You remembered what I said last chap...
Well I LIED KHAHAHAHAHA..... enjoy.
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3rdP.o.v
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Yoo Yeonha opened her eyes. A patternless white ceiling filled her sight, and the sound of something being cut tickled her ears. She turned towards the direction of the sound.
Kim Suho was cutting an apple with a fruit knife.
"...What are you doing here?"
Yoo Yeonha asked dumbfoundedly. Kim Suho glanced at Yoo Yeonha before smiling bashfully.
"You're awake? It doesn't hurt anywhere, right?"
"...I'm fine."
"The doctor said there's nothing wrong with your body."
Yoo Yeonha raised her upper body. She felt slightly stiff and sore, but it wasn't to the point that she couldn't move.
"What I want to know is why you're here."
"We're taking turns nursing you. Me, Nayun, Shin Jonghak, and Kim Horak."
"Why?"
Yoo Yeonha asked genuinely curious.
"Well, it's kind of our fault..."
"...Huh?"
Yoo Yeonha fell into thought because of Kim Suho's incomprehensible words. How was it their fault?
But even after contemplating what happened, she couldn't come up with an answer.
'Did they do something I didn't know?' Yoo Yeonha glared at Kim Suho, demanding an explanation.
"As members of the same team, we should have been more careful. We were too absorbed in caring for Nayun that we were too negligent..."
Yoo Yeonha became lost for words. Her brain seemed to freeze at the sheer stupidity of Kim Suho's statement.
It wasn't as if they could have known she would be attacked. Not to mention, the investigation team had only met twice, and there was even a huge argument in the second meeting.
"...Sorry."
"Pfft."
Yoo Yeonha chuckled at Kim Suho's bashful apology. If anything, she realised just how stupidly kind this man was.
"You don't need to be sorry. I got what I deserved."
Kim Suho scratched his neck and gave Yoo Yeonha a plate of sliced apples, which were shaped like rabbits. Yoo Yeonha smiled subconsciously. Being a girl, Yoo Yeonha liked cute things.
"They look nice."
"Thanks."
Kim Suho laughed innocently. His handsome face seemed to shine. Yoo Yeonha stared at his face in a daze before suddenly remembering something and asking.
"...Oh right, um, did that person come?"
"That person?"
Kim Hajin.
Yoo Yeonha couldn't say his name out loud. She had a conscience. She didn't expect him to visit her after what she had done.
"No, never mind."
She looked outside the window. There wasn't a single cluster of clouds on the East Sea's clear and blue sky. The world seemed particularly bright under the beaming sunlight.
Seeing this dazzling scenery, Yoo Yeonha fell into thought.
She learned many things today.
Of course, her 17-year-old personality wouldn't entirely change with just this one incident. Tomorrow's Yoo Yeonha might not be too different from today's.
But there were certainly many things she felt from the bottom of her heart. She wasn't sure whether it was self-reflection, introspection, or plain gratefulness.
Before she wrote everything down in her diary and pondered over it, she first picked up her smartwatch.
There was still something she needed to do.
.
.
.
Moonlight shone through a broken window, but it only lit up dusty ruins and absolute silence. Vines and moss were the only living things in this desolate place abandoned by humans.
A factory in Suwon abandoned after Outcall, this was Chameleon Troupe's temporary hiding place.
—Boss.
A voice rang out in the empty space. The call awoke an existence sleeping in the darkness.
—You're awake?
The existence slowly opened its eyes. The revealed pupils glistened like jewels yet carried a threatening aura.
—Those bastards started moving. The Packhorse Master. They just listed themselves on the stock market.
The ownerless voice notified the existence of this information.
The existence replied briefly. Not even a hint of emotion could be felt in the dull voice.
"Understood."
—What should we do next?
The existence put off answering the question and slowly raised its body. Meanwhile, a full moon revealed itself from behind the clouds. A brighter moonlight infiltrated the window and lit up the existence's body. The enshrouding darkness instantly melted down.
—That aside, Boss is beautiful as always.
Long black hair seemingly weaved out of shadows, full pink lips, and a smooth white skin adorning a graceful figure... A woman, who seemed to be the manifestation of modern beauty, spoke without the slightest change in her expression.
"Do you have a death wish?"
A dark blue magic power crackled from her hands.
—I'm kidding, but it's not like I can say Boss is ugly. Forgive me.
The threatening magic power akin to an erupting lava calmed down.
—Anyways, what are we going to do? The Packhorse Master is making its move.
"We will only steal. We won't care about anything else."
It was an apathetic answer, but her command was clear.
—Oh, by the way, there's someone buying Packhorse Master's stocks en masse.
"Stocks?"
—Yep. At first, I thought it was just a small investor, investing 3 million won first and 10 million won second. But suddenly, he threw in 250 million won on top of that. A small investor randomly investing wouldn't do something like that.
"Coincidence?"
—Mm... 95%, I'd say. But Boss, the other 5% is what I'm concerned with. There's no reason to buy this stock. Packhorse Master doesn't even have a guild page yet.
"Don't mind it. We only have one job."
—Mmm... If you say so. I'll tell the troupe members that.
"Un."
With that, the voice disappeared. Then, it quickly came back.
—Oh right, a few interesting pages appeared on Violet Banquet.
The woman tilted her head.
—Artifact Search Corp, Jonggak's Dog Meat Soup, and Truth Agency.
"Are they of any use?"
—The first two are slowly building their reputation, but I don't know about Truth Agency. I just included it because of how confident it introduced itself. Since it's boasting in Violet Banquet, I'm sure it has some skill.
"Take it out."
—Come on~ You know how things are. It wasn't just once or twice that seemingly ordinary pages were the jackpot. I'll give you the page number later, so take a look. It says it'll answer any question. Who knows? Maybe it can help us find that son of a bitch.
However, the woman remained uninterested.
"That doesn't happen often."
—Still. Alright, I'm going. See you later, Boss~
That seemed to be the end of the
conversation.
But the voice came back once again.
—Oh, one more thing, Boss.
"..."
Veins popped up on the woman's white forehead.
"What now?"
—Cube's exams start next week. You'll go watch, right?
Huu.
The woman sighed before replying.
"Yeah, I will."
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Next week.
Shiki P.o.v
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We went back to our lives after Yoo Yoenha was saved. There wasn't any incident happened after that, it was a little peaceful for the cadets.
Of course, there were exceptions.
For example, idiotic student no.1, Kim Hajin, was lying on the ground, gasping for air.
After being 'invited' to Lilith sub-space, I realised that Gaia would go all out at any given moment, and it certainly wouldn't play fair.
So I ramped up our training to a 'Scáthach' one to quickly raise Hajin's stats and gifts. From running with armours and weights to hunting him down with spears and magic blasts. It wouldn't be strange if He was limping afterwards.
As for how I got the equipment? Projection magecraft. Quick, easy, efficient and leaving no traces besides environmental destruction. I even projected ammunition to save cost.
That said, there was no excuse here besides curfew and bedtime that he could avoid being 'Scáthached'.
Speaking of, Lancer was watching as well. Of course, she didn't reveal herself but did it from a corner of the training facility. Just like me, she wanted to see what kind of heroes my students would grow into so she ultimately chose to stay.
Now that I have the most reliable partner for the long run, I should think of how to introduce her in the future. I wonder if they know of her legend.
Just like that, my past week was: go to class — lunch — back to class — physical training — dinner — practical training — free time — sleep — repeat.
Hajin obviously disliked the plan, but did he really have a choice? After a tentacle-whipping servant treatment, he had no choice but to follow hoping it would be enough to survive.
Rachel, the less impulsive but more naive student, also joined the training from time to time. Due to the different intensity in training, she was less prone to exhaustion and injury.
'Damn favouritism' was written on Hajin's face. But what can you do? She is by far the better of them and the more diligent one. Who would not favour her more than him?
Fair or not, I also reaped a few benefits in the past week. The stats growth was obvious. The best was from Scáthach herself. Within the week, I had stayed behind after training to spar with her.
The result was clear: Lancer won every time we fought. I might have caught her off guard a few occasions, but any more than that was still not possible. I learned a lot from Lancer, most of which I could not have learned from The Root. Real experience speaks volumes.
.
.
.
Mondays to Fridays this week were not any different, except for the theory tests included in our class. Me, Hajin and Rachel met up at the library comparing our answers as well as solving any questions. Rachel started to interact with us, breaking out of her sheltered demeanour.
Saturday and Sunday were a break from the exams. Also, a preparation period for next week's practical.
Combat exams would begin on Monday. During combat exam periods, Cube was open to cadets' family members, various Hero associates, and all institutions that hired Heroes. Naturally, Cube was bustling with people.
"Oh~ Cube's rank 117, Kim Junha! I saw you on YouTube. My son is your fan. Can we take a photo?"
Because cadets' families were present, the combat exam period was somewhat of a festival. It was a bit odd that teenagers fighting each other was considered a festival, but this was Cube's tradition.
"We are in Cube, the world's best Hero Academy..."
Reporters were also allowed in from approved broadcasting companies. Since becoming a Hero was akin to becoming a celebrity, the goal was to let cadets become used to being on camera.
"There sure are a lot of people right, teach?"
"Yes, there are, Hajin."
Naturally, Hajin and I, who had zero relatives were sitting in the Hero park located in the centre of Cube.
Unlike how it normally was, the place was booming with people as though it were Disneyland.
"Ah! Hajin-ssi! Shiki-san"
At that moment, someone called our names.
*Tap tap*
We turned towards the direction of the footsteps.
It was Hazuki.
"Hajin-ssi, Shiki-san, what are you doing here?"
"Oh... Just taking a break. Who are the two behind you?" Hajin said.
"My parents. This is my mom and this is my dad. Mom, Dad, this is my teammate."
"H-Hello."
Hajin shook hands with Hazuki's parents. They smiled and said something in Japanese. He just feigned a smile.
"Hajin. His name is Kim Hajin."
After Hazuki told them Hajin's name, they grabbed his hands, saying "Hajin-san, Hajin-san". He just replied with "hai, hai." Of course, Hajin didn't understand Japanese.
After the greeting ended, Hazuki turned to introduce me.
(In Japanese)
"Oh! And this is Shiki-san, a Japanese just like us."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Tatsuya Shiki. Please call me Shiki or Tatsuya."
"Ah!!! It's nice to meet you. My name is..."
After a few minutes of talking, mostly about where we lived and childhood stories, which Hazuki wasn't very fond of her parents doing, Hazuki left with her parents.
Alone once again, we sat down on the bench. Hajin couldn't help but feel jealous of Hazuki, whose parents had come to see her.
'Huu. If only Mom and Dad were in this world too...' Hajin thought.
Just when he was having wishful thoughts... a certain person caught his eye.
A woman was slowly walking through the crowded park.
Her long hair was black like shadows, her eyes looked like obsidian, and she seemed a bit drowsy.
She held a certain melancholic charm that seemed to turn her surroundings dark.
He felt like he knew her.
She was exactly as he described her in his novel.
One of the few wanted criminals on Hero Association's blacklist, the leader of the criminal group Chameleon Troupe, and the person who inherited the title of Yasha of the Eight Legions.
As she disguised herself with countless numbers of identities, yet Hajin was the only one who knew her real name.
She walked past Hajin. He couldn't help but turn his head to see the woman. But I stopped him.
"Don't look back, Hajin. She's dangerous."
"You knew her, Teacher?"
"I don't. But you seemed like you do, right?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Then more reasons not to look. She's strong, compared to this world standard, and she is camouflaging herself as well. For whatever reason she did it, getting caught won't end well for you."
"Got it."
"Let's go, Hajin. Best if we stay away for now. Heroes are here, she won't cause any ruckus."
Hajin nodded, said nothing more and kept his head straight. However, he has already caught the eye of the woman. So did Shiki.
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3rd P.o.v
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*Clack, clack.*
A woman stopped in an artificial forest. After confirming that no one was watching her, she quietly murmured.
"Someone saw me. Two exactly."
The forest was empty without even a shadow of a person. However, a strange voice rang out from the ground.
—Really? Maybe you were mistaken.
"No!! One tried to turn back and look at me, and the other stopped him. He also kept his guard on me."
—...Pfft. Well, did you like it, Boss?
"Do you want to die?"
—Check again. Maybe the necklace isn't working.
A full-body mirror shot up from the ground. The woman looked at herself in the mirror. Around her neck was Siren's Necklace, an item with the ability to prevent people from recognising her.
"The necklace is working fine."
—Really? So two people saw through the necklace? They must have good perception. I'll keep an eye out. Do you remember their name and face?
"...Stop joking around. You saw them too."
—Huhu, I know, I know. I'm already looking into it. Wait just a bit.
*Tadak, tadak* The sound of a keyboard rang out.
The woman closed her eyes and waited for the report.
—There's nothing special about them.
The voice answered after ten minutes of waiting. The woman smacked her lips. It was her habit that came out when she was dissatisfied.
—Really. One of them is an orphan without parents or relatives. The orphanage he was in held an examination for potential Heroes and he was admitted to the Agent Military Academy at the age of 6. He never stood out, maintaining a below-average rank before entering Cube. He has a 300 million won debt. That's it.
"..."
–And the other? Unranked. The record showed that he had applied at the last minute. Nothing more.
"..."
'Then how did they notice me?'
—Do you still have doubts? I can put their name down in the notebook if you want.
"...No."
The woman dropped her head.
"We still have many chances. We can write their name down after we find out more about them."
"Oh, Boss, you were here." An imposing voice resounded
The woman turned around. There, a large-bodied man was smiling viciously.
"It's been a while, Boss."
The man clearly treated the woman with great respect.
"This place is filled with powerful Heroes."
Click, click. The man clenched and unclenched his gauntlet-covered fist.
"Take it off. We didn't come here to cause trouble."
"Ah, right. I almost forgot."
At the woman's command, the man's black gauntlet scattered into dust. He then scratched his neck in silence, while the woman glared at him coldly.
"W-What?"
–The report.
"Oh, right. There's nothing to report. I can pop everyone's heads with a flick of a finger."
—Idiot... That's obvious. I'm talking about their future potential.
"Hm... I'm not sure. I went to watch the second year's rank 1 cadet, but he wasn't anything special."
—First years are who you should be watching. This year's freshmen are said to be exceptional, so go look again. Oh, Boss, I have something to do now, so I'll talk to you later.
"Yeah, screw off."
—...You shut up.
"Boss, I don't think there are any good saplings. What do we do? Since we're here, can't we fight these self-proclaimed Heroes?"
"...Gyeong."
"Mm?"
"Let's test something."
She imbued magic power into her necklace. Immediately, the necklace changed colour from gold to blue.
"How is it? Can you see me?"
"Oho, is that the treasure you got before? I can see a faint silhouette, but not your face. Ah, I have to focus. Even though you're not moving, I keep losing sight of you if I'm not focused. Ah, you just fused with the tree, Boss!"
"..."
As expected, the necklace was working fine. Although the man was a muscle-brained brute who only trained his body, he still had a deep perception that matched his skill. But even he couldn't see through her, so how did a mere cadet manage to do so?
"Oh, dang. I can't tell where you are now, Boss. Let me borrow that too. I'm way too noticeable because of my large body. If there's someone I wanted to kill..."
"We're done here. Go."
The woman cut off the man's chatter.
"Make sure you complete your mission."
"Yes, Boss."
The woman watched him walk away imposingly. His bulky back, mountainous shoulders, and flawlessly refined physique showed that he was anything but simple. In reality, he was an Irregular who had inherited the old Martial God's spirit and vigor.
—...Cheok Jungyeong wasn't always that stupid, right Boss?
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Mondays, next week.
Shiki P.o.v
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The weekend passed by in the blink of an eye, and the combat exams began.
Monday's exam was a duel.
The exam was carried out in a simple way. Cadets could nominate cadets they wanted to fight. Each cadet had 3 nominations, and a nominated cadet couldn't refuse the duel.
Though it might seem like a way for the strong to bully the weak, Cube wasn't so stupid. The exam was designed to be fair, giving bonus points depending on the difference in the cadets' rankings.
I immediately got a notification from my smartwatch.
"Of course..."
[ Duel 3 ]
[ Rank 1 Kim Suho vs Unranked Tatsuya Shiki ]
Considering my Unranked status, challenging me won't affect anyone's rank but my own. So it is a foolproof plan to advertise yourself.
Kim Suho surely wouldn't do that. He must have nominated me to see our current gap.
On my way to the arena, the scenery outside was completely different from usual.
Compared to the usual quiet, it was soothing and heartwarming. I could practically smell a flowery scent blowing in the wind.
"I wonder if I could go on a walk like this. Maybe once I came back there."
I then saw Hajin also walking to the arena. He must have a duel soon so I joined him along the way.
"Where are you going?"
At that moment, someone scurried next to us like a cat. We paused and turned our heads.
"Our duels are near, so we're heading to the arena
"Obviously." Hajin answered.
"Oh right, Horak nominated you~"
Yoo Yeonha feigned ignorance.
"...Is there something you want to say?"
"I tried to stop him but he insisted on fighting you. I had no choice."
"Oh, I see."
We continued walking. Yoo Yeonha followed after us, then suddenly backed off. There was a camera up ahead. It seemed she didn't want to be near me in front of a camera.
Once the camera disappeared, Yoo Yeonha returned to our side.
"Oh, also..."
Tak. She snapped her fingers. Immediately, a tall man walked up and handed her a suitcase.
"Here are 100 pinnacle grade bullets. But if you need any more, just tell me. You can also ask for any defensive equipment."
"Oh?"
Just when Hajin was about to take it, Yoo Yeonha suddenly pulled the suitcase back.
"But don't misunderstand. This isn't a payment for you saving my life."
"Huh?"
Yoo Yeonha stuttered somewhat bashfully.
"T-This is... just a present."
"Yeah, I get it, so give it here."
Uninterested, Hajin snatched the suitcase from her hands.
"Also, they're asking for my testimony."
"Hm?"
"For the Djinn incident."
"Oh yeah, what about it?"
"They want me to testify, but I've been delaying it since it looked like you wanted to hide your power."
'So she purposely didn't report that I sniped the Djinn.' Hajin thought.
"...Then keep doing that."
I wasn't sure if she was fully unconscious when I threw her out, but It would help nonetheless. Reporters and polices served moslty nothing but headache.
"Understood. Ah, by the way, will Horak win?"
"Will Horak win?"
"Nah, he'd lose." I answered for Him.
Hajin looked at me in confusion. I nodded at him, giving him a thumbs-up before dragging across my throat. The message was clear.
'Go nuts, Hajin. No mercy.'
"I see... Then I'm off."
Before Hajin could process, Yoo Yeonha left.
We arrived at the second duel arena. We will fight in the same arena, only different time. The place was packed with people; subsequently, microphones and cameras were also there.
Coincidentally, a nearby reporter was talking about why.
"Today, Kim Suho, Chae Nayun, and Kim Horak are scheduled to duel from 9 A.M. to 11 A.M."
We ploughed through the crowd of people and walked towards the duel arena. Suddenly, we were stopped by a man in an official Cube uniform. Hajin asked, somewhat disgruntled.
"I'm wearing a cadet uniform, can't you see?"
"Haha, it's not that. Cadets need to go that way."
The man pointed at a pathway next to the main entrance.
"Oh, thank you."
We walked through the pathway and arrived at our assigned waiting room.
[Room 5]
While we were resting before our matches, someone struck up a conversation
"I heard you were fighting Kim Horak."
Hajin nodded without replying.
"Damn, Kim Horak must have you marked. You shouldn't have shown off so much."
"..."
"Oh right, why do you keep leaving Cube? Are you really throwing money in cabaret clubs and brothels?"
He shook his head silently.
"No way, you really do?"
"No. Even if I want to, I don't have the money."
Seeing enough of the guy lifting his ego, I cut in.
"Stop it already. Are you that free? Focus on your match then.
C'mon Hajin. You're up."
"Yeah... Thanks, Shiki."
Hajin got up and walked towards the door.
"Oh, and Hajin..."
He turned his head.
"Give 'em a good show."
"I will."
.
.
.
The duel arena was a miniature version of the Roman Colosseum. The central arena was slightly bigger than a standard soccer field, while the seats circling the arena could seat about 5000 people.
The design was a great success.
Ten minutes before the start of a duel, the guest seats were packed full of people.
"How did you get such a nice seat?"
The high-ranked Hero, Oh Junhyuk, asked in surprise as he handed Seo Youngji a hot dog. The seats she grabbed were the frontmost seats, which had the best view of the arena.
"You tell me to focus on the mission, but you come here first thing in the morning to grab the best seat..."
"Shut up and sit down."
Oh, Junhyuk snickered and sat down next to her.
"...Wow, it sure brings back memories, doesn't it?"
"You must mean bad memories. I remember you saying you were beaten so hard that you couldn't even watch mixed martial arts afterwards."
"...I've gotten better because it's always on TV. My son loves it too."
Really? That's nice to hear."
"Nice to hear? Please, the world must be coming to an end. Djinns are more active than ever, but nowadays, becoming a sports star is ranked third for cadets' choice of career path. They're saying they'd rather go into sports than join a small to medium-sized guild."
"I don't see what's wrong with it."
"You don't see what's wrong with it? Because of people like you, the Association is in this pitiful state..."
The host announced the start of the day's duels, and Seo Youngji immediately took out her laptop.
"Typical Associate executive... Alright, who should I be looking out for?"
"Kim Suho and Chae Nayun. They're at the top of their class. And I guess Yi Yeonghan and Kim Horak too."
"Oh! Two of the top 6 are here? Whom are they fighting?"
Kim Suho and Chae Nayun were well-known even in the Association. Even Oh Junhyuk, who wasn't into watching duels, couldn't help but be interested in their match.
"Kim Suho is fighting Tatsuya Shiki. Chae Nayun is fighting Joseph. Kim Horak is fighting Kim Hajin."
"So, who are our dark horses?"
"Kim Hajin, rank 934"
"...Rank 934? Isn't that too low? Is there anything special about him?"
Seo Youngji pushed up her glasses.
"There are bad rumours about him. My cousin in Cube told me that he's quite distasteful."
"Ah, so Kim Horak's punishing a delinquent. I see, I see. Who would have thought Kim Horak had a sense of justice? He's sacrificing his own grade to do this too... And the other?"
"Tatsuya Shiki, Unranked."
"Unranked? Interesting... Does he have some bad rumours, too?"
"No... This one's a blank."
"I see..."
*Tak* Seo Youngji closed her laptop.
"It's starting."
—The first duel is between rank 18, Kim Horak, and rank 934, Kim Hajin! How will Kim Hajin overcome the difference in their rank? Why did Kim Horak nominate such a low-ranked cadet?
The unfortunate host tried his best to hype up the match which had an obvious result.
A mana barrier went up around the arena. It was to prevent the two cadets' attacks from leaking out.
"That must be him."
"Yep."
Oh Junhyuk looked at the man walking out from the right passageway. He looked... average. So average in fact that he wouldn't even remember his face the next day.
.
.
.
Oh~ Kim Horak."
Hajin smiled and waved his hand.
"How did you do on your written exams?"
He provoked him, but Kim Horak equipped his gauntlet without talking.
Hajin also held up his handgun. His base stats were lacking compared to Kim Horak's. But with Reinforcement already invoked, the gaps were already closed
"Let's take it easy, alright?"
—Counting down! Three!
The host must have thought they were ready, as he started counting down.
*Crack* * Crack* Hajin could hear Kim Horak cracking his knuckles from all the way here.
—Two!
Kim Horak ignited his magic power, drawing it above the surface of his body, forming layers of magic power. Impressive, but there still some weak spots all around. As a shooter, Hajin naturally identified them quickly.
—One!
150 meters. It was the distance between the two. After the signal, it would wind down to 10. Hajin aimed his pistol, waiting for the start.
—FIGHT!!!
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