ALL NOVEL chapter 7
7
······The third week of February, still with the lingering chill of winter. Finally, the new semester at Eternity began.
“It’s been a while since I wore a school uniform.”
I put on the white school uniform I received as if it were something strange. After all, in reality, I was 24 years old.
It had been 2 years since I was discharged from the military, and it had already been 5 years since I graduated from high school. Yet, going back to high school…
With a mix of unfamiliar and exciting feelings, I left the dormitory and headed to the classroom.
“I’m getting nervous for no reason.”
Standing in front of the classroom door with the nameplate [1-1], I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Swish. As the door opened, the gazes of those who were already there turned towards me.
It wasn’t just my imagination that there was more interest in me inside.
– It’s the top student.
– It’s Haesol.
The classroom was buzzing.
Well, the appearance of the top student who had surpassed all the promising students in the world was a quiet event. If being a top student was a trap, it was a trap indeed.
I searched for an empty seat and wandered around the classroom. Naturally, all the prime spots were already taken by those who arrived earlier. Thankfully, the second seat by the window was empty. I sat down without much thought.
“Yawn~”
The time was 7:50 in the morning. As I yawned from the overwhelming tiredness, something was suddenly pushed towards me. In delicate hands, there was a lemonade.
“Feeling tired? Have some.”
“Thank you.”
As I accepted the lemonade, the girl next to me smiled brightly.
“I’m Han Seyeon.”
“Ihaesol.”
As I put a lemona in my mouth, I thought about Han Seyeon.
Han Seyeon. A child who takes charge as the class president every year with good grades, affability, and a gentle personality.
She’s even known as the popular ‘superstar daughter’ for her outstanding looks.
From the very beginning, the male students in the classroom were already sneakily glancing at Han Seyeon.
And as if following a needle with a thread, Eungaye was lying next to Han Seyeon, spreading her silver hair.
Although an unlikely pairing, they were childhood friends.
Just to give you an idea of our class lineup, Cheon Woojin, Eungaye, Han Seyeon, Nikolai, Amelia, etc., the aces of the grade, make up an extraordinary group when gathered together.
I questioned how the class was organized to have such a chaotic balance, but considering even the game’s storyline was chaotic, it wasn’t that surprising.
“Pretty relaxed from day one.”
As I munched on my lemona, I heard a voice and raised my head to find a blond Westerner standing in front of me. It was Nikolai.
I chuckled as I roughly grasped the situation between Nikolai, the one eyeing my lemona, and Han Seyeon.
“Why, jealous?”
“What?”
Nikolai furrowed his brows as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’ Well, it’s written all over his face that he’s envious.
Nikolai, who attended middle school with Han Seyeon, has a crush on her.
He may look like a carefree guy, but surprisingly, he’s a pure-hearted romantic who only has eyes for one girl.
But now, not only did he steal the top spot from someone he barely knew, but he was also sharing lemona and having a friendly chat with Han Seyeon, creating quite a pitiful sight.
Of course, Nikolai wasn’t the type to show his inner turmoil outwardly.
His purpose in talking to me was probably to show off that he’s aiming for the top spot.
“Nikolai.”
“Ihaesol.”
When he reached out his hand, I tried to grab it, but Nikolai suddenly pulled his hand away.
What’s going on? What does he want to do?
As I dumbfoundedly stared at his retreating hand, I soon realized the reason.
“Oh, right. This guy has obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
Nikolai was a stickler for ‘neatness’ and ‘angles,’ to the extent that he even folded his uniform perfectly.
Thinking back to Nikolai, who was fixated on angles until the moment of arrival at school, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
At that moment, Nikolai burst in without warning.
“Just so you know, don’t complain about the entrance ceremony grades. I’m just temporarily taking the lead.”
“…”.
Seemingly satisfied with his ‘Korean-style dialogue,’ Nikolai chuckled.
I was actually a bit overwhelmed. Is that the vigor of a 17-year-old Russian?
‘Impressive.’
As if he had said all he needed to, Nikolai turned around, but then, as Han Seyeon smiled and handed him a lemona, he reluctantly accepted it and confidently walked to the front of the classroom to sit down.
Even though his actions seemed like a case of teenage rebellion, Nikolai was a model student who excelled in academics.
The irony seemed to amuse Han Seyeon, who snickered.
“Nikol, your expression is clumsy, so don’t take it too seriously.”
“Clumsy? You’re blatantly declaring war.”
The silver-haired Eungaye lying down murmured as if in disbelief.
I could relate completely, but I didn’t really care. After all, I was just an accidental “fake top student.”
Even if Nikolai didn’t keep me in check, it was clear that if left to my own devices, my grades would plummet, making dropping out or worrying a reasonable choice.
“The real top student is that guy.”
I subtly turned my head to look at Cheon Woojin. He was already laughing and chatting with the other students.
It hasn’t been that long since we met, yet such a lively atmosphere. Anyway, charisma works wonders.
Even the students who were initially reserved began to open up gradually under that positive energy.
As the classroom gradually became noisy, the classroom door opened, and a cold-looking man entered. The students swallowed nervously at the man’s appearance.
From his right temple to his cheek, there was a scar that looked like a worm crawling. It was a frightening appearance that could be believed even if he was a mercenary.
“Nice to meet you. I am Ha Jinwoo, who will be the homeroom teacher of Class 1 for a year.”
After a brief self-introduction, the mercenary teacher, Ha Jinwoo, looked around the room.
“It seems like everyone is excited. Well, after all, having enrolled in our school by breaking through the world-class competition must make you feel on top of the world.”
As the students straightened up proudly, Ha Jinwoo chuckled.
“But it’s better to quickly get rid of such feelings. Eternity is not some mediocre place that ends with enrollment. This is just the beginning.”
His calm and stern words continued.
“What you must deal with here are minds and abilities. Make a mistake, and you die instantly. Even if you’re lucky enough to survive, you’ll have to live with trauma for the rest of your life.”
Pointing to the scar on his own cheek, Ha Jinwoo’s expression turned serious as the students’ faces grew solemn.
“Eternity is a place that teaches you how to fight against such individuals. Therefore, education here is conducted just like real combat. Those with poor grades or a lax attitude will be expelled immediately. It might be wiser to leave beforehand than to die in action and at least have a chance to save your life.”
Ha Jinwoo, who had dampened the students’ spirits with his matter-of-fact tone, smiled as he said, “Fear ends here. Today, I will assess your levels. Gather at the training ground. It’s time for ‘Monster Hunt.'”
***
Ten minutes later, the students moved to the “training ground” behind the main building.
Beyond the waiting room with lined seats, there was the “training ground.”
The students sat together in groups with those they had become friendly with. I sat in a corner, but suddenly, the seat next to me caught my eye.
When I turned my gaze, Amelia was smiling gently and nodding slightly.
“We’re in the same class now. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, nice to meet you too.”
As we exchanged greetings, Ha Jinwoo appeared.
“As I mentioned, today I will assess your levels. In the training ground, you will encounter virtual monsters and situations. Show your skills and responses to the best of your ability according to that. It won’t affect your grades, but don’t take it lightly. The student who handles the situation best will be rewarded.”
After finishing his brief explanation, Ha Jinwoo pointed to the door of the training ground.
“Alright, then one by one, enter the training ground from the front left. The rest of the students, watch your peers’ performance.”
As the first student entered the training ground, a forest was simulated, and a “Wolf Pack” appeared.
It was a Grade 2 wolf monster, ‘Direwolf,’ which, although not high in rank, was difficult to hunt due to its pack nature.
“Wow, look at the details. There’s even a hostage.”
“Seriously, this is insane. They went all out.”
The students marveled at the girl and the man who looked like her father behind the wolf pack.
“A hostage, huh, well.”
I chuckled at the mention of hostages, but I watched the students’ performances without saying a word. The first student struggled to defeat the wolves and rescue the hostages. The performance of the other students wasn’t much different.
Considering that it’s difficult for a Daiwolf to deal with those in a higher tier, it was indeed an impressive performance worthy of being called a disciple of Eternity, but there was a bit of regret.
The succession of boredom was broken when Amelia stood up from her seat next to me.
“Well done. Fighting,” I cheered, and Amelia replied with a smile before entering the experience room.
As wolves appeared again to block our path, Amelia raised her arm. Suddenly, a visible blue magic twisted around the wolves, preventing them from attacking.
The disciples couldn’t help but be amazed by the outcome.
“Wow, this is insane.”
“How precisely does she handle magic?”
“Truly a seat of the stars.”
Amelia didn’t kill a single wolf. Nevertheless, the wolves could only growl and couldn’t rush towards her because the grass, vines, and branches entangled their feet.
Amelia, who leisurely rescued the hostages by passing through the wolf pack, smiled and bowed her head.
Cheers erupted among the disciples. Even to a magic layman like me, Amelia’s manipulation of nature was truly magnificent.
Considering that other disciples struggled to summon even a single flame, the level gap was evident.
Still, it was a bit regrettable that the Chief was so mysterious.
In other circumstances, I might have lightly defeated the Chief, but this school year, there were monsters as formidable as Amelia.
Next up was Nikolai.
“Wow, he just tore them apart.”
“Were Daiwolves supposed to be torn like that?”
Nikolai fearlessly entered the experience room and swiftly annihilated the wolves.
The weapon he used was a traditional Russian weapon called ‘Budyshch’ with a crescent moon blade at the end of a long handle.
The powerful crescent moon attack left no trace of the wolves or even the terrain.
The overwhelming display brought a moment of silence to the waiting room.
After clearing the wolves, Nikolai twirled the Budyshch, striking a rather immature pose, but this time, I couldn’t find fault with it.
“······He’s truly impressive.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but he was quite impressive.
Although the stage was set for other disciples afterward, the impressions of the first two were so strong that the rest went unnoticed.
“Yawn~”
Yawning out of boredom, Amelia chuckled and approached me.
“Seems boring, huh? Well, I guess the Chief’s eyes won’t be drawn to you.”
“No, it’s not like that······”
I don’t know what grand delusion she’s under, but regardless of whether the Chief notices or not, I didn’t have the confidence to defeat the Daiwolf pack.
I was just hoping to catch one or two if possible.
Well, it’s not that there wasn’t a way to win, but fighting seemed impossible.
“It’s your turn, Ihaesol. Enter the experience room.”
“Yes.”
After being called, I stood up and entered the experience room.
***
‘The new students this year are definitely of a high caliber.’
Hajinwoo watched the students coming and going at the experience center, his eyes gleaming.
It was true that he occasionally saw students struggling as it was their first encounter with Daiewolf, but he handled them well enough.
In the first training session, there would usually be around four or five students failing each year, but this year, they were all passing.
Particularly, some of the students possessed skills that caught Hajinwoo’s attention.
“Nikolai, rough but excellent in ax skills. Golgrov must have done a proper job in educating his children.”
Amelia’s ability to handle magic was outstanding as well.
With just these two, this year seemed to be going well, and there were still talents yet to emerge.
The guy who just entered the experience center was one of those talents.
“Yi Haesol.”
Hajinwoo’s eyes lit up as he leisurely entered the experience center, observing Yi Haesol.
He had also watched the guy’s practical exam video circulating on the internet.
A monster who passed the practical exam while concealing his true abilities.
But this time, he would have no choice but to reveal his skills.
Daiewolf was not an opponent one could easily handle with mediocre acting.
Was Yi Haesol also trying to show something this time? He picked up pebbles and gravel from the ground.
“Are you planning to throw them? Not bad.”
Even a simple pebble, when infused with magic, could become a deadly weapon. It was a basic application of magic, but depending on the thrower’s skill level, the results could vary greatly, making it the most reliable way to gauge one’s abilities.
Yi Haesol’s throwing posture was remarkably stable.
“Good.”
He knew well how to maximize the power of a pebble. As expected, the pebble thrown by Yi Haesol left a trail of light as it shot towards the wolves.
Truly a master.
Hajinwoo inwardly nodded. The moment his prediction went wrong was the next instant.
Swish!
The pebble passed the wolves and continued on. And what lay beyond that was…
Thud!
Hajinwoo’s eyes widened in surprise.