When Park Moon-ho finished his explanation of the MPSP, the cadets all wore similar expressions.
‘If it seals even my own mana, what’s the point?’
‘It’s like an EMP. It destroys all electronic devices, mine or yours.’
‘This mystical ability is nothing but a chicken rib, just a chicken rib.’
But there was one exception: Kim Seo-jun.
If the MPSP could seal only mana, then for someone like Kim Seo-jun who possessed internal energy, it was practically the ultimate weapon.
“You all look like you’re thinking, ‘Why put such a useless mystical ability into the Gift?’ But if you think carefully, it’s far from useless.”
Park Moon-ho’s words were enough to recapture the cadets’ interest.
“Think about it. There are countless hunters out there with greater mana than you. There’s no guarantee you’ll always face weaker opponents. If you run into a much stronger hunter, and you have no way to escape or avoid a decisive battle, what would you do? Cadet Shin Tae-yang, answer.”
Shin Tae-yang, suddenly called on, wore a sulky expression for a moment before replying nonchalantly.
“I’ll use the crisis as an opportunity to level up my abilities, and then defeat my enemy with that newfound strength.”
It was a confident answer, but not the one Park Moon-ho wanted.
“Amusing, but incorrect. That only works for you, Shin Tae-yang. This time, Cadet Irina, your answer?”
The question shifted to Irina.
After thinking for a while, she suddenly brightened and answered cheerfully, “If I use the MPSP you just mentioned to seal both my own and my opponent’s mana, then go in for close-quarters combat, wouldn’t I be able to find a way out?”
Park Moon-ho nodded at her answer.
“That’s correct. That’s exactly what MPSP is for. It’s a lifeline that will save your life from the dangers you’ll face as Yeagers. So, do you all understand what’s necessary to make full use of the MPSP’s effect?”
What was necessary to fully utilize the MPSP.
It meant mastering unarmed combat skills that would allow you to fight your enemy even when you couldn’t use mana.
“I assume you all understand. From now on, we’ll begin the real training. You have exactly ten minutes. Within those ten minutes, completely master how to use your Gift. You can store three mystical abilities in the Gift. Every five days, you’ll be able to change which mystical abilities are stored, so choose carefully.”
With that, Park Moon-ho pressed the button on the teacher’s desk.
Beep—
With an electronic sound, a large clock appeared on the ceiling of the audiovisual room.
[09:59]
True to the Yeager principle of not wasting a single second on useless things, Park Moon-ho allotted exactly ten minutes.
Most of the cadets hurriedly opened their boxes and took out their Gifts, learning how to use them.
Cadets who had already read the Yeager Survival Handbook in detail had no trouble using their Gifts, but the rest were confused and fumbled.
Fortunately, they managed to follow the cadets nearby and pick up the controls, but their adaptation was inevitably slow.
Kim Seo-jun had already finished all his preparations quickly.
The Gift was designed as an electronic wristwatch, a style he really liked.
It came packed with a wide variety of functions.
Out of a total of twelve mystical abilities, Kim Seo-jun first chose Barrier, Mana Boost, and Physical Enhancement.
After setting up the Gift, he put it on his right wrist. It snapped on with a satisfying click.
There was absolutely no discomfort—the Gift’s fit was excellent.
Kim Seo-jun finished setting everything up in just two minutes.
With eight minutes left, he took some time to check out the other functions stored in the Gift.
On the approximately 41mm LCD screen that Kim Seo-jun was looking at, the names of all this batch’s Yeager cadets were listed.
Ten cadets, including Kim Seo-jun himself.
Irina (19), Shin Tae-yang (20), Lim Hee-joo (18), Park Hae-sung (22), Jo Tae-seok (21), Ahn Ji-woon (23), Min So-ra (21), Choi Chul-min (24), Yang Hwi (20).
The numbers beside their names were their ages.
Lim Hee-joo was the youngest at eighteen, and Choi Chul-min was the oldest at twenty-four.
Touching a name would bring up additional information in a simple format.
[Irina/19 years old]
- A mixed-race child with a Korean mother and a German father
- Awakened mystical ability: ‘Shaman Knight’
- Selected as a cadet while working as an interpreter
The information included the name of the mystical ability the cadet had awakened and the reason they became a Yeager cadet.
So Irina had been an interpreter—he hadn’t known that.
[Shin Tae-yang/20 years old]
- Son of Shin Yong-hwa, director of the Cosmo Foundation
- Awakened mystical ability: ‘Evolution’
- Picked as a cadet while traveling in Korea during vacation from MPIT, a U.S.-based school
This was the info on Shin Tae-yang, the cadet with the highest mana.
‘His mystical ability is Evolution… Same with Irina’s Shaman Knight, just from the name, it’s hard to tell what these abilities actually do.’
If he had to guess, Shaman Knight was probably spiritual, and Evolution suggested ongoing growth.
[Lim Hee-joo/18 years old]
- A high school senior from a middle-class family
- Awakened mystical ability: ‘Ultimate Skill’
- Awakened two months ago, planning to transfer to the 1st Hunter Academy
[Park Hae-sung/22 years old]
- Son of Park In-gwon, Chief of Naval Operations
- Awakened mystical ability: ‘Manifestation’
- Selected as a cadet while serving as the ace hunter of the Kingslayer Guild
The two couldn’t be more different.
Lim Hee-joo was a recently awakened ordinary high school student, while Park Hae-sung was the son of a high-ranking officer and already an ace of the major Kingslayer Guild.
‘No wonder Park Hae-sung acts so arrogant.’
He finally understood why Park Hae-sung, who always talked back to the instructor, had such a brash personality.
In their cases, the mystical ability names were more self-explanatory.
‘Ultimate Skill’ must mean unleashing a powerful special technique, and ‘Manifestation’ had to be the ability to turn imagination into reality.
‘They all seem like worthy picks for Yeager.’
He looked up the other cadets as well, and not one had a mundane mystical ability.
Jo Tae-seok, the son of a shaman, had the mystical ability ‘Connect’.
Ahn Ji-woon, whose father led the Big Dipper Guild, had ‘Battle Mode’.
Min So-ra, the daughter of the Pluto Guild’s leader, had ‘Etherealization’.
Choi Chul-min, whose older brother was a Hunter detective, had ‘Space Jump’.
Yang Hwi, whose father was CEO of one of the top ten construction companies, Ssyangyang Construction, possessed the unique mystical ability ‘Gravity Field’.
‘All of them have ridiculous backgrounds.’
Even Kim Seo-jun’s own father, Kim Ju-hyuk, was only the head secretary of the Hyeonmu Guild. Compared to a guild leader, chief of naval operations, major construction CEO, or foundation director, it was nothing.
Now that everyone could access the others’ mystical abilities and family backgrounds through the Gift, once training started, they might split into ‘gold spoons’ and ‘dirt spoons’ right away.
‘Why would they put such personal information in the Gift?’
There was no way the massive Yeager organization would do something so potentially divisive without reason.
It was probably intentional, to create this very situation.
For gold spoons, it was a warning to be wary of dirt spoons catching up and to push themselves harder.
For dirt spoons, it was to show them the possibility of rising to equal status regardless of background.
Whether that would actually work or just make the cadets resent and envy each other more remained to be seen.
While Kim Seo-jun was thinking this, ten minutes flew by.
“Time’s up. Everyone, stand up and follow me.”
Park Moon-ho rapped the table and walked to one side.
But it wasn’t toward the exit.
He headed to a secluded spot at the back of the audiovisual room.
There, in the corner, was a round, capsule-like device hidden from view.
“If it’s your first time, you might get dizzy, so be careful.”
Park Moon-ho gave a halfhearted warning, then stepped into the capsule. The glass lid closed instantly, and numbers began counting down above the capsule.
- 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0.
Psshk
The capsule containing Park Moon-ho vanished upward in an instant.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Why are you all just standing around? Cadets board in order, starting with Irina. Go!”
Two other instructors quickly began pushing cadets into the capsule.
As soon as Irina boarded, the capsule disappeared upward after the same countdown.
Next was Lim Hee-joo, same procedure.
Kim Seo-jun was seventh in line.
As he waited his turn in front of the capsule, Kim Seo-jun recalled what the Yeager Survival Handbook had said about the capsule transfer device.
He knew it was a high-speed transport device that instantly moved you to the training grounds located on the second basement floor of the Yeager camp.
So when his turn came, he boarded without nervousness, placing both hands calmly in front of his chest.
The countdown began, and as soon as zero appeared on the glass,
Psshk
A tremendous pressure hit him as his body was flung upward.
The force was incredible.
It wasn’t just in one direction—pressure came from above and the sides, lasting several seconds, almost enough to make him faint.
Kim Seo-jun already knew the pressure was nearly 9G.
The Yeager Survival Handbook had said that if you didn’t keep both arms in front of your chest and stay mentally focused, you could dislocate bones or even pass out.
It also said that the gravity force you’d feel inside the capsule could approach 9G.
The distance covered by the capsule transfer was about 1.5 kilometers.
Traveling that far in five seconds meant the capsule moved at near-sonic speed.
Fortunately, the capsule had safety systems to protect passengers during rapid acceleration and deceleration.
Still, if your posture was off or you boarded carelessly, the extreme G-force could compress your blood vessels and make you lose consciousness.
After five seconds, the capsule stopped.
Kim Seo-jun opened his eyes, which had closed from dizziness.
Ssshhh
As the glass opened, a man wearing the distinctive navy-blue Yeager instructor uniform stuck his face inside.
“State your name and date of birth.”
“Kim Seo-jun. August XX, 2015.”
Kim Seo-jun’s precise answer seemed to surprise the instructor slightly.
“Can you walk out on your own?”
“Yes.”
Kim Seo-jun stepped out of the capsule without any trouble.
Outside, it was like an enormous park—it felt like being outdoors.
Nearby, six identical capsules were sticking up out of the ground.
In front of them, some cadets who’d boarded earlier were lying collapsed.
Lim Hee-joo and Park Hae-sung were lying on cots, possibly unconscious, while Irina, Min So-ra, and Jo Tae-seok were vomiting repeatedly.
The only one who looked okay among those who’d boarded before Kim Seo-jun was Shin Tae-yang.
Seeing that Kim Seo-jun was perfectly steady, the instructor signaled OK to one side.
There, Park Moon-ho was standing with a hologram panel in front of his chest, taking notes.
Just then, another capsule popped up beside Kim Seo-jun with a deflating sound.
Inside was Ahn Ji-woon, but even after the glass opened, he didn’t move.
The instructor, seeing this, signaled an X to Park Moon-ho.
Then, carrying Choi Chul-min over his shoulder, he laid him on a nearby cot.
Next arrived Choi Chul-min.
He wasn’t completely unconscious, but couldn’t steady himself.
With the instructor’s help, he made it out, staggered dizzily, then collected himself and went to rest.
The last to arrive was Yang Hwi.
He was as steady as Kim Seo-jun, walking out of the capsule on his own without issue.
He stood in line next to the other cadets who were standing by themselves.
Park Moon-ho walked up to these three.
Kim Seo-jun, Shin Tae-yang, Yang Hwi.
They were the three who had walked out of the capsule on their own power after arrival.
“You three will begin physical fitness testing immediately. Follow the instructor’s directions and finish as fast as you can. The faster you finish, the better your evaluation, and the longer you’ll have to rest. However, you absolutely cannot use mana. With that in mind… Instructor Lee?”
When Park Moon-ho called, an instructor who looked utterly pitiless trudged over and manipulated the Gift on his wrist. Instantly,
Piiiiing—
A wave of mana from the instructor’s Gift swept quickly through the area within ten meters.
The three, exposed to the wave, realized their mana had instantly vanished.
At the same time, except for Kim Seo-jun, the other two swayed as if dizzy.
Park Moon-ho, watching closely, looked at the still-composed Kim Seo-jun with surprise and spoke.
“This is the effect of the MPSP. Cadets will proceed with testing in this state. Follow the instructor to the testing area immediately. Move out!”
There was no time to waste.
Instructor Lee had already started running, with Kim Seo-jun close behind.
Shin Tae-yang and Yang Hwi, still struggling to adjust to the loss of mana, stumbled and forced themselves to follow.