Young-ah! (2)

“…What is this?”

Her heart pounded from incessant running.

Ju Na-young wiped away the flowing sweat and looked around frantically.

She couldn’t hide her bewildered expression.

Behind Ju Na-young were only well-built men and female cadets she didn’t even recognize.

From the bulging veins and solid muscles, they all seemed to be from warrior backgrounds.

‘This isn’t what’s important.’

Yu Seha, the one she was most conscious of and considered her rival, was nowhere to be seen.

While she kept looking around.

‘…Found him!’

She saw him among dozens of people behind.

Maybe because of his striking appearance.
He stood out particularly well.

“Huff, huff!”

Rough breaths burst out from his mouth.
And above his head was written…
A mere number 8.

“……”

Ju Na-young frowned at the sight of him panting at the lower ranks.

A cute girl from the Myoin Tribe, named Ma Hana, was helping him.

“Meeow. Seha, are you okay?”
“Huff, oh, this useless body… It can handle short distances well, but long distances are so tough.”

Even the girl helping him had a number of 10.

Of course, Yu Seha was not at the very bottom.

“…Ugh, eh, ugh…”

[Snow Ice] Moon Bora.
She ran with her eyes tightly closed, sounding like she might die at any moment.
The number engraved above her head was 4.

At first, she looked like she was about to die…
Ju Na-young didn’t recognize her at first, but she realized it was her because of [Snow Ice]’s distinctively large chest.

But originally, [Snow Ice] was…

‘A mage…’

The [Mage] class, by its nature, didn’t need much basic stamina.

Rather than increasing physical strength, it was more important to enhance magical power to perform suitably as a mage.

However, Yu Seha was different.
He was a close-range main dealer like herself.

He holds the crucial position of defeating enemies by demonstrating superior mobility compared to a tank.

Therefore, basic stamina to support such explosive speed was essential for a dealer.

Yet, he had a measly 8.

Ju Na-young trembled at what that meant.

‘He had been neglecting his training.’

Even so, Peng Jin-ah unnie…
He was chosen by the Professor.

In an instant, Ju Na-young once again took notice of Peng Jin-ah silently checking the cadets’ scores.

Her eyes…
Still weren’t on her.

Only Yu Seha.
She was just looking at him.

Ju Na-young felt resentful.

The fact that she was not chosen over such a lazy man was infuriating.

‘…Just you wait, Yu Seha!’

Tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that, I will do my best.

I will always be at the forefront, and I will run with all my might.

I will never fall behind you.

If I do that, surely…

‘Professor Peng Jin-ah will surely choose me as her direct disciple again!’

Thus, on the first day of the first week’s training.

When Ju Na-young achieved 40 laps, Yu Seha finished with 14 laps.

The second day didn’t change much either.
It was the same mindless running training as yesterday.

Once again, Ju Na-young ran with all her might and never lost the lead.

When she achieved 40 laps, Yu Seha’s count was 15.

One lap more, but it was still nothing.

“…What?”

But as time went on.
As the new sun and moon rose.
Ju Na-young witnessed an unbelievable sight with her own eyes.

“…What?”

Just three days ago, Yu Seha, who hadn’t shown much change, was now charging forward at a terrifying speed.

When Ju Na-young reached 40 laps, Yu Seha had astonishingly…
Reached 28 laps.

“…No way.”

Only four days had passed.
But… to gain that much stamina?
It wasn’t just an increase in basic stamina.

Ju Na-young always ran at full speed, maintaining her highest pace.

Even when she felt like her calves were about to burst, she never slowed down.

Yet Yu Seha had reached 28 laps?

This meant that not only had Yu Seha’s stamina increased, but his running speed had also improved.

So much so that Ju Na-young’s astonishment seemed trivial, as the anomaly continued to unfold.

Beep!

Day 5.

At the sound of the harsh whistle, the cadets, now somewhat trained, focused their gazes.

Peng Jin-ah lowered the whistle she had blown and looked around at all the cadets.

“Good, everyone’s gaze has improved.”

Peng Jin-ah, nodding with a satisfied smile, turned her eyes to the instructors.

As if waiting, the instructors stepped forward and attached something to the cadets’ ankles.

Just as the cadets were feeling puzzled.
Peng Jin-ah’s explanation continued.

“What you are now equipped with is a training tool based on gravity manipulation. From today, you will amplify the weight with this and run.”

As soon as Peng Jin-ah finished speaking, she pressed the button, and soon the cadets groaned under the increasing weight.

The weight increased by at least 50-70kg.

For a superhuman who had awakened the [Status Window], this weight was not an issue, but the premise of having to run 40 laps around a field of this size was the problem.

Except for a few, everyone was frowning, but Peng Jin-ah didn’t care about all that.

“Then let’s start immediately. Everyone, get ready!”

Bang!

The signal flare resounded.
As soon as the signal sounded, Ju Na-young naturally dashed forward.

Even with the increased weight, her well-trained body surged ahead as if it were nothing.

5 laps, 10 laps, and then 15 laps.

She wiped her sweat, feeling a bit tired.
Originally, it would take 30 laps to start sweating, but now her clothes were soaked to the point of being see-through.

Wearing the training artifact was indeed quite challenging.

‘But at this rate…’

Overwhelming lead…?

“…?!”

Crazy. What’s this…?

Ju Na-young flinched.
Of course, it was true that she was in the overwhelming lead.

But Yu Seha.
She saw him running without losing pace.

And engraved above…

A number, 13, caused Ju Na-young’s eyes to tremble slightly.

‘No, it can’t be.’

Only…
Only a difference of 2 laps now?
What nonsense…

Ju Na-young, forgetting that she had to run, stared blankly at him.

‘Oh my goodness, I’m going to die from this.’

I gasped for breath as I ran forward.

Next to me, Ma Hana was going, ‘Meow, Meow~’.
I could see Moon Bora going, ‘Euk, haaaa…’

Above Ma Hana’s head was the number 11.
Above Moon Bora’s head, the number 8 was visible.

It was evidence that both had increased their basic stamina significantly through the running training we were undergoing.

However, if I had to choose the one who had grown the most among all the cadets, including these two, it would be me.

There were several reasons for this.

‘My mentality increased by 1.’

Yu Seha.

Despite possessing a game-breaking ability, he was a character who was too scared to properly engage in fights with monsters or train.

Usually, growth through training is based on potential.

It’s natural, as the more extraordinary someone is by nature, the more they will advance.

‘And Yu Seha is a 5★ character.’

In terms of pure potential, he had a staggering growth rate that wasn’t inferior to Ju Na-young.

With extreme training every day, it would be stranger if he didn’t grow.

Of course, just this alone couldn’t explain everything.

The reward for overcoming the pain of a body that seemed ready to collapse at any moment was worth it.

The levels of two traits that were worth the price just to have them increased.

The increase in the main stats was significant enough not to be ignored.

With this, [Agility] reached level 4.
[Endurance] achieved level 3.

‘It’s going smoothly.’

Both were essential traits like roots for close-range dealers.

How long had it been since he acquired them, and yet their levels had already risen this much…?

The unexpected growth power naturally brought excitement.

Even this alone was amazing.
A reward that far exceeded imagination was added.

The [Eyes of Reversed Heaven] activated.
The target was none other than Ju Na-young.

Honestly, at first, it was quite confusing, but upon calm judgment, it was concluded to be worthy of activation.

‘…I’ve been watching Ju Na-young for the past few days.’

Watching her run at the forefront, I silently observed while pondering, ‘How can I get closer to her?’, ‘What are her stats to be so fast?’.