Did my unlucky remark actually become a prophecy?

  Three men suddenly blocked our path.

  "Hey, two people carrying four tusks?"

  Their eyes locked onto the ivory, they positioned themselves to block our way.

  Tattoo Man stood in the center, flanked by Skinny dude and a fat man.

  Greed shone in Tattoo Man's eyes as he stared at the tusks.

  "Hand over half and we'll let you pass."

  We'd finally encountered bandits. So road robbery actually existed in reality.

  I glanced at Si-hyun and found his expression completely calm. Did he think we could win in a fight?

  Of course. How could there be B-Class among bandits? Real B-Class hunters could earn more from simple missions than from robbery.

  Looking at the three posturing bandits, I turned back to Si-hyun.

  "What should we do?"

  Fight or ignore them? Though they weren't likely to let us go easily, I had to ask.

  "Fighting is our only option, right?"

  For some reason, Si-hyun's eyes were overflowing with killing intent.

  "Don't kill anyone."

  I couldn't help but warn him. With this much bloodlust, I worried things might go too far.

  Broken limbs were acceptable, but killing was absolutely not.

  "I know. Then guard the luggage."

  I could handle one person if needed.

  Si-hyun set down his backpack, stretched, and approached the bandits while I quietly drew my spear and stood guard over our belongings.

  "Hahaha, leaving your girlfriend behind to fight three of us?"

  "What bad luck."

  "Boss! Take them out."

  Classic villain material. They spread out and immediately engaged Si-hyun in combat.

  I calmly observed Si-hyun's fighting.

  Tattoo Man seemed to share Si-hyun's Body Enhancement Type, attacking with his fists; skinny dude used a sword while Fat man began manipulating fire.

  "Hey, fire powers are cheating!"

  Even with Si-hyun's durability, fire attacks were too dangerous. This wasn't a fair fight - calling it one-sided would be generous.

  Tattoo Man flew backward after clashing fists with Si-hyun.

  Skinny dude's sword slash was casually blocked, and during that moment Fat man's fireball was easily swatted away with Si-hyun's other hand.

  Skinny dude's relentless attacks were perfectly defended with one hand.

  When Tattoo Man tried a surprise side kick, Si-hyun's spinning kick was faster - sending him flying again. Fat man created numerous Fireballs for a volley while Skinny dude coordinated by retreating, showing decent teamwork.

  The Fireballs hit Si-hyun without even scratching him, then he charged like a bull and side-kicked Fatty into a rolling mess. Ignoring Fatty's screams, Si-hyun sprinted, leaped, and delivered a flying kick toward Skinny Bamboo Pole - straight out of a comic book.

  Though Skinny dude barely dodged, the resulting ground cracks and explosive sound made me gasp.

  "Wow..."

  I'd often seen Si-hyun fight, but this was my first time seeing him damage terrain. That kick would have killed instantly if it connected.

  Tattoo Man seemed to realize they couldn't win and suddenly lunged at me.

  I raised my spear but quickly realized it was unnecessary - Si-hyun had already grabbed his collar and thrown him back like trash.

  Watching him overwhelm Monsters never felt like this, but witnessing this absolute power used against humans was terrifying.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I knew B-Class hunters were called superhumans, but I never imagined it would be this frightening when applied to people. What I thought only existed in fiction carried far more impact when seen in reality.

  Skinny Bamboo Pole struggled to rise, using his sword for support. Si-hyun delivered a high kick, the sound of shattering metal coincided with the grotesque bend of his left arm. A piercing scream tore through the air.

  Unlike monster roars, human wails held a special sharpness.

  Si-hyun didn’t stop. He pivoted and kicked Tattoo Man’s shoulder as he tried to stand. The crack of a dislocated joint mixed with howls made my eyelids twitch, wasn’t this excessive?

  Then a chill ran down my spine. I instinctively swung my spear backward.

  “Agh!”

  A pained cry followed. Turning, I found a gaunt man crouched behind me. When had he crept up?

  I immediately raised my spear into a defensive stance.

  “You’re with them?”

  His disgusted expression said everything.

  “Damn it…”

  He quietly drew the sword at his waist.

  Another bandit.

  The thin man swung his blade. I parried and quickly created distance.

  We now faced each other across the backpack.

  The thin Man kept glancing at the ivory. Though I knew he wanted it, did he have some special method? His behavior was suspicious. Appearing out of nowhere like that, was it invisibility? Or teleportation?

  Uncertain of his ability, I decided to push him away from the backpack first.

  I lunged forward with my spear. He blocked with his sword. A series of thrusts forced him back, widening the gap between him and our supplies.

  “Goddamn it!”

  In our exchange, I realized his physical ability matched mine without artifact enhancements.

  His awakened ability must be something specialized.

  While maintaining guard, he suddenly vanished.

  Strange noises came from behind again. I immediately swung my spear backward.

  Thwack, the impact confirmed a hit. I spun around to assess the situation.

  That thin man. Not super speed, no telltale signs. Spatial teleportation?

  Making a quick judgment, I thrust my spear at him while he was down.

  He rolled away from the attack and scrambled to regain distance.

  I held my position near the backpack, wary of another teleport.

  He glanced toward Si-hyun, spat a curse at me, and disappeared:

  “Damn it.”

  Suspecting a trick, I swept my spear behind me but hit nothing.

  He must have fled after seeing his companions’ condition.

  “Hah.”

  I relaxed my combat stance.

  Looking toward Si-hyun’s fight, it seemed over. He was ambling back.

  No trace remained of his earlier ferocity.

  “You okay? There was another enemy here.”

  “Yeah. Nothing special.”

  True.. aside from teleportation, he was ordinary.

  Suddenly, my Status Panel appeared, showing an attribute increase:

  Mana attribute rose from D-Class to C-Class.

  What? Why now?

  And why Mana, something I never use? If it were Agility, it’d help in close combat.

  “Shit.”

  The curse slipped out.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My attribute went up. But it’s Mana.. the one I don’t use.”

  I stomped my foot in frustration.

  “Oh? Want me to teach you how to use Mana?”

  …?

  That’s possible?

  Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? I should’ve asked Si-hyun earlier.

  We repacked our gear and headed for the Gate.

  Passing the bandits, their condition was unbearable to look at.

  I never knew Si-hyun had this cruel side.

  “Don’t look. Turn away.”

  He tried to cover my eyes, but I pushed his hand away and saw the scene.

  I really shouldn't have looked.

  The three robbers were in terrible shape: the tall skinny one had his left arm and leg broken and twisted, Tattoo Man had both shoulders dislocated and his nose crooked, and the fat one's right arm was completely shattered.

  "Was this too much?"

  With Si-hyun's Ability, he could have easily subdued them.

  "Maybe..."

  His vague response suggested he knew he'd gone too far.

  "Go easier next time."

  Though I didn't know if such a situation would occur again.

  "That might be difficult..."

  What? Was this guy crazy?

  "You could kill someone."

  Si-hyun avoided my gaze.

  Was there something he wasn't telling me? I stared hard at him.

  "To protect you."

  He muttered something too quiet for me to hear.

  Though I felt sorry for the robbers, I decided they'd brought it on themselves.

  With a Teleportation-capable partner, they probably wouldn't die.

  We reached the Gate without further incident.

  By the time we returned to Earth, it was already late night. My watch showed 2 AM.

  "It's the middle of the night."

  "Yeah, look at the sky! So many stars."

  A brilliant starscape stretched above us.

  With the spread of Magic Stone Energy Technology, fossil fuel use had plummeted. As air pollution improved, the environment's self-cleaning capacity greatly increased.

  The once-polluted sky had become clear again.

  We woke the duty officer and completed registration.

  Si-hyun said he needed to organize his luggage and change clothes first, so I went to the changing room alone.

  I'd brought summer short-sleeved athletic wear, but the late night felt unexpectedly cold? Only when changing did I notice the multiple bruises on my body.

  Fortunately, they didn't affect my movement. This must be thanks to my Growth attribute, even if the status window didn't show it. Calculating today's earnings, I happily headed to the parking lot.

  Si-hyun had already organized his luggage and seemed to have gone to change clothes too, so he wasn't there.

  I shivered in the cold night wind.

  "Waiting long?"

  "Not really."

  I'd been in the car less than three minutes.

  "You look cold."

  "Yeah, I didn't expect to be out this late."

  "So what do we do now?"

  We were out, but the timing was awkward.

  "Let's just sleep in the car for a while, then sell the tusk at dawn before heading home."

  "Will that work? Last time you slept in the car, you complained about being hungry."

  True, but it wasn't unbearable.

  "Yeah, it's only for a few hours anyway."

  We got in the car and ate some leftover snacks because we were hungry.

  "Si-yeon, doesn't it hurt?"

  Si-hyun said, looking at the bruises on my arm.

  "These? No. They're bruised but really don't bother me at all."

  He touched the bruised areas as if he didn't believe me.

  Since it genuinely didn't hurt, I showed no reaction.

  "Guess it really doesn't hurt. Good."

  "Hey, for Hunters, this level of injury is nothing."

  Si-hyun suddenly made a bitter expression.

  "Are you okay though?"

  Seeing him concerned about my injuries, I suddenly remembered he'd been exposed to fire attacks.

  He'd been so calm about it that I'd forgotten.

  "Yeah, completely fine."

  "Good."

  We chatted quietly like this until we eventually fell asleep in the car.

  -