An awkward atmosphere settled over the room.
Hong Yeonhwa kept both hands over their mouth while their eyes darted around rapidly.
And I, as if I had not heard properly, leaned in and asked,
“What did you say it was time to do?”
“That’s not what I meant.......”
“I thought you said something about kissing.”
“Don’t tease me.......”
Hong Yeonhwa’s face slowly started turning red.
From the standpoint of mental care, the best thing would have been to pretend I had heard nothing at all and let it pass.
But right now, we needed to understand the side effects in greater detail.
There was a good chance we would get more 001 later, and there was also a high possibility that 002 and 003 would come with similar issues.
So I kept questioning them.
“Since when have you been thinking about kissing?”
“I....... that’s.......”
“The Fixed Zone Tournament? Final exams? Winter break?”
“No.......”
“Then did it just come out? Something you did not even mean?”
At that, Hong Yeonhwa, whose embarrassment had risen all the way to the top of their head, suddenly straightened their expression, looked me right in the eye, and answered,
“It’s not something I don’t mean. I do want to ki—mmph!”
Then they clapped both hands over their mouth again.
Their face turned the exact same color as their hair in an instant.
Apparently unable to bear the humiliation any longer, they stammered out,
“I-I’ll g-go, go on ahead first......!”
Then they used ★Blink★ to move far away in an instant and immediately ran off at full speed.
Watching them go, I asked Shin Byeongcheol,
“Were you like that as well?”
“Something similar. I blurted out my desires without any filtering.”
“That you wanted to get fuller hair?”
“That I wanted to get rich, you rude bastard.”
“I see. I’ll stop teasing you.”
“......By the way, that reaction was harsher than I expected. I’m not sure the advertising will work out at this rate.”
A worried look appeared on his face.
It seemed the tendency to misspeak was similar, but Hong Yeonhwa’s tolerance for embarrassment had been much lower than expected.
The side effect itself would naturally disappear with time, but the embarrassing memories would keep piling up one by one.
And later, there was a high chance that anger would take that place.
The next time they met him, instead of promoting anything, they might start by hurling a fireball at him.
But I answered casually,
“They should still do the advertising. We received something.”
“That’s what I figured too, right?”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“Ah, I’ll wait with complete faith in you, boss.”
Shin Byeongcheol left with a broad grin, and next I looked at Seo Ye-in.
“Doesn’t that side effect seem strangely familiar?”
“A very strong sense of déjà vu.”
In truth, it was more than déjà vu. She had been the sacrifice.
So I sent a message to Suspect No. 001.
[Kim Ho: Are you making anything these days?]
A reply came back in less than a few seconds.
[Dang Eunbi: No?]
No matter how I look at it, it really seems like you are.
Well, if she really was Shin Byeongcheol’s business partner, there was no way she would confess so easily.
He had probably already told her to keep her mouth shut too.
Should I dig deeper?
She was still a freshman, so she would be more vulnerable to the schemes of the martial world. If I kept asking this and that, a gap might show.
Another effective method would be asking through Dang Gyu-young.
At the very least, she would probably be more honest with them than with me.
But I changed my mind.
I’ll leave it alone for now.
I did not feel any need to interfere.
It did not seem like they were short on materials, and the results were already plenty absurd.
If veteran big-data got added on top of that, it would definitely help improve their skill, but on the other hand, it could also hinder their creativity.
If that happened, I would unintentionally be cutting open the belly of the goose that laid golden eggs.
So I wrapped up the conversation on a good note.
[Kim Ho: Right. If anything troublesome comes up, tell me.]
[Dang Eunbi: I will.]
[Dang Eunbi: Thank you.]
*****
Hong Yeonhwa stayed collapsed over their desk the entire time.
Even after Lee Sudok entered the classroom and the PvP class began.
Looks like they really are that embarrassed.
Every now and then they would peek over with just their eyes showing between their arms, then the moment our gazes met, they would hurriedly hide again.
“......”
Lee Sudok appeared to notice the sight as well, but he did not seem particularly concerned.
Someone at Hong Yeonhwa’s level was normally a good student, so he probably figured there could be days like this once in a while.
Half-ignoring it, he continued the class.
“I trust you all remember hostile environments, unless you have the brain of a goldfish.”
Of course, it was impossible to forget.
About half of the first-year practical evaluations had taken place in hostile environments.
Typical examples included a swamp zone filled with poisonous fumes or a glacier zone swept by flesh-cutting cold.
“These environments create battlefields unfavorable to intruders and advantageous to the residents. Last year’s final exams were a fine example.”
The Fire Dragon’s Nest.
The students had to run around while avoiding flowing lava and the fireballs that came flying at them at all times, and when the volcano erupted, they had to remain at the main base as much as possible.
By contrast, for the monsters, that was their natural habitat, so they became even more active there, and some of them were even strengthened.
“That is a case where monsters suited to a naturally occurring environment had taken root. On the other hand, there are also artificial cases.”
Lee Sudok added that the latter was what today’s lesson would focus on.
With a light wave of his hand toward the blackboard, a single word appeared.
[Curse]
“To name one very common example, an area may be imbued with a curse. A decline in physical ability, a drop in the rank of certain skills or traits, and in extreme cases, even complete sealing.”
......
At this point, it was practically decided what would appear in this week’s PvP, so every student without exception made a face of disgust.
Naturally, Lee Sudok had no intention of caring about such reactions.
“The best course is to avoid entering such an area if possible, but there will often be moments when you have no choice. Will you give up every time that happens?”
For example, if an ally had been dragged inside.
Or if the enemy were preparing large-scale magic and the like.
And if you had to stop it as fast as possible.
Then even if it was an unfavorable battlefield, there was no choice but to enter.
“In order to develop your ability to deal with similar situations, some of your skills and traits will be sealed in this week’s PvP.”
Soon after, the rules and environment appeared on the blackboard.
MAP: [Random]
RULE: [Deathmatch] [Lock*3]
[2vs2] [10-minute limit]
Just from the word Lock and the number 3, it was obvious that three skills or traits would be sealed.
For the moment, most of the students looked like they were thinking, This seems manageable, because most of them had dozens of abilities.
They seemed to think they could just dodge the important ones.
Of course, there was no way the academy would fail to know that, nor would they let things go so easily.
“Priority will be given to those with high usage frequency or high rank. For reference, the ones that form the foundation of your class will be excluded.”
That meant things like a gunslinger’s [Mana Round] or a martial artist’s [Swordsmanship] would not be touched.
Though that also meant there was a much higher chance that skills or traits with a large share of a build would be sealed.
Of course, that was also what made this week’s rule meaningful.
......!
By this point, the students’ faces were full of anxiety.
They could not help it, considering they had no idea whether an arm or a leg was going to get chopped off in a moment.
At that, Lee Sudok added one more thing as if granting a favor.
“For reference, [Lock] applies to both sides. The key will be who adapts more quickly and seizes the upper hand under unfavorable conditions.”
......!
“And I would also like to emphasize teamwork. In a weakened state, it is the only way to compensate for one another.”
Accordingly, predicting what would be sealed and then finding a fitting teammate would also be a valid strategy.
While class continued, a notification message was appearing at one edge of my vision.
[Sub Quest: Week 4–5 PvP] (In Progress....)
▷Objective: Complete 3 PvP matches (-/3)
▷Reward: Varies according to achievement
[Would you like to use ‘Challenge Book’?]
[Accept/Decline]
Naturally, my answer was Accept.
But unlike usual, the quest did not update immediately, and another notification message appeared instead.
[Please select a difficulty.]
“Challenger” was the default difficulty with the Challenge Book applied, and even that was enough to make most people suffer.
And “Super-Duper Hardcore,” as the name alone suggested, was one step beyond Challenger.
If I thought about it in connection with this week’s PvP—
There will probably be more locks.
I figured the original three would increase to at least five to eight.
Which meant my combat power would also plummet accordingly.
And I’m supposed to be satisfied with Challenger?
When even more super-duper rewards were waiting?
As a veteran, that was something I simply could not accept.
So I boldly selected option 2, and the quest updated.
[Sub Quest: Week 4–5 PvP] (In Progress....)
▷Objective: Win 3 PvP matches (-/3)
▷Condition 1: Number of locks increased from 3 → 10
▷Condition 2: Must proceed with different teammates each time
▷Reward: Varies according to achievement
Ten is definitely a lot.
At that point, almost all my S-ranks would be tied down, and there was a very high chance I would not even be allowed to use [Wind Force].
And they made sure I can’t just get carried easily either.
Other students could put together one solid team while taking the handicap into account and use it for all three matches, but I had to find a different teammate for each one.
For example, it meant I could only fight one match together with Seo Ye-in.
I’ll have to find good ones and grind it out somehow.
While I was thinking that, I felt Song Cheonhye’s gaze from beside me.
She was glancing over at me while pretending not to, clearly seeming to be troubled over something, and it was obvious she was thinking about the PvP.
She was probably trying to ask me to pair up with her.
But it seemed like her pride was a little too bruised to bring it up immediately.
And she was probably also conscious of the looks around her, especially Hong Yeonhwa in the seat diagonally across from her.
So I waited to see how she would act, and after thinking it over for a long while, Song Cheonhye seemed to steel herself.
She turned her head toward me and said,
“So, um.”
But at that moment, Hong Yeonhwa, who had been lying face-down on their desk, suddenly shot upright.
Then they looked straight at me too.
“I want you to think of me first. Before her, and before Seo Ye-in or Senior Dang Gyu-young too.”
It was almost on the level of a public confession, and she said it loudly enough for everyone to hear, so the classroom exploded into chaos.
Song Cheonhye froze with her mouth slightly open, apparently speechless, while Mo Yongjun and Jeong Jinmyeong looked over with admiring gazes.
And in the back row, Cha Hyeonju was mouthing, This is completely fucking insane, while silently cursing.
Needless to say, Hong Yeonhwa’s face had once again turned bright red like a fully ripened apple.
“That’s not what I mean, it’s just, the po-po, potion si-side effect.......”
He had said it would last around half a day, and it seemed it was still continuing now, even after class had started.
Soon Hong Yeonhwa pulled out their wand with trembling hands, seemingly about to run away using ★Blink★ like before.
But before they could chant the spell, I grabbed their hand.
Then, grinning, I made them a proposal.
“Then want to pair up for the first match? First of all.”
......!
Hong Yeonhwa’s eyes widened into circles, then they lowered their head deeply and answered in a tiny voice that seemed to crawl into the ground.
“......Yeah.”
