Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony (6)
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Who the hell is this guy?
While I was staring at the male student I'd just challenged to a fight, Lee Seojun gave me the answer.
-That's Seo Ji-ho. He thinks of Cheon Seo-yun as his rival. He usually goes after her, but this time he came to you, Lee Seongmin.
From what I heard, he was the type who normally stuck to Cheon Seo-yun.
But since I'd taken first place this time, it looked like he'd switched over to me.
"Why no answer?"
"What do you expect me to say to some guy who suddenly wants to throw down? Ah. Too annoying. No thanks."
I gave him a polite response, but this Seo Ji-ho guy didn't back off.
"Now I see you're just a coward."
"Think whatever you want."
"But I can't just back down."
I stared silently at Seo Ji-ho, who was responding however he pleased.
It was almost absurd watching him completely ignore my refusal.
"If you can't back down, then what?"
"I'll just follow you around."
"......"
Honestly, I'd half-expected him to resort to some dirty trick.
So his response caught me off guard.
Even Oh Ye-rin, standing beside me, looked at him with a bewildered expression after hearing that.
'Turns out he's just a naive guy?'
Thankfully, Lee Seojun explained it for me.
-Seo Ji-ho hates sneaky tactics or cheap tricks. He's the type who fits the word "honorable" perfectly.
Honorable, huh...
Thanks to that, I got a rough sense of his personality and came up with a way to shake him off.
"Sorry, but I used my ability today and I'm wiped out. You're not planning to fight me while I'm exhausted and claim a fair win, are you?"
"......"
At my words about being drained from using my power, Seo Ji-ho fell into thought.
But as expected, he seemed to believe a true honorable fight required both sides at full strength, and he soon nodded.
"If you're tired, I guess there's no helping it. I'll come find you again tomorrow. Let's throw down then."
With that, Seo Ji-ho turned and left the cafeteria.
Since he was leaving the cafeteria, it seemed he'd already finished eating and wanted to fight afterward.
"I didn't know Seo Ji-ho was like that."
In the meantime, Oh Ye-rin muttered while watching his retreating back.
"You know Seo Ji-ho?"
"He's famous. Son of Seo Do-kyung, the guy who created the Lightning Spear Technique. Looking at his hair, seems he's awakened the lightning attribute too."
Hair color?
-Hair or eye color can change due to mana influence. Just like Oh Ye-rin said, Seo Ji-ho awakened lightning, so his hair turned blonde.
I nodded slightly as I listened to Lee Seojun.
The idea that mana could change hair or eye color was intriguing.
"Anyway, what're you gonna do? He looks like he'll show up again tomorrow."
"It'll work itself out somehow."
Honestly, throwing down once wouldn't be hard.
I just didn't like wasting time on pointless stuff.
-Lee Seongmin. If he annoys you, suggest betting points on the fight.
I glanced at Lee Seojun at the mention of points.
-You can wager points against each other. Technically, it's just transferring points.
If points could be transferred like that, all sorts of things could happen.
I wanted to ask more about it, but Oh Ye-rin sidled up to me and casually linked arms.
"Walking's gotta be uncomfortable, right? I'll help."
Lee Seojun and I easily grasped her intention.
-She's planning to show everyone how close she is to the top ranker.
I thought the same, but wondered if it even mattered.
Classes hadn't started yet, so who knew how things would play out.
"Should we head to the virtual training room first? They say Hero Officer Academy's is the best."
"Virtual training room?"
"Monsters appear right in front of you, and you can fight them like it's real. Anywhere else, it'd cost 10 or 20 million won to use one."
"Pretty pricey. But even if we go, we can't use it, right?"
"We have points. We can use points for it."
Oh Ye-rin said we could use points, but I had no intention of doing so.
Part of it was not wanting to waste points, and part was that my combat experience already outstripped anyone else's.
-By the way, the virtual training room costs 10 points per use.
Two buffet meals' worth.
Maybe because she'd mentioned 10 or 20 million won outside, 10 points felt relatively cheap.
No, it actually was cheap, which was probably why so many students used it.
"Let's see... This way, I think."
Oh Ye-rin pulled out a small paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and guided us.
It was a school facilities map.
'Guess they hand out stuff like this.'
Anyway, after following her for a while, we arrived at the virtual training room.
"Whoa~ The facilities are amazing."
The virtual training rooms were structured with transparent glass walls on both sides, letting you see right inside each room lined up in a row.
And since weapons were used, each visible room was impressively spacious.
-Using the training room lets you summon up to C-rank monsters. No physical body, of course, but mana clumps together to form them, so you can hit and get hit.
Fighting summoned monsters in the virtual room felt like real damage exchange.
"Should I give it a try?"
Oh Ye-rin said it with an excited look, clearly intrigued by the virtual training room.
"Doesn't it cost points?"
"I've got the 100 points from this time. If not now, when?"
With that, Oh Ye-rin charged straight into a virtual training room.
Once inside, she tapped her watch against the wall screen to pay the points.
-She wants to show you what she can do, Lee Seongmin.
"No real need to show off."
Still, I was curious about the virtual training room itself, so I decided to watch.
After paying, Oh Ye-rin fiddled with the controls a few times.
Pabab!—
Three lights appeared simultaneously, soon taking the shape of monsters.
They were about 130cm tall, with green skin and grotesque faces—humanoid monsters.
-Three goblins right off the bat... She really wants to show off, huh?
"Not dangerous, right?"
-It's safe. Even if you get hurt, it's just a light bruise.
Reassured, I watched as Oh Ye-rin grabbed two weapons from the wall rack.
"Shortsword and dagger."
She picked up a shortsword about 60cm long and a short, sharp dagger, then shouted at the goblins.
"Come on!"
Kieek!—
The three still goblins shrieked in unison and charged.
But Oh Ye-rin dove in faster, slicing one's neck with clean precision.
Seogeok—
Then she swung her dagger to check the goblin coming from the other side while thrusting her shortsword again.
Pook—
'Hm.'
But while she stabbed the second goblin with the shortsword...
The goblin she'd checked with the dagger swung its club, smacking her leg.
"Not that great at fighting."
Her movements suggested she'd be good at ambushes from hiding.
On the flip side, straight-up frontal fights exposed her shortcomings.
-That's pretty decent.
"Decent?"
-She beat three goblins, didn't she?
"Two more and she'd have been clubbed senseless."
The initial dash and neck slice were impressive.
But handling the rest afterward was honestly reckless.
"Anyway, that fight costs 10 points?"
-No. 30 minutes of continuous fighting.
"10 points for 30 minutes, then."
Even at 10 points for 30 minutes, it was cheap compared to 10 or 20 million won outside.
Anyway, Oh Ye-rin fought two more rounds, then emerged sweaty and beaded with perspiration.
"First time using a virtual training room, but it's awesome."
I nodded at Oh Ye-rin, who was beaming.
"Lee Seongmin. You gonna try?"
"I'd just end up batting weapons around."
The era for building skills in a virtual training room was long past for me.
Using it now would be like playing with a boring toy.
'But owning one of these wouldn't be bad.'
It'd be useless for me, but others might find it helpful.
So I figured having one wasn't a bad idea as we headed elsewhere with Oh Ye-rin.
"Where next? Whoa, there's a café here too."
"Café too?"
"Huh? Don't like cafés?"
"Cafés cost points too. Save them for yourself."
At my response, Oh Ye-rin pouted slightly.
Maybe she'd hoped I'd treat her at the café.
"Fine. So what're you gonna do now?"
"Once we split, I'll head back to the dorm and rest."
"Most people try to make friends with others."
I tilted my head, not quite getting her point.
'Do I really need to?'
While I was thinking that way, Lee Seojun chimed in.
-Everyone graduates to become heroes. The hero world is small, so it's good to get along with as many as possible.
'Ah... I see.'
Thinking from Lee Seojun's perspective for a moment made it click somewhat.
Lee Seojun probably hadn't taken down those three world-class organizations alone.
'Must've had help from those around him.'
And those around him were likely the students he'd spent three years with at Hero Officer Academy.
That made Oh Ye-rin's advice about befriending others start to make sense.
'Befriending, huh...'
Of course, unlike Lee Seojun or Oh Ye-rin, I had no need for that.
But Cheon Seo-yun's potential of 99 stuck in my mind.
'Maybe befriend her and raise her properly.'
Hell, why not gather other promising ones and build a team?
"Hey, Lee Seongmin. You're not taking what I said too seriously, are you? Now I feel awkward."
At that moment, Oh Ye-rin spoke up, looking embarrassed as she saw me lost in thought.
Seemed like a misunderstanding, but I just nodded without saying anything.