Kim Soo-hyun arrived at Seoul Hunter Academy at 5:47 AM.
The campus sprawled across what used to be three city blocks in Gangnam, transformed after the First Cataclysm into humanity's premier hunter training facility. Sleek glass buildings rose between traditional Korean architecture, a statement that the old world and new could coexist. Training grounds stretched beyond the main buildings, complete with artificial dungeon environments and combat arenas.
It was beautiful. State-of-the-art. Expensive.
And in ten years, most of the students here would be dead.
Soo-hyun pushed the thought away. That was the old timeline. He was here to change it.
"You the new janitor?"
A security guard approached, eyeing him skeptically. Young guy, maybe mid-twenties. Hunter's build but working security—probably a D-Rank who couldn't make it into a guild.
"Yes. Kim Soo-hyun. I was told to report to Facilities Management."
The guard checked his tablet, then pointed toward a smaller building behind the main administrative complex. "That's the service building. Director Choi will meet you there. Fair warning—he's particular about his cleaning standards."
"I'll keep that in mind."
As Soo-hyun walked across the pristine campus, he couldn't help analyzing everything with twenty years of combat experience. The open courtyards were defensive nightmares—too much exposure. The decorative pillars would provide cover but could also hide ambush points. The floor-to-ceiling windows were aesthetically pleasing but structurally weak.
He'd trained himself to see battlefields everywhere.
*Old habits die hard*, he thought.
The service building was exactly what he expected—functional, plain, and tucked away where visitors wouldn't see it. Inside, the smell of cleaning supplies and floor wax greeted him. A man in his fifties sat behind a desk, reviewing inventory sheets.
"Director Choi?" Soo-hyun asked.
The man looked up, adjusting his glasses. "You're the new hire? Kim Soo-hyun?"
"Yes, sir."
Director Choi stood and walked around the desk, examining Soo-hyun with the critical eye of someone who'd seen countless employees come and go. "You're older than our usual hires. Most janitors here are young guys trying to get close to the academy, hoping to awaken or get noticed by scouts."
"I'm just looking for honest work, sir."
"Hmm." Choi handed him a uniform—navy blue with the academy's logo embroidered on the chest. "Your background check came back clean. Actually, it came back *too* clean. No history before five years ago. Want to explain that?"
Soo-hyun had expected this. The System had provided a basic cover story. "I was overseas. Military contractor work in Southeast Asia. Wasn't pleasant. When I came back, I wanted something quiet."
It wasn't entirely a lie. He had fought in countless battles, and he did want something different now.
Choi studied him for another moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. I don't pry into people's pasts. But I do expect hard work. The academy's reputation depends on every employee, including janitors. You'll be responsible for the academic buildings, particularly the upper floors. Classes start at 8 AM, so you'll need to finish most cleaning before then."
"Understood."
"There's one more thing." Choi's expression hardened. "Students here come from powerful families. Rich kids, noble clans, guild connections. They'll look down on you. Some might try to push you around or make messes deliberately. I need to know you won't cause problems."
Soo-hyun almost laughed. He'd faced Demon Lords and dungeon bosses. Spoiled teenagers didn't concern him.
"I can handle it, sir."
"Good. Get changed. I'll show you your routes."
---
By 7:30 AM, Soo-hyun had learned the layout of his assigned buildings and was pushing his cleaning cart down the main academic building's third-floor hallway. The System had been silent since his arrival, which he found both relieving and concerning.
Students were starting to arrive, flooding the hallways with noise and energy. Most ignored him completely—just another janitor, part of the background. A few shot him looks of disdain.
He was fine with that. Invisible was exactly what he needed to be.
"—I'm telling you, Class F is a joke this year," a voice echoed from around the corner. "Did you see their combat evaluation scores? The highest was barely C-Rank potential."
"My dad says they should just shut down Class F entirely," another voice responded. "Why waste resources on failures?"
Soo-hyun slowed his cart, listening.
Seoul Hunter Academy divided students into six classes—A through F—based on their entrance examination results and potential rankings. Class A students were future S-Ranks and SS-Ranks, destined for top guilds. Class F students were... everyone else. The ones who barely qualified, who had weak abilities or poor combat instincts.
In his original timeline, Soo-hyun had never paid attention to Class F. They were statistical noise, hunters who would cap out at D or C-Rank and take safe jobs in low-level dungeons or guild support roles.
But now, looking back with twenty years of hindsight, he realized something crucial: *potential* and *actual ability* were two very different things.
The System had evaluated people based on their current state and linear growth projections. It couldn't account for proper training, real combat experience, or the right mentor pushing someone beyond their limits.
Class F wasn't full of failures. It was full of diamonds in the rough that the System—and everyone else—had failed to recognize.
His System window flickered to life:
**[HIDDEN QUEST DETECTED]**
**[Quest: Identify Your First Student]**
**[Objective: Observe Class F and select one student to train]**
**[Reward: Guardian's First Tool]**
**[Time Limit: 7 days]**
Soo-hyun smiled slightly. So the System wanted him to start small. One student at a time.
He could work with that.
The bell rang, and students rushed to their classrooms. Soo-hyun continued his cleaning, but his mind was already working. He needed to observe Class F without drawing attention. Study their movements, their techniques, their attitudes.
And find the one who could become something great.
---
Lunchtime arrived, and Soo-hyun found himself cleaning the second-floor terrace overlooking the main training ground. Below, various classes were conducting combat drills. Class A students moved with fluid precision, their abilities already refined. Class B and C weren't far behind.
And then there was Class F.
They were relegated to the far corner of the training ground, using the oldest equipment. Their instructor—a middle-aged woman who looked thoroughly unenthused—was going through basic combat forms with the enthusiasm of someone reading a phone book.
Soo-hyun counted fifteen students. A small class. Most looked discouraged, going through the motions without passion. A few were clearly trying hard, but their techniques were fundamentally flawed.
One student caught his attention.
A girl, maybe eighteen, with her hair tied back in a practical ponytail. She stood slightly apart from the others, watching the instructor's demonstration with intense focus. When it was her turn to practice, she executed the form competently—not exceptional, but correct.
What interested Soo-hyun wasn't her technique. It was what she did after.
While other students rested between drills, she practiced the movement again. And again. Adjusting her stance each time, trying to refine it. No instructor was watching. No one cared. But she kept practicing anyway.
**[POTENTIAL STUDENT IDENTIFIED]**
**[Name: Han Sera]**
**[Current Rank: F+]**
**[Potential: Unknown]**
**[Special Note: This individual died in your original timeline during the first year of academy]**
Soo-hyun's blood ran cold.
He remembered now. Han Sera. She'd been a victim of the First Gate Break at Seoul Hunter Academy—an incident that happened during his second month as a janitor in the original timeline. A C-Rank gate appeared inside the academy grounds, and several F-Class students were caught in the initial outbreak.
Twenty-three students died that day. It had been a national tragedy, leading to massive reforms in academy safety protocols.
But those reforms came too late for the victims.
And apparently, the System expected him to change that.
**[QUEST UPDATED]**
**[Objective: Ensure Han Sera survives the First Gate Break]**
**[Sub-objective: Train her to handle C-Rank threats]**
**[Time Limit: 43 days]**
**[WARNING: Major timeline alteration. Proceed with caution.]**
Forty-three days. Less than seven weeks to take an F-Rank student and prepare her for a threat that would kill trained hunters.
Below, Han Sera finished her extra practice and wiped sweat from her forehead. She looked tired but determined.
Soo-hyun made his decision.
His first student would be the girl who refused to give up, even when everyone else had already written her off.
Now he just needed to figure out how a janitor could train a hunter student without anyone realizing what was happening.
The System seemed to read his thoughts:
**[HINT: Janitors have access to all academy facilities after hours]**
**[HINT: Accidents happen during late-night cleaning]**
**[HINT: Sometimes students stay late to practice alone]**
Soo-hyun smiled grimly. The System wanted him to be creative.
Fine. He could be creative.
He pulled out his phone and checked the academy schedule. Class F had evening training sessions three days a week, ending at 7 PM. The training facilities closed at 9 PM, but cleaning staff had access until midnight.
That gave him a two-hour window.
As he watched Han Sera return to her class, he began formulating a plan. She needed foundation work—her stance was decent but not optimal. Her mana circulation was inefficient, wasting energy. Her combat instincts were almost nonexistent.
Forty-three days wasn't a lot of time.
But Kang Minho had forged warriors from less promising material in worse conditions.
The only difference now was that he'd have to do it while mopping floors and pretending to be invisible.
*Challenge accepted*, he thought.
---
The rest of the day passed in a blur of cleaning and observation. Soo-hyun memorized the academy's rhythms—when instructors changed shifts, which hallways were busy, where students congregated, which areas had the least security coverage.
At 8 PM, long after most students had left, he made his way to the training facilities under the guise of his nightly cleaning rounds.
The combat training room was empty, as expected. Soo-hyun propped the door open with his cleaning cart—the universal signal that janitorial work was in progress—and stepped inside.
The room was equipped with basic training dummies, weight equipment, and a small sparring area. Nothing fancy, but sufficient for what he needed.
He walked to the center of the room and closed his eyes, letting muscle memory take over.
Even with his stats sealed, his body remembered. Twenty years of combat. Thousands of battles. Techniques refined through blood and survival.
He moved through a basic sword form—one of the foundational techniques every hunter learned but few ever mastered. Without a weapon, his movements looked like elaborate shadowboxing. But each motion was precise, economical, perfect.
**[SKILL REAWAKENED: Heavenly Dragon's First Form]**
**[Note: You cannot use mana-enhanced versions]**
**[Note: Physical demonstration is permitted]**
Soo-hyun continued the form, feeling the familiar flow. Even without mana enhancement, the technique was devastatingly effective. It was about leverage, timing, and understanding how force moved through the body.
He completed the sequence and opened his eyes.
This was what he would teach Han Sera. Not flashy abilities or powerful skills—those would come later. First, she needed the foundation that would keep her alive.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway made him quickly return to his cleaning cart. He grabbed a mop and began cleaning the floor, falling seamlessly back into his janitor role.
A security guard poked his head in. "Everything okay?"
"Just finishing up," Soo-hyun replied. "These training rooms always take longer."
The guard nodded and moved on.
When the footsteps faded, Soo-hyun allowed himself a small smile.
This was going to work.
Tomorrow, he'd start leaving small clues for Han Sera. A training dummy positioned slightly differently. Equipment laid out in a specific pattern. Subtle things that might catch the attention of a dedicated student.
And in three days, when she stayed late for extra practice like the determined student she was, he'd already be here. Cleaning. Invisible.
But ready to change her fate.
---
**[QUEST PROGRESS: 1/43 days remaining]**
**[GUARDIAN'S FIRST LESSON: Foundation is everything]**
**[The real training begins tomorrow]**