The Volcano Awakens
Yu Jena nodded.
Yujun didn’t dwell on how he had grown so strong in such a short time.
This was Kang Yujun—the man who could train others to perfection.
If he could do it for others, it stood to reason he could do it for himself.
So the idea that he had become stronger in such a short period wasn’t that hard to accept.
“Please take good care of me!”
Shaaaaaah—!
Yu Jena activated her Volcano ability.
At the same time, Yujun swung the Geumgang Staff.
Thwack—!
‘It really is heavy. She must have gone easy on me last time.’
Unlike before, Yu Jena trusted Yujun completely and no longer held back. Her strikes now felt like being hit by a boulder.
‘Still, I can move.’
Crack—! Crack—!
With every strike of Yujun’s staff, Yu Jena’s body shook.
Previously, her body had been like an immovable wall—his staff hadn’t been able to budge her even slightly.
Despite her much larger frame, she used to make Yujun stagger just by pushing back. But now, things were different.
‘I can be more aggressive.’
Yujun could swing the Geumgang Staff exactly as he wanted.
He could strike precisely where he needed to.
Thwack—.
‘Even bolder now.’
As Yujun continued swinging the staff, he grew more familiar with the sensation.
The power contained within the Geumgang Staff was no joke.
‘No wonder it’s SS-grade.’
Shaaaaaah—.
Yujun felt the force being transmitted through the staff.
‘I can strike exactly where I want.’
He could tell his power was being delivered to her in full.
He could now correct her movements far more easily than before.
‘My strength is being transmitted completely. I can naturally change the direction of her force.’
The amount of power flowing inward was especially significant.
‘This is insane.’
An SS-grade Geumgang Staff.
This was the real deal.
‘I never understood what people meant by “artifact carry” until now.’
Using it himself made the meaning hit home instantly.
‘So this is what they were talking about.’
‘And that’s not all.’
The most important thing in training was ensuring the trainee didn’t get hurt.
When using a staff to forcefully correct posture or strike internal points, there was always a risk of injury.
‘But it’s protecting her from that.’
When he channeled mana into it, a thin barrier formed instantly.
‘This is what protects the trainee.’
Yujun smiled and gripped the Geumgang Staff more firmly.
“You can let go of even more strength.”
Yu Jena was also beginning to feel the true power of this training.
“Can I really let go more?”
She was still worried about him.
“It’s fine, Awakened Yu Jena.”
Yujun spoke calmly.
“S-rank awakened are strong. I’ve worked hard for this day. So please, don’t hold back—use your full power.”
“Understood!”
Yu Jena answered brightly.
“Then I won’t hold back either. I’ll do this properly.”
Based on her previous training experience, she had planned to control her strength.
She had been focusing on relaxing her body as much as possible.
But now that she knew Yujun had grown stronger, she no longer needed to worry about holding back.
“Focus solely on using your ability to its fullest.”
‘Finally, I can act like a real trainer.’
A trainee should never have to worry about their trainer.
That responsibility belonged solely to the trainer.
Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrk—!
“Now generate wind.”
Shaaaaaah—.
The wind began to intensify the volcano even further.
Yujun observed her body.
Thwack—! Thwack—!
He drove the staff into her mana roads.
Thanks to his experience training Kim Gyucheol, Yujun could now see mana circuits and mana roads in even greater detail.
‘As expected.’
Yu Jena also showed clear signs of having overworked her mana circuits.
‘To rebuild them, I’d have to tear everything out.’
Not rebuild—restore.
Shaaaah—.
Yujun pushed mana into Yu Jena’s mana roads.
Then he swung the staff, connecting the flows of mana together.
‘It’s different from Kim Gyucheol’s case. Much easier.’
Yujun’s mana stimulated hers, sending signals to her body that this area was damaged.
Thwack—!
‘And that stimulation is delivered through this staff.’
Yujun sent mana into her shoulders, waist, and knees while striking them hard with the staff.
Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—!
‘The signal is being sent.’
It was a command to her body to repair the injury.
Awakened were far more sensitive to these signals than ordinary people.
‘And flame-type awakened have fast recovery anyway.’
As expected, her body began recovering in an instant.
‘At the same time, her wind magic grows stronger.’
Now that the pathways for the wind were clear, the wind could move with even greater force.
Shaaaaaaaah—.
The damaged mana circuits were restored, and her mana roads became clean once more.
“……!”
Hrrrrk—.
Yu Jena, who had been hunting monsters inside the VR machine, was stunned.
Her body felt lighter.
No—more precisely, her mana felt lighter.
After receiving training from Yujun, her mana had already become somewhat lighter thanks to the power of wind.
But now, she couldn’t even feel that weight at all.
“This can’t be……”
“It can. For now, focus on the wind. You need to stabilize it.”
This power of wind was the very core of Yu Jena’s ability.
“Think of wind and flame as one. Imagine the wind blowing along the path the flames take.”
Only then could the two forces create synergy and make her mana infinitely lighter.
“……Yes!”
Confidence began to surge within Yu Jena.
Just as Kang Yujun had said earlier, she now felt she might truly be able to clear the uncleared tower on her own.
Kang Yujun was a genius.
And right now, she was being trained by that genius trainer!
That realization gave her tremendous confidence.
The confidence that welled up was fully reflected in her training.
Crack—! Thwack—!
The power of the wind grew stronger.
Now was the time.
This was the moment she had to awaken a new skill!
Awakening Trainee Yu Jena's Skill
Awakening conditions have been met!
Higher-tier skills couldn’t be awakened simply by spending points.
‘The trainee’s level has to match.’
They needed to possess power appropriate for that skill before it could awaken.
‘There’s also the method of forced awakening.’
But that wasn’t something to consider right now.
Shaaaaaaaah—!
Awakened Yu Jena's Volcano Gear skill!
Volcano Gear—a body-buffing skill.
A volcano began erupting from within Yu Jena’s body.
“……!”
Startled, Yu Jena tried to pull her power back.
But Yujun’s Geumgang Staff moved first.
Crack—!
“Don’t worry. Let it explode.”
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
In an instant, her entire body was engulfed in flames.
“This…… Did you just awaken a new skill for me……?”
“Yes.”
Yujun continued calmly.
“Keep maintaining the power of wind. It will begin to circulate.”
‘And it will resonate with her hidden trait.’
Yu Jena's hidden trait and the newly awakened skill are merging.
“As expected.”
Yujun smiled.
With this, Yu Jena had reached a new realm.
Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk—!
Her entire body covered in intense flames, she had become a single living inferno.
This was the powerful body-buff skill, Volcano Gear.
“This…… is my power……?”
Faced with a level of strength she had never experienced before, Yu Jena wore a dazed expression.
“Trainer……!”
Her eyes were trembling violently.
The bond with Awakened Yu Jena has deepened.
Additional points acquired based on the depth of the bond.
Incubation grants additional stat growth.
‘Huh?’
This was something even Yujun was seeing for the first time.
‘It seems the trainee’s emotions can influence the Awakened Training System?’
If so, that was a good thing.
“I simply drew out the power you already possessed, Awakened Yu Jena.”
“Trainer Kang……”
The bond with Awakened Yu Jena has deepened further.
‘Ohh.’
She seemed to be the type who opened her heart easily once touched.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“No. You did everything. If anything, I’m the one who did nothing.”
‘That’s not quite right.’
Still, Yujun wore a satisfied smile.
This training session had confirmed something important.
‘Now I can train even lower S-ranks.’
“Just remember what we did today and repeat it. The key is the power of wind.”
Trained S-rank Awakened Yu Jena!
Training Score: 7 / 10
Points acquired!
Obtained 150P!
Yu Jena’s training score had risen from 3 to 7.
‘Even though this was repeat training.’
He had gained a full 100 points.
Normally, after the first training session, subsequent sessions would yield no points—or very few—unless there was significant growth.
‘This was practically an after-service session for her. It seems the power of their bond played a role here too.’
“You should find it much easier to use the power of wind than before.”
‘The bond with the trainee. This is important too.’
She moved her arms around and twisted her waist, loosening up her body.
“My arms feel incredibly refreshed. Before, there was always a slight creaking sensation.”
‘Spot on.’
The rusted parts had been completely restored.
“With this, I can advance another level.”
She clenched her fist.
“First, I’ll go clear the uncleared tower. Trainer. If I succeed, none of the credit belongs to me—it all belongs to Trainer Kang.”
Yu Jena bowed deeply.
“I’ll be back.”
Shaaaaaaaah—!
‘Crazy.’
For a moment, an intense power burst from Yujun’s entire body—so strong it caught even him off guard.
“My body feels way too light.”
He couldn’t just focus on training others.
“I’ll need to pay attention to controlling my own strength too.”
* * *
After sending Yu Jena off, Yujun immediately returned to the Sky Guild.
As soon as he arrived at the training ground, he met Woo Hana, who had contacted him in advance.
“Woo Hana.”
Woo Hana, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, had become an awakened radiating an even stronger blue glow.
“Trainer Kang!”
The moment she saw Yujun, Woo Hana’s face filled with surprise.
When they had first met, he had seemed somewhat frail.
But now, his presence was overwhelming.
“Did you awaken?”
Yujun asked with a smile.
“Yes. It’s nothing special—just a physical reinforcement type.”
There was no need to mention the Awakened Training System.
‘Incubation works similarly anyway.’
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“Congratulations! Trainer!”
Woo Hana congratulated him with genuine warmth.
Yujun accepted her congratulations with equal sincerity.
“Thank you. By the way, Woo Hana, you’ve been working hard.”
‘The blue light has grown much stronger.’
The blue glow was especially intense around her legs—particularly her thighs and calves.
Her ability was Acceleration.
In a short period of time, she had trained diligently under Yujun and greatly enhanced her ability.
‘But she pushed herself too hard in such a short time.’
There were cracks forming in the waist area that supported her acceleration.
“Yes! I worked really hard!”
“Then let’s get you to B-rank.”
‘This is enough.’
With his current abilities, Yujun was confident he could raise her to B-rank.
Having just elevated Yu Jena by one rank, his confidence was at an all-time high.
‘I’ll correct her posture so there’s no strain on her waist.’
And then awaken her skill.
‘For Acceleration, the next skill she’ll likely awaken is……’
Woo Hana currently has only one open skill: Acceleration.
‘As expected.’
Most speed-type skills followed similar patterns.
‘There are many speed-type awakened, and the Infinite Tower had plenty of samples to study.’
Yujun immediately reached for her skill tree.
‘I just need to open Super Acceleration.’
“This is a brand-new training session! How long should we schedule it for? I’m about to join the 1st sales team soon!”
As it happened, Woo Hana had also been wanting to reach B-rank.
But raising one’s rank was no easy task.
“Should we schedule about three months?”
Yujun shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put any pressure on you, Trainer Kang! Half a year would be more reasonable, right?”
“No.”
Yujun continued with an expression full of certainty.
“Let’s do it today. B-rank.”