Chapter 443: Big Shots Flock to the Gym (1)

After the Barbarian—or the Trench Coat Man—was mentioned several times throughout the hunter communities.

“Hmm?”

One of the reporters at the scene happened to see one of those posts.

There was nothing unusual about it.

When working as a reporter, most days passed without any real stories.

On such days, it was common to take something that had become a hot topic in an online community and turn it into an article.

“The Trench Coat Man?”

The reporter’s eyes lit up as he read the post with a puzzled expression.

He shouted at the top of his lungs toward Choi Kanghyuk, who was being bombarded with questions.

“Hunter Choi Kanghyuk! Is it true that you normally enter gates wearing nothing but underwear!!!!”

“!?”

Was it because of his booming voice?

Or because of the shocking content of the question?

Silence descended over the previously noisy scene.

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Choi Kanghyuk and the reporter who had asked the question.

Choi Kanghyuk was equally dumbfounded.

He spoke in an extremely solemn and serious tone.

“They aren’t underwear. They’re swimming trunks.”

“.......”

Confusion and a strange sense of incongruity swept through the crowd.

A hero who had saved D-rank hunters from an abnormal gate.

Or a pervert.

No one seemed certain how they should view him.

“So you normally enter gates wearing underwear. No, swimming trunks?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t wear a leather suit??”

“That’s right.”

“....... M-may I ask why?”

“It is because of the awakened ability I mentioned earlier. The more I am struck, the harder my skin and muscles become. If I wear a leather suit, I cannot develop my ability any further.”

Association President Kang Youngchan’s eyes widened.

He practically shoved the reporters aside as he stepped forward.

“You mean to say that you deliberately entered gates wearing swimming trunks in order to develop your awakened ability?”

“Yes.”

There were several other minor reasons as well.

For example, he could not hide the gate in his office forever, so he needed to raise his martial arts realm as quickly as possible.

Or that if he wore ordinary clothes instead of a leather suit, they would be torn apart every time, which felt like a waste of money.

However, there seemed to be no need to explain any of that.

At Choi Kanghyuk’s calm answer, Association President Kang Youngchan suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

“Wahahahahahaha.”

Choi Kanghyuk thought.

'Is this old man insane?'

Choi Kanghyuk did not recognize the Association President’s face.

Fortunately, the Association President was not insane.

He turned toward the gathered crowd and spoke.

“Did you all hear that! This is the attitude of a true hunter—a true hero! Through constantly honing his awakened ability, he was able to save his comrades when they fell into danger! He is truly an example every hunter should aspire to follow!”

The Association President had already been suffering headaches because of the abnormal gate phenomena that had recently begun occurring around the world.

He had even found himself wishing that a superhuman prince on a white horse would appear during such chaotic times.

Of course, all Choi Kanghyuk had done was clear a B-rank gate.

There were many hunters in Korea who were far more capable than him.

Even so, there was another reason he was praising Choi Kanghyuk so highly.

'An awakened ability that grows stronger! Then in the future, he could aim for A-rank. No, perhaps even S-rank or beyond!'

Of course, possessing an excellent awakened ability alone did not make someone an outstanding hunter.

In that sense, Choi Kanghyuk was different from the very beginning.

He entered dangerous gates wearing swimming trunks just to develop his awakened ability.

Was his potential for growth not practically limitless!?

At Association President Kang Youngchan’s praise, camera shutters flashed like mad.

Click! Click!

Those who had nearly mistaken him for a pervert reconsidered.

He was undoubtedly a hero, not a pervert.

Cameras flashed.

Questions from reporters and online broadcasters once again poured out without pause.

However, Choi Kanghyuk, who possessed an unshakable mind, remained unmoved.

After all, he came from Shaolin.

No matter what the people shouted, he had already said everything he needed to say.

“Then I’ll be heading back now.”

As he stepped forward, the crowd naturally parted for him.

At that moment, one tactless reporter shouted a question after him.

“What is the first thing you plan to do when you return home!!”

Choi Kanghyuk merely turned his head slightly and answered.

“I need to replenish my protein.”

It seemed he would need to replenish quite a lot.

He had exercised far too much today.

***

The next morning.

“Yaaaaawn.”

As usual, Choi Kanghyuk woke inside the gate in his office and sat up.

“Ugh. My whole body is stiff.”

He had spent a full fourteen hours inside the gate.

During that time, he had fought dozens of battles.

He had not noticed it that day because his adrenaline had been surging, but after sleeping and waking up, every muscle in his body was screaming.

As Choi Kanghyuk reviewed what had happened the previous day, he chuckled.

He was reminded of the days when he had been Mujin.

Of what happened after the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering ended.

Mugung, Muyul, Mukyeong.

Even Daoist Cheongsu of Wudang.

The five of them had roamed all across the martial world together.

Every day back then had been far more intense than yesterday.

Each day had been an endless succession of travel and fighting.

Even so, his entire body had never ached this badly.

“Being young really is the best.”

The recovery rate of someone in his late teens and that of a forty-year-old were simply worlds apart.

“Ah. I’m going to lose muscle.”

Choi Kanghyuk left the gate to replenish his protein.

The moment he passed through the gate entrance, his phone began vibrating like mad.

Bzzzzzz.

Bzzzzzzzz.

“Hmm?”

Choi Kanghyuk tilted his head after checking his phone.

There were hundreds of text messages.

Dozens of missed calls had also accumulated.

Most of them were from his personal-training clients.

“What could be happening this early in the morning?”

Just then, his phone vibrated again.

It was a call from Client Kim Jicheol.

“Yes, sir.”

- Gym Owner!! Where are you right now!!

“What? I’m at the gym.”

- You’re at the gym, but why haven’t you been answering your phone!!

Because he had been inside the gate.

However, he could not ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) exactly tell him there was a gate inside his office.

“I-I was asleep. I keep my phone on silent when I sleep. But did something happen?”

- We’re currently at the entrance to our gym, so could you please open the door?

Choi Kanghyuk tilted his head.

'Our?'

He ended the call for the moment and left the office.

When he turned on the gym lights, he saw the scene beyond the front door.

“Huh?”

All of his personal-training clients were standing at the entrance, staring at him.

Choi Kanghyuk strode over and opened the front door.

The moment he did, shouts erupted from every direction.

“Why wouldn’t you answer your phone and make everyone worry!!”

“You went into a gate, and then no one could reach you! We thought something had happened!!”

“When did you even awaken!!”

“Why didn’t you tell us!!”

At the sudden shouting, Choi Kanghyuk hurriedly covered his ears.

“H-how did you know I went into a gate?”

“You call that a question!?”

“Since last night, the internet and television have been filled with nothing but stories about you and the abnormal gate!”

As they spoke, the clients each thrust their phone screens toward him.

The screens displayed various articles and community posts.

“Hmm.......”

Choi Kanghyuk stared intently at the screens before furrowing his brow.

He did not particularly like the photographs.

“Maybe it’s because I fought inside the gate for so long yesterday. My muscles look a little smaller.”

“This is not the time to be talking about muscle loss!”

“When did you awaken? According to the articles, you’ve already been entering gates for quite some time!”

“And you went in wearing swimming trunks! Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how dangerous gates are!?”

Only then did Choi Kanghyuk begin to understand why they were making such a fuss.

They were people receiving personal training as rehabilitation after suffering serious injuries inside gates.

Every one of them had nearly died inside a gate before.

Choi Kanghyuk scratched his head at their concern and spoke.

“Ahem. I awakened about a month ago. Since then, I’ve only been entering D-rank gates.”

“I didn’t expect to become caught in an abnormal gate.”

Choi Kanghyuk added.

The clients stared at him with complicated expressions.

It was exactly as Choi Kanghyuk had expected.

Their gym owner had suddenly appeared on the news.

And he had even become caught in an abnormal gate.

Of course, the articles portrayed him as a hero who had saved the other hunters.

However, because all of them had experienced nearly dying inside gates, worry came first.

That was why they had come to the gym first thing in the morning.

But when they arrived, no matter how many times they called or sent messages, he did not respond.

As time passed, their worry and anxiety had only continued to rise.

Still, perhaps because he had finally calmed down, Kim Jicheol spoke in a somewhat more composed tone.

“Even so, you should have told us beforehand. Then I could have accompanied you into gates and helped you little by little.”

“It was because of my awakened ability. If I went with you, Client Kim Jicheol, I didn’t think I would be able to fight the monsters properly.”

Kim Jicheol had originally been an A-rank hunter.

Even now, before his rehabilitation had fully ended, he was already entering B-rank gates.

He was skilled enough to sweep through a D-rank gate alone with ease.

At that moment, Choi Yujin let out a shrill shout.

“That’s a fine thing to say! No! Even if you need to develop your awakened ability, why would you enter gates wearing swimming trunks!? Are you insane!?”

It was completely different from her normally introverted personality.

It seemed she had been extremely worried about Choi Kanghyuk.

“You’re the one who lectures me every day about my diet because of my health! Why are you doing something even more dangerous yourself!!”

Perhaps it was merely revenge for the nagging she had endured every day.

Fortunately, Kim Jicheol cut off her scolding.

“Judging from yesterday’s news, it seems you should now be more than capable of entering B-rank gates. Wouldn’t it be better if you started accompanying me into B-rank gates from now on?”

Just as Choi Kanghyuk was about to answer Kim Jicheol’s suggestion, he sensed someone at the gym entrance.

“Is Hunter Choi Kanghyuk here?”

Everyone turned their heads at once.

An elderly man stood at the entrance.

“Association President!?”

“What brings the Association President here......?”

At the clients’ questions, the Association President instead looked flustered.

“No, why are all of you here......?”

Then the Association President spotted someone.

Kim Jicheol, who was standing beside Choi Kanghyuk.

“Jicheol! You were here as well? I was actually considering contacting you.”

“What? You wanted to contact me?”

“I heard you recently resumed your activities. So I was thinking of reaching out to you, but.......”

The Association President trailed off as he realized something important.

The familiar faces around him.

It was not only Kim Jicheol.

Every one of them had been forced to retire after being injured while working as a hunter.

Why had all such people gathered here?

“But why exactly are all of you gathered here? Did you already know Hunter Choi Kanghyuk?”

“Well, the truth is that I was able to return recently thanks to the Gym Owner.”

“???”

“Thanks to the qi treatment the Gym Owner gave me, I became able to use my awakened ability again. But what brings you here, Association President?”

Even at Kim Jicheol’s question, the Association President said nothing.

'Qi treatment? What is he talking about?'

He could heal injured hunters?

While the Association President’s thoughts grew complicated and he took a moment to organize them.

Someone else appeared at the gym entrance.

“Good morning! I’m from the HK Guild! Is this the gym operated by Hunter Choi Kanghyuk?”

Everyone’s attention turned toward the entrance again.

The man standing there looked equally flustered.

“Association President?”

“What brings the HK Guild here......?”

Before he could answer the question, someone else arrived at the gym.

“Hello. I’m from the Dark Knights Guild!”

After that, scouting employees from several more guilds arrived at the gym one after another.

Naturally, it was because of yesterday’s news.

An organization that arose after hunting became a profession.

Hunter guilds.

Hunters earned money by hunting inside dangerous gates.

They could use an application created by the Association to find party members, but hunting alongside strangers inevitably carried risks.

The higher the gate’s rank, the more important it was to have trustworthy companions.

Naturally, higher-ranking hunters gathered with reliable comrades and formed guilds.

In that sense, Choi Kanghyuk was an extremely desirable prospect.

After all, tankers became increasingly rare at the higher ranks.

Moreover, he possessed an awakened ability that could grow stronger!

That was no different from saying he was an extraordinary prospect.

Because of that, scouts from nearly every well-known guild in Korea began visiting the gym.

In an instant, dozens of people packed into the building.

“.......”

Choi Kanghyuk watched the sight with a speechless expression.

Only a few months earlier, the gym had been so empty that flies practically buzzed through it.

That did not mean he felt particularly sentimental.

'I’m fucked.'

Choi Kanghyuk began sweating bullets at the thought that the gate inside his office might be discovered.