Chapter 41 - How to Adapt to a New Environment (3)
Isn’t that door going to break?
That was the thought that crossed my mind as I saw the small feet peeking through. It’s a wonder how such small feet can make such a loud noise.
Today, Yggdrasil entered the classroom with a dignified stride, her eyes shining at the desserts placed on the students’ desks.
“Looks like Class A is well aware of the rumors this year?”
With a smirk, she waved her hand.
“Feel free to give me as many as you like. Just remember, I never forget those who gift me things.”
What a bold way to accept bribes. Is this really okay at the Guardian Academy?
I briefly pondered this seriously but decided to let it go. After all, it was a trap anyway.
In no time, a long line formed in front of the teacher’s desk.
As always, Shin Baran, with her hair styled in an elaborate bun, was also holding a gift. She purposely approached me, showcasing a large and colorful dessert box, and headed toward Yggdrasil, surrounded by students.
I didn’t expect Shin Baran to do that. Is it going to be okay?
Well, Yggdrasil would probably accept it later and guide her, so it should be fine.
I had faith that the characters in this novel would quickly find their way back to the right path once they realized they were lost.
I loved that aspect of the characters in this novel. Even though I started reading it on a friend’s recommendation, I continued to plow through it.
In the end, though, I couldn’t stand the crazy harem-building plot and dropped it midway.
None of our club members had prepared any desserts.
Yggdrasil, who happily savored the desserts offered by the students, came striding over to where we were huddled together.
“Don’t you have anything to give me?”
“…… No.”
“None.”
“I didn’t prepare anything~.”
“I’m not giving you anything!”
“I didn’t bring anything, and I have no intention of doing so in the future.”
I didn’t even know the teacher liked desserts.
At my response, Yggdrasil looked directly at me and asked again.
“Do you have any intention of giving me something?”
“No…… not really. I’m not uncomfortable right now.”
Yggdrasil then looked around at us and laughed heartily.
“There are quite a few cocky kids among you! Good! I’ll put you through your paces!”
And as she said, we were put through our paces.
“Lee Ha-na! Your mana is scattered all over the place! Gather it more cleanly!”
“Park Si-woo! You can’t even keep up with my grandmother’s toes! Pay attention! This is how you use Twilight!”
“Choi Soo-jung! Don’t just rely on the wind; use your unique agility! What do you plan to do if you give up close combat entirely?”
“Nayuri! Is that your best? Understand your body’s range of motion better!”
“Posture! Nayuhan! I know you’re uncoordinated! Just focus on getting your posture right while you practice! You just need to avoid falling over!”
“Gang Nahyun! Being a sniper doesn’t mean you can just stay safe and shoot from a distance! Get your body used to quickly repositioning if you’re attacked!”
It was harsher than yesterday.
Seeing us struggling, the other students whispered from a distance.
“Why are they torturing themselves like that?”
“Right? They clearly don’t qualify as Yuri’s friends! Yuri got swept up for no reason…!”
The students who had offered bribes were definitely enjoying a lighter training regimen compared to yesterday.
Some of them had already finished training and were lounging in the back, leisurely resting. The disparity was heartbreaking.
After rolling around all morning, we were so worn out that we barely had the energy to chew and swallow our lunch.
“……But it definitely feels like it’s helping,” I muttered weakly. The con artist and Lee Ha-na nodded silently in agreement.
“Her teaching ability is top-notch~.”
Choi Soo-jung continued leisurely, picking up an egg roll, though her arms were trembling from muscle pain.
“She’s someone any academy in the world would want to invite.”
Nayuri replied with lifeless eyes.
It seemed everyone was exhausted as a silence fell over our meal once more.
That’s right.
Yggdrasil is not only the strongest hunter herself, but her ability to teach and nurture budding hunters is unparalleled.
But if there’s a downside—
“Is everyone here?”
A voice interrupted my thoughts. It was Yggdrasil.
Everyone except the con artist jumped in shock. What was this homeroom teacher planning to do during lunchtime!
No matter how beneficial the training was, wasn’t crossing into our break time a bit too much?
As we were all tense, Yggdrasil walked over and did something unexpected.
She pulled out bottles filled with a shimmering, rainbow-colored liquid and handed one to each of us.
“What is this…?”
“Super effective recovery potion. Plus, it has a buff to enhance your abilities.”
Yggdrasil, smiling, told us to drink it all and then vanished in an instant.
We went ahead and drank it. We had no idea what would happen if we didn’t.
I instinctively cringed, thinking it might taste terrible because it was supposedly a miraculous medicine, but fortunately, the potion had a subtle sweetness to it.
The effects of the potion kicked in instantly, restoring some of our mental strength. After all, this was a potion given to us directly by Yggdrasil. The effects were impressive.
Thanks to that, we were able to attend our afternoon classes without any issues.
Seeing us looking perfectly fine, the other students were astonished.
“What the heck, are those guys monsters?”
“Are they taking some kind of tonic or something…?”
“Are you actually a cyborg or something?”
But I didn’t have the time to worry about such rumors. Surviving was the priority.
If it weren’t for the potion, I would’ve slept through the entire afternoon. Seriously.
Relieved that we had successfully finished our morning classes, we wrapped up the afternoon sessions as well.
When we tried to reserve Simulation Room 101 to run some simulations as usual, Yggdrasil suddenly barged in.
“Extra class!”
“Excuse me?”
How did she know we were here? Is she a stalker? A stalker, maybe?
We were incredibly flustered.
In our frozen state, the con artist desperately attempted to speak up.
“Teacher, I understand that your classes are truly beneficial. However… wouldn’t training all day to the point of hindering our growth be a bad thing…?”
“Training is good the more you do it! You all know that’s why you come here every day, right?”
How did she know that? Yggdrasil is scary…
“I will supplement today’s training. Hmm. Perfect!”
Yggdrasil proudly slapped her chest as she spoke.
“And you all should have fully recovered if you drank the potions I gave you earlier! You all look fine. I thoroughly check my students’ conditions!”
Was that why she gave us the potion?
I wanted to reject her offer after regurgitating the potion I had just consumed, but unfortunately, it had long been digested in my stomach.
She smiled and said, “Today’s training will be practical! You’ll face monsters and learn the actual combat sense by using items and artifacts!”
In the end, we were forced to undergo a reinforced version of the morning’s class against monsters. It felt like we were going to die.
The one silver lining was that she handed us another one of those super-effective potions at the end of the training session during lunch.
Completely exhausted, we received the potion without a word and disbanded right there.
Unfortunately, Yggdrasil’s hellish classes continued after that.
“Gang Nahyun! Your magic bullet skill level is high! You’re now at a level where you can somewhat sense what shape your magic bullets will take, how much power they’ll have when fired.”
“Um… I’m not really at that level yet…?”
“No, you can do it. Just do it!”
“……Yes!”
She provided plenty of instruction, tailoring it to each student individually.
“Choi Soo-jung, is your opinion unchanged? You seem more suited to ranger or assassin types rather than a long-distance magician—”
“Nya ha ha~ I like being a magician!”
“……Hmm. If that’s your thought, then fine. Let me know if your mind changes.”
Sometimes, it seemed she would also provide career counseling if the mood struck her.
Anyway, thanks to the daily ongoing training, we were quickly building up our teamwork.
It was nice to see our skills rapidly improving, but still, this was a bit too much… Isn’t the amount of training excessive?
After going through the stages of denial > anger > bargaining > depression, we finally reached the stage where we all accepted it without further complaint when Shin Baran joined us for the grueling afternoon training.
She finally realized.
Offering bribes to Yggdrasil to reduce the amount of training meant being treated as a stepping stone by her.
As she strode towards us, Shin Baran pointed at me and said, “Admit it! This time, you were wise!”
While lifting her dazzling bow, she continued, “But I’ll catch up to you quickly. Unlike you, I’m putting a lot of effort into my weapons!”
I stared down at the academy’s standard gun I was holding.
After the last incident where my gun was destroyed during a strange attack, I hadn’t bought a new one yet.
Currently, my skill level was at 10.
To withstand the firepower of a skill that was level 10, I needed a weapon made by a so-called special artisan, one that had the title of “meister” attached to it.
Regular weapon shops don’t handle meister weapons. To be precise, they can’t handle them.
Only a few people can create meister weapons, and they typically conduct business by either accepting a limited number of customers through connections or only accepting those who can pay a significant amount of money.
It was truly a top-tier world that was inaccessible with the amount of money I had.
So for now, I was practicing with the academy’s standard gun, trying to minimize the firepower. I thought of it as a practice in adjusting firepower.
There was no way a meister weapon would fall from the sky, so I was considering buying something decent from a weapon shop—
“It’ll come soon. A better weapon than yours.”
—was what I was thinking.