IGXOS 06

Chapter 6

Rival? (2)

There’s no strict rule saying a healer has to look holy and gentle, but still… wasn’t that a bit much?

Every time he spoke, his muscles flexed and rippled as if he were some superhuman being. A healer with that kind of physique? None of the trainees could believe it.

Even Ji Yuchan, who had remained calm the entire time, was standing there with his mouth hanging open in shock.

It was only natural. Even Lee Dohyun, who could see Choi Pil’s status window through his Analysis ability, found it hard to believe.

Soon, new text appeared before Dohyun’s eyes.

It was a message he had already expected.

There were quite a lot of skills listed, but excluding the basic ones, only five were truly worth considering.

Still, Dohyun focused less on the skills themselves and more on the message.

The target exceeds the standard threshold?

When he analyzed Jung Minwoo, the system had said the skill was below the threshold, so he could acquire it freely.

When he analyzed Ji Yuchan, the “Sword King’s Instinct” had been labeled a skill above the threshold.

But this time, when analyzing Choi Pil, the wording had changed. It said the target exceeded the threshold.

In other words, because Choi Pil himself was strong, Dohyun had to pay AP to obtain his skills.

From that, Dohyun inferred:

If it’s E-rank or D-rank from another target, maybe I could get it without spending AP.

Just in case, he decided to exclude E- and D-rank skills.

Basic skills were out of the question.

That left only the C-rank ones. There were two—but his choice was already made.

「Muscle Healing [C]」

• Consumes mana to heal muscles.

• Effective for developing physical-type stats.

Seeing the description through Analysis made it even clearer.

Martial arts skills can be obtained anytime.

But when would he get another healing-type skill like this?

He had to combine the 150 AP gained from analyzing Choi Pil with the 150 AP he already had. It was all his AP—but he didn’t regret it in the slightest.

I’d rather not turn into a muscle monster like him… but if I use it moderately, it should be fine, right?

With that thought, he selected it.

As his mana increased again, Dohyun felt a strange sensation wash over him.

It felt warm and embracing—like being wrapped in comfort and fulfillment at the same time.

But he couldn’t focus on it.

“0600 hours! From now until 0800 breakfast, you will run the training grounds to your limits! Move!”

Choi Pil’s sudden command could have stunned everyone, but his fierce expression and booming voice made the trainees start running before they even realized it.

Dohyun ran along with the rest.

Maybe it was because his stats had risen?

At first, he ran comfortably in the lead group.

The front group consisted of Ji Yuchan, Jung Minwoo, and Dohyun—those with superior physical abilities.

How long had they been running?

Eventually, even Minwoo began to feel the limits of his stamina and started falling behind. Dohyun, whose stats were similar, nearly did the same.

At this point, he had expected Choi Pil to use healing.

But he didn’t.

Fine.

I’ve got my own!

If Choi Pil wouldn’t cast it, Dohyun would.

He activated his newly acquired skill. A small amount of mana drained away, and a strange vitality spread through his body.

A message appeared.

“…Huh?”

This feels better than I expected?

He hadn’t expected the effect to be immediate, but the fatigue clearly disappeared.

Whenever he started to feel tired, he simply used the skill again.

Time passed.

“Oh.”

All he had done was run and use the skill—yet the results came instantly.

It felt just like a game.

Smiling faintly, Dohyun ran harder.

Before long—

His stats rose again.

Excited, he kept running.

For Ji Yuchan, who had always been confident in his running ability, this was hard to believe.

The Hunter Association had said there were few trainees with better physical stats than him.

So what was this?

I’m… falling behind?

Even though they were in the lead together, Choi Pil’s eyes seemed focused only on Dohyun.

It felt unmistakably like he was being overshadowed.

His pride stung.

Without realizing it, Yuchan pushed himself harder.

That was when Dohyun noticed him—running beside him, teeth clenched, eyes burning.

What’s his problem? Why is he glaring at me?

Well, whatever.

Dohyun continued running casually.

Gradually, his steps grew lighter. He began pulling farther ahead.

T-This can’t be…

Yuchan had already been pushing beyond his pace. But Dohyun looked even more relaxed as he surged forward.

If this continued, he really would lose.

Yuchan forced himself harder—but his exhausted body refused to respond.

Having overpaced, he lost rhythm and was overtaken by Dohyun.

I… lost?

As defeat crept into Yuchan’s heart—

Dohyun, meanwhile, smiled as he ran.

I never imagined running could be this fun.

It really did feel like a game.

Then another message appeared.

Like someone addicted to leveling up, Dohyun kept running with a grin.

* * *

Thus began the hellish endurance run.

Time passed.

Gradually, everyone grew exhausted.

The first to tire were the female trainees.

The male trainees lasted longer—but not by much.

They were modern people, unaccustomed to such brutal conditioning.

“Huff… huff… W-What kind of suffering is this first thing in the morning…?”

“T-Talking makes it worse, hyung…”

Panting echoed across the grounds.

Amid the exhaustion, two figures kept lapping the others.

Ji Yuchan and Dohyun.

“Don’t they ever get tired?”

“How many laps have they passed us?”

“Minwoo tried to follow too, right?”

“Amazing…”

“D-Dohyun oppa doesn’t even look like the athletic type, but he’s incredible.”

“Silence! No chatter!”

Choi Pil barked sharply, watching them with keen eyes.

He had known Yuchan’s physical stats from paperwork.

But Dohyun?

This was beyond expectation.

On paper, his physical ability was inferior to Yuchan’s.

And yet—

He’s surpassed my expectations.

An hour had already passed.

Not only was Dohyun still in the lead—he was gradually increasing the gap.

He wasn’t merely maintaining pace.

He was accelerating.

Yuchan only seemed equal because he was desperately clinging on.

But Choi Pil saw the truth.

Remarkable.

Soon, Yuchan fell further behind.

Dohyun continued smiling as he ran.

Choi Pil muttered inwardly:

He’s born to be a Hunter.

Smiling during training.

His body was impressive—but his mentality deserved even greater praise.

Other trainees had slowed to walking.

Dohyun was still speeding up.

That was worthy of high regard.

Murmurs spread.

“W-What? Yuchan lost?”

“No way…”

“That’s unbelievable…”

Those who entered with Yuchan were shocked.

Those who entered with Dohyun nodded confidently.

“I told you he was something special.”

“Dohyun oppa is the best!”

“Seriously, he’s amazing.”

“I can’t even dream of catching him…”

A subtle divide formed.

Glares passed between groups.

Park Dongwook, from Yuchan’s side, spoke loudly:

“Hah! What are you talking about? Yuchan’s way better. Maybe Dohyun’s just built for marathons. In everything else, Yuchan would crush him.”

“R-Right.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“But still, Dohyun won in stamina.”

“Tch.”

Choi Pil watched with interest.

This minor rivalry would grow.

Should he stop it?

Instead, he shouted:

“Trainee Lee Dohyun! Excellent work! Keep it up!”

The reaction was immediate.

Dohyun’s group beamed.

Yuchan’s group frowned deeply.

Choi Pil smirked inwardly.

Competition breeds growth.

He subtly fueled it until dawn training ended.

Everyone was exhausted—but their eyes burned with competitive fire.

Not hatred.

But sharp intensity.

Laughing heartily, Choi Pil announced:

“Good work this morning! I’ll heal you—then enjoy breakfast! Breakfast is from 0800 to 0900. At 0900, report to Classroom 201 in the training building. Dismissed!”

He cast Muscle Healing on everyone.

Dohyun tilted his head slightly.

Hmm? I don’t feel much healing…

But he brushed it off.

The trainees headed to the cafeteria.

When Dohyun received his tray and turned around, several people waved.

“Dohyun oppa, over here~!”

“Here, hyung!”

“Over here!”

He sat where they called him.

Then he noticed something odd.

The five who had entered earlier—including himself—sat together.

The five who had entered later—including Ji Yuchan—sat separately.

A subtle tension hung in the air.

Dohyun chuckled inwardly.

It’s not even a team battle. What are they doing?

After breakfast, they headed to the classroom.

There, an unexpected announcement awaited.

“We’ll divide you into groups due to the large number of trainees.”

“Huh?”

Dohyun turned his head—

And met Ji Yuchan’s burning gaze once more.