Chapter 87 – Words Without Legs (2)

Tomer naturally fit in among the cadets after class. She had worked hard for the past two weeks and controlled her temper. She gradually grew close with them and everyone saw her favorably now. She even personally invited them to the café.

“Wow, Kim Hajin likes Rachel? Really?”

The female cadets gossiped after ordering their coffee and favorite pastries. Tomer stealthily brought up the subject.

“They’ve been pretty close lately, but aren’t they just on the same team?”

Many male cadets secretly admired Rachel, but no one ever approached her because of her background. Once Rachel graduated from Cube, she would enter the Royal Court guild and become its youngest executive.

“I guess Kim Hajin suits the Royal Court guild since he rose to rank 334.”

The English Royal Court ranked 60 in the world. Cube cadets in the 400-500 ranks would fantasize about joining such a guild. However, no powerful cadet would be blinded enough by love to join the Royal Court guild, and Rachel wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone around the 400-500 ranks.

“No, no, I’m in the same team. Trust me, you would say the same if you saw his eyes. How do I describe it… his eyes turned into hearts!”

Tomer tenaciously incited them.

“Oh yeah, isn’t Kim Hajin singing in the upcoming class competition?”

One of the cadets widened her eyes. “He’s not going to confess, is he?”

“Kyaaak! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. I’m going to stab him to death if he does!”

“Eh? Stab him to death?”

Tomer seriously thought these cadets sounded like djinns.

***

“Singing?”

I sighed and murmured in my room. I often went to karaoke back on Earth, so I knew how to sing. However, that didn’t mean I was good. I wasn’t bad either, just average.

“Argh, why do I have to sing?”

I could use the horn flute to sound better than average. However, volunteers from the other classes would undoubtedly be good. Furthermore, I’d never sung in front of a crowd before.

“Should I eat another serenity pill?”

“Singing? I can sing the Pororo song!”

Evandel shouted as she worked on making a nightingale. I replied with a grin.

“Really? Let me hear it later.”

“Un! But why singing?”

“Ah, well… I got done in by a villain, so I have to sing now.”

“A villain!”

Evandel’s eyes widened as she twisted the nightingale’s neck. She reacted strongly because of her superhero cartoons.

“Villain! Villain!”

“Ah, no, I misspoke. Let go of that nightingale. It’s going to die.”

“Huh? Ahh!”

She looked at the nightingale that had already begun to melt.

“Sniff sniff…”

Evandel began to tear up after working on the nightingale for so long. I took her into my arms.

“Don’t worry. You’ll learn not to make the same mistake next time.”

I consoled her and turned on my laptop.

“Let’s see…”

It’s been a while, but I planned to hack Tomer’s smartwatch. Last night, she approached me at the convenience store to say hello, but she wore a personal smartwatch instead of the cadet one. Others might not have noticed, but I did.

[80 SP will be used. Would you like to continue?]

“Really?”

It took quite an amount because of the security. I held back my tears and confirmed.

[Tomer, you’ll have to pick up an item during Wednesday’s class. It’ll be helpful for your mission. I’ll tell you about the details tomorrow.]

An unknown person had messaged her today. I read through her other messages and confirmed that her target was indeed Rachel. Another message arrived.

[Wednesday’s class will be a mock artifact scramble. The item will be left at an administrative center in the B-3 zone on the lowest floor. The administrative center will be empty from 11:00 to noon, so take it then.]

Lowest floor. B-3 zone. I repeated the location as I received a message on my smartwatch.

A picture of a problem along with a few lines of text. I thought it came from Rachel.

[Can you please teach me how to solve this problem?]

However, Chae Nayun had sent it.

***

The library only contained the sounds of pencils scratching paper and pages turning.

“…”

Chae Nayun stared at a reference book in this atmosphere. She tried to study, but failed and twirled her hair.

[It is important to calculate the density of a dungeon’s magic power. This is one of the most important skills for a hero because a dungeon’s magic power density can suddenly change depending on what happens inside. Take a look at the following formula… Example 1) Suppose that a magic power explosion occurs in a small dungeon with six cobalt kobold goblins…]

“Why do I have to learn this?”

Chae Nayun murmured as she leaned back. She couldn’t even solve the first example. She could memorize stuff, but couldn’t calculate anything for phenomenon realm analysis.

“…”

She glanced to the side in despair. Rachel sat with an empty seat between them. Honestly, Chae Nayun sat here on purpose to peek at Rachel.

From the side, Rachel appeared sullen. She rested her chin on her palms and seemed worried.

I guess she has her own troubles.

Rachel suddenly turned on her smartwatch. Then she hesitated before shaking her head and turning it off.

“What’s up with her?”

Chae Nayun turned back to her reference book.

[Example 1) Suppose that a magic power explosion happens in...]

She stared at the words, but nothing came to mind. Then she held up her smartwatch to take a picture of the page.

Next, she looked through her contact list for someone who could help her… Kim Hajin.

[Help me with this.]

She typed a message, then erased it. It didn’t sound respectful enough.

[Can you help me with this? I’ll buy you food]

“No, this one doesn’t feel right either.”

[You’re a genius if you can solve this! ㅋㅋㅋ]

“This sounds a bit stupid…”

After much thought, she asked as courteously as possible.

[Can you please teach me how to solve this problem?]

Then she put down her smartwatch and waited: 1 minute, three minutes, five minutes… Time passed by. Is he not going to reply? Her smartwatch finally rang when Chae Nayun already packed her book away.

“Ooh!”

She quickly checked the content. Kim Hajin sent a very kind and detailed solution.

“Heehee.”

Chae Nayun smiled and took her reference book back out. She also received another message from Yi Yeonghan for everyone in Veritas class.

[On Wednesday, we will have a mock artifact scramble. Be prepared everyone!]

***

“Today’s combat training will be a mock artifact scramble!”

It occurred according to Tomer’s message and Yi Yeonghan’s announcement. The training would take place from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. as we competed for artifacts. All 125 cadets of Veritas class gathered at the underground plaza’s first floor.

“Heroes experience artifact scrambles at least once a year.”

Real artifact scrambles always occurred outside of government jurisdiction because artifacts found inside a country belonged to that government by law. In this world, numerous countries had collapsed during Outcall, and many of their territories remained ownerless to this day. Monsters overran most of Africa, and djinns dominated central Asia. In these regions, artifacts belonged to whoever found them.

“It will be a massive site with a brawl concept. You will not know the enemy’s command structure, nor will you have a way to contact your allies. You will also not know the artifacts’ locations!”

Mock artifact scrambles often used the brawl format. Artifact scrambles also occurred between guilds, especially 20-30 years ago when laws regarding them weren’t in place yet. However, artifact scrambles mostly occurred against djinns nowadays.

“We will divide you into Team White or Team Black. Team White will defend while Team Black will attack. Remember that the concept is brawl! In addition, you may shout surrender at any time.”

Until the 90s, humans held an advantage due to their efficient command structure and organizations. However, a single djinn named Bermut disrupted this with his gift, which randomly distributed everyone in an area. This destroyed human formations and gave djinns an advantage in one-on-one battles due to their devil transformations.

“Now, we will take away your vision.”

My vision suddenly turned dark as a few cadets shrieked.

“It’s an instructor’s magic. Stay calm. You don’t need to resist.”

A high-intermediate rank hero could easily blind 125 people. Of course, that didn’t apply to me. I could clearly see when I opened my eyes again.

“We will now guide you to your designated locations.”

Artifact excavation sites contained multiple floors and even a residential area. Most artifacts took at least 2 to 3 weeks to excavate from deep underground. That didn’t mean they looked like caverns or tunnels. Excavation sites looked more like futuristic bunkers thanks to technicians with extraordinary gifts.

“Hey, hey, don’t step on my foot.”

“Ah! Somebody hit me.”

The cadets went underground with 15 placed on the first floor and 25 on the second floor. Chae Nayun continued to the third floor with Rachel on a nearby balcony next to the third floor’s residential area. They would inevitably fight. As for me, I continued to a small room on the fourth floor. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Shin Jonghak and Kim Suho.

“Eh?”

Yoo Yeonha was in the room next to mine. We would cross paths to reach the hall. In addition, I was in Team Black and she was in Team White. A loud voice rang out from the speaker above.

— NPCs will hold onto or move the artifacts. Team White must protect the artifacts while Team Black attempts to steal them. We will now begin the countdown.

The doors all closed as the countdown began: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The blinding magic disappeared as soon as the countdown finished. I checked the training handgun’s magazine. I needed to get to the B-3 zone on the lowest floor.

— I heard a sound next door…

Yoo Yeonha’s voice rang out. I turned towards her direction. Tak, tak. Yoo Yeonha intentionally walked forward with loud footsteps. Then she knocked on the door of my room.

— I know you’re in there. Are you in Team Black or Team White? For the record, I’m in Team White.

I remained silent. Yoo Yeonha happily hummed as she grabbed the doorknob.

— No answer? I’ll assume you’re in Team Black. How unfortunate, you must’ve been looking forward to class today. Consider yourself unlucky…

Ssss—

Yoo Yeonha opened the door with a bright face. Then her eyes met mine.

“…!”

She turned stiff except for her trembling lips. We would have to fight, but she looked afraid.

Gulp. Yoo Yeonha swallowed hard. Her hands faintly shook, and I could see the sweat on her forehead. My neck felt itchy, so I moved to scratch it. However, she overreacted to this simple movement.

“Stay, stay away!”

“What?”

I tilted my head. You came to me!