A Trainer's Confidence
The Neverland Guildmaster’s office fell into heavy silence.
After the two visitors left the room, Lee Shinjun dragged a hand down his face, his expression exhausted.
“What the hell have I done?”
His mind was a tangled mess.
He had signed the contract as if possessed, following Kang Yujun’s words without resistance.
“I was desperate enough to clutch at straws…”
It was a choice he would never have made under normal circumstances.
Handing over the guild’s elite first-string Awakened to a trainer without an official license?
“Even trainers with A-class licenses and specialized rehabilitation certifications couldn’t fix this.”
Lee Shinjun clutched his head.
“I got completely swept up in it.”
The man had offered a simple solution to their complicated crisis and extended his hand. Although Lee Shinjun had been the one in the position to hire, by the end of the conversation he found himself gripping that hand tightly, practically begging for help.
Kang Yujun had been far more trustworthy than expected.
“Ha…”
Right now, the first-string Awakened were deep in rehabilitation training in the recovery ward. They had been staying there nonstop since arriving at the guild.
The few who were still functional had already been sent to the tower, along with Yu Jena.
“We don’t even have ten healthy people left.”
Including Yu Jena, the number of fully operational members hadn’t even reached ten. Yet, desperate to put out the immediate fire, he had sent them anyway.
“If we don’t make contact by tomorrow, our guild ranking will definitely drop.”
From a rational standpoint, he should reach out immediately. Cost didn’t matter. He needed to contact them, negotiate, and bring the necessary personnel back.
“There’s no way they can recover in a single day… no, even in two days.”
That was what worried him most.
“But… he said they could.”
There had been a strange conviction in Kang Yujun’s voice.
When he thought about it calmly, it made sense. After all, the man had fixed Lee Suyeon’s problem.
Lee Suyeon’s condition hadn’t been something that could be easily resolved. Every trainer in the guild had tried and failed to even find a clue. That was why she had been using her Iron Wall ability without going all-out. Even then, she had produced impressive results within the guild.
It was Lee Suyeon who had saved the A-class hunter Oh Yunseok when he nearly died in an uncleared tower.
That was why Lee Shinjun had sent her abroad for further training.
“Since he solved Suyeon’s issue, his skills must be real.”
He had accomplished what no trainer in the guild could touch.
“Which means…”
At the moment, every trainer in the guild was completely helpless.
“Is there… a chance?”
A sliver of possibility. A faint ray of hope had begun to appear.
Since he had already signed the contract and paid the advance, all he could do now was trust the man and wait.
“That was incredible!”
Lee Suyeon had actually been quite worried.
Introducing Yu Jena hadn’t been difficult. As fellow S-class Awakened in the same guild, the two women were very close. On top of that, Yu Jena had her own problems and a burning desire for growth. Lee Suyeon had believed that introducing her to Kang Yujun would surely yield good results.
But the guild’s situation had been far worse than expected.
When her uncle suggested that Yu Jena might be at the center of the crisis, Lee Suyeon had feared the worst. Upon arrival, the guildmaster’s grim expression had confirmed that things were even more dire.
“I was going to ask for more details about the situation. I never imagined you’d wrap everything up that quickly.”
In the blink of an eye, he had secured a short-term trainer contract and received a staggering five hundred million won.
Even Lee Suyeon, who had watched the entire exchange from the side, couldn’t quite grasp how it had happened.
The guildmaster hadn’t been in the best state of mind. To put it bluntly, he had been mentally and physically exhausted. The fact that the deal succeeded was entirely thanks to Kang Yujun’s eloquence.
“You really are an amazing speaker.”
At Lee Suyeon’s praise, Kang Yujun offered a faint smile.
“The foundation of being a trainer is words, after all.”
Kang Yujun had encountered countless trainers in his time.
Each had their own distinct strengths and weaknesses.
That was why he had carefully extracted only the strengths and incorporated them into his own behavior.
My goal is to become the ideal trainer by my own standards.
His ultimate objective was to become the kind of trainer every Awakened dreamed of.
Kang Yujun smiled and checked his phone.
The contract advance: five hundred million won.
Five hundred million. That’s an insane amount of money. It’s not the kind of sum you’d give to a trainer who just started working.
Kang Yujun swallowed hard.
Even he hadn’t expected this.
The quoted amount was higher than I thought.
And they had transferred it immediately.
KC Bank Transfer:500,000,000 won
Staring at the account balance, Kang Yujun clenched his fist.
Now that he had received the money, he needed to fulfill his promise.
As he was thinking this, Lee Suyeon spoke with concern in her voice.
“I’m a little worried, though. Even though the guildmaster approved this, our trainers are going to be extremely offended. There’s a chance they might even pick a fight.”
The most critical part of resolving this crisis was figuring out how to persuade the existing trainers. It was an extremely sensitive and difficult issue, so they had to be careful.
“I’ve already considered that. I’ll speak with them properly.”
With a creak, the two opened the massive doors and stepped into the training hall.
“Careful!”
“Put more strength into it!”
“Now relax!”
“Rotate your mana roads more forcefully! You’re going to get hurt! You can’t use your ability right now! Your posture…!”
“Posture is crucial!”
The Neverland Guild training hall was packed with Awakened undergoing rehabilitation.
The moment Kang Yujun entered, his face hardened.
“Trainer Kang…”
Lee Suyeon wore a similar expression.
Everyone present was someone they knew well. Just from their faces and postures, it was obvious how badly off they were. Those who had tackled the tower together were even easier to read.
Lee Suyeon clicked her tongue.
“Their conditions are really bad…”
This wasn’t something that could be fixed easily. A day? Two days? This wasn’t a problem that could be solved in that short a time.
Kang Yujun could sense it too. Though his assessment differed slightly from Lee Suyeon’s.
The blue light is no joke.
Every single Awakened was radiating blue light. Cracks were bursting forth from certain points, and from those cracks, fractures were rapidly spreading across their entire bodies.
As expected of first-string Awakened. Their advantages are clear.
Kang Yujun focused on one particular hunter.
Blue light is coming from his eyes.
In cases like that, assigning them the role of commander or leader in the Infinite Tower usually produced excellent results.
It means their visual judgment is faster than others.
It meant they could see what others could not.
Interesting.
It certainly wouldn’t be easy to treat all of them in just two days. But he could see a way forward.
I think I can do it.
It seemed entirely possible to rehabilitate every last one of them.
I should be able to return them to active duty within a week.
“What’s that person’s name?”
“That’s Yunseok. Oh Yunseok. Why?”
“I might need his help later.”
Kang Yujun quickly scanned the Awakened.
Oh Yunseok is the only one whose cracks are small.
It seemed his exceptional eyesight had played a major role.
Kang Yujun first approached the trainers who were loudly giving instructions to the Awakened.
“Hello.”
“…Who are you? We’re extremely busy right now.”
Without even turning to look, they waved him off. It was clear they had no time to deal with him.
They did look desperate. Despite the terrible expressions on the Awakened’s faces, the trainers continued shouting, forcing them to keep moving.
That’s not the way to do it.
The cracks were already putting immense strain on their bodies. Forcing intense movement in that state would tear their mana roads.
Torn mana roads caused injuries and left residual mana inside the body, which could trigger severe inflammation.
They should know that.
“Move bigger!”
“Stopping there will only make it worse! Close your eyes! Circulate your mana! You can’t do it like that!”
The Awakened seemed to understand this as well. Though clearly in pain, they were following the rehabilitation trainers’ instructions, but their faces were filled with dissatisfaction.
They’re quite upset. And it doesn’t seem to be because of this training.
It looked like their anger stemmed from something else.
It must be because of the training right before the incident.
They had suffered critical injuries due to flawed training methods. For an Awakened, injury meant a drop in value.
The cause of this large-scale injury incident lies with the trainers.
It appeared this crack-related injury crisis had been caused by the trainers.
Bad training does cause cases like this, but this is far too severe.
This wasn’t simply a matter of skill level.
They made the wrong call.
“Trainers!”
In the tense atmosphere, Lee Suyeon raised her hand and called out.
“Suyeon?”
“I’m back!”
The moment Lee Suyeon appeared, everyone in the room greeted her with genuine warmth.
They were frozen solid just a moment ago.
It was a clear demonstration of Lee Suyeon’s image within the guild.
“When I returned, the situation was worse than I expected.”
“…It’s a rather long story to explain.”
“First, go greet the guildmaster. We’ll explain everything to you later.”
“I already did.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ve heard almost everything about the situation as well. Um, the person here is actually the one who came to resolve this crisis! This is Trainer Kang Yujun!”
“My name is Kang Yujun.”
At the words “the person who came to resolve the crisis,” the expressions of the Neverland trainers hardened dramatically.
It meant the guildmaster no longer trusted them.
Bringing in an external trainer to clean up the situation.
But they couldn’t simply step aside.
“Trainer Kang Yujun, I’m sorry, but we are the ones who fully understand the situation. It’s only right that we handle this.”
“Trainer Kang Yujun, I don’t know how skilled you are. I’m sure you have talent. But this is a difficult matter. No, it’s beyond difficult. For someone who doesn’t understand the circumstances, it’s nearly impossible.”
“Is that so?”
Kang Yujun nodded.
“Then I’ll take care of it.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I just told you it was impossible.”
The Neverland trainers’ faces stiffened.
This wasn’t a problem an outsider could solve.
Yet Kang Yujun simply shrugged, answering with perfect composure.
“Exactly.”
He knew. He knew it was more than difficult; it was practically impossible.
That was precisely why he was saying it.
Kang Yujun smiled and continued.
“Which is why I’m the one who will do it.”