Retire 396

396 The Path of Learning (1)

Yoo Ji-eun was bored.

And with good reason—there was simply nothing to do at this school. Lately, there had been more activities, what with the so-called “hobby tour” and all, but…

It still wasn’t enough.

An empty classroom had been turned into a cute little library, there was now an audiovisual room for watching movies or playing games, and there was even a badminton net set up in a corner of the field. Lee Seung-yeon had put that up, but the ones who used it most were Oh Hyun-wook and Seo Han-seong.

Still, it was boring.

With a weary look, Yoo Ji-eun set her phone aside. Her middle school friends must have been in class; no one replied to her messages. In truth, even without the excuse of class, their replies had become less frequent. She tried to reassure herself that it was fine not to answer questions about life at Yangseong High, since she couldn’t talk about the school anyway, but it didn’t help her mood.

Is high school always like this?

No, she knew it wasn’t. At least, she was pretty sure.

If someone asked if she’d known what she was getting into, she’d have nothing to say… But she hadn’t expected it to be this boring! Most of the students were seniors, so it was hard to even call them friends…

She thought it was childish to complain, so she didn’t tell her sister, and she certainly couldn’t tell the teachers.

Actually, she’d tried to bring it up with Kang Tae-woo, who was in a similar situation.

‘Huh? You’re bored?’

Kang Tae-woo had blinked wide-eyed and asked her back.

‘Why would you be bored? There’s so much to do!’

There was no point continuing that conversation.

Yoo Ji-eun quickly gave up.

When she realized she couldn’t find comfort in the real world, she turned to the internet.

She didn’t do anything dramatic there, either. If she wrote a post about life at the world’s first Hunter training high school, she’d get enough attention to blow away her boredom.

But the teachers had warned them not to talk about the school with outsiders. They hadn’t explained why, but Yoo Ji-eun could guess. The older students had said the same. She wasn’t rebellious enough to ignore that.

So she just posted a harmless question on a portal site.

‘I just started high school and it’s so boring. What should I do?’

She got the usual replies.

‘Studying is always like that. It’s not supposed to be fun.’

‘That’s the best time of your life. If you don’t study now, you’ll regret it later.’

‘What fun are you looking for as a high schooler? Get your head on straight and study.’

Useless. Completely useless!

Yoo Ji-eun pouted and grumbled.

Yeah, studying is just like that. Boring, tedious, annoying. But adults always say you have to do it.

Of course, there are counterarguments. These days, just being good at school isn’t enough. Isn’t it better to find what you’re good at, what suits you?

Especially at a high school specialized in training Hunters.

What’s most important for a Hunter? Obviously, being good at fighting.

But life isn’t that simple. Even in fields where studying seems unnecessary, you still have to study if you want to “succeed.”

That was one of the things making Yoo Ji-eun bored. Even to become a Hunter, she had to study. If she’d known that in advance, maybe she would have thought twice about wanting to be a Hunter…

‘No, I’m still going to be a Hunter!’

If she hadn’t awakened, maybe she’d feel differently, but after awakening, not becoming a Hunter would be a waste. And she was lucky—she and her sister were under the protection of Hong Seok-yeong, the strongest Hunter in Korea. With him, becoming a Hunter seemed easy. Not just registering for a license, but actually becoming a skilled Hunter.

Seventeen years old.

It was an age to seriously think about the future.

Yoo Ji-eun yawned widely and looked around. In the distance, her older sister and senior, Yoo Hye-eun, was visible.

Yoo Hye-eun was talking with the man who had come all the way from America to treat the principal. Between them was a book in a foreign language that Yoo Ji-eun couldn’t even begin to read.

“This method isn’t really used anymore.”

“You don’t use it?”

“No, it’s still used. But only in special cases. For children, it’s effective—less strain on the body. But…”

Watching that, it was clear her sister was born for studying.

Even if she hadn’t awakened, her sister would have studied hard and gotten into a good university. These days, just being a good student or going to a good college doesn’t guarantee anything… but in their situation, with no real parents, it was the safest path.

Getting to be under Hong Seok-yeong’s care was pure chance. Even if you only saw your father once a month, as long as his name was on the family register, there was nothing you could do. Her kind sister never complained, but Yoo Ji-eun sometimes thought it would have been easier if that man just died somewhere, so she could live with her sister. Who knows if it would have been better. But a man who only came home to drink, throw punches, and toss a few bills before disappearing didn’t seem like any help.

Yoo Hye-eun awakened while treating the bruises on her little sister’s face.

A Hunter passing by saw the two sisters taking care of each other late at night on a park bench. That was Hong Seok-yeong.

If the principal had found them, he would have helped even if her sister hadn’t awakened. That’s the kind of man he was. “I can’t help everyone, but I can’t just ignore the two kids in front of me,” he’d say, with an easy smile.

Even if her sister hadn’t awakened, he would have helped. Even as a child, Yoo Ji-eun could see that. And because he was that kind of person, she wanted to repay him.

Since her sister awakened, Yoo Ji-eun figured her own chances were high. If she awakened and became a Hunter, there would be many ways to help him. Just being a good student wouldn’t be enough to repay the strongest Hunter in Korea, but if she became a Hunter, it would be simpler. She knew he worked as a one-man guild, but if she became an incredibly strong Hunter, he wouldn’t be able to refuse her if she asked to join. If she worked hard in his guild, clearing dungeons, maybe she could repay him, even a little…

“So if you use mana to remove impurities from your body, you can awaken, right? I wanted to awaken as soon as possible!”

Yoo Ji-eun swung her legs back and forth as she spoke passionately.

They were sitting at a table with a parasol near the greenhouse. It was the same cheap plastic table they’d used since the days of the container school, as Yoo Hye-eun had proudly explained. She never understood why her sister liked this cheap table so much…

“You understand, right, teacher?”

“No, I don’t.”

Across from her, Woo Hee-jae wore an expression that was hard to describe.

“You’re not still looking up that stuff, are you?”

“Huh? What stuff?”

“All that ‘mana removes impurities’ nonsense…”

“Come on, I’m a Hunter now! I’ve got my license! I don’t care about that stuff!”

Still, hoping the teacher might know more, Yoo Ji-eun asked cautiously,

“…But is it really possible?”

“Don’t listen to anything except what you learn in school.”

“Haha, I was just saying.”

“I mean it.”

“But getting rid of impurities is a good thing.”

“Exercise.”

“Aw…”

Anyway, now that she’d awakened, there was only one future Yoo Ji-eun was considering at seventeen.

“I want to be a Hunter!”

“Isn’t that why everyone’s here?”

“Not just any Hunter! I want to be a really strong Hunter!”

“Yeah…”

Woo Hee-jae looked at her with a peculiar expression.

“Because you want to repay the principal? He’d be happy just to see you all take care of yourselves.”

Yoo Ji-eun pouted.

“Still. I gave him a carnation and a letter on Parents’ Day, but honestly, that’s not really… it’s not enough.”

“What did you do for Parents’ Day?”

“And our… father is still alive, you know. You see it on the news all the time—parents who cut ties when you’re young show up later, demanding things.”

“…It happens.”

“If you have a high Hunter rank, you can get better treatment for that sort of thing. You could even go overseas easily.”

“Emigrate?”

“Not that extreme! Just join a foreign guild or something?”

Yoo Ji-eun laughed brightly.

She couldn’t talk about this with her sister. Her sister would just worry and feel bad. What’s the point, with only a few years between them—how long would she be treated like a child?

Her sister had awakened first, but that path required more study. If she wanted to go to medical school and learn all sorts of things, it would take years after graduating from Yangseong High. In the meantime, Yoo Ji-eun would protect her.

For that, she needed to study… but more than that, she needed to get stronger. And at this school, there was a teacher who always said, “If you want to learn something, just come to me.”

So Yoo Ji-eun had sought out Woo Hee-jae.

“I want to get stronger, teacher.”

A few years ago, she wouldn’t have been able to ask an adult for help like this.

“…Not going to the principal?”

“He hurt his leg!”

“He’s still teaching, though.”

“Yeah, but I like you better.”

“…Th-thank you?”

“The principal’s so busy, he’s hardly ever at school. He hasn’t been around lately, either. Hyun-wook oppa said a stable learning environment is important.”

“You kids really talk about everything, huh?”

“After the seniors graduate next year, it’ll just be me and Tae-woo oppa left at school.”

Woo Hee-jae’s expression grew even more complicated.

“What about new students?”

“Who would come to this school?”

“…If no one does, the school will close.”

“Just make sure I graduate.”

Yoo Ji-eun brushed off the teacher’s worries about the school’s future.

“So! What I wanted to say is!”

She spoke with renewed determination.

“Teacher, please teach me!”

“I’m already teaching you.”

“Not like that! How do I get strong like you?”

“Well…”

Woo Hee-jae started to answer, then paused.

Yoo Ji-eun took that as her chance.

“…You finished your basic training, right?”

“I’ve done all the stamina and stuff!”

She quickly added,

“I know I have to keep it up! But I mean the basics, the basics! I can even beat Seung-yeon oppa in stamina now!”

“Yeah… Then it’s about time you learned to handle weapons properly.”

“Yes!”

Yoo Ji-eun sat up straight. Yes, this was it! This was what she’d been waiting to hear!

“Yoo Ji-eun. Then let’s start with the sword in earnest—”

Whatever Woo Hee-jae said next, she didn’t hear. Yoo Ji-eun finally got to her real point.

“Teacher. I want to learn the spear!”