Although a foundation for overwhelming growth had been laid, Soohyeok didn't worry about the possibility of any price to be paid.
A trick of the gods?
Some kind of burden?
A gift meant to impose responsibility?
None of it mattered to him.
'If it's given, I'll take everything without hesitation.'
He was a man of great ambition.
There was no reason to refuse what was offered.
If someone tried to take it from him, he just had to hold on and never let go.
If someone tried to oppress him, he would simply crush them.
Soohyeok embraced his current situation with nothing but excitement.
"This is sweet."
Thanks to that, his growth was happening much faster than expected.
With these additional advantages, reaching his goal of becoming a top-tier martial artist seemed likely to happen even sooner than anticipated.
There was no need for the full two weeks of practical training.
It looked like he could cut that time exactly in half.
Buzzing with excitement, Soohyeok unconsciously hummed a tune after finishing a battle at the portal.
In a sprawling field of tall green reeds that made it hard to see even a step ahead—
"Hey, are you okay?"
Baek Iyeon asked, having seen him.
"Huh? Why?"
"It's just… you seem way too happy. Given the situation…"
She pointed with the dagger in her hand at the monster collapsed on the ground.
It was a small, green-skinned, bipedal goblin lying in a gruesome state. Judging by the clean stab wound in the center of its chest, it looked like Jin Changhyeok's handiwork.
Of course, to harvest monster byproducts, one had to dissect the body with whatever weapon was available, dagger or not.
That meant facing the stench of blood, the foul odor unique to monsters, and the grotesque appearance of their corpses.
Soohyeok had handled all of that from the start with surprising ease—but he hadn't looked this cheerful about it before.
In fact, no matter how you looked at it, smiling and humming while butchering a monster was… disturbing.
"Ah, I guess I'm a little weird right now."
"A lot weird," Baek Iyeon replied bluntly.
"Well, it's all money, right?"
Soohyeok brushed it off casually.
Some people could find joy even in something awful if they thought of the money.
"Still, it's kind of scary."
"Indeed, your current state does seem a bit dangerous," Shahar chimed in.
At that point, even Soohyeok had nothing more to say.
"…Yeah, sorry. Didn't mean to come off like that."
Caught up in the thrill of rapidly getting stronger, it was true that he had let his emotions run a little wild.
"Ugh, anyway, I'm kind of jealous that both of you are already so used to this. Especially Changhyeok—he really struggled at first, but now…"
Baek Iyeon glanced over at Jin Changhyeok, who was dissecting the monster's corpse with a blade that extended from his fist.
Of the three of them, Jin Changhyeok was the fastest.
Maybe it was because he was using his body directly instead of a dagger, but the difference from the first day—when he'd been gagging from disgust—was night and day.
Baek Iyeon herself had also gotten used to the grotesque corpses and the stench of monsters, but compared to Changhyeok, her progress was slower.
Actually, the fact that Jin Changhyeok had adapted to all of it in just three days was impressive in itself.
'That one's definitely doing it for the money.'
She didn't know the full story, but she knew Jin Changhyeok needed money.
And as mentioned before, monster byproducts brought in cash.
He didn't have the luxury of wasting time hesitating.
After finishing the dissection and packing up all the byproducts from the goblin hunt, the group stood up.
Shahar checked the watch embedded in the license bracelet issued to Awakeners and nodded.
"That was faster than expected."
Soohyeok and Jin Changhyeok were among the fastest of all the trainees, and even Baek Iyeon, perhaps driven by frustration over being the slowest, had picked up her pace. That left them with extra time.
Too early to return to the association.
"Let's go for one more hunt.
Is that okay with you all?"
As Shahar asked, all three nodded in unison.
"Yes."
Having confirmed their own abilities and started to enjoy the thrill of growth, Soohyeok, Jin Changhyeok, and Baek Iyeon alike were feeling their combat senses sharpen. The joy of leveling up was something they all shared.
"Good. Then let's move quickly."
The moment the decision was made, Shahar wasted no time and took off in a new direction.
That was another thing Soohyeok had come to appreciate about her.
'Her decisiveness is amazing.'
Once a decision was made, there was no hesitation.
Soohyeok found her boldness quite refreshing.
"Hey."
Not long after they started walking again, Jin Changhyeok spotted another group of nearly ten goblins clustered together.
Shahar nodded, and the party carefully lowered their bodies and suppressed their presence as they slowly approached the group.
Goblins were, in truth, no stronger than monsters found in a Tier 1 portal. However, they typically traveled in large numbers. They also possessed a sliver of intelligence, making them capable of cunning tactics during battle. For this reason, despite being a Tier 2 portal, the difficulty was relatively high. So ambushing them was the best strategy.
It made the fight easier—and faster.
Soohyeok took the lead.
Even without Shahar needing to say it, Jin Changhyeok and Baek Iyeon had already come to recognize him as their leader.
His overwhelming strength was obvious to anyone, so it was a natural outcome.
Holding his breath, Soohyeok raised a hand in a signal as they drew close to the goblins.
"Attack."
With a quiet command, Soohyeok sprang forward.
Jin Changhyeok followed right behind.
Baek Iyeon also brought her hands together, her eyes gleaming.
"Kieeek—!"
The goblins in front finally noticed Soohyeok and the rest of Squad 8 and screamed in alarm.
"Too late."
Soohyeok's punch exploded a goblin's head.
'One.'
Then a second one fell almost instantly.
Even as Tier 2 monsters, it made no difference.
To the ever-stronger Soohyeok, they were nothing more than a post-meal workout.
'Three.'
By then, Jin Changhyeok had pierced the heart of his first goblin and lifted it high into the air.
Then, with a powerful swing, he hurled it toward the remaining six goblins in a panic.
"Keekni—!"
"Kieeek—!"
The goblins shrieked in terror.
During the fight, Soohyeok sensed movement slicing through the tall reeds.
'Someone's approaching?'
The footsteps were too heavy to be a goblin's.
Soohyeok began gathering his energy to confront the potential enemy—just in case.
"They're another Awakened… a trainee," came Shahar's voice clearly from afar.
The moment those words ended, an arrow flew from the opposite side of the reeds. Ironically, it wasn't aimed at a goblin—it was heading straight for Changhyeok, who was focused on the battle.
Soohyeok's steps quickened.
Like a predator eyeing prey, he timed his move and reached out.
With a swift grab, he caught the tip of the arrow just in time. His arm trembled from the impact.
His palm stung, as if it had torn open.
He turned a sharp, irritated gaze toward the reeds.
Suddenly, two presences burst out with loud shouts.
"Waaah—!"
"Get them—!"
Two men.
Faces Soohyeok vaguely remembered.
'Squad 3, maybe?'
He recalled their instructor being one of the protectors from a major guild.
With their interference, the battle turned into a one-sided massacre of the goblins.
The cowardly, cunning creatures didn't even get a chance to think about fleeing—it was that overwhelming.
But it could hardly be called a satisfying victory.
"Wow, that last bit was sweet."
"Thanks to hunting together, it was easy.
I even leveled up."
Ignoring Soohyeok's startled group, the two men laughed and chatted between themselves.
"You guys were… Squad 8, right? Under Instructor Shahar?"
A woman who had emerged from the reeds a beat late looked at them and asked.
"That's right. And you all are from Squad 3, under Instructor Jeon Sujeong, aren't you?" Shahar asked, landing gracefully between the two groups.
"Yes. I'm Jin Chaeyeon," the woman replied first.
"Kim Cheolik."
"Lee Jungwook here."
The two men smiled and waved as they introduced themselves to Shahar.
Soohyeok's brow furrowed deeply.
"I don't recall asking you to join the fight," Shahar said flatly.
"Come on, do we really need to wait for permission? Isn't it better to take them down easily together?"
Spoke Kim Cheolik, a well-built man wielding a short spear.
"Don't be so uptight about something like this. Besides, she's not even your instructor anymore, right?"
Lee Jungwook, a short and slightly chubby man, laughed as he clutched his belly.
"Are you kidding?! Don't you realize Changhyeok oppa was almost in danger? If it weren't for our ahjussi (Soohyeok)…"
Baek Iyeon shouted, but Jin Chaeyeon scoffed and replied with a smirk.
"Sorry. It wasn't on purpose, just a mistake. But no one got hurt, right?"
The smile on Shahar's face froze—just for a moment.
"You lot…"
Shahar began to speak, but she was quickly cut off.
"They already apologized. Are you really going to lecture my kids too?"
A woman stepped forward to block Shahar, wearing a black dress with a plunging neckline.
Jeon Sujeong.
She was a well-known witch in South Korea, famous for her deadly curse abilities—and the instructor for Squad 3.
"Isn't that only natural? Though I'm currently in charge of Squad 8, I still have the duty to educate and guide all trainees."
Shahar replied coldly as she faced Jeon Sujeong.
It was a tone Soohyeok—and likely every other trainee—had never heard from her before.
"So icy. No wonder they call you the Flower of Death. Brutal, really. Just let it slide. Kids make mistakes, you know?"
Jeon Sujeong smiled at Jin Chaeyeon.
"Yeah. It was just a mistake," Chaeyeon replied with a shrug and a matching smile.
"Mistake or not, it was a clear threat. A proper apology is in order. Also, interfering in an honorable battle without permission is a serious matter."
"Oh, you're so stiff! This is why I hate talking to elves. Always so rigid. Let's not cross any lines, okay?"
"Jeon Sujeong."
The name left Shahar's lips in a voice cold enough to freeze the air.
Still, Jeon Sujeong showed no sign of flinching as she met Shahar's gaze head-on.
"Seems you've forgotten, but I'm not just Squad 8's instructor. I'm the overall supervisor for this entire training. You're the one crossing the line."
"Ugh, you really don't know how to have a conversation. So uptight and bossy—such a pain. Let's go, kids.
You can have the byproducts. I'm not touching that filth. Ugh, the stench of rotting corpse-flowers. If you've got a problem, go whine to the Imoogi or something. I'm out."
"Jeon Sujeong!"
Shahar called her name once more, but Jeon Sujeong didn't look back as she disappeared into the reeds.
"Well then, have fun cleaning up."
Kim Cheolik turned his back with a casual wave.
"Don't forget we made that money easy for you," Lee Jungwook added, laughing and holding his protruding belly before disappearing as well.
Jin Chaeyeon didn't even offer a farewell. She simply scoffed in Shahar's direction and walked off.