NoveLight ™
Yoo Eun-ha, the younger sister of Yoo Jin-seok, Korea's S-rank Hunter known as the Divine Sword.
Compared to her extraordinary brother, Eun-ha had always been weak, locking herself away at home, closing off her heart.
Jin-seok, feeling this couldn't continue, asked for a favor—to at least help her become a D-rank Hunter. And so, a recommendation letter to the academy was arranged for her.
Honestly, I didn't have high expectations. After all, this was just a favor for a friend. And who wouldn’t do something like this for a friend's little sister? It seemed like the least I could do.
But who could’ve known it would turn out this way?
On the surface, Eun-ha seemed like a prickly cat. I thought she was all talk and no substance.
From what I'd seen, Eun-ha was a brat who constantly challenged Jin-seok in their household, acting like a boss in her small world.
"I'm Yoo Eun-ha. My hobby is reading, and my unique ability is acceleration. I don’t have anything I particularly like or dislike."
The moment I saw her again as teacher and student, I could tell something had changed.
Her once black hair was now dyed white, and her ears were lined with multiple piercings.
The smell of cigarettes wafted through the air every time she opened her mouth.
She looked like nothing more than a rebellious teenager, no different than any kid you'd find loitering around. Her face, always filled with complaints and irritation, was now cold and expressionless.
Honestly, the white hair didn’t seem like an awakening ability. It looked more like she had dyed it just to cause trouble.
She claimed her unique ability was acceleration. Was it the same as Jin-seok’s? Or was she lying?
It didn’t matter. The ability test would reveal the truth soon enough.
And when the time came for the test, I had to completely revise my opinion of Yoo Eun-ha.
The ability test involved the same wooden dummies that both Jin-seok and I had used back when we were rookies. And what I witnessed in that simulation room truly surprised me.
Her mana control was better than mine, much like her brother’s. I thought that was impressive enough, but what happened next truly caught my attention.
Eun-ha, still expressionless, stood in front of the dummies as if the only things in the world were her and those wooden targets.
Then she moved. But I couldn’t see it.
Not even I, an A-rank Hunter, could follow her movements. All I could catch were afterimages. Her speed was akin to Jin-seok’s acceleration ability.
In front of the dummies, she was a black blur, striking only their weak points. They shattered and regenerated so quickly, it looked like a scene from a ghost story.
"Kim Ji-hye."
At that moment, the person in charge of the simulation room, A-rank Hunter Im Yoo-jin, came in holding a chart.
"Hey, Yoo-jin. What do you think of this batch?"
"Reina, who uses spirit arrows, destroyed 1,459 dummies. Choi Si-woo, with the Divine Sword, took down 1,124. After them, Park Ji-soo got 1,114, and Han Soo-ji scored 1,057."
I hadn't paid much attention to the others, but it looked like we had some promising students.
Though compared to Eun-ha, their numbers were nothing. She had already surpassed 7,000.
"Choi Si-woo and Reina are performing above expectations, and Park Ji-soo and Han Soo-ji are impressive as well."
"We measured by the number of dummies destroyed, but in terms of pure damage, Choi Si-woo must’ve come out on top."
"And what about Eun-ha?"
At Yoo-jin’s question, Kim Ji-hye pointed at the scoreboard with her chin.
"Her kill count is still rising."
In truth, Eun-ha's damage output was probably even higher.
Of course, it had to be. She was targeting only the core of each dummy. Maybe with large monsters, her strategy would be different, but for now, this was perfect.
"What is that? Is that really Yoo Eun-ha?"
85—85—86—
In no time, she had reached 8,600.
I was curious if her mana was holding up, so I checked her levels with a mana gauge.
"She's breaking dummies faster than she’s consuming mana?"
Not only that, but her mana circuits were expanding like a chain reaction.
How is that even possible?
It’s not like she was doping or anything. That level of performance went beyond what doping could do. Besides, even if she were reckless, there’s no way she'd risk something like that at the academy.
"Could this be innate talent?"
At this level, she could easily be thrown into actual combat with just a bit more training.
No, once these test results got out, there would be a frenzy to recruit her. She was already well-known as the Divine Sword’s sister, but now, even more so.
"If she's that skilled, why didn’t she keep it hidden?"
"Maybe it’s a ‘quiet strength’ kind of thing? Or she was thrown into the academy by Jin-seok and just decided to let loose."
"This could become a real headache."
Before long, she reached 9,999 destroyed dummies.
Aside from the kids who got bored and left early, the only ones remaining were Choi Si-woo, Reina, and a few other students who stood there, mouths agape, watching Eun-ha’s test.
Why don’t these siblings understand the concept of moderation?
Jin-seok had no concept of limits either, blowing through dungeons and even single-handedly handling the Battle of Pyongyang.
I’m sure Eun-ha destroyed far more than 9,999 dummies; it just wouldn’t register any higher.
"How long is she going to keep going?"
"Oh? Now that you mention it..."
She clearly didn’t know when to stop.
I wondered if she was still angry about being forced into the academy.
She had once said she hated her brother so much she wanted to kill him.
Maybe she was imagining the wooden dummies as Jin-seok.
"Yoo Eun-ha! Stop!"
Finally, I called out to stop her.
"Oh, right."
"You know, you’re even more talented than your brother. Look at the scoreboard."
Eun-ha looked at the scoreboard and gave a sly smile.
She spun her blade and spoke.
"Only 9,999?"
Is she really trying to surpass her brother? This could be a problem.
"That’s the maximum score."
"Is that so? What a shame."
Something about her... I felt like I needed to keep an even closer eye on Yoo Eun-ha than I did on the Divine Sword.
As she stood there, staring at the scoreboard, I noticed her squeezing her eyes shut a few times.
Was she in pain? That was almost... cute.
"Instructor, so are we done for today?"
"Uh, yes... yes, we’re done."
Eun-ha fidgeted for a moment before she dashed out, ignoring her friends’ calls, heading straight home.
"Ah, I feel like I’m melting."
Lying down like an old man whose bones ached, I groaned in agony.
I couldn’t hold on any longer. My entire body felt like it was on fire, as though bugs were crawling all over me.
The sky was still dim.
I fumbled for a cigarette on the table, lit it, and took a drag.
Finally, my body started to relax.
To think I’d scored higher than the protagonist during yesterday’s ability test. That was completely unexpected.
The combination of Acceleration and Parallel Circuit was insane.
Using it just once a day felt like it would kill me.
What kind of ridiculous combination is this? It’s like experiencing a premature burn-out without having anything to show for it.
Is this the universe’s way of making me experience something absurd?
"Ugh, I don’t want to go to the academy."
Why should I go? From what I’ve learned, working means losing.
And going to the academy is just another form of work, isn’t it?
I don’t want to go. Not at all. Should I skip today?
It’s still dark outside, and it’s only 7 a.m. If I don’t get up and start getting ready soon, I’ll be late.
Every drag of the cigarette brightened my view a little more.
"It would be ideal to just not go in the first place."
After all, Choi Si-woo is the protagonist here. I’m not the main character.
If I stand out more than the protagonist, doesn’t that make me the lead?
But I can’t just skip out on the academy. My bank account’s running low, and I need to graduate and become a Hunter.
Why is fate so cruel?
Still, I have to go.
No matter what world you’re in, society values education.
Imagine slacking off, then graduating and trying to get hired by some guild.
I could almost feel the disdain they’d hurl at me in this world.
But I’ve already slaved away as a corporate drone in my past life.
And this body? It’s pathetically weak. The fact that it can withstand Acceleration and Parallel Circuit is a miracle in itself.
Sniff, sniff.
A sharp smell hit my nose. It was sweat.
Some guys might think girls don't sweat, but trust me, we do.
Some would probably consider it a reward, but I hate it.
After taking a quick shower, I drank a glass of sugar water for breakfast.
Not because I’m poor, mind you.
Before I got kicked out of the house, my older brother, the famous protagonist Yoo Jin-seok, gave me some money.
Since this is the sequel, he's rich and has a bright future ahead of him.
Naturally, being related by blood, don’t I have the right to some of that money too? So, Yoo Eun-ha, lacking the memories of a former man, accepted it.
It’s kind of like that temporary truce you have with your parents after fighting, where they still buy you fried chicken even though you don’t want to apologize.
"Chicken? Fine, I’ll eat it."
"Yeah, sure."
I imagine Jin-seok will keep giving me money until I start working as a Hunter.
Should I head out to buy groceries today?
But first, I have to go to the academy, right?
Looking at my phone, I saw it was almost time to head out.
"As expected of the Divine Sword’s sister. Guess you can’t escape your bloodline, huh?"
As I fiddled with my phone after arriving at the academy, our dear protagonist sat next to me, grinning.
"Bloodline? It was just luck."
Was 9,999 considered luck?
"Luck? A score of 9,999? Even the Divine Sword didn’t score that high. I’ve decided— from now on, you’re my rival!"
Reina suddenly poked my chest with her finger, declaring with conviction.
"I can’t lose either. Especially not to another woman. You’re my rival from now on."
What is this? A cheesy novel?
Reina is a proud and competitive heroine with a superiority complex.
She initially sees Choi Si-woo as her rival before their relationship evolves. In contrast, I’ve always been quiet and stayed out of trouble, so there was no reason for me to be her rival.
The fact that I have to explain this again just shows how weird things are getting.
Why am I her rival now?
I’m weak. Without Acceleration and Parallel Circuit, I’m practically a corpse.
And even when I use them, my body itches, and the weather turns dark.
Now the protagonist is involved too. Did I just take the spot of the fated rival, not the heroine?
"So why did you leave in such a hurry yesterday?"
"Because it got dark outside."
Isn’t that obvious?
"The weather was perfectly fine yesterday."
Liar.
"Come to think of it, I heard that happens near gates. Especially when S-rank monsters are around."
"By the way, did you see yourself on Hunter Gallery?"
"Gallery?"
"Yeah. Look at this. Your video’s already trending."
Choi Si-woo pulled out his phone and showed me a post.
[Title: Rookie from Hansung Academy.avi]
The title of the post was Hansung Academy Rookie. The content was a video, and judging by the footage, it was a clip of me breaking the wooden dummies while using Acceleration and Parallel Circuit. The rapidly climbing kill counter was quite impressive.
My figure appeared mostly as an afterimage.
With just a dagger, I destroyed the core of the wooden dummies. The video was from NetTube, and they had already slapped my name in the title.
There were plenty of comments, too.
The video had gone viral within a day. It already had more than five million views, with plenty of likes and comments pouring in.
Even scrolling through the comments, I saw replies in various languages from all over the world.
It was hard to find any comments in Korean, with the majority written in English or other languages.
Even now, the view count kept rising.
Whoever uploaded this video should thank me. They’ve gained tens of thousands of subscribers because of me.
"Looks like people are starting to see you differently."
As I glanced around, I noticed the same people who dismissed me as just the Divine Sword’s little sister were now giving me looks of admiration or curiosity.
That girl who mocked me yesterday was glaring at me, clenching her fists tightly.
"With that kind of impact, of course they would."
But…
Why should I care?