Chapter 33 — Freshmen Hunt (3)
‘What the hell is happening right now? A mere freshman is dodging… my attack?’
Shin JunSang looked at JaeHyun with a bewildered expression on his face. A drop of cold sweat went down his back.
His attack a while ago was a vertical cut that accurately slashed at his opponent from a close range. It was a technique with a high accuracy rate being used up close.
That was certainly how it was supposed to work.
So how was that freshman able to perfectly avoid the attack and even manage to counterattack?
‘He dodged my attack… No. Fuck no. There’s no way. There’s no way I wouldn’t know the name of a freshman talented enough to counter my attack. It was just luck.’
He shook his head and glared at JaeHyun.
Shin JunSang was one of the cadets in Millaes Academy born with great talent.
Natural talent that everyone looked up to allowed him to be stronger than others without that much effort. Having several passive swordsman skills, there weren’t many who could rival him.
In a situation like the current one where they couldn’t use any Active skills, his swordsmanship could almost be considered unbeatable.
But he had encountered the wrong opponent.
‘He’s pretty fast and heavy, but that’s it.’
JaeHyun was a veteran who had lived as an active Warrior raider for 7 years.
Reading the attack pattern of a cadet like that wasn’t too hard for him.
“Hey! Shin JunSang! Be careful! Something’s strange about that guy. He might be hiding something!”
Kwon SoYul yelled, but Shin JunSang didn’t listen. He was fully focused on recalling the moves from a while ago.
‘Did I subconsciously put less strength in my attack? No. There’s no way I did that. But then how?’
Shin JunSang scowled at JaeHyun.
An attack like that was usually enough to fluster and defeat a freshman. But not only was this one not shaken up, he was even smiling.
And that smile was clearly filled with a sense of victory.
Shin JunSang quickly put more distance between himself and JaeHyun at the ominous feeling he got from him. JaeHyun smiled calmly in response.
‘Sloppy. Was that guy’s ranking in the 40-50s? It’s not that great a skill level.’
Of course, as a prodigy, he had a lot of different skills. But to become a raider with a high rank, the equivalent effort was necessary.
With such a fat physique, there was a clear limit to his fighting ability.
‘In the first place, enduring in Millaes Academy with such a body is surprising in and of itself.’
Millae Academy was a place where cadets wouldn’t be able to endure if they didn’t push themselves to their very limits. To be able to endure at such a place with such a body was something to be surprised about.
But that was all.
He was just a fat scarecrow.
That was the evaluation Shin JunSang received from JaeHyun’s viewpoint.
To other freshmen, he might feel like someone nightmarishly strong. But having already fought and even won against Jeong WooMin and the Night Shade, JaeHyun saw him as nothing but an unskilled brat.
“Remember, I gave you a chance. I also told you to leave your name tags and go. You’re the ones who stayed.”
At JaeHyun’s domineering words, Shin JunSang’s and Kwon SoYul’s faces stiffened.
‘How can that bastard stay so calm? No matter how skilled he is, he’s a mere freshman… Plus, he’s just a Magician, yet he has such an attitude.’
But Shin JunSang didn’t retreat in the face of JaeHyun’s arrogance. Kwon SoYul also remained.
It was not just because of their pride as seniors.
The ‘Freshmen Hunt’ was a huge event that Chairman Gu Ja-In personally observed. Retreating here would surely cause a lot of problems at the academy afterwards.
‘Even so, that bastard’s a mere Magician. This will end with just one proper cut of my sword.’
Shin JunSang put more force into the hand holding his sword. He swiftly leaped once more and slashed several times in JaeHyun’s direction.
The blade glowing with a blue effect rapidly swept toward JaeHyun repeatedly.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
But there was no error in JaeHyun’s movements. He simply observed Shin JunSang’s movements without letting a single attack reach him.
All the sword attacks were predictable and slow to JaeHyun.
‘My damn past is being useful in such a way, huh.’
He felt a sense of accomplishment but didn’t show it outwardly. JaeHyun immediately gathered his mana and looked at Shin JunSang.
When Shin JunSang cautiously tried to put some distance between them, JaeHyun stretched out a hand and held him in place.
Then—
‘Now!’
Shin JunSang smirked in an unsightly way.
The problem with freshmen was this. Although they had talent, they had no battle experience.
Stretching out a hand to one’s opponent so confidently—
Shin JunSang couldn’t let such a good chance go.
Shhhk!
The sword made a sharp sound as it sliced the air with a fierce strike.
It was an attack with all of his strength behind it. If JaeHyun got hit with this, he would likely lose all his HP.
However—
JaeHyun was still smiling as he watched the sword attack heading at himself. Shin JunSang became incredibly flustered.
What is this? Why was he smiling?
In the next moment, Shin JunSang realized why.
JaeHyun had caught the blade with his bare hand.
And…
Crack!
Soon after, Shin JunSang’s sword let out a sharp sound as it shattered into pieces. An eerie afterimage was created as the blue slivers of mana dispersed in the air.
Shin JunSang’s face was filled with fear. Jaehyun didn’t delay any longer and sent a punch flying toward his face.
Bang!
With a fierce sound that one couldn’t believe was created with a punch, Shin JunSang slammed into the ground and let out a groan of pain.
“Keuhuk!”
Shin JunSang’s body promptly lost all strength and slowly started to disappear.
一 Player ‘Shin JunSang’ has been eliminated.
一 Player ‘Min JaeHyun’ has obtained 100,000 points.
The shocked gazes of the three remaining people were aimed at JaeHyun.
Somehow, Shin JunSang’s name tag was held in JaeHyun’s hand.
***
In the enormous transmitting tower connected to Millaes Academy’s central control room, the big event of the ‘Freshmen Hunt’ was being broadcasted to several areas in the academy. Gu Ja-In and several instructors could be seen seated in the middle of the control room.
Instructor Kim Seok-Gi sat down after looking around the room. He began to talk as he read the file he had received.
“This batch of cadets seem to be especially talented. Ahn HoYeon and Cha YooWon are promising enough to receive attention from other countries… And although they’re just Magicians, Seo Ina and Kim YooJung are also cadets to watch out for.”
“Right. It does feel like the cadets are more talented than last year’s.”
Instructor Jeong YiSoo, who was sitting across from him, replied while turning a page.
All the instructors in the control room were looking at both the screens currently broadcasting the ‘Freshmen Hunt’ and the cadets’ profiles.
The capabilities of the cadets shown on the tablet were roughly similar.
The ones who were eye-catching among the cadets were Ahn HoYeon and Cha YooWon from the Combat Department and Seo Ina, Kim YooJung and Lee SooHyuk from the Magic Department.
They all had an aptitude score of over 90 or almost reaching 90%.
A few of the cadet profiles were yet to be uploaded because they had changed departments mid-way and the information hadn’t been updated yet.
JaeHyun’s profile was included in those numbers.
But the instructors didn’t pay a lot of attention to the ones that were thus omitted. If they had changed their department at the last minute, there was a big possibility that they weren’t very talented.
“Last year, the aptitude scores were really on the low side. Thankfully, it’s different this year.”
This year, the average aptitude score of each department was over 60%.
In other words, as long as there was an opportunity, they would at least be able to become C-rank raiders.
Of course, it was possible for the more talented cadets to become B-rank or A-rank raiders.
‘More talented cadets enrolled this year compared to the last. However, there will still be those who are a step above the rest.’
Talent would show itself.
And true talent would shine no matter what.
The cadets enrolled at Millaes Academy were quite talented on average, but even among them, there were those who showed prodigious abilities and left their peers in the dust.
‘For example, Ahn HoYeon.’
Gu Ja-In stared at the wall which was mounted with several TV screens with a meaningful expression. One could see the field in which the ‘Freshmen Hunt’ was taking place on the screens.
For reference, all the events hosted at the academy were filmed with drones. This year’s ‘Freshmen Hunt’ was no exception, so the instructors were able to watch the cadets’ performance through the screen.
‘The amount of points gained here would roughly show how strong a cadet could become.’
Of course, there were occasionally a few cadets who realized their potential belatedly and then reached a high rank.
But those cases were very rare. It was more common for cadets who got a good score on the events to reach a high rank.
It was a bit different every year, but a freshman who could get over 100,000 points was B-rank. More than 300,000 points would usually lead to the cadets becoming an A-rank raider. To be an S-rank, one had to get a colossal amount of over 1,000,000 points.
‘Until now, there have only been three cadets who could get over 1,000,000 points in the ‘Freshmen Hunt.’ And all of them grew to become S-rank raiders.’
Through this year’s Freshmen Hunt, Gu Ja-In was searching for such a cadet who could become an S-rank Raider.
The one he had the most expectations for was Ahn HoYeon. He was a cadet born with a talent that appeared once every few years.
Gu Ja-In thought for a moment with his eyes closed.
‘We have to produce more S-rank raiders. I can’t keep ‘that person’ waiting any longer.’
Gu Ja-In recalled the savior of his life.
It was the person who had quite a big influence on the foundation of Millaes Academy and a big impact on him to this day.
Gu Ja-In had been thus far trying to foster raiders with high ranks for ‘that person’.
The Freshmen Hunt and all similar events were made for that purpose.
Pushing the cadets to the extreme and having them face opponents that they couldn’t defeat. Using such methods, Gu Ja-In forced the cadets to ‘re-awaken’.
Re-awakening.
It was a phenomenon in which a raider on the verge of death grew stronger by breaking through their limits.
There was a very low chance of it occurring, and it usually only happened to cadets with low ranks.
Gu Ja-In’s goal was to foster strong raiders to meet the expectations of ‘that person’. Tens and hundreds of cadets dying in the process was simply a matter of course.
He would throw away a hundred C-rank raiders to raise a single A-rank raider.
That was Gu Ja-in’s methodology.
‘It is an inevitable sacrifice anyway. Raiders have to prove their existence at every moment. Those that died simply weren’t able to do so.’
Coming out of his thoughts, Gu Ja-In’s determined eyes fixed themselves on the TV screen.
It had been around 30 minutes since the event started. Fortunately, there were many cadets who could get a good score this year.
Things were going differently from the past four years wherein no S-rank cadet had been produced.
At that moment, Jeong YiSoo—who was sitting in front of him—spoke in a light tone as she propped her chin on her hand.
“By the way, which cadet do you think will be the first to steal a name tag from a senior this year? Warriors have filled the top ranks every year.”
With a soft smile, Gu Ja-In looked at all the instructors in the room.
“Hmm… That’s quite an interesting topic. What does everyone think?”
“Oh, are we going to bet? How about the winner gets to choose the venue for the next work dinner?”
“That’s a good idea.”
Jeong YiSoo and Kim Seok-Gi nodded with satisfied expressions. The new instructors who were sitting beside them, Kim JiYeon and Park HaJoon, also agreed.
Kim Seok-Gi continued to speak, intrigued.
“Then, let’s make our choice after we’ve decided. According to last year’s standards… the first senior who will be eliminated will come out in about an hour.”
Every year, the first senior to be eliminated in the Freshmen Hunt came out an hour after the event started. Of course, it happened mostly because they let their guard down rather than due to a lack of talent.
“Then I shall start.”
Gu Ja-In spoke first. He looked at a screen divided into two that showed Ahn HoYeon and Cha YooWon and planned to choose one of them.
Seo Ina also had an immensely high aptitude score, but a one-on-one with a Warrior would be difficult. Moreover, creating an alliance and working together within 30 minutes was not possible.
Gu Ja-In nodded his head as he made his choice.
“Then I’ll go with the safe choice of Ahn Ho—”
Crash…!
Before he could even finish speaking, Gu Ja-In was forced to close his mouth.
一 Player ‘Shin JunSang’ has been eliminated.
一 Player ‘Min JaeHyun’ has obtained 100,000 points.
A message rang out of nowhere.
It was an elimination announcement from the control room.
Gu Ja-In quickly came to his senses and organized his thoughts.
‘One person has been eliminated, and another has gained 100,000 points.’
In other words—
“The first sniper has appeared.”
It meant that a freshman had succeeded in stealing a name tag. Interest shone in Gu Ja-In’s eyes.
“Min JaeHyun…”
____
