Even the Special Tactics Training Institute has weekends.

Although Hunters are not classified as laborers under current law, they are guaranteed holidays.

Unless the schedule was specifically changed, they did not enter dungeons on holidays.

Chirp, chirp.

As expected, Kim Songcheol woke up to the sound of birds chirping, not an alarm.

The soft feel of the duvet.

The scent of fabric softener.

A refreshing feeling.

Warm sunlight.

It was truly a morning with everything a holiday could offer.

‘What time is it…?’

He squinted at the pouring sunlight and checked his mobile phone.

8:10 AM.

He had slept an hour longer than usual.

Kim Songcheol scratched his head, got up, and first poured himself a glass of water from the kitchen water dispenser.

Even lukewarm water helped him clear his head a little once it was in his stomach.

Holding the glass of water, Kim Songcheol walked to the living room window and flung open the curtains.

The first thing he saw was the empty training ground.

On weekdays, the training ground is always filled with Swordsman Trainees.

In the morning, they run; at lunch, they swing something; in the evening, they run and swing again.

The more he watched, the more he found being a Swordsman a curious thing.

Kim Songcheol stood for a moment, basking in the sun, then took out a rolled-up mat and spread it in the living room.

It was for his morning stretches.

Even though he woke up a bit late, he couldn’t skip his routine.

This wasn’t training; it was something Kim Songcheol did because he wanted to.

What he started in his mid-20s had become a habit, and now, if he didn’t do it, his body felt stiff.

On the mat, Kim Songcheol bent, spread, held, and stretched, loosening every part of his body.

Exactly 20 minutes of routine.

Now, he could finish it in precisely 20 minutes without watching YouTube.

As he finished stretching, his mobile phone chimed.

He checked it and saw a message saying breakfast had been delivered.

He opened the front door in his underwear and brought in the breakfast on a tray.

The menu was ordinary Korean food.

The Training Institute also provides standard meal plans for those who have difficulty choosing menus.

Kim Songcheol also ordered various things at first, but now he had settled on the standard meal plan.

It was a process many Trainees went through.

After breakfast, Kim Songcheol quickly washed up and headed out.

His destination was the first floor of the dormitory.

There was a cafe there.

Kim Songcheol walked out with his usual Americano.

It was a weekend spring day. It was worth basking in the sun.

As he stepped out into the Training Institute with his Americano, he saw Swordsmen already flocking to the training ground, unable to wait.

They didn’t seem to be training, as they had a ball.

‘Ah, they’re playing soccer.’

Kim Songcheol stood for a moment under a tree, watching the training ground.

One Swordsman dribbled the ball with his toes, then kicked it high into the sky.

The ‘bang!’ sound was on a different level from what you’d hear on a normal soccer field.

The ball itself was specially made for the Training Institute.

He heard that after 11 ordinary balls burst during the early days of the Training Institute, they started special production.

It was definitely a heavier and sturdier ball than a normal soccer ball.

Before long, a 7-on-7 soccer game began.

One might think it’s a small number, but at the Training Institute, even that is a lot.

Because their range of activity is enormous.

‘It’s almost like Shaolin Soccer.’

When they head the ball, they jump 3 or 4 meters high, and if they swing an arm during a body check, a person flies.

But the person who flew also gets up, smiling, perfectly fine.

After seeing something like that, even the famous soccer leagues become trivial games.

‘It would be really fun to play soccer with bodies like that.’

Bang!

A Trainee who leaped into the air performed an overhead kick from 4 meters up, sending the ball precisely towards the goal.

The ball, traveling at a speed almost impossible to follow with the eyes, was surprisingly blocked by the goalkeeper’s hand.

The goalkeeper had casually extended one hand, and an aura shimmered around it.

The ball, as if stuck to his hand, fiercely spun for a long time before dropping to the ground with a thud.

“Ah, I told you not to make that guy the goalkeeper! What do you mean, make a graduating class student the goalkeeper!”

The Trainee who kicked the ball tore at his hair.

Apparently, there was a problem with balancing the teams because the physical abilities varied greatly depending on the level of Swordsmanship.

“Youthful energy.”

Leaving the Swordsmen who were arguing almost to the point of fighting behind him, Kim Songcheol continued his walk.

Passing through the training ground and near the gymnasium, he saw Trainees playing badminton through the window.

Five or six female staff member Trainees.

They were Mages.

Having been a Trainee for quite a while, he now recognized their faces enough to tell if they were Swordsmen or Mages, even if he didn’t know their names.

One Trainee served with an awkward posture, and the Trainee on the other side faltered, then fiercely swung her racket.

But the racket passed through the shuttlecock as if it weren’t there. The shuttlecock hit the Trainee directly on her forehead.

“Crazy! Look at her!”

“Hilarious.”

The surrounding Trainees burst into laughter, and Kim Songcheol also smiled faintly.

It wasn’t that Mages unconditionally had poor athletic ability, but there were always some who were exceptionally bad.

“Do it again!”

The Trainee rubbing her forehead served directly.

This time, they had a few rallies.

Then, when one moved too far forward, the other hit the shuttlecock very far away.

It was quite slow, but too far to reach.

At that moment, a magic circle appeared in the air, and light gathered at the Trainee’s fingertip.

Then the shuttlecock stopped dead in the air and suddenly flew back to the other side.

It was 3rd Circle Magic, Telekinesis.

“Crazy! Magic is cheating!”

“Let’s play fair and square!”

“Then you use magic too!”

“If we’re going to do that, why don’t we just block everything with a barrier!”

The trainees playfully argued.

Kim Songcheol watched them for a moment longer, then moved to sit on a bench.

Behind the bench, the branches of the cherry blossom tree of Nothingness hung low.

Cherry blossoms bloomed fully at every joint of the branches. Whenever the wind blew, the cherry blossom petals fell like heavy snow.

‘It’s beautiful.’

Kim Songcheol sipped his coffee, showered by the falling petals.

It was a leisurely weekend morning.

…

Kim Songcheol headed to the Gymnasium.

The weekend was over, and now it was Monday.

A new class was beginning today.

It was Interpersonal Combat Training.

“Hello.”

As he walked, Seo Gangjin suddenly popped his head out from behind him.

“Oh, hi.”

“Interpersonal Combat Training, right?”

“Yeah. It’ll be our first class together.”

“Indeed. And of all classes, Interpersonal Combat Training.”

Seo Gangjin didn’t seem particularly pleased about taking a class with Kim Songcheol.

But he wasn’t hateful.

Because he was pouting comically, as usual.

Kim Songcheol just smiled, patting Seo Gangjin’s shoulder.

In reality, Interpersonal Combat Training is a rather serious course.

The purpose of the class was to prepare for battles with Hunters that could occur in dungeons.

And those battles often involved life-or-death situations.

Most countries, including the Republic of Korea, deal with multi-dimensional Hunters based on ‘Active Defense’.

Preemptive strikes, when considered, are actions that often bring more danger than benefit.

So, they responded by eliminating threats by any means necessary, only when a threat was identified.

Interpersonal Combat Training was essential for that response.

Upon entering the Gymnasium, many trainees were already there.

Approximately ten people.

It was considered a rather large class at the Training Institute.

“Is that it? That thing.”

“Oh, it seems so.”

As Kim Songcheol pointed to a corner of the Gymnasium, Seo Gangjin nodded.

There was a large machine and a strangely shaped armor, with the armor and machine connected by wires.

Special armor is worn during Interpersonal Combat Training.

That machine was the main body of that armor.

“You’re here?”

Oh Songhui’s voice was heard. Looking around, he saw her sitting with Moon Gijeong in one corner of the Gymnasium.

A class attended by all members of Team 25A.

Meeting in a class rather than a dungeon felt strange.

“Uncle, are you also taking this class?”

As Kim Songcheol approached, Oh Songhui also spoke with a displeased tone.

“Yeah. But why is everyone showing such dislike? I’m happy to take the class with you.”

Kim Songcheol added a few words, feeling a little hurt.

“No, this is different. I’m happy to take the class together, but our levels don’t match. I’ve watched you fight from the side, Uncle.”

In reality, Team 25A knew Kim Songcheol’s combat power best.

There was no need to fight within the Training Institute, but they had to fight constantly in dungeons.

Having continuously watched him, sparring with Kim Songcheol was something they wanted to avoid.

“Is everyone here!?”

The voice of the Interpersonal Combat Instructor echoed through the auditorium.

A booming and energetic voice.

He turned around to see a large figure entering, befitting the voice.

Behind him, two assistant instructors followed.

As the instructor stood in the center of the auditorium, the trainees naturally lined up in front of him.

After a brief introduction and greeting.

Instructor Dokgo Yeol took a step towards the armor on the mannequin.

“First, I will explain the Magic Armor. As you can see, the chest and main parts are protected, and if you wear this full-face helmet, your face is also protected. Please note that the impact reduction is not significant.”

The Mana Combination Inhibition Wave Inducing Device, commonly known as Magic Armor, is a product of modern science.

With the appearance of dungeons and gates, the fact that mana exists on Earth became known, and research on mana is underway in various countries around the world.

This Magic Armor was accidentally invented during that research.

Its effect is to reduce the power of magic when it hits.

In particular, it was almost impossible for speed-type magic to work.

On the other hand, it only reduced impact by about 30 percent.

It wasn’t a big problem, as steel plates could be added.

“First, I will explain the combat patterns between swordsmen and mages.”

The instructor continued his explanation as passionately as his loud voice.

Interpersonal Combat Training is divided into three types of training: swordsman versus mage, swordsman versus swordsman, and mage versus mage.

The training is conducted in these three types.

Among them, sparring between swordsmen and mages mainly focuses on breakthroughs and deterrence.

It ends when the swordsman breaks through the mage’s deterrence, charges, and their sword touches the mage’s body.

This is because once a mage allows close-range access, they are considered defeated, as they have no way to defeat a swordsman in close combat.

“I will provide additional explanations as the sparring progresses. First, Trainee Park Gi-yeon, Trainee Lee So-jin. Come forward.”

Two trainees were called out.

Park Gi-yeon was a Swordsman.

Lee So-jin was a Mage.

Park Gi-yeon put on the Magic Armor with the help of an assistant instructor, and Lee So-jin also put on ordinary armor with help.

The sword Park Gi-yeon held was a practice sword.

It wasn’t even metal, but made of reinforced plastic.

This was to reduce the risk of injury, especially since it was the first sparring class.

There was no greater loss than getting injured during training.

Park Gi-yeon and Lee So-jin each stood at the marked positions on the Gymnasium floor.

Quite a long distance.

The waiting trainees had to move their heads left and right to see both of them alternately.

Park Gi-yeon wins if he breaks through the magic and reaches Lee So-jin with a sword strike within 20 seconds.

If he couldn’t reach her within 20 seconds, it was Lee So-jin’s victory.

Park Gi-yeon adjusted the wires coming out of his armor and swung his sword around.

Perhaps because it was plastic, it didn’t have a grand aura, but it was quite menacing.

“Ready. Begin!”

At the instructor’s signal, Park Gi-yeon dashed forward at an incredible speed.

At the same time, Lee So-jin responded with a Magic Missile.

The Magic Missile flying through the air hit Park Gi-yeon’s shoulder.

Thud!

A surprisingly loud sound was made, and Park Gi-yeon’s shoulder was sharply thrown back once.

“Ow! That hurts more than I thought!”

However, Park Gi-yeon’s speed did not drop at all.

“Whoa!”

Park Gi-yeon lightly leaped over the barrier that appeared next.

But what awaited him was the 2nd Circle Magic Air Blast.

His body floated in the air again and was sent flying backward.

However, Park Gi-yeon flipped his body in mid-air, landed like a gymnast, and then ran off again.

There was no counterattack.

The magic was briefly interrupted by the Rupture using 2nd Circle Magic.

During that time, Park Gi-yeon quickly closed the 20-meter distance.

Only Magic Missiles were flying at him.

Park Gi-yeon took the Magic Missile with his body, closed another 10 meters, and before the Lightning Spear could be cast, he stabbed Lee So-jin’s solar plexus with a Plastic Sword.

It was the Swordsman’s victory.

“That’s right!”

The Swordsmen cheered for the Illusion Castle.

As it was a sparring class, they naturally split into sides.