Chapter 122: Min-su, Don’t Even Dream of Getting a Girlfriend. It’s Disgusting.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: Min-su, Don’t Even Dream of Getting a Girlfriend. It’s Disgusting.
Returning to the academy after a long absence, not much seemed to have changed.
If I had to point out one difference, it was that my popularity had soared to an excessive degree.
I could tell just by the looks on the students' faces how diligently they had been keeping up with the news articles about me.
"Tae-yang, did you happen to meet Hunter Kim Min-hyuk?"
"Ah... Hunter Kim Min-hyuk? I didn't get a good look at him because he got knocked out during the selection match."
"Man... that’s such a shame."
My classmates swarmed me, showering me with a barrage of questions.
They seemed to have a lot they were curious about—which hunters I’d seen, if a certain hunter was really like this or that, and so on.
"Hey, isn't there a hunter with a really huge nose?"
"Oh, that guy?"
"Yeah, yeah! What was he like in person? Is his nose really that massive?"
"It was no joke. His nose is huge."
"I see... I can't believe it... So that nose was real..."
Ever since transferring to the academy, I had been constantly swept up in incidents and accidents, so this kind of mundane conversation felt awkward.
I felt like Goblins should be falling from the sky at any moment, or an S-Class Gate should be opening beneath my feet, forcing me into an emergency raid.
"Tae-yang, what are you doing after school today?"
"Today...? Today..."
I’m going to prepare to properly seduce Ryu Hye-mi.
I wanted to be that honest, but it wasn't something I could tell just anyone, and I certainly couldn't say it to Yu-min.
From the moment I arrived at school, Yu-min had been stuck to my side, showing no intention of letting go.
The students in Class A had naturally assumed Min-su and Yu-min would date, so their confusion at the current situation was written all over their faces, but well...
Min-su was laughing and chatting with his friends just like before, so their thoughts seemed to settle on, 'Wait, were they even dating in the first place?'
'At least the kids are nice, so that’s a relief.'
If I counted the number of days I’d actually attended school, it would barely reach double digits, so I was glad they were accepting me well enough.
Of course, the fact that I’d become famous played a big part, but I was still grateful they weren't acting awkward around me.
Riiiiiiiiing.
The school bell rang, finally bringing an end to the chatter that felt like it would last forever.
"Stop the small talk and sit down."
"Yes, sir."
"I originally intended to hold a regular lecture today, but since a Steal skill user recently appeared on the Noble side... I will be lecturing on that topic instead."
Instructor Lee Jin-seok, who was in charge of skill theory, jumped straight into the lesson without even a greeting.
As soon as he entered, he began writing on the board with clinical precision, and I found myself reminiscing about my first day.
'I just dozed off back then.'
That was back when my brain was overloaded by the unbelievable reality I’d been thrust into.
But that was a completely different story from now.
'I need to get ready to seduce Ryu Hye-mi.'
Even if Kim Min-su still liked Melanie, she loathed him to the extreme.
I figured it would be a faster route to just shift my focus toward Ryu Hye-mi.
'Kim Min-su was only able to act so aggressively because Melanie was right there... Since Melanie isn't always around, it'll be much harder for him to pester her.'
In contrast, Ryu Hye-mi was someone anyone could easily approach in terms of accessibility.
She was always waiting in the counseling office; all you had to do was go see her.
Of course, it couldn't be helped if she was busy with research, but she was still more accessible than Melanie.
Furthermore, while Melanie despised Min-su, Ryu Hye-mi did not.
Since she hadn't smelled his true "loser stench" yet, she was still looking at Min-su through rose-tinted glasses, clinging to a promise from the past.
Min-su seemed to be catching on to that as well, so to anyone watching, Ryu Hye-mi was currently his potential girlfriend.
'This guy’s pathetic streak really is something else.'
Normally, if you break up with a girlfriend you loved so much it felt like your heart was tearing apart, wouldn't you stop dating for a while?
No matter how I looked at it, Min-su was a specialist in the dating world.
If he got rejected by one woman, he’d hit on another, and if that didn't work, he’d poke around somewhere else.
The most important point here was that he didn't care about the other person's feelings at all.
With an attitude like Kim Min-su's, any woman would surely hate him now.
Ryu Hye-mi, who generously embraced all of that, was highly likely to be Kim Min-su's next target.
It was a bizarre situation where I had to seduce the heroine who was throwing herself at a clueless loser.
I bit my lower lip hard, barely suppressing a laugh.
'The genre is just so weird.'
I couldn't tell if this was NTL or a salvation story.
Am I stealing a loser's woman, or am I rescuing a heroine from a loser's clutches?
'How many times have I come in Ryu Hye-mi's mouth? Twice?'
It was a ridiculously small amount of progress, but it was better than Melanie.
A kindergartner would laugh if I claimed I’d made progress just because I played a few games of tic-tac-toe on someone's thigh.
In that sense, Ryu Hye-mi, who had taken two oral finishes, was the uncaptured heroine I had progressed with the most.
'That's enough for now.'
I stopped planning, realizing that no matter how much I toyed with my pen at my desk, I couldn't know the full reality of the situation.
It wouldn't be too late to think about the rest once I actually met her.
For now, I decided to just focus on the class since it had been a while.
"From what has been revealed so far, the Steal skill has an original version and a degraded version... Unlike the original, it seems the degraded version cannot steal a skill if the target has a skill that can counter it. However, the most terrifying thing about Steal is that once it is taken, it becomes yours forever. This skill, which only takes, can never return what was stolen to another."
That’s why stealing even a single sub-skill from a famous hunter causes a massive gap in power.
The cadets, who usually found theory classes boring, were listening with fire in their eyes.
"Therefore, if you ever encounter an opponent with a Steal skill, flee the scene immediately. Skills are assets. No matter how low the rank, they are worth a fortune. So, run away without fail."
Lee Jin-seok continued.
It showed just how dangerous the Steal skill truly was.
If I hadn't used Demonization, it wouldn't have been strange for me to lose something either.
It was simply the result of a judgment call I made, trusting my conviction that Lee Ji-jun had a Steal skill and the possibility of the Corrupt Official attribute.
In reality, if I had been ambushed suddenly, there was a high chance I wouldn't have been able to react and would have lost a sub-skill just like that.
"Never try to stand and fight. You have to survive to become stronger. You all are weak. I know you take a top 1% pride in being Victory Academy cadets, but keep in mind that something like a Steal skill is a completely different story. The reason Baek Tae-yang was able to win? That’s just because he’s Baek Tae-yang."
Wait.
Isn't he talking me up a bit too much?
I had been quietly listening to the lecture, but I lifted my head at the sudden bolt from the blue.
Usually, it wouldn't be strange for people to complain about favoritism in a situation like this.
"Wow, Instructor, that’s a bit too much of a reality check, don't you think?"
"You don't have to go that far. We’re going to run away too."
"I’m saying it just in case. I truly worry about you all."
Contrary to my concerns, the atmosphere was quite good.
Since the class was nearing its end, it seemed Lee Jin-seok had thrown that out as a joke.
Min-su, whose eyes were burning with jealousy, was taking it seriously, but whatever.
'It’s fine.'
It didn't matter.
The tension in my body melted away in the face of this long-awaited, relaxed daily life.
"Then, that’s all for today’s class. Oh, and Baek Tae-yang and Kim Min-su, go see Instructor Ryu Hye-mi. I believe you know why."
""Yes, sir.""
As soon as Lee Jin-seok finished speaking, Kim Min-su and I stood up immediately.
Both of us had the same goal.
'Only the result will be different.'
The one who would have Ryu Hye-mi was me.
++++++++++++++++++++++
On the way to Ryu Hye-mi's research lab after class.
Kim Min-su and I were walking side by side.
Or more accurately, Kim Min-su was a few steps ahead of me, and looking at his face, he seemed to be burning with competitive spirit even over something like this.
"Baek Tae-yang, I’m going to see Hye-mi Nu—I mean, Instructor Ryu Hye-mi first."
"Go ahead."
Kim Min-su looked brimming with confidence.
I didn't know the source of that confidence, but he’d probably received some more weird relationship advice.
'You missed the perfect timing.'
The optimal time for Kim Min-su to seduce Ryu Hye-mi was right after I took Yu-min away.
Back then, I had to spend time with Yu-min and was very busy getting acquainted with Melanie.
Furthermore, at that time, I wasn't even thinking about approaching Ryu Hye-mi because I thought, 'Ryu Hye-mi only has eyes for Kim Min-su.'
If Kim Min-su had snatched Ryu Hye-mi up before I’d even thrown out a bait?
'I might have never been able to clear the quest.'
The NTL quest could have remained an impregnable fortress that could never be conquered.
But Kim Min-su was stupid enough to cling to Melanie instead of looking for Ryu Hye-mi.
He wasted time on useless things like being a Kaivan model or clearing gates to get stronger.
The result?
Melanie hated Kim Min-su, and Ryu Hye-mi’s feelings for him were beginning to fade.
'The problem is how to seduce her.'
In Melanie's case, she was almost completely won over, so I could finish the conquest with just a few dates.
But with Ryu Hye-mi, even though we’d engaged in sexual acts, there were no clear signs of a full conquest.
Funny enough, Melanie was a perfect mental conquest, while Ryu Hye-mi was a perfect physical one.
If only half of the progress from one could be invested into the other, it would have been a piece of cake. It was quite a shame.
'No, actually, it’s more fun this way.'
There’s no sense of accomplishment if the quest is too easy.
As I walked along with these various thoughts, we arrived in front of Ryu Hye-mi's lab.
Kim Min-su spoke up as if he’d been waiting.
"Then, I’ll go get tested first, so don't you move a single step from here. Absolutely not!"
You already said that.
I suddenly felt a surge of annoyance.
"Hey, Kim Min-su. What did I tell you to do when you talk to me?"
"Keep some distance, and keep my tongue in so I don't spit."
"And the last one."
"...Don't fly off the handle."
"Keep it in mind at all times."
"Yeah..."
Slide.
With those words, Min-su hurried into Ryu Hye-mi's lab.
In the meantime, I decided to read the various notices posted on the bulletin board outside the lab.
'...Joint Academy Training?'
They do things like this?
If it was a joint academy event, it was as good as saying new characters would appear.
'Is another new heroine showing up?'
I’m already busy as it is; things are going to get complicated.
Will it be the Saintess? Or a completely new person?
Slide.
Just as I was considering various possibilities for the new developments, the lab door opened again.
It had been a short time—not even thirty seconds since he’d entered.
Kim Min-su spoke to me with a tearful face.
"...She said to come in together."
"Oh, really?"
Actually, I had a hunch.
'She must be needing my semen again.'
Min-su, don't even dream of getting a girlfriend.
Because it’s disgusting.