Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 277

277. Holding Hands Together

Two weeks after Rembrary entered the training camp, he finally got to participate in practical training. Rembrary, eager to complete the training and leave, was secretly pleased, though he tried not to show it, thinking he could finally learn something useful.

His steps were light as he headed to the underground training center. But practical training, it turned out, was just another lecture without desks.

“As you’ve already learned, resource companies sponsor promising Hunters and, in return, utilize their abilities to protect resources. Hunters may train with multiple resource companies, but they typically work exclusively for one. While there are exceptions, it’s generally most beneficial for a resource company to have an exceptional exclusive Hunter.”

Since this information had already been covered in the theory lessons, the trainees, who had arrived tense, gradually relaxed.

“Now, a question. It’s most advantageous for resource companies to sponsor and recruit Hunters before they become well-known, while they’re still in the training camp. However, resource companies don’t sponsor Hunters who haven’t left the training camp. Does anyone know why?”

When the instructor posed the question, the trainees immediately straightened up, pretending to listen intently.

Rembrary was listening absentmindedly when he noticed the instructor seemed to stare at him a bit longer when he said, ‘Hunters who haven’t left the training camp are not sponsored.’ But when their eyes met, the instructor quickly looked away.

Then, he scanned the other trainees, but no one answered. Perhaps not expecting an answer, the instructor calmly continued his explanation.

“Because the number of trainees who graduate is only about 1/10 of those who enter.”

Fortunately, it seemed that not only Rembrary but also the other trainees were unaware of this, and they were all surprised. One of them couldn’t help but ask,

“Do the other 90% die?”

However, the instructor ignored the question and continued with his prepared remarks.

“Things Hunters should be wary of: First, monsters. Second, black clouds [dangerous atmospheric phenomena]. Third, traitors.”

“…….”

“Therefore, being skilled at fighting monsters, awakening powerful abilities, having fast reflexes, or being physically strong isn’t enough to be a successful Hunter.”

The trainee whose question was ignored sheepishly lowered his hand.

“It’s better for the training camp to produce capable Hunters from the start, rather than constantly receiving news of weak trainees dying. The same goes for employers.”

“!”

“Our trainee. You asked a good question earlier.”

Then, the instructor, who had ignored the question, suddenly called out the trainee who had asked it. The trainee was surprised and quickly straightened his posture. The instructor nodded, as if to apologize for earlier, and continued.

“Some people die. But not all 90% die. Usually, they get injured or discharged [removed from the program].”

‘Discharged?’

“Inside the training camp, the instructors are constantly monitoring and will intervene if things get dangerous, so even if things go wrong, it usually ends with injuries or discharge… But remember. In real combat, it’s not discharge, but death.”

After finishing the explanation, the instructor casually asked, “Any more questions?” But, shocked by the enormous 90% failure rate, no one raised their hand.

Rembrary had a question, but he waited for others to ask first.

Then, when the instructor was about to conclude, saying, “If there are no questions…” he finally raised his hand.

“Trainee Rembrary.”

The instructor called his name with a hint of interest when Rembrary asked a question. The other trainees, who had been lost in thought, also turned to look at Rembrary. Due to his position as the top trainee and his striking appearance, Rembrary was already well-known among them.

“Yes, what are you curious about?”

The trainees were curious about what kind of question the top trainee would ask and listened intently.

“Tell me how to graduate in the shortest amount of time.”

Rembrary’s spirited question elicited different reactions from the instructor and the trainees. The trainees were impressed, thinking, ‘Wow. As expected of the top!’ but the instructor lowered his voice threateningly, seemingly annoyed.

“Trainee. Did you hear anything I just said?”

“I heard you perfectly.”

“But you want to graduate quickly?”

“I have the ability, skill, and talent to do so. The only thing I lack is time.”

At Rembrary’s arrogant answer, half of the trainees thought, ‘How annoying,’ and the other half thought, ‘Is he really that strong?’

On the other hand, the instructor thought Rembrary’s question was absurd and tried to dismiss it. However, Goo Byung-in, who had been waiting for an opportunity after receiving instructions from Woo Yeon-woo, deliberately raised his hand and interrupted.

“I’m also curious about the same thing as Trainee Rembrary. Even if it’s impossible for others, wouldn’t it be possible for Trainee Rembrary, since he’s the top trainee? I heard his entrance exam scores were the best ever.”

The instructor glared at Goo Byung-in with a ‘Why are you doing this again?’ look. But when other trainees were caught up in the moment, the instructor frowned and made Rembrary an offer.

“Alright. Then let’s do this. Trainee Rembrary. If you can classify the monster corpses you caught a few days ago into ‘useful things’ and ‘useless things’ within an hour, I’ll tell you the answer.”

The monster corpses were piled up like mountains in the warehouse next to the training camp’s main building, and the warehouse was the size of four classrooms combined. It was an amount that could never be classified in an hour.

In other words, the instructor’s proposal was a kind of trap. A trap to make him attempt something impossible. Of course, if he actually succeeded, he would be willing to tell him about the early graduation method, considering his entrance exam scores and his intelligence. But…….

“I’ll pass for now.”

Rembrary gave up immediately without even considering it.

“……If you were going to be stubborn, shouldn’t you have persisted longer?”

The instructor muttered in disbelief, but Rembrary smiled gently and didn’t insist. It was because he knew that the monsters he had caught a few days ago were giant bugs.

In the end, the question time was over, and when the trainees seemed to be seriously contemplating the ‘10% graduation rate,’ the instructor clapped his hands to get their attention and gestured with his chin.

“Follow me.”

The instructor led them to the 6th floor, where there was a much larger training ground than the 5th floor. Uniquely, about half of one side of the training ground was transparent, allowing them to see inside. Moreover, as they got closer, they saw several closed doors inside the training ground.

‘Why are we here?’ As the trainees looked around, bewildered, the instructor tapped the transparent wall and said.

“When the monsters invaded last time, we deliberately captured some of them for you. Today’s training is to deal with those monsters in pairs.”

Rembrary wondered if the transparent part of the wall would break if they fought inside, and he tapped it a few times before turning around in surprise.

‘Why is it always bugs!’

The other trainees didn’t look too happy either. But no one dared to complain.

“However, it would be too difficult to have new recruits face monsters on their first day. So, this training will be done in pairs with your roommates, who are your seniors. It will be a mock training for those seniors to ‘complete a group mission with clueless newbies’.”

Soon after, trainees from the class above arrived, and several teams entered the training ground one by one to face the monsters. Once inside, the door inside the training ground would open and the monster would emerge. Then, they would have to fight the monster and either kill or capture it.

Of course, compared to the relatively skilled senior trainees, the newbie trainees were often scared and made mistakes. At first, the senior trainees stood there passively, but then they belatedly started to worry, ‘How am I supposed to catch a monster with this clueless newbie?’

In the midst of this, Mori was relatively relieved because his partner was Rembrary. ‘He’s strong, so it’ll be okay.’

Other senior trainees thought similarly and looked at Mori with envy. Among them were colleagues who had been teasing Mori for losing to his junior in 5 seconds.

And finally, it was Rembrary and Mori’s turn.

“Trainee Mori. Trainee Rembrary.”

When the instructor called their names, Rembrary and Mori stood near the entrance.

As the two stood there, the red numbers on the timer above the door changed from 5:00 to 4:59. They were given 5 minutes to discuss their strategy before entering the training ground.

Having already learned the procedure from watching the previous teams, Rembrary quickly said to Mori.

“Let’s do this.”

In the previous teams, the seniors had proposed the strategies first, so the trainees watching, as well as the instructor, were a bit surprised. ‘The top trainee is definitely different,’ they thought.

Mori also nodded cautiously, saying, “Okay,” instead of ignoring Rembrary.

“Tell me.”

“I’ll fight with my eyes closed.”

Mori’s eyes widened in admiration.

“Are those monsters that easy for you?”

The trainees also exclaimed in awe, but the answer that came back was unexpected.

“No, it’s because I get goosebumps when I see them. I’ll attack anything that moves around me indiscriminately, so you should avoid me.”

“!”

As Mori opened his mouth, the instructor, who was listening, hurriedly stepped in.

“Hey! You’re not dueling each other! It’s a joint attack!”

Rembrary reluctantly suggested an alternative.

“Then give me a weapon so my hands don’t touch the bugs.”

However, the instructor refused flatly.

“This is a hand-to-hand fight.”

In the meantime, the 5 minutes given for discussion had already been reduced to 1 minute. At this point, Mori thought that he couldn’t rely on the top junior’s opinion and hurriedly said.

“Rembrary. I need to warm up to use my ability. Buy me some time.”

However, Rembrary interrupted again.

“There’s a way to solve it right away without stalling for time.”

“Are you going to close your eyes again?”

“No. I’ll open them. This time, you close your eyes.”

“Why, why?”

But before Rembrary could answer, the timer changed to 00:00, the door opened, and the instructor pushed them inside. As Rembrary went inside, he quickly repeated.

“If you do as I say, we can end the fight before you warm up.”

As they went inside, the door slammed shut behind them.

With nothing decided, the door inside the training ground was already slowly rising. But Mori shouted urgently.

“No! I won’t close my eyes!”

“Then don’t close your eyes. Just lend me your hands. So we can get rid of those monsters.”

“Hands, why hands?”

Before Rembrary could answer, the door was completely open, and ten bugs poured out in the blink of an eye. The moment Mori instinctively reached out his hand.

“Good job.”

Rembrary grabbed his hand and immediately swung it towards the bugs.

“Huh? Aaaaaaaaaa!”

Mori screamed as his body suddenly spun around, and the instructor, also taken aback, banged on the glass wall and shouted.

“Trainee Rembrary! A joint attack doesn’t mean one person acts as a weapon! Put him down!”

However, the sound from outside was not heard well inside.

“Save meeeeeee!”

On the other hand, the sound from inside was heard all too well outside. As well as the sight of Rembrary swinging Mori around to knock the bugs away.

Moreover, contrary to expectations, this method was quite effective. Every time Rembrary swung Mori around, three or four bugs were immediately knocked out. Even the bugs that stubbornly got up when other trainees hit them couldn’t get up after being hit by Mori’s body.

Rembrary was dealing with the bugs quickly and efficiently, as he had said.

The trainees watching through the glass wall dropped their jaws and swallowed hard.

‘He’s… fighting well?’

‘He might be able to finish it in the shortest time.’

‘Amazing. Reliable. But I definitely don’t want to be on a team with him.’

Rembrary, who had dealt with all the bugs in the blink of an eye, put Mori down and patted him on the shoulder with a bright smile.

“Things went smoothly because we held hands.”

Mori, who was dizzy but had no problems with his body because Rembrary kept sending him divine power, glared at him resentfully as soon as he regained his balance. He didn’t hurt anywhere, but something… something felt like he had been tricked. They definitely held hands and fought, but…

The instructor, who looked down at the two of them menacingly, gritted his teeth and ordered Rembrary.

“Trainee Rembrary. Stay behind after practice.”