novelraw Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11. Cooperative Training (2)
Ju Ha-yeon.
The eldest daughter of the Hoyeon Group, a corporation that handled the sale of potions, consumables, and other goods for Players.
Perhaps because of her background, in the original work, she divided her human relationships based on whether people were useful to her or not.
But that was not Ju Ha-yeon's true personality.
Among the main supporting characters, Ju Ha-yeon had a personality that could be described as the closest to a normal person.
She was someone who secretly cried when things were tough and dreamed of a life where she could laugh and chat with friends like everyone else. Yet, seeing the growth of those around her, she steadfastly endured because she believed she could not afford to fall behind.
That was the Ju Ha-yeon I knew.
Of course, even those close to Ju Ha-yeon did not know this side of her personality.
She always hid her emotions for the sake of her family's legacy, showing only the cold demeanor of a businesswoman.
Because of that, the epithet Ju Ha-yeon later earned was also completely different from her actual personality.
Ice Bow Ju Ha-yeon.
An epithet born from the meaning that she was an archer with a personality as cold as ice.
Knowing Ju Ha-yeon's true personality, it was an epithet I found quite difficult to accept.
…So, what was the reason I was rattling off all these stories?
“Yu-seong and Ha-yeon are in our group too! And was it Jin-eon? Nice to meet you too!”
“Be quiet, Kim Su-hyeok. We can all hear you, so speak a little more quietly.”
“Huh? Oh, sure, Ha-yeon. I am sorry…”
It was because the cold personality she displayed on the outside made her a very difficult person to get close to.
As an example, even Kim Su-hyeok, who was a social butterfly, was struggling with her like that.
It was to the point where I wondered, ‘Could this scene also be one of the crises the protagonist faces for his growth?’
Still, our protagonist did not give up and steadfastly continued speaking.
“Haha, since some of us don't know each other, should we start with self-introductions? My name is Kim Su-hyeok, and I use a sword as my weapon.”
After Kim Su-hyeok's introduction finished, Ju Ha-yeon's introduction followed.
“My name is Ju Ha-yeon. I use a bow as my weapon, so please keep that in mind.”
A truly neat, simple, and clear introduction.
It might feel a bit strange for her to use formal speech with a Cadet of the same age, but that was Ju Ha-yeon's unique way of speaking.
Unless they were someone she was somewhat close to, in Ju Ha-yeon's eyes, the Cadets were nothing more than business prospects.
Anyway, after her short introduction ended, the self-introductions of the other Cadets continued.
“My name is Oh Jin-eon, and I use a spear. I look forward to working with you.”
An ordinary introduction with no particular distinguishing features.
However, I did not take my eyes off Oh Jin-eon and kept staring at him.
That was because this guy was someone I remembered.
“Front Door Villain.”
“A-Ahem!”
An immediate reaction came to my words.
Then, Kim Su-hyeok chimed in, as if curious about what was going on.
“Front Door Villain? What does that mean?”
Should I tell him or not?
While I was pondering that, the Front Door Villain opened his mouth before me.
“I-I was sorry about that. I think I was very sensitive because it was the beginning of the semester. It was my fault.”
The Front Door Vil… No, Oh Jin-eon, apologizing quickly.
Still, it seemed he knew he had done wrong.
For a moment, I briefly debated, ‘Should I tease him a little more?’ but I decided against it.
After all, he had not directly harmed me; he had just said a few words.
If I said more here for no reason, it would only add to the rumors that I held grudges.
Therefore, I accepted Oh Jin-eon's apology.
“It's okay. That can happen.”
“Thank you! I did that because I didn't know much about you at the time. Now that I know you are not someone who copies others or is lazy, I swear nothing like that will ever happen again.”
…I did not know it, but was he a bit of a macho guy?
Come to think of it, I felt like I had bumped into him occasionally when going to the training room.
Besides, as I kept listening, I got the feeling his way of speaking was somewhat macho as well.
‘He is a better guy than I thought.’
After exchanging some words, I did not get a bad impression of him.
Then again, Class A was almost entirely made up of kids who were more interested in improving their own skills than in others.
As proof of that, there was no one mocking me these days.
There were even fewer kids who bullied me or anything like that.
The Cadets knew it, too.
That looking down on others did not improve their own skills.
‘The problem is that this is limited only to Class A.’
It was not a story worth bringing up right now.
Because there was no immediate way to solve the problem.
Therefore, I continued with the final remaining introduction.
“Choi Yu-seong. My weapon is a sword.”
A short self-introduction that contained the key points.
With that as the end, a quiet silence lingered for a moment, but Kim Su-hyeok immediately and naturally led the conversation forward.
“Since everyone knows our names and weapons, I think it'd be good to decide on our positions now. What do you think?”
Everyone nodded at Kim Su-hyeok's words.
It was because today's cooperative training was not going to end with just hunting a single Monster.
The purpose of today's training was to manifest the inside of a Gate and then clear it.
A training exercise that strictly emphasized ‘cooperation’ in cooperative training.
Therefore, our Group 7 immediately went into dividing up the positions.
The one who brought it up first was, as expected, Kim Su-hyeok.
“First of all, since Ha-yeon is our only ranged fighter, we will assign her to the Archer position. No problem, right?”
“…Sure.”
Ju Ha-yeon nodded her head with a face that showed she understood Kim Su-hyeok's words.
In truth, it was a part that did not even need to be spoken.
Because Ju Ha-yeon taking on the Archer position was not a choice, but a necessity.
He probably brought it up directly out of consideration for Ju Ha-yeon's feelings.
‘Now all that is left are two swordsmen and one spearman.’
Honestly, in this case, the positions were already somewhat decided.
Therefore, this time, I opened my mouth first instead of Kim Su-hyeok.
“Kim Su-hyeok, I think you'd be good as the Vanguard.”
Vanguard. In other words, the vanguard.
Literally the position given to the person who took on the role of the party's forefront.
Usually, the person who was most accustomed to Gates or had the most outstanding combat prowess took on this position.
The role of the vanguard was extremely important in a Gate, where the collapse of even a single person could lead to the annihilation of the entire party.
But here, none of us had the first condition, which was Gate experience.
In that case, we had to look at the aspect of combat prowess, and the person with the most outstanding combat prowess among us was unequivocally Kim Su-hyeok.
Therefore, I suggested Vanguard to Kim Su-hyeok, and whether he was aware of that fact too, Kim Su-hyeok immediately agreed with my words.
“Yeah. That sounds good. Then what about you, Jin-eon, and Yu-seong?”
“Oh Jin-eon as the Center, and me as the Joker. I think that would be best.”
The Center literally referred to the person positioned in the middle part of the party.
A position that supported the vanguard or protected the rear, depending on the situation.
I recommended Oh Jin-eon for the Center position based on the fact that he used a spear.
Because the Center would be the most suitable position to make the best use of a spear's advantages.
However, unlike earlier, Kim Su-hyeok did not agree this time.
Instead, he spoke to me with a slightly worried expression.
“I do think it'd be good for Jin-eon to take the Center. But I'm worried about you, Yu-seong.”
“I think so, too. I heard the Joker position is extremely difficult.”
Kim Su-hyeok worrying about me, and Oh Jin-eon agreeing with him.
It was not that I did not understand their reactions.
In reality, the Joker position was one of the positions shunned even among Players.
‘It is a position that people generally avoid assigning, after all.’
The role of the Joker was actually simple.
Simply judging and acting on one's own according to the situation.
But just because it was simple did not mean it was easy.
A position that sometimes had to be further ahead than the Vanguard, sometimes further back than the Archer, and other times had to take over the role of the Center.
It was a role where doing well did not make you stand out, but messing up made you an undeniable troll—that was the Joker.
“It's fine. Because that suits me the best.”
However, despite their concerns, I steadfastly stated that I would take on the role of the Joker.
It was absolutely not for some foolish reason like thinking a Joker who secretly sacrificed for the party behind the scenes looked the coolest.
It was because, for me as I was right now, the Joker's role would be the most suitable.
Thinking so, I quietly turned on the Status Window.
{Player Choi Yu-seong}
Physical Abilities
[Vitality: D]
[Strength: E+]
[Agility: D+][Mana Affinity: E-]
[Remaining Points: 0]
A sad Status Window that I still could not call good.
In my current state, even if I took on a fixed position, I would be nothing but a burden.
If that was the case, taking on the Joker, where judgment was more important than strength, was a good thing for the party and for me.
Of course, if I used Ability Reproduction, there would be no problem taking on the vanguard right away.
‘But if I do that, I will stand out too much, and the losses will be severe.’
A guy who had been fighting fiercely against an E-Rank Monster just last week suddenly massacring Monsters in cooperative training?
That was out of the question.
Steadily building up my strength was one thing, but doing that all of a sudden would draw suspicion.
And it was not like the points consumed to use a Hero's power fell from the sky.
Therefore, saving the power of my talent for moments of crisis was the right judgment.
That way, I could at least make a pathetic excuse like, ‘A surge of strength suddenly welled up because of my will to live,’ right?
“So, are you okay with it?”
Anyway, the important thing right now was that the position suited for me was the Joker.
I asked the party members again.
Because just wanting to do it did not mean I could.
If the other kids did not agree, I could not do it.
Fortunately, Kim Su-hyeok pondered for a moment before soon accepting my opinion.
“…Okay. If you are stepping up to say you'll do it yourself, you must be the most confident in it. I understand.”
Next was Oh Jin-eon.
“I'm fine with it, too. As long as you do whatever it is well, it doesn't matter.”
He was a cooler guy than I thought.
Now, finally…
“Ju Ha-yeon, what about you?”
I asked for Ju Ha-yeon's opinion.
If I did not ask her for no reason, it was obvious she would sulk, even if she did not show it.
Ju Ha-yeon, who stared at me for a moment at my words, also stated her opinion.
“I am fine with it, too.”
…She said that, but her expression did not look very good.
It seemed that in Ju Ha-yeon's eyes, it looked like I was trying to get a free ride.
To be fair, it was stranger to believe someone ranked 899th when they said they would take on the role of the Joker.
Kim Su-hyeok and Oh Jin-eon only believed me because they were somewhat different from normal people.
“Okay. Then my position will be the Joker.”
I just had to prove it anyway.
I did not make excuses by adding unnecessary comments to Ju Ha-yeon's dissatisfaction.
The moment Group 7's positions were all decided like that, the excited voices of the Cadets could be heard from afar.
“Wow! Ryu Jin-oh is amazing. Isn't that practically a massacre at this point?”
“I know, right? It wouldn't be strange if he got a Player license right away.”
The subject of those excited voices was Ryu Jin-oh.
Judging by the Cadets' reactions, it seemed he had not just carried, but hard-carried.
Because Ryu Jin-oh was actually making a triumphant expression, too.
“Hmph! When this great me steps up, this much is basic.”
As expected, he acted like a guy who lived on his own arrogance.
Even so, it was not an unpleasant sight.
Because it was only natural to be proud of the results of one's own efforts.
“Anyway, it was a bit boring. It doesn't match my level.”
…Still, wasn't that going a bit too far?
Well, that sort of behavior was part of Ryu Jin-oh's charm, though.
“It's our turn now.”
I quickly looked away from Ryu Jin-oh and spoke to my group members.
Since Ryu Jin-oh was in Group 6, we were next.
At my words, Kim Su-hyeok nodded his head as if he understood.
“You're right, we should get going.”
Group 7 immediately ran toward Instructor Im Seong-cheol.
On the way, Ryu Jin-oh and Kim Su-hyeok locked eyes, but nothing special happened.
And so, we arrived in front of Instructor Im Seong-cheol.
Instructor Im Seong-cheol initiated the beginning of the conversation.
“Right. Have you decided on your positions?”
“Yes, we have.”
Kim Su-hyeok's confident answer.
As expected, it was a confidence befitting the protagonist.
At that confident voice, Im Seong-cheol nodded and continued speaking.
“Then go ahead and explain your positions.”
“I am the Vanguard, Oh Jin-eon is the Center, Ju Ha-yeon is the Archer, and Choi Yu-seong is the Joker.”
“Oho, the Joker, you say?”
A strange light began to gleam in Im Seong-cheol's eyes upon hearing my position.
It was understandable.
There was probably not a single Cadet who had chosen the Joker position in this test.
However, originally, when forming a four-person party that included an archer but no supporter, the Joker position was almost essential.
That was likely why Im Seong-cheol's eyes were shining like that.
“Right. That is a good distribution of positions. But a Player's every ability is proven by the results. You know that, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good! Keep in mind that individual Cadet evaluations are included along with the group evaluation as you enter the training. You may head in now.”
Im Seong-cheol briefly finished his explanation and permitted us to enter the training ground.
In response, the four of us had one last short conversation before entering.
“Everyone, let's do our best and work hard!”
“Yeah, if we work hard, a satisfying result will follow!”
The shouts from Kim Su-hyeok and Im Seong-cheol.
“…Let's just hurry and go in.”
Ju Ha-yeon's complaint.
“Let's do our best.”
With my final words bringing it to a close.
We slowly walked into the training ground.