novelraw Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Making an Impression (1)
“The demonic beast before you is the ‘Abyss Anglerfish,’ and it belongs to the venomous anglerfish family. It inhabits the sunless seas and has a deadly poison gland embedded in its horn. The poison has been removed, but please be careful just in case.”
The instructor, wearing round glasses, explained to the cadets, gesturing with his hands.
Before our eyes, a grotesque creature with the turbid color of coagulated sewage was squirming.
A sharp horn protruded from a position that could be called its forehead.
Even though I was wearing thick lab gloves, the texture of its skin was vividly transmitted.
An unpleasant sensation, just like touching the innards of a freshly slaughtered pig.
As expected, cries of revulsion erupted from all corners of the classroom.
“Ah damn, how long do we have to touch this thing?”
“Until its tail starts to glow. That’s the only way to extract the luminescent enzyme.”
Seol Hayun’s calm answer followed Do Haru’s annoyance.
The instructor, who was looking around the classroom, spoke with a satisfied expression.
“In the actual field, you also work directly with your hands. The enzyme from the deep-sea anglerfish is also a main ingredient in the suits you will be wearing.”
The classroom was divided into two groups.
The students who were lucky enough to have extracted the luminescent enzyme and were resting, and those who had not.
‘Damn it…….’
I was in the latter group.
I thought I could just breeze through it since it was a classroom lecture, but reality was different.
What liberated me from my suffering was the bell signaling the end of class.
“That’s all for today, everyone! It’s a shame for the students who couldn’t finish, but let’s try again next time.”
To be honest, I hoped the next time would never come.
“Oh, and as you all know, there are no classes this afternoon. The club promotion booths will be operating in the central plaza, so please try to find a club that suits you.”
At the instructor’s words, the cadets’ expressions brightened.
As everyone left the classroom, they all started chattering.
“Finally! I’m gonna go check out the Demonic Beast Research Society booth.”
“Oh, should we go together? Let’s go to the Hunters’ side too!”
“My senior said the event itself is supposed to be a lot of fun!”
Amidst the excited voices, Do Haru said with a frown.
“Ah, I totally lost my appetite from touching that deep-sea anglerfish. Is everyone going to eat lunch before going?”
At Do Haru’s question, I shook my head.
The horrible texture of the deep-sea anglerfish I had just been touching was still vivid for me too.
“I’ve completely lost my appetite. I think it’s better to just go straight there.”
“I agree.”
At my answer, Seol Hayun quietly added her opinion.
“Then let’s skip lunch and go right away. They’ll probably be selling snacks and stuff anyway, right? If we get hungry, we can just eat that!”
Having reached a consensus, we headed straight for the central plaza.
When we arrived at the plaza, a loud noise and an amazing scene greeted us.
Colorfully decorated booths were lined up in a row, with each club promoting itself in its own way.
In the middle of the plaza, the Symphony Orchestra Club was playing their instruments, heightening the atmosphere with beautiful melodies.
There were places holding quiz events for the freshmen, and places putting on simple mock sparring demonstrations.
There were even food trucks set up here and there.
The atmosphere was completely reminiscent of a festival.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
Do Haru let out a gasp of admiration.
Just then, people’s attention was drawn to a loud noise coming from afar.
A large veil was lifted, and something like a giant machine, the size of four trucks put together, was slowly revealing itself.
“What is that?”
Do Haru asked with wide eyes.
“It’s a Demonic Beast Hunting Simulator. Looks like the latest model.”
Seol Hayun explained simply.
More and more people began to gather.
As students, captivated by curiosity, gathered in front of the giant machine, a group of seniors walked out confidently through them.
One of them shouted while holding a megaphone.
“Everyone! We’d like to introduce a special event prepared by our ‘Hunters’ club! Test your hunting skills with this simulator! We’ve also prepared special gifts for the three people who record the highest scores!”
The surroundings buzzed.
“Oh, that’s cool. How about you two give it a try? I’ll cheer you on.”
“I’m good.”
“Really? What about you, Jinwoo?”
“Me……”
Pretending to think for a moment, I continued.
“Maybe I’ll give it a try.”
At my answer, Seol Hayun’s gaze fixed on me.
“Are you thinking of joining Hunters?”
“We’ll see.”
To put it simply, I wasn't particularly aiming for Hunters.
However, the ‘event’ that Hunters had prepared was worth challenging.
“What’s the harm? It’ll be fun to try it once! Ryu Jinwoo, launch! I’ll cheer for you.”
Do Haru pushed me from behind, and the three of us headed to the front of the Hunters’ booth.
“Oh! Isn’t that Seol Hayun? Are you here to participate?”
As we reached the front of the booth, the Hunters senior in charge of event registration asked with a pleased look.
His gaze was fixed on Seol Hayun.
“Not Hayun, he’s doing it!”
At the senior’s question, Do Haru pointed at me.
“Ah, this friend? Hayun’s not doing it?”
The senior asked again, not hiding his disappointment, and Seol Hayun nodded firmly.
‘He must be disappointed.’
The war between the clubs had already begun.
This club recruitment fair itself was an event to guide promising freshmen into their own folds.
Clubs that failed to do so would simply be culled and disappear.
And Seol Hayun was a very promising resource among the freshmen.
“Really? That’s a shame~ Even if you don’t participate in the event, you should consider joining Hunters! The club president will be happy too. Friend, what’s your name?”
“It’s Ryu Jinwoo.”
Flinch-
The senior, who suddenly looked up at my face when I said my name.
“Ryu Jinwoo…… Ryu Jinwoo, Ryu Jinwoo?”
The senior, who had been rolling my name around in his mouth, stood up with surprised eyes and pointed at me with his finger outstretched.
“Jin Cheongha?”
That name had now become attached to me like a modifier.
The situation had become too embarrassing to even try to explain that all I did was cut a few strands of her hair.
The speed and strength with which the rumor spread, gaining more details as it went, was far greater than I had thought.
“Ooh! You’re in a later slot, is that okay? Ah, this is great. It’ll help with the turnout. Should I prepare a comment too? Oh right, let me explain the rules first!”
The senior, who had been indifferent just a moment ago, did a 180-degree turn in his attitude.
Since the event was already in progress, he pointed to the simulator and began to enthusiastically explain the rules.
The simulator was a dome shape, the size of two spacious rooms.
The participant goes inside, is given ‘HP’ corresponding to their stamina, and has to defeat the hologram demonic beasts that appear.
“Everyone gets 100 HP across the board. It’s over when your HP reaches 0! Just think of it as playing a game.”
Stronger demonic beasts appear as you clear stages, and the stronger the demonic beast you defeat, the higher the score you get.
“You won’t get hurt. If you’re attacked by a monster, it’ll only hurt about as much as getting a flick on the forehead. But your HP will go down in proportion to the monster’s damage, so keep that in mind.”
Inside the simulator, a cadet was in the middle of fighting a monster.
The appearance of the monster that had appeared was familiar.
A One-Eyed Orc was swinging a giant club.
‘It’s exactly like what I saw in the subway.’
Although it was a being virtually created in a pocket dimension, the synchronization rate was quite high.
Still, it was better than the real thing.
There would be no dirty body fluids splashing around or smells wafting out.
That thought was brief.
The orc’s club struck the participant’s abdomen, and at the same time, the health bar showed 0.
“That’s how you get eliminated. It’s best to dodge well and aim for the monster’s weak points for sure.”
The senior explained lightly as he watched the scene.
Beyond his explanation, it was so intuitive and easy that no more words were needed.
The participant who had taken a hit from the One-Eyed Orc came out of the simulator, grumbling.
He was lightly rubbing the area where he was hit, and as the senior had explained, it didn't seem to hurt much.
“You understand the rules, right? We’ll call you when your turn is getting close, so take this! You have to come! You know that, right? You have to!”
The senior said cheerfully as he held out a pager.
While grabbing both of my hands.
For some reason, I felt an added layer of pressure.
“Jinwoo, what if you end up getting scouted by a major guild and filming commercials? We’ll still be friends even then, right? Right?”
“Don’t you get tired of teasing me?”
“Nope, I don’t. It’s fun every single moment. It feels new every time I do it……. Whoa whoa, violence is a bad thing. Put your fist down.”
Every time Do Haru opened her mouth, I understood why Seol Hayun sometimes gave her a flick on the forehead.
Because my own fist had clenched without me realizing it.
“Look over there! It’s huge. Is it a monster?”
Do Haru hastily changed the subject.
The surroundings were filled with the energy of the new semester more than ever.
The ‘Demonic Beast Research Society,’ which displayed taxidermies of large demonic beasts, the ‘Magitech Department,’ which showcased magic power simulations with the latest VR devices, and ‘New Weapons,’ which let people experience advanced weaponry, among others, were all loudly promoting themselves.
“This actually makes me even more conflicted. About where I should join.”
“You can just join several. There are a lot of clubs with light activities too.”
“Should I try joining ‘Lovely Pet’ first? I heard their club room is full of cute cats. If I’m lucky, Fluffy might be able to play with them too.”
While Do Haru and Seol Hayun were talking, my gaze turned to one side.
It was a corner of the plaza, an empty booth with no decorations or people.
There was only a sign with the English letters [Zero Times] written on it.
With everything around it being so loud, the empty booth stood out, looking strangely out of place.
Strangely, while looking at that empty space, I had the illusion that someone was looking this way.
“Hmm? What’s that over there? Are they still setting up?”
Do Haru asked, as her eyes also landed on the empty booth.
‘It’s bound to look strange.’
To someone who doesn't know, it would look like it had been abandoned and left neglected.
Or that something was scheduled to be set up, but was canceled.
But this was normal.
The empty booth was, in fact, that club’s identity.
Bzzzt-!
Just then, the pager in my pocket vibrated.
It was a signal from Hunters.
***
Immediately after receiving the call, I headed to the simulator.
When I arrived at the entrance, a senior from the Hunters club greeted me.
“Are you ready? I’ve prepared an introduction and everything, so look forward to it. Come on! Go on in!”
I flinched for a moment at the words ‘introduction,’ but I decided to just go with it.
It’s not like they’re introducing the red corner and the blue corner.
Just as I was thinking they would probably just announce my name and that they were being dramatic.
“Next up! The sensational freshman who defeated Jin Cheongha, the Sword of Cheongryu! I present to you! Ryu Jinwoo!”
My face hardened in real time.
My neck turned toward that senior as if it were creaking.
Who was that introduction for?
It was a shamelessly embarrassing introduction that could turn even a winner into a loser.
As long as his own club gets promoted, that's all that matters, is that it?
Trying my best to ignore the crowd that had gathered at the irresponsible introduction, I entered the simulator.
As the door closed, the machine began to operate with a crackling sound.
Then, plausible electronic sounds and mechanical noises rang out, sporadic sparks flew, and the space expanded in an instant.
A pocket dimension created by magitech, commonly called a map.
From the outside, the simulator was no bigger than a single room, but when the machine was in operation, its interior swelled to a massive size.
Immediately after, the surrounding environment changed in an instant.
Before I knew it, a dark forest had unfolded, and a gloomy cry could be heard from afar.
The sound was also so vivid that it was hard to believe it was coming from an audio device.
A hologram window appeared before my eyes.
[Welcome to the Hunting Simulator. Fight the enemy before you.]
[HP: 100/100]
[Please select a weapon.]
‘Is this a game within a game for me?’
I chuckled at the somewhat familiar system window and chose ‘Sword.’
Then, a sword floated up in the air.
At the same time, a giant shadow appeared from the forest in front of me.
With a gruesome howl, a red glint appeared above the shadow.
[A Lycanthrope has appeared.]
As I grabbed the sword floating in the air and held it, its weight was realistically conveyed.
The werewolf’s red eyes were shining eerily.
Dding-!
[Hidden Mission: The Fourth Estate is watching you!]
-Someone is watching you. Put on a performance that will satisfy them.
‘Fortunately, it seems this part hasn’t changed.’
I was a little worried because Jin Cheongha had shown an unexpected move, but the hidden quest was working properly.
A hidden quest that started with Jin Cheongha, one that only I knew about.
All that was left was to prove myself in this mission.
Power flowed into the legs that were standing facing the enemy.