Chapter 37 - My Sword Unit (5)

After the tests, a total of seven people were selected today.

It was fewer than the ten originally planned, but I couldn't pick applicants who didn't meet my standards.

I had the new members line up in the training ground and stood before them.

Although it was a small group, I intended to raise them into swordsmen, each worth a hundred.

In other words, the seven chosen here today were the luckiest rookies in the world.

“Welcome to the Chamryongdan. Let me formally introduce myself again. I am your unit leader, Seo Ji-han.”

I walked among the new members, inspecting my first soldiers once more.

My eye for talent is perfect, so there was no way I had picked any chaff.

With the aid of my Mana's Eye, I had roughly confirmed their potential, so I was somewhat satisfied in terms of skill.

“You probably applied to my sword unit seeing the name of the Haewon Sword Family, but what you will actually gain will be more than just the reputation of the Haewon Sword Family. I can promise you this one thing for sure.”

I continued to speak.

The routine for the Chamryongdan that I announced to them was very simple.

On days without dungeon raids, they were to come to my personal training ground five days a week for training.

And they would have their swordsmanship regularly checked by Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon.

And other minor rules.

I wanted to emphasize the family-like atmosphere of the sword unit here, but Choi Ho-joong had dissuaded me beforehand, so I decided not to talk about it.

“Any questions?”

The first person to raise their hand was a female swordsman named Baek Ji-ah.

In our sword unit where the majority were in their early twenties, she was the only late bloomer in her late twenties.

“Speak.”

“It's a personal curiosity about you, Unit Leader. Is that alright?”

“It doesn't matter.”

“I heard a rumor. The fact that you recently received a perfect score on the Hunter License exam for the first time in history. Is that true?”

Although I had blocked the press release at the time, I expected some rumors to spread.

There would be no shortage of eyes and ears who saw and heard within the association that administered the exam.

Still, for it to be just this much meant that security had been maintained excellently.

“It’s true.”

I thought it was fine to officially acknowledge it now.

“Young Master! Is that really true?”

The one who reacted vehemently was suddenly Choi Ho-joong.

“Ho-joong, if you act like this now, what will become of my dignity?”

This guy was the problem with things like this.

“If you were thinking about your dignity, you should have spread the rumor all over the neighborhood long ago. Why did you hide it until now….”

“Enough of that, don't you think it's about time you sorted out your titles? Wouldn't 'Unit Leader' be better than 'Young Master'?”

“The title 'Young Master' is stuck to my lips. I will try to fix it!”

And then I asked Baek Ji-ah in return.

“Were you that curious about the truth of the rumor that I got a perfect score on the license exam? You raised your hand as if you were waiting for it.”

“I was very curious.”

“Why?”

“I picked up the sword later in life than others. For that reason, everyone talks about the limits of my potential first, but I wanted to find hope in your case, Unit Leader. Didn't you also enter this field late due to your chronic illness!”

“That’s about right. But the time you start the sword is not that important. Rather, bad habits learned at a young age are often more fatal to growth. Was it Baek Ji-ah?”

“Yes.”

“The performance you showed in the test was very impressive. Your concise swordsmanship without any flashiness, and your skill in handling mana is not bad, so you will be able to reach a sufficiently high level.”

“Thank you, Unit Leader.”

“Then I will take the next question.”

In this way, I continued the first meeting, talking with the new members.

It was a necessary time.

Because there would still be prejudices and misunderstandings about me.

“Next question!”

Of course, this perception did not last long.

The way they looked at me before the test started and now was very different.

“Next question.”

Surprisingly, all their questions were directed not at the Chamryongdan, but at me, Seo Ji-han, personally.

“And I am also curious about your daily schedule, Unit Leader.”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“I thought that if I followed your day, I might be able to grow quickly too.”

“I wouldn't recommend my schedule. Every person has a training method that suits them.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“When I get to know more about you, I might be able to recommend a suitable training method for you then.”

“I will be waiting, Unit Leader.”

The conversation with the seven new members continued for much longer.

Unintentionally, it was becoming a family-like atmosphere from the very first day.

Choi Ho-joong said a family-like atmosphere was not the trend these days; it was my fault for believing him.

“By the way, Unit Leader, is it possible for our Chamryongdan to participate in the Ujangsan dungeon raid?”

“I was wondering why that question hadn't come up yet.”

The hottest place these days was the dungeons around Ujangsan.

Recently, dungeons have been popping up like mushrooms around Ujangsan, and strangely, the clear rewards are enormous regardless of the dungeon rank.

Hunters call this phenomenon the ‘Burning Period.’

It's unknown how long this period will last, but for the time being, the dungeons around Ujangsan are scheduled to be a hot spot.

“I heard that our Haewon Sword Family recently won a bid for an Ujangsan dungeon. I will try my best so that the Chamryongdan can raid that dungeon.”

“We believe in you, Unit Leader!”

As I nodded at the members, Choi Ho-joong came over and whispered cautiously.

“Young Master, no, Unit Leader! What are you going to do if you make an empty promise like that and it doesn't work out? You know the Family Head's personality. He's even stricter with his sons.”

But there was no one as fair as my father.

In other words, there was also no demerit for being a new sword unit.

The joining gift for the new members was thus decided.

To win the right to raid the Ujangsan dungeon.

Of course, it would be a good thing for me as well.

***

The Spring of Elixir.

As usual, I was in the Abyss at this time.

I had no intention of breaking this routine just because I had established the Chamryongdan.

After all, the day-to-day management of the members was entrusted to Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon.

For now, treatment was the priority.

“Hoo.”

This feeling of my body recovering was the greatest pleasure for me.

The road ahead was still long, but I also had a firm belief that I would reach it someday.

And so, I was getting a little better every day.

‘By the way, it's unusually noisy today.’

When I was here, operating my mana technique and healing my body, I could hear all sorts of people's voices.

Today, the fog was particularly thick, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead, but two people nearby were talking unusually loudly.

“Hey, Team Leader Kim. Do you happen to remember a place called Delia Island?”

“The name sounds familiar. I think it was an early area in the Abyss, right?”

If it's Delia Island, I know it well.

The second quest area of the Abyss.

Since it was my next destination within the Abyss, I had already familiarized myself with the basic information.

Because, like last time at Yoron Village, suddenly arriving without knowing anything could lead to difficult situations.

“But why Delia Island?”

“A rumor has been going around that Delia Island recently connected to another unknown dimension.”

“An unknown dimension?”

“Yeah. They say unheard-of monsters have started appearing there, and apparently, the carcasses brought back from Delia Island are being traded at very high prices.”

“So what, it's pie in the sky for us anyway.”

“I guess so.”

This was one of the characteristics of the Abyss.

You cannot revisit a quest area once you have cleared it.

I casually spoke towards the other side of the fog.

“Sounds like there’s some interesting issue with Delia Island?”

“What! Was someone there?”

“I was just healing my body quietly. I happened to overhear you say that new types of monsters are appearing on Delia Island. Has it become very dangerous?”

“That’s just the rumor. I haven't been there myself so I don't know for sure, but I heard that many rookies who recently entered Delia Island haven't been able to return.”

“I see.”

An issue I wasn't aware of.

But it wasn't an important matter right now.

The Ujangsan dungeon raid to be decided at the Haewon Sword Family's unit leaders' meeting tonight. That was my greatest interest.

However, the man's next words piqued my interest.

“I heard a rumor that a stingray-like flying monster is the most annoying.”

The moment I heard it, I knew what it was.

A monster called Ralas that also inhabits Kalia.

Then could the unknown dimension connected to Delia Island be Kalia?

Of course, it was highly likely to be wishful thinking, but my conviction that this place called the Abyss was the hope that would let me return to Kalia grew stronger.

Because all sorts of dimensions were connected through this place.

“Hoo.”

But first, treatment.

Exploring the Abyss would also become easier once I regained my strength, so I had no choice but to recover my body as quickly as possible.

***

The unit leaders of the sword family began to enter the meeting room one by one.

I knew all their faces, but there were only two among them with whom I had exchanged words.

Only Seo Ji-won and the Moonlight Unit Commander, Im Moon-shik, were truly familiar faces.

I had no way of knowing what kind of relationship the others had with the Seo Ji-han before my reincarnation.

“To think the day would come when I see you in this meeting room, one lives and learns. It feels awkward just seeing you sitting in that seat.”

“Don’t you think it’s more awkward for someone your age to say something like that?”

Seo Ji-won threw a jab that wasn't quite a jab, so I retorted.

“You just won't lose a single word, will you.”

With that, Seo Ji-won gave his characteristic arrogant-looking smile.

Of course, he wasn't a bad person.

It was impossible for a wicked person to come from my father and mother.

The meeting began immediately with my father’s arrival.

“There is one empty seat.”

Except for my eldest brother, Seo Ji-hoon, who had left on a distant Abyss expedition and had not yet returned, all the unit leaders were present at the meeting.

“As you all know, today's agenda is to select the sword unit that will participate in the Ujangsan dungeon raid. Let us begin the meeting.”

The subject of discussion was a C-rank dungeon near Ujangsan with a 25-person limit.

Although the rank itself was low, in the recent hot topic of the ‘Burning Period,’ this rank was not that important.

Even in E-rank dungeons, there was a high probability of getting quite good rewards.

“As announced, there will be two sword units participating in this dungeon raid. One of them has already been decided as Seo Ji-won’s Myeongundan.”

It was said that they were pre-selected due to their recent excellent performance, and no one raised any objections to this.

Because everyone knew that my father was not a person who made biased decisions.

So, what needed to be decided in this meeting was to select the remaining sword unit.

“But surely, is Unit Leader Seo Ji-han’s Chamryongdan also intending to participate in this dungeon raid?”

The person who made this remark was the Manwol Unit Commander, Gong Seok-ho.

I knew him to be part of the pro-Seo Ji-hoon faction, and he was now blatantly ignoring our Chamryongdan.

“Why? Is there a reason we can't?”

“Most of the members are too inexperienced. Including the leader, Seo Ji-han.”

“Are you saying that our Chamryongdan should just stay in a corner because we’re inexperienced?”

“I did not express it in that way. It's just that, as a newly established sword unit, you have not been verified.”

“Both of you, stop!”

As signs of the atmosphere turning strange appeared, it was my father, Seo Joon-wook, who immediately cut off the conversation.

“As the family head, I would like to make a proposal to the unit leaders here.”

My father’s proposal was, as expected, neat and fair.

The sword unit that showed the highest performance through a preliminary competition would acquire the right to participate in the Ujangsan dungeon raid.

“I agree.”

“I agree.”

I also had no reason to disagree.

I had no intention of using my status as the family head's son in the first place.

“It’s unanimous. Then from now on, I will give all sword units four days. The sword unit that hunts the monster with the highest value by freely raiding dungeons and the Abyss will be given the right to raid the Ujangsan dungeon. Any objections to this method?”

“None!”

This too was passed unanimously.

To hunt the monster with the highest value.

The element of luck could play a part, but still, the higher the sword unit's overall power, the higher the possibility.

It was a method that reflected my father's style of emphasizing skills and results.

The Manwol Unit Commander, Gong Seok-ho, looked at me with a sly smile.

It must have meant that with the Chamryongdan's power, we shouldn't even dream of the Ujangsan dungeon.

“It seems something good has happened to you suddenly, Commander Gong Seok-ho?”

“I am just curious about the first move of the Chamryongdan, Unit Leader Seo Ji-han.”

This situation was quite amusing.

Because winning a competition was one of my 4,885 specialties.

And since I had just heard some good information in the Abyss, it became even harder to find a reason for me to lose.