Chapter 13: The Kind of Person Every Academy Has (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: The Kind of Person Every Academy Has (2)
“Nice to meet you, everyone. I am Cathy, the professor who will be your homeroom teacher for the next year. I’m currently active as a hero—Rank A, officially ranked 2,803rd in the world.”
As my secret friend stood at the podium and began her introduction with a solemn expression, the room began to buzz.
And for good reason. That rank of 2,803 wasn’t a domestic ranking; it was a global one, which made it incredibly high.
One might wonder why heroes have rankings as if they were athletes or pro gamers, but there were actually quite rational reasons for it.
First, it encourages hero growth through healthy competition. Second, higher-ranking heroes are given more media exposure, turning them into celebrities to garner public support.
To put it more optimistically, it makes heroes feel more approachable to the public and serves as a form of public service, comforting citizens who have suffered from disasters by showing them the heroic side of their protectors.
To be precise, that’s exactly what my friend wrote in the Setting Book.
Ah, we just made eye contact.
I considered waving, but I held back. A secret friend is only meaningful if they stay a secret, after all.
“Hmm, honestly, even though I’m your homeroom teacher, those of you not taking my Combat Arts lectures won’t see me often. Still, I’d like to get to know the students in my class personally. Feel free to come by and visit!”
Whoa! A cheer erupted, sounding like something straight out of a manga or a novel.
Among the guys, the only ones who remained composed were me, Lilac, and Cheon Yu-hak.
Wait, no.
Those bastards were trying to act cool, but their twitching lips betrayed them. They were young males, after all.
Sure, if a beautiful older woman suddenly said it was okay to visit her privately, that’s a natural reaction.
Big brother understands.
Actually, the reaction seemed a bit excessive, but then again, it’s normal for the inhabitants of a novel to be a bit extra!
After that, Professor Cathy explained a few more things with a mix of jokes before wrapping up the morning assembly.
“Oh, and one last thing.”
Hm? I thought she was done. Is there more?
“You might not feel a strong sense of belonging yet, but being in the same class is a special bond. If you see a classmate who is physically weak or… struggling, please make sure to help them. That, too, is an important quality for a hero.”
…Uh? You weren’t looking at me just now, were you? You weren’t sniping at me with that comment, right?
“Well then, even though it’s the first day, regular classes start now. Head to the lectures you’ve signed up for. Work hard, everyone.”
Fortunately, she didn’t point me out specifically. Everyone else just chuckled, thinking it was a funny joke.
Right, they’re all superhumans, so they probably think, ‘Who could possibly be physically weak here?’ Sorry, guys.
There is one person in your class who is much weaker than you think.
And that’s me.
* * *
Academy classes are generally quite flexible.
Most students only take the lectures they need, and for basic subjects, you can graduate as long as you study enough to pass the exams.
Most of these guys think it’s more important to stand out during events or exams rather than in day-to-day classes.
Of course, that doesn’t mean they slack off during class. It just means that unless you’re an attention seeker like Cheon Yu-hak, no one tries to stand out in a subject that isn’t their major.
“Urgh…!”
However, the nail that sticks out always gets hammered—or in this case, spotlighted. Even if you don’t want to stand out, a special person cannot hide their light.
What do I mean by that…?
“Haaah… ugh…!”
My classmates were looking at me as I struggled against a 25kg dumbbell as if they were witnessing something truly bizarre.
Kang So-hyun. This idiot, who clearly had a talent suited for the Support Department, was for some reason a madman who had majored in Melee Combat and Swordsmanship, minored in Combat Arts, and put Basic Physical Training as his first-period class.
Seriously, what kind of school makes you register for classes before the entrance ceremony?
If it weren’t for me, what the hell was this crazy bastard planning to do with this level of stamina? Was he suicidal?
“Snicker.”
“What’s with him? Is he an attention seeker?”
“He should stop joking around and take it seriously.”
“Leave him be. Maybe he’s planning to go into variety shows after graduation.”
The guys in the same class even started mocking me.
Dammit. I’m more serious than anyone else here, you bastards!
“Everyone, focus on your own workout instead of watching others!”
The instructor in charge of Basic Physical Training was, surprisingly, someone I had met before.
The man, who introduced himself as Kim Min-soo, was the professor who had caught me when I tried to slip out of the line on the day of the entrance ceremony.
Yes, I remember.
Min-soo, you are a bad man. You mocked me and made me a laughingstock when my life was in danger, telling me to hold it in if I needed to go to the bathroom.
It’s hard right now, but I’m going to get my petty revenge later.
Anyway, the way he looked at me was quite complicated. I didn’t know if he had heard something from the Chairperson or if he was just bothered by what happened that day, but either way, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
After contemplating for a while, he approached me and spoke.
“Your posture is bad.”
“Pardon?”
“Cadet Kang So-hyun. It seems you’re self-taught rather than having been trained. If you keep using that posture, you’ll strain your lower back.”
Wait, there’s a proper posture for dumbbells too…?
Once I corrected my form, the burden on my body definitely felt lighter.
Oh. I wondered why I had signed up for something like Basic Physical Training, but it turned out to be surprisingly helpful.
Kim Min-soo looked like he still had more to say, but perhaps conscious of the other students, he simply corrected my posture and walked away.
“Phew.”
But these bastards kept laughing as if the sight of me exercising was pathetic.
Looking closely, it wasn’t everyone. It was a specific group of people around a certain girl who were intentionally mocking me.
Indeed.
Among the students taking this first Basic Physical Training class was our very own Butt—no, the future president of the Cheon Yu-hak Fan Club.
I could roughly grasp the situation, but I wasn’t sure why it had turned out like this.
I mean, seriously, why are they messing with me?
In the original story, the one she picks on at the start of the semester is Lilac.
When our eyes met, she smirked and turned her head away.
It seemed she wanted to humiliate me, but sorry, kid.
I’m a man who is far too used to looks of contempt and disdain.
No matter how hard these kids try to bully me, how much can they really do?
I wanted to keep exercising and energetically shout out “One million and thirty!” but I decided to refrain since it would draw too much aggro.
* * *
Basic Physical Training was a very simple class.
It involved personal training without using mana, with the professor correcting bad posture, or theoretical lessons on how not to overexert oneself during exercise.
Aside from the written exam, the rest of the grade was based on performance evaluations.
In contrast, the second class was a bit more specialized, and surprisingly, Lilac was in this one.
Basic Mana Manipulation.
In truth, not every superhuman who entered the Academy could skillfully control mana. Talent was innate, but the timing of realizing and awakening it varied wildly.
Furthermore, if one’s talent had nothing to do with mana and their rank was low, it was often difficult for them to even perceive or move mana on their own.
So, except for those with exceptional talent, those who had received elite tutoring, or both, mana was something akin to an unknown entity for most newly enrolled cadets.
Ah, of course, Lilac could already manipulate mana.
That guy is a genius.
So why was he taking this class?
A building without a solid foundation collapses easily, and the same goes for a person’s techniques.
That was something Lilac’s father, who worked in construction, often told him.
Following that teaching, the setting was that he would take six basic-related classes in the first semester, even though he was already damn good at them.
Well, he’d do fine no matter what class he took. Regardless, I personally found this class quite interesting.
“Haha, nice to meet you, everyone!”
A very cheerful female professor walked in.
A little witch with blonde hair and a pointed hat, standing at a very short height.
Everyone buzzed at her child-like appearance, but since it was common knowledge that the stronger a hero is, the more their aging slows down, the whispering didn’t last long.
I thought I had gotten used to seeing the novel’s characters in person, but I still felt a strange sense of wonder every time I saw a new one.
This was Professor Park A-ram, the Mana Studies professor who was much loved by students for her small stature and cute appearance—the “charming point” of the Academy.
Nice to meet you.
If the story followed the original work, she was also one of the traitors of the Academy whom I would have to kill.
To be precise, she wasn’t a traitor yet. She was a “seed of betrayal” who would eventually turn when a villain approached her and tempted her with an offer to grant her deepest wish.
“Uh, is everyone laughing right now because I’m small? Do you want an F?”
Everyone chuckled, thinking it was a joke.
Except for Lilac, who didn’t laugh because he believed one shouldn’t judge others by their appearance, and me, who knew she was being dead serious.
She nodded as if she were quite offended.
“Hmm, I didn’t realize there were so many candidates for an F. To think everyone except two wants to retake the course. I guess you all want to see me for a long time?”
Her hair began to float as mana surged around her, creating a chilling atmosphere.
When sparks began to crackle, the laughter vanished instantly.
“Seeing how there’s no discipline at all, I guess this is either your first class or your first class was an easy one. I was in a good mood because our freshmen were so cute, but my mood just went to shit in a heartbeat.”
This was a type of intimidation.
While her anger was real, she wasn’t a villain yet, so there was no way she would actually do something to the students.
“Pfft.”
As expected, once the students were sufficiently terrified, her expression softened, and she waved her hand dismissively.
“Pwahaha! I’m just kidding. As long as you don’t ignore me too much, I won’t fail you or crush you over something like this. Still, I’m glad there are at least two decent students in this class.”
She pointed her wand, which she had pulled out from somewhere, at me and Lilac.
“Especially you, you’re not bad.”
“Me?”
And surprisingly, the one who caught her eye wasn’t Lilac, but me.
“That student over there isn’t bad either, but your gaze wasn’t just one of respect; it crossed into the territory of wariness, observing your opponent closely. That’s how it should be. Whether your goal is to be a hero, a mercenary, or an adventurer, never stopping your contemplation and observing to understand your target is an important quality.”
I received an unintended compliment.
I didn’t particularly mean to look at her that way, but I guess that’s how it seemed to her.
“Of course, it’s also a very important part of handling mana! Now then, let’s get to the point. Everyone, what do you think mana is?”
“A mysterious power.”
Some idiot answered.
“Haha, make sure you write your name and student ID on the chalkboard before you leave. Because I’m giving you an F. Anyone who can give a more specific explanation instead of such a dimwitted answer?”
When no one tried to answer, her expression began to warp again.
“No one?”
Just then, a savior raised his hand.
It was Lilac.
Since I knew the setting, I could have answered, but usually, the protagonist is the one who answers here.
“It is the general term for supernatural power that has appeared since the Dimensional Collision about 100 years ago. Depending on the person, the way it is felt or used differs slightly, so the names used to vary, but more than 50 years ago, all supernatural powers were unified under the term ‘mana’.”
Correct.
The world-building of this novel is that various supernatural phenomena began to occur after the Dimensional Collision with another world. Among those, things that were called mana, qi, chakra, or superpowers were eventually unified and called mana.
Apparently, it was because most of them were similar energies and there wasn’t much difference when measuring them.
“Mm, that’s right. Cadet Lilac, that’s almost exactly correct. In the past, there were many names and things were all over the place, but after a method to measure the magnitude of an individual’s power was created, they were all unified and called mana.”
She began to draw in the air with her mana-infused wand. A cat that looked like it was drawn by a young elementary schooler appeared in the air.
“However, it’s not perfect. Can anyone supplement that?”
Who would want to stand out in the first class?
“Then, shall Cadet Kang So-hyun answer!”
“Me…?”
Dammit, standing out earlier was the problem.
I briefly racked my brain to see if it was okay to answer.
“However, there are differences in the cultivation methods or ways of controlling energy that suit each individual, and the academic field that has organized these universally is Mana Studies…?”
“Oh! Your lack of confidence is a bit of a shame, but you’re exactly right! I knew you’d be able to answer. My eye for people is quite accurate, after all. If you hadn’t been able to answer, it would have been so embarrassing that I might have made you my lab assistant for the whole semester. What a pity!”
Holy shit.
Good thing I answered.
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she smoothly continued the lecture.
She said today would only be a theoretical lesson and the actual practical lessons would start from next time. For some reason, she looked back and forth between me and Lilac before nodding to herself.
* * *
When two classes are roughly over, something inevitable arrives.
And that is lunchtime.
The student cafeteria at Leilan Academy is a buffet style, which is a staple of the academy genre.
According to the novel’s description, Lilac shouted, “I’ve never eaten anything this delicious before!” so it must be damn good.
I was about to get up and head to the cafeteria immediately, but someone called out to me.
“Hey, do you have a moment?”
“No, I don’t. I’m hungry.”
“Ah, then let’s go together.”
“…Eh?”
The person who spoke to me was none other than Lilac, the true protagonist of this novel.
“Hi.”
“Uh, yeah, hi…?”
First Cheon Yu-hak, and now this guy? What is wrong with him?