Why Song Sia Came Late at Night (1)

Choi Hana recalled the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠events of the previous night.

Lee Junwoo had spoken up.

He had persuaded the cadets himself.

"Remember what the instructors said at this morning's induction ceremony?"

"The instructors? What about them?"

A male cadet who looked like he was from the Warrior Department answered.

Lee Junwoo turned his head.

"The moment we checked in, the instructors told us Hell Week isn't training—it's live combat. And according to the schedule, tomorrow's going to be a survival exercise against actual monsters."

"What does that have to do with eating snacks?"

The eyes of the cadets from the other departments sharpened.

Instructor Yong Huncheol's awakening guerrilla training had been so brutal it nearly killed them. The meager dinner hadn't come close to filling their stomachs. Of course the snacks right in front of them were hard to resist.

"The instructors kept hammering the point that this is live combat. Especially starting with tomorrow's monster battles."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"They also declared they wouldn't lift a finger to help us in that combat. So if you're not an idiot, you have to prepare for the worst-case scenario—no food resupply at all."

The cadets began to murmur among themselves.

"That's ridiculous. It's just training that's as hard as the real thing. There's no reason they'd actually starve us and work us to death..."

"Aren't you overthinking this? We came here to train, not to fight monsters to the death. Starving us isn't training—it's abuse."

But Lee Junwoo's expression remained firm.

"Just look at the names of the instructors participating in this Hell Week. Whether it's Instructor Yong Huncheol or Instructor Jeon Hojun—they're all powerhouses who survived dungeons famous for being literal hells."

"That means..."

"If instructors like that keep emphasizing 'live combat' over and over, then I'm certain. There's a high chance my guess is right about tomorrow's isolation training too."

It wasn't baseless talk. Lee Junwoo even went into specific detail about the battlefields the instructors had fought on, and their training styles as well.

"I guess... that could be true."

"Still, isn't that too much of a stretch? No, wait—if you think about it..."

The cadets' expressions shifted. Lee Junwoo's words were rational. Even the ones who had first looked at him like he was spouting nonsense now found their opinions split down the middle.

Lee Junwoo's face stayed resolute.

"Not eating the snacks now won't hurt much. But if you end up with nothing to eat tomorrow, you'll regret it. It's going to be even harder than today's training."

As he continued, the cadets gradually began to come around.

"I think he's right. They say Hell Week always throws unpredictable training at you over and over."

"Yeah. He might not be wrong..."

That was when it happened.

One cadet who had been holding snacks quietly tucked them into his bag.

"I'll follow Lee Junwoo's word. I'm saving the snacks instead of eating them."

It was Lim Jaeho.

When the massive werewolf said that, the cadets fell silent.

"What's going on? Lim Jaeho's listening to that Lee Junwoo?"

"Lim Jaeho isn't the type to take orders from anyone..."

Then a few rough-looking guys stirred. Cadets from the Thief and Assassin Departments looked over at another cadet—Jeong Siu.

"Why do we have to copy Lim Jaeho? And that Lee Junwoo—ever since he dropped the blonde-tanned punk look, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he's suddenly playing model student or what? Hey, Siu! Just ignore him and let's eat the snacks ourselves—"

"Shut your mouth. Stop talking crap and listen to Lee Junwoo... I mean, listen to what Lee Junwoo said."

But Jeong Siu's face hardened as he shut the other cadets down.

In that instant Lee Junwoo looked at Jeong Siu. Jeong Siu flinched hard.

"Hiiik... A-ah, no. We can just eat the snacks tomorrow! Eating too much makes you fat."

Choi Hana found ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it strange.

Why is that thug dodging Lee Junwoo's gaze like that?

But either way, Lim Jaeho and Jeong Siu both carried real weight in the Middle Class. Purely in terms of raw ability, both ranked near the top. With those two backing Lee Junwoo, opinion swung hard in one direction almost instantly.

"Were those two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever the type to just go along with someone else's opinion? Even if they're in the same department..."

"Right? Both of them have huge personalities. They'd normally ignore any cadet weaker than them."

"Don't tell me something already happened with Lee Junwoo? Maybe they already clashed."

"Yeah. Come to think of it, Lee Junwoo used to be in Aegis. He might have a hidden ace up his sleeve."

Cadets from the other departments whispered among themselves. Then, without thinking, their eyes drifted toward Choi Hana. Somehow, rumors about her had also spread pretty fiercely among the cadets.

But of course her answer was already decided.

"I agree as well."

To Choi Hana, Lee Junwoo was someone she could always trust without question.

In the end, every single member of the Middle Class followed Lee Junwoo's word.

Choi Hana's brief recollections ended.

Back to the training ground on Day Two.

This was a special training field that went beyond augmented reality—created directly by the professors of the Magic Department. That was why the cadets looked like complete wrecks. Monster flesh and blood were smeared all over their bodies.

"Kyaaaaaah—!"

Middle Class cadets severed the necks of charging ghouls. It was live combat in the truest sense. From morning until five in the afternoon, the cadets had faced wave after wave of monsters without rest.

A female cadet from the Warrior Department named Jeong Minji jammed her sword into the ground and collapsed onto her knees.

"Everything went exactly like Lee Junwoo said... Haa..."

Before anyone realized it, the cadets' eyes were already tracking Lee Junwoo first.

There had been a full six monster waves that day. Like a defense game, the cadets had to hold every single one themselves. They had known it was isolation combat training, but nearly a hundred monsters poured in with each wave.

—Not just orcs, but undead too... No, every kind of monster is mixed in!

These were Middle Class cadets, not High Class. With only average ability, they had nearly panicked at the sheer numbers.

—It's fine! Form up according to class! If we make proper parties and respond, we can handle them even if the types are mixed!

But the calmest cadet in the middle of that chaos had been Lee Junwoo. He immediately organized the cadets into groups.

—Split into three parties and respond according to the monsters' types and attributes!

And he kept giving the orders after that as well. Even Lim Jaeho and Jeong Siu followed Lee Junwoo's instructions without question. By the later waves, the Middle Class's defense pace was actually better than the High Class's.

"Haa! I can finally breathe a little."

After the sixth wave ended, during the brief break, the cadets ate the snacks they had saved under Lee Junwoo's direction.

Don't tell me he even timed when we should eat the snacks just to keep morale up...

The waves had been desperate. Yet in a situation where neither meals nor snacks were being supplied, the simple fact that they still had food left was a psychological lifeline. These weren't ordinary snacks—they were high-calorie combat rations. The Middle Class cadets hurriedly restored their stamina while eating what they had saved.

In contrast, the High Class cadets looked thoroughly exhausted. Ha Yeeun had even fainted.

"In today's training at least, we can go toe-to-toe with those High Class guys!"

Jeong Siu was burning with motivation. He was usually famous for his terrible training attitude, yet somehow today he had followed every one of Lee Junwoo's orders without a single complaint. Lim Jaeho kept seeking Lee Junwoo's opinion as well. Even the other cadets now seemed to regard Lee Junwoo as the leader of the Middle Class.

As expected, Lee Junwoo is incredible!

Choi Hana was exhausted too, but she still burned with fighting spirit. She refused to lose to the High Class that had An Yumin in it.

She snuck a glance at Lee Junwoo. He was silently gripping the red magic stone he had used back in Free Major Class.

Even though he must be exhausted, he's already training again...

Even while resting, Lee Junwoo never let the magic stone leave his hand. He seemed to be training his secondary attribute. Even now, when Lim Jaeho and Jeong Siu were sitting on the ground catching their breath—

He's someone you can't help but respect.

And watching Lee Junwoo earn the cadets' trust made Choi Hana strangely happier than she expected. Without realizing it, her heart was pounding as she looked at him.

"Waves end here! Today's final training is a time-attack assuming combat against a dungeon boss! Begin the battle!"

Instructor Jeon Hojun shouted.

Apparently they hadn't expected yet another fight. Sighs of despair rose from the High Class. But the Middle Class was different.

"Everyone's recovered, right? Then let's go again."

At Lee Junwoo's words, every Middle Class cadet raised their weapons as one.

"Haa... My whole body is screaming."

Day Two's training was finally over. After finishing the schedule, I collapsed onto the bed in the dorm.

Unlike yesterday, I had actively swung my sword today. Every muscle in my body was howling, but I was thoroughly satisfied. Day Two's training had unfolded far better than I had expected.

I didn't think the Middle Class would unite this well.

In the original episode, An Yumin had struggled considerably. Naturally, as the Middle Class, their motivation was lower than the High Class and their specs were relatively inferior. Even so, the cadets' personalities were strong, and students from different departments had done whatever they pleased. Unifying Group 1's opinions and scoring high against the High Class was extremely difficult.

But I got the best possible result.

Every single member of the Middle Class survived. And in the final time-attack, we cleared the boss at nearly the same timing as the High Class.

This Hell Week was the final quest of Chapter 1 in the original. As such, Hard difficulty also had a separate hidden quest.

Fifty crystals is sweet, but clearing it is extremely hard.

With the original Middle Class members, even preventing a total wipe of Group 1 was difficult, let alone the boss monster.

In the first place, you couldn't properly use Jeong Siu and Lim Jaeho as party members.

You could only properly recruit those two after midterms at the earliest. But both of them had actively cooperated with me. So just like operating Aegis, I had been able to command Group 1 myself. My own specs were still worse than original An Yumin's, but with the stats and skills I had raised so far, I had cut down monsters right alongside them.

Thanks to that, we made the time.

Tomorrow would bring the villain's raid. Taking down that villain was the final objective of Hell Week. Not only was the finishing-blow reward excellent, but since the opponent was a villain, it would naturally lead into the underworld site content.

So what I had focused on was skill evolution. I had achieved that goal today on Day Two—earlier than expected.

Strength and Intelligence had risen. I had swung a holy knight's sword infused with authority all day long. Of course I hadn't just swung it wildly. Exactly as Instructor Yong Huncheol had taught me yesterday, I had moved with my body's balance in mind—and Balance had risen as a result.

And I kept using the flame magic stone the entire time.

I had to face large numbers of monsters, so I maintained not only holy power but also flame-attribute mana in the blade. That influence raised my Spell Duration stat as well. Those two stats currently sat at 9 and 7 respectively. For skill evolution I had still been short by 1, as the window below showed—

But continuous use of authority had raised my Awakening Level.

With that stat bonus, I met every requirement for the skill.

Awakening Level. That was the combined total of my first and second authority levels. The side authorities formed through my second authority—the Throne of the Shadow Mirror—steadily raised that second authority's level every time they leveled up.

Before, level 25 was my limit.

I was still far behind the Aegis members who would be heading toward Awakening Level 70, but I was clearly different from before.

I haven't forgotten. What I have to do.

The hidden title Cold Fire Avenger. Thanks to its absolute composure effect, I felt not the slightest agitation facing the three of Aegis. But deep in the abyss of my heart, the fire of revenge—that cold blue fire—still burned without going out. If it was something that would let me take everything from those three, I could become colder than anyone else in the world.

No. I had to.

When I awakened the hidden authority, I had agreed. If I rejected the fate the hidden title led me toward, I would lose every authority I possessed and die.

I'll have to do whatever it takes.

Even if that meant destroying those three.

I calmly checked the newly acquired skill.

As a rare skill, even someone with relatively low stats like me could now put out serious damage. With this, I had finished every preparation to hunt the villain myself in An Yumin's place.

And just as I was about to fall asleep for tomorrow—

"What is that?"

In that instant I felt instinctive danger. I turned my head toward the place where an ominous aura was spreading.

The window of the four-person dorm room. That window was open. Someone was sitting on the windowsill with their legs crossed.

"You weren't asleep yet. Hehe."

A young woman wearing a smile so alluring it could stop a heart. A silver-haired woman whose seductive presence made her feel barely human at all.

She's not human.

I quickly rested my hand on the holy knight's sword. For a moment the unfamiliar atmosphere nearly made me fail to recognize her—but there was no doubt. It was someone I knew.

Why is Song Sia here?

She felt so completely different from usual that I had almost mistaken her, but it was unmistakably Song Sia. Red eyes that shone with a beauty so intense it raised goosebumps across my entire body. Yet under the moonlight outside the window, that gaze felt deeply ominous.

Dangerous. Exactly like standing in front of the Horror Hall. No—an even thicker sense of foreboding rose from my instincts.

Then Song Sia's lips parted.

"I'll ask you straight. Do you still love An Yumin?"

But Song Sia threw a question at me I had never even imagined.

What the hell is she talking about...

In that very moment, my mind became colder than ever. There was no action without reason.

Something's happening inside Aegis.

The system notification window reacted. Perhaps a good opportunity for my revenge had just appeared.

I answered without delay.

"No. Why would I?"

Song Sia's expression changed.