The Losers Are Happy Just Seeing Each Other's Faces #2

"I've carried out operations in various regions. There were many crises. What do you think was the most reliable support for me during those times?"

The homeroom teacher for Class D, Kang Cheolmin, was a veteran who'd rolled through battlefields all over the world after coming from some special forces unit. He showed up on variety programs so often that everyone knew the name "Captain Kang Cheolmin." The man, who looked far more like an instructor or someone you'd call "Captain" than a plain old teacher, shouted.

"Comrades! The comrades you can trust to watch your back! A comrade who can carry you and run when you're in mortal danger is a lifeline more important than any equipment or tactic."

The point Captain was hammering home was simple: form your teams well for the upcoming practical training.

"You have five minutes to form teams. Begin!"

Six teams of five close friends each. The problem was that I'd just transferred in and didn't really have any close friends.

"Class president! Come join our team! Please?"

"Jin-ah, if you come we'll have exactly five!"

The classroom had the chaotic energy of a marketplace. I glanced around, wondering if anyone might call me over, and sure enough a few kids met my eyes. But in the end...

"One spot left? How about the transfer student? Seems like it'd be fun."

"Fun? You wanna suffer all day? We need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill, not fun!"

"Besides, we don't even know what concept the transfer student has."

Even the kids who'd seemed interested in me after the debate ended up roping in other students to complete their teams. And so, naturally, the leftovers appeared. The kids who lost their shine like the last scraps of food on a plate or the odd man out when teams were formed!

"Taeseong, you got left behind too! Guess we're friends after all!"

I waved at Geum Taeseong, who had been standing awkwardly in the corner while everyone else formed teams. I'd assumed someone with social skills as good as mine would be popular, but apparently he was the type who stayed on the fringes.

"Ha, figured this would happen. Looks like the remaining people will have to team up together."

Geum Taeseong shrugged and walked over to me. He slowly scanned the other kids who'd been bounced from team formation.

"Namjin got bounced because he's the transfer student. Artist, Miss Fortune, Silence... Well, they're the usual faces we see every time we do team practicals, so it's not surprising."

"Artist?"

"During practical training we use call signs instead of names. Like nicknames. The guy with the messy long bangs over there is Artist. The quiet girl is Silence. And..."

"Eek!"

Baek Yeoul jumped in surprise when Geum Taeseong's finger pointed at her.

"Your partner Baek Yeoul here is Miss Fortune. When you awaken a concept and enter the special class, the instructors and senior students give you a call sign based on your traits. Mine, for reference, is Reversal."

Reversal. It was the perfect call sign for Geum Taeseong, a former delinquent who sat at the front of the class and actually paid attention. The other call signs probably fit their owners just as well.

"Namjin, if you stand out during this practical, you might get your own call sign too."

"Oh. Me too?"

Reversal, Artist, Miss Fortune, Silence. They sounded like game characters. Pretty cool. Since I'd come to the special Class D, it meant I could get a nickname like that soon. And if my call sign became famous? If my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handsome face earned me something like "Brad Pitt"?

Then the odds of me walking up to Seo Gaeul and saying, "Ahem, I'm the recently famous 'Brad Pitt,'" would go way up.

My motivation surged.

"So what exactly is this practical?"

"Seven years ago, two construction workers inspecting the sewers beneath the university site were the first to discover and report what lies beneath our feet: the Great Labyrinth. A place where countless concepts are jumbled together."

According to Captain Kang Cheolmin, an unknown facility called the Great Labyrinth had appeared beneath us at some point. Exploring it, discovering new things, and researching them was the main mission that students of the Hero Academy would have to carry out going forward.

"The Great Labyrinth is itself a supernatural structure containing countless concepts. And within it are mysteries that will contribute to the advancement of humanity. Objects imbued with 'concepts.'"

Objects imbued with concepts? A question popped into my head.

"Captain, I have a question."

"Call me Teacher, not Captain. Anyway, transfer student Ha Namjin. What is your question?"

"Can concepts reside in objects too? I thought concepts were superpowers given to people?"

"Since you're a transfer student you might not know, but concepts dwell in all things. The inspection device you saw today was an object imbued with the concept of Inspection."

Captain pulled a pen from his pocket.

"This is a ballpoint pen. But it is an object imbued with the concept of Cutting. What do you think will happen if I press this pen against the glass cup? Surprisingly, the cup gets sliced in half."

Snick.

I couldn't help but gasp in admiration at the sight of Captain Kang Cheolmin slicing a glass cup in half with a ballpoint pen. There were that many incredible objects inside the labyrinth? It was only natural that my heart, which had lived as a scavenger in the wasteland, was ringing like a bell.

"Captain! Where do you buy that ballpoint pen!"

"This is my personal tool. It's a Grade 3 managed item. Dangerous but convenient. If you want to obtain items like this, explore the labyrinth yourself."

"Ooooh!"

"However, the labyrinth does not only contain such beneficial tools. Many dangers lurk there. That is why you are learning the very best of everything here at the Hero Academy while enjoying expensive meals and excellent benefits. Now, we depart for the practical training site!"

As I followed the Class D students out of the classroom and toward the underground area of the vast school grounds, I remembered that this practical was a joint class with Class F.

This was the perfect chance to meet Seo Gaeul. If I missed it now, who knew when another opportunity would come? I had to stay sharp.

After walking quite a while through white corridors that looked like research facilities, we arrived at a white room where a woman sat calmly. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She wore what looked like a researcher's uniform, but for some reason she had an eyepatch covering her eyes.

"Captain, you're right on time as always. Class F has already moved to the practical site. I'll send the Class D students in one by one. Starting with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the prepared teams, please come this way—"

When the prepared group of five stood around the woman, they vanished with a soft shhhk. It was as if they'd boarded a warp device from a movie.

While I was still stunned, Captain approached me, handed me something, and kindly explained.

"This is Moon Hyunah, a first-generation graduate of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Hero Academy and an active explorer in the field. Her concept is Door. She can send people anywhere as long as she remembers the location. Like a real door."

"Instructor, I can't send people anywhere. It's not that convenient. The backlash is severe, which is why I can't leave this city."

Heh heh heh.

As the eyepatch-wearing woman laughed elegantly, I looked at the object the instructor had given me.

"Ha Namjin, this is your smartphone and smartwatch. They will measure your condition in real time and provide useful guidance. Never lose them. They're expensive."

It was soon our team's turn to move to the practical site. As I stood in front of the woman with the eyepatch, she smiled brightly as if she'd smelled me.

"You're the transfer student, right? What is your team's name?"

"Our team? No Leftovers Day."

"No Leftovers? That's an interesting name. So, if you could travel anywhere, where would you like to go?"

"Huh? What does that—WHOAAAAAAAAA!"

A sensation like my organs were being churned from top to bottom tore through my body. It happened so instantly that I couldn't react at all. Someone slapped my back hard, and when I came to my senses, I was sprawled on top of what looked like a cliff.

Whooooosh—.

It was literally a cliff. The wind blew so strongly it was cold.

"What the hell, where are we?"

While I was dazed from the unfamiliar experience, Geum Taeseong, who had been patting my back, helped me up and spoke.

"Inside the labyrinth. Looks like we got the worst possible location. On top of a cliff. How many meters is this? We might end up spending three hours here if we're unlucky."

Tick. Tick.

The smartwatch we'd been issued made a sound as it activated.

I was still trying to process the unfamiliar experience when the smartwatch issued to us beeped and began operating.

"A countdown?"

"The practical is to explore inside this labyrinth within that time limit. If you discover and obtain objects imbued with concepts or defeat monsters, you can earn a ton of points. You can just stay put without doing anything, but then you won't earn any points."

It really was an adventure and exploration. I was pretty confident in finding useful items. But this cliff was strange.

"I thought a labyrinth would have cold stone walls and moving skeletons."

"It's an outdoor-type dungeon."

Someone answered my impression, clearing my ears. It was a girl whose face was completely hidden by long bangs. I didn't know her name, but I knew her call sign was Silence. You know those one or two girls in every class who are so quiet you might only hear their voice once a year. That kind of girl mumbled in a tiny voice.

"...The labyrinth isn't always just structures. In comics, there are times when frozen lands, volcanoes, or forests like this exist inside buildings. The space is distorted..."

In summary, this cliff and the forest below were part of the place called the Great Labyrinth. And somewhere around here was Seo Gaeul from Class F, who had entered first.

Geum Taeseong rubbed his forehead.

"The starting point is often randomly assigned. Of all places, it had to be on top of a cliff. Talk about bad luck."

Soon Baek Yeoul mumbled in a small voice.

"...Sorry."

Sorry? Why? Why was Baek Yeoul apologizing in this situation?

While I was trying to understand, the male student with thick, messy hair—Artist—spoke up.

"I suspected as much, and it turned out to be true. Whenever I end up teamed with Miss Yeoul, it always ends up like this."

What was with that speech pattern? Did he crawl out of a historical drama? His concept was seriously something else. Was that why he was called Artist? Artists are usually a bit weird. But it seemed more interesting than I'd expected, so I watched with interest.

"Since we don't have anything else to do anyway, how about we introduce ourselves? There's a transfer student too. Let's reveal the concepts we each possess."

It seemed like a good idea. We needed to know who was who and what abilities they had. However, Baek Yeoul began trembling like someone who'd received a visit from a loan shark.

"I-I'm... not really..."