He soon looked forward again, but Rachel remembered his face.
Rachel coveted the notebook lying in front of his desk.
* * *
There was a slight commotion over the fact that I had placed first on that difficult “Phenomenal Realm Analysis” quiz. Rachel didn’t say much, but the professor personally praised me. Even though the Monday class professor and the Friday class professor were surely different people.
“I also saw Student Kim Hajin’s answer sheet, and his knowledge and perspective were truly astonishing. I hope the other cadets will learn from his scholarly enthusiasm. I’ll say it again: theory is very important.”
The professor said something like that. For me, it was nothing but uncomfortable.
At any rate, as soon as that class ended, I moved busily.
I had a lot to do today. No, it was time to spend a lot of SP.
If I wanted to protect my own safety from now on, I no longer had the luxury of saving up SP. The fact that the second incident had begun meant that Cube was no longer a safe zone. The Djinn had probably already set up all sorts of traps.
To briefly explain what a Djinn is, a Djinn is a human who has made a contract with a devil. The devil grants power in exchange for the human’s soul, and the higher-ranking the devil—the “first party” of the contract—is, the greater that power becomes.
However, if an ordinary person with no preparation makes a contract, they only become a half-baked Djinn, a mindless doll. “Lucius’s Dog” from the museum last time was a prime example.
That thing had gone berserk with Lucius’s magic power and had enough strength to corner Kim Suho, but blinded by rage, it was nothing more than a beast that couldn’t even properly carry out the objective its master had given it. If it had ignored Kim Suho and found and killed its original target first, Lucius probably would have been satisfied.
Because of that, even if contracts are difficult, devils prefer beings whose bodies contain pure magic power and spiritual power, yet whose minds are still immature. Needless to say, those beings are cadets.
Therefore, I felt the need to prepare another weapon. If I happened to clash with a Djinn, the current me had no chance of survival.
“Hmm……”
I sat at my desk and looked into my laptop.
For now, I planned to add one setting to the Desert Eagle. Fortunately, thanks to the stupid antics of whoever it was—Chae Nayun or Shin Jonghak—I had quite a lot of usable SP.
[Add transformation function to ‘Desert Eagle.’ Handgun▶12-gauge shotgunization]
─Condition: The fuel for transformation is the magic power of Stigma.
Handgun and shotgun. Even without difficult calculations, one could tell that a shotgun was far superior in destructive power. The closer the distance, the more vicious the destructive power of buckshot became.
However, a mechanism in which a handgun transforms into a shotgun on its own does not exist even in this world. Would such a miraculous technology manifest through a mere “setting addition”?
[Add transformation function to ‘Desert Eagle.’ Handgun▶12-gauge shotgunization]
─Condition: The fuel for transformation is the magic power of Stigma.
─Destructive power amplification function increased by 100%
[150SP will be consumed. Would you like to save?]
That miraculous technology appeared here, in this very place.
The laptop revised the vague sentence I had written into something more concrete and informed me of the cost.
That was a sufficiently reasonable price, so I saved without hesitation.
For an instant, a steel-colored current seeped out from the laptop and flowed into the handgun. The barrel of the handgun seethed with a metallic light before settling down. I gripped the gun. I examined it here and there to see if anything had changed, but its design was no different from before.
I infused a portion of Stigma’s magic power into the handgun. Then, the metal of the handgun began to disassemble itself.
Click-clack— With a mechanical sound, the magazine separated, the stock and barrel moved out of place and elongated, and the Desert Eagle, finally taking on a new form, was no longer in the shape of a handgun.
The combination of two barrels that could load two rounds at once, an overall length about the size of my forearm, and a platinum-colored barrel was rather sleek and pleasing to the eye.
“……I guess I can at least give someone a surprise.”
I don’t know much about shotguns. But with this much, it should be able to display a surprise burst of destructive power.
Clack— I broke open the barrel and opened the magazine. The space where the rounds would go was still empty. To load it, I needed 12-gauge shells. I would either have to buy shells that fit this gauge or modify the settings of my bullets. That was something I could do later.
The weapon modification ended with that, but there was still one more thing I had to do.
Create an Art.
The dictionary definition of an Art is “a honed technique, skill, or craftsmanship.” For example, one could say a painter has the Art of painting, and a singer has the Art of singing.
What makes it different from a talent is that an Art does not resonate with mana or magic power to cause supernatural phenomena.
▶Art (0/3)
X
I could create 3 Arts, but I only had one in mind.
===
[Parkour]
─Allows one to climb walls with quick movements, and freely move between walls and walls, or walls and obstacles.
─Its speed and effectiveness vary according to the Agility stat.
===
Parkour. The most important ability for a sharpshooter’s survival and assassination is “securing position,” and parkour provides optimal assistance for that.
The laptop changed the unclear sentences I had written into something kinder.
===
「Art」
[Parkour] [Proficiency 0%] [Low-rank]
─Flexible and agile body movements.
─Allows movement regardless of terrain features, or by utilizing terrain features, such as climbing walls or vaulting over obstacles.
─Its speed and application vary according to the Agility and Strength stats.
===
[350SP will be consumed. Would you like to save?]
If it had been before, it would have been expensive enough to make me tremble. But these days, even if I did nothing, it increased by 2SP per hour, so I had no hesitation. I pressed save and stood up.
Once I had made the setting, the next step was obviously to test it.
* * *
Beep-beep-beep— Beep-beep-beep—
I opened my eyes to the alarm. My whole body ached. It was only natural, since I had been climbing walls and vaulting over trees until 4 in the morning, but I couldn’t help it because it was fun.
“Ah, my bones……”
Grabbing the tiny cracks in the side of a building and climbing higher, stepping on the uneven parts of a tree trunk and leaping to land on a branch. Each time, the excitement that surged through my blood vessels and the exhilaration given by the movement of my own body. Standing at a high place and looking down at the distant ground below held a thrill I had never even dared to experience.
“……Ugh, fuck.”
But for now, I had to go to class. Practical training started again today. Since midterms were coming soon, and since Djinn would secretly intervene again, there was a high chance it would be hellish.
[This is a group message ㅜㅜ. Has anyone seen Seungyeon from Nuri Class? I haven’t been able to contact her since yesterday ㅜㅜ]
Looking at my smartwatch, I could tell that the second victim had already appeared.
There was nothing I could do about the Djinn.
Of course, I knew who the culprit was, and I also knew who the next victim would be. But if I stepped forward and exposed the Djinn—or killed them, though I didn’t know if that would even be possible—I was afraid the subsequent progression would be twisted.
“……Hoo.”
Still, I sighed. The fact that they were fated to die did not erase the guilt of leaving them to die. I had already stopped seeing the course of this world as pages of a novel.
“……It’d be better if Yoo Yeonha got kidnapped first instead.”
In this episode, Kim Suho and Yoo Yeonha obtained meaningful gains. For Yoo Yeonha, it was the transformation of her character; for Kim Suho, it was the connection named Yoo Yeonha.
But until Yoo Yeonha was kidnapped, there were still four victims remaining.
────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────────
Dungeon Conquest Experience (1)
For more efficient training, various terrains had been created on Cube’s grounds. Mountainous regions, hilly regions, limestone caves, volcanic caves, and so on. Appropriate monster dolls inhabited each environment, and the artificial dungeons created with the full mobilization of magic engineering technology were also worth anticipating.
“Today’s practical training is more special than usual.”
Just as Kim Suhyeok said, unlike usual, two classes had gathered in one place today. The assembly point was in front of a cave that looked eerie at a glance. The pitch-black passage, the size of a tunnel, seemed to have yin energy flowing out from within it.
In reality, all sorts of traps, schemes, and hidden plots were coiled up inside. Some of them would be the Djinn’s traps, capable of actually killing someone.
I was already scared.
“Today, you will enter this cave together with another class. As joint training, 2 teams will gather to form one team.”
A so-called dungeon conquest experience. The cadets would form teams of 8 and experience this artificial dungeon.
The size grade of the artificial dungeon that a total of 200 people would enter was “Giant.” Its interior was so vast it could not be measured.
“Now. First, gather with your existing teams.”
I went to find Yoo Yeonha. Unlike herself, Yoo Yeonha was looking at the cave with a tense face. The dungeon entrance filling her field of vision was that overwhelming.
“I’m nervous, so nervous.”
“Me too. I already have goosebumps on my arms.”
Jin Hoseung and Hazuki approached while making a fuss. The other cadets also found their respective teams, and the 200 people were divided into 50 clusters.
“I will announce the team composition. For reference, the team leader was chosen as the cadet with the highest individual grades from each team.”
Kim Suhyeok projected the team composition written on his smartwatch as a hologram.
===
[Team 1]
Truth Class─Kim Suho Team
Doya Class─Jo Yuna Team
===
First, Kim Suho ended up on the same team as a girl named Jo Yuna. For reference, Jo Yuna was the archetype of an instrumental character. She was a tool for a very brief moment of pleasure, someone who would snark at Kim Suho and soon realize how amazing he was.
But would the co-author allow such consumption?
I approached near Jo Yuna.
[Jo Yuna─Personality has become nastier]
This level of change was at least a relief. I could only pray for the happiness of Kim Suho, who would be tormented nastily.
===
[Team 2]
Truth Class─Shin Jonghak Team
Doya Class─Kane Team
===
As for Team 2, I knew nothing about them. Honestly, I didn’t even know who Kane was.
===
[Team 3]
Truth Class─Chae Nayun Team
Doya Class─Sven Team
===
“Huh.”
Team 3, formed according to the script, was the most problematic team in this dungeon conquest.
“Sven” was the person to watch out for. His distinguishing traits were that he was a German government-sponsored exchange student, and that he had fallen for Chae Nayun.
Sven was a top prospect who had followed his home country’s elite course exactly. When he boarded the plane to Korea, he had probably imagined some grand future where he climbed to the top of Cube.
But unlike Germany, Cube was swarming with monstrous cadets. He could not overcome the gap in skill and talent, and now he was staggering, soaked in an inferiority complex and a sense of defeat.
And that miserable feeling of inferiority would explode during this dungeon conquest.
The result?
Sven would sell his soul to a Djinn to obtain power.
However, that was not supposed to happen today. Sven was supposed to have at least a day’s grace and, after deep contemplation, decide on the contract.
……No, that was how it should have been.
But the laptop was solidifying the change in Sven’s settings.
[Sven─Mental weakness deepened. Extremely high probability of being encroached upon by a devil’s minion during the dungeon conquest experience.]
The word “during” was cold. It meant the incident had been moved up to today.
This was a very, very serious matter.
I looked in Team 3’s direction.
“Ah, hello, Miss Nayun. I saw you at the hunting club too.”
Just then, Sven held out his hand to Chae Nayun. Affection dripped from both of his eyes. However, Chae Nayun only responded with a far more indifferent gaze.
“Ah, yes. How old are you?”
“W-we’re the same age.”
The other teams were being announced, but right now my nerves were focused only on Sven. If possible, I wanted to give Chae Nayun some advice. Please, don’t treat him as rudely as usual.
“Team 8. Truth Class, Yoo Yeonha Team. Doya Class, Jayden Team.”
At that moment, Team 8 was announced.
Jayden was a name I had seen somewhere before. I opened my laptop and checked my settings compendium. Perhaps because he didn’t have much importance, only short phrases were strung together.
[Jayden]
Typical bully to the weak and weakling to the strong, arrogant and overbearing. Potential is around 7.5/10. Quite strong, so scouted by Essence of the Strait.
"Hello~ Hahaha."
Jayden approached with a hearty laugh. With his dark brown eyebrows and large, prominent nose, he was the very image of a handsome Westerner.
At the same time, a notification popped up on my laptop. There had been a change for Jayden as well.
[Jayden─ Potential adjusted from 7.5 to 8]
His Potential had risen by a whole 0.5. Potential was a number I used to grasp things intuitively; it didn’t exist in this world setting.
For an intuitive comparison, Kim Suho, befitting the protagonist, was a 10, and Chae Nayun was a 9.5.
Considering that a difference of 0.5 couldn’t be caught up to even with a lifetime of effort, an increase of 0.5 was an enormous upgrade.
"Nice to meet you, Yu Yeonha! I’ve heard a lot about you!"
"Ah, yes. Hello."
Jayden held out his hand to Yu Yeonha. I wondered if Yu Yeonha would really shake hands with someone she’d just met. But Yu Yeonha gladly took his hand.
"Beside me are Kim Jingyu, O Sujeong, and Li Shaung."
"In order, they’re Jin Hoseung, Hazuki, and Lee Hajin."
"······?"
For a moment, I doubted my ears. Who was Lee Hajin? Was she doing that on purpose? I was Kim Hajin.
In any case, Yu Yeonha chatted warmly with Jayden and showed interest in his teammates as well. Whether it was image management or she’d already figured out that Jayden might be useful, it was a strange sight either way.
"I’m a marksman who uses a bow."
"I use my fists."
"I use a shield."
In order, those were the self-introductions of Kim Jingyu, O Sujeong, and Li Shaung. Hazuki, Jin Hoseung, and I introduced ourselves in the same way.
"Swordsman. Ordinary, right?"
"I use an axe."
"······I use this."
I shook the cadet-issue handgun.
I had a better weapon called the Desert Eagle, but as a rule, privately owned weapons couldn’t be used during exams. They would interfere with the evaluation of pure skill.
Of course, I had stored the Desert Eagle somewhere very convenient so I could take it out and use it at any time.
Right inside the Stigma on my biceps. Since the magic power of the Stigma could be used according to my will, creating a subspace (亞空間) or so to store the Desert Eagle was easy.
"Ah, so you’re that guy? The gunner? I know. I’ve heard about you."
"It’s fascinating seeing it in person."
For a moment, the three people’s eyes sparkled. But being on the receiving end didn’t feel all that pleasant. In those deeply interested gazes of theirs, there was a wavering, smug delight along the lines of, ‘At least I’m better than him.’
"Is it a waste of talent, or do you just lack talent?"
······Still, that was better than such blunt honesty. I looked toward the source of the voice. As expected, Jayden was grinning slyly.
We were on the same team in name, but no one said a word in my defense. I could understand Yu Yeonha, but even Jin Hoseung and Hazuki said nothing.
It was sad, but I understood. The quality of the rumors about me circulating around the Veritas Class these days was no joke.
Things like how I used my status as a Cube cadet to extort someone, no, how I violated a woman, then kept his mouth shut at Cube because there were so many people better than him, how I went out to Seoul every weekend to indulge in pleasure and entertainment, and so on······
My character had already become a social evil.
Today would probably be the chance for those rumors to spread to the other classes as well. I had no idea whether I should laugh or cry. My SP would rise like crazy, though.
"All right. Everyone, get ready now."
The team formation was finished before I knew it. At Kim Suhyeok’s declaration, the cadets began moving busily.
"Enter in order, starting with Team 1."
"Let’s go!"
Kim Suho shouted spiritedly and took the lead. Jo Yuna followed with an utterly displeased look on her face.
"I hear rumors that Miss Yu Yeonha is ranked first in the supporter category this time."
"Haha, is that so? I hear news about you quite often too, Mr. Jayden. I’m starting to think the teams may have been arranged incorrectly. It feels like it’s far too advantageous for us."
"Not at all. That’s how teams are, aren’t they? If one person is outstanding······ You know the rest even if I don’t say it, right? Miss Yu Yeonha, you’re carrying one piece of baggage too."
Even in the meantime, Yu Yeonha and Jayden were chatting away. Even from my perspective, Jayden knew how to stay within the line while putting Yu Yeonha in a good mood. His way with words was too skilled for a high schooler. Maybe I should have approached her like that too.
"Team 8, enter."
Kim Suhyeok announced our team’s turn.
* * *
The eight of us stood side by side as we walked down the dark cave path. The formation was perfect. Three warriors in the front line, the supporter second, the marksman third, and the last warrior at the very rear.
As we walked like that, a fork appeared. The narrow passage split into eight paths.
"Which way would be best?"
Standing before it, Yu Yeonha spoke to me for the first time today.
"Jingyu. Which way do you think is better?"
Fluent Korean came out of Jayden’s mouth. Kim Jingyu was also a marksman.