Circle Stamp Collector and Bully Bust-Up
Prime dinner time at the hotspot. As soon as Hero Association executive Lee Jin-chang received the tip-off, he headed straight for the academy. A monster appearing inside the academy's tightly controlled grounds? That was no ordinary matter. After grilling the people involved, he learned that an egg from the queen ant, overlooked during the dungeon's initial clearing, had hatched belatedly. Something about it didn't sit right.
"What about the hatched queen ant?"
"Fortunately, it was dealt with safely."
"Any casualties?"
"None."
The instructors must have handled it well. Come to think of it, the lead instructor for dungeon practice was Kang Il-nam, a man over seventy. No way that unremarkable old guy had managed it properly, so the sub-instructor must have stepped up.
"A queen ant is monster-class, so it must have been a tough fight even for them. Who's the sub-instructor?"
An unexpected answer came from one of the involved parties.
"It wasn't the instructor—the cadet handled it."
"Huh? A cadet? Wasn't this incident on the freshman side?"
"Yes."
"And a cadet took it down...?"
"A single cadet did it alone, not a group."
"Alone...?"
A name immediately flashed in Lee Jin-chang's mind.
"Choi Ji-seong?"
"No."
"Han Cheol-woo? Yoo Seong-won?"
"Not one of the famous ones. It was a cadet with an unusual name... uh... right, Imir. I think it was Imir."
"Imir... Imir, huh."
Come to think of it, that was the name he'd overheard in the president's office during the class placement exam while verifying demons. The cadet who'd trailed behind a pretty girl the whole test.
"Ah, the perceptive cadet."
"Perceptive cadet?"
"No, I mean... anyway, this guy took it down solo?"
"Yes."
"Dungeon practice is team response training, right? What about the other kids on his team?"
"Our investigation shows one passed out, and the other just provided support. So effectively, he handled it alone... but honestly, it's hard to believe."
"Hmm... solo, huh."
A queen ant was among the trickier monster-class beasts, its thick exoskeleton granting natural mana immunity that made it impossible for cadets to handle normally. And a freshman took it down? Alone?
"...I don't buy it either."
"Exactly. But the kids with him have no reason to lie, so it must be true."
"If it was starved or weakened, maybe... Any CCTV or recordings?"
"Unfortunately, the nearby cameras and practice drones were all down during the incident."
"How convenient. Doesn't add up."
Lee Jin-chang fell deep into thought. A monster-class beast popping up inside the academy was weird enough, but a freshman cadet handling it? And no footage? It made even less sense.
"Should I call him in?"
"What?"
"You're going to investigate, right? That freshman, Imir."
"No, no."
He wasn't the only Hero Association hero probing the academy. Park Dae-sik. The real secret mission to root out demons was entirely under Hellhound Park Dae-sik's purview. Due to its nature, Lee Jin-chang was the public-facing cover. His "real" job was just a smokescreen to fool the demons—a diversion tactic.
"...Still, intriguing."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing, just mumbling."
Perceptive cadet... Imir. Hmm, maybe look into him personally. Lee Jin-chang gazed up at the academy's towering building, lost in thought. Investigating on the side couldn't hurt.
Originally practice class time, but due to the dungeon incident, all sessions this week were on indefinite hold. Thanks to that, I used the free time to tour the circles. Hunting, travel, reading, exploration... After joining about four, something clicked. So I signed up for volunteer work, religion, athletics, research, engineering... and every other one of the academy's twelve circles.
After the final music circle, I checked—and sure enough, my hunch was right.
‘Circle Stamp Collector’
3,000 points acquired!
"Knew it!"
I'd figured there'd be at least one achievement, and there it was. Circles let you join without much activity, so a bit of effort netted 3,000 points. Sweet deal.
"Jackpot—3,000 points... There must be more hidden ones like this."
Hidden achievements paid big due to their rarity. Target them right, and points pile up fast.
"Oh."
Come to think of it, there was that library book-sorting achievement. Might as well do it. Solid plan. As I moved to act—
"Ow, you bitch! What the hell?!"
A shout echoed from somewhere.
"You slut. Answer me!"
Profanity...?
"S-sorry..."
"Sorry fix everything?!"
"I'm sorry..."
"Fuck, this bitch won't talk sense. Stop apologizing and tell me what you're gonna do about my score!"
"My score too!"
For some reason, the apologetic voice sounded familiar. Who was it? Curiosity piqued, I headed toward the source.
"...Ah."
At the dim foot of the stairs, Go Su-young was cornered by two female cadets, getting an earful.
"Because of you, our dungeon practice scores are basically zero!"
"If you'd just stayed put like the others, we'd have gotten basic points...! What the hell is 'team member lost'—full deduction?!"
Right, during dungeon practice, Go Su-young had lost her team and wandered off. Non-recording cadets got scores from footage, and her team's blunder tanked them.
"S-sorry..."
"Say sorry one more time and you're dead."
"......"
This was the spark that turned Go Su-young into a pariah—class bully first, then school-wide. Choi Ji-seong saves her later, earning her loyalty.
"...Hmm."
What to do? She's originally Choi Ji-seong's rescue quest. But my gut says big points involved. Wouldn't I stepping in net more?
As I pondered—
"Ugh, just take a few hits."
The unusually tall female cadet swung a fist. I couldn't just watch.
I moved fast.
"Wha?!"
The tall girl panicked as I grabbed her fist.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"What're you doing?"
"What?"
"Violence ain't right, no matter what."
The tall girl's face twisted. Her uniform nametag read Pyo Ji-won. Ah, the twin bully...
"Butt out. Mind your business."
"Sounds like it's about yesterday's practice... Team training's for the team, right? You two innocent?"
As I spoke, I squeezed her fist harder. Her face grew uglier.
"Ow, fine... ugh... let go of my hand. Hurts!"
I released. As the tall one rubbed her hand, the dwarf-like girl beside her spoke.
"You're that guy? The one who soloed the monster in practice..."
I nodded shallowly in reply.
The tall one startled.
"Monster? Oh, her... I-Imir?"
She panicked visibly, nudging the dwarf. My presence weighed heavy. They exchanged glances, then decided. Growling at Go Su-young, they backed off.
"Watch your back."
"We'll see you later."
Classic bully types—weak to the strong, strong to the weak. The academy sifts those seeds, I guess.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah... thanks."
Despite her words, tension broke—her face a mess of tears and snot. In a real fight, she'd crush them. Her talent could shred ten like them, me included.
"Here."
I pulled tissues from my pocket and handed them over.
"Thanks."
"Can you get back to the dorm alone?"
"Yeah..."
She said yes, but I escorted her anyway.
"Call an instructor next time."
"Okay..."
Pure point optimization.
"Thanks... really."
"No biggie. Rest up."
I settled her in the dorm and turned—
"......"
Mo Ye-ji stood there. We keep bumping into each other.
"......You."
Her glare was sharp, almost stinging. Something piss her off? Ignoring the statue-stiff girl, I headed to the library.
On the way, points check: 800 as expected. Point buffet confirmed. Go Su-young's a stable yield.