Only Son for Three Generations: Rookie_Brawl(1).avi
Buying Dicks: What the hell is this?
Kind Words, Kind Heart: Damn… kids these days are terrifying. They got into a fight the moment they moved in? How did they even find the sparring room? These little bastards need some discipline.
Only Son for Three Generations: I went to the trouble of uploading it. Did you even watch it properly? That’s all you have to say after seeing this?
Kind Words, Kind Heart: Why are you picking a fight again, you little shit…? I haven’t watched the whole thing yet.
Class Rep: Where did you get this? These guys… They’re from the new Class 1, right?
Only Son for Three Generations: I can’t reveal the source of the video, but yes, they’re from Class 1. The one in red is Sa Jeil.
I’m a Healer, Take Me Along: Seriously? That’s Sa Jeil?
Buying Dicks: Then who’s the other guy? Sa Jeil can’t even touch him…
Kind Words, Kind Heart: These guys… only Awakened a week ago? How does that make any sense? Is the video edited?
Only Son for Three Generations: Who would go through the trouble of fabricating a video like this? What would be the point?
Kind Words, Kind Heart: This is ridiculous…
Class Rep: The guy fighting Sa Jeil isn’t relying on his Trait alone. He knows exactly how an Awakened should use their physical power. I don’t think anyone from our class could beat him.
I’m a Healer, Take Me Along: Seriously? Not even you, Class Rep?
Class Rep: I’d have to fight him myself to know for sure… but judging by the video, I’m honestly not confident.
Buying Dicks: They said this year had an unusually high number of standouts, and I guess they weren’t kidding. Strong juniors are good news for us. They start practical deployment in two weeks, right? We’ll meet them then. I’m looking forward to it.
Kind Words, Kind Heart: Spare me that carefree crap. Lee Seonggi, get to the sparring room. Let’s fight.
Buying Dicks: ???
Kind Words, Kind Heart: I said let’s spar! I’m so frustrated that I need to train.
Buying Dicks: Uh… I’m watching a show right now…?
Kind Words, Kind Heart: Shut up. I’m coming to your room. Be ready.
I’m a Healer, Take Me Along: Watching this is getting me fired up too. We need to work harder! Let’s go, everyone!
“Sa Jeil.”
“Yeah, Daram?”
“Want to try this?”
“Isn’t that a Red Fruit? Why?”
“Look at your chest. You’re bleeding everywhere. I’m so worried.”
“You prepared this for me? I’m really touched!”
“This is nothing. I’d do this much for you anytime. Hurry up and eat it. You might die from blood loss at this rate.”
“Okay! I will.”
MUNCH, MUNCH.
“Kim Daram! What is this? It’s so sweet! I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
“It’s a Very Sweet Purified Red Fruit that I prepared just for you.”
“No way! Something that precious? For me?”
“Ha ha ha!”
“Ahhh, so sweet… So wonderfully sweet…”
“So sweet…”
Sa Jeil shot upright.
The clock read four in the morning. Every light in the room was on, and the plastic bag of ice beside his pillow had melted, soaking the sheets.
“Ughhh…”
Pain surged through him the moment he moved. His entire body throbbed and ached as though he had been beaten from head to toe.
It had been a moronic dream. The fact that it felt as vivid as a piece of reality cut out and pasted together only made it worse.
A sweetness that refused to fade still lingered in his mouth. He couldn’t tell whether it was an aftereffect of that idiotic dream or whether something was actually stuck to the tip of his tongue.
“Kim Daram…”
Every movement brought another wave of pain.
At least it cleared his head. Little by little, the fragments of his memory returned to their proper places.
The duel in the sparring room.
He had exhausted every last ounce of strength, only to suffer a humiliating defeat. Worse, he had failed to control his rage and surrendered himself to the madness of his Trait, nearly crossing the Rubicon exactly as Kim Daram had warned.
Then that damned needle had pierced him again.
It had burrowed deep into his mind and controlled him completely.
The bastard clearly possessed a manipulation-type Trait. Even so, it made no sense for it to exert such absolute control.
According to everything Sa Jeil knew, a coercive manipulation Skill like that should have carried an enormous price or severe restrictions.
Yet Kim Daram had used it on him again as though it were nothing.
What the hell is it?
An unbearable sense of defeat was followed by a surge of uncontrollable rage.
He wanted to burst out of the room that instant and tear the bastard apart.
But Sa Jeil understood the truth all too painfully.
He was still no match for Kim Daram.
Even without that Skill, the bastard had overwhelmed him in pure hand-to-hand combat.
“Kim Daram! What is this? It’s so sweet! I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
A scene from the dream suddenly flashed through his mind with unbearable clarity.
“FUUUUUCK!”
SMACK!
Sa Jeil slapped himself across the face.
Dream or not, that scene was completely unforgivable.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I will kill him.
Sa Jeil repeated the words to himself over and over.
He needed to make every drop of blood in his body boil with hatred and rage. With his killing intent blazing, he had to burn away every trace of Kim Daram that had clung to his mind.
Then he heard something rustle nearby.
Sa Jeil reflexively leaped out of bed and assumed a defensive stance.
“What!”
A familiar silhouette stood by the door.
Short and somewhat heavyset, the boy was Sa Jeil’s roommate.
“Uh, Sa Jeil. Would you mind if I turned off the lights?”
“…”
Oh, right.
This was a double room.
And the only private room had been taken by that damned Kim Daram.
Sa Jeil clutched his throbbing head and swallowed a curse.
It truly had been the worst day of his life.
*****
Two weeks had passed since my fight with Sa Jeil.
I had fully recovered from the aftereffects of Self-Awareness Puppet, and the dark bruises I’d left on Sa Jeil’s face had disappeared without a trace.
Our theoretical instruction was nearly over, and those who had agreed to disclose their Traits had begun separate Trait-development training under dedicated instructors.
We had been permitted two days of overnight leave during that period, but Hasol and I gave ours up. Instead, we remained inside the dome and followed Song Guseul’s training methods from morning to night.
Mom was still overseas for work, so there wasn’t much reason for me to go home anyway.
Tomorrow would be Hunter Class 1’s first Stage entry.
“It’s finally tomorrow, huh?”
“Yeff. I’m sho nervush I’m shivering.”
“Class Rep, you don’t look nervous at all.”
“That’s not true. I’m nervous too. But Heedong, this is seriously good.”
The three of us were sitting in the lobby on Sunday night, eating fried chicken as a late-night snack before our first practical deployment.
“They shaid it wash made at Heedong’sh family reshtraunt.”
Hasol spoke with a mouthful of chicken crammed between his cheeks.
“Really? Lucky you, Oh Heedong. You get to eat chicken this good all the time.”
Oh Heedong was another trainee from Hunter Class 1.
He had a rare space-time-type Trait and an Awakened Level of 12. He and Hasol had immediately hit it off, and I’d naturally grown close to him as well.
More importantly…
“Sa Jeil, want to come eat with us?”
At Oh Heedong’s invitation, I turned my head.
Sa Jeil was crossing the lobby.
The moment he saw my face, his expression twisted into a deep scowl. He immediately quickened his pace and left the area.
Oh Heedong was Sa Jeil’s roommate.
Maybe he was simply that sociable, or maybe he had no sense of fear. Either way, he wasn’t intimidated by Sa Jeil in the slightest.
Watching Sa Jeil’s back as he reached the far end of the lobby, I asked Heedong, “How’s he been lately?”
“He’s gotten a lot better. But sometimes he still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night.”
Through Heedong, I had also been able to keep tabs on Sa Jeil.
Ever since that day, Sa Jeil had refused to have anything to do with me.
“Anyway, let’s hurry up and finish eating, then head inside.”
The chicken made me crave beer for some reason.
Once we made it through this Stage safely, I decided I would take the kids outside and treat them to an ice-cold drink.
*****
“Hello, juniors. My name is Lee Seonggi. I’m one year ahead of you, and I currently work as an Association-exclusive Hunter. I’ll be serving as Hunter Class 1’s guest instructor for the day, so I hope we get along.”
The next day, the person who appeared before us in the auditorium wasn’t one of our instructors.
He was a senior trainee from the previous year who introduced himself as an Association-exclusive Hunter.
The others studied the newcomer with interest.
He was tall and clean-cut, with a handsome face. Although he was a year ahead of us, he was still a twenty-year-old rookie, not all that different from the rest of us.
However, the title of Association-exclusive Hunter made it impossible to dismiss him lightly.
Only a select few who completed the year-long training program with the highest marks could secure such a position.
Naturally, I checked his Status Window.
【Lee Seonggi】
【Level】: 22
【Traits】
┕ [Manifestation] Knight (LV 2)
【Encroachment Rate】: 24%
【Ranking】: Requirements Not Met
【Performance Score】: 27,000
A Knight Trait… and it belongs to the manifestation type. Does he materialize a knight? Or perhaps…
Based solely on the Trait’s category and name, I envisioned several possible combat styles.
The name Lee Seonggi held no particular place in my memories.
Even I didn’t know every Hunter in existence.
Of course, the very best were an exception. I knew every single top-tier Hunter, whether they were from Korea or abroad.
In other words, Lee Seonggi would not become a top-tier Hunter in the future.
Unless he died somewhere before he had the chance…
Either way, the senior who had appeared in place of an instructor possessed an impressive Level and Performance Score for an Awakened with only one year of experience.
The title of Association-exclusive Hunter clearly wasn’t for show.
If I ranked everyone purely by Performance Score, the order beneath me would be Lee Hasol, Sa Jeil, Lee Seonggi, and Kwon Sua.
Lee Seonggi led us down to the fifth basement level of the dome.
From this point onward, the underground complex consisted of Stage Gate facilities managed by the Association.
The enormous number of Stage Gates buried beneath this area was the primary reason the Association dome had been constructed here in the first place.
He held his keycard against a terminal.
CLANK.
A massive steel door opened, revealing a spacious chamber beyond.
At its center towered a familiar circular vortex of orange light—a Stage Gate, swirling as though proudly displaying its grandeur.
“Juniors, the Stage we’ll be entering today is Caution-Rated. Can anyone explain the Stage rating system?”
At Lee Seonggi’s question, every member of Hunter Class 1 fell silent.
After a brief pause, Kwon Sua reluctantly raised her hand.
“The danger increases in the following order: Safe, Caution, Alert, Danger, Fatal, Calamity, and Extinction. There are several ways to distinguish them, but the simplest is to check the Gate’s color. The ratings correspond to red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, in that order.”
“Correct! Excellent answer. What’s your name, trainee?”
“Kwon Sua.”
“Oh, Trainee Kwon Sua. One hundred bonus points!”
Lee Seonggi pulled out a small notebook and scribbled something inside.
Groans of regret erupted throughout the room.
“I knew that too…”
Bonus points?
Had there always been something like that?
Lee Seonggi continued.
“Second question! Does anyone know why I’m here today instead of one of your instructors?”
More than half of Class 1 raised their hands before he had even finished speaking.
“You there. Yes, you in the yellow shirt!”
Lee Seonggi pointed at Oh Heedong.
Heedong answered confidently with a broad smile.
“Because even within the same Stage, the difficulty can be adjusted according to the Levels of the Awakened entering it. If an instructor whose Level is far higher than ours accompanies us, the resulting difficulty might become more than we can handle. That’s why they sent a senior whose Level is comparatively closer to ours.”
“Oh, very precise! Unfortunately, that only applies to certain virtual-type Stages. There are no bonus points this time. I’ll let each of you think about the real answer for yourselves.”
Oh Heedong’s bright smile vanished in an instant.
Lee Seonggi approached the swirling Gate.
“The Stage you’ll be entering today is a real-type Stage. I assume you all know the difference between virtual-type and real-type Stages. Listening to explanations gets boring, so let’s head inside and experience it firsthand. I’ll enter first. Under the Class Rep’s command, make sure everyone follows without anyone being left behind. I’ll see you inside.”
Lee Seonggi leaped through the Gate and vanished.
Then I suppose it was my turn.