044. Basic Monster Understanding (1)

"......So. That bitch—no, that woman swung an axe at you!?"

When I told Shin Se-hee what had happened the day before, she shot the question back at me with a look of utter disbelief.

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"Wow, there really are a million ways to commit suicide. How dare she......."

Shin Se-hee muttered something to herself in a chilling voice.

"Hm?"

"It's nothing. So, the things you want done are the rumor-spreading and dealing with that woman. Is that correct?"

"I'm not ordering you, I'm asking."

She closed her mouth for a moment, as if at a loss for words.

"Ah, anyway! Then how far should I go with that woman......? Expulsion from the academy? Or make sure she keeps her head down?"

I snorted a laugh at Shin Se-hee's question.

"Do whatever you want."

"......Pardon?"

At that, her eyes widened as if she were taken aback.

"I told you. My party members and me. Aside from that, I don't care what you do."

"But......."

"And I'll never be disappointed in you for it, or change how I feel."

"......Is that really true?"

Shin Se-hee asked cautiously.

I nodded.

Things might've been different if I'd refused to accept her from the start. But once I'd made Shin Se-hee an ally, I had to trust her. That meant embracing her dark side along with everything else.

Trying to force her to correct that side of her would only backfire.

Better to let her do what she wants than hold her down and have her cause an even bigger disaster later.

'And anyway, it's someone who isn't in my party.'

It's a selfish thing to say, but I've never really felt any attachment to characters I didn't pick myself.

"......."

Shin Se-hee stared straight at me, biting her lower lip.

'Why's she doing that? I don't think I said anything particularly weird.'

I tilted my head and looked at her.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I added one more thing.

"Oh, right. If I ever want to bring someone new into the party later, I'll tell you first. So leave them out of it, too."

Haaah─

Shin Se-hee closed her eyes and let out a low sigh.

Then a quiet smile settled on her lips.

"Yes, understood. Heh, and the first thing you entrust me with is this sort of job."

"Will it be too much trouble?"

"Of course not. This is a piece of cake."

"......Wouldn't it be pretty hard to eat cake while lying down?"

"Simple—I'll just order my secretary to feed it to me."

Ah. That middle-aged guy who was a living portrait of the modern salaryman. He looked so damn exhausted the last time I saw him.

Shin Se-hee ran a finger over her lips as if she were looking forward to it.

That was her habit when she started forming a plan.

She looked like she was already running simulations in her head on exactly how to deal with that NTR thug.

'Alright, so that side's being taken care of.'

Creeeak─

The back door opened, and Kang Do-hee appeared a little late.

The lecture hall seats were already nearly packed with cadets.

She swiveled her head around, spotted an empty seat, and went to sit down.

Once all the students were seated, we waited for class to begin.

'So this is my first class.'

I could feel my heart ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thumping.

A scene that had never appeared in the actual Velvetsra.

Classes.

It made sense. No matter how massive a pretty-girl game was, there was no way to implement every single hour-long class into the game.

So while I knew by heart which classes boosted which stats and which classes benefited which characters, I knew absolutely nothing about what the academy actually taught or what we would learn.

I only had the vague guess that we'd be learning combat techniques against monsters.

'These are the moments that make it really sink in.'

The fact that this world was not inside a mobile game, but another world that actually existed.

And just like Instructor Baek Seol-hee's training, there had to be things I could gain from these classes that went beyond raw stat increases.

I settled back into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my seat with a mixture of anticipation and nerves.

At last.

The front door of the lecture hall opened.

Thud-rattle─ Thud-rattle─ Thud-rattle─

A woman entered, dragging something heavy behind her.

She was a middle-aged woman with a stooped posture and round glasses.

And the massive something loaded onto the hand cart she had pulled in after her.

It was shaped like a large cubic box.

It was wrapped in black cloth so you couldn't see inside.

Curiosity dawned in the eyes of the cadets waiting for class.

"......Grrrrrrrrrrr─."

Just then, a rough, guttural growl—clearly not human—came from inside the cloth.

'......A monster?'

Everyone in the lecture hall tensed up at the sound, their faces growing stiff.

"Huh?"

Next to me, Shin Se-hee tilted her head in confusion.

"Ah, h-hello....... I'm....... Yoo Mi-ra, the in-s-structor in charge of Basic Monster Understanding."

The instructor who had come to teach the class spoke in a halting, slurred voice that sounded like she was crawling.

"Uhm, w-well, first of all....... We'll begin class right away......."

Flutter─

She pulled off the black cloth that had been covering the object beside her.

And what appeared.

Its size wasn't all that large compared to the iron bars caging it.

But it looked grotesque enough to belong in a nightmare.

Hideously bulging muscles and skin that had melted away in patches pulsated like a heart.

The only way to describe it was as if a human had been dipped in strong acid, pulled out, and then had an extra limb or two attached.

The six pairs of eyes embedded in its face rolled in different directions, and the long tongue lolling out of its mouth flicked incessantly.

'I don't remember any monster like this.......'

Could it be a new monster that had never been added to the game?

I stared at it closely until, all at once, my eyes widened.

* * *

"Grrrrrrr......."

The monster the instructor had dragged in rolled its eyes this way and that, letting out a guttural growl that sounded thick with phlegm.

Uurp─

The sound of cadets retching at the disgusting sight echoed here and there around the lecture hall.

"Ugh....... So gross......."

Lee Yu-ri could fully empathize with how they felt.

After all, she herself had a fairly strong stomach and a high tolerance for creepy things, yet even she felt this way.

What must it be like for the other cadets?

The monster that had just appeared before her forced even Lee Yu-ri to wear a sickened expression.

She knew this class was called "Basic Monster Understanding."

But she had never imagined the instructor would drag an actual, living monster into the lecture hall to teach it.

And an incredibly dangerous-looking one at that.

'I know Velvet Academy's whole philosophy is practical experience, but still.......'

Wasn't this taking the danger a little too lightly?

'Still, there's no way they didn't set up proper safety measures.'

Whatever else, this was Velvet Academy, after all. She was waiting for class to continue when─

"Ahh....... S-so, that is to say......."

As the cadets glared at her from all around as if urging her to just get on with the lesson, the instructor fidgeted anxiously and scratched her head.

"Uhm, w-well, first......."

Then, without warning—

Clank─

Unlocked the cage.

"Huh?"

A bewildered voice leaked out of Lee Yu-ri's mouth.

But the instructor went one step further.

Creeeak─

She swung the barred door wide open.

"What the fuck."

Lee Yu-ri's eyes flew open as the curse escaped her lips.

"Grrrk─?"

The moment the door opened, the monster that had been trapped inside the cage lifted its head.

It looked perplexed now that the iron bars that had blocked its view had vanished.

Then, a moment later—

Dragged its body out from between the bars.

"It's...... out?"

"What the fuck."

"They let a monster loose in class......."

"This is a Velvet Academy class?"

"H-hey, he-hey. D-don't freak out. Th-there's no way they let it out without a plan. It's still Velvet Academy."

The murmuring got louder all around, but maybe it was an expression of faith in the world's best academy. Even though the cadets' faces hardened with tension, none of them moved an inch.

All of a sudden, the monster lurched to its feet.

And then it turned its head, surveying the cadets who were looking down at it.

Every time it moved its head,

Crunch crunch─

Crunch crunch─

A spine-chilling sound could be heard.

"Grrrrrk─?"

Then, the monster's head stopped, fixed on a girl sitting in one of the middle rows.

All six of its eyeballs locked straight onto her.

"Eeeek─!!!"

The girl flinched and screamed.

BOOOOM─!!!!

It all happened in an instant.

Sharp claws extended from its four hands.

And then the thing kicked off from its spot.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH─!!!!!!"

The monster hurtled toward the female cadet.

'Fucking insane, how is this a class?!!!'

Lee Yu-ri frantically yanked her shield from her back and drew up her Mana.

Then she pulled a shortsword from the holster on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her thigh.

CLANG─!

The clear ring of metal cut across the lecture hall.

Flinch.

The monster that had been heading for the female cadet stopped dead.

Lee Yu-ri poured even more Mana into her shield and struck it with her shortsword.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Grrrk─?"

The creature's head swiveled toward Lee Yu-ri.

Lee Yu-ri planted her foot on a desk, leaped up, and settled into a low stance with her shield raised.

Hiss─

Hiss─

Snared by her taunt, the monster hissed, breathing heavily.

BOOOOM─!!!

"AAAAAAAAAH─!!"

The monster smashed a desk to pieces as it kicked off and swung its hand at Lee Yu-ri.

And the moment shield met claw.

BOOOOOOM━!!!!!

A massive boom shook the lecture hall.

The impact tore through her entire body and left Lee Yu-ri dizzy.

"......Nrgh!"

'A-Rank? S-Rank?'

This monster was on a completely different plane from any other she had encountered before.

So much so that the thought came to her unbidden: if this thing seriously started rampaging, everyone here might be annihilated.

Lee Yu-ri gritted her teeth and held her ground. But her arms trembled uncontrollably against the monstrous strength she couldn't handle.

Scree...eeech─.

The monster's sharp claws pushed against her shield, inching closer and closer to her.

"......Fuck, what kind of bullshit class is this?!"

Just before the tips of the monster's claws touched her face.

"That's enough. Instructor."

Jin Yu-ha's calm voice came from a distance.

When she turned her eyes forward, Jin Yu-ha was already at the front, the blade of his sword held against the neck of the bumbling instructor.

The blue edge of the sword gleamed against the instructor's throat.

Jin Yu-ha spoke, his face expressionless.

"Unless you want me to kill this monster right now."

Jin Yu-ha pressed the sword still closer against the frozen instructor's neck.

'What......!?'

Lee Yu-ri looked at the grotesque monster in front of her, her face startled.

Right then.

"......Wow."

A languid exclamation slipped from the mouth of the hideous monster that had been flicking its tongue at her.

"They really weren't kidding when they said there were a lot of excellent students this year......."

The monster let out a giggling laugh.

"You got me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good."

Then it turned its head toward Jin Yu-ha and spoke.

"Don't kill that thing. It's a mighty expensive fella."