Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Yoon Seo-rin
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Due to the completely unexpected encounter with Sophia, I wasn't able to conduct any proper training.
With the resolve to start for real from tomorrow, I lightly stretched my body and headed to the lecture hall for the morning class.
Excluding the fact that only adults who had awakened could enroll, the academy wasn't much different from any other university.
Well, if I had to nitpick, the classes being taken were completely different from those at a regular university?
The main major classes were based on one's awakened trait, but if desired, one could take liberal arts courses like magic or crafting that had nothing to do with their own field.
"...Is this the place?"
Lost in such thoughts as I walked, I came to my senses to find myself already at the door of the lecture hall for today's morning class—which all freshmen had to attend—the mandatory liberal arts course on Monster Studies Basics.
"But shouldn't classes like Monster Studies Basics just get discontinued by now? What a waste of time."
"You're right. Most of the freshmen here already studied up to S-rank monsters before enrolling, so they don't really need to learn this."
"Hey, hey, if you say that, what about the guys who got in just by luckily awakening without any money, connections, or proper training?"
The moment I opened the lecture hall door, mocking voices like those of third-rate bully extras assaulted my ears, making me flinch for a second.
'Man, the ordinary extra who luckily awakened must feel so aggrieved hearing that.'
Looking around, the so-called chaebol kids from conglomerate families were leisurely chatting away.
The ordinary students were quietly opening their textbooks, trying not to get involved in the atmosphere.
I carefully moved to avoid their eyes and sat in an empty seat in the corner of the classroom. Then, I mulled over the conversation the students had just had.
'...Come to think of it, it's not entirely wrong.'
Honestly, I somewhat agreed with those students' opinion that there would be more freshmen who didn't need basic classes.
Most people here had already mastered Monster Studies from their families, guilds, or private academies before enrolling.
Even those groups of 3-4 students huddling together while glancing around nervously were likely from mid-tier guilds or children of influential hunters who had received full basic training.
'They're better off than me, who has no parents in the setting. Why do they all look so down? They say the haves are truly the ones who have it all. Tsk.'
"Haa... I'm tired...."
I let out a sigh, placed my textbook on the desk, and flopped down on it.
I planned to catch a quick nap until the professor arrived...
"Is this seat taken?"
Suddenly, someone spoke to me.
"...?"
I lifted my head and turned to see a female student who looked vaguely familiar standing there.
"Uh... yeah, sit wherever."
"Thanks."
The girl set her bag down on the seat next to me and sat, pulling out her textbook and opening it.
I kept glancing sideways at her profile.
Black bobbed hair, black eyes with a faint bluish tint.
Her face was set in a default expressionless mask, but like Wol Ha-yeon and Sophia, her beauty was on a level far beyond ordinary women.
'With a face like that, she has to be a heroine... Where have I seen her before? Definitely a face I've seen a few times. Argh, whatever!!'
Unable to contain my curiosity, I cautiously spoke to the girl who was quietly reading her book.
"Um... if it's okay, could I ask you something?"
"I can't give out my number. It's personal info."
A curt, cutting voice.
As if used to such situations, she put up an iron wall and showed her refusal.
'...Is this that zero confessions, first strike thing? I haven't even stated my business yet?'
"No... I wasn't asking for your number. I was just wondering how you got in... like, which track..."
"..."
But when I revealed the real reason, she seemed embarrassed at her misunderstanding, her expressionless face flushing slightly.
"...Sorry, I must have misunderstood. Since morning, a few guys have asked the same question and always ended up demanding my number, so I got annoyed and answered without even listening..."
"Aha... I see."
I let out an incredulous chuckle.
"Sorry for making you misunderstand. I'm not interested in that stuff. I was just curious how you got in."
"That sort of thing..."
The girl stared at my face for a moment before clearing her throat and speaking.
"Combat practical exam. I took down three Iron Golems using Mana Bullets."
"Mana Bullets?"
'Ahh!! I remember now.'
Hearing "Mana Bullets," I finally recalled the girl's identity.
"You're Yoon Seo-rin, who placed 3rd in comprehensive scores for academy enrollment, right?"
"Yeah. What's your name?"
"I'm Kang Hyun-sol."
'Finally, some peace of mind.'
As expected, the girl's identity was one of this world's heroines.
"Kang Hyun-sol... Kang Hyun-sol..."
Yoon Seo-rin muttered my name repeatedly, as if trying to remember something.
Then her eyes flashed, and with an incredulous expression, she started spilling info about Kang Hyun-sol that even I didn't know.
"Kang Hyun-sol. Age 20, awakened a trait that couldn't be ranked, took the special exam track, barely scraped into 998th out of 1000 freshmen."
"...Huh?"
As I stared at her with a what-are-you-talking-about look, Yoon Seo-rin kindly explained again.
"Last night, I checked all the students' basic info and records. Down to the bottom, and your name was right there at the very end."
"998th...? That's my rank?"
I gaped at Yoon Seo-rin.
I knew I was an extra, but second-to-last? Really?
Yoon Seo-rin flipped through her textbook nonchalantly and added,
"But isn't that basically dead last? I heard 999th dropped out due to injury during enrollment, and 1000th gave up because it was shameful."
"..."
She was just explaining innocently in response to my question.
Yet somehow, I felt a surge of irritation rising up.
'Haa... That's why my status window was so pathetic. But why does she have all this memorized?'
"Why do you have all the students' info memorized like that?"
I asked, baffled, and Yoon Seo-rin tilted her head slightly before answering as if it were obvious.
"Because it's necessary info, right? It's basic to know the backgrounds and scores of your classmates you'll study and train with. It'll help when forming practice groups later."
"Ah... Yeah, that makes sense."
It was a stiff answer, but not wrong.
Feeling even more pathetic for some reason, I awkwardly turned my head, and at that moment, the lecture hall door opened.
Screeech—!
The middle-aged professor who entered scanned the room and slowly moved to the front of the blackboard.
He had gray hair and wore a white coat, giving off a sharp impression.
"Quiet."
One word.
The classroom fell silent in an instant.
"I'm Jo Seong-han, and I'll be teaching Monster Studies Basics for Mandatory Liberal Arts Class C this first semester."
The professor said coldly as he set his textbook and mana orb on the podium.
"This class is, as the name suggests, basics. But the moment you ignore them, one of you will become a monster's meal."
He snapped his fingers lightly, and a blue light spread from the mana orb on the podium, projecting a holographic video into the air.
Goblins, wolves, ogres... Familiar yet terrifying monsters if faced in reality appeared vividly.
"Alright, one simple question before the lecture starts. Among low-rank monsters, the one that claims the most hunter lives: the Blood Hound. What's their key threat factor?"
"..."
"..."
The lecture hall was steeped in silence.
Everyone knew the monster, but no student opened their mouth to answer the professor's question.
With no responses, the professor's brow furrowed.
At that moment.
"Most think it's their superior sense of smell, hearing, or dynamic vision, but the real danger is their intelligence. Their ability to lead packs and meticulously plan hunts surpasses even humans."
Yoon Seo-rin answered indifferently while flipping through her textbook without even looking up, as if it were no big deal.
The professor nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfect answer. Blood Hounds are more dangerous from their shared hunting tactics than teeth, claws, or beastly senses. That's why novice hunters vanish without a trace when facing them alone."
After praising Yoon Seo-rin for her flawless response, he fixed a cold gaze on the rest of the students and spoke.
"Now do you get it? Why you lot, who can't even answer such basic basics, need to learn Monster Studies Fundamentals here?"
"..."
No one in the room could retort to his dismissive remark.
The students who had been arrogantly complaining about why they needed this class and should be training instead all shut their mouths.
The professor reached out again, switching the monster in the video.
"Good. Seems you're all ready to learn now. Let's begin the lecture proper."
Two hours later.
"That's it for today. Next time, we'll analyze D-rank humanoid monster traits through real cases. Review is mandatory."
Having finished the class, the professor grabbed his textbook and mana orb from the podium and left the lecture hall without a backward glance.
"As expected of a former A-rank hunter? That aura leaking out now and then is no joke."
"Right? I heard he's been retired for over 10 years, but he could still put most active hunters to shame."
Confirming the professor had left, the students began rising and murmuring one by one.
I slowly stood from my seat and started packing my things.
'Hmm... What to eat for lunch.'
The academy's student cafeteria was said to be Michelin-star level delicious.
It was so good that one of the most common complaints about the academy was why they didn't open the student cafeteria to outsiders.
There were even rumors that alumni visited occasionally to eat, so the taste was guaranteed.
As I packed my textbook while looking forward to lunch...
"Giving up just because you're last means you can't grow. Keep working hard, and someday you'll catch up to all the students above you."
Yoon Seo-rin, having packed first, tossed that indifferent line and left the lecture hall.
"..."
She must have seen me not paying proper attention to the class, half-dozing and lost in thought.
Of course, it wasn't because the class was boring or anything.
I had deliberately acted that way in case I got too entangled with Yoon Seo-rin here.
But far from losing interest, she seemed even more intrigued by it.
'...Did she think I was the type who gives up thinking effort's pointless since I'm dead last anyway? And pitied me for it?'
Well, she might have said it without any meaning, and I could just be overthinking it.
This was reality, not a game, so even if she was supposed to be indifferent to others by setting, a light comment like that was something any person could say.
"...Yeah, let's go eat first."
Hoping my bad feeling was just baseless paranoia, I left the lecture hall.