Ch. 3 - Hunter's Era (2)

The blond guy seated himself in the abs machine and started working out.

After completing the 40th repetition, you could see him struggling. It was probably due to abdominal pain.

"You really shouldn't force yourself. Even if you get a lower rank, I'll hide it from everyone else. So you don't need to worry about that. Also, we're going to train you according to your level. "

"Shut up! You're going to make me lose concentration! "

It wasn't like he was trying to get some sort of retribution on this guy. It truly wasn't.

Often, newly awakened people think of themselves as being someone extraordinary. When I was summoned to another world, I did too.

But thoughts like that were dangerous.

I was harsh on him because I wanted him to be safe and live a long life.

The reason why I became a trainer was simple: Normal folks couldn't enter the dungeons. The entrance to them was strictly controlled and supervised.

Inside the bodies of awakened hunters, there's a magic stone comparable to the ones that the monsters possess.

Basically, you awaken when a mana core forms within your body.

This was a secret, but if you were close to a gate that emitted a lot of mana, even ordinary people had a very high chance of awakening.

You might be able to awaken if you're lucky. But if you didn't have luck on your side, you'd turn into something else.

Trainers like me tend to accompany novice hunters to the dungeon.

Our job was to make hunting easy for novices. We'd aid them with things like transporting their stuff, gathering magical stones, and cooking, among other things.

Even if they had awakened, some people remained weak. These hunters frequently joined parties as porters. Since they didn't engage in battle, the payout was low.

I was always excited about entering dungeons because I wanted to regain my former strength.

'I've entered many dungeons, yet I wasn't able to awaken.'

Awakening, it sounded like something wonderful. But, in reality, it was just an ability that allowed you to connect and interact with the system.

After the first gate opened, mankind discovered the existence of the system. If you can connect to it, you earn stats and special abilities.

'Since I've already done it once, I assumed I was going to have an easier time.'

While I was in the other world, I learnt about the system and how to exploit it to my advantage. That's why I was excited.

I believed that maybe if I joined a guild and received their assistance, I would be able to do something. But at thirty years of age and being a high-school dropout, nobody wanted to hire me.

'Once I awaken, all the guilds that rejected me are definitely going to regret their decision.'

He remembered the faces of all the people that had mistreated him.

There was this guy who asked him to summon the holy sword. And another one merely laughed at him, stating that he was going through the eighth grader's syndrome.

Once I awakened and acquired a core, I was certain that I would be able to become the strongest in a short amount of time.

Barely a year after I was summoned, I was already fighting against the army of the demon lord.

Even the current South Korea's top rankers were rookies in my opinion.

'The more opportunities I have, the better it is for me.'

Huff... huff... finished!

I was distracted when the blond guy said that he had finished.

I had forgotten to count. If I ask him to do it again, he's probably going to get mad at me. I'm going to let it pass for now.

"You're good, huh? You're definitely the hot newbie of the Hwarang Guild."

The blond guy seemed happy with what I had just said. But that smile was about to fade soon.

"It seems like you've finished warming up. So, let's get started with the main training routine."

"... What?"

"Did you get some rest? Then, please come here. You know what a bench press is, right? "

"Why do you want me to build muscles? Didn't you say that we're going to focus on survival training? "

I smiled.

"What do you think is the most important thing in battle?"

"Being strong."

"And if you want to be strong?"

"You have to be born with a talent like mine. And you need to train to develop the talent. "

"No, you're wrong. The most important thing is muscles. "

 "...?"

"If you want to deal heavy damage to your opponents, you'll need strong muscles."

"Well... That's..."

"If there's a monster that's above your level, the most rational thing is to escape. You don't need to fight battles you can't win. However, you need strong legs if you want to run away, right? "

"Well..."

"We're going to start with a set of 3 exercises. Let's begin with something light."

At HyunBin's remarks, the blond guy's eyes started shaking. And just as he anticipated, muscle-shredding training began.

"Come on, one more. Wow, you're good. Then let's do one more! Come on, don't relax. More! "

"How many times are you going to say 'one more'?"

"This is really going to be the last one. So let's do one more. "

Working as a personal trainer wasn't hard.

HyunBin had gone through a variety of training when he was in the other world. Back then, he used to despise the trainers. But it was because of them that he had managed to survive.

Now that he thought about it, he had a horrible relationship with the trainer of the other world.

But who cares? He was doing this to help people survive! Even if they hate him, they'll be able to survive thanks to it, so who cares! Not long after that, the blond finished the set.

"All right, good job! "

Huff... huff...

The blond guy laid down on the floor. He seemed to have a lot of complaints, but since he was so exhausted, he couldn't muster the energy to say them.

"While working as a hunter, you're putting your life at risk. If you don't obtain enough basic training, you'll have trouble fighting monsters. Usually, the first raid has a period of two to four weeks. So do your best. "

"Shut up. You're a bastard that couldn't even become a hunter. "

The blond said, with a lot of anger in his voice.

There were several hunters that hadn't awakened. But those hunters were treated as though they were objects. That's because talent was everything in this sector.

If one hadn't awakened after turning thirty, that meant that the probability of that person's awakening was practically zero.

"What you're saying is true."

"How much do you earn per hour? Five dollars? A new hunter by running a little bit can earn more than ten thousand dollars per month. "

He wasn't exaggerating.

Earning more than ten thousand dollars per month was nearly impossible for the average person.

But for a hunter, it was a completely different story.

By just selling some lower-tier magical stones, you could obtain between 50 and 100 dollars per stone.

That meant that to earn 1000 dollars, all you had to do was kill around ten weak monsters.

You could earn a lot of money and be popular.

Not only that, the idea that most people had about hunters was that they were people who fought for the well-being of the country.

You could see how popular hunters were just by observing most kids' dream jobs. A few years ago, nearly everyone dreamt of being either a celebrity or a streamer.

Right now, the vast majority wanted to become hunters.

"If you die, you won't be able to earn anything. That's why you need to train harder, don't you think so? "

The blondie laughed at my words.

"Should we start with the next course?"

"No."

"Is there anything wrong, Mr. Hunter? Why are you talking with such a tone of voice? "

"I'm done with you. I want another trainer. "

He seemed to be annoyed by the way I ridiculed him.

From the blondie's perspective, he's the client, and I'm here to serve him. Despite the fact that he wasn't the one who had to pay.

"I was personally asked by the person in charge of the human resources department of the Hwarang Guild to train you. It's not going to be easy for you to change it."

The blondie frowned. He likely understood that he wouldn't be able to change his trainer so easily. He was just frustrated with me.

I sighed.

"Today is just your first day. What type of training do you want to do? "

"Actual battle."

"Actual battle?"

"Stuff that I'll be able to apply in real-life combat."

He laughed while saying that.

"So, Mr. Hunter wanted to do that from day one, huh?"

I also laughed.

"Then, let's start with a very light sparring session. But, don't fight like you just did before, okay? After all, you're an official hunter. You need to take care of your public image. "

"Shut up. Who am I going to fight? "

"Come on, don't ask dumb questions. Who else are you going to fight? There's only the two of us here. "

"It's the first time that you've said something that has caught my attention!"

I found the reaction of the blondie weird. He hated me, even though everything I had done was to make him stronger.

Every single one of the people that I had trained up until now had reacted just like him.

It saddens me.

Since it saddens me, I'm going to beat him up.

"Please put on your headgear and mouthguard. Are you feeling okay? Does it hurt anywhere? "

"The only one who's going to get hurt is you."

He stretched his arms and neck as soon as he stepped into the ring.

I was amused by his over-the-top enthusiasm.

Was I more suited to being a trainer than a hunter?

Rania, Katrin's homeland, was once prepared for a full-fledged war. When you go to war, countless troops perish. That's why she asked me to train her soldiers.

Good soldiers can make or break a battle. So, in order to improve their chances of survival, I assisted them in training.

At first, the soldiers believed that being trained by the hero was an honor. But one day, I saw that they were avoiding me.

'Oh yeah, they started to avoid me after we began doing mock battles.'

I feel deeply saddened by the memories. Since I can't face them, I'm going to unleash my rage on the blondie.

"Mr. Hunter, are you ready? I'm wondering if I'm overworking you. After all, this is just your first day. "

"Are you not going to use headgear?"

"I'm okay. It's not like you're going to be able to land a punch on me." I answered him while laughing.

"What a bastard," said the blond guy, while grinding his teeth. It seemed like I had hit a nerve on him. It was difficult to imagine that he had just completed grueling training.

'A punch is coming.'

I easily avoided his punch.

After seeing how his punch wasn't even close to hitting me, he backed down. But it seemed like he thought I had avoided it out of pure luck. So once again, he aimed directly at my face.

'There's no way you'll be able to hit me with such a predictable trajectory.'

I gently moved my chin a little bit and once again evaded his strike.

I could see the anger in his eyes.

 'He's going to regenerate, so I guess it really doesn't matter.'

 The blond guy's special ability was regeneration.

 It didn't matter if it was his stamina or a wound. He's able to recover pretty quickly.

What I was about to do, wasn't petty revenge. It was educating him to improve his chances of survival in a difficult environment like a dungeon.

Boom!

A sound similar to air exploding resonated through the room. The blond guy didn't notice that something had smacked him in the nose. For a moment, his body froze.

 "You can't just try to hit people without using your head. You need to improve your technique. When you're fighting, another important thing is to analyze your opponent. Oh, also, what you just saw is what you call a 'jab'. "

Crack!

"What I'm about to show you is how to strike correctly. Huh? You're bleeding. Are you okay? "

'Oh, he lost consciousness.'

 ** *

"Good morning, hunter Kim TaeYang. We'll begin today's workout with a set of three, followed by some sparring." I greeted him with a smile. It had already been a week since I began training him.

Kim TaeYang was the blondie's real name.

"We've already learned about punches. So, shall we begin with kicks? Oh, the learning technique will remain the same. After all, it's the quickest way to learn. "

When I was in the other world, I also received this type of training. You must punch while simultaneously taking some hits. The reason behind this is that your body has memory as well.

My teachers in the other world were really passionate about teaching. After every workout session, I ended up half-dead. I wondered whether they were secretly members of the demon lord army.

Sometimes, they dumped water on me while I was in the restroom. When I asked if this was too much, they said I should be able to avoid this type of attack.

These surprise attacks led me to begin carrying an umbrella to the restroom.

They actually hated me, now that I think about it.

Crack!

 "Oh, it seems that your legs are broken."

The blonde guy's overreaction made me laugh.

"Come on, don't exaggerate. After all, human legs aren't as delicate as wooden chopsticks. "

"I've kicked you on your protective gear. Oh, wait a second. I'm going to call a healer. So please, stay still. Wait, we're on the third floor! Don't jump! "

Comments