Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Combat Training (2)
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Thursday morning, and today was combat training again.
Out of the various curricula, today's lesson was virtual monster training.
It was a drill where students faced off against monsters conjured from mana, either one-on-one or in teams, with opponents matched to their skill level.
"I'm sure you all know this already, but I'll explain one last time."
Homeroom Professor Kim Jin-hyuk pointed his baton in a certain direction as he began the explanation.
"First, step onto the measurement magic circle over there and follow the assistant instructor's guidance. Once the measurement is complete, head to the arena suited to your level. Those who formed teams in advance go to the left arena; those wanting one-on-one matches go to the right."
The semester had only started three days ago, so I had no idea how anyone had formed teams beforehand, but the sociable ones had somehow managed it anyway.
Lumi, the one person I knew, was teamed up with Lucy, and Kim Young-han said he had his original team, so I naturally headed to the one-on-one arena.
Inside the arena, a massive measurement magic circle came into view.
I stepped onto it as instructed.
"A-Class student Lee Ho-yeon, right? Place your hand there."
At the center of the magic circle was a blue-glowing orb-shaped magic tool.
As soon as I placed my hand on it, a humming sound rang out, and mana swept over my body.
The sensation scanned me up and down a few times before the mana converged and returned to the tool.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Measuring combat power. Please wait a moment. A number 5 floated above my head.
"...5 points? You're A-Class, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Hm, whatever. Head to that corner over there."
The average score for the A-Class first-years in front of me was 7 points. Excluding me, the lowest was 6, so I'd set a new record low. It stung my pride a bit.
Kraaaah!
Looking at the other arenas, everyone was battling bizarre-looking monsters.
"Dieee!"
Thud!
It was fascinating to see a massive serpent that had been roaring ferociously get launched by a petite girl's single punch and slam into the wall.
It was a stark reminder that this was the world inside a novel.
I was the only A-Class cadet in the difficulty 5 arena.
Thinking positively, at least there was no wait. The difficulty 7 folks had lines over ten deep.
Stepping into the arena, the combat power 5 displayed above my head again.
"Difficulty 5? Isn't that the lowest in A-Class history?"
"Yeah, I knew it from when he got cocky after switching to mage."
Students who had finished their tests early gathered and started whispering.
They were just extras evaluating me from below, so it didn't matter. But no matter how I thought about it, something felt off.
The original protagonist got a score of 5 right after enrollment. That was solely from his unique ability, Combat Sense.
Yet here I was, with Combat Sense plus perks, also at 5. It seemed the tool couldn't detect the perks.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ An opponent suitable for difficulty 5 is being summoned. C-rank monsters, 3 Ice Platters, have been summoned. Ice Platters. Flat, plate-shaped monsters made of ice.
Their main attack was an ice beam fired from the crystal in their center.
Luckily, it was a favorable matchup.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The exam has begun. Beep!
The mana barrier separating me from the monsters vanished, and the Ice Platters let out cute cries as they fired their ice beams.
But I'd already planned my counter.
Ice Platter beams spread wide and far. They were tricky for close-range fighters, but I was a mage.
I exhaled fire in thin, wave-like sheets. Luckily, I'd practiced this shape during the training center's aptitude test.
The waves of flame expanded, swallowing the ice beams and reaching the Ice Platters.
Panicking from the intense heat, the Ice Platters scattered, spraying beams everywhere. If the three had focused their beams together, they might have overcome the heat, but expecting that from C-rank monsters was foolish.
The board was set; now to move the pieces.
I picked off the scattered Ice Platters one by one, burning them as they beeped in panic, defeating them individually.
Knowing their central gem was the weak point made it easy—just lob some fire magic at it.
Beep!
If this was difficulty 5, I could probably handle harder ones.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The exam has ended. "What? He won. Eh, must be a measurement glitch."
"Well, he's still A-Class. Difficulty 5 is ridiculous."
The magic tool measured skills and traits roughly, missing interferences or synergies, so actual performance could be underrated.
But even then, the gap was usually just one level.
"Honestly, even difficulty 6 would be embarrassing for A-Class."
"We'll see once he tries."
By regulation, with observer professor approval, cadets could challenge up to two levels higher.
"I'll challenge difficulty 6."
"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon challenges difficulty 6. Approved."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Difficulty 9 cleared. Good work."
Whew.
Elise brushed back her golden hair cascading below her collarbone and let out a sigh of regret.
9 points again. Despite steady practice at the ability-user training institute before enrolling, she couldn't break past 9.
In contrast, Nam Da-eun was different.
"Did you hear? Nam Da-eun one-shotted difficulty 10 in 30 seconds and dipped."
"Damn, she's got no personality, but her skills are top-tier historically."
Grind.
No matter how hard she tried, the gap with Nam Da-eun wouldn't close. What irritated Elise more was that she was the only one seeing it as a rivalry.
Nam Da-eun always stayed one step ahead, as if mocking Elise's efforts.
"It's fine. I'll do better next time."
She couldn't let herself sink into these emotions. Self-consoling, she headed out of the arena.
"Hey, that Lee Ho-yeon guy's up to difficulty 7?"
"Who's Lee Ho-yeon?"
"You know, the handsome one who switched to mage."
"Oh, him? Didn't he get 5? And now he's challenging 7?"
The exams were nearly over, but people were crowding the difficulty 7 arena.
Normally, she'd ignore it and keep walking, but she felt down today, and something nagged at her.
Pushing through the crowd, she saw a handsome male student in the arena.
'Lee Ho-yeon...?'
Honestly, she hadn't paid much attention. He'd switched from swordsman to mage right after arriving at the academy, and everyone here had trained over ten years for enrollment.
Yet he entered on those merits only to switch specialties immediately—what was he thinking? She couldn't understand.
'Trying to graduate as a mage and snag an admin job?'
Graduating as a mage from Victoria Academy usually led to admin roles in guilds or associations.
Of course, there were more efficient paths, but who knew what people were really after.
"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon challenges difficulty 7. Approved."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Suitable opponent being summoned. A-rank monster, Scrap Iron Giant, appears! Mana churned on the far side of the arena as mechanical parts from who-knows-where assembled into a giant.
"Aw, Scrap Iron Giant. It's over."
"Talk about bad luck."
Creak-grind-screech!
Gears and scrap heaps meshed with chilling sounds, forming a giant over 3 meters tall, rusted in places, creaking ominously with every move.
"Done for."
The Scrap Iron Giant was considered the worst at difficulty 7—practically difficulty 8.
Wasted trip. My five minutes were valuable.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The exam has begun. Creak-grind!
Thud! Thud!
The exam started, and the Scrap Iron Giant lumbered forward with its massive bulk.
Its body was fused scrap metal. Special stuff—even if smashed, some force reassembled it.
The weak point was targeting joints to prevent reassembly.
But the bonds were tough, absorbing most external impacts.
Ultimately, it required shoving mana into the gaps between scrap—elite mana control beyond most cadets.
Hence calls to bump it to difficulty 8, but its clear weakness kept it at 7.
Water or ice attributes exploited the gaps easily.
If Lee Ho-yeon were a water or ice mage, the giant might've been easy, but he was fire.
Grooooan!
The giant raised both arms high. Smash pattern incoming. Big wind-up meant quick dodge needed, but he cast magic.
Faint, wave-like flames stretched from his hands toward the giant.
'Over.'
Trying to pry gaps with thin fire? Good idea, but lacked power even if it slipped in.
Better to gamble on high-output advanced magic.
As interest waned and she turned to leave—
Boom!
Not the sound of him getting pulverized by the fist, but something else entirely hit her ears.
Turning back, an unimaginable scene unfolded.
The giant had toppled mid-swing into a ridiculous pose, left leg severed at the knee.
"What? What spell cut the leg?"
"Cut? Looks like the knee joint melted instantly... No idea."
'What the...'
Melted the Scrap Iron Giant with that spell? Needed over 1000 degrees, impossible with such thin mana spread.
Creak-grind!
The giant struggled up using arms and right leg.
It approached awkwardly, speed noticeably down.
Lee Ho-yeon retreated slowly, casting again.
'Same form again.'
His magic spread thin and wide, then suddenly converged into a line.
"What the hell?"
Her startled mutter drew glances, but Elise ignored them.
He'd spread flames shallow and broad from the start—pre-designed that way.
But this guy was forcibly twisting and compressing it.
Flames layered and layered into thread-thin, but intensely concentrated fire.
The fiery thread pierced the gap in the giant's right leg, balancing precariously on arms and one leg.
Whoosh-boom!
The right leg severed too; balance collapsed in a dust cloud.
The light in the giant's eyes faded slowly.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The exam has ended. The outcome defied all expectations.
The guy they'd mocked for difficulty 5 had subdued the Scrap Iron Giant with that magic? Stunned, everyone stared at the arena; professors who'd watched were floored.
'Cadet-level mana control?'
'Impossible...'
His spell was meant to spread flames wave-like. Naturally small flames. He'd slipped them into gaps, compensating power by gathering them.
Clever, but that delicate mana control seemed divine to the professors.
Even Elise, who'd cleared 9, noticed it.
Whispers around her didn't register.
The idea of using small fire particles on the giant wasn't key.
It was the mana handling.
Drawing flames thread-thin and jamming into gaps—that was beyond cadet level.
She might manage threads with focus, but layering them? Totally different.
Elise realized his talent was real, catching Lee Ho-yeon's eye unbeknownst to him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Too bad regs limit challenges to two levels up. You could've handled 8."
"Haha, no way."
I stepped down from the arena after the test.
No mana left in me—what 8?
"Man, that was exhausting. For real."
Today's virtual monster training had been brutal. I hadn't mastered advanced spells for the Scrap Iron Giant's gaps yet.
Without options, I'd reused the Ice Platter tactic.
Forcing mana reshaping drained me hugely.
"Bad brain means hard labor. Made it tougher than needed."
I resolved to expand my spell repertoire. At least the result was good. Phew.
"Hey, what's lunch today?"
"Steak, I think? Wanna eat out?"
"Heard a handmade burger joint opened by the main gate."
Morning classes ended; lunch time.
I headed to the student cafeteria.
Many cadets ate out, but my stipend was my only income, so I had to save.
Fortunately, Victoria Academy ran the cafeteria free for cadet welfare.
"One steak, please."
Taking my ordered lunch steak, I scanned for a seat when Moon Soo-rin caught my eye.
She sat alone in a dim corner behind a pillar, cutting her steak.
Staring entranced, she sensed it and looked up.
Our eyes met; her pupils dilated slightly, and she tapped the seat in front of her with a finger.
"Huh?"
Inviting me over?
I pointed at myself; she nodded.
Nod nod.
Sure. Better than solo—eating with a beauty whets the appetite.
"Ho-yeon? You here too?"
Turning at the voice, Kim Young-han waved at me.
"Oh? Yeah."
"Eat together if you're alone. I am today."
"Sorry, I actually have someone to eat with..."
Declining, I headed to Moon Soo-rin's seat, but she was gone.
"Where? No one's there."
"...Let's eat here, yeah."
The popular student council president—fair enough.
Settling for Kim Young-han, I sat, cut into the steak, and took a bite. Shockingly good.
'Why eat out and waste this?'
Well, cafeteria food was tasty, but junk out there was addictive.
"Excited for afternoon one-on-one spars? Spent all day in training yesterday because of it."
"Eh, somewhat?"
Afternoon was interpersonal combat training.
Safe arena drills. I'd wanted to try PvP, so a bit eager.
Nothing major, right?
"..."
"Ho-yeon, you okay?"
"Nah, sudden chill. Why now?"
Goosebumps on my arms. Did I miss something...?
Hm... Probably nothing.