The chicken arrived.
They were setting up the two chickens and were about to start tearing into them when it happened.
“Argh, when will I ever lose this beginner tag?”
Min-jeong’s hand, clutching a chicken leg, dropped onto the table.
It was a sudden outburst of frustration.
As the Trainee with the slowest progress, it seemed she was struggling internally.
Kim Song-cheol and the other trainees exchanged glances.
“Everyone has their own pace.”
Kim Song-cheol stepped up first. As the oldest, it was time for him to set an example.
“Uncle, you’re just too fast…”
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.
It was like someone driving a sports car telling a person in a horse-drawn cart to hang in there.
The person in the cart probably couldn’t even hear what was being said over the loud roar of the sports car’s exhaust.
Kim Song-cheol shut his mouth and tore into a piece of chicken.
His first attempt was a failure.
He instinctively felt that instead of a mindless second attempt, it was time to take a step back.
“Are you anxious because you think you’re the only one who’s slow?”
Su-ji cut in at the perfect moment.
“I think so…”
It seemed to work.
“It’s just that we’re a bit fast; you’re not actually lagging behind.
Compared to other trainees, you’re actually on the faster side.”
Min-jeong’s expression brightened slightly at Su-ji’s calm consolation.
She slowly brought the chicken leg back toward her mouth.
“Still, the chicken is good, right?”
When Kim Song-cheol asked casually, Min-jeong nodded with a gloomy expression, then let out a small laugh.
It seemed she found her own behavior—acting like she was about to cry while still eating chicken—quite funny.
“It’s thanks to you, Uncle, that I’ve even made it this far, but I feel like I’ve just been complaining.”
It was an undeniable truth that she had grown quickly because Kim Song-cheol had guided her in Magic.
Min-jeong belatedly expressed her gratitude.
“It’s nothing. I learn a lot while helping you guys too. The teacher often ends up gaining as much as the student, after all.”
“Oh, by the way, didn’t you have team training today?”
Su-ji slapped her knee as she asked.
To the other trainees, forming a team and entering a Dungeon was still a distant future.
They couldn’t help but be curious.
“I did.”
Kim Song-cheol nodded as he chewed on a pickled radish.
“How was it?”
When Min-jeong asked, everyone stared intently at Kim Song-cheol’s mouth.
“It was just team training. Attacking Goblin illusions, learning formations…”
“Who are your teammates?”
“Ah, I joined a team that was already established.”
“Does that even happen?”
“Apparently so.”
“What team is it?”
“Team 25A.”
As soon as the trainees heard the team’s name, they nodded as if to say, ‘Of course.’
Any team with the letter ‘A’ attached was the strongest team within a certain bracket.
It was the most suitable team for someone of Kim Song-cheol’s caliber to be dropped into.
“Then are there five people on the team? Wait, if it’s five, the headcount won’t match, right?”
“No, one person left. Because of me.”
“Eh?”
The trainees were nearly aghast.
Even Min-cheol, who was usually quiet and showed little emotion, widened his eyes.
The Training Academy placed high importance on teamwork.
In such a situation, kicking one person out and putting a new team member in was quite shocking.
“You mean they removed someone from an existing team and you went in, Uncle? The hazing must have been no joke.”
“Exactly. Did anything happen?”
“Anything? Just… they herded some Goblins toward me during training. They intentionally let a few slip through.”
“What? Did you just let them? Surely you didn’t, right? That’s exactly when you should show them what you’re made of!”
Min-jeong raised her voice, getting worked up as if it were her own problem.
“Hey, it’s fine. I couldn’t exactly start a fight.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t do anything?”
“I just gave them a thumbs up.”
“Why a thumbs up?”
“Their Magic was good. I guess they aren’t in Team 25A for nothing.”
“What is that? You can’t let them see you as a pushover… What should we do?”
Min-jeong went back into worry mode. This time, the main topic was, ‘How can Kim Song-cheol establish his position in Team 25A?’
“…I don’t think they’ll see him as a pushover.”
Min-cheol, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up.
Kim Song-cheol patted Min-cheol on the shoulder.
It was because the boy’s thoughts aligned with his own.
Su-ji also nodded and spoke.
“Yeah, that’s right. Compared to a Team 25A Mage, Uncle wouldn’t fall behind at all. No, you might even be better.”
At that, Min-jeong tilted her head, wondering, ‘Is that so?’
In truth, even the trainees here didn’t know the full extent of Kim Song-cheol’s Magic skills.
He hadn’t shown them things like Magic Simplification that could be used in actual combat.
“You guys don’t need to worry about Team 25A. I purposely showed off my Magic skills a bit. There shouldn’t be any issues for the most part.”
The 3-Consecutive Casting with Magic Simplification was intentional on Kim Song-cheol’s part.
There were many other ways to deal with the situation without being so flashy.
Though Kim Song-cheol might have appeared thoughtless, in reality, he had immediately calculated his response upon seeing his hostile teammates.
In Kim Song-cheol’s experience, there was no weapon better than skill.
He had already demonstrated his value.
All that remained was the judgment of the leader, Mun Gi-jeong.
‘He seemed like a smart kid. I’m sure he’ll handle it. It’s a hassle to keep showing off this and that.’
After performing the 3-Consecutive Casting, Kim Song-cheol was about 95 percent certain of the outcome when he saw Mun Gi-jeong stop ‘letting Goblins slip.’
The match had already been decided.
***
The Training Academy Director, Kim Myung-joo, sat at his desk and reviewed the status of the trainees.
A spreadsheet filled the monitor, detailing names, enrollment dates, Magic and Swordsmanship levels, Dungeon clear history, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.
A file folder lay beneath the monitor.
It was a list of Hunters who had recently died.
Late Seo Jin-yeong (22)
Late Kim Hee-yun (21)
Late Lee Jung-su (19)
In a single month, three Hunters had passed away.
Their bodies couldn’t even be recovered.
The reasons varied.
Either there wasn’t enough time to retrieve the body, the body was damaged beyond recovery, or in some cases, death couldn’t even be confirmed.
Simply put, it meant the rest of the team members had fled.
It wasn’t that they had abandoned them on purpose.
Usually, it was because they encountered a powerful Monster or a hostile Hunter from another dimension.
Kim Myung-joo’s expression was somber as he scanned the spreadsheet.
When he looked down, he saw the list of the deceased.
They were all familiar faces.
Since the number of trainees wasn’t that large to begin with, he had watched their growth while reviewing the daily updated sheets.
The news of the death of the Hunters he had raised was a heavy burden.
However, he had neither the time nor the luxury to wallow in emotion.
As the Director, he had to select trainees to fill the vacancies left by the fallen Hunters.
At times like this, he felt like a prison warden sending convicts to the scaffold.
Kim Myung-joo steadied his heart by recalling the Ulsan Incident.
This was work that someone had to do, and if it wasn’t done, even greater damage would occur.
That was the greatest strength sustaining Kim Myung-joo.
“Whew…”
After much deliberation, Kim Myung-joo selected three trainees.
He offered a small prayer that he wouldn’t hear of any obituaries this time.
‘I’m jealous. Of the United Kingdom, that is.’
The United Kingdom had one incredibly powerful Hunter.
In terms of strength, that Hunter was likely the strongest in the world.
That strength translated directly into national power, leaving the United Kingdom with plenty of leeway.
Their Hunters didn’t have to enter difficult Dungeons, and Gates were deleted as soon as they appeared.
Their Hunter mortality rate was the lowest.
They even had leftover Points after deleting Gates.
Those surplus Points were used in a virtuous cycle to make their hero even stronger.
The Republic of Korea also desperately wished for the birth of such a hero.
Perhaps the person who wanted a hero most in the Republic of Korea was Kim Myung-joo.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Kim Myung-joo looked up, closing the list of deceased Hunters.
Ji Yun-o opened the door and entered.
He walked to the front of the desk and gave a polite bow.
“How did it go?”
Kim Myung-joo asked without preamble.
He was the one who had ordered daily reports, after all.
He had already heard yesterday’s report about what happened in Team 25A.
He knew there had been uncooperative behavior toward Kim Song-cheol and that Kim Song-cheol had not reacted specifically.
Now, it was time to hear about today’s events.
“Well… things turned out a bit…”
“Why? Did something happen?”
Kim Myung-joo asked back before Ji Yun-o could finish.
He was reacting more sensitively than usual because it concerned Kim Song-cheol.
Perhaps Kim Song-cheol could surpass that Hunter in the United Kingdom.
It was no exaggeration to say that all of Kim Myung-joo’s attention was currently focused on Kim Song-cheol.
“It’s just that things ended rather anticlimactically.”
Ji Yun-o had a dissatisfied expression.
“Tell me in detail.”
“I went out to the training ground before class started. Since you ordered a report, I intended to watch from the preparation stage.”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“The Team 25A members came out early, and Trainee Kim Song-cheol arrived exactly on time. The atmosphere was a bit awkward. They exchanged greetings, but there wasn’t much else said.”
“And the training?”
“The training proceeded very smoothly. Unlike the first day, the cooperation was excellent.”
“The cooperation was good?”
“Yes. They engaged in the training diligently as if nothing had ever happened. All four of the Team 25A members.”
“Is that so?”
Kim Myung-joo trailed off.
This was different from what he expected.
He thought yesterday was just a feeling-out process and that they would reveal their full resentment toward Kim Song-cheol today.
But the training was smooth?
“Yes, that’s correct. After training was over, the other trainees even apologized to Trainee Kim Song-cheol.”
“An apology?”
Kim Myung-joo frowned.
He looked as if he couldn’t understand.
“Yes. They apologized, and Trainee Kim Song-cheol accepted it as if it were no big deal. That was how it ended.”
“Did Trainee Kim Song-cheol do anything else outside of training hours?”
“No. I was curious myself, so I asked the Team 25A leader for the details, and he said it was their own decision. To summarize, they said they evaluated Trainee Kim Song-cheol’s skills very highly.”
“So they were simply overwhelmed by his skill?”
“Yes. That’s why it was a bit anticlimactic. The training on how to handle uncooperative Hunters didn’t even happen; it just concluded. It was pointless.”
Kim Myung-joo tapped on the desk, deep in thought.
Then he suddenly spoke.
“Perhaps he *did* handle it.”
“Excuse me? Trainee Kim Song-cheol didn’t do anything, though.”
“He didn’t just ‘overwhelm’ them; he overwhelmed them with skill. There’s a high probability that the fast casting using simplification was a performance of his ability.”
Kim Song-cheol’s method was quite sophisticated.
He had achieved the maximum effect with minimum effort.
If he showed one quick cast and received an apology, nothing was more efficient than that.
“We might be underestimating Trainee Kim Song-cheol. It’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it? That the Team 25A leader evaluated Trainee Kim Song-cheol properly before we did.”
“I don’t think that’s quite the way to look at it.”
Ji Yun-o said with a small smile. In the first place, Kim Myung-joo’s words were practically a joke.
“In any case, it seems he certainly has the ability to cope. Excellent.”
Kim Myung-joo’s expression was quite bright.
It was because Kim Song-cheol was doing better than expected.
If he continued to grow like this, one could look forward to the future of the Republic of Korea.
“Then let’s finalize the date for the Dungeon deployment.”
“Pardon? Already?”
At Kim Myung-joo’s words, Ji Yun-o tilted his head.
It was standard to train for at least three weeks.
However, he also acknowledged Kim Song-cheol’s skills to some extent.
Even if he entered now, there wouldn’t be any issues in terms of ability.
“Let’s set it quickly. Actually, a 1st Circle Mastery is more than enough qualification.”
“If you say so… I’ll set it for five days from now.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Thus, the date for Kim Song-cheol’s Dungeon deployment was decided.
‘I wonder how many Points he’ll bring back. Heh.’
Kim Myung-joo had high hopes for the Points Kim Song-cheol would earn.
The first Points earned often held a symbolic meaning, sometimes used to predict a Hunter’s future.
While it wasn’t true for everyone, most Hunters who grew significantly had brought back many Points from their first Dungeon.