School Closure # 5
School Closure # 5
I knew it! Instructor Lee So-ra had the cunning to open the door and lean back, and Si-hoo and Leona were never standing in front of the door to begin with! Therefore, the only person who took a direct hit from the sonic shock wave was me...!
—KABOOM!
"Ack!"
Ultimately I was sent flying and slammed into the window again.
"Oh no! Kim Geun-cheol! Are you all right?!"
"Geun-cheol!"
My friends immediately ran over to help me up... Ah, hell. The back of my head hurts. But maybe because I'm a superhuman now?
It didn't actually hurt that much.
"Ah, I'm fine. I saw it coming."
"If you saw it coming, then move!"
"You've got a point."
I scratched the back of my head and stood up.
"You all came, very good!!!"
—BOOM!
From inside the Chairwoman's office, a massive voice erupted.
This person... she acted like she didn't care at all that she had just sent me flying. No. The thought isn't even in her head to begin with.
She just stood there smiling, looking thoroughly delighted, and said:
"You came, very good! Kim Geun-cheol! And Lee Si-hoo! You did such a big thing in the middle of the school being attacked! Very well done!"
—stomp, stomp!
The Chairwoman strode over, shouting, snatched up my hand, and shook it wildly.
"Very well done! To discover a new monster species!"
"Oh, yes... but I wasn't the only one who did it."
"Yes! Cadet Lee Si-hoo! You come here too!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Chairwoman let go of my hand and then grabbed Si-hoo's hand and shook it just as fiercely. God, I've never seen a personality so aggressively doing her own thing. And she also shook hands with Leona while she was at it. After the vigorous handshake ceremony was finished, the Chairwoman went back to her desk.
"Come in, then!"
What can you do?
Guess we follow her.
Even as she sat down, the Chairwoman kept talking loudly.
"A new monster discovery! And an extremely dangerous one at that! This is worth a perfect score on the performance evaluation! A perfect score! Lee So-ra! Give these kids a perfect score, a perfect score!"
"Understood."
A perfect score on the performance evaluation?
That raised a question, so I snuck in a little inquiry.
"Instructor Lee So-ra? Is there a performance evaluation?"
"The Chairwoman is just saying that..."
She answered as if she was completely dumbfounded. Ah, I get it. It's that special sentiment unique to high-ranking educators: shout first, think later.
"I knew my Kim Geun-cheol would do something big!!! Do you think it's easy to shout in front of the Chairwoman?!!! Of course I knew this would happen!!! I was absolutely certain he was a kid who'd go far!!! It's always the troublemakers who show some special talent!!!"
She knew something I didn't even know about myself? But honestly, calling it a special talent just because I happened to catch a monster feels a bit silly.
"Heh heh heh, isn't all of this because the Chairwoman is so blessed with good fortune? It must've been after hearing the Chairwoman's roaring voice that I got my act together and trained like crazy!"
"Of course! Absolutely! What an excellent student! Kim Geun-cheol, you are!"
The moment I fired off the standard 'buttering up an adult' greeting, I could observe the Chairwoman's mood soaring to the ends of the universe. Why does this person love taking unearned credit so much?
"I can tell at a glance. Kim Geun-cheol will definitely become a fine hero. I will arrange a separate reward for this matter. You discovered a truly fearsome new monster species... Lee So-ra. How many years has it been since a new monster species was discovered in Korea?"
"I recall it's been about 11 years."
"Ha! For our student to pull that off! I am extremely satisfied!"
11 years, that's worth celebrating.
But what do we do now?
"Kim Geun-cheol? We'll be moving soon."
"Where to?"
"We must hear the detailed report, mustn't we? A monster that transforms into a human. This is a serious matter. I'd like you to squeeze out every bit of memory you have."
"Of course."
From what I heard, the reason we came to see the Chairwoman was that she just really wanted to see our faces and insisted forcefully that we be brought immediately. Like a school principal who calls in a student who won an award from outside just to praise them.
Just then.
"Kim Geun-cheol! Do you have any questions for the Chairwoman?!"
The Chairwoman said to me.
Questions, huh.
Of course I do.
"Ah, Chairwoman. May I ask you one question?"
"As many as you like!"
"The other time when I went out for the weekend, a monster came out of a gate. Back then, a pretty dangerous situation came up, so I let out a huge scream to draw the monsters' attention, you see? But in that instant, all the monsters' aggro got pulled right onto me?"
"Ooh! You drew the monsters' aggro with a scream!"
"Yes. Could this be some kind of ability or talent?"
Well, if it's listed as a skill, it'll probably be classified as an ability. But I want to build up more proficiency. The Chairwoman is also a Scream Man— no, a Scream Woman, just like me.
She might be able to help.
"Monsters tend to react to human screams. Perhaps Kim Geun-cheol has an ability to catch that specific vocal range well! I, the Chairwoman, also have plenty of experience drawing aggro with a battle cry!"
"Ooh! Is that so! I want to develop that ability, so please, give me some good advice!"
"Try concentrating your mana into your abdomen and throat! It might be effective!"
The moment I heard that.
—Ding.
[Skill Level Up.]
[War Cry Lv.2]
A window like that popped up in front of my eyes.
"Whoa."
Wait, just hearing one piece of advice levels up my skill? This is a total goldmine!
"Thank you! I'll try it just as you advised!"
"What a diligent student indeed! Hahahahahaha! Then Lee Si-hoo, you also ask me a question!"
"Huh? Me too, ma'am?"
"Go on!"
"All right...!"
So Si-hoo went ahead and asked a question too. Si-hoo made a normal inquiry about how long the school suspension would last, and the Chairwoman's answer was remarkably straightforward.
"Classes will resume soon! I'm thinking within this week!"
"What? But a dungeon appeared at school?"
"Don't worry. The heroes and soldiers will investigate the dungeon. Well, of course, using the school building will be difficult during that time, but we'll just adjust the class schedule for something like that."
Adjust?
"It's a bit early, but I'm thinking of sending you all to training camp."
"Wait, you mean training camp?"
That training camp where you go to the beach, ride a boat for a bit, cultivate hatred for the assistant instructors who bully elementary schoolers with military-style drills, and then at the end light a bonfire and pretend it's a fun campfire while bringing up your parents, laundering the whole thing like it was a happy memory and wrapping it up all heartwarming?
I still don't know why they put little kids through that crap, but it was definitely not an enjoyable experience.
—tap, tap.
Tapping my shoulder as I stood there looking confused.
"It's a little early, but it's an outdoor class."
Instructor Lee So-ra explained.
"There's a place by the coast where they've built a set designed for urban warfare. The training camp is where we conduct class by simulating real combat in that location."
"Wait, we're actually going to train?"
"What else would you do at training camp besides train?"
Why does that make perfect sense.
You train at training camp. It somehow felt like a fresh concept. Is this for real? We're doing training at training camp?
"Since we can't use the school anyway, we're pulling forward the outdoor class schedule that takes place off-campus. If you like moving your body, it should be fairly enjoyable."
"Heh heh heh, I'm looking forward to it."
If it's about moving my body, that's more than welcome.
Well, after wrapping up the talk with the Chairwoman like that, we went to be debriefed.
* * *
The debriefing was no big deal. I just talked while looking at the report I'd written, trying to recall if I had missed anything or if I remembered anything else. I mean, what would they do, interrogate a student? I just answered diligently.
"Investigator. If a real monster infiltrates by mimicking a person, wouldn't that be a huge problem?"
"Hmm... Of course it would? But cadet, you don't have to worry. Things like that are for us to handle."
"Heh heh heh, just what I'd expect from an investigator."
For reference, the investigator was an alumnus of the school. This is exactly what hero society is. Once you go out into the world and work as a hero, everyone is either your senior or your junior. It's a kind of hero cartel.
And with the debriefing finished, we got back into Instructor Lee So-ra's car and returned.
"Nothing too hard today?"
"Listening to the Chairwoman's voice."
"Hoo, hoo hoo hoo. That is true. It can be very hard."
Instructor Lee So-ra laughed as if she'd heard something funny. Wow, but seriously, how can a voice be that loud? If the Chairwoman has a close aide, it's guaranteed that person won't have any eardrums left.
"But Kim Geun-cheol? Don't you think you have a bit in common with the Chairwoman?"
"What. A loud voice?"
"Yes. I think maybe your personalities are kind of similar too."
"Leona!!!!!"
"Kyaa! You startled me! What are you doing!"
"Imitating the Chairwoman."
"Do you want to get hit?!"
"Ah, sorry! Ah, sorry!"
If Leona hits me, I could die.
Anyway, like that, we returned to the hotel.
We said goodbye to Instructor Lee So-ra and stood in front of the hotel. It was lunchtime.
"Geun-cheol? And Leona? What shall we do from now?"
"Well, we still have plenty of time, so shall we grab a meal and then go to the training ground?"
Training ground!
"Right, Leona! Is there a training ground?"
"There's a big one nearby. Well, it doesn't have facilities like the academy, but it's good enough for training that involves swinging a sword and moving your body. Kim Geun-cheol, you? You should also train so you can soon leap over buildings to your heart's content."
Leona started her nagging.
"That ability is essential if you're going to work in Korea. You'll always be fighting in cities, so how long are you planning to use the stairs? If you can't properly leap over buildings, you can't operate in Korea."
True.
Due to its nature, most of Korea's population is concentrated in metropolitan cities. Which means that's where all the trouble happens too.
To operate there, you have to be able to freely overcome buildings. Whether it's a dense villa neighborhood or an apartment complex. You have to be able to move around those places as if they were your own home.
"Well, that's... Even if I can't do it right away, I'll get there if I put in the time. I'm tirelessly hard-working, after all."
"Hmph, that is true. Well, seeing as how things are, I'll teach you some tricks. Let's go quickly. To the training ground."
"Hell yes!"
There's nothing better than learning from Leona!
"Geun-cheol... are you taking lessons from Leona now too? You even learned swordsmanship from Yu-ri."
"Gotta take what you can get while you can get it! Let's go, Si-hoo!"
"Haah, honestly."