Chapter 6

This…

Unbelievable…

The instructor stared at the paper. He announced Yoo-seong’s bare stat:

“98.”

“You must have been exercising for a few years, brother,” another student told him.

Even the group of students in the corner who were booing others did not make any negative comments.

It wasn’t a high figure, but 98 wasn’t a shame.

As a lecturer, 98 was not a surprising number. The fitness management program offered by the academy maintained its excellent level and maintained stats that averaged 100.

However, the bare stat was not all that mattered.

Not at all.

‘What is this?’ The instructor wiped his eyes to make sure he saw properly before he looked back on the paper.

The deep body was used to capture the entire balance, strengths, and weaknesses of the body, including the muscle mass of the object to be measured. Under the number 98, the details were lined up in charts.

‘Balanced.’

Yoo-seong was technically perfect.

From the right and left balance, to the interaction between the lower body and the upper body and the placement of the skeleton. The reason you should start most workouts early was simple. The body got harder as you got older.

Inconvenient places were created one by one, and imbalances caused by lifestyle habits harmed the potential of the body.

However, it was not the case for the body of a man named Oh Yoo-seong.

Obviously, it was not a body that had trained to the extreme. However, a flawless body was rarer than those hardened to the extreme.

Yoo-seong had no physical imbalance or weakness.

“What exercise… did you do?”

It was a stupid question even as the instructor thought about it himself.

“Not much.”

Yoo-seong replied briefly and added:

“Can I take the practical class?”

“Uh….” The instructor was speechless.

“I really want to,” Yoo-seong added.

When students failed the examination, they were prepared to swallow their pride. There was nothing wrong with that.

But this time, it was different. That attitude, that mental strength he saw in that eyes – even those with over 100 stats didn’t look like that.

Besides, what could he do about someone who had a flawless physical balance?

“You can go,” the instructor decided. He then made his announcement.

“A total of 45 students, including Mr. Oh Yoo-seong – you are practical trainees in the second half of this year. Please move to the second floor.”

Several students shook upon hearing that a person with a stat of 98 was included.

However, the instructor didn’t care. He just looked at the back of Yoo-seong, who was walking quietly.

His intuition kept telling him:

That man is not just ’98’. That man has something.

The test result was not the only strange sight he would see from Yoo-seong.

…

Woowoong-

When the instructor switched the specimen on, the whole class moved.

“Oh-oh-oh!”

It was the first time for a lot of students to see monsters out of their illustrated books. Several mouths hung open.

The specimen was moving in front of them.

Uncanny Mannequin-★★

It was a very strange fungus that, as its name suggested, took the form of a person. It drew protein from the fibers of trees or animal remains, and created a nervous system to control its makeshift limbs.

Of course, the Uncanny Mannequins in the academy were ‘improved.’

Devices had been planted in each one. Control signals were sent to these devices so the monsters could be manipulated.

The speed, force, and movement could be adjusted according to the electrical signal, and even if damaged, they can be repaired immediately by simply pouring a cheap solution on them.

“There is nothing. It’s nothing special.”

A confident voice.

It turned out to be Kang Jae-kyun. He was a young man who set the highest record of 135 in the previous stat measurement.

The instructor started handing out equipment to each member of the class.

“I’ll share the three-part rod.”

It was the basic equipment used by novice hunters against monsters with less than two stars. It was a strong weapon and could break bones even with just a moderate attack.

“We will have practical tests conducted with a controlled monster. This is to test how you deal with different monsters in different environments,” the instructor explained.

When the instructor operated the remote control, a dozen mannequins lined up in a row. The women in the class let out a small scream.

“What you will practice this time is….”

“It’s capture,” Kang Jae-kyun told the student next to him, who nodded. His voice was loud enough for the class to hear.

“Hmm, hmm.”

After a brief cough, the instructor continued to explain.

“The original grade of the Uncanny Mannequins here is 2-star, but since this is just a training exercise, I have set their rank to 1-star. Regardless of gender, anyone here can capture the Mannequin with their three-part rod.”

Kang Jae-kyun started to talk again in a loud voice, “But the really important thing -”

“Mr. Kang Jae-kyun!” The instructor had enough and called him. “Would you like to come in front and explain further?”

“Yes? No. Sorry.”

Kang Jae-kyun raised his hands and smiled, embarrassed. The class laughed.

The instructor held his breath unintentionally.

Sometimes, this happened. Students with outstanding power often interrupted the class to show off.

He calmed himself down and continued, “…but knocking down the prey in the test scoring is just the basic. The really important thing is how much the prey is overpowered.”

“I’ll call you out one-by-one, and you will each face the mannequins.”

There were red markings on the body of the mannequins. They were the size of a young child’s fist.

“This is a weak spot,” the instructor continued. “If you hit it correctly, the mannequin will fall more easily. Of course, you can win by hitting other parts, but then the prey will be damaged.”

The goal of the class is to overcome the mannequin by striking the weak points. The prey must not be damaged if they are aiming to capture it.

“All clear? Then, come out one by one in turn.”

Even before the instructor’s words were over, Kang Jae-kyun stood up.

Boo Boo-. Whoosh-

Jae-kyun immediately showed off some moves using the three-part rod, looking very confident.

“Shouldn’t we face two mannequins at the beginning?”

The instructor shook his head.

“Well, then, I’ll finish quickly.”

One Uncanny Mannequin and Kang Jae-kyun stood on the training ring.

As soon as the instructor raised the remote control, the mannequin rushed forward.

It was only a 1-star rating, but even so, the movement was similar to that of a strong adult male.

Kang Jae-kyun turned to avoid the mannequin.

“Where!”

Stiff!

A powerfully swinging three-part rod hit the mannequin’s head!

The mannequin’s head was damaged, and it staggered.

However, Jae-kyun was not able to hit a weak spot, so the mannequin gathered itself, changed its stance, and rushed again to attack.

“Kyaaap!”

Pug! Pug!

The second and third blows caused the mannequin to collapse.

Breathing lightly, Kang Jae-kyun looked out of the ring.

He was met with cheers from the class.

“Cool!”

“Awesome! Did you finish in just three attacks?”

Cheers were pouring out from all directions. Kang Jae-kyun looked at the instructor with pride.

“Please give me two of them, hurry.”

“…….”

The instructor was looking at the condition of the beaten mannequin. The back of the head and neck were broken…

He sent up two new mannequins.

This time, it was not that easy.

Both mannequins attacked at the same time, in different directions.

While Kang Jae-kyun hit one on its head, the second one grabbed his waist.

Then, the first one immediately recovered from the hit and jumped back on Jae-kyun. It was like an ugly dog fight in the neighborhood.

Pug!

A mannequin hit Jae-kyun with a fist.

“These… bastards!”

Kang Jae-kyun’s face turned red.

“Oh ah ah ah ah!”

He wildly swung the three-part rod to shake off the mannequins. Kang Jae-kyun just swung and swung powerfully with no aim. After about a minute, the two mannequins, severely battered and broken, fell down the ring.

The instructor drew ‘X’ on Jae-kyun’s paper. It was a complete failure.

However, it didn’t look like that to everyone else.

“Well fought!”

“Awesome! You still won!”

The other students cheered, amazed by the physical prowess shown by Jae-kyun. Kang Jae-kyun himself also seemed satisfied, and he came down the ring with an elated attitude.

The instructor noticed it as another problem. In the real world, some monsters have special abilities like toxicity, and it was easy to die if you walked away from their corpses carelessly.

‘You need more practice, you crazy bastard…’ The instructor was angry.

“Next!” he shouted.

The students looked at each other with hesitation. As Kang Jae-kyun just showed a great performance, they were hesitant to come out after him.

Of course, some people didn’t care about that.

“I will do it.”

Yoo-seong raised his hand.

An expression of surprise passed on the faces of everyone, including the instructor.

“Yes, go up,” the instructor said.

Yoo-seong went up the ring. Truth be told, he was a little nervous. It was the first time he’s going to face a monster since the Shark Ape.

However, didn’t you work hard in the past months? Believe in yourself, he thought as motivation.

Whatever the results may be, he thought, you can use it to accurately diagnose your abilities and use it as a reference to work harder.

The students watching him were talking to each other.

“Look at his expression.”

“He must be nervous; it’s cute.”

“Fighting!”

The instructor sent the mannequin up and talked to Yoo-seong for a bit before the test started.

“Oh Yoo-seong.”

“Yeah?”

“Do not worry. You won’t get hurt too much.”

The instructor liked the serious attitude of Yoo-seong. They exchanged nods, and then the instructor pressed a button. The mannequin then started to move.

At the same time, Yoo-seong also pushed a button.

Woosh!

His three-part rod unfolded quickly.

The mannequin rushed at a terrifying pace. And then…

Tck!

Everyone in the room was stunned.

“…”

“…?”

“Uh….”

“What?”

Only a few people, including the instructor, noticed what happened.

It was a strange sight.

The mannequin was running, the three-part rod swung over it and only brushed the monster slightly, and then the mannequin suddenly collapsed helplessly.

“Was that mannequin faulty?”

Someone in the room said, but the instructor knew better.

It was a sight of accuracy, not fault.

The tip of Yoo-seong’s rod hit a weak spot accurately, at the exact, crucial moment.

It was the same with a top-notch boxer knocking out an opponent by touching only the chin.

Concise and accurate single attack.

Oh my God, the instructor thought, feeling goosebumps at the back of his neck.

“Well… you did it. Very good.” It was perfect, he nearly said.

“Then, Mr. Oh Yoo-seong. Would you like to try 2 vs. 1 too?”

“…”

Yoo-seong hesitated for a few moments, then answered him with that firm, polite expression.

“Yes. I’ll do it.”

As the two mannequins were sent up, the instructor stared at Yoo-seong.

Could it be that he is used to wielding a three-part rod?

The instructor secretly operated the remote control and pressed a couple more buttons.

He controlled the mannequin’s power and speed to remain the same but changed the setting to the advanced program for those who were experienced with the rod.

It was a program mainly used by novice hunters, not by students.

I know I shouldn’t do this, but…

It was purely because of his terrible curiosity.

I just wanted to see the previous movement more accurately.

Indeed, what kind of movement will the strange student show against more advanced opponents?

The mannequins were in place.

Now, the whole class was holding their breaths as they waited.

The instructor activated the mannequins and saw the third strange sight of the day.

Yoo-seong stood, holding his three-part rod casually, with two mannequins in front of him.

Then he rushed in, low, towards the mannequins.

The mannequins threw out fists –

Whoosh!

Shhh!

-and missed. After dodging the attacks gracefully, Yoo-seong fired his counterattacks.

Pug!

Pug!

The man with the stat 98 threw out two attacks – one for each of his enemies.

Without a single error, and exactly at the weak points.

With the exact timing. With the exact power needed.

The mannequins fell silently.

Beyond the ring, the class was filled with silence.

“…….”

“Excuse me.” Yoo-seong raised his rod slightly and spoke to the instructor, whose mouth was hanging open.

Shyly, yet confidently:

“3 vs. 1. Could we try it?”