Chapter 41

A day since the end of the test…

Shin YuSung entered the classroom, as he always did. But the reaction that the F Class students had towards him was quite different than usual.

“Hey, YuSung’s here!”

“F Class’s here~ who are you eating lunch with today?”

“I heard he packs his own lunch.”

It seemed like Sumire’s homemade lunches caused a misunderstanding to spread in the class. Every time someone mentioned Shin YuSung, someone else jumped into the conversation to pitch their own two cents.

“What, is he good at cooking, too?”

“There really isn’t anything he can’t do, huh?”

Before, his classmates looked at him from a distance with reverent eyes. Now, it seemed like they all wanted to get closer to him.

The leadership that he had shown during the test and his efforts that brought F Class to victory had captivated his classmates.

And among them, Renia had long become a complete devotee to him.

“I’ve cleaned up a place  a good view for you, Shin YuSung-nim.”

Renia clasped the hem of her school uniform skirt with one hand as if she were a noblewoman from the Middle Ages and gave a refined curtsy at his arrival.

“Fufu, and what brings you here?”

The desk that Renia had prepared for him was a window seat. Sunlight streamed down onto it in a pleasing manner. Someone had placed a beautiful flower in a glass bottle on the surface.

“ Does Your Highness know the meaning of the ragras in flower language?”

“U-um, let’s see…”

Shin YuSung laughed in a strained manner at Renia’s ostentatious greeting. Lee SiWoo, who was standing right next to them, only added more onto it.

“YuSung-ah. It means gratitude for your kindness. I chose it myself.”

“And I brought the glass. We put a lot of effort into it!”

Renia stuck a thumb up, reverting back to her original speech pattern. Her healthy, tanned-looking skin and exotic looks were a result of her Australian origins. However, her mannerisms were completely Korean.

“Thank you. Though the credit should be given to all of you.”

Shin YuSung didn’t fail to show humility, even when he had performed such a huge part in the test.

“His personality… also a pass,” Renia mumbled to herself, as if drunk on his humble words.

“What’s he passing?” Lee SiWoo asked, eyes narrowed. Renia looked at the boy and answered him in a joking tone.

“Ehe! Requirements to be my husband, of course!”

“…Ugh. You’re insane.”

Shin YuSung was practically a religious entity in F Class at this point.

“He’s going to participate in the Representative Selection this time, right? You know, our family’s pretty big! I’ll tell them to vote for you!”

“Whoa, really? YuSung is gonna be in the selections? I’ll vote for him too, then!”

“Of course you will. He’s the pride and joy of F Class.”

A lot of interest started aiming itself towards Shin YuSung. As a consequence, however, Sumire couldn’t get any closer to him.

“Um, e-excuse me…”

Sumire’s mutters didn’t reach Shin YuSung at all. Even when she tried to approach him as usual, the human wall between them was too dense. But Sumire did not give up. In fact, she made some sort of pledge to herself before struggling and squeezing through the gaps until she had finally reached the boy’s side.

“Sh-Shin YuSung-ssi! H-here…”

What she had handed to him were her notes from class, all neatly organized by Sumire herself. Everything was handwritten in her neat writing, and all of the important points were charmingly marked with a star.

“Ah, thank you, Sumire. It’s the notes you mentioned earlier, right. These are really neat.”

“Th… heehee… I-it isn’t anything much.”

The corners of Sumire’s lips were twitching in her effort to stop her laughter from seeping out. Lee SiWoo watched her do so, disgusted.

‘She really is…’

To Lee SiWoo, the Sumire that he saw was an incredibly gloomy person. And despite seeming like a rather passive person most of the time, there was a wicked gleam in her eye whenever she looked at Shin YuSung.

‘Hmmm…she really is gloomy.’

Sumire’s face reddened at Shin YuSung’s praise without a single idea about the thoughts Lee SiWoo was aiming towards her.

“R-really, it isn’t! Besides… this is all stuff you can learn right away! It isn’t anything special!”

Sumire’s words weren’t based entirely on humility. In reality, while Sumire’s written test scores were exemplary, she was still last in the student rankings. For the students aiming to be hunters, the Academy treated real-life experience and application as above everything else.

The most important thing needed in a hunter was strength.

It was also important to have the wisdom that one earned through study, but still less important.

Shin YuSung slowly read through the notes that Sumire had given him.

“Hey, hey, everyone, back off. YuSung is reading.”

Always quick on the uptake, Lee SiWoo deployed his scheme to make the other F Class students disperse. He and Sumire remained next to SHin YuSung.

[1–1 Hunter Classifications]

[1–4 About Dungeons and the Tower]

[1–5 Rules on Extracurricular Activities]

[1–6…]

Shin YuSung carefully searched through the table of contents, then flipped through the pages. He eventually found the information he wanted to take a look at.

[1–9 Extracurricular Patrol]

Lee SiWoo, who was also reading the notebook, nodded his head as he figured out what the other boy was doing.

“Because of the Metro City patrol, right?”

“Come to think of it… you’ll be working with a city that large… e-even so, I’ll teach you all of the theory!”

Sumire, with great effort, kindled her passion. It was a good opportunity for her to be of help to Shin YuSung in the areas of theory and textbook notes.

“Sounds good, Sumire. I’ll be in your care—my extracurricular activity starts tomorrow.”

Sumire pulled up a chair.

‘S… Sitting next to Shin YuSung-ssi…’

Sumire’s lightly cackling expression seemed happier than usual.

* * *

* * *

They had lost in the intramurals.

A Class was quiet, its mood lowered by the results.

“Guysssss~!”

But Amy didn’t just let the silence fester. She slid open the door loudly, as always, slamming it into the wall.

“It is I!!”

She was striking a bombastic pose with her hands on her hips. At her appearance, her classmates began to shower her with applause.

“You’re cool as ever!”

Amy blew kisses at the crowd in response to their cheers.

“Thank you, thank you! It has been a while, everyone!”

“Can’t you read the mood?”

Kim EunAh glared at the girl with narrowed eyes. However, this did not deter Amy from sticking herself right onto her body.

“I don’t read that kinda stuff~”

Amy looked up, eyes shining. Kim EunAh made an expression that said, “urk!”.

“Fine, whatever.”

“Hey, by the way~ what a surprise!”

Amy began to snicker, hand covering her mouth. Her eyebrows were wriggling as well.

“What?” asked Kim EunAh. She had a bad feeling about this.

Amy poked the other girl’s stomach with her finger.

“The extracurricular you’re doing with Team Leader-nim! You accepted it! Hm, you said you were going to take a break for a while~ why’d you change your mind?”

Amy looked like she was having fun.

Kim EunAh hated people who liked to gossip and people who bothered others. But weirdly enough, she couldn’t say the same for Amy, who definitely qualified for both categories.

“What? I’m just interested in him.”

“I-interested!? What part? It’s Team Leader-nim’s looks, isn’t it!?”

Amy’s eyes were shining even brighter. Kim EunAh pushed the other girl’s forehead away from herself to create some distance between the two.

“…Well, he’s in F Class, but he’s really fucking strong. That’s it.”

“Well, whatever! You have to play nice with him, you hear?”

“I-I got it. Get off me.”

Kim EunAh just barely managed to get the leech in the form of a girl off of her. She then turned her head towards the window and looked at the light streaming through it, chin propped up by her hand.

‘…Metro City.’

The pride and joy of Busan, as well as the location in which the Representative Selections were going to be held. But those were not the reasons why the city was special to Kim EunAh.

—Metro City was where her brother’s hospital was situated. She had constantly been visiting him and the city since he had fallen into a coma.

She could now visit the city while patrolling it. There was no reason for Kim EunAh to refuse the offer.

‘…I’ll be seeing you soon.’

Kim EunAh, still looking out of the window, was unconsciously smiling to herself.

* * * *

Metro City’s high-rise…

The man wearing glasses was pointing at the glowing blue portal and rambling like a child.

“Isn’t this incredible? This is the first time that our nation has ever implemented the International Competition system! This is just a portion of it, of course, but… all I need is time!”

Mei Lin, wearing her signature cheongsam, strode towards him; her high heels clacked on the floor.

“…Don’t worry. If the system works properly, the Association won’t skimp on providing any manpower.”

Mei Lin carefully inspected the portal, continuing to talk all the while.

“Mr. President is also watching the Representative Selections this time around.”

“Th-the Association President himself!”

The man with glasses wiped the cold sweat running down his face with a handkerchief. The thought of one of the legends of Korea, Kang YuChan, watching filled his body with nervousness. Mei Lin looked at the man, expressionless.

“…Which is why failure will not be tolerated.”

“U-understood! We will go all-out in the implementation for the Selections!”

He performed an exaggerated salute at Mei Lin like a soldier. She herself was standing perfectly upright. Using only her chin, she indicated towards the portal.

“Since it’s already activated, do you mind if I try it myself?”

“Yes! It’s all ready!” he replied confidently.

Mei Lin slowly put her hand inside the portal.

Woosh!

Her body was sucked into it as if she were entering a dungeon.

Flash! Wooosh!

Mei Lin opened her eyes as if nothing had happened. As soon as she entered the portal, the office that she had just been in was nowhere to be seen; in its place, a massive, empty city lay before her eyes.

“How is it? It’s 100% virtual space, but everything is exactly the same as the real thing!

The man had followed in behind her and was making a huge fuss. Mei Lin touched the dirt surrounding the trees lining the roads. A soft texture lingered at her fingertips. The city was a lively panorama. Mei Lin gathered mana in her index finger and cut the back of her hand.

Bzzt!

Instead of blood spilling from the wound, holographic pixels spit out from it.

“It’s perfect.”

She nodded her head stoically. The man spread out his arms in a grand gesture as if inviting her to take a look around the area.

“This is a place where no one gets hurt, no matter what sort of battle takes place in it!”

Like he had said, it was a virtual space created using the latest in portal technology and artifact mana. If one received a mortal wound, they would be ejected out of the portal, but that was it. No one got hurt.

“Choosing our company for this job was the greatest decision that the Hunter Association could have made.”

Mei Lin scanned her surroundings at his words.

A large, empty city.

—A desperate battle for survival between the elite hunter academy students in pursuit of the number 1 spot.

‘There’s no doubt this will be fun.’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of course, out of the countless students taking part in it, there was only one that Mei Lin was keeping an eye out for.

‘…Shin YuSung.’

A boy that the Fist King, Yu WonHak, and the Association president, Kang YuChan, were watching. A newcomer who streaked across the sky like a comet. Shin YuSung had managed to perform a first-event double raid in a dungeon raid that the Association had hosted.

Despite all of this, the Trait that he had been born with was a mere F-rank one. Mei Lin’s interest couldn’t help but be piqued.

It was still unknown, however, whether Shin YuSung would win in the Representative Selections.

‘Adela.’

There was an opponent of overwhelming strength among the first years of Gaon Academy, who had claimed the title of the strongest before Shin YuSung had even transferred to the school.

‘Who will win between the two?’

Mei Lin’s mouth formed a perfect curve, showing her /invite/reapercomics