Departure and Reunion
“Do you know anything about the academy’s instructor system?”
“I completed the academy six months ago, so I like to think I know a fair bit.”
In truth, I knew more than just a fair bit—I was intimately familiar with the details. At my response, Park Hyun-woo looked relieved and let out a sigh of relief.
“Great. Then shall we get straight to the point?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“We’re planning to appoint you as the chief instructor, but since you’re here alone from your clan, it seems you’ll need an assistant instructor.”
I looked at him, puzzled. Park Hyun-woo met my gaze steadily before continuing in a calm voice.
“Instructors can be categorized by their roles. Broadly speaking, there are educational instructors, control instructors, and lifestyle instructors. Both chief and assistant instructors share these roles.”
“I’m aware of that. But I doubt you’ll assign me as an educational instructor… It doesn’t seem necessary.”
“Well, you have a point. But having an assistant instructor isn’t a bad thing. If the chief instructor handles the main duties, the assistant makes their work easier. It will definitely be helpful.”
I nodded thoughtfully. Park Hyun-woo wasn’t wrong. Having an assistant wouldn’t hurt. Sensing my agreement, he spoke in a more relaxed tone.
“Even as a chief instructor, you’ll have relative freedom, as promised in the summons. But with an assistant, things will be even smoother.”
His eyes now held a peculiar eagerness. I had a hunch about his intentions. It seemed likely that he intended to assign someone from the Golden Lion clan to assist me. As if reading my thoughts, he quickly got to the point.
“Typically, chief and assistant instructors come from the same clan. However, given your unique situation, we can assign someone from our side.”
“You seem to have someone in mind.”
“You’re sharp. I was going to mention this after the new users settled in, but now seems better. Do you know a user named Kim Han-byeol, who graduated from the academy around the same time as you?”
”…”
I was inclined to refuse, but his next words made me reconsider. I almost laughed at how predictable his suggestion was. It was clear now. The Golden Lion clan was trying to connect me with either Seong Yu-bin or Kim Han-byeol. Otherwise, it made no sense to pair me with an assistant instructor who was also a newcomer.
“Ah… Yes, we’re somewhat acquainted.”
“From what Han-byeol tells me, it seems you’re more than just acquaintances.”
“That’s her perspective. I’m surprised she’s participating this time.”
“Don’t worry too much. She’s also a secret class user like you and has been well-trained. Her participation as an assistant instructor is partly to gain experience. She’s smart and should handle the role well. What do you think?”
I almost blurted out, “What a joke,” but managed to hold my tongue. The idea that Kim Han-byeol was eager to be my assistant was hard to believe. It seemed more likely that the clan was pushing her into this.
I decided to test the waters with my response.
“If you’re so keen on this arrangement, it wouldn’t be right to refuse. Let’s proceed, but only if she wants the position.”
“Haha, you’ve made a wise decision. She was eager from the start, so there’s no need to worry. I’ll make sure she’s well-prepared.”
The thought of Kim Han-byeol being eager for this role was unimaginable. I chuckled softly and offered a polite thank you. Park Hyun-woo waved it off, saying it was the least he could do, though his satisfied smile suggested otherwise.
“Entering the User Academy!”
As we exchanged pleasantries and walked on, a loud voice announced our arrival. Looking up, I saw the imposing structure of the User Academy. The new users, already overwhelmed by the unfamiliar surroundings, seemed even more daunted by the academy’s grandeur.
I watched them for a moment before quickening my pace toward the academy.
On a side note, many other clans had yet to arrive.
Settling the new users into their accommodations went smoothly. It took some time to divide them by numbers, but thankfully, there were no disturbances. After enduring the initiation rites for seven days, they seemed relieved to have a safe place to rest.
Though Park Hyun-woo assured me it was fine, I stepped forward to assist the control instructors. Not purely out of goodwill, of course—I activated my Third Eye to discreetly assess each of the over 250 newcomers.
In the end, there wasn’t much to gain. I found a few promising users, but none seemed capable of passing the initiation in just five days.
Guiding the new users to their lodgings concluded without any major issues. Only then could the instructors gather in one place. Most of the personnel from other clans arrived late, offering formal apologies. Watching Park Hyun-woo repeatedly remind himself to stay calm, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.
Each clan brought anywhere from one to four instructors, and with so many participating clans, the number of instructors exceeded fifty. Since we had to start training immediately—technically today, as it was already early morning when we entered the meeting room—detailed role assignments were necessary.
But I wasn’t particularly interested. Whether I was assigned to education, control, or lifestyle, I had been promised freedom in my activities. So, I focused on observing the selected personnel from the shadows.
One surprising aspect was that half of the remaining top ten from the Northern Continent were present.
Park Hyun-woo seemed quite taken aback by this. While there was precedent for top ten members participating in the User Academy, the proactive stance of the non-expedition clans seemed to bother him. But the non-expedition clans’ selections didn’t stop there.
Though not as prestigious as the top ten, the
The presence of renowned general class users seemed almost insignificant in comparison. The non-expedition clans had clearly selected their elite.
In contrast, the expedition clans’ selections were rather lackluster. Though not to be underestimated, they paled in comparison to the users I had just seen. Considering that Park Hyun-woo was among the more notable figures from the allied clans, one could gauge the level of the rest.
Frankly, I saw this as more than just proactive behavior—it was overbearing. While having skilled users as instructors wasn’t inherently bad, there were limits. It was too transparent.
Most new users had normal classes, so sending secret and rare class users was somewhat excessive. While knowing more could mean better teaching, possessing skills and imparting them were entirely different matters. In that sense, Seo Jin-woo from the
Regardless, I decided not to concern myself further. It wasn’t my business, and I, too, had a secret class. If they were good instructors, I had no complaints, so staying quiet was the best course of action.
“Assigning Yeon Hye-rim, Yoo Ji-tae, and Na Seung-hye to specific subjects is proving quite challenging…”
Park Hyun-woo muttered in a somber tone, sighing deeply. Given the nature of the instructor roles, educational instructors interacted most with the new users. This naturally led to heated debates over those positions, and Park Hyun-woo was busy mediating among them.
“For the first week, we’ll have the clans currently in charge continue their educational duties. I understand there are many distinguished individuals here, but knowing something and teaching it are very different matters.”
“Are you saying we have to follow the instructors around for a whole week to learn?”
“I didn’t say you had to follow them around. Since this is your first time participating, just get a feel for the atmosphere and how things work. After a week of observation, we’ll switch you to an instructor role.”
“Tch. Teaching isn’t that big of a deal. Besides, aren’t there a lot of first-time users here too? Does your clan have some secret instructor know-how?”
With each sarcastic remark, his face alternated between red and blue. Park Hyun-woo even brought up his past experience as an academy instructor on Earth, and it took a long time before he could finally calm the dissenters.
“It’s getting late. Let’s wrap up the first instructor meeting here. Please follow the training schedule as discussed today. If there are any issues, we can address them in future meetings. Otherwise, we’ll be here all night.”
“Alright, let’s call it a day. I’m exhausted. At this rate, all the instructors will be late for training tomorrow. Haha.”
Thankfully, when Jin-woo from the 10th division chimed in with his easygoing humor, the grumbling users finally fell silent. However, their faces still showed signs of discontent, suggesting that the academy wouldn’t run smoothly.
After what felt like an eternity, the chaotic first instructor meeting finally ended, and I managed to leave the conference room. Remembering the instructor dorms mentioned at the end of the meeting, I stretched my arms wide. For some reason, I felt unusually tired.
My assigned dorm was on the first floor of the academy’s main building. As I walked, I noticed the early morning mist beginning to form outside the window. The thought that the sun would rise in a few hours brought a wry smile to my face.
My role was a “Free” instructor. In simple terms, I was a substitute instructor. I was primarily responsible for supervision and daily life, but I could step in as an educational instructor if needed. Of course, I’d be more involved in mental training than in handling weapons.
Lost in these thoughts, I arrived at my designated dorm. After a brief introduction with the users assigned as lifestyle instructors, I opened the door. It had been such a long day that I could almost hear my brain complaining of fatigue.
As I stepped inside, I found a room spacious enough for one person. It seemed they had invested quite a bit, as it was more than adequate for a three-month stay…
“Snore…”
”…”
I wasn’t alone. It wasn’t a single room. I quickly stepped out to check the room number and confirmed it was indeed my dorm. Looking around the room again, I noticed there were two beds. On one of them, a female user was sitting slumped over, nodding off.
For a moment, I stared at her in a daze, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Hello, this is Royujin.
Round and round~. Round and round~. Let’s write while tapping the keyboard~. Smoking a cigarette~. Singing a song~. La la la, let’s write joyfully~. Snip snip snip~. Snip snip snip~. Sorry, I lost my mind for a moment. Haha. I barely made it in time for the midnight update. :)
Did you have a good Monday? For some reason, Mondays always make me feel sluggish. I guess the Monday blues are real. Now that Monday’s over, I hope you can shake off those blues. :D
『 Reader Replies 』
Miwolya: Congratulations on being first~! It seems like you’re picking up the pace lately. Haha. I noticed you were first again in the latest chapter. Maybe you’ll set a record for ten consecutive firsts… Just kidding. :) Enjoy chapter 211!
Yongarang: Sorry~. I had an early lecture on Monday, so I went to bed early. ㅜ.ㅠ I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I hope you stay healthy.
Goksd: Park Hyun-woo has his reasons, so he didn’t go that far. Hahaha. Even if he did, Su-hyun wouldn’t just accept it. Hehe.
Demuri21: Oh, you noticed. How did you know? Haha. Is there a class you’re curious about?
Ailia + Namdongsaenggogi + LookSiam: Thank you for the coupons! I’ll definitely do a continuous update when I have the time. ㅜ.ㅠ
HarujionS: Roughly? Hmm~ I initially planned for about 550 chapters, but it might go beyond that.
KashinM: It has a variety of meanings. It depends on the individual. For example, the protagonist… but that’s a spoiler. If you don’t mind spoilers, send me a message~.
Anonymous: Haha, no. I’m always grateful to the readers. I’ll do a continuous update when I have the time~.
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