Incident at the Mission Training Ground - 2
"That's strange..."
Group combat. Individual sparring. Kim Yeonha stared at the screen displaying the results of the two skill tests, murmuring to herself. She had no choice but to feel that way.
Kim Yohan.
Group combat. Individual combat. Even dungeon exploration. In all three tests that freshmen at the Academy had to undergo, Kim Yohan hadn't shown anything particularly special. Or rather, he had shown something—it just wasn't in the way anyone expected.
A healer with an abnormally low heal amount. Even Kim Yeonha, who had worked with plenty of healers as an A-rank hero, found Kim Yohan's healing output unnaturally weak. So she'd assumed he'd drop out soon enough.
Lucky party members? Sure. She couldn't deny that. Among the people in his group combat party had been Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Taylor. The eldest daughter and heir of the Taylor family, she'd already made a name for herself before even entering the Academy. Her position as top freshman proved it.
So if it was because he'd been with Elizabeth, that would make it easy to understand. But it wasn't just that.
"Buffs..."
Buffs. Skills that healers, mages, and a few other aptitudes possessed to enhance their own abilities or those of others. They sounded great at first glance, but in practice, the actual boost was so minimal that active heroes rated them as "better than nothing" at best.
Kim Yeonha herself had received plenty of buffs on her way to becoming an A-rank hero. But Kim Yohan's buffs... they were different from all those.
Yeah. Different.
"Hmm..."
Had there ever been a hero like this before? Kim Yeonha calmly reviewed the data she'd requested from the Association. But there wasn't a single hero in history even remotely like Kim Yohan.
Which made sense. No matter how much attention the rookie Elizabeth was getting, and no matter how weakly she'd swung, it was impossible to tear through Kim Yeonha's wind barrier like that. By her judgment, Elizabeth would need to be at least 30% stronger than she currently was.
"Instructor."
That was when the door opened, and in walked the pinnacle of the Academy cadets: Student Council President Ryu Sena.
"Ah, yes. Did you bring it?"
"Yes."
Ryu Sena entered with her usual stoic expression and handed over the internal evaluation report. Kim Yeonha let out a heavy sigh.
Ryu Sena had a great eye for people. That's why Kim Yeonha had specifically asked her to participate in Elizabeth and Kim Yohan's dungeon practice as an observer. Ryu Sena, who wanted to scout the freshmen anyway, had agreed without hesitation.
Her evaluation would allow for a more accurate assessment of Kim Yohan.
"Took down a ghoul with just five attacks..."
Not an easy feat. Ghouls were monsters rated D-rank by the Association. Even Elizabeth couldn't take one down in just five hits. And Kim Yohan had apparently just watched from the back.
"A result beyond Elizabeth's current skill level."
"That's right."
"What do you think the reason was?"
"If not her, then the teammate she was with."
The teammate in question—Kim Yohan, whose name was written on the evaluation sheet. Kim Yeonha fixed her gaze on it.
Kim Yohan. Perhaps the one and only person in the world who could meaningfully enhance others with buffs.
Kim Yeonha stared at the documents in silence before nodding. She needed to verify it further. Just how far could he go?
"Instructor?"
"Ah, yes."
She must have zoned out, lost in thoughts of what had happened in the instructor's office. Kim Yeonha glanced subtly at Kim Yohan. He just looked... utterly ordinary.
What the hell? Why's she staring like that?
Kim Yeonha's gaze on me was intense. I wasn't even practicing skills right now. Only after I met her eyes did she slowly exhale and speak.
"The mission site was decided based on evaluations from the instructors and the seniors who observed your last dungeon exploration. If you have any complaints, come see me."
"Huh? Will you change it then?"
"No. I'll just fail you."
"Ah... uh..."
The cadet whose mission site was Jeju Island clutched his face. As others patted his shoulder and asked him to bring back local specialties, I thought to myself, Should I ask for some tangerines too?
"Of course, you'll be with cadets from other classes, but since you're in the same year, you'll need to work on your teamwork. Think of this as building on that experience."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Class begins."
This morning's lecture was on energy cores. While Kim Yeonha taught using the slides on the screen, I opened the documents I'd received earlier.
The Association's direct energy core development research institute. This was where the Academy's main storyline kicked off—Yoo Choa would encounter villains here, defending the cores they were developing from an assault. And that's when she'd get tangled up with an apocalypse-related villain.
Which meant Yoo Choa would be heading there too.
Sure enough, her name was on the list of personnel going to the energy core lab.
"Yohan. You okay with this? There's intel that villains from Myriad Demons are interested in that place."
Elizabeth whispered softly, glancing at Kim Yeonha as she lectured.
Myriad Demons. Sure, most villains preferred to operate solo, but not all of them did. Some formed groups, and Myriad Demons was a prime example.
"Heard the Myriad Demons' 10th seat, the 'Death Witch,' showed up in Korea..."
The 10th seat of Myriad Demons. An A-rank villain by Association standards—a powerful old woman who'd raided a U.S. military base three years ago and turned it into a wasteland.
Her moniker "Death Witch" came from the hordes of undead she commanded. Necromancy that mocked death itself. She'd even turned the corpses of heroes who'd died saving people into her minions, raided other labs for her research, stolen their assets and results—and that's what got her branded a villain.
Definitely the mid-boss of main story chapter 1.
"Kinda worrying."
"Eh..."
I slipped the documents under my textbook and continued my usual buff practice.
"It'll work out somehow."
After morning classes ended, I headed straight to the gate. The three-day mission training started right after lunch—which meant they were providing lunch.
Sweet, saved some cash.
"Hey? Isn't that Kim Yohan?"
As expected, among the cadets gathered at the gate was a familiar face: Yoo Choa. The core character driving the main storyline.
"Kim Yohan, huh."
Standing next to Yoo Choa was a tall guy with dark brown hair and a scar near his eye—a shieldbearer.
Definitely...
"Cheon Suho, right?"
"Oh, you know me?"
Know you? You're one of the major supporting characters. And beyond that, Cheon Suho's name was famous in its own right.
"The runner-up freshman, right?"
Runner-up freshman. Cheon Suho, who'd lost the top spot to Elizabeth, clutched his face and screamed.
"...Arrrgh! Runner-up! Me, runner-up?!"
"Ahaha... Yohan, better not mention runner-up around him."
"Face reality."
"Damn it all..."
He grumbled but quieted down soon enough. A few more cadets arrived shortly after. Yoo Choa, the human capybara, greeted them all warmly like she knew everyone, but I didn't. Cheon Suho didn't seem to either.
"She's got great social skills."
"She's a weird one. Anyway, I heard you're a healer with low output. Didn't expect you'd be here."
"Yeah."
"Well, we're on the same mission, so let's do our best. You know my aptitude, right?"
I glanced at Cheon Suho's massive shield.
"If you can't tell from that, you're an idiot. Tank, right?"
"Oh, yeah? But you? Heard you're a healer—why the bow? You know how to shoot?"
"Of course."
"Oh, sub-weapon, huh? I've got this as my sub."
Grinning, Cheon Suho pulled something from his belt: a double-barrel shotgun. Nice conversation starter there!
"Whoa, that's a mana gun? Colt make?"
"Hah, good eye. Actually, this thing's top-tier..."
Firearms that used mana as ammo instead of lead or gunpowder were brutally effective against monsters with tough hides. They drained mental strength and mana with every shot, but the raw power made them perfect for a high-defense tank like him.
"Runner-up material for sure."
"...Gahk."
"Hey, second place is still damn good."
"All personnel, assemble!!"
A burly instructor dragging several large carriers approached us. He looked like the homeroom instructor for Class Seonghwi—a massive guy named Yang Jun, an A-rank hero nicknamed "the Brute."
"I'm Yang Jun, in charge of leading you today. Everyone here? No stragglers?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Alright, grab these first and listen up while you eat."
Lunch provided! The carriers were packed with meaty sandwiches.
"No one here doesn't know where the Association's energy core development lab is. But I'll start with the important stuff."
As we tore into the sandwich wrappers, he got to the point.
Here we go—the real start.
"Word is, the Death Witch is targeting the energy core development lab."
The cadets mid-bite froze.
"Of course, even if the witch shows up, it won't be an issue. There are heroes on constant standby, and the facility's security is top-notch... so you probably won't see real combat."
The relieved cadets resumed unwrapping their sandwiches.
"But first, here's some info on the Death Witch. This is her most recent sighting..."
He boldly projected a hologram. A legion of hundreds, maybe thousands of corpses shambling along—gore dripping from mangled flesh and guts. Incredibly realistic.
"Urk..."
A few female cadets lost their appetites entirely.
"Next."
As the hologram shifted and Yang Jun's explanations continued, some cadets' faces turned greener than a crashing stock chart.
"If you're aspiring heroes, don't get squeamish over this."
Of course Yang Jun knew. "You'll see way worse. Now eat up! We depart in one hour!"
But did he have to show this right before lunch? The meal had turned into a funeral wake.
"Ugh... lost my appetite."
"I-I'm dieting anyway."
A few weak-stomached cadets returned their sandwiches to the containers. Yoo Choa smiled brightly.
"Huh? You guys not eating?"
"Yeah... this is fine for me. Meat right now feels off."
Were they picturing the sandwich meat overlapping with the undead flesh from the witch's horde? As they rejected the sandwiches and grabbed only energy bars, Yoo Choa swiftly snatched extras from the container.
"Mind if we have these then?"
"Go ahead..."
"Ehehe~. Yohan! Suho! Want more?"
Obviously!