Chapter 19
“I don’t understand why everyone keeps falling over and rolling around. If you want to swim, go to the ocean or a swimming pool. Why do it in a swamp? Is it interesting? Is water full of shit delicious? I don’t understand what you’re thinking.”
This shitty guy.
Wasn’t it said that comradery sprouted in hardships? The first-year students of Class B glared at Jae-Hyeok with one heart and one mind. The terrain adaptation training lasted two hours longer than last week and left everyone groaning, but he had the nerve to provoke them even further.
Jae-Hyeok looked to the student beneath him, “Keep up the good work…. Well, your posture still needs improvement. It’s no better than the others. No wonder you guys keep falling. Did everyone here get certified as bad examples, or what?”
“Ugh. Shut up! I can’t straighten my back because you keep stepping on it! Shit. Why would we do this for no reason?” Lee Jin-Seong couldn’t stand it. He took a step forward and roared. The price of that movement was devastating. His fragile balance crumbled, and he fell forward. Jin-Seong sank into the swamp, leaving only his backside sticking out.
Jae-Hyeok, who was standing on his shoulders, was surprised, but he easily adjusted his position. “Huh, is this bastard’s Initial Skill something like Chair Creation?”
“Oof! Ooooooffff!”
Jae-Hyeok looked good even while acting frivolously. He sat using Lee Jin-Seong’s butt as a chair and shone alone as the only clean one in this hell covered by filth. It wouldn’t feel strange if a photo was taken of this scene and used as a magazine cover.
“I’m even angrier because he looks fine.
“Why did God give him such a face?”
“Aaack! I can’t take it anymore! Don’t blame me too much, Kang Jae-Hyeok! Shouldn’t you experience the feeling of mud coming out of your ears when you wash at least once?”
Everyone else was a mess.
The other students were covered in mud and filth, while Jae-Hyeok was clean. They were so upset by his appearance that they practically had a meltdown. They didn’t hesitate to cooperate with each other. They needed to shove Jae-Hyeok into the swamp at least once.
“......”
Kim Jin-Myeong just watched the students.
He didn’t intervene because in the past week, the achievements of Class B had been remarkable on their own.
It was arguably the first time in Kim Jin-Myeong’s career that the students were growing so rapidly.
He watched as his students worked together in the swamp. He was sure that soon, they would even be able to play soccer in the swamp. Well… seeing them falling over each other as they chased Jae-Hyeok, maybe he had gone too far.
In any case, at the center of this remarkable growth was Kang Jae-Hyeok.
The speed of his adaptation to the swamp was phenomenal, no matter how many times Kim Jin-Myeong thought about it.
Of course, this had been possible thanks to the noble sacrifice of his classmates, who chased him around and acted as stepping stones throughout the training.
Still, even from the second day on, Jae-Hyeok had started understanding the characteristics of the swamp and adjusting his movements so there would be less resistance.
He was like a living textbook, and the other students were learning from him in real time. Jae-Hyeok persistently harassed and provoked them, so they naturally observed him and tried to imitate his movements. However, the other students couldn’t close the gap because they couldn’t match Jae-Hyeok’s ability to use his mana.
He is smart, knows how to use his body perfectly, and his ability to use mana is at the level of an advanced player, Kim Jin-Myeong thought.
The more the kids attacked him, the more excited Jae-Hyeok became.
Kim Jin-Myeong’s expression gradually darkened as he stared at Jae-Hyeok. No matter how many times he thought about it, he was deeply disappointed with the results of Jae-Hyeok’s magic power measurement.
Why did Heaven give a genius such a beggar-like Skill?
With Jae-Hyeok’s terrible personality, he wondered how Jae-Hyeok could be satisfied with such a terrible Initial Skill.
Kim Jin-Myeong checked the time and gathered the students together. “Okay. Now now, let’s all calm down and gather together.”
Half of the students had fainted. Those who were in their right minds crawled and barely managed to stand in front of Kim Jin-Myeong.
Jae-Hyeok was the only one who was fine. His breathing wasn’t even disturbed. This wasn’t unusual, so no one questioned it.
Kim Jin-Myeong told them, “Tomorrow, monsters will be released in the swamp.”
“A-are you serious?”
“I can’t even run in the swamp yet. Now there will be monsters… ”
Wasn’t this progress too fast?
The frightened students cried out, and Kim Jin-Myeong reassured them. “Those who can already run in the swamp are the strange ones. In any case, it won’t be dangerous because we will be conducting joint training with Class C. Rest assured, the teachers will be responsible for your safety in the unlikely event of an emergency.”
“Yes.”
The students weren’t relieved at all. In contrast, Jae-Hyeok’s eyes were shining brightly. He looked so excited that it was as if there were a wagging tail behind him.
Kim Jin-Myeong couldn’t help laughing and dismissed the students.
***
“Provoke Kang Jae-Hyeok in the joint training.”
“Is that all? I can earn twenty credits just for doing that?”
“Yes. How could I lie to you? You will be debuting in the Association’s Third Offensive Team as soon as you graduate. I also don’t want to involve you in these trivial matters, but please do this one favor. Your superiors won’t forget your cooperation.”
……
First Year Class C student Park Si-Woo.
He was a prospect who had received a red potential rating.
Both teachers and students were favorable to him.
But Park Si-Woo needed something more tangible than just favorable feelings. He needed credits. The more credits he had, the better. He could exchange that currency for elixirs or items.
Kang Jae-Hyeok. Rumor has it that the teachers from the Association can’t stand him. As the younger brother of Kang Dae-Seong, who half-crippled the Association’s president and fled abroad, it was only natural that the teachers from the Association hated Kang Jae-Hyeok.
There was a chance that something bad would happen to Kang Jae-Hyeok after he provoked him. But, so what?
What happens to others is none of my business. I have my own life.
Park Si-Woo was twenty-eight years old.
He was young for someone who had recently awakened with a top-grade Initial Skill, but he’d only recently awakened, so his level was still low. Overall, his luck and talent were comparable to the students in Class A.
Naturally, he was ambitious.
He dreamed of becoming the ace of the Association and earning tens of billions of dollars in salary, living proudly for the rest of his life. In order to achieve that dream, he needed to be as strong as possible before graduation, even if it meant crushing a little boy to earn some credits.
……
“I look forward to the training today.”
“Haha, yes.”
Classes B and -C had gathered in the swamp.
Kim Jin-Myeong and the homeroom teacher of Class C greeted each other. It was friendly at first glance, but the homeroom teacher of Class C was arrogant. He only nodded when Kim Jin-Myeong gave a polite greeting.
The Class B students whispered to each other.
“That Class C teacher is younger than our homeroom teacher, but he has no manners.”
“He’s from the Association, right? I heard teachers from the Association stick together and bully the teachers from the guild.”
“If he is like that in front of students, he must be even worse when it’s just the teachers around.”
“Still, he isn’t that rude? He’s like a noble person compared to Kang Jae-Hyeok.”
“Anyone is an angel compared to that bastard.”
There was a saying that people always favor those closest to them. The students of Class B glared at the teacher of Class C.
On the other hand, Jae-Hyeok was glaring at Kim Jin-Myeong. He thought, Kim Jin-Myeong. Your usual behavior is bad, so you’re treated like this. Tsk tsk.
Eventually, the students took their eyes off the teacher of Class C and returned to glaring at Jae-Hyeok.
Kim Jin-Myeong explained the details of the training. “As you know, this swamp is built for training. The real swamps are found inside the Black Forest. Soon, the instructors will enter the forest to lure out the monsters.
“Keep this in mind. The purpose of this training isn’t to hunt monsters but to learn how to adapt to the swamp while there are active monsters and break through safely. You don’t have to fight dangerously against the monsters. Just focus on escaping the swamp.”
“Yes!”
Judging by the atmosphere, I think it is best to release five or six monsters, Kim Jin-Myeong thought
Jae-Hyeok frowned after hearing the explanation. He had already perfectly adapted to the terrain of the swamp.
He could swim, eat grilled meat, and sleep in the swamp as long as monsters didn’t disturb him.
In other words, the day’s class wouldn’t be helpful to him.
He wanted to experience a swamp full of monsters. But judging from what the teacher said, he would probably be disappointed. It seemed like it would be a peaceful class.
Well, I can understand their obsession with safety. It’s said that the majority of awakeners stay at level 1 for the rest of their lives. It was easy to awaken and become a player, but it was hard to level up. Gates were dangerous places, and monsters were powerful.
Many awakeners never went near a gate all their lives. There were also a number of awakeners who dared to challenge a gate but were crippled or killed.
There was a reason countries around the world ran player development institutions.
“They’re coming!”
The nervous students shouted in unison.
Three monsters chased after the instructors who were running out of the forest.
They were swamp leeches. They were the most commonly seen E-class monster in swamp biomes.
“That’s… disgusting.”
“If it clings to you, it’ll suck your blood until you become a mummy.”
In the midst of the pale students, Jae-Hyeok clicked his tongue. “Only three? What am I going to do with three monsters? No, I’m not going to enter the swamp.”
“Hmph. Aren’t you full of confidence? Swamp leeches are among the fastest of the E-class monsters. They can’t go at full speed right now while crawling on the ground, but it’s a completely different story once in the swamp. You’ll get seriously hurt if you look down on it.” Park Si-Woo made insinuations as he watched Jae-Hyeok.
The leeches arrived and entered the swamp.
There was an uproar among the students.
They were frightened by the leeches, which disappeared the moment they entered the swamp while moving at a tremendous speed.
“How about it? Isn’t it fast?”
Park Si-Woo had grasped Jae-Hyeok’s personality in a short time: he lacked patience as much as he lacked courtesy. Jae-Hyeok was the type of person who would attack at the slightest taunt.
It was clear to Park Si-Woo why he was told to provoke Jae-Hyeok. With his prodding, he thought that Jae-Hyeok would immediately jump into the swamp.
Class C’s homeroom teacher also thought as much. He was expecting a scene where Jae-Hyeok rushed forward without prior knowledge, was humiliated, and vented his anger on Park Si-Woo. Then, I can penalize him right away.
With thirty demerit points to Jae-Hyeok’s name after only two weeks at school, it was enough justification to suggest expulsion.
It happened the moment a wide smile spread across the Class C teacher’s face.
“Are you nervous? You’re the talking a lot about how the leeches are fast or whatever,” Jae-Hyeok said. Unexpectedly, he was provoking Park Si-Woo in reverse.
He continued, “It looks like you were scared and studied hard all night to learn about the swamp monsters. Are you sure you can handle this challenge?”
As a person whose potential was judged red, Park Si-Woo had strong pride.
“There is no way I would be scared by an E-class monster. I’ll be the first to do it, so watch and learn.”
I told him to provoke Jae-Hyeok, but he was provoked instead, the Class C teacher thought. He was overwhelmed with a sense of foreboding as things started going awry.
Meanwhile, inside the Black Forest.
Shit... this is fucked up.
A few students from Class A became thoughtful as they made their way through the swamp while killing vicious monsters.
They belatedly noticed that they’d read the map incorrectly and entered the territory of the swamp Leech King.
It was too late by the time they noticed it.
Roaaaaar!
The king roared, and hundreds of leeches flooded toward them. A large-scale movement was occurring in the swamp.
The biggest problem was...
Wriggle!
Some leeches read the traces of life in the swamp outside the forest.
It was where Class B and -C were conducting joint training.
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