Opening Day #106
“That devilish bitch…!”
“Devil my ass. Just take this and get the hell out of here.”
The opponent, now looking like a discarded rag, was thrown aside like trash. The wet, heavy splat made the club members instinctively flinch backward. It was a reflexive reaction born of pure horror at how gruesome the scene was. I couldn’t exactly blame them, but from the loser’s perspective it was almost comical how pathetic it looked.
Kang Sian clicked his tongue at people who had no problem discriminating but couldn’t stomach real cruelty. He then walked over to Cheon Mari’s side with Shannon in tow.
“And take that thing with you too.”
He pointed at Robin, the guy who had “lent” his blood to Mari. After she had drained him, his condition had deteriorated even further. If he didn’t receive immediate treatment, something truly nasty was going to happen.
A few people wearing white cone hats cautiously stepped forward. Or rather, they kept sneaking glances and reading the room the entire time. It wasn’t just caution either—when they passed the trio, they actually dipped their heads in a slight bow.
“Behave yourselves from now on.”
To a mad dog, a Louisville Slugger is the best medicine. An impolite civilized person needs their skull split open by a double-barrel shotgun before they come to their senses. Watching them leave, Mari—who had once again proven her theory of violence—spat out the words with satisfaction.
Naturally, the club members who had zero desire to have etiquette beaten into them started hauling Robin away at top speed. They roughly shoved his internal organs, blades, and some unidentifiable chunk that had fallen to the floor back into his abdomen before dragging him off like a sack of meat.
At that rate, it looked like one man was about to have a ferry duel with Charon on the banks of the Acheron for his ticket back to the world of the living.
“Now that our business is finished, hurry up and disappear.”
Kang Sian spoke firmly. Technically the three of them should have been the ones to leave first, but that would have made winning while standing in the rain feel completely pointless. The bitter aftertaste should belong to the losers.
Some of the group, including Ines, looked furious at Sian’s attitude, but the defeated had no right to complain.
“What, got a problem? Then you should’ve beaten us.”
“…Understood.”
The club vice-president spat the words weakly. He was the type who could discriminate against others but still recognized what true ugliness looked like.
“Vice-president!”
“There’s no helping it. A promise is a promise, and if we fight these people now, there’s no telling how much damage we’ll take.”
With every legal avenue blocked and the situation completely ruined, forcing the issue would bring nothing but more loss. They might even get called ugly by outsiders. Especially in the South, where many hunters still carried that medieval sense of romantic chivalry. Even if the result left a bad taste, the criticism of “a match is a match” would pour in even harder than before.
So they swallowed their complaints and retreated in defeat. The only thing the rain-soaked march earned them was their shattered pride.
Once the Southern Alliance flag had completely disappeared and silence filled the street, Mari took off her sunglasses with the refreshed expression of someone who had just washed away all their grime.
“Tsk tsk. How did people with that level of intelligence even get into the academy?”
“Well, they probably slipped in through the quota system. Or maybe bought their way in with donations.”
“But those people… they won’t try to get revenge on us later, right…?”
“If whatever’s sitting on their shoulders isn’t just a hollow tin can, they won’t even consider it.”
After having their carefully selected elite group thoroughly trounced like this, what would change if they tried for revenge or another duel? Nothing would change. Nothing would improve. They’d only be handing us more opportunities to crush them again.
“But since their heads are tin cans, maybe that’s exactly why they did it.”
“That’s true.”
Still, the world had a funny way of proving such statements. There was always the chance they would demonstrate that their heads really were empty tin cans.
“When that time comes, I’ll handle it myself.”
“You, Mari?”
“It’s not like I lack the foundation to deal with it.”
In other words, she’d handle it through Nartika’s channels. I was curious exactly what kind of “handling” she had in mind, but with Shannon present I didn’t ask.
Just as the three of us were about to leave the street, something tapped Sian on the back.
“Excuse me.”
It was the drone that had supervised the duel earlier. Its lobster-like claws kept clacking as if it had something important to say.
“Hm? Is there a problem?”
“No, there is no problem. However…”
“Then why?”
“Are you aware that duels occurring within the academy are uploaded to the website in video format?”
“Uh… that’s the first I’m hearing of it. Does that mean our faces show up too?”
“Yes. Both faces and voices appear completely unedited.”
“Ah… do we have to upload it?”
“It is also stated in the documents signed upon admission. Unless there are special circumstances, duel footage must be made publicly available.”
Who the hell actually reads those documents? Sian grimaced at the way his personal information was leaking like a broken faucet.
“However, it does not have to be uploaded in its original form.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Yes. If any duel participant requests personal information protection, mosaic effects will be applied to all faces and voices within the footage.”
Heavy mosaics, voice modulation, editing to prevent location tracking—the whole suite of options for people who valued their privacy and didn’t crave attention.
“The reason I am bringing this up is to ask whether you would like protective measures applied to the video.”
The academy’s last remaining shred of conscience. Honestly, if they were going to do all this, they might as well have just made the videos private from the start.
“Mm… then please do that.”
“Understood. Protective measures will be applied to the duel video between Robin Hawkins and Kang Sian.”
The drone then turned toward Cheon Mari. Naturally, for someone who loved free corporate promotion through viral clips, this was tempting. Mari’s eyes slid sideways. Sian gave her an extremely displeased look.
He had gone out of his way to create this duel opportunity for her. He had let her vent all her stress. Since she had already received the favor, what choice did she have? When her male childhood friend—the one in the superior position—gave her this strong a hint, the female childhood friend in the inferior position had no choice but to comply.
“Apply protective measures for me too.”
“Understood.”
She yielded to the silent pressure. She immediately shot Sian a look asking if he was satisfied now and received a nod in return. Though she personally found it a little disappointing, if Sian was happy then that was enough. Mari felt satisfied too.
The duel drone retracted its claws, produced two coated sheets of paper, and handed them over—one for Sian and one for Mari.
“Mask 90% off coupon?”
“What’s this for?”
“You both appear sensitive about identity exposure.”
“…?”
“Video is not the only way identities are exposed. Unlike recordings, we cannot protect identities for on-site spectators.”
There had been a small number of onlookers today as well. The terrible weather and situation had stopped anyone from recording, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen next time.
“For more reliable identity protection, we recommend wearing sanitary masks or event masks.”
In other words, wear a mask during duels. It would make protection much easier. The drones weren’t completely without tact—they could also avoid mentioning names. That was the general message.
Sian and Mari nodded in understanding.
“Then, thank you for the excellent duel.”
The duel drone whirred away into the sky. The three people left on the street looked at one another, all three resembling drowned rats. They looked like a mess now, but attending the academy would bring even worse days.
Cursing the terrible weather, they resumed walking toward their original destination.
After the duel, everything was peaceful. Truly nothing happened. There weren’t even any minor incidents. It was the calm before the storm—a stretch of serenity that felt exactly like the prelude to a new semester.
“Hey! Don’t walk around the house in just your underwear!”
“If you hate it that much, you can just wear panties too~”
To be precise, it was social peace. On a personal level, there wasn’t a single peaceful day thanks to my roommate’s behavior.
“At least wear some dolphin shorts!”
“Ack! The insane childhood friend is forcing clothes on me!!!”
This was exactly why I had wanted to live separately in the first place. There were differences in lifestyle habits, and when a man and woman lived together, conflict was inevitable. On top of that, given Cheon Mari’s personality, she was destined to be the source of every incident.
The fact that I had encountered all sorts of nonsense in just a few days was completely normal.
Drinking water from my cup. Grilling meat in the living room and eating it all herself. Ordering Hawaiian pizza and sharing it. Claiming she had reached menopause and stealing my bed. Pulling me onto the bed to watch a movie together. Getting angry when I said it was too early in the morning, then trying to appease me with terrible aegyo. Drinking alone in the living room then suddenly barging into my room to spout nonsense. Watching illegal snuff films on the living room TV. Putting on glasses and asking if she looked smarter. Secretly eating the food I hid in the fridge. Rolling around on the floor I hadn’t cleaned yet. When I threatened to invite random girls over if she kept it up, offering to call famous actresses instead. Actually trying to call them for real as “hospitality” and barely being talked out of it. Receiving an invitation to a secret high-society gathering and anonymously leaking the address online. Wearing a cat mascot costume and crawling around on all fours. Going up to the rooftop to sunbathe and then rolling off. Inviting me to her room to watch porn together. Creating bizarre dishes she called “Mari-cuisine.” And so on…
Behavior hard to believe from a regressor (20-year-old female). Yet it was undeniable reality—the brain-melting chaos I had to face every day.
The only saving grace was that after twelve years of knowing her, I had built up some immunity to this kind of behavior.
Enduring the utterly confusing reality, I desperately waited for the semester to begin, when I would at least be able to spend more time outside the house.
Hunter Studies
Orientation will be conducted via internet lecture.
Basic Hunting
Orientation will be conducted via internet lecture.
Basic Combat
Orientation will be conducted via internet lecture.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. You bastard professors.
“This week is free!! Sian, let’s hang out!”
“Get out!”
It was truly a heartwarming way to start the semester. I was almost moved that modern technology was being utilized in this particular direction.
And so everything descended into chaos. In the end, while I played the orientation videos at 5x speed on my laptop and experienced exactly how much of a wreck a person could become from pure idleness—
Basic Ice School
This lecture will proceed normally.
When I opened my eyes, it was the third day of the semester. I saw a single ray of light named Sua Noona.