Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Hellish Training for Criminals
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“ Heo Oseong, I received your application documents and did some investigating. You’ve got a history of violence. Four years ago, when your girlfriend wanted to break up, you beat her so badly she suffered five fractures and a concussion. You even left a scar on her face that’ll last a lifetime.”
“It wasn’t me! That bitch testified it was some stranger, didn’t she?”
Heo Oseong flinched, his face showing he wondered how I knew that, but he quickly switched to an indignant finger-pointing.
“That’s right. The victim testified she’d been beaten by a stranger. But it seemed fishy, so I went to see her myself. Once I guaranteed her safety and talked to her, she spilled everything. You’d threatened her so thoroughly she was terrified.”
“That bitch is lying! We haven’t even gone to trial yet! You’re imprisoning me based on just her testimony? Can you take responsibility for this?!”
“I can. I secured CCTV footage based on her statement, and your blood was found on the victim’s clothes from back then. And that’s not all. Back in school, you used your classmates as punching bags. I got statements from them too.”
I tossed the documents onto the muddy ground.
“You’re a real piece of shit.”
The four others beside him snickered.
Heo Oseong trembled with rage.
“You’re already convicted and serving time. According to the contract you so kindly signed, we’ll reduce your sentence by ten times the training period here, so you’d better participate diligently.”
I turned my gaze to the next trainee.
“Rape-murderer Jeon Dong-gun, serial killer Yang Deok-su, child sex offender Sin Mu-yeol, and Choi Miran, who committed murders and robberies using poison inside a Gate.”
“Long time no see~ Oppa. Did you miss me~?”
Choi Miran greeted me in a nasal whine. She’d pulled her orange prison uniform tight with a rubber band to emphasize her figure. Even without makeup, her fox-like beauty was intact.
The other prisoners whistled and licked their lips at Choi Miran.
“You already know, right? Ten times the training period in sentence reduction.”
“I’m serving life anyway. What’s the point? Heh heh heh.”
“Just out for some fresh air.”
They were all nonchalant about it. Aside from child sex offender Sin Mu-yeol and Heo Oseong, they were all lifers. They’d just volunteered to escape the chicken coop of prison.
“Then let’s start training right away.”
There was a reason I’d brought these criminals here for training. To cultivate Hunters who could contribute to combat power immediately, I needed to test the limits of regeneration from the World Tree, which meant pushing their bodies to the absolute extreme.
I couldn’t do that to innocent people due to human rights issues, and even if I could, my conscience wouldn’t allow it.
That’s why criminals. They all had some connection to me, for better or worse.
Heo Oseong, the instructor I met at the Academy. Choi Miran, who tried to poison me and Sangheon and steal our items. The other three were future criminals I’d noted down, but I’d spent my own money to uncover evidence of their crimes and handed it to the police, getting them arrested before they could commit more. Money really was great. I didn’t even have to lift a finger to take down these small fries.
The pity was they’d already committed plenty of crimes. What’s done is done. I had to be satisfied with preventing future ones.
I’d trained with the Oh brothers too. It worked, but neither they nor I had the mindset to push to the absolute limit.
And one more thing: facing off against China, I realized anew that no matter how much I flew around alone, it wasn’t enough.
After the meeting with Bureau Chief Baek Youngshin, we decided not only to use the Academy but to build a special training facility next door to raise a special forces unit. The data we gathered here would be incorporated into their training curriculum.
“Now, pick up your gear bags with your names on them and run. Go.”
“Ah~ My legs are bad, I can’t run. My knees ache.”
Rape-murderer Jeon Dong-gun tapped his knee. His lazy swagger suggested he’d planned this from the start. The facility was new, so he probably figured he could slack off and relax.
I stepped in front of Jeon Dong-gun.
“What? Huh? Gonna hit me?”
Jeon Dong-gun shoved his face in mine and acted cocky.
Jung Min-ki, the only S-Rank Hunter until now, had a reputation for being saintly like Buddha. Since I’d never been involved in any violence or illegal acts, they must’ve thought I was a pushover.
I low-kicked Jeon Dong-gun’s knee.
It snapped like a disposable chopstick.
“Gaaahhh!!!”
“See? Your knee does look bad. Anyone else have any issues?”
The prisoners’ faces went pale.
“You…. You think you’ll get away with this?! Ignoring prisoners’ rights?! Aren’t you an S-Rank Hunter?! I’ll report you all later!”
Serial killer Yang Deok-su pointed at me and yelled.
Being protected by the law is great. But too many people abused it and hid behind it to commit evil.
“Did you think about human rights when you killed people? Report me? Go ahead.”
I unleashed my killing intent.
“What kind of law is this?!”
“Here it is. I like scum like you. No remorse for your victims at all. Makes it easy for me to treat you the same.”
I looked down at him expressionlessly, and he realized I didn’t see him as human.
“Run. The one who lags the most….”
I glanced at Jeon Dong-gun, collapsed on the ground.
Child sex offender Sin Mu-yeol was the first to sling his bag over his shoulder.
“Urk…. The weight…?”
“You’re all Hunters, aren’t you? Weighted accordingly.”
Yang Deok-su, Sin Mu-yeol, and Heo Oseong gritted their teeth, hoisted their bags, and started walking slowly.
“Oppa, this is too heavy for a girl~?”
Choi Miran thrust her chest out and flirted.
Crack.
I shoved her shoulder and kicked her leg out from under her.
“Kyaa!!”
Choi Miran’s slender leg snapped like Jeon Dong-gun’s.
The three who’d been strolling picked up the pace.
“I don’t give women special treatment. This is a special place—if you lie there, it’ll heal. If you don’t run once it’s better, I’ll break it again.”
I could feel the World Tree’s energy spreading. Without special treatment, just lying still, I could check how long it took for injuries like this to heal.
From their faces, I could tell if they were running at their limit or slacking. Right now, all three were running somewhat diligently, but not pushing to their absolute limits.
I went behind Sin Mu-yeol and kicked his bag.
“Urk…!”
Sin Mu-yeol’s face planted in the mud.
This mud wasn’t ordinary either. It was thick with mana concentration gathered from North Korea. Normally poisonous, but with the World Tree’s vitality, it would reinforce their bodies with mana. Couldn’t experiment like this on civilians, so that’s why I gathered these guys.
“If you don’t run faster, I’ll keep kicking.”
“You…. Aren’t you going too far?!”
“What’s too far is what you did to those kids. They’ll carry scars on their bodies and minds forever.”
As Sin Mu-yeol fell, Yang Deok-su and Heo Oseong sped up.
Jeon Dong-gun’s leg had healed, but he lay there feigning agony. I approached to kick him.
“I’ll do it! I said I’ll do it!”
Only then did he get up, sling his bag, and run.
As I’d requested, the World Tree focused its vitality here, so his broken leg healed in just 10 minutes. Weaker than direct healing, but spreading across the whole facility was significant.
The prisoners were dying under the absurd weight of their gear bags, but at the same time, their stamina recovered and wounds healed, letting them endure the intense training. Of course, everything had limits.
“Huff…. Huff…. Urk….”
“Damn it….”
“You bastards…. Wait till we’re out.”
They ran while panting roughly, cursing, or muttering vague threats. They couldn’t even feel the benefits of the World Tree amid the maxed-out speed and weight.
“I can’t! I won’t!”
Jeon Dong-gun flopped down.
“Yeah?”
“Break it! Kill me! I won’t do it!”
His face showed he meant it. Even if I broke more bones, he wouldn’t obey.
“Looks like you need the special education room.”
“What?”
Screeech.
One container opened with a chilling sound. Na Young was inside.
I grabbed Jeon Dong-gun by the collar and dragged him to the container.
“Let go! Let me go!”
He punched and scratched my hand, but it was just a tickle.
I’d shown Na Young photos of these guys’ crime scenes beforehand. Seeing the victims’ gruesome states, she was already furious.
“What?! What the hell?!”
I threw him into the container and shut the door.
He stopped yelling.
The other four prisoners halted and stared silently at the container.
Letting them see this would help them too, so I left them be.
“Gaaahhh!!!!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Sounds of him pounding the container from inside mixed with his death-throe screams nonstop.
“St…. Stop!! Sorry! Why are you doing this?! Aaaagh!!”
“Not running? Wanna go in?”
At my words, the four prisoners bolted.
Jeon Dong-gun emerged from the container after just a few minutes, looking around like a madman. He found his bag, nearly crawled to it, slung it on, and ran.
“Ne…. Never…. Again….”
Seeing Jeon Dong-gun like that, the other four ran desperately.
I made them keep running until sunset.
As their stats rose and it looked easier, I added iron weights to increase the load.
No matter how much the World Tree restored stamina, it didn’t erase the pain. Muscles tearing, ankles twisting—that physical agony, plus the mental torment. The stress of not knowing when it’d end left their faces wrecked.
“Alright, today’s training is over. Write in your logs how much your stats went up. If you lie….”
I looked at Na Young standing by the container, and they all swallowed hard.
“Response?”
“Yes!”
In one day, discipline was ironclad.
“You expect us to eat this?”
I gave the prisoners—who’d run without lunch—hard ration bars and water. To gauge how much activity was possible on minimal sustenance.
“Wah…. Wah….”
Choi Miran shed tears like chick peas.
The male prisoners who’d drooled over her at first had no energy for that now.
I continued this training. The first day, I handled discipline myself, but with my busy schedule, I handed it to Sangheon. Soft-hearted Sangheon started gently at first, so I showed him victim photos too, and he transformed into a demon instructor.
“Bring snacks.”
Eres still hadn’t left.