Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: First Class (2)
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After returning to school with Cheon Seo-yun, I immediately got ready for the first class.
"The first class is practical combat, right?"
Yes. But for the time being, it'll be replaced with virtual combat.
"You mean fighting in the virtual training room?"
Similar, but different. That room isn't big enough for five people to fight in.
The virtual training room was plenty spacious for solo fights, but definitely cramped for five people.
"So there's some other special place, huh."
Right. You'll probably get an alarm on your watch any minute now.
Beep beep beep beep―
No sooner had Lee Seojun finished speaking than an alarm blared from the watch on my left wrist.
Until 9:00. Group Battle Arena. Mandatory class. Penalty for absence.
"Penalty for absence?"
You don't get points even if you attend. The whole team doesn't.
"So it's collective responsibility."
With that thought, I headed to the Group Battle Arena.
Normally, I'd check the guide map or tablet, but I just followed Lee Seojun to sort it out.
"Oh, Lee Seojun. How was your class?"
I asked, keeping in mind that my current situation was very different from Lee Seojun's previous one.
Lee Seojun, bored of just walking to the Group Battle Arena, answered casually.
Me? It was the worst. Not only was I dragged here out of nowhere, but the only perk they gave me was Infinite Power. What was I supposed to do with that?
"What could you do? Why?"
What's the point of having Infinite Power if you don't have skills to use it with? Thanks to that, my ranking was still stuck outside the top 300.
From what I heard, the previous Lee Seojun had lost in the ranking battle matches.
Anyway, for practical combat, I somehow gathered some decent kids and formed a team. Luckily, thanks to the bonus points, my grade ended up in the middle-upper ranks.
"Must've been tough."
I said what I genuinely felt, figuring he'd gone through quite a bit.
Lee Seojun seemed a bit awkward at my response.
Uh... hearing 'that must've been tough' from you, Lee Seongmin, feels kinda weird somehow.
Probably because I'd briefly told him about my experiences across 14 worlds.
"Don't worry about my story. More importantly, you were dragged here by force?"
Yeah. To find the true ending of that game, I tried everything, and ended up collecting all the endings. But there was no true ending.
"No true ending?"
Nope. I went from annoyed to totally deflated... and then suddenly a message popped up on the game screen.
Lee Seojun grimaced as if recalling the moment, continuing on.
The message said, 'Congratulations. You can now challenge the true ending. Would you like to do so?' And the moment I clicked it...
"You got dragged here."
Yep. Still pisses me off thinking about it.
Actually pissed off, Lee Seojun swung his fists at the air like shadowboxing.
If he'd managed well after being brought here, it would've been fine, but right now, he was stuck as a ghost.
"Still, collecting all the endings is impressive. You said you played that game for over 10 years, right?"
Precisely 15 years. But the game company that made it had issues too.
"Issues?"
They split the game into 8 parts. Part 1 covers first year, first semester. Part 2 up to first year, second semester. And so on, releasing one per year. An absolute crime.
"... ."
Basically, it took 8 years to play through the whole thing.
And after all 8 parts, they dropped 4 DLCs. So it took 12 years to play everything.
"DLC?"
Oh, just think of them as extra story content. If you want, Lee Seongmin, I can teach you how to unlock those DLCs too.
Activating extra stories would just make things more annoying, wouldn't it?
I already had plenty to do; adding more would be a hassle. That was my take.
But who knows what might happen later, so I nodded and soon spotted a building ahead.
"Is that the one?"
Yes. That's the Group Battle Arena.
"Looks like some massive factory."
It was a boxy building with steel outer walls.
And I easily spotted students heading inside.
"Let's go in."
With that, I entered the Group Battle Arena entrance.
Inside was a massive, spacious area like three soccer fields stitched together.
'Seems divided into four zones.'
Looking closer, I could see the vast space split into four sections.
If this was like the virtual training room, they probably did battles with four teams at a time.
'Makes sense. With 60 teams, they'd need to run four at once.'
If it was one team per round, it could've taken all day.
Lee Seongmin, you need to find all your teammates and register.
"Register?"
Yes. Look over there.
I glanced where Lee Seojun pointed and saw an instructor sitting by the entrance I'd come through.
Nothing special about that, but above the instructor, big letters were written on the wall.
[Once all team members are gathered, come here to register.]
"What happens if you don't register?"
It's treated as an absence.
"Guess I need to find the team first."
Luckily, everyone arrived on time, so it wasn't hard to track them down.
They must've set off right after the alarm, as they were trickling in one by one.
They're coming in one by one.
"Yeah."
I gave a short reply and approached Oh Ye-rin, who had arrived first.
"Lee Seongmin. Sleep well?"
"Same as usual. You?"
"Me? It's the first class. I was a bit nervous, so I didn't sleep much."
Despite saying she hadn't slept, Oh Ye-rin was as lively as ever.
Judging no issues there, I next checked on Jeong Yu-mi, the defense specialist.
With her bobbed hair and slightly timid vibe, Jeong Yu-mi awkwardly bowed her head as soon as our eyes met.
"H-hi?"
"Hey."
Next, I looked at Park So-yul, who had headphones on and a dazed expression.
'I need to create a chance to be alone with Park So-yul.'
The moment I thought that, Park So-yul's eyes sharpened, and she looked my way.
Her reaction made me think she'd read my mind, but I stayed calm and thought again.
'Park So-yul. If you can hear me, let's talk alone later.'
Her eyes turned suspicious, then she gave a tiny nod no one else would notice.
"... ."
As expected, she'd read my thoughts.
I kept my thoughts minimal from then on and turned to Cheon Seo-yun, who arrived last.
"Everyone's here. Let's go register over there."
Registration was simple.
Just say your name out loud.
But while we finished quickly, nearby students were furious and yelling.
"Why isn't this jerk showing up?!"
"Any contact? Call him quick!"
"We still have 10 minutes. Let's wait."
"Common sense says he should've been here by now!"
"Huh? He's not picking up!"
"He says he can't find the place!"
Listening in, it was total chaos.
Oh Ye-rin shook her head with a weary look, patted my shoulder, and said,
"Lee Seongmin. Too noisy here. Let's go somewhere else."
She pointed to the center as "somewhere else."
Groups of five students who seemed to have registered were already gathered there.
'Hm?'
And in front of them sat Instructor Kang Ju-young on a chair.
With arms crossed and eyes closed, she almost looked asleep.
'But she's probably not actually sleeping.'
I eyed Instructor Kang Ju-young, but Lee Seojun looked at other students nearby.
Looks like all the top-rankers have gathered.
I turned at "top-rankers," but didn't recognize anyone.
Instead, I noticed a girl with striking red hair—Hong Ju-a.
'Hong Ju-a formed a team too, huh.'
Looked like she'd begged to join a team from yesterday after forming hers.
Then.
"... Time's up."
Instructor Kang Ju-young, who had been sitting, said that and opened her eyes, standing up.
"Assistant instructor. Close the doors. Send the registered teams this way."
Amazingly, her low voice reached my ear as clear as a whisper, despite the distance.
"Ah, yes!"
The assistant instructor by the entrance heard it too and immediately stood to shut the doors.
I was impressed, thinking how she'd sent her voice over at least 50 meters.
It's a mana-based technique. Requires precise control, so not many can do it.
Lee Seojun, reading my expression, explained the trick Instructor Kang Ju-young had just shown.
Master that, and you can give precise orders even in heated battles.
"Pretty cool."
I voiced my honest impression.
As the doors closed, the remaining students panicked, then one by one gave up and walked over.
But one who walked over, unhappy with the situation, immediately raised his voice.
"Instructor! No matter how you look at it, closing the doors is too much!"
Instructor Kang Ju-young shifted her one remaining eye—thanks to the eyepatch—and looked at the student.
"I clearly said until 9:00. Aren't the cadets who didn't keep the promise the ones in the wrong?"
"But they might not know where the Group Battle Arena is."
"Then how did you find it?"
The student hemmed and hawed before answering.
"I... checked the map on my tablet..."
"So the ones who didn't come don't have tablets, I suppose."
Of course, every cadet got a watch and tablet.
"I'm saying it now. No-shows are no-shows. No excuses needed. Couldn't find the way? Alarm went out 30 minutes ago—you had time to figure it out. Or if you're just lazy, then you're looking down on me."
It was ice-cold logic, unassailable.
The protesting student had nothing left to say and joined the others.
"One more thing. Anyone here missing even one teammate can't participate in today's class."