Chapter 36: Number One 2

Swooug…

He placed some pressure on the old weighted vest and after that, he finally had better control over its buckles. The clothes still didn’t fit but they had completely stopped dangling around.

“Hmm…”

It was not a problem for him. Although what he wore was not his best choice, a ten-kilometer run while carrying a hundred kilograms would not be so hard.

“Did I make a mistake?”

He knew everything that he needed to know for the physical fitness test and practiced every day but he didn’t know that the vest would be his problem.

He’s the only one who had a hard time. He tried to complain but everyone had the same so he couldn’t really do anything about it. He thought that if he had undergone with the same training as them, he would have the same build and he wouldn’t have this kind of problem.

“This isn’t working.”

He adjusted the buckle as tight as he could and started running. He was irritated, he clenched his mouth to the point that his gums would bleed if he didn’t have teeth.

“This current sports field had a wheel of five hundred meters. That’s twenty wheels. Be careful when you’re running and get past any unavoidable scuffling. If you can’t run then you’ll be eliminated, we’ll keep a close watch so we could decide who should or shouldn’t pass. I hope that no one would get hurt so be careful.”

He finished his speech and the others who looked more fit laughed as they glared at Jaehwang’s skinny body. He wasn’t clueless about what they were laughing about, in fact, he had a plan.

It was a simple test nonetheless and anyone could ask how such a feat was possible but this was much worse than what he heard in the past. Despite that, he wanted to beat them all.

-Why are these people treating you like this?

The spirit gave off an annoyed tone as she noticed their behavior.

-I don’t know, I was also wondering why.

He asked himself was it because he wore shabby clothes? Was it because his body type was different from theirs? He didn’t know the reason, but of course he didn’t care and he didn’t want to know.

Jaehwang just said that he didn’t know to the spirit’s question. Was it because he was wearing shabby clothes? If not, then was it because he didn’t have muscles like them? He didn’t know the reason, but of course, he didn’t care and didn’t want to know. He just hoped that they would stop.

He didn’t notice that he made a mistake. That was the reason they had something to laugh about. They had put pressure on him and he just ignored it, the situation was about to get worse but then he heard the instructor’s voice.

“Ready! Set… Go!”

Tang!

Everyone started to fling themselves forward at the moment that the gun was shot. They all prepared for the test and they all ran with their full strength, what’s different was that they also had a smile on their faces.

“Ouch!”

Someone tripped over after the surprising gunshot and of course, that person was Jaehwang.

“Darn it!”

He wanted to have a good start but he just fell in the ranks. He had a smaller build compared to others and with a training suit older than what they had, he would never be able to catch up.

“I can’t lose!”

He jumped back and ran as fast as he could to take the lead once more. Nothing was able to block him as he raised his focus and avoided every other attempt that was made to sabotage him. The gap narrowed down as soon as he took the lead.

He kept his legs going with the thought of winning on his mind. He was supposed to support himself with his abilities but he wanted to take the lead even before using it.

Papapapag!

He dashed and took the lead. He didn’t care about following the way of the sage.

‘Huh?… What is he doing?…’

Everyone saw that he failed to control his breathing. He was fast but his two arms weren’t even moving. His kept his hands onto the weighted vest and his feet were marching towards the finish line.

He tried to slow himself down by adjusting his breathing but at the moment where he saw them laugh behind his back, he stopped focusing on his breathing and concentrated on working his legs.

‘Not today!’

The laughs had made him move so much faster but there was still a long way to go. He knew that he did something unexpected and their smiles were nothing to be concerned of.

One lap…two laps…three laps… He’s getting closer to the end of his ten-kilometer run and he was even surprised by his own speed as she started to slow down.

‘Leave me alone!’

He clenched his teeth as he felt the others sneering at him. He controlled his speed and continued to finish his run. This whole contest was one of his illusions. Jaehwang stood at the second place in the hybrid license ranking so he wanted to get the first spot and maintain that lead. He didn’t know how good things went but he did consider his speed.

An hour passed by before all applicants had reached the finish lines. The others that had rested on the ground looked unhappy and the instructor himself caught his breath as he tried to get their final scores.

There were no losers and everyone was said to have done a great job. But the others lying on the ground felt disappointed with their performance in the physical strength assignment. The other had taken a break but Jaehwang remained in his place. His heart was beating fast and he had to focus and control it.

“I see a lot sitting on the ground! You all could see your instructor taking a rest but that doesn’t mean that you should as well. If everyone doesn’t get up right now, they will all be eliminated!”

The instructor yelled and commanded them to stand. He looked like he was looking at monsters that he’s going to hunt. Jaehwang shrugged and took off his vest before he started stretching.

He just smiled and didn’t think of anything. He didn’t want to anger those who failed the first assignment. He asked himself why hasn’t it ended yet. It felt like there was going to be a test at the end of the day and if no one exerted some effort then they would get eliminated.

He didn’t rest. He held onto his shaking legs and took a deep breath. He failed to control his breathing on the first half so he’s more exhausted than he should be. It didn’t look like it but he knew himself that he failed the first test. He couldn’t help but clench his fist in exhaustion. Someone gave him an angry look at the back of his head but they ten all turned around and just walked away.

He didn’t like to be recognized and he only wanted to run faster than him. He studied the skill and that’s why he was able to win, he asked himself on how could they hate him.

‘I had to.’

Winning was the only thing on his mind. He wasn’t very persistent about but he was recognized and he felt that it would only get worse. The others had noticed how faster he was compared to them.

‘It had to be done.’

Tension filled the air around him. The instructor sat on a chair and she gave them all a mean smile.

She announced the second activity and it was a maze. It wasn’t a usual one since the gimmick was they had to find a person inside. The walls were one meter high and the paths were narrow and straight. It was kind of easy. She said that ten people would come in at the same time for this activity. The first ten people to finish were the first batch to enter since they had the most rest and of course, Jaehwang won’t be able to show his talents this time.

Because of the work that he displayed at the first part, he was the one they had to find inside the maze. They didn’t even think of escaping when they came to fight him. Jaehwang was one step ahead so he left the maze and went out to enjoy the sun to relax as they ate a chocolate ball. He didn’t have to worry about his elimination. With that, he skipped the third and fourth activity without a worry on his record until he reached the last activity.

The name of the activity was ‘Avoid the trap’ and the rules were simple. There’s an area filled with special items and the applicants are ordered to take something as quick as possible. It was impossible to get injured by the traps but he had to avoid them when he tries to get inside.

“Darn, am I getting weaker?”

The employee in charge of managing the last game’s special items just came by and the head instructor spits on the floor as soon as he saw the instructions. It was different from the other games, the traps could now possibly attack the applicants and he needed them to go inside a particular space.

He warned them that they could get hurt since his career had to remain spotless. The head director wanted to just ignore what he said but he didn’t want to cause harm to the Daegu station hunter system either.

A few hours passed and the head director warned the applicants before they went into the trap.

“I’m sorry. I have to make a living as well…”

He then operated the count panel and increased the level of difficulty. The level of difficulty for speed was on 2.5 but he increased it to 3. Knowing that with every existing variable and their enlightened skills, it should have been no problem…

The level was then turned up to five, their highest standard. The applicant’s abilities were at its lowest and all their luck ran out. The instructor jus stood there hoping that no one would get hurt.

“Number 11 finished!”

It was something that no one could have guessed.

Someone who they thought would get eliminated was able to escape and finish first. He was fast, it was like he went in and walked straight all the way through.

“How is this possible?”

The instructor quickly checked the counter panel. The level of difficulty was clearly raised. It should have been almost impossible for the applicants but this managed to pass through. He could have never guessed this at the beginning and he even came out without any wounds at all. He didn’t understand how it was possible.

He was flustered. He tried to check and see if he made a mistake in the setup but then another applicant came out through the exit and he got frustrated and felt as if he was tearing apart on the inside.

Number One 2, The end.

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