HLSEBT - 67

Son In-chang spoke with a mix of fear and admiration in his eyes. The whirring sound grew louder, and the students furrowed their brows, concentrating hard to avoid missing any crucial instructions that might get them disqualified.

“Of course, I can now lift 500 kilograms without assistance.”

He signaled an instructor with his eyes. Another instructor warned the students not to leave the safety zone and activated the shields.

A bright blue wall appeared, protecting the students’ front.

Yoon Tae-ha began to piece together what today’s Fracture Penetration class would entail.

In circus acts, there are performances where motorcycles zoom around inside giant cylindrical structures.

The space she was in now felt like an enlarged version of such a performance venue.

Son In-chang stood in the exact center of the cylinder, a place with no hiding spots or escape routes.

“The second type is this.”

He tapped the rod on the ground. With a sharp sound, yellow glowing forms instantly materialized around him.

“This creates physical entities for attack.”

The students’ eyes followed the 30-centimeter-long golden light shapes resembling daggers. Twelve of them surrounded Son In-chang in a circle.

“This is what you’re interested in, right?”

“Yes!”

The loudest response of the day erupted from the students.

“The types of entities depend on who made the weapon.”

Whirrr. A monstrous wailing sound grew louder, signaling the start of something. Students were mesmerized by the noise and light, their mouths agape.

“I’ll demonstrate. The rule is simple. Kill everything that comes out.”

Son In-chang smirked and nodded at the instructor.

“We’re starting!”

The wailing grew deafening, making it impossible for students to hear even their closest friends. Yoon Tae-ha was glad she had tied her hair back today.

Just as they were eagerly anticipating which practice weapons would appear—

Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.

A choking cough-like sound echoed, and red figures burst out from the curved walls.

Only Yoon Tae-ha among the students saw their true form clearly. She alone had already covered her ears in anticipation.

“Kyaaahhh!”

A piercing scream, like that of a young girl, rang out. As more red spheres emerged from the walls, the screams diversified.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Kyaahhh!”

Even though they knew the shield protected them, students instinctively shuffled backward. Some, despite not being close friends, wrapped their arms around each other’s waists.

“What… what is this?”

“It’s a flying squirrel goblin!”

Instead of a cute squirrel’s body, there stood a goblin with a dark red, wine-like hue.

One of the goblins with sharp claws soared into the air and charged straight at Son In-chang.

“You’re observing the response method!”

With a powerful shout, he swung his rod. The sharp golden daggers floating around him surged toward the red goblin.

With a screeching sound, the goblin’s wings detached from its body.

Enraged, the goblin landed and charged ferociously at Son In-chang, but another golden dagger pierced its heart.

Amid the cacophony, Yoon Tae-ha heard a faint cracking sound.

“Isn’t that a doll?”

“Why does it look so realistic? It’s terrifying.”

“It’s a doll. See, it’s gray now and doesn’t bleed.”

“How could real monsters appear? You can’t use real monsters in training. If they did, would you hide behind me? Would you fight for me instead?”

“Shut up, you idiot…”

As the core mechanism shattered, the goblin lost its function and collapsed, rolling on the floor.

While Yoon Tae-ha confirmed that the airborne creatures were puppets, Son In-chang’s golden daggers killed ten more.

“Speed it up!”

Son In-chang shouted confidently. The instructor immediately complied, and the number of holes in the curved walls multiplied several times over.

“Ugh.”

“The training difficulty is insane. I should’ve left early.”

Kang Jin-ho snapped at his friend, who whimpered weakly.

“Even if someone offered you money in boxes, you couldn’t get this kind of training elsewhere. Shut up and watch carefully.”

His anxious gaze remained fixed on Son In-chang’s weapon.

“If we had to do this for three minutes straight, I’d pass out.”

After finishing the demonstration, he looked refreshed, as if using his power was more enjoyable than teaching.

The instructors removed the shields. Hesitantly, the students took a step forward.

“You’ll have exactly one minute. There will be twenty goblins to attack.”

“That’s too many…”

“Can’t you reduce it by half? I have a condition where my legs shake when I look directly at red.”

The braver students tried to negotiate, appealing to the teacher rather than the less menacing goblins. He only sneered.

“Shouldn’t you be grateful that the numbers can even be adjusted? Do monsters in dungeons come out while controlling their population?”

Dismissively waving off their excuses, he clapped once. Two instructors who had briefly left returned, each pushing carts stacked with black weapon crates.

Kang Jin-ho impulsively tried to rush forward but stopped reluctantly after catching Son In-chang’s glare.

“Shall we choose our weapons?”

No sooner had Son In-chang spoken than long rows of black crates appeared before the students. The instructors opened them one by one.

Unconsciously, Yoon Tae-ha stepped forward to examine the weapons, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.

“These are weapons you’ve handled at least once during class.”

There were three types.

A pistol-like weapon. A shorter but sleeker staff-like weapon compared to the one the teacher used. Lastly, inside the smallest box lay a crude ring.

Seeing the ugly golden ring, Yoon Tae-ha’s eyes softened with recognition. No one noticed her subtle joy amidst the chaos.

“All these weapons are replicas of ones owned by espers affiliated with ARC.”

Son In-chang introduced the first two weapons, describing them as the most common and widely used types.

“Out of goodwill, some espers allowed their weapons to be replicated for research and teaching purposes. A noble decision for the greater good. Very few espers make such choices.”

Students whispered among themselves.

“Wow… Such generosity. They lent their items for replication? Is that even possible?”

“I’d never lend mine.”

“That’s why you’re not truly remarkable.”

“I don’t care. I won’t lend it.”

By the time Yoon Tae-ha spotted the familiar ring in the box, she had already made up her mind.

“Unfortunately, you can’t all choose your favorite weapon. Budget constraints, you see.”

Predictably, the students gravitated toward the pistol-shaped weapons, subtly sizing each other up.

“Who gets assigned which weapon?”

Kang Jin-ho asked. Son In-chang glared at him as if questioning the obviousness of the question.

“First come, first served, naturally.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, students jostled with brute force. The teacher, lenient toward such struggles, didn’t stop someone from elbowing a friend and rushing to the crates.

Kang Jin-ho had already secured a spot in front of the pistols. Grabbing the newest-looking one, he glared at the surrounding students.

The pushed-aside students wore bitter expressions.

“Typical greedy bastard…”

Kang Jin-ho had chosen a frequently televised A-rank telekinetic weapon. Known for its fast reaction speed but slightly weaker destructive power.

While others fought over pistols, Yoon Tae-ha casually walked to the pile of smallest boxes and picked one up.

An instructor looked at her curiously and double-checked.

“Are you sure about choosing that?”

“Yes.”

“Have you used it before?”

“Briefly. I also learned how it works through videos.”

The instructor checked Yoon Tae-ha’s information on his tablet. Assuming she was a late bloomer picking something pretty without understanding, he frowned.

Regardless, Yoon Tae-ha was thrilled to reunite with her main weapon.

“You’ve all chosen appropriately, right?”

“Yes!”

“If you want to switch with something else now, go ahead. If not, check what your friends chose.”

Students glanced sideways at what their peers held. Kang Jin-ho frowned when he noticed Yoon Tae-ha wasn’t holding anything yet.

After quickly scanning the students, the teacher said,

“The least popular choice was the ring.”

The only student to pick the tacky third option was the transfer student.

She quietly slipped it onto her right index finger. Made in a unisex size, it was loose.

She clenched her fist to prevent it from slipping off.

Of course, the replica’s fit couldn’t compare to the original, which adjusted to the wearer’s finger size. Still, for a training copy, it wasn’t bad.

“Jeong Seong-ha. Are you sure about that?”

Son In-chang, slightly more lenient toward transfer students, asked. Kang Jin-ho instinctively hid his pistol behind his back, fearing the teacher might confiscate it.

Yoon Tae-ha had no intention of trading her main weapon for someone else’s gun.

“I like this one.”

Son In-chang stroked his chin with interest.

“It’s a high-mobility weapon, but late manifestation might make it harder to handle.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“No reason to stop someone with such determination. I like students with a challenging spirit.”

The instructor read out the prearranged order.

Yoon Tae-ha was right after Kang Jin-ho. The random sequence wasn’t alphabetical, as explained by the instructor.