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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The Aquatic Mana Training Area, as its name suggested, was a space designed for training mana underwater.
It involved an extreme training method where a mana pressure control device injected mana into the water, creating stronger water pressure and currents, resulting in intense friction and resistance.
Just 30 minutes of this training was enough to leave you feeling half-dead.
Once you entered the water, the pressure and currents made it difficult to escape, pushing your body to its limits.
It was a somewhat brute-force, one-dimensional training method where you had to overcome your limits if you didn’t want to die.
Even though it was dangerous, the effects were powerful. Therefore, medical staff were legally required to be present at all Hunter gyms, ensuring that no deaths were reported.
It was a training method that any Hunter with a ‘desire’ for growth would (?) challenge.
I, too, had a desire for growth second to none, so I was currently in the large, deep pool with Han-na.
Breathing apparatuses were a luxury for seasoned Hunters like us.
So, we were swimming underwater without any equipment.
A short while later,
*Whir, whir.*
The pressure control device started up, and strong currents began to flow which increased the water pressure.
The current was strong enough to sweep away an ordinary person, slammed into me which created immense friction and resistance.
However, if this was all there was to it, it would have been just another endurance training exercise.
There would be no reason for Han-na to come all the way here.
The real training started now.
*Roar!*
After about 10 seconds of strong currents, I heard the roar of a hologram monster.
The key was to dodge the attacks of the hologram monsters while being completely submerged, with my body feeling crushed and my limbs heavy as lead.
Underwater cameras installed on the pool walls analyzed everything, recording the number of hits and the trainee’s overall condition.
A moment later,
*Roar!*
With a deafening roar that cut through the fierce currents, monsters attacked from all directions, and I had to dodge them with all my might.
Together with Han-na.
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“Huff, huff, huff.”
“Gasp, gasp, gasp…”
Two sets of ragged breaths echoed in the training area as the currents subsided.
Every time I did this, I was amazed I didn’t throw up.
Well, I did gag a little.
Han-na, as soon as she got out of the pool, collapsed on her knees, gasping for air.
She looked like she had just returned from hell.
That’s how intense Aquatic Mana Training was; even experienced Hunters avoided it unless they had exceptional willpower.
After catching our breath in silence for a while, we each received a towel from the staff and went to the showers.
This was why Aquatic Mana Training was always the last exercise.
Showering right after felt like the perfect end to the workout.
Both physically and mentally exhausted.
“Ha… That was really tough today.”
Han-na didn’t look so good.
Not only was her face pale, but her legs were trembling as she leaned against the wall and took shaky steps.
“Han-na, are you okay? You pushed yourself too hard.”
“No, I’m fine.”
‘…She looked anything but fine.’
Despite my suggestion to train separately, she had insisted on training together, yet it was clear she had reached her limit.
I had lowered the intensity of the mana pressure control device for her, but it was still too much for her to keep up with me.
‘That’s why I suggested we train separately…’
Anyway, I couldn’t help but worry about Han-na, whose legs were trembling like a newborn calf.
She looked like she could barely stand.
Feeling guilty for not lowering the intensity further, I approached her.
“Um… do you need help?”
“What? No, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you can walk?”
“Th-this is nothing.”
But Han-na stubbornly refused.
I didn’t want to force my help on someone who didn’t want it, so I walked past her to open the door, but….
*Thud!!*
I heard a thud behind me.
It was Han-na.
I rushed back and helped her up.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah… I-I just slipped. I don’t need help.”
Her whole body was trembling, but she was still prioritizing her pride over her embarrassment.
Typical villainess trait.
But I didn’t want to feel guilty if something happened, so I didn’t let go.
Even though she had insisted, I was the one who set the intensity.
“It’s fine. I’ll just help you outside.”
“…I said I’m fine.”
Han-na tried to pull her arm, which was draped over my shoulder, but her trembling hands couldn’t loosen their grip.
To prevent us from falling together, I pulled her even closer and put my arm around her waist.
‘Whoa…’
‘Her waist is so tiny.’
“Hmph… L-let go…!”
“Just stay still, I’m tired too.”
A strange sound escaped Han-na’s lips, but my muscles were also starting to give out, so I hurried out of the training area while still holding her close.
Then, I practically threw her onto a nearby bench.
“See? You should have just listened to me.”
“I was just surprised because it was my first time at intensity level 6. I’ve done level 5 a few times before.”
“Were you like this then too?”
“No, I wasn’t…!”
Han-na bristled at my teasing.
The training must have been so intense that her colored contacts had fallen out, revealing her natural blue eyes.
I chuckled, amused that she probably didn’t even realize that.
“Why, why are you laughing?”
“Nothing. Just rest for a bit. I’ll get you some water.”
“It’s fine. I can do that myself.”
“Yeah, sure you can…when you can barely stand…”
Ignoring Han-na, who was only able to wiggle on the bench, I went to get some water.
When I returned and handed her the cup,
I wondered if I had water in my ears.
“…Thank you.”
Because I had just heard something I never heard even once in the original story: a thank you from the villainess Han-na.
‘It’s a long life, indeed. To think I’d hear Han-na say thank you.’
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‘…This is annoying.’
Han-na watched Tae-jin’s back as he walked towards the water cooler.
And she muttered to herself,
Annoying.
It wasn’t directed at Tae-jin.
It was self-deprecation.
At herself, for making such a fool of herself.
It was true that she had been stubborn, just like Tae-jin said.
It was pure stubbornness that made her attempt intensity level 6, driven by pointless pride and the desire to spend more time with him.
She knew this would be her last training session here. She knew that if they trained separately, she wouldn’t have another chance to talk to him before he left.
That’s why she was stubborn.
The result was disastrous.
As the daughter of the great Hunter guild [Raonjena], she had never shown such a pathetic side to anyone.
But just now, she had collapsed onto the floor, unable to support her trembling legs.
There was no other reason.
The training was just incredibly brutal.
She thought she was going to die.
When there were about 2 minutes left in the training, she wanted to give up.
But she didn’t want to show such weakness in front of her classmate, Han Tae-jin, so she stubbornly persevered, only to end up humiliating herself.
*‘….’*
Han-na unconsciously rubbed her side.
It still felt like Tae-jin’s hand was gripping her skin.
It was the first time.
The first time she had allowed someone to touch her so defenselessly.
Especially since she was wearing a sports bra, his bare hand had touched her bare skin.
The sensation was strangely thrilling, and it made her let out a strange sound.
How embarrassing.
‘This is so annoying… What the…’
The touch of a man, a stranger, for the first time.
His rough yet firm hand lingered on her side.
And for the first time, she felt ‘helpless.’
She had tried to push him away, embarrassed by being helped, but she couldn’t. She wanted to pull away from his hand gripping her waist, but she couldn’t.
If Tae-jin had let go then, she would have collapsed even more pathetically.
No, she didn’t even have the strength to push him away in the first place.
It was a strange feeling.
She, who had always been a strong, independent figure, someone who was always admired, being supported by someone else… it was such a bizarre scene that she couldn’t even process it.
It was quite a shock.
And also…
Quite reassuring.
The feeling of being supported by a classmate, something she had never experienced under her strict father, gave her a sense of security she had never felt before.
It was strange.
Odd.
She had always considered herself someone who disliked such dependence.
Perhaps it was a rejection of what she couldn’t have.
She had lived her life believing that what she could do was superior, and what she couldn’t do was inferior.
Things she couldn’t do were naturally things like [Weakness] and [Dependence].
But now, realizing that it wasn’t that she couldn’t do those things, but that she hadn’t done them, she was overwhelmed by a flurry of confusing thoughts.
It felt like the little girl she had hidden deep inside, suppressed by her father’s strict upbringing, had briefly resurfaced.
Not as the only daughter of a prestigious Hunter family, but as an ordinary girl.
Was that why she craved attention so much?
Han-na suddenly thought and her expression turned melancholic.
No, that was too far-fetched.
It was just a useless, frivolous sentiment stemming from the first time she had experienced relying on someone.
She was the child of a prestigious Hunter family, admired by everyone.
For her, someone who always prioritized reason over instinct, such sentiment was useless.
Well… there had been a few times when her instincts took over.
Anyway, she stopped rubbing her side.
“Here. Drink some water.”
She took the cup from Tae-jin, who had approached her.
It was warm water.
“I mixed in some hot water. Drinking cold water suddenly might upset your stomach.”
“Ah…”
Now that she tasted it, it was indeed lukewarm.
But strangely, the warmth seemed to linger.
Han-na looked at the water, then looked up at Tae-jin and said,
“…Thank you.”
It was a truly awkward expression of gratitude.
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Meanwhile, Hye-seo was watching the CCTV footage.
The footage showed a masked figure hunting villains.
He had been catching her eye lately.
And for some reason, she felt like she knew who he was.
‘Hmm…’
Just then, a text message arrived on her phone.
[July 12th, 8:20 PM, Seoul National Hunter Academy attack].
It was from her senior, Han Chang-ho, who had become an Illusion spy.
As if waiting for it, Hye-seo typed a reply.
She couldn’t contact him first, as his number changed with every message.
Even this number would also be gone soon.
But…
[Senior, do you by any chance have a hidden son…?]
She couldn’t bring herself to send the message and deleted it.
If an attack was happening at Seoul National Hunter Academy, where Cadet Han Tae-jin was enrolled, she felt like she already knew the answer without asking.
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