Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game

“Is everyone seated?”

Our homeroom teacher, with her dark blue ponytail, stood at the podium in a casually thrown-on outfit. She looked to be in her late twenties.

With a listless expression, she scanned over the students.

“Alright… since it’s the first day, let’s just do a simple orientation.”

The teacher yawned as if bored. It was apparent that she lacked enthusiasm.

“Is she really a Union instructor?”

“I heard the teacher who assigned us our classes during the ceremony was only a substitute.”

Some of the students whispered among themselves.

They seemed displeased with the apparent lack of motivation from our homeroom teacher.

It was disappointing to think that the person in charge of us at one of the world’s most renowned hero academies could be so indifferent.

However, some students looked at the teacher with a mix of interest and curiosity.

Though she had changed a lot from her active days and was hard to recognize, a few knew who she was; she was a figure often mentioned on the internet, television, and newspapers until a few years ago.

“First, let me introduce myself. My name is Hong Daye.”

She wrote her name on the blackboard swiftly.

“Ranked 93rd among national heroes, I will be your instructor from now on.”

Murmurs spread among the students. A ranking of 93 indicated a high-ranker.

Korean heroes are recognized even internationally. Especially someone like Hong Daye, who boasted incredible abilities in her prime. Though she’s not active and her ranking has fallen, she used to be much higher up.

“Hong Daye was a hero?”

“That Hong Daye… the one who resolved the Busan infection explosion incident?”

“She was once a candidate for the top ten.”

A young blood who had burst onto the hero scene like a shooting star.

She was one of the candidates for the top ten and received much attention as a representative of the next generation of heroes, but she retired from active duty after a major infection incident a few years ago.

“Anyway… let’s skip the trivial introductions.”

She suddenly threw a glance at the students. A mysterious strength filled her otherwise dull eyes. When her gaze met theirs, the students flinched reflexively.

“As you all know, Union is Korea’s premier hero training institution.”

Hong Daye’s voice rang in the ears of the students.

“The competition here is fierce with many promising individuals gathered from around the world. Freshness of freshmen? Romance with new people? You’d better wake up from those dreams.”

This is supposed to be an otome game.

And she’s telling us not to even dream about romance.

“You may have been considered geniuses until now, but here at Union, you may end up at the bottom. If you don’t want to be left behind, you must work harder than everyone else.”

The students listened to her words in silence.

“Union will evaluate you at every moment. Your every action will be recorded and graded. You will need to continuously compete with other students and prove your worth. That is if you want to join a good clan.”

Students glanced at each other swiftly.

“In other words, you might get left behind if you slack off just because you have a bit of talent. And Union is not forgiving. Every year, many students either fail or get expelled.”

“Ah.”

“Well, it seems like there are quite a few useful rough diamonds this year.”

Hong Daye quietly glanced at a few students.

It seemed she noticed Lee Siwoon, Kang Daehan, and Yoo Seolhyun.

Those three were geniuses well-known enough to have been heard of.

“And.”

She cleared her throat and continued slowly.

“Having been admitted to Union, all of you should have been issued a temporary hero license. With this temporary license, you’re allowed to explore dungeons and have the right to subdue monsters. You also gain immunity for collateral damages related to the apprehension of criminals under criminal law.”

These settings were crucial for Jin Soyeon, who was still only an academy student.

Without such settings, it would be impossible to naturally involve her with monsters, criminals, and dungeons.

“There are other benefits, too. Of course, you can’t just receive benefits. With great authority comes great responsibility.”

Hong Daye sighed and resumed speaking.

“As apprentice heroes, you will assume several responsibilities. In the event of an emergency declaration, you will be mobilized without exception, and you have the duty to protect citizens from villains and monsters.”

“…….”

“Legally, you’re treated almost like an adult. Until now, you’ve been the students who receive help. But now it changes. You’re not the ones getting help; you’re the ones providing it.”

“…….”

Suddenly, a spark of intensity flashed in Hong Daye’s eyes.

“The burden on your shoulders now is incomparable to before. Moreover, Union will rigorously train you to be useful. It’s a completely different dimension from middle school. Many of you will want to quit halfway.”

I listened to the familiar speech of Hong Daye, preparing myself mentally.

By now, I knew she was about to perform the so-called ‘initiation’ that I had only seen in games.

The thought of witnessing it in person was bringing back a wave of nostalgia.

“In middle school, we didn’t do much practical training because it was considered dangerous. Now, you’ll experience things you can only encounter in real combat.”

She let her words trail off slowly.

“For example…”

Hong Daye then revealed a chilling smile.

“…like this.”

Chills.

“……!”

“……Uh?”

“What, what’s going on?”

“Ooh, uh, eugh.”

In an unconscious moment.

The students trembled like aspen leaves.

They looked as frightened as frogs facing a snake.

A few students broke out in cold sweat and lost their composure.

One male student took heavy breaths and glared at the teacher with great difficulty.

That seemed to be the best they could do right now; even holding on was a struggle.

At least Lee Siwoon, Kang Daehan, and Yoo Seolhyun seemed okay.

They furrowed their brows and took slow breaths, but they were handling it much better than the other students.

Of course, they were struggling just the same.

…Except for me.

All I felt was goosebumps.

‘This is remarkably similar to how it was described in the game. Is this what they call murderous intent?’

Murderous intent.

By definition, it’s the energy that feels as though one could kill or harm another.

In reality, there’s no such thing as murderous intent.

It’s a concept that seems to belong only in the realm of fiction.

However, in Romance Hero Academy, it’s a real thing.

It’s treated like an intangible force emitted by those of a certain level of strength.

Heroes who can actually feel murderous intent say it allows them to gauge the capability of their opponents.

But murderous intent doesn’t work on me.

Why? Because I’m strong enough to resist it?

No, no. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

As stated before, to feel murderous intent, one must be a certain level of a fighter.

Which means…

‘I must be so weak that I can’t even sense murderous intent.’

Damn. It’s just disheartening.

Is this really a sensible setting?

Until I remembered my past life, I trained hard, really hard. And now I’m such a loser that I can’t even properly feel Hong Daye’s murderous intent.

‘I knew about it from the game, but experiencing it in reality is a different feeling.’

Look at those kids.

They’re all trembling with fear from the ferocious murderous intent.

They are Union’s new recruits just like me. But what about me? It makes the efforts I made for years to become a hero feel somewhat pointless.

‘…How did I even pass the entrance exam to Union? Even considering it was through supplementary measures, did I really get in on the written exam alone?’

Thinking about it made me feel a bit depressed.

“…….”

“Hm?”

For a moment, I thought I felt a peculiar gaze.

Or was it my imagination?

Either way, I carefully tucked away my unnecessary thoughts.

Knowing that murderous intent does not affect me is enough.

I’ve already given up on the dream of becoming the ultimate hero.

Now, I just need to focus on providing support in the field and not show off, especially after being reminded today just how weak I have become.

“Let’s call it a day.”

The oppressive air seemed to dissipate suddenly.

Ah, it’s just a feeling, just a feeling.

I can’t sense murderous intent, after all.

It’s like I’ve become just another bystander.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

“My stomach doesn’t feel good.”

“Uh, uh… I never felt murderous intent like this before. Is this what high-rankers’ intent feels like?”

“Huuk, hoo…”

The students mopped away their sweat and caught their breaths.

Some had experienced murderous intent before, but others seemed completely overwhelmed by the ordeal for the first time.

“If you’re this affected by it, then forget about becoming a hero. The murderous intent of real monsters and villains is beyond imagination.”

“…….”

“Well, some don’t seem too affected by it, at least.”

“…….”

Hong Daye slowly shifted her gaze.

“Ah, is it already this time? Let’s wrap up the orientation. I’ll be going now. You all prepare for the next class.”

After a brief glance at the clock, Hong Daye walked away with a listless expression, as if she hadn’t been the one to release that dreadful murderous intent just moments ago.

Once again, she seemed to have lost all motivation.

“Haah….”

A heavy sigh came from beside me.

Jin Soyeon was slightly panting.

“That was harder than I thought. The murderous intent I felt before was nothing like this.”

“Are you okay?”

“Huh, but it was an interesting experience. We didn’t have such stimulating moments in middle school.”

“I see.”

If this had happened in middle school, parents would have come storming in, complaining about what we were subjected to.

“Is this some sort of initiation ceremony? Huh.”

Jin Soyeon grinned mischievously, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Although she still couldn’t fully harness her talents and found it hard to withstand even that level of murderous intent, she would become stronger than Hong Daye in the future.

“How about you? Jinhyuk, you’ve always been on the frail side, right?”

“Oh, well. I was fine, just fine.”

Jin Soyeon didn’t seem to think that I was so weak I couldn’t even feel Hong Daye’s murderous intent.

And I had no intention of correcting her perception. It seemed better to keep quiet rather than become the butt of a joke.

There’s no point in saying anything anyway.

And honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing.

Isn’t it?