Jin Sahyuk’s class could only be described as extreme. It was pretty obvious that the class was [Improving Mana Control], but Jin Sahyuk was sending the cadets flying left and right with her mana.
She would probably justify her actions by saying, ‘I’m doing this to improve your resistance’, but there was no way any of the cadets could withstand her attacks. Of course, that was excluding Kim Suho and Chae Nayun.
In the end, Jin Sahyuk concluded the class after razing the entire field we stood on.
“… She’s a crazy bitch,” Chae Nayun grumbled in disbelief after returning to the Pharmacy Club room.
Kim Suho, Yi Yeonghan, and Shin Jonghak were absent due to classes. Even our supervisor, Seo Youngji, was absent for the entire week due to some circumstances.
The Pharmacy Club would have a substitute supervisor come in next week. As of now, they were left to fend for themselves without supervision.
President Chae got up from the sofa and walked to the board, “Then… shall we think about what the club will do from now on?”
She tried to decide on the club’s future activities, but there was no way that was possible because of Evandel.
Kim Hajin, Yoo Yeonha, and Rachel were all captivated by Evandel. Truth be told, even Chae Nayun couldn’t help but keep stealing glances at her while trying to speak in front. It seemed like she was suppressing her desire to run up to the little girl and start rubbing her hair.
In the end, she couldn’t win against her desires and ran up to pinch Evandel’s cheeks.
Kim Hajin stepped in and stopped her, “Don’t bully her.”
Evandel ran to Kim Hajin’s embrace and started smiling.
“Hey… what did I do…? Anyways…” Chae Nayun grumbled before pointing at the empty board.
However, none of them had any idea what their next objective would be. They gathered a lot of precious medicinal plants and even a variety of ingredients from the whale’s body, but had no idea how to mix it all together.
They even wondered if a skilled alchemist would be able to create an elixir out of the materials they gathered if they handed everything over…
“You just need to sit still and do nothing,” Kim Hajin suddenly said.
Chae Nayun tilted her head in confusion.
“I’ll take care of everything else,” Kim Hajin added with a smile.
Chae Nayun blushed in response as his overflowing confidence and smile made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside… She stood motionless for quite a while with her cheeks flushed red.
“Did you find a cure or something?” Yoo Yeonha asked.
Kim Hajin hesitated for a second and shook his head, “I’m not certain yet, but I have a feeling I’m on to something.”
He already obtained a hint that could help in finding a cure for Chae Jinyoon’s condition. What he needed now was time and cooperation. He had plenty of time, but the cooperation part was what irked him. After all, he needed Jin Sahyuk’s help to achieve his goal.
“Alright, I’m sure you have a plan,” Yoo Yeonha said.
However, her expression didn’t look good. She seemed anxious for some reason despite trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Still, it didn’t take long for her to smile as Evandel wobbled over to her.
The little girl quickly became the club’s adorable mascot.
“Hey, Nayun. We’re going to start our real-life combat classes soon. What are you going to do about that?” Yoo Yeonha asked.
“Oh, I completely forgot about that!” Chae Nayun exclaimed in response.
On the other hand, Kim Hajin seemed to be at a loss and asked, “Real-life combat classes? How in the world do you guys know about that?”
“Ah, we were informed in advance. We’re going to travel on a train and there will be cadets from other countries too.”
“A train?”
“Yeah, you heard of those transcontinental trains, right? You know, the ones used by heroes and mercenaries?”
“Ah…”
The transcontinental trains linked Korea to the monster fields in Russia. Those fields were known to be subjected to harsh climates that made it impossible to operate portals there. These trains were the only method of transportation to reach them.
“Hmm… I think it should be alright. I purchased a piece of equipment recently. I’ll give it to you, so you better keep it on you at all times,” Chae Nayun said.
“That… ermm…” Yoo Yeonha looked like she wanted to say something, but bit her lips and didn’t say anything.
She had a piece of information that she had to share with Chae Nayun, but felt too afraid. The incident that Yoo Jinhyuk told her about, the tragedy that unfolded in Kim Hajin’s past…
She could deduce that it was related to the assassination attempts, but couldn’t bring herself to say it…
***
A week passed since classes resumed and life at Cube remained difficult for me.
[Chae Nayun is still maintaining her silence…]
[How are the two cadets doing after returning to Cube?]
[Who is Chae Nayun’s lover, Kim Hajin?]
The media didn’t get tired of me at all and kept bringing up my name.
[You have obtained 17 SP.]
[You have obtained 23 SP.]
[You have obtained 6 SP.]
[You have obtained 7 SP.]
[You have obtained 9 SP.]
[You have obtained 12 SP.]
[You have obtained 3 SP.]
I gained a lot of SP thanks to them, but that didn’t change the fact that I found this situation burdensome.
I couldn’t help but think that I was being targeted solely because I stood out too much.
“Oh, Kim Hajin is up.”
Also, my accommodation was moved to the clubroom.
The clubroom underwent numerous renovations after Chae Nayun’s generous donation. It was redesigned to have three rooms. On top of that, a powerful barrier and various safety mechanisms were installed to accommodate me and Evandel.
However, Chae Nayun didn’t seem satisfied as she further renovated the clubroom and added another room for herself.
“Good morning.”
“… Ah, good morning.”
Also, Chae Nayun’s roommate was Rachel. Both of them were quite tidy, so they complemented each other. They had been roommates for a week now and no problems had occurred yet.
“Ah, but what are we supposed to do now? He’ll definitely be targeted this time…”
Today was the day of our real-life combat class. The day we would board the train. It would be a stretch to say that we were going on a trip, but it still felt like one.
On the other hand, I prepared myself for any ambushes by adding another gift. I added the words, one-time use, since I wanted to maximize its power as much as possible.
It didn’t matter how good or strong the assassin was. I was confident that this gift would save me at least once.
“It’s going to be alright, so get ready. We might run late,” I confidently said.
***
We arrived in Russia for the [Real-Life Combat Class – Transcontinental Train].
Jin Sahyuk and the other instructors were already on the train. She was unexpectedly popular among her peers. It was probably all thanks to her beauty.
“Ah, this is my first time on a train. It’s making me nervous,” Chae Nayun said as she wrapped her arm around mine.
“Yeah, me too,” I replied.
I flinched in surprise when I realized that I didn’t resist her arm wrapping around mine.
“Tsk…” Chae Nayun clicked her tongue.
“Oh, looking good, you two. Should I snap a photo for you guys?” Yi Yeonghan said with a sleazy smile.
We completely ignored him.
“Listen up! Form two rows and line up!” Kim Soohyuk shouted.
Chae Nayun grabbed my arm tight after she heard there would be two rows. It just so happened that everyone else lined up right behind us.
“Good, we will now start boarding…”
***
I wasn’t sure if it was because of spatial magic, but the train cabin was quite spacious. There were two rooms in each cabin and four of us could fit without a problem.
“Then, I’ll sleep with Hajin. Chae Nayun, you can go and stay with Yoo Yeonha,” Kim Suho said.
I was paired with Kim Suho while Chae Nayun and Yoo Yeonha were paired together.
We unpacked first before leaving the cabin to take a look around.
“Wow… this is amazing.”
The corridor was wider than we expected. There were seats where two people could sit side by side without feeling cramped.
Kim Suho and I sat at a random spot.
“… Hello?”
Someone suddenly approached us. I flinched in surprise because I kept hearing the word assassin these days and became quite jumpy.
“My name is Cyril. I’m from the General Academy,” the girl introduced herself.
She was definitely a blonde, but she dyed her hair blue. She also wore earrings and necklace artifacts made out of animal bones. On top of that, her t-shirt depicted the image of a sinister skull.
I guess you could say she looked quite hiphop-ish.
“Huh…? Ah, hello. Nice to meet you,” I awkwardly replied.
It seemed that they were from the American academy that boarded the train too.
She smiled brightly from the seat across from us.
Kim Suho and I ended up exchanging glances and felt that we had to say something to entertain her.
“Hmm… Do you know where this train will stop? Are there multiple stops?”
“There are ten stops as far as I know. All of them are monster fields.”
I was already used to seeing Westerners fluently speak Korean.
I awkwardly scratched my cheek and asked again, “Ah… Then, is this train safe? I heard that we’re passing some dangerous places.”
“No, it’s not safe. It gets attacked quite frequently, and it’s our job to fight against those monsters. That’s also the reason why they call it a real-life combat class.”
“Oh… What year are you?”
“I’m in my third year at the academy,” Cyril replied with a smile.
The train finally started to depart.
Tssh… Tssh… Tssh… Tssh…
I could hear the sound of mana chafing against the rails.
“Hey, Cyril. What are you doing over there? Did you seduce them already?”
Another Western girl with red hair suddenly appeared. The ginger brightly smiled and approached us.
“Hello, my name is Loelle.”
“… Loelle?”
The name sounded familiar to me for some odd reason.
Loelle… Loelle… I tried to remember where I heard that name before and decided to open my story settings to look her up.
[Loelle]
— An American affiliated with the General
— Red Hair, Red Eyes
— Gift
— Potential 8-9
— Currently has not blossomed
— Currently cursed
She was a character in the story settings that didn’t appear in the original story, but I recall creating her as an American hero.
Who would have known that I would bump into her at a place like this?
“W-Who the hell are you people?!”
Someone kicked up a fuss from a distance behind us. I could confidently say that it was Chae Nayun. She appeared with Yoo Yeonha and stomped her way towards us.
“Ah! Ms. Chae Nayun! It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Cyril. I’m a big fan!” Cyril exclaimed.
“… A fan?”
“Yes! You’re the idol of every female cadet!”
“Idol…?”
Chae Nayun bit her lips and started to sheepishly smile. She basically lost after a single exchange.
“Ehem… Yes, what business do you have here?” she faked a cough and asked.
“We wanted to get acquainted since we saw a few famous faces,” Cyril replied while looking at me and Kim Suho. Then she looked at Chae Nayun. “But… is it true? You know… that both of you are dating…” she carefully asked.
Chae Nayun glanced at me before clearing her throat. She approached Cyril and whispered, “Yes, we’re passionately in love. That guy can’t get enough of me, so…”
‘I can hear you, you know?’
***
It was late at night, but the train tirelessly continued.
Yoo Yeonha sat alone in the empty corridor while looking out the window. A dilemma kept her awake, so she watched the scenery pass by. The passing light and stars made the window look like a canvas with art by Vincent van Gogh.
She admired the scenery until someone suddenly appeared behind her.
“What’s up?” Chae Nayun asked.
Kim Hajin was also with her.
Yoo Yeonha had something she definitely wanted to tell them.
“I think we can get on top of the train. What do you think?” she asked.
It was quite uncharacteristic of her to propose such a risky endeavor. That made Chae Nayun and Kim Hajin tilt their heads in confusion.
In the end, the three of them made their way up to the train’s roof.
“Wow…”
The view was breathtaking.
The train’s speed was a cause for concern, but Chae Nayun actually liked it all the more because of how fast it was moving while Kim Hajin clung to her for dear life.
“About the assassin last time…” Yoo Yeonha said.
Chae Nayun and Kim Hajin looked at her.
“You already know about it, right? Nayun?”
Chae Nayun flinched at Yoo Yeonha’s question. She nervously gulped and peeked at Kim Hajin. It looked like she knew something as he stared at her.
“What is it?”
“…”
“It’s alright. You can say it,” Kim Hajin placed his hand on her shoulder as if to console her.
Chae Nayun didn’t respond as she continued to stare at the hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t tell me… Did you plan this entire assassination attempt thing? Is it something like that?”
“N-No way!”
Kim Hajin’s plan to ease the tension worked. He smiled and Chae Nayun also smiled in disbelief.
Then she let out a sigh, “So… I only have my suspicions as to who is the mastermind behind the assassination attempt and why they’re after you…”
It was then.
A large veil-like object came flying towards the train. It was so large that it looked like it would cover the entire train.
“W-What’s that?!”
The trio panicked after being engulfed by darkness, but it didn’t take them long to assess the situation and sense the individuals who suddenly occupied the cabin underneath their feet.
“I think it’s a hijacking,” Yoo Yeonha said.
“… Why?” Kim Hajin innocently asked.
“What do you mean why?”
“No… wait a moment…” Kim Hajin switched on his smartwatch and used [Hacking].
He read the information of the hijackers and overheard a strange conversation.
[The treasure is here somewhere.]
[That’s our main objective, but kill Kim Hajin on sight if you come across him.]
“Shh!” Chae Nayun placed her finger between her lips and grabbed Kim Hajin’s hand.
“I think they’re after you, Kim Hajin.”
She looked like she made up her mind and whispered to him, “All of this is probably… Kim Sukho’s doing. The previous president, Kim Sukho. You know him too, right?”
Kim Sukho, there was no way Kim Hajin wouldn’t know that name. Kim Sukho was the previous president of the Republic of Korea and once stood on top of the world.
Why would someone like him come after Kim Hajin?
Kim Hajin frowned and Chae Nayun nodded.
“You might not be aware of what’s going on yet, but I’ll explain everything to you later. Just wait a little longer,” she said.
Kim Hajin had no idea why, but the word yet bothered him.
Did that mean that Chae Nayun knew why he was being targeted because of the world where she came from?
“Sure…”
In the end, Kim Hajin decided to trust Chae Nayun and did as she said.
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