Summer Comprehensive Training (5)
Hwa Yujin's unbelievable heroics, witnessed with their own eyes, set the observation stands ablaze with fervor.
Was it because he'd crushed a trap problem designed to impose unfair odds on the cadets, something not meant to be cleared in the first place? That alone was certainly praiseworthy. But it wasn't unprecedented. This academy had produced geniuses who transcended norms time and again. None of the Five Heroes had failed to stand out from their first year.
However,
"Is that Creation? No way! I've never heard of a first-year using Creation!"
"No chance. It's probably some kind of Unique Ability manifestation. Even awakening a Unique Ability in your first year is impressive enough to deserve acclaim."
"Hard to say for sure from the screen, but that thing he fired off was definitely a real, solid object. No Unique Ability alone could produce that. Even if one could, it'd classify as Creation."
"You saying that's possible? Any precedents?"
"No precedents that I know of, but theoretically, nothing says it can't be done. Creation is just applying the Three Core Laws simultaneously, right? If you've got the sense for it, it's feasible!"
"You think that kind of sense drops from the sky, idiot?! A first-year having it at all is the weird part!"
"Who the hell is that kid? He was the first to spot the monster disguised as a human earlier too. Fresh talent, green as can be!"
"What about his Unique Ability? Even if it's not combat-oriented, that level of skill means he's got frontline potential already! Makes the academy's role even more crucial."
The birth of a genius of an unseen type. Everyone was buzzing with excitement, but I alone sat calmly, gazing up at the scoreboard.
I'm different from those heroes.
I had knowledge from playing the original game. It wasn't perfect—lacking in many ways compared to natives of this world—but when it came to Yujin's potential, no one knew more than me.
That's why I could be even more precisely, minutely shocked.
What the hell? How many awakening stages did he just skip? Why?!
The protagonist of Big Team Academy, Yujin, starts with average specs. You can scrape by early on, but as his sex slaves get buffs and power up, Yujin himself falls behind without any real upgrades. The other girls get great Unique Abilities plus training buffs, while Yujin has effectively none and mediocre stats—it's only natural.
And if he got taken out by enemies, game over regardless of the party's survival. The meta play was to quickly train cost-effective girl characters for the main party and bench Yujin.
This game was ero-training sim, not pure SRPG, so most players followed that meta.
But every gaming community has its rebels who ditch the meta. People who force the protagonist into the front lines for self-imposed hard mode, no need to.
The devs prepared a special easter egg for them: the protagonist's hidden talent, separate from his Unique Ability. A special sense for wielding Creation.
Awakening it turns the increasingly useless baggage into an irreplaceable unique unit. Not some overpowered munchkin, but usable. The process means dragging a dead weight protagonist through the whole awakening, missing out on plenty—basically a penalty playstyle.
Still, better than nothing. Plenty of players project themselves onto the protagonist and want him to shine.
I'd planned to guide Yujin that way too. Supplement training to balance his Sense Qi, Emit Qi, and Gather Qi. Hit Fluid Gates hard in second year for combat experience. During training sex, infuse him with my qi to get him used to external qi formation.
But now he'd skipped every single step and bloomed his talent on his own.
Does that even make sense?
"...I should be happy about it."
A siren wailed in my head.
Yujin couldn't have grown stronger for no reason. There had to be some catalyst for that explosive progress. Positive or negative? Unknown. But my instincts detected a clear risk signal from that black box.
A possibility...
I bolted from my seat and ran toward where Yujin was.
Training complete! Gate core destroyed—gate dismantling in progress. Cadets, please remain in position for review and further instructions.
The examiner's voice over the loudspeaker dripped with bewilderment.
They'd probably accounted for the possibility of beating the Shadow Giant, the Harvester. But not this fast, with this few people—and not average-or-below Yujin, but him specifically. No wonder they were stunned.
Even Hwa Yujin himself was no exception.
"...Did I do that? How?"
Staring blankly at the disintegrating Shadow Giant, he couldn't believe his own achievement. His legs gave out late, and I caught him as he collapsed, pulling him upright.
"Hyowon?"
Training was over anyway, so my intrusion didn't matter. More importantly: fact-checking.
I pressed my ear to his chest, focusing my mind.
His heart pounded rapidly, battle excitement not yet faded. Even after the crisis ended, the rhythm didn't slow—it accelerated.
Makes sense. Even in training, facing that monster would've been terrifying.
But I needed to sense not just the heartbeat, but the qi permeating it.
Concentrating to the limit, I probed the nature of the qi inside him.
And there it was.
Undeniably, qi that wasn't Yujin's own.
Kiru's, most likely.
"Hey, Hwa Yujin...!"
I raised my voice to interrogate what happened, but his arm clamped my shoulder like a vice, cutting me off.
What the—? Why's this guy—?
"Sorry, Hyowon. You were worried about me, right? Thanks, really."
"...???"
Worried about you? Why? It's just training. Even if you got hurt, it's not like you'd die for real. What was there to worry about?
"Didn't expect you'd care this much. Made all that effort worth it. To get rewarded this quick..."
"..."
Awkward. Telling a guy beaming with genuine joy that I straight-up didn't care felt off.
I turned my head slightly, embarrassed, and tossed out a jab.
"I only worried a little, idiot."
I did worry—a tiny bit. Yeah, let's compromise on that.
"Got it. Yeah, sorry. Friends worry a little, right."
"...Let go already. How long you planning to hug me?"
"Oh, sorry. Keeps happening. Honestly happy you worried."
Realizing what he'd done, Yujin flushed and released me quick.
Buddy, if I wanted, I could've reported you for sexual harassment right there. I won't, but be careful with other girls.
This guy's an ero-game protag at heart—loves skinship subtly.
...Anyway.
I picked up one of the stakes he'd fired. Still warm, solid feel. Tip dented on impact. Undeniably a chunk of metal.
"...Confirmed. Real physical material. You really used Creation."
Its persistence even after gate collapse was ironclad proof.
"How'd you do it?"
"No idea. Extreme situation, mind went blank. Opened my eyes, enemy was dead."
Makes sense. Claiming full understanding of such advanced tech would be more absurd.
I glanced at his teammates. Josef lay on the ground, eyes shut—shock or exhaustion? Sana stared at us gravely, unable to process Yujin's feat, doing nothing else. Probably figured picking a fight now would backfire.
"Anyway, that performance guarantees top grade. Congrats."
"!! Oh, yeah! Still can't wrap my head around it, but if you say so, it must be real. ...Um, about that promise."
Hwa Yujin hemmed and hawed, unsure how to broach it. Spit it out like a man, annoying.
"The kiss? Obviously I remember. Once grades are official, I'll give you one. Look forward to it."
His face lit up like a kid on Christmas.
That good, huh? We're doing sex, a kiss is nothing. This guy's got small ambitions deep down. Shouldn't settle for that.
...Kinda cute, though.
With Yujin's top grade locked, only my exam left.
No complacency, but top grade's a given. Honestly, who else deserves it?
Wasn't worried, didn't do special prep. Showing my usual skill full-throttle would suffice.
That's what I thought.
"Joo Hyowon, special training for you. Simple: one-on-one spar with me. Land one hit, top grade. Easy, right?"
"No, Instructor Sonya, this is too much."
This a test? Difficulty tuning's busted.