Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Audiovisual Materials (1)
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A week had passed like that. It seemed that once you awakened, there was a huge difference in muscle growth compared to an ordinary human. The body that had felt like it was on the verge of death right after the first day's training had improved day by day, and by the sixth day, the only issue was accumulated fatigue—no more trembling muscles or legs giving out.
Kim Yu-jeong sunbae, who would drop by whenever she got bored to check on my condition, watched my progress with eyes full of pride. Even on the seventh day, she was leaning her head back against her car in the parking lot, sipping coffee while gazing at me.
She really loved iced Americano. I scratched my head awkwardly and ran over to her. Kim Yu-jeong sunbae seemed to notice me staring and smiling brightly at her, as she was grinning happily even as I approached.
"You worked hard again today."
She said that and sat down on the bench. I naturally sat beside her and nodded. She asked,
"Looks like you've gotten completely used to the training now?"
"Yes. Just like you said, after a few days, it became familiar. Is this... the power of an awakener?"
"Yes, that's the power of an awakener. It'll get even stronger from now on, so make a habit of controlling your strength. If you mess up the control, accidents happen."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Kim Yu-jeong sunbae nodded. The sunset was sinking lazily in the sky. Exhausted people from workouts were panting as they scanned their badges. The electronic sign next to them displayed the nicknames of people leaving in big letters. I fiddled with my student ID and glanced at her.
At that moment, she was looking at me. Our eyes met suddenly, and I flinched, turning my head away. I heard her laughter. I really couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin gate explorations."
"Gate exploration?"
"Yes, gate exploration."
After all that boring repetitive training, the moment I'd been waiting for had finally arrived. But since I hadn't heard anything about this schedule during workouts, I could only look puzzled.
"But I haven't heard anything about it."
"That's normal. The first day of gate exploration doesn't involve doing anything anyway. It's just a simple demonstration showing what hunters do when entering a gate... like a demo show? I'll explain more tomorrow. But act like you don't know when you're there, okay? This is confidential."
"Ah, got it."
The word "confidential" made me nod. I wondered why she knew about it. As if reading my mind, she added,
"I'm part of the demo team tomorrow too. They draw lots among the mentors."
"Ah, I see. Well... I'll cheer for you."
"Aw, it's not even a competition. Still, thanks. If my junior's cheering me on, I guess I have to try even harder."
She said that while stroking the ceiling of her car. Then she turned to me.
"How are your legs today?"
I massaged my legs and thought. I'd sweated plenty today, but my legs felt fine—I could probably run all the way home. Riding in sunbae Yu-jeong's car every day didn't seem like the best idea either. So I said,
"Yes, they're fine. I think I could run home."
"Oh, really? I was going to give you a ride if they weren't."
Kim Yu-jeong sunbae opened the driver's door as she said that. I shook my head and replied,
"It feels like you're doing all the work, sunbae."
"What work? It's not far anyway. Just hop in."
"Ah, okay. Thank you."
She insisted on giving me a ride, so I couldn't refuse. I thanked her stiffly from the passenger seat. Today, she was wearing tight blue jeans and a brown sweater. Her chest stood out prominently over the sweater, exuding feminine charm. As my eyes shifted to her slightly smiling lips, I realized she was staring right at me.
"Ah, uh, that is..."
"Shall we go?"
She asked that, gripping the gear shift. Her smiling eyes were too captivating. I brushed off my pounding heart as just from the workout, lowered my head, and stared at my thighs. I knew it wasn't, but I had to learn to distinguish between kindness and affection.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Early in the morning, a message popped up on the electronic pad from Hunter Academy, telling us to gather in a classroom instead of our training grounds. I received it while brushing my teeth and nodded, reining in my excitement.
"Chun-bae, how've you been?"
As soon as I entered the classroom that morning, Kim Ju-seong's gruff, cheerful voice filled the room. He lightly slapped the arm of his partner, Chun-bae, in greeting. Chun-bae nodded awkwardly and extended his hand. The classroom buzzed with voices as partners who hadn't met in a week exchanged greetings.
I sighed, looking at an empty seat. '1' Ichigaya Ichie. The Japanese girl I'd never even seen hadn't shown up today either. A week since orientation—I thought she'd come today—but the classroom door opened to reveal only stern-faced Teacher Lee Jeong-ah. She looked at me right away and said,
"Student Jeong Su-hyeon."
"Yes."
"Student Ichigaya Ichie will be three days late due to personal reasons."
"Yes. Thank you."
Three days. What on earth was keeping her so late? Pushing aside my questions, Teacher Lee Jeong-ah began explaining the day's schedule.
"Today is the first day of gate exploration training. You won't be entering the gate yourselves; active D-Rank Hunters will demonstrate a simple gate exploration. Everyone, please move to the prepared classroom."
Teacher Lee Jeong-ah left the classroom again, and the location of our classroom appeared on the electronic pads. It was a small building about the size of a greenhouse in the park area next to the main building. Inside, a huge screen stretched out in front of rows of seats like a movie theater.
Beyond the screen stood Kim Yu-jeong sunbae along with a few D-Rank Hunters I didn't recognize.
They were equipped with their most confident weapons and sturdy safety gear. They almost looked like kids trying inline skates for the first time. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah, standing beside them, pointed at the D-Rank Hunters and said,
"You must always wear safety gear before entering a gate. Unexpected injuries can greatly hinder exploration activities."
But while everyone else was geared up, Kim Yu-jeong sunbae was fiddling with her phone without any equipment. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah pointed at her and said,
"And here we have a reckless hunter trying to dive into exploration without safety gear. Today, playing the role of the wrong kind of hunter is 'Kim Yu-jeong,' D-Rank Hunter Kim Yu-jeong."
D-Rank Hunter Kim Yu-jeong smiled brightly at the mention of her name and waved to us. Seeing her face in this educational video felt oddly like spotting a celebrity. Some students whistled or grinned at her.
Teacher Lee Jeong-ah said,
"Alright, time to enter. The gate our D-Rank Hunters will enter today is an E-Rank Gate, which three D-Rank Hunters can explore with plenty of leeway. Hunter Kim Yu-jeong knows this, so she's casually playing with her phone, looking relaxed."
While the other hunters scouted the surroundings, Kim Yu-jeong sunbae lounged on a rock, fiddling with her phone. The camera briefly widened to show the scouting team. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah provided commentary as she watched.
"Gate interiors change slightly with each exploration, so scouting the surroundings is essential. If you slack on scouting and fail to detect nearby monsters..."
Teacher Lee Jeong-ah manipulated the camera, and the screen shifted. A monster with gleaming eyes appeared behind Kim Yu-jeong sunbae. Realizing the beast too late, she reflexively swung her fist. The monster, raising its arm, got smashed and flew back.
But before she could recover her stance, more monsters poked their heads out. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah continued calmly,
"This is how you end up fighting without proper formation. The monsters you're seeing now are D-Rank monsters, Gorvas. They're tricky in close-quarters chaos and carry poison in their bodies."
The scouting D-Rank Hunters rushed back to fight alongside her. With agile movements befitting hunters and unique abilities, they pushed back the monsters, but scratches appeared on their bodies too. At this point, Teacher Lee Jeong-ah noted,
"Just to remind everyone, the current situation inside the gate is artificially created under controlled conditions."
She was explaining because some people were visibly trembling with worry. With her clarification, sighs of relief echoed around the room. Once the fight ended, the hunters, clutching their wounds, extracted mana stones from the fallen monsters.
"This is mana stone extraction. It's the resource obtained from gate monsters. Higher-grade monsters drop higher-quality mana stones. Plus, Gorvas hides and claws make excellent weapon materials. They took a loss, but the haul was good."
Teacher Lee Jeong-ah showed footage of the hunters treating wounds next—using potion first-aid kits or bandages. Beside them, Kim Yu-jeong sunbae's wounds were healing on their own. Was her ability regeneration? Teacher Lee Jeong-ah said,
"Thanks to slacking on initial scouting, 'Kim Yu-jeong' and her team suffered an ambush and needless injuries. They wasted supplies and a full day as a result."
She said that. Footage of them camping briefly appeared. Kim Yu-jeong sunbae refused night watch and went to sleep first. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah commented,
"Right now, 'Kim Yu-jeong' is slacking on vigilance, relying solely on her regeneration ability. No matter how strong your power or advantageous in certain situations, failing to cooperate like this breeds division in the team."
The other two hunters stood watch with dissatisfied looks. After quickly showing them alternating shifts clumsily, the sun suddenly rose inside the gate. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah said,
"Please keep in mind this is artificially adjusted. Gate time flows the same as on Earth."
It wasn't even a real gate exploration to begin with. On closer look, rigid walls and steel beams were visible in the sky. The two hunters looked exhausted, while Kim Yu-jeong sunbae walked with a fairly fresh face.
"By refusing night watch, 'Kim Yu-jeong' worsened the other hunters' conditions. These two stood watch yesterday while fatigued from poison, so they can't perform at full strength. What happens if enemies ambush in this state?"
A sharp howl rang out. Five cat-like beasts with huge fangs surrounded the trio. The hunters gritted their teeth and charged. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah said,
"E-Rank monsters, Jungle Cats. They hunt in packs with razor-sharp claws. Normally, they'd drop in one hit, but poison hampers their movement, leading to fatal wounds."
The Jungle Cats slashed at the two hunters. Swinging arms defensively in the air, the hunters collapsed one by one, screaming. Fortunately, no blood sprayed or major wounds occurred. Kim Yu-jeong sunbae gritted her teeth and took down the Jungle Cats.
"These Jungle Cats have had their claws removed artificially, so no safety concerns."
Teacher Lee Jeong-ah was considerate again of students on the verge of screaming. She continued the commentary, manipulating the screen.
"And so, 'Kim Yu-jeong' lost her two companions. But her mission remains. To extract gate coordinates, she must defeat the boss inside. She has two choices: gather their belongings and return, or face the E-Rank boss alone."
Kim Yu-jeong sunbae quietly gathered their items and headed for the return gate. Teacher Lee Jeong-ah said,
"'Kim Yu-jeong' has chosen to retreat. Returning like this, she'll lose a lot. It's a failed E-Rank Gate exploration by three D-Rank Hunters. Regretting the late scouting and lack of cooperation comes too late. Dead people don't come back."
Teacher Lee Jeong-ah turned off the screen. She stepped from the corner to the center of the room. The students' faces were stiff.
"That concludes the first audiovisual material. Everyone, every year many hunters overestimate their abilities or distrust others'. That's why innocent hunters die repeatedly. You know the rough process of gate exploration from TV or internet broadcasts. Remember that broadcasted successes aren't just from superior skills, but from trusting and relying on comrades. Class ends here. Return to your training grounds. Tomorrow, we'll do actual gate exploration practice."