When Three Nymphs Team Up, Nothing Is Impossible! #3
Day two.
The full-scale training had officially begun.
Oinoi, Coris, and Illinoi stood in front of the barracks, decked out in combat vests.
"This Oinoi…! It feels as though she has become the protagonist of MechaSnail2…!"
She looked positively delighted.
Wait a second. Wasn't Oinoi supposed to hate people in military or police uniforms? So dressing up in one herself was perfectly fine, huh?
Then Illinoi spoke up.
"This canteen is an antique, no…? The Yankees who fought the Apache tribes definitely drank from better canteens than this one, that is the fact…! I demand a lawyer, that is the fact…!"
Well, the canteen was old.
Drinking from that thing would probably contaminate you.
Coris took a sip of the water inside and said,
"It is fortunate that this Coris evolved into an Ice Water Nymph…! Had she failed to evolve, she would surely have drunk this canteen's water and become a Muddy Water Nymph…!"
A Muddy Water Nymph? What on earth was that?
Just as I was wondering, it turned out Instructor Jo Gyo-hee was curious too.
"What is a Muddy Water Nymph?"
Jo Gyo-hee.
She seemed genuinely fond of the nymphs.
Even though the three of them were noisy and prone to causing scenes, she never once snapped at them or raised her voice.
Interested in nymphs, was she?
Oinoi answered promptly.
"A Muddy Water Nymph is what nymphs commonly evolve into when they do bad things…! Villains who commit wicked deeds galore, that is what they are…!"
Wait. Illinoi?
When I glanced over at Illinoi, she furrowed her brow.
"Why is the House Master looking at this Illinoi with such suspicious eyes…? This Illinoi is a Medicine Nymph…! She learned the art of brewing mystical potions from the Indians…! A perfectly wholesome organic nymph, that is the fact…!"
The more I learned about the nymph world, the less I understood it.
Maybe this was something you had to feel with your heart rather than comprehend with your brain.
Anyway, the canteen ended up being purely decorative.
If Oinoi drank the wrong water, evolved into that so-called Muddy Water Nymph, and went on a rampage, that would be a serious headache.
And so the training began under that auspicious mood.
On a bright sunny day, the curriculum involved crawling through the sticky mud beneath barbed wire and vaulting over obstacles — and the nymphs took to it surprisingly well.
"Nymph Secret Technique: Crawl Like Crazy, that is what this is…!"
No, seriously, they were good. Better than expected.
Even Instructor Jo Gyo-hee marveled, "You're all doing wonderfully!"
The nymphs, in particular, needed zero extra training when it came to survival skills.
"That is a poisonous mushroom…! That one is a non-poisonous mushroom…! And this is an edible wild raspberry…!"
Edible plants that grew naturally in rifts.
They classified every single one without hesitation.
Had these three really not needed training in the first place?
"This is too easy, that is the fact…!"
Well, to be fair, this was training designed so that even the elderly and little kids could come and pass it. Once you got the hang of it, anyone could do well — that was the whole point. The training existed precisely to make sure that anyone caught in a rift situation could handle themselves.
Instructor Jo Gyo-hee addressed them.
"Then I trust you'll score highly on the live rift survival test at the end as well? We award commemorative prizes to everyone who posts a high score."
"This Coris wonders whether they give out water purifiers…!"
"There are no water purifiers."
"Then this Coris has no interest…! Now it's free time! Oinoi! Illinoi! Hurry, let us run and play…!"
The nymphs piled into the muddy water pool.
The pool was a trench deliberately filled with filthy, murky water. But the moment Coris, Oinoi, and Illinoi waded in and started splashing around, the situation changed.
"Nymph Secret Technique: Splash Like Crazy!"
Splash, splash, splaaaash—
The nymphs frolicked in the water.
And then — the muddy pool turned crystal clear in a matter of seconds.
Oinoi puffed out her shoulders and chest with pride.
"We nymphs have the gift of turning dirty water clean, that is what it is…!"
No.
That is water you are not supposed to clean.
"Now it feels like we could fight invasive species and win, that is what it is…!"
"Let them learn how terrifying we nymph sisters are…!"
After dinner, during rest hour.
Oinoi and Coris looked absolutely thrilled.
They seemed delighted by the good marks they'd earned on today's high-energy courses.
Only one day of training remained.
Tomorrow, I heard, they would enter an "actual rift" for their final evaluation.
An actual rift, huh.
Did Nonsan even have one of those?
I looked it up: apparently, a rift that had opened near the training camp about three years ago had been permanently sealed and secured by a military unit, and was now used as a training ground.
A low-mana F-Rank rift.
They'd apparently tuned the environment so that even ordinary civilians could hold out for half a day or so without trouble.
"Are you really sure this is okay?"
I felt a flicker of worry.
Rifts weren't some unqualified blessing to the human world.
They were disasters to be guarded against — that was the whole point.
"Behave yourselves, all of you."
I left the nymphs and Keong-keong-i in the barracks and stepped out briefly, wanting to see this so-called military-controlled rift with my own eyes.
Following the road, I soon spotted a group sitting in front of the rift — a bunch of young boys and girls, and among them a face I recognized.
"Oh! Senior! What brings you here? Did you come to check on the F-Rank newcomers like I mentioned?"
Yu Ari.
At the words "F-Rank newcomers," my eyes moved again to the five figures seated before the rift.
Now that I looked properly — F-Ranks, huh.
"Everyone, say hello. If I had to describe Ha Ildo Senior here, I'd say he's a first-generation graduate who was called the very first re-awakened hunter in history. And his skills are incredible, too?"
Was Ari hyping me up in front of her juniors?
But the kids' expressions were lukewarm at best.
"Who's Ha Ildo?"
"No idea."
F-Rank average age: seventeen.
I had already been active in the field before these kids even started elementary school. Back when I was famous, they probably hadn't mastered addition and subtraction yet, so I could hardly blame them for the bland reaction.
What would kids know, anyway!
Perhaps sensing my embarrassment at the flat response, Ari added, "Kids, listen up. If things go well, this man might come here as your instructor. Now's a good time to rack up some brownie points, no? You know Keong-keong-i the Dog-Squirrel? Super famous these days? That's Ha Ildo Senior's companion!"
"Keong-keong-i?"
"The Dog-Squirrel Keong-keong-i?"
"Seriously?"
"Wait, so that guy is the Keong-keong-i Launcher?"
They didn't know Ha Ildo, but they knew Keong-keong-i?
Also — what on earth was a "Keong-keong-i Launcher"?
It was oddly plausible-sounding, which made it sting a little.
Kids these days really did invent the weirdest slang, nothing like when I was young.
━Keong-keong…!
A moment later, Keong-keong-i popped out of my pocket.
He scurried down my body in one slick motion and trotted toward the kids, and the F-Rank trainees forgot all about their wariness, petting him and cooing over how adorable he was.
"So cute!"
"He's warm! And squishy!"
"I want one!"
That little rascal.
Popular as ever.
Watching the scene fondly, Ari said, "Well? Isn't Ha Ildo Senior impressive?"
A hand went up.
"Trainee 51, Bae Hu-seong?"
The boy who rose at Ari's call was quite tall — about my height.
A high schooler, by the look of him.
"Impressive, sure, but isn't it really Keong-keong-i who's impressive? I want to learn from the very best, like Instructor Yu Ari. Because I intend to become S-Rank, no matter what."
Ooooh.
An atmosphere of applause from every direction.
Then Yu Ari narrowed her eyes.
"Oh? If I fought Senior right now, I'd say our odds are about fifty-fifty. For reference, he's currently C-Rank."
"C-Rank versus B-Rank is fifty-fifty?"
"Isn't that exaggerating a bit?"
The kids were stunned.
I suppose they found it hard to believe a C-Rank could go even with a B-Rank. Of course, Ari's claim was laced with a little theatrics.
Three-to-seven, if I was being generous.
She might have been a F-Rank chick once, but Yu Ari had grown into a full-grown hen now — how was I supposed to scrape out fifty percent against that?
Soon Ari asked, "Senior, would you teach your juniors a lesson or two? Kids these days won't believe anything they haven't seen with their own eyes."
"Is that so?"
Budding sprouts.
The children who would one day carry the world on their shoulders.
This might actually be an opportunity.
A chance to plant a good impression in my juniors' minds.
If these kids spread word about me, fame would follow in no time.
"Fine. All five of you, come at me at once. I won't use mana, and I won't use Keong-keong-i. I'll fight bare-handed. If even one of you manages to leave a single mark on my body, you all pass."
"You heard him? Put even one mark on Senior's body, and I'll tell Instructor Kim Cheol-woo to excuse you from tomorrow's training."
Ooooooh.
The kids' morale surged.
Exemption from training — the finest of baits, then and now.
I'd used it plenty myself, and apparently Ari had learned the trick from watching me.
I stepped at last into the midst of the five.
Each of them held a weapon coated with a special pigment that left a bright yellow streak on whatever it touched. A few were loading paint rounds into their guns.
The big junior, Bae Hu-seong, called out first.
"Don't come crying later about it being unfair. You're really not going to use mana? Then even being C-Rank won't make you much different from an ordinary civilian, will it?"
"And are you going to ask the rifts and the monsters inside them to fight you fairly? Combat is always unfair. That's the nature of it."
A whistle between Ari's lips.
Tweet—!
"Aaaah, I'm first!"
The instant the whistle blew, one of the girls lunged at me. I caught her arm and swung her around like a shield, blocking the paint rounds that came flying.
"One down."
Pop pop—
"Aaack! Apa—ow!"
"Hey! You're blocking all my shots!"
I dropped my improvised shield onto the ground and charged at the kids still reloading their guns.
"Wh-whuh—!?"
"Two."
Wham—!
When I cracked my full weight into the chins of the two boys who'd flinched at the sight of me closing in, one of them crumpled like wet paper. The remaining male student panicked and pulled the trigger of his paint gun at me.
"Ah — I'm out of ammo! There should've been one more round!"
"Always memorize your round count down to the last shell. That's the countdown to your death."
Wham—!
Another one down.
Two left.
"The exemption is mine!"
A girl with a wooden training sword came swinging at me. Whoosh, whooooosh—!
Her form was wild and sloppy, but awakened as she was, the force behind it looked genuinely dangerous.
She could probably smash a brick wall without breaking a sweat.
With the gunners already subdued, all I had to do was keep my distance and take my time.
Backpedaling swiftly, I decided to offer a few words of wisdom.
"Doesn't matter how strong a technique is if it never lands. Remember that — it applies to monsters too. And conversely, it's the saying that'll save your lives when you're up against something powerful."
Soon enough, the girl wore herself out swinging and collapsed on her own.
"I-I surrender."
"That makes four. One left."
All that remained was the tall boy named Bae Hu-seong.
I'd expected him to pile in with the others, but he had simply watched the melee unfold.
"Smart. Fifty-one, was it? Not fighting an opponent far out of your league is the wise call. If I were your instructor, I'd have given you bonus survival points. So — will you surrender too?"
"I'm not surrendering. I planned to fight you alone from the very beginning. I was simply waiting for the others to drop out first."
The boy clenched his fist.
"Hyaaaaah!"
He charged at me with a battle cry.
Building up his spirit, was he?
"You're advertising your attack?"
I lifted my leg toward the incoming boy.
"Spartan Kick!"
Bam—!
The kick caught him square in the abdomen and sent him flying.
I hadn't put any mana into it, and he was wearing protective padding over his stomach, so he'd be fine.
Clap clap—
At last, Yu Ari broke into applause.
"Five opponents down in under thirty seconds. Senior, you're still amazing! Everyone — believe it or not, these are my Class A students!"
These were Class A?
Wasn't Class A supposed to be the gifted class?
I'd held my tongue, not wanting to look like an adult bullying little kids and strutting about it, but I couldn't help feeling a touch disappointed.
Back when I was their age…
No. There was no point saying it.
Ari shouted down at the kids sprawled on the ground.
"Your teamwork is a complete mess! Just because you outnumber your opponent doesn't mean you can charge in without a plan. All that advantage in numbers, and it ended up being a liability instead!"
Fair point.
She was saying exactly what I'd been thinking, word for word.
So this is what they mean by an outstanding student surpassing her teacher.
Soon Bae Hu-seong rose, rubbing his stomach.
"Um — is fighting person against person even what matters? We're training to fight monsters. Did what just happened actually mean anything?"
To this one, I gave a simple answer.
"It did. Humanoid monsters share their strengths and weaknesses with humans, you see. Honestly, I have no idea why the government scrapped the anti-personnel combat module. It's genuinely important. Did they just decide kids shouldn't fight each other anymore?"
Back when rifts first tore the world into chaos, nobody had the luxury of squabbling about human rights. That was exactly why I'd gone into rifts as a minor.
But once society settled down again, the activists came crawling back out of the woodwork.
"…Even so, I can't accept it. You're not even an A-Rank instructor — and someone like this might become our instructor? Wasn't the minimum requirement for instructors B-Rank?"
He had a point.
Being skilled was one thing; being good at teaching was another.
There was no law saying a brilliant scholar automatically makes a brilliant teacher.
It wasn't as if working as an instructor was confirmed for me anyway, but a rather pleasant idea occurred to me just then.
"Then how about we make a wager for tomorrow? Which group clears that rift faster — the three nymphs I trained, or you five F-Ranks? And if I win, you post about it on the internet."
Three bizarre nymphs.
Versus five F-Rank awakeners.
The odds might actually have favored the other side — but I felt confident.
It was time I started raising my name value above Keong-keong-i's.
Teenagers were sensitive to trends, and word spread fast among them!