The Fourth Floor Team's training proceeded smoothly. Just as Yusin had planned, they alternated between magic education and dungeon raids. He would establish the theory and teach the magic one day, and they would immediately put it to practical use the next. Garam's managers filmed their progress with dungeon cams, capturing footage of them hunting monsters with magic, which Yusin personally reviewed to give feedback.

The training content and schedules were tailored to each individual. To meet the basic requirement of 'total stats of 200' for the certified rank-5 exam, Yonghee Jo and Kim Sarang finished their magic training in the morning and ran dungeons in the afternoon. The others focused more heavily on their magic studies. The days were a blur of activity, and the exam date drew ever closer.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"Daeyong, is your arm okay from yesterday?"

"Perfectly fine! Hahaha!"

Through their shared hardships, the teamwork and camaraderie among the team had deepened. They shared a unique bond, knowing they were part of an experience no one else could imagine. But not everyone looked upon them so favorably.

"That's the mage team, right? The one Kim Yusin is training himself."

"Yeah, that's them."

"I hear they're teaching magic to a bunch of non-combat types."

The X-1 team was Garam Management's prized prospect. Recently, the line between guilds and management agencies had been blurring. Riding this trend, X-1 was the core of Garam's ambitious in-house team project. Comprised of top-tier talent from the Labyrinth generation, the company's support was focused entirely on getting the team certified as official hunters. These elites, on a fast track to success, held immense pride in being called the future of Garam. However, an odd amount of attention within the company had recently shifted to the five-person non-combat team led by Kim Yusin, and X-1 was not pleased.

"Eh, what can you do with a bunch of non-combat kids….?"

"There are so many other promising hunters. A non-combat party is a real stretch."

It was a deep-rooted prejudice. Non-combat types were branded as a nuisance in the hunter world. In the grand scheme of things, they weren't a significant force, yet they were like cockroaches infesting low-rank hunting grounds, coveting magic stones. They were known for all sorts of despicable acts, like hyenas snatching the corpses others had hunted, or intentionally instigating disputes over loot. As these issues piled up, their reputation had hit rock bottom.

The X-1 team and others nearby whispered about the Fourth Floor Team, but its members paid them no mind, simply stretching and warming up. Scornful gazes, pitying looks—they were used to it all. They were long past being stressed by it. Annoyed by their composed reaction, the X-1 team members raised their voices, making sure they could be heard.

"I heard it was actually a non-combat type, not a demonkin, who hid the dungeon during the Labyrinth incident."

"Oh my, really?"

"If you coddle kids with no fundamentals, they'll just get spoiled."

"You can see how it's going to turn out. They learn a few useless bits of magic, act all high and mighty in the field, and just cause accide—"

The woman who was muttering suddenly gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Huh? Jinhee, why'd you stop?"

She pointed behind them, trembling, her face a mask of horror. Everyone who turned around mirrored her expression.

"Sounds like an interesting conversation."

Yusin was sitting right behind them, listening, a can of his favorite pine needle soda in hand. The faces of the X-1 team went rigid as they snapped to attention.

"Kim Yusin! You're here!" they barked in unison, then bowed a full ninety degrees.

No matter how much the company hyped them up, they were ultimately provisional players. The gap between them and a certified rank-3 hunter was as wide as heaven and earth.

"Yes, yes. Raise your heads," Yusin said in a lazy drawl. The color drained from their faces. They didn't dare move. A collective premonition warned them that something terrible would happen if they simply did as he said.

"I said, raise them."

The team members raised their heads, breaking out in a cold sweat.

'We're screwed.'

'Did a rank-3 just mark us?'

'Dammit! Who started this conversation?!'

Watching the terrified rookies, Yusin let out a quiet sigh. "Look, I get it. I know that's the general perception of non-combat types."

At that moment, the mind of the X-1 team leader, Chu Hyungseok, started racing. He bowed again. "We were wrong! Please give us a chance to apologize directly to the mage team!"

Seeing his action, the other four members bowed and echoed him. "Please give us a chance!"

Yusin quietly took a sip of his soda. "Raise your heads, and don't interrupt me."

The five of them hastily straightened up, which only made things worse. The team's sharp glares fixed on their leader, who was now sweating profusely.

"I understand," Yusin continued. "It's not a matter of your character. It's society's perception. It's all you ever hear. It's not something you can blame any one person for." Stereotypes, once set, don't change easily. Humans are creatures who habitually categorize people. 'That person is Jewish. That person is gay. That person is right-wing.' With a single label, they unhesitatingly define everything about a person.

"So." Yusin crushed the empty soda can in his hand. "Allow me to give you an opportunity to change that perception."

"P-pardon?"

Yusin smiled brightly and pointed a finger at the Fourth Floor Team.

"How about a match?"

* * *

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