All-Master (2)

S-rank.

The highest grade an awakened could ever possess.

Since the age of superhumans began, no potential beyond S-rank had ever been witnessed, and no skill existed that surpassed the S tier.

Except for my Limit Break System, of course.

They say potential is only potential, that it must be paired with individual effort—but their growth was on an entirely different trajectory from ordinary awakened, to the point that the saying rang hollow.

To exaggerate slightly, they were at the level where a dedicated skill would simply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spring into existence the moment they picked up a sword.

Even A-rank hunters, treated as top-tier talent wherever they went, were nothing more than common weeds compared to them.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say a nation's strength was measured by the number of its S-rank hunters—and the value of those likely to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reach that rank was beyond imagination.

Korea's most famous examples were Gwonwang, the current rank one, and Geomje, the former number one.

Then there was Kim Nam-hyun at rank three, and Ji Yeon-ha, Master of the Magic Tower's Korea Branch.

There are probably more, but still.

Those were the S-ranks publicly active in Korea.

Each one of them carried enormous influence.

And now, three awakened with the potential to stand alongside them had appeared in the same era.

Naturally, Korea was ready to celebrate.

The golden generation of hunters.

Three future S-ranks.

And of course, I'd heard those names until my ears bled.

But the higher a star rose, the harder it was destined to fall.

The S-ranks who were supposed to carry Korea's future would one day be branded traitors, the objects of an entire nation's fury.

Ah Seo-ah, who became the youngest Tower Master after Ji Yeon-ha, had all but wrecked the Magic Tower's operations, then fled to England in what was essentially a transfer of convenience and changed her nationality.

The summoner Yoo Ji-an had decided to raise and tame a boss monster that emerged from a Mutation Gate, only to send it rampaging through the middle of Seoul and leaving countless innocent victims in its wake.

And Park Sung-chan had, at some point, simply evaporated.

For someone who had gorged himself on the nation's support, it was a spectacularly absurd ending.

People say the burden the country placed on them is what drove them to ruin.

Seeing them up close, I understood now.

Those kids were just... less than human.

People with severe defects of character were handed the overly generous sword of S-rank potential, swung it around as they pleased, and in the end drove it into their own flesh.

...It's like looking at myself before the regression.

The degenerate I used to be probably wasn't so different from them.

Somehow, it felt like a bit of mirror therapy.

Anyway.

What their futures held, what their personalities were like—none of that mattered in the slightest right now.

The bottom line: their potential was S-rank, which made them disgustingly strong, and on top of that they received every form of support imaginable.

And in next week's class evaluation tournament, Shin Min-woo had to beat every last one of them.

"Wow...! This place seems even better than the Academy facilities!"

This was a hunter training ground owned by Cheonseong.

It was similar to the training room at the Goryeo Hotel, but with one distinguishing feature: it was considerably more magnificent.

Because it had recently undergone a rather meaningful upgrade.

"Mr. Gong Gi-hyun. It's been a while."

As we stepped inside the training ground, Gong Gi-hyun—clad in a plaid shirt—stopped his work and turned toward us.

"Ah... Mr. Tae-hyun."

"How's the work coming along? I should be taking better care of you, but I haven't been able to find the time."

"Haha...! It's quite all right. I know exactly how busy you are... and yet."

His cheeks had grown gaunt and his hair was matted, but his eyes were unmistakably alive.

They say he practically lives in the lab these days. Seems that was no exaggeration.

Cheonseong wasn't forcing any of this on him, either.

He'd piled up one interesting project after another, and lately he'd even begun organizing projects of his own accord.

Unlike before, he has both the skill and the budget now—so of course his ambitions are growing.

They didn't call the man the Magic King for nothing.

"So... how did my request turn out?"

"Just finished the final testing. It's ready to use right away."

"...Excellent."

I accepted the 'lens' that Gong Gi-hyun had just put the finishing touches on.

"Then I'll be going... I still have work left to do...."

"Get some rest. You'll collapse at this rate."

"Heh heh... you know as well as I do how durable an awakened body is, Mr. Tae-hyun. And whenever I look at a work in progress that isn't finished yet, I simply can't sleep...."

"Ah... yes... sure."

Somehow he seemed like a completely different person from the first time we'd met.

I saw the shuffling man out, then turned back to face Shin Min-woo.

"Is... is that guy going to be okay...?"

"He'll be fine."

He had to be.

"Anyway, from this moment on, we begin special training in earnest."

The strategy for Shin Min-woo to defeat the S-class trio in just one week.

And its very first step was this:

"Pay-to-win, baby."

I opened my subspace and emptied out its entire contents.

'This is the Crimson Flame Jade as promised. The handover process took some additional time.'

The Crimson Flame Jade I'd won from our B-rank gate clearance bet.

And along with it, one more prize.

A priority skill book purchase right.

I had used that privilege to scrape together every skill book under the sun, available or otherwise.

Plus the skill books obtained during the Ghost Valley raid.

Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter!

I'd stacked up enough skill books to get sick of counting them.

The subspace kept spitting books out without end.

"What is all this?!"

"What does it look like? The foundation of your growth."

Let's be brutally honest here.

Beating S-class potential through grit and effort in a single week was next to impossible.

That was the kind of forced development even shonen manga wouldn't swallow.

The opponents are kids who've been on the elite track since the moment they awakened.

Shin Min-woo, by contrast, was from B-class.

Did anyone really believe the Hunter Academy gave S-class and B-class students the same level of education?

They'd received double the support and piled up far more real combat experience.

"We need to even out the starting line first, don't you think?"

All the treatment and advantages they'd enjoyed on their way to S-class—if Shin Min-woo didn't receive something comparable, that was a fairness problem, plain and simple.

And he was going to be my guild member anyway.

Investing this much was the least he was worth.

"Hmm, that should just about be everything."

I smiled with satisfaction at the mountain of skill books.

Now then. Time to take all of this and—

—feed it to the boy.

Truth Mimic (EX)

The Mimic, which had emerged from subspace alongside the skill books, smacked its lips.

It looked desperate to devour the whole pile on the spot.

"Min-woo."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Shin Min-woo, who'd been gaping blankly at the surreal scene, snapped back to attention with a start.

"How do you usually fight? Weapons you favor, skills, that kind of thing."

"Ah... well, about that...."

Shin Min-woo laughed awkwardly, sheepish.

"Honestly, I haven't settled on a position yet. I've just been trying a bit of everything...."

"Your stats?"

"All identical. Though none of them are particularly high."

That was a remarkable thing to say.

No matter how unremarkable a person was, one stat or another always tended to stand out, even unconsciously.

But Shin Min-woo's every stat was perfectly level.

Normally you'd pick a position based on your highest stat.

Warrior types who swept enemies from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠front line.

Mage types who commanded the battlefield from the rear with firepower.

Healer types who mended and shielded their allies.

"I've practiced with every weapon, and I've been training magic-type skills too. Oh! A while back I got the 'Minor Healing' skill, so I've been studying the healer side as well."

"......"

"I know I'm supposed to focus on one thing... but I don't really understand myself either...."

No.

Ordinary people simply couldn't do what he was doing.

Whether due to stats or personal inclination, one branch or another always fell short.

So he really is the All-Master.

Shin Min-woo possessed an 'aptitude' for every discipline.

Not enough to be world-class—but enough to reach a level above the rest.

A single person producing the combined output of an entire team?

It sent a shiver down my spine just thinking about it.

"I'm going to be honest with you."

"...Yes, sir!"

Apparently expecting a harsh critique, Shin Min-woo steeled himself and shut his mouth—

"Don't drop a single thing."

"...I'm sorry, what?"

"Throw out the whole notion of choosing one path. Do everything you're capable of."

At my unexpected words, his eyes went round.

"Take it all. From now on, your position is neither warrior, nor mage, nor healer."

The one position that could belong to Shin Min-woo alone in this entire world.

"You're an All-rounder."

"All... rounder?"

The sole position that encompassed every other position.

An irreplaceable asset that no prodigy, no genius from heaven or earth, could ever stand in for.

That was the All-rounder.

"But... I heard you can't learn high-grade skills that way."

Naturally.

Part of the reason people picked a single position and drilled deep into it was to master higher-grade skills.

Dabble in everything carelessly, and you'd end up with a handful of low-grade skills and no real substance to show for it.

But.

There was more than one way to acquire a skill.

"Don't worry about that."

I picked up a few skill books.

Swift Steps (D)

Herb Identification (D)

Neither was high-grade, and their performance was dubious at best.

You could fairly say they were worthless as skills.

"Here, eat up!"

"Sniff sniff!"

Chomp!

"Nom nom nom... gulp!"

But with the Mimic in the picture, that was a different story entirely.

"Th-the box ate the skill books!"

Shin Min-woo recoiled in shock—and only for a moment.

Ptooey!

The Mimic spat out a brand-new skill book.

Together with the 'Orc's Roar' it had eaten earlier, three D-rank skills went into the pot—and out came:

Mountain Crusher (C)

A C-grade skill book.

"Keh-heh-heh!"

It was an outrageous exchange rate.

And that was before you accounted for how skill performance and value climbed with every grade.

Grind all of these skill books down and feed them in.

I intended to gift Shin Min-woo the ultimate starter pack.

It didn't matter what skills came out.

The one wielding them would be the future All-Master, after all.

I can't wait.

Even before the regression, the All-Master had been a hunter who drew admiration effortlessly.

If that man gained the wings of 'high-grade skills' on top of it—

Just how high would he climb?

"S-so, you see, this upcoming Guild War is scheduled to be held on an unusually large and grand scale, so I thought it could be a wonderful opportunity for you...."

"I said that's enough, Headmaster."

Park Sung-chan yawned and picked at his ear.

"Trash who aren't confident they can win on merit are the only ones who bother with that kind of thing, aren't they?"

"Still, if you participated this time, you would enter as part of the Korean Hunter Academy alongside Miss Ji-an and Miss Seo-a...."

"So in the end, you're just telling me to go raise the Academy's prestige. No thanks."

Negotiations collapsed without so much as a sliver of room left.

Waving his hand as if shooing away a gnat, he let out an annoyed sigh.

He had not the slightest interest in the Guild War.

Real strong ones never showed their faces in places like that anyway.

People like Gwonwang, or Kim Nam-hyun.

"My level doesn't belong there doing monkey tricks for the zoo."

A surge of displeasure washed over him in an instant.

"Maybe I'll just have you expelled—"

"Ah—! No! My mistake! I'll never mention the Guild War again!"

Watching the Headmaster—older than he was—grovel and apologize so obsequiously seemed to cool his anger a little.

"Fine. Then instead, grant me one small favor."

"Anything! Just say the word!"

"That bastard who grabbed my wrist the other day. You know the one?"

"Y-you mean Hunter Lee Tae-hyun...?"

"Yes. That Lee Tae-hyun, or whatever his name is."

Park Sung-chan leaned back into the sofa and let his head loll.

"I want to fight him. Set the stage for me."