Ch.88. Becoming Partners with Ariel

My memories of Aerial from the academy were quite predictable.

Given my position, we inevitably met during group assignments, so I had frequent experiences working with her. The biggest issue was her unpleasant personality. While her skills were undeniable, she had a strong tendency to mock and look down on others in direct proportion to her abilities.

She was also hostile toward Yoo Hwa-seol, Koo Sang-heon, and others.

Even when others had formed their own little groups after getting used to each other, Aerial never fit in with anyone.

She didn’t need support because of her exceptional skills, and others didn’t particularly like her because of her personality.

That’s why she earned the mixed nickname of “Queen”—both praise and insult combined.

And now, the princess who had yet to become queen was standing right before my eyes.

Grabbing my hand without warning.

“I’ve never seen this before! Someone who can’t even summon a guardian spirit!”

Her words were offensive, but her tone was infinitely kind.

Her expression wasn’t unpleasant either; she was smiling as she spoke.

To be frank, it was like praising some nobody who had discovered something interesting.

“What can I do? I’ll just have to work hard. You’ll probably get expelled from the academy, though.”

“Who knows? There’s still a three-year period left.”

“Really? Well, many people say that.”

She easily mocks others’ determination. Indeed, she’s not the type of person I’d want to like.

“Your manner of speaking is quite rude for a first meeting.”

“Oh my, is it? Sorry~”

Aerial takes my hand again and apologizes. But I know that this smile and show of apology mean nothing.

She’s just evaluating the person in front of her and thinking that’s how it will be. Right now, she’s just smoothing things over because I was about to get angry.

I know this very well from my experience with her in the past.

Aerial will forget about me soon enough. That’s how little she cares.

Perhaps that’s why I felt a surge of heat rising within me.

“Still, we’ll meet again soon. I’ll be moving up to the advanced class.”

“Really? That would be nice for me. Looking forward to it.”

She waves her hand with a prim smile. She’s definitely pretty enough to make my heart flutter.

But it was absolutely clear that behind that smile, she was looking down on people.

“I just need to shut her up.”

With my new power, I’ll be different from now on. I did well in the simulation too.

“Hmm?”

Wait… come to think of it, did those two also come to the simulation room without any information, like me? To practice?

As this thought occurred to me, I couldn’t help but click my tongue. I could truly understand why talented people were talented.

*

Simulation equipment is very expensive. Naturally, it requires tremendous technology to gather information about newly appearing monsters and recreate them.

There are simulation facilities available like internet cafés, but most are buggy and can’t properly render things.

They were a mess.

But this academy is different.

Long hair flutters in the air. Yoo Hwa-seol calmly slices through a D-rank monster in one go.

‘This is different from low-grade simulation equipment. It’s perfect.’

Hwa-seol’s heart was racing. She recalled how difficult it had been for her to practice properly until now.

She had practiced on low-grade equipment with money she had saved while working part-time jobs and feeding her younger siblings.

‘It’s over now. They’ve agreed to pay off all my debts here…’

She thought of her family, which had been severely troubled by debt. Fortunately, when she entered the academy, the Aptitude Association paid off her debts, and she would repay them later with a small interest.

‘It’s incomparably cheaper than private loans. And if I get into a good place, I can cover it with an enormous signing bonus.’

Even though she didn’t want to think about money, her family situation made her desire it.

But this is something only a very few people know. She didn’t want to tell anyone about her family circumstances.

‘I’ll keep it hidden while I’m here.’

Hwa-seol hated the discrimination, humiliation, and mockery that came with being from a poor family.

After finishing the D-rank, Hwa-seol noticed her smartwatch ringing.

[Students who have not yet returned to their dormitories should do so promptly. After 10 PM, suspicious behavior may result in demerits from instructors.]

“Should I stop here?”

Today was just a taste test, so to speak. She tied her waist-length hair with a band and expressed satisfaction.

Her fair neck was visible through the fine strands of hair dampened with sweat.

‘But it’s surprising that someone else came to the simulation room early like me.’

Hwa-seol thought of the lower-class student she had seen earlier. A lower-class student she wouldn’t normally meet.

But Hwa-seol highly appreciated his passion for coming to practice in the simulation, just like her.

‘Right, you just need to work hard.’

Just as Hwa-seol was smiling slightly, knowing well the fruits of effort, another presence appeared in the underground simulation space.

“Oh my? Someone else was here? Were you on a date?”

She could tell who it was just by the voice. It was Aerial, a celebrity whose face was already known from TV.

“Oh my! Are you Yoo Hwa-seol? I’ve heard about you. They say you’re the next best prospect after me?”

‘Next best after her?’

Hwa-seol frowned for a moment. She had received the highest score in the freshman evaluation.

To get the enormous signing bonus Hwa-seol was aiming for, she needed to surpass the woman standing before her.

“You’re quite confident.”

“Of course. I’m going to be the best.”

At that moment, Aerial’s gaze shifted to something behind Hwa-seol.

The simulation equipment had an external screen that showed the results.

Aerial confirmed that Hwa-seol had defeated a D-rank monster.

“You’ve already practiced?”

“Just a taste test.”

“You’re really diligent. I guess that’s why you’re skilled?”

Aerial readily complimented her. After all, there was nothing to fault in Hwa-seol’s actions.

“It’s fine for someone with your skills to practice, but there are also people making meaningless efforts.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about that kid who couldn’t contract with a summoning spirit earlier. Don’t you feel sorry for him? Struggling so hard in the simulation room when he has no future.”

“Is that wrong?”

Aerial shook her head.

“No, it doesn’t concern us, but I feel sorry for him as a third party. Honestly, how far can he go without a summoning spirit? Maybe F-rank at best? He has no future.”

“Don’t be so definitive. The future can change in unexpected ways. Do Jong-hyun was practicing until he was exhausted even before I arrived.”

“Who’s Do Jong-hyun?”

Hwa-seol was taken aback by Aerial’s response.

“The one you were just badmouthing. You didn’t even know his name?”

“Ah! His name was Do Jong-hyun? Sorry, sorry. I don’t even remember names.”

She had no interest and only remembered his face because he was unusual.

What an incredibly rude attitude. Aerial half-opened one eye lazily.

“But defending a lower-class student, is he a decent guy? Or family?”

“I just don’t want to judge someone who’s working hard.”

“I see, that’s nice of you. Well, good luck.”

Aerial immediately entered the simulation equipment.

[Monster Rank C]

A small crack appeared in Hwa-seol’s expression.

‘I need to beat her.’

She’s stronger than me right now. But nothing is impossible with effort.

Her smartwatch rang.

When Hwa-seol checked, there was a message.

[Sis! Are you hanging in there? It’s good that those bad people aren’t coming around anymore like before.]

[Unnie! Work hard and make lots of money! Yeon-ju keeps trying to take away our only phone.]

The encouraging messages from her siblings brought a smile to Hwa-seol’s face.

“Yes, I’ll work hard too.”

Hwa-seol regained her energy and moved toward the women’s dormitory.

*

The day of proper classes began. The first day consists of a school tour and theoretical lessons.

Oh Ju-hwan was leading our lower class around various places.

“This school’s grounds cover 60 million square meters, nearly twice the size of Kangwon National University, Korea’s largest university campus. You’ll feel like Sun Wukong wandering on Buddha’s palm. That’s why we’ve equipped various transportation methods and warp technology throughout. You can run around if you want to train your magical power.”

There were a total of six buildings on the enormously wide grounds.

One was the dormitory we came from, then the lower, middle, and upper class buildings, plus the cafeteria and simulation building.

The rest of the grounds were outdoor training spaces.

It’s ridiculously vast. Enough to stupidly get lost in the academy.

While other students were eagerly looking around, I wasn’t particularly interested.

I had already thoroughly explored this scenery before, like some country bumpkin.

So I wasn’t interested.

Right now, my mind was focused solely on going out again today to collect DNA and points.

As I was standing alone, someone approached me.

“Acting so damn cool.”

Min Gang-su. This guy is picking a fight again.

“Everyone else is trying not to miss anything, but what about you? With that attitude…”

“…”

“Don’t ignore me!”

Min Gang-su grabbed my shoulder. This guy’s an idiot.

“Quiet over there!”

Oh Ju-hwan has sharp eyes. Of course he’d pay attention when someone shouts so blatantly.

“Min Gang-su! What’s going on?”

“Nothing. We were just talking…”

“Min Gang-su, 20 demerit points.”

“What?”

A predictable outcome. Does he think Oh Ju-hwan is a stupid instructor who wouldn’t notice this situation?

“Don’t lie to me. This is a warning. Min Gang-su, I’ll ask again. What were you trying to do?”

“Nothing. He just didn’t seem to be concentrating…”

“Who? On what?”

When pressed further, Min Gang-su didn’t know what to do. He knew very well that explaining in detail would only make him look like an idiot.

“Know that you’ll be expelled if you cause unnecessary trouble in my class. Understood?”

“Yes.”

Min Gang-su hung his head. Soon he glared at me, but what could he do?

As we looked around, we occasionally saw students from other classes and upper classes.

“Are those the freshmen?”

“You guys! See you in six months!”

In principle, we have a six-month protection period during which we don’t train with students from other years.

After six months of learning the basics and getting somewhat familiar with real combat, we train together with second and third-year students.

Still, the only times we meet are in the dormitory or during meals.

No one talks to us anyway, according to school rules.

After roughly completing the tour, it was lunchtime.

Suddenly, all the instructors came in. What’s this? This didn’t happen in the future.

“Now, today was originally scheduled for theoretical lessons in the afternoon, right? The upper-class students are making a fuss about wanting to try the simulation test equipment right away. So we’re going to have a brief one-hour taste test.”

“What did you say?”

I was surprised. According to the past, we would have normal theoretical lessons followed by practical training the next day.

But a one-hour simulation equipment practice as a “taste test”? Why?

And an unsettling thought crossed my mind. While I would just be along for the ride with my human body’s lack of ability, I could predict who I’d be paired with.

For these assignments, students are mixed regardless of class and grouped according to ability.

Think about it.

My ability is the lowest among all students. From the instructors’ perspective, who would they put me with to balance the teams?

[Team 1]

-Aerial

-Do Jong-hyun

-Kang Seo-ha

-Park Dae-moon

“As expected.”

Of course it’s Aerial, who’s rated as the strongest. With my pathetic abilities, I was bound to meet her often.

And this remained unchanged in the future, before I went back in time.

After finishing the meal, Aerial found our team members.

“Was it Du Jong-hyun? We met yesterday, right? After trying the simulation once, the upper-class students wanted to do it quickly, so we asked together.”

Aerial was the culprit. After meeting me yesterday, for whatever reason, she had urged for this to happen.

“Remember my name properly. It’s Do Jong-hyun.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not good with names. Don’t be angry. I’ll do everything anyway. What’s with that expression? I’ll do it properly, Du Jong-hyun.”

Aerial adopted an attitude as if I didn’t matter at all.

And I knew well that Aerial had the skills to back up such an attitude.

Now the afternoon approached, and the simulation practice time that everyone except me was looking forward to was coming.