Our cadets were not very advanced from the information displayed from the last chapter and hope to have better and more interesting ones this time around.
The world's greatest training institute boasting state-of-the-art magic, science, and engineering.
[Cube]
Cube was the name of a huge island located in the East Sea. This artificial island was twice the size of Yeouido.[1]
In this huge area, there were only about 5000 Hero cadets, of which 1300 were first-years. While 2000 non-combatants graduated two weeks ago, elite cadets from all over the world gathered here, making it more competitive than before. In a way, the place was too harsh and dreary to be home for 17 to 19 year olds.
And starting from the second year, magicians who chose to become Heroes would come from the 'National Magic University,' so that was another 200~300 cadets.
Furthermore, there were training instructors, cafeteria ladies, cleaners, recruiters visiting occasionally, government associates, engineers who did maintenance and operations, soldiers dispatched as securities, doctors and researchers for taking care of cadets, convenience store workers who worked under Cube, and more... With all these people, about 50,000 people resided in Cube.
Naturally, this place was a highly important hubbub where the attention of investors gathered. Given that my novel's setting was faithfully followed, Korea was a world power rivaling the United States. I seemed to remember listing several reasons for it, but the more obvious reason was that I was Korean.
"At least he's honest, that means Korea is not as important in our world than his."
"That feels too weird for me"
"Me too" they all agreed to it, when you're used to something, it's too complicated to think otherwise.
In any case, Chundong was a member of Cube so he could be said to be an elite. But I didn't allocate any story for Chundong.
So Chundong's destiny should've been to live in areas detached from the main storyline. While he would not have lived the important and burdening life of the main character, he probably would have lived a comfortable worry-free life.
... And that was the life I wanted too.
"So he's lazy" said Chae Nayun without even thinking. But you couldn't deny he seems like that for instance.
Staring at the door to the classroom, I sighed.
[Novice – Veritas]
Their eyes started to widen as they read the name of the class.
Novice referred to first year cadets, while Veritas was the name of the class. Simply put, I was in year 1 class 1.
"So he really was in the same class as us." Yoo Yeonha thought about all her classmates to find chundong but couldn't remember him. It was strange but the fact that he's just an extra could justificate it.
"I'm surprised that we don't know him.." said Suho disappointed.
"I don't bother to talk or pay attention to extras." said Shin Jonghak disinterrested. He was not wrong as no one wants to make connections to every single classmates they might have.
I knew what this class was.
Shin Jonghak and Kim Suho were in this class, and as cliques formed around them, many schemes, mostly started by Shin Jonghak and his followers, would make the class rowdy. As a member of the class, I would most likely be swept in regardless of my will.
"Huu."
After collecting my breath, I slowly and carefully opened the door.
The interior was sleek; white with no sign of dust and three long desks cascading up.
Where should I sit? I looked around the classroom and found Shin Jonghak sitting on the farthest seat back. With his eyes closed and his hands in his pocket, he seemed imposing. Next to him was his childhood friend, Yoo Yeonha, chattering.
The two of them didn't pay any attention to me.
Thank. God.
"This guy doesn't want attention?" asked Chae Nayun, as a loud person she didn't understand quite people.
"We already suspected it since we don't know him, he might have chose to not bump into us" said Yoo Yeonha but it was also what most of them thought.
I sat down on the edge seat of the middle row.
Like a proper extra, I looked straight ahead in a daze. There was no chalkboard, but a projection screen for holograms to be shown.
Looking at it, I couldn't help but sigh. After going through high school and even mandatory military service, I couldn't believe I had to go back to school. There couldn't be a worse calamity.
"COME ON! You're litterally in another world and your [calamity] is to re-attend school!" shouted Chae Nayun but she knew herself how infuriating can be school and exams.
"... Huuaam."
Cube's semester began on February. The outside was cold and the inside being warm naturally made me sleepy.
Currently, it was 8 A.M. Class began at 8:30.
In truth, I didn't expect to arrive this early. Going from Seoul to Cube was quick using the 'Portal,' but I expected to get lost once I got here. However, there was something called the Cube Bus, a bus that ran every 10 minutes around Cube that didn't exist in my original setting.
Thinking about it now, it was a mistake on my part to have the main character walk around the huge campus all the time. Since the novel became a real world, it seemed it was fixing plot holes on its own.
"It's a good thing that everything is fixed as time pass" said Rachel.
... Anyways, let's sleep a little. I don't want to think anymore.
Closing my eyes, I dropped my head on the desk.
—Now!
A thunderous shout woke me up.
When I opened my eyes, the instructor was behind the podium.
"Today's the first day, so there won't be any special training, but I hope you all did your morning training. Training is never wrong, especially in the morning when mana density is high."
Morning training?
...Oh, right. There was something like that. A training ground that opened up from 5 A.M. to 8 A.M. I had hurriedly stuffed it into the story to give the leading characters an opportunity to meet.
"The main characters are Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak, are there others?" asked Yoo Yeonha but no answers was heard. That meant they would know later but they were getting a little bit impatient.
"Now, let's start with self-introductions. I'm Kim Soohyuk, the instructor in charge of you all for the year."
That name, I could vaguely recall it.
"My ranking point is 3850. World rank 9737. By the Association's classification, I would be
high-intermediate rank grade 5."
The students' eyes lit up. It was understandable. There were around two million Heroes in the world. Rank 9737 meant he was very skilled.
"I think that's enough for my introduction."
Kim Soohyuk seemed to have liked the students' reactions as the corners of his mouth curled up to a grin.
"The first day will feel special. You might not have slept due to excitement and worry, or maybe you're feeling great about being able to improve yourselves. Heh, maybe you're happy to see your crushes again."
The cadets broke out into a small laughter. But the instructor froze his expression sternly.
"But Cube isn't the same as it was before. I promise you, there will be no time for relationships. In Cube, you will experience several real combat situations. Look forward to experiencing how fearful the real world is."
His roguish smile sent a chill down my back.
Combat training, I had to take part in that too.
"No sh_t Sherlock"
"Next, Cube is objective. The only indicator of your success will be your grade. Guilds will only look at your grade. Thus, we will grade you accurately and strictly. If you underperform, you will be held back. Statistically, less than half of Cube's cadets graduate without repeating a semester. Even then, you can only be held back up to two years. Any more than that, you will be expelled. If you can't become a Hero, you will become an agent or a mercenary. I take it that that's not what you want."
After giving the students a scare, the instructor paused and scanned the students' faces.
"I can already see a few faces I'm familiar with."
It was the same for me.
Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Yoo Yeonha, Chae Nayun, Rachel, Yi Yeonghan.
"OH! So we're all main characters in his novel!" exclaimed Chae Nayun proud of being important.
"Where is Kim Hajin?" asked Rachel, she was grateful for being one of the main leads but she didn't see the name of Hajin and he was not with them right now that she thinks about it.
"I just noticed that he wasn't here with us" said Yoo Yeonha at her turn.
"It proves that Hajin is just an extra like this guy" mocked Shin Jonghak.
"Maybe he's not from the main characters but he still has an important role with us." Suho tried to make Shin Jonghak not look down on Hajin with this aaaaaand... it didn't work.
"We'll see later as it is" just said Yoo Yeonha wanting to continue the reaction.
These six were the important characters I could see at a first glance. Shin Jonghak sat with Yoo Yeonha. Since Kim Suho and Chae Nayun saw each other as rivals, they were distanced. Princess Rachel sat alone, and Yi Yeonghan sat behind Kim Suho.
"Isn't it like stalking? This guy knows every little of our movement! I want to confront him face to face."
training weapons. But don't look down on them just because they're training weapon. Their market price is 5 million won."
"I repeat. At Cube, you will need to confirm the things you've learned until now and hone your skills to be used in battle. There will be no kind training here. Remember that."
With that, Kim Soohyuk announced.
"Now get ready. What's scheduled for today won't take long. The first task is 'main weapon selection.'"
*
"Any weapon you can think of should be here."
A main weapon was exactly what it sounded like. High ranking Heroes called their weapons 'treasured weapons,' while weapons above [Unique] grade were given the title 'armament.'
But I didn't know what my main weapon was. I knew nothing about Chundong's past.
°I lost the line here sorry!°
"Maybe we will now know who he is with his weapon." suggested Suho.
"Nah-uh I just think that we'll finally see Hajin getting described and how he attracted so much attention with the choice he made." said Chae Nayun rolling her eyes.
"Ah yeah maybe he will display some informations about him since he's a very reserved person." Yoo Yeonha was right, they only knew a little about Hajin and this was the occasion to know more about him.
There were all sorts of weapons, more so than I could have ever imagined.
Sword, spear, saber, dagger, rapier, halberd, greatsword, zweihander, bow, gun, whip, gauntlet, etc... The 100 students of Veritas class stood in front of the weapon they wanted.
"Choose carefully. Once you pick your main weapon, you won't be able to change it for at least 6 months."
Sword and spear were obviously the most popular choice. Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak stood in front of a sword and a spear respectively. 70 out of 100 chose the sword, spear, or saber, the so-called Holy Trinity of weapons. On the other hand, Yoo Yeonha chose the whip, Chae Nayun chose the bow, and Rachel chose the rapier.
However, I simply stood in a daze.
"Kim Chundong, why are you standing still?" Kim Soohyuk asked.
I stared blankly at the one weapon no one gave a glance.
"Wait-!" they didn't have the time to react or comment as the sentences kept appearing on the screen.
The weapon of choice in the modern world, one that didn't require an instruction manual and one that anyone could use with a click. But in this world, this weapon was the weakest lump of metal, a weapon avoided by every Hero. Most likely, it was only here for the sake of having all kinds of weapons be here.
The cadets in the room became more and more confused and perplexe. They lost their words and didn't know how to react.
But this was the only choice I had.
I couldn't use any close ranged weapons. Even if Chundong was talented in one, I didn't want to participate in close ranged combat where blood splattered everywhere.
"Kim Chundong."
The instructor's voice fell low, and other students' gazes fell on me. Shin Jonghak and Kim Suho were among them.
I didn't like being at the center of attention.
I quickly walked up and grabbed the weapon.
I could feel the weight of the metal in my hand as the smell of rust tickled my nose.
More eyes fell on me.
The weapon in my hand was a handgun.
That was the moment when everyone realised the person they were reacting to was none other than "Kim Hajin".Our cadets were still in shock with this discovery. Never in their life they would have imagined that Kim Hajin was an author who wrote a novel, their [world]. Thinking about it, it makes sense for Yoo Yeonha who didn't know the source of informations of Kim Hajin and it explains some other things too to the others.
"I... don't know how I'm supposed to react." said Rachel still thinking.
"So he has been playing with us from the start?"
"You can't consider this as playing since he didn't ask to be here and he can't ignore what he created." responded Yoo Yeonha.
"That means that he's the reason why my brother is...." tried to formulate Chae Nayun but couldn't because of her anger, 𝗵𝗲 was the reason why her brother was in a coma and couldn't wake up. She tried to control her anger and gritted her teeth. Seeing the state where Nayun was, Kim Suho tried to confort her:
"I'm sure it wasn't him, the first time he mentioned your... brother.." he hesitated" he seemed unaware of his condition."
"You might be right as much as you couldn't Suho and you know that" After Suho's attempt of making her calm down, she suppressed her anger wanting to know more about their friend. They still were relucant to the fact of him beeing the creator of their world but they sat still and waited for the text to appear on screen.
Guns were still excellent weapons in this world. But that was only for ordinary soldiers who couldn't wield mana.
Rather than traditional bullets, this world's guns used 'magic bullets', bullets containing compressed mana with the power to kill low-intermediate rank grade 8 monsters. In comparison, the training saber said to cost 5 million won could only kill low-rank monsters on average. So, the gun was a stronger weapon on its own.
But Heroes and mercenaries who could wield magic power didn't choose guns. That was because 'magic power' couldn't be applied to guns, so no matter how strong the user of a gun was, the weapon had a clear limit in potency.
In choosing a main weapon, the most important aspect was its origin. In short, a weapon's grade went up the grander its origin was.
For instance, guns were separated into three grades - mass-produced, custom-made, or masterpiece. Swords, on the other hand, had much more – artifact, armament, treasured, mythical, legendary, etc.
This was because myths and legends were manifested in this world.
"Maybe we'll finally learn another interesting fact." said Suho.
The sword was a weapon of long and deep history. Naturally, many swords had descended from myths and legends.
"Oh No! We'll have a history class!" wined Chae Nayun.
"I don't think. He might give us some plus informations" said Yoo Yeonha preparing her notebook.
Sword of Freyr, demon blade Muramasa, magic sword Tyrfing, holy sword Durendal, king's sword Excalibur, etc... In this world, many swords of legends remained undiscovered in 'Dungeons' or 'Towers'. Each of them was a priceless treasure. Of course, these treasures could only be used by those who were proficient with swords.
"Wow. If we knew their locations it would be awesome." said Suho with amazement in his eyes.
"You know, since now we have the knowledge that it's Hajin, we could ask him about these and their locations." Cha Nayun had a point but seriously? If Hajin needed them, he'ld already have them. It was obvious that he didn't have the intention of finding one of these artifacts.
Consequently, Heroes chose more ancient weapons. Even if they reached a bottleneck in their growth, a high grade weapon could help them break through.
"... Kim Chundong."
Kim Soohyuk called my name once more before activating his smartwatch. For some reason, I could also see the information hidden by the information protection system.
It was information about me, cadet Kim Chundong.
"Didn't you use a sword?"
As expected of an extra, Kim Chundong was an ordinary swordsman.
"I decided to change my weapon."
"After coming all the way to Cube?"
"Yes."
Kim Soohyuk didn't look happy with my choice but he nodded with a slight frown.
"That's fine. Cadets can make their own choices at Cube. Instructors won't interfere at all. But that also means the responsibility falls on cadets."
Kim Soohyuk moved on, but the whispering among students didn't stop. Whispers that should have been too quiet for me to hear, for some reason, I could hear them clearly. It seemed this was Chundong's Gift. How useless.
"He's right, it looks super useless" added Shin Jonghak.
"Then how doesn't he have it right now? I'm pretty sure he said he had good eyes and not good ears." remarked Yoo Yeonha. It was a good question.
"Gun? Is that guy insane?"
"Why did he even come to Cube if he wants to be a mercenary?"
Before entering Cube, cadets got to try all sorts of weapons. It was to find the weapon that suited their Gift. But a Gift wasn't needed to use guns. You just had to put your finger on the trigger and pull.
"You can easily change the main weapon you chose today. And regardless of what you chose, you will go through the same training and tests. That means the weaknesses of a weapon will be yours to handle."
Kim Soohyuk announced while looking my way.
"Ah he noticed that side eye." said Nayun while smirking. It was amusing to see Hajin like that.
I get it, damn it. I just didn't have any other choice!
"He cursed! He said it!" Nayun exclaimed. It's true that it was a rare sight to see Hajin pissed or with no power against the situation. It truly amused all of them.
The cadets here had been attending military academies since they were 7 or 8. In other words, they had been practicing cutting, slicing, breaking, and shooting for 10 years.
But I was different.
I didn't inherit Chundong's memories, and I was far from a swordsman in the real world. Heck, I wasn't even into sports. I wasn't much of a thrill-seeker either.
"What a boring life he had~"
In the end, I could only choose a long ranged weapon, so a bow or a gun. Thanks to Korea's military service, I was at least familiar with guns.
"Now, we'll assign you your rooms and your personal belongings will be sent there. Afterward, you're free. Classes will start four days later, that's next Monday."
Kim Soohyuk spoke as he looked at me with pity.
"Poor Hajin, I don't know if he felt bad at this moment"
And thus, the main weapon selection ended.
*
"Yo, gunner, are you for real?"
"I just don't understand. Are you one of those attention seekers? This is the first time I've heard of someone choosing a gun at Cube."
On the way to the dorm, a group of guys struck up a conversation. I simply ignored their sarcastic remarks.
Seeing me unperturbed by their provocations, the group left after snickering to themselves. As expected of teenage boys, they were more interested in female students.
"What's his age for him to be talking about us like that?" asked Nayun, she was right. From what they've seen, when he talked about them he treated them like kids and referred to them as teenagers. Just how old is he to give them morals?
"I don't know but we should ask the voice." Even though Yoo Yeonha didn't show it, she also wanted to know this little about Kim Hajin even if it's not as important as the location of the weapons. She was too proud to admit that she was curious about him.
°Hey! Why am I referred as the voice? You know what? Call me Emil and I'll be answering some of your questions.°
"Deal so what's the answer?" asked Nayun another time.
°You'll know at the end of the chapter, let's continue!°
Even I turned my sights their way.
Chae Nayun, Rachel, and Yoo Yeonha. These three girls' beauty had far surpassed my settings.
"Wow I'm sure he'ld never admit that he thought like that about us" scoffed Nayun.
°Except for Rachel of course°
"Hey what-"
While I observed them with a side-glance, we arrived at the dorm.
"Here are the dorms for the first years."
Six extravagant skyscrapers stood in front of me.
According to Kim Soohyuk, each building had 100 floors, each consisting of 5 rooms.
The rooms were distributed according to grades, but even if one's grades were dead bottom, they still their own room. Agent Military Academy's top three male and top three female cadets got the penthouses. Kim Suho was the only one who gave up on it, saying it was too big for him to use.
"Guys are to the right, girls are to the left. The key to your rooms will be stored in the smartwatches you'll get now."
While Kim Soohyuk explained, other first year classes arrived. If I remembered correctly, the first year classes were Veritas, Acceptance, Intelligence, Wisdom, Cultivation, Honor, Virtue, Friendship, Potential, and World – a total of 10 classes.
Should I try looking for other major characters? Some of them should be antagonists...
"Oh so he actually considered the idea of meeting us, good to know." said Yoo Yeonha. For them, he just admitted that he wanted to meet them and maybe form a kind of friendship or ally with them.
"Chundong, Kim Chundong!"
"Huh, me? Why?"
"... Why?"
Kim Soohyuk was calling me. I was just distracted for a moment, but Kim Soohyuk's eyes narrowed like a hawk. His fierce gaze made me froze. Seemingly disappointed by my reaction, Kim Soohyuk closed his eyes and sighed.
"... Your smartwatch, come to take it."
"Ah, yes."
"That must have been embarrassing for him but how did he turn out to be Kim Hajin suddenly because for now, he seems to be stuck with Chundong for name." asked Nayun. Again a question who'll be left with no answer until they found out themselves.
I almost fell over from my legs shaking. I could hear other students laughing behind me.
"HA He was shaking! I can't believe that it was his first reaction!" said Shin Jonghak not bothering to hide his laughter.
You dare laugh at your creator?
"No one even knows that it's you" stated Yeonha.
I got angry momentarily, but I generously chose to forgive them.
Since I didn't have a way to get back at them, I didn't have any other choice.
*
The room assigned to me was bigger than Chundong's apartment and came with a couch, bed, rice cooker, TV, computer, and even magic tools.
"... I still can't get used to it."
Slouching down on the comfy couch, I pondered.
The weight of the handgun in my hand didn't feel real.
Thinking about it now, it might have been better to leave Cube if I was going to choose a gun. Having been a cadet at the Agent Military Academy should have been enough to let me live without starving.
But my problem didn't end there.
Why I was sent to this world and how I could go back. To find out, I had the feeling I needed to stay close to the main storyline.
... Though, I doubt I could get too close with just a gun.
"If he knew" Everyone nodded to what Rachel said. It was true that it was hard to believe at first but he got closer to them even with a gun.
Should I try shooting it to see its power?
"Mmm..."
I thought of something good.
Jumping up from the couch, I aimed at the wall and closed my left eye. Just when I was about to pull the trigger...
—ding dong
"What a timing" said Nayun sarcastically and rolling her eyes. What was this dude's luck seriously?
The bell rang.
An electronic voice rang out beyond the door.
—Rank 934, Kim. Chun. Dong. Take. Your. Luggage.
It was a robot. Throwing the gun on the couch, I opened the door and saw a fairly big box on the ground.
It seemed Chundong sent his belonging beforehand. I picked up the box and brought it in.
[Agent Military Academy Rank 1543, Hero Military Academy Rank 934 Kim Chundong. Personal belonging.]
Rank 934, wasn't that too average?
"Imagine if he had to be in the form of an extra but under average. For once his luck is not that bad."
With a smirk, I pulled off the tape.
"... Huh?"
There was only a single item in the big box.
But I knew what it was.
"I thought that he was in the body of an extra he didn't remember writing about, how does he recognize what's inside the box?" said Suho beginning to loose track of the story.
This wasn't Chundong's, but mine.
This was from my previous life... Though, it felt a bit weird to call it a 'previous' life.
Anyways, this was the laptop I had used on Earth to write my novel.
"So now he can re-read his novel and know about future events? What a cheatcode" What Chae Nayun said was true even if they didn't want to admit it. This means that he knows what's going to happen to them and future events. That's just cheating!
"Now can you show us what we asked for in the beginning the vo- I mean Emil?" reminded Yeonha
°Sorry! I nearly forgot! I'll add some informations to it for fun°
An odd board started to appear on the screen as they waited for the informations to show up. First was his name that everyone knew, next was his age. When they saw it, Nayun couldn't help herself but to call him old, then they saw that the information continues as they wondered what they might discover about their comrade.
What they saw next was his favorite character except for the fact that they weren't supposed to be surprised, seriously? He was the main character! How can't you love him? The next thing to appear was.... his daughter? One question popped in their mind at this time: In his past life or this one?
Informations about Kim Hajin: