The simulation room in the Landwing Hall was made of highly-reinforced glass on the outside and metal from an otherworld on the inside
Having been built under the order of Chairman Hwang Myeongho, the top-of-the-line facility allowed dorm students to observe each other's training.
The training room was made under the glamourous pretext of improving student welfare and competitiveness.
In reality, Yellow Tiger just wanted to watch people training, so it was built because, 'It's difficult to see without a window.'
"Wow… Did you see the skill he just used?"
"Oh, so cool."
In the simulator room, which was a complete waste of money, the dorm students had been watching someone train against virtual reality Enemies since morning.
People usually spectated students with flashy elemental attribute combat skills such as fire, water, wind, earth, and electricity.
However, the person who received the most attention today was a first year student named 'Cho Euishin, the Unknown Supernova.'
"I don't even know what some of those weapons are called… Oh, I know that one. Isn't it an urumi? They're whip-like swords from ancient India."
"I saw a Mythical Bia cheonja-chongtong blast off a moment ago. Did the school give him that?"
(tl/n: Chongtong is a term for military firearms a few thousand years ago in Korea, and the one mentioned here is a cannon that's also the largest of them.)
"No matter how you look at it, I don't think that skill is level 1."
"It's been less than a month since he enrolled, but his skill level has already risen? Crazy."
The dorm students chatted as they watched Cho Euishin's independent combat studying through the highly-reinforced glass window.
He used each weapon for about 2 seconds to attack the virtual reality Enemy before immediately switching to a different item card.
"Oh, it's already been switched out. I wanted to spend more time seeing how a karambit is used."
"I want to see him throw a javelin one more time."
Disregarding the audience's disappointment, Cho Euishin continued to change weapons.
The item cards magically appeared at his fingertips.
His card materialization speed, weapon switching, and gestures to activate his skill were all agile and sharp.
"Didn't people say that Cho Euishin received 300 weapon item cards? I think he's used more than that by now."
"I think a lot of those are personal weapons."
Of course, those personal weapons were from Cho Euishin ransacking Byun Soonhoe and Choi Pyeondeuk's personal wealth.
"By the way, where is he grabbing those item cards from?"
"Is he using his Light or something?"
"Betting a snack on the morning menu on it being Bestowed Light."
"There's a British magician player who uses item cards for his tricks, and the gestures he does look the same as his. So, isn't it a magic trick?"
"I think the magic trick for hiding cards in your hand is called 'palming.' A back palm? A one-handed palm? What technique is he using?"
"I think he's used almost 400 cards now, could he hide that many with a magic trick?"
Cho Euishin was simply selecting the item card from his exclusive menu's inventory.
To the students, who didn't know about the exclusive menu, his sequence of movements was mysterious.
The dormitory students continued their discussion without getting any answers.
Meanwhile, Cho Euishin finished his training, the final shot being by an arbalest.
"Oh, I guess it's over now."
"That was the 500th one."
"Were you keeping count? Wha… Mr. Dragon, hello!"
"Hello, teacher!"
The dorm students, who had been concentrating on Cho Euishin's training, belatedly noticed him.
The teacher who was mixed in with the students, Yong Jegeon, exchanged greetings with them.
The eccentric teacher, who didn't hide the fact he was a Dragon of the True Clan, was popular among the student body.
"Mr. Dragon, Mr. Dragon! I thought you used Jonggak Station to commute from the Red Lion Team's building."
"Mr. Yong Jegeon, are you going to live in the dormitory now?"
"No, I stopped by today because I had something to discuss with Mr. Kim Shinrok."
The dorm students didn't hide their disappointment at Yong Jegeon's answer.
"Ah…"
"Come on, Mr. Dragon!"
"I'll think about it."
As he responded softly to the students, Yong Jegeon looked at the first year through the glass.
"So, that student is Cho Euishin, the Unknown Supernova…"
Having just used his 500th weapon, Cho Euishin, the Unknown Supernova, was unaware of the situation outside the window.
He was distracted by a system notification that was only audible to him.
<Skill level of 'Versatility' has risen from 2 to 3.>
* * *
Thanks to this morning's training session, my skill level for Versatility rose.
My prediction that, since my level rose from just having weapons, it'd increase again after I used various ones, was correct.
'Back in our first class when I fought Bang Yoonseop, Ham Geunhyeong said the same thing.'
My current overall stats were Lv.15.
It was a 2 level increase from when it was Lv.13 when I first enrolled.
Additionally, my combat skill, Versatility, was at 3.
With this, 'Cho Euishin' himself has become quite useful.
In other words, even if I didn't use Player's Vestige, I could still deal with most Silverlight students.
'Training was worthwhile. But of course, a lot of people suddenly started talking to me after I left, so that made things difficult.'
I eased the conversation away from talking about the exclusive menu skill.
Thanks to them guessing about magic or Bestowed Light, I had no trouble making excuses.
"Oh, vice president."
After taking a shower in my dorm and calling the elevator, Maeng Hyodon, who was also assigned to the 17th floor, spoke to me.
It seemed like he was on his way to school too, so we should go there together.
"Maeng Hyodon, did you eat breakfast?"
"I did, today's buttermilk croissants with mozzarella cheese was delicious."
Maeng Hyodon seemed like the type to eat miso soup and rice in the morning, but his tastes were surprisingly Western.
The dorm cafe offered both Korean and Western breakfast options, so you could choose what to eat.
"The Korean option of three-colored vegetables was surprisingly tasty. Especially the bellflower roots, they were seasoned with sesame oil and seeds."
(tl/n: Three-colored vegetables, or samsaek-namul, is actually 3 separate side dishes plated as one, consisting of a green, brown, and white vegetable. Exactly what vegetable it is can vary, but bellflower roots are "white.")
Oh, he ate both.
Maeng Hyodon doesn't discriminate between Western or Korean food.
"As for yesterday's menu, the yams plus sweet pumpkin porridge for dessert was really good."
(tl/n: Sweet pumpkin porridge, or hobak-juk, is a smooth and naturally sweet porridge usually made with a pumpkin/squash, as the name suggests.)
"I had seconds of that one."
"I had thirds. But I ate the soufflé omelette separately, it tastes better without the powdered sugar."
Maeng Hyodon recited every menu item he ate from last weekend to this morning, critiquing their tastes.
I'm pretty sure he could eat any dish, but he savored and remembered the taste of them all.
'It's amazing that he precisely remembers the names from the menu.'
I think Maeng Hyodon would be good at mukbang.
(tl/n: Mukbang, translating as 'eating show,' is a video that features someone eating a large quantity of food while addressing the audience.)
So, as he excitedly talked about the menu, we headed to school.
"Hyodon!"
I heard the voice of Joo Soohyeok, the main hero of this world.
When I turned my head, I saw him sprinting towards Maeng Hyodon.
Usually, running at such a speed would make your face distorted by the wind, resulting in a humiliating scene. But when Joo Soohyeok did it, it looked like a scene from a teen movie.
"You attend Silverlight?"
"…Yeah, Joo Soohyeok. It's been a long time."
Joo Soohyeok stopped in front of Maeng Hyodon and reached out for a handshake.
The two were rivals who faced each other several times in finals of the reserve player division's youth sports competitions.
They were probably more used to shaking hands than just waving hello.
"I was looking, but I couldn't find you, so I thought you were going to another school. What class are you in? I'm in year 1, class 2."
"Year 1, class 0."
"You're in the same class as Euishin."
Joo Soohyeok, overjoyed, talked to me and Maeng Hyodon.
Thanks to Joo Soohyeok's adept communication skills, the three of us exchanged device codes in an instant and even created a group chat room.
'As expected of Joo Soohyeok, who boasts Kim Yuri's level of interpersonal skills.'
Maeng Hyodon, who wasn't used to using a wearable device yet, struggled with registering our contact information.
His father didn't provide adequate food, clothing, or shelter for him.
People in this world didn't treat smartphones as junk, so him not being familiar with the technology was inevitable.
"When I saw you at our last competition, I regretted not getting your home address. You can't do sports after becoming a full-fledged player, so I was worried I'd never see you again. I'm glad to meet you here in Silverlight."
Official players are not allowed to participate in sports competitions.
Those under the age of 17 weren't officially players, so there's a separate reserve for young players.
"Let's keep in touch often, Hyodon!"
Maeng Hyodon grumbled about how difficult it was to use a device as he stupidly stared at the chat room.
The only peer from Maeng Hyodon's middle school years who treated him kindly was Joo Soohyeok, who he met at tournaments, so this was probably eliciting a unique emotion.
'Joo Soohyeok saved a lot of people before the game even started, but he probably isn't aware of it.'
Joo Soohyeok and I taught him how to use a device before peacefully heading to the first year classrooms. Then, the peace was broken.
"Let's fight, Cho Euishin!"
Ah, a wild Bang Yoonseop bread shuttle appeared.
Considering his triumphant expression, it seems like he came up with a new, small fry-like tactic.
"Not only have I increased my overall stat level, I also have items that increase my resistance! Come on, Cho Euishin, you son of a biiittchh!"
Bang Yoonseop was still a cowardly small fry, as well as a blockhead.
'You shouldn't tell that to the person you'll be fighting, you blockhead.'
Abandoning the spirit of fair play, he didn't give any kind of start signal.
He just recklessly swung his nunchaku and rushed at me.
I took out two SR rank item cards that I stole from Choi Pyeondeuk.
"Hey, the Unknown Supernova is fighting the bread shuttle!"
"Is this round 2 of the Bread Shuttle Match? I want to make bets if they're fighting, so they should give a heads up beforehand!"
"Oh no, it already started!"
"Aw man, they're too far away. I should've illegally modified my hoverboard to be manually operated…!"
Before I knew it, students on their way to school flocked around to watch.
Some dashed to spectate from afar, and others used a hologram that was livestreaming it from a device.
It seemed that Bang Yoonseop being the Unknown Supernova's bread shuttle was a very well known fact.
'Since I have an audience, I have to put on a show.'
The wind on this refreshing day was pleasant.
I materialized the SR rank item, 'Rod that Calls Fresh Wind.'
<Skill 'Versatility' has been activated.>
With the system notification, magic spells and their effects flowed into my head.
Maybe it's because I leveled up, but the variety of spells and the power I could expect from them increased.
I didn't know the rank of Bang Yoonseop's anti-magic item, but let's use the strongest magic possible with a casting time of less than 5 seconds.
'If he blocks it, I can use my second item to attack with melee.'
Casting, which was a required step for operating magic, had three stages.
Understanding the mana management formula.
Movement of the rod according to that understanding.
Changing the flow of mana accordingly.
After casting, the spell's user chants in the designated language, and the magic is activated.
"Escensii Venti!"
As soon as my spell was finished, the wind's flow changed.
Whoooooosh-!
"Hahaha! Magic is useless… Uh, uh, what!"
The gentle spring breeze turned violent.
A whirlwind descended from the sky rushed towards Bang Yoonseop.
Woooaaahhh-!
When a storm appeared from the tip of my rod, the students cheered.
On the other hand, Bang Yoonseop, who was caught in the disaster, screamed.
"Aaaaah!"
It seemed that Bang Yoonseop's anti-magic item had exceeded its damage limit, because I could hear the sound of an item breaking.
Crack!
The effect of the anti-magic item disappearing was apparent from the receiver of the wind.
As his small hope disappeared, Bang Yoonseop was caught in the whirlwind and rocketed away.
He became smaller and smaller.
Gradually getting farther and farther away.
'Oh, that's too strong.'
If I left it like this, Bang Yoonseop would die.
I withdrew the magic spell.
With a thud, he fell to the ground in the same posture as an upside-down frog.
Since I manipulated the wind to act as a cushion, he wouldn't be hurt too badly, but he still looked unsightly.
'The melee weapon ended up being useless.'
Still, shouldn't I use it as a preventative measure?
I materialized the second item card I prepared, the SR rank 'Outer Master's Steel Nunchaku,' and walked towards Bang Yoonseop while spinning them like an expert.
They were the hand movements of a level 3 nunchaku skill.
Bang Yoonseop, who recognized this, was startled.
"Endeavor, Bang Yoonseop."
"Fucking insane, you were level 1!"
"I leveled up."
Bang Yoonseop's face was stained with despair.
"If you go on like this, you'll even lose to me in nunchaku skills."
"For fuck's sake…"
Bang Yoonseop completely lost his courage and laid down on the floor.
"It was fun to watch this time, too."
"Magic is really cool, I also want to learn it."
"I listened to an online lecture about basic mana operation theory after seeing the Bread Shuttle Match, but it's difficult to understand. It'd be better to just learn other combat skills."
"Unknown Supernova, thank you for the show!"
"Bread shuttle, try to do better next time."
After the short and intense fight, the spectating students left a few words before heading to class.
Maeng Hyodon and Joo Soohyeok remained behind and gave Bang Yoonseop a cold evaluation.
"You need to train your core more, Yoonseop."
"Your movements were clumsy whenever you moved your center of gravity."
The posthumous execution, kill confirmation, and fact-based violence continued.
(tl/n: Posthumous execution (부관참시) refers to a severe punishment inflicted on a perpetrator's corpse when they are found guilty after already dying. The kind mentioned here also deprives the subject of all their honor or qualifications.)
Bang Yoonseop, who was lying face down, looked at the two with a tearful face.
Ignoring the top dealer of truth, Joo Soohyeok, he pointed at Maeng Hyodon and took his anger out on him.
"Who do you think you are! You're so fucking puny that you're crawling on the ground. Are you in middle school?"
Maeng Hyodon's weakness is his below-average height and physique.
He was muscular from participating in numerous competitions and repeatedly fighting against Enemies, but that was how it was.
Maeng Hyodon, who was still considered Joo Soohyeok's rival despite his body size, was a true fighting genius.
'Maeng Hyodon couldn't eat properly during the period he should've had his growth spurt.'
According to Ham Geunhyeong, Maeng Hyodon displayed symptoms of vitamin deficiency, malnutrition, and healing item overdose.
If he wasn't a player, he would've needed to be hospitalized for a long time.
'He told me that, since Maeng Hyodon is still a teenager and has a strong constitution, he'll be fine as long as he improves his diet, refrains from using healing items, and does rehabilitation training. I'll also have to help him from my side.'
While I was briefly absorbed in my thoughts, Maeng Hyodon and Joo Soohyeok's faces stiffened at Bang Yoonseop's words.
"Are you picking a fight with me?"
"Yoonseop, what are you saying to Hyodon?"
Joo Soohyeok shocked Bang Yoonseop with his scolding comment.
Bang Yoonseop checked Maeng Hyodon's nameplate and spoke with a surprised expression.
"Hyodon? You're Maeng Hyodon?"
In the game, the two had never met in Silverlight.
At the end of his first year during year 1, Bang Yoonseop was possessed, turned into a demon's servant, and died at the hands of Joo Soohyeok. Meanwhile, Maeng Hyodon didn't go to school and escape from being a battle slave until year 2.
"I remember now, I saw you at a Tae Kwon Do and nunchaku competition when I was in middle school. You cried like a fucking baby after I smashed you in qualifiers."
The two must've met back in middle school.
Bang Yoonseop's face became the same color as a blank sheet of paper.
He was probably savagely victimized by Maeng Hyodon during qualifiers when he was sweeping through all kinds of competitions in middle school.
Bang Yoonseop was also talented enough to go to Silverlight, but I guess he stood no chance against Maeng Hyodon.
"If you want a fight, I'll accept it."
Maeng Hyodon approached Bang Yoonseop, who was still lying face down.
He couldn't even look at Maeng Hyodon.
"You even smoke? It stinks, moron."
Maeng Hyodon stopped in front of Bang Yoonseop, speaking with a frown.
Smoking?
I took a 50,000 won bill out of my wallet and handed it to Bang Yoonseop.
He looked at the bill I unrolled and spat out curses.
"Go buy bread."
"Shit."
"Buy cake from the homemade bakery in front of the west gate. A fromage blanc mousse one. Bring seven forks."
(tl/n: Reminder that "bread" that a bread shuttle delivers doesn't actually need to be bread.)
In front of the Silverlight High's entrance, there was a famous homemade cake shop run by someone who was both a patissier and a player.
I wanted to feed the gourmet Maeng Hyodon outside food.
He couldn't go out until the press quieted down.
"Ugh, that's farther than the third year's canteen!"
"You don't like it?"
"Cho Euishin, you Enemy bastard!"
"If you mess with food this time, all your nails will get ripped out."
Meanwhile, Joo Soohyeok explained the Bread Shuttle Match and Fire Tongs of Promise to Maeng Hyodon.
"Come here before class starts, Bang Yoonseop."
After all of his deaths, I saw him off as he biked away.
It seemed like Maeng Hyodon had an excellent sense of smell.
It'd be convenient to use that to crush Bang Yoonseop.
"Hey, Maeng Hyodon. Every time you catch him smoking, I'll buy you some bread."
"What, really? I'll do it."
"Euishin, I want to do it too!"
"Yeah, please look after him."
I'd appreciate it if Joo Soohyeok, Bang Yoonseop's classmate, cooperated.
The three-person chat room we made would be a great place to share information.
Bang Yoonseop would be monitored by Joo Soohyeok and Maeng Hyodon, the game's top tier close-quarters attackers.
'Goodbye, Bang Yoonseop. You'll quit smoking soon.'
The cake that Bang Yoonseop bought was shared between Joo Soohyeok and six first years in class 0.
The cream cheese mousse and blueberry sauce combo tasted fantastic.
The cake party ended with glowing reviews from secret gourmet Maeng Hyodon and sweet lover Han Yi.
* * *
It was after school, and time for extracurriculars.
Among the several newspaper club rooms, there was one for first years only.
The eight new members of the newspaper club, including Hwang Jiho and I, were staring at their device holograms.
Our first assignment is to write an article about an incident at school.
"I envy you. You don't need to put in effort."
Next to me, Hwang Jiho had a dissatisfied expression.
"Mhm, nice. I don't need to put in effort."
For my article, I chose round 2 of the Bread Shuttle Match between me and Bang Yoonseop.
Thanks to Bang Yoonseop, I didn't need to work hard.
Besides Hwang Jiho, the six other people were also suffering from a lack of article topics.
"Round 2 of the Bread Shuttle Match… I wanted to see it with my own eyes!"
Moon Saeron, one of the game's playable characters and a student in class 1-2, didn't hide her disappointment.
In the story, she was an informant from the newspaper club who appeared frequently.
Also, she's a character who is scheduled to become head of the newspaper club and survive up until her third year.
"Are you going to break the rules and start the bets again? The song selection from when you did it last time was good."
"In a big match, you can't skip out on betting and BGM! Hwang Jiho, don't you think so too?"
"Yeah, if possible, I want to set off fireworks."
"You know a thing or two, Hwang Jiho."
Moon Saeron was the one who took the lead and booted up a betting application during round 1 of the Bread Shuttle Match.
'Moon Saeron and Hwang Jiho seem to be on the same page.'
The conversation about the Bread Shuttle Match continued for a while, but the topic shifted yet again to our current task of writing an article.
The first year members of the newspaper club joked around with me and Hwang Jiho.
"I hear that, since it's April Fools' Day soon, there'll be tons of news. I think the class 0 sunbaes will do something again this year."
"Aren't you two in 1-0? If you're going to cause an accident, don't just cover it yourselves."
"This year's class 1-0 is famous for being quiet, so the incident wouldn't be huge, right?"
It being quiet was a problem, people never come to school.
When March was ending and April was starting, only 6 out of 16 students attended class.
'April 1st, April Fool's Day, is soon…'
April Fool's Day was also the date of a major game event.
"It's tradition for class 0 to cause an accident every year on April Fool's Day. Shouldn't we do something too, Cho Euishin?"
"No."
"Why?"
I briefly answered Hwang Jiho's question.
"I'm busy."
I decided to ignore Hwang Jiho as he stared at me, his eyes seeming to twinkle strangely.
I was going to have a very busy and fruitful April Fool's Day.
'It'll be very rewarding to save people and dispose of the garbage left by Choi Pyeondeuk.'
It's a pity that I wouldn't be able to show up to class 0.
However, it was going to be a really fun April Fool's Day.