/
Chapter 37 — Freshmen Hunt (7)
“Alright. This way, we won’t have any problems going forward.”
JaeHyun nodded in satisfaction. A moment ago, he had started the event with satisfactory results while carrying Seo Ina and Kim YooJung.
‘When I think about it again, the plan this time wasn’t bad. Asking JaeSang-hyung about the ash tree sap beforehand was pivotal.’
He recalled the conversation he had with Lee JaeSang a few days ago and chuckled.
A-A-A-Ash tree sap has the e-effect of removing the paralysis debuff.
I-I-It’s probably quite common in the ‘Nightmare Forest.’
As a result, JaeHyun could quickly find ash trees and get some of their sap.
And he was able to use it to remove the paralysis state from Kim YooJung who had traded places with him. Then, Seo Ina could proceed to get rid of the guy hiding in ambush.
The cooperation between the three was also quite decent, but if it weren’t for the information Lee JaeSang had provided, there was a chance that they would have ended up in a difficult fight.
‘It’s really nice to know an alchemist. I should keep on making good use of him.’
JaeHyun smirked. And it wasn’t just because of Lee JaeSang. YooJung and Ina also played active roles.
Seo Ina’s destructive power and Kim YooJung’s knowledge of practical skills made luring the enemies easy. Everyone agreed to an equal share distribution, so there wouldn’t be any problems going forward.
‘Two days left… We have to dominate this field in the remaining time. We need to hunt down more seniors and collect more points. Even if simply to crush Gu Ja-In’s plans.’
JaeHyun reaffirmed his resolve as he arrived at the appointed location in front of the shelter.
And at that moment, he could hear YooJung’s clear voice.
“Hey~ Min JaeHyun!”
At the sound of his name being called, JaeHyun smiled and welcomed his party members. The two who had returned after the successful attack surprisingly didn’t look that tired.
‘The two of them really are monsters.’
“Good job. You don’t seem exhausted, either.”
“Well. I just used magic once after running a lot. What about you, Ina?”
“…Yeah. I’m fine, too.”
The three of them all proceeded to head into the shelter.
It was currently 4 minutes past midnight. They could use the shelter freely.
The two let out a soft sigh as they followed after JaeHyun. Having been chased by and hiding from seniors the whole day, their muscles were pretty stiff.
JaeHyun expected this would happen, so he had picked ingredients good for physical recovery nearby ahead of time.
Having crushed the ingredients and placed them in his inventory, he took out the items and poured them into a bowl. Next, he made a fire and stirred the mixture when it reached the right temperature.
A moment later, the herbs had completely turned into a paste and started to give off a red glow.
“…What are you doing?”
Seo Ina asked first with her immense curiosity.
“Just in case we need it in the future. It’s something to help with stamina recovery that I know how to make.”
“…How?”
“I know someone who’s an alchemist. He’s weird but also very skilled. I learned from him.”
Of course, it took him hundreds of tries before he could finally make a single basic recovery potion, but he didn’t mention that part.
At JaeHyun’s words, YooJung smiled and teased him.
“Hey. How can you know someone? You don’t even have friends.”
“Unlike how you have plenty of friends aside from me?”
“…That was a bit unfair, wasn’t it?”
Kim YooJung acted as if something had struck her heart.
Seo Ina covered her mouth and softly laughed.
“…By the way, you were pretty amazing, JaeHyun. It’s like you’re not even someone our age. You’re so mature, as if you’ve lived a decade more.”
“Huh? Uh…”
At the sudden and accurate remark, JaeHyun was flustered and unable to reply.
He didn’t think someone would suddenly ask him something like that. Did Seo Ina always have such great intuition?
She even almost got the period of 10 years correct. For a moment, he got goosebumps all over.
JaeHyun held the back of his neck for a bit and complained about the innocent Kim YooJung seated at the back.
“Hey. Why don’t you prepare something to eat? We need to eat if we plan to get anything done tomorrow.”
“How can I cook? You know I made a purple cookie in Home Economics back in Middle School.”
“…Did you put blueberries in it?”
“No, she’s just not good at cooking. I’m also the same though.”
JaeHyun said with a sigh. He guessed he shouldn’t expect something palatable for tonight’s dinner.
But Seo Ina suddenly said something unexpected.
“…If it’s cooking, I know a little. Can I go ahead?”
“Huh? Ina, are you good at cooking?”
“…I cooked for my grandma every day while I was living with her.”
JaeHyun was startled.
He knew a bit about Seo Ina’s family life since some of it was widespread, but she said she lived with her grandma. Did that mean something had happened to her parents?
He couldn’t know for sure, but the fact that she knew how to cook was what was important right now. JaeHyun nodded his head.
“Sure. I already gathered all the edible stuff a while ago.”
“…Yeah. I think this will be more than enough.”
And thus, Seo Ina began her late-night cooking.
The quickly prepared meal was a light stew. Since they had caught a rabbit nearby, they were able to get some protein in as well.
“…Try it. I’m not sure if it’ll taste good, but still.”
That was what Ina had said, but she looked quite confident. The pair took a spoonful of the steaming stew and put it in their mouths.
JaeHyun’s and Kim YooJung’s faces were simultaneously struck with shock.
“I-It’s delicious!”
Kim YooJung grabbed Seo Ina into a hug out of nowhere. It was that good.
JaeHyun also had tears in his eyes. It truthfully tasted better than even his mom’s cooking since she wasn’t an exceptional cook to begin with.
‘I’m sorry, Mom.’
While apologizing on the inside, JaeHyun quickly shoveled more stew into his mouth.
Seo Ina smiled slightly as she saw the two eat.
How long had it been since someone had so happily eaten the food she made?
***
***
[Millaes Academy’s control room]
The surprised instructors stared at Gu Ja-In’s pinched expression. They all fell into deep thought as they paled.
“The much-anticipated Cadet Ahn HoYeon is in 4th place. And an unheard-of Magician cadet is in first place? How is this possible?”
“In addition, it’s very suspicious that the 1st to 3rd place are all Magicians. I wonder if they cheated somehow…”
“Is there a possibility that it’s a system error? Otherwise, how can something like this be explained? There have only ever been 3 cadets who managed to get over 200,000 points…”
The three mentioned by Kim Seok-Gi had managed to get almost 300,000 points on just the first day and showed great talent, becoming S-rank Raiders and some of the top stars in Korea in the end.
However, in this year’s Freshmen Hunt, there were three geniuses who got over 300,000 points.
Moreover, they were all Magicians…
Who would easily believe such a fact?
Until now, such scores were only shown by Warriors. Those had also formed parties of 5-6 members to attack seniors.
It was more difficult than one thought to steal a name tag from a senior.
But now, a party with three Magicians was leading the event by taking out a group of seniors from the get-go?
Most of the opponents they met were Warriors as well.
‘What kind of kid is that Min JaeHyun?’
Even as the instructors were lost in debate, Gu Ja-In did not move his gaze away from the TV screen.
The scene being shown was the fight wherein Min JaeHyun, Seo Ina, and Kim YooJung had used the Paralysis Mushrooms.
‘To think of something like that in such a situation. Plus, the ability to overwhelm a Warrior. Is he really a freshman?’
Gu Ja-In lightly rested his chin on his hand.
‘Until now, there has not been a single Magician who ranked first in the Freshmen Hunt. All the S-rank Raiders from the academy are also all Warriors. But something’s different about that bastard.’
Gu Ja-In lightly tapped the arm of his chair as he waited for Min JaeHyun’s profile.
‘The brat’s profile is also completely blank… I honestly don’t know what’s going on.’
A moment ago, when the first senior was eliminated, Gu Ja-In checked Min JaeHyun’s profile.
What kind of talent did he have to be able to defeat a senior in just 30 minutes?
It was hard to believe since it was a Magician who had done it. But the real problem was that Min JaeHyun’s profile did not have his Magic aptitude score.
Ordinarily, there were only two reasons why a cadet’s profile at Millaes Academy didn’t have the aptitude score written on it.
‘Either he paid his way into the academy, or he suddenly changed departments.’
As his curiosity was reaching its peak, the new instructor who had gone to the data processing room to check the information hurriedly entered the room and said.
“Chairman Gu Ja-In! Cadet Min JaeHyun’s profile is here. But, uhm… it doesn’t seem to be an accurate file.”
“What do you mean? Not an accurate file?”
The new instructor’s words were strange enough to even bewilder Gu Ja-In.
Did he mean that someone had dared to fake the information written on the application to Millaes Academy?
To begin with, the test taken in middle school was done by the government. Faking that information would be the illegal forging of official documents.
Moreover, even if he managed to enroll in the academy, it would be revealed as he competes with the other monster-like cadets, so would there really be anyone stupid enough to do something like that?
Gu Ja-In looked at the flustered instructor and asked calmly.
“Calm down. What on earth do you mean? What was written on the profile?”
“It was 97%.”
“What?”
Gu Ja-In narrowed his eyes. What nonsense was this instructor spouting?
Seemingly having expected his reaction, the new instructor quickly explained.
“Cadet Min JaeHyun who you mentioned. His Magic aptitude test score… was 97%.”
“9-97%?!”
Shock quickly took over Gu Ja-In.
‘If his Magic aptitude score is 97%, that means it’s the highest in the world. It’s understandable that someone would suspect it to be an error. Was the profile update also pushed back because of this?’
Thinking so was natural. What other reason would there be for the cadet profile update to be postponed?
Gu Ja-In didn’t think that it was possible for Min JaeHyun to have transferred departments.
He stood up from his seat and smiled.
‘Min JaeHyun… The more I find out about him, the more interesting he gets.’
Instructor Kim Seok-Gi trembled seeing the brutal face on Gu Ja-In.
‘It’s been a long time since I saw the chairman make such an expression. Does that mean that cadet is that great?’
It was a similar expression to the one he made when he saw the latest S-rank Raider, Kang HaSeol, four years ago.
“The cadet named Min JaeHyun… I want to see just how talented he is.”
“What? Wh-What do you mean… Do you wish to do that?”
Kim Seok-Gi said in a trembling voice.
There was no indecision in Gu Ja-In’s eyes. Kim Seok-Gi could only gulp as he looked at the man’s face.
‘Because of that bastard, it seems the cadets this year will have a harder time.’
Gu Ja-In planned to test Min JaeHyun a bit more.
Even if he had to interfere in the Freshmen Hunt this time for it.
____