Chapter 36: This is Training, Not Discipline
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: This is Training, Not Discipline
Defender.
There are many qualities a Defender must possess, but the most important is being indomitable.
You must stand at the very front to block the enemy's attacks, and when it’s time to retreat, you must be the last one to pull back.
It’s a role a coward can never fulfill. Before anything else, one must possess the mental fortitude to remain unshaken even by the overwhelming pressure of a monster far stronger than oneself.
Without that spirit, good skills or high stats are useless. In that regard, Kwon Ye-jin has more than enough talent.
Her hot-tempered nature needs some fixing, but her strong will ensures she won't easily submit to any opponent.
That personality alone makes her a passing grade for a Defender, and since her skills are a perfect match, she’s quite the prospect.
"Ah? What are you looking at, Master?"
...Or maybe she’s just a punk?
Kwon Ye-jin, who was sprawled across my sofa playing a game on her smartphone, furrowed her brows as if asking what I was staring at.
I knew she was strong-willed and had a delinquent streak, but wasn't this crossing the line?
"Could you call me 'Manager' instead of 'Master'? It’s cringey."
"Huh? You decided to teach me, Master. So that makes you 'Master.'"
Then treat me like one, you brat.
I said I liked her strong spirit, but this was a bit much.
She acted so freely that it made me wonder if her bowing her head before was just an act. Since signing the contract, she had been coming in and out of my office without the slightest hesitation.
"Why are you resting here?"
"Because I'm a 'Special Management Target.' Everyone else is jealous. It’s a pain dealing with their petty provocations."
Ye-jin shrugged her shoulders boastfully.
Because I was managing her, the clan had officially registered her as a Special Management Target.
I don't think it was meant in a positive way, but to the other rookies who had just transitioned from apprentices to heroes, the fact that she was getting one-on-one coaching from me made her ego soar.
Her recovery is way too fast.
Just a few days ago, she was crouching in the corner of the training ground, and now she’s strutting around, enjoying the jealousy of her peers.
"You're keeping up with your training, right?"
"Every single day. I think your training schedule is great, Master. It doesn't feel like I'm doing much, but I can actually feel my skills improving."
Then show some respect, kid.
Of course, it wasn't that she ignored or looked down on me.
Since she had submitted once, she acknowledged me and had accepted, to some extent, being taught by a man.
It was just her natural personality.
From what I’d observed so far, she worked hard and followed all my instructions without complaint.
She even showed a subtle sense of gratitude, and because her goals were clear, she never slacked off.
However, her casual way of resting and her blunt way of speaking made her the type to be easily misunderstood.
"The Strategy Department has finalized the party compositions for the rookies."
"Yeah, I heard. Those bitches. If they're jealous, they should just say so. They're saying I don't have a party? Fine, I didn't want to be with those hags anyway."
It looks like I'll need to work on her cooperativeness.
She’s a bit too headstrong; I need to break her in a little.
Recalling the "re-education required" note I’d written in her evaluation report, I cleared my desk and stood up.
"Anyway, we're heading to a dungeon, so get up."
"Huh? Really? With who?"
"Just the two of us. It’s a D-1, so it’ll be fine."
"I feel safe going with you, Master. Those losers are gonna be jealous again."
Yeah, I'm taking you there to train you. Don't get too excited.
I left the clan building with Ye-jin, who had gathered her gear.
"Do you have a car?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I've applied for the dungeon, but the Strategy Department isn't providing separate support."
Ye-jin wasn't the only one hated by the Strategy Department.
I had run wild in the situation room, and the department head disliked me, so they had been putting up a lot of hurdles regarding my requests.
No matter what I brought up, they’d cite annoying regulations, saying this wasn't allowed or that wasn't possible. It got so irritating that I just told them I didn't want their support.
They tried to stop me, saying two people weren't enough, but the Clan Leader gave me authority, so what could they do?
"I only have a motorcycle. You don't have a car, Master?"
"No, I don't. Let's just take a taxi."
"Ha, what kind of clan is this?"
Tell me about it.
With all the gear, it was impossible to move everything by motorcycle.
Especially since her rank was low, her weapon was oversized, leaving us no choice.
After enduring an awkward taxi ride where the driver kept giving us strange looks, we arrived at the dungeon, where the support team greeted us.
"Are you really entering without any support equipment?"
"Yes, it's fine. I've signed the forms here."
After finishing the procedures with the worried staff member, I handed a tablet to Ye-jin.
"What's this?"
"A Non-Disclosure Agreement. It says you won't breathe a word about what happens inside the dungeon."
"Master, don't you trust me? Even without this, if you tell me not to talk, I won't."
"I do trust you, so please sign it."
Ye-jin glared at me with a dissatisfied expression, snatched the tablet, signed it roughly, and shoved it back at me.
From this moment on, everything that happens in the dungeon is confidential.
I didn't bring a drone, and there’s nothing to record my actions.
I had fought with the Strategy Department quite a bit over this.
It’s not that I planned to do anything weird to Ye-jin; I just didn't want to reveal my gun techniques.
This dungeon run was for Ye-jin’s education, but it was also for me to practice my gun skills in a real combat environment.
After entering the dungeon, I looked at Ye-jin.
"From now on, I am the party leader. No honorifics, and you follow every command I give."
"Okay, Master. Do whatever you want."
"Ye-jin, from this moment, you are a Defender. For the next hour, you will only defend. No attacking."
"What?"
"We're going to clear it, but we're here for training. Do as I say. Or you can leave right now."
When I pointed toward the dungeon entrance with my chin, Ye-jin scowled with a face full of complaints before letting out a deep sigh.
"Fine. I get it. But if I judge it's dangerous, I'm attacking."
"I'm the one who decides if it's dangerous."
"What if you're in danger, Master?"
"There's no reason for me to get taken down in a D-rank."
As I spoke while putting on my tactical vest, Ye-jin let out a scoffing laugh and nodded.
"Man, you really should have been born a woman, Master. You've got real guts."
"Stop talking nonsense and let's go. There are monsters at the 200-meter mark, 45 degrees."
"You can see that?"
Ye-jin squinted and tilted her head, trying to peer through the forest.
She looked skeptical, but she followed me as I took the lead.
"I'm a Supporter."
"Not an Attacker?"
"Yeah, a Supporter. So, what should you be doing right now?"
At my question, Ye-jin pondered for a moment before looking at me blankly.
"A Defender protects the party members. A Supporter shouldn't be leading the way, right?"
"Aha, okay. Got it."
At my prompt, Ye-jin nodded, raised her shield, and stepped forward.
She was still awkward since she hadn't been using the shield for long, but she held the posture correctly, just as she’d been trained.
"You're too far away. Protect the Supporter."
"You sure nag a lot. Just keep pace with me."
"I told you, I'm the field commander. You match my pace."
When I spoke sternly, Ye-jin looked at me for a moment before slowing her steps.
If I gave orders too rigidly, it would kill her flexibility, so it was right to give her some discretion eventually. But for now, I had to adapt her to the tactics.
She walked in silence, clearly annoyed, but when she saw a group of goblins gathered in the distance, a wicked smile spread across her face.
She seemed happy to have found something to vent her anger on, but sorry, kid—you have to spend the next hour just getting hit by them.
"Master, what's the plan? Kill them all?"
"I told you. This is defense training."
"... ..."
She gave me a look of pure loathing, but she seemed intent on following orders as she raised her shield and glared at the goblins.
"Just so you know, even for me, it's hard to hold out for an hour without attacking."
"Don't worry. I'll be supporting you."
"Instead of you just taking them out?"
"I told you, I'm a Supporter. And why are you so scared of a few goblins?"
When I provoked her, Ye-jin grimaced and engaged the charging goblins.
Her shield work was unrefined, but since the opponents were just goblins, she blocked them without much trouble.
Since she was only blocking, the goblins grew bold and began to pummel her.
Watching the goblins mock her with their grotesque laughter, Ye-jin almost lost her temper and threw a punch, but she caught my eye and held back.
"What are you doing! A goblin is coming toward me! Block it!"
"Push it back! Shake it off and grab the other one!"
"Your guard is too low! Get your head in the game, Kwon Ye-jin!"
"Maintain the formation! You think there's no formation just because there's only two of us?!"
As I dodged the goblins targeting me and continued to nag, Ye-jin finally exploded.
"Dammit! You're not doing anything but yapping!"
Her concentration wavered, and a goblin lunged at her back, clinging to her.
Cursing, she threw the goblin off, but another one managed to slash her thigh.
Had she lost the focus required to even maintain her skills?
"Fuck!"
Ye-jin swung her shield to knock the goblins back and reached for the massive greatsword on her back.
—Bang!
"...Did you... just shoot me?"
Ye-jin glared at me with eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Yeah. I healed you, so keep defending."
At my words, she looked down at her thigh.
From the spot where the sponge round had hit, green light particles flowed out, wrapping around the wound on her thigh.
"Recovery magic...?"
"Focus. We're still in a fight."
At my command, she hurriedly swung her shield to push away the surrounding goblins, retreated, and took her stance again.
I decided to put one right in the back of her head.
"Ah! That felt gross! Why are you shooting me in the head?!"
"It's a buff. Just take it."
"Can't you do it in a normal way—Agh! Why the hell did you shoot my butt?!"
"To make you feel good."
"It doesn't feel good, shit! Get lost!"
Ye-jin screamed at me and took her anger out on a goblin that was mindlessly approaching.
The goblin was sent flying into the distance by her kick.
She had technically broken the order not to attack, but I decided to let that one slide.
She had held out longer than I expected, after all.
"Kwon Ye-jin, you've held out long enough. Attack."
"Hell yeah! You're all dead!!"
The moment I gave the word, she excitedly began swinging her greatsword. I supported her while firing my gun.
I kept her buffs active and restrained the goblins.
Since I was faithfully fulfilling the role of a Supporter, Ye-jin swung her greatsword with glee.
Because we had stalled for time, other groups had joined in, making the number of goblins quite large, but she began a massacre like a wolf among sheep.
"... ..."
When the slaughter ended, Ye-jin stood in the grass strewn with goblin corpses, staring blankly at her hands.
I wondered what she was doing, and then she turned toward me with an incredibly happy expression.
"This is insane. You see this? My breathing isn't even labored. It's so easy with you supporting me, Master."
"That's the power of a Supporter."
I spoke nonchalantly as I looked for the next group of monsters.
This time, I gave her permission to attack from the start.
Fortunately, the role of a Defender seemed to have been firmly etched into her brain; she didn't get carried away and charge in recklessly while abandoning me.
She focused on protecting me and binding the enemies, only attacking afterward.
I watched her back as she absorbed the lessons faster than expected.
"Agh! You shot my butt again!"
"You said the head felt gross."
"That doesn't mean you shoot the butt! There's the back, the arms!"
I fired another shot into her rear as she complained, then fired a magic bullet that raised an earthen wall among a group of goblins to break their formation.
It wasn't very sturdy, but once the goblin pack was divided, Ye-jin quickly switched to the offensive and cut them down.
"Break the wall and attack."
Understanding my intent, Ye-jin swung her greatsword violently against the earthen wall, and the fragments pelted the goblins behind it.
After slaughtering the disoriented goblins, Ye-jin slammed her greatsword into the ground, her body trembling.
"Kaaa—don't I suit being an Attacker the best? You think so too, right, Master?"
"No, you're a perfect Defender."
Where does she get off trying to sneakily suggest being an Attacker?
Ye-jin clicked her tongue and looked away at my response, and we continued through the dungeon, massacring monsters.
We had wasted time during the initial defense training, but after that, we cleared the monsters as soon as we saw them, making for a fairly quick run.
"I thought Supporters were only for has-beens, but it's really comfortable with you backing me up, Master."
This damn Attacker-centric world.
True to a society that despises Supporters, Ye-jin looked down on the role as a matter of course.
"I wondered why we had to sign that... NDA? But your skills are amazing, Master. Imbuing bullets with magic—isn't that incredibly difficult? Is that your secret weapon?"
"That's right. It's still incomplete, so I can't go public with it yet."
"So you didn't just say you were a Supporter for the training; you really are one... I never knew having support could be this good. I feel like I've become twice as strong."
"I'll make you ten times stronger later."
Liking my confident words, Ye-jin nodded with a strange smile, then looked at me with eyes full of anticipation.
"Then... when that's finished, are you going to be a Hero too, Master?"
"Yeah, soon."
"When you become a Hero, you'll put me in your party, right?"
"We'll see how you do."
"What? That's so uncool. You're supposed to say, 'You're the only one I trust'!"
Why would I trust you?
The first dungeon run was a success, but she still had a long way to go.
She had to keep striving and meet my demands.
"Interim report. We've cleared about 70% of the D-1 dungeon. Ending transmission."
I resumed communication, informed the situation room, and then turned it off again.
"Huh? Isn't the dungeon basically cleared? You said there are no more goblins."
"The training isn't over yet."
Personally, this is the main event.
Perhaps sensing something unsettling in my grin, Ye-jin looked at me with nervous eyes.