Joo Ji-Hyuk

Joo Ji-Hyuk is a two-handed heavy-sword Knight whose early career is constrained by equipment that cannot withstand his Completed-type Trait. A custom weapon from the Orc Blacksmith allows him to resume advancing, while admission to The Monster turns his gratitude toward Kim Sae-Jin into long-term service as a combatant, Griffin rider, raid member, and trusted veteran.

Biography

Hidden crafts and The Monster

Ji-Hyuk first approaches the Orc's Forge as a Mid Tier Knight of the Dawn Order. Heavy Swords Mastery lets him use a two-handed greatsword at full proficiency, but the same power makes ordinary weapons fail after roughly five hunts or a single Fissure exploration. Treating a weapon as a lifelong partner, he enters Sae-Jin's interview visibly tense, promises maintenance three times a day, and candidly explains that he is willing to use Dawn's lending system to afford a proper Zweihänder. His sincerity persuades Sae-Jin to select him. (Chapters 43–44)

The resulting black-steel Zweihänder is built around Ji-Hyuk's actual front-line needs rather than prestige. Its Material Destruction property combines with his heavy-sword skill to cut through the Mana-resistant shell of a Big-Giant-Turtle, proving that the weapon can translate his Trait into effective force instead of breaking under it. Ji-Hyuk responds by giving the valuable shell to the Orc Blacksmith with a handwritten letter, even though his own household is poor and selling it would bring a large return. He considers an expensive gift appropriate precisely because the sword changed his life. (Chapters 44–45)

That exchange creates a direct relationship with Sae-Jin. Ji-Hyuk hunts beside him, notices when questions about Sae-Jin's Trait might become intrusive, and helps him avoid recognition without demanding payment for the discretion. By the time Sae-Jin considers expanding The Monster, Ji-Hyuk has advanced to upper Mid Tier and is already regarded as good-hearted, diligent, and dependable. His admission produces intense public attention and a place among the year's promising Knights, but his own statement emphasizes gratitude and Sae-Jin's respect for Guild members rather than his sudden fame. (Chapters 48, 55–56)

Red Moon and unstable evolution

Ji-Hyuk becomes one of the people through whom The Monster answers public fear of intelligent Monsters. When repeated outbreaks cause suspicion of the tamed Griffin Muffin, Sae-Jin asks Ji-Hyuk to ride her on rapid-response subjugations. Ji-Hyuk reaches Gangwon from Seoul in about ten minutes, protects his body from speed and air pressure with a Mana barrier, and reports that civilians smile rather than panic. The campaign reverses public sentiment and earns him the nickname “Griffin Knight,” making a once-overlooked Mid Tier fighter a recognizable representative of the Guild. (Chapters 60–61)

His operational value is quieter when Sae-Jin asks to visit the traumatized Knight Jung Eun-Ji. Ji-Hyuk obtains the necessary permission, reassures hospital staff that she trusts him, tries to speak with her, and steps outside when Sae-Jin requests privacy. After her recovery, he promptly relays both her condition and her gratitude. Although he does not know that Sae-Jin's Werewolf form caused the trauma or that the treatment involves more than the presented potion, his credibility gives Sae-Jin access and helps repair harm that secrecy would otherwise leave untreated. (Chapters 62–63)

During the Red Moon, Ji-Hyuk serves at the devastated first defensive perimeter with the other Guild-affiliated Knights. Near the end of the prolonged operation, Sae-Jin chooses him to relay the Lycan's prediction that the event will finish in two days. Ji-Hyuk communicates the report with visible relief, distinguishes its source so the exhausted defenders can trust it, and smoothly handles Sae-Jung's concern that Sae-Jin called him first. The episode reflects his emerging function: he is not the operation's singular hero, but a reliable link between Guild intelligence and front-line morale. (Chapter 77)

Nosferatu alliance and the Bathory conflict

When Sae-Jin and the Nosferatus assemble a team capable of physically delaying Bathory, Hazeline proposes Ji-Hyuk as the Knight they need. By then he has reached High Tier and is known as the “Master of Greatswords,” a substantial rise from the five-year Mid Tier plateau caused by inadequate weapons. Ji-Hyuk accepts the lethal assignment after its purpose and risks are explained, joins the hidden planning circle, and reacts to Sae-Jin's additional identities with admiration rather than withdrawing his loyalty. (Chapters 134–135)

Preparation emphasizes integration instead of an unexplained new technique. Ji-Hyuk trains continuously with the other Knights so that his body and Mana control can accommodate the team's enhancement tattoos, while the spellcasters master their specialized devices. He also participates in tactical briefings alongside Yi Hye-Rin, with whom he is increasingly paired both socially and in combat. The corpus does not assign him command of the Bathory plan or a unique counter to vampire sorcery; his job is the source-bounded one for which he was recruited—bringing a durable High Tier melee presence to a balanced strike team. (Chapters 135–136)

In the rescue assault, Ji-Hyuk's greatsword descends on the Mana-suppressed Bathory as part of the opening coordinated strike. Her physical strength remains overwhelming even without magic: she throws him aside when he engages and later continues threatening the wounded party, so Ji-Hyuk and the others cannot turn their numerical advantage into a kill. He nevertheless recovers enough to step forward with another front-line fighter when Bathory targets Yu-Rin, then escapes with the team through Sae-Jin's emergency teleportation. His survival establishes both his steadiness and the ceiling of conventional Knight power against an exceptional Vampire. (Chapter 145)

Exhibition, Fissure war, and aftermath

As the Guild's Exhibition recruits new members for the coming crisis, Ji-Hyuk remains inside the established operational group rather than competing for a place he already holds. Sae-Jin assigns the Knights continued strengthening while other specialists gather intelligence. When the Guild later plans its attack on the Vampire Lord's underground base, Ji-Hyuk defers raid design to the more experienced Yu-Rin and enters the divided passage system with Hye-Rin. They survive but are found nearly frozen to death, demonstrating that his High Tier rank cannot negate hostile environments or a plan that separates its fighters. (Chapters 151, 153, and 156)

Ji-Hyuk's later role combines combat readiness with responsibility for other Knights. He becomes a top Knight within Dawn and captain of a team of roughly fifteen subordinates. During discussion of food engineered for Vampires, he immediately identifies its value as long-duration raid rations, asks what a profitable public price would be, and plans to purchase supplies for both himself and his team. He then joins the Guild operation against the Mah-in-aligned el Las, where enemy restraints capture the entire party and a collapsing floor opens onto the growing Fissure. His value lies as much in preparing people for attrition as in swinging the greatsword. (Chapter 162)

With the portal crisis approaching, Ji-Hyuk and Hye-Rin marry in a Guild ceremony and take only three days away. They return directly to Knight duty as smaller Fissures begin appearing across the world, then face the final uncertainty together, with Hye-Rin seeking comfort in Ji-Hyuk's arms at the last Guild gathering before Sae-Jin enters the portal. The supplied chapters do not isolate Ji-Hyuk's individual actions during Bahamut's battle, but they establish that he survives the catastrophe and remains part of the community it preserves. (Chapters 166–168)

After Bahamut defeats the Dimensional Devourer, all Traits disappear. Ji-Hyuk therefore loses Heavy Swords Mastery along with every other Trait holder, although the corpus does not state whether he formally retires from Dawn or continues using his learned physical training and Mana. A year later he and Hye-Rin are a prominent married couple appearing together on television, still attend The Monster's annual gathering, and eventually move into the same apartment building as Sae-Jin's other companions when the amnesiac survivor believed to be him is found. Ji-Hyuk's latest state is that of an alive veteran, husband, and trusted Guild friend. (Chapters 172 and 174)

Appearance and personality

The corpus describes Ji-Hyuk as a young adult man but gives no reliable height, hair colour, eye colour, or other fixed physical measurements. His recurring visible details are behavioral: he holds an unusually upright posture when nervous, scratches the back of his neck when embarrassed or uncertain, smiles openly, and blushes readily around Hye-Rin. When he receives his custom sword, tears gather in his eyes; when public attention follows his Guild admission, he is flustered but still answers reporters coherently. (Chapters 43–44, 48, and 56–57)

Ji-Hyuk is repeatedly characterized as simple, honest, diligent, and good-hearted. He respects craftsmen, limits questions when an answer might make someone uncomfortable, repays help even at personal financial cost, and thinks instinctively about what his subordinates will need. His humility does not prevent initiative: he volunteers information, shields confidences, proposes practical uses for Guild inventions, and accepts operations whose danger has been made explicit. Sae-Jin's trust in him grows from this consistency rather than from rank alone. (Chapters 43, 45, 48, 55, 134, and 162)

He is also socially awkward and occasionally easy to wrong-foot. A simple distraction lets an acquaintance shove past him, romantic attention makes him visibly self-conscious, and Hye-Rin's assertiveness often leaves him reacting rather than leading. These moments supply humor without contradicting his combat professionalism. By the aftermath, their public marriage is notably affectionate, and the once-tense applicant can participate comfortably in the Guild's teasing, domestic gatherings, and shared decisions. (Chapters 48, 159, 166, and 172–174)

Traits and abilities

Heavy Swords Mastery

Heavy Swords Mastery is a Completed-type Trait. When Ji-Hyuk wields a sufficiently heavy sword requiring two hands, it lets him express the weapon's maximum power and the relevant heavy-sword skill without prior training. The Trait manifests before his first appearance and allows him to qualify as a Knight only one week after awakening. The corpus does not explain why he received it, the exact trigger for its awakening, or whether every oversized two-handed blade satisfies its weapon requirement. (Chapters 45 and 60)

Its immediate mastery has a hard progression limit: a Completed Trait does not level up. Ji-Hyuk can train his body, Mana control, tactics, and ordinary Knight fundamentals, but the Trait itself cannot grow in the manner of a Level-Up type. It is also unusually dependent on equipment. Ordinary Zweihänders repeatedly break under his output, leaving him stranded at Mid Tier for roughly five years until the Orc-made weapon can survive and augment his attacks. His later upper Mid and High Tier promotions therefore reflect suitable equipment and continued development around a fixed Trait, not an evolution of Heavy Swords Mastery itself. (Chapters 43–45, 55, and 134)

The Trait vanishes when all Traits disappear after the final crisis. Ji-Hyuk's accumulated experience, physical conditioning, leadership, and relationships remain, but the corpus does not demonstrate him reproducing the automatic maximum proficiency afterward. It likewise does not establish whether he can still operate his Zweihänder at the same output using Mana and learned technique alone. (Chapter 172)

Greatsword combat and Mana

Ji-Hyuk's demonstrated style centers on decisive two-handed cuts backed by physical force, Mana, and his weapon's properties. Material Destruction lets his strike cleave the Big-Giant-Turtle's shell despite its toughness and partial immunity to Mana-bearing attacks. By the Bathory operation, his status as High Tier and “Master of Greatswords” makes him a designated physical interceptor, and his weapon contributes to the party's simultaneous opening assault. The source does not name individual sword forms, state an exact attack range, or give a quantified Mana reserve. (Chapters 45, 134, and 145)

His defense includes standard Knight Mana barriers and trained physical endurance. He can survive the atmospheric pressure and air resistance of high-speed Griffin flight, a feat he says requires at least greater-than-Mid-Tier capacity. Those defenses are not absolute: Bathory can throw him across a barrier through raw strength, environmental cold nearly kills him underground, and he is restrained with the rest of the Guild by the el Las weapon. His fighting record therefore shows a capable front-line Knight rather than immunity to rank gaps, specialized environments, or artifacts. (Chapters 60, 145, 156, and 162)

Griffin riding and rapid response

Ji-Hyuk is the Guild's first prominent operational rider of Muffin. Riding is not part of Heavy Swords Mastery; it depends on the tamed Griffin, sufficient Mana-barrier strength, and his ability to function at extreme travel speed. He uses that combination to reach distant outbreaks rapidly and subjugate Monsters before slower teams arrive. The public campaign earns him the “Griffin Knight” name and helps normalize a Monster working with a human Knight. (Chapters 60–61)

The arrangement has practical limits. Ji-Hyuk does not tame Muffin himself, ownership remains with Sae-Jin, and the corpus gives no independent summoning or control ability to Ji-Hyuk. The requirement for a strong enough Mana barrier excludes weaker riders, while the disappearance of Traits does not clarify whether his remaining Mana control is sufficient for the same high-speed missions. His latest chapters focus on marriage and Guild life rather than a post-crisis Griffin deployment. (Chapters 60–61 and 172)

Command and operational judgment

By Chapter 162, Ji-Hyuk is a top Knight within Dawn and captain to approximately fifteen subordinates. He evaluates supplies through the needs of long raids, seeks provisions for the people under him, and understands that hunger and endurance can decide an operation just as surely as attack power. Earlier, he functions as a credible public representative, protects Sae-Jin's privacy, facilitates a sensitive hospital visit, and relays intelligence to exhausted Knights. These are not supernatural abilities, but they explain why The Monster continues placing him in small, high-trust teams. (Chapters 48, 60–63, 77, and 162)

Power progression

Relationships

• Kim Sae-Jin: Sae-Jin chooses Ji-Hyuk for a custom weapon, hunts beside him, admits him to The Monster, and later relies on him for public-facing missions and dangerous raids. Ji-Hyuk repays the weapon with valuable material and lasting loyalty, accepts Sae-Jin's hidden identities, and remains part of the circle searching for him after the final crisis.
• Yi Hye-Rin: Hye-Rin is Ji-Hyuk's frequent Guild and battlefield partner. Their banter and mutual concern develop into an openly affectionate relationship, and they marry shortly before the final Fissure opens. They survive the Vampire Lord mission together, return to Knight duty after their short honeymoon, and remain a prominent married couple in the aftermath.
• Jo Hahn-Sung: Hahn-Sung manages the Guild operations that place Ji-Hyuk in the public eye, including the institutional response around Muffin, while Ji-Hyuk supplies the credible Knight presence those plans require. Later, Ji-Hyuk explicitly looks to Hahn-Sung's business information when considering long-duration rations for Dawn, reflecting their complementary field and administrative roles.

Items

• Joo Ji-Hyuk's Zweihänder: A Mid Quality black-steel greatsword custom-made by the Orc Blacksmith after Ji-Hyuk explains that ordinary weapons repeatedly fail under Heavy Swords Mastery. Its four stated properties are Increased Sturdiness, Material Destruction, Weight Reduction, and Stamina Recovery. Material Destruction is explicitly demonstrated against the Big-Giant-Turtle's Mana-resistant shell; sturdiness addresses the breakage that stalled his career, while reduced weight and stamina recovery support prolonged two-handed use. The corpus does not quantify any property, show that they activate without the wielder's participation, or establish the weapon's final custody and performance after Traits disappear. (Chapters 43–45 and 172)