The next day.
"Hmm."
Song Young-hwan let out a short sigh as he received the investigation results about Jeong Su-hyeon.
"To think he was a survivor of that incident."
The Samcheok Massacre.
A mass killing that occurred 7 years ago in Samcheok City, Gangwon Province, turning the entire country upside down.
An A-rank Hunter suddenly awakened as a Ma-in without any warning signs, gaining power equivalent to A+ rank.
With that power, he scorched hundreds of meters in radius, resulting in a disaster where thousands of citizens were killed or injured.
'Even among the Execution Force members, there were dozens of casualties.'
In particular, the entire country was plunged into grief when orphanage children were attacked and brutally murdered during the process.
Song Young-hwan himself had visited an injured colleague who was wounded in that day's battle.
'Just one. They said there was only one child who survived from the orphanage.'
He never expected that child would be Jeong Su-hyeon.
'His whereabouts were unknown, but to think he has developed his strength admirably and now aims for the Execution Force.'
The corners of Song Young-hwan's mouth turned up for the first time.
'This boy.'
It was a smile mixed with satisfaction, admiration, and compassion.
"I don't need to see anything else."
"Yes."
The expression of the member who submitted the report was similar to his own.
"What are you doing? Get the form printed immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
After dismissing his subordinate, he picked up his phone with an excited face.
[It's work hours. What's the matter?]
"Oh, it's me. Have you been well?"
[What's this about? You contacting me first.]
Despite the gruff tone, there was a hint of delight in the man's voice, which made him smile once more.
"Actually, I'm thinking of writing a recommendation letter for a certain friend."
[Recommendation letter?]
The man asked again, seeming a bit bewildered.
[This is quite unusual. Whoever it is, you must like them quite a bit?]
"He's a friend I find quite interesting. As you know, my intuition is pretty accurate, right?"
[I know.]
"You should keep a close eye on him too."
[Is he that impressive.]
"Of course! You must have seen the news yesterday? That Ma-in called Shin Jong-gil was causing havoc downtown, and this young lad, would you believe..."
"Ho."
The name of the man who received Song Young-hwan's call was Kim Cheol-han.
He would be the homeroom instructor for one of the classes of new academy students in this cohort.
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The contact from Song Young-hwan came around lunch the next day.
[The recommendation letter has been safely delivered to the Academy. The application processing is also done, so you can rest easy.]
His tone was noticeably more friendly than yesterday.
"Thank you for your consideration."
[What consideration? I feel awkward hearing such words from a hero who saved citizens.]
"I was just lucky, I'm still inexperienced. Rather than me, it's the Execution Force members who cross the line of fire daily to protect citizens who deserve the title of heroes."
[Hahaha! This friend, I thought you'd have no way with words, but your tongue is quite smooth!]
After laughing appreciatively, he lowered his voice.
[...Actually, I checked your background a bit. I'm sorry about that.]
"I understand. It's EFAC after all, and you can't risk recommending someone with uncertain credentials in case something unfortunate happens."
[I appreciate your understanding.]
'That must be why he's acting so friendly now.'
Song Young-hwan had a colleague who was severely injured in the Samcheok incident.
For that reason, he was a named character who would show considerable goodwill after hearing Jeong Su-hyeon's story.
'He's a good person to know well.'
[I've also suggested presenting you with a certificate of appreciation. It'll help you in many ways. Ah, and a small reward will also be given.]
"Thank you."
[It's just the right thing to do.]
After saying that, he asked again.
[There's only a month left until the exam, isn't that tight?]
It wasn't unreasonable for him to worry.
The exam date was February 17th.
The results would be announced 1 week later, and then admission and entrance would follow another week after that.
"It's not a matter of whether I'm confident or not."
[Oh. Then what kind of matter is it?]
"I've caught an opportunity that I can't miss, that's all. Only a fool would let go of an opportunity that's in their hands."
Song Young-hwan laughed loudly, as if he liked the answer.
[I was wondering if there was anything else I could help with, but it seems that was unnecessary meddling.]
"The opportunity to apply is enough."
[Still, personally, I feel a bit indebted...]
"That's why I'm saying it's enough."
Isn't it a waste to use that debt on an exam I'll obviously pass anyway?
[What? Hahaha!]
He burst into laughter once more, as if understanding my meaning.
[Well, I must say, you're more and more extraordinary. There might be some unexpected waves in this cohort.]
'Of course.'
Among the applicants of this cohort, which would later be called the Golden Generation, there are talents who will become incredible powerhouses in the future.
'Fighting mighty Ma-in is a challenge, but competing with those guys won't be easy either.'
So I need to get the first button right.
'First, let's break down the entrance door.'
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6 AM the next morning.
I was wiping the sweat from my forehead while looking at the dimly brightening sky at an abandoned lot on the outskirts of the city.
'It's like a battlefield.'
It's more than an hour's walk from my house.
Once a bustling street, it became a hotbed of crime after being destroyed by demonic beasts.
Even that is now a thing of the past, a forgotten ruin where not even vagrants visit anymore.
In other words, it was the perfect place to train without prying eyes.
'It's cold though.'
There was still snow in places where sunlight didn't reach.
I found a spot with good sunlight and put down my backpack.
The entire contents of the backpack were today's food, all high-calorie diets focused on protein and carbohydrates.
The goal was solely energy supply and muscle growth.
'All together, it must be about 10,000 calories.'
A monstrous amount that exceeds the basic metabolic rate of an average adult by 4-5 times.
'That's what I need to endure.'
In other words, the amount of exercise I would digest today would be enough to burn fat even after consuming a whopping 10,000 calories.
'It's insane.'
They say the legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps lost weight despite eating 10,000 calories daily.
For a 17-year-old boy who has only done a little self-training to follow the exercise regimen of history's greatest elite swimmer and renowned practice enthusiast?
It's impossible in reality.
But I could do it.
"...Tastes bad."
Chewing and swallowing food indiscriminately without concern for taste, and drinking high-calorie sports drinks, was too mechanical to be called a meal.
'Still, I should be thankful that I can get nutrient-rich food as long as I have money.'
Being able to get the nutrition you want means the society's level of civilization is high.
For example, could a medieval farm household compose the diet they wanted with just a few coins?
In that sense, it was fortunate that EoG's background was modern.
'Though chronologically it's the future.'
EoG's setting was that after decades of civilization destruction following demonic beast attacks, they had barely restored the retreated level of civilization, reaching again the technological level of the early to mid-2000s.
"Eating is also torture."
Having finished my meal, I tidied up and started stretching.
The Unlimited characteristic isn't the kind of ability that powers up at once like other abilities or can show power in actual combat by itself.
'But there's no limit to the power that can be gained through consistent training.'
There's a famous saying in martial arts:
'If you jump over bamboo shoots that grow differently every day, you can become the greatest master.'
Of course, it's impossible in reality.
That's because the limit of human jumping power is significantly lower than the growth rate and limit of bamboo shoots.
But for the owner of Unlimited, the story is different.
If you jumped over a 2-meter bamboo shoot yesterday, today you can certainly jump over a 2.2-meter one.
'That's why if you don't continue training by overcoming your limits every day, it's a power that's nothing by itself.'
Should I say it's a characteristic optimized for RPG-style grinding?
It was more like in a game where everyone has a level cap, only I don't have one.
Anyway, there was one goal to achieve during the remaining month until the entrance exam.
To create a body that surpasses the average physical capabilities of the applicants.
It was definitely not an easy task.
'They've received professional training and support from a young age, and they have talent too.'
Because of this, the typical play style of ordinary gamers is to barely pass the entrance exam by making the most of insufficient physical abilities and skills.
But in this hell-difficulty EoG, such complacency is not allowed.
'Just passing isn't enough. I need to sweep up achievement points from the start.'
Edge of Gate isn't like ordinary games where you just press the "train" button and it automatically trains for you.
Rather, you could only expect high efficiency with proper mechanisms and systematic training.
'Why else would even trainers and doctors write strategy posts?'
"It would have been nice to have proper equipment."
I muttered, looking around the trash-filled abandoned lot.
I didn't choose this place as my training spot simply because it's deserted and spacious.
Smashed cars, broken buildings, furniture stripped of all useful parts...
All these remains, too heavy and vast to be moved by one person's strength, were essentially my exercise equipment.
'Just clearing this place would fulfill my targeted exercise volume and more.'
"Hup!"
I stand up a discarded tire larger than a human body and roll it.
The sensation of stimulating the thighs, gluteus maximus, core, chest, biceps, and triceps evenly was delivered as screams from my muscles.
'First, clearing debris in the morning...'
After lunch, bodyweight exercises.
Starting with basic exercises like push-ups, burpee tests, pull-ups, and twist crunches, and planning to include high-difficulty exercises like dragon flags and planche by early next month.
Then from the afternoon, I'll conduct running with my body torn to the limit.
There are mainly 3 types:
First, the 200m sprint, which is said to be the maximum a human can run at full power.
Second, the 400m, which is the most painful of the short-distance running events and crosses the limits of mental strength.
Lastly, the middle-distance 800m, which is the maximum distance one can run at maximum speed without adjusting pace.
Each one tears the muscle fibers of the thighs and the entire body to shreds and abuses the heart and lungs to the extreme.
'If trainers saw this, they'd be horrified and call me crazy.'
An endless repetition of overtraining, closer to torture than training.
It's a crazy act only possible because the Unlimited characteristic allows for superhuman recovery overnight.
Eat like crazy, exercise like crazy, and sleep.
That's all I had to do for the next month.
Today, day 1, I set the level at that of an elite athlete.
But after just 2 weeks, I'll be digesting a training volume that surpasses even the ultra-elite level in reality.
An ordinary person couldn't withstand even a single day.
But I had to do it.
"Well then."
Let's see if I can survive this.