Chapteer 02 ….
I Became a Transcendent Genius Trainer
Recently, Yujun had been having frequent nightmares.
In the dreams, he failed to awaken, wasted the support funds from the Promise Guild, and was eventually expelled without ever awakening.
And now… it had actually come true.
“Only half of it was right.”
He let out a dry chuckle.
Just like in the dream, he had been expelled.
But instead, he had successfully awakened.
“Awakened Training System.”
Yujun carefully examined what appeared to be his awakening ability—his unique skill, the Awakened Training System.
“Check list.”
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Opening Awakened Training!
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Scanned Awakened List
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Kim Minseok [Melee Combat Type]
Kim Minseok’s status window appeared before Yujun’s eyes.
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You can train the scanned Awakened.
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Would you like to begin training?
Scan the awakened, check their status window, then train them.
“…It’s exactly like Infinite Tower.”
The in-game content had become his awakening ability.
“Then did the other systems come over too?”
Yujun gave a bitter smile.
“If I tell people I can see status windows, they’ll think I’m insane.”
Status windows and stat screens were things that only existed in games.
An awakened person’s power and abilities could never be perfectly quantified.
With special artifacts, a few things could be roughly identified, but even then only vaguely—exact numbers were impossible to determine.
“Even ranks are just roughly divided using artifacts.”
Because of that, after the initial rank assessment, scores were assigned based on Tower conquest performance, and ranks were adjusted accordingly.
But—
“I’m the only one who can see quantified status windows.”
Which meant he could read other awakened people’s information.
“If my power comes from Infinite Tower… I might be able to do a lot more.”
This was the awakening he had longed for.
The surging excitement made Yujun’s heart race, but he quickly calmed himself.
“Nothing’s confirmed yet.”
He hadn’t properly verified anything.
He had only opened Minseok’s status window.
“…Since it’s a training system.”
He needed to test it properly.
“I need to know what happens when training starts.”
First, Yujun checked the scan list.
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[Kim Minseok] Overall Evaluation Grade D
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Awakening Ability: Ignition
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Stats: [Strength 8/15] [Stamina 5/15] [Agility 9/15]
Minseok’s stat window appeared again.
“…Just like the game. But Minseok’s stats… are a mess. Agility is a bit high, and the other stats aren’t even filled.”
In Infinite Tower, it was standard to max out stats before strengthening skills.
But filling those stats required extensive repetitive training.
“Still… that’s in the game, where you can see the numbers. In reality, no matter how hard you train, you can’t tell whether your stats are increasing.”
That was why Yujun wanted to confirm it.
“…Will it work?”
He immediately contacted Minseok.
“Hello?”
—Ha, good timing. I’ve got something to tell you.
“I’ve got something too.”
Perfect timing—they both had something to say.
At Cafe Monaca, famous for its cheap coffee.
The moment he saw Yujun, Kim Minseok started complaining.
“I failed the first-team test. They said I’d definitely make it, but I failed.”
Minseok’s guild, Arena, was currently focused on conquering the Tower.
Their raid team was attacking the middle floors, and to join it, you first had to enter the first team.
The elite first team had a fixed capacity of 40 members.
Only those inside were classified as the guild’s core personnel and received support.
But Minseok had failed the selection test.
“What the hell is the problem?! Someone worse than me made it into the first team!”
Minseok shouted in frustration.
Based purely on skill, there was no reason he shouldn’t have made it.
Even awakened ones evaluated as weaker than him had gotten in—so why not him?
But Yujun wasn’t really listening.
Right now, something else mattered more.
Flash—
While Minseok vented, Yujun stared at the clearly visible cracks around Minseok’s shoulders and knees.
“…Deep cracks in the shoulder and knee.”
Meanwhile, the thighs and ankles were glowing.
“On the other hand, the thighs and ankles are glowing blue.”
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Scanned Awakened!
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Would you like to begin Awakened Training?
Yujun immediately nodded.
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Awakened Training activated!
Shhhhk—!
The cracks and light became even more pronounced.
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Cracks are major weaknesses of the awakened. Improving them increases the target’s stats.
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Blue light indicates strengths. Enhancing them increases the target’s stats.
“…As expected.”
Yujun broke into a bright smile.
It was exactly like Infinite Tower.
The cracks and the blue glow—everything.
“I’m telling you, my body’s perfectly fine! Nothing hurts! And I still failed, damn it.”
At Minseok’s grumbling, Yujun clicked his tongue.
“…Looks like he hid it.”
There was a high chance the guild already knew.
Even if Minseok hid it, they might have noticed his awkward movement from the injury and kept him out of the first team.
If that was the case, fixing this alone would get him in.
Yujun decided—his first training target would be Minseok.
“Minseok. Are you really not in pain?”
“What are you talking about? Do I look like someone in pain?”
“…Your knee doesn’t hurt sometimes?”
Minseok jolted in shock.
Then, with a stiff face, he asked back,
“…What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Be honest.”
“……”
Minseok fell silent.
It was a secret he had told no one.
Even earlier, he only said he failed the test—he never mentioned why.
Even with a friend, he had to be careful.
“…You didn’t just guess, did you?”
“Use Ignition.”
“What are you suddenly— No, how do you know my knee hurts? I never told you… I never told anyone.”
Minseok looked flustered at the sudden instruction.
Then he remembered something from the past.
Even with very little information, Yujun used to pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him.
Because of that, he had gotten treatment early before things worsened.
“I’ll tell you how I knew if you use your skill. So try it.”
Seeing Yujun’s serious expression, Minseok cleared his stray thoughts.
Then he immediately activated Ignition.
Fwoooooosh—!
A massive blaze erupted from Minseok’s body.
Normally, using abilities outside the Tower incurred a fine.
But it didn’t matter if no one noticed.
“It’ll just be a moment. No one’s around.”
Fwoosh—!
Minseok increased the output of Ignition.
“…I can see it!”
The moment Ignition activated, Yujun saw enormous strain being placed on Minseok’s knee.
The crack was widening.
“Hey, your knee is under massive strain.”
“What?”
“Try relaxing the knee.”
“…I already know. I know. But it won’t fix itself.”
Minseok muttered bitterly.
If it were that easy, he would have fixed it long ago.
“Just try it. Trust me.”
Though he didn’t understand at all, Yujun’s expression was deadly serious.
Minseok frowned.
“…How?”
“When you ignite, your knee tenses for a moment, right? Relax it firmly. Convert the mana smoothly. You’ve probably tried before—but do it again.”
Minseok followed Yujun’s instructions.
Then—
The flames changed. They weakened slightly.
At the same time, the large crack in Minseok’s knee began returning to normal.
Yujun’s eyes lit up.
“…It’s being corrected.”
Fixing the posture reduced the strain on the body, and higher-quality flames flowed out than before.
“…Huh?”
Just a single piece of advice.
But the result was far beyond what one line of advice should produce.
“Th-that’s impossible… It works? Why? My knee doesn’t hurt at all… I already tried relaxing my body before…”
Minseok suddenly stared at Yujun.
Just like back then.
“…What did you do?”
“Correction.”
Yujun answered simply.
“I trained you.”
Ding—!
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First training completed!
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Kim Minseok’s condition has changed due to your advice!
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Points acquired!
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Current points: 1P
Sparkle.
Though weaker than before, a blue light now flickered on Minseok’s knee.
“…The crack isn’t completely gone yet.”
Yujun checked the notifications.
“So properly training awakened gives points.”
Ding—!
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First point obtained!
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Point Skill Tree unlocked!
As he gained the point, something like a constellation appeared in Yujun’s vision.
Ding—!
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[Focus] Lv.1
Unlock Condition: Train Ranged Combat Awakened [0/1] -
[Physical Enhancement] Lv.1
Unlock Condition: Train Combat Awakened [0/2] -
[Skill Enhancement] Lv.1
Unlock Condition: Train Non-Combat Awakened [0/3]
Countless skill trees connected like stars.
For now, Yujun could see three skills.
Behind them, more stars trailed into darkness.
“…This is familiar too.”
It was the same skill tree from Infinite Tower.
Yujun grinned.
“Ignition.”
Minseok tried using Ignition again in fascination.
But he tensed his knee again—the crack began widening.
Seeing this, Yujun nodded.
“…So this is the skill’s influence. My training system really does correct it.”
But one posture correction wasn’t enough to fully solve the problem.
Yujun corrected him again.
“Relax your knee and try again.”
Fwoosh—!
This time, the tension properly released.
“Doing what you said keeps the strain off my knee. It doesn’t hurt. Seriously, what did you do?”
“That’s why training is necessary.”
Yujun grinned.
“If we keep training like this, Ignition will be completely upgraded. The excessive force will disappear, and the efficiency will improve.”
“Hey—what did your next skill branch into after Ignition?”
Still dazed, Minseok answered,
“…Flame Combo.”
Every awakened had a personal skill tree only they could see.
Once Ignition reached a certain proficiency, the next branch unlocked.
Infinite Tower’s system was based on that reality.
“Of course… the game added a lot of creative liberties.”
Since awakened individuals didn’t share their skill trees.
“…Flame Combo means a strike-type.”
But that wasn’t the important part.
Yujun frowned.
“…This Ignition build shouldn’t go into strike-type.”
It sounded like a rapid flame barrage attack.
“…This isn’t good.”
Skills like that had strong damage early on, but their value dropped sharply at higher ranks.
After a brief moment of thought, Yujun made his decision.
“Minseok. You want to make the first team, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“I’ll train you. So become my first portfolio.”
Right now, Yujun needed one solid result.
“…Portfolio?”
“I got completely expelled.”
“…!”
Minseok stared at him in shock.
“Don’t worry.”
Yujun just grinned.
“I’ve got a plan.”
Arena Guild Gym — Jongno Branch.
Each guild owned training gyms throughout the city.
The moment they arrived, Yujun ordered Minseok to do push-ups.
Push-ups were the most basic and efficient exercise—even for awakened individuals.
“…Why push-ups?”
“I need to confirm something.”
“…Did you awaken or something?”
On the way to the gym, Yujun had explained the situation.
But he didn’t mention the Awakened Training System or Infinite Tower.
“…I’ve always had good eyes.”
That was the explanation he gave.
“See? I told you since we were kids—you should’ve gone this route from the start.”
Minseok replied while diligently doing push-ups.
Yujun watched him closely.
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100 push-ups completed.
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Strength increases.
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Skill not unlocked—precise training system unavailable.
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Training complete!
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Kim Minseok trained!
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Conditions satisfied!
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Skill unlocked!
Minseok had clearly been trained through Yujun’s guidance.
And thanks to that, Yujun’s skill unlocked.
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[Focus] Lv.1 unlocked!
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Lv.2 Unlock Condition: [Train Combat Awakened 0/5]
If the unlock condition was met, the skill could be learned immediately.
Shhh—
Yujun focused his eyes.
Then something began appearing beside Minseok.
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Kim Minseok [Ignition repetition required. On repetition: Strength +1, Knee Pain −1]
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Training recipe unlocked
“…I can see it. The direction of training.”
With Focus unlocked, he could see exactly what training an awakened needed for growth.
“…My basic skill is finally equipped.”
Trainers possessed numerous latent skills.
To unlock them, they had to train many awakened individuals.
Yujun narrowed his eyes.
Focus activated, revealing Minseok’s cracks and blue glow in greater detail.
“…Not just the training recipe—it’s more detailed. Awakened types are quite specific.”
In Minseok’s case, he was a ranged combat-type awakened.
“The more I teach awakened… the more they can grow.”
And the trainer himself could grow too.
Yujun swallowed.
Then there was no time to waste.
“Minseok.”
Yujun looked at him seriously.
“I have a favor to ask.”
