Chapter 507: Childhood Friend (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 507: Childhood Friend (1)
Spring, when all things come to life.
A new school year and a new semester began, with a touch of warmth seeping into the still-chilly air.
We were now third-years.
This was the year the curriculum shifted its focus to practical application, building on everything we'd learned in our first and second years.
For me and my guild members, however, none of that really mattered.
We had already earned our Hunter licenses and fought in hundreds of real battles.
In fact, our Hunter ranks were A-rank—the same level our professors had reached before they retired from active duty.
In many ways, it meant we had long since surpassed the university level.
Perhaps that was why.
Not long after the practical-focused classes began, I was summoned by the vice dean.
“Your early graduation has been approved.”
The request for early graduation I'd submitted a while ago had been officially approved.
This was good news.
I hadn't heard anything back and was just about to take matters into my own hands.
“The other students have been complaining quite a bit.”
“Complaining... you say?”
“With you, Kim Do-jin, and the rest of the Twilight Guild members cemented at the very top of the rankings, it's only natural.”
“Ah...”
It was true that the number of students bad-mouthing us had recently shot up.
Our presence pushed everyone else's grades down a notch, so they must have had a lot of complaints.
And those complaints were what led to our early graduation being approved after the first semester.
“In any case, that's how it is. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time at the university.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I gave a short bow and left the vice dean's office.
Time to go tell the others.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ever since we returned from participating in the Star Cluster Assembly.
The Twilight Guild and its members had become what you'd call star Hunters, recognized by everyone.
Our fame was already rising fast, but now it had reached a point where if we went out with our bare faces, we'd be mobbed by such large crowds it was hard to even move.
There were even reporters and self-proclaimed fans swarming the areas outside the school.
Thanks to them, I was busy waving every day after class on my way home.
Anyway.
When you accumulate this much fame, one thing inevitably follows.
Celebrity sickness.
You know that saying, don't you?
Once you get famous, people will applaud you even if you just take a shit.
And it's true.
Of course, you can't announce that you've taken a shit and ask for praise, but it's a fact that you gain a solid base of supporters who will praise you and call you amazing no matter what you do.
Because of this, most people who experience a rapid rise in popularity easily fall into a pit of delusion.
Ah, I'm such an amazing person!
I'm special, different from everyone else!
As long as they're here, I can do whatever I want!
...and they start floundering, drunk on the high that fame provides.
Then they start focusing only on what's visible, and they get lazy with what isn't.
In other words, nine times out of ten, they neglect their training, and their growth stagnates.
I went through that phase myself.
For about three months, I think?
That's about how long it took for me to get over myself after strutting around thinking I was hot shit.
If even a self-controlled, disciplined person like me could fall for it, what chance did the other guild members have?
“Look at this, see? I gained 100,000 followers in a single day.”
“Whoa... that's a huge jump. I posted one picture yesterday, and it got hundreds of comments in an instant.”
“Hah... I've become so strong, it's boring enough to make me want to die. Elena, you've grown too powerful.”
See?
They're already showing the early symptoms of celebrity sickness.
If they fall any deeper into it, it'll take them a long time to get out.
So, as a senior who's already been down that road, I have to help them.
How?
“Run faster-!”
By training them.
With such brutal intensity that they won't have time for any other thoughts.
“Anyone I catch gets two extra hours of training!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Shit!”
“A-a demon is chasing us...!”
I train them to keep their discipline from slipping, and I drill it into their exhausted minds.
“Just because you went to the Star Cluster Assembly, you think you're actually world-class?! You're nothing!”
Just like the father of that world-class player, Son, who turned a player from a weak football nation into a global star.
I make them acutely aware of where they currently stand.
“In just three months, you'll be graduating from university. When that happens, you won't be able to hide behind the shield of being a 'student' anymore. With your current skills, how can you even sleep at night?! I know I couldn't! I'd be too ashamed!”
With a harsh tone, I help them rediscover their lost fighting spirit.
My words stir them up, and soon they're seething with indignation.
Their expressions are murderous.
But so what? What are they going to do about it?
“If you don't like what I'm saying, then come at me! Prove it with your skills. If you can land even a single hit on me, I'll do whatever you want, whether it's getting on my knees or licking the soles of your feet!”
I set a clear goal and give them motivation.
“He'll do anything we want, he said...!”
“L-Lick his soles... hehe...”
“Uraaaah!”
The guild members boil over in an instant.
I instantly knock down those who charge at me, driven by nothing but spirit.
Again and again, until the sun sets.
Finally, I commend them as they lie completely exhausted, capable of doing nothing more than gasping for air.
“Alright. That's it for today's training. Good work, everyone.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
No answer comes back.
I get it. They're too busy breathing.
After crawling on the ground for a while, they manage to get up and disappear one by one.
Group training was over.
All that was left was individual training.
“Yoon Si-hoo, you can still go, right?”
“...Yes, sunbaenim!”
“Good.”
I begin the tempering of Yoon Si-hoo, as requested by the Saintess.
His body, still not fully matured.
“If you're getting tired from just that, I'm disappointed.”
His swordsmanship, utterly amateurish.
“My pet slime could wield a sword better than you!”
His spirit is high, but his head is empty, with no idea what to actually do.
“Are you just swinging blindly like an idiot? Think, you have to think!”
I address every single detail.
And just like that, midnight approached.
“That's enough for today.”
“Thank... you...”
I catch his body in mid-air as he collapses, unable to even finish his sentence.
“Sheesh.”
I really don't like having to touch some guy's body.
But what can I do? Our dear Saintess asked me personally, so I have to do it with all my heart.
I drag the kid, who has fallen fast asleep, and stuff him into the back seat of my car before getting behind the wheel.
The destination is a residential area near Sindang-dong.
As I pull in, I see Jin Ha-rin standing in front of a black gate.
I stop the car in front of her and get out.
“I told you not to come out and wait.”
“It's okay. I just came out now, too.”
It's already been ten days since I started bringing the collapsed Yoon Si-hoo home.
Since I always arrive around the same time, it seems she finds it more convenient to just be out here waiting.
Dressed in comfortable clothes, a stark contrast to her school attire, she asks.
“Si-hoo is... again today?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“It's been ten days already, but nothing's changed.”
Jin Ha-rin smiles bitterly.
For ten days straight, Yoon Si-hoo has completed his training and then passed out as if collapsing.
In one sense, you could say nothing has changed, but the reality is different.
“He's grown a lot in these ten days.”
“Oh... really? But then why...”
I told the truth to my puzzled junior.
“It's just that I've increased the intensity of his training to match his growth.”
“Ah...”
The moment it looks like he's adapting even a little, I raise the intensity.
That's why he barely manages to endure it every day, only to collapse right after.
And it's also why he's growing at such an incredible pace.
“Anyway, sorry for troubling you like this every day.”
Surprised by my sudden apology, she shakes her head and waves her hands.
“N-no, it's not like that. I want to be out here.”
“Well, that's a relief then.”
I was about to tease her, asking if she was that worried about her boyfriend, but I stopped myself.
It seems they hear that a lot from people since they're always together.
And because of that, she seems to be pretty stressed out.
There's no need for me to add to her burden.
I open the back door, pull out the kid I'd stuffed inside like a piece of luggage, and hand him over to Jin Ha-rin.
Though she looks slender, she's a Hunter, so she easily takes Yoon Si-hoo, who is a head taller than her.
“You should get inside. You need to get some sleep if you're going to make it to class tomorrow.”
I said that and was about to turn away.
“...Um, sunbaenim.”
Jin Ha-rin finally spoke up, stopping me.
“Yeah?”
“Um... there's something I'd like to say to you, sunbaenim. Could you spare a moment?”
“Uh... to me?”
“Yes.”
What could she possibly have to say to me this late at night?
We don't usually interact much, so I couldn't think of anything.
My curiosity piqued, I nodded, and her face brightened slightly as she asked.
“Could you wait just a moment? I'll put Si-hoo in his room and be right back.”
“Alright, then.”
She heads up the stairs with a quicker pace than usual.
Before long, she comes back down without her burden and hands me something.
“Here you go, sunbaenim.”
It was juice.
Seeing the red color, I thought it was strawberry... no, it's tomato.
“I thought juice would be better than coffee since it's so late. You don't hate tomato juice, do you?”
“You didn't have to... I like tomato juice. Thanks, I'll enjoy it.”
I made a point of opening the lid and downing the juice right in front of her.
After neatly finishing the entire bottle.
“So, what did you want to tell me?”
“Ah... well.”
Jin Ha-rin mumbled, looking uncharacteristically awkward.
What on earth is she trying to say that's making her hesitate so much?
While I was wondering, she mustered her courage and spoke.
“C-could you... look after me, too?”
“Uh, um.”
What is this.
Am I being confessed to right now?