Chapter 15 …
“It’s been a while!”
“It has, Guild Master.”
The sky guild’s guildmaster room.
A fairly young man sat before the guildmaster.
Short hair, intense eyes.
A powerful aura radiated from his body.
“Quite noisy, isn’t it? The internal evaluation was just a while ago.”
“The internal evaluation… I miss it. It feels like just yesterday we laughed and cried over that single assessment.”
A-rank Awakener, Lim Seok-jae.
He was an Awakener who came up through the Sky Guild Youth program and had elevated the guild’s reputation in many ways while he belonged there.
His efforts were a significant reason why many youths had joined the Sky Guild afterward.
“You were always overwhelmingly number one, weren’t you? That’s why so many other youths joined. It’s already been several years. A-rank… you’ve really made it big.”
Reaching B-rank could be achieved through sheer effort.
But A-rank was different.
For A-rank, effort was just the baseline; innate talent had to back it up.
Thus, society regarded A-rank as a major success.
“Time really flies.”
It was expected that a skilled Awakener like Lim Seok-jae would have had a reason for choosing the Sky Guild.
Of course, Lim Seok-jae had transferred to another guild not long after.
It was due to the Sky Guild’s financial situation.
Upon being called up, he had moved to another guild immediately, leaving behind a massive transfer fee for the Sky Guild.
For this reason, the guild maintained an excellent relationship with him.
“How have you been lately? You don’t look so good.”
It was natural for him to visit because of their friendship, but he never came without a reason.
Often, when troubles arose, he would consult with Guild Master Lee Hyuk-jun.
“There are many challenges. We need to clear the 35th floor, but I’ve hit a limit.”
“A limit?”
“Yes. Both in using my abilities and physically, it’s really tough.”
Lim Seok-jae explained his condition as he spoke.
Guild Master Lee Hyuk-jun clicked his tongue in response.
“I heard the 35th floor is the first real hurdle… and indeed, it’s fierce.”
The tower had sections where the difficulty spiked.
The 35th floor was such a floor, a kind of speed bump where the challenge increased sharply.
“If I can’t break through the 35th floor, I’ll end up at the bottom of A-rank. And if I’m unlucky, I could even be demoted to B-rank.”
Currently, he was the lowest-tier A-rank Awakener.
But his goal wasn’t to remain at the bottom of A-rank.
To rise to the upper tier and make it into the rankings, he needed results.
And naturally, clearing the 35th floor was part of that achievement.
“If you know any good trainers…”
“Aren’t there good trainers in the Lightning Guild?”
Lee Hyuk-jun tilted his head.
The Lightning Guild was ranked 35th, so surely they had competent trainers.
“Yes, there are. But they couldn’t solve my problem. Honestly, they didn’t suit me. My mind understood, but my body wouldn’t follow—it was exhausting.”
Lim Seok-jae sighed as he spoke.
“I’ve been in this state for almost a year now.”
Indeed, every time he had visited recently, his expression had been dark.
He hadn’t imagined such a problem was lurking behind it.
“Hmm? Then did you come here knowing something?”
“What? Knowing something?”
“I signed a contract with a new trainer. A short-term contract, but… he’s amazing. Because of him, Woo Hana has changed completely.”
With that, Lee Hyuk-jun immediately played a video. It was Woo Hana’s tower debut.
Lim Seok-jae, who frequently visited the Sky Guild, already knew about Woo Hana.
“…!”
Watching the video, Lim Seok-jae’s face showed shock.
“Is that really Woo Hana?”
“Surprising, right? Since you’ve taught her before, it must be even more amazing to you.”
Lim Seok-jae had once taught Woo Hana at the guildmaster’s request.
So he couldn’t help but be astonished by her transformation.
She had a problem that seemed impossible to fix, but it had completely vanished.
“Who trained her? Who is this new trainer?”
“You really don’t know?”
Lee Hyuk-jun said, then made an “ah” expression.
“Wait… didn’t you attend the Promise Guild back then? Then you’d know.”
“Ah, yes. I was there briefly when I was younger.”
“It’s Kang Yoo-jun. The new contracted trainer. You know him, right? You were at the Promise Guild together.”
“What?”
Lim Seok-jae asked, puzzled.
“Kang Yoo-jun trained Woo Hana.”
“…What?”
Why was he here? And a trainer? What did that mean?
“He’s switched careers. He’s a trainer now.”
Memories flashed through Lim Seok-jae’s mind.
“Until recently he was teaching youths, and now he’s taking on first-tier Awakeners. He wanted to train them directly from the start.”
“First-tier Awakeners?”
He had heard that Kang Yoo-jun had been released from the Promise Guild recently.
That was very recent.
If he had switched to being a trainer, he wouldn’t have much experience unless he prepared in advance.
Yet he was already training first-tier Awakeners?
“No way…”
Suddenly, memories from his youth resurfaced.
He remembered how he had broken through his wall back then.
“You said you needed training, right? Then it’s perfect. How about receiving it from Kang Trainer?”
“I’ll try it once.”
“You can break through the wall in ten minutes?”
Kang Yoo-jun’s confident words left all the Awakeners in the training room stunned.
Break through in ten minutes?
“Excuse me, but I’m not a youth, trainer.”
Even youths couldn’t break through a wall in ten minutes.
“Will you accept it?”
Yet Yoo-jun asked again.
Kim Oh-joong was unsure how to respond.
Was this confidence or sheer recklessness? Ten minutes was absurd.
How could he be so sure of himself?
“….”
Kim Oh-joong frowned.
Nothing to lose.
And he wanted to see the source of that confidence.
Yoo-jun ran his hand through his hair.
‘I know my reputation isn’t great. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is the limit of my ability.’
He wanted to see how far his newly learned skills and insight could reach.
He had a trained eye from birth and the Awakener Trainer system and skills to see how much he could teach.
He was curious how strong he could make them.
“Alright. I’ll accept it.”
After consideration, Kim Oh-joong agreed.
“Please train me.”
Yoo-jun smiled lightly and observed him.
-Starting Awakener scan!
“Then training begins.”
Kim Oh-joong remained silent.
He didn’t speak after asking for training.
Normally, he would need to explain various things—how he wanted to receive training, whether he preferred theoretical or instinctive understanding, why he felt blocked, and so on.
But he said nothing.
It made sense; Yoo-jun had claimed he could break through the wall in ten minutes.
That meant Yoo-jun could perceive everything just by observing.
It was childish, but he couldn’t trust Yoo-jun fully.
Yoo-jun’s top achievement as a trainer had been teaching Woo Hana to that level.
Yet was it truly Yoo-jun’s skill, or Woo Hana’s talent?
Kim Oh-joong thought it was the latter.
That was why he stayed silent.
Then Yoo-jun spoke.
“Shall we try using your ability?”
Kim Oh-joong’s ability was Petrification.
He could harden parts of his body in various ways.
Thwak!
Kim Oh-joong instantly petrified his body and threw a punch—a powerful strike that had propelled him to first-tier Awakeners before.
Everyone admired the resonating sound of the impact.
Yoo-jun observed Kim Oh-joong closely.
A brief blue crack appeared but vanished in an instant.
‘Not bad.’
The problem resolved quickly, but that single crack was keeping the blue energy from expanding further.
‘He instinctively holds back, and his mental strength is low.’
Meaning there might be a psychological issue.
-Vision improves.
-Analytical ability increases!
“You’re holding back?”
Kim flinched.
His movement paused mid-attack.
“Did you get injured as a child?”
“….”
Kim Oh-joong stared, shocked.
How could he know?
“Just from observing… you can tell?”
“You flinch your shoulder momentarily. Then, at the end, it’s like hitting the brakes suddenly. There’s only one explanation: you’re afraid of using full power. Why?”
Thwak!
Yoo-jun reached out his hand.
“You must have had pain. Maybe you went all out and got injured.”
“….”
“You know me, Kim Oh-joong? Do you know how many failures I’ve had? How many times I’ve been injured? I carried every injury imaginable because I was unawakened.”
Yoo-jun smiled, but it wasn’t a joking matter.
Kim Oh-joong couldn’t hide anymore.
“…Yes. I’ve been injured.”
Just once.
He hadn’t imagined someone could see that from observing him moving.
But knowing didn’t change anything.
“This issue has prevented me from performing properly in the tower.”
He admitted it without realizing.
Yoo-jun tapped his shoulder.
“Don’t worry.”
Kim Oh-joong looked at him.
His gaze had completely changed.
One single movement had revealed everything.
Perhaps Yoo-jun had prior knowledge.
Yet Yoo-jun’s instant mastery of the situation left him no room for doubt.
‘Regular trainers could never fix this.’
Indeed, even trainers for first-tier Awakeners hadn’t managed it.
Kim Oh-joong had been struggling every day.
A trauma-based issue like this wasn’t easy to fix.
Yet Yoo-jun could.
“Straighten your shoulders. Swing freely.”
-Language Correction is used.
Thwak!
The fear vanished.
For the first time, he could extend his arm fully.
It was the straightest, strongest punch he had ever thrown.
It was so powerful that mana drained instantly, leaving him breathless.
Yoo-jun’s voice rang out.
“Eight minutes remaining.”
As the training intensified, Lim Seok-jae watched from the back.
“It is him…”
It was truly Kang Yoo-jun.
Seok-jae recalled how he had broken through his wall thanks to Yoo-jun’s advice.
The current Yoo-jun was even more intense.
“To solve problems so easily…”
Seok-jae understood.
If it looked easy, it meant Yoo-jun’s skill as a trainer was extraordinary.
“Ugh…”
Kim Oh-joong started to cry during training.
“Thank you… truly, thank you.”
“Training isn’t over. Don’t forget that feeling you just felt.”
Seeing Yoo-jun fix what was thought unfixable, other first-tier Awakeners began to gather.
Seok-jae stepped forward.
He didn’t want to miss the chance to speak with Yoo-jun.
“Kang Yoo-jun.”
Yoo-jun turned at Seok-jae’s call, surprised, then smiled and approached.
“Who… Seok-jae?”
Yoo-jun was surprised to see him.
Seok-jae. A familiar face.
But what stood out more was his physical condition.
‘Why does his body look like that?’
Seok-jae had large, deep cracks across him.
“Your heart… is it weak?”
Seok-jae’s pupils widened instantly.
