Chapter 7 – Audiovisual Materials (1)
A week passed like that. When you become an Awakener, it seems that there is a lot of difference from normal humans in terms of muscle growth. The condition of the body, which seemed to die right after the first day of training, improved day by day, and on the sixth day, only fatigue accumulated, but the trembling muscles and weakness in the legs disappeared.
Senior Yoo-jeong, who used to visit me every once in a while to check on my physical condition, looked at my growth rate with proud eyes. Even on her weekday, she was sipping her coffee in her parking lot with her head propped up against her car, staring at me.
She really liked the iced americano. I awkwardly scratched her head and ran to senior Yoo-jeong. She must have noticed that senior Yu-jeong looked at her and smiled brightly. Even the moment I ran to her, she was smiling happily.
“I worked hard today too.”
She said and sat down on her bench. I casually sat down next to her and nodded her head. She asked.
“I guess you’re completely used to training now?”
“Yes. As you said, I got used to it after a few days. Could this be the power of the Awoken?”
“Yes. That is the power of the Awoken. You will become stronger in the future, so develop the habit of controlling your strength. An accident can happen if you control your strength incorrectly.”
“I will engrave it.”
Senior Yoojeong nodded her head. When she looked up at the sky, the sunset was receding. She saw people who were exhausted from working out, panting and stamping their passes. On the electronic signboard standing next to her, the nicknames of the departing people came up in large letters. I looked at senior Yoo-jung while fiddling with her student ID.
At that time, Yujeong senior was looking at me. I suddenly met her eyes and turned her head away in surprise. I could hear Yu-Jung’s laughter. She really didn’t know what she was thinking.
“From tomorrow, we will start exploring the gate.”
“Gate exploration?”
“Yes. Gate exploration.”
It was the news that the time I had been waiting for while doing boring repetitive training would return. However, I had no choice but to put on a puzzled expression because I hadn’t heard anything about this schedule while working out.
“But, I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“That’s normal. The gate exploration on the first day doesn’t do anything anyway. A demonstration that simply shows what the hunters who rush into the gate are doing… A demonstration? It feels like that. I’ll explain in detail tomorrow. Should I pretend not to know when I go and listen? This is confidential.”
“Ah yes.”
At the word confidential, I nodded. It was questionable why she knew the secret. Yujeong senior added to solve my question.
“I am also a member of the demonstration tomorrow. We select by lot from among the mentors.”
“Ah, is that so? That… I will cheer you on.”
“Ah, it’s not even a competition. Thank you though. Because my juniors are cheering me on. I must work harder.”
As she said that, she swept the ceiling of her car. And she told me
“Today, are your legs okay?”
I thought as I rubbed my leg. Today, I was sweating like a sweatband, and my legs were fine, so I thought I could run home. It didn’t seem like a good idea to get into her car, Yu-jeong, who is always the senior. So I said
“Yes. It’s okay. I think we can run all the way home.”
“Oh, is that so? I was going to take you if it’s not okay.”
Saying that, Yu-jeong opened the driver’s door. I shook my head and answered her words.
“I think only seniors are having a hard time.”
“What are you struggling with? It’s not even that far. I’ll just burn it. Get on.”
“Ah yes. Thank you.”
When she said she would give me a ride, she couldn’t say she didn’t like me. I stood stiff in her passenger seat and thanked her for it. Today, senior Yoojung was wearing tight jeans and a brown sweater. Her breasts stood out above her sweater, exuding her feminine charm. The moment she shifted her gaze to her pursed lips, she knew she was staring at me.
“Oh, that, that.”
“Shall we go?”
She asked, holding her hand on her gear. Her eye smile was so charming. I ducked her head and stared at my thighs, evasive that her thumping breasts were to blame from the exercise. I know that’s not the case, but you have to know how to differentiate between favor and love.
*******
From the electronic pad I received from the Hunter Academy early in the morning, a message to gather in the classroom instead of the training area came to mind. I brushed my teeth and received the message, nodding my head in excitement.
“Chunbae. How have you been doing?”
As soon as I entered the classroom in the morning, Kim Joo-sung’s stoic and pleasant voice filled the classroom. He greeted his partner, Chunbae, by lightly tapping his forearm. Chunbae awkwardly nodded her head and extended her hand to greet her. The classroom was buzzing with voices greeting each other with a partner they hadn’t seen in a week.
I looked at the empty seat and sighed. ‘1’ Ichigaya Ichiae. The Japanese who had never seen their faces did not come to class today. It’s been a week since the entrance ceremony, so I thought it would come out today, but the classroom door opened and only teacher Jung-ah, with a blunt face, entered. As soon as she entered, she looked at me and said.
“Student Suhyun Jeong.”
“Yes.”
“Ichigaya Ichie says that due to personal circumstances, he will be delayed by about three days.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
3 days. What the hell happened to be so late? Leaving my questions behind, Ms. Jeonga began to inform me of today’s schedule.
“Today is the first day of the gate exploration. In today’s class, you will not go inside yourself, but current D-class hunters will simply demonstrate gate exploration. Then, everyone, please move to the prepared classroom.”
When Ms. Jeong-a left the classroom door again, the electronic pad indicated the location of the classroom we were going to. It was a small building about the size of a botanical garden in the park grounds next to the main building. When I entered the classroom, there was a large screen spread out in front of a long row of chairs, like a movie theater.
On the other side of the screen, along with senior Yoo Jung, were several D-class hunters whose names were unknown.
They each wore the weapons they were most confident in, as well as sturdy safety gear. He looked like a kid trying out inline skating for the first time. Standing next to her, teacher Jeonga showed the appearance of D-class hunters and said.
“You should always put on your safety gear before entering the gate. This is because unexpected injuries greatly hinder exploration activities.”
However, when everyone else was wearing gear, Senior Yoo-jeong fiddled with his cell phone and didn’t wear gear. Teacher Jung-a pointed to senior Yoo-jeong and said.
“And here is a reckless hunter trying to dive into exploration without wearing any safety gear. I am ‘Kim Yoo-jung’ Kim Yoo-jung Hunter, who will act as an example of the wrong hunter today.”
Hunter Kim Yoo-jung, when her name was called, she smiled brightly and waved at us. Just seeing her face in this educational audio-visual material gave me a strange feeling as if I were watching a celebrity. Some students saw Yu-jeong’s face and whistled at her or grinned at her.
Teacher Jeonga said.
“Yes. So let’s get into it. The gate that the D-class hunters will enter today is the E-class gate, and 3 D-class hunters can explore very leisurely. Currently, Hunter Kim Yoo-jung knows that, so she is only touching her cell phone with a very relaxed expression.”
While the other hunters were exploring the surroundings, senior Yoojeong was sitting on a rock, fiddling with her cell phone. The camera, which held the screen wide for a while, illuminated the search personnel. Teacher Jung-ah was watching the hunters and commenting.
“Since the topography inside the gate changes slightly with each exploration, it is absolutely necessary to explore the surroundings. If you neglect your search and fail to capture the monsters that appear around you.”
When teacher Jung-a manipulated the camera, the screen went over. A monster with shining eyes appeared behind Yu-jeong. After belatedly realizing that the beast had appeared behind her, Senior Yu Jeong reflexively struck her with his fist. Her monster, her arm up, was hit by her fist and bounced behind her.
But before she had time to get back into her stance, several more of her monsters poked out their heads. Teacher Jung-ah spoke to her in a calm tone.
“It is inevitable to fight in such a state where formation is not properly established. The monster you are looking at right now is Gorbas, a D-class monster. They are very demanding in melee and have poison in their bodies.”
The D-class hunters who were exploring the surroundings hurriedly returned and started fighting with senior Yoo-jung. Hunters used light movements and unique abilities to push the monsters, but their bodies also had scars. Teacher Jung-ah spoke at this point.
“We will inform you once again that the current situation within the gate is a situation that was created arbitrarily in a controlled situation.”
It seemed that there were people who were trembling and really worried about it, so they explained it. When teacher Jeonga explained that, sighs of relief poured out from all over the place. After the battle, the hunters collected mana stones from the fallen monsters with their wounds covered.
“It looks like collecting magic stones. It is a resource that can be obtained from monsters inside the gate. Higher grade monsters spit out higher quality magic stones. Also, Gorbas’ hide and claws are very good resources that can be used as weapons. I made a loss, but the harvest was good.”
Teacher Jung-a said this far and then showed the hunters treating their wounds. Next to the first-aid potion or bandage, I saw senior Yoo-jeong healing her wounds on her own. Senior Yoo Jung’s ability is regeneration? Teacher Jeonga said.
“Thanks to the negligence of the search in the beginning, ‘Kim Yu-jeong’ Kim Yu-jeong Hunter and her party were attacked and suffered unnecessary injuries. Thanks to that, we consumed supplies and wasted a whole day.”
Teacher Jeonga said so. She appeared briefly camping. Senior Yu-jeong refused to stay awake and she went to bed first. Teacher Jeonga said.
“Currently, ‘Kim Yoo-jung’ Kim Yoo-jung Hunter believes only in her own regenerative powers and neglects her vigilance. Just because her own abilities are strong or advantageous in certain circumstances, she in this way creates divisions within her team if she does not cooperate.”
With a disgruntled face, she pretended that the other two hunters were staying vigilant. The sun suddenly rose inside the gate after quickly and clumsily showing the appearance of standing vigil in turns. Teacher Jeonga said.
“I would appreciate it if you take into account once again that the situation has been artificially adjusted. Time inside the gate is no different than on Earth.”
It didn’t seem like they were exploring the real gate in the first place. If you look closely, you can see a hard wall or steel frame in the sky. The two hunters looked very tired, and senior Yoojeong was walking with a pretty brisk face.
“‘Kim Yu-jeong’ Hunter Kim Yu-jeong refused to stay vigil, and the other hunters’ condition deteriorated. These two hunters can’t show their strength properly because they were on the watch with accumulated fatigue from the poison yesterday. What if the enemy attacks in this situation?”
A sharp cry rang out. Five cat-like beasts with large teeth appeared surrounding the three. The Hunters gritted their teeth and started running towards their opponents. Teacher Jeonga said.
“It’s an E-class monster jungle cat. They act in groups, and their claws are very sharp. Normally, you could defeat them in one shot, but they were poisoned and couldn’t move properly, so I allowed a fatal wound.”
The Jungle Cats swung their claws at the two Hunters. The hunters, who had been waving their arms in the air to defend themselves, screamed as they collapsed. Fortunately, there was no blood gushing out of the body or major injuries. Senior Yoojeong gritted her teeth and took down the jungle cats.
“There is no problem with safety because they are jungle cats with artificially removed claws.”
Teacher Jung-a once again showed consideration for the students who were on the verge of screaming at her. She and she continued the narration by manipulating the screen.
“Like that, Hunter ‘Kim Yoo-jung’ Kim Yoo-jung lost two of her teammates. But still she has her mission left. To get the coordinates of the gate, she has to defeat the boss inside the gate. Now she has two options. Either take her belongings and go back, or face the E-class gate boss alone.”
Senior Yu-jeong quietly took her belongings and started walking towards her return gate. Teacher Jeonga said.
“‘Kim Yoo-jung’ Kim Yoo-jung Hunter has decided to go back. ‘Kim Yoo-jung’ Kim Yoo-jeong, the hunter who returned, will lose a lot. It’s because the three D-class hunters failed to explore the E-class gate. It was too late for her to regret that she neglected to search and cooperate. Because the dead don’t come back.”
Teacher Jeonga turned off the screen. She came out of the corner and stood in the middle of us. The faces of the students hardened.
“The first audio-visual material ends here. Everyone. Each year, many hunters overconfident in their own abilities or distrust others’ abilities. Thanks to that, innocent hunters die every time. You may know the approximate process of gate exploration through TV or internet broadcasts. I want you to remember that the hunters in the broadcast succeed in exploring the gate not because they have excellent abilities, but because they trust and depend on their colleagues. Today’s class ends here. Everyone, please go back to the training ground. Tomorrow, we will practice gate exploration.”
