TRGBH 16

Chapter 16

The next morning, while eating breakfast, I watched a short news report.

“Police have arrested a group of people who were falsely selling Purified Red Fruits to Awakened people. Strangely enough, large amounts of used batteries were found in the stomachs of all the suspects, shocking everyone. The police have rushed them to the hospital and are currently investigating the exact details of the incident.”

What? Did she really make them eat them?

Song Gusul was much scarier than I thought.

As I shook my head in disbelief, Lee Hasol, who was eating beside me, asked with a pale face,

“Kim Daram, are you going there again today?”

Between what had happened yesterday and the creepy news playing on the television, Lee Hasol clearly didn’t want to run into Song Gusul at all.

“Yeah. If you’re scared, you can stay home and rest. I’ll go alone.”

“N-No, I’m not! I’m not scared at all! I want to go and train! I’m going to lift 400 kg today!”

“Okay, I get it. Just eat your breakfast.”

The nineteen-year-old boy was, as expected, very simple-minded.

A little later, I finished my meal and left the house with Lee Hasol.

“Mom, we’re leaving.”

“Okay, son. Be careful driving! And don’t come home too late.”

“Yes!”

“Wow! Nice car! So you were a young master after all?”

Song Gusul, who had been waiting around in front of the training facility, said this as she watched me get out of the car.

“It’s my mom’s car.”

“Is that so? Treat your mother well. You have to be good to her while she’s still alive. Otherwise, you’ll end up regretting it when you get older, like me.”

What was this sudden talk about?

Still, she wasn’t wrong. Of course, you should treat your parents well while they’re still alive.

“Yes, I’ll remember that. But… you don’t look old enough to say something like that. If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you? You don’t look that much older than me…”

This definitely wasn’t flattery. I was honestly curious.

Judging only by Song Gusul’s level and Performance Score, she had clearly lived quite a long time. But judging by her appearance, she could easily pass for someone in her twenties.

“Oh my, listen to this young master! I like you.”

Song Gusul smiled brightly at my question.

Then Lee Hasol said,

“Forty years old?”

“Hey, yellow hair, you little bastard. Get over here. You’ve been getting too cheeky since yesterday.”

Hmm. At least she definitely wasn’t over forty.

Anyway, she was amazing…

In my previous life, even when I was nearly forty, I had only reached the level 50s and had a Performance Score of barely 70,000.

The Song Gusul standing before me was a powerhouse from a completely different level, someone I could never have reached in my previous life.

But then, why wasn’t her name known throughout the world?

Even now, she had enough strength to rank among the strongest. Twenty years later, fame should have followed her whether she wanted it or not.

Then, yesterday’s events suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Could it be that situations like yesterday kept happening… until she was eventually corrupted?’

There was no way for me to know.

Anyway, what mattered to me right now was the fact that I was about to receive training from her.

I put those thoughts aside for now and shouted at the two people who were tangled up together.

“Ah, stop it already! You’re going to kill him!”

“I heard what you were explaining to the yellow hair yesterday, young master. I completely agree with you. These days, Awakened people are so focused on their Traits that they don’t put enough effort into properly building their basic skills. But when it comes to improving a Trait, there are obvious limits to what training alone can do. In the end, the most efficient way is to learn how to use it through actual combat and raise your level.”

Song Gusul continued.

“So the training you’re planning to do isn’t a choice. It’s a necessity. We’re different from ordinary office workers who can waste their free time having fun and still live without any problems. For Hunters, your chances of survival depend on how you use the time you’re given.”

Lee Hasol, who was standing beside me, silently nodded.

Regardless of his personal feelings toward Song Gusul, it seemed her words had really touched him.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to teach you some incredible technique or secret skill. I’m simply going to help you make better and more effective use of the amazing physical abilities that every Awakened person possesses.”

My clenched fist naturally tightened.

From the beginning, I had planned to spend the time before my summons getting used to my improved physical abilities through leveling up as much as possible.

By properly using the training methods I had learned in my previous life, controlling my increased strength smoothly was more than possible.

And honestly, aside from Traits, this was pretty much the only kind of training an Awakened person could do.

That was why I was even more excited.

Someone as powerful as Song Gusul had probably already understood exactly what I was trying to do.

Yet there was something more in her eyes and tone than that.

“Talking about it won’t help you understand. Young master, come up into the ring. I’ll show you directly.”

Song Gusul climbed into the ring in the center of the training facility.

That was exactly what I wanted.

I climbed into the ring and stood facing her.

“What level is your Awakened level?”

she asked.

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to answer honestly.

“20.”

“20? Didn’t you say you’d only been Awakened for four days? Don’t tell me you raised it that much during the Selection Evaluation stage?”

“Yes. I was very lucky.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I had thought I was dead, only to return twenty years into the past. There was probably no one in this world luckier than me.

“Hmm, simply being a little lucky doesn’t explain it… Then again, the fact that you got a ‘Very Sweet Flavor’ fruit in the first place means you must have incredible luck.”

Song Gusul scratched her cheek and muttered.

Then, as if she couldn’t be bothered to think about it anymore, she raised her head.

“Anyway, from now on, I’ll also limit my physical abilities to around Level 20. Come at me with everything you’ve got. But don’t use your Trait.”

No more words were necessary.

I immediately raised my fists and took a stance.

It was the basic stance of the mixed martial arts for Awakened people that I had learned in my previous life.

Song Gusul looked at my stance and gave a small laugh.

“Our young master is such a model student. You even learned something like this?”

Then she held out her palm and beckoned me forward.

I took advantage of that opening and stepped forward.

Then I threw a punch at her face at my maximum speed.

Even if Song Gusul dodged it, it was an attack meant to keep her in check while preparing for my follow-up move.

But she had already disappeared from my sight.

At the exact moment I felt something touch my chest—

Bam! Bam!

I was sent flying through the air and out of the ring.

Because of the impact that hit my chest, I couldn’t even perform a proper breakfall and rolled across the floor.

“Gaaah.”

Song Gusul leaned against the ring and looked down at me.

“How was that? Don’t you suddenly feel a strong desire to learn?”

“Yes! Absolutely!”

Lee Hasol answered enthusiastically for me while I coughed.

According to Lee Hasol, Song Gusul had moved into my range at an unbelievable speed and used her back to strike my chest.

With that single hit, I had been sent flying out of the ring.

Until the moment I took my first step, Song Gusul had definitely been standing still.

But in every movement after that, I had been completely outmatched by her.

Naturally, the eyes of Lee Hasol and me began to shine with anticipation as we looked at Song Gusul.

An even deeper smile appeared on Song Gusul’s lips.

Before beginning the training, Song Gusul briefly explained her theory.

Awakened people possessed physical abilities several times stronger than ordinary people, and in some cases, more than ten times stronger.

If that tremendous strength could be concentrated into a single point and released, it could produce power comparable to a Trait.

Judging by what I had seen, this theory was probably closely related to Song Gusul’s Trait, [Fighting Energy].

“So, shall we really get started now? If you follow everything I tell you for just one week, you can do what I just did too. Isn’t that amazing?”

She said it lightly, as if it were nothing special.

But before even half a day had passed, we had to seriously wonder whether we could survive an entire week like this.

“Uweeegh, Kim Daram, I think I’m going to die.”

Lee Hasol lay face-down on the floor, dry-heaving.

His entire body was covered in dark red bruises.

They were all marks left by the muscles beneath his skin being torn and damaged.

Of course, I wasn’t much different.

“You’re not going to die. Don’t underestimate an Awakened person’s recovery ability. Get up, yellow hair.”

Song Gusul had already walked over and lightly kicked Lee Hasol with the tip of her foot.

That’s right.

He wouldn’t die.

But it was hard enough to make us feel like we were going to.

Even I, who proudly considered myself someone who had experienced all kinds of things in my previous life, found Song Gusul’s training intensity difficult to handle.

She relentlessly pushed us with what she called the ‘Attribute Curriculum That Extends a Hunter’s Lifespan.’

Song Gusul’s curriculum was relatively simple.

In the morning, we repeatedly lifted our maximum weight until our muscles were torn.

In the afternoon, we had to wear incredibly heavy iron armor and hold the positions she ordered for hours at a time.

This intense training continued for five days.

Whenever Mom saw me coming home completely exhausted and covered in bruises, she was shocked.

But when I told her that all this training was to help her son survive longer, she eventually said nothing and simply prepared large, nutritious meals for us every morning and evening.

One morning, early in the day, an Association agent wearing a black suit came to our house.

He told us about the summons schedule assigned by the Hunter Association.

According to the results of the Selection Evaluation that had already taken place, we would be divided into groups.

Each group would gather at the Dome in Yeouido on a different date and at a different time.

Naturally, Lee Hasol and I were in the same group.

“You’ve followed my training well until now. Although there are only two simple movements, you can use them in all kinds of ways once you master them. So don’t neglect your training in the future.”

I didn’t even have the strength to open my mouth.

Lee Hasol and I were lying on the floor of the ring, breathing heavily.

Today was our last day coming to this training facility.

Only at the very end had Lee Hasol and I finally become capable of imitating the techniques Song Gusul had taught us.

“Do you know who the greatest Hunter in the world is?”

Song Gusul suddenly brought up a strange topic.

“Well… it’s a Hunter who dies of old age.”

“What kind of answer is that…”

Lee Hasol sounded sarcastic, but Song Gusul ignored him and continued.

“I’ve seen many talented kids like you die surprisingly young, or suffer injuries so serious that they could never recover. No matter what happens, don’t become overconfident. And if possible, use the techniques I taught you for defense or escape rather than attacking. Understand?”

There was a strange sadness in her voice.

Before Lee Hasol could say anything, I gave a short answer.

“Yes.”

“Good. You two will do well. I’ll go inside first, so clean up and leave when you’re done. If fate brings us together again, we’ll see each other then.”

Song Gusul casually tossed the card key onto the ring and disappeared through the door without looking back.

Perhaps Song Gusul was unexpectedly soft-hearted, despite how she looked.

Anyway, tomorrow was the Hunter Association’s summons day.

Starting tomorrow, I would officially become a Hunter.

For the second time.