Chapter 10

Orhe Academy.

The name was created as a pun with an anagram of ORHE, or ‘HERO’, which means hero in English, but at least the power of the name in this world was unparalleled.

There were many world-renowned educational institutions, such as the European Philatia Academy that Esmeralda forged, and Urea, which specializes in nurturing only wizards, but all of them were a fold compared to the Orhe Academy here.

Everything, including facilities, size, and technology, was all state-of-the-art, and it was a hero training institution that had nurtured numerous heroes.

And it was also the main background of the world in the game ‘Clouds on the Horizon’.

I was there now.

[From now on, all of you will be taking the first step to becoming a hero here at Orhe Academy.. .]

The person standing on top of the podium giving a speech right now was a man, a member of the student council, who was given a role and authority similar to that of vigilantes here at the academy.

‘Student council, this is.. .’

To be honest, it was a system that made me laugh out loud beyond not understanding at all, but at least it was a name that could not be ignored here.

There was nothing wrong with being careful.

‘And...’

Lee Ye-Eun, who had originally acquired the branches of the World Tree and played the role of the Priestess of the World Tree, was also a member of the student council, so I naturally looked toward her.

Still maintaining a straight and upright posture, I could feel the momentum from a distance.

‘So it was second grade seat.’

There were about 10 members of the student council per grade.

And the academy had a total of 4th graders, so it’s calculated to be a little over 40 people.

‘I can’t.. I can only remember about five or six people.’historical

I purposely sat as far forward as I could at the entrance ceremony, but when I looked at the members of the student council, the only ones I could recall were Lee Ye-Eun, the third-year student I was talking about right now, and the guy sitting patiently in the back.

Obviously, it was an important role, but that didn’t mean that all of them were important people, so it couldn’t be helped.

[Next, I would like to call the first-year top student. Please come forward.]

One of the traditions at Orhe Academy was that on the day of the entrance ceremony for freshmen, the top student would come out as a representative to take over the oath and read the speech.

And I knew right away that an unprecedented event at the Orhe Academy was going to happen.

[Ivan Hunt and Lee Yu-Na.]

When their names were called, murmurs quickly filled the air.

Then the third-year student, who had taken on the role of host, quietly added, as if to say calm down.

[Since the final scores of the two freshmen are the same, there are two top students this year.]

“Same score? Is that even possible?”

“But isn’t there such a thing as superiority or inferiority between subjects? For example, 40% for theory and 60% for practicals are reflected in this way.”

“Come to think of it, that’s true. And I know that even if we get the same rank, the scores are slightly different....”

“Right. Didn’t we get scores until the second decimal point?”

Seeing the two boys chatting in front of me, I tried to keep quiet but changed my mind.

It was the first day, so it wouldn’t be bad to be friendly.

Besides, the more people you knew, the less bad it would be.

“I’ve heard that those two have perfect scores in every subject. They’re both wizard types.”

“What? Really? It doesn’t make sense! Really!”

“There really are monsters like that.. Two of them, too.”

I suddenly interrupted them, but I was able to join their conversation without difficulty.

Rather, they even actively asked me questions.

“Even wizards have huge divisions of factions. Does that mean they’re like the same faction?”

“Well, I don’t think so. Originally, it was written that if you get a score above a certain level, it’s treated as the highest score altogether. That’s how you get the highest score in all your subjects. Because there are no additional points.”

“It’s absurd, really.. .”

Mumbling in admiration, the male student wearing glasses muttered quietly.

“But it really feels like the two are in stark contrast.”

“Oh, I thought so too.”

“You think so too?”

That was to be expected.

Because they had been set up as perfect opposites from the start.

‘And even their genders were set to be different.’

Just as I was thinking this, a huge male student sitting next to a male student wearing glasses muttered.

“Is he really from a prestigious novel family? But surely his name is Ivan Hunt, right? Hunt.. I’ve never heard of it.”

“It can be a fallen family or a new family. Maybe it’s not related at all.. But every action is like watching a movie.”

The male student with the glasses muttered like that and shook his head slightly as if he wasn’t even jealous.

Looking at the two of them, I realized that I hadn’t been wrong after all.

‘I’m sure.’

These guys must have taken on the role of faceless extras and explainers who always appear.

Whether or not he knew what I was thinking, the boy with the glasses continued speaking in a still flat voice.

“On the other hand, the girl.. A girl who has just moved to Seoul from the countryside? It feels like that. The clothes too.. .”

“The school uniform is worn out. Did she buy it second-hand? Is there a dragon in the stream these days like this?”

[Note: ‘a dragon in the stream’ or ‘?? ??? ???? ? ??’ means “A person from a poor background has overcome hardships and worked hard to become extremely successful.”]

Even though he was quite far away, the huge male student muttered while looking at the sleeves of the female student, Lee Yu-Na, who was reading the speech.

“It’s a contrast as if it was actually filmed. Like you said. The rich boy and the girl who just moved to Seoul. It’s not like we’re filming some over-the-top drama.”

“But they’re both the top.”

“.. I barely made it through the theory exam.”

“I didn’t know the practical exam would be so difficult. I almost got eliminated right away.”

They conversed for a while, and then the one wearing glasses asked me.

“Oh, sorry. We’re the only ones talking. But what’s your name? I’m Lee Hyun-Seung, and he’s Kim Yoo-Hyun.”

“It’s Yoo Ji-Hyuk.”

“Oh.”

Lee Hyun-Seung said so and nodded his head.

Then the huge male student smiled cheerfully.

“It’s nice to meet you. I hope we’ll be in the same class.”

“It’s the same for me. I don’t know anyone because I just entered high school.”

“Whoa. Entered high school?”

“I’ve only heard it in words.”

It was when Lee Hyun-Seung and Kim Yoo-Hyun tried to show an interest in my story.

[That concludes the entrance ceremony for new students. Please leave the auditorium in order and proceed to your notified classrooms in an orderly fashion.]

[Please be sure to check your number and class on the main square.]

“We’ll have to move for now.”

“We’re in the front, let’s wait a bit.”

As if they didn’t want to go out of sight from the first day, I saw them slipping out one by one without making a fuss from the back, even though the entrance ceremony was over.

As I was looking at it, the male student who introduced himself as Kim Yoo-Hyun looked at me and said, slightly clearing his throat.

“Hey, can I call you Ji-Hyuk?”

“Sure. We’re in the same grade. Maybe we’ll be in the same class.”

“Oh, then, Ji-Hyuk. What is your position?”

Kim Yoo-Hyun pointed at himself and Lee Hyun-Seung in turn.

“I am a warrior type, as you can tell from a quick glance. Doesn’t he look like a wizard?”

“Hey, let’s be straight. I’m on the support side. Did you see an alchemist fighting in front of you?”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

While arguing for a while, Kim Yoo-Hyun sneakily looked at me and gave me an awkward expression.

“Oh, sorry. So, we’ve been friends since childhood. But because it’s the first time I’ve seen a high school admission.. What should I say, I’m a little curious.”

Kim Yoo-Hyun mumbled in a small voice that did not fit his size.

“Did it bother you?”

“No, it didn’t.”

It wouldn’t be a problem to let them know anyway.

If anything, I couldn’t even decide properly.

‘It would be easier to take an archer, a rear support type, something like that.’

Direct combat is too much.....

With that in mind, I looked at him, waiting for my answer.

“The truth is, I haven’t really decided yet. Above all, I’ve never been trained in combat or anything like that.. I’ll probably end up in the rear or support role like Hyun-Seung.”

“Oh.”

Kim Yoo-Hyun didn’t ask me any more questions.

Perhaps it was because he thought it was rude to ask more than this, but it was actually fortunate for me, who did not have an answer to give back.

“We should get going.”

With those words, the three of us naturally left our seats.

As we made our way to the main square, we exchanged idle chatter, and as we passed by, I took a quick look around at the many new students, but didn’t see anyone I recognized.

‘Maybe it’s because I don’t remember.’

That was because it was a game I had played several years ago.

I remembered the important people, events, and settings, but I couldn’t remember every detail.

‘It’s great that I can use the function on the cell phone.’

Anyway, let’s look around as much as I can, see as many students as I can, and then check it later on my phone.

With that in mind, I checked out my class in the large square.

‘..Class A. Of course, it’s a place where most of the playable characters are gathered.’

It was roughly as I expected.

And next to me, Lee Hyun-Seung and Kim Yoo-Hyun were looking at each other, their expressions twisted as if they wanted to vomit.

It seemed that they had been assigned to the same class.

“Are you in the same class again? I’m sick of it.”

“Shut up. Who the hell is talking about this?”

Looking at the two arguing, it seemed that they had been friends for a long time.

As I watched them, Lee Hyun-Seung, who glanced at me, made an embarrassed look.

“Uh, we’re in class C.. What about you, Ji-Hyuk?”

“It’s unfortunate. It’s class A.”

“Oh.”

Then both nodded almost at the same time.

“Well, there are some joint classes between classes. We can see each other then, too.”

“Yeah. It was nice to meet you.”

I roughly saw them off and headed straight for Class A.

I felt a little empty, but it was very little.

‘Is this the classroom? It feels completely different from watching it in the game.’

My first impression of entering the classroom was that it was very spacious, sophisticated, and empty.

Even though I must have departed quite late from the entrance ceremony, the classroom was still almost half empty.

As I pondered where to go and sit down, someone waved widely at me.

“Ji-Hyuk!”

“.. Choi Hyun-Woo?”

He was so handsome that I felt as if he was glowing even from a distance, laughing brightly as he waved.

Seeing that, I grumbled a little, saying that the world is really unfair, and I walked towards him.

It was because I thought it would be easier if we knew each other a little.

“Soo-Young, it’s Ji-Hyuk.”

“..I know even if you don’t make a fuss.”

Unlike Choi Hyun-Woo, who looked lively, Han Soo-Young looked very tired.

In contrast to the pure white skin, dark circles were visible.

Seeing that, I waved my hand a little.

“Hi. It’s been a while. I never thought we would be in the same class.”

“It’s the same for me. It’s really nice to see you, Ji-Hyuk.”

“Yeah. Me too. By the way.. .”

In the brief moment that Choi Hyun-Woo and I were talking, Han Soo-Young’s head fell down.

Why do you look so tired?

As I sat down with that thought in mind, Choi Hyun-Woo glanced at her and whispered to me.

“Since that day, I don’t know what she has gotten into, but she’s been looking for this and that data every night. It’s been like that for a long time, but once a fire ignites like that, no one can stop her.”

“Oh.”

I just nodded my head.

It would be better to get close to Han Soo-Young as soon as possible, but unlike Choi Hyun-Woo, she was very cautious and suspicious of people who approached her.

In other words, I had to get close to her slowly and steadily.

‘As expected, it would have been easier if Choi Hyun-Woo was the main character.’

It was when I made such a meaningless assumption and decided to solve this problem slowly.

“Oh, my!”

No matter who heard it, it was a very intentional and theatrical voice.

Before I even turned my head, with a splashing sound, Choi Hyun-Woo’s clothes got soaked with water, and splashed on me and Han Soo-Young, who were next to him.

“Oh, sorry. Sorry. My hand just slipped.”

Han Soo-Young was startled, perhaps half asleep, and Choi Hyun-Woo had a dumbfounded look on his face.

And even as I stared at him, wondering what was going on, the male student muttered without removing his smile.

“I spilled water on the honorable recommended student. I’m so sorry about this. What do I do?”

Oh, that.

I muttered quietly looking at the male student with indescribable eyes.

“After all, the first day of the school year must be marked by the appearance of a stepping stone character.... .”