A Hidden Talent Revealed
“Really… are you truly saying you see potential in me?”
At those words, Kim Gyojun trembled.
It was the first time he had ever heard anything like it.
You’re lacking in this. You’re lacking in that. You’re hopeless.
That was all he had ever been told.
So he had come to believe he had no potential at all.
He had thought so himself.
But now someone was telling him they saw potential in him.
For a long moment, he simply stared at Yujun in a daze.
He couldn’t believe it.
“When you say I have talent… does that mean I can become stronger? But I’ve already received my expulsion notice. In a few days, I’ll have to pack my things and leave.”
“You’re still a member of Sky Guild, aren’t you? Then it’s not too late.”
Yujun smiled and stepped closer to Gyojun.
This part wasn’t something he could do for him.
He has to believe in himself for it to mean anything.
The foundation of training was trust.
If the trainee believed in the trainer, they could begin from that foundation.
If they believe in me, they’ll eventually believe in themselves.
After a brief silence, Kim Gyojun lowered his head.
“I want to become stronger. If I truly have talent, I want to confirm it. I don’t want to end like this.”
He had spoken as if he had given up on everything, but that wasn’t true.
He had only given up because he felt he had no choice. He had simply tried to run away.
In truth, he hadn’t wanted to give up at all.
Even if it meant suffering more miserably, he wanted to stay in Sky Guild and keep struggling.
“Nothing is over yet.”
Seeing his determined expression, Yujun grinned.
Even without the Awakened Training System, it’s obvious.
This wasn’t someone who would give up on himself.
If given the right direction and just a little guidance, he would naturally move forward.
“Let’s do this together. I can clearly see it in you.”
Yujun stared at the blue glow still shining brightly above Gyojun’s head.
“I don’t understand why he insists on taking the difficult path.”
Kim Dohun, the team leader, shook his head.
“After successfully handling Woo Hana, he seems to have gained a lot of confidence. He’s still a new trainer, after all. Maybe he thinks the results will be different if he’s the one in charge?”
Kim Dohun and the other trainers were quite skeptical about Kang Yujun’s decision to train Kim Gyojun.
Of course, they knew Yujun’s training ability was far from ordinary.
The way he had corrected Woo Hana’s flaws and unleashed her potential had been truly impressive.
But that had only been possible because Woo Hana possessed considerable latent talent that happened to align perfectly with Yujun’s methods.
“Kim Gyojun is an awakened individual with no reason to keep around any longer.”
Every trainer in Sky Guild had tried teaching him and knew the truth.
Kim Gyojun’s basic physical abilities were severely lacking.
That made it difficult for him to utilize his awakening ability properly.
A vicious cycle.
That was why they couldn’t understand it.
Kang Yujun couldn’t possibly be unaware of Gyojun’s weaknesses.
He had watched him during Woo Hana’s training.
If anything, he should know better than any of the other trainers.
This wasn’t something that could be easily fixed, and failure would negatively impact his future career.
“He’s just going to waste his time. Though even if he does, it probably won’t damage a strong trainer’s reputation too much.”
Stories about Woo Hana were already spreading everywhere.
Thanks to the sales team three leader’s strong advocacy, a meeting was underway to decide her placement.
If things went well, Woo Hana would be immediately transferred to the first sales team, and the credit would go entirely to Kang Yujun.
“Not only is interest in Woo Hana rising, but interest in the trainer who trained her is growing as well.”
But interest could rise quickly and fall just as fast.
That was why a trainer needed to firmly establish their value while the spotlight was on them.
To the other trainers, it seemed like a wasteful use of time, and they felt a pang of regret.
After all, if Kang Yujun stood out, it would bring attention to them as well—Sky Guild’s trainers.
Kim Dohun smiled bitterly and said, “He’s a new trainer. It can’t be helped if he’s still full of romantic ideals. You all went through that phase too, didn’t you?”
“…We did.”
“I guess taking the hard road is something all rookies have in common.”
But they didn’t know.
The path Yujun had chosen was by no means a difficult one.
In fact, it was a shortcut.
Sky Guild training ground.
Kim Gyojun stood there awkwardly, while Yujun’s eyes sparkled in front of him.
Kim Gyojun is like a lottery ticket that’s already been confirmed as a winner.
Among all the youths in Sky Guild, he was the only one with an A-rank mental stat.
Though everything else is at rock bottom.
His awakening ability itself was highly practical.
Depending on how it was conceptualized, it was a good ability that could be utilized in many different ways.
Looking at his overall rank, the other trainers’ judgment is accurate. Teaching him comprehensively really doesn’t make much sense.
According to the Awakened Training System’s analysis, Kim Gyojun’s comprehensive rank was [D-].
He was clearly not talented enough to warrant investing Sky Guild’s youth program funds in him.
But an A-rank mental stat renders all those evaluations meaningless. And is there really any awakened individual in the world who can’t be taught?
An A-rank mental stat meant he could endure any kind of training.
No matter how difficult the training, he can handle most of it.
His threshold for endurance was high.
While someone else might lose heart after just one hour of training, Kim Gyojun had the strength to endure for two hours, three hours, or even longer.
Once that’s the case, physical rank is no longer an issue.
He could grow as strong as he wanted.
But this is a judgment I can only make because I know his mental rank.
Gyojun had probably gone through training with multiple trainers. The ability Weapon Enhancement was quite useful among various awakening abilities.
Even by rank, it was at least B-class.
Once something was in his hands, it could become a powerful weapon.
But Kim Gyojun had never been able to utilize that ability properly.
The problem was mana.
Kim Gyojun has a habit of reflexively using the mana that should be dedicated to his ability for physical reinforcement instead. The other trainers probably gave up because they couldn’t get him to use the ability correctly.
By using mana to compensate for his weak body, problems arose in his ability usage.
However, the other trainers lacked the capability to identify that issue. Yujun had only been able to see it thanks to his skills.
Therefore, what I need to teach Kim Gyojun is…
Mana utilization.
“From now on, we’ll be doing repetitive training.”
He planned to create a curriculum perfectly suited for the current Gyojun to draw out all of his abilities.
Repetitive training was exactly what suited him.
Just like what I showed back then.
He would approach this differently from how he had with Woo Hana.
I need to awaken his senses while imprinting proper mana utilization.
Of course, it would be extremely difficult.
He would have to repeat it again and again.
But for Kim Gyojun, it could become easy training.
Any other awakened individual would give up quickly, but not him. He will definitely endure it.
Repetitive training. Grueling training.
With an A-rank mental stat, Kim Gyojun would be able to endure as much as necessary.
“Um… what about my expulsion? I received notice that my contract expires in five days.”
“I’ve postponed it.”
He had already spoken with the guild leader, asking to delay the expulsion by ten days.
He would handle the training himself, and afterward, they could decide whether to maintain or withdraw the expulsion order.
“You have ten days.”
Yujun intended to thoroughly train Kim Gyojun within the ten days he had been granted.
“Woo Hana was just called up to the first team. I plan to make you the next ace after her, Kim Gyojun.”
“Me… after Woo Hana…?”
When Kim Gyojun had first joined Sky Guild’s youth program, Woo Hana had already been an elite youth member.
And now he was being told he would follow in her footsteps?
Despite Gyojun’s doubtful expression, Yujun nodded with absolute confidence.
Awakened Training has begun!
Training Recipe has been activated!
This is a training recipe designed for Kim Gyojun!
Seeing the message, Yujun grinned.
Ten days will be more than enough.
“Let’s begin.”
“Huff… huff…”
Yujun taught Kim Gyojun mana utilization techniques while simultaneously pushing his physical conditioning.
“Don’t clump your mana together. Stop trying to compensate for your lack of stamina with mana. Leave it as it is.”
Linguistic Correction pierced through Gyojun’s body.
Gyojun’s problem was that he instinctively tried to supplement his insufficient physical strength with mana.
That was why he couldn’t follow conventional training methods.
By constantly diverting mana elsewhere, he can’t even use Weapon Enhancement properly.
Since he was using mana to compensate for his weak body, there was no way he could do anything else.
This behavior was so close to instinct that neither he nor the other trainers had been able to pinpoint the exact problem or its solution.
He simply can’t use his mana properly.
Through continuous Linguistic Correction, Yujun controlled Gyojun’s attempts to use mana.
But correcting a habit that had been reflexive for so long was no easy task.
That was why he had chosen repetitive training.
He pushed Gyojun’s stamina to its limit and prevented him from using mana to compensate for it.
Instead, he made sure all of his mana was invested solely into his ability—Weapon Enhancement.
“Mana circulation, again.”
“…Yes!”
Yujun pressured him so intensely that it wouldn’t have been strange if he collapsed at any moment.
It had already been eight hours since training began.
Excluding break times, pure training time had exceeded six hours.
But Yujun wasn’t worried at all.
The more he pushed him, the stronger the blue light above Gyojun’s head grew.
Even though he was so exhausted he could barely move a finger, his mental strength remained razor sharp.
His eyes are still alive.
“I can… keep going! Please, just a little more!”
However, this training wasn’t only exhausting for him.
I’m getting tired too.
Yujun’s own stamina and mana were being drained.
It was only natural.
To serve as a proper training partner, he had to demonstrate many things.
That meant Yujun had to keep moving as well.
I’ll need to invest in stamina for the next point.
He decided to end the training here for today.
“We’ll stop here for today’s session.”
“Thank you!”
The real work would begin tomorrow.
One day. Two days. Three days.
With the high-intensity training, Kim Gyojun’s dark circles grew deeper.
But despite his exhausted appearance, Gyojun could feel something changing within him.
It feels lighter.
His body felt light.
His movements felt different from before training.
Since there was no longer any issue using his ability, confidence began to bloom.
And there was one more thing he could clearly feel.
It’s different. Definitely.
Yujun’s training wasn’t all that different from what the other trainers had done.
Yet there was a clear distinction that couldn’t be explained with words.
For some reason, I can follow along properly.
Unlike previous training sessions, he could understand it clearly. When he listened to Yujun’s instructions, his body would unconsciously follow the training content exactly.
Of course, it was only his body following along. He couldn’t understand it with his head right away.
But after repeating the training for over ten hours a day, he could gradually feel it settling into his body.
The more that “I think I get it” feeling repeated, the more it became ingrained in his body regardless of conscious understanding.
“We’ll begin today’s training.”
As Yujun spoke, he examined Gyojun’s condition.
He looked exhausted in many ways, but the blue light still shining from his head showed that his mental strength was considerable.
In fact, the blue light was shining even more intensely than before.
And.
The cracks that had been spread throughout his body…
Were beginning to fade.
They hadn’t disappeared completely, but the cracks had become significantly lighter.
We’re on the right track.
“He’s training for over ten hours a day.”
In the Sky Guild guild leader’s office.
“Ten hours? Can Kim Gyojun even endure that? And it’s already far exceeding regular working hours?”
Normally, trainers worked six-hour shifts.
It was a short time, but since increasing hours didn’t mean awakened individuals could handle more absolute training volume, it had been just right.
Yet Yujun was currently working ten hours a day.
“It’s not like he’s getting overtime pay either.”
Of course, he needed to thoroughly train him within those ten days if he wanted to prevent the expulsion.
Still, Yujun’s actions were hard to understand.
“Is Trainer Kang personally acquainted with Kim Gyojun? No, that can’t be. He’s just one of the youths.”
And yet he was going this far.
“It seems like he might be projecting from his past experiences.”
Even Kim Dohun, the trainer team leader, couldn’t fully understand Yujun’s passion.
But suddenly, an old memory came to mind.
Back when he had first become a trainer.
Even without overtime pay, he would spend a little more time training the youths.
When those trainees achieved results in towers and received recognition within the guild, he had felt as happy as if it were his own accomplishment.
Sometimes he had done it simply because he wanted to hear a single word of gratitude.
Passion.
It was the passion for the job of being a trainer.
“Well, Trainer Kang has gone through a lot of hardships himself. I suppose he’s projecting his own feelings.”
From Lee Hyeokjun the guild leader’s perspective, such dedication was endearing.
A trainer who willingly gave up his own time to guide a youth.
“Trainers like that are quite rare these days, aren’t they?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Recently, trainers who worked like Kang Yujun were hard to find.
Words like “romance” or “passion” had disappeared long ago.
That was because overly motivated new trainers encouraged overtraining among awakened individuals, and the awakened themselves didn’t prefer that approach.
“I’m looking forward to it. To see how it turns out. Trainer Kang did an excellent job with Woo Hana, but that was because her potential was exceptional.”
Of course, Team Leader Kim was still skeptical about training Kim Gyojun.
Ten hours a day for ten days. That was simply one hundred hours.
But he believed one hundred hours was far from enough to fix Kim Gyojun’s problems.
“I feel the same way.”
There wasn’t much expectation.
Trainer Kang Yujun would probably end up hitting the wall of reality.
The ten days passed by quickly.
On the surface, Kim Gyojun didn’t look much different from before. But his posture had subtly become more upright.
His overall aura had changed as well.
Ten days of training.
Today was the day of the internal evaluation.
The youths within the guild received scores through internal evaluations.
If he scored high enough here, his expulsion could be canceled.
But that’s not my final goal.
Kim Gyojun scoring high on the internal evaluation and avoiding expulsion was only the first objective.
“Today is the last day,” Yujun said.
And so the final training session began.
“Kim Gyojun, everyone knows about your weakness.”
It was common knowledge throughout Sky Guild.
“So we’re going to use that against them.”
They would turn the weakness everyone knew about into an advantage instead.
“We’ll lure them in with your frail body.”
Yujun clenched his fist and swung it.
“And then smash them in return.”
That day.
After ten hours of training.
“You worked hard.”
“Thank you… Thank you so much!”
Successfully trained awakened Kim Gyojun.
Training Score: 7/10
Points have been acquired based on the training score.
Kim Gyojun’s comprehensive rank has increased!
[D-] → [C]
Awakened Training Trainee List
1. Kim Minseok
2. Woo Hana
3. Kim Gyojun NEW!
The training score was a whopping seven points.
Excellent.
The points acquired as a result were a full 3P.
It was worth the hard work.
On top of that, Kim Gyojun’s comprehensive rank had risen.
At this level, scoring high on the internal evaluation would be no problem.
Yujun smiled as he confirmed the results.
He can escape the expulsion list.
Preparations were complete.
All that remained was.
“Go and show them. Show everyone who trained Kim Gyojun.”
“Yes!”