NOVEL NEXT chapter 5
5 – Welcome to Union Hero Academy(3)
006.
“Is everyone seated?”
The black-haired Homeroom teacher.
She stood in front of the podium wearing clothes haphazardly thrown on.
She must have been in her late twenties.
With a bored expression, she scanned the faces of the students.
“Alright… well, today is the first day, so let’s just do a brief orientation.”
The homeroom teacher yawned as if annoyed.
Her attitude clearly showed a lack of enthusiasm.
“Is that really a Union instructor?”
“The teacher that assigned us our classes during the entrance ceremony said she’s our homeroom teacher.”
Some of the students whispered to each other.
They seemed displeased to have such a disinterested person as their homeroom teacher.
It was reasonable to be disappointed when the instructor assigned to them looked like this after barely being admitted to the Hero Academy, which was one of the most prestigious in the world.
However, some of the students instead looked at the homeroom teacher with half-interest, half-curiosity.
They could not easily recognize her as she had changed quite a bit compared to her active days, but some of the students seemed to know who she was.
Only a few years ago, the teacher was a person frequently mentioned in the Internet, television, newspapers, and so on.
“First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Hong Da-ye.”
She swiftly wrote her name in Chinese characters on the blackboard.
“I am ranked 93rd in the domestic hero rankings and from now on, I’ll be the instructor in charge of you.”
The students began to murmur.
Their gazes changed as they felt it.
She was ranked 93rd nationally – a high ranker.
Korean heroes are recognized even worldwide.
In particular, someone like Hong Da-ye boasted unthinkable skill during her prime time. Although her ranking was lower now because she wasn’t actively participating anymore, she used to be much higher up.
“What? Was Hong Da-ye a hero?”
“If it’s Hong Da-ye… is she the one who solved the Busan outbreak incident?”
“They say she was once a candidate for the top 10.”
The young blood that had burst onto the scene like a comet, causing a stir in the hero industry.
She had been mentioned as one of the top 10 candidates and received attention as the representative hero of the next generation. However, she retired from active duty due to a massive outbreak incident that occurred five years ago.
“Well… let’s just end the trivial introduction here.”
Suddenly, she threw her gaze towards the students.
Her once dull eyes now held an indiscernible power.
As their eyes met hers, the trainees flinched instinctively.
“As you all know, the Union is the top hero-producing institution in South Korea.”
Hong Da-ye’s voice pounded into the trainees’ ears.
“Competition is fierce, as countless promising talents from around the world have gathered. The freshness of being a freshman? Romance with a new partner? It’s better to wake up from that dream.”
This was like a female-oriented dating simulation game.
But she said not to even dream of romance.
“You may have been considered a genius up until now, but at the Union, you’re most likely to become an inferior student. If you don’t want to be phased out, you’ll have no choice but to work even harder than anyone else.”
The trainees quietly listened to her words.
“The Union will be evaluating you every moment. It will record and grade all your actions. You will have to constantly compete with other trainees and prove your worth. That is, if you want to join a good clan.”
The trainees glanced nervously at each other’s faces.
“In short, no matter how talented you are, you might be phased out if you slack off. And the Union is not lenient. In fact, quite a few trainees either drop out or get expelled every year.”
“Ah.”
“Well, this year it seems like there are quite a number of promising newcomers.”
Hong Da-ye took a discreet look at several students.
She seemed to have noticed the likes of Lee Si-woon, Kang Daehan, and Yu Seolhyeon.
Those three were well-known geniuses.
“And.”
She cleared her throat for a moment and slowly began again.
“Upon entering the Union, you will have received a temporary hero license. With it, you’ll be qualified for dungeon exploration and monster extermination. Additionally, you will gain the right to obtain leniency for any possible collateral damage involved in the apprehension of criminals.”
This setting was essential for Jin Soyeon, who was just an academy trainee.
Without such a setting, she wouldn’t naturally be involved with monsters, villains, dungeons, and the like.
“Besides that, you will receive various benefits. But of course, you can’t just receive benefits. With great power comes great responsibility.”
Hong Da-ye sighed and continued speaking.
“As a hero trainee, you will have several responsibilities. In cases of emergency power declarations, trainees must be mobilized without exception, and it is their duty to protect civilians from villains and monsters.”
“…”
“In terms of the law, you will be treated as half-adults. You may have been students who received help until now, but that is about to change. You are no longer the ones being helped. You are the ones giving help.”
“…”
Suddenly, a sharp glint appeared in Hong Da-ye’s eyes.
“The burden on your shoulders will be incomparable to anything you’ve experienced so far. Also, the Union will train you relentlessly in order to make you competent. It will be an entirely different dimension compared to your time in middle school. Many of you may want to give up halfway.”
Listening to Hong Da-ye’s familiar speech, I prepared myself mentally.
By now, Hong Da-ye would slowly begin to perform ‘that’ as a sort of ritual initiation.
It was something I had only seen in the game, but thinking about seeing it firsthand made me feel a strange sense of emotion.
“In the middle school division, we’ll be practicing a lot more dangerous techniques that we usually don’t do. Then, we’ll gain experiences that we can only get from real-life practice.”
As her words trailed off slowly.
“For example…”
Hong Da-ye soon wore a sly smile on her face.
“…like this.”
Chilling.
“…!”
“…Ugh?”
“Uh, what, what is this?”
“Ugh, Eurgh.”
In that instant, it was as if they were unaware of their actions.
The trainees trembled like a weak branch.
Their terrified faces resembled those of frogs in front of a snake.
Some students broke their posture, sweating cold sweat.
One male student gasped, forcing his breath while glaring at the teacher with difficulty.
It seemed like trying to endure that was arduous enough, as it was the best he could do at the moment.
At least Lee Shi-woon, Kang Dae-han, and Yoo Seol-hyun seemed to be alright.
They furrowed their eyebrows and took deep breaths but looked far better than the other trainees.
Of course, they too were struggling.
…Except for me.
My spine just felt a bit stiff, but that was all.
‘It certainly is similar to the descriptions in the game. Is this the infamous “killer intent”?’
Killer intent (殺氣).
In terms of the dictionary definition, it could be described as ‘an energy that seems intent on killing or hurting someone.’
In reality, killer intent doesn’t actually exist.
It’s just a concept that belongs to the realm of fiction.
However, in Romance Hero Academy, it does exist in the setting.
It’s something like an intangible force exerted by a powerful individual beyond a certain level.
It is said that those who can truly perceive one’s spirit can gauge the level of their opponent just by that alone.
However, I cannot perceive such spirits.
Why? Because I’m strong enough to surpass it?
No, no. That’s impossible.
As I mentioned before, you need to be a certain level of strong to perceive spirits.
Which means…
‘I must be such a weakling that I can’t even sense a spirit.’
Damn. I can only sigh.
Is this really a justifiable setting?
Before I recalled my past life’s memories, I trained diligently time and time again. But now, I’m a complete piece of trash who can’t even properly sense the spirit that Hong Da-ye exudes.
‘Although I knew about it since it was mentioned several times in the game, it feels a bit strange experiencing it in reality.’
Just look at those kids over there.
They’re all trembling in the terrifying spirit.
They’re Union rookies just like me. But what about me? All the things I’ve aimed for over the past ten years or so to become a hero seem a bit insignificant now.
‘…How on earth did I pass the Union exam? Did I really pass the whole written test with just one score difference, even though it was a supplementary process?’
Thinking about it made me feel a little depressed.
“…”
“Huh?”
For a moment, it seemed like I caught a subtle gaze.
Was it just my imagination?
Anyway, I put away my unnecessary thoughts.
I found out that I can’t really perceive spirits, so that’s that.
I’ve already given up on the ridiculous dream of becoming the ultimate hero.
I’ll just focus on supporting So-yeon in actual combat. Because today, I once again realized just how weak I’ve become.
“Let’s stop here for now.”
With that, I felt the invisible force dissipate around me.
Ah, it’s just a feeling, though.
Because I can’t sense anything like spirits.
Feels like I’ve become a normal passerby.
“Haa, haa, haa.”
“Ugh, I feel so sick.”
“Eugh… First time experiencing this kind of pressure. Is this the pressure of a high-ranked person?”
“Heavy breathing…”
The trainees were wiping off their cold sweats and panting.
Some seemed to have experienced this kind of pressure before, but there were also some who were awkwardly struggling, seemingly never having experienced it properly.
“If you’re intimidated to this extent, don’t even think about becoming a hero. The real pressure from monsters and villains is beyond imagination.”
“…”
“Well, it seems like there are some of you who aren’t too intimidated, though.”
“…”
Hong Da-ye slowly turned her gaze.
“Oh, has this much time already passed? Let’s wrap up the orientation. Well, I’m off. Everyone, get ready for the next class.”
With a quick glance at her watch, Hong Da-ye walked away with a carefree expression, making it hard to imagine that she had just released such an intense pressure moments ago.
Her enthusiasm seemed to have disappeared once again.
“Sigh…”
The sound of someone taking a deep breath was heard from beside.
Jin So-yeon was panting slightly.
“It’s harder than I thought. It’s completely different from the pressure I felt a long time ago.”
“Are you okay?”
“Phew, but it was an interesting experience. There was nothing this thrilling back when I was in middle school.”
“I see.”
Had it been like this during middle school, parents would probably have shown up complaining about what they did to their kids.
“Is this some kind of initiation rite? Phew.”
Jin So-yeon flashed a sly smile, her eyes sparkling with interest.
Although she hadn’t yet fully bloomed her talents and struggled with this level of pressure, in the future, she would become stronger than Hong Da-ye.
“How about you? Jinhyuk, you have a weaker constitution, right?”
“Ah well, it was more or less okay.”
Jin So-yeon didn’t seem to think that I’d be so weak as to not even feel Hong Da-ye’s pressure.
I kept quiet as well since there was no point in mentioning it and only becoming a laughingstock.
Because it wouldn’t do any good even if I told her.
Well, honestly, it was a bit embarrassing too.
Right?