“What’s that at your waist?”
I looked down at my waist. A cadet pistol was holstered on the belt I always wore.
“Ah... I brought it with me... I forgot...”
Having no choice, I drew the gun.
“But will this be okay? Unlike a wooden sword, I can’t control the force of my gun.”
“It’s fine.”
“...But this isn’t actually my real weapon, you know? I’m only using it because private weapons can’t be used in Cube...”
I stalled for time while racking my brains as hard as I could. Wasn’t there anything I could use to hope for even the slightest stroke of luck?
First, let’s check the surrounding terrain.
We were in the forest. The sky was dark, and the wind was cool.
Kim Suho’s hair fluttered in the west wind, and the jacket he had taken off flapped on the ground.
...Wait.
The jacket.
The jacket underfoot.
If the current me wanted to be acknowledged by Kim Suho, even by sheer luck, SP’s help was essential.
“Are you ready?”
When I only stood there staring at the ground, Kim Suho spoke.
“Hold on. I got an urgent message.”
I wasn’t ready yet. I activated my laptop through my smartwatch.
...After busily tapping away at the hologram keyboard for about two minutes, the result was as follows.
===
[Cadet’s Jacket]
A jacket produced by Cube.
─Trapification (陷庭化)
*The moment a person steps on this jacket, an unknown force will act upon the target and strongly push them away.
*Lasts only for 10 minutes, and the effect disappears after activating once.
===
[25 SP will be consumed. Would you like to modify it?]
Perhaps because it didn’t inflict fatal damage and was a volatile setting that disappeared after 10 minutes, the SP cost was far lower than expected. This much was well worth investing.
“I’m ready.”
I turned off the smartwatch and let out a deep breath.
Save complete.
“Then I’m starting.”
“...Yeah.”
The man who would one day become the strongest in this world stood before me. He was merely standing there, yet the pressure felt as though it were crushing my entire body.
Just as I held my breath from the tension welling up inside me—
Kim Suho charged at me. His movement was as fast as light, impossible to follow with the naked eye.
The usual me would never have been able to react, but I filled that gap with “Bullet Time.”
My perceived time slowed in an instant.
Even so, Kim Suho’s movements were far faster than mine, but the trajectory of the wooden sword he swung was clearly visible.
After barely dodging by lowering my body, I checked the jacket’s position.
Four steps.
I wasn’t asking for much.
I only hoped I could take four more steps forward.
Whoosh—
The wooden sword brushed past my eyes. I fired my pistol at Kim Suho’s foot. Kim Suho lightly leapt up and avoided it, then spun around and swung his wooden sword.
The wooden sword grazed my shoulder. Burning pain flooded through me, but thanks to that, I advanced two more steps.
However, Kim Suho’s sword, which had just grazed my shoulder, now shot upward.
I instinctively felt it.
I couldn’t block it.
Given my body’s structure, it was a blow I had no choice but to take. How could someone like me possibly dodge a swift sword that came at me five times in a single second?
Left with no choice, I used Aether.
Aether rose from beneath my feet and instantly pushed my body forward. With that single step, I came to stand right in front of the jacket.
Kim Suho seemed greatly surprised just from the fact that I had evaded his consecutive strikes. But he gave me no time to catch my breath and followed after me. He charged while crouching like an awl, swinging his sword toward my shoulder.
But before that sword could touch my body—
His foot stepped on the jacket.
That was enough.
“...!”
Kim Suho’s body disappeared before my eyes. Without even a scream, he was sent flying far backward.
His center of gravity had been leaning forward for the final blow, and above all, he had never expected it, so Kim Suho couldn’t even break his fall properly. He was pushed back about fifty meters and tumbled across the ground.
He hurriedly tried to get up.
But my bullet struck first.
The pebble located right beside Kim Suho’s head.
“...If this had been real combat, I would’ve hit you.”
Though it would’ve been blocked by his protective energy anyway.
I trudged over to Kim Suho. Kim Suho wore a blank expression, as if his soul had left him.
However, when I held out my hand to him, a deep smile had already appeared on his lips.
End
Under the faint moonlight, Kim Suho was walking back to the dorm alone. As he silently walked down the dark path, he suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
The spar that had just taken place replayed before his eyes. Himself, miserably flung away right in front of Kim Hajin. He couldn’t grasp at all what kind of attack it had been, nor what sort of impact had struck him.
Had it been a physical attack, or an instantaneous release of magic power? Even now, by a force he still could not understand, he had been removed from the battlefield, and Kim Hajin had splendidly landed an effective hit.
‘...I thought I was the only one hiding things.’
Strength beyond a certain degree inevitably stood out. That was why Kim Suho had only revealed enough of his power to maintain first place at Cube. He hid his strength for his own sake, yet still became first place for his family’s sake.
‘So there was someone else who thought the same way I did.’
Kim Hajin had evaded the swift sword technique he had swung in earnest with bizarre footwork. Even thinking back on it, the movement was mysterious.
It was movement that seemed to have no foundation and no thought behind it.
It looked slow and full of openings, and so it seemed he could strike him dozens of times, but his sword had only grazed him shallowly or cut through empty air.
Even at the moment he thought, It’s over—he had performed an impossible acrobatic maneuver and escaped his range. It had seemed like he could win easily, yet he hadn’t been able to.
It was truly emptiness and reality intertwined (虛虛實實).
Indeed, it was flawlessness disguised as an opening.
“...Hm?”
At that moment, Kim Suho heard the sound of a sword cutting through the wind. A clenched battle cry also faintly reached him. The source was a park near the dorm; a girl was swinging a sword.
It was Chae Nayun.
“What are you doing?”
“...Hyak!”
Chae Nayun, startled out of her wits, flung the sword she had been swinging far away. The sword flew like a baseball bat and struck the window of some dorm room. Fortunately, it didn’t break, but the room’s light turned on, as if the dorm’s occupant had woken up.
“Wh-What the!”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“...”
Chae Nayun glared fiercely at the sudden uninvited guest. Kim Suho gave a faint smile and asked,
“Were you practicing swordsmanship?”
“...Just physical training.”
After cutting him off like that, Chae Nayun extended her magic power. The sword was pulled back into her grasp along the magic power.
Chae Nayun brushed the dirt off the sword and aimed it at Kim Suho.
“By the way, what were you doing out so late?”
“Me?”
Kim Suho answered honestly.
“I met Kim Hajin.”
At that, Chae Nayun’s eyes widened.
“Kim Hajin?”
“Yeah.”
“...What did you do when you met him?”
Pretending not to be interested, Chae Nayun swept her sidelocks behind her ear as she asked. At that, a mischievous thought suddenly came to Kim Suho.
“We talked about you.”
“Wh-What kind of dog—bullshit is that, you—damn it.”
Her reaction was dramatic. Her face had turned red all the way to her ears, and her hands and feet couldn’t stay still at all. Kim Suho shook his head.
“I’m joking. We sparred.”
“...Sparred? You and Kim Hajin?”
“Yeah.”
“Who won? I mean, obviously you won. But why?”
“...You don’t need to know that much.”
Chae Nayun looked at Kim Suho with a sullen face. Then, as if sulking, she whipped her head away and began focusing on swordsmanship again.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Her sword swung. But she was using far too much strength.
Unable to watch any longer, Kim Suho stepped forward.
“You shouldn’t grip a sword like that.”
“...What do you mean?”
“If you put that much strength into it, even things that should be cut won’t be cut.”
Kim Suho took a wooden sword from his coat and demonstrated. He did not clench the sword. He held it lightly yet firmly, so that he could change his grip at any moment.
Kim Suho swung the sword as a demonstration. A vivid sword wind was drawn through the air. That sword wind scattered as it touched Chae Nayun’s hair.
At that moment, Chae Nayun’s indifferent attitude changed. She carefully watched Kim Suho’s grip and copied it exactly.
“...L-Like this?”
Kim Suho’s sudden lesson continued until midnight.
* * *
As soon as Chae Nayun returned to her dorm, she made a video call to Hazuki. It was to tell her about the team composition she had just decided on.
She placed Hazuki as the vice-captain and chose an ordinary supporter and one sharpshooter.
2 warriors, 1 sharpshooter, 1 supporter, 1 mage.
Since the mage was from the upper ranks of Seoul Academy, it was a fairly decent team composition. On top of that, wasn’t she herself a flexible fighter who could switch between warrior and sharpshooter? It wasn’t just decent—it was an extremely good composition.
—Ah... Then Hajin-ssi can’t come?
However, Hazuki inside the hologram muttered regretfully.
“Yeah, well. I could bring him if I wanted, but then that team would become pitiful. Other than Rachel, it was full of nobodies.”
Chae Nayun replied in a needlessly loud voice.
Just as she said, Rachel’s team composition wasn’t very good aside from Rachel and Kim Hajin. For starters, it had 3 warriors and 1 sharpshooter with no supporter, and the mage named Jamer was just so-so, around the lower-middle ranks.
—That’s true, but...
“Let’s not think about them. Anyway, I’m submitting the team list like this, okay?”
—Yes, yes.
And so, Chae Nayun’s team was finalized.
Chae Nayun ended the video call and lay down on her bed.
It was time to sleep now, but sleep wouldn’t come.
Honestly, she felt wronged and irritated. If she had known this would happen, she would have brought Kim Hajin in first. Then she could have gotten a good score in theory too. For no reason, she had thrown a fit by herself and ended up having him snatched away by Rachel.
“...Shit. I’m not going to lose again, am I?”
The memory of losing to Rachel in the last midterm was still vivid. That day’s defeat was perhaps one of the decisive reasons she had taken up the sword.
As she recalled that dark history under her blanket, Chae Nayun eventually sprang upright. She couldn’t sleep at all.
Left with no choice, Chae Nayun picked up the helmet she had placed beside her bed. To relieve stress at such a late hour, there was nothing like a game.
[Gladiator of the Century]
A famous virtual reality game whose tournaments were sometimes broadcast on public television.
It was said to be a great help for image training, so many heroes and cadets around the world enjoyed it. Because it was so famous, the person who ranked first in a season would even receive media attention.
[NayunJjajangman]
[98 Wins 17 Losses]
This brilliant record was another point of pride Chae Nayun had cultivated.
“Hmm.”
Rather than ranked matches, open battles that could relieve stress more easily suited her perfectly right now.
Swish. Swish. Rolling her eyes around as she searched for an opponent, Chae Nayun finally found a player.
The nickname was Extra7. Their record was 43 wins and 43 losses. Their tier was Platinum (白金).
Looks like they’d die if I threw a few punches.
[You have requested a duel with “Extra7.”]
[Extra7 has accepted the duel request.]
“Oho, this guy. No fear, huh?”
Chae Nayun smirked and focused her mind on the virtual reality.
There were no stats or items in this game. Only combat sense and excellent control determined the outcome.
[Start!]
The duel began. At first, Chae Nayun intended to test the waters. But her opponent was unexpectedly aggressive. The moment she thought, Huh? her character’s body floated into the air, and then the following combo tore her entire body to shreds. When she came to her senses, her vision was red.
“Uh, what the hell. Fuck. Hey, hey!”
Only then did she hurriedly try to take it seriously, but she had too little health left.
...In the end, she lost just three minutes after the duel began.
[Defeat]
Chae Nayun blankly stared at the letters, then twisted her face with a crunch.
“Ah, this bastard’s using cheap tricks like crazy!”
*
[Victory]
I won again this time. The game I’m playing right now is [Gladiator of the Century]. The graphics and movements are quite realistic, so I’ve been enjoying it lately for image training.
“So it applies like this too.”
The number 37 was engraved on the rim of this helmet-like game device. It meant the random reinforcement system was in effect.
===
▶「Random Reinforcement System」
[Low Rank] [Chaos Attribute]
...
─Random Reinforcement
*Enhances the “concept” of each recognized piece of equipment by 1–44%. Once set, the percentage is maintained for 24 hours, and after 24 hours, it is randomly set again.
===
The strengthening of the “concept” itself. Because of that, my game console became on a completely different level from other consoles. Not only had the performance and functions of the console taken a revolutionary step forward, it also meant that everything I thought and felt inside the virtual reality game was enhanced by 37% in numbers, and even more than that in terms of sensation.
“I ended up winning seven in a row.”
Thanks to that, I beat someone with 98 wins and 17 losses a whopping seven times in a row. Though it was just a public match.
[NayunJjajangman has requested a rematch]
[NayunJjajangman has requested a rematch]
[NayunJjajangman has requested a rematch······]
After getting crushed like that, this guy sure has a lot of persistence. Is he a Chinese restaurant chef or something?
But I have to sleep now.
I turned off the game and set down the helmet, and then I saw Evangel.
“Dewicious. Ah, so tasty.”
She had definitely been asleep when I came home. But when I was about to start playing, she quietly woke up, and now she was happily eating cake with it smeared all over her hands.
The huge cake had already shrunk by nearly half. Is it okay for her to eat that much? I somehow felt worried.
After silently watching Evangel for a while, I eventually took the cake away.
“Ah, aah! What! What!”
“······Let’s eat the rest later.”
“Why, whyyy!”
“It’s bad for your body.”
Evangel hopped up and down toward the cake. But I was cold-hearted. I put the cake in the fridge, on the very top shelf at that.
Realizing she could no longer get it with her own hands, Evangel placed her hands on her waist and furrowed her brow. Her face was filled with dissatisfaction at the world.
“I wanna eat more! I said I wanna eat more!”
Now she’s even throwing tantrums. I brought my index finger to my lips.
“Shh. Snacks are something you only eat a little of after a meal. And I told you not to make noise at night.”
“······.”
At my words, she pressed her mouth shut, but both her hands were trembling. Left with no choice, I lifted Evangel up in my arms.
“Tomorrow. Let’s eat it tomorrow. Okay? I’ll buy something even tastier in the morning.”
“······Really?”
“Of course. Have you ever seen me not keep a promise?”
When I stroked her head, only then did her anger seem to ease a little.
Not long after that, Evangel fell asleep, and I laid the peacefully sleeping Evangel down on the bed.
Then I checked my smartwatch and saw that Kim Suho had sent me a text two hours ago.
[The second Friday of August. Let’s meet then.]
“······Phew, what a relief.”
===
[Cadet Overcoat]
An overcoat produced by Cube itself.
─Trapification (陷庭化)
*The moment a person steps on this jacket, an unknown force activates and powerfully pushes the target away.
*It lasts only for 10 minutes, and once activated, the effect disappears.
===
Thanks to this, I seem to have managed to get recognized somehow. Kim Suho didn’t seem to suspect much either. Well, how could he suspect anything when it was his own item?
On top of that, it was an “unknown force.” Even if Kim Suho died and came back to life, he probably wouldn’t be able to figure out what had hit him.
* * *
Wednesday.
The first class after team formation began. Practical training, “Dungeon Exploration.”
Normally, when heroes discover a dungeon, they send in an advance party before attacking it. It is to roughly grasp what lies inside the dungeon, and in this class, the cadets had to faithfully carry out the role of that advance party.
“Ah, I’m freezing to death.”
“Auuugh. Hajin. Aren’t you cold?”
The dungeon assigned to our team was a Freezing Ice Dungeon, surrounded on all sides by ice. The five of us walked along the path, shivering in the cold.
Had we walked for about twenty minutes? A five-way fork appeared.
“It’s here. This is it.”
Tomer suddenly pointed to the path on the far right. I opened my eyes wide and looked in the direction Tomer indicated. Sure enough, there was a trap there.
“No. It’s not there.”
“What? It is, though?”
Right now, Tomer was leading us into a trap and