Chapter 3 – The Age of Hunters (2)

The blond man settled back onto the sit-up bench and began his reps.

Once he passed forty, I could see him twisting his body, his abs clearly screaming in protest.

“Your push-ups were looking like the wave earlier. Forcing yourself through a test isn’t good for you. It’s okay to get a lower rank; you can just keep it a secret, so don’t worry about it. Shouldn’t you just choose a difficulty that suits you? Right?”

“Ugh, I’m running out of steam! Shut up!”

It wasn’t that I held a grudge against him or was trying to get revenge. Really, I wasn’t.

When people first awaken their powers, they tend to think they’re special. I was the same when I first went to the other world.

But that kind of thinking is like a parasite that eats away at your life.

I am simply doing my best to ensure the client’s safety, to help them realize their dream of a long life.

My reason for becoming a trainer was simple.

Ordinary people cannot enter dungeon gates. Access was strictly controlled and regulated.

When a person awakens, their body becomes attuned to mana, just like a monster’s, and a mana stone forms within them.

In other words, once a core made of mana is established, one awakens their power.

It was an open secret that the richer a gate was in mana, the higher the chance for an ordinary person to awaken.

That’s because it was easier to be stimulated by it.

Among them, the lucky ones would awaken and form a core in their bodies. The unlucky ones would mutate.

Trainers sometimes enter dungeons with new hunters.

Usually, they acted as porters or sherpas. They would help mine mana stones or prepare meals so the hunters could hunt comfortably.

Occasionally, hunters who had awakened but possessed weak combat abilities would join parties as porters.

Of course, since they didn’t fight directly, their share of the earnings was low.

My only reason for entering dungeons was to regain my power.

‘I’ve tried countless times, but I haven’t been able to awaken.’

Awakening. It sounds grand, but it really just refers to the sense of being able to link with the System.

After the Gate Cataclysm, humanity learned of the System’s existence.

By accessing the System, one could generate stats and gain abilities.

‘I thought it would be easier since I’ve done it once before.’

In the other world, I had been granted authority by the System and learned how to use its powers. So, I had secretly held high hopes.

But there was nothing. Not a peep.

If I joined a guild and received support, something might have been possible.

But no one wanted to hire a thirty-year-old with only a high school diploma.

‘If I awaken, all those guilds that rejected me will be kicking themselves.’

I thought of all the people who had given me a hard time so far.

Some demanded I summon the Holy Sword on the spot, while many others sneered, saying I had a bad case of chuunibyou.

If I could just awaken, if I could just form a core in my body, I was confident I could become the strongest in no time.

I was the one who became a Hero in another world and fought the Demon King’s army after just one year.

In my eyes, the so-called top rankers in Korea right now looked like nothing more than flowers in a greenhouse.

‘Well, the more opportunities, the better. The more I’m exposed, the higher my affinity becomes, increasing the chance of a core forming.’

“Hoo, haah! Done!”

While I was lost in thought, the blond, drenched in sweat, shouted.

Huh, how many did he do?

I didn’t count, but if I told him to start over, he looked like he might just attack me.

I decided to let it slide for now.

There were still plenty of ways to mess with him.

“You’re doing great. Wow, our dear Hunter is certainly living up to his reputation as the Hwarang Guild’s rising star, aren’t you?”

The corners of the blond’s mouth twitched at my compliment; he didn’t seem to mind. But his smile didn’t last long.

“Now that you seem all warmed up, let’s move on to the actual strength training.”

“…What?”

“You’ve had your rest, so come over here. You’ve done a bench press before, right?”

“Why would I build muscle? Didn’t you say this was survival training?”

I gave him my best serviceman smile.

“What do you think is the most important thing in combat?”

“You have to be strong.”

“And to be strong?”

“You have to be born with talent like me, and I guess you need training to back up that talent?”

At the blond’s words, I smiled brightly.

“No, no. The most important thing is muscle.”

“…?”

“To properly land a blow on an enemy, resilient muscles are essential.”

“…Well… I guess.”

“And when you encounter a monster that’s too strong, retreating is also an option. There’s no need to fight to the death like a fool. For that, you’ll need well-trained legs, right? Since you’ll have to run hard?”

“That’s…”

“Alright, alright, get into position right here! We’ll just go through a three-course routine. Let’s start light, nice and easy.”

Hyunbin’s words made the blond’s eyes waver. And just as expected, a training session that felt like tearing muscles apart began.

“Okay, one more. Wow, you’re doing great. Good. Just one more! Hey now, don’t slack off. More, more, more, more, more!”

“Why have you been saying ‘just one more’ this whole time?!”

“Okay, now this is really, truly the last one.”

The job of a trainer wasn’t difficult.

I had gone through all sorts of training myself when I first became a Hero in the other world.

From the receiving end, the trainer is truly detestable, but this torment—no, this training—would later increase his chances of survival.

I’d been through it, so I was probably right.

Come to think of it, I had a bad relationship with my trainers in the other world who put me through hell.

But who cares? I’m trying to save a life! By being hated a little, I’m saving a life!

And so, with a sense of duty, I began to break him down. Soon, the blond finished the designated course.

“Excellent. You’ve worked hard!”

“Hah, hah!”

The blond was splayed out on the floor, gasping for breath.

He was full of complaints, but he seemed too exhausted to even speak properly.

“A hunter’s job is to risk their life, isn’t it? A lack of basic training will show in a real fight. A rookie hunter’s first dungeon entry is usually in two to four weeks, so let’s keep up the hard work.”

“Fuck off… You piece of shit who couldn’t even become a hunter…”

The blond spat out, full of malice.

Of course, there were people who couldn’t awaken. But such people were treated as nothing more than disposable parts everywhere.

That’s because, in this field, talent meant everything. To not have awakened.

To still be unawakened at the age of thirty meant it was impossible.

“That’s a fact, so I have nothing to say to that.”

“Do you even make five thousand won an hour? Even a rookie hunter can easily pull in ten million won a month after a few runs.”

The blond wasn’t just bluffing.

For an ordinary part-timer or company employee, earning ten million won a month is practically impossible.

But hunters were different.

Even selling common low-grade mana stones would fetch 50,000 to 100,000 won each.

In other words, just by catching about ten weak monsters, one could make around a million won a day.

They make good money and are popular.

On top of that, they have the image of protecting the country for the national good.

You can tell the most desired profession by looking at what elementary schoolers want to be when they grow up. It used to be streamers or celebrities at number one, but now, hunter was the undisputed top spot.

“Whether it’s ten million a month or a hundred million, it’s all impossible if you’re dead, right? For now, the priority should be to train well and grow strong, don’t you think?”

At my words, the blond snorted.

“So, with that in mind, shall we move on to the next course?”

“Fuck off.”

“My, my, Hunter-nim. Why do you keep using such vulgar language?”

“Enough. Get me a new trainer.”

A little bit of hard work and he was thoroughly pissed off.

Our dear blond was asserting that he was the client, the one in charge. As if he was the one paying for this.

“The HR team leader of the Hwarang Guild specifically assigned me. It’s not something you can change at will, Hunter-nim.”

The blond’s brow furrowed deeply. He must have known it wasn’t possible. He was just throwing a tantrum from being pushed around by me.

I let out a deep sigh and asked him.

“It’s only the first day. What kind of training did you want to do?”

“Real combat.”

“Real combat?”

“Techniques that are actually useful.”

The blond said, a smug smile on his face.

“Ah, so that’s what our Hunter-nim wanted to do. From day one.”

I smiled back at him.

“Then let’s start with a light spar. Oh, right. I don’t mean fighting like before, okay? Now that you’re an official hunter, you have to be mindful of the public eye.”

“Shut up. Who am I fighting?”

“Hey, it’s just me here. Who else are you going to spar with but me?”

“Oh, that’s the first thing you’ve said that I like.”

I watched the blond smile with satisfaction.

It’s truly strange. I put my heart and soul into training them, yet they always end up resenting me.

Every single trainee I’ve had so far has reacted this way.

It’s a bit disappointing.

And since I’m disappointed, I’ll just have to split him in half.

“Alright, put on your headgear. Mouthpiece, too. You’re not hurt anywhere, right? You’re all good?”

“You’re the one who’s going to get hurt.”

Once we were in the ring, the blond’s spirits lifted, and he started loosening his arms and neck.

Watching the fired-up blond, I let out a bitter smile.

Maybe I’m better suited to be a trainer than a hunter.

There was a time when Katrinne’s domain, Rania, was preparing for war. Many soldiers die when war breaks out.

So, to replenish her forces, Katrinne asked me, the one called the strongest, to train her knights.

Knights were tactical weapons capable of changing the tide of war.

For their sake, I helped train them so that as many knights as possible could survive.

At first, the knights considered it an honor to be trained by me, the Hero.

But at some point, they started avoiding me.

‘Ah, right. Our relationship always soured after mock battles, didn’t it?’

The sudden memory made me feel a bit wistful. It’s a shame I can’t see them now. I guess I’ll have no choice but to take it all out on the blond in front of me.

“Alright, Hunter-nim. Are you ready? I hope we’re not training too hard on the first day.”

“Aren’t you going to wear headgear?”

The blond pointed out that I wasn’t wearing any.

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s not like you’re going to hit me anyway.”

I said with an innocent smile.

“Hah, look at this bastard.”

His pride wounded, the blond ground his teeth. His eyes blazing, he charged at me.

His agility was impressive, hard to believe he had just gone through such a grueling workout.

‘Good punch.’

I lightly dodged his fist.

The blond flinched for a moment when his punch didn’t even graze me.

But he must have thought it was a coincidence. He threw another straight punch at my face.

‘Too straightforward. Who would get hit by something like this?’

I easily avoided it with a slight turn of my chin.

Looking into his eyes, I could tell he was getting a little angry.

‘He has regeneration, so it should be fine.’

The blond’s ability was regeneration.

Whether it was stamina or injuries, he could recover at a rapid pace.

What I was about to do wasn’t some petty revenge. This was purely educational, to ensure he could survive in a dungeon.

A loving switch. Yeah, that has a nice ring to it.

*BAM!*

A sound like the air itself bursting echoed through the gym.

The blond had no idea what had just grazed the tip of his nose. For a moment, his body froze solid.

“You can’t just swing your fists relying on brute strength. You need technique. When facing an opponent, feints and checks are important. What you just saw was a jab, and this…”

*WHAP!*

“This is a hook. And what I’m about to show you now is the straight you keep swinging blindly… oh, your nose is bleeding. Are you okay?”

Ah, crap.

* * *

“Hello, Hunter Kim Tae-yang. Today we’ll start with three sets and then move on to sparring.”

I greeted him with a wide smile. A week had already passed since I started training the blond.

Kim Tae-yang was his real name.

“Since you’ve learned punches, shall we learn kicks today? Ah, of course, the teaching method will be the same as before. Haha, it’s a much faster way to learn.”

This was how I was taught during my hero training in the other world.

You only improve by getting hit and hitting back.

The body is honest, after all.

My masters in the other world were passionate about education.

They would always beat me half to death during training. Sometimes, I even suspected that my trainers were part of the Demon King’s army.

One time, they even threw water on me while I was using the bathroom. When I asked if that wasn’t going too far, they said I needed to be able to dodge that level of a surprise attack.

Thanks to that, I carried an umbrella around for a while.

Thinking about it now, maybe they just really hated me.

“Now, you usually use a jab as a check. A high kick is good, yes. But it leaves a large opening in your posture. The risk is just as great. So, let’s try a low kick.”

*CRACK!*

“Oh, you think your leg is broken?”

I gave an awkward smile at the blond’s theatrics.

“Come on, are human legs made of chopsticks? I hit you on the shin guard… Oh, wait a minute. I’ll go get a healer right away. No, don’t move. No, don’t jump out the window! That’s the third floor!”