Copying Runes to Become the World's Strongest - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 35
Robots falling one by one.
Seong Sohui couldn’t close her mouth as she watched Hyeonjun’s strength.
It was simply overwhelming.
Where she had struggled, Hyeonjun handled the robots without much trouble at all.
‘That’s impossible… I’m only a D-Grade…’
She might fall behind in other areas, but she was confident in combat. She’d planned to aim for a high score here and snatch first place.
At this rate, first place was out of the question.
The orientation wasn’t over yet, but it was obvious how it would end.
‘Master’s going to scold me…’
Seong Sohui let her head drop.
If it were Yun Mihui, she would definitely do exactly that.
She couldn’t even imagine how harsh that scolding would be.
-Basic Combat Training is now concluded.
The training ended while she was still wallowing in gloom.
Seong Sohui lifted her head with a slight start.
The robots around them had already sprawled across the floor.
“Done resting?”
Hyeonjun, drenched in sweat, asked with a teasing tone.
Even for him, facing several robots at once had been no easy fight.
“…I could’ve done it on my own.”
Seong Sohui bit her lip and answered with a sullen face.
Hyeonjun held out a hand to her.
“Start by saying thank you.”
“….”
“I mean take my hand and get up.”
“I-I know that much too! I just didn’t want to take it, that’s all!”
Seong Sohui swatted Hyeonjun’s hand away, shot to her feet, and stomped off with unnecessarily heavy steps.
Hyeonjun watched her go and let out a short laugh.
‘Such pride.’
.
.
.
Basic Combat Training ended, carried by Hyeonjun’s exploits.
The objects that had formed the city and the fallen robots sank back beneath the gymnasium floor.
Staff members gathered the Hunters who were groaning from their injuries.
No one had been seriously hurt.
The injuries amounted to little more than minor scrapes and bruises.
Once things had settled somewhat, Nam Jaewoon called the Hunters together.
“Day one of orientation ends here. Please follow the staff to the dormitory. Before that…”
Nam Jaewoon paused for a moment.
He scanned the faces of the Hunters before speaking.
“I will now announce the current rankings.”
Names began to be called one by one, starting from the twentieth place.
In no time, the top ten had been revealed.
Among them were Hunters whose faces clouded over at their low standing, and others who found some comfort in not being at the very bottom, all mingled together in one place.
“Next, the top ten through first place.”
Hyeonjun clenched his fists and waited for his name to be called, his face tense.
‘I should make it into the top five, right?’
Hyeonjun had outdone everyone else in every area, yet a small seed of anxiety still lingered in the back of his mind, a nagging “what if.”
He had almost no connections to any guild.
He thought unfair and unjust treatment could happen at any time.
“Sixth place, Han Chanwoo. Fifth, Sim Useok. Fourth, Jang Yeonhee. Third, Kim Changdong. Second, Seong Sohui…”
Nam Jaewoon trailed off and his eyes met Hyeonjun’s.
The anxiety that had lingered in Hyeonjun’s heart until the very end vanished completely.
In its place rose a tremendous sense of anticipation.
His nostrils flared, and his breathing grew ragged.
Nam Jaewoon smiled faintly at the utterly honest reaction, turning Hyeonjun’s expectations into reality.
“First place, Hyeonjun Go.”
“Woohoo!”
Hyeonjun couldn’t help himself and hopped up in the air.
There was still tomorrow to go, but for today, at least, he was first place.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“It’s obvious you’d be first.”
“If someone else had come in first, that would’ve been the strange part.”
The Hunters offered Hyeonjun a lukewarm round of applause and congratulated him.
It was a first place no one could argue with.
His performance had been that overwhelming.
“If you didn’t reach the ranking you wanted, don’t lose heart. Outside the top tier, the gaps are very slim. With more effort, you can still overtake the others. On the flip side, if you don’t work harder, someone might overtake you.”
Nam Jaewoon scanned the Hunters slowly before speaking again.
“But I’m sure some of you still want to give up. I’ll give you a chance right now. Is there anyone who wishes to voluntarily withdraw?”
The moment the rankings had been announced.
By now, everyone would have judged whether they still had a chance to climb higher or not.
“……”
A peculiar current ran through the Hunters.
They only glanced at one another, reading the room, and no one was quick to answer.
An opportunity to join a mid-to-large guild, something they’d never dared to hope for.
Even if the odds were slim, giving up on it so easily was simply not in a Hunter’s heart.
“No one, then. I’m glad none of you are cowards who’d run away just because your rank is low.”
Nam Jaewoon was genuinely relieved.
The true purpose of the Orientation was to raise the Hunters’ survival rate.
It was true that they were encouraging competition to motivate training, but what mattered most was guiding as many Hunters as possible all the way to graduation.
That was why, even as he brought up voluntary withdrawal, he secretly hoped no one would take him up on it.
“Go to your rooms and rest. Further schedules will be announced over the broadcast.”
The Hunters left the gymnasium, following the staff’s guidance.
The Hunters made their way to the lodgings set up within the facility.
Given that a variety of training took place here, the accommodations were of considerable quality as well.
‘It’s a full-on hotel!’
To be precise, it was a real hotel.
A high-end hotel chain had set up shop right here on the premises.
From the lobby to the amenities, it was not much different from any outside establishment.
“Hunter Go Hyeonjun, this way, please.”
Hyeonjun took a different elevator from the others and went up.
The place he arrived at was the Suite Room, the largest room in the building.
The moment he opened the door and stepped in, Hyeonjun flinched and stumbled back a step.
“W-wait, is this really the right room?”
A very spacious room.
It didn’t feel like a room so much as a whole house that had been picked up and moved here.
In fact, it was far roomier than his own apartment.
“Yes, it is. We assign rooms according to rank, so this is yours.”
“Wow……”
“Please get some rest. If you need anything at all, just call room service on the phone.”
The staff member who had escorted Hyeonjun left.
Hyeonjun stood there for a while, still bewildered, then slipped off his shoes and carefully stepped inside.
“Why is the TV so huge?”
From the wooden desk in one corner to the soft lighting that spilled a faint glow over the clearly luxurious styler and everything else.
Every bit of it was a scene from a world far removed from his own.
“There are two beds, too.”
Not a single bed for one person, but one big enough for two.
Hyeonjun flung himself onto the bed.
It was so comfortable that he didn’t need to look at a price tag to be sure it must be expensive.
“So this is what a hocance is.”
The hocance he’d only ever come across online.
Now he was finally seeing what it was really like.
“The view is great, too.”
A hotel built on the outskirts of the gymnasium.
Outside the window, vast fields and a river stretched on endlessly.
A scene with not a single tall apartment building, in a place that wasn’t an Anomalous Space, was something he hadn’t seen in ages.
“Hyeona would absolutely love this if she came.”
The moment he arrived somewhere so nice, he thought of his little sister first.
A younger sibling who does nothing but study.
Hyeonjun knew better than anyone why she clung to it so fiercely.
It was so she could lighten, even a little, the weight pressing down on her shoulders.
“Once we’re in a position where we don’t have to worry about making ends meet… maybe we can have one day with no worries at all.”
I’ll take her then.
To a place far better than this one.
Not just a nice place, but somewhere much, much better.
***
One guest room in the hotel inside the gym.
Five young men and women are huddled together in the room.
Aside from being around the same age, they share one more thing in common.
They were promising prospects belonging to Seongsam Aegis and KS Hunters.
“Where are Seong Sohui and Kim Changdong?”
“I called them. They’ll be here soon.”
Knock, knock.
Speak of the devil and he appears.
Han Chanwoo, the owner of the room, got up himself and opened the door.
Seong Sohui stood there with her arms crossed, glaring with a fierce expression.
Beside her, Kim Changdong stood awkwardly, looking sheepish.
“You both came. Come in.”
“Why did you call us?”
“Just come in first. I’ll tell you.”
Seong Sohui and Kim Changdong stepped into the room.
Unlike Hyeonjun’s room, this one was cramped. With seven people packed inside, it was nearly overflowing.
“Now that everyone’s here, let me go over it again.”
Han Chanwoo was the one who had gathered everyone.
He was another promising prospect belonging to Seongsam Aegis.
“That Go Hyeonjun, who’s ranked first right now. We’re going to pull him down.”
The others had already been brought into the plan.
But for the two who had arrived late, this was the first they’d heard of it.
“What are you talking about?”
“Shh. Just keep listening.”
Han Chanwoo ignored Kim Changdong’s question and continued.
“As you all know, we were able to join because the guild made an experimental attempt. They’ve been investing in us steadily, if not by much. But what if someone other than us takes first place as things stand?”
Orientation isn’t some kind of competition. It’s just a plain educational curriculum.
But as long as there are rankings, it wasn’t simply education to them.
It was a test they had to pass by claiming high places, proving that the guild’s investment had not been misplaced.
“Not all of us can make the top ranks. But we can’t let anyone else take first. The guild hasn’t said anything, but they’re definitely paying attention.”
There was some sense in what Han Chanwoo said.
The others seemed to agree to some degree.
“How?”
“Can we actually beat that guy?”
Hyeonjun, who had outclassed everyone.
It was obvious that half-hearted methods wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
Han Chanwoo lowered his voice a little more.
“I found out tomorrow’s schedule. We team up, interfere with him, and one of us takes first place.”
“One of us? Who?”
Han Chanwoo’s gaze shifted toward Seong Sohui and Kim Changdong.
“One of you two. Third place at the most is where the point gap is smallest.”
“I’m not doing it.”
Kim Changdong refused flatly.
It was a resolve that ran counter to his usual timid, wavering personality.
“Why not? Are you taking that guy’s side over us?”
“It’s not that, it’s just… I hate being underhanded. It’s not an official competition, but we should still fight fair and square. Wouldn’t everyone want that?”
It was the most righteous argument there could be.
It was also an answer Han Chanwoo had more or less expected.
“Fine. I never expected anything from you to begin with, Changdong. Seong Sohui. What about you? You think differently, right?”
Seong Sohui didn’t hesitate for a second. She raised her hand and stuck up her middle finger.
“Get lost.”
“…Didn’t you hate that guy? It’s a chance to beat him openly. Why on earth would you refuse?”
“Even if we win, we win on our own strength. Why should I have to match you people?”
Seong Sohui swept a cold look over the Hunters, then kicked the door open and strode straight out.
Kim Changdong, left behind, glanced around the room and scrambled out after her.
“Ha, those bastards. Just because the Guild treats them special, they think they’re something.”
“What now? Weren’t they the only ones with any real chance?”
Han Chanwoo shook his head.
“Not necessarily. The difficulty’s a bit higher, but the fourth place and below still have a shot. I heard the Day 2 training is Retreat Meta.”
“Retreat Meta?”
“It means they hand out points. Do well enough and you could flip the results from Day 1.”
“Seriously?”
“What’s the training tomorrow, then?”
Han Chanwoo curled up one corner of his mouth.
“E-Rank Hunting Ground, Free Hunting. That’s all it is.”
“If it’s Free Hunting, that person has way too much of an advantage.”
“Does interfering actually mean anything?”
Han Chanwoo let out a dry laugh at his teammates’ protests.
“Come on, there are five of us. We’re not some random nobodies. Five of us can’t handle one person?”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“So what exactly is the plan?”
Han Chanwoo glanced toward the door once more, then lowered his voice even further and whispered.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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