Lightning Guild's Pursuit

The Lightning Guild's guild leader's office.

"Guild Leader! The main dealer of Team 3, Lim Seokjae, has cleared the 26th floor of the Tower of Amber! He's broken through the previous record!"

The guild leader was receiving a report on this achievement.

Team 3 had successfully cleared the 26th floor of the Tower of Amber.

At the center of it all stood Lim Seokjae.

The guild leader tapped the paper with his finger as he spoke. Lim Seokjae's name was written in the main dealer position.

"Wasn't he in a slump?"

"He received personal training, apparently."

"……Personal training? From whom? Didn't he terminate his personal trainer contract recently and stop receiving training from the guild as well?"

The Lightning Guild also had quite excellent trainers and training systems in place. Even if they weren't S-class, they had recruited A-class trainers at great expense to provide welfare for their guild members.

Yet even those A-class trainers had failed to fix Lim Seokjae's recent problem. That included the personal trainer Lim Seokjae himself had hired at an enormous cost.

But that personal trainer had also been unable to fix Lim Seokjae. He had said it would likely take a long time, and that correcting his bad habits and mana circulation could take several years.

That was why the Lightning Guild had been planning to send him to the second-string team to clear lower-difficulty towers.

Yet suddenly, the problem had been resolved.

"I'll show you the footage."

Beep-.

A video played on the smart pad. It was footage of the 26th floor clear of the Tower of Amber. The camera was focused on the main dealer, Lim Seokjae.

In front of him stood a massive pumpkin monster—one the guild leader knew well.

"Pumpkin Ogre. That one needs heavy damage to be pushed back."

At those words, Lim Seokjae moved.

Thud-.

He stomped the ground hard and swung his fist with powerful force.

BOOM-.

With a thunderous roar, the Pumpkin Ogre exploded. The Pumpkin Goblins froze for a moment at the sight.

The vanguard, Lim Seokjae, didn't stop there. As if to demonstrate what a main dealer truly was, he disrupted the monsters' formation with insane destructive power. On top of that, he charged straight toward destroying the stele—the clear condition for the 26th floor.

His teammates could only be stunned. Lim Seokjae's destructive power was something he had never shown before.

Despite possessing the rare ability of superhuman strength, he had rarely been able to demonstrate his skill—yet now he had surprised them like this.

"Whoa…… What the hell? What is this?"

The guild leader's eyes widened.

"Lim Seokjae wasn't like this!"

It wasn't simply a matter of overcoming a slump.

"He's completely different. All the unnecessary movements are gone. And what's that? He's holding a club when he destroys the stele?"

Lim Seokjae was a close-combat awakened being of the unarmed combat type who used his superhuman strength with his bare fists.

Yet now he was using a weapon the guild leader had never seen before.

"Didn't he say he couldn't use weapons?"

"That was our previous assessment. The awakened being report has been updated. It says Lim Seokjae has awakened the Blunt Weapon Mastery trait."

"Hah."

The guild leader shook his head in disbelief.

"His flaws are gone, and on top of that, a new trait has awakened?"

Eliminating flaws was already difficult enough, but awakening a new trait wasn't something that happened overnight either. It was the result of long, dedicated training.

"All of this changed after his personal training?"

The executive nodded.

"Yes, that's correct."

"Who was it? Who was that trainer?"

The executive answered.

"Trainer Kang Yujun."

"……Kang Yujun?"

A name that anyone in the industry would recognize.

"That top prospect? The one Promise Guild expelled?"

It was a very famous name.

"Yes, that's correct."

"What the hell is going on here?"

The Lightning Guild leader was deeply flustered.

But soon he shook his head and cleared his thoughts. This wasn't the time for questions.

"His talent has bloomed in a different direction. Let's secure him first. Contact him through Lim Seokjae and reach out immediately. Hmm…… Tell him we want to appoint him as our main trainer. Hurry!"

"!"

The main trainer position wasn't one given out lightly. Especially since Kang Yujun's career was short, there would likely be considerable backlash from the existing trainers.

"We haven't confirmed his license yet. His expulsion was recent……"

"That doesn't matter."

The Lightning Guild leader declared firmly.

"This is real talent. There's no mistaking it. The first to confirm it gets to claim him!"

Blue light was overflowing excessively from Lee Suyeon.

'It's clearly glowing blue.'

Yet there were cracks within it.

'Blue light and cracks appearing simultaneously means……'

Yujun immediately recognized the symptoms.

'She's overusing it.'

It meant she was exerting too much force because she couldn't control her ability. In that case, it was effectively worse than not using it at all.

'She must faint every day.'

Someone else would probably have to clean up after her.

It would have been far better if, like Woo Hana, she hesitated to use her full power and thus couldn't properly utilize her ability.

'At least she wouldn't cause trouble for others.'

"Are you…… a member of the Sky Guild?"

When Yujun asked, Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun shook his head.

"She's not a guild member. She's my niece."

"Ah, so she's the guild leader's niece. Nice to meet you, I'm Kang Yujun."

"……Kang Yujun?"

Kang Yujun.

If she was an awakened being around the same age as him, there was no way she wouldn't know that name.

"Ah, I'm sorry. That was rude of me. You must not be the Kang Yujun I know…… right?"

"It's probably the same Kang Yujun you're thinking of."

"!"

At those words, she looked at her uncle, Guild Leader ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Hyeokjun. Her eyes seemed to ask what exactly was going on.

"It's a long story."

"To put it simply."

Yujun could speak calmly because his mind was focused solely on how to capitalize on this new opportunity.

"I failed and was expelled."

"……I'm sorry."

"It's fine. It was actually a blessing for me."

The Promise Guild had given him plenty of chances. They had kept him on because of the sunk costs they had invested, but Yujun was grateful to them for that.

'They could have demanded compensation.'

But they hadn't.

The fact that they had simply written it off as a failed investment was something Yujun appreciated.

"After being expelled, I switched to becoming a trainer. I thought I had some talent in this area before."

"……My uncle—well, the guild leader—said you trained Hana."

"Yes, she was an awakened being with excellent potential."

"……How?"

"She couldn't do what she was capable of, so I helped her a little."

"……?"

Could that really be called "helping a little"?

"Perhaps……"

At that moment, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun approached Yujun and asked warmly.

"Trainer Kang, could you take a look at my niece? She studied abroad, but from what I've heard, she still……"

"Yes, I understand."

Yujun nodded immediately.

Under normal circumstances, he could have refused. Lee Suyeon was Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun's niece, but she wasn't a member of the Sky Guild.

'This is a pattern I haven't trained before.'

It was a type of crack and blue light he had never encountered.

'I'll need to use various methods to teach her.'

Repeatedly training awakened beings with the same ability and symptoms wouldn't help the Awakened Training System grow much.

'I need to train a variety of awakened beings to grow.'

In that sense, Yujun was actually the one who should be making the request.

Yet they had asked first, so there was no reason for him to refuse.

'Besides……'

Yujun saw something else as well.

'She's a ranged type.'

Until now, Yujun had only trained close-combat awakened beings.

'I haven't trained any ranged combat types since Kim Minseok.'

The Awakened Training System grew stronger the more awakened beings from various fields it trained.

'This could be interesting.'

When Yujun readily accepted the proposal, Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun's face lit up with a bright smile.

"Thank you so much. I'll make sure your compensation is generous, so don't worry!"

Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun had been receiving reports and knew the situation well. Ever since he had permitted first-team trainer education, Yujun had made a strong impression on the first-team trainers.

Led by first-team awakened being Kim Ojung, all awakened beings from Sales Teams 1, 2, and 3 wanted to receive Yujun's training.

The Sky Guild members had witnessed Yujun's abilities firsthand.

"I won't forget the kindness you showed me when I had nothing."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

At those words, Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun felt a pang of guilt.

He had only recruited Yujun to secure an advantage for himself.

"Trainer Kang……"

How could someone be so good-natured?

He regretted it deeply. He shouldn't have gone with a short-term contract of just a few months to test the waters. He should have invested even 10 billion won to secure him unconditionally.

Of course, even if he went back in time, he would have made the same choice.

'Relationships are incredibly important.'

Yujun's reason for maintaining a good relationship with Guild Leader Lee Hyeokjun was simple.

Connections were more important than anything for a trainer.

'Most awakened beings hide their weaknesses at all costs.'

Training was about eliminating weaknesses and strengthening strengths. It was something one received to become stronger.

'These things often connect indirectly.'

Especially if it was the guild leader of a large guild like Sky Guild, he would receive such requests frequently, and Yujun could naturally become involved.

So maintaining a good relationship was important.

Of course, there was genuine sincerity as well.

'It couldn't have been an easy decision to recruit someone without a license or achievements.'

"Please take good care of me!"

Lee Suyeon was also interested in Yujun's training, which had instantly eliminated Woo Hana's major flaw and promoted her to the first team.

She had just returned from abroad, impressed by their training systems.

On top of that, her uncle was a very demanding person. He was stingy with praise for others, and even more so when it came to awakened beings.

Her uncle had simply said "well done" when she joined the Neverland Guild, yet that same uncle had given Yujun high praise. She was genuinely curious about Yujun's abilities.

What kind of training methods did the failed prospect Kang Yujun use?

"Shall we get started right away?"

Yujun gestured.

"Then with the VR machine……"

"No."

Normally, a VR machine check was essential before beginning training. The standard approach was to confirm combat against monsters in realistic conditions through the VR machine, then check the values it produced to reference during training.

Especially overseas, VR machine checks were mandatory. No one ever proceeded with guesswork.

"Let's put the VR machine on hold for now."

"……"

At those words, Lee Suyeon unconsciously furrowed her brow.

Was this going to be guesswork-style training?

Accustomed to data-based analysis and AI-assisted training, Lee Suyeon instinctively looked at her uncle. She had assumed that since he was supposedly an incredible trainer, he would use the latest training methods.

"Then…… what should I do?"

Yujun immediately used Awakened Being Scan.

Physique B+, Mental A-.

Even her potential was S.

Fortunately, unlike Lim Seokjae, she wasn't an A-class awakened being yet, so the entire status window was visible.

'Incredible. This level of talent?'

As the proficiency of Awakened Being Scan increased, elements that hadn't been visible before began to appear.

'Excessive Focus State.'

In other words, she couldn't properly release her power.

When she used her ability, strength flooded through her entire body.

'She can't hit the brakes.'

If that was the case, solving the problem was quite simple.

'I just need to help her apply the brakes.'

"Suyeon, could you try pushing your ability to its maximum?"

At those words, Lee Suyeon slightly furrowed her brow.

"Um, Trainer Kang, I'm sorry, but when I use my ability at full power, I can't control it. That's why I went abroad to study."

She hadn't been able to fix it in the end.

She couldn't bring herself to say that.

"It's fine. I'll handle it for you."

Yujun gestured for her to use it without worry.

She looked at her uncle with a reluctant expression.

If she lost consciousness and went berserk, her power could explode and become dangerous.

However, her uncle nodded readily.

"Alright."

Since her uncle had given permission, she assumed he would handle the aftermath. She gathered her power.

Shaaaaaaaaaa-!

In an instant, a powerful barrier formed around her.

This was always the problem.

She had to create and maintain the Iron Wall that nullified all attacks, but she would faint, causing the power to spread and indiscriminately attack those nearby.

Swish-.

Intense power gathered around her.

And in that moment, her eyes began to waver.

She tried to grit her teeth and endure, but it was impossible.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, unable to withstand the force—

Yujun's staff struck her collarbone with a sharp thwack.

"Found it."

Yujun grinned.

In that instant, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barrier formed around her body.

"Huh……?"

She hadn't fainted.

A strong question filled her eyes.