When I checked my status window, my Strength was 7 and my Agility was 6. If I gave them 8 and 9 points respectively, both would become 15.
That would consume 17 points, leaving me with 1 Spare Point. After thinking for a moment, I invested the points.
My ability might be Subspace, but I had no intention of simply hiding behind everyone else. There were secret manuals inside the Subspace.
And in a situation where new items might appear at any time, I chose to use a sword.
‘I need to become strong to take revenge, too.’
There was nothing to lose. They were stats I had to invest in anyway.
High Strength and Agility would also produce good results at the workshop.
[Lv. 6 Princess (Void Lord), Han Hye]
Strength: 15 (+8)
Agility: 15 (+9)
Stamina: 18
Mentality: 6
Mana: 18
Spare Points: 1
Skills: Subspace (S-Grade) Lv. 1, Fire Resistance (A-Grade) Lv. 1, Basic Swordsmanship of the Svinhood Empire (E-Grade) Lv. 1, *Wind Cleave (Lv. 1)
‘Looking at it like this, it’s surprising.’
Thanks to the elixir and dragon’s blood, my stats put my level far higher than I had imagined.
On paper, I was Lv. 6, but in terms of stats alone, I was equivalent to Lv. 18.
After I invested my stats and took hold of the sword, ‘Wind Cleave’ was added.
It was a skill gained from a piece of equipment, so it did not have a grade. As I understood it, that was because its power varied depending on the user.
How strong would this be?
Without much thought, I swung the Windflow Sword toward the training dummy. Some mana drained away, and wind stirred around the sword.
SWISH—.
The moment I swung the sword, a sharp rushing sound followed. I could feel an invisible wind surging forward. Even to the eye, it looked sharp.
The wind swept across the front of me and struck the training dummy.
SHNK—. It pierced through the dummy’s mana force field. The field split apart, and the dummy collapsed.
Then the sharp wind struck the wall of the Subspace and vanished.
“Wow…….”
An exclamation escaped me.
I was so overwhelmed that I covered my mouth with my left hand.
Even though it was a training dummy with a lowest-grade magic stone, I knew that it was built to withstand several bullets.
I had just recharged it, but the attack had pierced through it in one blow. Of course, it was not only the destructive power.
“Fucking badass.”
A blade of wind.
You only saw something like this in comic books!
***
And time passed…….
The workshop date drew near.
“Phew.”
I let out a deep breath as I left the Subspace. Three days had passed outside, but the time I had spent was not merely three days.
Time did not pass outside while I was in the Subspace.
‘Roughly calculating it, I think I was in there for about three weeks.’
I did not time it, so I did not know exactly how long it had been. When I was not swinging my sword or resting, I studied for the first time in a while.
Studying was boring, but swinging a sword was not.
‘Even I think it’s crazy, but…….’
Was it because I had wished to awaken for so long?
Swinging a sword was truly fun. Every time I became a little more familiar with swordsmanship, I felt a sense of accomplishment, too.
[Basic Swordsmanship of the Svinhood Empire Lv. 1 rises to Lv. 2.]
[Basic Swordsmanship of the Svinhood Empire Lv. 2 rises to Lv. 3.]
The rising swordsmanship level also made me more absorbed.
At first, the movements were clumsy because the knowledge had only been input into me.
But after doing it for dozens of hours, I became proficient.
Studying was bothersome. There was a lot to memorize.
Still, time was all I had. As I read the textbook in my spare moments, I could memorize almost all of it.
‘My preparation is perfect.’
The reason I had spent dozens of hours swinging a sword and studying, which did not suit me, was all because of the workshop.
If you wanted to live as an Awakened hunter in Korea, the workshop was a mandatory step.
At the workshop, getting good scores was important.
I had not spent so much time inside the Subspace for no reason.
Everything you did in the workshop was evaluated.
How focused you were in class, your quiz scores, what you showed during Gate field training, even your minor actions.
Those evaluations affected your future contracts. In other words, I could receive even a slightly higher signing bonus.
‘I can receive an E-Grade elixir, too.’
In addition, if evaluations in every category surpassed a certain threshold, the Association gave an elixir as a reward.
It was not a simple relative evaluation. Sometimes no one received one. But if it was awarded, only one person could receive it.
Regardless of grade, elixirs were basically worth hundreds of millions of won or more.
Elixirs that could raise your stats without leveling up were among the things high-level hunters wanted most.
‘I’ll get both.’
I was confident.
I had not spent dozens of hours in the Subspace for nothing. I also had ample experience as an unawakened hunter.
And…….
My stats were effectively Lv. 18. It would have been strange not to be confident.
.
.
.
The Awakened workshop organized by the Association lasted seven days. After three days of classes, we would subjugate two Gates over four days.
There were 32 trainees at the workshop, and everyone looked serious.
“You have all turned in your electronic devices. We will be together for a week, so shall we introduce ourselves one by one?”
At the instructor’s words, the trainees watched each other’s reactions. Some looked reluctant, while others looked confident.
The latter were likely people who had awakened good classes or abilities. In any case, my turn came around.
“Hello. I’m Spa…tialist Han Hye.”
I could not bring myself to call myself a Princess here, either.
“Spatialist?”
“What is that? A rare class?”
At the murmurs, I gave a demonstration. As I always did, I put my wallet in and took it back out.
“I can use a space like an inventory.”
“An inventory? That’s crazy.”
“Huh?”
Some people’s eyes lit up as they recognized its value, while others did not. From what I could see, there were more of the latter.
Since they had only recently entered the hunter industry, that was probably why.
That was understandable.
I knew my own value exactly. They would understand soon enough.
“There is a theory that the dark matter spread across the universe is mana, and that Earth and our galaxy have become part of that flow…….”
Lectures began after the introductions.
The first lecture was theoretical, covering Gate history and hypotheses, the monsters beginners encountered, and the rules inside Gates.
“The one thing absolutely forbidden inside a Gate is acting rashly. Acting rashly will lead to the annihilation of the entire team…….”
“There are various types of entry-type Gates: hunting-type, transit-type, discovery-type, survival-type, story-type, and so on…….”
The atmosphere in class was quite good. The life of an Awakened hunter was on the line.
Everyone had no choice but to concentrate.
“Now, we will have a quiz based on today’s lesson.”
I received the test paper at ease. I had mastered the textbook perfectly. But when I read the questions, I was slightly startled.
‘It’s harder than I thought.’
That was no joke. Even for me, who had nearly memorized the textbook inside the Subspace, the answers did not come immediately.
They were the kind of questions where you had to think several times before reaching the answer.
-Ugh.
-This is too hard.
-What is this about telling male and female orcs apart? Is there even something like that?
The sounds of people groaning over the difficulty came from around me.
Of course.
That did not apply to me.
‘If I had not studied inside the Subspace, this would have been really hard.’
Something being difficult and not being able to solve it were different things. I only had to think once or twice more; I could solve them all.
I quickly worked through the questions.
‘Done.’
And I could find every answer.
***
“The average score is… 73 points. It seems it was very difficult. I did make it difficult, but I am disappointed. I clearly told you to study beforehand.”
The instructor frowned as they held the test papers. It seemed the results did not satisfy them.
“With the exception of about three people, I understand that you all had at least a week. I understand those people, but not the rest of you. Do you intend to enter Gates, where you risk your lives, this carelessly?”
I suddenly thought that the test had been made difficult on purpose. Even I, who had memorized the textbook, found it difficult.
Studying a little would not have been nearly enough.
The difficulty had been raised deliberately.
Maybe it was a kind of shock therapy to make beginner hunters more alert.
“I hope you all work harder. I will give you the answer sheet as well, so review the questions you got wrong.”
The instructor looked around the trainees, then fixed their gaze on me. Their sharp expression turned into a gentle smile.
“Mr. Han Hye. You are the only one with a perfect score. You only awakened a few days ago, so your time must have been tight. That is impressive.”
“A perfect score?”
“Is that even possible?”
The surprised trainees turned to look at me. The test had been that difficult.
“The questions were difficult, so I did not expect there to be a perfect score, either. You will receive additional bonus points.”
Bonus points, too? Nice.
I smiled to myself. It had been worth enduring something I did not want to do.
‘Honestly, I did study at my leisure inside the Subspace…….’
Still, it was my ability, was it not?
As I pulled ahead in the elixir competition and drew the attention of the others, I did not feel bad.
The results of my hard work in the Subspace also appeared in the next lecture. It was a weapons class.
I chose swordsmanship, but since it was an intensive course over three days, it felt as though they were teaching only the basics.
But even as we simply thrust and cut, the instructor’s gaze lingered on me.
It was not my imagination. The instructor soon approached me.
“Here. As with Mr. Han, the tip of the sword must not wobble. Otherwise, you could lose your sword while attacking an enemy.”
And suddenly, I became a living textbook for the trainees.
The same was true when everyone trained to strike the dummy with enough force that they would not lose their swords.
“Look at Mr. Han. With a correct posture like this, you must use the strength of your legs and the rotation of your waist to put your weight behind the attack.”
Did the instructor like me that much?
The instructor had not exchanged a single word with me, yet they seemed extremely favorable toward me.
By the end of class, they even spoke to me separately.
“Mr. Han Hye? Did you learn swordsmanship somewhere else?”
“I used to attend a neighborhood swordsmanship dojo…….”
“A neighborhood dojo? Not one run by an Awakened with E-Grade or D-Grade swordsmanship?”
“It was just one run by the Korean Kendo Association.”
The instructor scratched the back of their head.
“……Are you a genius? You are better than the trainees who learned at E-Grade dojos.”
“Haha…….”
I had E-Grade swordsmanship as well, but I could not reveal it, so I could only laugh awkwardly.
And…….
Over the first three days of the workshop, I never once lost first place.