The Awakening Academy (2)
The seat was empty now, nothing left but a lonely paper cup.
“Shin Yuseong….”
Yoon Sera repeated the name of the man who had been sitting there only moments ago.
Why is he so determined to walk the hardest road possible?
He was a strange man.
Even after she pushed him away, telling him it was dangerous and that she didn’t want to drag him into her problems, he had insisted on joining Saint Guild anyway.
Judging from that confident attitude, it was possible he had truly obtained an astonishing ability—the first person ever to make the Link trait work, contrary to everything the public knew.
But.
If that were really true, wouldn’t there have been far better choices than stepping into such a precarious guild?
Time would be on his side, after all.
“Still… recommending the Awakened Training Center was probably the right call. Even if Mr. Yuseong doesn’t get impressive results right away, finishing the program will help him for the rest of his hunter career.”
It gave her a natural excuse to turn him down while still offering him something useful.
She wasn’t expecting much.
Promising talents who were confident in their own strength yet chronically undervalued often treated the Awakened Training Center as nothing more than a stage to inflate their market value.
If they put on a memorable performance in front of the swarm of scouts, the major guilds would come calling with excellent offers.
Standing out among them would not be easy.
“No matter how much potential he has… Mr. Yuseong still seemed perfectly ordinary.”
Maybe it was because she kept thinking about Shin Yuseong.
As she cleared away the empty cup and straightened the chair, Yoon Sera suddenly remembered the conversation they had shared earlier.
She said Han Yura gave her a bad feeling, and I gave her a good one, right?
A good feeling… Like…? Maybe…?
For a second, the image of Shin Yuseong’s face as he gazed at her with those deep, lingering eyes before leaving flashed through her mind.
He was so handsome he could have been an actor…
Her face flushed crimson.
“Ah… why is it so warm in here?”
Fanning herself frantically, Yoon Sera bowed her head in case anyone might see.
With the already-reviewed documents right in front of her, she muttered under her breath.
“Ugh, what kind of daydream is this? So embarrassing.”
It took her a while to regain her composure.
I got home and immediately looked up information on the Awakened Training Center.
I had a vague idea from my previous life, but the exact details had slipped my mind.
“Ah! So that’s how it works.”
The more I read, the more memories came flooding back.
They would eventually become hunters, but for now they were still more accurately called awakened.
They lived together at the center for three weeks, receiving education on everything a hunter needed to know. There were written tests, practical exams, and even rankings.
But the real highlight of the Awakened Training Center was the final sparring matches.
Countless scouts attended the fights between promising talents.
If someone showed performance beyond expectations there…
“You get to pick any major guild you want.”
I had the general picture now.
I smiled with satisfaction.
It happened to be the exact application period for this session.
“Lucky. I didn’t miss it. During the three weeks of training, I should at least be able to grasp the basics of the Heavenly Demon Primordial Mind Method.”
Even though the Heavenly Demon had estimated it would take a full month, I fully intended to shatter his expectations.
I had already seen meaningful progress from the mind-method training I’d been doing in my spare time. I was confident.
Just as I was about to fill out the application form—
“Huh?”
The page suddenly refreshed with a notice of changes.
A popup window appeared at the same time.
Due to unavoidable circumstances, the Awakened Training Center program has been shortened to two weeks starting this session. We appreciate your understanding.
I was about to close the window after skimming it, but I shot to my feet and shouted.
“What the hell! Why did it suddenly change to two weeks starting this session? How do these people even do their jobs?!”
The notice listed various reasonable explanations—unavoidable circumstances, improved educational quality, generous understanding, etc.—but only one fact mattered to me.
“Ha… Two weeks is going to be tight.”
Counting the entrance date, a little over two weeks remained.
Still, it was cutting it close.
I had been aiming to master the basics of the mind method within a month. I never expected to have to cut that time in half.
“No. I can’t give up now. I’ll do as much as I can.”
If it didn’t work, I’d just have to ask Yoon Sera for one extra week.
I quickly finished the application.
The frustration from the schedule change made me crave a can of cola, but this was the perfect time to practice the mind method.
Without hesitation, I sat down in a cross-legged position.
I need to shorten the time even a little. I have to enter the Heavenly Demon Primordial Mind Method if I want to stand out.
Otherwise I might spend the entire practical exam just sucking my thumb!
Three days later, I entered the training center. Missing this session would mean waiting another two months.
Two months was far too long.
There was no telling what kind of schemes Han Yura might pull in the meantime.
“Unaffiliated. Shin Yuseong. Trait is… ah.”
I could guess exactly what he was thinking as he shut his mouth.
He’s wondering why someone with a useless Link trait even bothered coming to the training center.
It was a familiar look.
In my previous life, I hadn’t received warm gazes from Taeseong in the beginning either.
His business wasn’t finished. The staff member handed me an access card and several stickers.
The stickers read Shin Yuseong / Link.
When I stared at them blankly, the staff explained.
“Please attach the sticker visibly on your upper clothing. To maximize training efficiency, the principle is that everyone discloses their trait.”
So I was suddenly forced to advertise my trait to the entire neighborhood.
I hated annoying things like this.
I’m already here. Guess I have to follow the rules.
The Taeseong Guild’s recruitment manager had his face hidden behind a mask while on assignment at the Awakened Training Center.
Outsiders would be asked to leave soon.
While he was hurriedly handling some secret business in a corner—
“Link? Why the hell did someone with Link come to the training center?” “Where… wait, it’s real?” “Who? Where?” “That guy over there. The handsome one.”
A group walked past, talking loudly.
Link? Yeah, why would someone like that come here? It’s not like he can actually work as a hunter.
Thinking the same thing as everyone else, he turned his head to follow their gazes.
There sat a man quietly enduring the curious stares of countless people.
Huh?
The face was burned clearly into his memory. No—he could never forget it.
Shin Yuseong! Why is that bastard here?!
Grind.
His teeth clenched involuntarily.
After Shin Yuseong had walked out on Taeseong that day, Han Yura had torn into him mercilessly.
-You couldn’t even sweet-talk a loser like that and you made me look like an idiot?!
The phone that had flown past his head.
Just remembering it made him dizzy.
A hunter of Han Yura’s caliber didn’t make mistakes, but on her particularly volatile days she sometimes threw things on purpose.
“Manager? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
The man burning with hostility toward Shin Yuseong snapped back to reality at the voice beside him.
The biggest prize of this Awakened Training Center, Kang Taejun, was staring at him with a puzzled look.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Mr. Kang Taejun. Where were we again?”
“I need to take first place as flashily as possible…”
“Right, of course. Now, this matter involves a major corporate sponsor. Our—ah, I mean, my guild. Our master has very high expectations for you, Taejun.”
“Haha, thank you. Don’t worry about that. Just leave it to me.”
Kang Taejun thumped his chest.
The trait displayed on his chest caught the manager’s eye.
Sword Genius.
A special trait with the potential to reach S-class if nurtured properly.
And.
Today, Kang Taejun officially became part of our Taeseong Guild.
Kang Taejun had been scouted by every top guild in the country, including Taeseong.
He knew his own value very well.
Right after awakening, he had rejected every offer and deliberately entered the Awakened Training Center to drive up his price.
-I want the best possible conditions.
The terms he demanded completely surpassed the excellent offers he had already received.
It was at the level of a confirmed S-class hunter.
Those who weren’t certain he would actually grow into that potential had hesitated.
They decided to wait and see the results after he completed the training center program.
On the other hand—
-What? How much did they offer? Hmm… Yeah, well. Kang Taejun is worth the bet. Proceed. But make the contract period as long as possible. We should get at least that much of a concession.
Han Yura had made her decision.
From behind him he had heard muttering about how investing in Kang Taejun instead of that trash was far more reasonable, but he pretended not to hear and withdrew.
Today was the day Kang Taejun had officially been brought into the Taeseong fold.
It was still a secret, of course.
With the media watching every move hunters made these days—
Kang Taejun’s stock was soaring through the roof.
Taeseong Guild had decided to recruit him and had planned an entire marketing campaign around it. This massive sponsor deal was part of that strategy.
“Yes, I trust you. If everything goes well, the master will personally congratulate you, Taejun.”
“Really? Ms. Han Yura herself?”
Personality problems aside, Han Yura was a star.
Owner of the nation’s top guild, Taeseong. An S-class hunter. Striking beauty like a red rose. Bold speech and actions. Everything about her made people go wild.
And that woman treated me like a bug just because of Shin Yuseong…
Grind.
His teeth clenched again.
“Did you have some kind of trouble with that guy?”
“Ah?”
The manager realized he had been grinding his teeth while staring at Shin Yuseong again.
“It’s nothing. Just… some unpleasant memories.”
“Really?”
Kang Taejun studied Shin Yuseong.
At that exact moment, Shin Yuseong turned his head, and their eyes met.
In the crowded training center buzzing with people, I spotted two men whispering together in a corner.
Our eyes met.
The square-jawed one glared at me.
What’s with that guy? His face looks pretty familiar, though. Who is he again?
The trait was written on his chest.
Sword Genius.
That’s a pretty decent trait… Ah! I remember now.
Kang Taejun from Baekho Guild!
He had been a promising prospect. Baekho had invested quite a bit in raising him.
But.
Why is he with someone from Taeseong Guild?
Even though the man wore a black mask that covered everything but his eyes, I recognized him instantly as Taeseong’s recruitment manager.
I wasn’t about to forget the man I had seen on the first day of my regression just because of one mask.
Even without seeing his full face, his build and posture alone were enough to identify him.
Now both of them were staring straight at me.
They covered their mouths and whispered back and forth, occasionally glancing my way.
Soon Kang Taejun lifted one corner of his mouth in a smirk and nodded.
Looks like they’re plotting something.
From the atmosphere, it seemed they had already come to some kind of agreement. Had Kang Taejun actually joined Taeseong?
Nah, no way.
They were probably just making contact, and in the end he would join Baekho Guild.
I lost interest.
No matter how good his trait was, he was the type to collapse quickly because of his weak mentality. I had zero mental energy to waste on someone like that.
As long as he doesn’t mess with me, there won’t be any problems. So let’s just quietly do our own things.
By the way, could I buy cola here?
I hadn’t checked the most important thing.
At that moment—
Kang Taejun fixed his eyes on me and started walking over with deliberate steps, that sneer still plastered on his face.
This clearly wasn’t going to pass quietly.
I grinned right back at him, bright and cheerful.