Training (3)
Remaining Monster Count: 0
You have cleared hunting 10,000 monsters.
Terminating Mass Hunting Mode.
The moment I saw the clear message, I collapsed onto the ground.
"Huff... huff..."
I caught my breath and took a moment to rest. I'd pushed my body to the absolute limit to reclaim those forgotten sensations—no matter how tough I was, even I had to get exhausted. On top of that, unlike Evan and Veil, I'd only reset my mana to full while leaving my physical fatigue intact. That kind of restriction was necessary to sharpen my senses.
"Phew..."
My breathing finally steadied. A euphoric rush surged through my entire body. It felt refreshing—a proper hunt after so long. Since I'd gone to the trouble of setting it up, I should make a habit of dropping in whenever I had time.
After that brief rest, I manipulated the admin panel to sever the connection to the virtual space. Just like when I'd entered, my consciousness flickered for an instant. Soon, the familiar air brushed against my skin.
As I opened my eyes and tried to sit up—
"Mm... Kyle..."
Rana's voice came from beside me. I turned to look. She was using my arm as a pillow, fast asleep. She'd waited until she got too tired and dozed off.
I admired the sight for a moment, then her sleepy mutter reached me again.
"When's it gonna... end..."
She frowned in her sleep-talk, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth. I couldn't help but chuckle. In a low voice, I said,
"It's over. So wake up."
"Eek...?!"
Rana jolted awake, eyes wide. But she still looked dazed.
"Wipe your drool first."
I cleaned it off for her and helped her sit up. Only then did she snap out of it, her face flushing with embarrassment.
"Wh-when did it end...?"
"Just now."
"Th-then why didn't you wake me?"
"I did. Right now."
"Not like that..."
Her blushing, embarrassed face was pretty cute. Anyway, after getting her fully up, we chatted idly.
"You must've been sleepy. It's only been two hours."
"What are you talking about, Kyle? Dinner's almost ready. It's been five hours already."
"Hm? Five hours?"
I glanced outside at Rana's words. The sun hadn't fully set, but the sunset was already painting the sky.
I set it to a 1:12 ratio...
That was definitely the time dilation I'd configured. A day in the virtual space should've meant just two hours here—still daytime.
Guess the settings glitched a bit.
It had been ages since I'd used that spell, so a minor error wasn't surprising. I could tweak it later—no big deal.
"Must've been boring, then."
"Yeah, super boring."
Rana rubbed her face against my chest with sleepy eyes. Once she pulled away, her gaze sharpened, sleepiness gone.
"Anyway, hungry?"
"Starving!"
"Guess we should grab some food."
I was hungry too. Mental drain in there was intense—energy burned fast. With that settled, time to pull Evan and my brother out. They'd been quiet, so they were probably still inside.
"How were they doing?"
"Hmm... not great? They were struggling hard. Even trash-talked you a bit."
"Makes sense. I cranked the difficulty high enough to earn some curses."
Otherwise, what was the point of the training? I'd kept it from being excessive, though—tailored monsters to their talents and growth potential. Still, it was tough for their level, dragging things out.
I checked their status on the screen. Perfect timing—a good scene unfolded.
-Veil!
-Got it!
Evan kicked off a magic platform into the sky, firing sword auras laced with spells to harass the boss intermittently. The six-armed mutant ogre swung wildly at him, but Evan dodged with flawless footwork.
They've improved a ton.
His spellcasting and mana control had more than doubled since last time. Nothing beat real combat for growth.
Meanwhile, Veil dove into the monster's guard. Wind mana shaped around his sword, swirling elegantly at his command.
Slash!
Veil's arm and sword vanished in a blur—he'd unleashed his technique. Six wind blades ravaged the ogre, carving hundreds of gashes into its arms, honed to razor sharpness by extreme compression.
-Tch, a bit weak...
Even so, Veil's fierce aura couldn't fully sever the arms. Undeterred, he scraped together his remaining mana for the next strike.
Then—
-Veil! Same thing again! I found the weak spot!
-This is our last shot! You sure I can trust you?
-Of course!
Veil nodded, channeling mana into his sword once more and swinging. The final, desperate aura stormed toward the ogre like a tempest. The instant it touched skin—
-Eat this!
Cold from Evan's hand merged with the wind, coiling around the arm and freezing flesh through the wounds. The ogre resisted, not fully icing over.
-Just die already!
Evan didn't stop. He unleashed max-power fire next. The heat poured into the frozen arm—even a tough ogre in exhaustion couldn't handle the thermal shock. Its six wounded arms shattered.
They seized the opening. Evan decapitated it; Veil pierced the heart.
Thud!
The mutant ogre collapsed, blood erupting skyward from its wounds. Ignoring the drenching gore, the pair flopped to the ground.
-Haa... finally dead...
-Lost count of attempts...
-Me too...
I looked away from their exhausted sighs on the screen.
"Looked like they fought well?"
"Yeah! As expected of Evan and junior Veil. Professors said mutant ogres are too much for student level."
"Even toned down, they're tough for students."
But sometimes you needed to face stronger foes. Growth and breaking limits meant exactly that.
"Kyle, I'm hungry."
"Time to pull 'em out."
I cut their connections. Evan and Veil's eyes snapped open.
"Urk... my stomach..."
"Ugh... my head..."
Evan looked ready to puke; Veil clutched his skull. I asked,
"How's it feel? Notice any changes?"
Something was off. They locked eyes at my voice, glared daggers, and lunged like they wanted to kill me.
"Die, you demon bastard!!"
"Bro... you shouldn't exist in this world!"
Of course, I wasn't going down easy. Subduing their mentally drained asses was child's play.
"Gurk-!"
"Urk-!"
Pinning them down, I asked,
"What's your deal? I didn't do anything wrong."
"You don't even know?! Are you even human?!"
"...I hate you for the first time, bro."
Huh. I'd calibrated the difficulty just right.
"Tch, send you back in once more?"
My muttered thought slipped out. They reacted instantly.
"Sorrysorrysorry... please just once... no more backtalk...!"
"...Won't see you after today."
Evan begged in hysterics; Veil sulked like a kid, turning away.
"That rough, huh?"
"Yeah... honestly thought we were goners."
"...I get what it means to go mad now."
Looks like the time ratio wasn't the only glitch—their settings had issues too. But they'd come out stronger, so mission accomplished?
I got off them and helped them up.
"As apology, dinner's on me. Something good. Let's go."
Their eyes lit up.
"The expensive stuff, right?"
"I'll believe it."
Back to their age-appropriate selves, they prepped to leave.
"Yeah, tasty and pricey it is."
"Let's hurry! This junior's starving!"
"After you, bro."
They bolted out like nothing happened.
"Fun reactions."
"Men are simple creatures."
I'd vouch for that. Young or old, guys were straightforward.
"Let's go, Rana."
"Yeah! Kyle."
I took her hand and headed to the capital.
Thud, thud.
Footsteps echoed through the cave. Someone ventured deep underground.
At the end, a figure whose form defied description arrived.
Before him lay a wounded beast, pale and festering, barely clinging to life. Nameless, it lingered in limbo.
"Quite the rarity. Neither dead nor alive. Though it'll croak soon enough."
The beast growled threateningly at his words, but he dismissed it casually.
"Eh, not scary when you can't even kill one human. Same even at full strength."
Sinister aura emanated faintly around him. The beast sensed the vast gap.
"Enough chit-chat. Down to business."
He reached out, stroking its wounds. They healed instantly. The beast struggled, but he didn't stop.
In under a minute, all wounds closed.
"Perfect. That'll do."
Satisfied, he withdrew his hand. The beast lunged—only to be stopped by a single finger.
"I like wild, but not toys that bite back."
Black energy erupted from his hand, enveloping and dominating the beast. Madness filled its eyes—no trace of former reason.
"Looking forward to the show."
He petted it like a cute pet, then vanished.
In the empty space—
"Grrr..."
Only the beast's growl echoed.