazy, but…”

Closing her eyes and clenching her fists, she spoke .

“If things are looking rough, try looking at its hind legs’ heels . ”

—…Hindlegs’ heels?

Kim Sangho furrowed his brows .

Yoo Yeonha knew what that meant . But if she could be of help, and if this information was real…

“Yes, its hind legs’… heels . Either on its left or right heel, there should be… well, I’m not sure if it’s true, but…”

Yoo Yeonha continued while risking being embarrassed .

“If there is a blue mark there, try aiming for that place . ”

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