Chapter 57: You Guys Are Weak

Chapter 57

“Alright, let’s get started.”

Feeling much more at ease, Kim Jinsung sat down in the center of the training room. If he hadn’t sent the staff member to the medical room, the staff would have stayed in the room until his training time ended, watching him as he conducted his research. Kim Jinsung didn’t like that.

“I feel most comfortable when I’m alone.”

A habit and preference formed from a lifetime of solitude, which hadn’t changed easily. Over the past year, after killing Yang Dongju and experiencing various incidents, Kim Jinsung had become much more active and assertive. Yet, he still felt most at ease when alone, and his efficiency in training and research was higher in solitude. It was no coincidence that he had practically lived in the incinerator, where no one else ventured, during his time in the fight club’s underground.

“Let’s continue with the mana utilization research from yesterday.”

Sitting cross-legged, Kim Jinsung began to draw out his mana. Soon, fire-attributed mana flowed from his body, filling the training room. The mana, which initially flickered like waves, began to take on a more defined shape. Gradually, it transformed into the shape of an ‘arrow,’ which then shot towards one of the walls at lightning speed. Throughout this process, Kim Jinsung didn’t move a single finger. He was researching how to move mana purely by willpower.

“I wanted to test this on the staff member, but I was worried I might accidentally kill him.”

In any situation, killing or inflicting serious injury on a staff member would result in immediate disqualification for the participant. Since his research on mana utilization wasn’t complete, he couldn’t fully control his power, and he feared accidentally burning the staff member to death.

“Couldn’t they send stronger staff? None of my opponents so far have been satisfactory…”

Kim Jinsung’s thoughts, if heard by the production team, would have made them laugh in disbelief. He glanced at the wall to his side. Below the CCTV camera was a sign protected by reinforced glass. The sign read:

—

[The practice sessions in the training room are not broadcasted on TV or the internet. Participants can practice new techniques with peace of mind!]

—

“At first, I didn’t believe this.”

Since becoming a forced laborer, Kim Jinsung had vowed to trust only his abilities. Therefore, he didn’t trust the sign and refrained from showing his mana utilization research. But after several days, it became clear that the participants’ training footage wasn’t being leaked.

“For a whole month, I couldn’t find any training room footage on YouTube.”

He had even checked previous seasons’ footage but found no uploads of participants’ personal training sessions. Thus, he concluded that training here wouldn’t risk his techniques being leaked to other participants.

“If they had lied about this, rumors would have spread online by now. Colosseum has been around for years.”

With that thought, Kim Jinsung turned his gaze away from the CCTV camera.

“Enough distractions, let’s focus. Every second counts.”

The special hunter anklet could only be removed in the training room. Kim Jinsung began moving his fire mana again, this time transforming it into the shape of a burning spear.

* * *

“Wow, that’s impressive!”

Tak Namgyu exclaimed in amazement.

“But why haven’t I heard about this on TV or the internet?”

“Training room footage is strictly confidential. This rule has been in place since the first season.”

“Oh, really?”

Tak Namgyu seemed to remember something and spoke as if to himself.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen such footage. Everything I know came from your reports.”

Tak Namgyu recalled past conversations with Baek Jun.

“The reason for not broadcasting training room footage… was it to create dramatic moments that would surprise viewers later?”

“Yes. If viewers knew about participants’ progress in advance, it would be less exciting.”

“True, if we had known Yoo Junho had mastered ‘that ability’ in the training room, his performance in the finals wouldn’t have been as dramatic.”

“Exactly.”

The footage of Yoo Junho’s performance in Season 4 still held the highest view count on Colosseum’s official YouTube channel.

“So, Kim Jinsung is that good… I’ve been watching him with interest, but now I need to keep a closer eye on him.”

“He’s a participant our production team has high expectations for.”

“I see. Let’s move on from Kim Jinsung…”

“I have one more participant to mention.”

“Another one?”

Tak Namgyu’s surprise was evident. Kim Jinsung alone was already an exceptional case.

“There are two participants this season who have defeated the staff in the training room.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“Weren’t there no participants who defeated the staff last season?”

“That’s correct. This season is quite unusual.”

“Huh…”

Tak Namgyu chuckled, and Baek Jun asked,

“Do you remember the number 7-49?”

“Of course. The defensive soldier who massacred participants in front of Zone 7 during Group A’s preliminaries, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is that the participant you’re talking about?”

Baek Jun nodded.

“Yes. His name is Woong.”

* * *

**Thud!**

“Gah…!”

**Crash!**

With a groan, a fully armed staff member was sent flying to the corner of the training room, crashing down with a loud noise. He clutched his chest, where the letters CSS were printed, and struggled to get up, just like the staff member who had been hit by Kim Jinsung. But what happened next was entirely different.

“Ugh… Ugh… Cough, cough!”

Blood spewed from his mouth, and his left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle. It was clear that his bones were shattered. The one who had inflicted such damage stood silently, looking down at him. A young man in his early twenties with long hair and a cold expression—this was Shin Woong.

**Bang!**

A few seconds later, the training room door burst open, and several staff members rushed in. They were fully equipped with anti-hunter gear and quickly surrounded Shin Woong.

“Freeze! Don’t move!”

“You’ve done it again, haven’t you?”

“Hey, Shin Woong! How many times have we told you to go easy?! This is a sparring match, not a fight to the death!”

The staff members, aiming their mana guns at him, were visibly angry. They had every right to be; more than ten staff members had been severely injured and sent to the hospital because of Shin Woong.

“Step aside.”

A man with a stern expression pushed through the staff and stood directly in front of Shin Woong. It was Jang Seungwook, the vice president of Colosseum.

“I warned you, didn’t I? If you do this one more time, you could be disqualified.”

“……”

“Why do you keep doing this? This is just sparring, not a life-or-death battle. Can’t you control your strength?”

“It’s not my problem.”

Shin Woong answered in a low voice, gesturing towards the nearby staff members with his eyes.

“…They’re just too weak.”

“What?!”

“This bastard…!”

Jang Seungwook quickly raised his hand to stop the agitated staff members.

“This won’t do. You’re banned from all external facilities, including the training room, until the second preliminary round starts.”

This would be a significant loss for any other participant, but Shin Woong remained silent. He simply averted his gaze with a blank expression. Jang Seungwook continued, staring directly at Shin Woong.

“Consider yourself lucky. If it were any other participant, they would have been disqualified by now.”

He meant it. If Shin Woong hadn’t single-handedly taken down 50 participants in his defensive soldier uniform, creating a memorable scene, and if he wasn’t one of the most anticipated participants by the viewers, he would have been disqualified and possibly worse.

“Put the anklet on him and take him back to his dorm.”

Following Jang Seungwook’s instructions, the staff members roughly placed the special hunter anklet on Shin Woong’s ankle and escorted him out of the training room. As he walked out, Shin Woong didn’t resist. However, just before leaving, he glanced back at Jang Seungwook with an unreadable expression.

* * *

“More than ten?”

Tak Namgyu asked in astonishment, and Baek Jun nodded.

“Yes. The staff injuries were so severe that he’s currently banned from the training room.”

“He has a naturally ruthless disposition, like Yoo Junho back then.”

Yoo Junho was infamous for his brutality, both inside and outside the competition. Many former staff members still shuddered at the mention of his name.

“Yoo Junho caused a lot of trouble in the training room too, didn’t he?”

“It was worse. One staff member nearly died.”

Tak Namgyu stood up and slowly walked to the window. Outside, peaceful streets were filled with citizens. Although no one knew when another portal might open and monsters might appear, the streets seemed peaceful for now.

“People with such dispositions tend to survive longer. They leave no loose ends. They kill everyone.”

Tak Namgyu turned back and asked,

“So, what’s his ability?”

“We don’t know yet.”

Tak Namgyu’s eyes widened.

“You don’t know? Has he never shown it?”

“No. We’ve observed all his actions in the training room for a month, but he has never revealed his awakening ability.”

“Huh… So there’s a possibility that Shin Woong is even stronger than Kim Jinsung?”

“One thing is certain: Shin Woong will be much more dangerous in the upcoming events.”

“Of course. We don’t know his ability yet.”

A monstrous participant who could take down A-rank staff with pure physical strength and hadn’t even revealed his hidden awakening ability yet. There could be no more troublesome opponent for the other participants. While there was plenty of information available on Kim Jinsung, making it possible to prepare for him, Shin Woong’s unknown abilities made him an impossible target to counter.

“Shin Woong… I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him. Is there anyone else?”

Baek Jun replied to Tak Namgyu’s question.

“There are only two participants who perfectly meet your criteria.”

“If we lower the criteria a bit?”

“In terms of abilities alone, Seol Daun is worth noting.”

“Seol Daun? Oh!”

Tak Namgyu quickly remembered.

“The participant who performed remarkably in Group A’s losers’ revival round, right?”

“Yes.”

“Right. His innate ability seemed incredible even on video. But is there a problem with him?”

“He hasn’t used the training room even once in the past month since the preliminaries ended.”

“Ah…”

Tak Namgyu sighed in understanding.

“A typical genius type, huh.”

“Exactly.”

Some individuals are born with such overwhelming abilities that they rarely put in the effort. Their starting point is so high that any effort they make hardly shows. Seol Daun was precisely that type of ‘genius.’

“Participants like that have won before, so we should keep an eye on him.”

“Indeed. Anyone else?”

“The last one is someone you’re already familiar with, a very famous individual.”

“Wait, let me guess.”

Raising a hand to his head, Tak Namgyu thought for a moment before asking,

“Is it a supplementary participant?”

“Yes.”

“…I know who it is.”

Tak Namgyu’s expression turned into a smirk. It was clear that he didn’t have a favorable impression of the person who came to mind.

* * *

– The training room usage time has ended. Please exit the training room within 5 minutes. Once again, we remind you…

Hearing the announcement from the speaker on the ceiling, Kim Jinsung immediately stopped his mana utilization. The training room, which had been heated by flames, quickly returned to normal as Kim Jinsung stood up.

“My research on mana utilization is almost complete.”

A month of hard work was finally paying off. Initially, he didn’t know how much mana to use and ended up exhausting his mana within an hour. But now, he had reached a stage where he could use mana efficiently all day.

“Maybe I should practice on the staff tomorrow.”

Just as he thought that, the training room door opened. Expecting the staff to escort him back to his dorm, Kim Jinsung naturally moved towards the door. But it wasn’t the staff.

“……!!”

Kim Jinsung stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. The middle-aged man who entered was someone he could never forget.

‘Yang Junggeun!’