Chapter 41: Make an Offer
Chapter 41: Make an Offer
As training entered its ninth, tenth, and eleventh weeks, the Users seemed to be getting into the swing of things. In the first week, they had struggled with a simple long-distance run, but now, I could see them easily jogging over twenty laps with smiles on their faces. I watched them complete every training regimen without a single person falling behind, a satisfied smile on my face.
The number of remaining personnel was now just over eighty. It was unprecedented for the User Academy to have more than eighty graduates. As a result, a strange atmosphere began to settle within the Academy as the final thirteenth week—the graduation season—drew near.
The first thing to change was the instructors’ attitude toward the new Users. The instructors weren't all from the Golden Lion Clan. Seventy percent were from the representative clans of the major cities, while the remaining thirty percent were selected Users from the clans of regular and small cities, dispatched here on assignment.
The same instructors who had barked and yelled as if they were going to kill them in the beginning grew progressively kinder. It became a common occurrence for them to secretly call one or two Users aside to treat them to a delicious meal. I even frequently saw them making offers on the spot, right after training ended—though this was, of course, limited to Users with a certain level of skill.
It was even more of a spectacle when I saw the new instructors assigned under the pretext of being dorm supervisors. A beautiful female instructor was assigned to the male Users’ dormitory, and a handsome male instructor to the female Users’ dormitory. Anyone with a bit of sense could immediately discern the intention behind such a personnel change.
With training ending earlier, my companions and I naturally had more time to meet. Lately, whenever Ahn Hyun, Ahn Sol, and Lee Yoojung met, they wouldn't even discuss their future paths; they would just stare at me.
“Hyung, what are you planning to do?”
“Oppa. What about you? You must have gotten a lot of offers. Do you have any plans to join a clan?”
“…”
It was good that they wanted to follow me, but I felt this wasn't right. It would be one thing if they at least thought for themselves before speaking, but this blind reliance was a habit they needed to break quickly. I voiced this sentiment as gently as I could, and Lee Yoojung replied with a pout.
“Who said I didn't think about it? I just wanted to hear your thoughts first.”
“I'm still thinking. What if your thoughts and mine are different?”
“What do you mean, what if? Of course, I'll follow you, Oppa.”
“That's right, that's right. I trust you too, Hyung. You can do it.”
Ahn Hyun, who had been listening beside us, nodded and chimed in. These days, the kids seemed to think I was some kind of good-luck charm. When I asked why, Ahn Sol answered with a bright smile, “Because if we do what Soohyun-oppa says, good fortune comes to us even in our sleep.”
I could only shake my head with a bitter smile. It seemed my dedication during the Rite of Passage and my fame at the User Academy had created a powerful synergy effect on them. On one hand, I was grateful for their trust, but for now, I wanted to hold my tongue. I would speak before graduation, but I felt the time wasn't right just yet.
Kim Hanbyul wasn't even showing her face anymore. I heard that even when she and Lee Yoojung saw each other, they would pass by without a word. As she had also shown the potential to rank among the top female Users, it seemed various clans were drooling over her.
While promising Users like her were smugly weighing offers from different clans, there were many who hadn't received any offers at all. As graduation season approached, they grew increasingly anxious.
Once they left, they would surely find a clan to join in a small or regular city, even if a major clan was out of reach. But, as the saying goes, if you have to choose, you might as well aim high, and some Users still clung to the hope of joining a major clan. Rumor had it that some female Users were doing some rather bold things. Now that they had grown closer to the instructors, some were apparently using their bodies as bait to get ahead. It was a clear sign of how fiercely they were all pushing and pulling against each other.
Seeing my friends become more and more relaxed, I nagged them to focus on their training since it was still the training season. There was a reason the User Academy period was set at three months. The golden period for rapidly increasing one's stats varied from User to User, but it was generally between 90 and 100 days.
The kids grumbled, but when I told them that later they wouldn't be able to raise their stats even if they wanted to, they immediately shut their mouths. I, too, devoted myself even more to training to lead by example. In the past, until I reached the realm of a Sword Master, I had never skipped a single day of practice.
And so, time flowed on, and graduation season drew ever closer.
*
Training moved into the thirteenth week, with graduation just one day away. The Users were slowly wrapping up their time at the Academy. The instructors, who had been strict during training, were now quite lenient outside of it. During this time, the Users either took care of personal matters or gathered in small groups to chat.
The day passed by in a flash, and soon, night fell. As it was the last day, the Users sharing the same dorm held a simple get-together. The instructors also turned a blind eye, telling them not to go too overboard. It wasn't just my dorm; the others were the same.
It wasn't a grand party, just some dried meat we were supplied with and some alcohol. Still, the Users, seeing alcohol for the first time in a while, went wild, excitedly talking and drinking. Ahn Hyun and I met each other's eyes, nodded slightly, and stood up. At Lee Yoojung's suggestion, we had decided to sneak out of our respective dorms and have our own private celebration.
Ahn Hyun and I quietly rose and managed to slip out the door. Everyone else was already pleasantly drunk, arms around one another’s shoulders as they shouted, “We did it!” With that commotion going on, sneaking away was easy.
I habitually searched my pockets and realized I didn't have any cigarettes. I must have left them in the dorm. I told Ahn Hyun to go on ahead to our meeting spot and turned back. Ahn Hyun asked what the big deal was if I didn't smoke, but as a heavy smoker, I had a habit of needing a cigarette when I drank.
After sending Ahn Hyun ahead, I returned to the dorm, grabbed my cigarettes, and headed back out. Our meeting place was a corner of the Museum of Academic Information. It was a rather bold move, but at this point, we'd likely get away with it without much trouble even if we were caught.
The deep night sky was blanketed in a dark twilight. I crossed the large, empty training ground, hurrying toward the building in the distance. And just as I was about to pass the restroom next to it…
“Ahk… ugh… ahng…”
A strange, aroused moan leaked out from inside the restroom. My sensitive hearing must have caught it. Curiosity piqued, I carefully pushed open the tightly shut restroom door. I opened it as cautiously as possible, but the door let out a creak that echoed in the surroundings. However, before I had time to worry about the noise, a strange, sensual heat wafting from inside the open door washed over my entire body.
“Uwaaahng… ahng… heung!”
Heung. It was a chaotic scene inside. The first thing I saw was scattered clothes and a User wearing an instructor's cap. And beneath him, a woman was pinned, letting out moans. Her jet-black, short-cut hair was splayed across the floor, and her legs, with their fine thigh lines, were spread wide, flailing in the air. That face… I'd definitely seen it once or twice.
The man on top of her was clearly an instructor. Every time he slammed his hips down with all his might, the woman's body thrashed like a fish as she let out unrestrained cries of pleasure.
“Be… quiet! Your moans… are… too… loud!”
“Aahng…! It's because you're being so rough, Instructor… heung… ugh… euhng…!”
He moved his hips rhythmically with every syllable. The instructor, who had been mercilessly pounding his lower body down, seemed to be running out of steam. He gave one last great thrust of his hips while still inside her and then stopped moving. The woman lying beneath him convulsed and hugged him tightly.
The two of them savored the afterglow for a moment. Then, the lips of the woman, her face ecstatic, parted.
“You promised, right? You said you'd get me into your clan…”
“I told you not to worry. Wait for me after the graduation ceremony tomorrow. I'll come get you.”
After they finished speaking, they started moving their hips again. Lewd cries filled the restroom. Having grasped the situation from their conversation, I closed the door again. Unlike the Western Continent, nothing was forced here, but ultimately, it was impossible to completely prevent such incidents from happening—not when a new female User willingly used her own body as bait, even on the strictly disciplined Northern Continent.
I thought I should hurry to the museum and turned around. And then.
“Hah.”
“…”
I gasped without meaning to. Kim Hanbyul was standing directly behind me, staring at me. I had no idea when she arrived. Even though I had not been actively sensing my surroundings and had completely relaxed my guard, I was shocked that I had failed to notice someone approach so closely. Apparently, I had become too absorbed in the rare(?) sight of a man and woman having sex. I immediately composed my expression and spoke calmly.
“You scared me. How long have you been there?”
“I had something to talk to you about, so I went to your dorm, but you weren't there. On my way back, I saw you go into your dorm and come out again, so I followed you.”
“Then, inside the restroom…?”
The words "Did you see?" were left unsaid, but she seemed to understand. She blushed slightly and avoided my gaze; it looked like she had seen everything from the beginning. I felt like I'd been caught doing something, but since I hadn't done anything wrong, I decided to act confidently. First, we needed to leave this spot for the sake of the couple's enjoyable time.
I muffled my footsteps and began to walk slowly. My destination was the Museum of Academic Information. She followed behind me with short steps, then soon fell into stride beside me. And so, the two of us walked side by side, bathed in the cold moonlight. A silence fell between us for a while, perhaps due to the earlier awkwardness. It was Kim Hanbyul who broke the silence first.
“The female User you saw in there was probably someone named Lee Jiyoung.”
“Lee Jiyoung… I think I’ve seen her once or twice.”
“You don't know her?”
I tilted my head at Kim Hanbyul’s wide-eyed question. Of course I did not know her. She was not especially capable, and we were not close, so how would I? She was fairly pretty, but after spending so much time around Lee Yoojung, Ahn Sol, and Kim Hanbyul, she seemed merely average. I answered matter-of-factly.
“I don't. How would I? We've never even exchanged a single word.”
At my answer, relief spread across Kim Hanbyul’s face. I grew increasingly curious about this User named Lee Jiyoung. Who was she that Kim Hanbyul would react like this simply because I did not know her? Before I could finish the thought, Kim Hanbyul spoke.
“It's better that you don't know her. Her reputation among us isn't very good. As you just saw… there were rumors like that going around. I never thought I'd see it for myself, though. By the way, Oppa, why were you there?”
“The kids and I decided to have a get-together inside the Museum of Academic Information to celebrate graduation. On the way, I heard a strange noise from the restroom, so I opened the door and saw them like that. Anyway. Since we've met, do you want to come too?”
I wanted to say, "You're coming too, right?" but our relationship had been distant lately, so I couldn't bring myself to say it so casually. At my words, she lowered her head and just stared at the ground. I suddenly thought her ears, peeking out from her jet-black straight hair, looked incredibly cute. As I was lost in that trivial thought for a moment, I saw her lips slowly begin to part.
“I'd like to talk… for a moment.”
Come to think of it, she did say she had something to talk about. There was no reason to be awkward now, so I nodded readily. It occurred to me that it had been a long time since the two of us had talked alone.
“I received an offer from the Golden Lion Clan.”
“…Yeah.”
“They said they almost never accept new Users directly, but they are making a special exception to increase their numbers this time. They also said they could help me grow, especially because I have a mage-type class. And… they said that if I joined, they would recommend me as a candidate for an executive position.”
The moment I heard that, I let out a low groan. I had expected her to come straight to the point, but what followed genuinely surprised me. I did not understand what she meant about helping a mage-type User grow. Setting that aside, the promise of an executive recommendation made me doubt my ears. No matter how much potential Kim Hanbyul possessed, that was an extraordinary condition to offer a new User.
Unless she had a Secret or Rare class… The moment I had that thought, an idea struck my mind like a lightning bolt, and I stopped in my tracks. Kim Hanbyul looked at me with a strange expression as I suddenly halted, but I paid her no mind and immediately activated Third Eye.
〈Player Status〉
1. Name: Kim Hanbyul (Year 0 User)
2. Class: Jewel Mage (Secret, Jewel Mage, Beginner)
3. Nation: - (Unsettled)
4. Clan: - (Unsettled)
5. True Name · Nationality: One Who Hails from the Stars · One Who Wields Beautiful Light and Luster · Republic of Korea
6. Sex: Female (22)
7. Height · Weight: 170.5cm · 45.0kg
8. Alignment: Lawful · Chaos
『Abilities』
“Oppa…?”
Still dazed, I reflexively gave a reluctant nod when Kim Hanbyul called me. Why? How? What happened? The questions chased one another through my mind, but first I needed to regain my composure.
〈Oppa, you just told another User not to reveal their information.〉
〈They also said they could provide a great deal of help with my growth, especially because my class is mage-type.〉
A Jewel Mage would certainly need a clan’s assistance during the early stages of growth. Using jewels as magical catalysts would cost an enormous amount of money. But that was not the important issue. Kim Hanbyul had never told me that she obtained the Jewel Mage class. And the fact that the Golden Lion Clan had offered to recommend her for an executive position made it highly likely that she had revealed her class to Park Hyunwoo.
For a moment, an inexplicable sense of betrayal surged through me and I clenched my teeth, but I soon let the tension drain away. After all, I had decided to let my connection with her take its course and was prepared to release her if necessary. The fact that the feeling had flared at all meant some lingering attachment remained in a corner of my heart.
If I had known from the start that she was a Jewel Mage, one of the Secret classes, my attitude might have been different. But I had no intention of making excuses that only considered my own position now. That was the kind of behavior I hated the most.
Exclude emotion. Fill my mind with cold reason. I quickly steadied my breathing and collected myself. From now on, I would treat her not as the younger companion who had traveled with me, but as an individual User.
“I heard the Golden Lion Clan made you an offer too, Oppa.”
Looking at Kim Hanbyul, who was still speaking with a composed face, I also replied with a calm expression.
“I told them I'd think about it.”
“Have you made a decision now?”
“Yes. I'm going to refuse. I have no intention of joining a clan.”
“…Why?”
The moment I said I would refuse, I felt her body flinch.
I paused for a moment and started walking again. She followed suit, matching my pace. All the while, my eyes were on hers, and hers were on mine. Our gazes held an unspoken, subtle, and complex mix of emotions.