Our Rookie King Has Changed (2)
Shinyoung’s group 7 of Class C gathered in the multipurpose room to listen to the story of Shin Eunah, their practical supervisor.
“This gate practice has been held for a long time, and it takes place in a persistent absorption-type gate- also known as a dungeon. There is no need for me to explain the difference between persistent and single-shot gates, or emission and absorption types, yes?”
A gate was first divided into general and surprise types. A general type had signs of its appearance, and thus it could be prepared for, but a surprise gate would appear without warning. Such a gate had appeared in Seoul previously when Shin-hyuk had been meeting with Claire. The next difference was persistent versus single shot, which was merely the difference of whether the gate lasted for a long time or not. Finally, an emission type gate poured monsters out into the area, but the absorption type brought humans in when they made contact within the gate. Specifically, it brought them to a subspace environment full of monsters that existed inside.
‘But emission type gates are often difficult to measure in advance because they are usually single shot rather than persistent.’ Absorptive gates were also usually temporality deactivated once a condition was met inside the gate, such as killing all the monsters or a specific boss monster. At that point, it would spit the humans back out. That was called clearing, and some gates would be maintained after they were cleared. It was possible for humans to repetitively attack those gates, and humans had begun to refer to them as dungeons.
“I know all of that, but why were you put in charge of our group…?” Baek In-ha asked this with hearts in his eyes, dreaming of his future wedding with Shin Eunah and becoming the president of the Korean Superhuman Association. Shin Eunah glanced briefly at Shin-hyuk when she heard his question, but quickly let out a little cough and responded in a cold voice.
“Because you are the freshmen who have received the most attention so far at Shinyoung. Many guilds competed for this opportunity, and the association stepped in to prevent things from getting heated. However, many in the association feared the backlash, so the baton came to me in the end.”
“Doesn’t the association also want us?!”
“The type of talent the association wants is different from the ordinary guilds. Now, let’s get back to the gates.” Baek’s desire to be recognized by the association was neatly ignored. There was no doubt about his abilities, but in terms of personality, he was at least a million light-years away from what the association wanted. Kang Shin-hyuk took a step back from him as Do Woojin and Karen gazed at Baek with pity.
“The gate you will enter this time is the D+ class dungeon in Jongno, Seoul, known as Crow’s Nest.”
“Crazy…”
“No, so wait.” Upon hearing the name of the dungeon, Karen murmured quietly, and Do Woojin, who had been watching Shin Eunah quietly, finally spoke up. It was a famous dungeon that had a lot of people coming and going, but it was also…
“That dungeon has flying monsters.”
“Right. Frankly, all of your abilities to perform close-quarter combat is beyond the range of the 1st grade. However, by raising the dungeon’s rating, it would violate education equity and increase the risk.” The highest the dungeon’s grade, the more likely an unexpected situation would occur. In fact, it was already sort of unreasonable to push freshmen into a D+ grade dungeon.
“The school has decided to judge how you will respond to an unfavorable environment. The main monster you will face is the D-class Gray Crow. It is a flying monster with high intelligence, and it is not prone to provocation. How you will move in response to this monster will be the core of this exercise.”
“I can only feel like I’m trying to do something impossible…ugh…” Do Woojin, who was complaining, stiffened at Shin Eunah’s emotionless gaze. Baek In-ha, who was holding his mouth shut after grasping the atmosphere, looked back at Kang Shin-hyuk with a proud expression that was promptly ignored.
“It is natural for a superhuman to be specialized in a single field, but it isn’t something to be proud of. You must know how to respond to any situation; it is the most basic of basics to prepare countermeasures.” Normally, superhumans move as a team, but higher-ranked ones often charge into gates alone. Certainly, in such a case, it would be necessary to be fully prepared for any situation. But they were still only students. These expectations were too big.
“Then what about you?”
“Call me teacher.”
“Would you be able to fight using melee?” It seemed like Do Woojin was still struggling with the idea. They were being told that they, as students who used melee weapons, should be able to fight long distances. So naturally, Shin Eunah, a student from the Department of Magic, should be able to fight using melee. It was reasonable at first glance, but she was a high ranker who was here as a teacher for some reason.
“Sure. Do you need proof?”
“Yeah, I want to know.”
“Do Woojin, that won’t really solve anything…” Do Woojin asked for proof without hesitation, and Karen could only shake her head at him. Kang Shin-hyuk sympathized with her, but Do Woojin was unable to recognize anything unless he experienced it with his own eyes and body. Shin-hyuk would have found it hard to admit out loud, but he thought it was pretty cool.
“Alright, then step forward.”
“…” There was plenty of space to fight in. Do Woojin shut up and stepped forward without a weapon, and Shin Eunah took out dozens of silver bracelets from her bag and placed them over her arms. IT was an artifact that suppressed the wearer’s magical power.
“I saw that in Dragon Ball.”
“Shut up, Baek.”
“Hm…!” Do Woojin bit his lip, feeling his pride hurt as he watched her suppress her own magical power. However, considering her position, it was a natural measure to take. Rather, it was an honor to be able to fight her.
“Then start.”
“Ha!” As soon as Shin Eunah said that, Do Woojin rushed at her. He partially activated his characteristics to raise his physical performance, running at her with the intent to see her strength. It was a fast and powerful rush, but Shin Eunah calmly took a step forward and stretched out her fist. An electric current flowed around her fist, which slammed into Do Woojin. It was a clean hit, and he hit the ground.
“…What did you do…?”
“I couldn’t see it…Karen, is it possible that her lightning ability is also enhancing her speed?”
“I don’t know. Nervous system stimulation involves the flow of electric currents, so considering my own ability to strengthen my nervous system…it is possible.” Shin Eunah’s gaze brought a stop to Shin-hyuk and Karen’s whispering. Her reflexes would remain a mystery to them.
“All abilities can develop with discipline, so don’t limit yourself.” She swung her hand to unleash telekinetic magic, moving the fallen Do Woojin back to his starting spot.
“Of course, we don’t need to worry about the specifics right now. Let everyone think about what way they should train and come up with their own answers by tomorrow. Today, I will just check the basics.”
“Check our basic abilities?”
“Next is Karen Stringfield, step forward.” In the end, everyone was supposed to fight her. As Shin Eunah talked calmly, Karen stepped forward, trembling. Just like Do Woojin, she was beaten and stunned.
“Next…Baek?”
“Yep! I’ll show you at once!” For the first time since he had enrolled, Baek was excited to show off his abilities. Shin Eunah weighed him for a moment and then loosened a few of the dampening bracelets. She was still wearing at least ten of them, though.
“Are you all talk?”
“I will go!” Baek’s talent was primarily his speed. He charged forward, just like Do Woojin and Karen. Shin Eunah, however, was surprised for the first time today by his speed.
-Bang!
However, the results didn’t change much. Baek In-ha was about to be hit in the head by a fist, but as he tried to move out of the way, Shin Eunah quickly lowered herself and hit him with a leg breaker that would only appear in a fighting game. Baek hit the ground; the wind was knocked out of him as he passed out.
“He’s a real monster…how at that age…” Shin Eunah, who had laid him out on the ground like that, murmured quietly as she shook her fist. It was hard to tell who the real monster was, though. The talent that had made it to the quarterfinals was taken out so quickly in close-quarters combat by a magic-user who was suppressing their magic.
“Let’s go next then.”
“Hm? No.” Kang Shin-hyuk was determined to take his beating next but was confused by Shin Eunah’s refusal.
“I clearly grasped the extent of your abilities in the rookie exhibition. I don’t like to hit people needlessly.” Using just her index finger to move them with magic, she arranged the three fainted students’ side by side, then pulled out a can of coffee for the two of them. He accepted the can, vowing not to mention that it seemed like she had planned this.
“Oh, thank you…teacher.”
“We’re the only ones left, so you can just call me senior.” His hunch had been so right he was stunned.
“Then…senior.”
“Good.” Kang Shin-hyuk was in a strange mood as he saw the small smile she showed. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was receiving special treatment right now.
‘It must be because I’m sponsored by the association.’ The coffee was delicious, turning out to be a specially designed product for superhumans to drink inside the gate. It was a stimulant, but a superhuman’s body was able to consume it with no problem. Shin-hyuk, with his excellent regeneration power, immensely benefited from it.
“I like drinking it because it keeps me aware of my surroundings.”
“Do you always want to be tense even when you’re not fighting monsters?”
“No way. When I have to do director stuff, I always have to deal with nerves.” She said that without changing her expression, taking another drink of her coffee. She took three more cans out and arranged them in front of the fainted students. It was no doubt due to her own sincerity, but to an observer, it almost looked like a bizarre ritual.
“What happened to you?” Her question came to him while she did this.
“Yes?”
“I apologize if I’m mistaken, but…you seem almost calmer than before.” Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t too surprised to hear that, as even Baek noticed he had changed. Even though he had only met her once, there was no way Shin Eunah wouldn’t recognize it as well.
“I think I made some progress from the special training I did at the weekend.”
“Special training…for metallurgy?” Kang Shin-hyuk stiffened, feeling embarrassed once he realized what happened. It was only natural that she knew about it; he belonged to the Artifact Creation Club now. Anyone could access that information. Moreover, to proceed with his practice, he had no choice but to reveal to people that he was practicing metallurgy. That way, he could bring his own javelin instead of buying a bow. Kang Shin-hyuk cleared his thoughts and began to calm himself, but Shin Eunah continued in a cool voice.
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on saying it’s useless. I think metallurgy is a valuable skill.”
“I see, I’m glad…yes, I’ve been working on metallurgy over the weekend. I achieved some good results that I think will help our combat power.”
Only
“Of course, you…” Shin Eunah seemed to mutter something, but he couldn’t quite catch it.
“So, how about this exercise? Did you have a plan?”
“Yeah. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ve prepared something.”
“Okay…I’m looking forward to it.” She seemed to be trying to talk to him about it, but he desperately wanted to refrain from talking about metallurgy. Finally, she packed up her bag, expressionlessly.
“I’m relieved that I was able to prepare properly. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah…goodbye.” After saying goodbye, she left the multipurpose room without looking back. Kang Shin-hyuk, who thought he might go after her, decided to remain with his unconscious friends. He still had some coffee left anyway.
[Eunah’s whisper: Grandpa I…I think I just experienced fate.]
Later, this whisper came to him through the Hero Universe.
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