Clap!
The sound of a slate clapper echoed. Over ten cameras prepared for the action scene started rolling.
Na Ah-yeon walked along a park path in broad daylight, looking at her smartphone.
Following the prearranged route, Oh Jun-hyuk and I moved toward Na Ah-yeon.
We were dressed in black suits, like gangsters. Our roles were as members of the Black Guild targeting the protagonist's sister—Organizational Members A and B.
Na Ah-yeon flinched when she saw us. Oh Jun-hyuk was wearing steel gauntlets, and I held a long sword. It was only natural for an ordinary person to be startled by our appearance.
Her body shrank, and her pupils trembled with anxiety.
'Wow. If it weren't for the cameras, I'd think this was real.'
I marveled inwardly. As expected of an actress with over a decade of experience. If there were no cameras, I might have mistaken this for reality.
Na Ah-yeon looked around. There was no one to ask for help. She turned around and started running away.
"Get her!"
Pfft!
I burst out laughing reflexively at Oh Jun-hyuk's line. Seriously, this was unavoidable. Even if the pronunciation was slightly off, "Get her" was so bad it completely ruined the serious atmosphere.
"Cut! Again! Let's do it again!"
The director shouted.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Oh Jun-hyuk bowed repeatedly, his face bright red. The staff forced awkward smiles. They knew we weren't professional actors.
"Hey, hey. It's fine. We'll just do it again."
I patted Oh Jun-hyuk's shoulder.
Oh Jun-hyuk had two lines. One was the "Get her" from earlier, and the other was a fairly long sentence. On the other hand, I had no lines at all. My role was just to fight alongside him.
I was a little worried about Oh Jun-hyuk.
'This guy. He said he'd become a star hunter, but he's worse than I thought.'
His nervousness was evident. I had a foreboding feeling that we might have to shoot the same scene over ten times today.
And that premonition turned out to be true.
"…Let's try again."
"NG!"
"...This isn't working."
The director sighed.
After seven NGs, Oh Jun-hyuk was on the verge of tears.
The director pondered for a moment before speaking to us.
"Mr. Oh Jun-hyuk and Mr. Seong Eugene. Let's switch roles. Mr. Seong Eugene, do you know the lines for Organizational Member A?"
In the end, Oh Jun-hyuk was cut from the role. I glanced at him. He didn't seem disappointed; in fact, he looked relieved.
"Yes, I know them."
It was just two lines. There was no way I wouldn't know them after practicing with Oh Jun-hyuk a few times.
"Then let's try it. Do you need time to rehearse?"
"No, I'm fine."
As I said this, I glanced at the man standing next to the director. He was reportedly dispatched by the Hunter Association in case of emergencies.
'By "emergency," they probably mean if the fight scene between hunters gets too intense.'
His job would be to stop us if the fight scene became too rough.
"Alright. Let's start. Ready, action!"
The director gave the signal.
Na Ah-yeon began acting again, just like before. Despite having to perform the same scene multiple times, she didn't show a hint of irritation, which made me respect her professionalism.
I was a little nervous too. I wasn't very confident in my acting skills.
Na Ah-yeon turned around and ran away.
"Get her!"
I shouted. Then, Oh Jun-hyuk and I started running to catch Na Ah-yeon. We were E-rank hunters. Even if Na Ah-yeon ran at full speed, catching her would be no problem for us.
We quickly caught up to her and grabbed her. I held her left side, while Oh Jun-hyuk held the other.
"Ahhh! Let go! Let me go!"
Na Ah-yeon struggled convincingly, but she couldn't break free.
Then, from afar, Son An-do came running at an incredible speed and sent us flying backward. We rolled on the ground a few times before getting up. My and Oh Jun-hyuk's faces were scrunched up in pain. It was all acting.
"Noona! Are you okay?!"
"Ha, Ha-una!"
Son An-do checked on Na Ah-yeon. After confirming she was unharmed, he turned and glared at us. The tip of the sword in his hand pointed toward us.
"Don't tell me. Did Kim Seon-ah send you?!"
"The young lady doesn't know. It's the boss's orders. Good timing. You'll die here. Trash."
I delivered my line. Even if there was an NG here, I wouldn't have been surprised, but my voice was steady and didn't tremble at all.
And since the director didn't call cut, it seemed there were no issues.
"Noona, step back. I need to deal with these guys here."
"Ha, Ha-una. Wouldn't it be better to run and call the police?!"
"Even if I run, they'll just follow. You go and call the police. Hurry!"
Na Ah-yeon began to back away.
Oh Jun-hyuk and I raised our weapons and charged at Son An-do. Son An-do had told us earlier to go all out. We decided to follow his instructions. As an A-rank hunter, Son An-do could easily subdue even ten of us.
"Aaaaah!"
Oh Jun-hyuk let out a battle cry. His arms and shoulders turned to steel. Oh Jun-hyuk charged at Son An-do with all his weight.
Whoosh!
A bright red flame erupted from Son An-do's sword. He was using his ability, flame manipulation.
Son An-do's sword clashed with Oh Jun-hyuk's fist.
Boom!
A fiery explosion occurred. It only looked incredibly dangerous. We already knew this would happen, so we weren't surprised. Plus, we had been given special protective gear before filming. Ordinary attacks wouldn't harm us.
As the flames subsided, Oh Jun-hyuk's body was sent flying backward. I stepped over him and charged at Son An-do.
Clang! Clang!
His flame-imbued sword clashed with my Hwaryeonbido. Son An-do deliberately left openings to provoke my attacks.
This was filming, after all. If we just kept probing for openings, the audience would get bored.
As we exchanged blows, I thought to myself:
'It's rare to fight an A-rank hunter at full strength in such a safe environment. He told us to go all out, right? I'll give him exactly what he wants.'
Crackle!
Lightning enveloped my sword. I was mimicking the skill "Astrape" from the "Gods of Atlantis" world. Even if the power wasn't perfect, the lightning itself could electrocute the opponent, making it undeniably powerful.
Son An-do didn't look surprised. I had already informed him that I was a second-stage awakener with lightning abilities. A second-stage awakening refers to a hunter who awakens a new ability after their initial awakening, effectively possessing two abilities. While second-stage awakeners were rare, they weren't unheard of.
'The electrocution isn't working at all.'
Every time the lightning tried to transfer from my sword to his, it dissipated. I realized that the mana Son An-do wielded prevented the lightning from affecting him.
'Then how about this?'
Yeongcheon Style, Reisa.
I created distance between us and thrust my sword toward him.
My sword transformed into a lightning serpent, coiling and striking at him. Son An-do simply raised his sword, creating a flame barrier that easily blocked the attack.
Yeongcheon Style, Reigwang.
I unleashed an extreme sword strike using the power of lightning. However, Son An-do blocked it effortlessly with his sword.
I gritted my teeth. My full strength was useless against an A-rank hunter.
Yeongcheon Style, Reieumbu.
I abandoned the stealth of Yeongcheon Style and focused solely on speed. Each step I took produced a faint thunderclap.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
I was no match for him. Son An-do was only humoring my attacks for the sake of the drama.
'I know I can't win. But I'll still give it everything I've got.'
I created distance between us again. I glanced at Oh Jun-hyuk, who was sitting far away, mouth agape, blankly watching my fight with Son An-do. He didn't seem to have any intention of joining the fight.
'Besides Yeongcheon Style, I also have the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.'
The problem was that I couldn't fully utilize the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. No matter how much I tried to mimic its form, I couldn't unleash its true power.
'I'll just give it a try. It might work.'
Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
It was one of the techniques from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art I intended to use.
The Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step was one of the ultimate techniques, a movement skill that allowed the user to dominate the surrounding space, hence the name "Sovereign Step."
Of course, I couldn't use it properly now. I planned to mimic it in my own way. At best, I might achieve 5% of its true power.
"Huff, ha. Huff… ha!"
Full concentration – Heavenly Demon Breathing.
69th Form.
Heavenly Demon Step!
My legs moved in a dazzling pattern as I closed in on Son An-do. Just as I was about to swing my lightning-imbued sword, a fiery explosion occurred.
"Kuhhhhk!"
My body was sent flying several meters through the air before crashing to the ground.
Son An-do gripped his sword with both hands. A crimson flame swirled around the blade like a tornado. I sensed the end and, while still seated, extended my left hand forward.
Son An-do swung his sword. A dragon made of flames flew toward me.
'I can't just lose like this. This is my last move!'
A swastika (卍) appeared in front of my left hand. I poured all my remaining mana into it.
Crackle!
Lightning shot out from the swastika, tearing through the flame dragon and dissipating it.
"It's over."
Before I knew it, Son An-do was in front of me, pointing his sword at me. The searing heat from the blazing sword was palpable.
"…Damn it."
I let go of Hwaryeonbido in my hand, uttering a line not in the script.
"Cut! Okay! Perfect!"
The director's cut signal rang out, and the staff burst into applause.
"Wow! That was amazing!"
"This is better than most CGI!"
"Fire and lightning… That was insane."
It was indeed a rare scene. While flame ability users were relatively common, hunters with lightning abilities were few and far between.
"You were incredible. You didn't look like an E-rank hunter at all."
Son An-do extended his hand to me. I forced a smile and took his hand to stand up.
"You're incredibly strong, Son An-do. I didn't think I could win."
"I'm an A-rank, after all. You seem capable of using mana, so you'll grow stronger quickly. I'd like to scout you for our guild."
"No, I have some personal matters, so scouting is a bit…"
"I understand. It's related to Yeongcheon Style, right?"
"…Ah, you know about Yeongcheon Style?"
"I've worked with Jin Woo-sung a few times."
It was a bit surprising, but not shocking. Son An-do was older than he looked and was an A-rank hunter like Jin Woo-sung, so it made sense.
"That last movement skill wasn't part of Yeongcheon Style… Did you develop it yourself?"
"Yes, that's right."
I nodded shamelessly. After all, the King of Demons wasn't here.
"It's not fully developed yet, though…"
"I thought so. Once it's complete, it'll be a powerful movement skill. What's its name? I'd like to remember it for when it becomes famous."
"Heavenly Demon Step."
"Huh?"
"Heavenly Demon Step."
"Ha, haha. You're an interesting guy. Alright. Heavenly Demon Step. I'll remember it."
Son An-do laughed brightly.
I smiled awkwardly.
'I can't call this pathetic skill the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.'
I hadn't even achieved 5% of the true power of the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
Calling this skill the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step would be an insult to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. So, until I could complete the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step, I decided to call it the Heavenly Demon Step. I might never complete it, but…
Later, we filmed another scene.
It wasn't anything special—just a scene where we were arrested by the police and Hunter Association officials. There were no lines. Oh Jun-hyuk and I just had to bow our heads and be dragged away.
We finished our part of the filming. We were paid 300,000 won on the spot. No matter how I thought about it, 300,000 won seemed too little, but… well, it was a good experience.
"Mr. Seong Eugene. Can I have a word with you?"
It was the director. His name was Noh Han-su, a man in his late thirties with a gentle demeanor.
"Yes. What is it?"
***
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