The Iron Wall Awakens
Yujun’s eyes revealed Lee Suyeon’s awakened ability along with the skill tree branching beneath it.
The skill tree stretched downward like the roots of a tree, clear and vivid in his vision.
[Iron Wall]
Lee Suyeon possessed a total of three skills.
‘It starts with Mana Veil and ends with Shield Charge.’
Shield Charge, which combined offense and defense, sat at the end of the final skill branch.
‘The roots can extend further from here.’
Another derived skill could emerge from Mana Veil, and new skills could branch from Shield Reinforcement as well.
‘This is the standard path.’
By mixing in a hidden trait, entirely new skills could be created.
‘Wave Emission is the hidden trait.’
Lee Suyeon’s hidden trait was precisely Wave Emission.
‘If I blend this ranged ability well, I should be able to unlock Shield Reinforcement right away.’
Unlocking Shield Reinforcement would immediately raise her rank to A-class.
‘But I can’t just hand it over.’
He hadn’t directly bloomed Lim Seokjae’s hidden trait, Blunt Weapon Mastery, either.
‘I only gave him the key to bloom it.’
Whether the ability fully manifested depended on Lim Seokjae himself.
The same applied to Lee Suyeon.
‘Still, Awakened Scan leveled up.’
Unlike with Lim Seokjae, he could offer a little more help this time.
Points can be spent to assist Awakened Lee Suyeon with skill blooming.
Points could be used in countless ways. They weren’t limited to unlocking his own skills.
‘I can also unlock skills for the awakened I train.’
5P consumed.
‘Faster and easier.’
Of course, it only went as far as blooming the skill. How she used it afterward still depended on Lee Suyeon.
“I can see the reinforcement path for your skill, Suyeon-ssi.”
“……Yes?”
“Iron Wall. It means that powerful force is still growing.”
Blooming skill!
As Yujun spoke, he immediately triggered the bloom on Lee Suyeon’s skill.
Shaaaaaak-.
“While using Iron Wall at full strength, take one step forward. Picture the barrier hardening into the shape of a shield.”
Lee Suyeon followed his instructions exactly.
Linguistic Correction activated!
At the same time, he swiftly jabbed his staff into her waist and shoulder as she moved awkwardly.
Thud-.
Thanks to Incubation, Yujun’s movements had grown faster.
‘I can even make finer adjustments now.’
His control over strength had become so precise that even he was surprised.
Thud-. Thud-.
‘B-class awakened are easy now.’
Basic training had become effortless.
‘At this level, I can even apply advanced corrections.’
Yujun grinned as he guided and supported her movements.
Then the change occurred.
Shaaaaaak-!
Her Iron Wall thickened further, reshaping itself into the clear form of a shield.
“……Huh? Why did Iron Wall…… get stronger?”
Lee Suyeon was flustered. As the owner of the skill, she understood the change best. This was nothing like ordinary training.
“Don’t tell me this is……”
She turned to Yujun in shock. He smiled and offered his congratulations.
“Congratulations. It looks like the skill reinforcement was a success.”
“Th-that’s impossible. It can’t be real. You’re joking, right?”
“I’ve never joked in my life.”
It was a joke.
“Really?”
“It was a joke.”
“No, not that—the skill reinforcement!”
“Yes, it’s real.”
At Yujun’s confirmation, astonishment filled Lee Suyeon’s eyes.
“You already fixed my fainting problem…… That’s a debt I can never repay…… If you do this too, what am I supposed to do!”
Lee Suyeon was someone who would repay her debts in full. This training had been conducted because he saw her potential.
‘She’s a candidate for S-class.’
This was simply another part of the training process.
‘Besides, her father works at the Awakened Management Bureau.’
From what she’d said, he seemed to be a high-ranking official. That could bring various forms of support.
“I guess there’s no helping it. I’ll speak to my father very strongly. I wasn’t planning to mention this, but…… my father is the Director of the Bureau.”
“……Excuse me?”
This time, Yujun was the one surprised.
‘The Director?’
Yujun recalled the name of the Bureau’s director.
‘Lee Jitae.’
They shared the same surname.
‘……I didn’t expect that.’
In that case, his choice had been the best possible one.
Grin-.
Yujun smiled and spoke.
“It’s fine. I didn’t do this expecting anything in return.”
“No. I’ll definitely introduce you! I know your skills better than anyone now, Trainer Kang!”
Lee Suyeon clenched her fists as she spoke, then smiled shyly.
“Well, then……”
“My sister will be here soon. Until then, could I receive some more training? I have to join regular raids now!”
She wanted to experience Yujun’s training properly. She had only received rehabilitation correction so far; this was her chance for real training.
Shaaaaaak-.
‘That won’t be difficult.’
Yujun needed points anyway.
‘I’ll earn points through regular training instead of rehabilitation.’
“Shall we begin right away?”
* * *
Trained Awakened Lee Suyeon!
Training was of a high standard!
Calculating training score.
Training score: 8/10
5P obtained!
Because she had already earned a large score from rehabilitation training, this session only yielded 5 points. Still, 5 points were more than satisfying. He had recovered the 5P he invested in her, and Incubation had activated, granting him stat growth as well.
Strength stat increased by 1.
‘Excellent.’
This was exactly why Incubation was indispensable.
‘A system where training awakened makes me stronger too.’
No other skill benefited a trainer more.
“It’s different…… It really is different.”
She wore a dazed expression. Her entire body trembled. Awakened rarely grew exhausted no matter how intense the training, because their recovery speed was so fast. To push every ounce of strength from their bodies, a trainer’s skill was required. Most trainers either spent long hours or forced continuous use of abilities to maintain balance, but Yujun had done neither. The session had been short, and he had used his skill minimally.
“I’ve never gotten tired after such a short training session before.”
Yet now her body was shaking so badly she could barely move.
‘She followed well.’
Yujun looked at her with satisfaction.
“Please have a seat for now.”
He had trained her according to the training recipe.
Physical training intensity up, mana control training, mana emission training, ability sustain training.
‘Perfectly matched training.’
He hadn’t expected her to complete all of it.
‘She’s certainly resilient.’
She also possessed enough mana to launch ranged attacks.
‘But her mana circulation isn’t smooth. She’ll need more training for that.’
Or another method would be necessary.
Yujun spoke to her.
“Have you been paying attention to your diet?”
“My diet……?”
Lee Suyeon tilted her head at the unexpected question.
“You need to eat more meat.”
‘More meat to clear her mana circulation.’
“And make sure to take your vitamins.”
“……Understood!”
She hadn’t been eating much meat lately, nor had she been taking vitamins properly.
‘Getting stronger isn’t easy.’
Nutritional supplementation and supplements were also part of training.
‘It was worth playing Infinite Tower so much.’
He should have been more diligent.
‘I played Infinite Tower every day, but I should have done more.’
Yujun had always been excluded from awakened training that used mana. That had left him with plenty of time for Infinite Tower, where he had become a top ranker.
‘I reached the highest floor.’
He had been the first to clear the 100th floor, a height no other player had reached. The game’s goal, just like its name, was to become a trainer, train countless awakened, form a team, and climb the tower.
‘Becoming a trainer who builds his own division.’
Nutrition was extremely important for that. Managing the diet was essential to continuously strengthen one’s division.
‘That’s how brutal the difficulty of Infinite Tower is.’
It was a shame that aspect didn’t exist in reality.
‘Still, I’m confident I can climb Infinite Tower.’
Yujun immediately gestured to Lee Suyeon.
“If you continue training properly like this, you’ll quickly grow accustomed to your new skill and be able to tackle higher floors.”
“Thank you…… Thank you so much!”
Lee Suyeon looked at Yujun with tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m the one who should be grateful. Thank you for following my training so well.”
Lee Suyeon was an awakened worth teaching. The more he trained her, the more enjoyable it became. So in a way, he was grateful to her.
‘Now I understand why I was pushed toward her. If I teach her properly, she’ll definitely become S-class.’
As he thought this, Lee Suyeon spoke up.
“Jena-unni will be here soon. The guild members have been raiding with the less injured awakened because of their serious injuries.”
“That’s not a manageable amount for one person, is it?”
“She’s S-class, so she’s strong. Jena-unni is.”
S-class awakened were on a different level. A-class could be reached through effort and time, but S-class required both innate talent and effort perfectly matched to that talent. That was why there weren’t many registered S-class awakened in Korea.
“She has great stamina too. She’ll probably do everything she can before coming back. Actually, she’s been under a lot of stress because of this incident.”
“Because of responsibility?”
“Yes. She seems to think she’s responsible for what happened.”
“Hmm.”
‘It’s not entirely unrelated.’
What was certain was that it wasn’t her fault.
‘Even so, if she feels responsible……’
Yujun’s brow furrowed slightly.
“She probably doesn’t have a good impression of trainers.”
“I was actually going to mention that. You’re right. So……”
Beep-!
Lee Suyeon checked her phone.
“……She’s here. Jena-unni.”
The raid party that had gone to clear the tower in place of the injured awakened had returned.
Shaaaaaaaaak-.
The air around them changed.
Thud-. Thud-.
A sound far too loud to be called footsteps echoed.
Thud-!
The door opened, and at its center stood Yu Jena.
Jet-black hair.
And crimson eyes.
‘When someone awakens a powerful ability, their body can be affected by that power.’
That was why Yu Jena’s eyes were bright red. They looked like crystallized rubies, but the first impression wasn’t beauty.
‘She’s powerful.’
A tremendous force. It spread outward like an erupting volcano.
Bang-.
The loud sound from earlier had indeed been her footsteps. With every step, raw power burst uncontrollably outward.
“……Should I try to calm her down first before we talk……?”
“It’s fine, Suyeon-ssi.”
Yujun shook his head and walked toward Yu Jena.
Shaaaaaak-.
Concentration skill activated!
Yujun’s Concentration skill swept over her. For an instant, an enormous blue light erupted from her body. But it only lasted a moment.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Cracks were visible. They were the densest cracks he had seen yet. They spread across her entire body. Like a spiderweb, the fractures told him something was wrong with Yu Jena from head to toe.
‘This is troublesome.’
This situation was actually problematic for Yujun. Everyone already knew there was an issue.
‘If it looks like this, I can’t tell exactly where the cracks are.’
Anyone could say her whole body had problems. He needed to pinpoint the exact issue.
Shaaaaaak-.
Just as Yujun was about to focus his eyes further—
“……!”
Yu Jena looked straight at him. Her expression suggested she had noticed him using a skill on her. Normally, using a skill so carelessly could be seen as offensive.
‘This is bad.’
“Right now……”
Yujun spoke before she could.
‘What matters most right now is empathy.’
“The trainers from Neverland were all incompetent.”
He approached her and spoke in a low voice.
“You’ve worked hard, Awakened Yu Jena.”
In that moment, her gaze changed.