Chapter 176: Slayer

Miles away from the peaceful green lawn of Aunt Elena’s villa, a completely different atmosphere hung heavy over the city’s upper district.

Inside the top floor of a massive, dark glass skyscraper, the headquarters of the Slayer Guild sat in total darkness.

The Slayer Guild was not a normal hunter organization. They were a shadow network—a dangerous guild that specialized in capturing rogue dark species, selling high-tier monster cores on the black market, and taking secret assassination contracts from corrupt Association officials.

In the center of the dark conference room, a large digital screen flickered with static red lines.

Four red light indicators on the bottom right corner of the screen suddenly turned grey, flashing a small alert text: [SIGNAL LOST: TEAM 4].

A man sitting at the head of the long black table slowly lowered his glass of red wine.

He was wearing a dark leather coat with heavy steel shoulder armor. A deep, jagged scar ran from his left eye down to his jawline. His name was Marcus, the Vice Master of the Slayer Guild and a notorious A-Rank Assassin.

"Team 4 is dark," Marcus said, his deep, gravelly voice echoing through the silent room. "All four signal trackers went dead at the exact same second."

Sitting across from him was a thin, middle-aged man wearing an expensive black suit and gold-rimmed glasses. He was Director Thane, an influential official from the Central Bureau who secretly funded the Slayer Guild’s illegal operations.

"Are you telling me your elite Shadowfang team failed?!" Thane snapped, slamming his fist onto the polished wooden table. "They had thermal distortion cloaks! They had anti-mana suppression fields! How could an S-Rank Healer detect them from over eight hundred meters away?!"

Marcus didn’t panic. He calmly reached for a control remote, pressing a button to pull up a satellite map of the rocky hill behind Aunt Elena’s property.

"Elena didn’t detect them," Marcus replied coldly, pointing at the thermal energy graph on the screen. "Look at the energy spike recorded right before Team 4 went offline. There was no holy mana detected on that hill. It was a localized pulse of ultra-high frequency lightning."

Director Thane’s face instantly lost all its color. His hands began to tremble so hard that his gold-rimmed glasses nearly slid off his nose.

"L-Lightning...?" Thane stammered, his eyes wide in sheer terror. "You... you don’t mean..."

"Raymond," Marcus growled softly, his scarred face twisting into a bitter scowl. "The Third Strongest Hunter in the world. He returned from the Northern Border three days ago."

"Dammit!" Thane cursed, standing up from his chair and pacing back and forth frantically. "Why is a Legendary hunter acting as a simple house butler for healer?! This makes no sense! If Raymond is protecting that villa, we can’t touch anything near them!"

Marcus leaned back in his leather chair, his dark eyes narrowing into sharp slits.

"We don’t need to attack the villa directly," Marcus said calmly. "Raymond and Elena cannot stay inside that house twenty-four seven. Elena has to attend the Association Director Summit next week, and Raymond will be forced to escort her."

"And the kids?" Thane asked, stopping in his tracks. "What about the boy—Woo Jin?"

"Woo Jin is just an unranked rookie who got lucky and survived," Marcus sneered, a cruel, cold smile spreading across his scarred face. "The moment Elena and Raymond step foot outside the city district, we will launch a full-scale raid on that property. We will capture those kids, drag them to the laboratory, and kill anyone who stands in our way."

Thane wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "Make sure there are no mistakes this time, Marcus. If Elena finds out the Central Bureau is behind this, she will tear the whole organization apart with her bare hands."

"Relax, Director," Marcus whispered, his thumb slowly tracing the sharp edge of a dark mana dagger resting on the table. "Shadowfang never leaves survivors."

Back at Aunt Elena’s villa, the warm afternoon sun was slowly beginning to set, casting long, orange shadows across the quiet courtyard.

The brief threat on the hill had been completely erased by Raymond, leaving the rest of the day remarkably peaceful. However, inside the villa, a very different kind of battle was currently taking place.

"NO! Absolutely not!" I shouted, holding my hands up in total refusal.

I was standing in the middle of the living room, staring in pure disbelief at the heavy wooden training gear resting on the floor.

Aunt Elena sat on the sofa, sipping a fresh cup of herbal tea while looking at me with her sharp, unbothered blue eyes. Beside her stood Raymond, holding a silver tray with a pair of thick leather training gloves and two heavy wooden broadswords.

"You always throw yourself in danger, Woo Jin," Elena said smoothly, setting her teacup down on the saucer with a soft CLICK. "Your leg stitches are closed thanks to my salve. Resting time is over."

"Auntie, it’s four in the afternoon!" I protested, pointing at my thigh. "I just got out of a bloody gate last night! I almost got sliced in half by a gravity blade!"

"And that is precisely why you need training," Elena replied, her voice calm but completely unyielding. "You survived last night because of luck. But luck runs out fast in high-rank gates. If you can’t defeat a basic physical instructor, you will die the next time a real assassin comes after you and I knew you won’t stop going into the dungeons even if I force you so this training compulsory."

I blinked, looking over at Raymond. "Wait... physical instructor? Don’t tell me..."

Raymond bowed politely, giving me a warm, gentle smile that sent an shiver of horror straight down my spine.

"I shall be your temporary sparring partner for the afternoon, Young Master Woo Jin," Raymond said softly. "Lady Elena has instructed me to teach you basic sword defense and body movement."

SPARRING WITH THE THIRD STRONGEST HUNTER IN HUMAN HISTORY?! I screamed internally, my mind going completely blank.

"Is this training or an execution?!" I yelled, backing away toward the kitchen door.

Viora, who was sitting on the dining table eating a sweet apple, let out a small giggle. "Good luck, Woo Jin! Try not to break any bones! Auntie’s manual bandages really sting!"

"Traitor!" I glared at her, but Viora just gave me a cheeky, mischievous grin and took another bite of her apple.

Carmilla, Leo, and Mia were sitting near her and were watching the scene with wide, nervous eyes.

"Is Big Brother Woo Jin going to be okay...?" little Mia asked quietly, clutching her teddy bear close to her chest.

"I... I think Mr. Raymond will be gentle... hopefully," Carmilla whispered back, looking equally worried for my safety.

Raymond picked up one of the heavy wooden broadswords from the tray, stepping forward. He held the wooden blade loosely in his right hand, his stance completely casual, relaxed, and open.

"Please do not worry, Young Master," Raymond said politely. "I shall restrict myself to basic physical strength. No lightning magic, no mana aura, and no advanced spatial techniques."

I took a deep, heavy breath, realizing there was no escaping Aunt Elena’s strict orders. I walked over, picking up the second wooden broadsword from the tray.

The wooden weapon was surprisingly heavy, crafted from solid ironwood. I gripped the hilt with both hands, lowering my stance and raising the blade in front of my chest.

"Whenever you are ready, Young Master," Raymond said softly.

I didn’t waste time talking. I pushed off the wooden floorboards with all my strength, lunging forward with a swift diagonal strike aimed straight at his right shoulder.

SWOOSH!

My wooden blade sliced through the thin air, but Raymond didn’t even raise his sword to block. He simply tilted his head to the left, letting my heavy blade pass uselessly through empty space.

"Your weight distribution is too far forward," Raymond noted calmly, his voice right beside my ear.

Before I could recover my balance, Raymond lightly tapped the back of my ankle with the wooden hilt of his sword.

TAP.

"WHOA!"

My feet swept out from under me, and I slammed flat onto my back against the wooden patio floorboards with a loud THUD!

"AGH!" I groaned, staring up at the bright orange sky, the wind completely knocked out of my chest.

"Point one," Aunt Elena called out from the sofa inside, not even turning her head. "Get up, Woo Jin. You have three seconds."

I gritted my teeth, pushing myself up off the floor and gripping my sword tight again. "Again!"

I charged forward once more, this time using a fast double-thrust combination I had picked up from a manhwa.

STAB! STAB!

Raymond didn’t step back. He casually swept his wooden blade in a tiny, circular motion, effortlessly deflecting both of my thrusts away with minimal effort.

CLACK! CLACK!

The force behind his simple parry vibrated all the way up my arms, making my wrists feel completely numb. Before I could pull my weapon back, Raymond’s wooden blade slid smoothly over mine, stopping a bit away from my throat.

"Your attacks are predictable, Young Master," Raymond explained gently, lowering his weapon. "You are relying too much on speed and raw strength. In a real battle against experienced hunters or other species, they will read your shoulders before you even swing."

I panted heavily, sweat dripping down my forehead and soaking my shirt. "How... how do I hide my shoulder movements?"

"Do not swing with your arms," Raymond smiled, taking a step back and demonstrating a slow, fluid motion with his body. "Initiate the strike from your core, keep your breathing steady, and let the momentum flow naturally through your wrists. Like this."

He made a simple, slow slash through the air.

Even though he was moving at a slow speed, the subtle flow of his body was so insanely perfect that it looked completely effortless. There was no wasted energy, no awkward tension, and no opening for a counterattack.

I watched his movements intently, my mind absorbing every single detail.

I took a deep breath, dropping my stance again. I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, letting the chaotic thoughts in my head settle down. I focused entirely on my core, adjusting my weight distribution just like Raymond had shown me.

When I opened my eyes, I swung my wooden blade once more.

SWOOSH!

This time, the attack was noticeably faster, cleaner, and much quieter.

Raymond’s grey eyes flickered with surprise. He raised his wooden broadsword just in time to catch my strike.

CLANG!

Aunt Elena paused, setting her teacup down and looking out toward the patio with a subtle, impressed glint in her blue eyes.

"Very impressive, Young Master Woo Jin," Raymond said, a proud, warm smile spreading across his face. "Your learning speed is remarkable. You adjusted your balance on the very first try."