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CHAPTER 19: I Became the Successor of a Constellation.
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19
All the attendees in the conference room stared at the large monitor.
The quad-split screen showed the inside of the test room from various angles.
“Oh, Lee Kangsoo is here.”
“His physique is on another level.”
“Just what you’d expect from a former UFC fighter.”
The attendees offered their assessments one by one. On the screen, Kangsoo and Minho could be seen talking to each other.
The audio was off, but from the atmosphere, it seemed they were exchanging greetings.
Dai watched the screen, her palms beginning to sweat.
Seeing the B-Rank Hunter’s muscles and build, the overwhelming difference was palpable. But at the same time, her faith in Minho remained.
The unbelievable potential value she had seen with her own eyes.
‘Will he really be okay? But… there has to be something more to him.’
Meanwhile, Team Leader Oh, who had been quietly listening to the others’ comments, wore a triumphant expression.
Director Han asked.
“There won’t be a situation where we have to stop midway, will there? If he gets seriously injured during the test….”
“Don’t you worry, Director.”
Team Leader Oh said confidently.
“Lee Kangsoo is a hunter who knows control. He’ll subdue him appropriately and end it. Well, if he resists fiercely, there might be some variables.”
In truth, he sincerely hoped Minho would do just that.
He wanted that arrogant punk, who had provoked him right up until he left the room, to feel the painful sting of his own incompetence.
Director Han simply responded with a quiet smile.
Just then, the two men on the screen finished their preparations.
“Looks like they’re starting.”
All eyes were fixed on the monitor. Just what would the F-Rank Hunter show them?
***
‘Three minutes should be enough. I’ll go easy on him for about a minute, gradually apply pressure, and then finish it cleanly.’
Kangsoo planned his strategy. Team Leader Oh would be satisfied with a decent performance.
‘This corporate life isn’t easy.’
Kangsoo was the first to raise his guard. Left hand forward, right hand under his chin. It was a classic boxing stance. His movements were imbued with the experience he’d gained as a professional fighter.
‘What kind of stance is that?’
Minho, on the other hand, had no stance at all. At a glance, he looked completely defenseless, his vital points wide open.
Kangsoo found it odd but thought little of it. Being an F-Rank, he probably never learned any proper martial arts.
‘First, let’s test his reaction.’
Kangsoo slowly closed the distance. A tactical approach to pressure his opponent.
His footwork was natural, his center of balance stable.
He threw a light jab. Not a real attack, but a light punch to gauge the distance.
It was a basic technique professional fighters used to size up their opponents.
Minho leaned his upper body back slightly to dodge it.
‘His reaction isn’t bad.’
For an F-Rank, his reaction speed was decent.
But it was a move anyone with some sparring experience could avoid.
This time, he threw a series of jabs. Left, right, then left again.
He actively probed, but Minho dodged or blocked them all.
‘He’s not bad, but…’
He didn’t feel threatened. Perhaps because he’d heard Minho fought to survive, his evasive maneuvers were certainly excellent.
But dodging and attacking are two completely different things. You can never win a fight just by defending.
As expected, Minho was gradually being pressured. Focusing on defense while backpedaling, he soon found himself cornered against the wall.
‘So this is his limit.’
Kangsoo was satisfied. He was demonstrating a suitable gap in their skills.
If his opponent kept getting pushed back, there was no point in probing further. He could just end it now.
That way, he could wrap up the test smoothly.
Kangsoo’s attacks began to speed up slightly. He was increasing the pressure as planned.
However, it didn’t take long for him to feel that something was strange.
‘What? I was sure that one landed…’
He had landed several clean attacks, yet none of them connected properly.
At the last second, his opponent would subtly twist his body to evade, or shift just enough to make the angle off.
At first, he thought it was a coincidence. But as it kept happening, he too began to feel something was off.
‘Is this guy… reading my attacks?’
***
In the conference room, the atmosphere was one of ‘I told you so,’ as things seemed to be going as expected.
“The difference in weight class is just too big.”
“The candidate is doing his best to dodge, but…”
Most of the attendees had already decided the outcome.
Among them, Team Leader Oh, seemingly convinced of Kangsoo’s victory, smirked and taunted Dai.
“Look at this, Team Leader Kim. Didn’t I tell you? This project should never have gone forward in the first place.”
“What do you expect to accomplish with an F-Rank? Just say you’re giving up on the project and let’s stop the test. The man’s going to get seriously hurt at this rate.”
Dai stared at the screen without a word. On it, Minho was still being pushed back defensively.
The thought that she might have misjudged him crossed her mind.
‘No. My eyes weren’t wrong.’
Dai observed Minho’s movements closely. He certainly looked like he was on the defensive, but his expression showed no sign of panic.
If anything, he looked calm, as if he were calculating something.
Kangsoo’s one-sided assault continued, but as time passed, something strange began to happen in the test room.
***
Observing Kangsoo’s attacks, Minho noticed a subtle change.
‘Looks like he’s finally realized something is off.’
A look of bewilderment crossed Kangsoo’s face.
With attacks he was sure had landed continuously missing their mark, he could no longer dismiss it as coincidence.
In truth, Minho had been intentionally on the defensive until now.
Like Kangsoo, he wanted to gauge his opponent’s skill level.
And he was also testing how effective his training in the soul space had been.
‘It’s definitely different.’
His opponent’s movements looked like they were in slow motion. To be precise, he could read his opponent’s intent to attack in advance.
The subtle twitch of a muscle, the direction of his gaze, the shift in his weight, the change in his breathing—everything foretold the next attack.
Minho knew what was coming even before Kangsoo threw a punch.
‘Is this the evolution of Danger Sense?’
Just then, Kangsoo’s expression grew more serious as he intensified his attacks.
This time, it wasn’t a simple jab but a proper hook. A left hook flew toward Minho’s chin.
‘I can see it perfectly.’
The trajectory of the hook was crystal clear. Its speed, its angle, even Kangsoo’s intent.
It was like watching a well-written script.
Minho leaned his upper body back slightly. The hook grazed past his chin. It was a paper-thin margin.
Kangsoo’s eyes widened. The timing had been perfect, yet Minho had dodged it precisely at the last moment.
The bewilderment on his face was now plain to see.
His composure shaken for only a moment, Kangsoo changed his tactics. He launched not a simple punch, but a combination attack.
He feinted a jab, then suddenly threw a low kick.
‘A pro is on another level, after all.’
Minho caught the shift of Kangsoo’s weight to his right foot and the tensing of the muscles in his left leg.
He lifted his leg to block the kick. The timing was perfect.
‘He must be sure now. That I’m not an easy opponent.’
Sure enough, Kangsoo’s assault came to a halt. He took a deep breath and then spoke.
“Well, it seems I’ve completely misjudged you, Minho.”
“It’s fine. The people upstairs all think the same thing.”
“Haha, you’re quite bold, too. Are you really an F-Rank?”
“As you can see.”
Minho gestured toward his F-Rank badge with his eyes.
“It’s truly fascinating. The world of Hunters is indeed wide and deep. Well, not that I think it will change the outcome. I’m going to get serious now.”
“I was hoping you would.”
Kangsoo stopped talking and closed his eyes.
Soon, the air around Kangsoo began to change.
As if the moisture in the air were condensing, an invisible energy swirled around him.
Just as it felt like a fierce spray of water was circling him, Kangsoo moved.
He softly uttered the name of his skill.
“Raging Torrent”
A full-on charge followed by a straight, a low kick, an elbow…
A variety of attacks poured out at high speed.
Like the ceaseless flow of water.
But Minho was still dodging every attack, his senses merely sharpened to a finer edge.
‘Have I changed this much?’
He hadn’t realized it himself. Even a B-Rank Hunter’s attacks, enhanced with a unique skill, were useless before his ability.
Every movement was predictable.
‘Nameless Constellation… just who are you?’
But this wasn't the time to dwell on such things.
His opponent was now growing anxious. Impatience was visible on Kangsoo’s face.
‘An opportunity will come soon.’
Minho continued to focus on defense. Kangsoo tried his combinations one after another.
A backspin elbow following a hook, a high kick after a middle kick feint, even a knee strike from a clinch.
They were attack patterns Minho couldn't have even known, but he dealt with them all cleanly.
Sweat poured down Kangsu’s forehead like rain. His face was filled with nothing but incomprehension.
‘He’s been a martial artist his whole life, but this must be a first for him.’
Then came a fatal mistake. In his haste, he threw an excessive overhand hook.
His stance broke completely, leaving his left side wide open.
And, of course, Minho did not miss that moment.
‘This is my chance.’
The look in Minho’s eyes changed.
It was completely different from his defensive posture until now—it was the look of a predator that had found its prey.
Kangsoo showed a flicker of realization, a silent ‘Ah!’, but it was too late.
Because the power of his Level 5 Body Enhancement ability was already gathered in his left hand.
A single attack. A swift, precise, and concise movement.
The unfriendly gazes he had felt since stepping into the Hunter Management Department building.
The contempt and ridicule directed at him in the conference room.
A world that judged people by their rank, not their ability.
The impenetrable wall of discrimination born from it in Hunter society.
It was the first moment F-Rank Hunter Kang Minho shattered it.
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