Min Ji-won (2)
Afternoon class was held in a vast training ground the size of a soccer field.
If the morning session had covered theory and the precautions leading into practical combat, the afternoon was the real thing that followed from there.
And the most important part of it—
"We will now begin team assignments. The teams have been freely determined by the instructors, and barring special circumstances, they cannot be overturned or changed."
—was the team lottery, so to speak.
The teams being formed now weren't just for this class. They would carry through to every session that followed—all the way to Tower entry, meaning the practical exercises themselves.
"You may feel resistant to being teamed up with people you barely know, but for Heroes and Hunters, forming teams with strangers on short notice is a common occurrence."
In other words, this curriculum had been designed with even those sudden situations in mind.
Having already given a rough explanation during the morning class, the instructor covered only the key points before beginning to call out names, starting from Team 1.
I'm a bit curious where Min Ji-won and Lee Ju-won will end up.
Two people who concerned me for very different reasons.
With Lee Ju-won, it was the nervous worry of what schemes he might pull. With Min Ji-won, it was curiosity about her level—and how much growth she could show.
"Alright, starting with Team 1. Park Seung-cheol, Baek Min-ho,—"
"Next, Team 2—"
"Team 3—"
Looking at the numbers being called, each team seemed to run about five to six members.
And—
Almost no disparity between the teams.
I could only roughly gauge it, but the balance was more even than I'd expected. Probably to cut off any complaints beforehand about drawing a bad team and losing points because of it.
While I was thinking that—
"Team 7. Min Ji-won, Ahn Hyeon-su, Hwang Min-su, Park So-jeong, Oh So-hee."
The name I'd been watching for—Min Ji-won—came out of the instructor's mouth.
As for her teammates... hmm. Other than Min Ji-won, every name was unfamiliar.
From the looks of it, their skills are all pretty average.
Not bad, exactly, but aside from Min Ji-won, the others were barely scraping average even if I was being generous.
"Next, Team 8. Park Yeon-chan, Lee Ju-won, Kang Min-hyeon, Yeon Min-ju."
Finally my name was called—but something felt off.
"Um, are we only four people?"
A girl who'd been called into the same team as me raised her hand quietly to ask. I was wondering the same thing, so I glanced at the instructor.
"Yes. You four are a team of four."
He calmly declared our reduced numbers.
Hmm...
Looking at the teammates gathering toward me after hearing that, I could understand.
There's a reason we're only four, huh.
Judging by the flow of mana surrounding them, our teammates all looked above average.
That aside—the guy I'd been wondering about where he'd go—
"Oh, same team? Looking forward to working with you."
—had landed in mine.
Watching Lee Ju-won approach with a smile, I lifted the corner of my mouth in return.
"Yeah, same here."
Actually, this was better. Having him close by. It would make it that much easier to cook him.
The Academy's support was far better than I'd expected.
Artifacts I'd thought were only loaned out on special days like the entrance ceremony were being handed out as casually as mechanical pencil lead. Everyone's eyes sparkled as they started picking up the weapons they liked.
It's not like "artifact" is some stray dog's name.
They weren't rare artifacts, so among artifacts they could be considered cheap. Even so, not many parents would casually buy artifacts that cost hundreds of millions each.
"So who's going to be the leader?"
"Wouldn't it be best if the strongest person does it?"
When Yeon Min-ju, the sole girl on our team, brought it up, Lee Ju-won answered while turning his gaze toward me. Seeing that, Yeon Min-ju's head slowly turned my way as well.
"Huh? You're the top student, right?"
Whether she genuinely hadn't known until now, she let out a small gasp upon looking at my face.
"Yeah. For now."
"Then, if it's okay with you, could you take on the leader role?"
Not a bad atmosphere. For my purposes, being the leader would make things easier to move around. I wanted the position anyway, if only to indirectly control Lee Ju-won's movements.
I was about to nod along with the mood and accept the leadership when—
"Then I'll—"
"Isn't the leader supposed to be the strongest guy?"
A voice dumped cold water on the atmosphere with a bored expression. Kang Min-hyeon stood in a slouchy posture, tapping his shoulder with the greatsword the Academy had loaned him, grumbling as if he didn't like how things were going.
I casually shifted my gaze that way and took a closer look at Kang Min-hyeon.
He seems like he can actually hold his own more than I thought.
Maybe because our team's individual average was high to begin with, he looked decently skilled. But that attitude was getting on my nerves.
From my experience in the previous life, I knew all too well—to the point of being sick of it—how to handle guys like this.
Wearing a smile, I approached Kang Min-hyeon and made a proposal.
"Then how about this."
I didn't particularly covet the leader position, but it was a seat I needed right now. We'd be stuck with this team for quite a while going forward, so settling this quickly would save us the hassle.
The Association President's daughter and the top student...
Just hearing the lineup made his head spin.
Five instructors were assigned to each class, but there was still only one person ultimately in charge. That meant when something went wrong, the responsibility fell on one person.
Why of all classes...
There were fifteen freshman classes in total. And of all of them, the top student and the Association President's daughter had ended up in the same one. And of all people, he had become the person in charge of that class.
When Chae Chi-su received the assignment chart, he'd had to press his eyes shut hard to hold back the tears threatening to spill.
Kids at their most sensitive age. On top of that, freshmen who'd only recently Awakened were the grade where conflicts broke out the most. If the Association President's daughter caused a problem, how was he supposed to stop it—and how was he supposed to punish her? Just thinking about it made him feel helpless.
And as if one Association President's daughter weren't overwhelming enough—
Gulp.
Chae Chi-su casually turned his head to look at Park Yeon-chan chatting with his teammates.
How am I supposed to rein that one in...?
Chae Chi-su had gone out as a proctor for the entrance exam and personally watched both of Park Yeon-chan's first and second tests. Speaking from the impression of having seen that—
He seems stronger than me...
He had no choice but to accept the result before his eyes.
"Haa..."
Letting out a shallow sigh, he surveyed the entire training ground again.
Still, I'm lucky. The Association President's daughter doesn't seem that problematic, and the top student has been quiet so fa—
BOOOOM!
A thunderous sound shook the training ground as a massive male student went flying into the air. And at the spot where that hulking student had launched from stood the top student, fist fully extended, gazing up at the sky.
Quiet...
"You're supposed to stay quiet!!"
"Hey, you okay...?"
When Park Yeon-chan poked at the nose of the lying Kang Min-hyeon, his eyebrows started twitching.
"Uugh..."
"Oh. He's up."
As he let out a faint groan and opened his eyelids, Kang Min-hyeon's eyes were filled with the grinning face of Park Yeon-chan.
And then—
"Eeeek! Stay away! Don't come near me!"
The moment Kang Min-hyeon opened his eyes and saw Park Yeon-chan, he thrashed as if having a seizure, flinging his body backward while still lying down.
"Hey, Min-hyeon, what's wrong? We were just messing around a little."
"J-just messing around...?"
Kang Min-hyeon's memory cut off somewhere in the middle. He clearly remembered being naturally dissatisfied with Park Yeon-chan becoming the leader and raising an objection. The guy had approached him as if making a proposal. And after that, clearly—
I'll teach you why I should be the leader.
He'd said that with a bright smile. And after that, nothing. Nothing except the sensation of tremendous pain and his body floating as if gravity had been ignored.
Tremble, tremble.
He tried desperately to steady his involuntarily shaking body.
"Min-hyeon, what are you doing? The teacher's watching. You need to get it together."
Park Yeon-chan dusted off Kang Min-hyeon's body and helped him to his feet. Then he suddenly leaned in close and whispered in Kang Min-hyeon's ear.
"Min-hyeon, do I have to teach you this stuff too?"
Thud.
At those words, Kang Min-hyeon's body—which had been shaking madly just a moment ago—went completely still.
"Student Min-hyeon, was that really just a joke?"
Chae Chi-su asked, looking at Kang Min-hyeon's somewhat unnatural movements. But Kang Min-hyeon, only just released from his rigidity, simply stood there unable to answer.
"Min-hyeon, what are you doing? The teacher's asking you a question."
Of course, the moment Park Yeon-chan walked over, gave him a light poke, and said a single word—
"Yes! It was a joke to build camaraderie with a classmate, but I think I went a little overboard! I'm sorry!"
"I'm sorry."
A fluent, polite apology came pouring out.
"I see. I understand you're excited to be at the training ground, but excessive horseplay isn't good, so please be careful."
"Yes."
"Yes! Understood!"
Watching Chae Chi-su leave after delivering that warning—
"Ah, no..."
A voice finally slipped out as he reached out a hand to try to stop him. But—
"Haha. Min-hyeon, what's wrong? Do you have something to say to the teacher?"
Even that was cut short by the smiling devil who grabbed his arm.
Did I go a little overboard...?
It was a crude method, but I figured showing him directly would be best, so I gave him a thrashing.
Tremble, tremble.
The dose seemed a bit strong.
Still, stomping him once is for the best.
Tall with a solid build. And as an Awakened, his mana control looked decent enough. From a quick look, he was pretty good material. Of course, that was also why he had a bit of an arrogant streak.
Poke.
"Yeon-chan and I are friends!"
Now that I'd educated him like this, it should be fine.
"Min-hyeon, stop standing there and sit down and watch."
"No! I'm more comfortable like th—"
"Sit."
"Okay."
If the biggest reason I'd come to the Academy was to stop Freedom's nonsense, the second purpose was talent cultivation. With so many promising Awakened gathered in one place, I needed to pick out the useful ones and fill the shortage of hands.
In that regard, Kang Min-hyeon was on the decent side. He'd ended up on my team by chance, so raising him a bit wouldn't be a bad idea. As time went on, I wouldn't have the time or leisure to cultivate talent like this anymore.
"Watch carefully, Min-hyeon. If you move like those idiots, you're dead meat to me. Got it?"
"Uh...? Yeah."
—Defend!
—Front line, fall back!
We were currently watching the teams ahead of us practice until our turn came. Students facing monsters released by the instructors.
Even after hearing the explanations, few people could immediately move the way they'd been taught. With leaders who could barely be called command towers being complete rookies themselves, most of the students moved like a ragtag mess.
The monsters they were facing ranged from F to D-Rank. With proper handling, they were ranks the students could manage well enough. And since the monster ranks weren't that high, injuries shouldn't happen—but just in case, the instructors were standing by ready to intervene at any moment.
That aside, I didn't expect them to use artifacts even in class.
A blue bundle. An artifact that randomly spat out F to D-Rank monsters. Of course, it didn't just spit them out indiscriminately—the person holding it had to infuse mana, so those monsters were essentially lumps of mana.
More underwhelming than I thought.
I hadn't exactly had high expectations, but most of them were performing below the level I'd assumed. Of course, that could change as they gained experience going forward. But neither as teams nor as individuals was anyone catching my eye.
Just as I was feeling a bit of boredom and letting out a sigh—
"Next, Team 7, step forward!"
The turn I'd been waiting for had come.
There she is.
Team 7, with Min Ji-won. Team 7 was composed of two guys and three girls.
Looking at how they set their formation: the front line—the vanguard—was Min Ji-won with a sword and a guy with a spear. Then a girl with a thin sword and a guy with a shield and one sword held the middle line, and finally a girl who looked to be rear support and a ranged dealer. That was the formation they had set up.
Textbook.
It was the most convenient and standard formation for a five-person team. The teams that had gone before had tweaked the formations taught in class under the pretense of "adapting" them, but this one had adopted the standard as-is.
Not bad.
There's a reason the standard exists. The standard that emerges after countless experiences is a kind of universal answer. And for beginners, there's no better answer sheet than that universal answer—so adopting it as-is is better than clumsily changing it.
Judging by how Min Ji-won was adjusting the formation positions, she seemed to be the leader. I shouldn't make hasty judgments before seeing them in action, but among all the teams so far, this one gave the best impression right from the start.
"Ready?"
The instructor asked, glancing over Min Ji-won's team, and their heads bobbed up and down. Confirming that, the instructor brought his raised arm down forcefully.
"Begin!"
He announced the start of the practice.
With a booming sound, a monster the size of a house in the shape of a boar burst out of the bundle.
Forest Boar.
Overall like a wild boar, but the differences were the long horns protruding from either side of its snout and the fact that it was enormously large.
Grrrr—
Snuffling its nose and glaring, the creature locked onto Min Ji-won's group.
Grrrk!
Then, as if deciding on its target, it kicked off the ground and charged.
"I'll stop its movement—stab it!"
Shouting as she dashed forward, Min Ji-won smoothly received and redirected the boar with her sword. And as the boar she'd redirected lost its balance and toppled sideways—
"Hyaaah!"
The guy with the spear immediately pierced through the boar's thick belly fat.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
Squeeeal!
The spear stabbed in deep in rapid succession and pulled out. The timing wasn't bad. It looked like a decent combo, but—
Too shallow.
The first attack landed well, but the second and third were a bit shallow.
"Hoo... What, it's just big? Nothing special. Is this E-Rank? It should at least be D-Rank."
The one who'd done the stabbing seemed to think that was the end of it, already turning around with his spear withdrawn.
"Don't turn your back! It's not over yet!"
Min Ji-won also seemed to sense the attack had been insufficient and shouted at the spear-wielding guy, but—
Grrrrk—!
The boar, wringing out its strength to move, reared up and smashed the spear guy with its horn.
"Guh...!"
The guy who'd heard Min Ji-won's voice thrust his spear forward and didn't take it bare-bodied—but he couldn't overcome the boar's power and went swimming through the air before rolling across the ground.
And then—
Grrrrl.
As if wringing out its absolute last strength, the boar prepared to charge straight ahead. The girl with the thin sword stood as the last borderline holding the middle line, but—
"Wh-what do I do..."
Her body was stiff as a board, looking like she'd already lost the will to fight. Only the shield-bearing guy moved to try to cover the thin-sword girl, but his stance was far from solid.
Just as the boar exhaled rough breaths and was about to charge at any moment—
Slashhh!
A flash of light gleamed as a white blade carved through the boar's body and passed through.
Gurgle—
The massive boar toppled its heavy body and scattered into fragments of light, vanishing into the air.
The Team 7 members, still dazed and unable to collect themselves, let out sighs of relief. A heavy silence settled over the training ground.
Some were in awe of Min Ji-won's movement just now. Others clapped silently—
"What do you think you're doing right now!"
Min Ji-won's voice, thick with anger, filled the training ground that had fallen into silence.