I Thought I Had Awakened
Cheon Ji-yoon felt an odd sense of disconnect. It was as if her body no longer belonged to her. Strangely, the wooden sword felt incredibly light, and her body moved exactly as she willed it.
Just like always, the trio of bullies who picked on her—the bottom rung of the student caste—came sauntering over. Even with her predicted awakening rank at A-grade, she hadn't awakened yet, making her the perfect target for these orphans with no parents or siblings to an easy punching bag to boost their egos.
Her good mood from her oppa's return plummeted in an instant, replaced by boiling anger. These guys always ganged up on her, beat her down one-sidedly, then laughed their asses off as they left. She'd planned to just take it easy and lose on purpose, but for some reason, she couldn't control her strength.
The wooden sword swung lightly, slicing through the air. Her body moved with elastic grace, unleashing twice the power she was used to. She deflected the wooden sword charging from the front, shattering it, then spun and kicked the wooden mallet on her right flying far away. Finally, she swung again, smashing the last wooden club.
The three who'd ambushed her under the guise of sparring were all sent tumbling by Cheon Ji-yoon's wooden sword, rolling across the ground.
"Fuck, shit."
Cheon Ji-yoon shot the guy a glare before trudging off the training field toward the school building. She headed straight to the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and let out a long breath.
"What the hell...?"
Did I awaken or something? She thought so, but it didn't seem right. There was no status window—the telltale sign that only appeared for those who'd awakened.
So, was this some hidden potential bursting forth? "Actually, am I... freaking strong?!"
Of course, it was all Cheon Ji-yoon's misunderstanding.
* * *
"Nice work."
Cheon Ji-hoo clapped lightly. Thanks to his magic, no one noticed. Man, these days' classes involve actual fighting, huh? Guess dodgeball got boring, so now they do sparring.
"Well then..."
Having seen his little sister fight so well, maybe it was time to head home and look for a job. As Cheon Ji-hoo thought that and prepared to teleport, he overheard some intriguing chatter from the students still lingering on the training field.
"Today's last class is gonna be awesome!"
"We're actually going into a rift. Does that mean we'll awaken soon too?"
"Totally! They say you have to take in mana from inside a rift to awaken, so if we just snag a goblin or two, we'll finally be hunters!"
Going into a rift, huh. His interest piqued. A mage's essence was that of a scholar. He'd been curious about rifts ever since returning to Earth—what exactly were they, turning people into superhumans and spawning monsters?
Since it was the same class as Cheon Ji-yoon, slipping in after her to check out a rift didn't sound half bad.
My little sis is heading into a place full of monsters? As her big bro, how could I not follow?
With that self-justification, Cheon Ji-hoo stretched and lay back on the bench. He'd nap lazily until it was time to enter the rift.
* * *
After a good two-hour nap, Cheon Ji-hoo yawned and sat up, sensing a sudden flow of mana. The training field was empty—all the students gone, probably heading into the rift. Closing his eyes, he traced the new mana in the air back to its source.
Like navigating Daidalos's labyrinth with a single thread, he slowly followed the mana flow. It led underground beneath the school. Spatial transfer was impossible without line of sight for coordinate lock, so he strolled leisurely into the school building.
The interior was so vast you could easily get lost, but tracking the mana's end kept him on course. Down stairs, past several open high-security doors, he reached an inner room where dozens of students waited, geared up.
Not the wooden training gear from before, but real iron weapons. Their simple leather armor reminded him of mercenaries from another world. Earth's gear was superior in quality, of course.
There she is.
Cheon Ji-yoon had a real sword at her hip, leather armor over her gym clothes. Her dead-serious expression as they prepped to enter the rift was kinda funny.
Teachers—acting as safety personnel and escorts—lectured the students on rift precautions.
"Even if it's an F-grade rift with just inferior goblins, never let your guard down. You're all unawakened students."
"Goblins, those little imps, are cunning by nature. With the intelligence of children, they can even set traps, so stay alert—always alert."
"Stick to 4-man teams, no exceptions. B-grade hunter safety agents will be watching each group, so never separate from your teammates."
"I trust you've all memorized the internal layout."
Lives were on the line. Twenty students total, five teams.
"Alright, first team, step in one by one."
The first group entered the bluish rift. Cheon Ji-hoo cast Perception Dampening and Presence Concealment again, slipping in right behind Cheon Ji-yoon's team.
At the archmage level, he could stroll right in front of them and go unnoticed. Even the B-grade hunter teachers sent her off without spotting anyone behind her.
Oh.
Beyond the rift lay a damp cave. Glowworms dotted the walls, emitting their own light, so it wasn't too dark. Five paths branched ahead. That's why five teams.
"Move to your assigned paths."
At the teacher's words, the students shuffled into position. Cheon Ji-yoon's team took the fourth path; Cheon Ji-hoo followed, his tight slippers dragging with a scuff-scuff.
The five teachers split up too, issuing final words before departure.
"We'll watch from behind and grade your performance. If anyone awakens mid-battle, report it after combat ends."
"Each path has six inferior goblins. Don't miss a single one—hunt them all. Check surroundings thoroughly for surprises."
And so the rift raid began. Twenty students, five B-grade hunters. And one archmage. Twenty-six people total entered the rift.
* * *
My neck feels chilly.
Cheon Ji-yoon kept her hand on her sword hilt, ready to react, swiveling her head to scan around. It felt like eyes were boring into the back of her head—not the B-grade hunter trailing behind, but something else.
Was a monster watching her? No, it was just the hidden archmage.
"Two goblins ahead. Battle stations."
The lead student—shield and short sword—took position and called out. Following academy training, the others assumed formation and steadied their breathing.
In the old days, the death rate for first-time hunter hopefuls facing monsters hovered near 30%. That's why academy students didn't enter rifts until senior hunters developed systematic training.
The terror of facing monsters—the fear of those alien eyes, collapsing without even fighting. But these three with Cheon Ji-yoon had paid attention in class and trained hard. Mere goblins wouldn't faze them.
"Cheon Ji-yoon! Right flank! Lee Soo-hyun! Left! Kim Hoon! Rear guard!"
The tank and team leader confirmed only two goblins and charged, shield forward, body low. Solid stance. Seizing the opening, Cheon Ji-yoon with her sword hit right, the spear girl left.
The goblins panicked at the swift combo, hurling crude stone axes, but the leader batted them away and thrust. Dodging center, the goblins split left and right—fatal mistake. Weapons from both sides pierced them, ending the fight.
The students fell back, scanned post-battle, and exhaled.
"Phew..."
"Good job, everyone. Keep this pace."
The shield guy encouraged them. The rear guard with the mace grumbled.
"No big deal. Even goblins."
"They're inferior ones. Regular goblins would've been tougher."
Post-battle review was key. Their teamwork was flawless, nothing to nitpick. Cheon Ji-hoo nodded from behind.
Are all rifts like this?
Cross a makeshift dimensional portal, connect to a new world. That part fascinated him. Crossing dimensions wasn't simple. He'd slaved for ages over his own dimensional magic circle, sacrificing mana and balancing equations in his head.
Yet rifts formed naturally. Some force twists dimensions, links worlds. If a conscious being did this, Cheon Ji-hoo figured it had to be godlike.
"Let's keep going."
The four-person party pressed deeper into the damp cave. Anyway, Cheon Ji-hoo trailed leisurely. Rifts weren't his problem. Unless Ji-yoon got hurt or Earth ended—but this rift was stable. Probably fine.
* * *
There are many ways to close a rift, but the most common is destroying the core sustaining it. Deep inside, smash or retrieve the fist-sized black orb and bring it out—rift gone.
Exceptions exist. Some monsters emerge and roam: core monsters. Ones that devour the rift's core for power. Ingesting such vast mana makes them leagues above normals, often called boss monsters.
Grrrrr...
The core in Hunter Academy's rift had no core monster—until now. An F-grade rift respawning inferior goblins periodically. Perfect training spot: build real combat sense, then retreat without core extraction. Stable for six years.
Now, a core monster was born. A goblin that absorbed the core. Most would die from the mana overload, but this one resonated with it, surviving.
C-grade rating. Impossible for unawakened students. Even B-grades would struggle to endure it.
Krrrraaaah!!
"Oh... this one's interesting."
The newborn core monster—Hobgoblin—finished its metamorphosis with a roar, then ground its teeth at the nearby voice and turned.
Who reached here so fast? It hungered to chew them up. But before it stood a white-haired, blue-eyed man, utterly calm.
Cheon Ji-hoo raised a hand toward the hobgoblin in greeting.
"Nice to meet you. Mind if I study your body for a bit?"
Of course, it'd hurt like hell.