Chapter 105
“Why do we have to go all the way out to the academy for an alternative class, boss?”
Jin-woo didn’t like the academy’s behavior that much, so he grumbled all the way outside the academy.
“Still, it’s much better than sitting and studying, isn’t it?”
I said that from the bottom of my heart, as I was trying to point out that classes like this are better for experiential learning, but Jin-woo only looked at me with uncomprehending eyes.
“Eh, it’s best if you don’t come to the academy at all! Ha……Really, the world is against me…….”
I wondered why Jin-woo hated the academy so much.
“Is it because of the mentorship? The guild members of Artemis Guild are definitely famous for being beautiful. Didn’t the guild leader, Han Yeo-eun, have a fan club of 1 million members?”
This was a well-known story in the community, so I remembered it well.
It was always mentioned whenever the community asked for a representative beauty NPC.
“What?! That witch has a fan club?!! Is that like the water buffalo of Korea or something?”
Se-ah, who had been walking ahead of him, turned around and grabbed Jin-woo by the scruff of the neck as she spoke in genuine disbelief.
“You! What did you say about our Goddess Han Yeo-eun?”
“Eh?! What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
“You just said it, water buffalo!”
“Are you……A fan of that witch?”
“Witch? That’s blasphemy!”
……I can’t believe Kim Se-ah is a member of Artemis’ fan club, the Moonlighters.
I don’t have good memories of her either, but I guess I should be careful what I say in front of her.
“By the way, it’s still pretty heavily guarded outside the academy.”
Not wanting to keep looking at the two of them arguing, I look around and start noticing things I don’t normally see.
CCTVs, drones, and people from private security companies were lurking everywhere.
The academy had apparently gone into overdrive after yesterday’s events.
“Oh, that’s right,” Se-ah said, “Apparently the PTA has gotten some support, too, because there are a lot of people who want to do things at the academy.”
Se-ah explained, grabbing Jin-woo by the scruff of the neck and shaking him.
“Especially the parents of the first-year students. I heard this from an instructor, but apparently some of them threatened to take them away from the academy, so keep an eye on security.”
Well……hard to say but I’d have a stake in that.
It was a story I heard from Parnello this morning.
He said my dad yelled at the dean and my eyes inadvertently wandered to my new Black Mist.
…… I feel bad for the dean.
At least I stood up for him at the ceremony today, so maybe I’ve paid him back a little.
“Still, I’m very surprised. I never thought I’d actually meet Mr. Kwak Chun-sik, who I’ve only heard about in legends.”
“He’s not a legendary monster.”
“Of course I didn’t mean that! I was just impressed. It’s just that I’ve never met Mr. Kwak Chun-sik in person due to an incident a few years ago.”
Oh, that.
“Anyway, he’ll be a teacher soon, so you’ll see him later, even if you don’t want to.”
At this, Se-ah, who had been walking steadily up to this point without slowing down, stopped in place.
“What?”
“Hmm? Didn’t I tell you?”
That was his intention, but yesterday’s incident had slowed him down a bit.
From what I heard, once he’d gotten his affairs in order, he’d be working his way up through the ranks at the Academy.
From the dean’s point of view, the arrival of Kwak Chun-sik at a time when he was in a difficult position would be a godsend.
Not only did he have a bad relationship with the Association, but the fact that he had the power and authority would be a great weapon.
“Wow, Kwak Chun-sik is going to be an Academy’s instructor, that’s definitely going to cause a stir. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kwak Chun-sik set most of the standards for Aura techniques in the modern era.”
Young-jae and Jin-woo nodded in agreement.
“All halt, gather around.”
The instructor’s voice came from the front row and we gathered around the instructor’s words.
The instructor took one look at us and began the lesson in a booming voice.
“Welcome to survival class kids.”
We were at the entrance to the wilderness behind the academy.
Speaking to us from here was Bear Grizzly, one of the academy’s instructors and an expert in dungeon survival.
……What kind of class was it, I wondered, a survival class?
Survival classes teach you how to survive in any environment, and they were part of the curriculum for heroes who would be going into dungeons a lot.
“I’m sure you’ve been told why we’re practicing outside the academy. I’m sure the dean and the other instructors had no choice so I hope you will forgive them for this.”
The instructor makes a chuckling sound, and gets into position.
“That is why I have brought you here today, to set you up in a realistic environment. What you will experience today will become the flesh and blood of your life……..You will be honing skills that are intimately tied to your survival.”
At this, the other students swallowed hard and began to look nervous.
It was the first time they had ever seen Mr. Bear Grizzly look so serious outside of the academy.
When most of the students were nervously watching his expression, and he was still silently scanning the room with an unreadable expression on his face, Bear Grizzly shifted back into a stance and drew a knife from his pocket, driving it into the wood in front of him.
“All of you. I assume you’re ready, so I’m going to tell you what we’re going to do today.”
Just like that, everyone’s tension reached a fever pitch.
“…… This instructor will be teaching a cooking class today.”
“””What?”””
At the same time, children’s questioning voices came from all over the room.
……A cooking class?
I had a vague idea when I saw we were heading to the back mountain, but now that I’m actually going to do it, I’m starting to get a little excited.
“As you all found out yesterday, when a dungeon suddenly goes on a rampage, you can get sucked into it. And there are some dungeons that have an entire ecosystem built around them.”
True to his word, the dungeons took many forms.
From tower-like structures to underground dungeons like the one we were sucked into yesterday, to dungeons with their own ecosystems.
Knowing the characteristics of dungeons and learning how to survive in them was a major challenge.
“It’s not that hard to survive in a dungeon, you just have to know what you can and can’t eat, and that’s half the battle. Good food is also a great morale booster.”
As he says this, he pulls his baton from his belt and, with a bow, points to the wilderness behind him.
“This is the mountain behind the Academy, you know. It is home to many training dungeons, and is a sort of magical landscape, with a unique ecosystem due to its wavelength and the remnants of dungeons vanquished in the past.”
“But!” he continues.
“There are already people from the Academy inside who will rescue you before you do anything dangerous. So you don’t have to worry too much.”
I thought I had a lot on my mind earlier.
After all, it was a forest with mobs in the game, so it wasn’t exactly a dangerous place.
Well, there’s certainly no better place to study the ecosystem of a dungeon.
It’s a tutorial of sorts.
“Okay, so let’s start by finding a partner to cook with, so you’ll be teaming up in groups of two, and I suggest you each team up with someone you like. Go!”
One by one, the other kids start teaming up with kids they’ve always been friends with so I team up with the kids in my club.
I look over at Se-ah, thinking that it would be advantageous to team up with her, since she specializes in detection, in order to get food and scout the terrain with the least amount of effort, but…….
“Do it with me, do it with me, I’m screwed without you!”
“Why? I said do it with someone other than me, if you do it with Mr. Eugene, you’ll get a perfect score, so why are you sticking to me!”
“Have you ever seen him cook? He can’t cook, so please spare me, eh?! Please, I’ll let you meet Han Yeo-eun!”
Jin-woo was already begging until his knees were weak, so it seemed a bit much for him to be on the same team.
Then why not team up with Young-jae…….
“You don’t have a partner? Okay, I’ll join you.”
“Wow! Thanks! You saved my life!”
Apparently, Young-jea was paired with another kid because of his position as class leader.
If so, who was still left…….?
“Me, Eugene Han.”
“Um?”
Suddenly hearing my name from behind, I turned my head and saw a black-haired girl with a blushing face.
This must be…….
“Mari?”
“Oh, yeah, you remember my name, don’t you?”
“……I’m the vice-president of the class, so I know all the kids’ names by heart.”
“Oh……you do!”
She was a student who usually didn’t say anything, so her presence in the class was almost zero.
Her long, curly black hair was tied in a ponytail on either side of her face, and she always had a doll in her hand.
Although her eyes were hidden by her bangs, she looked quite confused when I called her name.
“……So what’s going on?”
I asked, puzzled as to why she had called me out of the blue since we had never spoken before.
“Yes…… uh…… yes?”
“You called my name.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s not that…… I’m a bit of a freak…… that, I’m sorry, actually, I don’t have anyone to team up with…… so I was wondering if you could team up with me if you don’t mind…….”
She asks cautiously, hiding her face behind her doll even though she spoke to me first.
Since I’m on the same team as Mari in the survival cooking competition…….
“Sure.”
“Oh, I see, so you’re also……yeah, what, are you for real?”
Mari is taken aback by my answer.
“What? Was that a joke or something?”
“Oh, no, it’s not a joke, I didn’t mean it!”
“You mean we’re going to be on the same team, right?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Okay. Take care of me Mari.”
Actually, I needed you, too.
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