Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Relentless Training
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I cleared today's sixth Gate and stepped out. The short winter sun hadn't set yet, so it was still bright.
With Sanghun and his father handling retrieval, the hunting speed was incomparably fast. The workers were all exhausted, but they always handled things cleanly and charged lower fees than other companies.
"This pace means we could do eight Gates a day."
I'd just resolved to increase the number of Gates per day when my ear started itching like crazy.
"Someone must be badmouthing me."
"Thank you for your hard work."
An employee from Hwagok Retrieval was waiting in front of the Gate for me to emerge.
"I scattered twenty-five Trackers. The rest are here."
Saying he'd scattered twenty-five Trackers meant there were twenty-five spots where I'd roughly dumped the corpses and items. I handed him the pouch containing the remaining Trackers.
"Thank you."
"Starting tomorrow, I'd like to hit eight spots. Could you ask the boss if that's possible?"
"Ei... eight spots in one day?"
My request caught the employee off guard, and he looked shocked.
"Yeah, just check."
"Y-Yes... Understood."
The employee's face turned ashen as he bowed his head deeply.
* * *
"You okay?"
Sanghun was waiting in front of the Gate like a half-zombie.
"How are you even okay, hyung? You're the top Awakener in Korea for hitting eight Gates a day."
"Really? Since we're at it, should we push harder and fill ten?"
"Ugh. Hyung, this isn't because I'm tired or anything—I'm just worried about your health. How about taking it easy? Rest tomorrow. And I wasn't going to say this, but Dad's been looking worn out too."
Sanghun desperately tried to persuade me.
He pointed at Boss Yang, who was unloading from the truck behind him. His face was pale, almost blackened with exhaustion—he did look beat.
The money was great, the fast promotions were great, but I couldn't let the father of a comrade I'd made in this new life drop dead from overwork.
I'd considered other companies at first, but I'd never heard of anyone as honest as Sanghun's. Other outfits skimmed off the top as a matter of course, so without them, I'd have had no choice—but now, no way.
"Fine, then we'll stick to five Gates a day. I'll train at home the rest of the time. Monday through Friday, five times a day. Possible?"
"Yes! Totally possible! Dad will love it."
"Good. And you're training with me."
"Huh? I didn't hear that right."
"After retrieval, come to my place. We'll train."
"No, after retrieval, I just want to rest..."
"Nah, I'll oversee your training. Start tomorrow. If you're weak, it worries me. What if you run into another Choi Miran or get beat up by some Choi Cheolmin punk? How could I face your dad?"
I just notified Sanghun, who was trying to weasel out.
* * *
"Use your weapon and skills—come at me."
We faced off in the yard in front of my house.
"Huh? You're not using a weapon, hyung?"
Sanghun drew his sword and asked, eyeing me standing empty-handed. He seemed reluctant to attack someone he knew, especially unarmed, with a weapon.
"I've seen you fight. Don't worry—just come at me."
"But still. Hup!"
I charged at Sanghun, who wasn't attacking, and swept his legs out from under him.
"Ow!"
Sanghun yelped like a kid as he got up from the ground.
"If you don't come at me, you'll just get beat until sunset."
"Hoo... Here I go."
Steeling himself, he rushed me and swung his sword wrapped in light. It wasn't full power, easy to dodge, with a predictable path. Plus, even if I didn't move, it was at a distance where it might just graze my skin.
Was this him being soft-hearted, or just too gentle?
I stepped forward and reached for the glowing sword.
Seeing my hand go for his blade, he panicked and tried to stop, but halting a full swing mid-motion isn't easy.
Thanks to my agility stat several times higher and hands honed by Resilient Body skill, I caught his sword barehanded without issue.
"Hyu... hyung! You okay?! Uh... what?"
My hand, which should have taken light-attribute damage, was fine. My palm, which should have been sliced, had no blood at all.
I kicked his leg, toppling the shocked guy. He let out a weird "Khehk!" as he fell.
"Hyung, did you have to trip me just then?"
Sanghun grumbled as he got up, looking pissed.
"Taking hits is practice too. Dodge if you don't like it. And you're thinking wrong. First, don't assume Awakeners are harmless without weapons. My bare body is tougher than most guns or blades. Skills are weapons."
"Fair point—that was too soft of me."
"Second, skill usage. With your mana and skill, wrapping your sword broadly in light is wasteful. Compress it sharp and thin—almost invisible."
"Hyung, skills are automatic. How's an Awakener supposed to control that?"
He gave me a look like, "Why ask something so obvious?" Clearly, he hadn't been hit enough.
"No, skills evolve with how the user wields them. Yours isn't low-potential."
This only became widely known later. Right now, people think skills and stats rise randomly with levels or use. But years later, it's revealed that focused development and training can raise ranks—though the gains are tiny and methods unclear, so it stayed obscure.
Of course, my Regeneration Skill lets me grow explosively, far beyond other Awakeners.
Sanghun's eyes were full of doubt despite my explanation.
"Don't believe me? Fine. Take some hits. You'll get it eventually."
"Wa... wait! Uwak!"
I chased after Sanghun as he screamed and fled. Going easy without hurting him was tricky, but I'd bought potions just in case. What's the point of earning money if not for this?
It's all for my little bro. Can't have him getting beat up while tagging along with me. Definitely not because I want you to suffer my tough training.
* * *
At first, I just charged and pummeled Sanghun, but that didn't train me.
Only when he finally fought back in fury did I close my eyes, sensing his presence to attack and defend.
I focused on my sharpened hearing, touch, and instincts from Sensitive Senses skill.
When I shut my eyes, the rattled Sanghun slowed again. I sensed his direction and kicked his side, finally igniting his full aggression.
I felt his attack coming from that spot, but not the blade's trajectory, so minimal dodges were tough.
I could leap far away, but to level Sensitive Senses, I focused on reading the path up close.
In the end, his sword smacked my arm with a thud. No cut, but a full-power Hunter swing still stung. I twisted my arm opposite to soften the impact and counterattacked.
Fighting blind, Sanghun landed more solid hits, but my poor aim meant I took harder, more blows.
"Sanghun, this training ends when your attacks can scratch me."
I rushed the panting, bruised Sanghun.
* * *
After that, days blurred: Gates by day, training by night.
I hit level 15 in the Orc Gate, maxed out, so later Sanghun joined fights inside.
On training day one, he could barely take one Orc. Now, two easily, three if pushed.
After clearing a few together, near-F-Rank-up Sanghun rose to E-Rank, and I to D-Rank.
We paused Gates until new IDs arrived, focusing on spars. Hwagok Retrieval got an unexpected break.
Endlessly training, Sanghun's sword suddenly slashed my chest with a whoosh! Power was still weak, and I'd sensed the path to mostly dodge, so the wound was shallow. But it meant he'd compressed his Light Sword for more power.
"Yes!! Oh crap! You okay?"
Sanghun, battered from my hits, got excited at scratching me, then snapped to check if I was fine.
"Don't worry. It's already healing. Good job—your skill ranked up, right?"
"Yeah! Up one to D-Rank. Who knew skills could rise like this? Not that it was easy."
Sanghun shuddered. Few teach this. Visible EXP bars like in games motivate. But endlessly sprinting toward an unknown finish line? Rare.
"C... can we stop now?"
Sanghun eyed me cautiously.
"What? This power's not enough yet. Compress more. And improve your swordsmanship."
Sanghun backed away, fed up, but training continued.
After, his Light Sword didn't compress further, but the confidence to wound me improved his moves.
[Sensitive Senses skill rose from C to B.]
At training's end, my skill leveled too—I could now dodge rear swings.
"Call it here? Refine in real combat from now on."
The fortnight special training ended. Sanghun lay spread-eagled, too winded to reply.
"I'll wash up. You do the same and rest."
I left him and headed to the bath, filthy from training.
After bathing, I found Sanghun collapsed by the fridge, trembling and foaming at the mouth. My house's poisoned spring water lay spilled beside him.
"Hey! Hey! You okay?! Snap out of it!"
I slapped him hard repeatedly, but no response.
My poison resistance had risen, so I'd upped the concentration lately. He'd drunk that. Pure mix, heavy paralysis. Left alone, heart failure loomed. I poured potion into his mouth first.
His color improved slightly, but poison—not injury—meant potions couldn't fully detox.
I loaded him into the car and floored it to the hospital.