It hits! Your talent’s proficiency increases by 20%!]
[Perception increases by 0.03.]
[Luck takes effect! You feel as though your eyes and ears will be a little sharper from now on!]
[SP increases by 27.]
The accuracy I showed during today’s training seemed to have been thanks to luck, as expected, and because I made a good impression(?) on Yoo Yeonha, my SP had gone up quite a bit as well.
[Strength increases by 0.02 through exercise.]
[Stamina increases by 0.02 through exercise.]
[Vitality increases by 0.02 through exercise.]
[Strangely enough, mana settles into your torn muscle fibers! Strength, stamina, and vitality increase by an additional 0.03 each!]
The amount my stats rose through exercise was more than merely decent—it was excessive. It was a rate of growth that would have been impossible on Earth, and it was all probably thanks to the support of my opened eyes and luck.
However, because my entire body ached, there was a high chance I wouldn’t be able to move tomorrow.
Of course, I had already prepared a solution for that.
===
[Fatigue Recovery Supplement]
─A nutritional supplement that helps recover from fatigue. Contains an extremely small amount of gentle mana.
*SP Owned: 36
===
This was the “Fatigue Recovery Supplement” distributed by Cube.
I planned to revise this setting.
Of course, something like “recover all fatigue immediately upon consumption” was impossible because I lacked the SP, and even if it were possible, that kind of waste was out of the question. But if I made a limited revision, I could create something reasonably useful.
I added one line to the description of the Fatigue Recovery Supplement.
─If the target “Kim Hajin” sleeps within 2 hours after consumption, the supplement will gradually recover physical fatigue over 8 hours.
There were four restrictions on this.
Only Kim Hajin,
sleep within 2 hours after consumption,
only physical fatigue among types of fatigue,
and fatigue recovery would not be immediate upon consumption, but gradual over 8 hours.
[The setting can be revised by consuming 0.5 SP.]
Maybe because this Fatigue Recovery Supplement itself already had a decent effect, the required SP was exactly around what I had earned from today’s exercise. I saved the revision and gulped down the supplement.
“Burp.”
Now I had to hurry back to the dorm and sleep.
If 2 hours passed, it would all be for nothing.
“Ah, my bones.”
I started walking like a zombie again.
* * *
At the same time, Yoo Yeonha was in her room analyzing the footage from today’s training. The footage filmed by the drone allowed Yoo Yeonha to view the battle from multiple angles.
“……His reflexes are something else.”
Indeed, the more she watched, the stranger the battle seemed.
The black hump octopus had fired a total of 59 baby octopuses. All of them were erased by the gunner’s hail of bullets before they could even touch the ground. A black hump octopus normally spit out its young, sucked them back in to replenish its energy, then spit them out again in a repeated pattern. Because of that, they had to be prepared for a long fight, but the baby octopuses were annihilated in an instant, and the battle ended in just over 10 minutes.
“I don’t remember seeing him at the Agent Military Academy.”
The more she thought about it, the more odd points this gunner had. His physical strength was abnormally inferior compared to other cadets, he had suddenly changed weapons……
That was when Yoo Yeonha, who had even been taking notes as she analyzed the person named Kim Hajin, suddenly received a message.
[What are you doing?]
It was Shin Jonghak. Yoo Yeonha smiled faintly and tapped on the keyboard projected as a hologram.
[Analyzing footage~]
[Why would you bother with that?]
[I’m someone who’ll inherit a guild later, you know. I need to grasp who the talented ones are.]
[There’s no talent on your team. They were all trash.]
Yoo Yeonha chuckled. He was right. At the same time, he was arrogant. If some other man besides Shin Jonghak had taken this attitude, she probably would have found it repulsive. But because he was “Shin Jonghak,” that arrogance and insolence came to her as aloof confidence. It was an explanation with no logic or reason behind it, but in the first place, the reason Yoo Yeonha had come to like Shin Jonghak was far removed from logic and rationality.
[What about that guy who uses a gun?]
“Pfft.”
He pretended not to care, but apparently he was curious after all.
He really did have a cute side.
[He’s all right. I was worried, but he still did his part. Exactly the sort of ability you’d expect from rank 934.]
A total of 2.78 seconds. In that brief instant, this man had fired 60 shots and hit 59. Yoo Yeonha tried pulling her index finger. Was it possible to pull a trigger 20 times in one second? Or did that handgun have an automatic fire button?
Ding-dong—
While she was thinking, the bell rang.
[Ah, hold on, room service is here.]
Yoo Yeonha trotted over.
When she opened the door, a neatly dressed secretary stood waiting in front of it, holding her meal. Since he was a secretary her father had personally sent, his face was a welcome sight.
“Thank you, Sechan.”
The secretary bowed with refined courtesy.
Yoo Yeonha took the meal and returned to her seat.
[I got it. Were you waiting?]
An elegant silver tray and a silver cloche. Yoo Yeonha opened the lid.
[No.]
Inside were extremely simple foods. A symbol of the common people: a patty and vegetables sandwiched between bread. And potatoes sliced thin and fried in oil, along with cola.
It was a hamburger set.
She first chewed on one French fry.
[What did you order?]
Shin Jonghak happened to ask.
Yoo Yeonha replied with a perfectly innocent face.
[Nothing much. Just a bit of foie gras entier.]
────────────────────────────────────
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In Everyday Life (1)
Wednesday’s first training session, “Person-to-Person Combat Practice.”
This was a class that lasted a total of two hours, and its method was simple: cadets paired up two by two and exchanged blows. Since all sparring was done with training weapons, evaluation was easy and there was less pain. In this class, Kim Suho paired with Lee Yeonghan, and Shin Jonghak paired with Kim Horak.
“Uuuugh.”
“Rank 934, Kim Hajin, get up!”
“Ah, I can’t.”
However, I was grappling not with a cadet, but with the instructor in charge of interpersonal combat studies.
The reason was that training firearms were still being made, so I had to spar with an actual weapon. In order to prevent any possible injuries beforehand, my opponent became the instructor.
“What do you mean, you can’t!”
The instructor told me to pour everything I had into her.
Exactly one minute later, the instructor who had said that ended up pouring everything she had into me. My “talent” was probably more threatening than expected to deal with barehanded.
“Get up!”
The female instructor, whose forearm had been scorched by a grazing bullet, got angry all on her own and grabbed me by the collar.
At this point, I regretted wasting the two weeks after I had first fallen into this place. I should have exercised even a little more back then.
“I can’t do it anymore.”
“What do you mean, you can’t!”
“I’m telling you, my body won’t move.”
“Move!”
The instructor forcibly dragged me up.
“Put your guard up. Do something, anything!”
She told me to do anything. But the handgun in my hand was too heavy. I roughly lifted it and fired. The instructor stretched out her hand and blocked the bullet. Then she tackled me at the waist. Caught by her, I was slammed straight down. Thud. My whole body trembled at the electrifying pain flooding through my back.
“Ah, I surrender, surrender.”
“After firing the gun, you have no follow-up movement. I told you to do anything!”
Smack. She hit my cheek.
“Get up!”
Smack. I was starting to feel annoyed. Now that I thought about it, this woman seemed younger than me.
“I said get up!”
I wasn’t going to take it a third time. I barely blocked that slender arm about to slap my cheek with both hands, then—
“You fucking—”
I bit down on the instructor’s hair with my teeth.
“Ah! What are you doing! 934…… Agh! Let go! Let go! Let go of this!”
I chewed and chewed while desperately pulling.
The surroundings suddenly went quiet at my bizarre action, but right now, I had no leisure to care about that.
“Th-this is a warning! Let go! I told you to let go!”
This hair. I’m going to snap it off. I’ll snap it off if it’s the last thing I do.
“Y-you really!”
The instructor’s small fist appeared right in front of my eyes.
After that, I had no memory.
Still, thanks to that, I earned a full 40 SP, so I could say it wasn’t a bad deal.
* * *
Cube had something called “clubs.”
The instructor in charge, Kim Suhyeok, had scared us as much as he pleased, saying there would be no youth in Cube, but in truth, Cube was not that harsh a setting. For the sake of the healthy mental state of heroes—whose daily lives involved being drenched in monster flesh and blood, and who sometimes had to kill Djinn—it actually encouraged hobbies. Dating was also something that should naturally incur penalty points according to the rules, but most people knowingly turned a blind eye and pretended not to know.
Here, clubs were similar in concept to university clubs, if one were to connect them to school. Promotional activities for clubs usually became active during the first week after new students entered, and reached their peak around the second week.
I had set there to be around a hundred clubs—a tremendous number considering the total student body was only around 5,000—and their purposes were just as varied. Some were related to hobbies such as bowling, billiards, and virtual reality, while many others focused on credentials and training, such as academic societies and martial arts.
Here, I planned to join at least one no matter what.
The reason was obvious: to stay close to the main characters.
I already knew who joined which club.
Kim Suho and Lee Yeonghan joined travel, Chae Nayun joined travel and hunting, Yoo Yeonha joined travel and academics, Shin Jonghak ignored everything, and Rachel joined reading.
As could be seen from the common denominator, travel was essential. Aside from that, there were three: hunting, reading, and academics.
Since one student could join multiple clubs, it was possible to join all four.
Realistically, however, that was impossible. I only had one body.
Among these, the club most advantageous for gaining SP would probably be academics. That was because a fairly important early-stage villain was hidden in the academic club “Truth [VERITAS].”
“Virtual reality club ‘Folk Game Village’…… Interesting.”
But suddenly, a strange feeling washed over me.
Sitting on a bench in Hero Park, which had been built inside Cube, I looked around. Perhaps because all regular classes had ended, the place was packed with people.
It was mysterious all over again. The settings I had scribbled down had left my hands and created this world by steadily filling in its own empty spaces. Among them were many parts I had not set. For example, the creative names of clubs I had merely mentioned in passing, and the pair of man and woman secretly having a tryst in the woods of that park.
“……Ugh. But that’s a bit much.”
When they suddenly started groping each other, I frowned and stood up.
Afterward, I busily walked around Hero Park and brought back club application forms. Four in total. Their gazes weren’t exactly friendly, but I definitely received them.
“Travel is a given.”
A full four major characters joined the travel club. It was the result of me practically cramming them in to cause incidents.
However, despite its importance in story progression, the travel club was not very popular. Even including all years from first to third, it had only about 20 members, and since the third years were busy with guild interviews, trial deployments, and whatnot, attendance would be around 14 people.
I couldn’t explain the reason either. I had just reduced the numbers because it seemed hard to write if there were too many people.
So travel was confirmed. As for the rest, after thinking it over, I decided to apply to just two more: hunting and academics, excluding reading.
In any case, clubs were activities done after all classes ended, and these three did not overlap in dates. Academics was on Tuesday, hunting on Thursday, and only travel was on Saturday and Sunday depending on the circumstances.
Somehow, Rachel ended up being the only one left out(?), but right now, she was an existence I couldn’t touch.
“Okay.”
Flick.
For no reason, I flicked the perfectly fine paper with my finger and stood up again. Now it was time to go receive the club presidents’ strange gazes once more.
* * *
In Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, guilds that competed for the top ranks in the world were concentrated. Prominent guilds that frequently released “breaking news of conquests”—such as “Essence of the Strait,” “Silent Moon,” and “Frigid Sanctuary”—formed a special guild district in downtown Seoul and led the development of cutting-edge industry, the subjugation of monsters, and the eradication of Djinn.
“The guild tour has been scheduled for Friday, two weeks from now.”
Skyscrapers rose high in the special guild district. However, among them, the especially radiant building did not stand that tall. The structure, whose geometric design captured the eye, was the headquarters of the guild “Creator’s Sacred Grace.”
This guild headquarters, where magic and engineering were exquisitely combined, had twice the area it appeared to have from the outside, and its mana concentration was always maintained at grade 3 or higher.
“Mm. I understand.”
In that place, which offered an optimal environment not only for heroes but for ordinary people as well, Vice Leader Yun Seunga was receiving a report from her secretary.
At present, Yun Seunga’s attention was focused entirely on “talent.”
Rumors were widespread throughout the field that this class of Cube was especially outstanding. Among them, several possessed talents that could influence a guild’s ranking all on their own, so if they were stolen away by rival guilds, the number one position they had seized through blood and sweat would undoubtedly become unstable. That was why Yun Seunga’s eyes were bloodshot as she watched the “Cube First Practical Training” videos uploaded to the guild’s intranet database.
“Leaving that aside, Kim Suho really is exceptional.”
The protagonist of the video Yun Seunga was currently watching was Kim Suho, who had ranked first in the practical training.
The sword he wielded against the monster was honed with sharp sword qi. And it was not only the sword qi. What about the purity of his swordsmanship? A naturalness like flowing water. Swordsmanship like a dance, resembling no modern sword art whatsoever. It seemed to cut not only through the monster, but through space itself.
“Yes. He does not seem to have any ties to other guilds either, so he is our top recruitment priority.”
“I want to bring him in somehow… Wait. But there’s a kid who uses a gun too?”
Kim Suho’s video ended, and as Yun Seunga skimmed through the remaining list, her eyes shone with curiosity.
“Yes. There was some talk about him on the guild community as well.”
“Oh, really? I’ve been too busy lately.”
“A video was uploaded on the Cube community. He was on the same team as Yu Yeonha, and it seems many people watched it because of that. Internally, they’re calling him a ‘heretic.’”
“Hmm… a heretic.”
Suddenly curious about this unprecedented talent, Yun Seunga played the video.
[Team 5]
[Jin Hoseung Hazuki Yu Yeonha Kim Hajin]
The video, which was just over ten minutes long, certainly had elements that drew the eye, though not quite enough to inspire admiration.
“He fired sixty rounds in 2.78 seconds, and it’s not even an automatic rifle?”
It was physically impossible. Even if his reflexes were outstanding enough to pull the trigger that many times, a handgun would not be able to withstand it. In other words, some ability beyond common sense had been at work.
“Yes. It seems he changed his weapon from a blade to a handgun as soon as he entered Cube.”
“…It’s an Awakening, isn’t it?”
“That is my assumption.”
Awakening at seventeen… Yun Seunga leaned back in her chair and thought.
A case where one had to abandon the main weapon used before Awakening after the Awakening occurred.
Rare, but it did happen.
Gifts certainly distinguished cadets from one another, but before Awakening, one could not know for certain what kind of Gift one possessed. Usually, in cases like this, because the person had to change the weapon they were accustomed to, their career would regress by at least three years.
That was also why the “Agent Military Academy,” the stage before Cube, strongly encouraged cadets to use a variety of weapons. If they became familiar with many weapons, they would be able to respond a little more flexibly should something like this happen in the future.
“He did Awaken early, but if that means he has no choice but to use guns, he isn’t all that attractive.”
“That is correct. If his Gift applied to bows as well, he would have used a bow.”
Yun Seunga agreed at first glance, but even so, the fact that he had Awakened at seventeen was rare.
“Still, we should at least keep him in mind. Are there any scouts with nothing to do right now?”
“No. This class is so exceptional that everyone is already handling as much as they can.”
At that, Yun Seunga fell into thought. Scouts were expensive these days too. And even if she went through the trouble of hiring one, if they had no attachment to the guild, they could simply take the information and fly off to another guild.
“…Then just leave him be. If he’s truly exceptional, he’ll stand out on his own later.”
In the end, that was the conclusion they reached, and the secretary nodded without any particular objection.
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In Everyday Life (2)
I am thinking that I need to earn money. And not without reason. When I saw the bill that flew into my dorm this time, I nearly fainted in shock. My debt is a whopping 300 million won. In other words, I had used up every special loan available to a Cube cadet. It was probably Chundong’s doing.
The interest on that loan is low, around 1% per year, but for someone like me with no income, the outgoing expenses are no small matter. However, the bank account Chundong left behind contains only 3 million won. In this world, where power and capital are everything, it is nowhere near enough to survive.
Fortunately, the methods by which I can earn money right now are clear and varied.
First, stocks. Even now, towers and dungeons are scattered all over the world, and new towers and dungeons are constantly being created. Excavating them, discovering them, or clearing them