Combined Class #2
Combined Class #2
The discussion period started again.
We still had a whole hour before we could go eat, and the level of cooperation from the bastards in front of me was just pathetic.
Eventually, after talking only with Park Ha-yul for a while, I got straight to the point with Ma O-hun.
"Hey, you. Ma O-hun. I'm telling you, we can only get a high score if you cooperate properly. This goes into your grade, so hurry up and reveal it. How are we supposed to fight without knowing an ally's abilities?"
"How childish."
"What's supposedly childish now?"
"Childish."
"No, what's childish?"
"Worrying about scores and such. There's no need to care... It's just a score decided by others, after all. It can't reveal the true me."
Having said that, as if he'd just spoken some deeply profound truth, Ma O-hun pulled out his phone and started playing a game.
"Oh, for fuck's sake! You bastard! Others this, reveal that—it's your school grade!"
"The evaluations of others... don't matter to me at all."
I can't exactly pick this bastard up and throw him!
"Beep! Instructor Kawar! Beep! Beep! Where's Instructor Kawar!"
I looked, and Instructor Kawar was just sitting over there, beaming at this side!
I'm registering a formal complaint!
"Ah, Kim Geun-cheol? What is the matter? Trouble with a student from my class, perhaps?"
"It's lovey-dovey trouble! That kid, Ma O-hun! What the hell is his deal!"
"Ahh, Ma O-hun, is it?"
What's with that smirk!
"He's a reasonably decent ability user, apparently!"
"But he says he won't tell us his ability!"
"Try persuading him nicely!"
How irresponsible can you be!
"No, does that even make sense! Instructor! How can he still have zero cooperation after an entire first semester! I cannot believe this!"
The time equivalent to a first semester is more than enough to inject a level of cooperativeness and organizational adaptability necessary for executing operations, up to the level of special forces. If I were the instructor, that's the very first thing I'd have done.
"Haha, now that's another difference from the Close Combat Class."
But Instructor Kawar replied with the most leisurely expression in the world.
"Unlike the frank and strong Close Combat Class, with its nearly uniform abilities... the Mage Class? Each individual's personality is important, so they say we barely touch that area in the first year!"
"What the—!"
Even if you value individuality, this is too much!
"Their personalities are overflowing!"
That overweight kid with a terminal case of middle school delusion is acting like he's the coolest guy in the world while glued to a phone game!
"What can you do? For magic-type abilities, the individual's ego and personality matter most. Well, Kim Geun-cheol? Once you're out in society, you'll see kids like Ma O-hun are really nothing special. Think of it as experiencing that early. Go persuade him well. When you're actually out there, you'll find loads of people who won't listen to a word. Consider it a practice drill."
"Grrr...!"
And it just had to be me doing this practice drill?
I had no choice but to return to where my squad members were.
"U-uh... s-sorry... for being such a... unhelpful person..."
Park Ha-yul stammered an apology, but honestly, even if she's a bit timid and introverted, as long as she's willing to work together in class, a drawback like being introverted doesn't bother me at all.
"It's fine. As long as you cooperate, there's no problem. Don't apologize for that, and just help me convince Ma O-hun."
"O-okay..."
"Go try talking to him."
"M-me...? Th-that's... it might be... a little difficult... I think..."
Gulping, Park Ha-yul cautiously approached and spoke to Ma O-hun.
"Ex-excuse me... Ma O-hun..."
"...Don't."
"Huh?"
"Don't talk to me, woman."
Gah!
"I'm seriously losing it! You bastard! I care about my grades, so spit out your ability now!"
"Annoying."
"Fine!"
If I hoist him up and sprint him around the hallway, he'll come to his senses.
Maybe it's a bit harsh, but this is a dead-serious combat class. If you won't cooperate, you have to be made to cooperate.
It's not like I'm hitting him, so it'll be fine.
"You stay right there!"
"...Tch!"
—Whoosh!
And so, I hoisted the massive Ma O-hun right up.
"I don't like people touching me."
"I hate it too, dumbass! Just tell me your damn ability!"
"Haa... This is why modern people are..."
At that moment,
—Fwoosh!
Suddenly, a black light burst from Ma O-hun's body.
—Shwip!
"What the?!"
Pitch-black angel wings made of mana sprouted from behind his back! Startled, I tossed him away, and the bastard casually floated in midair, crossed his legs, and pushed up his glasses!
"You should be satisfied now."
"This bastard...!"
"This is my ability."
—Schwarz Flügel.
"That is all."
Crazy...!
"So damn cool!"
His ability name is Black Wings, for fuck's sake!
"For a modern man, you do recognize style. You there. I'd appreciate it if you opened the window."
Park Ha-yul opened the nearby window.
—Swoosh.
Ma O-hun extended a finger gun toward it.
And then.
—Papapapapat!
Black light bullets shot from the tip of his finger like a machine gun!
"Whoa! You bastard, fuck! That's so fucking awesome! He's the crystallization of style! Hey, Ma O-hun! What the hell are you! Crazy...! Schwarz Flügel, fuck, that's so goddamn stylish! Whoa!"
I'm going mad!
Why does a bastard like him have such a ridiculously cool ability! Fuck, he has black angel wings behind his back! And he shoots light bullets from his hand!
"That's cheating! Cheating!"
Totally cheating!
"Heh... This is why I was reluctant to reveal it."
"Fuck! If you had this kind of ability, you should've said so earlier! It's insane! Crazy, fuck! Schwarz Flügel! Whoa! That's mad stylish!"
"Heh, heheh... heheheh!"
"H-hehehe."
"Hehehehehe!"
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Ma O-hun grabbed his face and laughed on the ground, and I bent over backward, clutching my stomach and laughing too.
"So were you originally German?"
"Don't concern yourself with my nationality."
"Bastard's got nothing but style. Whoa, but fuck, a technique this cool is the first I've ever seen..."
—Swoop.
It was then.
Ryu brushed past my side.
"Ryu?"
But it wasn't the ordinary Ryu.
"Huh?"
This bastard... was clad in armor.
And super stylish armor at that.
Startled, I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
"M-mana armor?"
It was an intricately shaped, magnificent armor made purely of mana. He walked past me, clad in it.
"H-hey! Ryu, you!"
"Shut up."
"What?"
"I just did some technique practice, that's all. I'll step out for a bit."
Leaving those words behind, Ryu walked out of the classroom.
"What was that?"
Did this bastard think he'd lose to Ma O-hun in the style department and deliberately deploy his armor?
I told you, it's childish.
"But it was fucking cool, though."
Anyway, now that I knew the abilities of my squad members, we could have a proper tactical discussion.
A flying, air-type ranged dealer is actually a pretty damn good card to have.
* * *
It was her first Combined Class. Naturally, she should be concentrating to get a good grade, but Woo Yu-ri's gaze was directed elsewhere.
'That bastard Kim Geun-cheol...'
Looking over, Kim Geun-cheol was only having an excited conversation with that girl in his squad, Park Ha-yul. It was too noisy around her to hear clearly, but from what she saw, he was leaving the big guy alone and only talking to the girl.
She had pointed it out earlier too, but wasn't he being a little too obvious?
'Are those really better?'
Woo Yu-ri glanced downward for a moment.
'Mine aren't exactly lacking, you know... Whatever.'
She checked on Kim Geun-cheol again, and he was still only talking to the girl.
Come to think of it, Kim Geun-cheol, that bastard, subtly has a lot of girls around him. As for guys, aside from those clumsy ones and Lee Si-hoo, wasn't there only Ryu Cheon-hwi?
"..."
The moment she resolved she'd need to keep a careful eye on him.
"Whoa! You bastard, fuck! That's so fucking awesome!"
Kim Geun-cheol's voice burst out, sounding all excited.
"Huh?"
Looking over, the big guy had deployed black angel wings and was floating in the air, showing off his power. A fairly flashy and amazing ability.
But that wasn't all.
—Papapapak!
The guy was spraying light bullets from his fingertips.
"Wow. Yu-ri. I guess since they're the Mage Class, there are a lot of kids with unusual abilities."
"Seems so. That is pretty amazing."
As she responded to Lee Si-hoo, Seo Su-ji, standing next to them, spoke up.
"It's flashy, but it's not that strong of an ability."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He can fly, but not fast. And those light bullets have a good rate of fire and speed... but the power's too weak to catch high-rank monsters with that alone. He'd be great at crushing small fry, but flying around all flashy like that would just make him a target, right?"
"Oh. That's true."
Must be why she knows so much, being in the same class.
"The one next to him, Park Ha-yul, is better, actually. Her defensive ability is really outstanding."
"I'd kinda like to test that out."
"Huh? School violence?"
"Strength test, I said strength test. A barrier strength test."
If Kim Geun-cheol were here, she thought, he'd have made a joke about a 'rapist test.' Anyway, Woo Yu-ri fixed her gaze on Kim Geun-cheol again.
It's not good to only keep trying to talk to one girl.
* * *
"Fucking Ma O-hun bastard."
It was fine up to the point where he showed off his ability earlier, but after that, he reverted to an uncooperative attitude, as if his entire job was done. Looks like he plans to act only when he feels like it. We'll see about that.
I can only let coolness slide for so long.
If it interferes with class, as the acting squad leader, I'll enforce an iron-fisted rule.
"Guys! Let's go eat!"
"Yes, let's go to the cafeteria today."
"Sounds good."
Leona agreed, sticking to my left side. I had no idea what to say if she asked about the wound again... but gauging her mood, it didn't seem like she'd ask right now.
"Geun-cheol. But earlier, that guy was incredible, right? Those wings and all."
"Right? But his personality is even more incredible."
Si-hoo must have seen the whole thing too, as she mentioned it was amazing.
Honestly, it was the very essence of style. Schwarz Flügel. Black Wings, he said. Imagining my own appearance with black angel wings bursting from my back sent a literal shiver down my spine.
The so-called Lucifer Geun-cheol Mode.
Why don't I have a skill like that?
"Anyway, his personality is so incredible it drives me nuts. The kid didn't cooperate at all."
But his personality was the real flaw. A guy who traded his personality for style. When I put it that way, Yu-ri teased me.
"Hey, hey. Cooperate my ass. That's because you only talked to Park Ha-yul."
"No, what are you talking about! I'm telling you, no!"
You've been on about this since earlier!
"Leona. You see? This bastard Kim Geun-cheol, he was animatedly talking only with the girl in his squad."
"No way, would Kim Geun-cheol really do that! There's no way he would!"
That's my Leona!
"No, Woo Yu-ri, seriously. What did I do to deserve this slander?"
Anyway, the kids were all worked up because of the Combined Class. So I was about to ask Si-hoo how her squad was doing, when.
"Heheh, Park Ha-yul?"
Si-hoo suddenly looked at me.
—Smirk.
And smiled a strangely triumphant smile.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's nothing at all."
How anticlimactic.
Anyway, we walked into the cafeteria while having that conversation. And the aroma of food hit us the moment the door opened.
Ahh.
What's the themed menu for today?
"My goodness. Tacos? We must eat tacos today!"
To think they're serving tacos as a school lunch!
* * *
I finished the meal pleasantly with my friends and went back. For the next class, the instructor would give us a hypothetical situation, and we just had to come up with a good plan for how to deal with it and submit it.
—Ding-ding-ding.
As I was talking with the kids about that, the bell rang.
"Alright, work hard in class."
"Yes. You too, Kim Geun-cheol."
"Geun-cheol, hang in there."
I headed straight to my squad.
"What the? Ha-yul? You're the only one here? Where's Ma O-hun?"
No one was there but Ha-yul.
"Yeah... I don't know..."
Still that timid voice.
"Really? But hey, did you eat okay?"
"Yeah... I ate... at the campus store..."
"So she was at the campus store crowd too."
But why don't I remember her there?
"Alright, alright. Class is starting. Is everyone here?"
"Ma'am, Instructor. There's one person missing here."
"Hmm? Let's see... Ma O-hun, it is. Go tell him to come quickly."
But I don't know his contact info.
—Tick-tock, tick-tock.
But time passed, and he still didn't come.
"Kim Geun-cheol? Go find him and bring him back."
"Oh my god, seriously. Yes. I'll go find him, then."
Where the hell am I supposed to find this bastard? This Combined Class is so astonishing from day one it's driving me insane.
"Guys! Anyone know where Ma O-hun is?"
I asked out loud before I left. It was better to ask than to search blindly. All the Mage Class kids were here right now, after all.
"Try the school rooftop!"
The telekinetic in Yu-ri and Si-hoo's squad, Seo Su-ji, immediately answered.
"Rooftop?"
What rooftop?
"Yeah! There's a high chance he's there!"
Hearing that, I went straight to the rooftop to find him.
"That son of a bitch."
Ma O-hun was leaning his back against the rooftop railing, staring up at the sky.
"Huh."
One leg stretched straight out, the other bent with an arm resting on his knee in a cool pose. And where the hell did he get those black gloves?
"Hey! Ma O-hun! Class started! Get over here now!"
"Do not disturb my contemplation."
"Are you a crazy pig or something?"