“What should we do, Iris?”

Toby, the Crystal Academy vice president, asked as he finished buckling on his Level 30 Magic-grade equipment.

“Running like beasts for a single meal is disgraceful,” Iris replied coolly, equipping her own gear. “But for Crystal Academy’s representatives to fall behind the others would be even more shameful.”

“I thought you’d say that.” Toby smirked and turned to the rest of their squad—two other second-years.

One was a short boy with cropped ash-gray hair. The other, a girl with persimmon-colored hair braided down her back and round glasses perched on her nose. Both were already geared up.

“Inhu, Muimi—you heard Iris.”

“Yeah.”

“Mm.”

Both nodded.

“My guess? This will count toward the overall evaluation,” Toby said. “And since they made us equip our gear, there will definitely be obstacles.”

“Then we can’t afford to relax. We’ll go all out,” said Jo Inhu, the ash-haired boy.

Hashima Muimi adjusted her glasses. “Still, aren’t we starting late?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Iris, fully geared, straightened and took point. “This much isn’t even a penalty. Let’s go.”

She sprinted, and the other three followed.

Behind the HAUT training center, the mountain trail echoed with shouts and cries.

“They’re up ahead again! Everyone, fall in behind Poff!”

Jang Taeil, leader of Dai Academy’s selections, barked the order. His teammates scrambled behind a tall boy carrying a massive shield.

Bang!

Gunfire ripped through the air, beams of light slamming into the shield Poff Yen braced forward. Sparks scattered as the barrage hammered at them.

Taeil dove sideways, crossbow raised, and fired into the brush ahead.

Crash!

Something shattered. The gunfire stopped.

Poff lowered his shield, and two of their squad who had been cowering behind him peeked out warily.

“Didn’t expect this many traps,” muttered the tall red-haired boy.

“Ugh… ah!”

The pink-bobbed girl hissed, hand clutching her thigh.

“Mayu, are you alright?” Taeil rushed over.

“Sorry. One of those rounds grazed me.” She grimaced, pointing to a charred mark on her training uniform.

“What the hell are those robots firing? Strong enough to hurt us… and this many? We’ve barely gone a hundred meters and already run into dozens of traps. This is too much, even for HAUT!”

The redhead fumed, but he wasn’t wrong. From the moment they set foot on the slope, Dai Academy had been hounded by robots.

And these weren’t the sluggish practice models used in schools. Their speed and firepower were on par with dungeon floor-three monsters.

Their plan to sprint straight to the summit had been shredded.

“…”

Taeil clenched his jaw. Despite their speed, no other squads were around. Others had faced the same obstacles and still managed to pull ahead.

“Poff, George, Mayu,” Taeil said, glaring uphill. “This is the first day, the first task. At the very least—we will not lose to Gwangcheon.”

At that word, all three of their gazes sharpened.

“Pour everything you’ve got. Empty your MP if you have to.”

With grim resolve, the four resumed their climb, weapons ready. Taeil’s thoughts boiled down to one vow:

We will never lose to Gwangcheon. Never.

“Muimi, forty meters ahead. Eleven o’clock, in the brush.”

Iris’s voice was calm and precise.

“Got it.”

Muimi leveled her issued Magic staff and fired. A sphere of blue energy tore through the leaves—

Boom!

—detonating a hidden robot.

“Next—three o’clock, up in the tree.”

Again, Muimi fired.

At that instant, a machine gun turret rose from the ground behind them, spitting light bullets.

Bang!

The barrage met Jo Inhu’s shield, already raised in the rear. Sparks flew harmlessly.

Toby swept his short wand, and boom! the turret exploded, leaving only twisted supports.

Trap after trap, robot after robot—they didn’t slow for an instant. Every ambush was dismantled before it could land a hit. Their coordination was seamless, like veteran Hunters who had fought together for years.

Five minutes after starting, the four of them burst onto the summit.

“No one’s here. Not surprising,” Iris said, lips curving in satisfaction.

A dilapidated pavilion stood at the peak. Just as Abel had said, five chests rested inside.

Toby approached, tongue flicking across his lips. “We’re late.”

“What?” Iris turned sharply.

“Someone’s already been here.”

“That’s impossible. I sensed no presence ahead of us…”

Iris hurried closer—and froze.

One of the chests lay wide open.

No way.

The first face to flicker in her mind made her scowl.

“Let’s just grab ours. We’ll see who beat us when we get back down,” Toby said.

At his signal, Inhu and Muimi joined him. Together they pressed their issued smart-watches to the chest. With a click, the lid popped open.

They took the meal tickets and began descending.

On the way down, two groups came into view—charging upward.

First was Martial God Academy’s squad. Farther behind, Magica’s.

As expected, Martial God outpaces Magica in a race like this, Toby thought. Martial God’s average physical aptitude was the highest of all six academies, while Magica’s was notoriously low.

Still, the fact that Magica was ahead of the other schools meant the robots and traps hadn’t slowed them much. In a dungeon-clear or monster-kill contest, Magica would surely be a top contender.

But if those two are only reaching here now… then the ones who opened the chest first must have been… them.

From the summit, the training grounds came into sight.

The robots and traps had fallen silent—Toby guessed that once their squad unlocked a chest, the system excluded them from further attacks.

“Oh-ho. As expected of Crystal Academy.”

At the cafeteria entrance, Abel greeted them with a grin.

“Your gear’s spotless. Not a scratch. Means the robots never landed a hit. Impressive. But…” He chuckled. “You didn’t get first place.”

Iris’s face twitched as if something deep inside had cracked.

Without another word, she stomped up to Abel, thrust the four meal tickets into his hand, and muttered through clenched teeth, “May we enter now?”

“Of course. Enjoy your food. A meal after exercise always tastes better,” Abel replied with his usual smile.

But Iris had already spun on her heel and stormed into the cafeteria before he finished speaking.

Steam rose from the buffet trays at the center, yet Iris’s eyes never glanced at them. Instead, her sharp gaze swept across the tables.

“!!”

Her eyes widened.

Sitting together, trays already half-empty, were four familiar figures.

“Nam Yein…”

The Gwangcheon squad.

“I knew it.”

Toby had appeared at her side, following her gaze.

Iris’s jaw clenched. She marched straight toward them.

The four at the table turned as her shadow fell across them.

“How did you do it?”

Yein blinked, unruffled. “Do what?”

“The summit. How did you reach it before us?”

“Oh, that.” Yein chuckled softly, as if amused. “We just left earlier, climbed faster, and came back sooner. What else would it be?”

Iris’s hand curled into a fist.

“…And yet we never crossed paths with you.”

“There’s more than one trail up a mountain,” Yein replied calmly. “Strange you’d think otherwise.”

His composure fanned the flames in Iris’s chest, but there was nothing she could refute.

“Iris.”

Toby touched her arm, subtly pointing behind. Abel was watching them, grin tugging at his lips. Meanwhile, Inhu and Muimi looked anxious.

“…Tch.”

With a sharp breath, Iris turned away and strode to the serving line.

“Sorry for disturbing your meal,” Toby said to Yein, before following her.

One by one, the other academies arrived: Martial God, then Magica, then Dai.

Last of all came Ucheon Academy—Bella’s team. As expected, they had no tickets and thus no access to the hot meal.

“Here.”

Abel tossed them a small bag and a carton.

“What’s this?” asked Rio Kalves, their leader.

“Hardtack and milk. Maybe next time you’ll win.”

“Wait!” cried a girl with dark brown skin and banana-yellow hair. “Next time? Don’t tell me we’ll have to fight over meal tickets again?”

“I said it already,” Abel grinned. “Everything here is part of training. And those rations? You only get one pack a day. If you’re not confident about winning dinner, better save some.”

The gloom that fell over Ucheon’s squad was heavy enough to choke.

“Phew.”

Back at the empty dorm after lunch, I dropped onto my cot.

Simple enough.

I smirked, remembering Iris’s expression—frustrated, cornered, humiliated. It was the exact look I’d wanted to see.

As in the game, the HAUT organizers had set the meal-ticket race as the very first training. Since I knew every trap and ambush on the mountain, I simply led my team along the route with the fewest obstacles.

Not that it mattered much. Even taking the hardest route, my squadmates’ levels dwarfed the robots and traps.

Me, though? That was different. With my F/F/C aptitudes, even past level 50 my stats—HP, attack, agility—were pitiful. One stray bullet could’ve put me down for good.

So I stuck close to Seo Yui, letting her intercept the shots. Pride meant nothing compared to survival.

The HAUT’s training robots were cutting-edge models, built by Crystal and Forward. In terms of equipment and facilities, this program spared no expense. Even if the living quarters were garbage, the rest was world-class. The instructors alone must have cost billions.

In the game, the next phase was advanced theory courses.

I powered on the issued smart-watch. The schedule matched my memory perfectly.

Just then, noise drifted in from the hall—other students returning from lunch.

The door opened, and Toby stepped in first.

“…”

He stared at me a moment, then sat on the cot across.

“Nam Yein. About earlier—I’m sorry. Iris is… competitive.”

“Yes, she seemed that way.”

He fell silent, then studied me again.

“Do you have something to say?” I asked.

“No. Just… you’re interesting.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah. I never thought I’d find people like you in Gwangcheon.”

I gave a bitter smile. He apologized for Iris, yet insulted my school in the same breath. That was Toby Hobbes in a nutshell.

A good-natured character, but utterly lacking a filter. Often mistaken for rude, he made enemies without meaning to. Still, once you understood him, he was straightforward, even reliable—a companion character I’d liked in the game.

Soon Jin Cheongryong, Rio, and Zen returned.

“Ugh, I’m starving. They really didn’t give us lunch.” Rio shook an empty bag of hardtack.

“Wow…” Zen muttered, impressed and horrified.

Then Dai’o Academy’s Jang Taeil entered. His gaze locked on me.

There it is again. Stronger this time—the hostility, the challenge. He had something brewing in his head, and it was aimed squarely at me.

Huff,huff.Mictest.Huff, huff. Mic test.Huff,huff.Mictest.

Abel’s voice suddenly rang from the ceiling speakers. The sound made my head ache, memories best left buried clawing at the surface. I shook it off.

Attention, all dorm residents. Assemble at the entrance at 1:30 p.m., in combatwear only. Bring your tablets, but no gear. If anyone is late, their entire squad will be penalized. Spread the word to those not present. That is all.

Silence settled in the room.

Five minutes.

I checked my watch, then stood.

(End of Chapter)

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