Classes Start Tomorrow!

"The Power Warrior Guild is the guild that's helping Oppa the most right now. If I join them, I can definitely help him!"

"Uh..." Lee Da-bi hesitated.

In truth, Tae-hyun was already taking quite good care of Yu Ji-soo. Compared to how he treated Cain and Evangeline, it was a night-and-day difference! It felt almost like the way Da-bi took care of her own younger sisters.

He seems to treat her like a younger sister... but isn't that actually better?

From Da-bi's perspective, she was actually envious of Ji-soo being treated like a younger sister. She wanted to act spoiled like that too...

No, what on earth am I thinking!

"Is something wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing. And while I don't mind you joining the Power Warrior Guild, I wouldn't recommend it."

If Ji-soo joined, the other members of their party would undoubtedly look at Da-bi with icy glares.

No matter how much she loves money, how could she lure such an innocent kid into joining?

Isn't Da-bi-nim going a bit too far?

...Such reactions were practically guaranteed!

"Why?"

"The Power Warrior Guild is... ahem. It's not exactly a high-quality guild... Rather than that, you can help in other ways without having to join. In fact, you're already plenty of help, aren't you? Bringing those Archer NPCs and all."

The Tyrum Hunters were certainly a bit odd, but their skills were undeniable. When they unleashed a coordinated volley of concentrated fire, even giant monsters collapsed without being able to put up a fight.

Compared to them, our guild members are...

Since Tae-hyun had asked her to gather people who could use daggers, Da-bi had tried to round up some members from within her guild.

In the end, Da-bi had no choice but to conduct interviews.

Da-bi set a few conditions: they had to be diligent, have high Constitution or Agility stats, and possess dagger skills...

But the process only made her realize one painful truth: Ah, there really are no useful talents in the Power Warrior Guild!

She had managed to gather a group, but she couldn't help but worry: Will we really be okay with just this?

"...So, rather than joining the guild for no good reason, it might be better to help out in other ways."

At Da-bi's words, Yu Ji-soo nodded and asked,

"Like what? Helping with quests?"

"Exactly."

"What about... going to s-school together?"

"That's... wait, what?"

"Tomorrow when we go to school, I can ask my grandfather's chauffeur..."

"Wait, hold on a second."

The mention of her grandfather's chauffeur caught her attention, but that wasn't the most important thing right now. Why was school suddenly being brought up?

"School? What do you mean by that?"

"Classes start tomorrow...?"

"!"

Da-bi was startled. Setting aside the fact that the two of them went to the same university, more importantly...

That was the conversation she had with Tae-hyun earlier! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was a highly bizarre plan, but neither of them had noticed anything strange about it at the time.

Surely he doesn't... not know that classes start tomorrow?

"What are you talking about, Da-bi? There's no way I didn't know."

Tae-hyun, who was hammering away to craft spears for siege weapons, replied with a look that said, What nonsense are you spouting?

Da-bi let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Ah. Right?"

"Yeah, of course I knew. Wait, how did you find out?"

"Ah. From Yu Ji-soo-ssi..."

"You heard it from Ji-su? You two are surprisingly close. She's usually very shy. Well, maybe it's because it's you."

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"

"You're reliable."

"......"

Da-bi's face flushed red.

Burford, who was passing by, walked past with a look that clearly said, What on earth are those two doing?

Even if Sadiq's Avatar appears, I still have to worry about my life... grumble, grumble...

Once the only Sadique Paladin player in Pan-On, now his status screen displayed him as a member of the Akisus Order. He had made the choice himself, so he had no regrets, but he still couldn't help but feel a bit aggrieved!

"But Tae-hyun-nim, earlier you definitely spoke as if you were going to play games all day tomorrow."

"Of course. You can usually skip the first week of the semester."

"...Is... is that so?"

"And the week after that is fine too."

"......"

"Skipping up to the third week is pushing it, but I can make it work somehow..."

"Just go to school! We're in the middle of construction anyway!"

Da-bi was worried that Yu Ji-soo would end up learning nothing but bad habits from him.

"You look like you're in a good mood. Did something happen today?"

"Mm-mm. It's nothing."

As she spoke, Yu Ji-soo stole a glance toward the back of the lecture hall.

Kim Ye-ri tilted her head. It wasn't just Yu Ji-soo; other students were also stealing glances toward the back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the room, as if they were all waiting for someone.

"Ah. Don't tell me you're waiting for player Kim Tae-hyun?"

"N-No, I'm not?"

"I think you are..."

Although they were in different departments, the two had met by chance and quickly become close friends. Kim Ye-ri was supposed to leave soon, but she decided to stay seated for just a bit longer.

"Come to think of it, you're in the same department, right? Are you a fan?"

"Opp... I mean, I've met Sunbae before..."

"Really? Me too."

"Huh???"

Yu Ji-soo was taken aback. When and where?

"At a... a fan signing event or something?"

"Did he even do those? No, it wasn't at something like that... Did I not mention it? My older brother is Kim Deok-su."

"Who's that?"

"Cain."

"......"

"What's wrong?"

"I-I'm sorry..."

Yu Ji-soo apologized immediately as she recalled glaring at Cain in the game. After hearing the explanation, Kim Ye-ri burst into laughter.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You don't need to mind it at all. More importantly, is everyone here really acting like this because of player Kim Tae-hyun?"

There were definitely several people sitting in the lecture hall who clearly belonged to other departments—people who had absolutely no reason to attend the upcoming lecture! They had clearly come out of sheer curiosity after hearing rumors that Tae-hyun would show up.

"I completely understand them!"

"Uh... r-right."

Kim Ye-ri was slightly taken aback by Yu Ji-soo's sudden passion. Did Ji-soo always have this side to her?

To Kim Ye-ri, Tae-hyun was her brother's friend who had turned her brother into a decent human being. Just listening to Cain talk about him made her think, How on earth can a person like that exist? Is he even human?

Back then, Kim Ye-ri had been worried sick. But what followed was even more shocking: Cain's debut as a pro player! Although he had shown some embarrassing moments, he had performed exceptionally well in the tournament (even if he did self-destruct) and proudly brought home prize money. On top of that, wasn't he currently playing as a professional player for a gaming team?

If someone had told her past self, "Your brother got completely wrecked by Kim Tae-hyun, but soon they'll be hanging out together and he'll even debut as a pro gamer," she would have never believed it.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But why does player Kim Tae-hyun keep dragging my brother around? Is it because he's good at the game? But I don't think Oppa is actually that good...

If Cain had heard her thoughts, he would have screamed, "Hey!"

Click— The front door opened, and a professor walked in. It was Professor Kim, Tae-hyun's academic advisor.

"There are quite a few people here today. Shall we start by calling attendance?"

As Professor Kim went down the list calling names one by one, he suddenly realized something.

That punk Kim Tae-hyun... didn't show up!

The onlookers who had been waiting just to catch a glimpse of Tae-hyun's face were left utterly bewildered when he failed to appear.

"What? Why isn't he here?"

"Is he really taking this class? Was our information wrong?"

"Hey!!!"

"Wait, didn't you say I only needed to show up for the freshman welcoming party?"

What an absolute lunatic...

Professor Kim was speechless. He had told him to make sure to show up at least once for the welcoming party, but who on earth would interpret that as "you only need to show up for the welcoming party and nothing else"?

"A guy who only has to show up once a week for class is skipping even that?!"

"It's the first week, so my schedule wasn't finalized yet..."

"Don't give me that ridiculous excuse! Your schedule was finalized ages ago! Do you have any idea how many kids were waiting for you?!"

"What? There are crazy people like that? Why would they do something like that in college?"

"Look who's talking..."

"Anyway, I just need to show my face, right?"

Tae-hyun was currently caught in Professor Kim's grip, being dragged along.

"You can't just show your face. Sit down for a bit before you leave. Answer some of their questions, tell them how great our department is, and mention how wonderful it was to meet a mentor like me."

"Pardon? I've never heard that last part before... And I think you're mistaken, Professor. The kids in our department don't really like me."

"I'm telling you, you're the one who's mistaken."

Professor Kim said as he dragged Tae-hyun along.

The status of the current Tae-hyun was on a completely different level compared to a few years ago.

A few years ago, Tae-hyun was just "some guy I don't really know, but he seems to have a nasty personality so let's be careful." Now, he was "Oh my god! Is that THE Kim Tae-hyun?!"

Even if he did the exact same thing, if the Tae-hyun of a few years ago did it, the reaction would be, "Whoa, he's scary!" But if the current Tae-hyun did it, the reaction would inevitably be, "Whoa, as expected of player Kim Tae-hyun! There's really something about him!"

"Now, get in there!"

"!!!!!"

As the two stepped inside, the eyes of everyone in the room went wide. If they weren't trying to be polite, they looked ready to scream at the top of their lungs.

"P-Professor, please sit here!"

"No, please sit over here!"

"The seat next to me is empty! I even set up an extra glass here!"

"You ungrateful punks... I wish you'd treat me this well normally..."

Usually, they would make up all kinds of excuses just to avoid sitting next to him, but now they were practically begging him to sit by them just because he was with Tae-hyun.

"What are you talking about, Professor! You know how much we respect you! Sunbae-nim Kim Tae-hyun, hello! I'm Kang Jun-su, class of XX! My class is Paladin!"

"A Paladin? Which order do you belong to, by any chance?"

"The Demer Order..."

Oh no. Is it because I'm not from the Archisus Church?

As a true fan, he knew exactly what Tae-hyun's class was and what he did.

However, Tae-hyun smiled warmly and said,

"My boy. You chose an excellent order."

"Sunbae-nim! I'm a Paladin too! I'm from the Phaitos Church!"

"......"

"?!"

When Tae-hyun turned his head away as if he hadn't heard a thing, the junior who had proudly declared himself a Paladin of the Phaitos Church was left utterly dumbfounded. Why?!