Episode 3: The Academy Train (1)
Even though you are in a medieval fantasy city featuring swords and magic, if you take a step outside you are in a martial arts world, and if you look around briefly you may see modern buildings.
So it wasn’t strange that the platform in front of us was made up of old-fashioned buildings.
“Thank goodness I made it in time.”
“It’s all thanks to Hyung Kim.”
There was a reason why Go Hyun-woo praised him: he wasn’t very talented at finding his way.
On the other hand, I just had to follow the quest arrows, so I didn’t get lost at all.
‘Still, it helped.’
It wasn’t a loss for me since I dealt with the minor monsters that Go Hyun-woo encountered along the way.
The train had already arrived and was waiting on the platform, and students in uniforms could be seen coming and going.
We approached the station attendant.
He was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, but he had a lot of hair for his age.
Moreover, her hair is so nice that it sways refreshingly.
‘… …Is that a wig?’
I handed over the ticket with such doubts in my mind.
The station attendant checks the tickets, looks at me and Go Hyun-woo, and asks.
“First year?”
“yes.”
“First graders can ride in cars numbered 1 through 10.”
“thank you.”
As I walked past the cars lined up one after another, a car with the number <10> caught my eye.
As soon as I stepped onto the train, a notification message appeared.
[Tutorial II Completed]
[Tutorial III]
▷Objective: Attend the entrance ceremony.
[TIP: Make different friends on the train.]
The train to Yongsal Academy is a passenger train.
The right half is a corridor where people pass by, and the left half is made up of small rooms.
Go Hyun-woo and I walked down the hallway, peering at the small windows in each guest room door.
It was to check if there were any empty rooms.
But it was difficult to even find an empty seat, let alone an empty room.
It was natural that the other platforms the train passed through would also be packed with students.
I started walking from car number 10, kept leaning and walking, and I got to car number 8.
Finally, Go Hyun-woo found a suitable room.
“Brother Kim, I think there’s a spot here.”
I peeked inside and saw there was only one person.
The sliding door opened with a creak.
The size of the room is about two to three pyeong.
There was a small table in the middle, and there were built-in chairs facing the table.
The structure is such that four people can sit in each room.
A female student with light gray hair was lying face down on the window seat, and she sat up hurriedly when she sensed someone’s presence.
“… … .”
When I locked eyes with the gray-haired schoolgirl, the first thought that came to my mind was that she was beautiful.
Even in
Men’s instincts are inevitable.
Next, I thought that he looked sleepy.
A languid face dripping with fatigue and half-open eyes as if contemplating whether or not to fall back asleep.
I just woke up, but I have a feeling it’s going to be like this all the time.
Finally, the collector’s long experience was whispering to me.
‘This is a gem.’
It’s only a vague feeling right now, but ninety-nine out of a hundred characters like this would have easily reached S-rank.
I guess we’ll have to see in the future to see if my feelings are correct.
Anyway, we can’t just keep arguing, so I asked first.
“Is there an empty seat?”
“huh.”
The hoodie worn over the uniform was slightly oversized, and only the fingers were visible through the loose sleeves.
The hand taps the seat next to him. Does that mean he should sit here?
I sat down without hesitation.
Go Hyun-woo took a seat by the window across from him.
“My name is Go Hyeon-woo.”
“I am Kim Hoya.”
“Calligrapher.”
After a brief self-introduction, I was lost in thought for a moment.
I have memorized all the characters that appear in the story and quests of
But Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in.
It’s my first time seeing both of them.
Also, from what I briefly looked around on the platform, all the other students and station staff were unfamiliar faces.
The stage is the same, but the characters are different.
This will also cause changes in future events and quests.
We will need to continue to monitor what changes and what stays the same.
– Rattling,
My body sways slightly and I feel a faint sense of floating.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, it seems like the train has departed.
But I’ve been feeling eyes on me for a while now.
The calligrapher was staring intently at my face.
With slightly less sleepy eyes than when we first met.
“… … .”
“… … ?”
When I gave her a look asking if she had anything to say, she placed her bag on her lap.
A tactical metal bag that pursues only extreme practicality, without an ounce of cuteness.
He rustled around in the bag and took out a small paper bag.
And then she handed me a chocolate chip cookie she took out of a paper bag.
“Want to eat?”
* * *
The calligrapher had eyes different from others.
The eyes that digitize everything they see and show it as information.
For example, male students wearing military uniforms showed something similar to usual behavior.
[situation]
Go Hyun Woo
▷Skill
Cheonryu Wind Cloud Sword Technique (D)
… …
▷Characteristics
Swordsmanship (C)
Core (E)
… …
… …
……etc.
I can always look into it in more detail if I want, but I’m not really interested.
However, the information about the other male student who opened the door and came in was full of question marks.
Not figuratively, but literally full of question marks.
[award??]
?????
#?▷????
?luck??
??army?
▷???
▷???
I couldn’t read anything.
This was the fourth time since the calligrapher had acquired ‘eyes’ that he had seen a status window like this.
The fourth of countless status windows that passed by her.
I couldn’t help but be interested.
Also, the three people mentioned above were all people who had deep meaning to me.
Then, will the man in front of me who introduced himself as Kim Ho also be like that?
For various reasons, my eyes kept going there.
Even though the question marks that filled the status window wouldn’t change no matter how much I looked at them, I just kept staring at them.
As he was doing that, Kim Ho looked back at him with a questioning look in his eyes.
The calligrapher continued to look at her without avoiding her eyes, and then suddenly remembered a piece of advice he had heard before.
I told them to first show their favor if they were interested in me.
The calligrapher took out a cookie from her bag.
“Want some cookies?”
* * *
“Oh. Thank you.”
I accepted the cookie without thinking.
It’s about half the size of a palm, and it’s bumpy and far from circular, with chocolate chips embedded unevenly here and there.
It may not look very appetizing, but it still tastes just like a chocolate chip cookie.
With that thought in mind, I took a big bite.
“… … .”
The calligrapher stares blankly again, as if asking what it tastes like.
I paused for a moment to choose the right words.
“… …The cookies are bland.”
A lump of blandness with barely any sweetness.
I had high hopes for the chocolate chips, but it seemed to be 65% pure cacao, and the bitterness was stronger than the sweetness.
Of course, it wasn’t that the cookies tasted different than I expected, but it wasn’t that they were tasteless.
So I was able to finish one cookie without much difficulty.
“… … .”
And the calligrapher was watching me the whole time I was eating.
There is no expression on his face, so I can’t read what he is thinking.
But I felt uncomfortable just making eye contact all the time, so I looked for something to talk about.
“It’s okay. Did you cook it yourself?”
“Okay, have one more.”
Go Hyun-woo asked with a cough,
“Ahem, if you don’t mind, I’ll have one too.”
“This is the last one.”
The calligrapher cut him off with a firm and ruthless tone.
At the same time, he stuffed the last cookie from the paper bag into my mouth, so it was the last.
I have a strong feeling that he did that because he didn’t want to give it to her…
Go Hyun-woo was about to say something, but then he thought it was pointless and closed his mouth.
at that time,
– Ding,
Suddenly, the door to the room opened and a boy with a bangs hair barged in.
And he sat down on the empty seat next to Go Hyun-woo.
“Oh, everyone, excuse me for a moment. I’m sorry, but I’ll just sit down here for a moment and then I’ll go.”
“I don’t care. Stay comfortably and go.”
“Me too. It’s an empty seat anyway.”
“… … .”
The calligrapher nodded slightly instead of answering.
The radish head smiled brightly.
“I love this feeling of being welcomed. I’m Byeong-cheol. Shin Byeong-cheol.”
‘This guy is ordinary.’
As soon as I saw Shin Byeong-cheol, I had a rough estimate.
If you go smoothly, you’ll probably get a C grade, but if you really try hard, you’ll probably get a B grade.
The potential shown by Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in is so splendid that this is not even noticeable.
But regardless of my harsh assessment, it didn’t seem like it would hurt to get to know Shin Byeong-cheol.
Because I had a rough idea of what it was like the moment I entered the room.
To give you a hint, this person who walks around so noisily barely makes any noise.
Everyone responded to Shin Byeong-cheol’s self-introduction with a simple statement.
Shin Byeong-cheol showed particular interest in Ko Hyeon-woo.
“Looking at the monks in their uniforms, I guess they came from the sect? Where is the sect?”
“It’s a place called Cheonpungmun.”
“Cheonpungmun? Cheonpungmun, Cheonpungmun… … . It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“A pharaoh of a one-man legend not well known to the world. You may be hearing about it for the first time.”
“Really? I’ll make a note of it. Let’s see… … .”
Shin Byeong-cheol took out a small notepad from his bosom and quickly scribbled something down.
Next, the calligrapher and I show interest.
“Do you guys belong to any sect or magic tower or something?”
“no.”
“… … .”
This time too, the calligrapher just shook his head without saying a word.
Shin Byeong-cheol scribbles something on his notepad again.
“Information is important. Information is money.”
“Since you say it’s for money, I guess you also buy and sell.”
“That’s obvious. And I’m not just selling information.”
When I showed interest, he quickly took out his business card and handed it to me, perhaps because he thought I could be a potential customer.
It has a crude design similar to those sold in cheap pubs, and in the middle it says:
[Yongsal Academy errand service!]
“Look for this Shin Byeong-cheol anytime, anywhere! I’ll get you anything if you pay a reasonable price.”
I asked, looking at the business card from front to back with interest.
“I’ll get you anything… … . It’s okay if I break the rules a little bit, right?”
“Oh, of course. Just say it.”
“Are you still being chased because of that?”
“!”
Shin Byeong-cheol, who had been talking excitedly, suddenly shut his mouth.
He didn’t come into this room just to socialize.
“… … Did you get a lot of tea?”
“Your gaze has been drawn towards the door since a while ago.”
“Hehe, this is true. I told you to hide it.”
While we’re on the subject, Shin Byeong-cheol was loitering outside the guest room.
Then, after seeing something, he came back in a hurry, sat down, and acted as if he had always been a part of this room.
however,
– Knock knock!
The guest room door opened again.
The supporters eat it all
