NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5 - The First Class (1)
“Ugh…!!”
Kim Baram let out a strange sound as he lifted his head.
Phew! What a ridiculous dream.
Entering the world of a novel?
Absurd.
Half-awake, he looked around to find himself surrounded by white curtains.
‘Where am I? Who am I?’
*Swish*
Just then, the white curtain was pulled aside, and bright sunlight invaded inside.
“Are you awake? I’m glad you look okay. You were bleeding quite a lot earlier and it scared me.”
Through the dazzling sunlight, a woman in a white coat revealed herself. With a combination of cute and mature features and a gentle demeanor, she spoke to him.
“Who… Who’re you?”
“Hmm… I introduced myself during the entrance ceremony, but I guess you weren’t paying attention. I’m Lim Eun-ah, the academy’s health instructor. Nice to meet you, Cadet Kim Baram.”
“Oh… Sorry. I was out of it… Thank you for treating me, Instructor Lim Eun-ah.”
“Hehe, it’s okay. Treating cadets is my job. How’re you feeling?”
He guessed that he came to the infirmary because of his injuries.
And Instructor Lim Eun-ah in front of him was known as the ‘Saint of the Infirmary’ in the story. She was responsible for treating student injuries at the academy.
At her words, he lifted the blanket to check his condition and looked at his right thigh.
Kim Baram’s pants were off which revealed his thin legs, sky-blue boxers, and a bandage wrapped around his right thigh.
As he stared blankly at hue sky-blue boxers, Lim Eun-ah spoke to him with a playful expression.
“I had to take your pants off to treat your thigh. Luckily, it wasn’t a serious injury. Your pants are on the shelf beside you, so take them when you leave.”
“Y-yes…? Did you treat me in the auditorium?”
Imagining having his pants removed in front of the whole school filled him with shame, and his face grew hot.
Seeing Kim Baram’s embarrassed expression, Lim Eun-ah smiled and reassured him.
“Your tongue was bleeding quite a bit, so I treated that in the auditorium, but I treated your thigh here in the infirmary. No one else saw so don’t be too embarrassed. Hehe…”
“I see…”
So Lim Eun-ah undressed him and treated his thigh…
As he indulged in pointless fantasies with a serious expression, Lim Eun-ah spoke to him again.
“How’s your tongue now? I gave it emergency treatment, but let me know if there’s any discomfort.”
Snapping out of his daydream, Kim Baram focused on his tongue, feeling a slight foreign sensation and mild pain.
“Um… It stings a bit and feels slightly swollen.”
“It’s probably because it hasn’t fully healed yet. Be careful not to irritate your tongue until it’s healed. Here, take this too.”
Lim Eun-ah handed him a small wooden box.
“What’s this?”
“What do you think? Open it and see.”
When he asked about the contents of the wooden box, Lim Eun-ah replied playfully and told him to open it himself.
Curiously, he opened the wooden box, and a refreshing scent wafted to his nose. Inside was a black pill the size of a 500-won coin.
“This is the reward for being one of the top seven in the principal’s test. You fainted, so I kept it safe to give to you when you wake up.”
Oh. This was the ‘Elixir’ given as a reward to the top seven who passed the entrance ceremony test.
Seeing the elixir from the novel in real life felt surreal. As he picked up the elixir and examined it, Lim Eun-ah began explaining the reward to him.
“It’s an elixir called Vitality Pill made by the Silver Organisation. Although it’s low-grade, it’s a Grade 7 item. The principal went all out for the freshmen this year. Maybe it’s because his grandson enrolled this year.”
In the novel, all gears, artifacts, items, and elixirs were categorized into grades from 1 to 10.
The closer to grade 1, the more valuable the item.
Even a Grade 7 item was considered a top luxury item sold in department stores.
From Grade 6 onward, obtaining such items required an enormous amount of money. Items above those grades were often unattainable even with money.
Anyway, this Vitality Pill was a precious elixir worth at least 10 million won. This was why he was desperate to pass the entrance exam.
“Can I take it right away?”
“Yes. I recommend taking it immediately. Vitality Pill revitalizes the body, helps correctly structure the body, and cleanses the magic circuits. Taking it later would be less effective, and taking it now will benefit your future training.”
Lim Eun-ah’s explanation matched the description of Vitality Pill in the novel. Han Suyeon always consumed it right away too.
Without hesitation, he put the Vitality Pill into his mouth.
“Ugh…”
“Hehe, I forgot to mention it. Vitality Pill is notoriously bad-tasting.”
Lim Eun-ah smiled sweetly as she watched Kim Baram gag.
Clearly, she told him late on purpose to tease him.
Gulp!
Despite the terrible taste, he forced himself to chew and swallow the Vitality Pill. Immediately, he felt a surge of energy and a sense of lightness in his body.
Ding!
[You have consumed a Vitality Pill, increasing Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Charm by 2 each.]
Name: Kim Baram
Age: 17
Attributes:
Strength: 11
Agility: 11
Stamina: 11
Magic: 1
Charm: 41
Luck: 50
Skills:
(New)
Unique Abilities:
(New)
Current VP: 6750 VP
————
Kim Baram could see his improved stats in the status window. As the system message indicated, his Strength, Agility, Stamina, and for some reason, Charm had each increased by 2.
‘Hmm… Is this a difference in talent? In the novel, Han Suyeon’s Strength, Agility, and Stamina each increased by 5 after taking the Vitality Pill.’
Whether it was due to the difference in the body’s ability to digest the pill or a difference in talent, comparing the stat increases to Han Suyeon’s, this body of his didn’t seem to be very efficient with the elixir.
Thinking about the future, where he’d have to overcome challenges with this cursed body, he felt demotivated.
“Was it really that bad…? Here, have a candy. Cheer up a bit.”
Seeing Kim Baram’s gloomy expression, Lim Eun-ah appeared to feel guilty for teasing him and handed him a candy from her pocket.
“Oh… Thank you. It really was terrible. Ugh.”
“Hehe… Right? I tried it once during my cadet days, and it was awful. Anyway, now that you seem okay, let’s head back. I’ll wait for you outside the infirmary, so put on your pants and come out.”
“What? Together?”
“Your instructor, Cha Joo-hyuk, asked me to bring you to the Building D training ground when you wake up. And judging by Instructor Cha Joo-hyuk’s class, I think there might be more patients coming in soon.”
***
As he followed Lim Eun-ah to the Building D training ground, he recalled the details about Cha Joo-hyuk and what was about to happen.
Cha Joo-hyuk.
In the story, he was always the instructor in charge of classes 1-3. His previous occupation was a ‘secret special agent’ affiliated with the Korean Hunter Association.
He mainly dealt with villains, and he was an A-rank player. His unique ability was [Hyper Sense], which significantly heightened his senses.
This ability was more suited to fight with human villains rather than to deal with monsters from dungeons or gates.
During his special agent days, his alias was ‘Duel Specialist.’
According to the original storyline, Cha Joo-hyuk would introduce himself to class 1-3 and then take them to the Building D training ground to test their skills and conduct the first class.
The class format was a duel: Cha Joo-hyuk vs. the entire class 1-3. Points were awarded for landing effective hits on Cha Joo-hyuk.
‘The problem is that even Han Suyeon never landed a single effective hit on him.’
Throughout hundreds of repetitions, Han Suyeon had never landed an effective hit on Cha Joo-hyuk on the first day of class.
This was partly because there was a significant gap in their stats at the start, and partly because of Cha Joo-hyuk’s alias, ‘Duel Specialist.’ It indicated his superior skill in human-on-human combat.
‘If I could join and land an effective hit on Cha Joo-hyuk, I might earn some points and gain VP, but… It’s practically impossible.’
Given Kim Baram’s poor stats and the fact that he was a modern person with no martial arts training, the probability of landing an effective hit on an A-rank player like Cha Joo-hyuk was nearly zero.
However, if he could turn this impossible future into reality, he might earn a substantial amount of VP.
It was worth trying for his growth. After all, there was no penalty.
‘I’d need at least four people to cooperate in facing Cha Joo-hyuk… Was there any particular weakness of Cha Joo-hyuk in the story? A specific weakness…’
“… Ah!”
“Hm? What’s the matter?”
“Ah! It’s nothing. The Building D training ground is just bigger than I expected.”
“You’re so fresh and cute to be surprised by something like that~ Adorable.”
Lim Eun-ah smiled at his clumsy attempt to brush it off. Standing on her tiptoes, she patted his head. Her unexpected gesture felt oddly comforting.
Anyway, thinking about the upcoming first class, they soon arrived at the Building D training ground. It appeared Cha Joo-hyuk’s class had already started as he could see a few cadets lying on the ground from a distance.
“Instructor Cha Joo-hyuk~!! We’re here~”
“Hm? Hold on. Pause.”
At Lim Eun-ah’s lively call, Cha Joo-hyuk turned his head to glance at them and seemed to temporarily halt the class.
As they approached the training ground, Kim Baram saw several cadets lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
Even though they were not lying down, Han Suyeon, Majin seok, and Lee Do-hyeok were also covered in dirt.
“Please take care of the injured, Instructor Lim Eun-ah.”
“Sigh! Go a bit easier on them. The cadets look like they’re about to die.”
“I am regulating myself. Cadet Kim Baram? I am Cha Joo-hyuk, the instructor in charge of class 1-3.”
“Ah! Yes… Hello Instructor Cha Joo-hyuk.”
Cha Joo-hyuk had a cold, handsome appearance. He exchanged a brief conversation with Lim Eun-ah before turning his gaze to Kim Baram and introducing himself, then continued speaking.
“This may be sudden, but we are currently conducting a test as part of the class. Cadet Kim Baram, think of me as a villain and join the other cadets in attacking me. If you land a single effective hit, you will receive extra points. You may use any weapons or gear from over there. I will only use my bare hands.”
Cha Joo-hyuk pointed to the weapon storage area in the corner of the training ground and briefly explained the class. His curt manner of speaking matched his stoic appearance, indicating he entertained no-nonsense.
Kim Baram headed to the weapon storage area as instructed to see if there was anything suitable.
Considering his almost ordinary human capabilities, landing an effective hit on the Duel Specialist Cha Joo-hyuk seemed improbable, but he planned to choose the best possible strategy.
The strategy was to use a weapon that could exploit Cha Joo-hyuk’s weaknesses.
That weapon was a round shield large enough to cover half his body.
Cha Joo-hyuk’s first weakness: low attack power.
It wasn’t much of a weakness, considering that with his specialized weapon, White Sun, he was a nightmare for villains.
However, in the novel, Cha Joo-hyuk struggled relatively more against monsters from dungeons or gates compared to players of similar rank.
It was because he didn’t possess destructive offensive skills or unique abilities capable of inflicting fatal wounds on monsters.
And, since Cha Joo-hyuk stated he would only use his bare hands, Kim Baram had no intention of facing him alone.
‘If I can block his attacks with the shield even once or twice…’
After selecting the shield and a suitably sized sword, he practiced swinging them a few times before approaching the resting cadets.
More specifically, Kim Baram walked towards Han Suyeon, who had been staring at him intensely for some reason.
“Han Suyeon. Let’s cooperate.”