IGXOS 10

Chapter 10

Backseating? (2)

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The first day at the Hunter Training Center was infamous for being far more brutal than anyone expected.

Even those who had already become full-fledged Hunters would sometimes shudder when it appeared in their dreams.

People who, until just yesterday, had been nothing more and nothing less than ordinary civilians were suddenly required to run around the training grounds for two hours, study about the Black Gates, and even participate in sparring matches—all in a single morning.

The terrifying part?

That was only the morning schedule.

Most Hunters would later say the same thing:

The morning had been the easy part.

The real nightmare was the afternoon training.

At the moment when the trainees, still unaware of what awaited them, were leisurely eating lunch in the cafeteria—

Several instructors had already finished their meals and were preparing for the afternoon session.

Unlike other classes, there were three instructors assigned to the afternoon training: Shin Jiyeon, Jung Yujin, and Yoon Sangwoo.

Even though there were more instructors than usual, they were still busy making preparations in advance. Just then, a familiar face passed by them in the hallway.

“Huh? That’s Senior Jihoon.”

“Are you heading to eat?”

“Oooh, how was the sparring?”

It was none other than Kang Jihoon, the instructor in charge of combat training.

Seeing the three of them, Kang Jihoon scratched his head with an expression that clearly said he’d run into trouble, irritation dripping from his face.

‘Of all people, it had to be them.’

His reaction was understandable. The trio was quite famous.

Nicknamed the “Scout Trio,” they belonged to Ilseong Guild—one of Korea’s four major A-rank guilds and part of Ilseong Group, said to rival Taebaek Guild.

Their skills were outstanding, and their experience substantial.

But they had two major flaws.

“Right, how was the sparring?”

“Is trainee Lee Do-hyun really that good?”

“I heard Ji Yoochan lost. Is that true?”

“Wait, really? Yoochan lost in a one-on-one?”

“No way~”

The first flaw?

They were unbelievably loud.

They were the same age, had grown up together, and even Awakened at the same time. Being so close, they naturally talked nonstop.

Even within Ilseong Guild, people joked that if you were in the same party as that trio, your ears would ring all day.

Still looking annoyed, Kang Jihoon debated what to say—then recalled Do-hyun and unconsciously clicked his tongue.

Even thinking about it again, the kid’s talent was ridiculous.

The memory of Do-hyun instantly copying his technique the moment he saw it resurfaced, and Kang Jihoon replied to the trio in a slightly irritated tone.

“Just watch. You’ll see.”

“Whoa, you’re reacting like that?”

“Sounds like it’s true.”

“Ooooh, I think we can look forward to this.”

Just as Kang Jihoon knew them well, they knew him too. They didn’t push further.

That click of his tongue was proof he was already in a bad mood. If they teased him more, things might actually get ugly.

After letting him go, the three of them began chatting excitedly among themselves.

“Looks like we’ll have to prepare more than we thought.”

“Seriously. If it ends up boring, the infamous first day at the Hunter Training Center will seem ordinary.”

“We’ve gotta give them an unforgettable nightmare.”

And that was their second flaw.

All three of them had a mischievous streak—perhaps even a sadistic one.

In any case, they shared a rather wicked sense of humor.

Grinning, they hurried off to prepare for the afternoon training.

They intended to make sure this batch of trainees would never forget their first day.

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* * *

Day two after Awakening.

As Do-hyun ate his lunch, a thought crossed his mind.

‘This is more manageable than I expected?’

Was it because of Analysis?

Or was it objectively easy?

He glanced subtly at the other members of his team. Even while eating, some of them were trembling.

“Ugh, I’m dying.”

“Seriously…”

“My whole body’s shaking.”

“…It’s harder than I thought.”

“……”

Seeing their reactions, Do-hyun decided to keep his mouth shut.

So it wasn’t objectively easy.

Thank goodness he hadn’t spoken up first.

Compared to them, his growth was on a completely different level.

He had even learned basic magic on his very first day of Awakening.

On top of that, every time he used Analysis with a simple mental “click,” his stats increased automatically.

Of course it felt easy to him.

Still, bragging would be distasteful—so he resolved to stay quiet.

“Do-hyun, what about you?”

“…Huh?”

Was this an assassination attempt?

Startled by Kim Yongchan’s sudden question, Do-hyun blinked at him.

Yongchan had been speaking formally until the sparring session, but after Do-hyun told him he didn’t need to, he’d switched to casual speech.

Who would’ve thought he’d attempt something like this?

You never really know what’s inside people…

While Do-hyun was internally overreacting, Jung Minwoo scratched his cheek and said,

“Honestly, it must’ve been kind of easy for you, right, hyung?”

“From what I saw, you handled everything really easily.”

“Yeah, seriously. How do you make it look so simple?”

“Did you train before Awakening or something?”

Faced with their questions, Do-hyun hesitated before answering vaguely.

“Well… I just kind of did it, and it worked?”

Even he thought it sounded cocky.

But instead of being annoyed, his teammates nodded in admiration.

“Guess it’s talent.”

“You’ve gotta be born with it.”

“If anyone else said that, it’d sound arrogant—but when you say it, it just feels natural.”

Even after that blatantly talent-based comment, they simply accepted it.

Do-hyun had expected the usual reactions—“No way,” “You’re joking,” “You must have some trick”—but instead, they just praised him.

Then Minwoo added,

“Honestly, hyung, you feel like someone born to be a Hunter.”

“Agreed!”

“If Do-hyun isn’t a Hunter, then who is?”

“A man born for hunting.”

“…I’m not that much…”

Even when Do-hyun tried to deny it, they didn’t listen.

After a while of relentless praise, Minwoo suddenly asked,

“By the way, do you think Ji Yoochan’s okay? He looks fine, but still.”

Several of them glanced toward Team 2’s table nearby.

Though he’d been defeated by Do-hyun, Yoochan had received treatment from Instructor Choi Pil and rejoined training. He didn’t look humiliated.

In fact, he seemed calmer than before.

“You mean after losing to Do-hyun?”

“Yeah. He even asked for the spar first and got completely crushed. If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face.”

Minwoo had a point.

Do-hyun discreetly used Analysis on Yoochan.

A status window appeared.

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Ji Yoochan
Trait: Platinum Sword King [S]

Skills:

• Swordsmanship [A]

• Sword King’s Intuition [A]

Stats:

• Strength: 7

• Agility: 6 → 7

• Stamina: 7 → 8

• Mana: 10 → 12

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‘Whoa. His stats increased that much already?’

Other trainees had improved too—but usually just one point in stamina or agility.

No one else had raised multiple stats, including mana, like this.

Was that the difference of an S-rank trait?

Impressed, Do-hyun checked his own status.

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Lee Do-hyun
Trait: Analysis [EX]

Skills:

• Sword King’s Intuition [A]

• Intimidation [B]

• Muscle Healing [C]

• Ambush [D]

• Stealth [E]

• Dagger Arts [E] ↑

• Fire [F]

• Mana Control Method [F]

Stats:

• Strength: 5 → 7

• Agility: 7 → 14

• Stamina: 5 → 7

• Mana: 8 → 12

Points:

• P: 100

• AP: 350

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If Yoochan was impressive, then what was Do-hyun?

Recalling Kang Jihoon’s muttered words—“crazy monster bastard”—Do-hyun quietly closed his status window.

‘Yeah… better stay low.’

If anyone else had a system and saw his stats, it probably wouldn’t end with simple jealousy.

Anyway, seeing that Yoochan’s expression and stats had both improved, Do-hyun decided not to worry about him.

Then something felt off.

Wait a second.

Agility and stamina increasing made sense from physical training.

But—

‘Why did his mana increase?’

They hadn’t learned mana cultivation methods yet.

How had his mana risen?

Do-hyun found it strange—but since his own mana had increased too, he brushed it off.

If he’d looked a bit longer, Analysis would have told him.

But it didn’t seem important, so after finishing lunch, he returned to the dorm to rest before afternoon training.

Then suddenly—

He remembered his goal.

‘Ah, right. I still need to check Instructor Hwang Hana’s status window… Should I save up more AP?’

He was still a long way from 1000 AP.

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* * *

After sweating buckets from additional physical training during combat class, lunch tasted heavenly.

But Team 2’s expressions were grim.

Not once that morning had they outperformed Team 1.

So this was what defeat felt like?

Everyone ate in silence.

Except for Ji Yoochan, whose expression was noticeably lighter.

He hadn’t lost his mind from losing to Do-hyun.

‘…This feels more comfortable than I expected.’

He had boldly challenged Do-hyun and been effortlessly defeated.

It should have been humiliating.

Yet paradoxically, Yoochan felt more at ease than ever.

He’d always had to prove himself—to show perfection.

But after crashing against Do-hyun, who felt like an endless wall, something inside him felt released.

And perhaps because of that—

‘I can feel something flowing inside me.’

Something strange he hadn’t sensed before being struck by Do-hyun.

He could feel it gradually seeping into his body and growing.

He didn’t know exactly what it was.

But with uncanny intuition, he sensed that it was mana.

What he didn’t know was that Do-hyun’s Ambush skill had triggered and opened his mana circuit.

Normally, even being struck directly by a mana-infused skill wouldn’t open someone’s mana.

It was simply Yoochan’s absurd talent.

‘Train harder. Beat him next time.’

For now, he acknowledged that he was behind.

But in the future, he would win.

Just as he resumed eating—

Park Dongwook, frowning deeply, suddenly ground his teeth.

“Damn it… this is pathetic.”

“Eh?”

“Oppa, what’s wrong?”

“Why are you—?”

Everyone stared at him in surprise.

Even Yoochan looked at him curiously.

Dongwook continued,

“The more I think about it, the more embarrassing it is. Next time, we do this properly. Right, Yoochan?”

Yoochan frowned.

It wasn’t just him.

The other Team 2 members didn’t look pleased either.

An unhealthy competitive atmosphere was forming.

But no one objected.

Except Yoochan, they all felt the same way.

Only Yoochan sensed the bad direction things were heading.

And when afternoon training time arrived—

The three instructors stood before them with playful smiles.

“Afternoon training is real combat!”

“You’ll eliminate all the goblins and escape the maze!”

“Of course, whichever team exits first wins!”

With Team 2 already in this mood—and now a joint real-combat exercise?

Yoochan frowned.

This was the worst possible timing.