Chapter 03 ….
I Became a Transcendent Genius Trainer
An Awakened One’s strength is determined by the ability they possess.
However, having a good ability—or a bad one—did not determine an Awakened One’s true value.
Everything changed depending on how that ability was refined.
“Today, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Great Awakening Era, we have a special guest. Trainer specialist, Mr. Go Beom-jun!”
“Hello. I’m Go Beom-jun.”
How one uses their ability.
And in what direction that ability is developed.
Those things could change everything.
The people who analyzed this and provided proper training were the Awakened trainers.
The bodies of Awakened Ones, far stronger than ordinary people, could withstand any kind of intense training.
And naturally, they could grow stronger much faster.
That was why personalized training was so important.
Whether the ability was strong or weak, it could be further developed through training.
Some trained alone depending on their circumstances, but the presence or absence of a professional trainer created a clear difference in growth speed. By now, trainers had become extremely important.
Of course, that hadn’t always been the case.
Back when Yoo-jun was called a Golden Youth, trainers weren’t considered very important.
The common belief was that if an Awakened lacked talent, a trainer couldn’t make any meaningful difference.
But now, even those lacking talent could blossom under an excellent trainer.
“The times have changed. This is now the era of trainers!”
“Depending on the trainer, someone can become not only A-rank—but even S-rank!”
It was an era where even low-ranked Awakened could overturn everything with proper training.
“I heard the Dream Guild recently recruited Trainer Han Gyu-jin. What do you think?”
“He’s an outstanding trainer. He’s recognized overseas, isn’t he? A remarkable talent who can turn low-tier Awakened into high-tier ones.”
“Dream Guild is currently ranked 7th, right? Until now they continued tower raids by recruiting Awakened with huge sums of money—but Awakened who come for money leave when offered more.”
At present, the value of Awakened had become directly tied to money.
That was why high-ranked, powerful Awakened rarely stayed long in one guild.
Regardless of rank or performance, the salary they received determined their value.
In short, guild-hopping based on massive contracts had become common.
“So instead of long-term contracts, most sign for at most two years, sometimes just one. Or they go overseas, take huge pay, and even change nationality.”
Many guilds wanted long-term contracts with top-tier Awakened, but most refused.
So the guilds changed their strategy.
They decided to raise Awakened from a young age.
Because of this, every guild became obsessed with nurturing youths.
Youths develop attachment to the guild they grow up in and build loyalty.
Moreover, Awakened raised through a guild’s youth system sign long-term contracts, so there’s little worry about losing them to other guilds for quite some time.
Even if they are taken, the guild receives a massive transfer fee.
It was a win-win situation.
However, youth prospects rarely succeeded.
The reason was simple.
Good trainers were rare.
“Han Gyu-jin’s joining Dream will be a turning point for their ranking. Who is Han Gyu-jin? The Awakened he’s raised alone are worth trillions.”
Ultimately, the existence of trainers had become critically important.
Guilds gathered trainers with the goal of youth development.
Some had three or four, others as many as five.
“I heard Trainer Han Gyu-jin’s signing bonus was 150 billion won!”
“Yes, that’s what I’ve confirmed…”
Outstanding trainers were as expensive as Awakened.
No—in recent times, there were even claims that top trainers were more expensive than most Awakened.
Because recruiting a truly elite trainer was like picking stars from the sky.
As a result, mid-to-large guilds were desperate to recruit famous trainers both domestically and overseas.
But the number of skilled trainers was limited, so recruitment was not easy.
In that situation, Dream Guild’s recruitment of Han Gyu-jin naturally became a hot issue across media.
“I’m excited to see what training methods Han Gyu-jin learned overseas!”
That was why the returning master trainer Han Gyu-jin was receiving so much attention.
Into this competitive training market stepped a rookie trainer with no experience.
It was Kang Yoo-jun—the once-promising prospect now treated as washed up.
—I’ll try to make a spot somehow. You’re working freelance, right?
What Yoo-jun had asked Min-seok for was simple: create an opportunity.
—I was honestly shocked. It felt like the old days—the time when your single word solved everything.
Min-seok was deeply grateful to Yoo-jun.
Thanks to him, the issues with his ignition ability had improved somewhat.
—I’ll do everything I can, so wait!
Yoo-jun first registered his business.
To work as a freelancer, he needed a business license.
‘This is definitely an ability with potential.’
Every guild wanted trainers.
If someone was truly skilled, guilds would pay any price to recruit them.
But trainers of that caliber were few.
In other words—
Demand was high, supply was low.
Especially truly skilled trainers—they were extremely rare.
‘So there’s a chance.’
In the past, Awakened trainers weren’t a highly regarded profession.
That was why he had never deeply considered his own talent.
Instead, he had tried desperately to awaken and live as a tower-raiding Awakened.
But now things were different.
‘Now is the era where I can properly use this talent.’
Ring ring ring—!
The phone rang in Yoo-jun’s studio apartment.
—It’s me.
It was Min-seok.
“How did it go?”
—I’m sorry. They all rejected it.
Min-seok’s voice was heavy.
Yoo-jun had expected things wouldn’t be easy.
So he answered calmly.
“I figured.”
Right now, Yoo-jun was a youth dropout who had failed to awaken.
Who would want to recruit someone like him?
‘Looks like I’ll have to break through head-on.’
—But a manager I know said he’d like to meet you once.
“…!”
That meant he was willing to give him a chance.
—Go at least once. Show them your ability. And… take another look at me later too. It worked when I was with you, but my knee’s hurting again.
“Deal. Let’s make another appointment. Thanks, Min-seok.”
—If you’re grateful, repay me big! And since it’s come to this, do everything you want!
Min-seok wanted to help Yoo-jun however he could.
They had been friends since childhood—and the help he’d received from Yoo-jun was part of the reason he had come this far.
After hanging up, Yoo-jun took a deep breath.
An opportunity had come.
“Not a perfect one, but…”
He just had to turn it into a real opportunity.
Right now, Yoo-jun was basically a rookie with an awkward background.
In fact, it might’ve been better to have no background at all—his past was holding him back.
A youth who failed even with Yak속 Guild’s support.
That was Yoo-jun’s current position.
“Until now.”
But from here on, things would change.
“I’ll seize it.”
Yoo-jun intended to grab this chance and soar.
“We’ve met before, Mr. Yoo-jun. Long time no see.”
“Hello, Manager.”
Manager Han Seok-yul.
He was an instructor for a special education program aimed at youths.
That was how he knew Yoo-jun.
“I heard from Min-seok. You’re aiming to become a trainer?”
They weren’t particularly close—just acquaintances.
However, he was quite close with Kim Min-seok, who had previously worked at Sky Guild.
“A-ah, yes.”
“Hm. Min-seok strongly recommended you.”
Among insiders, it was well known that Yoo-jun had been released from Yak속 Guild.
Moreover, tower-raiding Awakened and Awakened trainers were completely different fields.
So there were many puzzling aspects—but since it was Kim Min-seok’s recommendation, he agreed to meet.
“I can easily arrange a simple opportunity. Scouting is easy. But you know—you need ability. Not awakening ability—the ‘eye’ Min-seok mentioned.”
Han Seok-yul gestured to someone beside him.
“If that eye is real, we can accept you into our guild anytime.”
“Hello. I’m Lee Sung-min.”
“This is Sung-min, one of our guild’s youths. He just joined recently.”
Yoo-jun’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Lee Sung-min.
‘There are many fractures.’
His gait, breathing, and even mana circulation.
‘Looks like a newly joined Awakened youth.’
Manager Han crossed his arms.
“Show us your skills.”
They needed to see his ability before anything else.
“Please use your ability once.”
At Yoo-jun’s request, Sung-min raised his mana and thrust his fist forward.
‘Academy martial arts.’
It was the same combat style Yoo-jun had practiced to exhaustion in the past.
And because of that, the problems were glaringly obvious—so obvious he didn’t even need to use a skill.
‘I was always good at seeing others’ problems… but after letting go, I see even better.’
The movements were disciplined—but full of openings.
To the current Yoo-jun, everything was crystal clear: how to fix it and how to improve it.
‘Doing it myself was hard—but teaching is strangely easy.’
Knowing something and executing it were different matters.
But teaching was different.
For Yoo-jun, it came naturally.
‘And now I even have the Awakened Training System.’
The system organized the knowledge in Yoo-jun’s head and perfectly applied it to the trainee.
“Mr. Sung-min.”
“Yes.”
Sung-min looked quite annoyed.
Naturally so.
He knew who Yoo-jun was.
A lifelong failed prospect who couldn’t even awaken was now claiming to be a trainer.
No matter how you looked at it, it was laughable.
Flicker—
Each time Sung-min moved, the fractures flickered.
Yoo-jun quietly observed them, then glanced at Sung-min’s reaction.
‘Yeah… it’s natural not to trust me.’
If someone evaluated as a failed prospect suddenly came to train you, anyone would be skeptical.
If he were in Sung-min’s place, he would’ve cursed too.
You failed yourself—now you want to teach others?
That kind of thinking was inevitable.
In that case, the answer was simple.
‘Show them.’
Being told to prove himself here meant demonstrating the most basic trainer ability: identify problems and present improvements.
‘They want me to point out what’s wrong and how to fix it.’
It was all perfectly clear to Yoo-jun.
Every strength and weakness Sung-min had.
“Try again.”
“…Yes.”
Sung-min answered curtly.
Still, he had to do it.
He immediately performed the martial technique.
Tap.
Yoo-jun stepped forward and directly adjusted Sung-min’s posture.
There was a fracture in the shoulder.
Meanwhile, blue light shone from the waist.
“Your shoulders are too rolled forward. Straighten them—keep elasticity. Step on your axis with your foot and rotate.”
It sounded like ordinary advice.
But Yoo-jun’s ability was layered on top of it.
Shhhhk—!
—The power of Verbal Correction is activated!
“…Huh?”
Sung-min’s previously stiff body suddenly rotated powerfully.
Whoosh—!
Real force filled the previously weak punch.
Just one sentence.
One posture correction.
That was all it took.
Yoo-jun confirmed that Sung-min’s previously cracked shoulder was now glowing blue.
—Perfect training technique!
—You have trained Awakened Lee Sung-min!
—You have trained a Combat-type (Melee) Awakened!
Including Kim Min-seok, this made two combat-type Awakened he had trained.
“……”
At the result, Han Seok-yul’s jaw dropped in shock.
He had seen many trainers in his career.
Some were quite skilled.
But none had produced such dramatic results with just a few words.
Yoo-jun grinned and asked the manager:
“Do you need anything more?”
“Pass—You pass!”
Han Seok-yul jumped to his feet and shouted.
