"Nasel Hur, you worthless bastard! You still can't do something this simple?"
The shout echoed through the training hall.
The name that was called was his own name.
The insult that followed was one that, by now, he had heard so often that it no longer surprised him.
"I'll try again."
He bit it back between his teeth and willed himself to shut out the noise of the crowd and think up.
Huuung.
But something stirred in his heart.
There was something alive in it, something that made its presence felt and that he felt he had to wrestle with in every way.
People called it mana.
This time, it had to work.
The job itself wasn't difficult.
Now, the mana living in your heart flows into your fingertips.
Simple enough that everyone else had already succeeded.
Months ago.
"If you fail again today, that's six months. Do you know you're the first trainee I've ever seen who's this bad at mana control since I started running this hunter training program?"
The instructor who hurled the insult at him was the same.
It may have been hard on his pride, but he couldn't deny the truth of it.
"…Yes. I understand."
Six months earlier, he had finally learned how to sense mana and was accepted into a guild's training program called Raw.
Raw was no small guild, usually hovering somewhere in the top twenty. Sure, there were guilds above it, but their hunter programs weren't nearly as competitive as Raw's. The same was true of the program conducted by the Hunter Association.
He had applied to all of them.
In every case, he failed.
There were only two reasons.
He wasn't good at mana control.
And the amount of mana he had was pitiful.
The abilities that most people thought were down to talent.
And those same shortcomings were still holding him back here, now, within Raw itself.
"Who's that guy?"
"He joined five months before us and still hasn't passed the most basic test."
"What? That makes no sense. Does he even have mana?"
"He does. Barely. And his control's awful."
"At that level, even if he awakens, he'll never escape F-rank."
"No wonder the guild doesn't expect anything from him. He'll probably awaken some useless F-rank trait and get stuck doing menial work."
"Heh. He should be grateful if they even bother keeping him."
Others had heard the whispers of recruits.
It was nothing new.
This was how most trainees at Raw thought of him, how most full-fledged hunters regarded him with thinly veiled contempt.
It was too late for it to react.
I was just trying to pass the basic test.
Then he could join the advanced training program, and have any chance of becoming a hunter.
Focus.
Becoming a hunter was not my choice.
He made a promise to kill the monsters who killed his parents that night six months ago.
In order to wipe those creatures from existence.
To do this, he needed power.
"Faster! How long are you planning to keep failing?!"
The shout of the instructor resounded throughout the hall and filled the ears.
Nevertheless, his focus always remained.
Huuung… huuung…
He dragged the mana in a long, slow, painful line through his torso, up his arm, down to his wrist. It ached to return to its heart in his chest.
Just a little more.
Through the fingers,
Huuuuung, shhh!
The moment it was about to reach the fingertips, the mana violently recoiled back into the heart.
"…Ha."
Another failure.
After thousands of attempts, the result was the same.
Quiet snickers echoed nearby.
"Pathetic."
The teacher spat the word and walked away.
But by then, the training field was already empty.
He was alone.
That, too, was familiar.
…Train, then.
Staying behind to practice my mana control alone was normal.
But it was just another day.
"Listen up, trainees!"
The trainees' eyes lit up at the instructor's shout.
He focused as well.
"See that gate ahead?"
The instructor pointed forward.
There was an oval gate of white light there, a hollow ring, and at a glance it was almost beautiful.
Knowing what it really was, no one could call it that.
Monsters that killed and devoured humans would rise up in that place.
"That gate is where you'll be heading."
You could see the excitement, tension and anticipation in their eyes.
"You won't be fighting. Your job is to observe your seniors and learn. If anyone awakens a trait during the process, consider it a bonus."
No one looked afraid.
But they wouldn't be fighting after all.
Although certain accidents occurred in other locations which caused trainees to die, incidents, particularly in dungeons, had been unheard of due to the powerful hunters in Raw.
It's been a month.
It would be his second time entering a dungeon.
Nothing dangerous had happened the first time.
"Move in!"
The Raw hunters were the first to step through the gate.
The trainees followed.
Shrrrk.
As he brushed against the gate, there was the feel of it being wet again. Another step.
And the world twisted.
I am still not used to this.
He was dizzy and felt sick. There were others nearby who were vomiting.
Prior to dungeons, seasickness was the worst case of motion sickness he had.
This was far worse.
That was how these hunters had looked, as though their bodies had already exceeded human limits.
Someday.
He forced back the nausea and kept going.
His breathing soon became labored, and it was difficult for him to keep up with the rest of the trainees.
At least, he had plenty of physical endurance.
"Monster group detected ahead!"
A voice full of mana roared from the front.
The trainees stiffened instinctively.
He was focused on suppressing emotion.
His parents were killed by these monsters and just seeing them angry him considerably.
But now was not the time.
"Watch closely," the instructor said. "This is the strength of real hunters."
The hunters surged forward.
Swords and spears and axes, and a few other weapons of iron and steel, fire and lightning, spell after spell, were raining upon us.
Mages.
Rare.
Powerful.
Coveted.
He had never hoped to see such a trait.
At minimum, an F-rank awakening.
He would grow stronger.
No matter what.
Then,
"Something's wrong! The monsters… they're too strong!"
The instructor reacted instantly.
"What's happening? Report properly!"
Another hunter shouted.
"The sky! Look at the sky!"
He looked up instinctively.
The sky was shattered to a red glass-like substance.
"A Rift! The monsters are mutating!"
The atmosphere was thickening by the second.
"Retreat! We can't win this!"
"They won't die!"
"Fall back!"
The formation collapsed.
Even the teacher looked nervous.
Rifts were rare, lethal, and could promote monsters by multiple ranks.
This was a fight no one here could win.
"Full retreat!"
The hunters fled.
So did he.
Survive.
Nothing else mattered.
Then,
"Move!"
A sharp blow landed on his shoulder.
BAM!
His body flew along the ground and the hunters ran on top of him, knocking him down.
No armor.
No protection.
And the mutated monsters,
Were already close.