My Assigned Hunters Climb the Tower - Chapter 09

========== CHAPTER 9 ==========

His shoulders heaved as he panted. He tried to say more, but anger seemed to clog his throat, and he just kept repeating, “That guy is seriously! Seriously!”

Just then, Lee Seong-ha, who had followed Kang Hoon in like a shadow, replied nonchalantly.

“Who are you calling ‘that guy’? Have some manners.”

He was wearing a light blue shirt and black slacks. It was a neat and sophisticated look, but the way he sat on the sofa with his back straight and his precise, unwavering gestures somehow reminded one of an ascetic priest in a black cassock.

“Hyung! Hyung! Seriously!”

Kang Hoon covered his face with both hands, reacting with his whole body as if he were disgusted. Go Gyeol, who almost burst out laughing at the desperate gesture, held it in and turned to look at Lee Seong-ha.

“What did you do to make him like that?”

“Nothing?”

Lee Seong-ha asked back without batting an eyelash. That calm remark seemed to be the trigger; Kang Hoon exploded.

“Nothing? Nothing?! What do you mean you did nothing?!”

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his chest and slammed it onto the desk with a loud thud. As Go Gyeol indifferently picked up the paper, the densely written text caught his eye.

[Kang Hoon’s Lifestyle Improvement Plan]

05:00 AM ~ 05:10 AM Wake up and stretch

05:10 AM ~ 06:00 AM 5km Jogging (including interval training)

06:00 AM ~ 07:00 AM Home training (strength training by day of the week)

07:00 AM ~ 07:30 AM Breakfast (high-protein, low-sodium) and prepare for school

…

A faint smile spread across Go Gyeol’s lips as he scanned the contents.

“Are you laughing right now? I didn’t even live like this when I lived with my parents!”

As Kang Hoon shouted as if screaming, Lee Seong-ha, sitting on the sofa, nodded coldly.

“That’s why your body is in that state. You’re always sitting or lying down, so your stamina is at rock bottom. Do you think you can compete properly anywhere with that kind of mental strength?”

“Then what about studying! I’ll concede the exercise part a hundred times over, but what is this crazy amount of studying!”

Below the murderous morning exercise schedule, the daily routine after school caught his eye.

02:00 PM ~ 04:00 PM Practical class at the Hunter Bureau training grounds

04:00 PM ~ 06:00 PM Advanced math problem solving (2 sets of CSAT past exams)

06:00 PM ~ 07:00 PM Dinner and English vocabulary memorization (150 words)

07:00 PM ~ 09:00 PM Language arts non-fiction passage analysis and essay preparation

09:00 PM ~ 11:00 PM Science inquiry internet lecture and error note organization

11:00 PM ~ 11:10 PM Bedtime preparation (guaranteed 6 hours of essential sleep)

It was a schedule that would make you believe he was a student retaking the entrance exam.

“I’m not some exam student! How am I supposed to handle this schedule! Do you think this makes sense?!”

“What’s not to make sense? You’ve done well so far.”

As Lee Seong-ha shrugged, Kang Hoon hit his chest hard and said.

“Gyeol-hyung, how can you just watch? Isn’t this too much?”

When Go Gyeol chuckled, Lee Seong-ha clicked his tongue.

“You’re misunderstanding something; I didn’t write that.”

Kang Hoon looked at Go Gyeol with wide eyes, like someone who had been betrayed.

“No need to look at me like that. It’s all for you.”

“For me?! This is abuse!”

“Hey. You might be getting by with your talent for now, but do you think that will last forever? If you don’t have a solid foundation, you will eventually collapse. An ignorant guy who carries his head around just as a decoration can’t become a proper expert no matter what he does. It’s all for you. Besides, do you think the world will stay like this forever? What would you do if your Hunter ability disappeared overnight?”

Lee Seong-ha’s voice was quiet but carried strong persuasion.

“You might not know it, but Hunter work isn’t just simple labor where you beat up monsters. It requires meticulous calculation and preparation for every process: identifying monster weaknesses, utilizing terrain, and coordinating with colleagues. An ignorant Hunter who carries their head around as a decoration will be the first to die. It’s all for you.”

“Don’t do it for me!”

At Kang Hoon’s shout, Lee Seong-ha just shrugged. There was not a hint of compromise or agitation in that gesture.

“I tend to do my best in whatever I’m tasked with. If you have any complaints, take it up with the person who ordered all of this.”

As the arrow turned back to him, Go Gyeol rested his chin on his hand as if interested. Kang Hoon, having lost all hope, looked up at Go Gyeol with eyes searching for a savior, looking like he was about to kneel at any moment. The six words ‘Please save me’ were clearly visible on his pathetic face.

“You, aren’t you a Hunter?”

“I am!!”

For a moment, hope bloomed on Kang Hoon’s face.

“Then let’s add a few more things to the schedule. Introduction to Monster Linguistics, Magic Engineering Theory, Dungeon Terrain Analysis, and Hunter-related laws.”

“Hyung!”

The expression of someone who had been stabbed in the back by a trusted axe. Kang Hoon’s face turned pale. On the other hand, Lee Seong-ha seriously stroked his chin and nodded.

“Should we? I thought basic physical strength and basic knowledge came first.”

“Yeah. You’re right that he’ll get by on talent in the beginning, but it’s true that the higher he goes, the more he needs to use his head. We should make him dig into these specialized fields.”

“Uwaaaak!”

Watching the two people discuss his future education so seriously, Kang Hoon eventually grabbed his hair and despaired. Seeing that, Go Gyeol put down the schedule and finally burst into laughter.

“Don’t stick to the schedule too strictly. Give him some proper break time. What are you going to do if he runs away?”

“Let him try running away. I’ll very kindly let him experience the process of how I reformed the delinquent students I managed in the past.”

A strange, chilling feeling emanated from Lee Seong-ha’s gentle voice, making Kang Hoon shudder without realizing it.

“How is he at learning?”

At Go Gyeol’s question, the scene of the training that had just ended flashed through the mind of Lee Seong-ha, who was leaning back on the sofa.

Kwaang-!

The 3rd training ground of the Hunter Bureau. The floor where Kang Hoon had been standing just a moment ago was gouged out, crushed by an invisible force. He threw his body with animal-like reflexes to avoid the attack, then gasped for air, drenched in sweat.

“F*ck… are you seriously trying to kill me?!”

In the control room on one side of the training ground, beyond the tempered glass, Lee Seong-ha sneered into the microphone.

“Slow, kid. If this were a real battle, your waist would have already been folded in half.”

As he flicked his finger like a conductor, the gravity fields throughout the training ground changed. One moment his body felt heavy as a thousand pounds, and the next, it became as light as a feather, making it hard to even keep his balance.

“Getting cocky just because you cleared one D-rank dungeon. Learn the basics again, the basics!”

Lee Seong-ha was merciless. He fired consecutive ‘Gravity Bullets’ at Kang Hoon, who was narrowly passing through obstacles generated by holograms. Spheres of invisible pressure. Kang Hoon had to predict and dodge their trajectories solely by the minute flow of air he felt with his hearing and skin.

Ka-gang! Kwa-deuk!

The Gravity Bullets that he couldn’t dodge hit walls and obstacles, making a roaring sound. Kang Hoon gritted his teeth, crawled on the floor, kicked off walls, and twisted his body in mid-air. His movements were unrefined, but filled with raw survival instinct. Without a single skill, he was enduring the training solely with his tempered body and animalistic senses.

“Get up! It’s not over yet!”

Underneath the hesitating Kang Hoon, Lee Seong-ha deployed an even more powerful ‘Gravity Swamp’. A terrible sensation as if his feet were stuck to the floor. The moment Kang Hoon struggled to get out, Lee Seong-ha was already standing behind him.

“I told you the one who gets distracted on the battlefield dies first.”

Along with the cold voice, a light touch pushed Kang Hoon’s back. But it contained hundreds of kilograms of pressure.

“Keuhuk!”

Kang Hoon couldn’t even scream and was slammed into the floor. His breath was cut off, and the bones in his whole body seemed to creak.

“……You crazy old geezer….”

Lying spread-eagled on the floor, Kang Hoon barely spat out the curse. It was his limit. He didn’t have the strength left to move a finger.

Lee Seong-ha looked down at such a Kang Hoon indifferently and pressed the training end button. As the terrible pressure disappeared, only then could Kang Hoon breathe properly.

“…Is… is it over…?”

“For today.”

Lee Seong-ha answered briefly and left the training ground. The state of his disciple, who was sprawled out in a mess, was a disaster, but a faint sense of satisfaction lingered in his eyes.

Lee Seong-ha, leaning back on the sofa, sorted through the memories from just a moment ago and answered.

“Not bad. Basically, his movement is good. He follows training well, too. I think he could clear a D-rank on his own.”

“Without skills?”

At Go Gyeol’s sharp question, Lee Seong-ha nodded.

“Yeah. Without skills. For a Witch-type, both his strength and agility stats are at the level of a B-rank combat awakener.”

Go Gyeol stroked his chin as if interested.

“Hmm. Oh. He’s better than I thought.”

Kang Hoon, who had been completely alienated throughout the conversation, finally couldn’t hold it in and furrowed his brow.

“Hey… isn’t it a bit much to talk like that right in front of the person?”

“Not at all?”

“Not really?”

At the two men’s answers, which came without a moment’s hesitation, Kang Hoon sighed.

Kang Hoon let out a deep sigh at the two men’s answers, which lacked even a shred of hesitation. Now he felt like he understood. Why these two people with seemingly opposite tendencies hung out together. The concept of consideration for others simply didn’t exist for them.

‘No, but how did a guy like that become a priest? Isn’t that blasphemy?’

It was just then, as Kang Hoon tilted his head and contemplated the ‘Ordination of Priest Lee Seong-ha’, which rivaled the 7 Wonders of the World.

“The problem is, his crisis detection ability is at a disastrous level. There’s no choice but to learn that by rolling in the field.”

“Hmm. Then shall we roll him right now? A request alarm for the Clock Tower of Stopped Time just popped up at the Hunter Bureau.”

“Good idea. If he’s D-rank, he won’t die even if we throw him in there alone. Let’s go.”

In an instant, all the miscellaneous thoughts filling Kang Hoon’s head disappeared as if cut by a knife. He forced his neck, which was stiff like a creaking gear, to turn and look at the two men.

“…You’re joking, right?”

“No. It’s field training, isn’t it?”

While Lee Seong-ha grinned as if it were fun, Go Gyeol was tapping on his laptop a few times. With a ‘Beep-‘ sound, a reservation completion notification popped up.

“Reservation complete. Briefing starts in 5 minutes. Get ready.”

“Hey! You crazy bastards!!”