Chapter 3
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Last Chance
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The loud crash drew the attention of all the cadets in the training grounds.
Mitsuda glared at Tae-hyun, his face twisted in a scowl.
"Who the hell are you?"
"...Just a regular cadet."
At those words, Mitsuda's brows furrowed even tighter.
'Regular? What a joke.'
No regular cadet could toss Mitsuda over their shoulder like that.
Maybe the heir of some famous family or an assassin from a brutal training squad—but even then, Mitsuda had never lost in raw power.
Mitsuda rubbed his solar plexus.
How long had it been since he'd felt pain like this?
Born a prodigy with exceptional physical gifts.
He'd started with swimming club, then judo, dominating national elementary judo tournaments—already at the pinnacle in terms of strength.
Tae-hyun extended a hand to Mitsuda.
"Get up for now? Instructor's coming."
Slap—
Mitsuda swatted the hand away.
His pride wouldn't allow it.
His physique never lost to anyone, yet to be thrown so easily...
"Y-you okay?"
Yoon Ah-young asked Mitsuda in a worried tone.
Tae-hyun was the one who'd been challenged, but Mitsuda was the one getting comforted.
'...Tch. What a humiliating prick.'
Mitsuda stood up on his own.
Then he shot Tae-hyun a glare and spat,
"You'll pay for this."
"...What?"
His master's words echoed in his mind: Once you enter the academy, it'll be crawling with monsters stronger than you.
He'd laughed it off back then, but now it felt like someone had smashed a bat into the back of his head.
"At ease!"
"At ease!"
After the commotion died down, the instructor approached.
He eyed the two of us and asked,
"Any problems?"
"None, sir!"
"None, sir!"
Mitsuda and I answered almost in unison.
Causing trouble at the academy never ended well.
Standing out here meant headaches galore.
Worst case, expulsion.
"If no problems, back to training. Cause more noise, and that's a warning."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the instructor turned away, Mitsuda glared daggers at me from behind.
His eyes burned with rage and disgust.
He stormed back to his spot, fuming.
'...This is a headache.'
Luckily, we got off without a warning this time.
In my past life, few cadets paid me any mind.
So I never did anything to pick a fight—or worth picking one over.
'The strong get attention; the weak, cold indifference...'
The moment my peers noticed me, I realized I'd grown stronger than before.
My physical stats were exactly double what they'd been.
I needed to get used to this power.
The problem was mana.
'Ugh...'
Shaking it off, I refocused on mana training.
Shhh...
Even the simplest 1st-circle spell, Fire, was beyond me right now.
'Grand Mage Yoon Soo-ah mastered her first 1st-circle spell at age five.'
Mana growth is like muscle growth.
To grow, you push your mana limits repeatedly.
That inevitably leads to depletion.
Even at 30% mana, anemia hits hard enough to stagger you.
20%, and standing straight is a struggle.
10%, legs give out, judgment clouds.
0%, and you're out cold.
Passing out in a dungeon? Terrifying to even think about.
Countless hunters had blacked out from mana drain and been eaten alive by monsters.
Mana training was brutal on stamina too.
'Haa... At this rate, ten years just for mana basics.'
Time wasn't on my side.
Just 22 years.
In that time, I had to surpass any S-Rank and kill the Black Mask.
To boost mana short-term, I needed high-grade mana stones or spellbooks.
Even the lowest-grade mana stone cost 300,000 won each.
'Buy a lottery ticket? Should've memorized numbers if I knew.'
Too late for that now.
Was there really no way?
This precious second chance...
Then a booming voice echoed across the training grounds.
"Attention, all cadets!"
The instructor's command.
Cadets halted their drills, snapping to face him.
A striking figure: about 165cm tall, dozens of daggers strapped to his body.
A-Rank Hunter Ha Dong-hwan.
They called him the Little Giant on the battlefield.
Ha Dong-hwan gathered us.
He toyed with a mana stone.
Scratches from various weapons marred its surface.
'C-Class tradition.'
Passed down for combat assessments.
Even B-Rank instructors could only scratch it.
Its durability was insane.
'Wait.'
The sight sparked a memory.
'Right—people don't die for no reason.'
How could I have forgotten this?
Ha Dong-hwan's absurd bet on the first training day.
The prize: a mid-grade mana stone.
"Everyone here?"
"Yes, sir!"
With all 35 C-Class cadets assembled, Ha Dong-hwan spoke.
"First training session done—good work. It's the first day, so here's a fun proposal."
He pointed to a mark on the mana stone.
A clean scar gouged by a blade.
"This is from Aphren's first session."
That kind of mark on day one? S-Rank material, no doubt.
Most couldn't even scratch it.
"If any of you scratches this stone, it's yours."
He pulled a blue mid-grade mana stone from his pocket.
Not the testing one—a real, absorbable luxury item.
Saliva swallowed hard.
Worth over 10 million won easy.
For 18-year-old cadets, mouthwatering.
'No one claimed it last time.'
But now? I had a shot.
No—I'd make it happen.
"Questions?"
A cadet raised a hand.
"Any method allowed?"
"Any method, as long as it scratches. Magic's fine."
Aphren's interview: 128 swings.
No supernova could one-shot it.
"Time limit: tomorrow morning's session. Try if you want."
5 PM now—16 hours left.
Nonstop hammering? Possible.
"Begin."
Cadets moved briskly.
I strode through, grabbed the stone, and turned.
No one followed.
'Right on cue.'
Any sane cadet—even the dumbest—knew it was impossible.
I had too, in my past life.
So no one touched it.
'No try, no result.'
Aphren probably got called a lunatic grabbing it first.
But she succeeded, becoming a superstar.
I chose differently.
To a secluded bathroom entrance in the training corner.
My old haunt from before.
No one came near—perfect privacy.
Bit smelly, but undisturbed.
I drew a training sword.
Next morning.
C-Class cadets gathered for training review.
"...Insane."
"Still going at it."
Cadets in training gear gawked at Tae-hyun, clicking tongues.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
15 hours straight, no sleep, just pounding the mana stone.
That man was Kang Tae-hyun.
Others had ditched it for efficient drills ages ago.
Cadet training was multifaceted.
Dungeon survival, foraging, utilization, fortification, post-dungeon protocols, ratings, monster manuals, weapons, armor, criminal handling, special laws—basics totaling over 500 pages each.
And weapon-specifics: swordsmanship, spearmanship, archery, marksmanship.
Officer cadets studied tactics, systems, ranks too.
Three fails? All that study wasted—expelled.
Thus, Hunter Officer Academy: top 1% geniuses worldwide.
In time-is-money crunch, 15 hours on a mana stone? Rare.
To them, a dropout-wannabe lunatic.
"That's just begging for expulsion, right?"
"Hey, persistence is impressive. Dumb, but."
"Eww, sweat stench. Hasn't showered...?"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Dull blade echoes rang out.
Scoffing or not, Tae-hyun kept swinging.
"Hoo!"
Veins bulged on his arms.
Sweat-soaked uniform darkened, discolored.
Yoon Ah-young approached cautiously through the crowd, placing a water bottle beside him.
Kind-hearted her aside, no one else neared.
'Lunatic... yeah, total lunatic.'
I chuckled wryly.
Past life, this stunt would've gotten me expelled in a month.
'But you're overlooking something.'
I wanted to shout at the mockers.
Written exams / 1st (Top).
Physical / 1st (Top).
Conduct / 1st (Top).
Martial practical / 2nd (Runner-up).
Mana measurement / 4650th (Fail).
Final / -Rank (Fail). Special F-Rank (Pass).
Past life: topped or near-topped everything but mana.
Record-breaking written scores.
Top physical and conduct too.
Martial runner-up—no issue.
Mana was the killer.
Normally ungradable.
But overwhelming scores earned special F-Rank pass into hunting.
To survive this world, dominate other fields.
Clang! Clang!
And this wasn't foolish.
Mana is used.
Clang!
Mana has dropped to a critical level. Anemia state activated.
+1 Mana
+1 Stamina
2,000 swings total.
15 hours of training.
Every third swing, mana infused into my grip for dual training.
Head spun, but I swung on.
Repetitions built proficiency and stamina.
Mana-infused hands sustained mana growth.
A method I'd devised in my past life.
One action, two trainings.
"Haa...!!"
Clang!
+1 Stamina
+1 Mana
Gonna puke.
Nosebleed maybe.
But no matter the conditions, swing the sword.
Hunters must fight anytime, anywhere.
This nailed three rabbits: mental, mana, sword training.
Crack—!
A fourth leaped in.
"?!"
16th hour.
A crack in the mana stone.
Fruit of labor.
The unbreakable stone now sported a tiny groove.
Meager next to Aphren's, but cracked it was.
"I... I did it...!"
Thud.
I collapsed backward.
Called up my status.
Mana is growing.
Mana was growing.
Small, but certain.
16 hours' triumph.
The 'lunatic's' victory, mocked by all.
A chuckle escaped.
(To be continued...)