Gu Dae-seong looked up at Leon with a disbelieving gaze, realizing he had just been saved.
The Gnoll Captain's axe… was frozen midair.
To be exact, it was quivering, completely stuck between Leon's fingers, unable to move.
"H-how strong does someone have to be to do that…?"
The Gnoll Captain's strength was comparable to at least a C-rank hunter.
It was the notorious ruler of the Seoul Station Gate, so much so that rookies called it a beginner's graveyard.
And yet, this man not only stopped the axe with just his fingers—he was gripping it so tightly the gnoll couldn't even pull it back?
That sort of feat was impossible without an utterly overwhelming level of strength.
"Try again."
Dae-seong blinked, thinking he misheard.
"…What did you say?"
"I said, pick up your shield. Face it again."
"???"
And then—Leon let go of the Gnoll Captain's axe.
"Now. Block its attack and counter it. Go on."
"Wait—what? We're still in a life-threatening situation here!"
By all logic and standard reasoning, Dae-seong's objection was absolutely correct.
But to the Lionheart King, such complaints were laughable—worthy of a scolding.
"Insolent fool! You're being guided by the Lionheart King himself and dare to argue?!"
"What…?!"
He felt wronged. What did he do wrong?
"It is an honor passed down through generations that I, a Holy Grail Knight, would instruct a mere common soldier.
You should be thanking me for this grace that pours down like a heavenly river!"
Leon boldly declared what had already surpassed mere insult.
Even the nearby gnoll was left stunned by his absurd attitude.
But Leon only looked down at the ignorant peasant before him with pity.
"Raise your shield! Block the axe, and counterattack!"
"Ugh…!"
Because Leon had given the Gnoll Captain his weapon back, Dae-seong had no choice but to pick up the shield again—if only to survive.
"Grrrrr…!"
As Dae-seong stood up, the Gnoll Captain shot Leon a furious glare.
Of course, it saw Leon—not Dae-seong—as the bigger threat.
"RAAAAAH!"
Without a glance at Dae-seong, the Gnoll Captain swung its axe at Leon.
The blade arced toward Leon's head—
-Thud!
"Grr?"
The axe halted in the air again.
The sharpened blade once more was caught between Leon's fingers, completely immobilized.
"This rabid mutt's out of his mind."
Leon muttered with disdain, and the Gnoll Captain instinctively recoiled.
Leon reached out—not for the axe, but for the gnoll's shield.
What happened next defied belief.
-Crack! Crunch! Screeeeech!
The metal shield began to cave in.
It warped under his grip, crushed in the shape of his fingers.
A horrifying sight. A monstrous show of grip strength.
A performance that communicated one thing:
Don't even try.
"Whimper…"
The Gnoll Captain understood immediately.
Wild beasts, after all, are quick to recognize dominance.
It realized that Leon was something it could never hope to defeat.
So it lowered its head… and turned its anger and humiliation toward Dae-seong.
"Wh-what…?"
What did I do?!
Dae-seong was flustered by the unexpected shift in aggro.
Without its shield, the Gnoll Captain raised its axe again and charged at Dae-seong.
"Aaaah!"
Panting, Dae-seong lifted his shield. A clang rang out, and the impact rattled through the shield into his body.
So strong!
That kind of force… and Leon blocked it with a finger?!
"You fool! Just because you have a shield doesn't mean you should rely solely on brute force!"
Leon shouted beside him, observing the fight closely and now coaching him in real-time.
"Never face a stronger opponent head-on! Deflect the attack like before—redirect the weapon and strike at the opening! That is how the weak fight!"
Damn it! If that were easy, I wouldn't still be stuck as a D-rank hunter!
But Dae-seong still tried to do as he was told.
He twisted the angle of his shield to deflect the incoming axe diagonally instead of absorbing the full force—
-Clang!
"Ghh…!"
But easier said than done.
The Gnoll Captain noticed the angle change and adjusted its swing.
"Your opponent is no straw dummy! It's a living, breathing beast that learns and adapts!
How can you expect success by merely tilting your shield?!"
"Damn it! Then what the hell am I supposed to—"
Thud!
Leon's foot struck Dae-seong in the ribs, knocking him down.
"Wh-what the hell are you—!"
As Dae-seong tumbled, he caught sight of the axe's trajectory.
Had he not fallen, the axe would've landed squarely in the spot his shield had left exposed while he was answering Leon.
"Focus. Heed my guidance like it's gospel, but keep your eyes on the enemy at all times."
Leon struck the gnoll in the head, halting its swing, and then looked down at Dae-seong.
"Get up. Again."
What is this lunatic doing to me?!
Dae-seong wanted to protest, but Leon interrupted.
"Don't waste your talent. Bring out your potential.
You can do better."
…Talent? Me?
Goo Daesung felt a strange emotion from that one sentence.
A Hunter without a single unique skill. A forever D-rank who had merely awakened by chance, without talent.
He had never, not once, been told by anyone that he had talent. Naturally, he had always believed he had none.
So for someone like Leon to offer him words of encouragement was completely unexpected. Just hearing his voice stirred a strange sense of trust.
I can do it.
I can do it.
He raised his shield. It was his first time using one—he had always used a sword until now.
-Kaaang!
It was heavy. Damn it, how did I manage to deflect that guy's attack earlier?
"Always keep your eyes on the enemy."
He followed Leon's advice. Within the narrow field of view behind his shield, he focused on the swinging axe of the gnoll captain.
The arc of the swinging axe—if he could just read its trajectory!
-Kaang!
A sharper sound rang out than before. Like metal scraping—an indication that the attack had been deflected.
"I... I did it—!"
"Kraa!"
The gnoll's forepaw slammed into his abdomen. Goo Daesung's body flew far back through the air.
"Tsk... Pathetic. You still can't see the whole picture. You have a long way to go."
Focused only on the axe, he had failed to see the gnoll's foot move. As Goo Daesung's vision blurred, his eyelids slowly shut.
That year, he was once again rated as a D-rank.
Once Goo Daesung passed out, the only ones left were Leon, the gnoll, and Shin Taehun.
"Grr... grrr..."
Even while glaring at the unconscious Goo Daesung, the gnoll captain was warily watching Leon. The fear he had learned kept him from moving recklessly.
He was simply paralyzed by terror, too frightened to do anything. But even that—
"How long do you intend to disgrace yourself by staring at my face, you filthy mutt not even worthy of being called human?"
-Crack!
A finger flicked out. Not even a fist. But with just a flick of his index finger brushing the gnoll captain's chin, the creature's head spun around twelve times.
-Crunch!
His neck didn't just break—it ground apart with a sickening sound, and the gnoll captain crumpled to the ground.
"Ugh... Filthy."
Leon wrinkled his nose as if something unclean had touched him. Then he stood in front of Shin Taehun.
With a swipe swipe, he wiped the finger that had touched the gnoll captain on Taehun's clothes. Taehun didn't even dare to protest.
The gnoll captain was the de facto boss of the Seoul Station Gate—a place with no official boss monster.
A nightmare for rookie Hunters, earning a C-rank threat level. Many new Hunters only survive encounters with the gnoll captain thanks to assistance from Association staff.
And yet here was a Hunter who toyed with the gnoll captain.
"A-Are you... an Association staff member?"
Now that he thought about it, even in a crisis, the staff hadn't stepped in. They'd stood back, as if expecting this outcome.
"That's right! Nayeon...!"
Taehun, who had forgotten about the cave, turned to look—and his eyes widened in shock.
"U-Um... Oppa, it's all taken care of."
"Young folks had it rough, huh?"
In front of the cave, where dozens of kobolds had been expected to pour out, stood an elderly man smiling as he wiped blood from his gauntlets.
"Then... this concludes the test."
With the Association staff's words, the party play in the Seoul Station Gate came to an end.
A short while later
At the entrance of the Seoul Station Gate, Han Hari ran up to Leon as soon as she saw him.
"Y-Your Majesty! Are you unharmed?!"
"A stroll like that couldn't possibly trouble me."
To Leon, the Seoul Station Gate was nothing more than a casual walk. Even weakened after losing most of his holy power, the Knight King's body was still semi-divine.
Even if thousands of gnoll captains swarmed him, they couldn't leave a single scratch on his body.
"Then... did you achieve your goal?"
Leon had come to the Seoul Station Gate under the guise of a test to better understand the nature of Hunters and to scout for potential talent.
"No. I saw many Hunters in the waiting room, but every one of them was as hollow as an empty shell. None worthy of joining the military ranks…"
But one man came to mind.
Goo Daesung. A D-rank Hunter.
The way he used his shield wasn't ordinary. Technically, it was terrible—but Leon could see the potential.
The fundamental skill of a soldier lies in using a shield. With training, Daesung could become something.
"Well, I've at least secured a candidate for company commander."
"I see."
That was when Hari's eyes spotted the Association staff member and other party members who'd exited with Leon.
Among them, one elderly man—no, it was Oh Gangtae with his mask removed. Hari's eyes went wide in shock.
"P-President?!"
"It's been a while, Miss Hari."
Oh Gangtae—no, Oh Ganghyuk, the chairman of the Hunter Association—flashed a disarming smile.
At a cafe near Seoul Station
"Did you know all along?"
Hunter Association President Oh Ganghyuk suspected Leon had realized his true identity the moment he'd ignored the kobold cave.
"From the start. A warrior of your caliber couldn't possibly be just some random straggler."
Leon had known from the moment Oh Ganghyuk approached under an alias. The aura he gave off had been anything but ordinary.
"Haha, I even used a magical mask to disguise my face, but I guess it was meaningless."
The magical artifact that alters one's appearance was useless against Leon. After all, he didn't even know the faces of the most famous Hunters in the country—he was a foreigner here.
"I've heard you're forming a guild."
"If by 'guild' you mean an order of knights, then yes."
Oh Ganghyuk wanted to understand Leon's intentions.
What was he pursuing? What direction did he aim for? Only by knowing that could they hope to retain him in the small nation of South Korea.
"Regarding the purification of the Naju plains—thank you for doing what should have been the government's duty. Even the President wishes to meet and personally express his gratitude."
"It was no big deal. It's hardly something that requires a king to offer thanks."
"We'd still like to offer you something in return. Is there anything you desire—?"
"No need to fidget. I've no plans to leave the country."
"...!"
It was a remark that struck at the heart.
What the Association wanted from Leon was exactly this — for him to stay in the country.
He had already proven himself to be an overwhelmingly powerful individual, but more importantly, just the miracle of purifying land tainted with mana made him more valuable than any other survivor.
If other countries learned of Leon's abilities, they might even go to war just to secure him.
'Even our ally, the United States, cannot be trusted.'
The U.S. had lost much of its agricultural heartlands due to dungeon breaks. They would be willing to pay any price to purify that land — and Leon could do it.
And Leon… seemed fully aware of his own value.
"You are all mistaken."
"Wh… What do you mean?"
"The purification of the tainted land wasn't due to some divine authority or special power of mine."
"What are you saying…?"
The Association staff had told him Leon had purified Honam and the Naju plains. He'd even seen it on video. So how could it not be Leon's ability—?
"Don't tell me… are you saying that anyone who worships the goddess Demera can do what you did?"
"Not anyone. Only those with true faith, and priests acknowledged by Her grace."
It was astounding. A problem humanity had yet to fully solve… could be handled by just a single priest?
"This world… allows freedom of religion, does it not?"
"…Yes, that's correct."
Religious conflict still occurred, but Korea had no religious persecution. One religion could get a bit fanatical, but compared to the bombings of some Middle Eastern faiths, it was relatively harmless.
"It will be overcome naturally. If you desire divine power, prove it first with belief that seeks no reward."
"..."
Chairman Oh Kang-hyuk of the Hunter Association was torn about whether to truly trust this foreign religious figure. But even so, he couldn't deny the purified land.
"I understand Your Majesty's point. Still, if there's anything you wish for, we would be happy to assist."
"In that case, I can offer you the opportunity to serve me."
"What would that be?"
"I must raise my renown."
Renown? At that, Oh Kang-hyuk tilted his head slightly.
"By renown, you mean…?"
"I intend to spread the faith of the Pantheon by increasing my reputation — across this land, no, across the world."
In other words, the more famous he became, the more opportunities he'd have to spread his religion.
Not an incorrect idea — in fact, it was likely the most effective method.
"Hmm… I see. Well, if Your Majesty wishes to raise your renown, there is actually one very good way. I believe you've already guessed it."
Oh Kang-hyuk recalled that Leon had participated in the test in order to scout new talents.
He'd formed a guild, taken in residents, and sought guild members.
The simplest way to become famous in modern Earth — it went without saying.
"First, it would be best to build accomplishments to raise your Hunter rank. In this era, there are few tools better at spreading renown than raw power."
"And how does one raise this rank?"
"It's simple. By clearing Gates. Though for Your Majesty, who has only just settled on Earth, the process may be a bit complicated."
The real problem was the Gates. Most high-grade Gates were pre-claimed by guilds through auction, and the only Gates Leon — a rookie Hunter — could access were the low-level ones owned by the Association and left unclaimed.
"For a rapid boost in reputation, high-grade Gates are the most effective."
"However, I heard those are auctioned in advance by guilds, are they not?"
At that, Oh Kang-hyuk smiled and replied,
"Actually, there's one case where a raid on a Crimson Gate failed. It's a rather special Gate, and even the Association is struggling with it."
He pulled out his smartphone, played a video, and placed it politely on the desk.
On the screen appeared a 'spider.'
"This Crimson Gate appeared in Cheongju. It has recently been reclassified as a de facto 'Red' Gate — a special variant."
Eight wide-angle lenses scanning constantly in every direction, and eight thick legs that looked too cold and mechanical to belong to any living thing.
A thick, crab-like carapace of metal, equipped with massive primary and secondary cannons. It unleashed a terrible electromagnetic pulse as it fired its railguns.
–"Aaaah! Run! Ruuuuun!"
–"What the hell is that?! There's no way we can beat something like that!"
A nightmare of urban warfare — a monster dancing between buildings with its eight legs, toying with the Hunters.
"The boss of this special Gate. No one has cleared it in over a year."
「Obtain or destroy the 'Gem of Wisdom' guarded by the Jagdspinner.」