NOVEL NEXT Chapter 47
“You all know that starting today, the company contact period and external request period will be activated simultaneously.”
Ding ding!
Monday morning. Whosh at the outskirts of the cradle’s dueling grounds.
A young woman with a refreshing appearance, Professor Shin Jae-yu, stood at the podium, her lively voice filling the air as she continued her lecture.
Though it was right after basic training, hardly anyone looked exhausted or nauseous like they did on the first day.
Even Yena could now complete the track without my help.
In just a short time, it seemed like the students were adjusting their bodies to the cradle’s educational demands.
“Your evaluation materials have already been delivered to companies via the internal line. And making contact and signing contracts with them is entirely up to the individual. The cradle basically follows the principle of not interfering in that process.”
The professor raised her voice into a microphone.
“But before signing any contracts, make sure to properly familiarize yourselves with the distributed guidelines. And if you think you’ve entered into any unfair contracts later on, don’t hesitate to visit the cradle’s legal office for consultation…”
The female professor continued explaining contract-related matters. Most of it was helpful advice for students who came from rural areas or were in financially difficult situations.
If students came from well-off families, they’d likely have their family brand to use or have a pre-designated sponsor.
“Alright, that’s enough talk about contracts for now. Today, aside from basic training, there’s a somewhat special lesson scheduled.”
After finishing her words, she casually gestured, and two assistant professors entered the storage, each bringing out something covered in cloth.
It was of a size that barely fit in their arms, and it looked considerably heavy at a glance. With each step, a clatter of metal could also be heard.
The students stared at the objects in the assistants’ hands with puzzled expressions. Eventually, as the cloth was removed, the identity of what was hidden inside was revealed.
“Uh…?”
“That’s…”
The object the assistant was holding was a personal firearm, completely coated in matte black, giving off a very intimidating presence.
“This is a PKL-3 assault rifle. Its performance may be lacking, but its simple structure makes maintenance easy and management costs low. Thanks to these characteristics, it’s widely used by alley mutants to rebel armies in the outskirts. Meaning, it’s something you’ll annoyingly have to deal with going forward.”
It certainly did look annoying. And one could roughly guess what kind of lesson the professor was planning to teach her students.
After scanning the students with a questioning gaze, she lightly clicked her tongue, as if something displeased her.
“Tsk tsk, I can already see some of you have scared yourselves silly. Pathetic, really. I foresaw this and planned a special lesson.”
At her words, the students exchanged bewildered glances, completely out of the loop.
“Once this demonstration is over, you will be able to better realize what kind of beings you really are. Keep your eyes wide open and look straight. Anyone who turns their gaze away or shows signs of fear will receive the heaviest penalties!”
Finished speaking, the female professor stepped down from the podium and stood before the assistant holding the firearm, maintaining a distance. With a gesture, the assistant took aim at her, assuming a firing position.
Suddenly, a noise akin to thousands of thunder crashing down filled the outdoor training ground, KABOOM!
“Ahhh!”
“What the…!”
Some startled students forgot the professor’s earlier warning, covering their ears and screaming from their seats.
The aimed firearm began to unleash a fierce barrage at hundreds of rounds per minute. Given the close distance, not a single bullet missed, hitting the professor’s key points directly.
But she stood her ground, her expression still exuding confidence.
Every time a bullet hit her, a bluish light flared along her outline, deflecting the bullets away in all directions.
Ping!
Ting ting!
The sound of ricocheting bullets echoed throughout the dueling ground. Occasionally, they even grazed the students in the front row, but once again, they merely bounced off her outline, illuminated by flashing bluish light.
Soon, the dust had gathered enough to obscure the professor. Finally, when the firearm clicked, indicating it was out of bullets, she coughed lightly, dusted herself off, and stepped forward.
“Phew, your faces are something else. Huh?”
Seeing the students’ dumbfounded expressions, she wore a mischievous smile.
“Does anyone know why I’m still standing here after being showered with bullets? Yes, Seung-hun?”
“Because of the field’s development, Professor.”
“Correct. I’ll give you 10 shop points. Come to my office later to claim it.”
Those who had barely missed raising their hands looked utterly disappointed. They had heard that shop points and penalties directly affect rankings.
“When a wizard breathes in, the particles from the surrounding atmosphere enter their body. Conversely, when they exhale, the particles are refined, and the debris discarded during the process exits their body. These discarded debris briefly takes form along the body’s contours before being returned to the atmosphere.”
“And the accumulation of these particle debris is what we call the field. The official name is the Kuiper Field, or sometimes the residual particle thin film. Though you might not feel it in daily life, this field has strong anti-rebound properties against rapidly applied kinetic energy. The main reason firearms have fallen to a lower classification of weapons is precisely because of the existence of this field.”
“However, the field is not exclusive to wizards. Second-grade monsters, warlocks, and demons also develop fields in the same manner. Moreover, the interference between same vessel particles, or magic, does not affect the field at all. This is why our existence as wizards is absolutely essential for maintaining the state. To counter enemies who are unaffected by the previously mentioned firearms… whew.”
Perhaps getting thirsty from the lengthy explanation, the professor took a sip of water and continued.
“Ahem, let me get back on track. When embarking on external requests, the most common sight you’ll encounter will be ordinary criminals wielding firearms like earlier. And probably due to their intimidating presence, young wizards tend to fear criminals with firearms even more than facing monsters. But I want you to always remember that you hold overwhelming superiority over them in every aspect. Even criminals using melee weapons won’t stand a chance against a wizard enhanced by particles.”
BEEP!
Suddenly, one statement of hers struck me particularly hard.
“…So, a wizard’s defeat by an ordinary person can be deemed nothing short of disgraceful. It should never happen, and if one of our cradle’s students were to show such disgraceful behavior, I would take full responsibility and expel them…”
Cringe…
Glancing sideways, I noticed Yena was bowing her head in embarrassment. The tips of her ears were bright red, like ripe strawberries.
Now that I think about it, our first meeting had been when I helped Yena escape from pursuers.
She was clearly so terrified back then that she hadn’t even thought of using magic.
Yena seemed to recall that incident too. She kept her head bowed, glancing my way and then quickly averting her gaze, her eyes pleading for something.
Gulp…
Looks like if I’m going to protect Yena’s pride, I’ll have to bury that past incident forever.
“Alright, enough with this boring verbal explanation. Such fear should be quickly overcome through physical experience. Let’s see… Guk Jae-ryong! Step forward.”
Eek…!
At the professor’s call, a reluctant male student’s scream echoed through the dueling ground.
*
“It’s already the external request period… time really flies…”
After the lecture, on the way back, Yena sighed lightly, murmuring in an uncertain voice.
“Will I be able to do it…? They said C-level requests are mostly for hunting monsters… ugh…”
Yena still shivered at the thought of monsters.
“You’ll do great. So, did any offers come in from companies?”
“I did get a few business cards… but honestly, I have no idea who’s who… heh…”
Yena shook her head lightly. Since she had ranked quite high in the first exam, it seemed several places sent sponsorship contract offers.
But it was clear she still had that rural girl vibe in this area. I don’t know everything about it either, but I’ve picked up a few things from the captain and my sister about this topic.
“So you’re… signing contracts with sponsors?”
“Right. There’s really no reason to deal with anyone else.”
BAM!
As she was walking down the stairs, she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and had to grab the wall to steady herself. Her vision spun around before returning to normal.
“Huh…! What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you okay…?”
“I’m fine. Just didn’t get enough sleep last night…”
Yena looked at me with a gloomy face. She was making a fuss about taking me urgently to the infirmary, barely managing to be dissuaded.
The truth is, I’m not fine at all. I hadn’t slept properly for several days, and it felt like torture.
Right now, I’m facing a significant hurdle.