NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: The Beginning of the Novel
< Chapter 7: The Beginning of the Novel (3) >
Shin Jia’s first impression of Kang Seo-yul was that he was just a handsome man.
A man who happened to strike up a conversation with her while she was looking for information on Piale Aro.
Surprisingly, he was an elf.
An elf, who was the ancestor of the Shin family, a family which was descendants of those who had hidden their appearance completely since 10,000 years ago.
Shin Jia shivered as she watched Kang Seo-yul manipulate the blessing of the World Tree at will.
She was overjoyed by the appearance of the ancestor who would revive the clan.
She was grateful deep in her heart that it was not someone else, but her ancestor who had defeated Piale Aro.
When she found out that he was a fellow freshman who would enter the same superhuman academy as her, she felt like she was flying in the sky.
She did not know the deep intention of her ancestor, but she thought that there must be something important to do for him to reveal his appearance after 10,000 years.
That’s why Shin Jia went to find Kang Seo-yul.
To help him.
No, because she wanted to help him.
Because she wanted to get closer to him, even a little bit.
Squeak! Bang!
“Wow. You hit it again.”
“There must be a reason why you aspire to be a superhuman with all F stats.”
How angry she was when he was ignored by people as an all-F.
‘He’s hiding his skills on purpose, but they don’t know that and are having fun…’
She wanted to turn them all upside down, but it was hard to endure it for his sake.
But now it’s over.
Squeak!
“Wow… It’s right in the center again.”
“How can he shoot so well with F stats?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he has a skill specialized for bows.”
No matter how broad-minded her ancestor was, she couldn’t just listen to other people’s insults.
It seemed that he had decided to show his true colors.
“Divine archer. He’s just a divine archer.”
A nail sticks out even if you try to hide it in your pocket.
It will eventually pop out.
Squeak! Crack!
“Wow… It’s just the center if you shoot 500m.”
“It’s not the center that matters. Look at the target carefully.”
“Why? …Huh.”
The arrows around the target were split in half.
“He’s not hitting the center, but hitting the arrows he shot before. He’s been doing that since before.”
“Crazy.”
Shin Jia shrugged her shoulders as she heard the cheers around her.
‘Of course. Who do you think made Korea famous as the master of archery?’
Kang Seo-yul shot arrows indifferently.
What amazed Shin Jia again was that he deliberately shook his arms to show that his strength was F.
‘Wow. He even pays attention to the details.’
Anyone who saw him would think that he was struggling to pull the bowstring because of his lack of strength.
“That’s enough for 500 meters. Good. Let’s move on to 2km right away.”
The instructor seemed to be in a good mood because of the genius archer who appeared out of nowhere.
It was an exciting thing for him as an instructor to teach such a student.
“Yes.”
Kang Seo-yul nodded slightly and moved away from the line.
“This is the second time they brought out a target 2km away at the entrance ceremony. Don’t get your hopes up.”
Kang Seo-yul didn’t show any sign of caring about the instructor’s words.
He just calmly pulled the bowstring.
“…Ah.”
His posture was so beautiful,
just like the elegant elf, she dreamed of.
Shin Jia blushed without realizing it.
“Shoot.”
Along with the instructor’s words, Kang Seo-yul released the bowstring.
Swoosh-!
The sound of the bow tearing the wind and
Thud!
The sound of the arrow hitting the targets was heard.
“Woah!”
Then cheers erupted.
“Perfect. Kang Seo-yul. Archer aptitude A. Too bad. This is the highest score you can get in terms of skill.”
The instructor’s voice was full of anticipation.
It was an exciting thing for him to teach such a student.
“Thank you.”
The only unusual thing was that his footsteps did not make any sound at all.
It was so noisy that other people did not notice, but Shin Jia did.
‘He seems to have trouble paying attention to habits like footsteps.’
That was the special way of walking of elves that had been passed down through legends.
A special technique was devised to avoid leaving traces or wounds in the forest.
‘I’ll have to tell him later.’
He did not tell her why, but he seemed to want to hide his appearance, so she had to help him as much as possible.
That’s when it happened.
“They say even a worm can roll, and you’re exactly like that.”
“Yeah.”
Ugh.
She felt her mood sour at the sudden sarcasm. Shin Jia turned her head sharply with a sharp look in her eyes.
‘Those two.’
They were the two who had directly picked a fight with Kang Seo-yul before.
They looked simple and muscular as if their brains were made of muscles too.
“Well, what can you do? You’re F anyway!”
“Kekkeke!”
She didn’t want to judge people by their looks, but seeing their actions, she thought they might be really like that.
‘Annoying.’
Shin Jia’s eyes were cold as ice.
Kang Seo-yul had clearly told her to leave them alone before.
But that was probably because he was worried that his identity would be exposed.
Then…
‘You don’t have to worry, Seo-yul. Nothing will harm you.’
Shin Jia smiled coldly and took out her phone from her pocket.
-Yes, miss.
“Uncle Tae-jin. Can you do a background check on the two people I’m talking about?”
-What do you mean by a background check?
What.
She didn’t want to do anything to them that would cause trouble.
In that case, it was possible that Kang Seo-yul, who had been insulted by them, would be affected.
Then what should she do?
The answer was simple.
“Start with their relatives and dig up everything. If you find any traces of illegal activities, deal with them immediately.”
Just shake them up thoroughly within the bounds of the law.
“Please.”
She might be adding a little bit of sin, but she hoped they would see it as a cute gesture.
-Yes. I understand.
* * *
After the entrance ceremony was over.
We were assigned to our own rooms.
“This is pretty nice.”
It was a fairly large room for one person.
About, 33 square meters, I guess.
It had a separate bathroom.
The bed was quite soft.
And this was all free.
Hooray for the top scholarship.
I took out some comfortable clothes and underwear from my suitcase and headed to the shower room.
“Oh. The bathroom is nice too.”
It seemed better than my home.
Did they give each student a room like this?
The Superhuman Academy really is great.
I finished the shower quickly.
I shook off the water from my hair and sat down on the bed.
Then I noticed the tattoo on my shoulder.
The reason I was able to handle the bow freely in the weapon aptitude test today was probably because of this tattoo.
It was glowing every time I checked it.
It seemed to be activated only when I held a bow.
Something like bow mastery, I guess.
“But why?”
The problem was why this tattoo had such power.
The only thing that was certain was that it had something to do with the ‘Blessing of the World Tree’.
“But I don’t see how the tattoo has anything to do with ignoring the joint implant restriction.”
I couldn’t find any intersection between the two factors.
Honestly, it was a relief.
Without a proper weapon, it was nice to have something to rely on.
It was something to be happy about, but…
“It feels a bit uneasy…”
It felt like I was missing something.
* * *
Tuesday, 9 a.m.
If yesterday was the day to measure physical abilities, today was the day to test academic skills.
“Ugh. I hate this. Superhumans should just use their bodies well, why do we need tests?”
“Superhumans should know more, right?”
“Aaah! You’re an old fart!”
“What did you say?”
The classroom was noisy.
Some were whining that they didn’t study well, some were cramming, and some were asking their friends about things they didn’t know.
It was exactly like this on the exam day in high school.
I didn’t expect to see this scene again. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad.
I was smiling bitterly when it happened.
“Everyone, sit down. We’ll start the test right away.”
The teacher entered the classroom.
“This test assesses your basic knowledge, so don’t be too nervous.”
The test was done on a tablet PC at each seat.
“The test consists of 50 multiple-choice questions and 50 short-answer questions. Then let’s start right away.”
As soon as he said that, the screen turned on.
I quietly read the questions.
The questions were diverse.
[Explain the four forbidden zones in the world.]
There were basic knowledge questions like this.
[What should a superhuman who is in charge of the rear guard do in the following situation?]
There were also questions about situational judgment like this.
[Describe everything you know about the disaster-level monsters that have appeared in Korea.]
I wrote down the answers to all the questions smoothly.
If you ask me how I can write them so smoothly, I can only answer that I just know them somehow.
I think it’s because the protagonist’s knowledge recorded in my brain is still there somehow.
Anyway, I decided to think that it was a good thing.
If I get a failing score on the first test as the top student, I might get my admission canceled.
“Ugh.”
“Ugh.”
I heard the groans of despair from the students who were overwhelmed by the difficulty of the test.
I laughed inwardly as I heard them.
‘Poor creatures.’
I hummed a tune in my mind and solved the problems one by one.
* * *
[Written Test Ranking Announcement]
[Kang Seo-yul]
[1st place]
I proudly took the first place in the written test.
“He got a perfect score.”
“This test was really hard. The top student is not the top student for nothing.”
“That’s why he passed with flying colors even with all F abilities. At this point, it’s rather amazing.”
I felt good about the admiring eyes directed at me.
“Then, I’ll announce the assigned classes and finish.”
A new notice popped up on the tablet along with the teacher’s words.
[Kang Seo-yul. 1st grade, 1st class.]
I was a little worried because the original novel and my abilities were so different.
Fortunately, I was assigned to the same class as the protagonist of the original novel.
‘I’m glad I don’t have to modify my plan.’
I sighed with relief.
“Then, that’s it for today.”
That’s how all the tests ended.
* * *
Wednesday morning.
Today was finally the day when classes started in earnest.
“Ah. Seriously. I was shocked by the difficulty of the test yesterday.”
“Me too. I almost left a blank on the short-answer questions.”
The 1st grade, 1st class was quite lively.
They had become quite friendly after two days of tests, and a certain community had already formed.
Of course, I was alone.
Top student admission.
Perfect score on the written test.
Lowest abilities.
Bow talent A.
There was no way that people would approach a weirdo like me first, who had such a strange record and was an outsider.
“Hi?”
No, there was one.
I turned my body and checked who called me.
“Huh?”
“We know each other, right?”
I wondered what kind of weirdo it was, but it was someone I had met once before.
“Don’t you remember? At the construction site…”
Ha Si-yeon.
“Ay. No matter what, I would remember. I almost got hit by a sword on my head while walking.”
Kim Chul-jin.
“…”
And Choi Ji-hoon.
They were the trio whom I met by chance at the park in the past.
These three were also in the same class as the protagonist in the original work.
“Oh, yeah. I remember.”
Honestly, I forgot.
It wasn’t something to forget, but I just had too many things going on lately, so I didn’t have time to care about that.
“How’s your wound?”
“It’s all healed. It was just a scratch.”
“That’s good.”
Ha Si-yeon answered with his characteristic refreshing smile.
“You.”
Choi Ji-hoon picked a fight with me then.
“Why are you pretending to be weak?”
No, wasn’t it a fight?
Maybe it just felt like that because his tone was provocative.
“Pretending to be weak? What do you mean?”
I sincerely didn’t know what he meant and asked back.
“All abilities F. Is that true?”
“Yeah. Shamefully.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“…Look at this guy acting.”
Choi Ji-hoon snorted.
The classroom became quiet.
Everyone was focused on our conversation.
“Do you know what sword you were holding then?”
Choi Ji-hoon put his hand in his pocket and spoke with a sneer on his face.
“It’s a black iron greatsword. A black iron greatsword.”
At his words, an astonished exclamation burst out in the classroom.
“A black iron greatsword!”
“He lifted that? You need at least strength A for that weapon. But he said his strength is F?”
“Then what? He lied about his abilities?”
I rubbed my forehead.
Black iron greatsword.
It was a weapon I knew well too.
The black iron series is made of black iron, the heaviest metal in the world.
Among them, the black iron greatsword was famous for being heavy.
I never thought that sword was a black iron greatsword then.
I couldn’t imagine it.
“And you’re saying that guy who lifted it lightly with one hand has strength F? Don’t talk nonsense.”
Choi Ji-hoon took his hand out of his pocket and grabbed my shoulder.
Then he applied a weak force with a crunching sound.
“I’ll ask again. Why are you pretending to be weak?”
Choi Ji-hoon’s sharp eyes pierced through mine.
The situation got quite complicated.
How should I fix this situation?
Drrr-
Shin Jia entered the classroom then.
“You!”
Shin Jia’s eyes widened as she saw me.
“What are you doing…”
Thwack-!
“Doing!”
Before I knew it, Shin Jia got between me and Choi Ji-hoon and pushed Choi Ji-hoon’s hand away at the speed of light.
“Are you crazy?”
Was it an illusion?
I felt a strong hostility in her eyes.
She probably thought Choi Ji-hoon was picking a fight with me.
“Choi Ji-hoon. Answer me.”
“It’s none of your business. Mind your own business. Degenerate elf.”
“…What?”
Choi Ji-hoon’s Suseong group.
Shin Jia’s Shinwa group.
The two groups had a decent relationship, and of course, the two were on good terms.
“The idiot of the Suseong group has a loose mouth…”
“…You.”
Anyway, the sure thing was.
The situation got more complicated.
“Why? Are you going to lose your temper and attack me again? Then I’m happy. Come on.”
“…You bitch.”
…Is this the five minutes before the disaster or something like that?