Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Replacement Members (3)

The first round of screening was finished.

Building the party around Park Seohu made the criteria fall into place easily.

I'd take one healer and one mage as non-negotiables, then pick the rest accordingly.

From there, I adjusted the grades to balance against the other teams.

That left a total of 19 students.

It was drastically reduced from the initial 800-plus, but still a lot if I was planning to interview every single one.

The competition ratio was 5 to 19.

Among them, Park Seohu was already a guaranteed acceptance, so really it was 4 to 18.

"No. To be precise, there's one more."

I looked at the profile of another predetermined pick.

Na Jinsu.

Class: Assassin. Entrance exam scores: mid-range.

He hadn't shown anything special in the courses he was currently taking, but he wasn't falling behind anyone either.

Looking at that alone, he was thoroughly average, but there was one special factor.

"A Playable Character."

He wasn't an exceptional one among the Playable Characters, but having him couldn't hurt.

I hadn't originally planned to recruit him, but there was no reason to block someone who was willing to come of his own accord.

You could never have too many Playable Characters.

"I'm getting a rough estimate."

With a warrior and an assassin already locked in, the best balance would be two mages and one priest.

So out of the 17 remaining, 12 were mages and 5 were priests.

"Now that it's done, it was nothing."

I called in my TAs to start preparing for the interviews. Lee Yeeun and the newly hired TA came when summoned.

"Both of you, have a seat."

"Yes!"

"...Yes."

TA Cheon responded energetically.

Lee Yeeun's reply sounded listless, as if she wasn't feeling well.

TA Cheon.

She was one of the researchers who'd transferred from Yun Seongyeop's lab to me.

Lee Yeeun had been singing about how overwhelmed she was, and with the new students being enrolled, the workload was only going to increase, so I'd hired an additional TA.

But Lee Yeeun's reaction was flat.

'Why are you hiring another TA? You have me.'

'What do you mean, why? You're the one who said the work was too hard. Having one more person means it's easier for you.'

'Forget it... You're an idiot, Professor.'

I'd expected she'd be at least a little happy.

Her reaction was beyond lukewarm -- it was cold.

TA Cheon kept glancing around the office.

Unlike Lee Yeeun, who practically stamped her attendance card here every day, this was clearly unfamiliar territory.

"Lee, pour some coffee."

"Sure."

GRRRRRR!

What's that?

The sound of grinding beans was already ominous.

Grinding that roughly would damage the beans and ruin the flavor.

Still, pointing that out to someone making coffee for me felt a bit ungrateful, so I kept quiet.

WHOOSH--

Lee Yeeun held a packet over the finished coffee and poured sugar in.

I couldn't tell how much she'd put in -- the cup was so full the contents spilled over the rim.

Lee Yeeun's coffee always had sugar, but never this much.

She didn't even bother stirring it.

What is this, exactly?

And so, two cups of Lee Yeeun's special coffee were completed.

"Here you go."

One was placed in front of me, the other in front of TA Cheon.

Is this even safe for human consumption?

TA Cheon and I just kept glancing at each other nervously.

Lee Yeeun smiled and said. Her expression was terrifying.

"Not going to drink?"

I wanted to say no, but the words wouldn't leave my mouth.

With no other choice, I squeezed my eyes shut and took a sip.

Munch, munch--

Mm.

How to describe this.

It tasted like sugar. Not sugar water. This was just pure sugar.

I chewed the coffee with great difficulty and forced it down my throat.

"Why isn't TA Cheon drinking?"

"Eek!"

When Lee Yeeun turned her gaze on TA Cheon, she forced hers down too.

We struggled to empty our cups.

Lee Yeeun asked.

"Would you like another cup?"

TA Cheon and I simultaneously shook our heads.

I was done with coffee for life. Time to move on to business.

I pulled out the student files I'd prepared.

"You're both coming as interviewers too, so look these over. We're picking 5 out of 19."

Lee Yeeun and TA Cheon slowly reviewed the students' profiles.

Lee Yeeun spoke up first.

"This is weird no matter how I look at it."

"Yeah? How so?"

"Why are they all mages and priests? If you form a team with just these students, A-team will be a mess."

I pulled out the two profiles at the very bottom and showed them to Lee Yeeun.

"Ah, so you had predetermined picks."

Lee Yeeun guessed the answer easily.

"If it's Park Seohu, he definitely qualifies. He's the number one freshman."

When Lee Yeeun praised Park Seohu, TA Cheon nodded along beside her.

"That's right. I heard he got the highest score in entrance exam history? I don't think I could score that high even if I retook the exam now. An impressive kid in every way."

"But what's this one?"

Lee Yeeun pointed at Na Jinsu's profile.

TA Cheon seemed curious too, nodding along.

I pulled out the excuse I'd prepared in advance.

"It's to balance the party. With Park Seohu in the mix, the party's physical DPS ratio gets way too high. So I was looking for a physical dealer at an appropriate level, and Na Jinsu seemed like a good fit."

"Ah, I see."

The TAs were satisfied and didn't ask further.

"Then let's get ready."

***

Dungeon Research and Practicum.

Most students didn't even know such a course existed, and those who'd seen the name during course registration avoided it after reading the description.

-- Wow... absolute evaluation or not, this is a bit much.

-- Dungeon practicum? Blegh. Just thinking about it makes me gag. Who puts something like that in a freshman course?

At the time of its creation, it was an unpopular course that couldn't even fill half its maximum capacity.

For an elective, the enrollment was embarrassingly low.

That assessment vanished completely within a month.

-- They're saying that professor is the one who wrote those papers?

-- Even my mom knows the professor's name. No surprise, with how much he's been in the news.

-- Shit, I should've signed up back then.

Every tactical model up until now had become obsolete.

The cutting-edge tactical model adopted by the world's mega-guilds.

Its excellence was unanimously acknowledged across all guilds.

But the published research was far too scarce.

Everyone knew it was good, but not many guilds knew exactly how to use it.

Guilds had collaborated on independent research, but so far it was barely at the beginning stages.

So every guild was desperate to meet the paper's author, Cha Eunwoo.

But nobody could get to him.

There were rumors he'd been in unofficial contact with Unicorn Guild, but they were just rumors. Only those involved knew the truth.

In this situation, being able to attend Cha Eunwoo's lectures was a privilege reserved for Florian's students alone.

In the hallway outside the office, students had gathered in clusters.

These were the students who'd passed the first document screening.

They were surprised to see each other.

"Huh? You passed too?"

"You too?"

"Wait, even Kim Yeongcheol passed? Maybe our department's actually super high-level?"

Since those selected had similar classes and comparable grades, there were many familiar faces among them.

While they were happily reuniting, a student wearing glasses offered his opinion.

"There must be a ton of first-round qualifiers, right? So they're splitting them up for interviews, and since we're all in the same department, we got lumped together."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Yeah, sounds right."

Just as the bespectacled student's shoulders were rising with pride, another student objected.

"I don't think that's right. Look over there."

"Huh?"

"Isn't that Park Seohu?"

Park Seohu of the Sword Department.

The freshman valedictorian was a huge celebrity at Florian, so everyone easily recognized his face.

Seeing Park Seohu, they all had the same thought.

Don't even need to look -- he's a guaranteed final acceptance.

"Wow, I'm going to be in the same class as Park Seohu?"

"Since when did you have a talent for shitting from your mouth?"

"Why?"

"You think you're going to pass? Just being here means you've used up a lifetime's worth of luck."

"This bastard, then what about you?"

"Hey, hey, cut it out. I'm going to be the one who passes anyway, so you guys arguing just makes me feel bad."

While the mage and priest class students were clustered and chatting away, one student watched the whole scene from a corner.

'What a bunch of clowns.'

Na Jinsu.

He was different from the others.

Most Florian students harbored grand ambitions in their hearts, vowing to become great Heroes, but Na Jinsu was different.

Na Jinsu was content with an ordinary life.

He wanted to become a Hero, earn just enough to live on, then retire and enjoy a leisurely life.

So he'd never dreamed of something as prestigious as Cha Eunwoo's course.

-- They're taking more students for Professor Cha's course.

-- Really? Hey, let's sign up too.

-- Jinsu, you're in, right?

He'd only come because his friends had pushed him into it.

When everyone else was applying, not applying alone would've been weird.

So he was a little annoyed.

The other students had all come in groups with friends, but he was alone.

Well, technically there was one other.

'Oh, is he alone too?'

Na Jinsu glanced over at Park Seohu.

Park Seohu also didn't seem to know anyone here.

Na Jinsu clicked his tongue.

Park Seohu was different from an ordinary student like Na Jinsu.

Everyone who walked by tried to chat him up -- how was that being alone?

"Numbers 12 through 17, please come in."

Following the TA's guidance, the students filed in.

The ones who'd been noisily occupying the hallway had either finished their interviews or gone inside, and the corridor was now empty.

Na Jinsu's number was 18.

In the empty hallway, there was Na Jinsu.

And Park Seohu.

'Why am I stuck alone with him?'

Na Jinsu thought about starting a conversation, then dropped the idea.

It wasn't that he was particularly shy, but the other party was the problem.

People who were too exceptional made him uncomfortable.

Park Seohu, however, didn't seem to share that sentiment and approached Na Jinsu instead.

"Hey. Looks like it's just us two left."

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"I'm Park Seohu from the Sword Department. What's your name?"

Na Jinsu muttered to himself.

You don't need to introduce yourself -- everyone at the Academy knows you're Park Seohu.

Still, he put on a forced smile and greeted him.

"Na Jinsu. Class: Assassin."

"If we end up on the same team, looking forward to working together."

"Yeah."

Was this the composure of the freshman valedictorian?

Unlike Na Jinsu, Park Seohu's acceptance was guaranteed, so it wasn't strange for him to say something like that.

Still, Na Jinsu didn't envy Park Seohu.

Almost nobody looks at a bird flying in the sky and feels envious.

Park Seohu was the same.

Na Jinsu and Park Seohu were simply different species.

So there was nothing to envy.

"Numbers 18 and 19. Please come in."

Na Jinsu's number was finally called.

On the way in, he overheard the voices of students coming out from their interviews.

"What kind of questions are that hard?"

"Damn, my brain just froze."

Na Jinsu and Park Seohu entered the office.

The celebrity whose name you heard everywhere these days -- Professor Cha Eunwoo.

Na Jinsu's first impression was this:

'How is a person this good-looking?'

It was the kind of face that drew admiration even from another man.

He'd never seen someone this handsome in his entire life.

Park Seohu next to him was good-looking too, but compared to this man, his shine dimmed ever so slightly.

Park Seohu spoke.

"Professor, why haven't you been coming to the Training Hall lately?"

"I've been busy lately, so things haven't worked out."

Na Jinsu felt intimidated.

Seeing Park Seohu talk so casually to the professor, it was clear the two were already close.

"You know Seolhwa's been lonely because of you lately, right? Please look after Seolhwa more."

"Seolhwa? I don't think that's the case."

"It really is, I'm telling you."

"Alright, alright."

"Promise."

The interview began.

Na Jinsu had expected it to be no walk in the park, judging by the students coming out, but the actual interview questions were simple.

"If you're a mage who primarily uses elemental magic, which attribute is best as your main?"

"What buff would you most want from a priest?"

"Regarding the mage's positioning......"

No, beyond simple -- it was a little strange.

He kept asking about mages and priests, and Na Jinsu couldn't understand why those topics mattered.

After a handful of questions, the interview was over in less than ten minutes.

Cha Eunwoo said,

"Good work, both of you. I'll announce the accepted students before tonight."

"...Yes."

And so the interview ended with nothing but seemingly irrelevant questions.

Na Jinsu never even got a chance to showcase his strengths.

It was a strange interview in many ways.

But he had no complaints.

If anything, he'd been dreading the interview, so he was relieved it was just those kinds of questions.

Na Jinsu hadn't wanted to do the interview in the first place.

That night, the final acceptance list was posted.

Na Jinsu's name was on it.

"Is this for real?"