Within the dojo’s training ground, Jihoon sweats heavily as he stabs the training dummy in front of him with his halberd. A lot needs to be done and time unfortunately isn’t on his side even if it appears abundance at the first glance.
Juggling a lot of things in concurrent reminds him back at the Arisen Studio when there are multiple projects that the studio handles from all the contracts all the time. Composing on the computer while practicing the instruments the same, and he thought that would be the hardest his life would ever be. Until the Gate occurred.
“Mind your form, trainee! If you kept your thoughts wandering nowhere, it will be your demise very soon!”. The instructor that Jihoon selected to train his halberd yelled with stern.
Jihoon focused himself as he kept stabbing the dummy with his halberd. Getting his weapon path consistent is the first step to creating derivative paths by one’s own volition. That is when he transitions from Inferior to Flawed.
Mastering the martial ways was an arduous journey divided into distinct stages of progression:
Inferior - The starting rank for any novice initiate, before one could even achieve a consistent weapon path, let alone formulate their own techniques.
Flawed - Once a foundational weapon path was set through repetitive practice, minor personal derivations could begin branching off that established root.
Standard - With a solid understanding of the fundamentals and their own original weapon paths developed into proper martial forms, a disciple attained the baselines of true skill.
Excellent - After years of accumulated experience and insight, one could derive an entire self-crafted martial art tailored to their strengths and combat philosophy.
Superior - At the profound level of understanding, a master could seamlessly adapt their art to even ill-suited weapons if the need arose, consistently defeating adversaries of comparable prowess.
Peerless - The paramount echelon, where one's martial capabilities manifested as pure intent, fluidly translating across any weapon or unarmed combat with no disconnection between mind and body.
Although martial prowess alone can't directly increase one's Hunter rank, it effectively enable one to utilize their own power with far more effectiveness than otherwise. It's a useful thing to have and no one makes any objection so far.
Jihoon strove to ingrain the halberd's fundamental paths into muscle memory. Only then could he progress toward the Flawed rank and start exploring personalized derivatives to suit his awakened Song Magic abilities.
The instructor's gravelly voice cut through Jihoon's thoughts. "You've got potential, kid, but potential means squat if you can't apply it! Now stop woolgathering and give me twenty more repetitions, form perfect this time!"
Gritting his teeth, Jihoon renewed his focus, halberd blurring in a flurry of thrusts and slashes. Agony may be ever presence on this road of torment but he would not falter until he commanded the halberd's lethality with the same proficiency as his musical compositions.
The arduous training of the day has passed as the night falls once more without notice. His body ached all over as Jihoon checked his status screen once more.
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Name: Jihoon Hyunwoon
Level: 4
EXP: 64/224
Class: None
+Physical Attributes:
-STR: 3.8
-END: 3.8
-AGI: 3.7
-DEX: 3.5
+Non-physical Attributes:
-INT: 5.2
-CHA: 4
-MAG: 5
Attribute Points: 0
+Musical Prowess: Mid-Intermediate
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Jihoon knew that he is going to become a lot stronger in the future. But he would never know if it would be enough or not in the future subjugation. That alone gave him the irk knowing that the strange phenomenon of misclassed difficulty can happen at any time. But if it happens in that subjugation then it confirms his suspicion of deliberate sabotage by an unknown mastermind.
Reaching out for his phone, he contacted the D-ranker and the investigation of the mismatched difficulty of the F-rank Gate Subjugation before. After all, he only just started and has no choice but to rely on his few and scant connections.
With a weary sigh, he reached for his phone and contacted the grizzled D-ranker, knowing he was likely just as troubled over the inexplicable difficulty spike they'd encountered.
"Yeah, kid, you read my mind," the D-ranker's gruff voice came through the line. "I've been hounding the eggheads down at HQ about that spider abomination ever since we filed that report."
There was a pause, then an audible grimace. "And you were right to be concerned. Turns out there've been several other cases across multiple
anches of Gate incursions being misidentified and throwing up a lot tougher opposition than first projected."
Jihoon felt his stomach clench at the ominous implications. "You're saying whatever happened on our run...it wasn't an isolated incident?"
"'Fraid not," the D-ranker confirmed grimly. "At first, they tried writing it off as a few unlucky outliers, happenstance errors in the initial threat assessments. But the pattern recently has become too widespread, too consistent to be mere coincidence or sloppy recon work."
There was an agitated pause, as if the veteran was struggling to voice his next words. "From the way I hear it, there's suspicions starting to get voiced about...well, sabotage. From the inside."
Jihoon's blood turned to ice in his veins. "You can't be serious... You're implying there's a mole or informant working with the enemy?" Rogue Hunters willing to undermine the system were a terrifying prospect.
"Like I said, just rumors at this stage," the D-ranker said carefully. "But the irregularities are there, kid. Too many for it to be pure happenstance anymore. Someone or something is screwing with the threat assessment protocols, understating the dangers in a way that's getting people killed out in the field."
There was an audible exhale, as if expelling a long-held
eath. "A small joint investigation task force has been made in order to look into this whole mess, see if they can sniff out the root causes. Gonna have to go through old Gate records with a fine-toothed comb, line 'em up against reported encounters, try and find discrepancies in the pattern."
The line went quiet for a moment, and when the D-ranker spoke again, there was a grim resolve in his tone. "I'll be honest with you, kid - this could get real ugly before it's all said and done. You ever need another set of eyes or an extra blade watching your back on your runs, you just give me a holler."
Jihoon felt a cold knot of trepidation settle in his gut. If what the D-ranker suspected was true, it meant their fledgling careers as Hunters had just become exponentially more perilous. Not only did they have to worry about the deadly threats spilling forth from the Gates...but also the specter of betrayal from within their own ranks.
Glancing at his status screen again, Jihoon knew there were no shortcuts to increasing his strength, his mastery over the Song Magic that had become his greatest asset. He would have to dedicate himself to training with an intensity like never before.
Because if saboteurs truly were at work, understating the horrors lying in wait. Then the next Gate delve could be his last if he isn’t properly prepared to face the true monstrosities lurking beyond.
Why does he get stuck in a conspiracy right when he was about to start his new career? With a sigh of resignation uttered once more, he lets himself adrift to rest once more. Today is only the beginning, a whole journey is still ahead.
After a week of incessant training of stabbing the dummy with his halberd, he managed to achieve his consistent weapon path although more practice is necessitated to reinforce the foundation. This time, he is demanded to exchange duel with his instructor to obtain some measure of combat experience.
The goal is to exchange 50 consecutive bouts between him and the instructors. Fail any in-between and he must start all over again.
"Alright, greenhorn," the grizzled halberd master barked as they took up stances across the practice ring. "You've got your forms down solid, now it's time to pressure test 'em against a live opponent. Fifty bouts, back-to-back. You fail to last ten exchanges in any single one, we start the whole damn count over from scratch."
Jihoon's grip tightened on his halberd's shaft, nodding in understanding. He could already feel a trail of sweat trickling down his back just from the prospect of enduring fifty consecutive live skirmishes.
"We'll be pulling no punches, so you'd best come prepared to bleed, boy!" The instructor launched himself forward in a furious flurry of thrusts and slashes.
Barely managing to deflect the opening strikes, Jihoon fell into the practiced footwork patterns, sidestepping and counterattacking with controlled jabs. He could already feel the burn in his shoulders and thighs from the sheer force being exchanged.
Over the next few hours, Jihoon fought through waves after waves of simulated assaults, each bout becoming a white-knuckle endurance test. Time blurred into a haze of clashing steel and bellowed reprimands whenever his technique faltered.
"Widen your stance, keep that guard up!"
"Speed's worth shite if you telegraph your attacks!"
"You leave an opening like that against a real threat, and it'll be your last mistake!"
Battle by battle, Jihoon started picking up the nuances of live combat. How subtle shifts in footwork and grip could open up new angles of attack. When to sacrifice defense for an offensive burst. How to seamlessly flow between halberd paths in the heat of the moment.
But his weapons training didn't stop there. Upon achieving the fiftieth successful bout, the halberd instructor gestured for Jihoon to retrieve another implement from his rack - the wicked, spiked handaxe he'd used so devastatingly back in the F-rank Gate, Spider-infested Mansion.
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"You've got a knack for pulling off surprise maneuvers, so we're going to polish that skill to a razor's edge," the instructor said, tossing Jihoon a padded sparring vest. "Your new regimen? Lather, rinse, repeat - only this time you'll be working rapid weapon transitions between your main arms and that mean little shredder."
Jihoon could only let out a ragged exhale, his limbs already feeling like leaden weights from his earlier exertions. But he nodded resolutely, knowing there was no other path forward except to push himself harder than ever before.
As the two resumed their deadly dances, Jihoon silently sent out a prayer of thanks that at least his passive Song Magic abilities would help offset some of the fatigue. He was going to need every ounce of fortitude this training could instill.
For if that conspiracy theory proved true, and Gates containing even deadlier monstrosities lay ahead, he would have to be utterly prepared - mind, body, and soul – to overcome whatever unholy horrors emerged when the veil was finally lifted.
Even if he is going to shed his blood fighting for what he believed in until its last drop.
Tonight marks his second week at the dojo, and he is still rather miserable with his halberd and hand-axe once the instructor goes serious with him. Only last like 5 bouts thus if any stronger Hunters have killing intents toward him, he won’t last that long either.
Checking his System status again, checking his progress that is made so far.
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Name: Jihoon Hyunwoon
Level: 5
EXP: 78/255
Class: None
+Physical Attributes:
-STR: 4.5
-END: 4.3
-AGI: 4.4
-DEX: 4.3
+Non-physical Attributes:
-INT: 5.2
-CHA: 4
-MAG: 6
Attribute Points: 0
+Musical Prowess: Mid-Intermediate
------_____{\\\\////}_____------
He managed to level up just from repetitive training duration alone as he still gains EXP from each training standard session which vary. And clashing with the instructor show him just still how vast the differences just now.
Jihoon swiped through his status, seeing his physical and magical attributes had ticked up incrementally from the constant training. But the numbers represented little more than minor increments - the vast gulf between himself and the seasoned instructors made abundantly clear just how far he still had to go.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled up his contacts and fired off a message to the grizzled D-ranker now immersed in the joint investigation task force. The disparity in his own abilities aside, the true threat may lie in the shadows - saboteurs willing to understate the dangers for some unknowable reason.
As the dojo night fell quiet, Jihoon placed another call to the grizzled D-ranker who had been assigned to the internal investigation task force. If there were truly conspirators understating the Gate threats, he needed whatever insights the veteran could provide.
"Kid, you're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you," came the D-ranker's gruff voice. "But the more we dig, the uglier this whole mess gets."
There was an audible sigh, like a man preparing to reveal an unpleasant truth. "You know how boss-tier monstrosities get exponentially stronger and more dangerous the longer they're allowed to persist in their domains, culling any hunters foolish enough to take them on?"
Jihoon nodded, recalling the tactical briefings about the terrifying "boss leveling" phenomenon. As apex predators continued to slay and devour souls whether of the Gate's original environment or Hunters who failed to slay them, their physical constitutions mutated in tandem with their growing reservoir of power. What started as a formidable threat could potentially escalate into an unstoppable juggernaut if left unchecked.
"Well, turns out some real sick bastards in our ranks have been deliberately downplaying boss strengths at certain Gates," the D-ranker growled. "Sending in teams of greenhorns like lambs to the slaughter, letting these big uglies power up by feeding on their souls."
Jihoon's blood turned to ice at the implication. "You can't be serious... They're sacrificing new Hunters, just to farm higher level bosses for better loot drops?"
"Wish I was just blowing smoke, kid." There was a tremor of barely contained rage in the D-ranker's tone. "Records show entire rookie teams going dark without a peep from their minders. Way more unexplained losses than should ever happen, even with normal attrition rates."
Jihoon felt ill just contemplating the depravity. To not only betray the Hunters' code, but to knowingly trade innocent lives away as sacrificial fodder...it beggared belief.
"We've got anthro-forensic teams going back, reanalyzing site data from previous boss clears," the D-ranker continued grimly. "And the numbers just don't add up right. Energy fluctuations inconsistent with official threat assessments, ambient power traces spiking way too high for the stated boss levels."
There was a tense pause, and Jihoon could envision the veteran's jaw clenching, knuckles whitening around his clenched fist.
"Whoever's behind this, they're damn well going to pay. No one sacrifices my people and gets to walk away clean. You focus on getting as strong as you can, kid - because this is looking like it'll get real ugly before we're done hauling these bastards into the light."
The line went dead, leaving Jihoon with a gnawing pit of dread festering in his gut. He knew becoming a Hunter meant risking his life against the unholy hazards emerging from the Gates. But to have the danger compounded by depraved human greed and malice from within their own ranks...
His gaze drifted back to his halberd, streaked with nicks and scoring from the day's training bouts. No shortcuts to true mastery, no easy paths to power. If he hoped to survive the storm to come, he would need to temper his body, mind and soul into an inviolable blade - because the alternatives were too abhorrent to consider.
Gripping the weapon's shaft with renewed determination, Jihoon vowed to push himself harder than ever before. He would grow strong enough to overcome any threat, no matter its source or nature. Those responsible for perverting the Hunters' tenets would face justice, one way or another.
Even if all of his sweat flows away in exhaustion, trying to go up against the oncoming storm itself.
The third week of his time in the dojo started as Jihoon managed to achieve proficiency with his halberd and hand-axe. Striking at length with his halberd and if they get too close, use the hand-axe. It’s simple but nailing that aspect down is harder than saying it.
So far, he has managed to last for about 12 bouts of exchanges this time against his instructor. Not something significant but at least he won’t die an immediate death should something arise.
Not only with just dueling with instructors, he is also put into many different kinds of training. Such as field recon, breach and defense, environment adaptation. The many things that are required due to how diverse the environment in which a Gate can manifest.
Also thanks to his training before, his END stat is now high enough that he isn’t totally exhausted after all the training during daytime. Instead, he is still in great fatigue but otherwise functions normally. Now that he has a bit more time, he decided to do the following.
______-----{////\\\\}-----______
Doppelganger
Classification: Illusion Magic
Rank: Intermediate
Effect:
-Create a temporary clone that has no stats but can interact with mundane objects with equal proficiency as the user.
Last for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 6 hours.
------_____{\\\\////}_____------
A clone of his appeared again as it wields the same halberd in Jihoon’s hands. He didn’t want to use it in
oad daylight lest he revealed his hidden ace. In the worst-case scenario, his doppelganger can be his last line of defense by deceiving his enemy away from the real him.
With his doppelganger moves into combat stance, Jihoon does the same as he prepares to duel against his own illusion. The true test begins now as there is no better dueling examiner than himself.
If he could last the entire duration of Doppelganger, then Jihoon can consider himself as capable. Then as the duel between the two of them unfold, Jihoon himself managed to last for about 4 seconds before being hit.
Turns out, even if its proficiency is the same as his, its independent decision making, judgment stands out above him. But because it has no stat, he didn’t receive any damage at all but the result was obvious which one was the victor as the doppelganger dissipated away once its 15-second timer run out.
This very pattern goes on for the entire week as Jihoon slowly bridges his way toward the strength he yearned for.
At the end of the third week, Jihoon made his summary assessment of his progress so far.
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Name: Jihoon Hyunwoon
Level: 6
EXP: 155/268
Class: None
+Physical Attributes:
-STR: 5.2
-END: 5.1
-AGI: 4.9
-DEX: 4.8
+Non-physical Attributes:
-INT: 5.2
-CHA: 4
-MAG: 7
Attribute Points: 0
+Musical Prowess: Mid-Intermediate
------_____{\\\\////}_____------
“I guess that is… decent?” Jihoon made his assessment of his self-improvement so far in this training. He has one week left before the coming Gate Subjugation so any stat gain is paramount.
Suddenly, his phone rings instead as he is the one receiving call from the grizzled D-ranker. If he is making the call here, then the situation must be dire.
Here is an extension of the story with the D-ranker's update on the investigation and Jihoon providing his upcoming Gate Subjugation location:
At the culmination of the third grueling week, Jihoon pulled up his status screen to assess his hard-won progress.
The modest stat increases across his physical attributes were a tangible testament to his efforts. His Endurance and Strength had risen markedly, better equipping him to wield his halberd's weight through prolonged engagements. Agility and Dexterity too had sharpened, allowing for more fluid weapon transitioning between strikes.
"I guess that's...decent?" he murmured, trying to temper his self-critique. Every incremental gain mattered on the path toward true mastery.
His reverie was interrupted by the ring of his phone - a call incoming from the grizzled D-ranker. Jihoon felt his stomach knot. If the veteran was initiating contact, it could only mean critical developments had arisen from the investigation.
"Kid, you're not gonna believe the gut-punching mess we've uncovered," came the D-ranker's gravelly voice as soon as Jihoon accepted the call. "We've got concrete proof now - actual bio-samples recovered from anomalous Gate Sites."
Jihoon felt the hairs on his neck prickling as the D-ranker pressed on in a heated growl.
"Those sick fucks were right, elite boss-tier monstrosities, artificially overleveled far beyond their baseline threat assessments. Energy signatures practically dripping with ambient soul residues from...from harvested victims."
There was an audible, shuddering inhalation, as if the veteran was struggling to maintain his composure.
"I've seen some depraved, unholy shit in my time, kid. But essentially soul-farming our own green recruits to exponentially boost these unholy horrors? That's a new level of foul I can scarcely wrap my mind around."
The horrible implications rippled through Jihoon's consciousness. Conspirators within the Association's ranks had indeed been understating the threats, then sacrificing unsuspecting junior teams to those very same amplified horrors. All to cultivate the resultant overpowered bosses into loot-pinatas ripe for the plundering.
It was an almost unthinkable degree of depravity. To turn their own loyal Hunters into grisly tithes to geometrically increase the slaughter. Jihoon's fists clenched as wave of impotent fury washed over him. He may have bolstered his abilities considerably, but how could he ever hope to stand against such malign malefactors if they proved strong enough to perpetrate this grand, soul-rending deception?
"Listen up, kid," the D-ranker's voice dragged him back to the moment, low and thrumming with cold determination. "I need you to share the details on whatever Gate Subjugation run you've got lined up next. We finally have enough grounds to move, but we'll need to bait these scumbags out into a containment op..."
Jihoon's mind stilled into crystalline focus. The path forward was clear, even if it courted extreme peril. He quickly relayed the specifics of his imminent F-rank Subjugation - location, projected environment parameters, targeted monstrosity profiles.
If the investigation team's suppositions rang true, then this next delve might very well tear the veil from the grand deceits festering the Association within. Jihoon could only hope that whatever formidable threat awaited them proved surmountable after all...and that the perpetrators would finally face the reckoning so long in coming.
With grim resignation, Jihoon disconnected the call and turned to collect his weapons. One way or another, everything was hurtling toward a brutal crescendo. And he would need to be battle-ready to face whatever unholy clarion was soon to be unleashed.
Even if all his tears shed until he can’t cry anymore.
The final week of his training past in solemn emptiness. It is a summarization of everything he has learned so far. Training his dueling capability, going on a training diet, learning different kinds of environment, and practicing against simulated foes. Theoretical tests of how to fight monsters which is proven to be too numerous to remember.
And when the final day comes when he must come to the site of his imminent Gate Subjugation. All of his equipment in tows, only the waiting of the cab that takes him there. Yet, the silent felt crushing as he knew that he is deliberately stepping to Hell’s Gate.
He could have easily just waited for the storm to pass and he would have nothing to lose. But…
“Jin…” Jihoon spoke as his old friend is the one suggested him to go there.
He wanted to hear what Jin has to say. His story that led him to this point, and his role in this disgusting affair that Association is moving to eradicate.
He… only wanted to know what happened to Jin.