“What’s all this mess?”
“You’re here?” I replied as soon as Seo Hyeonji arrived.
The two foreigners were currently experiencing what the Big Three exercises were like under Kim Inho’s coaching.
They were going to be exhausted today from relentlessly punishing their muscles, no matter how good their basic physical traits were.
On the other side, Taeyang and the youngest foreigner were engaged in a prideful skirmish. Taeyang clearly had the upper hand since he possessed actual technique.
Lightly bouncing on his feet, Kim Taeyang was provoking the youngest, Zarang.
“What’s wrong? You struggling?”
“Puff… puff… Why strike with cotton? I ask, where is your fist?”
Kim Taeyang laughed triumphantly for the first time in a while. In today’s Sparring, Taeyang definitely held the advantage. You’ve grown a lot, our Taeyang.
“That’s enough, both of you.”
“You’re here, Team Leader.”
“Blondie was very lucky today. You should be grateful.”
The two of them growled at each other. It seemed they still had plenty of energy left. I needed to drain some of it out of them.
“Stop making so much noise. Jeong-guk. No-rae. Zarang. All of you, come here.”
“Wait… what did you just…”
“Oh, those are their Korean names. My sense of naming is pretty good, right?”
“Sense…?”
It makes it easier to remember. For triplets, names that connect like ‘Republic-Korea-Hooray’ are the best. Ignoring Seo Hyeonji, whose pupils were trembling, I addressed the three of them.
“If you want to perfectly recover the strength you once had, you need to train and rebuild your bodies. You know that, right?”
When Karin summoned them, they could use their original power. However, once the communication with the Gate was completely severed, they lost that strength. If I put them through training again and let them gain experience in Dungeons, they’ll soon undergo Awakening and I can raise them properly. They might even become stronger than before since they’ll achieve a Dual Awakening. Even I’m stronger now than—
No, I’m not stronger yet. I haven’t fully recovered my Synchronization Rate.
“Stop grumbling and work hard for the time being. And Zarang, you should study some Korean.”
“Study? Me?”
Lee Zarang bared his white teeth and let out a loud laugh. Whenever this guy spoke, he usually spat out insults about parents or native greetings.
Jeong-guk and No-rae were being translated normally, but for some reason, Zarang wasn’t. Then I remembered—he was always like this, even back in that world. I needed to fix that this time.
“Ms. Hyeonji, why don’t you personally handle the Korean lessons?”
“Why me?” Seo Hyeonji crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“Who else is there to teach him?”
“You could do it.”
“I’m going to do some Sparring with Taeyang.”
I saw Kim Taeyang flinch at my words.
“Honestly, Ms. Hyeonji, you have great diction, so I thought you’d be the perfect teacher.”
“Well… I am an actress, so of course my pronunciation is good,” Seo Hyeonji replied smugly.
She really is easy to handle because she’s so gullible.
“I wouldn’t even ask anyone else. I’m only asking for your help because you’re so capable, Ms. Hyeonji.”
“Whatever. Why the sudden compliments?” Seo Hyeonji snorted as if it were absurd, but I could see the corners of her mouth twitching.
That’s that, then.
“Well, if you want it that much, I’ll look over him for a bit.”
“Oh, good.”
I looked toward the Ring. Kim Taeyang quickly took off his gloves, preparing to get out.
“!”
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Kim Inho quickly brought me a pair of gloves. Our Inho really is well-prepared. I hopped into the Ring before Taeyang could even finish taking his gloves off.
“Oh, where do you think you’re going, Taeyang?”
“Haha. I just finished Sparring. I was going to go rest now.”
“Hey, now. Why rest? You had so much fun playing with the newbie, didn’t you?”
“Newbie? That was a fair match.” Taeyang avoided my gaze and smiled cautiously.
I smiled back.
“Put your gloves back on, and get your helmet and guards on quickly.”
“Team Leader! Whether I wear Protective Gear or not, your punches still hurt!”
“There’s a difference between being injured and being dead.”
“So you’re saying there’s no option where I don’t die or get hurt?”
Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? I pointed toward where Karin was. She smiled brightly and raised her hand.
“For just 100 won, you too can avoid becoming a cripple!”
“Hey, Lee Seoyeon!”
Now, the game begins.
***
“A warrior does not learn such things.”
Seo Hyeonji let out a low sigh as she watched the Black person in front of her boldly assert his right to refuse. Somehow, she had been swept up by Team Leader Lee Hyunbin and ended up with this annoying task. Since she had already agreed, she couldn’t say she was giving up now.
However, this man was quite stubborn.
“Mr. Zarang.”
It was a peculiar name. It was easy to remember, so she wouldn’t forget it, but she worried he might be teased by others.
‘Though I wonder who’d have the guts to tease him to his face.’
A 190 cm giant. He had the characteristic smooth yet solid physique of a Black person.
Furthermore, the grim scars on his face were enough to make anyone feel intimidated just by looking at him. His presence surpassed even the full-body tattoos of mediocre gangsters.
“Honestly, I’m not very good at teaching, and it’s a hassle for me too. So just go over there.”
Zarang snorted and looked toward the Ring. There, he saw Kim Taeyang being Sparred with — or rather, being unilaterally beaten.
“You’re a devil! A devil, I say!”
“Hahaha, why is our Taeyang’s mouth so pretty? Is it this part? Or this part?”
“Gwaaaargh!”
Every time he took a body blow, Kim Taeyang’s body floated into the air. Without realizing it, Zarang swallowed hard.
“Oh, he’s broken already. Teacher?”
“Payment received.”
The Healer Vending Machine, Lee Seoyeon, treated Kim Taeyang. Kim Taeyang rubbed his eyes and looked around as if wondering what had happened. Then, seeing the Team Leader smiling and wearing gloves, he quickly realized the situation.
“Lee Seoyeoooon! Stop it! Don’t heal me!”
“How can I not? It breaks my heart to see a comrade down.”
“Crazy! Team Leader, don’t come any closer!”
“There’s a saying that it hurts because you’re young, Kim Taeyang.”
The Team Leader’s white teeth flashed.
“You are currently enjoying your youth to the fullest.”
“Aaaaagh!”
Was he crying or laughing? Kim Taeyang let out a strange scream and began to run around the Ring. Seemingly pitying the sight, Lee Seoyeon used a Buff. A brilliant light enveloped Kim Taeyang’s body.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Bless Skill.”
A blessing spell to boost the morale of soldiers. It was one of Lee Seoyeon’s signature Skills. Having received it, Kim Taeyang’s eyes rolled back. His body was filled to the brim with power.
This was it. With this power, it was possible.
With a look of confidence, Kim Taeyang spoke to Lee Hyunbin.
“Hey. Lee Hyunbin.”
“…?”
“Think you’re that good at fighting? Follow me to the roof, you bastard!”
Lee Hyunbin blinked at the unexpected situation. Perhaps the blessing spell had been too much, or maybe his brain had been damaged.
Kim Taeyang, who was the first to jump down from the Ring, opened the door to the Training Room and glanced back to add one more thing.
“If you run away, you’re dead.”
Seeing that, Lee Hyunbin chuckled. He then quietly followed behind Kim Taeyang.
“Zarang likes matching word cards very much.”
Seeing Zarang suddenly change his attitude, Seo Hyeonji suppressed a laugh. While these days were familiar to her, it seemed they weren’t for him.
“Weren’t you used to this kind of training if you were his Knight anyway?”
“No. Leader has many Knights. Leader must also train soldiers. Cannot nag everyone individually.”
Seo Hyeonji thought she understood what Zarang meant. If you share the pain, it lessens. Since there was only one Lee Hyunbin, the more personal lessons he gave, the fewer times each person had to face him.
“So his subordinates were all scared of him.”
“Scared?”
“Fear.”
“Ah. Fear.” Zarang nodded. “Leader is our pride.”
Surprisingly, a compliment for the Team Leader followed.
“Leader protected many people. Everyone on the Continent knows Leader.”
For the first time, a sense of pride appeared on Zarang’s face. Seo Hyeonji felt a sense of wonder looking at his expression. Everyone had the same reaction. It was almost to the point where she wondered if they had all been brainwashed.
Lee Hyunbin. Just how great had he been as a Hero? The Lee Hyunbin she heard about from those who knew him seemed like a different person from the one she knew.
“Training is cruel. Leader has bad personality. But we do not die. Training proportional to his amazing personality saves many comrades.”
Indeed, after gaining basic Stamina, Seo Hyeonji found it easier to use her Skills. She didn’t get exhausted as quickly. She had also begun learning how to control the power she originally possessed from Hyunbin.
She wasn’t the only one. Kim Inho was currently the most talked-about rookie.
An all-rounder capable of being a Tank, Supporter, and Dealer.
Usually, such a position leads to being mediocre at everything, but Lee Hyunbin strengthened his close-combat training and supplemented his weaknesses with Items to prevent that.
He did it with his own money, too. Thanks to that, Kim Inho was growing rapidly.
The same went for Kim Taeyang. Not long ago, Kim Taeyang had gotten into a fight at a bar and knocked out his opponent.
It turned out the opponent was a Villain with a bounty on his head.
Like master, like disciple.
Thanks to catching a notorious Villain with his bare hands, Kim Taeyang was already being noticed by the media.
Currently, Kim Taeyang was the one in the team who most resembled Lee Hyunbin’s style.
“Zarang is an Orphan. Did bad things to survive. Then was dragged to war.”
The Seven Kingdoms were plagued by frequent wars and always suffered from a lack of manpower.
Therefore, they would sometimes conscript serious criminals as soldiers in exchange for commuting their sentences.
Of course, petty criminals were also sometimes framed as serious criminals and sent off.
Either way, they were destined to die.
It was better to die in war for the sake of their families, as they would receive a small amount of money in the name of compensation.
“Zarang was supposed to die. Comrades would all laugh. But I became strong. Leader trained me. I also made friends.”
Zarang bared his white teeth and smiled. The word cards held in his large hand spun around.
“Wait, did the people gathered like that become the Order of Knights?”
“Correct. My criminal friends. They became Leader’s Knights.”
Usually, criminal soldiers were taken as decoys.
They were meant to die while charging at the very front. However, Lee Hyunbin gathered them and trained them to survive.
And he fought in front of them.
The criminals, who had trembled in fear not knowing when they would die, survived day by day thanks to the Hero’s actions.
And now, they had the courage to fight.
It was the beginning of the 100-man Knights who had crushed the Demon King’s army.
Seo Hyeonji felt a strange sensation listening to his story.
Usually, the Team Leader did eccentric things. But when he was serious, he showed heroic actions, just like during the Earth Dragon Incident and the Terror Incident.
“You really like him.” Seo Hyeonji smiled warmly.
Although she had heard about the Hero’s achievements before, this was the first time she had heard a story from someone who had actually been with him. She was starting to feel a bit touched—
“Like? That is not ‘like.’ It is the worst.”
*Creak.*
The door to the Training Room opened. There, Kim Taeyang, who had been beaten unconscious, was being dragged in by Lee Hyunbin.
“Leader has many sadistic tendencies. He enjoys tormenting people very much. Trained… no, not ‘trained.’ Tormented. He greatly enjoys hearing the person he tormented crying in the restroom.”
Seo Hyeonji tapped the word cards to signal him.
“Leader is very wicked. He has a very perverted nature. I did not want to meet him again, but I meet him again.”
Unfortunately, Zarang failed to understand her signal.
“Leader also has stinky feet.”
“Um, Mr. Zarang.”
“He is a Hero, but closer to a devil. We all hated him. He is very violent and joyful.”
“Who is?”
“Yes, you. You…? When did you… arrive? It hurts. If you do that, my ear will tear off!”
Lee Hyunbin dragged him toward the Ring.
“This is all training because I’m worried you’ll get hurt when we go to clear Dungeons. You understand, right?”
“No. I get hurt more here. Zarang does not want this. My head will be damaged.”
There was no right to refuse. Seo Hyeonji watched the birth of a new team member while fiddling with the abandoned word cards.
It’s easier if you just give up.
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