Chapter 31 — Freshmen Hunt (1)

“Good morning, new cadets. I am the chairman of Millaes Academy, Gu Ja-In.”

He looked around the auditorium while smiling affably.

Chairman Gu Ja-In.

He was the ringleader of all the tragedies that would happen henceforth. Dozens of cadets died every year due to his greed for power.

It was especially worse in the years JaeHyun attended the academy in which several hundreds lost their lives.

‘This time, it’s most important that I find a way to force Gu Ja-In out of office as quickly as possible. If I don’t, it’s uncertain how many more innocent cadets will lose their lives. It would affect my future plans as well.’

A cold gaze was focused on Gu Ja-In’s sly face.

He heard an applause from all around, but JaeHyun simply glared at him without clapping along.

The cadets here still didn’t know—

the hidden truth about Gu Ja-In.

‘But there’s no way to fix things right now. I have to wait for the right time.’

It was something that he couldn’t do anything about.

Millaes Academy held immense prestige even around the world. JaeHyun was still too weak to be able to expose Gu Ja-In’s corrupt nature as things stood.

‘Right now, I should focus on raising my strength and keep Gu Ja-In in check.’

Fortunately, the academy had several facilities that could help him grow.

He would use all that he could to strengthen himself.

JaeHyun was ready to do everything possible to grow stronger. Millaes was not an exception to that.

In addition—

‘I can’t leave YooJung by herself.’

He had another problem.

In the near future, Kim YooJung would lose her life in a tragic event at the academy, and while she was trying to save JaeHyun at that.

‘This time, I won’t let her die.’

JaeHyun firmed his resolve. It was his decision to enter a death game in which one didn’t know when they would die.

Wanting to save Kim YooJung and becoming stronger to be able to protect his mother were all a part of that.

It was all his choice.

JaeHyun spoke as he placed his hand on YooJung’s shoulder.

“You have to be resolute. You know, right? That no one knows what accident might happen at Millaes.”

“What’s up with you? You’re actually taking care of me. Don’t worry, I’m gonna do really well.”

Kim YooJung laughed heartily at JaeHyun’s words as she replied. That easy-going and honest smile was part of her appeal.

At her reaction, JaeHyun nodded with a slightly relieved expression.

“Okay. I guess so.”

The truth was that before all the tragedies happened, Kim YooJung was a genius who made it to the Top 3 Magicians ranking. So her safety wasn’t something that JaeHyun, who had just recently changed his career path, had to worry about right now.

“Now then, everyone. We shall wholly begin Millaes Academy’s entrance ceremony… is what I would like to say, but… such a stiff atmosphere is honestly not very interesting, is it?”

‘Disgusting bastard…’

JaeHyun clicked his tongue.

He knew very well how dangerous the event Gu Ja-In had prepared truly was.

Although there wouldn’t be as many casualties as would appear once things were in full-swing, it had been quite a shock for the freshmen.

But there was no way Gu Ja-In would care about the cadets’ comfort. He merely used them as tools.

“Everyone should already know about the special event prepared for Millaes Academy’s entrance ceremony. That event will now begin.”

One of the biggest events at Millaes Academy and the cause of despair for numerous cadets.

That was…

Gu Ja-In’s face was filled with delight. His greedy lips moved more slowly than before.

“The ‘Freshmen Hunt’ will now begin.”***

A dark silence filled the auditorium like a heavy rain cloud.

The Freshmen Hunt.

One of the representative events at Millaes Academy, it was—to be blunt—hell for the freshmen.

‘Every year, around 5% of cadets are lost here. With such a level of difficulty, it made one realize their limits. I can’t relax for even a moment.’

“I shall now explain the rules of the Freshmen Hunt.”

Gu Ja-In inspected the cadets’ expressions and continued with an expression of satisfaction.

“The Freshmen Hunt is a game in which seniors and freshmen are put in the same demi-plane and have to steal each other’s name tag. The participants gain a point every time they steal a name tag, and those points will get you access to a better dormitory and facilities.”

Truthfully, there was quite a difference in the facilities one could use depending on their grades at Millaes Academy.

For example, if you got an A or higher in the monthly tests, you could use a huge hotel room with a swimming pool attached, all by yourself. On the other hand, if you got a D or lower, you had to live with four other roommates.

This point-system could remedy such terrible living conditions.

While enrolled at Millaes, points could be used for all necessities. Since it was cut off from the outside world, the cadets here had to be almost self-sufficient.

If one wanted to eat tastier food, wear better clothes, or have a more comfortable living space, more points would be required.

‘Damn PTSD…’

Of course, JaeHyun had never used this system to his advantage, and before he regressed, he was one of those living at the lowest ranks.

His starting line had been different from the Rankers since the beginning.

“But everyone should have a few questions they would like to ask. First, the current seniors would surely be stronger. How would the event be balanced to be fair to both sides?”

Gu Ja-In smirked.

“With skills. Both freshmen and seniors can only use skills below C-rank within the demi-plane. This means that the skills that can be used will be mostly similar.”

This was no good news for JaeHyun.

To interpret Gu Ja-In’s words,

other than the basic skills JaeHyun had learned, skills like 《 Lightning Chain 》 were practically sealed.

Of course, there weren’t any special constraints regarding EX-ranked skills or Unique Skills.

Since Unique Skills could only be used by the individual, it was a rule that no constraints were put on them. And EX-rank was a new rank of skills given by the Nornir System only to JaeHyun.

At a glance, it seemed that someone took special care in balancing things out for fairness. But there was a big contradiction in Gu Ja-In’s words.

The rule mentioned skills, but there was nothing about stats. This meant that there were no regulations for it.

This was thus obviously in favor of the seniors who had received several more years of expert training.

As JaeHyun pondered, Gu Ja-In continued his explanation.

“Furthermore, the demi-plane is an area where special mana flows. All skills used there will be decreased to a tenth of their normal power. This was prepared for your safety and so you do not have to worry about getting hurt.”

Most cadets, including Kim YooJung, let out a sigh of relief. But JaeHyun simply continued to glare blasely at Gu Ja-In’s disgusting eyes.

‘Bullshit.’

Even if there were such rules, the situation could change at any point in time depending on Gu Ja-In’s whims.

That was how much dominion Gu Ja-In held at Millaes Academy. In the academy, at least, he had absolute power.

Taking a step forward, Gu Ja-In continued with his explanation.

“When a senior takes a freshman’s nametag, they will receive 10,000 points. On the other hand, when a freshman takes a senior’s nametag, they can get 100,000 points. This is all to encourage the freshmen’s participation.”

JaeHyun gritted his teeth.

Most of what Gu Ja-In said was a straight-out lie.

What that man wanted from this event was probably only one thing. Discovering talented freshmen and fostering them from the early stages.

The rest of the cadets were there merely to set up the talented ones to shine brighter.

“So annoying…”

In the past, JaeHyun also held the stupid role of helping them shine.

An hour after he was sent to the demi-plane, he was taken out of the game by a team of seniors and was laughed at by others.

‘This time, I won’t play second fiddle for anybody. My goal is first place no matter what.’

JaeHyun made up his mind. Although the freshmen could earn more points, this event was absolutely tilted towards the seniors’ favor.

Moreover, there was no need to mention how unfair it was to Magicians who needed to incant in a 1-on-1 fight.

JaeHyun turned to Kim YooJung, who was standing beside him, and spoke.

“YooJung. We have to move together with a few trustworthy people. When we land in the demi-plane, Magicians and Warriors will be mixed together. You know what I mean, right?”

“Of course. There’s almost no chance for a Magician to win in a 1-on-1 fight if they come across a Warrior of a similar level. On the other hand, the more Magicians there are on a team, the stronger it becomes.”

At Kim YooJung’s clear answer, JaeHyun nodded. It was a pretty great answer for a cadet who hadn’t even been to a dungeon before.

It was just like she said. In this game, it wasn’t possible to survive alone.

The biggest keyword for this event was…

‘Cooperation.’

JaeHyun already knew how to win this game. He also had a few cards prepared in case of any unexpected changes to the plan.

Meanwhile, Gu Ja-In looked at all the bewildered freshmen and the seniors participating in the event. Interest showed on Gu Ja-In’s face for a moment before it disappeared.

His watch vibrated to let him know that it was time. Smiling refreshingly, Gu Ja-In clapped his hands once.

“We will now begin the event. I wish all freshmen good luck.”

The moment he finished his words, a huge, black magic circle shot up and began to suck in all the cadets in the auditorium.

JaeHyun quickly grabbed Kim YooJung by the waist and hugged her to his side.

‘This is a type of crowd transportation magic. If you hold on to someone as you are transported, you can be taken to the same area.’

JaeHyun planned to make good use of this game’s rules.

However—

An unexpected variable that JaeHyun had never thought of happened here.

“Eu-aaack!”

Due to the fuss Kim YooJung made when she was grabbed by the waist, JaeHyun tripped.

Just before they got transported, JaeHyun bumped into someone.

Whooo-ooo-ooo…!

A dark blackness swallowed them whole. And when they opened their eyes, JaeHyun could see who it was that he had bumped into right before they got transported.

With black hair and hazel eyes,

it was Seo Ina.

***

***

Park SungJae started to brief Yoo Sung-Eun on the things that had happened until then as he passed her a file.

“To begin with, the rumors about your illness have all disappeared. We are also in the middle of suing all the reporters who gave false reports. The situation should be cleared up in a few months.”

“Thank you. And… I’m sorry for what my little brother did.”

“It’s nothing. Things like this that are hard to solve by yourself are the reason I’m here after all. Please rely on me a bit more in situations like these.”

Park SungJae said as he bowed his head. Yoo Sung-Eun let out a long sigh as she propped her forehead up with a hand.

No matter how crude her little brother—Yoo SunJae—was, she never thought that he would let out false reports like that about her.

She truthfully couldn’t even think of that abominable person as her sibling. She shivered in disgust.

Park SungJae noticed her thoughts and changed the topic.

“Oh, and today is finally the day Min JaeHyun attends Millaes Academy.”

“Huh?! It’s already time for him to go?!”

Shocked, Yoo Sung-Eun quickly grabbed her phone and turned it on.

Howecer, it was already a few minutes past 10.

Yoo Sung-Eun mumbled a bit regretfully.

“I wanted to wish him good luck before he started school… He probably won’t be able to see us now. Will it also take 3 days this time?”

“If you mean the ‘Freshmen Hunt’, then yes. It will take place in the demi-plane for 3 days.”

“Well, he wouldn’t be able to use his phone in there anyways. I should just speak to him once he comes back.”

Seemingly knowing this would happen, Park SungJae stood up straight and replied confidently.

“Actually, I figured this would happen, so I sent him a message in your stead.”

“What?! Really? What about a reply? What did JaeHyun say?”

“He said we shouldn’t worry.”

At those words, Yoo Sung-Eun smiled.

The event at Millaes Academy that 99 out of 100 new cadets feared,

The Freshmen Hunt.

It was an unfair game that put freshmen up against their seniors. To tell them not to worry when he was just a freshman…

“That’s quite a trustworthy answer.”

“Truly. If JaeHyun shows all the skills he has, then without a doubt…”

“He’ll come in first.”

Yoo Sung-Eun intercepted his words. The two laughed as they looked at each other for a moment. Then, they both stretched.

Yoo Sung-Eun glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall and smiled lightly.

“Then, I’ll wait expectantly for how great of a showing my student will give.”