Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony (3)
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"..."
Once I finished my preparations, Cheon Seo-yun assumed position with a slightly tense expression.
Even the students who had been whispering nonstop fell silent, watching quietly.
"Ah, a. Then begin."
Instructor Kang Ji-hoon seemed flustered too, stuttering for a moment before signaling to start.
'Let's see what you've got.'
With that thought, I hurled six swords at Cheon Seo-yun.
She focused intently, batting away the incoming blades as if trying to close in...
'No use.'
Chaeeng!—
Cheon Seo-yun deflected the sword I'd thrown, but it was pointless.
She'd expected it to fly off to the side, but the blade didn't budge an inch.
"...!?"
Realizing the power in my sword was beyond her imagination, she urgently ducked her head.
I could have ended it with this first strike, but curiosity about her potential of 99 made me hold back on speed.
Whish—
The first sword, dodged by her duck, spun full circle and targeted her upper body.
The second and third aimed for her legs, while the fourth and fifth went for her waist.
Kwa-kwa-kwak!—
Suddenly, a blue glow erupted from Cheon Seo-yun's sword, clashing with the ones targeting her waist.
Kwaaaang!—
Looked like she'd swung with full force.
Probably intending to shatter my blades.
"Ugh."
But just like before, my swords didn't flinch, still hurtling toward her.
After two clashes, Cheon Seo-yun realized it wasn't luck and threw herself backward to evade.
Tat-tat!—
Then she pulled off some pretty impressive footwork, even by my standards.
It looked like she was shifting left at first glance, but her center of gravity was tilting right.
'Impressive.'
But that was it.
I maneuvered the swords to pressure her again.
Having already analyzed her movements, cornering her with the blades was simple.
Pat—
"..."
In the end, Cheon Seo-yun halted at the edge of the arena, surrounded by the six swords.
"Sparring over!"
Instructor Kang Ji-hoon declared the match decided.
With the duel finished, I recalled the swords to their original spots and glanced at Cheon Seo-yun for a moment.
"..."
She wore a dazed expression, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened.
"Cadet Lee Seongmin wins, so I'll swap the rankings of 1st and 300th place."
A single duel had reversed 1st and 300th.
Instructor Kang Ji-hoon looked as surprised as anyone, but he'd given his word and couldn't back out.
"By the way, Cadet Lee Seongmin. Was that ability you just showed an [Innate Ability]?"
Glancing at Lee Seojun at the question, he nodded, gesturing for me to confirm it.
"Yes."
"I see. Impressive ability. Congratulations. Now head to the entrance, grab your essentials, and return."
Unlike the composed Instructor Kang Ji-hoon, most students looked shocked.
On top of that, Lee Seojun latched onto me, grilling me relentlessly about what had happened.
"Tell you here?"
Heading to the auditorium entrance next, a man approached and handed over a bunch of items.
"Cadet Lee Seongmin, right? Here's spare uniforms and training clothes. Plus standard essentials for all cadets. Buy anything else you need yourself."
The load he handed over was hefty.
"Inside, you'll find a watch and tablet—register and use them."
A watch and tablet?
"Finally, here's the dorm and cafeteria locations."
The man explained the dorm and cafeteria spots, then bowed.
"Rest well and settle in today."
"Yes. Thanks for your work."
Looks like we'd be living here.
Deciding to ask Lee Seojun about it later, I nodded and headed to the dorm.
"..."
Unlike Lee Seongmin, who had left the auditorium first, Cheon Seo-yun stood blankly in the arena after stepping down.
It showed just how shocking the duel with him had been, and Instructor Kang Ji-hoon understood, leaving her be.
'First time seeing something like this in all my years as an instructor.'
300th place challenges and beats 1st?
Even picking 1st was unprecedented, let alone winning.
'Even if he awakened an Innate Ability, he couldn't master it that quickly.'
Thinking that far, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon glanced up at the people on the second floor.
Reps from various guilds, startled by the 1st vs. 300th result, were scrambling.
'They'll start digging into Lee Seongmin's background.'
Once they had his info, they'd approach methodically.
But since the Hero Officer Academy allowed it, Instructor Kang Ji-hoon didn't interfere.
'It's the cadet's choice.'
Separately, his gaze returned to Cheon Seo-yun.
'Hope Cadet Cheon Seo-yun holds up.'
With that final thought, he yelled at the chattering students without pause.
"Quiet! Next, 299th. Kim I-hyun. Step forward."
As Instructor Kang Ji-hoon resumed proceedings...
"..."
Cheon Seo-yun still looked dazed.
Then she slowly turned, staring where Lee Seongmin had gone.
He was long gone from the auditorium, but she kept her eyes fixed there.
Suddenly, her father's words echoed in her mind.
Defiant, she'd entered the Hero Officer Academy and claimed 1st place proudly.
But no sooner had she done so than she'd been thoroughly crushed by 300th place in a duel.
'...Even if we fought again, I don't think I'd win.'
The swords he'd thrown held such overwhelming power that victory seemed impossible.
She figured not even the instructors could block them.
"..."
Still, Cheon Seo-yun didn't despair.
Instead, she felt a rivalry slowly igniting in her chest.
'What about the others?'
If 300th place had that kind of power, she wondered about the rest.
Turning to the arena, she watched for a bit before shaking her head.
'Pathetic.'
Seconds of observation told her everything.
She could end them in one exchange if she wanted.
'As expected.'
Convinced Lee Seongmin, the 300th, was special, Cheon Seo-yun headed to the auditorium entrance.
Since she'd be at the Hero Officer Academy, they'd cross paths repeatedly—no need to rush.
Yet her mind lingered on him, eagerly awaiting their next encounter.
Dragging my feet step by step, I reached the dorm and told the presumed guard my name and rank.
Hearing my rank, he looked shocked, then directed me to the top floor.
"Room size varies by rank?"
"And 1st?"
The 1st place single-room privilege wasn't huge.
About 400 square feet, studio-style.
'Fair enough. Plenty for sleeping and washing.'
For a dorm, it was decent.
"Ah, I'll explain."
I gave Lee Seojun a quick rundown on the duel.
Tricked by the Creator God in a dream, contracted, sent to another world.
Not once or twice—this was my 15th world.
"Simply put, I used abilities from previous worlds."
I thought I'd explained in detail, but Lee Seojun looked like he was struggling to process it.
Hard to believe sane that I'd crossed 15 worlds, gaining all sorts of powers.
"I told you, don't worry about saving the world."
Indeed, I'd saved worlds more than once or twice.
Lee Seojun now trusted me, nodding eagerly.
I didn't need abilities gained here—except Absolute Clone—so I stayed quiet.
"Ah, but what do I need to do to save the world?"
Saving the world implied some threat to it.
Asking that, Lee Seojun began explaining briefly.
"Influence?"
From his words, there were tons of crime orgs.
I got the gist: [Regional], [National], [World-Class] crime orgs.
"So [World-Class] are the world threats."
With that, Lee Seojun started with the first World-Class crime organization.