School Starts #8
School Starts #8
While we were at it, we chatted with the cadets of the other class and swapped brief introductions.
Looking around, everyone's pretty curious about each other, now that we'll be taking classes together. Give it a bit of time and the like-minded ones will pair off on their own.
"Whoa! Americanos! Any m'American homies out here?! A Japanese friend is fine too! Let's build friendly ties!"
—Swish!
Brian, arms spread wide, struck that rich, Western-gesture pose as he searched for a compatriot.
"Hello? What is your name?"
And did he actually find one?
Some guy called out to Brian.
"Oh?! You are American?! I'm Brian!"
"Nope. I'm Korean. But I study English."
"What are you doing now! I have been deceived! I attack you!"
"Nwaaagh!"
Warriors and mages.
When groups as different as oil and water were forced together, little scuffles broke out. Well, that kind of thing is normal in school. They'll get closer by talking and bickering.
"Kim Geun-cheol?"
As I was spectating, Leona came up to my left.
"Yeah. What's up, Leona."
"Is your arm okay?"
"Tch, I keep telling you it's fine. Leona. You don't know how Awakened bodies work? It heals fast. This scratch is nothing."
"The issue is that an Awakened got that kind of wound in the first place. What on earth happened? Now. Tell me properly. Just me. Before I yell at you."
—Smooth.
Leona leaned her ear toward me, as if to say, tell only me.
Hsssh.
This is awkward. How do I tell her I got hurt going to the Otherworld again? If it gets out that I went there again, people are going to have a lot of questions about my special situation.
Then again, if I don't tell her, she'll probably sulk... In times like these, you just gotta put on a brazen face.
"Hss! A-heh! If you don't spill, you're gonna get it! Training, my ass! What the hell were you doing to make your arm bleed like that! Hss!"
"I was training..."
"Hsssh! Hss! Spit it out!"
"Agh! I said it was a training accident!"
"Shhik! Shhik!"
Leona outright started making snake-chasing noises, glaring at me with blazing eyes and radiating pure fighting spirit!
"What's with the snake-chasing sound!"
"Shhht! Shhht! Hurry up and talk!"
"I plead the Fifth!"
"A-heh! You still intend to hide it! Fine! There are plenty of ways to find out!"
What kind of ways?
No—still, thinking about how I keep hiding things from Leona makes me feel way too guilty here.
"No, Leona... honestly, it's kind of embarrassing... what I was doing to get hurt..."
"What?"
"I said it's hard to say because it's embarrassing... as a man."
"What in the... haa. Fine. Let's say it is. Anyway, Kim Geun-cheol? Want to visit the hospital after this? It'd be better for a faster recovery, wouldn't it?"
"While I'm at it, I've got a plan to properly gauge my natural healing factor."
"I really want to poke that wound, for real! Hmph!"
"Leona!"
Leona let out a big "Hmph!" and stomped off!
Seems she's sulking because I keep dodging. How do I fix this? I'll do my best to come up with something.
"Tch."
But I heard a "tch" behind me and turned around. Ryu was standing there, arms crossed, with a clearly dissatisfied face.
"Hey, Ryu. What's got you so grumpy?"
"There aren't any worth setting my sights on. Look hard enough, and they barely reach your level."
"Whoa? You little shit? Did you just give me a compliment in there? You, praising me! That's crazy unexpected!"
I instantly turned on the doe-eyes and made a big show of being overjoyed, and the guy flinched and yelled.
"Wh-what?! Shut up! I didn't mean it like that! There's a limit to how far off a delusion can be!"
"Anyway, you're saying the good ones are at least around my level, right? Hey, you got an eye for mages too?"
"Unlike you, one look is enough for me to tell."
"Yeah?"
I looked at the Mage Class cadets again.
"Hmm."
The aura I feel from them has to be seriously different from our guys, after all. I feel like I'll get a real estimate once I see them in action.
"Then, Miss Kainus? Is it fine if I call you that?"
"As you like."
"Right. I'll do that. Let's get along as class reps from now on."
While I was talking with Ryu, I glanced at Leona and she was chatting with the Mage Class rep.
Mage Class rep, huh.
As the class rep, you can probably call him a top-tier powerhouse among the mages, right? Watching him, I got curious about his skill.
Our class's top four are, literally, existences that have broken far past normal cadet level. In terms of individual combat power, they have many aspects that surpass active heroes.
So, what about the talents in the Mage Class?
* * *
"Have you all made many new friends?"
"Looks like they've made plenty! This is the beauty of combined classes! Let's get along well with our new friends!"
"Quiet. Keep it down, Instructor Kawar. In any case, now that you've made new friends, we will take time to find out about each other's power. First, the top three from each class will demonstrate their strength."
Now that introductions are over, they're going to give us time to demonstrate power. This is very much needed. I'm seriously curious about the mages' skill.
"Leona. Lee Si-hoo. Woo Yu-ri. Step forward."
"Yes."
So the three of them go first?
Once they stepped forward and stood in front, the instructor said,
"It's a three-way free-for-all. I intend for a light display of top-tier power, so spar appropriately."
"Ha, Instructor?"
"Hmm?"
"Did you say appropriately?"
No way that's acceptable.
"In the world of contests—especially a spar between people like Leona and Si-hoo and Yu-ri—there is no 'light' and 'appropriate'... show them! Your power!"
When I yelled out loudly—
"Heh... well, I suppose we must."
"Looks like that bastard Kim Geun-cheol actually gets it."
"Then I can't back down."
The three friends raised their fighting spirit.
That's it.
I looked to the instructor for approval, and she smirked before saying,
"That said, showing your full power may also be troublesome. Well, fine. As Kim Geun-cheol said, try fighting properly. Kim Geun-cheol? Go hand out training swords."
"Yep."
I immediately brought swords to them.
"Atch-oo choo. Our lil' errand boy brought me a swor-dy?"
When I handed over the sword, Yu-ri shot me a provocative look and teased me. How the hell do I handle this cheeky little thing? Just wait until I'm stronger.
"Yu-ri. You treat me like a kid one more time and I'll spam Milky jokes every single day."
"Drop dead."
Anyway.
Let's enjoy the spar.
"Begin!"
—Whoosh!
The moment the instructor gave the signal, the three friends stepped quickly, creating distance and gauging attack timing.
That alone plainly showed their skill. Fast and agile. On top of that, there was the fighting spirit they directed at each other and the look in their eyes as they searched for openings.
"Ooh..."
"Oh."
"They're fast."
The mage kids watched with bated breath.
And then.
—Boom!
Si-hoo kicked off the ground first. Simultaneously, Leona and Yu-ri exchanged glances. Si-hoo was targeting Leona. That left Yu-ri with one choice. Assist Si-hoo, or assist Leona. With those two options, Yu-ri kicked off the ground. Whatever happens, Yu-ri currently holds the advantage! All she has to do is finish off her target!
Or so I thought, but only for a moment.
—Boom!
Leona's eyes blazed as she ignored Si-hoo and executed a thrust at the charging Yu-ri!
"...!"
Si-hoo's attack is aimed at Leona, and Leona's attack is aimed at Yu-ri. What's Yu-ri going to do?
Yu-ri's choice was—
"Hyaaaaap!"
To attack Si-hoo.
"Hoh."
That's a pretty unexpected outcome... Targeting Si-hoo? And then, in an instant. As everyone attacked each other, a delicate power balance formed.
Their attacks twisted off, and everyone gained a chance to evade. Thus all attacks went to waste and the three friends swiftly corrected their stances and aimed their swords.
Did they aim for that?
"Whoa!"
"Ooooh!"
"They're good!"
Just one exchange.
Even though it was only a feeler, they put on a nail-biting match. The mage kids who saw it cheered. Our guys really are strong.
"Good. Enough. You've given them a fine taste. Truly excellent skill. Fall back."
—Clap-clap-clap!
—Clap-clap-clap!
—Clap-clap-clap!
The friends exited to applause. I was going to go talk to them, but Ryu, standing next to me, was glaring that way with a sullen face.
What's with this guy?
Ah, no way?
"Yo, Ryu. Don't tell me you wanted to show off your skills too?"
"Guh! You! Don't talk nonsense! As if there is any reason I should need to flaunt my ability!"
"Bullshit. You lie? Just looking at you now, you can't sit still because you want to show off your brilliant prowess."
"I said shut up!"
What a shameless bastard.
"Now, now! Then we should show off our kids' skills a bit too! Our class rep Ahn Do-min! And Park Ha-yul! Seo Su-ji! Come on out!"
"Yes."
This time, the mage-side cadets stepped forward.
The class rep with the brown hair, Ahn Do-min. Then Park Ha-yul, the gloomy and depressing guy I greeted earlier. And Seo Su-ji was a girl with something like a bob cut.
"Alright, you three, show us some magic! Categories: Offense! Defense! Utility! All three, show us your specialties!"
Oh, are they classified by specialty?
"Then I'll show you my power."
Ahn Do-min, having given a cool greeting, manifested power from his hand.
—Whoosh!
A hand that instantly burst into flame.
"Oh."
"Fire Hand. That's Fire Hand."
"Fire is coming out of his hand."
"Terrible Hand Fire...!"
Since our guys can't do this, all eyes are glued. As we watched, Park Ha-yul then manifested his power.
—Woom!
A mana shield.
A literal, actual mana shield formed around him.
"Whoa! He's good!"
It's not like ours that just coats the skin or the body! Park Ha-yul made a pale purple barrier around himself, as if he were inside a translucent dome!
And then.
—Boom!
Ahn Do-min's fireball slammed into the shield.
"Hup! Rrrraaagh!"
His rate of fire is decent and the speed is solid. Ahn Do-min's fireballs erupted from his hand in succession, pounding Park Ha-yul's shield. But whether he tuned the power down or what, the shield remained intact.
"Hhhk...!"
But Park Ha-yul inside had his eyes firmly shut, fists clenched tight and trembling. He looked like a drowned rat—seems he's a bit short on nerve.
Next.
The last remaining, Seo Su-ji, stepped up.
"Yap!"
As Seo Su-ji manifested her power, Ahn Do-min's feet floated into the air. Indeed. She was a telekinetic. Just like Red Bull gives people wings, she was an ability user who gives people wings.
"Wow."
"Not bad."
"Mage types really are different."
Our classmates were impressed.
Beyond that, the three put on more of a show, displaying their physical specs and abilities.
"There, there! You all saw, right! These magical abilities! Of course, Ahn Do-min's flame magic at its current level loses to a gun against humans! How-ev-er! This kind of attack is extremely effective against monsters and monsterkin! It can shred the dimensional shields of monsters that can even withstand a tank's main gun, from a distance!"
Just as he says.
We Warrior Class have to close in to attack, but Mage-class Awakened can take out strong monsters just by bloop-bloop shooting magic from afar.
On top of that, they seem to have area-of-effect skills too. Of course, mages have lower survivability and mobility compared to Warrior Class. The physical abilities they showed at the end were similar to, or slightly below, the lower-tier kids in our class.
Even so, they're definitely above ordinary people.
The conclusion is that team play is an absolute must.
Mages are highly effective, but operating solo is difficult for them. That's why team composition matters for Awakened. A party with those mages mixed in is more efficient than a hellish melee-DPS party.
"You've seen, so you understand. Mages are very powerful and effective in ranged combat, but their physical ability is inferior to yours. Instead, you are extremely vulnerable in ranged combat. Therefore."
"You mean we have to cover each other's weaknesses?"
"Correct, Kim Geun-cheol. We will now form teams for the combined class. Come forward when your name is called."