Behind Their Backs
While I was busy dealing with my own mess, the rest of the cadets had already moved on to the next training ground. Following the Sync training, the A-Class curriculum that I belonged to moved on to martial arts training. Compared to Giganoid Sync training, this involved a lot more physical movement, so it was one of the classes the cadets actually looked forward to.
Sync training relied heavily on natural talent, which meant most cadets didn’t exactly welcome it. After just one session, you’d be drenched in sweat and completely wiped out. Martial arts training left you just as sweaty, but at least it felt like a cleaner, more refreshing kind of exhaustion. And there was another important factor: starting with martial arts training, male and female cadets trained together.
Since this was a story full of handsome men and beautiful women, all the cadets had outstanding appearances. After all, novels didn’t have to worry about casting budgets. But even among them, the ones who stood out the most were Lee Hyun-woo and Han Seo-ah.
Before class officially began, the waiting period was, as usual, filled with chatter. They were still teenagers in their prime, after all. And naturally, the other cadets gravitated toward the two top-ranked students.
“Hey, Hyun-woo, did you see that? Kang Jae-hee was pathetic. Looks like you’re number one in Sync now.”
The one who spoke was Gu Jun-young. With his sharp jawline and intelligent features, Gu Jun-young was the type who paid close attention to grades. Of course, every cadet at the academy had no choice but to care about other people’s rankings, but Jun-young was especially obsessed.
“Really? That’s too bad…”
“Too bad? What’s too bad about it? That bastard used to strut around like he owned the place. Serves him right.”
The one who said that was Hwang Jung-ho. He had already stripped off his top, proudly showing off his well-trained physique without restraint. While Gu Jun-young felt a sense of rivalry toward Lee Hyun-woo, Hwang Jung-ho had never dared to compare himself to Hyun-woo. Instead, his rivalry had always been directed at Kang Jae-hee.
Of course, when it came to Sync or piloting skills, Jae-hee had been overwhelmingly superior. As for martial arts training… they had never fought directly, but Jung-ho was confident he wouldn’t lose.
Seeing Jung-ho acting like that, Han Seo-ah frowned.
“Does it make you happy that someone else fell so far?”
It was unusual for Han Seo-ah, who rarely inserted herself into the boys’ conversations, to speak up.
“Huh? No, I was just saying…”
“Listen carefully. The reason Kang Jae-hee ended up like this is because he saved me and Hyun-woo. I’m warning you. If I hear you talking shit about Kang Jae-hee one more time, I won’t let it slide.”
Han Seo-ah spoke in a cold voice. Even though her words were quite sharp, Hwang Jung-ho couldn’t talk back to her. Even though they were all cadets, not everyone was on equal footing. Han Seo-ah was, without question, the queen among the female cadets. Her family background, her grades, and above all, her appearance alone made it impossible for anyone to dare speak against her.
“And you too, Hyun-woo. I’m disappointed. Kang Jae-hee saved you as well, didn’t he?”
Suddenly the sparks flew toward Lee Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo had nothing to say. It wasn’t like he had done anything wrong, but…
And into that awkward atmosphere, the training ground door opened and the subject of their conversation walked in with heavy steps.
Kang Jae-hee.
In terms of appearance, Jae-hee was now comparable to Han Seo-ah. The vibe was completely different, though. If Han Seo-ah had a pure, glamorous style, the current Kang Jae-hee gave off a fragile, worn-down impression. For multiple reasons, she had become the center of attention.
Once the instructors arrived alongside Jae-hee, that strange atmosphere finally dissipated.
“Alright, everyone line up. Training begins now.”
Martial arts training consisted of hologram simulated combat through the simulation room, sparring with instructors, and occasionally cadet-versus-cadet matches with evaluations. Since they still lacked sufficient experience, cadet-versus-cadet matches were extremely rare. It was to prevent any potential accidents.
I was currently receiving instruction from the instructor inside the simulation room. This facility, which projected hologram monsters in a thirty-meter by thirty-meter space, also existed in the training center, but this one was much larger and more state-of-the-art. Thanks to the spacious area, it could be used for both solo training and group battles.
Right now, though, it was just me.
“Okay, Kang Jae-hee… how should we do this? Shall we start at Level 10?”
Even the instructor seemed unsure how to evaluate my current ability. The original Kang Jae-hee could have handled Level 20 without much trouble, but this was clearly more of a test.
I attached sensors all over my body and waited for the call sign. The scenery inside the hologram space began to change.
‘This feels like a VR game.’
There wasn’t really any need to change the background for training, but they added this feature to make the cadets’ sessions more entertaining. It really was like a game. Just the company showing off their technology and differentiating their product. ‘Look, our company can make stuff like this too.’
As I stepped into what looked like the parking lot of an ordinary building, monsters slightly larger than humans began spawning from every corner and charging at me.
I tilted my upper body back to barely dodge an attack aimed at my head and drove my elbow down into it. Then I jumped into the air, avoided the monster lunging from the left, and slammed my heel down on it.
My long blonde hair fluttered wildly with every intense movement.
Overall, it wasn’t bad. My body felt light.
‘My agility doesn’t seem to have dropped that much.’
But I couldn’t get cocky. This was only Level 10. Nothing to brag about.
The levels increased rapidly. The monsters became faster, and more of them refused to go down in a single hit. Those required multiple punches and kicks to take out.
By the time I reached Level 16, the giant boss monster of the stage showed no signs of falling at all.
‘Wait, is this thing broken?’
In the end, I ran out of time.
“Kang Jae-hee, use your ability like a point. Your movements have too many unnecessary motions right now.”
Normally, even moving sloppily like that should have been enough to defeat the enemies. If I still had the original delinquent Kang Jae-hee’s power, that is. But now, if I didn’t sharpen and use my ability properly, my power was pathetically lacking.
We reset from Level 16 again. Dodging the monster’s attack in front of me, I put my entire body into the strike, using every ounce of strength I had. At the moment of impact, I channeled my entire ability into that single point.
‘Fuck, let’s see if you don’t go down after this!’
Fortunately, the hologram monster shattered and collapsed.
That was how my martial arts ability was roughly measured… and as expected, it was somewhat lacking compared to the original Kang Jae-hee. It wasn’t completely unusable, but still…
After martial arts training ended, I grabbed a simple sandwich from the cafeteria. In the afternoon, we had theory classes.
When it came to theory classes, my knowledge from the novel actually made me better than the original Kang Jae-hee.
…Wait, why is the theory class being skipped? You lazy author bastard?
Just because classes were over didn’t mean the academy day had ended. From evening onward it was free time, but most cadets used the training center. Unlike regular classes, everyone used it at the same time, so the training center was much larger than the lecture buildings. It was always packed with students.
There was even a cafeteria on the first floor, so many kids just ate dinner there.
And right now, that was exactly where the behind-the-back gossip was in full swing.
The one who said that was Hwang Jung-ho. He was still wearing nothing but a tank top on his upper body. Jung-ho and the others here had never been close to Kang Jae-hee.
No matter how objectively you looked at it, Kang Jae-hee’s appearance was undeniably beautiful. Her looks were on par with Han Seo-ah’s. Once you saw her in person, you had no choice but to admit it. Those slightly upturned gray eyes and long, thick lashes gave off a decadent, almost decadent vibe.
But everyone knew exactly what kind of person Kang Jae-hee used to be.
There was no way these guys would ever like Kang Jae-hee. A delinquent like him had been eyeing the highest-ranked girl like Han Seo-ah. Of course they wouldn’t look at that favorably. And on top of that, that cocky bastard had better grades than them.
There were more combat cadets than operator cadets at the academy. That meant the lower ranks couldn’t form pairs with operators. Even if they couldn’t say it out loud, seeing someone’s grades drop was something to celebrate. Especially if that someone had always been an annoying bastard. Wouldn’t it be even better if they just failed completely and went home?