TL Note: I just realized I made a mistake regarding the auction pricing of Sunwoo’s sword. Yang Taemin had actually offered 10 billion won, but I mistakenly wrote it as 100 billion won. My bad, guys.
With Kim Sunwoo successfully rescuing the hostages, the situation between the two teams was completely reversed.
“What the?! The hostages were released?”
“Weren’t Park Inhwan and the others guarding them?”
The freed hostages began focusing on their own objective—capturing or taking down the terrorists.
Once top-tier fighters like Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon joined the fight, the terrorist team quickly collapsed.
Of course, Yoo Ara, skilled in fighting against multiple opponents, showcased overwhelming combat strength on her own by flinging massive fireballs. But her opponents were Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon.
She alone was no match for them.
And so, about 30 minutes passed.
The training ended.
Yoo Ara, who had been hanging on alone until the end, was finally defeated by the combined assault of Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon.
Still, since she had taken out numerous students during the exercise, the outcome wasn’t bad for her, regardless of victory or defeat.
[Winning Team: Special Agents & Hostages Team]
[Top 3 in Individual Eliminations]
- Yoo Ara – 11
- Kim Sunwoo – 7
- Lee Seo-jun – 5
[Hostage Rescue Score Rankings]
- Kim Sunwoo – 6
- Jung Jinwon – 4
[Base Capture Score]
……
The training results were in.
Some students were delighted with their performance, while others fumed over disappointing results.
But the majority stared at the results, puzzled.
“Hey, what’s with Kim Sunwoo’s kill count?”
“Right? Seven?”
“How the heck did he wipe out that many? Wasn’t Park Inhwan there too?”
“Wow. Maybe the rumors about Kim Sunwoo are actually true?”
“Hey, Baek Du-eon. Say something. How did all the hostages end up getting freed?”
The students turned to Baek Du-eon, who had been guarding the hostages at the time.
Baek Du-eon stared blankly at the rankings for a moment, then turned his gaze to Kim Sunwoo, who was sitting alone in the distance.
And then he said something completely unexpected.
“I wish to enter the Order of Kim Sunwoo.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Take care~”
The packed day had finally come to an end. Students began packing up and going out of the classroom one by one.
I could feel a few glances in my direction and hear whispers here and there, but I ignored them.
Anyway, moving around so much had left my body sore.
I ended up burning more mana than expected during all that unnecessary group combat too.
Still, the results were good, so I was satisfied.
Though, maybe I went too far and attracted Jung Hyun’s attention a bit too strongly. I’m slightly worried about that, but it was a necessary move on my part.
There’s the Sacred Martial Festival Lily Rose told me about, happening next spring.
A few incidents are set to take place during it, so I have to participate.
But the entry requirement is tough—being ranked in the top 5 overall.
With my current standing, it’s a bit tricky.
My rank is climbing quickly, but the gap between 20th and 5th is massive—it’s hard to describe.
No matter how well I do on upcoming exams, cracking the top 5 this year will be rough.
With time running out, I need to give everything I’ve got to all future training and tests.
Whether it’s exams, behaviour scores, theory grades—whatever it is.
“Kim Sunwoo.”
Just then, Lee Seo-jun called out to me and approached.
With a curious smile on his face, he said,
“Wanna grab a bite with the others? You skipped last time.”
Behind him were Shin Young-joon, Lee Hyun-joo, Yoo Ara, and Yoon Hayoung. A few students I didn’t recognize were also with them.
“Yeah, come eat with us, Sunwoo~”
Yoon Hayoung smiled at me as she spoke. She seemed fine now, though she’d looked a bit down after losing in training earlier.
Hmm. Food, huh… I guess I don’t really mind.
“Where are we eating? Don’t wanna go far.”
“Oh no, here he goes trying to ditch again.”
Shin Young-joon jumped in, glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
“Judging by how you’re talking, you’re not busy today. Just come along, eh?”
“…Fine, but what are we eating then?”
“We’ll decide now. You want anything in particular?”
Shin Young-joon asked. I wasn’t really craving anything, so I gave a half-hearted reply.
“I’m fine with whatever.”
“Hmm. How about noodles?”
“Nah, not feeling flour.”
“Sashimi?”
“Not filling enough.”
“Pizza?”
“That’s still flour.”
Shin Young-joon gave me a sharp look.
“Are you messing with me?”
“…Ahem.”
Clearing my throat in embarrassment, I spoke again.
“Wanna eat meat?”
Didn’t really crave it, but it was the safest option that most people wouldn’t mind.
“Wow. You said you’re fine with anything and ended up picking.”
Shin Young-joon nodded and started gathering everyone’s opinions.
Eventually, we settled on going to a barbecue place—my suggestion.
Luckily, no one objected.
“Let’s go!”
We headed to a BBQ joint not far from the school.
After chatting for a bit at our table, the meat finally started arriving.
Lee Seo-jun, sitting across from me, ended up with the tongs—making him responsible for the meat.
“By the way, you were no joke in that test. Seven kills. That’s impressive.”
Lee Seo-jun said as he grilled.
“Yeah, and Park Inhwan was there too, right? Did you seriously take them on alone?”
Yoon Hayoung, sitting beside me, chimed in. I didn’t feel like explaining what happened in detail, so I just brushed it off.
“Just got lucky.”
As we chatted, Shin Young-joon, who had been quietly looking at his smart student handbook for a while, suddenly looked shocked.
“Huh? Whoa, what’s this? Hey, Kim Sunwoo, check this out.”
He held his device out toward me.
━━
[Lilly Rose (@Lilly_1_)]
[Photo]
[Fire emoji]
━━
It was Lily Rose’s social media.
She’d posted a screenshot from a video.
The person in the photo looked familiar.
Her face was covered by a flaming emoji, but I could tell from the build—it was me.
So she posted a screenshot of me from the recent public test footage.
Why would she post my picture?
“Isn’t that you?”
“…Looks like it.”
Shin Young-joon gave me a confused look.
“What the heck? Why’s Lily Rose posting your photo?”
I’d like to know that too.
“Beats me.”
“…Huh. Suspicious.”
Shin Young-joon squinted at me.
“You two got something going on?”
“No.”
“Then what’s with the fire emoji? Are you guys like, fiery-hot or something?”
“…Is your brain stuck in that mode or what?”
“Just saying~”
“….”
Still, it was a bit weird.
Judging by the fire emoji, maybe the video fired her up? Motivated her? Inspired her, maybe?
It’s clear Lily Rose sees me as a rival.
“Hey? Lee Seo-jun? What are you doing?”
Suddenly, Shin Young-joon’s voice snapped me back to reality.
He and Seo-jun were quickly grabbing meat off the grill with their chopsticks.
“Ah, sorry.”
Lee Seo-jun gave an awkward smile.
I just stared blankly at the meat on my plate.
Charred black.
I had just remembered that Lee Seo-jun had absolutely no sense for cooking.
After finishing all my tasks for the day, I grabbed some food from the convenience store and returned to the dorm.
When I opened the door, I saw Gretel’s small back.
She must have heard me coming, because she turned toward me and toddled over.
“Were you bored?”
Gretel nodded.
Glancing around, I noticed a bunch of sausage casings scattered all over the floor.
There was plenty of other food at home, but she only ever ate those.
Then Gretel’s gaze shifted to the convenience store bag.
Her eyes sparkled as if she realized there was food inside.
“I bought this for you.”
[Gretel feels great joy.]
[A new ingredient has been added to the effects of the ‘Mysterious Demonic Tree Fruit.’]
[The efficacy of the ‘Mysterious Demonic Tree Fruit’ has increased by 5%.]
A new ingredient added? Efficacy increased?
I was a bit startled by the sudden message.
They said the fruit changes depending on the demonic tree’s mood, and they meant it literally.
Now I was getting pretty curious. What kind of fruit would come out?
Maybe it’ll be a fruit that boosts basic stats like mana? Or… could it be a trait?
If you could get a trait from a fruit, that’d be insane.
A trait fruit, huh…
Sounds like something out of One Piece.
At that moment, Gretel walked over and reached out her hand. A gesture that clearly meant “hurry up and give it to me.”
“All right, all right.”
I started digging through the bag for food.
She had been eating nothing but sausage lately, so I brought a wider variety this time.
Ham, smoked chicken drumsticks, salad.
Gretel saw the food and picked the ham and chicken drumsticks.
“What about the salad?”
Gretel shook her head.
“You’re not eating it ‘cause it’s your kind?”
Gretel didn’t answer. She just focused on munching on the chicken drumstick.
Thankfully, it seemed to suit her taste—she was eating it really well.
She’s actually kind of picky in her own way.
While I sat there watching Gretel crouched on the floor, a notification sounded from my smartphone.
[Uday]
[The auction has ended.]
[Final bid: 8 billion won] *About 5.6 million USD
“Oh.”
The auction for the sword had finally ended.
A final bid of 8 billion won. Not bad at all.
Considering that regular A-rank swords sell for around 3 to 6 billion, this was a top-tier price.
“Better than I expected.”
With this, my total assets now exceeded 11 billion won. *About 7.7 million USD
Thinking back to how I’d spent almost all my money at the underground auction two or three weeks ago, I’d saved up surprisingly fast.
“I’ve got a decent amount saved up now…”
Maybe it’s time to start on the plan I’d been thinking about.
The timing was perfect.
What I was planning to do was real estate speculation. Buying up land that would become golden territory in the future.
Of course, I wasn’t just trying to profit from future development zones or anything that petty.
There was a very special kind of land investment unique to this world.
Buying land where dungeons, towers, or ruins would eventually appear.
In this world, if a dungeon, tower, or ruin appeared on land you owned, you could claim ownership of it.
That’s actually why the concept of “raiders” even exists.
Of course, for the legal rights to take effect, the landowner has to discover and register the dungeon’s ownership themselves, so most dungeons end up being raided before their owners even know they exist.
The demonic dungeon that Yoon Hayoung and I recently cleared was just such a case—the landowner didn’t know a dungeon had appeared.
But thanks to my knowledge of the future, I knew the exact location where a dungeon would appear.
And that dungeon held a massive deposit of “natural mana stones,” one of the world’s key energy resources.
The location: Hwacheon, Gangwon Province.
Since Gangwon is a high-probability region for dungeon emergence, land prices there are on the expensive side—but with my funds, I could afford it.
The dungeon would probably appear in a month or two.
“…I’ll go check out the land this weekend.”
I opened my smart student notebook.
Just as I expected, a message had arrived on the screen.
[Special elective activity notice for this Thursday.]
[Three lectures have been prepared. Students, please select the one you wish to attend.]
- Mana Theory in Nature
- History of Classical Magic
- Myth and Mystery Discussion
The first special elective activity of the second semester.
According to the original story, nothing major happens during this one.
In the first place, nothing life-threatening happens to Lee Seo-jun until the second wave of the demons’ school assault.
Still, it’s probably best to stick with the main characters—just in case.
At that moment, a message came in.
[Sunwoo~ Which activity are you going to choose? 🐰]
It was Yoon Hayoung.
I replied to her message.
[Haven’t decided yet.]
[Oh, really? I’m thinking of going to the Classical Magic History one, just in case.]
Classical Magic History? That one sounds really boring, and yet she’s willing to go?
I was probably going to choose number 3, the Myth and Mystery Discussion.
That’s what Lee Seo-jun picked in the original, too.
Then another message came in.
[By the way, we cleared a dungeon recently. So does that mean no more special training for a while?]
Special training?
“Hm.”
I’d forgotten for a second. Since Yoon Hayoung has the power of demon eradication, thinking about the future developments, we’d need to keep training.
Plus, things involving the demons are going to pick up soon.
What should I do about this?
[Probably not for a while. We don’t have a proper training spot.]
[Hmm, really? That’s a shame. Should I try looking for a dungeon?]
[It’s fine. Let’s just look together if the opportunity comes up.]
[Okay! Got it! ㅎㅎ] *ㅎㅎ means laughing
And with that, our message exchange ended.
I stared at the list of choices for a moment, then selected number 3: Myth and Mystery Discussion.
Meanwhile, Choi Seo-yoon sat blankly staring at her smart student notebook on the desk, deep in thought.
The elective activity coming up this Thursday.
She wasn’t sure which one to choose.
“…Let’s eliminate number 2 for now.”
The History of Classical Magic course was notoriously boring.
If she was going to take a class, it might as well be something at least a little interesting.
“Hm. Tough choice.”
She remembered it was a group-based activity. Maybe she should ask the people around her?
Go with whoever she’d want to take it with.
Someone she’d want to take it with…
As she sat there thinking alone, a face popped into her head.
Startled, she quickly shook her head.
“…What am I doing, seriously.”
Better to ask her best friend, Song Seung-ah.
When she turned on her student notebook, a flood of messages popped up—people asking to join her for the elective.
Ignoring all of them, she typed a message.
[Seung-ah, which elective are you picking?]
A reply came quickly.
[Hmm… Either number 1 or 3?]
“Hmm.”
She also liked 1 or 3.
While resting her chin in her hand and thinking, another message popped up.
[Oh right, Seo-yoon—did you hear about how amazing Kim Sunwoo was during team training today?]
Kim Sunwoo?
What’d he do this time?
Well, at this point, he pulled off so many crazy feats that it wasn’t even that surprising anymore.
[What’d he do?]
[Apparently he fought 1 versus 7 and won. They turned the tide of a losing battle thanks to him. Crazy, right??]
“Wow.”
One versus seven? That sounds like something out of a movie or a comic.
If it wasn’t Kim Sunwoo, I wouldn’t believe it—but for some reason, it sounds totally plausible when it’s him.
[And look at this. This part is hilarious, lol. I’ll send you the link.]
Choi Seo-yoon clicked the link that Seung-ah sent.
It opened someone’s SNS page.
She immediately recognized the profile photo—it was one she had seen all over the internet.
Gorgeous blonde hair and a confident smile.
[Lilly Rose (@Lilly_1_)]
[Photo]
[🔥]
Comments:
cvetq1: Is that really Kim Sunwoo?
ttwq451: Lol what the hell??
“Lilly Rose?”
Just then, another message came in from Seung-ah.
[LOLOLOLOL]
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