Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Training (3)
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In a spacious room, a man knelt on the floor. Two wooden swords lay in front of the man dressed in a black dobok. The bespectacled, balding man glared wide-eyed at Ichie. Narrowing her brow at his intimidating presence, Ichie asked,
"Who are you?"
"I'm Lee Jun-hyeok, the Thunder Sword of the Black Dragon Clan. You're Ichigaya Ichie, right?"
Ichie nodded. Lee Jun-hyeok sprang to his feet and kicked one of the wooden swords on the floor toward her. The sword spun right up to her feet. When she picked it up, it had a satisfying heft. She swung it lightly once, nodded in approval, and her eyes widened slightly, clearly more impressed than expected.
Lee Jun-hyeok said,
"In the Rookie King Tournament, all weapon users fight with wooden weapons. It's to prevent fatal injuries."
"What if someone uses a gun?"
Ichie asked. Lee Jun-hyeok replied,
"No awakening ability has ever required a gun."
Ichie nodded. She seemed a bit disappointed for some reason. Lee Jun-hyeok glanced at her grip on the sword, then lowered his own and said,
"Listen up. As the Left Protector of the Black Dragon Clan, I need to test your talent."
"Left Protector?"
"It means a very high-ranking position. Now! Come at me!"
Ichie charged forward as if she'd been waiting for it. She lunged with one foot extended far ahead, but Lee Jun-hyeok gripped his sword tight and stepped in to block her path. Her body swayed wildly as she met him, then she suddenly ducked low and thrust at his side.
Lee Jun-hyeok casually smacked her blade with his hilt, then swept her ankle, sending her tumbling to the floor. Rolling to recover, Ichie backed away several steps before finally meeting his eyes again.
He's strong. Ichie frowned. Lee Jun-hyeok said,
"You learned swordsmanship from a real vicious bastard. Not some martial arts instructor, right? Someone brutal who taught you how to stab."
Ichie didn't answer. She shortened her grip on the wooden sword and charged again. Lee Jun-hyeok narrowed his eyes to observe her movements. Suddenly, she hurled the sword at his head. Caught off guard by the unexpected move, he deflected it—only for Ichie to rush in even faster, aiming a tackle at him.
The moment he thought he'd grabbed her, Ichie's arms sliced through empty air. She flew into the air and tumbled across the floor. In that brief instant, Lee Jun-hyeok dodged the tackle, nodded approvingly, and tossed his own wooden sword to the ground.
The sword he'd launched into the air plopped down and bonked Ichie on the head.
"Ow."
Ichie rubbed her head as she got back up. Lee Jun-hyeok said,
"Not sure what you were aiming for, but the intent was good. You were trying to take me down first, right? Yeah, if you're going to be the Musashi of our guild, you need that kind of boldness. Our clan leader really has... what’s the word? Eye! Great eye for talent! Right?"
Ichie said nothing. Lee Jun-hyeok nodded to himself as if she'd agreed, exclaimed in admiration, and picked up his sword again. Ichie asked,
"Uncle, what's your ability?"
"Ability? Hey, can't you tell from my title?"
"Nope."
Ichie had no idea what the title meant and didn't bother asking. Lee Jun-hyeok snorted, tossed his wooden sword aside, and reached out into the air, gritting his teeth.
"Hraaaah!"
As he roared, purple sparks danced from his hand, forming a blade of lightning. Ichie watched wide-eyed. The lightning swirled around his hand like a sword. Ignoring the sparks crackling across his face, Lee Jun-hyeok declared,
"Thunder Sword! It's both my title and my ability! Cool, huh?"
"Very cool."
"But keeping it up too long causes static buildup and hair loss."
"Ah..."
Ichie looked pityingly at his balding forehead. Shaking her head, she said,
"That's sad."
"Life's full of trade-offs. You live with it. Rest over? Get up. Time for real training."
"Yes."
Ichie could tell that even if Lee Jun-hyeok was a weird guy, his skills were the real deal.
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Through repeated training sessions, I could clearly see it. My ability wasn't great for PvP. Attack with the right arm, defense with the left. It was versatile against monsters that didn't know my power, but against humans who did, it was the worst possible ability.
Looking down at me sprawled on the floor, Seong Ha-yeon said,
"See? Too many weaknesses. You gain nothing if you don't block with your left arm, but you can't block with just the left either. If I target only your right hand, your movements get restricted. Right?"
"Yeah."
"You think you'll take first place with an ability like this? There were plenty of kids with decent awakening powers. Beam from the hands, super strength—you could get grabbed and pummeled. Honestly, you're pretty agile and skilled for an apprentice hunter. But factoring in the penalties, I doubt you can win."
"I can't give up."
I shook my head. No way I could give up. I had a dream.
Seong Ha-yeon asked,
"What's this dream that won't let you quit?"
"...I made a promise with Yu-jeong sunbae."
"Romantic. Cool."
I couldn't tell her what the promise was if my mouth were ripped open. Seong Ha-yeon praised me as cool, patted my shoulder. Training time was already up. Wiping away sweat pouring like rain, I barely managed to stand. But Seong Ha-yeon showed no sign of fatigue.
"Good work. See you next time."
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I sparred with Seong Ha-yeon. I had to overcome my ability's weaknesses in that time. Otherwise, winning was impossible.
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As I stepped out to the training hall entrance, Ichie was waiting. Yu-jeong sunbae, who'd been on her phone a bit away, came running over the moment she saw me. Ichie stood up at the same time and came to my side.
"Ah, I'm sweaty. I'll go shower quick."
I said that to Yu-jeong sunbae, who was about to cling to me. Ichie already looked fresh-faced, like she'd showered. Grabbing my toiletries and change of clothes, I headed to the bathhouse.
I didn't know about other training halls, but this one was more like a full bathhouse than showers. In the center, surrounded by showerheads, was a large tub. Soaking in it was a man with half his hair gone.
"Ugh...! Haaah...!"
He was breathing heavily in the tub. Whoever he was, he was a hunter from the training hall, probably higher rank than me. I quietly showered without drawing attention and left.
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After showering, the world looked different. But my ability still had weaknesses, and problems piled up like mountains. Yu-jeong sunbae and Ichie stood as I emerged, looking at me. I asked Ichie,
"Ichie, how was your training today?"
"With a weird bald uncle."
At "weird bald uncle," Yu-jeong sunbae bit her lip, trying not to laugh. She glanced at the showers behind me, then hurried us along to leave. We got back in the car following her lead. Gripping the wheel, Yu-jeong sunbae said,
"Don't call him a weird bald uncle. He's an executive in our guild."
"I thought he seemed really strong."
"And that hair used to be super thick originally. It turned out like that from using his ability. Static messes with his hair every time. I saw his wedding photos once—back in his twenties, he had it styled like some cool band vocalist."
"He's married?"
Ichie looked genuinely shocked. Yu-jeong sunbae smiled, used to her reactions, and said,
"Yeah. Probably has a daughter our age."
"Wild."
I nodded too, thinking of the guy I'd just seen in the bathhouse. Yu-jeong sunbae asked me,
"How about you, Su-hyeon? Training go well? Ha-yeon unnie's a good teacher, right?"
"Yes. It helped a lot."
It was time to ponder weaknesses in PvP I'd never considered, and learn the basics of fighting ability users. I asked,
"What did that guy do before? His kicks were super precise."
Even to a newbie like me, they were clean—not just from long hunter experience. Yu-jeong sunbae said,
"Ha-yeon unnie was a taekwondo athlete. Made it to the nationals finals, I heard."
"Oh, so national silver medalist?"
"No. She awakened the day before finals and got disqualified. Awakened can't compete in sports, so reporting means no medal. Ha-yeon unnie reported herself and withdrew."
"Too bad. Fresh awakening probably wouldn't have made much difference."
"She didn't want the backlash later."
The full story was hers alone. Ichie said to me,
"Su-hyeon oppa. Confident in first place?"
"Not yet."
I wasn't confident now. At first, I thought I could smash anyone with my nuclear punch, but actually moving my body—not just mental simulations—felt different. Attacks from blind spots were trickier than expected, and ability variables twisted me up.
Seong Ha-yeon praised my agility and reactions as way above average apprentice hunters, but it wasn't enough. I needed something to cover my weaknesses. Ichie said,
"Still, we'll meet in the finals."
"We have to."
I couldn't lose. For the promise.