Everyone Has Their Own Agendas
The crisp morning breeze carried the fresh start of a new week. Monday had arrived, yet instead of the expected energy, the academy echoed with the groans and complaints of exhausted students.
Across a training field the size of a soccer stadium, Class 1 students were running endlessly. The class that kicked off every Monday morning was none other than Professor Kim Strang's Physical Conditioning.
"Keep running! I said don't stop!" Professor Kim Strang shouted.
She was a woman with an intense presence—bulging muscles, sun-bronzed skin, and a face that could easily be mistaken for a drill sergeant. At first glance, she looked like a tiger ready to pounce, but in truth, she had a surprisingly gentle heart. Right now, however, that gentle heart was thoroughly irritated.
The reason? The pathetically low stamina of the first-year students.
Professor Kim Strang's classes always began with a run. That was why it had earned such a notorious reputation among the students as one of the hardest subjects. Still, as their physical education instructor, she had no choice. A hunter's stamina could never be emphasized enough.
Whether it was skills, combat, or anything else—if your body couldn't keep up, it was all meaningless.
To the students, however, physical conditioning was nothing more than a painful, tedious chore. They only ran to the finish line to secure decent grades. But a long marathon inevitably produced dropouts.
"I-I can't run anymore!"
"Lee Jun-young! You're going to give up just like that? Just a little further and—"
"Ugh—bleeegh!"
"Jun-young!"
Professor Kim Strang frowned deeply. Looking at the current situation, the road ahead seemed incredibly rough. One dropout after another. Most of the early dropouts came from Citizen Hall, but even Nobility Hall students weren't exempt.
It seems like the younger generation has less and less stamina these days.
While Professor Kim Strang was lamenting the first-years' physical condition, a male student staggered across the finish line like a zombie, gasping for breath. It was Ha Yeonjun from Citizen Hall.
She walked over to him as he tried to catch his breath.
"Ha Yeonjun? Your stamina has improved quite a bit in a short time, hasn't it?"
"Huff... huff... Yes..."
Ha Yeonjun placed his hands on his knees, still breathing heavily. Originally, he should have dropped out long ago. But thanks to his increased strength stat, his overall endurance had improved enough for him to barely make it to the end. Even so, since he hadn't invested any points into stamina, his heart still felt like it was about to explode—just like before.
Maybe I should have put a few points into stamina after all.
He wiped the sweat from his chin with the back of his hand. Still, he didn't regret his choice to focus on strength and magic power first. He planned to invest in stamina eventually—just not yet.
Two people were watching the entire scene from a distance. They were Scout Team Leader Choi Sang-moon from the Volcanic Guild and Emergency Treatment Professor Sung Ji-eun.
Team Leader Choi removed his sunglasses and spoke.
"...I thought he'd drop out, but he didn't."
Ha Yeonjun was the student Professor Sung Ji-eun had been keeping an eye on. She wondered if there was something special about him. As if reading his thoughts, Professor Sung spoke up.
"That's why I'm asking—could you include that boy in this project?"
"You mean Ha Yeonjun?"
"Yes."
Professor Sung Ji-eun wanted to use this project to properly evaluate Ha Yeonjun's real combat ability. The project's official name was Rift Exploration Unit. Raven Academy normally gave first-year students with excellent grades the chance to experience rifts, and dangerous operations like this always involved guild support.
Of course, the guilds didn't do it for free. It gave their scouts the perfect opportunity to observe promising talents up close.
"That student might be one of the unpolished gems you've been looking for."
"He doesn't look that way to me."
Team Leader Choi's reaction was rather unenthusiastic. Even though the boy hadn't dropped out during physical training, it was the bare minimum any aspiring hunter should be able to do. Besides, a student from Citizen Hall held even less appeal.
Professor Sung continued, "I knew you'd say that. But take a look at this."
"What is it?"
What she showed him was the torn-off arm of a training dummy ogre. The most noticeable feature was the clear palm print embedded deeply into the steel plate.
"There were two first-year students who recently neutralized a dummy ogre. Yu Hae-rin and Ha Yeonjun. As you can see, this is clearly a man's handprint."
"That doesn't seem like strength a Citizen Hall student should be able to produce?"
"That's what I'm curious about too. That's exactly why I want him included in the project."
Team Leader Choi scratched his head. "What kind of fighting style does he have?"
"His main weapon is a sword... Here, this should explain it."
She handed him Raven Academy's official report on Ha Yeonjun. The contents were filled with abysmal entrance exam scores and a long list of defeats. Team Leader Choi's expression gradually darkened. Everything in the report proved the student was nothing special. He began to think Professor Sung's insistence was unreasonable.
Compared to this kid, surely...
Team Leader Choi set the report down and turned his attention to other students.
"What about Kyung-tae instead of Ha Yeonjun? I'm sure plenty of guilds want him too, right?"
"Well, yes. Naturally."
Team Leader Choi's interest lay with the other promising talents. From a guild representative's perspective, bringing an unverified Citizen Hall student into a rift was practically insane. If there was a limited number of slots, he wanted to fill them only with guaranteed prospects.
"Is there really no way to include Ha Yeonjun?" Professor Sung asked.
"It'll be difficult. Our lives are on the line too. If we bring someone like him and he slows us down, everyone could be put in danger."
"I-I suppose that's true. It's a shame, but it can't be helped."
Professor Sung Ji-eun could only express her disappointment. She even began to wonder if her own judgment had been wrong. But then Team Leader Choi tucked the report into his coat and spoke.
"Still, I'll keep him in mind. If I change my mind later, I'll contact you."
Daily Mission Completed.
You have earned 300 points as a reward.
I stood up from the bench, wiping sweat with a towel. At that moment, vitality surged through my previously stiff body, and the fatigue melted away like snow.
Muscle Recovery
Muscle recovery speed is greatly increased after intense exercise.
This was a new blessing I'd received from Muscle Pain Lover. It wasn't a professional recovery skill, but having even a basic recovery ability made me feel pretty good.
I placed my hands on my hips and smiled.
"Whew. Today's daily mission is done..."
Accepting Muscle Pain Lover had eased the pressure of the Violence Mission a little, but there was still a mountain of things I needed to do. The fact that I still had to keep looking for fights hadn't changed. So I needed to reduce the influence of that violence mission even further.
That's why I'd come up with another plan.
The place in any academy, school, or educational facility where the most desire gathered. The thing students longed for most—perhaps the very center of every Korean student's life.
To meet the most revered constellation in all of South Korea, I turned my head toward the student plaza.