The License Examination
The notification chimed.
— Lim Seokjae has deposited 50,000,000 won!
It was a message confirming Lim Seokjae's transfer. Fifty million won. Quite a substantial sum.
— Yujun, I got my signing bonus. Think you can set a training date?
The notification chimed again.
Another message arrived right after.
— Trainer Kang! This is Suyeon! I got your number from Jena. I asked her about it. Could I possibly get some training from you?
The notification chimed once more.
Before he could even finish reading that one, yet another message popped up.
— This is Yu Jena, Trainer Kang Yujun. I hope your return went smoothly. The reason I'm contacting you is that I trained through the night, and regarding the training, the power of wind…….
Lim Seokjae. Lee Suyeon. Yu Jena.
Messages from the awakened individuals Yujun had trained. All of them were now desperately seeking his training.
‘This is……’
It was troublesome, yet it felt quite good.
In particular, Lim Seokjae's frenzied string of messages was quite impressive.
‘He sent twelve messages by himself?’
On top of that, he'd sent fifty million won. Even though Yujun hadn't agreed to train him yet.
‘How much did he like it?’
— Any date works. Seriously.
He'd even said he'd adjust to Yujun's schedule no matter what.
‘Seokjae, this guy has a strong chance of reaching S-class too.’
All the awakened who had contacted him now were people who could rise much higher if they received proper training from Yujun.
‘Good.’
Yujun's motivation began to surge.
“Messages from the awakened?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry. Messages suddenly came in.”
“No, no. It's a good time for that.”
The Sky Guild Master chuckled.
“You'll have to keep checking your phone from now on. Once you do one training session, they all get hooked and keep looking for you. Our first-team members keep asking for you too. But don't worry. I've made sure to block them properly.”
The Sky Guild Master believed now wasn't the time for Yujun to train Sky Guild's first team.
“Of course, in my heart, I'd like you to look after our first team a bit.”
The Sky Guild Master had received a call from Lee Suyeon earlier.
“What you did for our Suyeon, and discovering Woo Hana and Kim Gyojun after coming to our guild—I won't forget any of it.”
Woo Hana, who had been called up to Sky Guild's first team, was currently going on regular tower raids and performing like crazy.
“Woo Hana has become our ace. If it weren't for you, she would've been released before long. Kim Gyojun is the same. He hasn't made it to the first team yet, but he's holding onto first place in mock raids in the youth team.”
Stimulated by this, the youth members of Sky Guild were also training diligently every day.
Ever since Yujun arrived at Sky Guild, the guild had entered its golden age.
Though their external ranking hadn't risen dramatically yet, Yujun had laid the foundation for it.
“Our trainers have also been greatly stimulated by you.”
It wasn't just the awakened.
Kim Dohun, the leader of Sky Guild's trainer team, was also staying late every day, researching new methods.
“Thank you so much.”
“I'm the one who should be thanking you.”
The fact that Sky Guild had hired Yujun, who had no proper license or experience, was already a debt in itself.
“I'll make sure to cause a proper stir before the contract ends.”
Yujun smiled.
* * *
Yujun's top priority was the license.
‘It's the minimum requirement to challenge beast training.’
— A license of B-class or higher. It absolutely must be B-class or higher. I tried to negotiate as much as possible, but the standards are strict.
The Neverland Guild Master had emphasized it repeatedly. If he didn't reach B-class, he couldn't even attempt it.
It seemed the standards for licenses were strict because it was dangerous work.
‘Because lives are on the line.’
“They say becoming a B-class trainer on the first try isn't easy.”
The trainer license itself was a difficult, nationally recognized qualification to obtain.
That's why most people only cared about whether they passed, not the grade.
‘That's a story for ordinary people.’
Yujun already had abundant training experience.
And he was overflowing with confidence in his abilities.
‘B-class.’
“Let's give it a shot.”
* * *
Awakened Management Bureau.
There were several departments under the bureau, and among them, the nationally recognized institution specializing in awakened trainers was the National Certified Awakened Instructor Certification Institute.
‘It's the place that issues official licenses and manages awakened trainers.’
Each guild prioritized licenses from this institute, and the nation also provided mandatory education to them.
“What brings you here?”
A staff member from the institute greeted Yujun.
“I'm here to take the certification exam. Kang Yujun.”
“I'll check.”
A humming sound.
In addition to the iris recognition system, a special artifact scanned Kang Yujun once.
“Confirmed. Prospective Trainer Kang Yujun, who applied for the written and practical exams today.”
Inside, there were several trainers who had come to take the exam.
‘Almost no young people.’
Yujun looked around at the people.
They ranged from those who looked to be in their twenties to those in their fifties.
Most were veteran trainers.
‘Many people get their licenses late.’
Yujun activated his Focus skill.
A blue light, and severe cracks.
‘Many retire from being awakened due to injuries and switch to becoming trainers.’
Among them, few appeared to have started as trainers from the beginning.
‘Trainers who were once awakened definitely have an advantage.’
Because training itself was training targeted at the awakened.
If they were former awakened, they would have experience receiving training themselves.
Plus, having gone through countless real battles, they would have felt and realized many things on their own, so there were many advantages in various ways.
Still, Yujun wasn't anxious.
‘In the end, it's all the same anyway.’
There was an advantage, but it wasn't decisive.
After all, it was a matter of how one taught the awakened.
Yujun sat on the long bench in front.
The nervous trainer examinees glanced at Yujun for a moment.
At first, their faces showed uncertainty, but they all showed surprised expressions upon seeing that familiar face.
“!”
“!”
At their reaction, Yujun smiled bitterly inwardly.
‘Of course they know.’
It would have been stranger if they didn't recognize the golden youth of the Promise Guild.
In the past, people recognizing him like this had been stressful.
Because he was someone who had achieved nothing and only heard gossip behind his back.
‘Now it's rather good.’
But now it was different.
For a trainer, fame was actually a good thing.
‘It'll bring in a lot of work too.’
Yujun greeted those who recognized him with a relaxed expression.
“Let's do well together.”
“Ah, oops, sorry. I stared too much, didn't I?”
He smiled awkwardly.
Yujun responded with a smile to indicate it was fine and waited calmly.
How long had he been waiting like that?
“Excuse me.”
Someone cautiously called out to Yujun.
“Hello? Did you come alone to take the exam?”
When Yujun looked to the side, a young man with quite a tall stature and a youthful appearance was standing there.
‘He looks even younger than me?’
His appearance didn't look like an adult.
But to take the trainer exam, one basically had to be an adult, so his age probably wasn't much different from Yujun's.
“Hello. Yes, I came alone to take the exam.”
“I also came to take the exam today, but when I got here, everyone looked older, so I was about to leave thinking this might be a place where you need to build up experience first……”
He trailed off awkwardly.
Yujun immediately understood what he was trying to say.
‘So he found me.’
Young trainers were rare at this exam site.
Only Yujun and the young man in front seemed to be in their twenties.
‘He doesn't seem to recognize me, though.’
That meant he was someone who had recently entered the industry.
‘He seems like an awakened, though.’
Yet he didn't feel the unique strength of an awakened.
‘Not a combat-type awakened.’
“My name is Kim Gyucheol. I also came to take the exam.”
“Kang Yujun.”
“Nice to meet you, Yujun. When I actually got here, everyone seemed like veterans.”
Kim Gyucheol looked around at the impressive-looking trainers and wore a slightly intimidated, gloomy expression.
‘It's indeed rare.’
“Then I found someone around my age and was so happy I spoke to you.”
“I see.”
“To get a trainer license, you really need to be at the veteran level. I came to take the exam anyway…… I don't know if I'll pass. But having someone my age here puts me at ease! Did you also come to take the exam for experience, Yujun?”
“Yes, I came to take the exam for experience.”
Of course, he planned to gain deep experience.
“As expected, coming for experience was the right choice! Please take care of me!”
He said with a bright smile.
Yujun was naturally using his Focus skill.
‘Something's strange.’
He had thought he wasn't an awakened, but an enormous blue light was emanating from his arms.
Precisely, both arms.
‘But……’
There were terrifyingly severe cracks in his arms.
‘One arm has incredibly severe cracks?’
It wasn't just severe.
Red light was dripping like blood, to the point it was frightening.
“Sorry, but doesn't your right arm hurt?”
For a moment, he touched his right arm.
Awkwardly.
As if trying to hide his right arm.
“There's…… a bit of a problem. But I'm fine. Since I'm going to be a trainer. A trainer should be able to do it with one arm.”
A sudden heat.
A very faint heat emanated from that arm.
However, because Yujun had just felt the flames of the S-class awakened Yu Jena, he couldn't miss it.
“Everyone, please pay attention!”
Just as he was about to focus more, a supervisor from the institute came out and raised his hand.
“Thank you for waiting. We'll start the exam right away! First.”
Kim Gyucheol hurriedly left his seat.
Yujun glanced at him briefly before turning his attention away.
Right now, the trainer license exam took priority.
“I'll check the roster.”
After checking today's examinee roster, the supervisor called the examinees inside.
“Today's examinees, please come inside. The exam will start immediately.”
It was the beginning of the full-fledged exam.
* * *
The first test was the written exam.
“We'll start with the written exam.”
At the supervisor's words, everyone wore tense expressions.
‘They say the written exam is why the license test is difficult.’
Awakened-origin trainers tended to pursue training in the realm of senses.
As a result, many found this theory difficult.
But that didn't apply to Yujun.
‘I didn't have senses.’
He had tried to make up for what he lacked with theory somehow.
That's why countless theories were swirling in Yujun's mind.
“Now, then.”
The test papers were distributed, and the exam began immediately.
“We'll start.”
A trainer's basic qualification was understanding the awakened.
The license exam consisted of practical and written tests, and the written test covered theory-related topics.
— Mana Dynamics
— Bio-Reaction Studies
— Awakened Psychology
‘Mana Dynamics, Bio-Reaction Studies, and Awakened Psychology.’
The three main exam subjects made Yujun smile.
‘It's already in my head. Rather, it's so familiar it's almost welcome.’
How much had Yujun studied when he was at the Promise Guild?
‘Because I couldn't awaken.’
To awaken somehow, he had learned and mastered every theory without discrimination.
‘Especially, I studied Awakened Psychology a lot.’
“Hmmmm.”
While everyone was only making groaning sounds and staring at their test papers.
Scratch-scratch-scratch-scratch-.
Only Yujun was quickly writing down answers.