Field Trip # 3
Field Trip # 3
"Seriously, the lungs on this guy are something else... Hey. Starting over."
"But seriously, didn't you see it happen? They all came charging right at me after hearing that."
"Any human being would get aggro from hearing that, you lunatic!"
Woo Yu-ri shouted like she couldn't believe it.
"If you didn't get aggro from hearing that, you must not have ears, right?"
"Heh heh heh, Woo Yu-ri, man, you know how to compliment people?"
"What the—ugh. Forget it. This guy's personality just gets funnier every time I see him. Hurry up and get back into stance."
"Yes, ma'am."
Anyway, training started again. I got back into position right away and waited for Woo Yu-ri's attack. Let's get this intense training started.
"This time I'm actually going to hit you, so don't chicken out."
"What?!"
This crazy chick is actually going to attack?!
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The moment I threw my guard up and dropped my stance!
"Pfft."
A laugh from above.
What?
"It's a joke, dumbass. Why would I suddenly actually hit you in the middle of training?"
"What the—you little shit."
"The fact that you flinched when I said I'd hit you for real just proves the training was pointless. Hey. Whether it's a spar or actual combat, real attacks are gonna fly at you. Think you'll be any use then?"
"Ah... Okay, that's a good point."
It caught me off guard, but I could accept the reasoning. Yeah. I didn't flinch before because I knew she wasn't hitting me. The second she said she'd hit me for real, I flinched.
Gotta fix that.
"Funny bastard. Anyway, again. Training not to flinch. This is meant for actual combat too. A guy who screams the moment someone says they'll hit him for real is talking about swinging a sword. Gonna get it right or what?"
Woo Yu-ri nagged me while spinning her sword around.
"Ah shit. It's my first time, alright. Again. Let's go again."
"Alright, first. Put on the guards for your arms and legs. How about we do some training focused on that?"
"That works. It doesn't hurt, right?"
"It's sparring gear, why would it hurt?"
—Whirr.
She immediately used the training ground kiosk and put the guards on me. Shoulders, arms, and legs.
"I don't think my eardrums would survive starting with your face right away. I'll only hit where the guards are, so steel yourself. You scream, you're in for it. Got it?"
"Yes."
And so.
—Crack!
—Crack!
The getting-hit training commenced.
"Hup! Heh! Unf! Oogk!"
"Stop making weird noises!!!"
Like I can control that!!!
* * *
"Seriously, Woo Yu-ri has zero mercy. She just smacks the hell out of me. Yells at me for screaming, too. Total bully, man. Bully."
And that yellow hair seals it. Definitely a bully.
"Geun-cheol... If you scream like that, any instructor is gonna want to hit you."
"It's my first time, cut me some slack. Whew. Getting hit as part of training is pretty rough, you know?"
Still, I think it'll build up my nerve if I keep at it. Woo Yu-ri is a swordsmanship dojo daughter, isn't she? Obviously she knows how to teach a guy like me.
—Pat pat pat!
That's the kind of stuff I talked about with Si-hoo while running. We'd promised to hit the gym together tonight.
We jogged lightly until we broke a sweat, then went over and stood by the machines.
"Hey, Geun-cheol. The field trip's tomorrow, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I think we're going to tour a farm or something? Let's stick together."
"Okay."
"Oh, right. I think they said it takes a little over an hour to get there. We've still got time, so after we finish here, wanna hit the snack shop?"
"Why the snack shop?"
"We need something to munch on during the bus ride. Otherwise I won't last."
Training camp, field trip—every journey begins on the bus. My mouth gets bored without snacks.
"Gotta bring something to chew on."
"Heh heh heh, that sounds good. Eating chips or something on the way would be nice."
"Then let's hurry up and destroy our chests."
"Huh? What? Whaaaat?!"
"Let's destroy our chests. Mercilessly. Brutally. I'm gonna annihilate it."
"Me-mercilessly, brutally?!"
—Startled!
Si-hoo suddenly yelped in surprise.
The hell's with this guy?
He gets startled like this from time to time, and I can never predict the timing.
"What even startled you, man?"
"Nothing! It's nothing!"
Si-hoo turned away, face bright red. This dude... does he hate chest exercises? Didn't seem like it before.
"Lee Si-hoo, what is this, man? You're freaking me out when you keep doing that."
"It's, it's just...! Uh! Ah! I just remembered I skipped a workout the other day! Gotta double up on chest! Haha!"
Oh, that's what it was?
"Then let's annihilate it, quick. The chest has to be annihilated as brutally as possible."
"Uh, yeah... Right. A-annihilated as brutally as possible."
"Let's go!"
And so I did my workout with Si-hoo. Just like I'd said, I brutally annihilated my chest.
If I work hard at this, my strength stat will probably go up again. That's the goal. Anyway, that aside, I really feel like I made good use of the day today. After I get back, I'll do some mana meditation too, and honestly, every day is just packed full.
Oh, but I have to study too... crap.
"Haah. Geun-cheol. You all done?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's go to the snack shop."
"Sure."
Finished with the gym, changed clothes, and headed straight for the snack shop. It's something I always feel, but working out leaves me all sweaty and gross. But if I shower at the gym and then leave, it somehow feels like I'll just have to shower again once I get home, so I'm never really into that idea.
So I'm the type who always goes home and showers there.
"Geun-cheol, what should I get? It's my first time, so I don't know what to pick."
"Another first time? Just pick any drink and any chips. It's only about an hour and a half away anyway, we don't need much."
We went into the empty self-service snack shop and picked out chips. Man, though. Snack shopping before a field trip. I'm completely used to the high school life now.
"Oh! Geun-cheol! What are the chips in this tube thing?"
"Those are Pringles. Okay. Bus ride means Pringles. No question."
They're convenient since your hands don't get messy and they come in a tube. After that, Si-hoo and I bought our stuff and walked outside.
Once we were out, it was already dark outside.
"Let's head back."
"Yeah."
Okay, time to go back to the dorms, then.
"Hey, Geun-cheol."
"Yeah, what's up."
"How do I put this. I keep thinking about that sudden gate."
"Ah, that."
Of course I'm thinking about it too.
Since it was called a main quest.
"I've kind of got an ominous feeling about it. A gate that just appeared out of nowhere... Somehow it feels like an omen that a big incident is about to happen."
"Dude. You've got good instincts?"
"Huh?"
"I'm thinking the same thing. If anything, things have been too peaceful up until now. Right? Since the Dimension War, every country has been handling the gate situation without any massive damage."
Large-scale disasters happen once in a while, but there's never been a threat that shook the nations themselves. The A-rank monsters still get subjugated one way or another, after all.
"The old world wars were the same way. They broke out suddenly. Something huge might actually go down this time."
I deliberately put on a tone like I was just imagining a dark future, but I know. I know that fucking disaster is coming.
"Yeah. I think so too."
"So we've gotta get stronger."
"Geun-cheol. If something like that happens later, we have to work together and protect people."
"Of course."
"With me and Geun-cheol working together, there's nothing to be afraid of. First, I'll rescue people, and then Geun-cheol pulls aggro with a scream. That'd be perfect."
"What am I, Scream Man? Heh heh heh."
Shooting the breeze with Si-hoo like that, I got back to the dorms.
Tomorrow is the field trip.
* * *
"Haaah."
Back in her room, Lee Si-hoo set her bag down and took off her clothes.
"Geun-cheol, that guy seriously...!"
Her heart had been pounding and her face burning ever since earlier, making it hard to bear.
"A-annihilate c-chests mercilessly and brutally...!"
The heat rose again, and her chest itched. It must be because he's a same-sex friend that he says those things without any hesitation. She was disguised as a boy, but the act felt too perfect, leaving her with a strange feeling.
"What exactly happens if you annihilate chests mercilessly and brutally?!"
Face bright red, Lee Si-hoo unwrapped the bandages that were tightly binding her chest. With a soft, jiggling sound, what had been hidden inside burst free.
What would happen if chests were annihilated mercilessly? The pointless question lingered.
"Aaah!"
Overcome with embarrassment, Lee Si-hoo threw herself onto the bed.
"Aaaauuugh!"
—Thump thump!
She just kicked the innocent bed.
* * *
"Alright, alright. Everyone board the bus in numerical order. I will not tolerate switching seats. This is to ensure we can respond more easily in an emergency, so sit in your assigned seats."
A small chorus of boos followed Instructor Lee So-ra's words. This is a blatant disregard for students who want to sit with their friends...!
"Shush."
Anyway, you can't mouth off to the instructors. We got on the bus in numerical order. Once I got on and found my seat.
"What the hell. Ryu?"
Ryu was sitting by the window.
So Ryu is my bus partner today, huh.
"Hah...! Of all people, I get stuck with the Taliban bastard! Get lost!"
"Get lost, my ass. You wanna get chewed out by the instructor? Scooch."
"Damn it!"
The moment I sat down, Ryu whipped his head around.
Okay. I'll be quiet today. I couldn't exactly mouth off to the person sitting right next to me. Just having him snap and yell at me would hurt.
"Ugh, fine. I'll be quiet today."
After saying that, I opened my bag. First thing, let's get the drink and Pringles set up.
"..."
Ryu was staring out the window like he didn't want anything to do with me.
"I will now begin the headcount. You there. You switched seats. Go back."
"Ah, Instructor."
"Now."
Instructor Lee So-ra conducted the headcount and sent the kids who'd swapped seats back to their original spots.
"No issues. Let's depart."
"Yes, ma'am."
And so the bus departed.
—Vroooom.
Man, my heart's pounding?
Feels just like I'm heading off to a training camp or something. Fun memories are bubbling right up. Whether it's a training camp or a field trip, it's basically the same as getting a room with your friends and messing around, so it's nothing but fun.
"Nice."
So let's begin the snacking, shall we?
—Pop.
I popped the lid off the Pringles and peeled back the seal. Inside were... processed potato chips. Nothing could be more tempting. My precious treasure.
"Ah."
I put the opening straight up to my mouth, tilted my head back, and shoved five chips in at once.
—Crunchesh.
"Whoa, shit. That is freaking delicious."
The sensation of the potato chips crumbling in my mouth. Yeah. This is what potato chips are all about. It's so delicious I could cry.
—Crunchesh crunchesh.
I kept devouring the Pringles.
As I was doing that.
"...What is that."
"What?"
Ryu muttered from beside me.
"Shut up."
"What? Shut up? Hey, Ryu. What did you just say?"
"I said shut up. You noisy brute."
Ryu said with an annoyed look.
"What's with the noisy eating? Is even your table manners Taliban? Are you?"
"Do the Taliban have a culture of eating loudly?"
"I don't even want to know that!"
This bastard, don't tell me?
"Bullshit."
"Bullshit? You dare insult me again!"
"Not bullshit. You want some, don't you?"
—Shake shake.
I shook the can I was holding.
"I said, you want some."
"Hah...! Don't be ridiculous!"
Just looking at this guy's eyes, he was one hundred percent in a state of wanting some.
"Who said they'd want something that looks like dynamite! How fitting for a Taliban bastard to pick a snack that resembles a bomb!"
"Does literally everything in the world look like a bomb to you?"
Is this some kind of upper-class PTSD?
"Quit bitching and just eat it. I'll get you some."
"Hah...!"
Judging from when he ate the cola and Don-gapnaegi, this bastard seems to like junk food. He'll definitely like Pringles too. For a rich young master, his taste is cheap as hell.
"Ahuh. Don't be like that, just try some. Give it a try."
So the moment I took out a Pringle and held it out to him.
"Hah! Shut up!"
—Whack!
The bastard smacked my hand!
"Noooo?!"
And with that, the Pringle went flying into the air! My precious, delicious, processed potato chip went not into a mouth but straight to the floor!
"Th-that's why I told you to shut up! I—!"
"Hey! Hey! You bastard! Isn't that going way too far?!"
"What!"
"Hey! Yeah! I felt a little bad eating alone so I tried to give you some, and this is the thanks I get! Fuck you! I'll just stuff my face all by myself from now on! How dare you wreck food!"
"W-wait!"
I'm seriously hurt, goddammit!
Wrecking a potato chip!
Ryu Cheon-hwi, you bastard, we're done!
—Clunk.
I jammed the Pringles can straight into the cup holder in front of my seat.
That moment.
"Tch!"
Ryu let out a "Tch" and snatched my can! Then he tilted his head back and devoured every single one of my remaining potato chips!
—Crunchesh crunchesh!
"Disgustingly flavorless! Happy now!"
"You, you bastard...!"
He ate all of mine!!!