Chapter 7: Unit (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: Unit (4)
Yohan's glare didn't last long.
The intensity with which he'd been staring me down soon faded, and he reverted to the bright expression of ‘Hero’ Yohan that everyone knew.
I guess it hasn't reached that point yet.
It seemed too early for his obsession with Cheon Yeo-wool to explode—or so I thought, for a moment.
Yohan shot up from his seat and, as if he'd made up his mind, started walking toward me.
Even though his aura had softened, I was still at the center of his gaze.
But Cheon Yeo-wool was faster. She stood up, a sharp look on her face, and grabbed Yohan's shoulder.
Her bobbed hair swayed slightly, but her expression was unwavering.
The two seemed to be arguing at close quarters.
Even from a distance, I could see Yohan's expression hardening while Cheon Yeo-wool began to radiate a fierce energy.
“What are they doing?”
Yoon Sang-hyeok muttered quietly beside me, frowning.
Their disagreement must have escalated, because Yohan suddenly gripped Cheon Yeo-wool's arm tightly.
In response, Cheon Yeo-wool instantly shook off his grip, raised her right hand, and slapped him across the face.
Whoa, shit.
“Whoa… I guess it was for real.”
Yoon Sang-hyeok's eyes went wide as he breathed out the words in a low voice.
Yohan stood frozen for a while, having taken the slap without a word.
As if to show she was done with him, Cheon Yeo-wool turned and walked away.
I couldn't tell what was going on between them, but I could guess one thing.
Yohan's head was bowed, but his gaze was still fixed on me.
I could feel it instinctively.
It's me.
It seemed I was Yohan's new target.
*
Huge screens floated above the training grounds, displaying each team's progress, making it easy to see how far everyone had come.
Where's Seong Si-woo?
I was curious about the protagonist's whereabouts.
As the protagonist, his base stats were probably decent, so as long as he had a normal five-person team, he wouldn't be late.
“Wow… they're fighting over there, too.”
Lee Sang-bong and Kim Dae-hyun pointed at a screen on the opposite side, their voices filled with awe.
The screen showed a rather intense argument unfolding.
It made sense. When a strategy isn't working and frustrations build, fights are bound to happen.
Especially for students, when teamwork falters, it often leads to arguments and conflict.
I shifted my gaze to that screen as well.
“Huh?”
The screen showed team members grappling with each other, not goblins.
But that wasn't the problem.
The star of that particular fight was none other than our great protagonist, Seong Si-woo.
What's he doing now?
Seong Si-woo and another male student were grabbing each other by the collar and shouting.
Fortunately, their teammates held them back, so it didn't escalate into a full-blown brawl.
He seems like a handful.
The protagonist's personality didn't seem to be the easygoing type.
If this were a game, the player could have influenced his disposition, but in this world, the protagonist's personality must have been completely random.
Considering his confident attitude on the first day, he seemed like he'd be difficult to handle in many ways.
Not long after Seong Si-woo's fight appeared on the screen, other teams began to arrive in the safe zone one by one.
Some were breathing heavily, others had already collapsed to the floor, wiping away sweat. The signs of their struggle were plain to see.
“I'm seriously gonna die.”
“Never again, ugh…”
Sounds of mixed complaint and relief erupted from all over.
The students, who had been murmuring while watching the fight, were soon chattering loudly, swapping stories about their own difficult battles.
Is that almost everyone?
I glanced at the screens again.
One showed the last team approaching the safe zone.
There were two of them.
Just then, a teaching assistant clutching a file hurried over to the instructor and whispered something in his ear.
As soon as the TA finished, the instructor quickly looked up at the screen.
A sense of foreboding made me turn my head toward the screen as well.
And right after that.
-Bang-!
One of the cameras filming the forest exploded.
-Bang! Bang!
Then, one by one, the other cameras filming the same route exploded.
The other students, sensing something was wrong, also turned their attention to the screens.
…No way.
Just a moment ago, the camera had captured a fleeting image: black mana scattering, shattering all the goblins and cameras in its path.
Abnormal speed, and a monstrous application of mana.
There was only one student capable of such a performance.
The moment all the cameras exploded, plunging the safe zone into silence.
-Screeeech-!
One of the several entrances to the safe zone suddenly burst open.
The students and the instructor all turned their heads at once.
Where the loud noise had erupted, thick smoke and debris scattered.
“Sorry I'm late~”
Along with the unfamiliar voice, a female student with her black hair tied up high appeared, walking with a nonchalant air.
A sheen of sweat on her forehead, eyes tinged with a deep red. A jet-black sleeveless top and a black jacket over it.
I'd never seen her face before, but I could guess her identity in an instant.
Kang A-rin.
She was Gaon Academy's top-ranked freshman, the valedictorian of the entering class.
The protagonist's rival, and the final heroine in the game after Cheon Yeo-wool and Yu Hana.
I thought she wasn't in our class, since I hadn't seen her on the first day.
“You're late?”
The instructor spoke.
And she replied quite calmly, her voice tinged with a smile.
“Yes. I had some family matters to attend to. I unavoidably arrived today~”
Family matters.
The scion of ‘Glory,’ South Korea's—and one of the world's—top conglomerates. She was probably one of the few people who could delay her admission to Gaon with an excuse like ‘family matters.’
“Did you clear the forest alone?”
“There was no one there?”
The surrounding students were stunned by her words.
The strongest.
And the most willful.
She was a heroine who couldn't be controlled until the protagonist's growth got on track.
The instructor shuffled through his papers before speaking.
“I'd appreciate it if you'd be more careful about damaging school property.”
Kang A-rin smiled, one corner of her mouth lifting slightly.
“I'll be careful.”
Even while standing there, the center of attention as if on a stage, Kang A-rin maintained her relaxed expression.
After their short exchange, the instructor cleared his throat lightly.
“That's all for today's practical. Teams will be formed by a lottery based on these results. Keep that in mind.”
At his gesture, the exit to the training grounds opened. The students all began to murmur and rush toward it.
They all looked thoroughly fed up.
I stood near a window, watching the crowd disperse.
I should get going, too.
This was the only class for today. Since it was the most important one, it had been allotted the entire day.
Not that I could relax. I had a lot to do starting today. A few things to prepare.
I started to head out.
As the students bustled out the door, I caught a glimpse of a black jacket at the end of the central aisle.
It was Kang A-rin.
Her tall frame and black hair stood out, but her head was slightly bowed as if she were looking for someone.
She was such an unpredictable person that I decided to ignore her and walk past.
She was the scion of ‘Glory’; I couldn't get involved with her even if I wanted to.
But then… the strange events of the past few days flashed through my mind.
Led by that intuition, I suddenly stopped and looked toward Kang A-rin.
And she was looking right back at me.
With a small gasp, “Ah…,” her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and her face lit up.
A look of pure joy flashed across her face, as if she'd just found someone she'd been searching for for a long time.
But that bright, radiant smile didn't even last half a beat.
Her expression quickly crumpled, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
“What do I do…”
…Is this for real?
Now they're even bursting into tears just from seeing my face.
Flustered, I took a step toward her.
But it was too late.
She whipped her head around and ran off down another corridor as if fleeing.
The sight of her black jacket disappearing somewhere was seared into my mind.
This was driving me nuts.
Nothing was going according to plan, and all these kids were acting strange.
At least Cheon Yeo-wool and Yu Hana were cooperative. This, however, was a whole new case.
‘What are you supposed to do when a girl runs away crying the moment she sees you?’
It's times like these I regret the twenty years I spent before my possession keeping my distance from women. I needed an expert's consultation.
[Ha Sion]
I took out my smartwatch and tapped the first contact on the list.
Medicine comes from a pharmacist, and advice about women comes from a childhood friend.