Chapter 95: Experience (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Experience (1)
A few days after the organizations’ information sessions had ended.
Today was the day the announcement for Gaon’s experience programs was scheduled to be released.
Despite being in the middle of a lecture, it was clear no one was paying attention.
And then it happened.
The students’ Watches vibrated in unison.
Ding.
Ding.
“It’s up.”
The moment someone whispered quietly, dozens of students inside the lecture hall raised their wrists as one.
Of course, the professor didn’t try to stop them.
As if he’d known this would happen from the start, he simply leaned against his desk in silence, watching the students’ reactions.
On each of their Watch screens, a list of the guilds participating in the upcoming experience programs was displayed in neat order.
I quietly scanned the list.
The names were arranged tidily.
[Maengju]
[Lotus]
[Blooms]
[Arcadia]
[Cheongpung Sect]
And numerous other organizations.
As expected, the name at the very top was the first to catch my eye.
Maengju—a subsidiary of Glory and the number one ranked guild.
Inside the quiet lecture hall, students began to react one by one.
“Shall we take a short break?”
The professor smiled benevolently and closed his book.
The second he finished speaking, the room erupted into a clamor.
“Hey, where are you gonna apply?”
“I’m going for Lotus, for now.”
“I heard Lotus is insanely tough…”
“That’s why I’m just gonna sit this one out. It’s not like Maengju will pick me anyway… I’m gonna play it safe.”
The experience programs were, at the end of the day, application-based.
Of course, the majority of students would participate, but not every single one.
The programs were mostly scheduled around the weekends.
There were no particular disadvantages for not participating.
Gaon was a place that emphasized making your own decisions and taking responsibility for them.
Amidst the murmuring students, I turned my gaze back to my Watch.
The names were listed neatly.
Just then, I heard a familiar sound from beside me.
Swish, swish, swish.
The sound of a fingertip rapidly scrolling on a Watch.
“It’s not here…”
“What isn’t?”
It was Yoon Chae-ha.
She was frantically scrolling down her Watch screen, her expression slightly stiff as she muttered.
“Vanquisher… it’s not here…”
“Oh, really?”
So that’s how it is.
I had been curious.
This was the first world line where Vanquisher still existed.
Therefore, there was no way of knowing whether they would post a notice to recruit students for the experience program.
I’d wondered if they even needed additional members…
It seemed the Old Man didn't feel the need to recruit anyone.
He had Sion, and if you really thought about it, he had me, too.
In the end, they weren’t on the list.
“Awwwww…”
Yoon Chae-ha leaned her head back in disappointment, a hint of a pout in her voice.
[Magic Tower]
However, separate from that, the Magic Tower was surprisingly on Gaon’s list of experience programs.
The Magic Tower usually avoided posting notices at Gaon.
Not only were there few students specializing in magic, but they also typically scouted talent through their own methods.
[Number of Recruits: 2]
But for them to post a notice like this, and for the number of recruits to be exactly two…
The intention seemed clear.
Yoon Chae-ha, Joo Seo-jun.
So I asked.
“Are you going to apply to the Magic Tower, then?”
“No…”
“Then what will you do?”
“I don’t know, I’m just gonna rest this time…”
With the object of her interest gone, Yoon Chae-ha instantly transformed into a drowsy cat.
She slumped forward, resting her head on the desk. Her eyes were already heavy with sleep.
I quietly took her cardigan, which was draped over the back of her chair, rolled it up, and placed it under her head.
As if she’d found a small pillow, she nuzzled her head against it with a satisfied look.
“Hehe… thanks…”
And then, she actually fell asleep.
What a character.
With that thought, I turned my head to the left.
There, Cheon Yeo-wool was resting her chin on her hand, quietly glaring at Yoon Chae-ha.
Her gaze was a bit cold for a Saintess.
“Where’s a cat-catcher when you need one…” she muttered under her breath.
“Yeo-wool.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to the Cult?”
“Hmm…”
Cheon Yeo-wool slowly lowered the hand supporting her chin and raised a single finger to her lips.
“I think I probably will…”
[Arcadia]
[Gender Requirement: Female]
It seemed Arcadia was looking to recruit female priests rather than holy knights this time.
Looking at the conditions in the experience program notices like this, you could get a rough idea of what kind of talent each organization was currently seeking.
That’s why upperclassmen tended to scrutinize these indicators as a reference.
I slowly scrolled down my Watch screen again.
As for where I would go…
That decision was, for all intents and purposes, already made.
If Vanquisher had posted a notice, there would have certainly been room for deliberation.
But in the end, they hadn’t.
In that case, there was only one place for me to go.
[Maengju]
It also felt like the time had come to keep the promise I made at Baekdusan.
Besides.
[Program Goal: Cultivating the skills required of a team leader]
[Preferred Qualifications: Combat experience, top-tier rank]
The program’s goal was a perfect fit for me right now.
Ultimately, I had to become a leader.
It was an attractive option.
Even the preferred qualifications were combat experience and a top-tier rank.
This meant they weren’t just looking at rankings.
To exaggerate, it was as if the notice had been written just for me.
Just then.
Tap, tap.
Someone lightly tapped my shoulder.
I turned my head.
Kang A-rin was standing there, a confident expression on her face.
“Jung Hae-in.”
It was Kang A-rin.
I think this was the first time she had spoken to me first in front of so many other students.
As Kang A-rin approached me, all eyes in the lecture hall subtly shifted in our direction.
That’s how much influence she wielded.
I thought I understood why she hadn’t approached me directly at school, even after everything we went through together at Baekdusan.
Kang A-rin smiled slightly and whispered close to my ear.
“I believe we have a contract, don’t we?”
A lilting voice. A smirk escaped my lips before I knew it.
My Watch screen was still on, but my finger had stopped just above the selection button.
She gently wrapped her arm around mine from over my shoulder, her fingers covering mine.
And then, just like that, she slowly pressed down.
[Maengju]
[Application Complete.]
I was going to press it anyway, but this way was a bit more fun.
Kang A-rin whispered again.
“I told you, didn’t I?”
The corners of her lips curled up slightly, forming that same smiling-eyed expression from before.
“That you’re mine.”
Having said her piece, she turned and walked away with a spring in her step, as if nothing had happened.
I stared blankly at her retreating back.
It had been a while since Baekdusan. As always, I could never keep up with Kang A-rin’s tempo.
I always feel like I’m getting swept along.
“…Tsk.”
“……”
From the seat next to me, Cheon Yeo-wool clicked her tongue.
Yoon Chae-ha, who had been sleeping just a moment ago, had somehow sat up and was now glaring at Kang A-rin’s back with a displeased look.
“What was… that just now?”
“Why is Kang A-rin…”
In an instant, the lecture hall began to buzz.
At that moment.
Clap.
The professor clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
“I assume you’ve all had a look? Let’s quickly wrap up the lecture!”
At the professor’s words, the students belatedly nodded, feigning composure.
They turned off their Watch screens, flipped open their books, and pretended to focus on the lesson again.
Nice timing, Professor.
I thought to myself and refocused on the lecture.
*
Late at night.
The lights in the Lotus building were still on.
The night view of Seoul glittered beyond the high-rise windows, and the warm lighting of the office was reflected on the glass.
Inside the modest but neatly organized space, Yu Serin was staring silently at a clock.
A clock that ran in perfect sync with Gaon’s server time.
The second hand moved steadily, finally reaching the 12.
“Hmm…”
With that, the application period for the experience programs was over.
“I wonder how it went~”
Yu Serin hummed a little tune and stretched her arms out wide.
After stretching all the way to her fingertips, she murmured to herself.
Knock, knock.
“Yes~ Come in~”
It was past midnight, but many offices in the Lotus headquarters still had their lights on.
The one knocking on the door was Yu Serin’s secretary.
The secretary took out a stack of freshly printed, still-warm documents from her arms.
“This is the list of applicants for the experience program that just closed.”
It was what Yu Serin had been waiting for.
Thwack!
Yu Serin took the papers and immediately started flipping through them.
Quickly, and then even more quickly.
Name, age, rank, reason for applying.
Her eyes moved lightly, but at a considerable speed.
“They say the number of applicants is the highest it’s ever been… The analysis suggests that the Sub-Guild Master’s speech left a good impression on the students.”
As if to prove it, the stack of papers was quite thick.
But before long, she had reached the last page.
After checking everything, Yu Serin tilted her head slightly.
“He’s not here?”
“Pardon? Who might you be…”
The secretary’s eyes widened.
“Hmm…”
Yu Serin had only ever had one target.
She stated it plainly.
“Could you give me the one next to it as well?”
“Ah, yes.”
The secretary handed over another file. It was the applicant list for Maengju.
An organization of Lotus’s caliber could easily obtain something like Gaon’s database through its informants.
Yu Serin took it and slowly flipped through the pages.
[Jung Hae-in]
And there it was, written in plain sight.
The student she had been looking for.
“Aha…”
The corners of her lips drooped ever so slightly.
“I’m a little… disappointed.”
But that was all.
Her expression held a strange smile, mixed more with amusement than disappointment.
It seemed it wouldn’t be so easy to change his mind in one go.
It was a long race, anyway.
She smiled and rose from her seat.
It was time to get ready to go home.
“Shall we head home now…?”
Yu Serin was speaking to her secretary when she noticed another file in the woman’s hands.
One list for Lotus. One list for Maengju.
There shouldn’t have been any other documents for her.
“What’s that?”
“Ah… this is just for reference. On second thought, I think I may have overreacted…”
“It’s fine. What is it about?”
The secretary cautiously handed over the file.
She seemed worried that her judgment had been needlessly meddlesome.
Her secretary was an individual Yu Serin had personally, hand-picked for the position.
In other words, she was thoroughly on her side and one of the few people within the company she could trust.
Not a single piece of information she delivered could be dismissed.
“As of April, the personnel transfers between the Strategic Planning Office, the External Cooperation Team, and the Legal Team have been rotating a bit quickly. On the surface, it’s for personnel maintenance or routine rotation… but it feels like they’re interlocking in a strange way.”
Yu Serin nodded silently as she listened.
“I might be overreacting… so if you have time, if you could just take a look…”
“No, it’s fine, leave it here. I’ll take a good look. You worked hard today~ Tomorrow’s the weekend, so get plenty of rest… oh, I guess it’s today now.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be taking my leave, then.”
The secretary bowed her head and left.
The sound of the door closing. And then, silence again.
Yu Serin sat down and opened the file.
Her cheerful expression gradually faded.
The cover was ordinary.
[Personnel Transfer Changes / Summary of Inter- and Intra-departmental Cooperation Flow - April]
The document was cleanly structured.
It read like a well-organized report, and the justification for each transfer was entirely plausible.
Normally, she would have skimmed right past it without a second thought.
But what was this?
This strange feeling.
Something felt off.
Between logic and emotion, there was a vague, unsettling feeling.
Her intuition was sounding an alarm.
‘Be careful of people.’
The strange words spoken by a strange student a few days ago suddenly came to mind.
Those words were stuck in her head like a thorn.
Why did she keep thinking of them?
Why?
She was the type to trust her instincts.
Yu Serin lowered her gaze to the document once more.
She turned one page, then another, in silence.
Each transfer was fine on its own. Looked at one by one, they had understandable justifications and reasons.
But, when you connected them all…
A single current was subtly being formed.
The factions within the organization, as if by design, were quietly surrounding a specific point.
It looked like a scattered arrangement… but in reality, it was a subtle formation encircling a single center.
If they were to turn around, in that instant, all their blades would be pointed at the center.
And at that center was Yu Serin.
“……”
The final approver for all these personnel transfers and reassignments was Lee Do-kyeom.
The Guild Leader of Lotus.
It was all packaged to look like a legal, legitimate, and problem-free process.
If you weren’t looking for it, you would never see it.
It could be a coincidence.
Yu Serin looked down at the paper.
Then, quietly, slowly, she folded it. No, she crumpled it, wringing it in her hand.
“I need to see him.”
She didn’t know why.
Jung Hae-in.
She wanted to meet that student one more time.