Right. Child Soldiers. Group Project
Right. Child soldiers. Group project.
Teams of three against academy teachers.
They said to win, but common sense dictated we had no shot against active A-rank heroes.
Grades would come down to how long we held out—or how much potential to win we showed.
Internal rankings were getting shuffled too, so mine might shift.
If luck soured, I could even drop out of A-class.
That can't happen.
The academy and government already knew I was a regressor, so they'd probably keep me in A-class as a special management case... but what if I acted like total trash beyond their expectations?
Stranger things have happened.
A vanishingly small chance, but the mere existence of it was the problem.
I couldn't focus on class.
Irene Rock dropped another bomb.
"Oh, and by the way—the group project starts this afternoon during practice."
...She was lobbing grenades nonstop.
"Form your own teams. Stick with people you're close to."
At her words, storm clouds gathered on several students' faces.
I flashed a victor's smile.
Heh heh. Solid lineup.
Who was I? The protagonist's best buddy.
Not the trembling loner who'd once dreaded group seating charts.
I had friends now!
We'll make it work somehow.
Yeah. We'd make it work.
Too complacent? Fair question—let me throw it right back.
The protagonist was on my side. One of the main heroines too. Against one teacher? That combo could hold the line.
I couldn't pull my weight alone, so beating them was impossible.
But clinging on? Doable.
If it slips that my skills don't belong in A-class...
Those gazes now filled with admiration, envy, affection—they'd flip to contempt and disgust in a heartbeat.
High school me got bullied for having no parents.
I was immune by now.
No big deal.
Hoo. Deep breath.
"Move."
Irene Rock opened the classroom door.
Time to go.
Practice time.
No sounds anywhere.
So that's how it is.
Even Irene Rock couldn't handle every student solo.
Other class teachers would help, I'd figured.
But all of them?
A-class got real special treatment.
No sign of other classes' kids.
Special training for A-class's twenty-one students... an event not in the game.
The reason was obvious.
The variable.
Gangbuk's wall—guarded by Hero Ham Deok-gyu—had been breached underground. Monsters could slip inside.
The academy wanted to fast-track A-class to the front lines.
Real combat experience? Sparring students was less effective than facing active heroes.
Solid call.
Irene Rock glanced our way briefly.
...Suddenly?
She spoke.
"Ja-an, Han Ye-seo, Ivy Lane. With me."
The teacher assigning teams herself? Or maybe calling the Gangbuk incident survivors.
She led us somewhere out of the cadets' sightlines.
Gym corner—no eyes, no sounds reaching.
She broached it carefully.
"They want to make you heroes up top."
"...No need for that."
Ha. Irene Rock sighed at Ja-an's reply.
"Not like that."
"Pardon?"
"We're leaking it to the press."
"...Pardon?"
"Ja-an, Han Ye-seo, Ivy Lane. Using you three as the faces. Propaganda."
Han Ye-seo tilted her head.
"What's that mean?"
"Han Ye-seo, you get it—don't play dumb."
Irene Rock saw right through Ye-seo's fake innocence.
Ye-seo flashed an awkward smile and looked away.
I slipped in a question.
"Because we cadets stopped the Gangbuk raid?"
"Yeah. You stood out too much."
"......"
"I think you—I mean, you all—need careful handling. I opposed it, obviously."
You? Too pointed for a slip.
Odds she'd figured my regression just shot up.
One more person I couldn't relax around. More people knowing about my loops? Not welcome.
Irene Rock continued.
"Anyway, watch yourselves. Media cameras will be everywhere."
"Inside the academy too?"
"No—only cadets and teachers get in. Outsiders can't."
"...Safe, then?"
"Ja-an, I get you were attacked, but... the academy isn't that sloppy."
Before claiming the academy wasn't sloppy, Irene Rock hesitated—just a beat.
Even she felt a twinge of conscience.
Han Ye-seo spaced out for a sec.
Snapping to, she asked:
"...Attack?"
Ah. Ye-seo didn't know Ja-an and I got raided.
We'd never told her, and Ja-an wasn't the type to blab about the academy barrier breach.
Irene Rock blanked briefly.
"You know what happens if it leaks?"
"Yeah, yeah. But... kinda hurts."
Her tone shifted. Eyes locked on me and Ja-an.
How could friends keep that from me? Unforgivable, her glare said.
Ja-an and I averted our eyes.
I watched Irene Rock's gaze.
It met mine.
...On purpose?
She knew Ye-seo wouldn't blab.
Why tell her? To tighten our bonds?
Nah... using the academy raid too.
If it leaked later, bundle Ye-seo in—heroes behind the curtain who stopped it.
Easier spin if she "knew" ahead.
Brain spinning.
Overreach from one slip? Maybe, but Irene Rock was thorough. Not the slipping type.
She spoke again.
"Anyway, after acing this practice, expect reporters outside."
"...Got it."
"Prepped answers for likely questions. Dorms too, if your addresses leak."
"Dorms?"
"Yeah. Rooms flanking Ivy's are empty."
Flanking mine... Of all things.
More than that—too seamless, prepped in advance.
Ja-an and Ye-seo nodded like it made sense. I didn't buy it.
Sudden hero push. Relocating them. Telling Ye-seo on purpose.
Everything reeked.
Irene Rock eyed me.
Chekhov's Gun. Her ability: enough clues, and she skips to the truth. Input-output, no middle steps.
I braced against her scrutiny.
Who knew what signals or clues I'd leaked unknowingly.
She knew my regression—fact. Ties to upper brass—confirmed.
Who can I trust...
I glanced at Ja-an.
Two. Ye-seo made three.
Clap! Irene Rock clapped.
Our eyes on her, she finally spoke.
"Anyway, back to practice. Beat another teacher who's going all-out to win."
"...Beat them?"
I couldn't believe it.
Words slipped out before I knew.
"Yeah. Win."
"How?"
"You three? Possible. Other teachers don't know the plan. Only I got the memo as A-class homeroom."
"So no holding back?"
"Right."
Post-practice, photos on exit.
Look cool, take few hits—ideally win.
She knows my stats are garbage better than anyone...
Unreasonable ask.
"Let's go."
"Who's our opponent?"
"Huh? No clue. Random. Lucky? Me? Ritta?"
"...We're still cadets. No idea who decided, but pushing us as heroes with demands like this? Unfair."
Irene Rock smirked, replying to Ja-an:
"Right. Child soldier."
Ja-an scowled.
A new expression on him.