Chapter 17 – I Have A Killer Move?

First impression.

First impressions play the most important role in people’s relationships.

For example, there was a male student who sat quietly at school. He never missed a class and his grades were outstanding too.

He was quite the exemplary student.

At least, that was how the first impression of him appeared.

There were rumors spreading among the male students at school. It was none other than the rumor about his extremely twisted relationship with women.

Starting with a Noona next door, then moving on to a middle-aged woman in the apartment next door.

A baseless rumor that was out of control.

After learning of such a rumor, how would the same male student come across to them then?

During the day, he quietly read books and concentrated during class. When evening struck, he went around seducing women.

That was the type of image he had. 

Merely picking up the eraser of the female student sitting next to him would make others see it as him hitting on her.

They saw anything he did with a warped view.

It was kind of like being stuck in a frame.

So, why am I explaining this in depth?

That’s obviously because…

I was in that frame.

The miracles of Moses were unfolding where the ten students were gathered. 

There was a radius of about 30 centimeters. 

The students didn’t even approach due to the various rumors and my frame.

It’s not like I have some kind of virus or anything, but why are they so far away?

The female students had the gaze they were looking at a criminal. 

The male students had the gaze of the wary.

Was the power of fate this strong?

I asked for an explanation on the inside, but it seemed like everyone else could explain this situation except for me.

“Ahem. I’ll begin the meeting now.”

The name of the student who was the representative, was Ahn Jiho.

He had a warm-looking appearance and a sturdy build.

He was a memorable character because he had a knack for Tanking during the sparring match.

In the game, the rank for his overall ability was B-Rank. Needless to say, he was much stronger than me.

Jiho continued the conversation with his distinctive low voice.

“The 10 of us make Group 4. That’s why, I’m thinking we choose our positions. Can everyone tell me what you specialize in?”

Jiho introduced himself as a Forward or a Tanker.

When he finished talking, the other students spoke up and began to introduce themselves.

“I-I…can heal people!”

“I wield a sword. I specialize in disruption.”

The students pointed out their strengths.

Haha, I’m jealous. For real.

I didn’t have a single bragging point.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, one of my classmates spoke to me.

“Hey, you’re in the Rear, right…?”

A slightly shaky voice.

A sword fastened around his waist.

And a familiar face.

I clearly remembered his name.

Oh Gogok.

That was definitely his name.

I gave him a reply.

“Uh. The only thing I can do is shoot a gun. I’m sorry, but I’ll leave the frontline to you. Oh Gogok.”

“…It’s Kim Kiok.”

Ah, right.

That was his name.

I misunderstood at that moment.

He got the worst score, losing and being unable to do anything against Yoo Hayeon. Yet somehow he had not been expelled.

I didn’t hear the reason for that, but after all the matches were over, the teacher, Kang Suho, shouted something like this.

“For the record, there is no expulsion. It was all a lie to see you put your heart and soul into it.”

In the game, he was favorably received for being a serious, passionate, and charming character. The teacher even had the nickname, Hero Muscle Man.

No matter how many times I saw him, he was without a doubt a psychopath.

Give it back, my life span.

I worked hard for nothing.

“Hey, Sijoon.”

It was the sound of Jiho calling me.

As I was deep in thought, everyone in the group had finished introducing themselves except for me.

Is it my turn now?

I cleared my voice on the inside, and tried to assert myself.

“You’re in the Rear, right? Since we know everyone now, let’s move on.”

“Huh?”

Wait, I wanted to introduce myself too.

I wanted to shatter any misunderstandings the others had of me during my introduction.

They were still staring at me with a vigilant eye.

Things sure didn’t go my way.

Jiho began to say outrageous things to me.

“By the way, we trust you. It’s not common to see, but the firepower of the magic you showed… I’ll be counting on you.

“No, that’s a little much. I can’t pull it off like then.”

“Ahaha. Look at you joking around, you’re the modest type, aren’t you?”

“…”

Did the other students think the bullet I showed in my match against Yoona is my killer move?

They had mixed feelings about me, but their faith in me coexisted in their gaze.

The students genuinely seemed to expect that I had a killer move.

You’re telling me to shave 6 months off my life, aren’t you?

An onslaught of curses was hanging on my mouth, but I decided to put up with it considering my image.

Because right now, I’m standing on a cliff.

I had to put up with it.

“Huu…”

Let’s take a deep breath. 

Yeah, the students are just over-evaluating me without ill intentions.

Hold it in. Hold it in. 

As I was coming to, Jiho stuck his hand out and let out a shout.

“Now. Now. Let’s do a Hwaiting1 and get going!”

“Yeah!”

The students began to pile their hands on top of each other in order.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A tower of several palms stacked up.

Am I supposed to put my hand there too?

Yeah, I should live by going with the flow.

In a good mood, I also raised my hand towards our formed group.

“Eeek!! …Sijoon’s hand!!”

A girl’s scream rang out as soon as I did.

She was the model student with glasses who brought me over here just a little earlier.

The girl’s hand that my hand covered.

She softly chanted to herself. 

“I’m…not going to get pregnant… Am I?”

“…No. It doesn’t work like that.”

No matter how much of a fantasy this world was, there was no ability to get someone pregnant just from holding their hand.

She stared at me like I was some kind of criminal.

Is this how the students see me?

A criminal who impregnates the other person just from the brush of my hand?

Me?

I’d feel less wronged if I actually did that. But I didn’t even do anything…

Feeling victimized, I cheered for myself, doing a Hwaiting like my group members did.

“Hwaiting!!”

“I wonder who that cheer was for?”

Except for me, everyone else didn’t know who that was intended for.

 ***

The mock gate exam kicked off the first episode in V. AGE.

The exam was designed to find out how well students worked together and how they acted when placed in a group. Lastly, it was a test to see how students defeated monsters.

Every group was headed to the same location, but their starting point was different.

The ultimate goal was defeating the gate boss, an artificially created mechanical monster which calculated each of the students’ attacks.

The group with the total highest attack damage won. Moreover, there was a thorough evaluation as well.

Proctors were hiding and monitoring us inside the gate. It was the Hero Academy’s method of adding security measures.

Basically, it was rare for students to get hurt.

That was that.

How should I get in the last blow?

Even if I ask Hayeon to let me kill it, she’d never do it. She liked doing things I absolutely loathed.

What do I need to do to get the hidden piece?

That was more concerning than the score.

“Alright, then. Group 4, is everyone here ready?”

Jiho, our group leader, asked.

He had an aptitude for guiding students so he seemed to have some leadership skills.

The rank didn’t seem that high though.

Since a majority of people with high leadership skills were those with a screw loose.

Jiho didn’t appear that crazy though.

In response, the students signaled to him that they were ready.

Jiho passed that onto the exam proctor, and the explanation began.

–Each group will enter the generated gate and defeat various types of monsters. You will also destroy the monster possessing the gate’s core, which is at the very center. That’s your ultimate goal. Does everyone understand?

“Yes!”

–Very well. Then, we will commence with the mock gate exam. 

When he finished speaking, he pressed a button, and a gate began to form in front of each group.

This was a fake gate created from the latest technology. No real monsters actually existed. 

A gate simulator.

The name, NAVI, was inscribed on the frame surrounding the gate, announcing that it was made by Na Yoona’s family company.

The proctor counted down.

After hearing him say start, the students began to enter the gate altogether.

In the midst of the students who were moving in perfect unison, Yoo Hayeon called out to me.

“H-Hayeon! Hurry up and go…!”

“Sijoon! See you in a bit!”

“…Alright.”

Yoona seemed to have already entered the gate to get started on scoring.

I grinned and waved to Hayeon, who was being dragged by Jowon, then put myself through the gate.

It felt like a signal that I had entered V. AGE and was starting the first episode.

 ***

As soon as I passed through the gate, the scene before me was horrendous.

“Uugh… Uack…”

“Urgh…”

My group members were vomiting.

What’s this?

Am I the only one who’s fine?

I remained standing there in the midst of that.

What’s different between them and me?

“Ah…”

I don’t have magic, right?

Their nausea came about due to their magic core shaking as they passed through the gate.

The need to vomit didn’t even come to me because I didn’t possess a magic core in the first place.

Can’t say if this is a good thing or not…

After some time passed, my group members began to come to their senses.

“Is this how a gate feels like…? Seriously. It’s hell…”

“Now’s not the time for this. Guys. We have to get going.”

He was right.

Since the other groups might already be on the move.

Leader Ahn Jiho made the right call.

He looked at me with an intrigued expression, then led the other students.

What. First time seeing someone with no magic?

It probably was his first. Since I’m a rare case that made up less than 0.1 percent in the world.

If you see it as weird, then it’s weird.

If you see it as unique, then it’s unique.

Our group began to move towards the ceilingless cave which stretched out ahead.

There were torches installed everywhere.

It illuminated our path, so there was no obstruction to our movement.

Step. Step.

The sound of footsteps echoed.

The students were still on their toes, and were talking much less.

We walked past several torches.

Five. Six. And seven.

Group 4 didn’t utter a single word.

Meanwhile, I said in a small voice, “They’re coming.”

After passing the eighth torch, the sound of numerous footsteps could be heard from the other side of the cave.

“W-What the?!”

I wonder how many there are.

The noise was vibrating, reverberating throughout the whole cave.

It was like the alarming sound right before a ghost popped up in a horror movie.

Grrrr…

Along with their low-guttural noise, they revealed themselves.

“A…wolf…?”

There was a wolf on all fours, letting out a threatening howl as it crouched down. It seemed it was going to pounce any moment now.

The wolves had a pointed horn on their heads, like a unicorn.

They were creatures that appeared in at least the C-Rank gates and higher.

Their special characteristic was traveling in packs.

A Horned Wolf.

The wolves had an awl-like horn at the center of their heads.

They were not an easy opponent to face. 

Living up to their name as a wolf, they were fast and had considerable offense power.

Grrrrrrrrr…

The moment of the confrontation where the students exchanged eye contact with their cold eyes…

Ahn Jiho demonstrated his distinctive leadership and shouted to his group members.

Sharp on their senses, they realized they had entered into battle.

“E-Everyone, on guard!!””

Right when Jiho shouted, the Horned Wolf began to dash towards us.

In an instant, the quiet cave was full of screams.

Footnotes

1. Hwaiting is a chant/cheer that Koreans do to hype themselves or others up.