Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony (2)
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'She’s someone we absolutely have to bring along...'
From what Lee Seojun was saying, it seemed her abilities were exceptional, at least.
At the same time, as if sensing my gaze, the girl turned her head toward me.
"......"
"......"
Thanks to that, for just a few seconds.
Our eyes met, but nothing special happened.
Cheon Seo-yun. As the successor to the Heavenly Sword Dance, her talent is beyond belief. If you get close to Cheon Seo-yun, you can sail smoothly through the midgame.
Before Lee Seojun could even finish, the girl called Cheon Seo-yun turned her head straight forward again without any reaction.
And she took first place in the entrance test.
I gave a slight nod so the other students around wouldn’t notice.
In truth, considering my own abilities, I didn’t really need to pay attention, but he was going on about it so much that I was a bit curious.
‘Her talent is ridiculously high, huh?’
Should I check it out for myself?
Fortunately, I had the ability to see others’ potential.
It was one of the abilities I’d gained after passing through fourteen worlds so far.
‘Precise Analysis.’
As I activated Precise Analysis while looking at Cheon Seo-yun, a small window appeared in front of me.
"......"
After confirming Cheon Seo-yun’s potential, I was at a loss for words for a moment.
In all fourteen worlds from 1 to 14, I hadn’t seen anyone with a potential of 99 except for one person.
‘Potential of 99?’
The potential values had standards set by me and my colleagues.
1~20: Dullard.
21~40: Average.
41~60: Gifted.
61~80: Prodigy.
81~90: Near-Genius.
91~100: Genius.
A score of 99 here meant a genius among geniuses, someone with the potential to save the world single-handedly.
‘At this level, just raising Cheon Seo-yun alone could save the world.’
Or it could mean the world’s danger level was so high that even her potential wouldn’t be enough.
Regardless of the world, though, Cheon Seo-yun’s potential piqued my interest considerably.
By the way, you have to beat Cheon Seo-yun at least once by the end of the first semester of your second year. Otherwise, she drops out and vanishes.
"......?"
I turned to look at Lee Seojun, tuning out the entrance ceremony speech that had just begun up front.
Seeming to catch on to why I was looking at him, Lee Seojun added more explanation about Cheon Seo-yun.
Cheon Seo-yun enrolled because her father told her to experience how vast the world is. But if she still holds first place by her second year, she sees no more point in it and quits.
In other words, beating her within that time would give her a reason to stay at the Hero Officer Academy and not drop out.
‘Yeah, with that kind of potential, it makes sense she’d think that way.’
To put it exaggeratedly, she’d get stronger just by breathing.
With that, I looked at Lee Seojun, who was explaining so enthusiastically, in a new light.
‘So, does that mean Lee Seojun beat Cheon Seo-yun in the previous run?’
He’d said himself it was a close failure, so the possibility was high.
[We sincerely hope that you all forge the futures you desire here at the Hero Officer Academy. And once again, congratulations on your enrollment.]
Clap clap clap clap—
By then, the entrance ceremony speech had ended, and applause echoed from those around us.
As the clapping gradually died down, someone stepped forward in front of the cadets and shouted.
"Alright, everyone, move to the right wall!"
He looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties, with short hair and a muscular build.
The moment I thought he might be an instructor, Lee Seojun revealed the man’s identity.
Instructor Kang Ji-hoon. A B-Rank Hero and master of hand-to-hand combat.
I shuffled along with the other cadets toward the right while saying to Lee Seojun.
"B-Rank?"
B-Rank means a hero capable of operating in B-Rank gates.
From what he said, this world had gates.
"Monsters pour out from inside, and if you leave them alone, they spill into the outside world?"
Huh? How did you know?
One of the worlds from 1 to 14 had been like that.
"I’ve been through it."
I replied only that much and took a rough position among the cadets.
Once all three hundred cadets had gathered, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon scanned us once and spoke.
"First, congratulations on your enrollment. You’re the elite cadets who passed the entrance test. Naturally, you’ve all received your rankings based on those results."
At the mention of test results, I recalled my 300th place ranking.
‘In other words, dead last.’
But I didn’t care much about the ranking itself.
I could raise it anytime I wanted, if I felt like it.
"But a test is just a test. It’s separate from real combat. I agree with that."
At that moment, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon emphasized that real combat mattered more than tests.
It was true, but I had no idea why he was bringing it up now, so I waited silently.
"Some of you might be dissatisfied with your rankings. So, I’m giving you a chance to change them."
A chance to change?
As I was thinking, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon pulled something like a remote from his pocket and pressed a button firmly.
Whirr—
‘Oh.’
The auditorium floor behind Instructor Kang Ji-hoon slowly rose up.
I could see others around bringing in a bunch of weapons.
"Starting from the lowest rank, come up one by one and point out someone you want to fight. If you win, we’ll swap your rankings."
It looked like the rising square platform was an arena.
I alternated glances between Instructor Kang Ji-hoon and the arena, then turned to Lee Seojun.
It’s an event where you can literally swap rankings. You have to fight no matter what. If you forfeit, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon’s favorability drops.
"......"
I had no idea why I should care about some guy in his thirties’ favorability, but I nodded anyway.
"But why go to all this trouble?"
I muttered to myself.
Fortunately, Lee Seojun understood and explained.
Without this, dissatisfied cadets would pick fights constantly, so they do it this way.
In short, better to set up a proper stage than let them brawl among themselves.
The cadets, caught off guard by the setup, started murmuring here and there.
"Additionally, any cadet who fights even once can’t be challenged again."
For example, if 300th place me fought 200th, neither of us would fight again.
"Then, 300th place..."
Instructor Kang Ji-hoon pulled a paper from his pocket and scanned it.
"Lee Seongmin. Step forward."
As expected, my name came up first.
I reaffirmed my dead-last status once more and walked forward.
Lee Seongmin, pick 265th place. Just charge at them afterward, and you can knock them out painlessly.
Lee Seojun went on, recommending I lose without getting hurt rather than win.
From his perspective, since Absolute Clone wasn’t immediately usable, it made sense.
"Yes, Cadet Lee Seongmin. Any desired ranking or opponent you want to face?"
"Hm."
I pondered for a moment.
Lee Seongmin, 265th place.
Following Lee Seojun’s advice wouldn’t be bad.
He’d made it to the endgame that way, and I could too, safely.
‘The failure at the end is the downside, though.’
But since it ultimately failed, maybe it was fine to go bolder.
Lee Seongmin?
With no reply from me, Lee Seojun called my name again.
As Instructor Kang Ji-hoon eyed me curiously in my contemplation, I slowly opened my mouth.
"If it changes my rank, I should pick the highest one. I’ll take on first place."
"......First place?"
In other words, the dead-last 300th place was challenging first place.
Instructor Kang Ji-hoon hadn’t expected this and furrowed his brow before asking again.
"First place for sure?"
"Yes."
"Alright, good. First place, Cheon Seo-yun. Step forward."
The moment Instructor Kang Ji-hoon finished speaking, the female cadet whose eyes I’d met earlier walked out.
Apart from that, murmurs started among some cadets at the fact that I’d picked first place.
"What’s with that guy? Attention-seeker?"
"Even so, dead last challenging first?"
"Did they talk beforehand or something?"
Not just that—some cadets glared at me with hostility.
‘Ah. Since I picked first, no one else can now.’
Probably the higher-ranked cadets eyeing me.
As I thought that, Lee Seojun practically shouted in disbelief at what I’d done.
What are you doing?! This will ruin your school life!
His expression was nearly despairing, which I understood since my failure meant his erasure.
"Just win."
I muttered to Lee Seojun like it was to myself that winning would fix it, then checked the weapons others had brought.
Surprisingly, they were all made of iron, but upon closer inspection, the blades weren’t sharpened.
‘Makes sense—no need for sharp edges.’
Cheon Seo-yun stepped forward first, grabbed a single sword, and climbed into the arena.
Her demeanor showed no tension at the prospect of sparring.
‘Then I...’
Fighting while moving my body would be tough.
But even standing still, I had endless ways to fight.
"Six swords. I’ll take those."
"Six... swords?"
The man bringing weapons looked dubious but I ignored him and picked six swords.
"......"
"......"
As I grabbed the swords like that, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon, Cheon Seo-yun, and even the gathered cadets all stared in disbelief.
"Does that guy have six arms or something?"
I heard something like that from somewhere but ignored it and climbed into the arena.
Lee Seongmin, why did you make that choice...
Instead of answering, I activated an ability from the eleventh world among those I’d passed through.
‘Warlord’s Weapon.’
Warlord’s Weapon (★)
└ Infuses weapons with mana and will to aid in battle.
└ Applies flight effects to weapons and allows commands.
└ Weapon durability +110%.
└ Weapon speed +110%.
└ Weapon power +110%.
└ Allows infusing five additional weapons with mana and will.
Whirr—
The moment I activated the ability, the six swords I’d brought floated lightly into the air, their blades aimed at Cheon Seo-yun.