SWNOVELXO Chapter 153: Nothing is Unachievable (2)
First of all, Ha-seong had wanted to synchronize with the blond S-Class for a while now. Naturally, he had no reason to reject the proposal.
However, one question lingered in his mind.
“Excuse me, but may I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?”
Last winter.
Kim Gi-ryeo had rejected the proposal from the top-ranked hunter who wanted to work together with something like this.
“Thanks for the offer, but that might be difficult. After all, our skill levels are too…”
Of course, now Gi-ryeo was aware of how his slip of the tongue had transformed.
What he meant by the skill gap was that he was far weaker than Jeong Ha-seong, but for some reason, the citizens interpreted it the other way around.
However, it’s a bit tricky to say that wasn’t what he meant now.
To reveal the truth behind a slip of the tongue would mean exposing the true face of some con artist.
‘That’s troublesome.’
At this point, it was a reverse strategy.
Gi-ryeo decided to use the misunderstanding he created back then.
“…Why did I change my mind? Asking that makes it a bit difficult to answer.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, but I’ve never changed my mind at all. I still believe your skills are vastly overrated.”
Jeong Ha-seong flinched at those words.
“But if there’s one thing that’s changed… During the winter, I suddenly felt that I was too fixated on you.”
“Ah.”
“If your skills are lacking, you just need to work hard to improve. Sorry, I was short-sighted.”
With a kind tone, Gi-ryeo explained while sipping on barley green tea.
It was quite brazen of an S-Class disguised as garbage, but to con someone like Jeong Ha-seong required this level of courage.
“So today I’m here to make a proposal to you…”
Gi-ryeo held the green tea in his mouth and soon presented the bait he had prepared.
“Ha-seong, if you had a way to enhance that awakening ability significantly, what would you do?”
This was a temptation that no one leading an evolution could refuse.
“As I said before, you currently can’t even use half of your strength. And I can help you fix that.”
That’s right.
This great mage had come to Garion today to scout for a new disciple.
*
The mage’s proposal was simple.
If he mastered a secret technique that he would teach him and elevated his control over his awakening ability to a certain level, only then would he join his team.
“If you get strong enough for me to acknowledge, then I can team up with you anytime.”
This was a proposal that allowed Jeong Ha-seong to catch two rabbits: skill improvement and fulfilling his wishes.
“However, I can’t offer this kind of training for free. I need to earn for food and transport, too.”
The problem was that this would come with a price.
“So let’s start with just 3 billion won.”
“In cash?”
“Yeah, in cash.”
Gi-ryeo was in need of money to buy new magic tools.
That’s about 3.48 billion won, an amount hard for the average person to even touch in a lifetime.
‘Damn it, a billion isn’t even a dog’s name.’
Up until now, he had done everything he could to avoid making money using his knowledge.
But with foreign summoners he had never seen or heard of barging in, he thought he couldn’t afford to be picky anymore.
So he pulled out his secret weapon.
Magic education. With this, the number of disciples could be limited, controlling the scope of information leaks, and on top of that, there would be some ‘additional gains.’
‘In the early days of my reincarnation, I couldn’t even talk about money without being conscious of Ahn Yoon-seung, but now I’ve got a certain level of economic sense and a status as an S-Class, so asking for tuition shouldn’t be too much…’
It wasn’t particularly appetizing work, but now that he was stuck in an F-Class body, he had no choice.
He needed money, and he knew better than anyone that he had to show a certain level of flexibility for it.
That’s why he had come to this spot.
‘Hmm.’
Gi-ryeo lifted his gaze and examined the young man before him.
The hero of the people who firmly hold the status of number one hunter in South Korea.
The foreign reincarnator had personal reasons to minimize the number of people he shared his knowledge with.
If he became famous for magic lectures, he would inevitably face the high-risk situation of kidnapping he had feared.
‘Earth people, please excuse me for that…’
Considering various factors,
This foreigner had no choice but to aim for the top hunters of the planet for his prey.
These beings would generate maximum compensation as units. Moreover, the blueprint he held included plans to enhance the skills of South Korea’s S-Class from the start.
Gi-ryeo recalled the value of the fire mage and continued his explanation.
“Just so you know, if you accept my offer, you’ll have to make sure to set aside time twice a week.”
“You mean I should clear two whole days?”
“That’s right. And I expect that you’ll need to keep it going consistently for about 3 months to see any noticeable change.”
Swoo.
He showcased a simple hand gesture with his index, middle, and ring fingers spread out.
“By the way, you know the tuition of 3 billion won needs to be deposited monthly, right?”
Monthly rent, academy fees, and electricity bills.
On this planet, when paying a price for something, it’s often a month-based system, so the duration itself was no surprise. The problem was the scale.
“3 billion every month?”
It had just been said one should learn for at least 3 months, which translates to paying 9 billion for skill control.
‘Rounding up, that’s nearly 10 billion.’
No matter how much of an S-Class hunter he was, simply mentioning such amounts was enough to make him hesitate.
‘Moreover, as a barrier type awakener, how would you teach a fire attribute like me…?’
Jeong Ha-seong unknowingly harbored suspicion.
Of course, Gi-ryeo was an S-Class like him – at least Ha-seong thought that – so the chances of cheating were quite low.
Still, the suddenness and absurdity of the proposal made him skeptical.
“Why? Is it perhaps too expensive?”
But strangely, Kim Gi-ryeo maintained a peculiar composure throughout the conversation.
“It’s not really about the price… it’s more that I find it hard to believe.”
“Then just treat it as a trial for a month. If you’re really dissatisfied, I’ll refund all of it later.”
“Excuse me?”
“Honestly, this is my first time teaching an S-Class, so I wasn’t sure how it would go, so I was prepared to refund you at any time anyway.”
Swoo.
The man who had been gnashing away at the paper cup of green tea slowly leaned forward.
“But if you see any results within that month, I bet that from then on, you’ll be the one wanting to pay me.”
And Ha-seong’s response was…
*
A few days later. It was Wednesday again.
“Hello.”
I faced the country’s number one hunter head-on in an unknown gymnasium in Seoul.
To cut to the chase, Ha-seong accepted my proposal.
With the knight’s pact not to disclose the details of the training, I successfully acquired a new income source… er, rather, a precious disciple.
The first training period was about 3 months.
The fee was a whopping 3 billion per month!
‘This is it, this is it.’
This was expected.
That rank one had indeed wanted to collaborate with the unknown ability holder, the fourth S-Class of Korea, so if this was scratched out intentionally, it would be hard to turn down.
‘That’s right! Someone who’s an S-Class wouldn’t give up their goals over just some money. Great! Let’s bait him for the next 3 months and later bump up the tuition!’
Hehe.
Regardless, even if I’m eating off just S-Classes, I’m rich.
To be honest, I’d like to rope Seo Esther into a team lecture and make it a quick profit.
But as I said before, this was my first time instructing someone at the S-Class level, and if I carefully examined it, I had had very little teaching experience, which made me vulnerable to variability.
So for now, let’s not be greedy and take it slow. It would be better to use Jeong Ha-seong as an experimental subject and firmly grasp the essence of education.
I hid my malice and surveyed my surroundings.
What appeared was an overwhelmingly open space, hard to capture all in view.
The walls reinforced with light yellow stone, typically found in dungeons, explained the purpose of this place at a glance.
“This place is unexpectedly spacious.”
We were currently standing in a hunter-exclusive indoor training facility.
——————==
● Gym Facility Rules
Article 1. These rules are intended to regulate membership registration and use of facilities in the Awakening-only gym.
——————==
That’s why I had visited the Hunter Association some time ago to print out the relevant regulation book.
From now on, I would have to train consistently with Jeong Ha-seong, and if the location was inside a dungeon, it would fall under another contract.
‘Honestly, reporting this to Kang Chang-ho one by one would be too bothersome.’
Of course, if I conducted business outside, rumors would inevitably begin to spread.
But that was irrelevant. I could just cover the reason for meeting Ha-seong weekly with something like sparring between hunters.
“By the way, it’s nice being ranked high. Since it’s under your name, we can rent places like this right away.”
“Ah, yes…”
I breathed in deeply and then got ready to start training.
“Anyway, since today is the first day, let’s start by testing your limit.”
“Testing my limits?”
“Jeong Ha-seong, now, please unleash the skill you use most often at maximum power. Aim upwards.”
However, Jeong Ha-seong seemed unenthusiastic about it. He hesitated significantly at my words.
“The skill I use most often?”
“Yep.”
“Can’t I just show it gently?”
“Nope. You have to go all out.”
“If I do that, the ceiling might break.”
His eyes, reminiscent of my own but shimmering with difference, twitched anxiously.
“Just have the association cover the damage with the amount of money for the items you’ve sacrificed over the years.”
But I ignored Ha-seong’s reaction and displayed a bored expression on my face.
Then he quietly began to draw upon his magic. Unable to withstand the pressure, he reluctantly started preparing his skill.
Sizzle, sizzle.
Gradually the temperature in the area began to rise. Just casting magic brought forth tremendous fire attribute magic power that could easily scorch people.
“…Technically, I use basic skills like this quite often.”
Whoosh!
Soon after, a pillar of fire shot up into the scene.
The blazing inferno caused by Jeong Ha-seong ran wildly, turning everything it touched into ash in an instant.
Crackle, boom!
The roof reinforced with dungeon material, along with the barrier powered by the infinite energy core, ultimately couldn’t withstand a single skill and collapsed pitifully.
But I felt not a shred of admiration.
‘Given his possessed magic power, the strength is severely lacking.’
In fact, that was the biggest problem with Jeong Ha-seong. The mage was tightly coiled with his abilities and couldn’t even extend his limbs properly.
‘Controlling his power should be the utmost priority.’
Tap, tap.
Only the lonely sound of embers crackling could be heard.
As I reviewed the schedule in my head against this background, a new noise cut in from across.
It was Ha-seong’s voice.
“Um…”
He had a flustered expression.
“I’m sorry, but may I ask you one question?”
“Go ahead.”
A moment later, a rather obvious question came spilling from his lips.
“Did you… get hurt from the skill I just used?”
I had apparently received a second-degree burn in the brief moment.
“Yeah. I thought I’d be fine since I was a good distance away, but the wind direction changed, and I ended up getting burned.”
I showed Ha-seong my hand where a red burn crossed over it.
He, being another awakened like me, understood the implications of the mark better than anyone.
“You got burned by such embers?”
Later, it turned out that the guild membership offer Jeong Ha-seong had made to me last winter had an unexpected significance.
The company he established had some rather outrageous entry conditions for hunters.
‘Able to withstand the heat generated by the guild master’s skills.’
I don’t know how he came up with that thought.
But apparently, Jeong Ha-seong thought I was a sufficiently robust awakened person to handle his powers.
That’s probably why he had eagerly invited me to work together.
However, now that he saw the state of the hunter who had just brushed against the flame and received this kind of injury, how absurd would that be for him?
“Hunter-nim, I’ve been curious since earlier. Why don’t you restore your awakening level back to normal?”
Ha-seong soon questioned.
It seemed he was asking why someone of an S-Class wouldn’t be fine for this level of injury, and why I continued to restrain myself as if still an F-Class.
“There’s no need for that now that there are no regular folks around, is there?”
I remained silent for a moment after hearing his words.
Of course, I already had an excuse prepared for this. But just the thought of actually saying it out loud made my conscience prick.
But I couldn’t waver now.
If it wasn’t for the cold-heartedness of deceiving others, I could never handle such large sums of money in my current F-Class body.
“Jeong Ha-seong.”
Resolutely, I gathered my breath and fired off the cold statement.
“You still don’t realize my intentions, do you?”
───Hah!
I straightened my neck and began my reprimand.