TSOT#1 Chapter 20

For anyone else, Shin Jae-rim’s words might have been hurtful. However, she took them without batting an eye.

 

Jae-rim looked at Seo Joo-ah with a puzzled expression. Then his gaze naturally dropped to her small hand, tightly wrapped in white bandages.

 

Thanks to the healer Hunters working in the infirmary, the immediate damage had been addressed, but the scars couldn’t be erased.

 

The battle with the monster that appeared at the banquet hall had been no light skirmish. Evidence of the fight was clear in Joo-ah’s tattered uniform.

 

In South Korea, a country home to six towers, battles with monsters were not uncommon. However, this particular battle had been on a much larger scale compared to others.

 

While monsters had also appeared near the Special Awakener Academy, which wasn’t far from the training center, the creatures there were weak and few in number, easily handled by a handful of instructors.

 

It was the same for other guilds.

 

This meant that, unlike other places, the training center—housing more Hunters than any guild and stronger-ranked Hunters than the academy—had been attacked by a group of A-rank monsters.

 

In light of the event, the Special Awakener Association announced it would provide free psychological counseling to the new Hunters. Many Hunters had reportedly applied for the service.

 

Jae-rim assumed that Joo-ah, too, must have suffered significant psychological trauma and thus should also receive counseling. With this in mind, he visited the infirmary to share the information and ask if she wanted to apply.

 

Yet, despite the severe burns on her hand, her expression remained unchanged—calm and composed.

 

That serene, easygoing demeanor left him flabbergasted, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

 

Joo-ah frowned slightly and asked, “What’s so funny?”

 

Jae-rim, gazing at her intently, replied in a low voice, “I think I’m finally starting to understand Hunter Seo Joo-ah’s personality.”

 

“My personality?”

 

As she tilted her head curiously, he added, “At the very least, I’ve realized you’re not the type to overreact to small matters like other new Hunters.”

 

Joo-ah gave a faint smile and asked, “Is that a compliment?”

 

Jae-rim shrugged lightly. “To me, it is.”

 

Satisfied, Joo-ah nodded. As their eyes met, Jae-rim spoke plainly, “The Special Awakener Association has announced free psychological counseling for new Hunters. Would you like to be added to the list?”

 

“Psychological counseling?” Joo-ah’s eyes widened.

 

Her expression quickly shifted to one of disapproval.

 

“Hunters these days even get support for things like counseling?” she thought. With a matter-of-fact tone, she answered, “No, I don’t need it. As you can see, I’m fine.”

 

Jae-rim smiled gently and said, “Still, you should take it. Just in case of any lingering aftereffects.”

 

Joo-ah frowned, wondering why he was even asking her opinion if the answer was already decided. But instead of retorting, she closed her slightly parted lips.

 

Somehow, that steadfast expression made it clear his question was just a formality.

 

Jae-rim asked how she planned to approach training for the day. Joo-ah hesitated for a moment since her stats hadn’t fully recovered yet.

 

“If you don’t plan on skipping training, let’s keep it simple with some monitoring.”

 

Jae-rim easily resolved her dilemma.

 

Nodding in agreement, Joo-ah watched as Jae-rim left the infirmary, telling her to rest a bit longer before heading to the special training room.

 

[The Anonymous Constellation congratulates you, saying your relationship with Shin Jae-rim has grown closer by the size of a single grain of rice.]

 

Joo-ah replied with a wry smile, “Sure, thanks.”

 

She stood and tidied her disheveled uniform. As she did so, a status window appeared before her.

 

[The Anonymous Constellation suggests you rest, saying Shin Jae-rim also mentioned taking it easy.]

 

Tying her messy hair into a neat ponytail, Joo-ah muttered indifferently, “He said just monitoring today. Guess I’ll relax while watching my team train.”

 

[The Anonymous Constellation declares they’ll reward you with a support coupon for never knowing how to take it easy.]

 

[The Anonymous Constellation has sponsored 50 coupons for ‘Energy Drinks for the Hardworking.’]

 

Joo-ah rested her chin on one hand, her expression bored as she watched her teammates train through the glass.

 

On the first day, monitoring had been engaging, as she’d spent the time analyzing the unfamiliar attack patterns of her teammates. Now, however, it felt like watching a rerun for the hundredth time.

 

“Hunter Choi Yeon-joo will use ice magic here again.”

 

Her finger pointed lazily at a virtual monster with a bizarre shape.

 

“But the opponent is a fire-attributed S-rank monster. Ice magic won’t work.”

 

As predicted, the monster easily deflected Yeon-joo’s ice magic. Unimpressed, Joo-ah shifted her gaze to Jae-rim beyond the glass.

 

“Hunter Shin Jae-rim is strong in both attack and accuracy, but…”

 

She observed him swing his blade and added flatly, “He’s too slow.”

 

The virtual monster grabbed his blade with its hand and hurled him into the air before slamming him to the ground.

 

Jae-rim glared at the creature with clenched teeth. Meanwhile, Yoo Chan-hee strode forward leisurely.

 

As the monster began gathering energy, its dark red glow grew ominous.

 

“And Hunter Yoo Chan-hee…” Joo-ah’s eyes narrowed as she watched him. “…is annoying.”

 

Chan-hee quickly retrieved a taser gun from his inventory and launched several shots at the monster. However, the energy surrounding the creature deflected the projectiles.

 

The creature began leaking fiery energy from its surroundings, preparing to unleash a massive final attack.

 

Chan-hee, mid-charge, suddenly stopped in his tracks. At the same time, the monster unleashed its ultimate skill, [Flame of the Wind].

 

A fiery vortex exploded forth with an enormous boom, covering the training room in white smoke. Tremors rippled across the ground.

 

As the smoke cleared, the charred remains of the monster became visible.

 

[Training Complete]

 

[Congratulations! You’ve defeated an S-rank monster in 17 minutes and 42 seconds!]

 

[This result will be recorded in detail on the Special Awakener Association’s training performance log.]

 

Yeon-joo and Jae-rim stared at Chan-hee in disbelief, their expressions a mix of exhaustion and astonishment. Chan-hee simply shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

 

He had manipulated the monster’s energy to the maximum, forcing it to self-destruct.

 

As Chan-hee turned, his gaze met Joo-ah’s through the glass. His eyebrows twitched as if to say, What are you looking at?

 

Joo-ah muttered indifferently, “Still don’t like him.”

 

[The Anonymous Constellation prepares popcorn, saying the next training session looks promising.]

 

Without a break, the next training session began, this time against an SS-rank virtual monster.