15 chapter - D-Class Gate (1)
“Huff, huff… haah.”
Steady breathing.
A body slowly soaked in sweat.
Morning jogging had been part of my daily routine ever since the days when I was still Park Jihoon.
I used to run for over thirty minutes every morning and never slacked off on training the rest of the day either.
Because for an F-Class Hunter with no special traits and a body no different from the average person, that was the only way to even try to survive in this industry.
“Huff, huff… fuu.”
Unlike back then, when stamina management was a matter of life and death, now it was just a habit.
If I didn’t run in the morning, it didn’t even feel like the day had started.
The only difference from the past… was the speed.
Back then, I ran at a casual jog. Now, I was running faster than most people could sprint at full effort.
With just thirty minutes of running like this, I could go a little over ten kilometers.
From what I remember, Choi Changshik wasn’t the type to exercise at all.
This made no sense.
A guy who never ran in his life was now doing ten kilometers in thirty minutes—and barely even sweating?
Is this the world body enhancement Hunters live in?
Physically-enhanced stats granted through Traits allowed the body to remain in peak condition even without regular training.
Among B-Class Hunters and above, there were monsters whose physical capabilities far exceeded those of normal humans.
Naturally, this had sent a shockwave through the sports world.
Because there was an unbridgeable gap between those who had awakened a Trait and those who hadn’t.
Marathons. Long jump. Swimming. Weightlifting.
All the records were shattered in the blink of an eye.
And that was the mild stuff.
Boxing, judo, UFC.
Combat sports, where people directly clashed with each other, were thrown into total chaos.
All the champions were replaced.
The only ones who successfully defended their titles were those who had awakened Traits and grown stronger because of them.
The real controversy started when a death occurred in a UFC match.
The sports associations scrambled to split athletes into two categories: awakened and non-awakened.
Awakened fought awakened. Normals fought normals.
So what happened?
Most of the “normal-only” sports died out.
No one watched them anymore.
Compared to the matches between awakened, the games between normals were just too dull.
No matter how hard they try, a normal person can’t surpass someone who’s awakened.
It was a harsh truth—but reality all the same.
After spending three years at the bottom as an F-Class Hunter, I’d felt that truth in my bones.
Every single sports star was awakened now.
And this wasn’t limited to sports.
Only those who had ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) awakened Traits could stand at the center of the world.
That’s just the kind of world we live in now.
Which is exactly why people are so desperate to become Hunters.
To awaken their Trait, grow stronger with it, rise higher, and eventually become one of the leading figures of this world.
I will rise. I’ll become an S-Class Hunter.
I was running absentmindedly, lost in thought, when I heard—
“Hunter! Hunter Choi Changshik!”
I turned around to see a muscular man chasing after me, calling my name.
That body wasn’t normal.
There were only two types of people with bodies like that.
Either a hardcore gym rat…
Or someone like me—physically enhanced.
Judging by his speed, he was definitely a Hunter.
He quickly caught up, matching my pace, and spoke.
“Wow, what a coincidence running into you here! Do you usually run this course, Hunter Choi?”
“You know who I am?”
“Of course! You’re super famous because of that certification broadcast.”
Ever since I appeared on TV, people like this started approaching me like we were old friends.
If he knows me from the broadcast, then he’s probably not dangerous.
If someone knew the old Choi Changshik from his wild days, then I’d have to be cautious. But guys like this just wanted an autograph or a selfie.
“Want to take a picture?”
“That’d be great!”
We stopped for a moment to take a photo.
“Mind if I put an arm around your shoulder?”
“Go ahead.”
His rough hand landed on my shoulder.
It annoyed me a little, but I let it go—fan service, after all.
Click.
But after the photo, the man’s hand subtly ran across my body.
It was extremely unpleasant.
I was just about to complain, but he beat me to it.
“Incredible!”
“…What?”
“Your lats are amazing, and your shoulder muscles are solid!”
“…”
This guy…
He was feeling me up to check my muscle definition.
No wonder those touches felt familiar.
Back when I was still Park Jihoon, I’d occasionally dealt with this kind of unwanted touching.
After I bulked up from working out at the gym, random meatheads would come over and start touching without asking. For an introvert like me, that kind of attention was always uncomfortable—and I pushed them all away.
So he’s not just a physically enhanced Hunter. He’s a gym rat who awakened into one.
An awful hybrid.
After praising my muscles for a while, the man said:
“But for your level, I think you’re lacking a bit in muscle mass!”
“…Excuse me?”
He’d just been singing praises—and now he was saying I didn’t have enough?
Before I could process it, he continued:
“I saw the C-Class test broadcast. Your mana’s over 3,000, right? That’s around B-Class level, you know?”
“Ah, yes.”
“And compared to that, your muscle mass is kind of lacking. Sure, density matters, but in my opinion…”
He stared at my body, then asked:
“What kind of workouts do you normally do?”
“Besides running… not much.”
Ever since I became Choi Changshik, aside from running, I hadn’t done any serious training.
Hearing that, the guy freaked out.
“What?! That’s not good! You’re gonna lose muscle!”
He spoke with such concern, his face serious.
“Look—I only awakened to D-Class recently. My mana’s only around 500. But check out these muscles!”
His muscles were thicker than mine.
He struck a few poses to emphasize them and continued trying to convince me.
“You can’t slack on workouts.”
I knew that.
Even for physically enhanced Hunters, whether or not you trained made a big difference.
For any Hunter, working out was practically essential.
Well… I’ve been busy, to be fair.
Just getting used to living as Choi Changshik had taken a few days.
Then I was prepping for the C-Class test, recruiting party members, all that.
Still… that’s just an excuse.
It wasn’t like it would’ve been hard to find a decent gym nearby.
And to be honest… there were plenty of days I just lazed around at home and did nothing.
“Yeah… I should start working out.”
“Glad to hear it!”
The guy grabbed my hand.
“There’s actually a really good fitness center nearby. Want to check it out together? It’s a Hunter-only gym!”
“Hunter-only?”
“Yup!”
Back when I was Park Jihoon, just the thought of going to a place like that was impossible. Way too expensive.
But now that I was planning to start training again—and it was close to home—my interest was piqued.
“Can we go right now?”
“Absolutely!”
The place he led me to had a sign: Hunter’s Fitness.
It took up the entire first, second, and third floors of a sleek commercial building.
Ding-dong.
[You are now on Basement Level 1.]
The man skipped the three floors above ground and led me straight underground.
As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, we were met by a door with “Hunter’s Fitness” engraved on it.
He casually pressed his fingerprint on the scanner, and the door opened.
A long hallway stretched out ahead of us.
“The upper floors are just regular gyms. The facilities are top-notch, but the real deal is down here. Basement level one is full of private rooms exclusively for Hunters!”
“Private rooms?”
“Yes! I mean, Hunters need personal space, right?”
“That’s true.”
Even I didn’t feel great about showing my Signature in front of others.
Just the fact that they had fully private spaces earned a lot of points with me.
At the front desk, a staff member bowed politely.
“You may proceed to Room 3.”
He nodded and walked ahead without hesitation.
“Even though it’s a private room, it’s got everything you’d need! Come on!”
When he opened the door labeled 3, a wide space was revealed.
Just like he said, the private room had all the equipment needed for weight training.
You could practically call it a personal gym.
“Think of it like a home gym! Now that you’re here, would you like to do a 1RM test?”
The moment I saw the private room, I had already decided I was going to sign up.
“I’d appreciate it.”
It had been a while since my last max test, so I was a little tense.
No, wait. This is my first time doing it in this body.
Back when I was still Park Jihoon, I always tested alone. Having someone assist me was definitely new.
“Let’s start with squats. We’ll begin light—how about 100 kilos?”
The man helped me with the test with an almost reverent attitude.
“You’re doing great! Easy, easy! Let’s increase the weight!”
“Your form is excellent! Are you sure this is your first time?!”
“That was amazing!”
My final numbers were: bench press 130kg, squat 200kg, deadlift 230kg.
A total of 560kg.
I’d casually broken the 500kg barrier.
“You really are amazing! And to think you weren’t even training regularly…”
The man looked just a bit deflated.
And honestly, I felt the same way.
Back when I was busting my ass, 300 was my limit.
Now I’d passed 500 like it was nothing.
The world really was unfair.
How much higher could I go if I used a skill?
I wanted to test it—but I didn’t bring the eyedrops.
If I wanted to activate it, I’d have to shed blood… and I didn’t feel like doing that right now.
Especially with people watching.
I’d save that for when I could use the private room alone.
“Thanks for showing me the place. But… this must be pretty expensive, right?”
“It’s cheaper than you think. Just 500,000 won a month!”
It really was cheaper than I expected.
Considering the value of a private room, it felt more than fair.
Once I start running D-Class raids, I can definitely afford it.
I was already organizing my thoughts, having decided to join—when the man, apparently misunderstanding something, said:
“I’ll let you train here for free for one month!”
“One month?”
“T-Two months!”
I stared at him.
“You guys have events like that?”
“We’re offering it as a special service—just for you, Hunter Choi Changshik!”
“Only for me?”
“Yes! If you train here, the promotional effect alone will be huge for us!”
“For us?”
The man gave a sheepish smile.
“Ah—come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Han Donghoon, director of Hunter’s Fitness Center!”
I accepted his business card with a nod.
“I see. So it was business from the start.”
“No, no! I was just genuinely curious at first! I mean, it’s like meeting a celebrity on the street!”
“Well, whatever. You said two months, right?”
“Haha, of course!”
He nodded enthusiastically.
“Alright, then! Let’s head upstairs! We’ve got some amazing machines up there too. Come take a quick look and get in a light workout!”
I’d just worked out, and he was suggesting more?
Han Donghoon really was a meathead to the core.
Ding!
Hm?
I checked my phone and saw a notification from the Hunter-only app.
[A D-Class Gate has been assigned.]
Discovered on June 9, around 17:55.
Location: Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province.
The time had finally come.
“Mr. Han Donghoon.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but I have to go now. Something urgent came up.”
“Hunter Choi Changshik?!”
His voice called out desperately from the stairwell.
“Three months! How about three?! At least register before you go!”
That made me pause mid-step.
I guess I can spare a moment. The others will need some time to prepare anyway.
I turned back to him and asked,
“Where do I go to sign up?”