Training (2)
Monsters charged at them. Their obvious targets. Back-to-back, Evan and Veil covered each other's blind spots as they cut the beasts down. Their now-familiar movements handled the monsters without a hitch.
But the onslaught showed no signs of stopping. No matter how many they killed, the creatures kept surging forward relentlessly.
“Huu…”
“Haa…”
Their breaths grew increasingly ragged. Mana was plentiful, but without enough oxygen, their movements slowed bit by bit.
The limit. Evan and Veil felt it deep in their bones.
The moment the monster kill count surpassed seven hundred…
“Keuk-!”
“Ugh-!”
Both their hearts were pierced. It was because their bodies had reached a state of immobility.
Death washed over them once more. Heartbeats slowed, strength ebbed from their limbs. Amid the dimming vision, a familiar message appeared.
Clear Failed
Immediately after, Evan and Veil regained consciousness and opened their eyes.
“Haa…”
“Huu…”
They sighed at the unchanged space, and Evan shouted in frustration.
“What the hell? How do monsters of different species coordinate this well?!”
The monsters filled the ground, underground, and sky in droves, all of different species. Yet they fought in perfect cooperation without turning on each other. Harpies and the like dove endlessly from the air, worms from below upheaved the ground to throw off their balance. And on the surface? No need to explain—the brutes barreled in with their sheer bulk whenever an opening appeared.
Checks layered on checks. It was hell itself.
Veil thought the same. And if things continued like this, the outcome was obvious.
“We need to change our approach from here on.”
In the early stages of the hunt, they'd cleared without issue. They were Tianis Academy students who knew how to handle diverse monsters. The first two hundred? They'd just been thrown off by the unfamiliar space and sheer numbers, but killing them was easy. Plus, completing a hunt restored their bodies.
But as they pressed on and the numbers climbed, they hit their limits. The monsters overwhelmed with quantity and varied their attacks, exposing flaws. No matter how much they watched each other's backs, gaps appeared. Abilities had their bounds.
“Change methods? Tsk, I dunno…”
Evan felt the need for change too. But he couldn't help sounding pessimistic. They'd tried everything at their disposal. Magic, terrain-altering traps, academy-taught strategies and tactics. That's how they'd reached nine hundred kills.
But now they needed a thousand. Was there really a viable way?
Of course, continued hunting had made Evan and Veil grow. Monster weak points stood out clearly, their strikes more concise and sharp. A few more runs, and they might clear it.
“No. Big bro wouldn't design training just to grind us like that.”
“Yeah, that doesn't sound like him.”
Evan agreed with Veil. The training format alone proved it. No quitting midway, endless repeats on failure with only brief rests. Worst of all, the mounting mental fatigue. Bodies recovered fine, but monsters every twenty minutes shattered the mind. Any average student would've cracked.
Big bro must've factored in mental endurance alongside hunting skill.
“So what do we do…?”
“Hmm, yeah…”
They huddled, racking their brains. But no answers came.
Monster Appearance in 1 Minute
This damn space wouldn't even give them time to think.
“Haa…”
“Huu…”
In the end, they sighed and gripped their swords.
Monsters spawned. They died over six more times after that, repeating the hunt. Yet progress was minimal—just dying a bit later, killing a few more.
Around four hundred kills, breaths ragged again.
If only we could handle breathing!
Slash-!
As Evan cleaved a monster's head, the thought struck. Hunting itself was no big deal. Controlled strikes on monsters. Unity with the sword. Familiar patterns. Combined, every swing felled them—a massacre.
But breathing, oxygen intake, was brutal. No method gave breathing room; fatigue built relentlessly.
Solve this, and we're golden!
They'd discussed it with Veil repeatedly; agreement total. Fixing it would revolutionize their hunt.
Thwack!
“Kuh!”
A club smashed his head. Evan's breath hitched, mana churned. In blurring vision…
“Grrr…”
A goblin breathing. Not just it—surrounding monsters' inhale-exhale timings snapped into view. Overkill familiarity?
Wait, that could…
Attacks came from fixed directions: four sides, sky, ground—six total. Sync breathing to one, and oxygen flows steady.
Tsk, worth a shot?
No guarantees. But this way meant death again.
Alright, let's try.
Evan acted. First target: orc. Heavy build, heavy breaths. He matched it.
Tough.
Forcing sync strained. But not futile. Oxygen surged, fullness swelled. Power brimmed.
He swung.
Slash-!!
Monster bisected cleanly. Evan cheered inwardly, pressing the new method.
“Hup!”
Tricky at first, but repetition smoothed it. Solution found, he yelled.
“Veil!”
“I figured it out too.”
Arden blood, huh. Veil had it too.
With the fix, they carved through monsters seamlessly.
Remaining Monsters: 0
Ending Mass Hunt Mode
Floating text. Monster corpses vanished simultaneously.
“Yesss… it's over!!”
“…Never been this drained before.”
They collapsed. Bodies recovered instantly, but minds were wrecked. Didn't want to move for days.
“Your bro's insane. Who makes something this brutal?”
“Didn't know he could be this ruthless.”
Who'd guess “training” meant hell? They wouldn't have started if they knew.
“Still, we learned a ton.”
“True.”
For the time spent, insights gained were immense. Efficiency top-tier. Big bro was no ordinary guy.
“How do we get out, though?”
“No memory of exit instructions…”
Entrance spawn? Or close eyes like entry? Tried the latter just in case.
Then.
Starting Boss Hunt Mode
“……”
“……”
Speechless, they stared blankly as monsters spawned.
Species: orc. Four times normal size, elite variant by looks. Aura overwhelming.
The orc scanned around, spotted prey, charged.
“You demonic bastard! When I get out, you're dead!!”
No one heard Evan's desperate cry.
“Big bro, this ain't right… fuck…!”
No one heard Veil's curse either.
“I'll kill you for real when I escape!!”
Training wasn't over yet.
At the same time, outside the virtual space.
Rana, unable to enter, watched the feed. Time flowed differently—twelve hours inside, just two outside.
But boredom crept in. Fun chatting with Kyle, but face-to-face was better. He'd gone quiet, focused on his hunt.
“Hmm…”
She pondered. He'd said “soon,” but was that ten minutes or an hour? Wanting to stay put, she shifted cautiously.
Snuck to Kyle's side.
Sound asleep. Familiar face, but so cute like this. Explained Elraim's tales of his childhood popularity.
Poke. Cheek dented.
She played, then targeted lips. Curled into a smile, tugged down to a pout. Simple, but amusing.
“Hehe.”
Giggle escaped. Rare unguarded state. Even asleep, he never fully relaxed—always primed to wake. Once caught him reacting at dawn. Grandpa said it was wartime knight instincts.
Made her wonder. Preparing for what? Kyle had oddities aplenty.
Folks thought his power from the World Tree. But Rana knew: pure effort, no gods involved.
Still weird. Encyclopedic knowledge rivaling professors—monsters, magic, martial arts, all casual.
“What are you, Kyle?”
Innocent question. Maybe belated. Should've asked when he saved her.
But no regrets. Wanting to know her crush? Nothing wrong.
Click!
Spotting the camera, she scrunched his face and snapped.
“Hehe, adorable.”
Even that made her smile. Gaze drifted to lips.
Firmly shut. Seemed unyielding, yet parted easily in vulnerability.
“No one's… around, right?”
She knew the area empty but glanced anyway. Reached tentatively, caressed.
“So soft…”
Men too, huh. Addictive texture; hated to stop.
Long fondle later, eyes on her own lips. Gulped.
She had desires, just subtle. Now could fulfill.
But hesitated, stopped. Taking initiative here? Cheating.
Nice Kyle would understand, maybe escalate.
Still, no forcing first kiss. Too sorry to his other admirers.
Already “couple” at Tianis, always together. Hundreds of steps ahead—pushing more felt unfair.
Especially to Elraim-unnie.
Above all.
Rana, kisses are best received. Got it?
Friends said being taken was way more ecstatic.
So, wait for Kyle to initiate.
Might regret later—missed prime chance.
But as someone said, love's seized by one's own hands. Ahead or not, no stopping.
“You're one-heavy guy, Kyle~.”
Rana beamed, poking his cheek once more.