"…You gave them a week?"
Kang Sihyun was taken aback as he sat in the training room provided by the Muam guild, listening to Jinhyuk's story. He had persuaded Haru to come for a day, but Haru had eagerly accepted a week's training instead. This meant that Taekju had immediately agreed when the request for support was first made.
He agreed just like that?
That person?
Although it was for a brief period, Taekju seemed like a person of authority, someone who would dislike any disruptions to his scheduled plans, yet he had agreed so readily.
Had he coordinated this with Hahyuk?
'If you want, it's fine for Haru to immerse in the support training for about a week. As you said, Sihyun, if the synergy isn't right, excessive fighting could be harmful. Let us know if you need anything.'
Go ahead and try.
It was with such an undertone that Hahyuk's response seemed oddly in sync with what the Muam guild members relayed from Taekju. It was unclear whether this was typical of S-Class rankers or because he was a guild master.
"I'm telling you, he agreed right away. Does the guild master know something?"
Despite not plotting a rebellion, Jinhyuk lowered his voice as if wary of eavesdroppers, running a chill down his arms. Until now, his somewhat mischievous personality had been unnoticed.
"Is a week too long?"
"No, the longer, the better. It gives us ample time to sync up."
It wasn't a disadvantage, just curiosity about what the two guild masters were thinking.
Regardless, Sihyun shook off his thoughts and stood up, seeing this as an opportunity.
"Then, shall we begin? Everyone, please remind us of your classes once more."
"I'm a swordsman."
"A swordsman here as well."
"Awakened with the earth attribute? I went with that, but using a sword feels more comfortable to me."
"I'm a buffer."
Two swordsmen, one support, and one buffer.
The composition wasn't bad. Jinhyuk having awakened with an elemental ability but preferring to wield a sword was unexpected, but it seemed he wasn't bad with the sword and wasn't inept with elemental skills, so he could be considered versatile in both areas.
"The combination looks good. Just cooperating amongst yourselves should create a good synergy. As long as you do it right."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now that we have more time, let's sync up by guild for today and tomorrow. It seems like it's your first time with this kind of cooperative training, so watch how we do it and follow along. Our composition is quite similar to yours, actually."
"Similar?"
Since the only overlapping class was the swordsman, Inhyuk was puzzled. Sihyun looked at him and smiled lightly.
Hamin and Seowoo were swordsmen, and although Haru was an assassin class, he was proficient with all weapons. Using a longsword instead of a dagger wouldn't be an issue. And Sihyun himself was a healer and a Copy class.
He had long been able to copy all the buffer skills shown by Haewoon.
Noticing the bewildered looks, Sihyun gathered the three boys around him. Proposing to align their classes with those of the Muam guild members, Haru nodded in agreement.
"We can do it, but what if there's no sword?"
"We could ask Muam…"
"Here, take this one. You can borrow it."
They were considering asking Muam for a loan when, unexpectedly, Hamin offered one of his swords. When Sihyun looked at him as if he knew how to do that too, Hamin's purple eyes narrowed. Before Hamin could complain, Sihyun quickly announced the start of the training.
***
To cut to the chase, the cooperation among Muam guild members was dreadful. When asked to coordinate their sword energies for an attack, they nearly stabbed each other, and when told to protect the buffer while fighting, they questioned whether the support class couldn't survive on their own, nearly causing Sihyun to grab them by the neck.
Leaving them to their own devices seemed futile, so there was no choice but to intervene with various hands-on advice and suggestions to transform their beast-like combat style into something more human.
After about 4 hours, the Muam guild members finally started moving somewhat humanly. When told to run, they ran together; when told to gather, they did so, fighting with the idea of protecting each other even if it was just an imitation. Applauding their significant progress, Sihyun immediately moved to the next stage.
What to do after enough practice?
Real combat, of course.
Since actual combat was not an option, they settled for team battles as the alternative.
This was beneficial for both parties; they could a
venge their previous defeats, and Muam could directly see the fruits of their training, a win-win training method.
Convincing reluctant participants with smooth talk, they began the team battle training. To summarize, the first team battle ended in a disastrously chaotic show by Muam.
Practice and real combat were different; when faced with actual attacks after only imagining them, most were flustered. Given that the opponents had been practicing together for a long time and were skilled in team battles, it was even more challenging.
Still, after having taught them thoroughly, seeing them act disjointedly was unsettling.
Eventually, Sihyun carried out ten team battles, improving Muam guild's frustrating cooperation to a somewhat satisfactory level. He wanted to continue until they achieved a fantastic synergy, but after more than 8 hours of continuous training, Jinhyuk waved a white flag.
"How long are we going to do this? We haven't eaten, and after being locked up for 8 hours of training, if we continue, this is starting to feel less like training and more like kidnapping and forced labor…"
Whether he was tired from the long hours of training or cautious of invoking a suggestion like an additional 4 hours of training, Jinhyuk muttered in a low voice, cautiously watching Sihyun's reaction, which seemed more of the latter.
Having been critical before, it was baffling to see him now back down after just that much training, making Sihyun chuckle.
If only handling Jinhyuk had been this easy, Sihyun would have challenged him to a sparring match in the training room, saying, 'Muam is a place for the strong, right? Then, how about a sparring session with me?' long ago.
Regretting the wasted effort, Sihyun followed Jinhyuk's gaze as Inhyuk approached his brother's side.
It seemed the brothers shared a connection in situations like this.
"Maybe it's time for a little break."
"Isn't it still possible to go on?"
"How can you say something so devilish with that face?"
Replying as if he could easily go on for another 3 hours, Jinhyuk whispered behind Inhyuk, louder than his previous murmurs, whether meant for others to hear or not.
"The Redem guild members must be getting tired too, taking a break wouldn't be a bad idea."
"We're used to syncing up for long periods, so we're still okay. Are you tired?"
Considering Yeonju's suggestion, Sihyun looked back. The three, slightly sweaty but otherwise fine, shook their heads, indicating they were still good to go.
"See?"
"..."
Inhyuk, at a loss for words, became solemn. Sihyun, reminded of the sparring sessions with Russ, smiled proudly.
Back then, they had trained without meals, eager to land a hit on Russ. After the sparring, they reflected on the day's humiliations and synced up. The hope was that if all eight of them attacked Russ together, perhaps they couldn't be overpowered, which became their motivation.
Unknowingly, Russ had contributed significantly to the first-year Class A's development.
Reflecting on those times, the current training still seemed manageable. If they felt too exhausted to continue, Down would urge them on, if Haewoon fell, Hamin would pick him up, and if the kids wanted to stop, Sihyun would suggest just a bit more, believing they were close to catching on. Today's Class A was the warm result of pushing and tightening each other.
"Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"
"Just remembered something funny."
"You think of that in this situation?"
"It came to mind."
Sihyun replied indifferently to Jinhyuk's incredulous question. A low sigh escaped the man's lips as Inhyuk patted his brother sympathetically.
Checking the clock on the wall, ten minutes had passed.
Enough time for a break.
There was a definite sense of achievement with each repetition, given their innate talents. A little more effort, and they could likely perform better in cooperative combat than individual fighting.
Though Sihyun wished to continue without breaks, seeing Jinhyuk, who initially seemed prideful, now wavering, seemed impractical. Resigning to adapt to their pace, Sihyun spoke up.
"Let's do another hour, then take a 30-minute break."
"Are we not going to sleep after that hour?"
"It's only 9 PM. We'll go to sleep at midnight."
"Ah…"
"Then, let's get up."
With that, Sihyun tapped the staff on the ground twice, inscribing indecipherable runes that shimmered brightly. It was a wide-range stamina recovery skill.
"I've replenished your stamina, so aside from a bit of physical fatigue, you should be able to move. Let's start."
"..."
"If you're satisfied with your current skills, well, you don't have to participate."
"Ha
…"
The last remark seemed effective as Inhyuk reluctantly stood up. Ignoring his complaint that it was more about mental than physical exhaustion, Sihyun and the kids took their places.
Accompanying the start were the short sighs of the Cha brothers.
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