Chapter 212: Challenge Mode (1)
After being appointed to the completely unheard-of position of Special Operations Cadet, I stepped out of the headmaster’s office alongside Professor Baldwin.
“Dale, do you have any plans afterward?” she asked.
“No.”
Her eyes sparkled, and she nodded. “Oh? Perfect.”
“Is there somewhere you want to go together?”
“Didn’t the headmaster say he prepared a new party training hall? If you don’t mind, it would be good to take a look at it in advance.”
I had also been wondering what the so-called state-of-the-art party training hall looked like. “Oh, I’d like that.”
“Follow me,” she said.
Professor Baldwin strode ahead with her usual long steps, then abruptly stopped and glanced around. Classes were long over, and the sky was glowing with the last traces of sunset. There were barely any people left on campus.
She glanced at me and quietly held out her hand. “Hmm.”
“You want me to hold your hand?”
“I realized I’ve hardly ever held your hand before.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as I looked at her calmly outstretched hand. When I took it firmly, warmth spread through my palm. She seemed to like that. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she turned, still holding my hand.
“Let’s go,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The party training hall was a three-story building large enough to justify the term party facility.
Is this place going to be for our party alone? I wondered.
The number of people who were close enough to know about my past life was small. Iris, Yurina, Camilla, Senior Sophia, Laneige, Berald, and Professor Baldwin—there were a total of seven. Even if I added people I was friendly with, like Jules or Albert, the number didn’t even reach ten.
This place was more than big enough for just us. However, it was better to have something too large than too cramped.
Professor Baldwin operated the lock panel by the entrance. “Let’s start by registering your access pass.”
I activated my Hero Watch and tapped it to the lock.
[Registering Cadet Dale Han with ‘Party Leader’ authority.]
A clear chime rang out, and the registration was completed.
“With this, you can issue entry passes to anyone you want,” she explained.
“Thank you.”
“No need. This is legitimate compensation for your mission.”
She shrugged and walked inside. The construction seemed to be finished, and the interior gleamed as if it were brand new.
Looking around, she said, “This is the main training arena.”
The room we entered was massive, far larger than any personal training room I had ever seen. Even considering the superhuman powers heroes displayed while training, this space was more than enough. Honestly, it was too big.
“It’s bigger than I expected,” I muttered.
“It is designed for three or four parties to train at the same time. When it officially opens, walls will be installed to divide the space.”
That explained the excessive size.
She continued, “There are also facilities specifically for party training. Want to take a look?”
“Sure.”
“They use the latest Republic technology.”
Professor Baldwin activated a magic device embedded in the wall. Holographic demonic monsters appeared in the center of the training arena, far too lifelike to be dismissed as mere projections. Of course, they flickered translucently now and then, but even so, this was leagues beyond the current industry standard.
Suddenly, a vicious roar echoed throughout the vast space. “Grrrrrrrr!”
“It can even replicate sound?” I said.
“Yes. They use special audio devices to recreate monster roars for more realistic training.”
“That’s impressive.”
Naturally, I had never used this kind of facility in my past life, nor did I even know it existed. So, it intrigued me.
Professor Baldwin turned to me. “I heard it can replicate the movements of monsters up to the ten-eyed level.”
“That’s more than enough for our party to train against.”
“Would you like to try it yourself?”
“Well, I could. But...”
To be honest, ten-eyed demonic monsters were far below my level now. If the monster was just a hologram, that was true even more so.
She chuckled. “Heh. That’s why they added a special mode just for someone like you.”
“A special mode?”
“Yes. The Republic engineers made it half as a joke. They call it ‘Challenge Mode.’”
“You just said the maximum difficulty was ten-eyed demonic monsters.”
Her lips curved upward mischievously. “That’s only the maximum difficulty they can replicate. The next stage goes beyond replication. It enters the realm of creation.”
“Oh.”
Instead of recreating an existing monster, they invented something that didn’t even exist in the real world, purely from their imagination. The thought of someone creating monsters that existed only in imagination suddenly made me curious about just how absurd their creation would be.
“That sounds fun,” I said.
“Good. Then, after we check out the rest of the facility, try it out.”
“Alright.”
The professor’s eyes sparkled with a mysterious smile. “If you manage to clear Challenge Mode, hmm, yes. I’ll give you a special reward.”
“What kind of reward?”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t be any fun if I told you from the start, would it?”
Turning around, she said, “Come on. I’ll show you the second floor.”
The second floor had chairs and tables large enough for groups, as well as a simple cooking area.
“This is the lounge. If you buy ingredients from the campus store, you can make light meals here.”
“I like it.”
Bringing my own lunch every time or walking all the way to the cafeteria had always been a hassle, so this was perfect.
“And one more thing.”
Professor Baldwin adjusted a device on the table, and a video flickered to life on the wall of the lounge area.
“Isn’t that the first-floor training arena?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. The second floor is equipped so that you can watch and analyze recorded training footage from the first-floor training arena.”
“Oh, that’s actually really good.”
After training, party members could gather on the second floor, watch the recordings, and discuss each person’s weaknesses or areas for improvement.
“Alright, let’s head back down now.”
“Huh? What about the third floor?”
“The third floor doesn’t have any equipment installed yet. It’s empty.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Later on, it might be a good idea to think with your party about what kind of facility you’d like to have on the third floor.”
“Haha, we’ll think about that when the time comes. But, um...”
As I looked around the second floor, I realized something crucial was missing, something no training hall should be without.
“Where are the showers and the changing rooms?”
Since this place was designed for training, showers and changing rooms were essential.
“Fufu. I was just about to show you,” she replied.
“Oh, so they’re in the basement?”
“Correct.”
I tilted my head in confusion. Why in the world would they put the showers and changing rooms in the basement? Normally, it would be built on the same floor as the training arena for convenience.
Professor Baldwin cast me a meaningful smile. “Hmmm. You’ll understand once you see it. Why we set up the bathing facilities downstairs.”
Following her, I descended to the first basement level. And the moment we reached the bottom, I got the answer to my question.
“A hot spring?” I muttered.
What the...? This is crazy. Did they seriously build a hot spring beneath the training hall?
She explained, “It’s called a hot spring, but it’s not actual hot spring water. It’s basically a bathhouse that uses heated water.”
“Ah, that’s why it’s in the basement.”
I had heard something like that before. Because water was unbelievably heavy, large bathing facilities were usually built underground.
“Well? Satisfied?”
“Satisfied? This goes way beyond that.”
A spacious arena, the latest training equipment, a relaxing lounge, and a hot spring—this place could easily compete with the top-tier facilities used by active, top-ranked heroes.
“Yurina would probably love this place,” I muttered.
Since Yurina was practically a training addict, her eyes would probably roll back in excitement if she saw this.
Hearing Yurina’s name, Professor Baldwin narrowed her eyes slightly. “Hmmm. Come to think of it, how is Yurina doing these days?”
“Sorry?”
“I haven’t heard anything about her since the last incident.”
“Oh.”
Professor Baldwin had been busy handling the follow-up investigation, so she didn’t know what happened afterward.
I cleared my throat and smiled awkwardly. “Well. She’s doing alright. She’s overcome the trauma of her first kill.”
Professor Baldwin’s eyes gleamed sharply. “Oh? Doing alright, huh. So? Did you do it?”
“Sorry?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. That. I’m talking about sex. S-E-X. Did you manage to do it properly this time?”
“No, I mean...”
Could she be any more blunt?
“It’s just, uh. That’s...”
“Don’t tell me after all that setup, you still couldn’t lift the spoon to your mouth?”
To be fair, being able to get closer to Yurina this time was entirely thanks to Professor Baldwin pushing me along.
“Well. It worked out. Thanks to you, Professor.”
She frowned slightly, as if something about that bothered her. “Hmmm, is that so?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Although I suppose I shouldn’t say this, given I’m the one who set the stage.” Avoiding my eyes, she spoke in a somewhat sulky tone. “But seeing that dazed, lovestruck expression on your face is making my gut twist for some reason.”
Seriously? You’re the one who shoved me forward so hard!
“In any case, I’ll tell you what your special reward is.” She stepped closer, then whispered into my ear, “If you pass the Challenge Mode successfully, you’ll get to try out the hot spring today.”
Of course, as expected, that wasn’t all.
A mischievous smile curled at her lips as she continued, “With me, that is.”
