Galaxy Martial God Temple — The Club Dilemma (1)
By the time about a month had passed, I was finally starting to get used to elementary school life. During that time, although I had greeted my classmates first on several occasions, I had never once asked them to play with me. Cheon Soyeon was much the same. Since she possessed the Heaven's Martial Body, her martial arts skills were top-tier, and because she was exceptionally pretty, the girls in our class frequently invited her to hang out after school.
Soyeon would steal a glance at me first, and only when I smiled and waved her off to go have fun would she join them. It was about time she made friends other than me. And no, it wasn't just because she was usually quiet but would occasionally get overexcited and talk my ear off until they hurt.
...Seriously. I was far too old to play with children, but Soyeon would surely find playing with kids her own age much more enjoyable than hanging out with an old soul like me.
Or so I thought. A few hours later, Soyeon returned home with a deathly pale face, looking utterly drained of all her life force.
"Ji-Jiwoo. I'm so exhausted. So many things happened."
She certainly looked the part. Soyeon began rambling about what had happened with the girls in her class, venting her frustrations. To sum it up: an old soul trapped among actual children had struggled to keep up with their hyperactive energy, leaving her utterly bewildered and overwhelmed.
Ah, hanging out with me has turned Soyeon into a little old lady too. Alas, what a sinful man I am.
After that, while Soyeon still got along well with the other kids during school hours, she stopped hanging out with them after school. Recess was only ten minutes, but after-school hours dragged on for what felt like eternity.
Once school life became routine, my daily schedule grew rather monotonous. Morning classes with Teacher Liven, afternoon physical training that felt strangely familiar, and martial arts practice with Siwoo once I got home. During breaks, I browsed the internet, watched movies, webtoons, and dramas, or hung out with Soyeon.
Living a life that spun like a hamster wheel, I gradually grew accustomed to the 2nd-rate realm.
Should I start climbing the Tower again soon? While I was pondering this, April arrived, and Teacher Liven made an announcement regarding school clubs. Seeing Liven handle the academic calendar announcements made me wonder if she was the actual homeroom teacher instead of Teacher Kim Dohwa, but I decided to let it slide.
"Clubs aren't mandatory, right?" I asked.
Teacher Liven nodded.
"Of course. Our school guarantees our students' autonomy."
Is a sixteen-period school day what you call 'guaranteeing autonomy'? No, I had to watch my mouth. If I complained, she might actually drag me back to sixteen periods. I was perfectly content with twelve periods. Saying that out loud made me feel like I had been thoroughly gaslit.
"However, we do highly encourage club activities. Participating in them comes with various forms of support from the school."
"Support?"
"Yes. Things like elixirs, weapons, and martial arts manuals."
"...Then isn't that basically mandatory?" It wasn't like they were providing basic club supplies; offering elixirs and martial arts techniques made it practically compulsory.
"My, what are you talking about, Student Cheon Jiwoo? Unlike regular classes, we give you a choice. Students have every right to refuse club activities and decline the support." Her smile as she said this felt incredibly sly.
"What exactly does the support entail?" At my question, Liven projected a club directory booklet into the air. Seeing things like this always reminded me that we were in virtual reality.
"Well... the support varies from club to club, so I can't give you a definitive answer. However, the school strives to distribute support as fairly as possible across all clubs."
I nodded as I flipped through the digital directory. There were forty-one clubs listed in total. Naturally, since this was a specialized martial arts school, every single club was related to martial arts. The largest was the Sword Club. I suppose that made sense, considering the Cheon family's introductory martial art was swordsmanship.
There was a wide variety of martial arts—or rather, clubs—ranging from fist, kick, palm, and hidden weapons to lightfoot and stealth. However, some clubs had age restrictions. For instance, the Lightfoot Club only recruited fifth and sixth graders. The reason was likely to prevent younger kids from zooming around with lightfoot techniques and getting lost.
"You can join up to three clubs at once. You are free to change your clubs every year, but please note that no additional registrations will be accepted once the sign-up period ends."
The ban on late registrations is probably due to budget constraints. If they were providing customized elixirs tailored to specific martial arts, the order volume would be crucial. It also prevented students from hopping around to hoard resources they couldn't even digest.
"As a side note, I highly recommend joining only one club. If you double up, even having two bodies wouldn't be enough to keep up."
So joining a club actually requires active participation.
"If there were a Gourmet Club or something, I might have joined. But this just sounds like a hassle."
"Oh, but we do have one. A Gourmet Club."
"Pardon?" Startled, I looked at Teacher Liven, and she handed me a new booklet.
"This is the directory for miscellaneous clubs. Unlike the official ones, these are established purely for hobbies or non-martial academic pursuits. They don't receive any support other than basic activity funds."
Now this was what a real club should be. Still, it was impressive that they even provided funding. For the record, the elementary school I attended was completely free. Everything from school meals and uniforms to educational materials was fully funded by the Cheon family. Since the school was essentially run on clan taxes, I hadn't expected any financial support for hobby clubs, but it truly was a wealthy school. I suppose that was the perk of an institution reserved exclusively for direct descendants.
"You have until the end of April to choose, so take your time to think about it." Teacher Liven paused for a moment before speaking in a cautious tone. "...By the way, Student Cheon Jiwoo, you are quite close with Student Cheon Soyeon, correct?"
"Yes. We're childhood friends, and we live next door to each other." At my confirmation, Teacher Liven offered a warning. "Then you had better be careful."
"Pardon?"
"In principle, the fact that Student Cheon Soyeon possesses the Heaven's Martial Body is supposed to be a strict secret. However, it has become an open secret among those in the know, and there are many upperclassmen targeting her."
"Targeting" probably didn't mean they were going to physically attack her. "Are you saying they'll use coercive methods to force her into joining their clubs?"
"Well, Student Cheon Soyeon is drawing attention not just from the school, but from the very top of the clan. Rumors are circulating that whichever club manages to recruit her might receive special, separate funding."
I let out a dry chuckle at the absurdity. "And they actually believe such nonsense?" No matter how young they were, weren't these elementary schoolers being a bit too naive?
"...The problem is that it might not be nonsense."
"Excuse me...?"
"The school's budget spiked dramatically the moment Student Cheon Soyeon enrolled. The implication is quite clear." It meant the clan's expectations for Soyeon were astronomical. And the school was obligated to meet those expectations.
"But is it really alright for you to tell me all of this?" At my question, Teacher Liven replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course not."
"......?"
"Fufufu. I know that as a teacher, I should treat all students equally, but I can't help but favor a student who keeps up so well with my classes. Besides, Student Cheon Jiwoo, you are a party to this matter, so you ought to know."
A party to this? "Don't tell me...!"
"You are currently Student Cheon Soyeon's only real friend, aren't you? You even commute to school together. While school matters are supposed to remain confidential, humans are notoriously vulnerable to temptation."
So the school staff are selling information on Soyeon! Is that even allowed?
"Oh, don't worry. Even if information leaks, it only goes to members of the clan—specifically, a very select few high-ranking officials. The staff are well aware that if they are caught selling confidential information outside the clan, death would be the least of their worries."
They were trying to recruit Soyeon. It seemed some of those high-ranking officials had children attending this school.
"Every quarter during our mental training sessions, we are made to watch video recordings of traitors meeting horrific ends, looking like they would have preferred death much sooner."
"...You do realize I'm only six years old, right?"
"I am well aware." If you know, then don't tell such gruesome stories to a kid!
"Did you tell Soyeon about this too?"
"I informed her, though not with the same raw details I gave you. I toned it down appropriately. While she might not be quite on your level, Student Cheon Soyeon's mental age is still far higher than her peers."
That was true. There were times she seemed even older than me. But why didn't you tone it down for me?
"At any rate, be careful. If anything happens while you're at school, feel free to ask for help from me or Teacher Kim Dohwa at any time."
"I will."
"Now then, let us begin class." Teacher Liven started the lesson. The first period was history.
Teacher Liven's warning became reality far sooner than expected. After the afternoon classes ended, I washed off my sweat in the shower room. As I stepped out, a massive figure about two heads taller than me blocked my path.
He was huge, but... he was an elementary schooler, right? Why did he look like a middle-aged man? Did he get a bad batch of hormone injections or something? I could understand him being over 160 centimeters tall, since practicing martial arts tended to accelerate physical development, but his face looked like it had borne the brunt of a lifetime of storms.
No, wait. Maybe he wasn't a student. "Ah! Are you a member of the staff? Is there something you need from me?" Administrative staff didn't necessarily have to practice martial arts. Of course, unless one suffered from malnutrition, height was mostly genetic, so even famous martial artists could be short. In fact, some martial arts were more advantageous for smaller statures, and there were even secret techniques designed to intentionally stunt growth.
At my question, the middle-aged-looking staff member roared. "I'm not staff! I'm your school senior!"
I was thoroughly shocked by the words of this stranger—no, senior. Looking closely, his face was pitted with acne scars, though the skin beneath still had a hint of youthfulness, with fine peach fuzz. But with a dark shadow of a mustache under his nose and deep wrinkles between his brows, he was an elementary schooler? Was he really on testosterone injections?
Come to think of it, it was an open secret that some martial artists took steroids or male hormones to accelerate their progress. However, unless it was a temporary medical treatment, long-term use carried a high risk of losing sexual function, so those who took them were usually practitioners of the Virgin Boy Skill.
As I stared at him with an expression of pure disbelief, the nameless senior's face flushed bright red. "Y-You...!"
Just as he was about to blow a fuse, two other seniors who had been watching from the shadows—and who actually looked like normal elementary schoolers—stepped out to restrain their friend.
"Haeu! Calm down!"
"We just came to say hello!"
"You, apologize to him right now! That was way too harsh! Even if Haeu has a mature face, calling him an old man to his face is just cruel!"
Wait... did I say that out loud? Besides, the seniors trying to hold him back didn't look all that young either. Of course, it was true that the angry senior looked exceptionally old for his age. Still, since I seemed to have wounded his fragile young heart, I decided to be the adult and apologize.
"I'm sorry, Senior."
At my apology—or rather, at his friend's confirmation that he looked like a middle-aged man—the nameless senior, Cheon Haeu, exploded in rage. "You little brat! So that's what you really think of me!"
"I told you, calm down!"
The three seniors blocking my path suddenly began bickering like a comedy trio. Well, are they done with me? I should head home. Siwoo is waiting.
As I tried to slip past them and go on my way, the three seniors hurriedly blocked me again. "W-Wait! Hold on, we actually have something to say to you!"
(To be continued...)