Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: First Class (3)
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"Huh?"
Some of the cadets jumped in surprise at Instructor Kang Ju-young's words.
Naturally, it was those who still hadn't assembled their teams who reacted that way.
"Instructor! What do you mean by that?!"
"We're not the ones who are late!"
The loud shouts made the other cadets frown at the noise.
Instructor Kang Ju-young, on the other hand, opened her mouth calmly, her expression unchanged.
"That's what makes you a team."
"......"
"......"
Surprisingly, Instructor Kang Ju-young's voice had the power to silence the excited cadets.
I realized that this was the dignity she'd built up as a hero, and I let out a small sigh of admiration.
'Instructor Kang Ju-young is an S-rank hero, right?'
She wasn't a Transcendent, but she was close.
If there was a rank higher than S, it had to be Transcendent-level.
'I'll have to ask Lee Seojun about it later......'
As my thoughts reached that point, I felt a gaze directed at me and turned my head.
Park So-yul was staring at me without a word.
'More troublesome than I thought.'
Even now, thinking she was reading my mind made it incredibly annoying.
Lee Seojun must have noticed Park So-yul staring at me, because he asked cautiously.
—Lee Seongmin-ssi. Did Park So-yul figure it out?
I gave a small nod in response.
—Ah. Then she's openly reading your mind now.
"Yeah."
I muttered it like a soliloquy in reply to Lee Seojun.
Oh Ye-rin looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Oh. The team thing? Yeah. We're a team, so we have to stick together."
She seemed to think I was agreeing with Instructor Kang Ju-young.
At the same time, I felt something touch my shoe with a toe, and then a voice echoed in my head.
[Who are you talking to?]
"......?"
Stunned by the sudden voice, I quietly looked around.
Lee Seojun seemed to guess what was happening and quickly explained.
—Lee Seongmin-ssi. Park So-yul has two innate abilities. One is mind reading. The other is telepathy. She can speak directly into your head.
The voice in my head just now was Park So-yul using telepathy.
And she must have guessed I was talking to Lee Seojun, because she asked who it was.
"Cadets who haven't assembled teams, step aside."
In the meantime, Instructor Kang Ju-young had the teamless cadets move to the side.
The assistant instructor handed her a tablet, and she examined it closely.
"I'll announce the team order now. Kim Jung-woo, Park Young-ik, Lim Seung-jun, Lee Chae-i, Kim I-hyun—Team 1."
Team order?
As I listened, I heard my name called for Team 4.
"Lee Seongmin, Oh Ye-rin, Jeong Yu-mi, Park So-yul, Cheon Seo-yun—Team 4."
She said my team was 4th, but I had no idea what the criteria were.
The other cadets seemed just as confused, and one raised a hand to ask Instructor Kang Ju-young.
"Instructor, what's the criteria for the team order?"
"Highest additional points first."
Now that I knew how the order was determined, I thought for a moment.
Being 4th meant there were three teams with even higher additional points.
'Well, it's not that surprising.'
Even if the bottom 200 got grouped together, their additional points would still be higher.
And as the 1st place with massive additional points dragging us down, it wasn't strange at all.
"Team order confirmed. Remember which team you're on."
I also noted that she called a total of 42 teams.
In other words, at least 18 people were absent, so 18 teams couldn't participate.
"Now, about the class. Today is a simple skills test. We'll use this group battle arena for a virtual battle."
I heard it was a virtual battle, just as Lee Seojun had said.
Most of the cadets looked relieved at the words "virtual battle."
"Virtual battle means that thing in the virtual training room, right? Should be easy."
Oh Ye-rin recalled the battle from the virtual training room a couple days ago and said it would be simple.
From what Lee Seojun had said about the virtual training room, it didn't seem like you'd get seriously hurt, so it made sense.
"Everyone looks happy."
Instructor Kang Ju-young continued calmly, looking at their expressions.
"Just so you know, your opponents are 50 goblins. I believe you cadets who got into Hero Officer Academy can handle it."
"......"
"......"
The cadets, who had been relieved for a moment, tilted their heads at "50 goblins."
"50 goblins...... That's doable, right?"
"Yeah. They're just the trash mobs from the first floor of the tower. They only show up in low-rank gates too."
"50 means about 10 per person."
From the snippets around me, they seemed to think goblins were a joke.
But I remembered Oh Ye-rin struggling a bit against three goblins in the virtual training room the other day.
'This feels like it'll be tough.'
Of course, not for me.
Even if I only used Warlord's Weapon, I could handle thousands or tens of thousands of goblins.
"Alright, Teams 1 through 4, come forward."
As expected, it was four teams at a time.
And since we were Team 4, I stepped forward with the others.
"As I said, you'll face 50 goblins. You have 5 minutes to discuss strategy."
Instructor Kang Ju-young seemed to want us to come up with at least a basic plan, but no one paid much attention.
"Goblins? Do we need a strategy?"
"Just charge and kill them all."
"But we have magic users, so we need someone to protect them."
I listened to them and looked at Lee Seojun.
Lee Seojun had the same expression, like we even needed a strategy.
—Honestly, with just you and Cheon Seo-yun, 50 goblins would be easy. But the others aren't, so......
Lee Seojun looked at everyone except me and Cheon Seo-yun and suggested a simple plan.
—Put defense specialist Jeong Yu-mi up front. Then have Cheon Seo-yun, Oh Ye-rin, and Park So-yul guard her flanks. Finally, Lee Seongmin-ssi, use those flying swords to provide support where needed.
He was saying to have the whole team move together against the goblins.
I nodded and relayed his words exactly to the four pairs of eyes looking at me.
"Jeong Yu-mi, you charge straight ahead at the front. Everyone else, guard her sides while fighting. I'll provide support as needed."
Oh Ye-rin raised a question at my words.
"There are 50 goblins. Can Jeong Yu-mi hold the front?"
"She can."
I answered and looked at Jeong Yu-mi. She nodded with faint resolve in her eyes.
"I'll do it."
"Good. If things get dicey, my swords will back you up."
They all seemed to remember me controlling six swords and nodded one by one.
"Time's up. Everyone into the battle arena."
Instructor Kang Ju-young announced it was time.
I grabbed weapons from the rack with the others and headed to the arena marked with a big "4" on the floor.
"Begin."
Soon after Instructor Kang Ju-young's voice, dozens of lights appeared in front, quickly forming into goblin shapes.
'That must be Cheon Seo-yun.'
In truth, Kang Ju-young had heard rumors about Cheon Seo-yun even before she enrolled.
She was the greatest genius in Heavenly Sword Dance history, currently at C-rank hero level.
'And she naturally took 1st in the entrance exam.'
Kang Ju-young's gaze shifted from Cheon Seo-yun to the one beside her.
'Lee Seongmin.'
Kang Ju-young didn't show it outwardly, but she was suspicious of Lee Seongmin.
A guy who placed 300th in the entrance exam unlocked one innate ability and beat Cheon Seo-yun?
That meant Lee Seongmin's innate ability was outstanding enough to crush even a C-rank hero.
'It's not unprecedented.'
But the timing was too coincidental.
And since he'd openly revealed his ability, she couldn't tell if he was backed by impure forces or not.
She was also surprised inwardly that such a Lee Seongmin was on the same team as Cheon Seo-yun.
So it was only natural for her gaze to turn there.
'Wonder what his real skill is like.'
Every battle arena had dozens of cameras installed anyway.
Kang Ju-young fixed her eyes on Lee Seongmin's team, figuring she could watch the others later.
Pa-bat!—
Soon, 50 goblins materialized amid the light.
With Cheon Seo-yun at C-rank hero level and Lee Seongmin who beat her, they should win easily.
But Kang Ju-young wanted to see the process, not just the result, so she kept watching.
"Let's go."
Unexpectedly, Lee Seongmin took the leader role and called to start first.
Then Jeong Yu-mi, holding a massive rectangular tower shield, charged forward.
Following her were Cheon Seo-yun, Oh Ye-rin, and Park So-yul.
'So his innate ability is those swords.'
Finally, Lee Seongmin's six floating swords flew as if escorting the team.
On the other hand, the 50 mana-formed goblins up front screeched in unison and charged.
'Normal cadets look down on goblins.'
That's why they don't know the terror of numerical superiority.
No matter that they were goblins, 50 charging head-on would be hard for most cadets to even withstand.
Chwaak!—
"......!?"
Lee Seongmin and his team were the exception.
The moment Jeong Yu-mi's shield in the lead collided with the goblins.
The goblins charging from the sides were neatly sliced by Lee Seongmin's swords.
'What......'
Even though they were mana goblins, they weren't that soft.
And these were training swords, so without mana, cleanly slicing them like that would be tough.
"......"
Not only that, but Cheon Seo-yun and Oh Ye-rin slipped into the spots cleared by Lee Seongmin's swords.
She thought the formation held decently against the charging goblins, but no.
'Those swords. They're moving perfectly.'
Lee Seongmin's swords only cut or blocked goblins enough for his teammates to handle.
So every team member holding the front faced the goblins steadily, without any disruptions.
'With 50 charging, it'd be normal to get tangled up immediately.'
But Lee Seongmin's six swords prevented that situation entirely.
This wasn't just talent—it came from experiencing countless battles and mastering the flow.
The flow of battle that you can only grasp by living it, Lee Seongmin had already awakened to it long ago.
That was why Kang Ju-young gave him an even more wary evaluation.
'Where did this monster come from?'
Unfortunately, Cheon Seo-yun's performance didn't even register in her eyes.