Report
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Griffin Scans
Translator – Hero of death
Proofreader – Sleepyhead
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Chapter 4 - Another Reason
Everything started from that moment—when I was eight years old, at the happiest time of my life.
“Huh?”
My father called out gently.
“What does my son want to be when he grows up?”
I was watching TV and a cartoon about hunters was being broadcasted.
“I want to be a righteous hunter like Lee Sang-chul!”
“Oh, really?”
My mother, sitting beside me, laughed as if she were recording the moment in her heart.
Encouraged by their smiles, I added childishly,
“Yeah! And I’ll become the strongest hunter in the world!”
At that time, I had no concept of what it meant to be “The strongest in the world”. The words carried no weight, no hesitation.
“That’s right. Our son will grow up to be a fine man like Lee Sang-chul,” my father said with pride.
“I’m sure he will,” my mother smiled.
That was the last promise I ever made to them.
The next day, my parents died in an accident.
From that moment on, I made a vow—to keep that final promise.
That’s why I became someone who can’t stand injustice.
That’s the reason I became a fool who always stands up, no matter what.
It was also the driving force that helped me pass the entrance exam for [SEAL] Academy—where only the top 1% are accepted.
Even though I knew it was just a dream, I tried my best to preserve the memory of that day. I wanted to hold on to even a single emotion from that time, to carve it into my heart.
For a brief moment, the world under my parents’ protection felt so warm.
So warm, I never wanted to wake up from it.
Brrrrrr—
[Jihoon! Yu Jihoon!]
The alarm rang out, and at the same time, I heard Samchil’s voice.
It was 5 a.m.
I turned off the alarm and responded, my voice still hoarse from sleep.
“Right on time.”
There was a simple reason I was up this early: morning training.
This was how I started every day.
[Are you okay? Did you get hit?]
Samchil sounded worried about my condition.
“No, I didn't fight. He just challenged me.”
[Kekeke, I knew it would come to that.]
“Was that the right move?”
[Absolutely. It was the only way.]
“I see. Then I guess I’ll need to schedule the match sometime this week. By the way, how did things go for you?”
[Something incredible happened.]
“Incredible?”
[Yeah. First off, when I was linked to your situation, time on my side stopped. When I returned to reality, the date and time were the same, but my life had completely changed. I lived an entirely different day. But the real surprise was that I wasn’t the only one who changed—everything around me adjusted to the new me. It was as if relationships had already been built.]
“You mean... relationships had already formed?”
[Exactly. It’s like I’d suddenly become a seasoned salesman. People I didn’t know were now my mentors and clients.]
That was huge. The idea that a shift in the present could alter all your future relationships… It was no different than living a new life entirely.
[I’m not sure how it works exactly, but by changing the past, we can now alter the future. Even becoming the world’s top-ranked hunter is no longer out of reach.]
Samchil explained with solemn resolve.
[We’ve got three years on this skill. Six hours of communication per day. We’ll use every bit of it to raise our lives to the top within the next 20 years.]
—--
—--------
The massive training ground was fully equipped—from tracks to dumbbells, everything you could need to train your body.
“...”
Honestly, I was a bit overwhelmed.
Even this early in the new year, the cadets were already swarming the place.
Even more surprising? This facility was only available to first-year students.
[Now do you understand where we are?!]
Back in middle school, no one exercised at this hour.
But here? It was 5 a.m., and the energy was like that of a bustling night market.
[This is the kind of place where people like them gather—the SEAL Academy. Geniuses desperately striving for success. And unlike you, they've been receiving special training from a much younger age, with their families backing them up financially. It's a given that they have personal coaches]
For the first time, I truly understood why Samchil had failed before.
How hard would I have to work to catch up to these monsters?
Maybe I really had been a frog in a well.
[But don’t worry. You’ve got the world’s best coach. Compared to the chaos system we’ll face in 20 years, this is still primitive.]
“That big of a difference?”
[Okay, it’s a little exaggerated—but not by much! If you keep at it steadily, you’ll more than close the gap.]
Something about Samchil’s confidence made me believe him.
[And don’t stress too much. In a month, half the cadets here will be gone. Just keeping up with the academy’s training is tough enough. And after three months? It’ll halve again. In the end, only about 30 will remain.]
“Yes, consistency really is the hardest part.”
[Exactly. Those 30 will be your real competition. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll help you boost your efficiency.]
I nodded firmly.
A heat began to rise from deep in my chest.
It had never been easy. Not even once. But I overcame everything and made it here.
And I’d keep going—no matter what.
[Let’s start with building the foundation. We’re learning the ultimate routine to become the strongest—‘101 Techniques to Become Supreme.’]
[Lift your arms higher. That’s it! Keep your chest open. Good! Now pull your right arm across to the opposite knee. Stretch the palm—keep going until your fingertips tremble. Don't break form! Alright, now reverse it!]
I stood in front of a full-length mirror, learning bizarre new postures.
Twisting my body this way and that, the movements felt like they flowed into one another—almost like a dance.
This Training method was <101 Routines to Become Supreme>
At a glance, it looked similar to Tai Chi.
The slow, deliberate motions resembled martial arts and gymnastics, but each movement trained muscle flexibility and opened up the body's energy channels.
It was a kind of Qigong—a discipline that refined internal energy.
[Alright, have you memorized all the moves?]
“Yeah, got them all.”
[If you keep practicing these steadily, your mana efficiency will go up by about 30%.]
“Thirty percent!? That’s insane!”
[This is the cultivation method created by the Medicinal Immortal Master Zhang Hao, who mastered the mysteries of the human body. In about 15 years, it will be a martial art known by every Hunter.]
“Wow…”
[Okay, now let’s move on to power training—to build muscle and explosive strength.]
That’s when hell began.
My will didn’t just fade—it crumbled. I felt like I was being broken down.
“Ahhh…… Ahhh…”
I felt as if my lungs were shrinking, to the point where it feels like it's completely burned.
I honestly thought I was going to die. I was being pushed to physical limits I’d never even come close to before.
[Breathe. Deep breaths. No matter what happens, never let your breathing falter.]
To develop explosive movement, I was forced into 20-meter shuttle sprints—with five additional power exercises mixed in—for a total of 20 full sets.
It was only supposed to be 10 sets.
But then came those deadly words: “Just one more.”
That phrase turned into a nightmare.
As if the brutal training wasn’t enough, there was another reason it was so excruciating.
It was the unique condition of the training field.
Triple gravity.
Here, my body weight was tripled. Just walking was a workout on its own.
[You still lack basic strength and endurance. You’ve got a long way to go. Now get up! We recover by stretching, not by lying around! Want to live like me?!]
Damn it!
I clenched my teeth and stood up.
I couldn’t live like that. Not anymore.
I could feel a fire ignite in my eyes.
I thought I had reached my limit—but I still had strength left to run.
“I can’t live like that!!!”
[Good! Again!]
I ended up doing three more sets before finally collapsing onto the ground.
Not because training was over—but because I had to go to class.
Samchil’s training was hellish, but within that torment, I could feel something growing.
Some unknown confidence bloomed inside me.
<You’ve successfully completed advanced future training.>
<The future is changing.>
<You have obtained a latest model microwave oven.>
[What!? A microwave?! That’s amazing! My old one had broken, and I was constantly worrying about how to heat food. Problem solved!]
“....”
Apparently, the ‘me’ from 20 years in the future was the kind of person who got excited over little things.
That didn’t feel like me at all.
“...Is that really me?”
I muttered without thinking.
Samchil went silent.
Awkward tension filled the air.
“W-wait, I didn’t mean anything by that…”
After a long pause, Samchil spoke softly.
[Before bed… I noticed something. My blanket—it changed. It used to be a cheap summer blanket and I used it all winter, but now it’s a thick microfiber. The new place has working heat. It’s the first time I’ve taken off my padded coat indoors in who knows how long. My apartment? It’s small, but it’s nice. When I open the window, fresh air comes in. The old place was full of mold. But you know the best part? I can talk to myself without worrying. Back in the goshiwon, I could hear everything from the next room—even… adult videos.]
I couldn’t say anything.
His voice lingered with the weight of a life changed by effort, desperation—and now, hope.
[I know. I've changed a lot. You probably never even imagined a future like this. But Jihoon, do you know why people change?]
I don’t know. I have no idea how I ended up like this.
How could I have changed this much?
[When the world you believed in crumbles, that’s when a person changes.]
I could feel his sincerity.
What must it feel like to be rejected by your own past?
He was me. Time had changed him—but he was still me.
“…I'm sorry.”
I felt a deep, honest regret toward my future self.
It felt like I had dismissed everything he had been through.
There must have been a reason I ended up like that.
There’s no way I would’ve given up so easily.
I must’ve tried—hard enough to die for it.
And yet… even knowing that better than anyone,
I, who had never truly failed before, denied my future self.
[It’s okay. You don’t have to feel that way. You don’t need to fully understand how I changed. Because the moment you do—that means you’ve failed too. And I won’t let that happen to you.]
“Thanks. I guess… I only felt that way because you're so different from who I am now. It’s not because I’m ashamed of you—or because I dislike you.”
[I know. You’re me, after all.]
Right. You were me.
And maybe—just maybe—Samchil understood me better than I did myself right now.
[Alright then. I’m off to test out this microwave. Enjoy your class. See you later.]
“Yeah. See you.”
After he left, I walked, replaying our conversation in my head.
I found myself wanting to comfort him somehow.
And then it hit me—something so obvious.
He hadn’t failed yet either.
We still had the chance to change our future.
Now, I have one more reason…
To become the strongest in the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter End~~~~~~~~~~
