Chapter 240

Yoo Ju was able to observe the lecture with Ha Yu-ri’s consent.

The classroom became chaotic upon Yoo Ju’s appearance, but honestly, it was to be expected.

The master of the 4th Great Clan, Eternity, and a genius who rose to the ranker position in just two years.

The titles describing her were numerous, and naturally, she was a hot topic among the trainees.

‘Ah…’

However, Yoo Ju felt nothing about the attention and gazes directed at her.

Of course, it would serve as good publicity for the clan, but her focus was on only one thing right now.

‘Who is Shin Han-sol?’

She needed to personally confirm the trainee named Shin Han-sol.

“Everyone, quiet. Let’s begin the lecture.”

Yoo Ju watched as Ha Yu-ri calmed the trainees and started the lecture.

During Ha Yu-ri’s lecture, Yoo Ju naturally observed the trainee named Shin Han-sol.

‘That trainee…’

A short-haired girl who stepped forward when Ha Yu-ri called her name.

After confirming Shin Han-sol’s appearance, Yoo Ju felt a stir of emotion.

‘…She’s pretty.’

To put it bluntly, Shin Han-sol was quite beautiful.

Enough to easily charm any man.

‘…No.’

For a moment, Yoo Ju wondered if Yoon Seong might be attracted to the trainee’s looks, but she shook her head to dismiss the thought.

‘Yoo Ju, you fool, what are you thinking?’

This was just unnecessary overthinking, her own delusional assumptions.

‘Let’s see for now. I’ll know if she has talent by watching her during practice.’

She couldn’t forget the purpose of her visit.

As the Clan Master of Eternity, she needed to personally judge whether Shin Han-sol was someone worth recruiting.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust Yoon Seong’s judgment, but a verification process is still necessary.’

As she observed the trainee, she noticed that Shin Han-sol was deliberately controlling her mana usage, just as Yoon Seong had mentioned.

‘…Not bad. If I hadn’t looked closely, I might have missed it.’

In fact, it was more than just “not bad.” Just by the way she handled her mana, it was clear she was far beyond the level of an average trainee.

‘…Why didn’t I see someone like her in the first round?’

No matter how much she racked her brain, Yoo Ju couldn’t recall ever seeing or hearing about Shin Han-sol in the first round.

According to Yoon Seong, her class was Spatial Mage.

Spatial magic was unfamiliar, and Yoo Ju was certain there were no players in the first round who used spatial magic or similar abilities.

‘Did she die early?’

Just because someone had talent didn’t mean they would survive, so it was a plausible assumption.

‘Definitely… I’m starting to feel greedy.’

It just so happened that the clan was currently lacking a mage.

Of course, not all clans needed mages, as some were composed solely of close-combat classes, but…

‘Having one is always better.’

The fact that most clans were desperate to recruit mages spoke volumes.

Classes that primarily used mana were incredibly rare.

While they were more common than priests or spirit summoners, mages were still a minority.

Especially when it came to skilled mages—recruiting them came at a high cost.

‘…But these gazes are annoying.’

She couldn’t help but notice the occasional glances directed her way.

‘…I hate it.’

She felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at by men other than Yoon Seong.

As she endured the gazes, the lecture eventually ended, and the trainees began to leave one by one.

‘Shin Han-sol.’

Originally, Yoo Ju had planned to just observe today, but she changed her mind.

‘It’ll feel different if the Clan Master personally makes the offer.’

“Hey, Trainee Shin Han-sol?”

“Yes?”

Shin Han-sol turned around at the sound of her name being called.

Up close, she was indeed… quite pretty.

Even as a fellow woman, Yoo Ju found her face somewhat mesmerizing.

She had the kind of looks that could easily charm men back on Earth.

“I have something to discuss with you privately. Do you have a moment?”

The gazes of the trainees leaving the classroom instantly focused on them.

Shin Han-sol glanced around and then replied.

“…Sure, that’s fine.”

******

Naturally, the training facility had a space where trainees and instructors could sit and rest.

It was set up almost like a café on Earth, complete with tables and chairs.

In such a place, Yoo Ju faced Shin Han-sol.

“Trainee Shin Han-sol, I apologize for calling you out so suddenly.”

“No, it’s fine, Instructor Yoo Ju.”

‘…Her demeanor is incredibly calm.’

Most trainees would be nervous when having a private conversation with the master of a major clan.

But the trainee in front of her showed no signs of tension.

“Instructor, may I ask why you wanted to speak with me separately?”

“Ah, it’s just that, do you have a clan you’re aiming to join?”

“…A clan I’m aiming for?”

“Yes, usually by this point, trainees have started thinking about which clan they want to join. Do you have any clans in mind?”

“…No, not really.”

‘Good.’

It would have been troublesome if she already had her sights set on another clan, so this was a relief.

“In that case, how about our Eternity Clan? If you’re okay with it, Eternity is considering accepting you, Trainee Shin Han-sol.”

“…Eternity Clan wants me?”

Her reaction was one of genuine surprise.

She seemed unable to understand why they were making her an offer.

“Yes. Both Eternity and I hold you in high regard.”

“…Why? My grades are only average. Why would Eternity, one of the 4 Great Clans, make me an offer?”

“Because I don’t just look at what’s on the surface. At the very least, I highly value your potential, Trainee Shin Han-sol.”

“…Potential.”

“Yes, potential. Of course, current grades are an indicator of a player’s ability, but they’re not everything.”

Even Yoo Ju herself was surprised.

She was impressed by how smoothly the words were flowing out of her mouth.

‘If I succeed in recruiting Shin Han-sol like this…’

She would probably receive a lot of praise from Yoon Seong.

Lately, Yoon Seong seemed desperate to recruit Shin Han-sol no matter what.

“Anyway, both I and Eternity would like to move forward with you, Trainee Shin Han-sol. This…”



“I want to hear the answer from trainee Shin Han-sol.”

“……”

Yoo Ju waited calmly, with the expectation of being praised by Yoon Seong.

After a brief silence, Shin Han-sol finally opened her mouth.

******

‘Yoo Ju?’

A few hours after she had said she would go see Shin Han-sol herself.

The sight of Yoo Ju trudging along came into view.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Yoon Seong-ah…”

Yoo Ju leaned on me with a slightly sullen face.

‘What’s going on?’

“Sorry…”

“What are you talking about? What are you sorry for?”

Yoo Ju hesitated for a moment before starting to explain.

“Well, about trainee Shin Han-sol… I made her an offer… but…”

‘…I can guess the rest without hearing it.’

Seeing Yoo Ju so dejected, it was likely that Shin Han-sol had rejected the offer.

“Did she reject it?”

“…Yeah.”

“What exactly did Shin Han-sol say?”

“Well… she didn’t outright refuse, but she said she didn’t think she was good enough to join Eternity, that her level was too low…”

‘Ha, that’s nonsense.’

If that’s considered low level, then others should just bite their tongues and die.

“So?”

At my question, Yoo Ju glanced at me and answered.

“…She said she’d think about it. But she wasn’t sure if she could give a positive answer…”

‘It’s not a definite rejection, but it’s practically the same.’

Anyway, saying she’s too low-level to join is just an excuse.

‘This is making me stubborn.’

I wanted to bring Shin Han-sol into Eternity no matter what.

“Yoon Seong-ah, what should we do…?”

Yoo Ju seemed to think she had messed up.

“What do you mean, what should we do? Don’t worry about it. It’s possible Shin Han-sol might reject the offer.”

“Yeah…”

I placed my hand on Yoo Ju’s head and continued.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try reaching out to her too.”

******

Jeong Min felt a great sense of relief after safely clearing the tutorial.

After all, he wouldn’t have to be chased by those damn monster bastards anymore.

Moreover, the training facility provided food and shelter, and he was in a state where his safety was guaranteed.

Of course, he didn’t like the instructors who kept ordering him around… but he had no intention of rebelling.

After seeing the other guys who initially resisted getting beaten up by the instructors, he decided not to resist.

‘Damn, what was it called? Stats?’

Each player had their own job, stats, and traits.

There was an insurmountable gap between the instructors and the trainees who had just cleared the tutorial.

Just like in the tutorial, where the strong and the weak were divided, it was the same here.

When he listened to Yoon Yeon’s speech at the training facility, he couldn’t believe it.

None of the speech’s content registered. He was too captivated by her beautiful appearance.

In fact, the way she carried herself with charisma during the speech made him feel somewhat enchanted.

‘Chief Instructor…’

He didn’t know exactly what position the Chief Instructor held, but he could tell she was one of the top power figures.

A position equivalent to moving society on Earth.

‘Damn it…’

Standing next to her, with power, wealth, and women.

He imagined what it would feel like to have everything in his hands, but he was also overwhelmed with despair.

Because he was nothing, not even a strategist.

‘Damn it, what can I do? How am I supposed to fight?’

He was smaller than a human, but fighting a vicious-looking monster was out of the question.

The sensation of almost wetting himself when he first encountered a monster in the tutorial was still vivid.

The monster’s eyes clearly had the gaze of a predator, and that image was still etched in his mind.

‘Fuck…’

After listening to Yoon Yeon’s explanation, he realized one thing.

To live a prosperous life, he absolutely had to join a large clan.

The problem was that he had no chance of joining a large clan.

‘Those strategist bastards might get attention, but me…’

Honestly, it was uncertain if he could even join an average clan, let alone a large one.

As he was swallowing his frustration, he noticed an unexpected face among the instructors.

‘What, Lee Yun-seong?’

At first, he wasn’t sure, but after hearing the name, he was certain.

‘Why is that bastard…’

After that day, he found out something unbelievable.

That Lee Yun-seong was a behind-the-scenes power figure in Eternity, one of the four major clans.

‘Damn it, that guy is here too…’

He was indignant that even here, there was a gap between him and that guy, but then he changed his thinking.

‘No, if I sweet-talk him, maybe I can get into Eternity?’

He didn’t want to admit it, but the guy was definitely capable.

On Earth, he had secured his position with amazing social skills and rhetoric.

But…

‘That damn bastard…’

He went to find Lee Yun-seong, but all he heard were insults.

He even felt ashamed for being scared by the strange aura the guy emitted.

‘That bastard…’

After that, whenever he ran into the guy at the training facility, he couldn’t help but glare.

It seemed like he was quite close with Instructor Ha Yu-ri, and seeing him doing so well here made his stomach churn.

Resigned, he continued his daily life at the training facility. And during that time, a woman named Yoo Ju came to the training facility.