I Became a Transcendent-Level Genius Trainer - Chapter 157

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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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Transcendent Genius Trainer – Episode 157

The press conference proceeded alongside the successful training of the hero.
Not only Han Gyu-jin, but all trainers in South Korea were reeling from the breaking news reports.

Dragon training, Demon Beast training—these sorts of things were difficult to gauge in terms of difficulty.
They were unprecedented events happening far away, so while people thought them remarkable, the emotional impact was relatively muted.

But the hero’s training was different.
Who was Baek Hyeon-jin?
Wasn’t he South Korea’s hero who had burned everything, now a legend of the past?

“Sir.”

At Heukgang Academy, a training school operated by Do Kang-myeong.
Do Kang-myeong stood vacant-eyed in the director’s office.
His gaze was fixed on the broadcast in front of him.

—Trainer Kang Yu-jun successfully trained the hero who will change the history of the Republic of Korea….
—Successfully training Japan’s SS-rank, top-tier ranker, Prince K….

“It seems Trainer Kang Yu-jun has successfully trained the hero Baek Hyeon-jin. And following that, he also trained Japan’s Prince K….”

Do Kang-myeong gestured for the speaker to stop.

“I saw it. I did too.”

Do Kang-myeong, director of Heukgang Academy.
If Baek Do-gyun was a trainer of white hair, Do Kang-myeong was an elderly trainer with sparse white streaks threading through his dark hair.
Do Kang-myeong was also one of the people who had participated in the hero’s training back then.
So he knew.
How unbelievable these words were.

“I wonder if I’m dreaming.”

The hero was already finished.
Burned brilliantly.
That’s why they’d given him that name. Hero.
A nickname bestowed for his noble sacrifice.
But how could he have trained him?

“I need to meet him. Or rather, I should meet that person first.”

Do Kang-myeong thought of one person.

“Baek Do-gyun. I thought that man had lost his mind.”

Back when Kang Yu-jun was still A-rank.
Baek Do-gyun, who had sparred with Yujun at Uijeongbu, Gate Front, had announced his defeat to Yujun and even given an interview about it.
Naturally, trainers who saw that interview found it quite puzzling why Baek Do-gyun would give such an interview.

Hadn’t Baek Do-gyun gone to Gate Front precisely because he’d failed spectacularly at training an SS-rank Awakener?
So there was even ridicule from some quarters calling him a has-been.
So he went to Gate Front, and there—
He announced his defeat to Yujun, who had just barely obtained his A-rank license?

Everyone naturally assumed Baek Do-gyun had lost his mind.
They even thought he was right before retirement. Do Kang-myeong was so pitying he’d cursed about it.
But now it seemed otherwise.
Rather than losing his mind, it occurred to him that maybe Baek Do-gyun had truly read his opponent correctly.
What was most important for a trainer?
Wasn’t it the eyes to truly see through your opponent?
Baek Do-gyun was receiving enormous praise now because of exactly that.

“I need to meet Baek Do-gyun soon.”

The same thing was happening at Yiun Academy, where Yeon Da-seul worked.

“It’s amazing. Truly amazing.”

Tall frame.
Abundant, long hair.
If there was an image that defined Yeon Da-seul, it was the sharp mana that emanated from her.
The mana flowing from her pressed down sharply on whoever stood before her.

This was deeply connected to her Awakening ability.
She too was an Awakener with a unique ability, and it had allowed her to reach the position of South Korea’s top trainer.
Before Han Gyu-jin emerged, she had formed a dual pinnacle with Do Kang-myeong, and because she was relatively younger, many said the future of South Korea’s trainer world would be led by Yeon Da-seul.

“I apologize. I can’t control my emotions. It’s wonderful that the hero Baek Hyeon-jin has returned so magnificently. Truly.”

Yet at the same time, there was a dissatisfaction lurking.

“A new era is coming.”

A new era.
She’d been thinking a new era would come once the New Three Great Trainers emerged.
Of course, she had no intention of easily yielding her position.

“When that trainer emerged, I was forced to yield one position….”

But Kang Yu-jun was absolutely not acceptable.

“It’s only been two months, hasn’t it?”

The timespan: two months.
Yet his achievements were so overwhelming that they could reasonably be compared to twenty years’ worth of work.

“Contact the Association President. I’d like to arrange a meeting with Trainer Kang Yu-jun.”

I need to meet him in person and judge.
Whether Kang Yu-jun is real.
Or if someone created him to upset the board.

* * *

Following the hero’s declaration of return and the subsequent interview, the Awakeners trained by Yujun began to be re-examined.

—Awakener Seo Yu-ri conquers Tower of Breath! Conquest rank: S achieved for the first time!

“How did you conquer it? That’s all thanks to Trainer Kang. Without his training, I wouldn’t be here.”

Seo Yu-ri spoke with utmost reverence in her voice.

“Personally, I’m certain he’ll soon become South Korea’s representative trainer. The hero trained under him this time too. I think this might be where it ends, frankly. There’s nothing more to say.”

People were very surprised by Seo Yu-ri’s attitude.

—Seo Yu-ri’s form is insane? Better than when she was rising as a super-rookie?
—How is this possible? She hasn’t been back that long.
—What exactly did Kang Yu-jun do?!

Talk of Hong Jun-yong, another S-rank Awakener trained by Kang Yu-jun and ace of the One-Shot Guild, was also spreading rapidly.

—Wind Archer Hong Jun-yong, future conqueror of Tower’s 15th Floor. Unprecedented archery skills, conquest rank S achieved….

“I won’t say much. Anyone who disgraces Trainer Kang’s honor, I’ll kill them. Anyone who inconveniences Trainer Kang, consider yourselves warned.”

Hong Jun-yong remained rough and crude as ever.
But when mentioning Kang Yu-jun, his voice became remarkably gentle and respectful.
And gradually, information about other Awakeners he had trained began to spread.

—This is Woo Ha-na! She received training from Trainer Kang! All these great results are thanks to….

Even the B-rank Awakeners trained by Yujun early on were confirmed to be achieving excellent results, and people were even more astonished.

—Wait, how was he good from the start?
—Promise Guild is crying right now….
—Promise probably didn’t know either….

As people watched interviews about Kang Yu-jun, talk of Promise Guild came up bit by bit.
There was some talk questioning if it was marketing, but it quickly died down.
While marketing was an indispensable element for trainers, regarding Kang Yu-jun, people couldn’t think of it as advertising.

—As everyone knows, people do a lot of marketing.
—But you can’t hide your expression, right?
—Everyone looks happy when talking about Kang Yu-jun.
—You can feel the respect.
—I’m so amazed he straightened out Hong Jun-yong’s attitude.
—He trained a dragon too. Any rude Awakener gets straightened out.
—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Everyone was expressing genuine respect for Kang Yu-jun, and above all, his achievements couldn’t be accomplished through advertising.
And the accomplishments of the Awakeners trained by Yujun directly led to Yujun’s own gains.

Ding-!
Ding-! Ding-!
—Your stats increase through the Incubation skill effect!
—Your stats increase through the Incubation skill effect!

Yujun smiled contentedly seeing the messages.

‘Automatic hunting.’

The more Awakeners he trained, the stronger they became and the more accomplishments they achieved, the stronger Yujun became alongside them.

Ding-! Ding-!

‘Sky Guild is doing well too, it seems.’

Sky Guild, where he’d first started working as a trainer.
Yujun had completely allowed them to advertise.

They were the ones who accepted him when he couldn’t prove anything yet, and the Guild Master of Sky Guild wasn’t the type to push himself that hard anyway.

“By the way, I’m surprised. Didn’t think he’d give this.”

Yujun took out the golden plaque of gratitude he’d received from Prince K.

“A symbol of the royal house, he said?”

It was a Golden Key symbolizing faith, and those who possessed this Golden Key could obligate the Japanese royal family to provide full support.

‘A valuable thing to have.’

Now whenever necessary, he could easily receive the Japanese royal family’s assistance.

After just over two hours of flying, Yujun returned to South Korea.
Even for a short flight, flying itself is tiring, but Yujun didn’t feel tired.
If anything, he was full of vitality.

‘My stats keep rising through the Incubation skill.’

He couldn’t feel tired even if he wanted to.

“I can’t even rest.”

Since it wasn’t difficult, he didn’t even want to rest.

Ding-!

—Trainer Association Association President.

The moment Yujun returned to the country, he received a call from the Association President.

—You’ve worked very hard! Things are in turmoil in Japan! It’s truly unprecedented for them to express gratitude like this….

In the Association President’s voice lay both bewilderment and pride.

“It must have been a difficult training, so they appreciated it.”

—It wasn’t just difficult. They sent us very detailed information.

The Association President’s voice came from far away.

“Trainer Kang Yu-jun!”
“There’s no need for you to come out like this.”
“No! I must! But….”

The Association President continued carefully.

“They sent a private jet for you, I hear….”
“Yes. I flew in a private jet. They treated me very well.”
“…….”

The Association President was momentarily at a loss for words.
None of this made easy sense.
But befitting someone who’d risen to Association President, he quickly regained his composure and opened his mouth.

“As you probably know…… Japan isn’t typically a nation this kind. I’ve made several business trips to Japan, and even during my active years as a trainer, I visited Japan frequently.”

Japan had always taken a high-handed stance.
This was inevitable—there was a gap in national power.
Not only in the level of Awakeners, but trainers were far superior as well.

During his years as an active trainer, he frequented Japan, trying to learn their training techniques.
But far from teaching him properly, the Japanese only showed him disrespect, and he returned empty-handed.
That’s when he realized it.
These people would never help South Korea.
They would discriminate unconditionally.
Yet toward Yujun, their attitude was entirely different.
A private jet, no less!

“Because I provided training, they treated me well.”
“…….”

Ability was indeed paramount.
Discrimination had to stay within reasonable bounds.
He’d trained Prince K in a single day, returning him to his original state and even made him far stronger than before his rampage—that transcended the reach of discrimination.

‘One more left.’

Among the quests Yujun received was training two more S-rank Awakeners from overseas.
With Prince K’s training complete, now only one remained.

‘Prince K had quite a few similarities with the hero Baek Hyeon-jin.’

Because of that, training had been relatively straightforward, but he shouldn’t grow complacent.

“By any chance, do you have any requests for training an Awakener from another nation? One more, perhaps?”
“……!”

The Association President was certain.
Following the training of the hero Baek Hyeon-jin and then Prince K from Japan, Kang Yu-jun had undoubtedly surpassed his limits.
He was no longer at the S-rank level.
Otherwise, he couldn’t be looking at things with that kind of gaze.
Right now, he’d grasped something.
And he was trying to confirm that revelation through even more difficult training!

If so, as Association President, he had to do his absolute best to help.
When he was young, there were few who guided him like this.
It wasn’t an era when trainers were held in high regard.
There were no sponsorships or support of any kind.
One’s own talent had to shine on its own, however one could manage it.

So he wanted to be a light.
For his juniors.
And for his past self who received no help then.

“I’ll look into it right away. You want something more difficult than Prince K’s training, correct?”
“Yes.”

Yujun answered calmly to the Association President’s question.

“Understood. And I have something else to tell you. We’re planning to adjust Trainer Kang Yu-jun’s rank accordingly due to this matter.”
“An adjustment?”

He’d just become S-rank….

“You’re creating a new rank above S-rank, aren’t you?”

Yujun immediately understood the Association President’s intention.

‘Other nations do have more finely categorized ranks after all.’

Only South Korea currently had S-rank as the highest tier.

‘Japan has ranks up to SSS-rank already.’

But South Korea had no need for that until now.

‘The S-ranks of other nations have a skill gap with ours anyway—why create a rank above that?’

“Yes. I’d like Trainer Kang Yu-jun to be the first to receive that rank.”

First.
For it to be Kang Yu-jun rather than Do Kang-myeong, Yeon Da-seul, or Han Gyu-jin held great significance.

“Following this, we plan to evaluate and promote other current S-rankers through examination, but I believe it would be most meaningful for Trainer Kang Yu-jun to be the first.”

The Association President spoke with conviction.

“From my perspective, at this point in time, South Korea’s foremost trainer is you, Trainer Kang Yu-jun.”

Yujun had no reason to refuse.

“If that’s your judgment, then do so.”
“Thank you for your consent!”

This rank stratification depended on Yujun’s willingness.

Understanding his intent, Yujun added one more thing to the Association President.

“Feel free to use my name in any way you see fit.”
“Thank you so much!”

* * *

—[Breaking News] New tower appears in South Korea. Gwanghwamun area under control.
—[Disaster Safety Alert] Gwanghwamun under control. Citizens are advised to refrain from approaching the Gwanghwamun area.

Shhhaaaa-!
Grumble-! Grumble-!

“It keeps growing!”
“Fall back!”

A new tower had appeared near Gwanghwamun.
This ashen tower was more colossal than any tower that had ever existed in South Korea.

—Yes, I’m now at the Sejong the Great statue at Gwanghwamun! What you see behind me is the mysterious tower that appeared an hour ago. Its size is still indeterminate….

—The new tower that appeared in the Republic of Korea…… This tower is said to be the 172nd tower!

But this phenomenon wasn’t confined to Korea alone.

“An identical tower has appeared in Japan.”
“In England and America too…!”
“New towers are appearing worldwide right now!”

Most nations welcomed the newly appeared towers.
New towers allowed them to obtain powerful tower rewards and acquire new materials.
The presence or conquest of towers had strong influence on national power.
Nations could only be delighted about it.
Moreover, with various guilds moving swiftly to conquer the new towers, domestic economies also improved somewhat.
But since it wasn’t without danger, control was essential.

“This is the Management Bureau!”
“Come out!”
“It’s dangerous—please fall back!”

Awakeners from the Management Bureau began rapidly securing the area around the tower.

“Come out, please!”

Grumble-grumble-grumble….
Grumble-grumble-grumble-!
The Tower of Infinity began to writhe.

“Wow….”
“How much higher is it going to rise?”

The Tower of Infinity was a tower that appeared to possess infinite floors, true to its name.
Rising—rising—.
The tower that rose that way grew far taller than Lotte World Tower.

“This… will be visible from anywhere.”

Everyone was overwhelmed by the colossal tower’s presence.

“Are the towers that appeared in other nations this size?”
“This… might not all be good news.”

The Awakeners in charge of the control operation murmured anxiously.
Towers were a blessing.
The numerous materials that came from within made nations prosperous.

But if mishandled, they could become symbols of despair and curse.
If a tower isn’t conquered properly, monsters spill out, and a devastating curse spreads like plague to the surrounding areas.

Because of this, each nation had to pay great attention to tower conquest.
There was precedent—nations had been destroyed by failing to conquer towers.
South Africa.
Now under American rule, that land had been destroyed when it failed to conquer a tower.

Because of these prior events, the Awakeners wore unsettled expressions.
They would have laughed at a tower of ordinary size, but this ashen tower was enormous.
There was someone watching the distant ashen tower.
It was Kang Yu-jun, returning to his office in Gwanghwamun today.
Shhhaaaa-.

“I knew it would appear soon.”

The timing was rather exquisite.
Grumble-grumble-grumble-!

“Finally, it’s here.”

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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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