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Chapter 45 — First Class (3)
<A few moments ago>
The face watching the three from a few meters away crumpled into a frown.
It was Lee SooHyuk, the cadet who had reached Mana Room Level 8 along with Kim YooJung.
Right now, he was focused not on the score he’d received but on something else.
Min JaeHyun—
the exalted guy who reached Level 10 as a mere freshman.
‘That bastard
 How did he reach Level 10?’
Mana Room Level 10 was a place where even the instructors had to focus on regulating their breathing.
But to return from such a place without a hint of sweat?
Lee SooHyuk thought for a moment, reached his own conclusion, and nodded his head.
‘He obviously used an expensive custom item in secret.’
Albeit very rare, there were items that could help users gain some resistance to mana addiction.
For example, if one entered a dungeon with equipment items like 《 Unicorn Horn 》 or 《 Cloth of Light 》, it was possible for them to move naturally within the concentrated mana.
Although this was a method used by Warriors since they were weak against mana, there were those even among Magicians who weren’t familiar with the use of mana or were new to dungeons who used such equipment to heighten their chances of survival.
‘That’s right
 If he weren’t overgeared, how would an insignificant guy reach Level 10? When even that Seo Ina only managed Level 9.’
Seo Ina—
the biggest star amongst the Magic cadets this year, with excellent talent in magic.
He didn't want to admit it, but Seo Ina was several times stronger than him at the moment. With an evolving Unique Skill like 《 Falchion of Alfheim 》, her mana capacity and aptitude were all better than his own.
Thus, Lee SooHyuk acknowledged her as the best and considered himself second.
But a moment ago, he’d scored a mere third place.
‘It’s already annoying enough that I got the same score as that Kim YooJung, but some nobody snatched first place on top of that
’
He couldn’t help but be annoyed.
A familiar voice suddenly rang from behind him.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
SooHyuk turned around to the sight of a familiar face.
It was Kim Minsu, Lee SooHyuk’s childhood friend.
Kim Minsu, who always took good care of his violent friend, looked at the direction SooHyuk was staring in for a moment, then spoke while putting his hands in his pockets.
“I was wondering who you were staring at. So it was Min JaeHyun.”
“Min JaeHyun?”
Lee SooHyuk tilted his head as he asked. Minsu replied with a surprised look.
“Didn’t you watch the recording of the Freshmen Hunt? You don’t know Min JaeHyun? He’s the crazy bastard who got first place in the event and broke the academy’s record!”
“What? That’s the guy?”
When SooHyuk asked back with wide eyes, Minsu let out a sigh and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.
“There’s a TV in the cadet dormitory, too. Use it. Figuring out the strengths of the other cadets is one of the things we should do at the academy.”
Lee SooHyuk fell into deep thought without replying.
Of course, he’d heard that a Magic cadet got first place in the Freshmen Hunt.
But Lee SooHyuk was the hard-headed type who only believed what he saw with his own eyes, so he hadn’t planned to look into the Magician who got first place.
He furrowed his brow slightly as he mumbled.
“I should confirm
 whether he’s really skilled.”
“Ugh, why do you have to confirm it again? Just mind your own business. Even you’re no match for him. Do you think it makes sense to be looking for a fight against someone who got first place at Millaes Academy?”
“I won’t know if I don’t try.”
Lee SooHyuk’s eyes were filled with competitive spirit. Kim Minsu shook his head in annoyance.
‘Now that it’s reached this point, he won’t listen no matter what I say.’
SooHyuk had always been like that.
He always had to be the best, and he never listened to what anyone said.
‘He already felt pretty inferior comparing himself with Seo Ina, but now that Min JaeHyun has suddenly appeared
’
SooHyuk was probably going to find some absurd reason to fight with JaeHyun. Minsu had watched him do similar things in the past. Fortunately, SooHyuk won most of the time.
However—
‘This time, I don’t think he can win no matter what he does
’
The other day, Kim Minsu had watched a video of the Freshmen Hunt that was edited to focus only on Min JaeHyun.
It showed how JaeHyun had easily eliminated the senior cadet Shin JunSang and used Paralysis Mushrooms to kite seniors.
As much of a genius Lee SooHyuk was, Kim Minsu didn’t think that he would hold up against JaeHyun.
‘Phew
 Why did I have to become friends with a guy like this
’
Minsu sighed deeply and glowered at Lee SooHyuk.
“Damn chuuni
”
T/N: Short for Chuunibyou, it is an often-derisive Japanese slang term for the embarrassing behavior of 13-to-14-year-olds. The term literally means "Middle [School] 2[nd Year] Syndrome" (often translated as "Eighth-Grader Syndrome" in US media).
“
What? What did you just say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
Minsu responded unabashed. Lee SooHyuk narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything else.
<A moment later>
Kim JiYeon eyed the clock and proclaimed.
“Okay, we’ll end our first class here. Everyone did a good job today. We will be having a theory class next week, so make sure to bring your books! Dismissed!”
“Hey?! Min JaeHyun! Stop right there!!”
The moment Kim JiYeon had finished speaking, Min JaeHyun could be seen running toward the sports field with Kim YooJung howling as she chased after him.
It was a hard-to-see sight in Millaes Academy which was famous for its strict discipline.
The cadets watched the two and burst out laughing.
***
JaeHyun, who had finished his first class with ease, headed to the security office on the second floor of Yeonhwa Guild Headquarters at Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun’s summons. Yoo Sung-Eun, Park SungJae, and an unfamiliar woman were already there drinking coffee.
‘Huh? She looks familiar
’
He was sure this was their first time meeting one another, but something about her appearance and aura was familiar.
Almost as if it reminded him of someone

Sung-Eun took a sip of her coffee before she saw JaeHyun’s face and her face lit up.
“Oh, JaeHyun, you’re here.”
“Yes. Have you been well? But more importantly, this is the first time I’ve seen this person

May I ask who this is?”
At JaeHyun’s question, Yoo Sung-Eun placed her hand on the woman’s shoulder and smiled.
“Ah~ This is our Yeonhwa Guild’s top scout. Her name is Park Hana.”
“Hello. I am Park Hana. You’re Min JaeHyun, aren’t you? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Ah, yes.”
Park Hana gave JaeHyun her business card right away and spoke formally.
‘She’s rather prim.’
Her stiffness made him a bit uncomfortable, but he shook her hand and sat down.
JaeHyun started trying to figure out what kind of person the ‘Park Hana’ sitting in front of him was.
With round glasses and a bob arranged primly,
she wore a black skirt, that stopped exactly 5cm above the knees as if it had been measured with a ruler, and a white blouse.
He didn’t know her much, but he felt that she would be a tiresome colleague to have.
Just then, Park SungJae saw the look on JaeHyun’s face and laughed heartily.
“She seems pretty meticulous and someone tiresome to work with, doesn’t she?”
“Heok! What?!”
JaeHyun was shocked and wondered whether SungJae had let his thoughts slip out.
Becoming flustered, he glanced at Yoo Sung-Eun while waving his hands with an expression that seemed to ask, ‘why is that person being like this out of nowhere?’
So Sung-Eun lightly pinched Park Hana’s face with a bright smile.
“Actually, Park SungJae and Park Hana are siblings.”
“Oh, guildmaster! Don’t play around! We’re in the middle of work.”
“
Oh, right.”
Feeling like he’d been tricked, JaeHyun started to become slightly annoyed and listless.
‘Now it’s starting to make some sense. I mean, Manager Park SungJae isn’t someone who would act so rudely to someone.’
Although he was very flustered when he first met JaeHyun, that was because it was related to Guildmaster Yoo Sung-Eun’s illness. In other situations, never mind anger, he almost seemed emotionless. That was the person Park SungJae was.

Of course, there was also that time at the raider department store when he ran away because he was tired of all the shopping.
After thinking for a moment, JaeHyun looked back-and-forth between Yoo Sung-Eun, Park SungJae and Park Hana before speaking.
“You called me here because you wanted to hear about what happened at the Freshmen Hunt, right?”
“Of course! I really wanted to see it in person, but Millaes Academy said that the recording broadcast would be delayed by a week due to an error. And you didn’t even send a message. I thought the curiosity would drive me insane.”
‘The distribution of the recordings being delayed was to be expected.’
Gu Ja-In had made JaeHyun fight against Ahn HoYeon in the Freshmen Hunt. In the process of doing so, he used his Unique Skill 《Mind Control》.
If he had released the recording of the Freshmen Hunt without enough editing, there was the risk that someone would figure out that he had meddled in the event.
Thus, he covered it up by stating some error had occurred.
JaeHyun scratched his head. He was going to contact Yoo Sung-Eun, but things had been so hectic that he completely forgot.
“
I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. It’s more interesting to hear it in person anyway.”
Sung-Eun replied with no hard feelings visible. JaeHyun took a deep breath, then looked at her with a bright smile.
“You probably already expected it, but
 I got first place.”
“Ooh! As expected, you did great!”
Park SungJae gleefully interrupted. He praised JaeHyun genuinely.
Yoo Sung-Eun also nodded her head as she replied.
“Congratulations. You took the best first-step in Millaes Academy, which is known for being hard to survive. As your teacher, I’m proud of you.”
“That’s a relief. I actually was worried that you would scold me if I got second place or something.”
At JaeHyun’s jestering demeanor, Park Hana started to relax.
At first, she couldn’t understand how such a feeble guy had gotten the First Priority contract with the Yeonhwa Guild. But seeing how relaxed and eloquent he was, she was able to somewhat understand.
Hana smiled slightly and passed a black tablet to JaeHyun.
Taking it, JaeHyun narrowed his eyes and asked.
“What is this?

It looks like the Millaes Academy’s cadet profiles.”
“We have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor?”
JaeHyun tilted his head in confusion.
Park Hana nodded as she continued.
“We would like to know who among these cadets would be worth recruiting into our Yeonhwa Guild.”
The list contained 50 cadets with high aptitude scores.
A smile spread on JaeHyun’s face.
‘So
 they want to use me as a scout, huh?’
“Well, telling you that much isn’t anything difficult.”
It really wasn’t. But there was no reason he had to do so without any benefits in return.
Even if Yoo Sung-Eun had taught him magic and they now knew each other well, there was no obligation for JaeHyun to do scouting work for Yeonhwa.
“What will the Yeonhwa Guild provide me?”
At his words, a smile slowly started to spread on Yoo Sung-Eun’s face.
“As expected of my student. You’re easy to talk with.”
“Thank you.”
JaeHyun shrugged. If there was any benefit to be had, he would take it before moving on to the next step.
This was one of the ironclad rules for surviving as a raider,
and JaeHyun planned to make good use of it.
____