The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become

With a tall, commanding presence, neatly styled hair swept aside to reveal part of his forehead, and strikingly handsome features, the man walking from the entrance toward the sparring arena was unmistakable.

It was the Yeouido Hunter, the one who had cleared the infamous Twin Dungeon.
His face, etched into the public’s memory after making headlines, was instantly recognized by the crowd.
Of course, it wasn’t just his face that drew attention.

“It’s… It’s the Yeouido Hunter!!”
“Whoa, it’s really him! He looks exactly like in the videos!!”
“Is it just me, or is his face literally glowing? That’s insane…”

“But wait, isn’t he supposed to be a participant? Why’s he wearing casual clothes?”
Dressed in black jeans, a plain black T-shirt, and a brown leather jacket, the Yeouido Hunter stood out from the other hunters.
His outfit, with its brown shoes and jacket, resembled a hunter’s gear, but the design and material looked more like regular clothing than specialized equipment.

And indeed, it was just that—ordinary clothes.
“Wait, isn’t that jacket from Baek Jinnam’s brand?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it… it does look like it!”

“Could he be here as a referee or something?”
The crowd, familiar with even the finer details of the scene, quickly identified the brand of his clothing.
Some spectators, noting his seemingly non-combat attire, speculated that he might be there as a tournament official rather than a participant.

But they were wrong.
After verifying his identity with a referee, the Yeouido Hunter entered the sparring arena.
He then summoned twin swords from his inventory, facing his opponent, who had entered shortly after.

“What? He’s really fighting in those clothes?”
“Isn’t he taking this too lightly?”
The murmurs of the audience grew louder.
At similar levels, duels were often decided by gear—especially defensive equipment—which made it crucial for participants to don proper armor.

Of course, overwhelming skill could render gear irrelevant.
However—
“Isn’t his opponent Carlos?”

“It looks like him! Carlos, the deputy guild master of Capucho Guild, the strongest in Mexico. His level’s over 500, isn’t it? I remember reading he was recently promoted to a high-tier hunter.”
His opponent wasn’t an easy match.
In a tournament drawing the world’s strongest hunters, the Yeouido Hunter was up against a high-tier hunter with a level exceeding 500 right from the start.

“He’s not wearing any armor?”
“Looks like it. Judging by those twin swords, he seems completely focused on offense.”
“If he gets hit even once, it’s over. This is just disappointing… I thought we were witnessing the rise of a new star, but…”

Some spectators dismissed the Yeouido Hunter, predicting an inevitable defeat.
However, he remained steadfast in his decision not to wear armor.
Instead—

Ding!
“Begin!”
Whoosh!

The match started, and the Yeouido Hunter kicked off with explosive speed.
The gap between him and Carlos closed in an instant.
But—

“No armor? Are you here on a joyride?!”
Unfazed, Carlos shouted and swung his longsword.
Having traveled from afar to compete in the tournament, Carlos took offense at what he perceived as his opponent’s lack of seriousness.

Buzz!
A green aura radiated from the tip of his sword.
The Yeouido Hunter shifted his trajectory, stepping out of the sword’s direct path.

However—
Foolish brat.
Carlos didn’t let up. He brought his sword down in a wide arc, aiming for the ground.

Even if his direct strike missed, the Explosive Blade skill he activated would cause a massive detonation upon impact, sending shockwaves in all directions.
The resulting explosion was so powerful that even a B-rank dungeon boss would suffer debilitating effects.
Moreover, Carlos himself was shielded from the blast by the skill’s inherent barrier, leaving him unharmed.

Against an unarmored opponent, an area-of-effect attack like this is perfect!
With a smirk, Carlos watched as the aura-covered blade neared the ground.
But then, just as the sword was about to hit—

Clang!
The trajectory of Carlos’s sword was disrupted.
A blade appeared from the side, deflecting the descending sword mid-swing.

And suddenly—
The Yeouido Hunter’s sharp eyes were right in front of him.
“……!!”

Wha—What?!
Carlos tried to respond quickly, but it was too late.
Before he could adjust his stance—

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
A storm of sword strikes engulfed his body, shredding through him like a whirlwind.
“Arghhh!!”

Carlos’s scream echoed across the arena.
Then—
Crash! Thud!

“Participant #347, Kang Hyunsoo, wins!”
The match ended with the Yeouido Hunter’s overwhelming victory.
Carlos, knocked flat on his back, had his shield completely shattered after enduring dozens of furious strikes.

The duel, finished in an instant, left the audience stunned.
It wasn’t just the speed of Carlos’s defeat that shocked them.
“Kang Hyunsoo…?”

“Did the referee just call the Yeouido Hunter ‘Kang Hyunsoo’?”
“That name sounds familiar… Where have I heard it before?”
Kang Hyunsoo—the hunter who had single-handedly cleared the Twin Dungeon.

The crowd, now aware of his name, murmured as they tried to recall where they’d heard it.
But their murmurs were drowned out by the cheers erupting from the stands.
“Wooooooaaahhhh!!”

Before anyone could fully process Kang Hyunsoo’s identity, the performance he had just displayed ignited waves of excitement.
It wasn’t just his speed and skill that captivated the audience.
“Man, that was insane. It felt like watching an action movie.”

His striking appearance only added to the spectacle, cementing him as the center of attention.
And it wasn’t only the audience who noticed him.
“Congratulations on your victory, Hunter Kang Hyunsoo. That was an incredible match. I also watched the video of you walking out of the Twin Gate—it was impressive,” said the referee, approaching him after the match to offer a handshake.

Still a bit taken aback, Kang Hyunsoo accepted the handshake and replied.
“Ah… Thank you.”
“After the match draws are finalized, please wait in the resting area until the preliminaries conclude.”

“Understood. Thank you for the guidance.”
Kang Hyunsoo bowed slightly in return to the referee’s courteous gesture before heading toward the exit.
It was only the first match, yet his demeanor was relaxed and natural—far from the nervousness of a typical participant.

There was a reason for that.
This wasn’t Kang Hyunsoo’s first Strongest Swordsmanship Tournament.
He had participated in the same tournament in his previous life and had already anticipated everything that would unfold, down to the smallest details.

In particular, his opponent, Carlos from Mexico, was someone he had faced in his very first match in his previous life as well.
Of course, not everything played out the same way.
Back then, the fight had been much tougher.

Even when he dodged Carlos’s direct strikes, the green aura-infused explosions made it grueling to battle amidst the flames and smoke.
This time, however, Kang Hyunsoo preempted that entirely by ending the match before Carlos’s sword could even hit the ground.
Though he could have fought from a distance, he chose to close the gap quickly instead. Using the Thunderblade, he deflected Carlos’s sword and followed up with the Fireblade, unleashing a flurry of strikes.

The result was a swift and decisive victory.
Unlike his previous life, he now wielded dual-sword techniques, had upgraded his Flame Demon Sword to the Fireblade, and had acquired the Thunderblade far earlier.
Everything unfolded just as Kang Hyunsoo had foreseen—except for one thing.

It was—
“Krrk! Congratulations on the victory, Master. You won flawlessly, without a single wasted move.”
‘It’s all as expected. But… they’re not recognizing me even though my name was announced.’

The audience didn’t seem to immediately associate him with the Yeouido Hunter from the Rookie Hunter Selection Tournament.
Given that his name was announced during the match, and with his fame from the Twin Dungeon clear, he expected people to make the connection right away.
But they didn’t.

“It’s because you’ve become far more handsome, Master. Your face and body have changed so much that it’s hard to match them with your previous self.”
As Swallow pointed out, his dramatically improved appearance made him nearly unrecognizable.
And there was another reason.

Before the audience could dwell on the name “Kang Hyunsoo” or connect it to his past feats—
“There! It’s Kyle! Kyle’s here!!”
“Whoa! Finally…!!”

Kyle Dusk, America’s premier hunter, entered the arena.
With his golden hair gleaming under the lights and his sleek, black carbon-fiber armor, Kyle immediately commanded the crowd’s attention as he stepped onto the sparring platform.
Ding!

“Begin!”
BOOM!
The match ended in an instant.

Kyle obliterated his opponent’s shield with a single, devastating sword slash launched from his starting position.
The opponent had raised a shield to defend, but it made no difference.
“Tsk, as overwhelming as ever. Just like in the previous life.”

Even Swallow couldn’t help but click his tongue at Kyle’s sheer power.
Having watched the match unfold, Kang Hyunsoo left quietly through the exit.
He was well aware of Kyle’s strength—perhaps better than anyone else.

But what mattered now wasn’t Kyle’s might.
It was the future.
Kang Hyunsoo made his way to the expansive winner’s waiting area on the first floor of the stadium. Finding a seat, he listened to the murmur of conversations among the other hunters.

“Whew, I barely made it through. I hope my next opponent’s an easier one…”
“They said the match draws will be done after today’s matches, right?”
“Yeah.”

“But does the draw even matter? If you want to win, you’ve got to beat everyone anyway.”
“Ah, come on. It’s better to face weaker opponents early on. That way, you don’t expose all your moves before the main rounds. Sure, preliminaries are packed, but the finals are different. Match-ups matter a lot.”
The hot topic in the waiting area was the match draws.

Out of 1,000 hunters competing at the Seoul venue alone, only 500 would advance past the first round.
The tournament followed a daily format, with matches held once per day. After each day’s matches, the next round’s pairings were drawn on-site.
With the tournament lasting fifteen days, the importance of match draws varied depending on perspective. While some argued that strength alone determined the winner, there were certain opponents everyone wanted to avoid.

“Whoa, look! It’s Kyle!”
The room tensed as the American representative entered.
Facing Kyle in a match meant that advancing beyond the Round of 16 was virtually impossible.

With the room now silent and heavy with anticipation, the chief referee addressed the hunters.
“We will now begin the draw for the next round. Participants, please step forward when your number is called to draw a ball.”
The draw began.

“Participant #126, Shin Soo-il. Please come forward to draw your ball.”
“A-5.”
“Participant #244, Sakamoto. Please come forward.”

“B-10.”
The process continued smoothly.
Before long, it was Kang Hyunsoo’s turn.

“Participant #347, Kang Hyunsoo. Please come forward to draw your ball.”
Taking a deep breath, Kang Hyunsoo stood and approached the large box containing 500 numbered balls.
Exhale…

He closed his eyes momentarily, steadying himself.
Until now, he had carefully replicated the outcomes of his previous life.
But this draw was where things needed to change.

Because in his previous life, his next opponent had been—
The golden-haired American hunter, Kyle Dusk.