Chapter 121

“Don’t be too nervous. Just think of it as an experience. Many have come and gone, but they all just took a stroll and left.”

Lee Junseong half-listened to the chatter of the active martial artist beside him.

Logically, the martial artist was right, but from a gaming perspective, he was wrong.

Does it make sense for nothing to happen in a game?

Lee Junseong looked down.

The ground was sunken in a semicircle, as if a meteor had struck, and the black fog filling it made people feel uneasy.

Staring at the center of the massive crater spanning several kilometers, Lee Junseong clicked his tongue.

Can’t see anything here.

The worldview of ‘Muhakdo’ was similar to typical martial arts stories.

There were righteous sects, evil sects, and even a demon sect.

And this demon sect was the main villain of ‘Muhakdo.’

One day. Suddenly. Out of nowhere.

A great power appeared in the world.

The Heavenly Demon. The god of the demon sect.

This Heavenly Demon, not satisfied with being the greatest in history, was a madman who tried to turn the world into a pill and swallow it. Naturally, people couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Thus, the ten great righteous sects, the predecessors of the current martial alliance, were born.

To defeat the Heavenly Demon, a diverse group of people gathered.

Countless blood was shed, and countless stars fell.

But in the end, they failed to kill the Heavenly Demon.

Thanks to the efforts of the Sword God, they managed to behead the Heavenly Demon, but they failed to completely annihilate him.

What does that mean?

It means the Heavenly Demon’s body, torn into ten pieces, remains undecayed and sealed within the forbidden zones of the ten great righteous sects.

“Even 30 years ago, the remnants of the demon sect were a nuisance, but those pesky guys have finally disappeared. Lately, it’s been peaceful. Thanks to that, we’re thriving.”

“Is that so?”

“We’re still vigilant, but that’s the situation. So, you guys can relax.”

He wasn’t nervous from the start. So, the active martial artist’s words were unnecessary worry.

While patrolling with the martial artist, it was time for a shift change.

“Now, just wait here and move when called. Easy, right?”

“Definitely easy.”

“I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave. Rest well.”

As the martial artist left, the break room quickly fell silent.

“……”

“……”

The break room was filled with silence.

It was Kang Sihoo who broke it, casually approaching the coffee pot.

“Junseong, do you want some coffee?”

“I’m good.”

Drinking coffee in the game didn’t feel like anything, and he didn’t like coffee in real life either, so Lee Junseong firmly declined.

“Siyun, what about you?”

“…I’m good too.”

“Guess I’ll be the only one drinking then.”

Kang Sihoo laughed as he brewed the coffee.

The sound of boiling water echoed through the quiet break room.

Suddenly, Lee Junseong felt uneasy about Baek Siyun sitting next to him.

Han Yoorim, this crazy girl.

It’s just a game, but the NPC felt as uncomfortable as a childhood friend he hadn’t seen in years.

There were several reasons for this, but Baek Siyun’s appearance matching Lee Junseong’s taste was a big factor.

And the elements that kept enhancing immersion were scattered throughout the game.

Lee Junseong sighed inwardly.

To clear the game, he had to raise the heroine’s favorability.

So, he had to get closer to Baek Siyun…

But getting close to Baek Siyun wasn’t easy.

Baek Siyun showed hostility towards Lee Junseong.

It wasn’t pure hatred, as there was some affection mixed in, but it wasn’t fake either.

It was because Lee Junseong, the protagonist, had forgotten a promise, so he had no excuse.

Of course, Lee Junseong had his reasons… but he doubted Baek Siyun would understand.

Saying he gave up because of lack of talent was just too lame.

‘……This also resembles reality.’

Lee Junseong had genuinely tried baseball.

But feeling the wall of talent, he quit in his second year of middle school.

He had genuinely tried making movies.

But feeling the wall of talent, he quit in his third year of high school.

Lee Junseong didn’t regret the past. He had carefully considered, meaning he started with the mindset that it was okay to fail.

However.

It wasn’t like it didn’t hurt.

Finding something he truly wanted to do, only to give up due to lack of talent, was a very painful experience.

So painful that he never wanted to do it again.

The topic drifted a bit, but anyway, for these reasons, Lee Junseong was currently pondering.

How could he raise Baek Siyun’s favorability?

…Should he start with a conversation?

But what topic should he bring up? Swordsmanship?

After much deliberation, Lee Junseong shook his head and opened his mouth.

If he said something, a conversation would start, right?

“Baek Siy—”

“Junior’s childhood friend. I’ll have a hot chocolate, please.”

“Got it.”

“Junior. Not knowing the taste of coffee. You’re still a kid.”

“Senior, what are you talking about? And you had hot chocolate, not coffee.”

Lee Junseong was startled by the sudden appearance of Shin Yoori.

Who is this person, showing up out of nowhere?

Not attending class…

As if answering that question, Shin Yoori wiggled her finger.

“‘External training’ is only for first-years? How naive. Junior.”

Wait, what? The ‘external training’ is a big event for all first, second, and third-years?

“As far as I know, it’s only for first-years.”

Nope. I was wrong.

Lee Junseong pointed at Shin Yoori and asked.

“Then what’s that?”

“I’m Shin Yoori.”

“I know that, but why aren’t you in class and here instead?”

“Tsk tsk.”

Shin Yoori wiggled her finger again and clicked her tongue.

Lee Junseong, who was staring at her, muttered to himself.

‘I want to grab that finger and twist it.’

Feeling the same impulse a certain rabbit once felt, Shin Yoori spoke to Lee Junseong.

“It’s club activities.”

“What kind of club activities?”

“Recruiting members.”

So, is that it? Did she come here to scout me?

Lee Junseong spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Can you really skip class for such a weird reason?”

“Of course.”

“No. As far as I know, unless it’s a really valid reason, skipping class is impossible.”

“Then what’s that?”

“I’m Shin Yoori.”

“I know that, but why aren’t you in class and here instead?”

“Tsk tsk.”

Shin Yoori wiggled her finger and clicked her tongue.

Lee Junseong, who was staring at her, finally grabbed her finger.

Before her finger could be twisted, Shin Yoori escaped and gave a standing ovation.

“Junior. Escaping the loop. Not bad.”

“So how did you get here? I asked three times.”

“I just came.”

“What about class?”

“Junior. Obsessing over such trivial things. That’s why you’re so distracted by things like swords.”

“That’s just skipping class. Is that okay for a student?”

“Martial artists walk their own path.”

Lee Junseong engraved a new piece of information in his mind: martial artist = lunatic.

“……”

And then he cautiously turned his head at the gaze he felt from the side.

Baek Siyun looked at Lee Junseong for 1 second, Shin Yoori for 1 second. Then Lee Junseong for 1 second, Shin Yoori for 1 second, and then got up from her seat.

Baek Siyun left the break room just like that.

As Lee Junseong stared blankly at Baek Siyun, Shin Yoori whispered to him.

“Junior. That’s why I told you a harem ending is impossible for you.”

“Senior. Please be quiet.”

Lee Junseong shook his head.

Can I really raise the heroine’s favorability like this?

“Haha.”

Kang Sihoo laughed awkwardly.

When Lee Junseong looked up, Kang Sihoo, who had made eye contact, maintained his smile and spoke.

“Want some hot chocolate?”

“Give it to me first.”

*

There’s a natural question that arises when reading academy stories.

First. The strength of the characters.

It’s a question that arises when the main characters, who are just students, are as strong as professors or even the strongest in the world, which is common in web novels with infinite power scaling.

Usually, this is solved by having them drop out when you think, “If they’re this strong, do they even need to attend the academy?”

Second. Despite being an academy story, there’s more external activity.

It’s a question that arises when students don’t study but instead go around solving incidents outside, which usually happens when there’s no more story to tell within the limited space of the academy.

This is also usually solved by having them drop out when you think, “If they’re going to do this, do they even need to attend the academy?”

Lastly. The security level of the world’s top academy, the future of humanity.

It’s a question that arises when enemies of humanity invade the academy as if they’re visiting a neighbor’s house, but this is unavoidable.

Because if incidents don’t happen, the story can’t progress.

Boom—!

So, it’s only natural that the security net of the top 10 families suddenly collapses, and an emergency is declared.

“What is this?”

A current martial artist on patrol was flustered.

It was only natural, as a place that had been peaceful for decades was suddenly attacked.

The martial artist urgently shouted.

“Run to the evacuation shelter. Right now—!”

Clang!

Before he could finish, Baek Siyun’s sword flashed.

Sparks flew.

The attacker, blocked by Baek Siyun’s sword strike, landed on the ground and tilted their head crookedly.

“What are these brats doing here?”

A woman with black eyes revealed under her eyepatch twisted her lips.

In response, Lee Junseong drew his sword.

It was a raid event.