I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy

After the commotion caused by the appearance of Baek Arin, the guild master of the White Flower Guild, had calmed down, they followed Kim Sunah’s lead, moving from the information center to other guild facilities.

However, the cadets were no longer interested in the guild tour. Instead, they were stealing glances at Baek Arin every now and then, who was following right behind them.

‘Well, she is famous, and not to mention, an incredible beauty.’

Among the cadets were the main characters, each of whom had a different look in their eyes as they stared at Baek Arin.

Lee Dohyeok’s eyes were filled with desire, Ma Jinseok’s were full of competitiveness and admiration, and Han Suyeon’s reflected confusion and longing.

Even Ko Jooyeon, who usually showed no interest in others, was observing Baek Arin with unusually lively eyes.

Meanwhile, Kim Baram, unlike the other cadets, did not glance at Baek Arin at all and instead focused on observing the interior of the White Flower Guild.

It might just be his imagination, but Kim Baram felt as though Baek Arin’s gaze had been fixed on him for some time now. 

Wanting to avoid attracting her attention, he deliberately averted his eyes.

‘I’d rather not get the White Flower Guild’s attention…’

In the novel, the White Flower Guild would stop at nothing when it came to gathering information. If they sensed something suspicious about Kim Baram, they might even infiltrate his house and monitor his every move.

Of course, based on how Kim Sunah had approached him last Sunday, the White Flower Guild likely already knew about him to some extent.

‘From now on, I should avoid standing out and just quietly observe.’

Having made that decision, Kim Baram looked around, taking in his surroundings. 

The interior of the White Flower Guild was vast enough to be considered a small city.

He saw a few buildings Kim Sunah had mentioned earlier, but his attention was drawn to the structure that was now coming into view.

‘That must be it.’

The building had a distinctive appearance that stood out at a glance.

In front of Kim Baram was a standard-looking building in the center, surrounded by a high, massive wall that curved around it, and a dome-shaped roof covering the top.

Just then, Kim Sunah picked up her microphone, seemingly having reached her destination, and began explaining the facility before them.

It appeared she was more enthusiastic than before, possibly because Baek Arin was watching her.

“This is one of our guild’s prides, alongside the Information Hall: the Dungeon Simulation Center! Of course, it’s not an actual dungeon, but a facility where we use high-level magic and cutting-edge technology to simulate various dungeon environments.”

Her explanation, full of enthusiasm, piqued the interest of the cadets, who finally tore their eyes away from Baek Arin and looked at the structure in front of them curiously.

Satisfied with their reaction, Kim Sunah continued with even more pride in her voice.

“Ahem! As you all may well know, dungeons can have normal environments, but they can also be harsh enough to be difficult for even players to endure. That’s why our White Flower Guild members use this Dungeon Simulation Center to experience and train for such harsh conditions in advance.”

One of the cadets raised a hand and asked, “Does that mean we can experience it too?”

The answer to that question was, of course, ‘Yes.’

In the original story, the event didn’t take place in the information center but here, where an event with department store gift certificates as the prize was held.

The event’s challenge? ‘Survival.’

It was simple — participants had to stand still inside the simulated environment, and the last cadet standing would win the prize.

The environment simulated in the Dungeon Simulation Center was always the same: a snowfield with a raging blizzard and temperatures around minus 60 degrees Celsius.

In such a brutal environment, an ordinary person’s skin — and even lungs — would freeze in a matter of minutes.

Even for players who were far stronger than normal people, the longest anyone could stand still was around 40 to 50 minutes.

However, Han Suyeon, who could use fire-based magic, had a significant advantage over the other cadets and always lasted the longest in the earlier rounds.

Of course, as the story progressed, she eventually found it bothersome and either got eliminated quickly or skipped the guild tour altogether.

‘I wonder if I could earn VP by coming in first. But the prize is pretty lame, and I don’t want to stand out in front of Baek Arin…’

While Kim Baram was briefly pondering the upcoming event, it was not Kim Sunah who answered the cadet’s question but Baek Arin, who had been quietly observing us from behind.

“Of course. In fact, we were planning to hold a small event in the Dungeon Simulation Center. The winner will be allowed to take one item from our White Flower Guild’s Level-2 vault.”

With Baek Arin’s surprising announcement, the cadets’ eyes gleamed, and the atmosphere turned predatory, like a group of hunters eyeing their prey.

Naturally, Kim Baram was no different.

‘I’m going to take first place, no matter what.’

***

The cadets of Class 3, Kim Sunah, and Baek Arin entered the Dungeon Simulation Center.

“Now, let me explain the rules and details of the event.”

Baek Arin’s voice echoed through the lobby of the first floor of the building.

Her sweet, mesmerizing voice immediately captured the attention of all the cadets.

Even though the details had changed significantly from the original story, if the event was still the ‘Survival’ like before, Kim Baram had a good chance of winning.

Why? Because he had gained the skill from the Fixer Clan activity last Sunday.

Not only that, the skill’s grade was A.

He could only speculate, but an A-grade resistance should easily help him endure the most extreme cold.

Originally, Kim Baram had planned to drop out early, not wanting to attract Baek Arin’s attention, but her tempting prize made him reconsider.

‘If the White Flower Guild’s second-tier vault is on the line, it should contain some amazing items — probably in the range of 7th to 5th tier lower-grade artifacts.’

Furthermore, since Baek Arin herself had made the offer, there was little chance she would go back on her word.

“The event is called ‘Tag.’ You’ll form teams of three cadets each, so with 30 of you, there will be 10 teams. The winning team will get to pick one item each from our second-tier vault.”

With Baek Arin’s incredibly generous proposal, Kim Sunah, who had been listening nearby, called out in a flustered tone.

“G-Guild Master, that’s a bit…!”

“What’s the problem? These items are just sitting there gathering dust in the vault. Wouldn’t it be better to give them to future heroes in training?”

With a meaningful smile on her face, Baek Arin approached Kim Sunah and whispered something in her ear.

“And who knows? Maybe one of these cadets, who’s a bit wary of our guild, will start seeing us in a better light?”

Tap! Tap!

Meanwhile, as he watched the two whispering to each other, Kim Baram felt a light tapping on his right wrist. 

Turning to his right, he saw Ko Jooyeon looking up at him with an expectant expression, lightly poking his wrist.

“What is it?”

“Be on the same team as me.”

“You sure? We don’t know the full rules yet.”

She nodded.

“Well, fine by me.”

Satisfied with his response, Ko Jooyeon smiled faintly and then turned her attention back to Baek Arin, as if ready to focus on the event.

‘Still, “Tag,” huh? Seems like the event has completely changed. And it’s not a solo competition, but a team-based one. Well, Ko Jooyeon is among the top cadets in Class 3, so if we get a good third teammate, we might have a solid chance at winning.’

The only wildcard was that he still didn’t know the exact details of the event or its rules.

Just as Kim Baram was pondering that, Baek Arin, who had finished her secret conversation with Kim Sunah, opened her crimson lips to speak again.

“I already explained the teams of three, right? The rules for Tag are simple. Each team will assign one defender and two attackers. The defender’s job is to avoid being tagged by attackers from other teams, while the attackers try to tag the defender from another team on any part of their body. Simple, right?”

A cadet raised their hand to ask a question after hearing Baek Arin’s explanation.

“Are there any other rules? Do we just have to touch them?”

“If a defender is touched by an attacker, their team is immediately eliminated. However, attackers cannot touch other attackers. If one team’s attackers want to interfere with another team’s attackers, they must do so without physical contact. This rule helps level the playing field between magic users and combat specialists who may have different physical abilities.”

Baek Ah-rin continued, as there were more rules to explain.

“You can use your weapons or artifacts, but if any cadet causes a serious injury to another, their team will be immediately disqualified. In simpler terms, slashing someone with a sword or burning them with magic is completely forbidden.”

Hearing the rules of the game, even Kim Baram as someone who tended to avoid stress, thought it was something he could handle.

The real problem was deciding who the third member of his team would be.

The cadets, now eager to form teams with people they liked, started moving around.

Kim Baram stood still in place, with arms crossed, and focused his gaze on Majin Seok, who was standing there alone.

‘Maybe I should ask Ma Jinseok. He has a “friendly” rating toward me, and if we team up, our chances of winning would significantly increase.’

Having made his decision, he headed straight toward Majin Seok.

As if sensing Kim Baram’s approach, Majin Seok turned to look at him.

“Majin Seok, want to team up with me?”

“I decline.”

Contrary to his expectation of a quick agreement, Majin Seok firmly rejected Kim Baram’s offer without a second thought.

Seeing the confused look on Kim Baram’s face, Majin Seok seemed to notice and explained his reasoning.

“Kim Baram, you’re a man I respect. But I’d rather compete against you fairly today. If another opportunity arises, we can team up then.”

With that, Majin Seok left to find his own teammates.

His actions perfectly matched the personality described in the novel, and instead of feeling upset, Kim Baram actually found himself excited by the challenge.

‘Now, who should we get for the third member? I need to win first place to earn VP and the prize from Baek Arin.’

While Kim Baram was pondering over who to recruit, a commotion erupted from the front.

“Why, why won’t you team up with me? Suyeon, if you and I form a team, we’re guaranteed to win! Don’t you want that first-place prize?”

The source of the noise was none other than Lee Dohyeok and Han Suyeon.

Lee Dohyeok was trying to convince Han Suyeon, who refused to team up with him, his voice growing more agitated as he pressed her.

Han Suyeon sighed softly, clearly exasperated, and responded in a cold tone, her red lips moving as she spoke.

“I already have someone I’m teaming up with.”

“What? Suyeon, really? Who is it? I came to you first — who are you teaming up with instead of me?”

Lee Dohyeok’s voice was incredulous as he questioned her.

But Han Suyeon didn’t answer him. Instead, she simply started walking forward.

‘Huh? Is she walking toward me…?’

Kim Baram’s hunch was soon confirmed.

Han Suyeon stopped right in front of him, glanced at him with her red eyes, and then stood next to Kim Baram.

Thud.

As if to solidify her decision, she grabbed hold of Kim Baram’s arm and pressed herself against him, almost in a casual arm-linking gesture, and spoke briefly to Lee Dohyeok, who still looked like he couldn’t believe it.

“With him.”

-Ding-

[Player ‘Kim Baram’s’ unique ability has been activated.]

[You have lost favor with the character ‘Lee Dohyeok.’ You gain 50 VP. Lee Dohyeok’s opinion of Kim Baram is now ‘Distrust.’]

At that moment, the notification appeared that Lee Dohyeok’s favor had dropped, and he glared daggers at Kim Baram with murder in his eyes.

But Kim Baram was far more focused on the fact that Han Suyeon had joined his team.

‘Haha… Instead of settling for second best, I just ended up with the top choice.’