The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 39

Julian fell silent at the scathing criticism. In conclusion, since the words were not wrong, he had no excuse to make.

Julian did not trust Woo Yujin. He did not know what his abilities were or how much combat power he possessed. Rather than trusting Woo Yujin and fighting together, he perceived him as a target to be protected.

Normally, that would not have mattered. Julian knew the weaknesses and habits of monsters well, and by utilizing magic and his sword simultaneously, he dealt with enemies faster and more threateningly than others. In a word, it meant he had the leeway to deal with monsters while protecting others.

But now? It was exactly as it appeared. He was so busy blocking the immediate attacks in front of him that he could not even properly restore a single shield. Far from protecting others, he could not even look after himself. Even if he heard such words, he had nothing to say.

In an instant, the atmosphere became stiff. In the awkward situation, Woo Yujin, who had deactivated his skill, scratched his head. Since his own name was being mentioned, there was no way his heart could be at ease.

Gu Jayoung could not intervene because she was maintaining the expanded barrier, so ultimately Myeong Haejin stepped forward.

He clapped his hands “clap-clap” to refresh the awkward atmosphere. Only then did Gong Siyoung’s cold gaze waver slightly.

“Now, now, everyone is safe for now, so let’s leave it at that. Shall we try organizing the situation first? Is it correct that those monsters can’t attack if we are inside the barrier?”

Julian nodded. The answer was obvious just by looking at the monsters circling the barrier with gleaming eyes. The Belvoids could never cross the shield.

“Those shadow monsters are called Belvoids. Just like they look, they move through the darkness. You need divine power to kill them… but there is no priest among the people here. Moreover, in a place with a lot of light and shadow like this, they are even harder to deal with. As long as there is darkness, those things won’t disappear.”

“Ah, so that’s why you said to run away instead of attacking? Because it’s useless even if we fight?”

Woo Yujin let out a small sigh. It seemed the reason for the sudden demand to run away finally made sense to him now. Since Julian had not provided a proper explanation, it was understandable.

Once again, he felt acutely that they knew nothing about monsters. Belvoids were by no means rare entities. While perhaps not common knowledge, it was a monster whose weaknesses were well known, and in a situation like this where there was no priest, there should have been no need to explain one by one how to respond.

But it was not so for them. He had to explain everything to them. So, this was Julian’s error in judgment. Woo Yujin did his best to attack in his own way. The fact that it didn’t work was a secondary issue.

If he had explained the situation properly and sought cooperation, they could have dealt with it much more easily and safely than now.

“That’s right. Since those things can’t pierce the shield, I intended to just pass them by and run away… but I didn’t know things would turn out like this. The shield I make is vulnerable to internal stimulation.”

If Woo Yujin had known properly about Julian’s shield, there would have been no reason for him to make a mistake. Rather than being anyone’s fault in particular, it was an accident caused by ignorance.

Julian did not explain, and Woo Yujin did not ask. Even a ragtag bunch would have trusted and relied on each other more than this. Such a thought occurred to him only belatedly.

Gong Siyoung’s point was correct. Subconsciously, he was regarding them as targets to be protected rather than colleagues.

Even though he usually fought independently, he still knew how to trust his colleagues. The reason he couldn’t express it even though he didn’t feel well was not so much because he missed the timing, but because he inwardly couldn’t trust them.

“…I’m sorry.”

Julian apologized readily. In a situation where one fights with one’s life on the line, how could he act so complacently? If Gong Siyoung had not saved him, he might have been seriously injured. Cases of losing one’s life due to a single mistake were more common than one might think.

Perhaps he had been acting as if he were something special after crossing over to this different world. He must have been thinking that deep down.

Thinking that he was better than the hunters who couldn’t even see mana and relied on status windows. No matter how much they divided grades into S-Class or whatever and explained how great it was, Julian did not truly feel it.

It was natural. The way of thinking and the traces of the life lived were all different. There was no way such things could be changed overnight.

Without even realizing it, perhaps he had been ignoring them and looking down on them. There was no room for excuses.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for it to be like that… I guess I subconsciously didn’t trust you all. Even if you remove me from the raid… I have nothing to say. I will follow your decision.”

At the dejected answer, the area around Gong Siyoung’s eyes flickered. The discouraged Julian bowed his head deep down.

Myeong Haejin, Woo Yujin, and even Gu Jayoung all looked back at Gong Siyoung. Julian’s small, weakly drooping head was right there in view.

At the spiritless answer and the even more discouraged attitude, Gong Siyoung’s eyebrows trembled finely.

“…As for a decision…”

He had spat out bitter words because he couldn’t control his temper, but he didn’t want Julian’s spirits to be crushed like that.

He had reacted nonchalantly in his own pace no matter what was said, so why was he like this now? Is the person lacking backbone, or is he just like this by nature?

He could have argued back once out of frustration. He didn’t know why Julian was apologizing so feebly. Because of this, it felt as if he were bullying an innocent, kind person.

At the unexpected development, Gong Siyoung’s brain lagged. Myeong Haejin, who slightly pushed aside the man who was only flickering his mouth, stepped in with a smile.

“There’s no need to be that discouraged. In the end, Hunter Yujin’s life was saved thanks to hyung. Since it’s a matter of being careful with each other from now on, don’t say things like ‘decisions.’ To put it bluntly, how is it easy to go that far to protect someone you don’t trust?”

Myeong Haejin’s finger poked Woo Yujin’s side firmly. An answer with a slight crack followed.

“That’s, that’s right! It’s not like only hyung was wrong, I also started sawing first in that situation! I was wrong too! Hyung struggled to save me!”

Although she couldn’t speak because she was maintaining the shield, Gu Jayoung also nodded her head fiercely as if in agreement. Surrounding the dejected Julian, the three of them joined forces to soothe and comfort him.

Myeong Haejin sent a wink to Gong Siyoung as if telling him to do something too. He flickered his lips while stuttering.

“No, I… I mean, what I mean is…”

Just don’t do dangerous things. Fight while looking after your body, and leave the rear to your colleagues.

He just had to say that, but the words didn’t come out easily. After flickering his lips for a long time, he turned his head away sharply.

“In the future… be careful.”

Gong Siyoung led the way without even looking back. He tried to walk away quickly but was blocked by Gu Jayoung’s barrier.

Myeong Haejin’s voice followed behind the awkwardly stopped Gong Siyoung.

“Don’t take it to heart too much. Since all sorts of things happen in dungeons originally.”

“Uh-huh… I’ll be careful in the future though.”

“I’ll be careful too! Thinking about it, it seems like a problem that arose because we didn’t know how each other fights, right? We’ve never had a conversation like that. So I think it would be good to go over it this time.”

Julian also nodded. While still watching the Belvoids lingering outside the barrier, he opened his mouth.

“Actually… it’s because my condition isn’t good right now. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I can fight with a sword while maintaining magic right now. My stomach has been… a bit bad since a while ago.”

“Your stomach? Why? Are you hurting somewhere?”

“No, I’m not hurting. Just a bit dizzy, nauseous, and my stomach is turning? But it’s bearable.”

“Huh? Isn’t that being hurting?”

Woo Yujin blinked his eyes. What did it mean to be dizzy, nauseous, and have a turning stomach but not be hurting? He made a blank expression at the way of speaking that was like a “hot iced Americano.”

Gong Siyoung, who was secretly eavesdropping on the conversation, also pricked up his ears while pretending not to. As the gazes of the group gathered, Julian waved his hands in embarrassment.

“I’m really okay. It doesn’t hurt to the point of dying. I can fight.”

It was just that he couldn’t manifest magic and swordsmanship at the same time; it wasn’t serious enough to lose his combat power entirely. Since he wanted to avoid being a burden at all costs, he quickly added an excuse.

“It seems to be something like a side effect of the deep-layer examination I did earlier. My stomach has been bad continuously since then, but it got worse after entering the dungeon. It’s just a bit bad; it’s not like somewhere is hurting…”

Unable to listen further, Gong Siyoung cut him off and intervened.

“So that means you’re hurting. It means you’ve been staying here without making it obvious that you’re hurting, right now.”

“Huh? No, it doesn’t hurt quite like that…”

“Whether it’s like this or like that! It means you’re hurting enough that your stomach is turned over and you can’t even use magic or whatever properly! Am I wrong?”

Gong Siyoung’s fierce gaze shot toward Julian.

“How long has it been since you went for the examination, and you still haven’t said a word about it…! Shouldn’t Hunter Myeong Haejin have known? When someone says they are hurting! How can you not catch even one thing like that while watching him continuously by his side? I should have known since earlier when you were groping someone’s body like a pervert for some reason…!”

The arrow of blame now turned toward Myeong Haejin. Myeong Haejin pointed to his own face with his finger.

“Me…?”

I’m a pervert…? Perhaps the impact was large, as Myeong Haejin muttered with a dazed face.

Even then, Gong Siyoung’s anger showed no signs of subsiding. Huffing, he snatched Julian’s wrist. His eyes were determined, like a person who had made a decision on his own.

“Fine. From now on, don’t do anything and just stay stuck right next to me. Just try acting up like earlier, see what happens.”