The monster placed in front of everyone was called an “Abyssal Angler,” belonging to the venomous anglerfish lineage. It lived in lightless deep seas, and its horn contained deadly venomous glands.
“The poison has been removed, but just in case, be careful.”
The instructor wearing round glasses explained to the cadets while gesturing animatedly.
Right before our eyes, a grotesque creature with a murky color, as if someone had kneaded sewage together, was wriggling.
A sharp horn protruded from what could be called its forehead.
Even through the thick practical gloves, the texture of its skin was vividly transmitted.
An unpleasant sensation, exactly like touching freshly butchered pig intestines.
As expected, retching and horrified groans erupted from all over the classroom.
“Ugh, damn it, how long do we have to keep touching this thing?”
“Until the tail starts glowing. That’s the only way to extract the luminescent enzyme.”
Do Ha-ru’s irritated complaint was followed by Seol Ha-yoon’s calm reply.
The instructor, who had been looking around the classroom, opened his mouth with a satisfied expression.
“In real field operations, you’ll be doing this with your bare hands too. The enzyme from the deep-sea angler is one of the main materials for the suits you’ll wear.”
The classroom instantly split into two groups:
those lucky enough to extract the luminescent enzyme and rest, and those who hadn’t.
‘Damn it…….’
I belonged to the latter.
I had thought classroom lessons would be easy enough to coast through, but reality was different.
The one who finally liberated me from this suffering was the bell signaling the end of class.
“That’s it for today, everyone! Those who couldn’t finish, it’s unfortunate, but let’s try again next time.”
Honestly, I hoped that “next time” never came.
“Oh, right. As you all know, there are no afternoon classes today. Club promotion booths will be operating in the central plaza, so go find a club that suits you.”
At the instructor’s words, energy instantly returned to the cadets’ faces.
Everyone began chattering as they left the classroom.
“Finally! I’m definitely checking out the Monster Research Club booth.”
“Oh, wanna go together? Let’s hit Hunters too!”
“According to the seniors, the event itself is supposed to be insanely fun!”
Amid the excited voices, Do Ha-ru frowned and said,
“Ugh, touching that deep-sea angler killed my appetite completely. Are you guys eating lunch before going?”
I shook my head at Do Ha-ru’s question.
The horrific sensation of the deep-sea angler I had been touching until moments ago was still vivid.
“My appetite’s totally gone. It’d be better to just head straight there.”
“I agree.”
Seol Ha-yoon quietly added her opinion to my answer.
“Then let’s skip lunch and go right now. They’ll probably sell snacks anyway, right? If we get hungry, we can just eat those!”
Having reached a consensus, the three of us headed straight to the central plaza.
The moment we arrived, boisterous noise and an astonishing sight welcomed us.
Colorful booths lined up in rows, each club promoting themselves in their own unique way.
In the very center of the plaza, the Symphony Club was playing instruments, heightening the atmosphere with beautiful melodies.
Some places were holding quiz events for freshmen, while others were demonstrating simple mock spars.
There were even food trucks scattered here and there.
It truly felt like a full-blown festival.
“Wow, this is insane.”
Do Ha-ru let out an exclamation of awe.
At that moment, a loud commotion from afar drew everyone’s attention.
A huge veil was being lifted, slowly revealing what looked like a gigantic machine the size of four trucks combined.
“What’s that?”
Do Ha-ru asked with wide eyes.
“It’s a monster hunting simulator. Looks like the latest model.”
Seol Ha-yoon explained briefly.
More and more people began gathering.
As curious students crowded in front of the massive machine, a group of seniors confidently strode out from among them.
One of them grabbed a megaphone and shouted.
“Everyone! We’re introducing a special event prepared by the ‘Hunters’ club! Test your hunting skills with this simulator! The top three highest scorers will receive special prizes!”
The surroundings buzzed with excitement.
“Oh, that sounds good! Why don’t you two try it? I’ll cheer you on.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Yeah? What about you, Jin-woo?”
“I’m…….”
Pretending to think for a moment, I continued.
“I guess I’ll give it a shot.”
At my answer, Seol Ha-yoon’s gaze fixed on me.
“Are you planning to join Hunters?”
“Well, maybe.”
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t particularly aiming for Hunters.
However, the “event” they had prepared was absolutely worth challenging.
“What’s the harm? It’ll be fun to try once! Ryu Jin-woo, launching! I’ll cheer for you!”
Do Ha-ru pushed my back, and the three of us headed toward the Hunters booth.
“Oh! Isn’t that Seol Ha-yoon? Here to participate?”
The moment we reached the booth, the senior in charge of event registration brightened and asked.
His gaze was completely fixed on Seol Ha-yoon.
“No, Ha-yoon isn’t doing it—it’s this guy!”
In response to the senior’s question, Do Ha-ru pointed at me.
“Ah, this friend? Ha-yoon isn’t participating?”
The senior didn’t even try to hide his disappointment as he asked again, and Seol Ha-yoon firmly nodded.
‘Of course he’d be disappointed.’
The war between clubs had already begun.
This entire club promotion fair was an event designed to bring promising freshmen into their own fold.
Clubs that failed to do so would simply be weeded out and disappear.
And Seol Ha-yoon was considered a highly promising resource even among the freshmen.
“Really? That’s too bad~ Even if you’re not participating in the event, please consider joining Hunters! The club president would love it too. What’s your name, friend?”
“Ryu Jin-woo.”
The moment I said my name, the senior suddenly looked up.
“Ryu Jin-woo…… Ryu Jin-woo, Ryu Jin-woo?”
Muttering my name to himself, the senior stood up with surprised eyes and pointed at me with spread fingers.
“Jin Cheong-ha?”
That name had now practically become my permanent prefix.
It had reached a point where even trying to explain that I had only cut a few strands of hair felt embarrassing.
Rumors had grown legs and spread far faster and more intensely than I had ever imagined.
“Ooooh! You’re a later turn, but that’s perfect! This is actually great for hype. Should I prepare some lines? Oh right, let me explain the rules first!”
The senior’s attitude did a complete 180 from his earlier indifference.
Since the event was already underway, he enthusiastically began explaining the rules while pointing at the simulator.
The simulator was a dome-shaped structure roughly the size of two large rooms.
Participants entered inside, were given “HP” representing their stamina, and had to defeat the holographic monsters that appeared.
“Everyone gets exactly 100 HP. When it hits 0, you’re out! Just think of it as a game.”
The further you progressed through stages, the stronger the monsters became, and defeating stronger monsters granted higher scores.
“You won’t actually get injured. Even if a monster hits you, it’ll only sting like a light flick on the forehead. But your HP will still decrease proportionally to the monster’s damage, so keep that in mind.”
Inside the simulator, one cadet was currently fighting a monster.
The monster that appeared was familiar.
A Cyclops Orc was swinging a massive club.
‘Exactly like the one I saw in the subway.’
Though it was a virtual entity created in subspace, the synchronization rate was remarkably high.
Still, it was better than the real thing.
At least no filthy bodily fluids would splatter, and there would be no stench.
That thought lasted only a moment.
The orc’s club slammed into the participant’s abdomen, and at the same time, the HP bar dropped to 0.
“That’s how you get eliminated. Dodge well and definitely aim for the monster’s weak points.”
The senior explained lightly while watching the scene.
The rules were so intuitive and simple that no further explanation was needed.
The participant who had taken a hit from the Cyclops Orc grumbled as he exited the simulator.
He was lightly rubbing the spot he’d been hit, but as the senior said, it didn’t seem to hurt much.
“Got the rules? I’ll call you when your turn gets close, so take this! You have to come back, okay? You absolutely have to!”
The senior handed me a pager and spoke cheerfully.
While grabbing both my hands.
For some reason, the pressure felt even heavier.
“Jin-woo, at this rate, aren’t you gonna get scouted by a huge guild and start shooting commercials? Even if that happens, we’re still friends, right?”
“Don’t you ever get tired of teasing me?”
“Nope, never. Every moment is fun. Every time feels new and…… whoa whoa, violence is bad. Put the fist down.”
Every time Do Ha-ru opened her mouth, I understood why Seol Ha-yoon occasionally flicked her on the forehead.
My fist had clenched without me realizing it.
“Look over there! It’s huge. Is that a monster?”
Do Ha-ru hurriedly changed the subject.
The plaza was filled with more new-semester energy than ever.
The ‘Monster Research Club’ displaying large stuffed monsters, the ‘Magic Engineering Department’ demonstrating mana simulations with the latest VR equipment, ‘New Weapons’ letting people try cutting-edge weapons—booths of all kinds were noisily promoting themselves.
“This actually makes it harder to choose. I don’t know which one to join.”
“You can join several. There are plenty of clubs with light activities.”
“Should we start with ‘Lovely Pet’? I heard their club room is full of cute cats. If we’re lucky, we might even get to play with fluffy ones.”
While Do Ha-ru and Seol Ha-yoon were talking, my gaze turned to one corner of the plaza.
There, in a quiet corner, was an empty booth with no decorations and no people.
Only a signboard with the English words [Zero Times] hung there.
Everything around it was noisy, yet this booth was completely empty—it stood out precisely because of that emptiness.
Strangely, while staring at that vacant space, I kept getting the illusion that someone was watching me from there.
“Hm? What’s that place? Still setting up?”
Do Ha-ru, having also noticed the empty booth, voiced her curiosity.
‘It has to look strange.’
To anyone who didn’t know, it would seem abandoned or forgotten.
Like something was supposed to be there but got canceled.
But that emptiness was normal.
An empty booth was actually the very identity of that club.
Beep-beep-beep—!
Right at that moment, the pager in my pocket rang.
It was the signal from Hunters.
Immediately after receiving the call, I headed to the simulator.
Upon reaching the entrance, a Hunters club senior greeted me.
“Ready? I’ve prepared a killer introduction line, so look forward to it. Alright, here we go!”
I momentarily flinched at the mention of an “introduction line,” but decided to let it slide.
It’s not like they’re introducing guests on some variety show.
They’ll probably just call my name or something—I thought it was a bit much, but then…
“Next up! The hottest freshman who defeated Jin Cheong-ha, the Sword of Cheongryu! Everyone, give it up for Ryu Jin-woo!”
In real time, my face stiffened solid.
My neck turned toward the senior with a sound like grinding metal.
Who was that introduction even for?
It was an embarrassingly shameless line that turned the winner into a loser too.
As long as it promotes their club, anything goes, huh?
Trying hard to ignore the crowd that had already gathered because of the irresponsible introduction, I stepped into the simulator.
As the door closed, a crackling noise sounded and the machine began operating.
Then realistic electronic beeps and mechanical sounds rang out, sporadic sparks flew, and in an instant the space expanded massively.
A subspace created through magical engineering—commonly called a map.
From the outside, the simulator was only the size of one room, but once activated, the interior ballooned into a vast area.
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding environment changed.
Suddenly I was standing in a dark forest, and a gloomy howling echoed from afar.
The sound was so lifelike it was hard to believe it came from speakers.
A holographic window appeared before my eyes.
[Welcome to the Hunting Simulator. Face the enemies before you.]
[HP: 100/100]
[Select your weapon.]
‘A game within a game for me, huh.’
I smirked at the somehow familiar system window and selected “Sword.”
Immediately, a sword floated up in midair.
At the same time, a massive shadow emerged from the forest ahead.
With a chilling howl, red glowing eyes appeared above the shadow.
[A Lycanthrope has appeared.]
Grabbing the floating sword firmly, I could vividly feel its weight.
The werewolf’s red eyes gleamed menacingly.
Ding—!
[Hidden Mission: The Fourth Estate is watching you!]
Someone is watching you. Show a performance that will satisfy them.
‘Good, at least this part hasn’t changed.’
I had been slightly worried because of Jin Cheong-ha’s unexpected actions, but the hidden quest was working perfectly.
The hidden quest that began with Jin Cheong-ha—one that only I knew about.
All that remained was to prove myself in this mission.
Strength surged into my legs as I faced the enemy.