[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 158

─Grrrrumble.

The low growl of a monster.

─Click, click.

“Phew─”

Even as I blew cigarette smoke in its face, it stared at me without blinking.

Its gaze was like it was sizing me up, trying to figure out if I was prey or not.

“Be, be careful!”

As the voice of the woman lying behind me rang out, a fist came crashing down from the sky.

Boom─!!

My palm met the heavy fist.

“What the, you’re all size but no strength.”

“Grrk?”

It was a massive body that I had to crane my neck to look up at.

Even if someone is only 20 centimeters taller, from the perspective of a shorter person, they look enormous.

And if the difference is over a meter, you have to bend your neck as far as it goes.

But for something that big, it had such a weak punch.

Thud! Thud!

“Grrk!”

Its wrist was so thick that even when I spread my hand wide, I could only grasp half of it.

Crunch!

My fingers dug into its wrist, crushing it.

Veins popped out on its head, turning red and purple.

It was a memorable guy with fangs sticking out from between its thick lips.

Realizing it was in trouble, it swung its other free hand down at me.

Thud!

Crunch!

“Grrk! Grrrk!!”

I pulled it towards me, and it toppled over.

Its neck was thick too.

Crunch!

As I applied force, it snapped.

“Buddy, in your next life, skip the toast and go for a protein shake.”

I shook the monster in my grip, and its broken neck flopped around.

It had already bitten its tongue and died.

Even monsters can’t survive a crushed neck, huh?

Good to know.

In any game, information is the top priority.

“Phew─ Hey, are you okay?”

“Kyaaah!!”

As I approached the fallen woman, she screamed.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Then, I sensed multiple presences approaching from a distance.

They were coming fast.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

They practically flew over, landing near me all at once.

They were all wearing black uniforms.

The woman with purple hair at the front scanned the area, assessing the situation, then turned her gaze to me.

“You’ve been helped.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Hey! Watch your mouth!”

“It’s ‘you,’ you damn brat.”

The purple-haired woman remained calm, but the others around her were causing a ruckus.

When she raised her hand, they finally quieted down.

“This is an area managed by Silver Wings. Thank you for protecting a citizen in our guild’s territory.”

The purple-haired woman, who had been looking at me indifferently, didn’t seem particularly moved by my tone.

Her cold demeanor made it hard to guess her age, but she seemed to be in her mid-to-late twenties.

“I’m Yu Bit-na from Silver Wings. What’s your affiliation?”

“Affiliation? I don’t have one.”

She introduced herself before asking questions. Just from that, I could tell she was sharp.

“A free hunter?”

“Free hunter? What’s that?”

“·····?”

For the first time, the cold-faced woman showed a hint of confusion.

“I live over there, and I haven’t been here long, so I don’t know about that stuff.”

The group’s gaze followed my hand toward the rooftop room.

Their eyes were filled with questions as they looked back at me.

This wasn’t working. I needed to come up with an alibi, even if it meant lying.

Sorry, Grandpa Denis, for lying.

I could almost see Grandpa flexing his muscles, scolding me.

“I lived in the countryside where there was no TV or internet. So I don’t know what a hunter is.”

“How rural are we talking…?”

“It was so remote, we didn’t even have electricity.”

Finally, they seemed to understand.

As if nodding slightly, he comes over.

“So, you caught an Ogre without even blooming?”

“Ogre? This?”

When he shoved the monster with a broken neck and its tongue hanging out, everyone except Yu Bit-na flinched and took a step back.

By leading with questions, bits of information are coming in.

So this monster’s name is Ogre. In the game, it was vaguely depicted, so I didn’t know, but seeing it in real life, it’s disgustingly grotesque.

“It’s not a mature one, but it’s definitely an Ogre.”

The Ogre’s head in my hand is just a bit smaller than my lower body.

Just the size of its head is overwhelming, and the fact that this isn’t even its mature form is a bit shocking.

“But what’s blooming? Why is this monster here?”

“Unbelievable. Did you really catch an Ogre without knowing anything…?”

The purple-haired girl muttered, stepping closer and pulling something out from her pocket.

“Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Yu Bit-na, vice-captain of the Silver Wings Guild. If you want to know more, head to the Academy.”

“Academy? You want me to go to school at this age?”

“Honestly, you look young enough to worry me. The Hunter Academy only admits adults.”

The paper Yu Bit-na handed over was a business card with her name and position.

“So, your name?”

“Han Ga-eul.”

“Alright, Han Ga-eul. Today happens to be the Academy’s entrance ceremony day. In these turbulent times, letting talent like yours rot here is a loss not just for the country but for the world. If you’re interested, I’ll contact the school on your behalf.”

“Hmm.”

“If you go now, you won’t be late. If anything comes up, just mention my name.”

Is this what they call a parachute?

As I nodded at Yu Bit-na’s words, the subordinates behind her shot me some unfriendly looks.

“Manage your eyeballs before I pluck them out.”

“Eek!”

***

Arriving at the location Yu Bit-na mentioned, a large building came into view.

At the entrance hung a massive signboard.

“Symbol of Wisdom.”

Literally, it seems like a place symbolizing wisdom.

What I’ve felt coming here is that it’s just like Earth. The infrastructure, everything, feels like it’s been copied.

A strange sense of déjà vu washes over me again.

“Phew—”

As I stubbed out my cigarette and started walking, I saw a few people rushing into the school.

Probably latecomers like me.

As I tried to follow them inside, a security guard stopped me.

“Please show your student ID.”

“Huh? I don’t have one.”

“Are you a new student?”

“Yeah, I was referred by someone named Yu Bit-na.”

“Yu Bit-na?”

The guard seemed to ponder for a moment before his eyes widened.

“Are you talking about Vice-Captain Yu Bit-na of the Silver Wings?”

“Yeah. The purple-haired one.”

“Gasp. Pu-purple… Please wait a moment.”

After a while, instead of the guard, another man rushed out from the side building.

“My apologies. We’ve been informed in advance.”

The guard handed me something that looked like a bracelet.

Seems like the senior guard passed the task to his junior.

Still, Yu Bit-na seems to handle things efficiently. After talking to her, I came straight here, and the follow-up is already done.

“Do you have any personal identification?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Then wear the bracelet and tap it twice.”

Following the guard’s instructions, I tapped the bracelet on my left arm twice, and a hologram appeared.

*Beep!*

<Device synchronization starting.>

“Place your ID on the device.”

As I placed my ID on the device, a light scanned back and forth, and soon an “OK” sign appeared.

I was worried if my old ID would work, but thankfully it did.

<1st Year, Class J - Han Ga-eul>

<Year Ranking ???>

<Synchronization complete.>

“Wow, this is cool.”

It seems like they have a much more advanced civilization than where I originally came from.

Visually, the infrastructure looked similar to Earth’s, but this is fascinating.

“It’s done. You can head to the gym now.”

“Yep. Thanks.”

As I entered the building, an astonishing world unfolded before my eyes.

It felt like they had poured an insane amount of money into building what seemed like a whole new civilization.

As I slowly walked further, I saw a large building where students were pouring out in droves.

It looked like the entrance ceremony had ended, and they were moving to the gym.

Naturally, I blended into the crowd and moved inside the building, where a person who seemed like a teacher was shouting.

“Class J, this way!”

I stood where the teacher pointed and waited for a moment. The noisy gym gradually began to calm down.

A man walked out in front of the now-quiet students.

“I am Senior Instructor Jeon Dong-geon! Wisdom Academy operates on the principle of survival of the fittest! So, don’t complain about the unequal treatment moving forward!”

Not a single murmur was heard, as if everyone accepted this as a given.

If this were our country, protests would’ve broken out by now. The more I saw, the more fascinating this place became.

The senior instructor looked around, nodded, and wore a satisfied expression.

“We’ll begin the Blooming Ceremony shortly. As you all know, Blooming brings one of your hidden talents to the surface.”

As soon as the senior instructor finished speaking, the gym doors opened, and a swarm of instructors rushed in.

They were carrying something wrapped in cloth, with other instructors surrounding it as if guarding it.

“Blooming is only possible once, so keep that in mind. If you get greedy, your spirit could be destroyed. I’m saying this because every year, there’s always one freshman who causes trouble.”

The students around couldn’t take their eyes off the cloth-wrapped object.

“Students from Class A, step forward one by one!”

A student walked forward nervously, and the instructor beside them pulled off the cloth.

What was revealed was a seemingly ordinary sword.

All this fuss over *that*?

“Hi?”

Amid the growing murmurs, someone spoke to me from within the crowd.

Looking at her face, she was a platinum-blonde student who looked like she could’ve been quite the beauty.

I couldn’t tell what kind of guy she was talking about.

“Who’s this?”

“Huh? Haha, I’m Noah, from the same class.”

“Noah? Which country are you from?”

“I’m from England.”

She came all the way from there.

“Why did you come all the way here instead of staying at a school in your area?”

“Huh?”

Noah made a baffled expression.

“Obviously, it’s because Wisdom has the Sword of Blooming.”

“That thing?”

I pointed at the seemingly ordinary sword, and Noah nodded.

Noah was a treasure trove of information.

Even though I didn’t ask many questions, she kept chattering away, probably sensing that I didn’t know much.

Even though there are academies representing countries all over the world, Korea’s Wisdom Academy is particularly famous because of the Sword of Blooming.

It’s an incredible item that awakens a dormant gift without much effort.

“I’ll be back.”

While waiting for my turn, I listened to a lot of stories from Noah.

From dormitories assigned based on grades to the survival-of-the-fittest system the senior instructor mentioned, it was exactly as he said.

—Whoa!

When Noah revealed her report card, the crowd erupted. With stats like that, she must be among the top freshmen.

───

Noah Taylor

◇Class: Attacker

○Strength: C-

○Agility: C+

○Intelligence: C-

○Stamina: C+

○Mana: C-

◎???: B+

───

Her stats were well-balanced.

Seeing the reactions around her, Noah scratched her head awkwardly and came back.

“What did you get?”

“Haha, I got a gift related to the sword.”

“Good job.”

“Thanks. Oh, and let’s continue what we were talking about earlier…”

According to Noah, the land…

It is said that they are divided into the Guardian faction, which protects, and the Assault faction, which attacks the tower.

It’s a crazy world teeming with monsters.

“Class J, last!”

Maybe because it’s a parachute, the order is also last.

“Do well!”

Noa strikes a fighting pose.

I don’t know what the core is like, but she seems basically gentle.

As we stepped onto the stage, the senior instructor gave us some precautions.

“Blooming happens only once. After blooming, your stats will be revealed. Do you agree?”

“Yep.”

Even though it’s only once, revealing your report card like this is just too much. It’s a complete mess.

As I nodded obediently, the instructor next to me carefully handed over the sword of blooming.

Ding!

As I gripped the hilt, a system sound rang out.

[The latent power of Gandharva is blooming.]

**《Gandharva, the Medicine Deity of Jikoku and Jingmok, is pleased.》**

An unknown chunk of information flooded my mind, then unraveled like a thread.

“Once you’re done, place your hand here.”

When I opened my eyes, the senior instructor handed me something like a glass bead.

Placing your hand here reveals the cadets’ information for all to see.

“As agreed, it will be disclosed to everyone. This is to help you recognize your abilities and strive harder, so don’t be too afraid.”

It’s just nice-sounding words; the conclusion is that your report card will be made public.

By revealing your stats, you become aware of your shortcomings. The idea is to use that as motivation for growth.

There won’t be any more disclosures after this, but this is just too ignorant.

The stats of those I’ve seen so far were all similar. Of course, there were cadets like Noa who were relatively more outstanding.

Except for me, it seems only elites were admitted.

In the end, the starting point is similar, so it’s a call to work hard.

“Status open.”

As I placed my hand on the bead and repeated the words everyone else had shouted, a hologram appeared before my eyes.

───

Han Ga-eul

◇Class: Supporter

○Strength: F-

○Agility: F-

○Intelligence: F-

○Stamina: F-

○Magic: F-

───

As the report card was revealed, the noisy gym fell into silence.

After a while, murmurs began to rise.

“Wow, what is that? How did they get into Wisdom?”

“What kind of weirdo got in?”

“Hahaha, Wisdom must really be scraping the bottom. Are they just picking based on looks now?”

“She’s really pretty, though.”

“But she’s a precious supporter.”

“What’s the point of being a supporter with stats like that?”

Amid the noisy cadets, Noa looked on with pity.

The senior instructor, who should have mediated, seemed at a loss for words and just kept staring at my report card.

─Bzz, bzzz.

Ding!

────

Cheondo (Heavenly Peach)

Position: Saint

Class: Demon Princess

●Heavenly Power of the Diamond Warrior: S++

●Diamond Power of the Diamond Warrior: S++

●Yang Power of Garinbinga: S++

●Regeneration Power of Mahuraga: S++

●Medicine Power of Gandharva: B++

●Violence Power of Asura: S++

●Destructive Power of Asura: S++

●Divine Energy: B-

●Life Energy: B-

◈Contract Deity: Mara Papiyas

◈Contract Deity: Siddhartha Gautama

◈Contract Spirit: Aparsek

◈Contract King: Benevolent King Diamond Warrior

◈Contract King: Earth King Mahuraga

◈Contract King: Medicine King Gandharva

◈Contract King: Wind King Garinbinga

◈Contract King: War King Asura

ᘏ ⑅ ᘏ zᶻ

꒰˶ – ˕ -꒱ ⌒)ᦱ : Child of the Blue Moon, Baekseol (White Snow)

────

“·····?”

A noise sounded, and suddenly, a receipt printed out.

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