Hajoon, Elaine, and Haruna headed to the training ground where the novices were practicing.
On the way, they almost ran into a problem as journalists from various countries were gathered at the entrance of the training ground. However, thanks to Haruna's rune magic, they were able to conceal themselves and easily enter the dome-shaped facility.
"Wow... it's so spacious."
Upon entering, Elaine couldn't help but admire and survey the surroundings.
There was a long corridor with flags and names of various countries displayed, leading to training facilities. In different parts of the facility were combat training areas and benches for novices to rest. Through glass doors, one could see children with unique and colorful hairstyles.
Among them, Hajoon spotted a familiar novice.
Inside the training room of Team USA was a girl with bright pink hair.
Sitting on a bench designated for the US national team, she was cheerfully eating a banana. It was Isabella Heights, the granddaughter of the great hero, Adrian Heights.
She looked somewhat different from the past.
Was it that she seemed more rugged? Although her youthful and cute appearance hadn’t changed much, the bandages wrapped around her hands indicated the hard work she had put in. It seemed she had been practicing a lot of hand-to-hand combat.
"But that's strange."
Hajoon was sure that in the game, Isabella wasn’t part of the US national novice team. Confused, he, along with Elaine and Haruna, entered the training room where Team USA was. For reference, it was Liam who had asked Haruna to train them.
The cheerful Isabella, munching on a banana, felt someone's gaze, turned her head, and saw the approaching Hajoon.
The moment she saw him, her eyes widened in surprise, and then she started smiling brightly.
"Ah! Hajoon!"
"Huh? Hajoon is here?"
Liam, who was next to her sipping water, looked at Hajoon with a surprised expression.
Approaching them with a nonchalant face, Hajoon asked Isabella, "Why are you here?"
"Hehe! I've worked hard and become stronger since then!" Isabella replied with enthusiasm.
Hajoon noted, "It seems your grandfather doesn't spare even his granddaughter in training." He noticed some minor scars on her body, probably from training with her grandfather.
Smiling proudly, Isabella responded, "These are honorable scars, a testament to my effort."
"If you say so."
Hajoon responded indifferently. It seemed he was finding it hard to keep up with her high energy.
Isabella pouted cutely at Hajoon's dry reaction. "You haven't changed a bit. Why are you here? The Korean team is over there."
"I brought her," he pointed to Haruna.
"Ah! Haruna Ruel! I remember you were to assist in today's sparring. Please take care of it."
With that, Isabella extended her hand. Haruna, with a blank expression, accepted the handshake and nodded.
"Yep."
"Oh! But who's that next to you?"
Isabella's gaze shifted to Elaine, standing right next to Hajoon.
Elaine, looking shocked, seemed frozen in the midst of Hajoon's conversation with Isabella.
With a hesitant expression, Elaine slowly spoke, "Are you perhaps the famous enchantress and the granddaughter of the great hero of Adrian Heights?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Wow! I never thought I'd see Isabella in person. I'm a fan! Could I get an autograph?"
As she said this, Elaine pulled out a small notebook and pen from her pocket.
Was this her intention all along?
"So, who are you?"
Isabella, having given her autograph, looked at Elaine again and asked.
Liam, standing next to Isabella, whispered softly to her, "She's Hajoon's younger sister."
"What!?"
Isabella looked surprised.
She glanced back and forth between Hajoon and Elaine for a moment, simply letting out a sigh of admiration.
"Hmm..."
Seeing her expression, it felt as if she was holding back something she wanted to say.
Hajoon interrupted before Isabella could change the subject, "When does the match start?"
"Oh! Right. We should start now that our break is over."
"Okay."
At Isabella's words, Liam started warming up.
For context, the reason Liam had asked Haruna for a match was because Liam's first opponent in the tournament used German magic. That, and one of the events in the tournament was a team battle against the British representative team.
That detail wasn't particularly important to Hajoon.
What he was more curious about was when Haruna's match would end.
Hajoon asked Liam, "How long will it take?"
"The match? Probably 3 to 4 hours?"
That's longer than expected.
Hajoon sighed, feeling like he had come here for no reason.
Seeing this, Liam grinned and suggested, "If you have nothing to do during that time, want to help with training?"
"What?"
"Haruna agreed to help not only me but also Isabella and others. But he needs rest, so he can't go straight into another match. Just asking if you can help in the meantime."
"Sounds like a good idea."
Haruna nodded in agreement.
Seeing his bright smile, it seemed like he called me to lighten his load.
There was no real need to agree, and Hajoon had a reason to decline.
Hajoon said, "Would sparring with me count as training?"
"If you control your strength—"
"Anything less than unconsciousness or severe injury."
"..."
Liam closed his mouth tight.
Remembering, didn't Liam always go easy during training at the academy?
What would happen if they sparred without any conditions?
Would sparring with him even count as training?
Liam clearly understood Hajoon's implications.
In the exchange program organized by the International Superhuman Union, participants from various countries joined, particularly in the trainee category. This included countries like South Korea, the USA, Japan, the UK, Germany, China, Russia, and more.
While only countries with sufficient heroes participated in the hero category, to counter potential villain attacks, the trainee category naturally had more participants, since it was unrelated to the hero's situation.
Meanwhile, Hajoon briefly left the U.S. team's training room, strolling through the hallway, observing his surroundings. For reference, Elaine had mentioned she would stay in the U.S. training room. She wanted to watch the trainees spar, so Hajoon left her to it and set out on his own.
With nothing much to do and feeling a bit bored, Hajoon purchased some popcorn from a nearby store and casually looked around the training rooms. As he walked, he recognized some familiar faces.
Inside the Korean team's training room were Han Siyoung, trainee president Lee Joohee, her younger sister Lee Jooah, Hajoon's homeroom Instructor Han Eeseul, and a couple of 2nd and 3rd-year seniors whose faces he couldn't quite place. They were likely selected as representatives for this event.
It seemed that Instructor Han Eeseul had come as the team coach.
"…Kim Hajoon?"
"…?"
"Oh, it's Hajoon!"
Hajoon locked eyes with Instructor Han Eeseul beyond the glass door. Seizing the opportunity, Hajoon entered the training room where the Korean team was practicing.
"I didn't expect to see you here. Have you been well?"
"Yes, it's been a while."
"So, what brings you here? Did the association contact you?"
With that question, Instructor Han Eeseul looked at Hajoon with a serious expression. He probably misunderstood, thinking Hajoon had been selected as a representative for the national trainee team. Hajoon shook his head.
"I didn't receive any contact, and even if I had, I wouldn't have accepted."
Han Eeseul probably knew that Hajoon would decline, hence the association's chairman might not have mentioned anything.
"No."
Instructor Han Eeseul's face bore a mixed expression, somewhere between relief and disappointment.
"You know, if you had gone, it would have been hard for the chairman to handle. You'd have found it troublesome too. So, what's your reason for being here? Did you come to help?"
"I came to watch."
At this, Instructor Han Eeseul chuckled.
"You're still the same. Just sit on the bench and watch. Let me know if you want to assist."
"Sure. By the way, what were you pondering earlier?"
Before their eyes met, Instructor Han Eeseul had been deep in thought with his arms crossed. Curious, Hajoon asked. Han Eeseul readily replied,
"The Chinese trainee national team requested a sparring match. I was contemplating the strategy."
"A match with the Chinese team... Can I watch?"
Perfect timing, as Hajoon was looking for something to do.
He asked Instructor Han Eeseul, who simply nodded in response.
It was 11 in the morning, just before lunchtime.
A face-off between the Chinese national team and the Korean national team took place.
"Best of luck."
"Thank you, the same to you."
The two head coaches of each team shook hands, and the face-off began without delay.
The match followed the rules of a one-on-one individual contest.
The first player to step up from the Korean team was Han Siyoung.
Rumor had it that the first player from the Chinese team was the most promising freshman.
"Zhang Jiudong, huh?"
"Who's that?"
The question came from Student Council President Lee Joohee.
While munching on popcorn, Hajoon asked, and the looks from Lee Joohee, Lee Jooah, and another instructor suggested they found it strange that Hajoon didn’t know.
If he didn't know him, she's probably not a key character.
The episode for this exchange, excluding Haruna Ruel, was a joint episode, and the training process was skipped, moved directly to the day of the match.
Moreover, Zhang Jiudong... Hajoon had never heard of that name.
Could it be the son of the guild leader from the Paewang Guild, currently ranked first in China?
Hajoon asked, "Is he famous?"
"Very. Among China's promising talents, she gained recognition at a young age."
Apparently, he took down a B-class villain at the age of 17, and he even single-handedly defeated a beast with a danger level of 30. He’s more promising than Hajoon had thought.
"He's known for his exceptional hand-to-hand combat using his abilities. Han Siyoung should be cautious or might lose."
Upon hearing this, Hajoon looked at Zhang Jiudong, who stood opposite Han Siyoung, and remarked, "Seems like he's the one being careless, though?"
Lee Joohee couldn't find words to deny it.
With a tan complexion, tied long hair, and a muscular build around 170cm, he scoffed and leaned against the wall, watching Han Siyoung warm up.
"He truly has the arrogance we heard about."
"He's coming this way."
"Huh?"
Perhaps he heard Lee Joohee? Bypassing Han Siyoung, he approached where Lee Joohee and Hajoon were seated.
No, to be precise, he walked over to Lee Jooah, who was gazing absent-mindedly from the side.
Looking a bit bewildered, Lee Jooah stared at Zhang Jiudong, who then smiled at her and said, "Ni ji sui le?"
"Excuse me?"
Both Lee Jooah and Lee Joohee looked puzzled.
They probably didn't understand exactly what he said in Chinese.
Using a translation tool, Hajoon clarified, "He's asking your age."
"Uh... I'm 17."
But the problem was that he didn't seem to understand her either.
What was the point of him coming over then?
Shortly after, Zhang Jiudong turned to look at me and began to speak.
"Wei, ba zhe fan yi."
"...?"
Hajoon looked at Zhang Jiudong, wondering if he'd misheard due to the blunt tone.
Was there an issue with the translation? Or perhaps in China, they don't have formalities, so it came off that way?
Either way, not wanting to stir up trouble, he responded briefly.
"17 years old."
"Shi qi sui... suo yi wo men yi yang de nian ji. Ni you nan peng you ma?"
He directed the question to Lee Jooah.
Hajoon translated her reply, and Lee Jooah seemed taken aback. For a moment, a fierce light appeared in Lee Joohee's eyes.
"That guy..."
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down first."
Hearing this, Lee Jooah promptly and politely declined.
"I'm sorry."
Zhang Jiudong turned his attention back to Hajoon, indicating he wanted another translation.
Maintaining a calm demeanor, Hajoon translated Lee Jooah's words.
"Back off. I don’t date weaklings."
