“Looks like you’ve been in a few fights, huh?”
That was the first thing he said when Yonghoon approached him. Just as Yonghoon had sensed his aura, he seemed to have sensed Yonghoon’s as well.
Yonghoon didn’t understand. Just a few days ago, the man had felt completely ordinary. But today, he was acting like a mercenary who had survived years on the battlefield.
“Good. I was going crazy with nothing but softies around. We need guys like you to get anything done.”
Hearing that, Yonghoon looked at the people doing push-ups with one arm.
The ones who had arrived earlier were being punished, regardless of gender. Among them, he spotted Eunseo, and couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.
“If you last more than a minute sparring with me, you get to rest. If not, it’s one-armed push-ups for an hour. Or you can just go home. Training is my responsibility, so if you refuse, you’re out immediately.”
After finishing his speech, he grumbled about how many times he had to say the same thing. Judging by the fact that no one was resting, it seemed everyone had failed. That must have been why they were told to come in workout clothes at the start.
Yonghoon gave a dry chuckle to himself. It seemed like he was trying to establish discipline. But Awakened weren’t soldiers-there was bound to be some pushback.
After hearing the explanation, Yonghoon stepped back and assumed a stance. He didn’t need to win, but it had been a while since he last sparred. He figured he could enjoy it.
Seeing Yonghoon get into position, Instructor Seo smiled. With his massive frame grinning, he looked like a bear eyeing its prey.
“Looks like you’ve learned properly. This should be fun.”
The instructor also took a stance. Then, Dimensional Power activated within his body. Heat radiated from him.
Feeling the tingling pressure through his body, Yonghoon smiled naturally. He too drew out his Dimensional Power. Thanks to training with the Dimensional Core, he could clearly feel his power had grown.
Yonghoon formed bands of light around his hands and charged at Instructor Seo.
Instructor Seo also curled his lips and rushed at Yonghoon.
Thud!
The two clashed in the center, and Yonghoon was flung backward. It was a straightforward body check from both sides.
It was clear he was overpowered in strength against a Defense-type Awakened. On top of that, the instructor’s level seemed higher than expected-almost at D-rank.
Yonghoon, knocked back, slid across the ground and stopped on one knee.
Instructor Seo licked his lips. This one had some fight in him. Seeing the glow in Yonghoon’s eyes as he raised his head from his kneeling position, he quickly readied himself.
Yonghoon got up from his kneel and began to bounce in place. Then he started to sway his body side to side. It was his signature footwork.
“Boxing?”
Instructor Seo furrowed his brows. It was a bit different from standard boxing steps.
Then, swaying side to side, Yonghoon charged again.
The fight between the two began.
“Wow! That’s amazing.”
The people who had been punished were now sitting and watching the duel.
“Still, Instructor is way stronger, right? Even a graze sends him flying.”
A young woman wiped the sweat from her forehead as she spoke. In front of them, Yonghoon and Instructor Seo were exchanging punches and kicks.
Yonghoon was clearly at a disadvantage. Surprisingly, Instructor Seo’s movements were faster than his.
Yonghoon barely dodged the attacks using his unique movements. But his own attacks were blocked by the instructor’s defense and had no effect.
“I think Yonghoon is more impressive for going up against the instructor. He’s outmatched in both strength and speed, but he’s still hanging in there.”
Eunseo sided with Yonghoon. A man in his 30s next to her nodded at her words. He was covered in dust, likely from being thrown during a spar.
“But aren’t they gonna shoot lasers or something? I thought the instructor could do stuff like that.”
A high schooler watching the match made a naive comment. He was a messy-haired kid with glasses, looking like he was just here for fun. Everyone turned their gaze away from him.
“Huh? How did a student get in here? Did your parents allow it? Aren’t minors not allowed?”
A woman sitting nearby looked at him curiously and asked.
“They said this job isn’t on the restricted employment list. It got an exemption. I had a bit of a standoff with my mom about the consent form, but she signed it in the end.”
The student gave a dark smile from beneath his glasses.
The woman decided not to ask about the standoff. She worried the mother might have gotten hurt in the process.
Thud!
A loud noise came from the front. The woman turned her gaze back.
Yonghoon was rolling on the ground. In the end, he couldn’t hold out.
“You’ve got some solid skills. Your speed’s a bit slow, but not bad. Since you lost, it’s one-armed push-ups for an hour.”
At the instructor’s words, Yonghoon stood up and replied.
“It passed the one-minute mark just now.”
Instructor Seo frowned. He hadn’t meant to let him win, but he felt like he’d been played.
Still, a promise was a promise. Besides, Yonghoon had shown decent skill, so letting him rest was fine.
He sent Yonghoon to the other side and turned his gaze to the others.
“Who said you could rest! Get back into position now!”
The resting people hurried to resume their posture. The aura he gave off made it hard to disobey.
Yonghoon sat on the ground and let out a sigh of relief. As expected, the instructor hadn’t recognized his movements.
To Yonghoon, the instructor in front of him was practically someone from the other world.
His tone, killing intent, the aura he radiated, and even the martial arts he used all told him so.
That martial art had been created seven years ago by an A-rank Defense-type Awakened based on their original fighting style.
It was a technique no one outside that world could know.
As expected, the instructor hadn’t recognized Yonghoon’s movements or combat style.
His technique had been developed as a survival method for low-level Awakened who were being overwhelmed by monsters.
It was completed four years ago, after the Seo from the other world had fallen into a vegetative state. So there was no way he could know it. Plus, everyone who had developed it with him was dead-he was the last one left.
Yonghoon nodded.
Now that he had confirmed it, there should be no problem using the technique. Since he had held back his speed, he could probably stay under the radar.
‘But what was up with last time?’
Yonghoon tilted his head again. He still couldn’t figure out the gentle impression he had gotten from Instructor Seo before.
Everyone who came after was taken down in the spar. A few who looked tough or had trained bodies held out a bit longer, but no one lasted a full minute. No one had adapted to their enhanced bodies yet, and none had experience fighting with Dimensional Power, so it was inevitable.
‘Maybe I should’ve just lost early?’
Sitting comfortably on the opposite side, Yonghoon sighed as he looked at the people being punished.
In the midst of that, Yonghoon recognized a few of the people doing push-ups. Some were famous Awakened, and others had been comrades during operations. Seeing people who had died now alive and moving gave him a strange feeling.
But still, the only A-rank Awakened Yonghoon knew was Eunseo.
It seemed the limit of one’s abilities was the same in this world. Since it was determined by natural talent, there was no reason it would differ in a parallel version.
The difference in ability types likely stemmed from personality. Since powers usually manifested based on one’s nature, the changes in time and environment must have altered people’s personalities.
The morning passed with sparring and punishment.
Many were angry at Instructor Seo’s harsh demeanor and the punishment, but after training, his sincere apology and respectful attitude calmed them down.
People started thinking of Instructor Seo’s behavior as part of a persona.
After that, they all had lunch in the cafeteria.
Maybe they bonded through punishment-people were eating in small groups.
But since Yonghoon had avoided punishment alone, no one wanted to sit near him.
As Yonghoon ate alone with an indifferent expression, someone sat across from him with a tray.
It was Eunseo.
“Mind if I sit here?”
Yonghoon looked up. A few guys were lingering around Eunseo. But when she sat across from Yonghoon, they sighed and went elsewhere.
Seeing Eunseo speak curtly with her long hair swaying, Yonghoon understood the guys’ reaction.
Yonghoon nodded. He didn’t know why she wanted to sit here, but as long as she didn’t interrupt his meal, it didn’t matter.
The two ate quietly.
After Yonghoon had eaten a fair amount, Eunseo, who had been gauging his mood, finally spoke.
“You fought really well earlier. Did you learn those fighting techniques somewhere?”
So she had an ulterior motive. But he couldn’t say he learned them in another world.
“I have my reasons. I can’t tell you.”
Eunseo didn’t look too disappointed. She probably hadn’t expected much anyway.
“By the way, earlier, they called out a few people, including me, right?”
Yonghoon nodded.
Before lunch, the instructor had called a few people into the office.
“When I got there, the instructor and some manager I’d seen before were there. He was the one who summoned us. He said the Link System Company is forming a separate team of top talents under their name. That’s what it was about.”
Just as he expected. There was no reason for the spar otherwise.
They had already measured Dimensional Power with machines, so the spar was to assess potential.
“But I couldn’t tell if they left you out on purpose or not. You were the only one who didn’t get punished.”
That’s probably why she came to find him. But it made sense they didn’t call Yonghoon.
His Dimensional Power, as measured by the machine, was decent, but in the spar, he had thoroughly limited his speed. From their perspective, he looked like a problematic Awakened.
For a Strike-type Awakened, lacking speed meant an uncertain future. They wouldn’t need someone who only had good fighting skills.
“Who knows. I guess I’m just not the kind of person they’re looking for.”
Yonghoon shrugged. Luckily, it seemed he had dodged a bullet. Slowing down in the spar had helped a lot.
Eunseo looked at Yonghoon, who spoke calmly, with a strange expression in her eyes.
After finishing lunch, everyone gathered at the training field. When Yonghoon counted the people, there were a little over forty.
There were more people than expected. Some joined out of a sense of heroism, others were chasing big money. Some seemed to have joined just to test their own abilities.
Once everyone had gathered, the instructor put them through basic physical training. Back to being the foul-tempered instructor, he pushed them mercilessly.
The physical training was much tougher than what most athletes would endure.
At first, many were shocked by the extreme training volume, but then were surprised again when they realized they could actually handle it.
And by evening, everyone returned home completely exhausted.
Fortunately, Awakened had excellent stamina recovery. By the next morning, everyone showed up looking perfectly fine. Motivated by the promise of five million won just for completing the training, they all gave it their best.
And that day was spent entirely on basic physical training. People gradually began to get used to it.
As time passed, the amount of physical training decreased, and the time for spars between Awakened increased.
The spars between Awakened looked a lot like boxing matches. Besides Instructor Seo, there were a few other instructors who looked like boxing coaches.
Their focus was on helping the Awakened fully recognize and utilize their abilities.
“This training feels kind of strange. Wouldn’t something like taekwondo or martial arts be better? If you use your legs, you can attack from farther away, right?”
Eunseo muttered as if talking to herself next to Yonghoon.
The men gathered around nodded at her words.
They were the same guys who had just been sent flying out of the ring by Eunseo.
Apparently, they had been following her around and getting moody, but they still seemed to enjoy being near her.
Yonghoon found it a bit annoying. Not just because Eunseo had stuck to his side and kept watching his every move since that day, but also because of the guys constantly crowding around her.
“Well, I’m sure they have their reasons.”
Yonghoon replied nonchalantly.
They definitely had something else in mind. This training was preparation for when they’d eventually wield weapons.
For now, they couldn’t imbue weapons with Dimensional Power, so they had to fight barehanded, but once they reached D-rank, they’d be able to use weapons.
From that point on, leg-based attacks would become much less meaningful.
Eunseo’s eyes deepened as she heard Yonghoon’s answer.
Yonghoon didn’t understand. It was a simple response, yet Eunseo kept looking at him with a meaningful gaze.
And time passed until the final day of training arrived.
Instructor Seo showed up holding the item Yonghoon had wanted most. It looked like a trendy smart watch (a multifunctional digital watch).
“What you see here is a Dimensional Detector and Dimensional Power Meter that was just completed and urgently shipped from the U.S. to Korea.”
Yonghoon smiled. At last, he could begin the hunt.