Chapter 348

I didn’t lie at all. Whether it’s the truth or a fact, it doesn’t matter.

Porori, blessed by the heavens and wielding lightning, is way stronger than the entire class combined.

Honestly, even I might just scrape by if I risk my life, so imagine how strong they are.

It’s just that I often look fine even after getting struck by lightning, but lightning is a legendary troublesome ability.

It’s an ability that almost completely ignores defense unless you’re dealing with space-related abilities. Unless you build resistance, it usually hits with a fixed amount of damage.

‘How many times in life do you get struck by lightning?’

The chances of getting hit by lightning in life are practically on par with winning the lottery, and very few can handle lightning like the deity Gulrak.

Unless you’re a spirit creature like Porori or loved ones like Hector or Kara, it’s not something you can manage easily.

Well… I can handle it, maybe because Chaos gave me a non-threatening threat, but even that is red.

“Did you just say… squirrel?”

The fact that I’m weaker than a squirrel shocked Um Seokdae.

His well-defined, handsome face twisted in disbelief, so I could only imagine what he was feeling.

“Yep. Squirrel.”

“Squirrel? No, wait, why exactly…”

It seems he can’t wrap his head around being weaker than a squirrel. I waited for him to sort his thoughts.

Finally, after gathering his thoughts to some extent, he looked somewhat irritated and spoke to me.

“Even if you’re an assistant, that’s a bit too much to say.”

“What do you mean?”

“The point about being weaker than a squirrel. Isn’t that an insult to us?”

“Not an insult, just the truth.”

“What kind of squirrel is stronger than a human?”

I can’t stress it enough—I’m not lying. Honestly, it’s baffling for me.

Um Seokdae might be saying such nonsense because he hasn’t met Porori. But digging deeper, it’s not that simple.

He’s from the Eastern Empire. While there are few monsters there, there are tons of so-called ‘spirit creatures.’

Starting from Gumiho, who can disguise themselves as a human, to legendary creatures like the Kirin, Haetae, Zhuque, and Baekho.

“There is.”

“Where?”

“Chaos Forest.”

Um Seokdae was about to say something but stopped, shaking his head, as if he had given up on explaining.

From my perspective, it doesn’t matter. Eventually, he’ll come to realize this truth.

Until he gets to that truth, he’ll figure things out on his own.

“You’re going to regret saying that. We have our pride too.”

“So, are you going to fight?”

“Honestly, I don’t think I can beat you alone.”

Thank goodness he has a brain. That’s probably why he’s the leader.

Even if he comes off a bit rude, I don’t mind someone who knows their place. Besides, he didn’t gossip behind my back.

If he’s going to talk back, he’ll do it openly. If that’s not a leader, then what is?

So, at least he’s not off-putting. It’s more like…

‘He feels like he’s putting on a show.’

It doesn’t exactly fit, but that’s the vibe I’m getting. The type who tries super hard to win.

While I was thinking that, Um Seokdae glanced back and, in a firm voice, opened his mouth.

“But if the opportunity arises, I will defeat you, assistant. It would be nice if you apologize then.”

“What if you lose?”

“If I lose, I’ll admit I’m weaker than a squirrel.”

“Fine. Let’s do that.”

Having secured the promise, I turned to walk away. Or, at least I tried to.

“Oh, wait.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s your name?”

I just realized I didn’t even know his name. I was so taken with the nickname Um Seokdae that I completely forgot.

Um Seokdae looked at me with a face full of disbelief, like he couldn’t believe I had no clue until now.

“You didn’t know?”

“Yeah.”

“Then who in our class knows my name?”

“The twins and Reina.”

The others didn’t care at all. After all, Um Seokdae’s face was one I hadn’t seen before.

He turned his head at my words, looking towards Reina, who was focused on her personal training.

Reina was honing her martial arts with a training axe, sweating profusely and fully concentrated.

“If it’s Reina… she’s the princess of the Frozen Principality, right?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty strong.”

“I can agree on that.”

Um Seokdae readily acknowledged it. That shows how outstanding Reina’s martial skills are.

In terms of ‘talent,’ Reina is right below Luna. Plus, thanks to her unique way of thinking, her growth potential is high.

“But if we’re talking about the twins… you mean the prince and princess of the Matra Empire?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are they here? I’ve heard some bad rumors…”

It seems surprising to him that he knows about the rowdy twins.

To find the twins, I looked around, but they were nowhere to be found.

It seems that Wednesday’s autonomous training is treated as a day off. They weren’t around last week either.

“I know their faces.”

“You know their faces?”

“Yeah. I smashed a bottle on someone’s head.”

“Uh… what?”

Um Seokdae nodded instinctively, looking like he couldn’t quite process what he heard.

“I hit him because he touched my friend.”

“Oh. So that’s it…”

Um Seokdae’s eyes widened, looking like he was witnessing something unimaginable.

After that, he composed himself and let out a long breath. He seemed to recover pretty fast.

“Anyway, allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Namgoong Seokdae from the Namgung Family.”

The basic framework of the Eastern Empire is martial arts. But it’s not entirely the same as ours; there are many similarities with different settings and famous families.

People from the Hwan Empire don’t refer to their country as ‘The Central Plains’; they simply call it ‘the Empire.’

Moreover, the so-called ‘Demon Church’ is more of a cult in reality. They worship the Heavenly Demon as a god descended to the mortal realm.

Purple is the symbol of the god, and the Heavenly Demon of the Demon Church is a creature with purple attributes. It’s a simple enough logic.

“Um Seokdae?”

By the way, his name is really Um Seokdae. I thought it was just a vibe; I had no idea it was actually his name.

When I called him Um Seokdae, Namgoong Seokdae frowned. He apparently took issue with something.

“It’s not Um; it’s Namgoong. Don’t change a surname like that so casually. It’s a huge disrespect in the Eastern Empire.”

“Sorry. I’ll apologize.”

“…”

He really looks mad, so I quickly bowed my head in apology. Um Seokdae—no, Namgoong Seokdae’s expression became strange.

I don’t tease people over names, only over skill. I prefer to deal in facts, not frivolities.

“Then I guess I’ll take my leave now. Let’s see about proving I’m stronger than a squirrel.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Even as we parted ways, Namgoong Seokdae didn’t wipe that strange expression off his face. I just shrugged it off.

After a day without much happening, the next day came around. I headed to the first-year class to carry out my duties as an assistant.

“This afternoon until tomorrow morning, we’ll be doing some practice. The content is simple.”

Did he read the mood of the class? Or was this practice planned ahead of time?

“The practice is Tag.”

“Tag?”

“Yep.”

Dis declared that there would be a surprise practice without any notice.

“And the taggers will be the assistants.”

“…”

At that moment, the atmosphere in the room definitely shifted; I wasn’t imagining it.

******

Typically, practices in the academy follow a manual. However, it can change at the professor’s discretion.

Tag is one of those practices that has been adapted by the professor. Not informing beforehand is meant to test the students’ adaptability.

The problem is that they didn’t inform the assistants either. Consequently, Dis called the assistants the moment the first class ended.

“Sorry for the sudden practice. I figured this was the right time.”

Dis first apologized to the assistants, and they, including Sivar, generously let it slide.

How could anyone say anything harsh when he’s bowing like that? I assumed there had to be a reason.

“Have you ever done a practice themed around survival in first-year?”

Dis asked that. Kara answered the question.

“Yes. It was literally about surviving in the woods for a day.”

“I see you know. How did you all do?”

“The professor split us into teams, but since survival was the goal, I tried to avoid conflict as much as possible.”

That was Kara’s answer. Back then, the main goal was survival, so they aimed to avoid conflicts.

The others were clueless and struggled to eliminate the other teams while being unaware it was a trap.

Dis listened to Kara’s response and then turned his gaze to Karas, who shrugged and replied casually.

“I wasn’t there. I joined later through transfer.”

“I see. Then… what about you, Sivar?”

The most curious case was Sivar. How did he fare during that exam?

As everyone’s attention turned to Sivar, he scratched his head and quietly responded.

“I ate bugs.”

“Not that kind of information.”

“Kuh kuh.”

That was a surprisingly cute answer. While Dis looked flustered, Kara stifled a laugh.

Sivar hesitated for a moment but then started to describe what had happened back then.

How the other teams banded together to try to oust him, only to end up getting clowned instead.

“And at night, Kara and…”

“Hey! Hey!”

“Mm mm.”

Sivar nearly spilled the beans but was cut off by Kara covering his mouth. Her face was slightly red.

Dis looked at them with a curious expression but then spoke as if it didn’t matter.

“Well, that’s a relief. While this practice leans heavily in favor of the assistants, as you know, this year’s freshmen are no easy pushovers.”

“Kara is strong.”

“I seem to be left out.”

Karas mentioned, sounding a bit disappointed by Sivar’s comment. In return, Sivar stared directly at Karas and said,

“You’re weak.”

“Don’t cowardly resort to the truth. How about we win with my specialty, persuasion and fabrication?”

“I’ll rip your mouth off.”

“Ahem.”

As the atmosphere took a weird turn, Dis cleared his throat. Thanks to that, the focus returned.

He then started explaining the tag rules. The rules themselves were quite simple.

The taggers are composed of the assistants, and the students must hold out until the end time.

However, the assistants aren’t invincible and can be neutralized by things like being tied up with ropes or knocked out.

“What do you think? I’ll give more detailed instructions before we begin.”

“Sounds not bad.”

“Seems fine.”

“And you, Sivar?”

Sivar pondered for a while after hearing Dis’s words. Then, as if he had something come to mind, he asked an unexpected question.

“What day is it tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s the 13th.”

“Oh.”

That it’s the 13th tomorrow, and a Friday, made Sivar’s expression light up.

“Friday the 13th?”

He looked like he had just found the ultimate toy.

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