Before Orion Academy opened, the instructors held meetings from morning till night for two days straight.
This kind of long meeting wasn’t exactly rare during this time.
Analyzing the new cadets after the placement exams and assigning them to the instructors with the highest potential for development took up a lot of time.
And on top of that.
The fact that they tried to peacefully bridge differences of opinion through dialogue also contributed to the lengthy meetings.
Not only the cadets but also the instructors came from different regions.
And their previous roles before becoming academy instructors were so varied that their perspectives on evaluating cadets differed, making it quite difficult to reach a consensus.
“Then Cadet Casey will be assigned to Instructor Carrot’s class.”
“Kyaa! Such a cute cadet!”
Instructor Carrot’s rabbit ears perked up in delight.
And so, after heated discussions, another cadet’s class assignment was decided.
The staff member in charge of moderating the meeting adjusted their glasses and pulled out the next document.
“Next up, Cadet Noah Frozenheart.”
“First place in both the entrance exam and practical placement test. She should go to Instructor Juyun.”
The instructors nodded in agreement without any objections.
Unlike cadets with mediocre results, decisions were quick when the results were overwhelmingly impressive.
“Cadet Noah Frozenheart will be assigned to Instructor Juyun’s class. Any objections?”
The moderator summarized and began to wrap up the agenda.
The instructors showed no objections.
While the moderator filled out the paperwork and stamped it, the small talk continued.
“Her practical skills were perfect, but she lined up all her written exam answers with ‘1’… Does she just like the number 1?”
“It’s probably her innate bloodline.”
At Orion Academy, you can graduate even with low written exam scores.
It might affect things like scholarships, but there’s no failing in written exams.
This is because Orion Academy’s founding purpose prioritizes combat-related education above all else.
“Next is Cadet Rohan.”
The moderator, having finished organizing, handed out the next document to the instructors.
The instructors kept chatting while moving their hands.
“Instructor Ed was in charge of that gymnasium, right? How was Frozenheart?”
“Well… she truly lived up to being Lord Seolho’s descendant. That’s the impression I got.”
Instructor Ed, scratching his scruffy beard that had grown during the meeting, answered.
The other instructors showed interest.
“The daughter of the Tenkaikai chairman, Cadet Ichinose Yui, was there too, right? I heard she aced the written exams.”
“That’s correct.”
“Was she a genius as the rumors said?”
“She was beyond a genius. More than the rumors suggested.”
The instructors marveled as they skimmed through the evaluation sheet Instructor Ed had written.
But soon, they furrowed their brows in confusion.
“But why did Cadet Ichinose Yui get third place in the practical exam?”
“Second place went to Rohan…?”
“Ah! That cadet from the southern region, right? Is there a reason for giving out ranks like this?”
It’s not like they’re pressuring them to favor the kids of higher-ups or anything.
They’re just genuinely curious and asking directly.
Instructor Ed knows the reason too.
Scratching his messy head, he shared his thoughts.
“We evaluated the cadets who perfectly destroyed the test golems based on Orion Academy’s goals.”
The pointless struggles of war and political conflicts between nations have long been proven meaningless.
And the era of treating monsters as mere materials for weapons is over.
The real threat to humanity now is monsters.
Especially those special entities that threaten the very existence of nations.
Everyone knows that if we don’t unite, we could end up like the southern region, facing destruction overnight.
Because of the terrifying disasters and incidents that have made this clear, Orion Academy is putting all its effort into fostering camaraderie between nations and training specialists to hunt monsters.
“By the way, it’s Cadet Rohan’s turn now.”
As Instructor Carrot put down the evaluation sheet and picked up the documents, everyone’s eyes shifted to the papers in front of them.
“Hmm, he just randomly marked all the answers as ‘3’ in the written exam.”
“Maybe it’s a performance to show confidence in his skills?”
Marking all answers as ‘3’ isn’t a big deal.
It’s not surprising. There’s always a quirky new cadet every year.
“But looking at his admission scores… *ahem*.”
“According to the entrance exam results, he barely scraped by, right?”
“It’s definitely an unusual case. Maybe he wasn’t in good condition on the exam day since he came from the south…”
The atmosphere was getting a bit drawn out.
Instructor Ed subtly raised his hand, drawing everyone’s attention, and continued explaining.
“Cadet Rohan is significantly lacking in total mana and physical abilities compared to Cadet Noah Frozenheart or Cadet Ichinose Yui.”
“Then what about this cadet earned him such high praise from Instructor Ed?”
As Instructor Carrot asked with a smile, Ed paused, recalling the moment, and shared his thoughts.
“If Cadet Ichinose Yui’s sword dance is an art of precision, Cadet Rohan’s swordsmanship is like that of a butcher skilled in slaughter.”
“Ohhh…”
“Perhaps because he’s from the south and has been through tough times, his blade work makes it seem like he’d be great at killing monsters.”
“Haha! Sounds like a promising kid.”
“Anyway, he’s a bit closer to the academy’s goals. That’s why I gave him second place.”
The decisive tone in his voice made the instructors’ eyes sparkle with interest.
It’s a rare thing for Instructor Ed to praise a cadet, after all.
“In my opinion, for Cadet Rohan to grow properly, he should be under Instructor Juyun…”
“It seems best to just do it.”
*****
The first day of school, prepared through repetitive routines.
Today, as usual, Rohan finished his early morning workout without fail and hurried to get ready to head to the Academy.
“Phew!”
To be honest, there wasn’t anything grand about his preparations.
Just putting on his Academy uniform and grabbing the bag he prepared yesterday was all it took.
‘Shall I go?’
He slipped on his only pair of sneakers and turned the doorknob.
*Click!*
As he opened the door, a cool breeze touched his skin.
The humid smell that couldn’t be felt in the afternoon—it was definitely morning.
Leaving the dormitory earlier than the set school time was unavoidable.
Even though he messed up the written exam, his practical skills weren’t bad. Thanks to that, he was too curious about which class he’d be assigned to.
It wasn’t just Rohan who was feeling this excitement.
The Orion Circle bulletin board had recently been filled with posts from new cadets asking questions and expressing concerns.
“Ahhh!”
Rohan filled his lungs with the cool air.
Stretching his legs, he enjoyed the fluttering feeling in his heart.
‘Maybe I’ll treat myself a little this morning.’
Rohan opened the shop where he had saved up points through achievements.
< Shop ─ Lv.1 >
◇ Random Skillbook – 500P (1-time purchase available)
◇ High-Protein Jerky – 3P
◇ Cloud Bread – 2P
◇ Coral Jelly – 2P
◇ Energy Drink – 2P
◇ Bottled Water – 2P
··
··
[ Remaining Points – 375P ]
Since purchasing the status window, he hadn’t spent a single point.
He had saved up quite a bit by focusing solely on the skillbook.
But today was an exception.
He decided to spend some precious points to buy jerky.
He had skipped breakfast, and the word ‘high-protein’ was especially appealing.
‘Just as a little celebration for the start of school.’
Plus, he wanted to figure out how items purchased from the shop were delivered.
[ You have purchased High-Protein Jerky. ]
As soon as he made the purchase, the points jingled and were deducted.
In front of his eyes, a space about the size of a fist wobbled.
‘…What’s that?’
Just as he was wondering what that hazy thing was, a notification window popped up.
[ High-Protein Jerky ]
◇ Jerky made by smoking over applewood for a long time.
◇ Made from beef tenderloin, low in fat and mild in flavor.
Information seeped into his mind, telling him to reach into the space to retrieve the item.
Following that, he experienced the strange sensation of his hand being sucked into thin air as he pulled out the item.
‘So that’s how it works.’
A white ziplock bag was filled with jerky.
The packaging didn’t have any company name or manufacturing details.
As he headed to the Academy, he thought about chewing on a few pieces.
As I opened the bag, the smoky aroma tickled my nose.
‘Wow, that smell is killer.’
When you think of jerky, it’s more like a snack than something to fill you up, right?
But this? It’s just straight-up generous in quantity. And it tastes amazing too.
“Mmm!”
I shoveled a handful of the neatly sliced jerky into my mouth, stuffed the rest into my bag, and picked up the pace toward the academy gates now in sight.
···
···
After checking the class assignments posted on the first floor of Orion Academy, I froze.
‘I’m in Class 1!?’
Class 1 is where all the major characters are, and it’s the starting point for the protagonist of *Abyss City*. Even a quick glance reveals a bunch of familiar names.
If things go like in the game, who’s the instructor I’ll be facing?
‘Instructor Juyun!’
A powerhouse who used to be a general of Samhwa Kingdom.
All the instructors at Orion Academy are top-notch, but this one? She’s in a league of her own, a legendary figure.
The fact that someone this incredible is working as an instructor is all thanks to the current academy dean.
The position of Orion Academy dean rotates among the three major nations.
‘If the story holds, two years ago, it was Samhwa Kingdom’s turn to appoint the dean… or was it two years?’
After that, Baek Unsan, known as the “Gentleman of Samhwa,” took the dean’s seat and, through past connections, managed to bring in the extraordinary Juyun.
This, of course, sets the stage for the protagonist to meet a powerhouse ally and grow.
‘Ah! I need to find that.’
Suppressing my excitement, I scanned the class list, but I wasn’t surprised to find the protagonist’s name missing.
After living in the academy city for a few days and checking the community, I’d already expected this.
Right now, my mind kept drifting elsewhere.
“···.”
Instructor Juyun.
What kind of presence would someone with that much power have in real life?
With my heart pounding, I started climbing the stairs to my class.
I slid open the door to Class 1 with a *drrrrrk!*
