Kim Song-cheol entered the Special Tactical Education Center.
He had seen it in photos several times and knew it well, but seeing it in person was even more grand than the pictures suggested.
It was built in a mountain valley on the outskirts of Seoul, and the grounds were larger than most universities.
Currently, a total of 97 people were enrolled at the center.
It meant that even after scouring for people whose Mana Affinity exceeded a certain level, there weren’t even 100 individuals.
“It’s quite nice, isn’t it?” said Kim Myung-joo, who was sitting next to him.
Kim Myung-joo’s title was Director of the Special Tactics Training Center.
Thanks to that, even though his Mana Affinity wasn’t very high, he was someone who had learned magic to some degree.
“It’s bigger than I thought. Do you use all the facilities?”
“We use every bit of it.”
“How many people have enrolled that you need this much space…”
“Since Kim Song-cheol has enrolled, there are now 98.”
“That’s fewer than I expected. There are at least five buildings visible.”
“To learn swordsmanship, you need a lot of space, and the magic practice rooms are quite large. The researchers are all here, too. We’ll be expanding next year as well. If you look later, there’s an empty lot in the back, haha.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Kim Song-cheol was guided to the dormitory by the Director.
Being escorted to the dormitory by the Director was a first since the center’s establishment.
“This is the room where Kim Song-cheol will be staying.”
The dormitory had a total of 16 floors.
Specifically, the 16th floor.
Kim Song-cheol was assigned the room on the very top.
“It’s almost like a hotel…”
The room was considerably nice.
Since it was a dormitory, he had just expected a studio apartment, but it completely defied his expectations.
It was a three-bedroom unit and looked to be about 900 square feet.
Furthermore, everything from the bed to the appliances was brand new.
The protective film was still attached to the washing machine.
“I assume no one has used this place before?”
Kim Song-cheol asked as he set down his suitcase.
“It’s the room I used to use.”
“What? Then where will you stay?”
“I have my own separate home, haha. Occasionally, when I worked night shifts at the center, I would sleep here. But since I only sleep here once in a while, I didn’t need such a large room.”
“I see that’s why you didn’t use the appliances either.”
“I had them replaced with new ones. Our country is a developed nation, isn’t it? We have enough budget for this much, haha.”
Kim Myung-joo walked Kim Song-cheol around like a real estate agent, explaining every corner of the room.
First, a housekeeper would come once a day to clean, and there was a system where they would prepare whatever meal he ordered.
Since they delivered right to his door, there was no need to worry about being hungry at night.
He also said that the 16th floor would be quieter since there were no other trainees.
Apparently, since most of the trainees were around their 20s, it got a bit noisy at night.
“Then, please rest until 15:00, and I will return at 15:15. There will be a screening test. We will distinguish whether it’s better for you to learn swordsmanship or magic. It’s a simple test, so you don’t have to worry. After the classification, we will proceed straight to basic classes. Again, we won’t train you too harshly from the first day, so don’t worry.”
Kim Myung-joo left the room with a smile that suggested he could be trusted.
Kim Song-cheol was left alone in the spacious home.
He stood in the living room, looked around, and plopped down on the sofa.
“…Oh..”
He had sat down without thinking, but the feeling of the sofa softly enveloping his body was incredible.
It seemed to be a very expensive sofa.
However, a small sigh soon escaped his lips.
‘When should I tell Mother and Father….’
Kim Song-cheol hadn’t told them he was becoming a Hunter yet.
He had enrolled in the center with a heart that could be called grand in its own way, wanting to serve the Republic of Korea.
Since they made such a fuss about his Mana Affinity being 100, he had come to contribute to the country.
But would his parents feel the same way?
“Ah, whatever.”
Kim Song-cheol just sprawled out on the sofa.
Right now, even starting the training was overwhelming.
Anyway, being deployed to an actual Dungeon only happens after receiving a certain amount of training.
He heard it takes 6 months at the earliest, and 1 to 2 years at the latest.
Couldn’t he just tell them sometime during that period?
Kim Song-cheol pushed the matter regarding his parents aside for now.
Knock, knock.
Exactly 3:15.
There was a knock.
Kim Song-cheol, who had been lying on the sofa for two hours, stood up and opened the front door.
In front of him were Kim Myung-joo and two people, a man and a woman.
The man was very large.
He looked to be 6’3″, and his weight seemed to be twice that of the slender Kim Myung-joo.
On the other hand, the woman was wearing an ordinary dress.
At a glance, she looked like a kindergarten teacher.
The two of them each brought an item.
The man had a long sword, and the woman had a strange wooden stick.
“Ah, you’re here?”
Kim Song-cheol greeted Kim Myung-joo first.
“Did you rest well?”
“Yes, the place is nice. I rested well.”
Kim Myung-joo and the two individuals entered the room together.
It was the woman who closed the front door.
Click.
“This is Swordsmanship Instructor Go Jung-in, and this is Magic Instructor Seo I-tae.
They are high-level assets who can also be deployed as Hunters in emergencies, haha.”
“Yes, hello. I’m Kim Song-cheol.”
When Kim Song-cheol bowed his head, Go Jung-in scanned him with sharp eyes.
“Tsk, do we really have to go this far?”
Go Jung-in seemed to be dissatisfied with something.
“It’s the first time we’ve visited a trainee’s dormitory directly for screening, so our Instructor Go seems a bit upset.”
“Ah, if you had told me, I would have gone there.”
“No. The party that wants something should be the one to move.”
Kim Myung-joo patted Go Jung-in on the shoulder.
It was a gesture telling him to restrain himself, and Go Jung-in reluctantly shut his mouth.
Perhaps the Director hadn’t told him Kim Song-cheol’s exact Mana Affinity.
“Then, shall we start with Instructor Go first?”
“Sure.”
Go Jung-in thrust out a sword he was carrying at his side.
Kim Song-cheol reflexively received the sword and looked up at Go Jung-in.
“Draw it.”
“Yes.”
Kim Song-cheol drew the sword as instructed.
Shing.
The sharp sword was pulled out smoothly.
‘This is… a real sword?’
Kim Song-cheol swallowed hard.
The bluish blade gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
He had never seen a real sword before, but he got a strong feeling that this was the real deal.
“Try a downward strike once,” Go Jung-in said.
“Pardon? Just any which way?”
“Yes. You can really just do it however you like.”
Since he was told he could do it however he liked, there was no reason to hesitate.
Kim Song-cheol took a step back, raised the sword high, and swung it downward.
Whoosh.
The sword cut through the air, making a rather threatening sound.
Go Jung-in tilted his head.
“….Your coordination is better than I expected? Try a horizontal swing.”
“Like this?”
Whoosh.
Kim Song-cheol swung the sword horizontally as requested.
The tip of the sword almost touched the sofa, but thanks to him pulling the sword back slightly as he finished, he avoided tearing it.
Furthermore, Go Jung-in didn’t miss that and saw it clearly.
“Let’s try a sequence of movements.”
Go Jung-in requested a few more movements.
All involved swinging the sword, and Kim Song-cheol quickly became out of breath and sweaty.
Go Jung-in watched Kim Song-cheol intently before speaking to Kim Myung-joo.
“He’s quite decent.”
“Pass?”
“For now. Let’s look at the magic side too. After all, don’t we just need to find which side is better between swordsmanship and magic?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Go Jung-in took the sword back from Kim Song-cheol.
Next was Magic Instructor Seo I-tae’s turn.
“Shall we sit down for ours?”
Seo I-tae said with a kind smile.
“Yes, well. That would be good.”
Kim Song-cheol spoke while wiping his sweat.
The two sat facing each other across the table.
Go Jung-in and Kim Myung-joo sat on the sofa, watching like spectators.
“Now, from now on, we are going to make this stick float in the air.”
Seo I-tae carefully placed the stick on the desk.
“It’s nothing special.”
She raised both hands and placed them on either side of the stick.
“You just have to think about making it float in the air. You might not be able to feel Mana yet, but Mana is always all around us. And even if we can’t feel the Mana close to our bodies, it follows our control to some extent.”
Seo I-tae’s fingers began to wiggle as if playing a piano.
“Like this.”
Then, the lying stick suddenly stood up.
It looked just like a street magic show.
The stick slowly rose and reached Kim Song-cheol’s eye level.
“Magic begins with this control. If your Mana Affinity is high, a certain level of control is guaranteed, but anything beyond that must be innate.”
As Seo I-tae withdrew her hands, the stick fell onto the desk with a thud.
“Would you like to try?”
“Do I just have to make it float?”
“In the beginning, even just making it stand up is good. If you make it float in the air, that’s excellent.”
“Ah, really?”
Kim Song-cheol placed his hands on both sides of the stick with a light heart.
Since his Mana Affinity was high, he didn’t think it would be difficult.
‘Float, float….’
Kim Song-cheol filled his head with the image of the stick rising.
Originally, his concentration wasn’t bad.
In an instant, distracting thoughts disappeared, and all his focus was on the stick.
The stick seemed to roll on the desk for a moment, then suddenly jerked upright.
“Oh my.”
Seo I-tae let out a small exclamation at the progress being faster than expected, but that wasn’t the end.
‘Float, float….’
Shoosh!
Suddenly, the stick shot toward the ceiling at an incredible speed.
Thwack! It got stuck in the ceiling.
“Oh my!”
Seo I-tae was startled and jumped up from her seat.
She just blinked with her hands covering her mouth.
She wasn’t the only one surprised.
Everyone in the room gaped as they looked at the stick embedded in the ceiling.
Kim Song-cheol was the same.
He had only tried to make it float; he hadn’t intended to pierce the ceiling.
“You could kill a Monster with just that….?”
Go Jung-in’s murmur spread quietly.
“What on earth…. is this?”
Seo I-tae asked Kim Myung-joo for an explanation.
She had thought it was strange to visit a trainee’s room in the first place, but this went beyond strange to the point of being bizarre.
***