“Ugh~ Training is tough. Suhyun, if you don’t have any plans tonight, why don’t you grab dinner with me?”
“…….”
“Suhyun? Hey, Suhyun!”
“Uh, uh? Ah… I’m fine. You go ahead and eat alone.”
Had I been spacing out that badly? His voice snapped me back to reality, and I shook my head vigorously. Still, a foggy haze clung to my mind.
I kept staring off into space, and maybe sensing my distraction, my brother peeked at me with concern.
“Suhyun, are you really okay? You’re not feeling sick, are you?”
“Sick? No.”
“You look drained… All the more reason to eat.”
“Ugh, that food again. I said I’m fine.”
I pushed him away, a little annoyed, but truthfully, I wasn’t completely worry-free. Not exactly worried—more like a little uneasy.
‘Didn’t I catch her sneaking glances at me?’
Han So-young. She was the one who glanced at me sideways. I don’t know which busybody told him, but I felt oddly grateful. Very grateful, actually.
Still, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
If she had just looked straight on, maybe I wouldn’t mind. But sneaking glances behind my back? That had to mean she was conscious of me. Or maybe…
…Ah, I don’t know.
“What do you mean you don’t know? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“…Huh?”
“You just said you don’t know. Anyway, Suhyun, come on, let’s just go to the restaurant together. Okay?”
“Ugh, why do you keep pushing? I don’t want to go.”
Just as I barely managed to push his face away again, I suddenly spotted Han So-young walking toward us from a distance. Her face was still expressionless, but she was looking around as if searching for someone.
Without thinking, I started walking toward her.
“Ah.”
She spotted me immediately. For a moment, she seemed startled, then quickly approached with brisk steps. I guessed she’d been looking for me, but up close, she looked a little angry.
“Long time no see…”
“I didn’t see you earlier.”
As soon as she got close, she spoke quickly, catching me off guard.
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m telling you, I didn’t see the Mercenary Road thing earlier. That trainee was joking. We even got a written confession that it was a joke. If you want, you can check it. Actually, you should check it—I brought it here.”
Wait, a written confession?
I swallowed the words that rose to my throat and quickly grabbed So-young’s hand as she reached to pull out the paper. Her skin felt cool and soft—like holding a smooth, cold ice cream.
“You don’t have to show me.”
She looked down at our joined hands for a moment, then calmly lifted her head.
I spoke right away.
“Honestly, I kind of expected that.”
“…Huh?”
“I heard from Hayun. There’s a bit of a troublemaker among the magic talent trainees, right? Must be tough for you. Haha.”
“Yes… yes, that’s exactly it.”
So-young twisted her hand free with a neat flick, her face unchanged as she confirmed. I let go, suddenly realizing I had to hold back a laugh. After all, So-young was a proud woman.
Even if she was still sulking over the teasing last time, the incident earlier wasn’t entirely my fault. I figured it was better to just let it slide and back off a bit. I didn’t want to get into a power struggle with So-young over something so trivial.
With that in mind, I smiled and spoke. Surely she wouldn’t spit on a smiling face.
“By the way, it’s good timing we ran into each other. Istantel Low Road, could you spare some time? Let’s have tea sometime.”
“Tea?”
“Yes. I want to apologize for the other day, and also thank you for the Warp Gate thing.”
“You don’t have to… but well, I don’t mind.”
The awkwardness vanished completely. As we exchanged words, I felt us slipping back into our old rhythm.
Yeah. So-young wasn’t the petty type after all. What was I so worried about?
“Is that so? Good to hear. Haha.”
“Hmm. Actually, I do have some questions about the Magia matter.”
“There are a few things to talk about. I’ll come find you when you’re free.”
“I’m pretty free on weekends.”
With that, So-young bowed slightly and passed by me. Not in a rush like before, but with her usual graceful stride.
A moment later, after confirming she’d disappeared around the corner, I stretched as hard as I could. The fog in my head had finally cleared.
Glancing out the window, it looked like dusk. Hunger was finally creeping in, so I put my hand on my brother’s shoulder.
“Hey, should we head to the restaurant now?”
At that moment, he suddenly shrugged off my hand with a sharp sound. Then he turned to me, voice sulky.
“No. I’ll go alone.”
“Huh? But you said you were hungry earlier.”
“Yeah. Well, I’m going.”
“Bro?”
“You can have tea with Istantel Low Road. You like her so much.”
“No, that’s for the weekend…”
But he didn’t listen and shuffled down the hall—heading the opposite way from So-young.
I stared after him, dumbfounded.
…Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?
The User Academy’s schedule gets tighter as it moves from early to mid and late stages. It’s basically one training session after another. By the 14th week of the 100-day program, things start to ease up a bit after week 12, leaving some free time for personal maintenance or clan promotion.
That’s only if you finish the training on schedule. If not, weeks 13 and 14 are just more training. For rookies, it can feel like a nightmare.
Even special instructors can’t just do whatever they want—there’s a set curriculum.
For example, as So-young said, there’s almost no overlap between my training and that of the magic talent trainees. Maybe a few chances during the mental training that starts mid to late in the program.
Of course, it’s not impossible to adjust. Since Shin Jaeryong is the head instructor overseeing the schedule, he could probably move things up a bit.
But that’s still a long shot. For now, all I can do is wait. And since there are still many close-combat rookies I haven’t met, I’m not too bothered. Like I always think—there’s still plenty of time.
“Ugh!”
A surprisingly light laugh came from a burly man, followed by a spear flashing fiercely through the air.
But—
Thwack!
It was all show.
The spear barely left a scratch when it hit me, bouncing off harmlessly.
The man’s face twisted in disbelief. He probably thought he’d at least leave a mark, but the result was no different from the other rookies who had gone before him.
I just nodded and said,
“Next.”
He slumped his shoulders and stepped aside.
There were 52 trainees in total, mostly spear users.
Today’s training was simple: strike me with your weapon.
They’d already had basic training. Since the weekend sparring sessions I used to enjoy were gone, I thought this was a decent substitute.
The goal was practical—get them used to attacking a fellow user with a lethal weapon. I could also check their stances.
…Honestly, I was also using my third eye to check each trainee’s user info.
Soon after the man, a sharp-looking woman with short, stylish hair stepped forward.
She bowed politely, then took a few steps back, lowering her upper body.
Was she going to thrust?
“Ha!”
Just as I expected, she let out a fierce shout and lunged forward. When she got close enough, she planted her right foot firmly and thrust the spear with all her might. I clicked my tongue a few times and quickly swung my left arm to the side.
I felt a sharp jab. Then a grunt escaped me as the spear slid off, and the woman opened her mouth wide and stumbled backward. My left arm brushed against something soft and squishy… oh, it touched her chest.
She scrambled to her feet. Feeling a bit sorry, I offered some advice.
“Your initial stance was decent, but if you’re pivoting on your right foot, you need to put more weight into it. Just now, your knee and entire leg tensed up, which threw off your balance when you struck. That’s why your spear missed.”
“Ah, ah, ah, got it!”
Her face flushed bright red as she nodded rapidly and hurried back to her spot. I sighed quietly.
How is it possible there’s not a single talented recruit here? Of course, I haven’t seen all the trainees yet, but a sudden wave of doubt washed over me—was I just wasting my time?
After briefly soothing the bitter taste in my mouth, I quietly spoke.
“Next.”
That’s when it happened.
“Whoa~! Well, well, who do we have here~? Isn’t this the legendary Mercenary Lord himself~?”
A rough, booming voice echoed through the classroom.
The trainee who had just stepped forward froze and turned toward the door with a puzzled look. I followed their gaze, and the moment I saw who it was, my eyes sharpened.
Leaning casually against the half-open door stood none other than Gong Chan-ho. With a Suramachang sword strapped to his back, he was looking at me with a sly grin.
“Heh heh. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Since the last User Academy, I haven’t seen you… almost two years, right?”
Before I could say a word, Gong Chan-ho strode inside and scanned the trainees. Then, slinging his arm over my shoulder in a friendly half-hug, he gave me a few playful taps. His arm pressing down was surprisingly heavy.
“Hey, chicks! Do you know who this is?”
“Uh… Instructor Kim Soo-hyun…” someone answered hesitantly.
Gong Chan-ho laughed heartily and nodded exaggeratedly.
“That’s right! The Mercenary Clan Lord! You’ve all heard the name, right? Secret Class! One of the top ten! A war hero!”
“Ha… ha ha…”
“Come on, who else? There’s another instructor with the same name, but he’s nothing compared to this guy. Got it? This is a user qualified to be a special instructor! Not like anyone else!”
“……”
He never said the name outright, but it was basically an open advertisement for Jin Soo-hyun.
So this was what Shin Jae-ryong meant by that behavior.
The trainees either stayed silent or forced weak smiles. Judging by their reactions, he wasn’t exactly a popular instructor.
No matter how much he was boosting me up, Gong Chan-ho’s antics were clearly disruptive to the class. I could have formally complained, but something about it just rubbed me the wrong way.
Suddenly irritated, I shrugged off his arm from my shoulder and spoke quietly.
“User Gong Chan-ho. This is a training session. Please don’t interfere.”
“Huh? Ah, c’mon~. These are the kids I’m teaching as an instructor, so I should be allowed to watch a little, right?”
“User Gong Chan-ho.”
“By the way, this looks like a pretty interesting class… Mind if I give it a shot? You attack, I defend. How about it? Ha ha ha!”
He finished with a laugh, chuckling to himself like it was the funniest thing in the world.
At that moment, I didn’t hesitate—I pulled out my earring.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Ah, I’m really sorry. I got home late today due to some errands, and after writing about half the chapter, I dozed off. Lately, I’ve been feeling unusually exhausted. I ask for your understanding regarding the delay. (__) I’ll do my best to get back on track as soon as possible.
『Liriple.』
천국의악당: Congratulations on first place! Writing this after a while feels strangely nostalgic. Ha ha ha. :)
마스터칼솔럼: I agree. But once habits are formed early on, they’re hard to break. ㅜ.ㅠ
고오지이라아: Since many readers found it fun, I added this part today. It ties in well with the Gong Chan-ho incident. :)
hohokoya1: Of course. Both the work and studies are important. Personally, I hope you can catch both rabbits. Ha ha ha.
꿈꾸던그날: Nah, I already cut it down to two parts. To make it four, Mammon shouldn’t have appeared early on. The water’s spilled now. Heh heh. (?)
오뭬: Actually, I gave Kim Soo-hyun’s true name a slightly different nuance. And isn’t it about time for Ahn Hyun-do to see some spring? :D
꼬야: Before the nickname Royumi came about, other authors used to call me “Scene Castrator.” Well, thanks to Royumi(?), that faded quickly. -_-a
psk6492: Han So-young still needs to be embarrassed more and feel even more shame. For some reason, I just want to make her blush whenever she appears. (?)
피로물질: Oh, really? Let me check. (Checking…) Episode 443, page 10. Yep, it’s written as “왜! 뭐” instead of “뭐! 뭐.” I’ll fix that~.
감자띱: Oh, have you been waiting long? I posted it after 2 a.m…. ㅜ.ㅠ