Ch.6464. A Changed Atmosphere

Instructor Oh Juhwan’s voice echoed high into the sky.

“Second and third years will demonstrate first, and first years will stand by.”

It’s the usual outdoor simulation match, but there’s a noticeable change in the scenery.

The number of people has tripled, not just doubled.

What else could it be? We’re finally having classes with the second and third years.

From the second semester, we’ll be taking classes with them.

Of course, we’re not forming teams right from the start. As always, we watch the seniors’ class first, and then we show our skills in front of them.

Currently, the second and third-year lower-class seniors were forming teams and demonstrating.

“So it’s just lower-class groups at first?”

“Only for about a week. Then they’ll mix us up, I heard?”

“So even with seniors, we start with the same rank levels.”

The atmosphere feels like we’re enrolling for the first time.

That’s natural since we haven’t properly met the seniors except during club activities.

It’s like being in the military—going from hanging out with just your peers to suddenly living with your seniors.

My mind drifted back to before my regression. Among the second and third years, the third years will be busy with training and job hunting after early October anyway.

Effectively, we’ll only be with the third years for about a month in September.

So who was responsible for that toxic military culture?

Most of the hazing I experienced before my regression was actually perpetrated by the second years.

The ringleader was Bang Seokcheon from the upper class.

Then there were Shin Minjeong and Baek Dongguk, the discipline enforcers from the middle class.

And in the lower class… Just then.

Harsh cursing could be heard from somewhere.

“You want to keep messing around in front of juniors?”

Right, it’s been a while since I heard that. There’s the upgraded version of Min Gangsu from before my regression, the trash of the lower class.

I could see someone hurling insults and harshly berating others during the simulation.

The cursing was so severe that even Oh Juhwan had to say something.

“Gu Jeongyul! Stop with the cursing! It’s disrupting team play.”

“Yes, sir!”

He only responded properly in front of the instructor, but I was watching.

As he walked by, I saw him picking on another student.

Gu Jeongyul, the leader of the second-year lower class and the strongest among them. He was the main troublemaker.

It seems history will flow as it did before. If so, Gu Sangheon would beat up Geum Dohyun… Wait a minute.

But can Gu Sangheon and Geum Dohyun even fight? The second and third years remain the same, but those two aren’t.

[Did you hear? Gu Sangheon, Geum Dohyun, and Han Minwoo received training together?]

[All three of them together?]

Surprisingly, Geum Dohyun’s inferiority complex from before my regression has changed so much that they even went to training together.

At Geum Dohyun’s own suggestion. This means they won’t fight like before.

No, let’s think about this calmly. If Geum Dohyun has changed, he might also refuse the second years’ propositions. Geum Dohyun is from a wealthy family, so they can’t easily mess with him.

What about the others?

As evidenced by the fact that no one touched Ariel even before my regression, those who push this toxic culture actually surrender easily to power and strength.

Geum Dohyun has some power too, but he fell for the second years’ tricks.

The only decent people in the lower class are probably Senior Yumi and Senior Jeong-hyun?

In Yeseul, who could stop this, is kind but will leave soon as a third year. The president’s attitude was ambiguous.

Senior Juara and Senior Hochang in the middle class don’t have much influence.

Senior Go Jiyun is skilled but is a third year like Senior In Yeseul.

Sanderson is a foreigner and an extreme individualist. Kurosaki actually actively participated in the first semester of third year.

How do I break this toxic culture? With the future changing, I’m not sure how to handle it.

For now, I can only observe.

As I focused on the second years, someone suddenly nudged me.

“Huh?”

When I turned my head, Oh Juhwan was already behind me.

“Stop daydreaming and move forward!”

Looking ahead, I saw the first years gathering.

Damn it. We’re already waiting for the simulation.

“What’s with that guy! First year, get your act together!”

Gu Jeongyul shouts at me.

How annoying. Standing out isn’t exactly good.

When I looked at Gu Jeongyul, I could see him snickering with his cronies.

“You little shit. What are you looking at? Just get in line properly.”

“Hey, are you Do Jonghyun? Ariel’s boyfriend? If I catch you with her, you’re dead. I swear…”

Being targeted from the start isn’t good. There’s one thing I misunderstood.

Surprisingly, my name is quite well-known.

That damn newspaper… the newspaper club. Those bastards. Huh? I’m getting angry?

I need to quietly organize my thoughts from behind, but I can’t.

Anyway, we form groups.

My group includes Todd from England, Mitsuki from Japan, and Gicheol.

“Todd and Mitsuki will be sidekicks. Gicheol, you’re with me.”

“Of course, are we getting first place again?”

We confidently stepped forward for the simulation.

What could be the problem?

I led them. The lower class still focuses on F-rank gates, but from the second semester, E-rank is added.

Today’s simulation practice is against E-rank monsters.

“Boring.”

I could already see the goblin horde that I’d hunted intensively at the end of the break.

Well, they’re weak but cunning creatures, so we need to train against them from now on.

Our group will now show how to hunt these monsters.

Naturally, I told Mitsuki and Todd to cast buffs and debuffs.

“Gicheol. Do as we learned. First, target just one with an opening attack and never chase after them. Just confirm their direction.”

“Got it. If I do what you say, we’ll get first place, right?”

“Yes.”

I’m confident. I could handle them alone, and with sidekick support, even more so.

Gicheol jumped up high and struck the opponent with his club wrapped in magical power.

Jieus, a 2-star earth elemental. A simple power that gives strength to weapon wielders.

After smashing one goblin’s head, I tracked the fleeing ones.

“Todd! Mitsuki!”

As the buffs activated simultaneously, my body, which could barely handle F-rank, felt much lighter.

“Gicheol. Now let’s circle around to the opposite side.”

“Okay!”

We circled around to avoid traps near where the creatures fled.

With the sidekicks’ support, it was smooth. We quickly dispatched the goblins from both directions, herding them.

“Kieek!”

Going to the opposite side? Where Gicheol will be waiting? His magical power with buffs is even stronger than mine.

Goblins were being slaughtered on Gicheol’s side.

The time it took us to hunt one goblin horde was 3 minutes and 5 seconds.

Probably the best, right?

As we waited for the results, it wasn’t long before someone broke our record.

[Yu Deokmin, Na Jonghyun, Lee Seona, Leo: 3 minutes 3 seconds]

“What?”

Yu Deokmin’s group recorded first place, beating us by just 2 seconds.

“…”

It’s evidence of growth enough to beat Min Gangsu, but something feels strange.

The Yu Deokmin I knew wasn’t like this.

Did Yu Deokmin also experience something that changed him? Then I smiled.

“It means I’ve gained another potential ally.”

What’s the problem? If it’s Yu Deokmin, he’s friendly with us, so with good persuasion, he might stand with us against the hazing.

After our lower class finished, we could feel the different gazes of the second and third years.

“Hey, we’ll teach you well!”

“Learning from you would ruin them, idiot!”

The second years’ attention turned to us. Gu Jeongyul pointed at me.

“Are you the hotshot from the lower class? But you’re still just a first-year level. This big brother will thoroughly educate you. Come here.”

“…”

“Hey, fuck, are you ignoring me?”

He should be more worried about Oh Juhwan than me.

Our instructor is uncannily good at catching such bullying.

“Gu Jeongyul. Do you want extra training with me?”

“No, sir. I’m just excited to meet the kids.”

“Be prepared if I hear anything strange.”

“Yes. Hehe.”

He quickly pretends to be nice and smiles, but I know his true nature.

He’ll show his fangs later. As we first years returned to the classroom, Yu Deokmin approached me.

“Do Jonghyun.”

“Deokmin. What happened to you? Did you grow taller?”

“…”

Yu Deokmin just stared at me without saying anything. Why is he acting like this?

He has been a bit strange since school started.

“I got first place.”

“Yeah, you really did well! You must have worked hard during the break.”

“You look happy? Are you okay with losing?”

What is he talking about? It’s just second place.

“It’s fine. What matters is that you got first place. You said before that you wanted to be first.”

“I did.”

“If you got first place, you should be happier. It’s what you wanted.”

Yu Deokmin smiled again. That looks better.

“So, wow… I finally got first place.”

“From now on, we’ll be with second and third years, so it’ll be different from the first semester. First place among just us won’t mean much anymore.”

“…Really?”

That’s right. From now on, teams will rotate regardless of upper or lower class.

“Anyway, congratulations. Let’s break the record together if we end up in the same team next time.”

Being first among just us loses its meaning.

Plus, the class difficulty will increase. That means my role will be reduced.

As a combat member with limited attack ability, my limit is D-rank even with enhancement suits. I won’t impress the other senior students.

Especially in the upper class, they need to handle at least C-rank, but as a combat member, I’m just taking up space.

I want to tone down my showing off now anyway.

Honestly, getting too much attention has restricted my movements.

I was planning to act just enough not to get expelled.

I think the interest in me will fade if I spend the first semester of second year uneventfully.

“So we should think about riding the seniors’ bus. I heard that some seniors stand out, and just following them closely can get you good scores.”

“You’re right, Jonghyun. Seniors are important too. Finding a good senior is like playing gacha.”

Exactly. The real random gacha is when teams are officially formed. Meeting someone like Gu Jeongyul would be the worst.

I finished talking and headed to the bathroom.

From now on, my transformed appearance will be seen more often as I complete missions regardless of danger.

So I especially can’t attract attention in my normal state.

Small mistakes could be connected to my life.

Being first during the first semester was fun, but the price was harsh.

I turned my head to look at the school rooftop. One of the school security officers was watching me.

Do you know why my points remained the same after school started? It’s because of them.

[Although White Dragon Guild’s protection is gone, the academy has faced criticism from the media due to multiple attacks. And Do Jonghyun has been attacked and put in danger, whether voluntarily or not. We can’t leave this alone. Until safety is guaranteed, we’ll consider him a priority protection target, just like Ariel.]

After the academy was attacked multiple times and criticized from all sides, the school strengthened its defenses. They doubled the number of instructors and added security personnel.

And Ariel and I were assigned professional security officers.

[Ariel says she’ll handle herself at home after school, but can Do Jonghyun call for separate security officers?]

I can’t.

From money to other factors, 24-hour protection is impossible.

So I’m effectively under the school’s protection 24 hours a day.

“I need to find a way to break free from this too.”

But it’s more difficult than with White Dragon Guild. White Dragon Guild just proceeded without asking for our opinion, but the academy has a legal obligation to protect students, so there’s nothing legally wrong with it.

“Maybe I should ask wealthy Ariel for help?”

As I was coming out of the bathroom, I saw unfamiliar guys in our lower class classroom.

“Do Jonghyun. Where are you? Do Jonghyun.”

They were looking for me.