Ch.147147. Infection Method

Abnormal.

Oh Chang-min had clearly presented a reasonable problem. The issue was that even if he pushed them to level up forcibly, it was a problem that would only work in the second week.

How could someone apply what they’d just learned after only a few days? That’s something only geniuses could do.

‘This time, the focus was supposed to be on getting overwhelmed and then finding a solution?’

Oh Chang-min had seen examples of such geniuses right beside him.

Park Tae-sang, and among the newcomers, Koo Sang-heon.

[That Koo Sang-heon kid, I have nothing to teach him. I just need to check his experiential aspects. Actually, even when I do teach him, he does things his own way, and somehow it works? I just let him be free, and he’s faster and more efficient than what I taught him.]

That’s right. While Koo Sang-heon was already notorious, Do Jong-hyun was in the lower class despite his famous face. On top of that, he was practically a beginner when it came to monster combat techniques.

In reality, Do Jong-hyun was often awkward with his punches and steps.

‘But he’s naturally gifted at parrying.’

Parrying itself was a high-difficulty technique. It had two effects: identifying a monster’s attack pattern and blocking it with precise timing, and interrupting the opponent’s attack by landing your own attack first.

Oh Chang-min’s goal was to make students familiar with at least one of these.

But Do Jong-hyun was now using both techniques.

He predicted the opponent’s attacks to block them and disrupted their attack timing.

‘What’s going on?’

It wasn’t that he was showing remarkable genius. Keum Do-hyun had indeed pointed out three people to watch (Koo Sang-heon, Han Min-woo, and Do Jong-hyun), but compared to the other two, he hadn’t particularly stood out.

But today, right at the test, his genius became apparent.

If nothing else, using parrying primarily for “defense” was what beginners did, while using it for offense was what masters did.

Yet Do Jong-hyun was freely switching between defensive and offensive parrying.

‘The scouts did mention his knowledge was exceptional. So he’s immediately applying what he just learned about timing? Against a monster of his level?’

Now he understood why Keum Do-hyun had told him to pay attention.

That’s why, as soon as it ended, he offered Do Jong-hyun an internship.

‘Plus, Do Jong-hyun isn’t affected by the unwritten rule. We can recruit him freely.’

[The top students at the Academy are scouted sequentially, starting with the three major guilds.]

This was one of the unwritten rules of scouting. But as everyone knew, Do Jong-hyun was far from being a top student.

It meant there would be no problem taking someone from the lower class.

That’s why he had asked about the internship. Considering the powerful influence of the Cheonji Guild, an immediate acceptance would be reasonable, but this young man was cautious.

“Wow, it feels good to be recognized. I’ll think about it. There’s still plenty of time, right?”

“That’s true. But opportunities like this don’t come easily. I hope you make a good choice.”

“Yes. Besides, we still have one more week of training left. Let’s wait until the end to decide.”

This answer was also correct. Oh Chang-min nodded and decided to wait and see for now.

Now the second week’s test had begun.

As already mentioned, it was random. Students would train among adults without any special treatment.

For adults, the focus was on protecting the less capable students or utilizing their abilities, while for students, the key was how to coordinate with adults.

The mentors gave missions and randomly selected teams, informing them of their mission objectives.

“Clear the mission and show teamwork. Remember this. If you treat the weaker ones like useless sacks of rice, you’ll immediately get minus points.”

Somehow, they needed to utilize each other.

Oh Chang-min was carefully observing Do Jong-hyun.

‘Because it’s random, he ended up with the same people as before.’

This was another drawback of random selection. Do Jong-hyun ended up with some of the same people he had met during the Gwangju test.

However, the first day passed normally.

Yes, even though it was a day when conflicts were inevitable.

Particularly, there were obvious disagreements between Do Jong-hyun’s group and others, yet it remained smooth.

‘For a group with conflicts, they’re surprisingly harmonious?’

While other groups were in chaos, only this group was notably smooth.

‘The other groups have Keum Do-hyun, Koo Sang-heon, Han Min-woo, and then Seon Hak-gi and Jin Seong-jun.’

Among professionals, most capable ones usually belong to good guilds, but occasionally some refuse guilds and work alone due to various circumstances.

These were precisely the people Keum Do-hyun had been targeting.

The key point was the second day. After the chaos of the first day, how did everyone find their way?

Here too, Do Jong-hyun’s group quickly pushed ahead.

Top ranks.

They were fast enough to reach the top ranks, even among other talented groups.

‘Is this possible? What’s going on?’

It was different.

Looking closely, Oh Chang-min saw that Do Jong-hyun’s group wasn’t particularly overwhelming.

‘They’re fast.’

But their judgment, and their efficient play focusing solely on monsters’ weaknesses, was saving time.

“Do Jong-hyun is giving directions? Among professionals?”

What was more surprising was that Do Jong-hyun was commanding the professionals.

They moved and acted immediately upon his words.

‘Using knowledge for tactics. Is it influential enough to affect professionals?’

The more he learned, the more amazing it was. What Do Jong-hyun was doing was possible for other professionals too.

But as he had judged, it was so fast that everyone naturally followed him.

High-speed and accurate.

‘This guy is a must. Absolutely must…’

Oh Chang-min had decided, without a doubt, to recruit Do Jong-hyun.

But their final moments were far from smooth.

*

It was fortunate to be on the same team with Mr. Seo Seong-han and the curly-haired Mr. Jang-mun.

“I’m telling you, this kid is good! Trust him a bit!”

“We’ve experienced it firsthand, please believe us!”

These two were a great help in getting me to give directions in our group.

Even the other groups who were half-skeptical. Thanks to them, we were performing quite well in the tests.

On the sixth day, the final test was about to begin.

Why the final test on the sixth day?

[The seventh day is for the final awards ceremony and dinner! You’ve worked hard, so do your best until the end!]

Park Tae-sang planned to conclude the week with a grand closing ceremony.

So today was the final test day. However, it wasn’t with real monsters.

Because releasing monsters throughout the mountain range could harm hikers in the area, which would be disastrous.

I joined hands with everyone.

“Gentlemen, let’s make an impression on the Cheonji Guild!”

“Well said, kid. All the way to Cheonji Guild or even its subsidiary, Gaebyeok Guild! Let’s change our lives for real!”

After an energetic cheer, the grand final test appeared before us.

While I now knew the deep parts of Seoraksan in Gangwon Province, this time the stage was the entire ‘mountain range’ – all connected sections were our test venue.

With this setup, existing geographical information became useless. Since Seoraksan was just the starting point, we needed to gather new information from other parts of the range.

I was reminded of the past.

Of the times I fought monsters in the mountains. Of course, post-graduation South Korea was significantly weakened by the Goegeopdan and monsters.

We fought against the Goein as cannon fodder to survive, and naturally fought many battles in mountains like these.

Just like fighting guerrillas in the past.

The forest is an easy place for ambushes, but it’s also a repository of evidence.

Footprints, the way bushes are brushed aside, how branches are broken – all these were thoroughly learned in my mind.

But it’s actually harder because these aren’t real monsters.

“Guys! Wait a moment.”

I raised my hand to stop them.

I could see traces of thorny vines being eaten in front of me.

“Huh? The thorny vines are strangely eaten?”

“Isn’t this a hologram? Not real?”

Just to be sure, I looked closely at the thorny vines.

And I realized.

“Ah! This was done by human hands! It’s cleanly cut! The instructors must have staged it to look similar!”

“Oh! Our youngest found something again? Then the thing eating it must be a D-class thorn caterpillar.”

That’s right. Cheonji Guild wasn’t sloppy; they deliberately created habits around the mountain range that would indicate the presence of specific monsters.

Amazing. Truly amazing.

Throughout this vast mountain range? I applaud their knowledge and stamina.

Anyway, we were advancing by fighting simulated monsters in this manner.

I think it was going well, until that thing appeared.

As we were following the mountain range, we saw a bear.

“It’s an Asiatic black bear!”

“Looks cute, doesn’t it?”

An Asiatic black bear, released in various parts of Korea, was passing by.

At that moment, Mr. Seo Seong-han shouted.

“Cute or not! Let’s finish quickly and go drink!”

Right, we’re in the middle of a test.

So we should just continue… just then, an unpleasant sound was heard.

The sound of bones being crushed and flesh being torn. When I turned my head, something strange was happening where the bear had gone.

The sound grew louder, and we all focused on that spot.

“Is it a monster?”

“No, wait. Something’s strange.”

Just as I felt an ominous feeling, we saw a bear’s leg in front of us.

Like something hanging from a gallows, at the end of the dangling leg was a cylindrical monster with teeth like a worm.

Its amorphous, slime-like body, writhing, swallowed the bear in an instant.

“….”

It was so shocking that I almost forgot.

“That’s real! Call the instructor!”

“A real monster? But there was no alert…!”

At that moment, a tentacle lashed out in front of us. As Mr. Jang-mun struck it down, the monster staggered and fell.

“What? It’s weak?”

“Instructor.”

I called the instructor on the radio.

“We’ve found a non-simulation monster. It seems to be a new species.”

Shortly after, seven instructors arrived at once.

But the monster itself was already subdued by our team members.

“Impressive. A monster I’ve never seen before. Have you seen this before?”

“No, more importantly, where did it come from? Check if it matches any monsters that escaped from the Breach.”

The supervisor from Gwangju, Shin Do-seong, looked uneasy. Then our eyes met.

“Hmm, was this kid here before too? Something feels off.”

No, sir. When you say things like that, it makes me uneasy too. Especially when Cheonji Guild is in charge and there’s no security force.

“Let’s seal the monster for now. Call Seon-jeong.”

“Let’s stop the test just in case.”

“No, this thing is weak. Let’s continue.”

Opinions varied, but the word “safety” prevailed. Eventually, the test was suspended.

“Ouch!”

Just then, Mr. Jang-mun was rubbing his ankle next to the monster.

“What’s wrong? Did it attack you?”

“I don’t know. It feels like something bit me suddenly.”

“Be careful. Those slime types don’t die until you burn them completely.”

Finally, a Jaeger named Seon-jeong came and took the monster away in a coffin-like container.

Park Tae-sang scratched his head.

“We’ll investigate this monster separately. Can’t be helped. It’s a letdown, but good job everyone. Rest well today! Tomorrow, we’ll have a proper celebration!”

With Park Tae-sang’s words, we concluded the second week.

Though it ended awkwardly, I joined the dinner with the gentlemen who had worked hard together.

“Come on, let’s have a drink… Jong-hyun, you can’t drink alcohol, right?”

“I can, but I’d be in big trouble if I got caught.”

“Cola is perfect for the kid.”

“This will be quite a treat.”

The day was simply ordinary. An ordinary dinner, but since I was a minor, I returned to the lodging while these gentlemen went for second and third rounds.

“Ah, finally it’s over. I learned a lot.”

[Jong-hyun, it’s about swordsmanship. Watch this carefully. Especially for large monsters, a greatsword is often used like an axe to break through tough armor. The shape of the sword is…]

I even got information about swordsmanship from Oh Chang-min, which could be useful for weapons when transforming into monsters.

Just as I was falling asleep watching the video, suddenly someone knocked on my door.

“Who is it?”

No answer. Instinctively uneasy, I grabbed my card deck and stared at the door.

“Who’s there?”

It was suspicious. Just as thoughts raced through my mind,

Suddenly the door flew open, and I saw Mr. Seo Seong-han standing in front of me.

All the dinner members were there, including Oh Chang-min.

“Huh?”

They were all staring at me with bloodshot eyes.