Genius Martial Arts Trainer

The outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

A dimensional rift had opened in one corner of an area filled with nothing but factory sites and farmland.

Four men and women had gathered in front of the rift and were talking.

“There’s only one person left, right? Was his name Kim Jicheol?”

“Yes. He said in the group chat on the app that he was driving over.”

They were hunters.

And hunters did not operate alone.

To be precise, they did not enter gates alone.

It was to prepare for unexpected situations.

Moving as a party was the standard.

They recruited parties through an app created by the Hunter Association, or hunter guilds applied for gate-clearing operations by party.

“Right. I checked earlier, and the person coming now is an A-rank hunter.”

“Wow. If he’s an A-rank hunter, we’re basically getting carried this time.”

“But why would an A-rank hunter bother joining a C-rank gate party?”

“Maybe he just didn’t have any work and joined whatever was available?”

At that, one female hunter replied with an uneasy expression.

“What if he plans to say he killed everything by himself and take the entire clearing fee?”

“Come on. Even if he’s an A-rank hunter, that would be ridiculous. Splitting it evenly is the unwritten rule.”

“That’s true, but.......”

When the woman spoke with an anxious expression, the hunter who had remained silent until then pushed up his glasses with his index finger and spoke.

“Actually, I thought it was strange too, so I looked into him.”

Naturally, everyone’s gazes turned toward the bespectacled hunter.

“That man named Kim Jicheol. He hasn’t gone into a gate in almost a year.”

“Ah? Then did he run out of money while taking a break and apply for a C-rank gate?”

“If he ran out of money, isn’t it possible he really will pocket the entire clearing fee?”

The bespectacled hunter waved his index finger from side to side.

“It’s the opposite. Forget him carrying us. We might end up having to carry him.”

“???”

An A-rank hunter getting carried through a C-rank gate?

The bespectacled hunter spoke to the confused group.

“The work we do is incredibly dangerous, isn’t it? One wrong move and we could die.”

The other C-rank hunters nodded in agreement.

These days, the system was firmly established and accidents were rare, but they were still fighting monsters.

“And it was even more dangerous in the past, wasn’t it? Apparently, a lot of people retired because of injuries.”

“Huh? Then is that hunter Kim Jicheol one of them?”

“Yes.”

“Goodness. That’s unfortunate.”

As sympathy began to spread through the group, the bespectacled hunter hurriedly added.

“Ahem. Anyway, what I’m saying is that he’s only an A-rank hunter in name. Since he’s retired, he’ll probably be far worse than us. It might be no different from taking a burden along.”

An uneasy atmosphere settled over them.

They were about to go fight monsters, yet there might be a burden among them.

Naturally, their morale fell.

When the gloomy mood spread, one hunter hurriedly spoke.

“Come on. If he applied for a clearing operation, maybe his body has recovered somewhat?”

“R-Right! And he’s an A-rank hunter. No matter what, this is only a C-rank gate, so he should at least be able to pull his own weight. Hahahaha.”

They forced themselves to laugh and tried to lift the mood.

However, anxiety continued circling in everyone’s minds.

'Damn it. Today’s earnings are ruined.'

'No. If he retired because of an injury, shouldn’t his hunter license be revoked too? What is the Association even doing instead of its job?'

Just then, a vehicle approached from the distance.

Naturally, everyone’s gazes turned toward it.

The vehicle stopped near the gate, and a moment later, Kim Jicheol stepped out.

A strange atmosphere flowed through the group.

However, Kim Jicheol did not notice it at all.

'Hoo. It’s been a while, so I’m a little nervous.'

A gate he was entering for the first time in a year.

He lowered his head and checked his equipment.

An expensive leather suit made from the hide of a high-level monster.

The spear in his hand had been sharpened so thoroughly that its surface gleamed.

Although he had rested for a year, he had continued maintaining his weapons and equipment.

Because of the vain hope that he might someday return to the field.

And now, it was no longer a vain hope.

'I’m glad I didn’t give up.'

Excitement and anticipation.

Anxiety and worry.

All of them mixed together.

“Sssup. Hoo.”

He took a light, deep breath and cleared away his emotions.

Then he walked confidently toward the party members.

“Hello. You’ve all arrived already. I’m sorry I’m late.”

He was not late.

There were still five minutes until the agreed departure time for the clearing operation.

The others had simply arrived earlier.

“Since we still have about five minutes, shall we quickly go over our positions before we depart?”

Kim Jicheol naturally took control of the atmosphere.

Perhaps it was the aura that came from experience.

True to someone who had worked as a hunter since the early days of the gate crisis, every movement carried the weight of years.

A short while later, they entered the gate in formation.

A land covered in thick vegetation spread out before them.

Kim Jicheol looked around and spoke.

“Judging by the gate rank and this environment, there’s a high chance that monsters like orcs or gnolls will appear. However, an unreported monster may also appear, so let’s proceed carefully for now.”

Before long, a green pig-headed monster appeared beyond the bushes.

Just as Kim Jicheol had expected, it was a gate inhabited by orcs.

The orcs also spotted the group of hunters and charged with squeals like pigs being slaughtered.

“Kweeeeeek!!”

The hunters gripped their weapons with tense expressions.

'Somehow, we ended up moving according to what that man said, but.......'

'What if he’s all talk?'

A hunter who had been inactive for so long that it was practically the same as retiring due to injury.

The anxiety that they might have to fight while carrying dead weight struck them again.

At that very moment, someone stepped forward toward the orcs first.

It was Kim Jicheol.

It was not as though he felt no tension.

'Has it really been a year?'

Even so, he took the lead.

Because even during the days when hunters received no proper treatment, he had always fought on the front lines.

The distance between him and the orcs closed in an instant.

Was it called muscle memory?

No matter how long it had been since someone last rode a bicycle, the body remembered the motion.

Kim Jicheol’s body was the same.

The moment an orc entered the range of his spear, his body moved instinctively.

Thud.

He planted his right foot firmly into the ground.

His body, anchored around its central axis, rotated violently.

The rotation that began at the tip of his foot traveled through his leg, waist, chest, and shoulder, then continued toward his fingertips.

It was not only his muscles.

The energy pooled inside him also raced through his body in time with Kim Jicheol’s movement.

It felt stifling, as though everything were completely blocked.

However, it was different from a few months ago.

A tiny opening had formed.

The energy racing through his body gathered at his fingertips.

Wind then coiled around the tip of the spear in Kim Jicheol’s hands.

Vortex.

The skill Kim Jicheol had awakened.

Kim Jicheol’s spear blade, wrapped in a vortex of wind, shot straight forward.

“Kweeeeeek!!”

Toward the body of an orc swinging an axe.

The wind flowing along the spear tore through the orc’s hide.

Crack!!

The spearhead easily pierced the orc’s heart.

The chilling sensation he felt for the first time in a year awakened Kim Jicheol’s mind once more.

The corners of his mouth rose on their own.

'It works!'

However, this was not the time to simply enjoy his happiness.

Kim Jicheol moved habitually once again.

After retrieving his spear with a concise motion, Kim Jicheol thrust the blade forward repeatedly.

Each time his spear advanced, a hole appeared in an orc’s chest, throat, or head.

Thud! Thud!

In an instant, four orcs collapsed onto the ground.

“Hoo.”

Was it because he had been tense during his first battle in so long?

Or had he still not fully recovered from his injuries?

After only a few spear thrusts, his breathing had already climbed to his throat.

While Kim Jicheol repeatedly took deep breaths.

The C-rank hunters, who had done nothing but stare blankly at the battle, burst into cheers.

“Waaaaah!!”

“Thank you, Hunter Kim Jicheol!”

“That was insane. I got chills.”

“An A-rank hunter really is on another level.”

Their earlier anxiety about Kim Jicheol had vanished without a trace.

Kim Jicheol smiled bitterly at their praise.

'I’m still far from being an A-rank hunter.'

His breathing, which had already climbed all the way to his throat, proved as much.

And every time he thrust his spear, a blocked sensation tightened around his entire body.

'At best, maybe I’m around B-rank?'

Even so, it was far better than he had expected.

At least he could fight.

In fact, this was why Kim Jicheol had applied for a C-rank gate-clearing operation.

It was his first gate in a year.

He had worried that applying for a B-rank gate and becoming a burden would cause trouble for everyone else.

Apparently, his concerns had been unfounded.

At this level, he probably would not become a burden inside a B-rank gate either.

Compared to the days when he had been an A-rank hunter, it still felt disappointing.

However, Kim Jicheol did not care.

It was far better than the year he had spent resting.

Moreover.

'If I keep receiving energy treatment, I’ll eventually be able to enter A-rank gates again, won’t I?'

He had hope that he would continue improving.

***

Kim Jicheol’s orc disassembly demonstration continued.

“Keuh. Hunter Kim Jicheol, your spear skills are seriously incredible.”

“You’re really the best!!”

The praise from the hunters who had joined Kim Jicheol continued as well.

He was not a useless connection parachuted into the party, but an airborne unit dropping in to save them.

They had worried that a burden was coming, but in reality, he was the one carrying the entire party.

That did not mean the other hunters simply stood around doing nothing.

At first, they had been so surprised by Kim Jicheol’s performance that they could only stare blankly, but afterward, each of them did their share.

Because Kim Jicheol’s condition was still not perfect.

Every time a battle ended, Kim Jicheol needed time to recover.

'Hoo. The injuries are one thing, but maybe because I’ve done nothing but rest, my body is in terrible shape.'

His stamina was lacking, and his strength was disappointing.

'I shouldn’t focus only on the energy treatment. I need to concentrate more on working out too.'

The words Yang Hyeonsu had spoken earlier suddenly came to mind.

-I’ll treat you to the full course, Jicheol!

That damned full protein course.

For some reason, he had felt resistant to it, but now his thoughts had changed slightly.

'Wouldn’t I recover a little faster if I followed a proper diet too?'

However, for some reason, Yang Hyeonsu did not feel reliable.

Naturally, someone else came to mind.

A gym rat who looked just as sturdy as Yang Hyeonsu.

No, even sturdier.

'Ah! I can just ask the gym owner instead!'

Without even realizing it himself, Kim Jicheol was slowly stepping into the world of fitness.

After a journey lasting several hours, they finally managed to clear every monster inside the gate.

“We only need to report it to the Association and ask them to handle the cleanup.”

“Good work, Hunter Kim Jicheol!”

“Thank you for carrying us!!”

The C-rank hunters, who had earned money without much difficulty, were overflowing with excitement.

“Good work, everyone.”

After saying goodbye to them, Kim Jicheol climbed into his own car.

Kim Jicheol froze as he gripped the steering wheel.

His hands were trembling.

A gate-clearing operation after such a long time.

It seemed his body had been exhausted to its absolute limit.

He used his phone to call a designated driver.

'There’s no need to cause an accident for no reason. The clearing fee will come in anyway.'

While waiting for the driver to arrive.

Kim Jicheol touched his phone screen once more.

He had confirmed it beyond doubt today.

The effects of the energy treatment Gym Owner Choi Kanghyuk had given him.

Naturally, several faces came to mind.

'I’m sure those guys will like it too, won’t they?'

After all, Kim Jicheol was not the only hunter who had been forced to quit after suffering injuries while actively working as a hunter.