“What on earth was that......?”
Im Seok-jae could only groan.
Yu-jun’s correction had left him utterly bewildered.
He had never experienced anything like it.
The more training he received, the more astonished he became.
“I never imagined I could do something like that.”
Seok-jae looked at Yu-jun.
“You can see it?”
Not one of the trainers he had met before had ever told him such a thing.
“I can.”
For an instant, blue light flowed out.
‘I saw it. That’s the right stance.’
More precisely, it was the right stance for Im Seok-jae.
Every Awakened had a different correct stance.
‘Their abilities differ, and so do all the mana pathways inside their bodies.’
Yu-jun examined Seok-jae’s body more closely.
‘I can see the flow.’
He could see the path the mana took. Yu-jun corrected Seok-jae’s stance accordingly.
“You feel the mana flowing toward your shoulder? Don’t make it explode yet. Let it flow, then make it explode at the end.”
The instructions were so detailed that only Seok-jae himself could understand them.
He was amazed by such precise coaching.
He wanted to keep asking how Yu-jun knew all this.
But Yu-jun’s training continued before he had the chance.
“Control it more firmly. Keep controlling it. Don’t just pour it all out. Hold it back and direct it only where you want it.”
Together with the Awakened Training System, Yu-jun’s own eye for people was proving its worth.
-Focus skill Proficiency accumulated!
‘How to train him......’
He could see exactly what training Seok-jae needed.
DING—!
-Conditions met!
-[Optimal Training Method] skill added to the Awakened Training System!
‘It’s open.’
The level of Yu-jun’s Awakened Training System was gradually rising.
“Let’s get serious.”
Now he could begin training Im Seok-jae in earnest.
“......You weren’t serious until now?”
Seok-jae was taken aback.
“I told you.”
Yu-jun gripped his staff again.
“I’d get you into the regular raid.”
***
-Training complete!
-Training of Awakened Im Seok-jae complete.
-Im Seok-jae added to the Awakened Trainer List!
One week.
Seok-jae was amazed by himself, and by Yu-jun.
“It worked. In just one week.”
They had truly fixed his long-standing problem in a week.
And they had done more than fix it. His movements had improved far beyond what they had been before.
VR machine training produced all kinds of measurements and let trainers see the movements and even the gaze of the person inside.
That made teaching with it difficult for anyone who was not an expert trainer.
Yet Yu-jun had done it with ease.
“Wait, you’re...... not a certified trainer, are you?”
“I haven’t taken the exam yet, so I’m not certified. But I’ve used VR machines plenty of times.”
Yu-jun had spent years as a promising youth trainee at Promise Guild.
‘I’m actually used to reading the numbers and teaching with a VR machine.’
“I’ll build up my experience and take the exam.”
“No, I don’t think you need more experience. I can get you a letter of recommendation. Or I could write one myself.”
To take the certified trainer exam, an applicant needed experience as a trainer.
‘Or a letter of recommendation.’
Yu-jun had been released, so he had no letter, and he had only just begun training others, so he had little experience to show.
“No, it’s all right.”
Yu-jun waved the offer away.
‘It’s too soon for a recommendation.’
He intended to add more to his portfolio.
‘I can train people without being certified.’
There was no need to rush to get a certified trainer’s license.
‘I need to develop my skills further.’
Yu-jun intended to change his image completely.
‘A failed prospect.’
To bury that image, he needed more achievements than he had now.
“All right. Tell me whenever you need one. I can get it for you.”
Seok-jae clenched his fist.
He wanted to go to the Tower at once.
“Nothing I did could fix it......”
Now that Yu-jun had fixed it in a week, Seok-jae was eager to use his strength immediately.
SWISH—!
Mana rose from all over his body.
-Awakened Im Seok-jae trained!
-Training Score: 6/10
His final Training Score was six.
He had started at four and finished at six, which was not bad.
‘It was my first time teaching an A Grade Awakened.’
Along with Focus Lv.2, Yu-jun had gained a large number of Points.
-15P awarded!
-You trained an Awakened above your current level exceptionally well!
-Bonus score awarded!
Fifteen Points.
That was a considerable amount.
It was the most he had ever earned at once for training a single Awakened.
‘It makes sense.’
Yu-jun had just done something impossible.
‘At this stage, I shouldn’t really be able to teach an A Grade Awakened.’
He had also risked failing the training.
“You’re a real genius. What you’ve done shouldn’t even be possible. Thank you so much, Yu-jun.”
“I could never have trained you this way on my own. You know that, right? A trainer and an Awakened have to work well together. I already knew you, and seeing your body tells me even more. I can see how hard you’ve worked.”
BUZZ-.
Seok-jae looked at Yu-jun.
His eyes were brimming with tears.
At a guild, hard work was expected. How hard he had tried did not matter there.
Results. Results mattered most.
Hearing Yu-jun acknowledge his effort touched him deeply.
‘How could I not understand how he feels?’
A trainer’s role was more than simply teaching.
‘A trainer has to look after an Awakened’s mental state too.’
“With skills like yours, you could boast a little, but you’re humble to the end.”
Someone this capable would have every reason to be proud.
Had Yu-jun not been a promising youth trainee who was released? Yet he still knew how to lift up an Awakened with humble words.
“Are you sure you haven’t Awakened? With training skills like that, you might as well be an Awakened.”
“Maybe I’ll Awaken soon.”
With training skills like these, there was no longer any point in hiding that he was Awakened.
“Go and show them.”
It was time for Seok-jae to prove himself in the regular raid.
“Don’t let anyone take your place as the main damage dealer.”
“......I won’t.”
Yu-jun sent him off.
“He’ll hook me some valuable connections.”
The fishing rod had been cast.
“I’ll build my portfolio one step at a time.”
Yu-jun opened the Awakened Training System.
“What should I do with these......?”
He currently had fifteen Points.
He needed thirty to unlock a Lv.2 skill.
‘It would be best to unlock one right away.’
But leaving all fifteen Points unused would waste time.
‘Focus has reached Lv.2.’
He decided to raise Training Speed Increase, the last Lv.1 skill, to Lv.2.
-Raise Training Speed Increase skill level?
-10P will be consumed.
“This skill is why I could correct Seok-jae’s problem and send him out after just one week.”
The skill dramatically increased training speed and maximized the efficiency of an Awakened’s training.
The same training was more effective when Yu-jun provided it.
“I should raise this one first.”
-Training Speed Increase level increased!
-10P consumed.
-Training speed increase is now 20%.
SWISH-.
“Now I just need to level up Awakened Scan.”
With Awakened Scan as it was, he had been unable to learn much about Im Seok-jae, an A Grade Awakened.
“Then I’ll lower the hurdle.”
Yu-jun returned straight to Sky Guild.
“The trainer’s here!”
“Trainer!”
“Welcome back!”
Since he trained first-team Awakened Kim O-jung, Sky Guild’s first-team Awakened had been waiting for Kang Yu-jun.
“Could I...... receive training?”
Yu-jun smiled at the man.
‘Awakened Scan.’
-Scanning Awakened!
He was a B Grade Awakened.
Cracks were clearly visible here and there across his body.
‘A typical pattern of cracks.’
“Yes, of course.”
It was the perfect time to check which skills he could level up.
***
One week.
Today was Lightning Guild’s regular raid.
“For the main damage dealer......”
“I’m ready.”
Im Seok-jae raised his hand.
“Seok-jae, it’s all right. Leave it to Han-gyu today.”
Han-gyu was a candidate for the main damage dealer position with Super Strength similar to Seok-jae’s.
“I really am ready, Team Leader. I’ve received proper training.”
“Proper training?”
The team leader had already heard about it.
Im Seok-jae had terminated his contract with his previous trainer and signed with a new one.
He had heard the new trainer did not even have a license.
“He isn’t even certified, is he?”
“Not yet, but......”
Seok-jae smiled.
“Please trust me with this. I’m in good condition.”
“Are you?”
The leader of Lightning Guild’s Team 3 studied Seok-jae closely.
There was none of his usual impatience.
His eyes were clear instead.
“Okay. Let’s see it. But if you aren’t as ready as you say, you’ll lose your main damage dealer position.”
The team leader took a hard line.
Being removed as main damage dealer was practically the same as being told to leave the guild.
Seok-jae nodded immediately.
“Agreed.”
CRASH—!
The twenty-sixth floor of the Pumpkin Tower.
The Pumpkin Ogre, a beast shaped like a pumpkin, was difficult to hunt without a main damage dealer’s sudden burst of power.
That made the main damage dealer’s firepower vital.
Im Seok-jae took his place at the front.
“The debuff is on!”
“Mr. Seok-jae!”
Seok-jae stepped forward.
No one looked pleased. They had heard the rumors about him.
Though he was the main damage dealer, he had not been delivering the destructive power the position demanded.
The tanks had borne the full risk as a result, and they were reluctant to support him.
WHOOSH-.
The timing was perfect.
If he could unleash it here......
But the tanks did not trust Seok-jae.
They were holding back to protect themselves.
CRASH—!
And at that moment, Im Seok-jae’s Super Strength erupted.
“Smash.”
The Pumpkin Reaper, a monster of the Pumpkin Tower, was smashed to pieces.
“......”
“......That’s insane.”
“What? What just happened?”
“It really...... got fixed?”
One blow.
With that one blow, Im Seok-jae shattered all the humiliation he had endured.
“You...... who trained you?”
Seok-jae smiled brightly at the team leader’s question.
“Kang Yu-jun.”
“......Who?”
“The bastard who’s going to be an S Grade trainer soon.”