Kim Songcheol entered the Special Tactical Training Institute.

He had seen it in pictures several times and knew about it, but seeing it in person, it was even grander than in the photos.

It was built in a mountain valley on the outskirts of Seoul, and the site was larger than most universities.

The total number of people currently enrolled in the training institute was 97.

This meant that even after scraping together everyone whose mana affinity was above a certain level, there weren’t even 100 people.

“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

Kim Myeongju, who was sitting next to him, said. Kim Myeongju’s title was Special Tactical Education Director.

Thanks to that, although her mana affinity wasn’t high, she was someone who had mastered some magic.

“It’s bigger than I thought. Do you use all the facilities?”

“We use all of them.”

“How many people have enrolled for this to be…”

“Since Mr. Kim Songcheol has enrolled, it’s now 98 people.”

“That’s fewer than I thought. There are at least five buildings visible.”

“To learn swordsmanship, you need a lot of space, and the magic practice area is also quite large. All the researchers are here too. We’ll expand next year. If you look later, there’s also an empty lot behind, haha.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Kim Songcheol was guided by the Education Director to the dormitory.

Being guided by the Education Director to enter the dormitory was a first since the establishment of the training institute.

“This is the room where Mr. Kim Songcheol will stay.”

The dormitory had a total of 16 floors. Among them, the 16th floor.

Kim Songcheol was assigned the top floor room.

“It’s almost a hotel…”

The room was quite nice. He had expected a simple studio apartment since it was a dormitory, but it completely defied his expectations.

It was a three-room apartment and seemed to be almost 25 pyeong (approximately 82 square meters).

Moreover, everything from the bed to the appliances was brand new.

The washing machine even still had its protective film on it.

“It seems no one has ever used this place, have they?”

Kim Songcheol asked as he set down his suitcase.

“It’s the room I used.”

“What? Then where do you stay?”

“I have my own home, haha. Sometimes when I stayed overnight at the training institute, I would sleep here. But I don’t really need a big room for just occasional stays.”

“So you didn’t use the appliances either.”

“I replaced them with new ones. Our country is a developed nation, isn’t it? This much budget is sufficient, haha.”

Kim Myeongju, acting like a real estate agent, led Kim Songcheol around and explained every part of the room.

First, a housekeeper would come once a day to clean, and for meals, you could order what you wanted, and it would be made.

Since it would be delivered right to his room, he wouldn’t have to worry about being hungry at night.

Also, since there were no other trainees on the 16th floor, it would be quieter.

Since most trainees were around 20 years old, it seemed it could get noisy at night sometimes.

“Then please rest until 3 PM, and I’ll be back at 3:15 PM. There will be a selection test. It will determine whether it’s better to learn swordsmanship or magic. It’s a simple test, so you don’t need to worry. After the classification, we’ll proceed directly with basic classes. Again, we won’t educate you too severely from the first day, so you don’t need to worry.”

Kim Myeongju smiled as if to reassure him and left the room.

Kim Songcheol was left alone in the spacious house. He stood in the living room, looking around, then just flopped down onto the sofa.

“…Oh.”

He had sat down without thinking, but the feeling of being gently enveloped was incredible.

It seemed to be a very expensive sofa.

But soon, a small sigh escaped his lips.

‘When should I tell Mom and Dad…?’

Kim Songcheol hadn’t told his parents yet that he was going to be a hunter.

He had entered the training institute with a lofty goal, to serve the Republic of Korea.

Since they had made such a fuss about his mana affinity score of 100, he had come to contribute to the country.

But would his parents feel the same way?

“Ah, I don’t know.”

Kim Songcheol just flopped down on the sofa. Right now, just starting the training was overwhelming enough.

Anyway, he wouldn’t be deployed to an actual dungeon until after receiving some training.

He had heard it would take at least 6 months, and sometimes even 1 to 2 years.

Couldn’t he just tell them sometime in between?

Kim Songcheol decided to put off the matter of his parents for now.

…

Knock, knock.

Exactly 3:15.

There was a knock.

Kim Songcheol, who had been lying on the sofa for two hours, got up and opened the door.

In front of him were Kim Myeongju and two other people, a man and a woman.

The male staff member was very large. He seemed to be about 190 centimeters tall, and his body was twice as wide as the slender Kim Myeongju’s.

The female staff member, on the other hand, was wearing a simple dress. At first glance, she looked like a kindergarten teacher.

Each of them carried an item.

The male staff member had a longsword, and the female staff member had a strange, thin stick.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Kim Songcheol greeted Kim Myeongju first.

“Did you rest well?”

“Yes, my house is nice. I rested well.”

Kim Myeongju and the two staff members entered the room together.

It was the female staff member who closed the door.

Click.

“This is Swordsmanship Instructor Go Jung-in, and this is Magic Instructor Seo Yi-tae. They are high-level personnel who can also be deployed as Hunters in an emergency, haha.”

“Yes, hello. I’m Kim Songcheol.”

As Kim Songcheol bowed, Go Jung-in examined Kim Songcheol with sharp eyes.

“Tsk, do we have to go this far?”

Go Jung-in seemed to be displeased about something.

“It’s the first time we’ve come directly to the dormitory to select trainees, so Instructor Go seems a bit annoyed.”

“Ah, if you had told me, I would have gone there.”

“No. The one who needs something should make the move.”

Kim Myeongju patted Go Jung-in’s shoulder. It was a sign to calm down, and Go Jung-in reluctantly fell silent.

It seemed they hadn’t accurately informed him of Kim Songcheol’s Mana Affinity.

“Then, shall we start with Instructor Go first?”

“Alright.”

Go Jung-in extended a sword that he had tucked under his arm.

Kim Songcheol, taken aback, received the sword and looked up at Go Jung-in.

“Draw it.”

“Yes.”

Kim Songcheol drew the sword as instructed.

Shing.

The sharp sword was smoothly drawn.

‘This is… a real sword?’

Kim Songcheol swallowed hard.

The gleaming sword blade glinted in the fluorescent light.

He had never seen a real sword before, but he strongly felt that this was one.

“Try an overhead strike.”

Go Jung-in said.

“Huh? Just like that?”

“Yes. Just do it however you want.”

Since he could do it however he wanted, there was no need to hesitate.

Kim Songcheol took a step back, raised the sword high, and brought it down.

Whoosh.

The sword cut through the air, making a rather menacing sound.

Go Jung-in tilted his head.

“…His coordination is better than I thought? Try swinging it horizontally once.”

“Like this?”

Whoosh.

Kim Songcheol swung the sword horizontally as requested.

The tip of the sword almost touched the sofa, but he managed to pull the sword back slightly and finish the motion, preventing the sofa from being torn.

And Go Jung-in clearly saw that.

“Let’s try a continuous motion once.”

Go Jung-in requested a few more movements. They all involved swinging the sword, and Kim Songcheol quickly became breathless and sweaty.

Go Jung-in watched Kim Songcheol carefully, then spoke to Kim Myeongju.

“He’s pretty good.”

“He passed?”

“For now. Let’s also look at the magic side. Anyway, aren’t we just looking for the better of swordsmanship and magic?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Go Jung-in took the sword back from Kim Songcheol.

Next was the Magic Instructor Seo Yi-tae’s turn.

“Shall we sit down for this?”

Seo Yi-tae said with a kind smile.

“Yes, well. That would be good.”

Kim Songcheol said, wiping his sweat.

The two sat facing each other across a table.

Go Jung-in and Kim Myeongju sat on the sofa, watching like spectators.

“Alright, from now on, we’re going to float this stick in the air.”

Seo Yi-tae carefully placed the stick on the table.

“There’s nothing special about it.”

She raised both hands and placed them on either side of the stick.

“You just have to think about floating it in the air. You might not feel Mana yet, but Mana is always around us. And even if you don’t feel the Mana close to your body, it’s still somewhat under our control.”

Seo Yi-tae’s fingers began to wiggle as if playing a piano.

“Like this.”

Then the lying stick suddenly stood upright. It looked like a street magic show.

The stick slowly floated up to Kim Songcheol’s eye level.

“Magic begins with this control. If your Mana Affinity is high, a certain level of control is guaranteed, but anything beyond that must be innate.”

When Seo Yi-tae withdrew her hand, the stick dropped to the floor with a thud.

“Would you like to try?”

“Do I just need to float it?”

“At first, just standing it up is good. Floating it in the air would be excellent.”

“Oh, really?”

Kim Songcheol lightly placed his hands on either side of the stick.

Since his Mana Affinity was high, he didn’t think it would be difficult.

‘Float it, float it…’

Kim Songcheol filled his mind with the image of the stick floating.

His concentration was not bad to begin with.

Distractions vanished instantly, and his entire mind focused on the stick.

Roll, roll, roll.

The stick seemed to roll on the floor for a moment, then suddenly stood up with a start.

“Oh my.”

Seo Yi-tae let out a small gasp at the faster-than-expected progress, but that wasn’t the end of it.

‘Float it, float it…’

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the stick shot towards the ceiling at an incredible speed, and then…

Thwack!

It got stuck in the ceiling.

“Oh my!”

Seo Yi-tae jumped up in surprise. She covered her mouth with both hands and just blinked her eyes.

She wasn’t the only one surprised.

Everyone in the room stared at the stick stuck in the ceiling with their mouths agape.

Kim Songcheol was no different.

He had only intended to make it float, not to pierce the ceiling.

“That could kill a monster, couldn’t it…?”

Go Jung-in’s murmur spread low.

“What in the world… is that?”

Seo Yi-tae looked at Kim Myeongju, demanding an explanation.

She thought it was strange for him to visit a trainee’s room in the first place, but this was beyond strange, it was bizarre.