Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Training and Classes (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
- Ah. And depending on which classes you take, the cadets you can get close to will differ.
"What do you mean?"
- For example, Cheon Seo-yun takes swordsmanship classes, so if you take swordsmanship too, you'll run into her often, right? That makes it easier to get friendly with her.
Running into the same faces constantly would indeed make it relatively easy to get close.
But picking classes just to befriend someone would completely flip priorities upside down.
"Getting close is fine, I don't need that."
With that answer, I stepped into the auditorium.
The chairs were lined up inside exactly like yesterday.
Murmur, murmur—
I spotted an empty seat amid the cadets gathered in twos and threes, chatting away, and sat down.
As I waited quietly, someone came over and plopped down in the seat next to me.
"...?"
A quick glance revealed a girl I didn't recognize.
She had red, semi-curly hair tied back in a ponytail.
Her upturned eyes gave off a strong, assertive vibe.
That's Hong Ju-a. She's acquired tons of acquired abilities through her mother's torturous training methods since she was little. But she's only ranked 7th right now, so she's probably burning up inside.
I nodded at Lee Seojun's words and took another look at the girl called Hong Ju-a.
Maybe because I was staring so openly, she turned her head and immediately scowled.
"What're you looking at?"
"Nothing."
I gave a short reply and, while I was at it, checked Hong Ju-a's potential.
📊 Potential:70
'Pretty high.'
Cheon Seo-yun's potential of 99 was on the level of one-per-world rarity.
Plus, she was such an outlier that she wasn't even a fair comparison.
Regardless, viewed objectively without comparing to Cheon Seo-yun, a potential of 70 was definitely quite high.
By the way, Hong Ju-a's obsessed with her grades, so she might ask to team up with you for practical combat.
Hearing that much, I averted my gaze from Hong Ju-a and nodded.
Ah. Come to think of it, Hong Ju-a's probably aiming for Cheon Seo-yun, not you.
At that moment, Lee Seojun switched up like the thought had just hit him.
Wondering why the sudden change, I glanced his way, and he answered briefly.
Cheon Seo-yun's ranked 300th right now.
'300th?'
As I mulled over that rank...
Instructors presumed to be the faculty appeared one by one on the stage up front.
'Instructors Kang Ji-hoon and Choi Ji-an are here too.'
While I confirmed the instructors I'd seen yesterday and today, someone stepped forward.
"Nice to meet you, cadets. I'm U Yun-hak, the one in charge of your homeroom. If anything tough comes up, don't suffer in silence—come to me."
Don't go to him. That guy's one of the Doomsday Cultists too.
"..."
I was at a loss for words upon hearing even the homeroom instructor was a cultist.
'Maybe I should hunt down that demon right now.'
My main body was here at school, but I had another one in the nearby mountains.
Moving that one would make killing the demon a simple task.
"That wraps my introduction... Now, let me introduce the instructors who'll be teaching you and their classes."
In any case, U Yun-hak went on to present each instructor one by one.
"First up, Instructor Choi Ji-an. Cadets who attended today's physical training should know her."
Maybe because more than half had skipped that training, there wasn't much reaction from the students.
"Instructor Choi Ji-an is an A-rank hero who specializes in swordsmanship. Naturally, the class she'll teach is swordsmanship. Any cadet who wields a sword might find it essential."
Once U Yun-hak's brief intro ended, Choi Ji-an stepped forward and spoke curtly.
"I'm Choi Ji-an. Any cadet who wants to learn the sword or train on their own is welcome anytime."
With that, she turned and returned to her spot as if nothing more needed saying.
U Yun-hak, clearly expecting her curt style, smoothly moved on to the next.
'Swordsmanship, huh...'
With Absolute Clone running 24/7, physical classes were a hassle for me.
I could do it to raise the skill's proficiency, but there'd be no other benefits.
'Feels like more of a loss.'
My actual sword skills wouldn't improve, and I'd likely fail the exams too.
Figuring it was better to train separately during free time, I decided to skip swordsmanship.
'There sure are a lot of specialized classes.'
Besides swordsmanship, there were spear arts, archery, and instructors for blunt weapons and hand-to-hand combat.
Since they were all physical, I breezed past them and waited for the next instructor.
"Next is Instructor Yu Na-eun. She handles [Magic Power Manipulation]."
The next instructor was a woman in her mid-twenties who perfectly fit the word "refreshing."
"I'm Yu Na-eun. Some of you can wield magic power freely, but others can't. I'll teach you from the basics, step by step."
Lee Seongmin, you have to take Magic Power Manipulation.
The moment Magic Power Manipulation came up, Lee Seojun reacted instantly, insisting it was a must.
When I first came to this world, I couldn't sense magic power at all. In simple terms, I didn't even know the basics. For you to handle magic power... Ah, are you already handling it?
I shook my head at Lee Seojun, who asked at the tail end after rambling to himself.
I wielded all sorts of magic power from my previous world like extensions of my limbs, but this world's magic power was completely foreign to me.
Oh, really? Then you should definitely take Magic Power Manipulation. Instructor Yu Na-eun teaches it amazingly well.
I'd gained this world's magic power the moment I entered, so utilizing it didn't sound bad.
No sense wasting it just because I had other magic powers.
'One class locked in.'
The next class that caught my interest was [Magic Item Crafting].
"How about Magic Item Crafting?"
I asked Lee Seojun like I was mumbling to myself.
His face soured the instant he heard "Magic Item Crafting."
Not great. Even with magic power-related abilities, it's hard to make good items. Materials are tough to get too.
Truth be told, among my abilities, I had one for crafting magic items.
The reason it piqued my interest was to combine it with this world's crafting techniques.
'Worst case, it won't get any worse.'
The items I made now were sure to cause a huge stir already.
If I could improve even a little here, Magic Item Crafting would more than justify the slot.
"You enroll in the Hero Officer Academy and pick Magic Item Crafting?"
Hong Ju-a, having overheard me, scoffed.
I turned toward her, and she dished out the facts on Magic Item Crafting.
"Magic Item Crafting's just a waste of money and time. Even the world's top crafter's magic items can't match artifacts from towers or gates."
Thinking about it, the towers had only appeared 27 years ago.
Magic item crafting probably didn't have much history either.
'Like Hong Ju-a says, maybe nothing worth learning.'
Lee Seojun had said it wasn't great either, so it was plausible.
While I pondered, U Yun-hak had already introduced the final instructor.
"And now, the last one. For your mandatory class [Practical Combat], it's Instructor Kang Ju-young."
Hearing "last," I looked up to see a woman with a serene aura step forward.
She seemed to be in her early thirties, with faded blonde hair and an eyepatch over her right eye.
'Gives off total battle-hardened veteran vibes.'
She looked like she'd been through it all.
"I'm Kang Ju-young. I assume there's no cadet here who doesn't know me."
"..."
Unfortunately, I didn't, so I shot Lee Seojun another glance.
She was once this country's top genius. She helped Joo Tae-ho—the guy who founded this school—slay a dragon. Got injured back then, but she's still an S-rank hero.
At "top genius," I turned and checked Kang Ju-young's potential.
📊 Potential:89
As expected, her potential score was impressively high.
Checking Kang Ju-young's made me figure the dragon-slaying Joo Tae-ho was probably around 90.
"As you know, I'll be handling your Practical Combat class. It starts tomorrow, but first, an assignment."
The sudden mention of homework drew puzzled looks from most cadets.
"Before practical combat begins, form teams of five. You're free to choose your teammates, but you'll get bonus points based on rank average. For example, if 1st through 5th place team up, the average rank is 3, so +3 bonus points."
It sounded like bonus points based on the five members' average rank.
"Conversely, if 296th through 300th team up, it'd be +298 points. Anyone not get that?"
That was when I finally understood what Lee Seojun meant about Cheon Seo-yun being 300th.
No one didn't know she was originally 1st, but now she was 300th.
'So teaming with her now nets massive bonus points.'
Sure enough, Hong Ju-a next to me was craning her neck, scanning for someone.
Not just her—other cadets were doing the same.
'Cheon Seo-yun's gotten popular.'
More importantly, who should I team up with?
"P.S. No team? No points for a month."
Basically, team up with anyone.
Kang Ju-young left the stage like her business was done.
U Yun-hak stepped in perfectly timed for the wrap-up.
"That concludes all the instructors and class introductions. By tonight, pick at least four classes you want via your tablets. You're dismissed."
The words barely landed before about a third of the cadets rushed off somewhere.
No need to check—I knew Cheon Seo-yun was at the center.