Chapter 5: Awakening (1)

Suddenly, the surroundings darkened.

And from the sky, a spotlight shone down solely on me.

A pillar of light invisible to anyone else—only I could see it.

Just like that, all of a sudden?

-Program installation commencing.

It’s real. I really have awakened.

I could feel the warm light seeping into my body. To feel this sensation again…

It was as if vitality was flowing throughout my entire body.

As the light faded and my vision returned, the blond kid was staring blankly at me.

“Coach?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“I have to. Yeah, I have to.”

A smile naturally spread across my lips as I spoke.

The blond tilted his head at my expression.

I didn’t care if he found it strange or not. Finally, I had awakened.

The status window indicating my connection to the System appeared before my eyes.

Watching the install bar gradually fill brought a wave of anticipation.

Once connected to the System, a person is granted the abilities that suit them best.

Like in those comics where the protagonist awakens the power to save someone in a critical moment.

But come to think of it, it felt a bit uneasy. There was no crisis or danger at all right now.

I had naturally awakened immediately upon entering the Dungeon.

I was curious what kind of power I would awaken, what abilities I would possess. Well, since it was an ability I would gain, it had to be something good.

Popularity would rise. Money would come in.

Scandals with beautiful celebrities, riding a luxury sports car, my face in the newspapers—I could picture it all.

Of course, I had no material greed, but if I lived too frugally, the economy wouldn’t circulate. If I earn a lot, I have to spend a lot. That’s just a fact.

“This coach—is he the one in charge of the new guy?”

“Hunter Kim Taeyang. He belongs to the Hwarang Guild.”

“Oh, he got into a good place, huh?”

The person greeting me now was a 42-year-old active Hunter.

Naturally, his athletic ability was inferior compared to the younger ones. But with his experience, he was a stable and reliable hunter.

“If he’s training this kid, then he must have potential, huh?”

“Oh no, he’s still a rookie. Look at his hair color—it’s exactly chick yellow.”

“Nowadays, young Hunters have all kinds of colors—red, green, and everything.”

After exchanging these trivial jokes, we parted ways.

Besides this 40-something Hunter, everyone else waiting in the room were familiar faces.

Hunters. People who move to hunt.

But the public often calls them miners.

Because they enter gloomy Dungeons daily, breathing the scent of blood, collecting stone fragments from monster bodies, they’re inevitably called miners.

Some even say they go there to mine.

Of course, Hunters hate being called miners.

“You seem to know a lot of people, Coach.”

“I’ve been coming in and out of here for about half a year now. Seeing them often makes them feel like coworkers, so it’s nice to greet them. But not all are pleasant.”

I said that as I spotted an annoying face from afar.

Hunters come and go every day. But as a Trainer, I’m not a Hunter, so I don’t have to show up daily.

Still, there’s this one guy I keep running into strangely often.

“Lee Hyunbin.”

A muscle-bound guy, with a body like a flipped cockroach, approached me.

“You here for training too?”

His name was Seonsu. Was he named so to become a strong athlete?

He looked like someone who’d do nothing but train except eat and sleep.

“Ah, this is the new guy at our center. He’s pretty good. Kim Inho, a promising talent from the Fighting God Guild.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Inho from the Fighting God Guild.”

Fighting God Guild.

The name made me uneasy. It was the place that once mocked me in the second interview, saying, “You’re a hero? Summon a sword then.”

“This is Hunter Kim Taeyang. A promising member of the Hwarang Guild.”

“Hello, today is my first training session.”

Muscle guy’s eyes twitched upon seeing the blond curly-haired Kim Taeyang.

I could guess what he was thinking. That thug-like kid gave off a rough vibe, so no wonder.

Thugs don’t even bother training.

At first, I worried the blond kid wouldn’t listen. But surprisingly, he trained very hard.

Maybe because he hated getting hit.

The rookie looked like the exact opposite of the blond. His persistence and effort were written all over his face.

“This is their first training session, both of them. You’ll see them often from now on. They’re practically comrades, so it’s good to get acquainted.”

“Yes, senior. Please take care of us.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kim Taeyang and Kim Inho shook hands.

They looked about the same age, and there was a hint of rivalry in the air. Like they were sizing each other up.

Now that I think about it, the blond kid even hit someone on his first day at the center. Hopefully, he’s not going to throw the first punch again?

“Still, since he’s a promising member of the Hwarang Guild, it’s probably better to train under a former Hunter.”

Ah, here we go again.

“No, it’s not like I’m looking down on him. Hyunbin’s good. But there are things only actual Hunters can understand.”

He glanced at me and smiled. At first glance, he seemed nice, but he was still sulking.

Muscle guy once asked me for a sparring match shortly after I became a Trainer.

He said it was a rite of passage for new Trainers.

We sparred, and I won decisively.

The next day, he said I caught him off guard and wanted a rematch—K.O. again.

I heard through the grapevine that the woman Hunter he was hitting on dumped him because of that.

“I told you I’m not sparring.”

“What? Why are you bringing up sparring now?”

At my words, the blond seemed to understand the meaning. He was the one who sparred with me most recently.

The blond gave muscle guy a look of camaraderie.

Muscle guy’s face reddened, as if recalling an unpleasant memory.

Only Kim Inho, the rookie Hunter, seemed clueless about what was being said.

“In our guild, Coach’s skills are well recognized. I think so too.”

Our blond kid deserved a break now. He’s come a long way. I saw it the moment I first met him. Yeah.

“A Trainer who hasn’t awakened is like driving a car without a license. They just don’t know better yet.”

“I awakened too.”

The install had just finished.

My status window was now fully visible and ready to activate anytime.

• Lee Hyunbin LV1
• Strength: 27
• Agility: 32
• Stamina: 27
• Mana: 03
• Luck: 27

These were my current stats.

Normally, a newly awakened Hunter’s initial stats hover around 10. Specialized stats for their job barely reach 20. At first glance, my stats were high.

But I was once called the strongest in another world.

Compared to that, these stats were somewhat disappointing, especially the low mana.

‘Since I’m officially connected to the System now, I can grow these stats as much as I want.’

There was just one thing bothering me.

The mosaic over my name.

Hero Lee Hyunbin? Warrior Lee Hyunbin? Knight Lee Hyunbin?

I couldn’t tell my class. Come to think of it, the abilities and skills that should be displayed at the bottom of the status window were all mosaicked out too.

I’d heard sometimes data with too wide a range comes out like this.

“Huh? Coach, you awakened? Really?”

“Yes. I did, right?”

“When? Oh, was it when you were standing there blankly drooling earlier?”

What? I was drooling? Spacing out? It was a bit embarrassing, but since I awakened, I’d forgive that.

At the news of my awakening, muscle guy’s face trembled.

• It looked pitifully fragile.

Like the rookie he brought around, muscle guy wore the expression of “So what if I awakened?” which was the usual reaction.

But I was different.

Though it’s only been half a year, many people pay attention to me.

Especially the former team leader of the Hwarang Guild.

This old man lost his hair but said he’d protect mine. He even gave me his business card telling me to contact him once I awakened.

“Is that so? Congratulations. So, what did you awaken?”

“Thanks. I’ll check it outside later.”

“Well then, you should go. Good luck.”

Muscle guy’s face soured visibly. The blond immediately brightened and asked,

“Coach, what kind of awakening is it?”

“I just said, I need to check.”

“Oh? Mine showed up right away.”

“Mine’s on a different level. It needs a lot more data.”

“Oh, I see.”

But this wasn’t nonsense.

Mass-produced class Hunters download their data quickly and can check immediately.

The fact that it can’t be checked means it’s rare news.

When I awakened as a hero in the other world, the program install took hours.

“Alright, let’s get going to the training. You know you need to collect Goblin Tokens to get your official Hunter license, right?”

“Coach, shouldn’t you register for training too? Then we can gather them together.”

Now that I thought about it, that made sense.

“Eh, but it’s your first training. I should watch over Hunter Kim Taeyang a bit.”

Though I said that, I was itching to analyze my new abilities. Still, as a Trainer, not yet a Hunter, I had to hold back.

I moved to the Goblin respawn area with the blond kid.

The Anyang Amusement Park Dungeon was composed of three layers.

The first layer summoned the weakest monsters, like Lesser Goblins.

The second layer also had goblin-level monsters, but they moved in parties. Occasionally, a stronger one would appear in the upper layer.

The third layer, the deepest part of the Dungeon, housed higher-tier monsters like Orcs.

Why were stronger monsters found deeper? Simple.

A Gate appears, and the Dungeon Core is planted here.

The area around this Dungeon Core becomes the Dungeon’s domain.

The place where the Gate was first formed is the deepest part. The last formed area is the first layer.

So the third layer isn’t necessarily underground. They’re not moles.

Monsters closest to the Dungeon Core receive abundant mana support, making them stronger.

The Hunter trainees gathered in the respawn zone. Some faces were new, others familiar—like the annoying muscle guy I had argued with earlier.

Muscle guy crossed his arms, watching to see how well the blond I trained would do.

Kim Inho, trained by muscle guy, was worthy of being called a promising talent.

He fought the goblins back and forth, subduing them without a single scratch.

He took about a minute to kill the goblins.

That was impressively fast for a rookie Hunter’s first real battle. Compared to other trainees in the novice hunting grounds, that is.

Some Hunters were struggling so much against goblins that their Trainers were nervous nearby.

Others were so scared they wouldn’t even approach the goblins.

Some even cried, saying they couldn’t handle it.

Some have awakened as Hunters, but their personalities or aptitude weren’t suitable.

“Start, Hunter Kim Taeyang.”

“Yes, Coach.”

The blond strode toward the Lesser Goblin that had just respawned.

He stretched his hand into thin air. Slowly, his hand disappeared into the dark void.

It was the inventory function obtained upon connecting to the System as a Hunter.

Even without a bag, being able to pull out weapons from a personal storage only visible to oneself was convenient.

Typically, a combat Hunter’s inventory was just one slot, maybe five at most.

They could only carry a weapon or two at best.

The weapon I recommended to the blond was the Kukri.

This weapon specialized in slashing, a truly overpowered weapon.

The Lesser Goblin, seeing the blond approach, drew a worn dagger.

It was a monster’s instinct to prepare for battle even when summoned to an unfamiliar place.

Clack.

The blond took a running start and accelerated.

The goblin swung its dagger threateningly at him.

Snap!

The goblin’s pupils widened in shock. Its head slipped from its neck’s severed surface, tumbling on the ground.

I already knew the blond had good physical abilities. He’d been training diligently.

Now, let’s see his potential as a Hunter.

“Wow, he slashed really well.”

The blond flicked the blood off the Kukri’s blade in midair.

Thanks to the System, his attacks received a damage boost.

But physiologically, some people just can’t fight. The blond had excellent Hunter aptitude.

I knew that from the moment he was beating people up.

“What? Did he just kill it in one hit?”

“Isn’t he a rookie?”

“Another one trained by Lee Hyunbin?”

I leisurely watched muscle guy while hearing the murmurs around me. I didn’t forget to smile.

-System reconnected.

-Inventory expanded to 50 slots.

The System sent a message after finishing the install.