013. Velvet Hunter Academy
013. Velvet Hunter Academy
The world of Velvet School Life! is set in modern-day Korea.
So where exactly is the backdrop of that world, 'Velvet Hunter Academy'?
This profound topic was once a subject of heated debate even among Velvetsra Players.
Probably because the devs figured it'd be a pain in the ass if the location got pinned down,
they went and hid every single clue that might let you deduce the region.
They swapped out all the buildings and shit in the name of Gate Era development, completely overhauled the topography and scenery.
Wrote the scripts so even the names of nearby stations and districts never came up.
After going through all that trouble to hide it...
the devs must've been pretty damn shocked.
They could never have dreamed that a single comment from a user who appeared out of nowhere would put that whole debate to rest.
[ Anon(122.XXX): Hey, you see that bluish dot over there? You know what that is? I just eyedropped it in Photoshop. Matches the safety color perfectly. ]
Sure, Velvetsra changed a ton of things by insisting it was Gate-Era Korea,
but at the same time, there were a few things they just couldn't bear to erase completely—to show that it is, indeed, Korea.
One of those things.
A symbolic Seoul landmark perched at the top of Namsan.
Namsan Tower.
In the original world, it was basically a fine-dust meter. And a famous spot where couples about to break up went to hang padlocks.
But in the world of Velvetsra, its role had been flipped into a control tower that observed and transmitted information about Gate anomalies.
Still, maybe they couldn't bring themselves to give up its unique color-changing identity:
Blue for safe. Yellow for caution. Orange for alert. Red for critical.
Like a beacon, it signaled the current state of Seoul.
And that thing showed up as a blurry little dot in the mountain background during the courage-test episode.
After that, well, other Players who figured out that the blue dot was Namsan Tower measured the size and distance, calculated the latitude and longitude,
and ultimately managed to pinpoint the academy's exact location.
So, where is it, you ask?
"Ah, Sillim Station's coming up. Jin Yu-ha. Time to get out. We've gotta walk from here."
Lee Yu-ri said, parking the car.
That's right.
The university where Korea's top elite gather, against the backdrop of Gwanaksan Mountain.
«Seoul National University»
The Velvetsra devs had committed the atrocity of bulldozing that entire spacious campus
and resurrecting it under the name 'Velvet Hunter Academy.'
* * *
Modern-style shops lined both sides of the main street, with roadside trees stretching along the path.
On the sidewalk, students who looked around twenty years old—prospective cadets, maybe—were walking, each one carrying a weapon.
"Hey, hey. Over there. Look over there."
"What? Huh? Whoa, holy crap. That's insane."
"How does a person look like that? I'm literally ready to file a marriage registration."
A group of girls glanced this way, whispering.
Seeing how I could hear them even with Detection turned off, they clearly weren't trying to hide it.
"No way, is he an incoming cadet too?"
"Nah—. What's a guy like that got to complain about? Look next to him. He probably just came to see off his girlfriend for basic training."
"Insanely jealous, for real. What'd that bitch do in a past life, tank the Demon King's Strike for someone?"
"Uh, hey! That's a male cadet uniform, isn't it!"
"What? Seriously!?"
Starting with that group's exclamation, sharp stares bore into me from every direction.
"......What do you figure his role is."
"Why even ask. Healer or Support, obviously."
"Sigh....... Would be nice if a guy like that healed me. Then I'd be okay losing an arm or something."
Even though I had a sword on my hip, absolutely no one thought I was a Damage Dealer.
Since even civilians carry weapons in this world, it's normal for Healers and Supports to wear one for self-defense too.
'This is more tiring than I expected.'
Intense stares—something I'd never once received in my previous life.
Before I'd even actually enrolled, I was already drawing way too much attention.
Of course, since I don't have that pathetically weak old status window anymore, it's not really a burden or anything.
More like a draining feeling since I'm just not used to it yet.
"You okay?"
Lee Yu-ri, walking alongside me, must have read my expression and asked.
She definitely doesn't like having this kind of attention either.
I feel bad, for no good reason.
"What about you? You okay?"
"About what?"
"The attention's spilling over onto you because of me. And I think they're talking about you too."
"Hah, and here I thought it was something else. Doesn't really matter. I figured it would turn out like this from the moment we came here together."
Lee Yu-ri replied, unfazed.
Oh, that's genuinely touching.
Since she came along with me even knowing this would happen.
Really dependable. Our Gukbap.
"But it's not exactly pleasant, I'll admit. Now you've got training and evaluations coming up, and I feel like annoying types are gonna start buzzing around you for no reason."
Lee Yu-ri swept her gaze around and frowned slightly.
"Then you protect me a little, Gukbap. You're my Tank, after all."
"......Wh-Wha, what!?"
Lee Yu-ri flinched in surprise and edged her body away.
I'd casually slipped in the meaning "the Tank of my party is you," but the rejection was more violent than I'd expected.
'Tsk, still not yet. I wanna lock her down fast, though.'
"Ah, was it too much pressure?"
"N-No, it's not pressure......! B-But still, it's way too early! I-I mean, my situation is still—!"
"Yeah, you're right. We haven't even had the entrance ceremony yet. I got ahead of myself. Got it. Let's take it slow. I'll keep waiting."
"Y-you, a guy, saying that......!"
Lee Yu-ri's face flushed, like she was mortified.
'Oh right. Here, it's standard for women to be the party leaders.'
So me saying I'm forming a party and already slotted her into the Tank role must have come as a shock.
No matter how skilled I am, a woman being subordinated under a man goes against common sense.
'Mmm, but this is a problem....... I'd really rather avoid being affiliated with a specific party myself.......'
At the very least, I need to seek out and recruit characters with performance good enough to handle the events yet to come, and tie them together as one team.
But obviously, any half-assed party thrown together here would be packed with dead-weight losers like the pre-awakening Jin Yu-ha.
There's no gacha, and I can't exactly get through this harsh world with those chaff-like bastards.
'Anyway, first things first. Let's prove my results in this training. Then she'll probably think about it a bit more positively.'
As I walked with Lee Yu-ri receiving countless stares like that, we finally arrived at Velvet Hunter Academy.
And I,
in that instant, couldn't help but have my gaze stolen by the scenery before my eyes.
Two pillars standing like sculptural works beneath the dazzling noon sun.
Fresh flowers and grasses swaying slowly in the breeze across the vast grounds.
The main building, taking the form of a massive clock tower, and the modernly elegant buildings arrayed around it, centered on that tower.
A landscape both unfamiliar and familiar.
Because this was the opening scene of Velvet School Life!
A faint background track, like an auditory hallucination, drifted into my ears.
"Jin Yu-ha. What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"
Lee Yu-ri—that character from the game—had walked ahead and now turned around within that scenery to speak.
Hurry up, she was saying.
I'd been staring blankly at the sight. I let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm coming. I've gotta go."
I moved my feet, stepping inside Velvet Hunter Academy.
* * *
The training ground we'd arrived at, following Lee Yu-ri.
I'd pictured something like the Nonsan training center from my old world, but it was totally different.
More like a giant auditorium.
Prospective cadets who would be enrolling alongside me were gathered here.
I tried to look around for any faces I recognized, but the atmosphere was too chaotic to find anyone.
"Ugh, so noisy."
"Tell me about it."
I was just nodding vaguely at Lee Yu-ri, who'd covered both her ears with her hands, when—
"Screeee— hoo-hoo—!"
A sharp sound blared from the speakers installed in the auditorium.
Standing atop the platform was a woman with a blunt, unreadable expression.
A supervisor?
"Good day, prospective cadets. I sincerely welcome you to Velvet Hunter Academy. There will be a stat-verification test starting now. Please line up in front of the instructor responsible for your respective roles."
Five standing signboards were planted one after another in front of the supervisor.
The signboards had [Damage Dealer], [Healer], [Tank], [Support], and [Special] written on them, and beside each stood one woman who appeared to be the instructor in charge.
'So I just line up on the Damage Dealer side, then? The Damage Dealer line is.......'
Just as the prospective cadets were about to start moving according to their roles,
the supervisor opened her mouth again, as if she'd momentarily forgotten something.
"Ah, Special Admission prospective cadets and Male Quota prospective cadets, please come to me separately."
Ah, fuck.
Aren't public lynchings here a bit too much?
That single line the supervisor tossed out had considerable ripple effects.
All of a sudden, the crowd started murmuring.
"Special Admission? Male Quota? What's that?"
"Ah, Special Admission is for people who've already proven they've got enough skill before coming to the academy, so they don't have to take a separate exam. You know. People like Cheonhwa."
"Ahh, true. If you're that famous, taking an exam would be weird. Then what's the Male Quota?"
"Umm, you know that incident. That guy who got abducted in a Gate last year. A female Hunter rescued him, and he sued her for sexual assault, but it came out as a false accusation."
"Oh yeah, that piece of trash! But wait, what's that got to do with the Male Quota System?"
"They said they need to send men to rescue men, so apparently Velvet Academy got politically pressured. Told 'em to pick more male cadets."
"Holy shit, so the guys coming in through the Male Quota don't take exams either?"
"That's what I heard."
"That's insane."
'Man, this fucking sucks.'
Hearing the conversation drifting from in front, my head spun for a moment.
"Jin Yu-ha? What's wrong? Are you feeling sick somewhere?"
Lee Yu-ri asked me, her face full of worry.
"......No, it just looks like I'm gonna have to go out there now."
"Go out? Where? The Damage Dealer line is right next to us."
With a trembling hand, I pointed ahead.
Straight at the supervisor with the short black hair.
"Jin Yu-ha!"
Lee Yu-ri's face went wide with shock.
"You—!"
I hadn't originally planned to reveal it like this.
Can't be helped.
"Yeah, that's right."
I slowly nodded to Lee Yu-ri, who must have been disappointed.
"Sorry for hiding it all this time."
How would Lee Yu-ri react when I said this?
"The truth is, I'm a Ma—..."
"You were a Special Admission Cadet!?"
Uh, Gukbap?
"No wonder you were so out of the ordinary!"
I'm sorry, but,
"So this is how good you have to be to become a Special Admission Cadet!?"
I'm,
a Male Quota Student.