School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 4
School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 4
"Graaaaaaaaaah!"
"You startled me...! Calm down!"
"Huh?"
In front of me stood the grotesque, horrifying phantom monsterkin—no... Leona? The Leona famous as the head cadet.
What?
Was this part of the illusion too?
There's a well-known saying: build them up, then tear them down. You deliberately give someone something nice to get their spirits up, then suddenly hit them with something terrible and send their mood straight into the abyss.
It's a classic method for tormenting someone out of sheer malice.
If this was still part of the illusion, then Instructor Kawar was a genuine, certified son of a bitch. A psychopath to make heaven and earth rage.
But this feels real, though?
"..."
This vivid beauty.
Up close, no kidding, Leona was fucking gorgeous. Her silver hair was a work of art. The kind of looks that make the word "beautiful" feel natural. Her sharp gaze only added to it. If I said she was some kind of princess, that would fit perfectly.
"What are you staring at like that?"
The moment she furrowed a brow and spoke, my train of thought broke. But where was this? I could tell it was reality, at least.
"Wh-where is this?"
"The infirmary."
"What? The infirmary?"
"Kim Geun-cheol? You fainted."
Fainted?
"I fainted?"
Me, faint?
"Quite spectacularly, too."
"What do you..."
"You suddenly screamed like a crack of thunder, then started thrashing on the floor, ugly-crying and begging for your life. I was watching in disbelief, and then you just keeled over and fainted."
"..."
"Honestly, I can't even. No, really. How can a grown guy be that much of a scaredy-cat? It's actually hilarious. It wasn't even that frightening to begin with."
Her voice was soft, but there was steel underneath. Leona was plainly roasting me.
This feels like I'm getting chewed out... No. Even so, my pride won't let me get scolded by a girl my own age—actually younger than me.
"Hey, Leona."
"Yes?"
So I said it.
"I think you saw a different illusion than I did, but what I saw was genuinely transcendently terrifying and horrible and the worst—"
"That long-necked monster with a hole in its guts? No eyes. Creeping closer. Ripping its own stomach open to show you its innards."
Oh.
Yeah, that one.
"It startled me, but I don't think it was worth screaming over. Disgusting, sure, it made me flinch—but shouldn't a hero cadet be able to laugh something like that off?"
"Well, that's..."
"And before it started, you were provoking us, saying that knowing it was an illusion made it a joke..."
No! Don't dig up my dark history!
Back then I genuinely thought that if it was an illusion, it would be total piss-easy! Fine! I, the man Kim Geun-cheol, will admit it! Even when you know something is an illusion, scary is still scary! I've learned a valuable lesson! I'll carry it in my heart forever, so please stop digging!
"Anyway, yesterday too—"
At this rate she's going to keep dressing me down!
"Alright, alright! Yeah, I mean, sure, maybe it's because I'm a coward!"
Honestly, I'm so fucking embarrassed and surprised I can't even argue!
Image makeover: completely fucking failed!
Downgraded from Holy Shit What the Fuck to Insane Coward!
"To be honest, it was so goddamn scary that the only thing in my head was 'I have to survive.' I mean it. But now that I think about it, aren't you the weirder one here, Leona?"
From my perspective, I'm normal and she's the abnormal one... No, she really is abnormal. Leona didn't flinch at the phantom monsterkin, and on top of that, she actually fought it.
"What do you mean by that?"
"How can you stay calm after seeing that? It doesn't make sense."
She comes from some prominent family, so she must have had combat training. She's bound to be on a completely different level from a civilian like me. That's why she stayed calm.
"Do you not watch horror movies, Kim Geun-cheol?"
"I can't. They're too scary. If I watch just one, I spend the whole night under the covers, whimpering. If I'm already outside, I can't even go home. For real. Once it gets dark, so do I."
Specifically, stairs, elevators—everything becomes terrifying. After watching one horror movie, I get this creepy feeling every time I shower for about a week. The aftereffects are pretty long-lasting.
"Pfft!"
"Are you laughing?"
"N-no. You just suddenly started saying weird stuff. What kind of ridiculous..."
I need to change the subject.
"Anyway. Why are you here?"
"I wondered if you'd be waking up soon."
Yeah, but why are you here?
When I asked with my eyes, Leona continued.
"As of today, I'm the class rep."
"What? Class rep?"
"So I need to look after a classmate who's falling a little behind. You can consider that going forward."
Wait, hold on.
"Class rep? What, did you decide that by who's the strongest? When did you pick one?"
"Your watch."
"Huh?"
I immediately pulled out my phone and checked the time.
"Oh."
This... time.
"It's already five."
I know class started at eight thirty.
"We already finished all the classes and got our feedback. And then next period, Instructor Lee So-ra came in and we voted for the class rep and did a short theory lesson. Then we ate lunch and finished all our afternoon classes."
Do these fuckers not know democracy? What do you mean you picked a class rep when I wasn't there? I wanted to exercise my precious single vote, damn it.
But I did skip the whole day's work for free, so I don't care.
Thank you, Instructor Kawar.
"In the meantime, you were unconscious, Kim Geun-cheol. Since classes were over, I figured you'd be waking up soon, so I came by."
Still, from the sound of it, she'd come to check on me as the class rep, to take care of me, supposedly. Have you ever seen such a nice person? It seems her heart is as good as her face is beautiful.
"Right. Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Here, this is a letter Instructor Kawar wrote for you. Honestly, delivering this was the main reason I came."
"A letter?"
Leona immediately handed me the letter.
Let's read it.
「To Kim Geun-cheol.」
「From Instructor Kawar.」
—Our Kim Geun-cheol must have been really shocked! I never imagined you would faint with a death scream! But don't worry too much! We get at least one cadet who faints every three years! Anyone can faint, so there's no need to be too ashamed or burdened by it!
Once every three years?! That means I'm a fucking extreme special case...! The deep-seated embarrassment I'd been sleeping on surged back. I felt my face heating up as I kept reading.
—Anyway, evaluation began.
—First of all, a big fat zero!
—Monsterkin in the field use illusions far more lethal and severe than this, and they combine them with coordinated attacks! To deal with attacks that blind you and sow confusion at the same time, you need to see through illusions faster than anyone!
—You'll need to build up your courage, won't you, Kim Geun-cheol? If you panic, you can never respond! In a real fight, you'd have died without even putting up a struggle, you know?
—So don't blame me for showing you such a harsh illusion! This is also a natural part of the curriculum! Consider it a taste of what monsterkin illusion attacks are like, and I'll be looking forward to seeing how Kim Geun-cheol develops from here on out!
Having read it, well.
"Hmm."
It was an accurate, perfectly natural evaluation. If a monsterkin really attacked me like that... I'd die without being able to do jack.
Clearly, I do need to build some courage.
But wait—does this mean she's going to assign me some kind of special training?
—P.S. Not one cadet actually received a kiss!
Didn't need that.
—P.P.S. Depending on your future performance, after-school remedial lessons might be necessary!
That's a no-go...!
"Hoo!"
Yeah, well. I get the picture. This is the kind of class we'll have every day from now on. To keep up, building courage alone won't be enough.
I'll have to get stronger too.
In other words, I need training.
"Ah, also."
"Hmm?"
While I was reading the letter and mulling things over, Leona stood up and spoke.
"Now that I'm the class rep, I intend to drag every last classmate along as much as possible. So please work hard going forward, Kim Geun-cheol."
"Well, I'll work hard, yeah... But you're gonna drag me along?"
"Don't you think you're lagging behind a bit yourself?"
Leona, now standing, looked down at me with absolute confidence and pride.
"I guess so."
"Then as class rep, of course I have to pull you along. Isn't that what leadership is?"
Truly a Western mindset.
Still, she's someone who says she'll look out for me, so I'm grateful.
"Right. Thanks. If I'm curious about something, I'll come ask. And I don't intend to stay like this, either. But, hey. I think you might be misunderstanding me a little. I'm not some weirdo or anything. I was just a bit tense, that's all."
"Hmpf."
Maybe she liked what I said, because Leona gave a small smile.
"It's a little embarrassing to introduce myself all over again, but my name is Leona Kainus. My father is a member of Mister Dominators. Well then."
"Yeah. I'm Kim Geun-cheol. Not 'Kim Geun-cheol-ie.' See ya."
Slide.
Leona turned her back and walked out of the infirmary.
"Why is she so nice?"
When I saw her trying to fight that monster, a Warp Spider, I thought she was just a battle-starved war-crazy nutjob. Turns out she's a girl with a good heart.
Heartwarming.
"Aow."
I got up too.
Whatever the case, it was my proper first day of class, and I blew it by fainting. It'll be a problem if I can't catch up because of this. Still, it's a relief that someone said she'd help. I've already gotten acquainted with Lee Si-hoo. And Leona said she'd help me as the class rep.
"But school's over, huh."
Now, do I just head back to the dorm?
Grrrowl.
"Ah, I'm so fucking hungry."
Not only did I scream my lungs out, but I've also been starved to hell, so my stomach is seriously rebelling. Good idea. Let's scout out the school a bit and figure out where the snack shop is.
Think they'll have Don-gapnaegi?
If they don't, the snack shop lady is dead meat, for real.
* * *
So I left the infirmary and was prowling the school grounds like a stray dog looking for the snack shop when it happened.
Ding.
Along with the familiar notification sound, a blue window floated up before my eyes.
―――――――――――――――――
「Quest Generated」
「Enter the Academy Cadet Training Ground」
「Reward: 100 Coin」
「Reward: Shop Unlocked」
―――――――――――――――――
"Wh-what?!"
Shop Unlocked?!
Does this mean a shop where I can actually use the coins I've been collecting?! Then this is a fucking massive jackpot, you sons of bitches! Yes! I'm finally getting something like this!
If I can just use a shop, then illusions and everything else are piss-easy!
This is exactly what I wanted!
"This is truly a beggar finding gold!!!!!!!!"
Craaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!
Overflowing with ecstasy, I let out a triumphant roar!