When the movie ended and we stepped out of the theater, the four of us wore equally conflicted expressions.

"…So, how was it?"

 Seo Yui broke the silence.

"Ah, well… um… hmm…"

 Lumina stared into space, searching for words.

"This movie is weird," Meiling said bluntly, "It’s not exactly boring, but I wouldn’t call it fun either. It’s got a lot of good points, but it doesn’t make the most of them. It’s hard to say it’s a total mess, yet it doesn’t really work."

"It was… incredibly middling," I said, feeling oddly disappointed.

Seo Yui nodded along, clearly agreeing with all of us.

We were still debating how something like that even got made when we noticed a crowd gathered by the roadside and stopped.

"What’s going on?"

 Lumina tilted her head.

"Let’s go see." Meiling took Lumina’s hand and pushed into the throng. Seo Yui and I followed.

"You little punks, seriously?"

"Oh, yeah? Want to try me?"

Angry voices came from ahead.

Inside the ring of onlookers, two groups of students glared at each other. They were all about our age.

"Come on, then. No, wait. Cowards like you, who only lob spells from the back line, wouldn’t have the guts for a real fight."

"Guts? Says the meatheads who only know how to charge. You freaks even brag about bleeding all over yourselves after getting smacked by monsters."

The moment I heard them, I knew exactly who they were.

"Who are you calling freaks, you flimsy little Magica brats!"

"We’re talking about you Martial God morons. What, too dense to get it?"

Martial God and Magica—students from two Hunter Academies.

The two schools couldn’t be more different.

Martial God recruits Awakened with high physical aptitude and trains them as close-combat fighters—a warrior academy.

Magica recruits Awakened with high energy aptitude and trains them in spell combat—a mage academy.

Naturally, they were rivals.

In reality, after graduation they’d end up in the same guilds and have to cooperate against monsters, so all this animosity was pointless.

But while they were students, they were dead set on tearing each other apart.

In the game, if you chose Martial God or Magica, you’d get a string of rivalry events against the other academy.

"Want me to rip that arrogant mouth of yours open?"

"Try it. Before that, I’ll set your faces on fire."

The mood was turning uglier by the second.

Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd watched with smirks, filming with phones and smartwatches. Some were streaming it live.

It felt like a festival.

"W-what if they actually start fighting?" Lumina looked worried.

"So what? We just watch and enjoy the show," Meiling said, wearing the same look as everyone else.

Oh, Meiling.

Utterly hopeless.

"Should I call the police?" Seo Yui had her phone in hand.

"…I don’t think that’ll be necessary," I said, looking past the crowd.

Two people were making their way through. The onlookers parted for them without being asked.

"Enough."

A low, weighty voice rolled out. The Martial God and Magica students all turned to look at the same spot.

The Martial God kids’ eyes widened when they saw the man standing before them.

"C-Cheongryong…!"

"Senior Cheongryong…"

Jin Cheongryong, Martial God Academy’s student vice president, stood with his arms folded.

"And President Kobayakawa…"

Behind him was Kobayakawa Ao, the student council president. The Martial God candidates’ faces began to stiffen.

"This isn’t a training hall. What do you think you’re doing out here?" Jin Cheongryong scolded his academy’s students.

Most of the Martial God candidates ducked their heads and clamped their mouths shut. One of them, however, shouted with a wounded look:

"They started it! We were watching a movie and they said the protagonist was as dumb as a Martial God grunt!"

"Were we wrong? Charging monsters without thinking—if that’s not stupidity, what is?"

"Say that again!"

Tempers flared anew, but Cheongryong’s glare sliced across the Martial God side, and they flinched, bowing even lower.

"Haa…" He sighed, then turned to Magica, "How about you end it here and go your separate ways? Seems you both share some blame, and with all these eyes on you, you can’t fight properly anyway."

The Magica students grimaced.

"Ha! Some representative you are—running away? You called us cowards, but look who’s chickening out for real."

Martial God students lifted their heads, eyes blazing.

"How dare they insult the strongest of our academy!"

"I’ve had enough! I’ll kill them right now!"

KWA-BOOM!

A tremor rattled the ground. The crowd froze.

The source of the quake was Jin Cheongryong.

He had stomped once.

[…]

Silence fell in an instant.

"Planning to draw blood outside a dungeon or dueling hall? Is that all you amount to?” His gaze sharpened, and the Martial God students bent even lower. Some were visibly shaking.

"And as for you…"

Cheongryong’s eyes shifted to Magica.

Their students tensed as one.

"If your so-called courage is just accepting petty fights to soothe immature pride, then call me a coward as much as you like. Martial skill isn’t something you build to swat down every trivial provocation."

Some of the Magica kids bristled, but most looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

With both sides silent, Ao stepped forward. Even outside a dungeon, a long blade hung at his waist.

"Does anyone here still insist we must fight right now?"

No one answered.

Ao smiled brightly, "Then let’s say this never happened and head our separate ways. Disperse."

Taking that as the signal, both groups slowly walked off in opposite directions. With the Hunter candidates gone, the crowd began to scatter too.

"Oh—over there…" Ao’s eyes landed on us. Cheongryong looked as well.

"Nam Yein?" A crease formed between Cheongryong’s brows.

"You know them?" Meiling grimaced.

"We met because of that rally the other day," I said, stepping forward.

"A strange place to meet again," I said, "As academy representatives, I’m sure you didn’t want to show that side of things."

"…It’s embarrassing, I admit," Ao replied.

"Must be the heat. Summer makes tempers flare over small things," I said.

"It’s pathetic," Cheongryong said, arms still folded, "If they can’t control themselves over something this minor, how do they plan to handle what’s ahead?"

Every time I saw him, I couldn’t help noticing—those forearms were massive.

"Is your home nearby, Yein?" Ao asked.

"Ah, I’m staying in the dorms over the break. I’m out with my squadmates right now." I glanced back. The three of them were watching us.

"Oh, your squadmates."

"Is there no guy in your squad besides you?" Cheongryong asked.

"Not at the moment. Is that a problem?"

"Hm. No. It’s not."

He looked past me at the others. "So, including you, the four of you are Gwangcheon’s HAUT selections?"

"You know we’re entering HAUT?"

"Yeah. I heard from Park Gwang-a."

Park Gwang-a—our student council president.

"We’re HAUT selections as well," Ao said. "We were curious who other academies were sending."

I nodded. "Then we’ll get going. Let’s both do our best at HAUT."

"Yes."

"According to Park Gwang-a, this Gwangcheon won’t be like the ones before," Cheongryong said, meeting my eyes. "I’m looking forward to it."

We watched their backs as they left. Then the others came up to me.

"Those two are Martial God’s HAUT selections?" Meiling asked.

"Yeah."

"Are they strong?"

"They’re HAUT picks and student representatives. They’re probably the strongest in Martial God."

"Hmm. Strong, huh…" Meiling pursed her lips, unconvinced.

"What they did—quieting that fight in an instant—was incredible," Lumina said. "I could never do that…"

"Yeah. They do have charisma," I admitted.

"Yein, are those two really the strongest in Martial God?" Seo Yui asked.

"As far as I know, yes."

"…Really?"

She tilted her head, and I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips.

Their reactions made sense. Just look at who we’ve fought so far—Hunters in the 40s and 50s, a principal at level 72, and even Persilla at level 84. We’ve battled enemies we should normally never face, and in Persilla’s case, we fought for our lives and won.

Our current levels are far beyond a typical third-year at any Hunter Academy.

So to Meiling and Seo Yui, those two probably looked like opponents we could crush even if we fought them right now.

As for Lumina’s admiration, I doubt it was about strength versus weakness.

She likely admired the way they stood firm in front of everyone.

I can’t wait to clash with the Iris Squad.

They’ll be in shock after the beating they take.

Not that I’ll be the one fighting, of course.

Damn it.

Why does it have to be Nam Yein?

There are plenty of other characters.

The thought alone made my blood simmer again.

"Senior, want to hit a café? I’m craving something cold."

"Yeah. Sounds good."

We left the theater plaza to find a café.

Sunday afternoon.

I was crafting items using the materials I’d picked up from Eleanor yesterday when someone knocked on my door.

I sorted the materials into my inventory and opened up.

"Hi." Park Gwang-a stood there on the threshold, smiling.

Her expression was a little off—like she was forcing that smile.

"Hello. What brings you here?"

"Mm. I’ve got something to ask. May I come in for a moment?"

I nodded and stepped aside.

After closing the door behind her, Park Gwang-a looked me straight in the face.

"I just got a message from Iris. You remember—Crystal’s student council president."

The moment I heard the name Iris, I felt my face tense.

"She heard there was a dust-up yesterday between a Crystal student and some of ours on the street. She wants to confirm what happened and asked if I could look into it on my end."

"And… that’s why you came to me?"

Park Gwang-a gave a wry smile. "Because in our academy, the only squad capable of flooring a Crystal student is yours."

Fair enough.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

She wore a pleasant smile, but her eyes were sharp.

What a pity.

If she weren’t a third-year, I’d try recruiting her into the squad—even if she wasn’t a companion character.

"We were walking along a crowded street when Lumina bumped into a Crystal student. After that, the Crystal kids kept running their mouths, mocking us and Gwangcheon. I couldn’t stand it, so I fired off a few barbs of my own. One of them threw a punch."

"So they started with the insults and swung first?"

"Yes. Senior Seo Yui blocked the punch, shoved him back, and subdued him. Then I stepped in and told them if they wanted to see something ugly, they could keep pushing it. One ran first, and the other three backed off. That’s everything."

Park Gwang-a listened, grimacing slightly. Then she asked, "Nothing else?"

"No. All we did was defend ourselves and use a bit of intimidation to end it."

"Got it. In that case, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll explain it to Iris."

"Thank you. Sorry to trouble you."

"It’s fine. This is my job. I’m just glad it didn’t blow up."

She sighed, "Most academies look down on us, but Crystal kids are especially bad about it."

"Crystal Hunter candidates don’t just look down on us. They sneer at every other academy too, don’t they?"

"That’s true as well," she chuckled softly.

And then—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Park Gwang-a flinched and turned toward the door.

What now?

Whoever was knocking wasn’t being gentle.

I strode over and opened it. A boy stood there, white as a sheet.

"Y-you’re Nam Yein, right?"

He looked like a second- or third-year; I didn’t recognize him from joint classes.

"Aran? What’s wrong?" Park Gwang-a came up beside me, startled.

"Uh—!?"

The boy—Aran—looked stricken, as if thinking he’d made a mistake.

"Ah, um, it’s… I-I’m here to see Nam Yein."

Judging by how he spoke formally to Park Gwang-a, he was likely a second-year.

"Nam Yein, could we talk alone? Please?"

There was raw urgency in his voice.

"President, is that alright?"

"…Yes. I’m done here anyway," she said after a brief pause, nodding. "If you need help, tell me immediately."

"Understood."

After she left, I brought Aran inside.

"So, what did you need from me?"

"…"

He stared at me with a pallid face, then slowly spoke.

"…My friends were grabbed by some thugs. They said if I didn’t bring you, they’d kill my friends…"

The moment I heard that, something flashed through my mind.

"Was it the Crystal punks?"

"C-Crystal? I don’t know…"

"Was there a big guy with slash scars on his face?"

Aran’s eyes went wide. "Y-yeah. There was."

Thought so.

I held back a smile and asked, "They told you if you didn’t bring me alone, your friends would be in danger, didn’t they?"

"Right! How did you—"

"I understand."

I activated my smartwatch.

"N-no, we can’t call the police! If they notice—my friends…!"

"Don’t worry," I said as I tapped in a number. "I have no intention of handing them to the police."

"…Huh?"

Creatures whose very existence fell below Nam Yein had crossed a line they shouldn’t have.

They could pay the price for their actions.

An hour later.

I took a taxi toward the meeting point they’d specified.

"Th-that intersection over there. Let me off there, please."

Aran, sitting in the front seat, sounded terrified.

It was an empty intersection—no traffic at all—and didn’t look like the actual spot.

They probably wanted us to walk the rest of the way so the taxi driver wouldn’t witness anything.

We got out, and Aran guided us, glancing between his map app and the street over and over.

We walked twenty minutes down a deserted road.

An abandoned factory came into view.

"Th-there." Aran’s voice trembled.

"Alright. Let’s go. Your friends are probably scared."

I took the lead.

The moment we stepped inside the factory, I saw a familiar face.

"Yo."

The scarred bruiser—Oh Jihoo, if I recalled correctly—grinned and waved at me.

Behind him were three boys, beaten and bloodied, ringed by four other guys.

Four girls lingered nearby as well.

I recognized the tanned one and the crop top.

Counting Oh Jihoo, that makes nine. There may be more hiding.

"I-I brought Nam Yein like you said! Now let my friends go!"

Aran shouted.

"Hmm." Oh Jihoo scratched his chin, "Don’t think so."

"What!?"

Aran’s face crumpled.

"I told you to bring only him."

As he spoke, he hurled a stone at us.

Tang!

It bounced off a shield.

Seo Yui appeared where there had been nothing a heartbeat before.

"We can see everything. The moment you walked in, your footprints started marking the floor—hey!"

Another stone flew.

Pang!

A magic shield rose into the air and caught it.

Meiling stood behind it.

So. A stealth potion wasn’t enough to fool an Awakened’s eyes.

"You broke the terms, so no, we won’t be returning your friends safe and sound."

"A-ah…"

Despair settled over Aran’s features.

"No. You won’t have a choice," I told Oh Jihoo.

"What?"

He scowled, and then every one of his cronies surrounding Aran’s friends collapsed to the floor.

"W-what!?"

Oh Jihoo’s eyes bulged.

There stood Lumina, her stealth fading as she held a dagger by Aran’s friends. Blood was seeping from the ribs of the fallen thugs.

"Hot day today," I said, looking at Oh Jihoo, "Good. Means I won’t feel guilty."

I glanced at Seo Yui and Meiling.

Both raised their weapons.

(End of Chapter)

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