Chapter 166: The Last Nemesis Before Summer Vacation (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: The Last Nemesis Before Summer Vacation (8)
At the professors’ base camp, located a short distance from the cadets’ zone, the professors returning from their roles as villains looked quite satisfied.
It was likely because the caliber of this year’s freshmen was remarkably high.
Among those with satisfied expressions was Park A-ram.
“I’m back~!”
“You’re here? It looks like you’re the last one, Professor A-ram. You’re a bit late.”
“Mmm, Cathy, why do you keep putting up walls? I told you to call me Unnie.”
“…I’m still on the clock.”
“Pah-ha! Oh, you’re so cute! No one else cares, yet you’re the only one acting like this!”
A-ram ruffled Cathy’s hair affectionately and reached out to playfully squeeze her chest. Cathy, who had allowed the hair-ruffling, instantly shifted her stance and retreated.
“…I’m happy to see your presence-sensing skills have improved, but I’m a little hurt. I’m sure my little ‘Squishy’ misses my touch.”
“Who are you calling Squishy? Stop giving me weird nicknames. More importantly, stop joking around to change the subject. You didn’t bully the cadets too hard, did you?”
“Well, I suppose ‘Mushy’ would be more accurate than Squishy. Anyway, are you really doubting me? I’m truly offended. Who bullied whom? I was the one who almost got done in.”
The moment she calmly stated the truth, all eyes in the vicinity snapped toward her.
Park A-ram was considered one of the top mages among the Academy faculty. The idea that she was nearly hunted by cadets on the very first day was hard to believe.
“Do you mean you almost fell into a trap?”
“No, I mean I almost got completely rolled. I mean, sure, I was holding back to play along, but it’s a fact that my head almost flew off.”
Especially that final strike.
If his proficiency in swordsmanship had been just a bit higher—no, if he had simply taken one more step forward—she would have been the one defeated.
In a fight, the stronger side didn’t always win.
What did it matter if she had strength to spare or wasn’t being serious? If a blade gets buried in your throat, who’s going to care about your excuses?
“I thought Cathy had poor taste in men, but surprisingly, she might have the best eye out of all of us. I thought he was just a cute cadet, but…”
“What? You almost got beaten by So-hyun?”
“No, more accurately, it felt like I was beaten by the party Kang So-hyun put together.”
To be honest, she had been so worked up earlier that only criticisms came to mind, but now that she had cooled down, it wasn’t all bad.
He had dug a trap by exploiting her assumption that their goal was rescue and escape, then decided to pour on maximum firepower in an instant. Even the way he induced further misconceptions by revealing his best cards—Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak—afterward was impressive.
When the ambush seemed to have failed, he became an unpredictable variable the opponent hadn’t accounted for, shaking up the board himself. It was a calculation with a fairly high success rate.
“He’s only a first-year, but he’s already quite well-ripened.”
However, that strategy was only possible because he had information about her personality. Unless he possessed information on every villain in the world, she would have to make sure he couldn’t rely on such tactics forever.
“…Hm? Cathy, why are you looking at me like that?”
A-ram expected Cathy to be happy since she was praising the Kang So-hyun she doted on so much, but Cathy’s expression was strangely dissatisfied.
“You aren’t… interested in him, are you?”
“…I said he was decent, but that’s strictly as a cadet and a hero. I don’t see him as a man. My type is someone more mature and serious.”
“What’s wrong with So-hyun? He’s so kind and has such a broad mind.”
“Good grief, you’re making a fuss even after I said I’m not interested. Oh, don’t worry. The interest I have in Kang So-hyun is quite different from the kind you have, Cathy!”
“Ha, haha. Is that so?”
Seeing her react like this only made A-ram want to tease her more.
“Well, if he grows into a more dashing man, who knows? Maybe he’ll grow up to be so cool that I’ll fall head over heels for him.”
“Oh, Unnie…!”
“Haha, I’m joking! Joking! No matter how cool he becomes, I won’t steal Cathy’s partner.”
Though, I am a bit curious. I wonder what kind of side he’ll show in the future.
* * *
“Hey! Why are you grilling perfectly good fruit over the fire!?”
“Huh? You guys don’t know about this? Fruit gets sweeter when you grill it. Besides, these are wild plants, so it’s better to eat them heated.”
Ha-ni and Lilac had started bickering over the fruit. It seemed Ha-ni was of the opinion that hot fruit was a culinary heresy.
“…This tent seems a bit strange.”
Cheon Yu-hak was staring at our sleeping quarters, which he had turned into a bizarre piece of abstract art. Right, there are plenty of “one-touch” pop-up tents these days; when would these kids have ever seen a manual assembly kit?
“Um, honestly, can’t you just let us go now? Fighting the professors is too scary.”
Even the whining of the extras was perfect. It was a total mess.
Surprisingly, Ga-eul—who I thought would be the biggest liability—was actually holding her own. Not only did she bring a map she’d drawn herself, but she also had some decent intel.
“Hehe, I’m glad I could be of help.”
“But is that information reliable?”
I already knew the details, but I asked again to give her some validation.
“Yeah! The professor told me while she was chasing me! She probably thought I was going to be eliminated, so she just told me!”
That’s right. She had heard what could be considered high-level intel from Park A-ram while being pursued.
“She said the professors’ raids will happen three times a day starting tomorrow!”
Correct. No matter how strong they were, if there were no limits on the professors’ raids, no one would survive. Naturally, there were several restrictions. First, the frequency was three times a day, and a warning would trigger through the bracelets beforehand. Also, from the second day onward, the raids would involve certain gimmicks that students could use as loopholes to escape if they played their cards right.
“Oh! And she said the ones being raided are the students who have defeated many others and gathered a lot of points!”
Oh, she found that out too? Our Ga-eul is doing great.
Everyone nodded at Ga-eul’s words, but soon a question arose.
“I see. That makes sense. But…”
“Hmm? Then Ga-eul, did you already catch some kids? How many?”
“…Three. Oh, but I still have one of their bracelets.”
“Three people?”
I was genuinely surprised by that. Honestly, Ga-eul isn’t the strongest among superhumans in terms of combat power, so I thought she might be eliminated quickly.
“Actually, I didn’t defeat them. They were just… lying there.”
“…You’re saying someone defeated them but didn’t take their bracelets and just left them there?”
“…Yeah, they only took their food.”
Cheon Yu-hak asked as if that made no sense, but Ga-eul nodded innocently.
Right. ‘Three people were lying there, and they were left behind with no food.’
…I think I’m the one who did that.
“…Even if it’s not a situation like this, it could be a trap, so let’s not approach people carelessly.”
“Yeah, I really need to be careful from now on. Seriously.”
Well, in the end, we were able to save her, and Ga-eul got some intel, so didn’t it all work out? If I think of it as a stepping stone for her growth to fix her carelessness, maybe there’s no need to reveal a truth that would make no one happy.
While I was making excuses to myself, Lilac approached with the grilled fruit.
“Let’s eat first.”
“We’re going to be short on carbs and protein like this.”
“I told you, we have to move hard tomorrow, so it’s better to eat the supplied rations tomorrow morning.”
“I know that, I’m just saying it’s a shame.”
After finishing a less-than-satisfying meal and chatting for a bit, we were about to set the night watch rotation.
Everyone went on high alert at the sound of approaching footsteps, but they soon relaxed without needing to be told.
“I keep asking you, why are you following us?”
“Aren’t you being a bit self-centered? Everyone heading this way has pretty much the same goal, don’t they?”
“If you hadn’t interfered, we would have arrived ages ago.”
The voices were very familiar. To be precise, two familiar voices and one voice that no one particularly liked.
“Don’t be so prickly. Didn’t I help you two escape from the professor?”
“That’s why I’m saying, if it weren’t for you in the first place, we both would have… Ah.”
Lee Yu-na, Ju Ri-ra, and even Aisha.
They stopped in their tracks as they spotted us.
“…There are more people here than I expected.”
Ju Ri-ra looked around with a puzzled face. Seeing that both Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak were fine, she bowed her head to me with a slightly surprised expression. She probably thought I had mediated between them, even though the fight had already stopped before I arrived.
Anyway, with this, the usual group was mostly gathered.
Lee Yu-na and Ju Ri-ra naturally tried to join us after assessing the situation, but Aisha, who had come with them, hesitated to approach.
“…Well, if you’ve reunited with your group, there’s nothing I can do.”
She said that and simply turned around.
Judging by the lingering look of regret on her face just before she turned, she probably intended to scout Yu-na and Ri-ra for her own team if they hadn’t met up with us.
“Hey.”
Why are you trying to leave on your own? I have no intention of letting you go.
“I don’t want your pity. If I back down and join you now, it’ll look pathetic. I’m already lacking in the ‘cool’ department as it is; I can’t afford to take pity on top of that.”
“Wait, do you even know what I was going to say?”
“It’s obvious. I have excellent defensive capabilities, so I can easily survive on my own, okay?”
She continued walking, intending to disappear into the forest.
“No, that’s not it.”
“I told you, I really don’t need it. I appreciate the sentiment, but…”
“Are you going to listen to me until the end? If you aren’t going to join our team, hand over your bracelet and food before you go. Who said you could just leave?”
“…Huh?”
Not only Aisha, who heard me directly, but even my party members, who had been looking at her coldly, began to stare at me like I was a madman.
Look, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to help Aisha, but that’s not the only reason.
First of all, Aisha perfectly fits the criteria for the party member I was looking for.
That’s right. To utilize Lilac as a pure damage dealer, there is no cadet better than her to serve as a professional tank. In terms of pure defensive power, she is sturdier than anyone else here.
And this is also training for the others. When you do team activities later, there’s no guarantee you’ll always be with people you like. In fact, when working in large teams, there’s a much higher probability that there will be at least one person you don’t get along with.
Thinking of it as a chance to experience that situation in advance, this opportunity wasn’t bad at all. The feeling is a bit different, but even a “troll” can be part of a team.
“Are you perhaps insane? Who says things like that in this kind of atmosphere?”
Yeah, what even is ‘atmosphere,’ you nerd? I don’t know anything about that.
Just…
“If you don’t want to get beaten up and fail the exam, stick with us. Yeah, this is a threat.”
Because I need her right now.
Because I don’t like the lonely expression she’s making.
Because there’s no downside to having more people.
“What’s it going to be?”
Isn’t this reason enough to reach out to you?
“I’m pretty sure this counts as you hitting on me.”
“…What kind of crazy talk is that? Have you lost your mind?”
Dammit, I try to reach out to someone and they immediately cross the line…?
“I told you, she’s actually sick.”
“I think he tries to help anyone who looks even a little bit pitiful while pretending he isn’t.”
Hey, I don’t do this for just anyone. And Ha-ni, I can understand you saying that, but Ga-eul, you shouldn’t be the one saying that, right?
“No, honestly, tell me. You like me, don’t you?”
“…Just leave the bracelet and get lost.”
Only after I threatened to prove my purity through violence did Aisha apologize and meekly join the team.
It kind of reminds me of the old days.
Now that I’ve secured a main tank, there’s just one more. If I can recruit the guy I’ve been eyeing as an ally, the raid should go smoothly.
I’ll have to pray that our friend survives the night. Well, for better or worse, his survivability is top-notch, so he’ll probably make it, right?
* * *
I almost died.
Waking up in the morning, Woo Jae-hee shuddered as he recalled the nightmare of last night.
He wanted to look cool in front of girls by making it seem like a coincidence. He should have realized when he luckily defeated about four cadets while fighting with that single-minded determination.
That his luck couldn’t possibly be this good.
Just as he was finally getting a bit closer to the girls who had accepted him into their team after he bragged about his heroic exploits… the professors’ raids began.
— I’ll hold them off, so hurry and run…!
— Okay!
— Good luck!
…Right. Even though it was a very brief connection, and they didn’t hesitate for a single second to abandon him and run, he had protected them, so it was fine.
Thanks to the professor holding back quite a bit, he managed to endure for 30 minutes.
“Hehe… but I can’t move anymore. Is this the end?”
He had eaten all his food, and he had no idea where he was. Above all, the problem was that there were no girls around for him to show off to anymore.
His gaze drifted to the bracelet on his arm. If he took this off, a rescue team would come.
Was there any point in continuing when he had no energy left…?
“Oh, what do you know? You were really close by. Finding you right away in the morning, talk about good luck.”
Suddenly, an ominous voice reached his ears. A strangely familiar voice, yet one he did not want to encounter.
He tried to undo the bracelet on his arm before the owner of the voice could approach, but his hands slipped in his haste.
“Hello?”
In the meantime, the person had already arrived in front of him.
“Huh? Why are you touching your bracelet? Are you going to retire? You aren’t, right?”
I should have just quit immediately instead of trying to act cool…!
“There’s no way the Hero Woo Jae-hee would give up in a place like this, right?”
Kang So-hyun.
He reached out a hand to Jae-hee with a strangely devilish smile.
“Be my teammate.”
Why me…?
“Unless you want to die.”
“Of course.”