Her Entrance Ceremony (1)
The phrase was written in blood: [Get Lost].
Yu Chel’s pupils trembled as she read it. An inexplicable shiver raced through her entire body. She whipped her head around in alarm.
“……”
“……”
A Witch. The same one who had threatened her with sheer presence from a distance whenever she ate with Lee Seonghyun or read his fortune. The figure wore a robe that reached all the way to the floor, hiding her face completely. Yet the sheer weight of her existence alone made it clear what she was.
The Witch quietly raised a finger to her lips. A gesture for silence. But beneath it lay a clear warning: do not interfere with this side—with Lee Seonghyun—any further.
Yu Chel swallowed hard and blinked once. In that instant, the Witch vanished without a trace. The eerie sensation of having been possessed by a ghost made Yu Chel bite her lip.
I need to hurry with the investigation.
The realization that this being was far more deranged than she had imagined brought clear anxiety to Yu Chel’s face. She warped away to somewhere else in the next moment.
“Han Yuri! You and Ahyeon take the three on the left! I’ll handle the rest!”
“Got it!”
Leaving Han Yuri’s reply behind, I focused on the five ogres charging straight at me. C-rank ogres. With my current strength, they were a bit much to handle alone. But I had this.
EVE.
“Uwooooooh!”
One ogre swung its massive arm. I stepped back and slashed with my sword.
Clang!
The blade was easily blocked. But that wasn’t where this sword’s true value lay.
Now it begins.
I gripped EVE tightly. The sensation of blood being sucked from my body hit me immediately. At the same time—
Pain Threshold has increased by 1.
A pleasant message appeared before my eyes. The moment the once-white blade began to emit a faint crimson glow, I swung at the ogre again.
“Hup!”
“Kwoooooar!”
One of its arms flew off cleanly.
Fuck yes! This is it!
The power was on a completely different level compared to the cheap mass-produced sword I used before. It felt like all the built-up frustration was being washed away in an instant. Still, I was just a tank at the end of the day.
“Seonghyun! We’re here!”
I couldn’t keep up with the hunting speed of two dealers.
“Get Meteor and Wind God ready! I’m pulling them in!”
“Okay!”
At my shout, the two began preparing their skills. The term “pulling them in” meant—
“Gwoooooar!”
“Kraaaaaah!”
The ogres mindlessly chased after me thanks to my aggro. I weaved between them, luring every last one into a single cluster. I darted around like a rat, taunting them relentlessly. They swung their arms and stomped their feet trying to catch one measly little mouse. The result?
They were all bunched up perfectly.
Thunder God.
Crack—!
The moment I slammed my sword into the ground, all of them froze in sudden paralysis. I leaped backward with everything I had.
“Now!”
Kwaaaaaang!
Kwagagang!
Meteor and Meteor Shower rained down. The carpet bombing was intense enough to make my body tremble. Even so, a C-rank was still a C-rank.
“Graaaaa……”
All five were still alive, though barely clinging to life.
“Haaah!”
Choi Ahyeon’s Wind God delivered the finishing blow. Perionna’s daggers flashed, and the ogres’ heads dropped to the ground one by one.
“Clean finish! How was my burst damage, judges?”
“Twenty points.”
“What?! Isn’t that too harsh?”
“Who dragged us all the way out here in the first place? Ahyeon, on such a nice sunny day, do you want to taste dust?”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
Leaving behind Choi Ahyeon, who was now doing a handstand push-up as punishment, I scanned the surroundings. A massive black hole floated in the sky, endlessly spitting out monsters. A discharge-type dungeon. The creatures multiplied inside until, after a certain amount of time, they all poured out at once. That was why we had to thin their numbers in advance—like turning a faucet on and off. The problem was that each time it opened, an absurd number of monsters came flooding out, making it impossible for a single party to handle.
At least three teams minimum.
The third-year student council in charge of safety, the first team from the second-years, and us—three teams total had been dispatched. The reason first-year rookies like us had been sent to this mission that even most second- and third-years avoided was—
Because of that sneaky bitch.
When I glared at Choi Ahyeon, she flinched before immediately shouting back.
“I-I’m a victim too! Who submits the wrong application by mistake and then can’t even cancel it?! That doesn’t make sense!”
“There’s a limit to making mistakes. How the hell do you mistake something like that?”
That’s right. This idiot Choi Ahyeon had applied for an external dungeon request and somehow selected the discharge-type dungeon clearing team instead.
And of course she submitted it right before the deadline, so cancellation was impossible. Tsk.
I never imagined the privilege given to honor students—allowing them to challenge one rank higher—would backfire like this.
“Ahyeon. Push-up position.”
“Yes……”
Even Han Yuri had been forced to throw out her entire study plan because of Choi Ahyeon. A cold wind was practically blowing between us now.
Having to do this shit for two whole weeks…
It did help with credits, but I never cared about grades in the first place. I’d rather clear another external dungeon than waste time on this. A long sigh escaped me.
The only silver lining was—
It’s the perfect opponent for getting used to EVE.
Ogres. Humanoid monsters were ideal test subjects for EVE. After organizing my thoughts, I headed toward the student council team to report that we had finished our share. They seemed to have wrapped up their hunt as well and greeted us warmly.
“Wow. The first-years this year are no joke. I wondered what kind of guts it took to apply for the clearing team, but you guys actually pulled it off?”
“Ah, thank you.”
B-rank student council president, Kim Seongho. The classic example of a perfect guy with everything. As the son of the Baekho Guild Master—one of Korea’s top guilds—and with a face that could rival any celebrity, he naturally wore the title of student president at the Academy.
But his personality…
Is absolute trash.
He was a womanizer by default, loved looking down on others, and was completely lost in his own sense of superiority.
“Seonghyun, if you practice a little, you’ll get strong fast. Want your hyung to train you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Hey, don’t be like that. You know my connections aren’t ordinary, right? I’ll push you properly if you just—”
Kim Seongho flashed a sleazy grin.
“Just introduce me to Ahyeon.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why? Does Ahyeon have a boyfriend?”
“No… that’s not it.”
I’d rather introduce her to anyone else than to you. Even after my firm refusal, Kim Seongho kept pushing.
“She seems so bright. Friendly, sociable… tsk, just thinking about it makes my mouth water.”
If only we could use this bastard as the model for a national contraception commercial. What a waste.
Realizing that politely dodging him would never end, I cut him off decisively.
“I’m sorry. We’ll be going first.”
“W-what? Hey!”
Apparently not expecting rejection, his face turned beet red as he called after me. Ignoring him, I returned to my teammates. Han Yuri glanced at me.
“Something happen?”
“Nothing.”
At my short reply, Han Yuri slightly furrowed her brows. Choi Ahyeon suddenly hugged her from behind.
“Seonghyun, Yuri and I are pulling an all-nighter at the library tonight. Want to come?”
“No, I have something to do today. You two go ahead.”
“Wow… aren’t you spending way too much time alone lately? This is getting a little sad, you know?”
She wasn’t wrong. Lately, outside of hunting hours, I had been spending almost all my time outside. The reason was none other than Shin Suyeon. There were quite a few things I needed to handle regarding her admission.
“I’ll go next time. Next time.”
“They say if you keep saying that, ten years will pass and the promise will never happen……”
“Ugh, fine. I promise. I’ll really go.”
“Okay!”
Having finally extracted a firm commitment from me, Choi Ahyeon looked satisfied. With that, we returned to the Academy.
The school was packed with people and cars, completely chaotic. A large banner hung overhead.
[1st Supporter Division Entrance Ceremony]
After pushing through the crowd and entering the auditorium, I saw that Professor Irena was in the middle of her speech.
“Following the recent Demon Sect invasion incident, our Academy has keenly felt the need to nurture all available talent. Whether they belong to the combat or non-combat departments, we must raise anyone capable of standing against monsters or the Demon Sect without discrimination.”
Irena briefly scanned the audience before continuing.
“Although it was due to a mental interference skill, the wall between the first and second groups has indeed been created. If any unfair discrimination occurs toward our new support students, the Academy will take strong disciplinary action.”
It was practically a declaration of war from Irena.
“We sincerely welcome all our new supporters.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Thunderous applause erupted. It seemed I had arrived near the very end of the ceremony. About ten minutes after it concluded, someone came running toward me.
“Seonghyun-ssi!”
It was Shin Suyeon. Today she wore the standard freshman entrance ceremony outfit.
“You’re late?”
“Yes. There were some orientation matters.”
Supporters didn’t form fixed parties. They chose their own research themes, wrote theses, and operated in a far more individualistic manner than we did. I took her on a full tour of the Academy, showing her the various facilities. The training grounds, the library, the grassy plaza for taking breaks—and finally, today’s highlight: the Hall of Challenge.
Although we couldn’t actually do any challenges, we were allowed to look around the building.
“Wow, are all those teleporters?”
“Yes. They’re currently restricted due to an incident, though.”
Shin Suyeon stared in awe at the post-it notes densely covering the walls. Her innocent, chick-like reaction made a small chuckle slip out of me. She looked at each one from F-rank upward until her steps suddenly stopped in front of one.
S-rank.
“There’s only one post-it here?”
“Yes. Practically no one in the Academy can clear it, after all.”
Clearing an S-rank before graduation was nearly impossible, so they had put up a single note as a formality.
“……”
Shin Suyeon kept staring at the post-it as if it fascinated her endlessly. It was like she was in a trance. At first I waited patiently, but after five minutes passed and she still hadn’t moved, I gently urged her.
“Shall we get going?”
“Ah, y-yes!”
The Academy tour finally ended after more than an hour.
“It’s much bigger than I thought… Isn’t it larger than most universities?”
“It is the largest Academy in the country.”
We sat down in the grassy plaza to catch our breath and chatted about recent events.
“Are you sure you don’t need to move into the dorm? Commuting two hours every day must be exhausting……”
“It’s fine. There’s still time left on my current lease.”
“I can cover the penalty fee.”
At my offer, she waved her hands frantically and shook her head.
“N-no, it’s okay! I can study during the commute, so please don’t worry about it!”
“Well, if you say so.”
Since she insisted she was fine, there was no point pushing further. After talking about various things, we headed toward the dormitory. I had noticed her constantly glancing at it with curious eyes.
“U-um, but aren’t your teammates inside?”
“They’re pulling an all-nighter at the library today, so no one’s there.”
“B-but……”
I practically dragged the hesitant girl into the dormitory. Just to be safe, I opened the door and checked inside, but as expected, no one was home.
“E-excuse me……”
She crept forward timidly, like a wary hamster. At the same time, she let out little gasps of admiration at the interior.
“Wow… it’s so pretty. Seonghyun-ssi, what is this?”
“It’s a shoe sanitizer and deodorizer.”
Han Yuri had bought it. The catch was that she barely used it herself after purchasing it. I placed her shoes inside.
“It sterilizes and deodorizes them like this.”
“…As expected of the daughter of the Portan Guild Master. She really is on another level.”
She looked around the living room and then peeked into my room. Good thing I had cleaned up in advance. While checking to make sure nothing was out of place, I spotted a box.
Oh. Right.
I had left it here after planning to test it on her but ran out of time. I took the item out of the box and handed it to her.
“Here. Take this.”
“What is it?”
It was a small, palm-sized rod with a smooth, perfectly rounded oval shape. The only distinctive feature was a single hole in it.
“Have you ever heard of a womanizer?”
“Pardon?”
It was the ultimate female pleasure device, yet she didn’t know about it. Rather than explain it, it would be better for her to feel it directly. I pulled the tilting girl into my arms and activated Dispel.
“Haaahng!”
Let’s go. Straight into the swamp of pleasure.