I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City

7 – The First Day of the Semester -1-

Before the Orion Academy opened, the instructors held meetings from morning till night for two consecutive days.

Long meetings during this period were not particularly unusual.

Analyzing the new cadets who had finished the placement test and sending them to the instructor with the highest potential for development took quite a bit of time.

Additionally,

The effort to peacefully narrow the differences in opinions among the instructors through dialogue was also one of the reasons for the lengthy meetings.

Not only the cadets but also the instructors came from different regions.

Before becoming academy instructors, their previous duties varied greatly, making it difficult to unify their perspectives on evaluating cadets.

“Then, Cadet Casey will be assigned to Instructor Carrot’s class.”

“Kyaa! What a cute cadet!”

Instructor Carrot wiggled her rabbit ears in delight.

Thus, after a heated debate, another cadet’s class was decided.

The staff member in the middle, who was in charge of the proceedings, adjusted his glasses and pulled out the next document.

“Let’s move on. Cadet Noah Frozenheart.”

“First place in the entrance exam and placement test practical. He should go to Instructor Joo-yeon.”

The instructors nodded in agreement, showing no objections.

Unlike cadets with mediocre grades, decisions were quick when the results were overwhelming.

“Cadet Noah Frozenheart will be sent to Instructor Juyeon’s class. Any objections?”

The moderator summarized in one sentence and began to organize the agenda.

The instructors indicated that they had no objections.

While the moderator was writing the documents and stamping them, they continued their small talk.

“His practical skills are perfect, but he lined up all the answers in the written test as number 1… Does he like the number 1?”

“It’s probably in his bloodline.”

At Orion Academy, even if the written test scores are low, graduation is possible.

Although it affects things like scholarships, there are no subject failures in the written exams.

This is because the primary purpose of Orion Academy’s establishment is education related to combat.

“Next is Cadet Rohan.”

While the moderator, who had finished organizing, distributed the next documents to the instructors.

The instructors continued their small talk without stopping their hands.

“Instructor Ed was in charge of that gym, right? How was Frozenheart?”

“Well… as expected, he is indeed the bloodline of the Great Tiger Emperor. That was the feeling.”

While stroking his rough-grown beard during the meeting, Instructor Ed answered.

The other instructors showed interest.

“There was also Cadet Ichinose Yui, the daughter of the Chairman of Heaven Beyond Heaven, right? I heard she was the top scorer in the written test.”

“That’s correct.”

“Was she a genius as rumored?”

“She’s a genius beyond words. She was more than the rumors.”

The instructors marveled as they skimmed through the evaluation sheet written by Instructor Ed.

After a moment, they furrowed their brows in confusion.

“But you gave Cadet Ichinose Yui third place in the practical exam?”

“Second place went to Rohan…?”

“Ah! The cadet from the South, right? Is there a reason for these rankings?”

It’s not about the pressure to favor the elite.

In this position, they genuinely wanted to know the reason and asked directly.

Instructor Ed, knowing this, scratched his disheveled hair and gave his opinion.

“Among the cadets who perfectly destroyed the test golems, we evaluated them based on the goals of Orion Academy.”

It has long been established that wars and political conflicts between nations are meaningless.

The era of considering monsters merely as materials for weapons is also over.

The true enemy threatening humanity now is the monsters.

Among them are special entities that threaten the existence of nations.

Everyone is aware that without unity, they could face the same fate as the South, which was destroyed overnight.

Due to the dreadful disasters and incidents that made this fact sink in, Orion Academy is doing its utmost to foster specialists who promote friendship between nations and hunt monsters.

“The next in line is that cadet Rohan.”

As Instructor Carrot put down the evaluation sheet and picked up the documents, everyone shifted their gaze to the papers in front of them.

“Hmm, he answered all the questions with option three in the written exam.”

“Maybe it was a performance to show his confidence in his skills?”

A single line of writing.

It’s not surprising. There are always new cadets who show eccentric behavior.

“Considering that, the entrance exam scores are… ahem.”

“If you look at the entrance exam results, they barely made it in, right?”

“It’s true that it’s an unusual case. On the day of the entrance exam, they came up from the south, so maybe they weren’t in the best condition…”

The atmosphere seemed to be getting longer.

Instructor Ed raised his hand slightly to catch everyone’s attention, then continued the explanation himself.

“Cadet Rohan, compared to Cadet Noah Frozenheart or Cadet Ichinose Yui, lacks a lot in terms of total magical power and physical abilities.”

“Then what aspect of this cadet received high evaluation from Instructor Ed?”

Instructor Carrot asked with a smile.

Ed reminisced with a hum and shared his impressions from that time.

“If Cadet Ichinose Yui’s sword dance has a neatness that could be called art, then Cadet Rohan’s swordsmanship feels like the butchery of a slaughterer by trade.”

“Heh…”

“Maybe it’s because they went through a lot of rough experiences in the south, but their sword skills seem capable of killing a monster or two.”

“Haha! A promising one, indeed.”

“Anyway, they were a bit closer to the academy’s goals. That’s why I gave them second place.”

The instructors’ eyes sparkled with interest at the assertive voice.

It’s very rare for Instructor Ed to praise a cadet.

“In my opinion, for Cadet Rohan to grow properly, it’s best to place them under Instructor Juyeon.”

The day of the semester’s start, prepared through repetitive routines.

Rohan, who finished his early morning exercise without skipping it today, hurried to get ready to head to the academy.

“Whew!”

In fact, there’s nothing grand about the preparation.

It’s just about putting on the academy uniform and grabbing the bag prepared yesterday.

‘Shall we go?’

He puts on his only pair of sneakers and turns the doorknob.

Click!

As he opens the door, the cool air touches his skin.

A humid smell that can’t be felt in the afternoon. It’s definitely morning.

He couldn’t help but leave the dormitory earlier than the designated school time.

Even though he messed up the written test, wasn’t he good at the practical one? Because of that, he was too curious about which class he would be assigned to.

Rohan is not the only one feeling the excitement.

The Orion Circle bulletin board has also been filled with posts of questions and concerns from new cadets recently.

“Sss!”

Rohan fills his lungs with the cool air.

He stretches his steps and enjoys the excitement.

‘Shall I be a bit extravagant this morning?’

Rohan opened the shop where he had accumulated points through achievements.

＜ Shop Lv.1 ＞

Random Skill Book – 500P (One-time purchase)

High-Protein Jerky – 3P

Cloud Bread – 2P

Coral Jelly – 2P

Energy Drink – 2P

Bottled Water – 2P

[ Remaining Points – 375P ]

Since purchasing the status window, not a single point had been spent.

Thanks to diligently saving up for just one skill book, a considerable amount of points had accumulated.

But today was an exception.

He decided to buy some jerky with his precious points.

He had skipped breakfast, and the word ‘high-protein’ was particularly appealing.

Let’s just say it’s a celebration for the start of the semester.

Moreover, he wanted to understand how the items purchased from the shop would be provided.

[ High-Protein Jerky has been purchased. ]

As soon as he made the purchase, the points jingled and were deducted.

In front of his eyes, the space wobbled to the size of a fist.

…What the?

The moment I wondered what that shimmering thing was.

A notification window popped up in front of my eyes.

[ High-Protein Jerky ]

Jerky made by smoking for a long time with applewood.

Made from the round of beef, low in fat and mild in flavor.

Information seeped into my mind to reach out into the space and receive the item.

With a mysterious experience of my hand being sucked into the air, I pulled out the item.

So this is how it works.

The white zipper bag was full of jerky.

There was no company name or manufacturer on the plastic used for packaging.

Thinking of chewing on a few pieces on my way to the academy, I opened the zipper, and the smoky scent tickled my nose.

Wow, the smell is amazing.

Jerky is more of a snack than something to eat to feel full, right?

So, I didn’t expect much in terms of quantity, but this was just a lot. And it tasted great too.

Mm!

I stuffed a handful of neatly sliced jerky into my mouth and packed the rest into my bag.

I quickened my pace towards the academy gate that started to come into view.

After checking the class assignments posted on the first floor of Orion Academy,

I froze, forgetting even to look for the protagonist’s name.

‘I’m in Class 1!?’

Class 1 is where the main characters gather.

It’s the starting point for the protagonist of Abyss City. Even a quick glance reveals many familiar names.

If it flows like the game, the instructor I’ll face is?

‘Instructor Juyeon!’

A strong figure, formerly a general of the Samhwa Nation.

The instructors at Orion Academy are all excellent, but this instructor is incomparable, a legendary figure.

The reason such an extraordinary person is working as an instructor is thanks to the current academy director.

The position of Orion Academy director is rotated among the three great nations.

‘If the story goes as it should, it was Samhwa’s turn to decide the director two years ago… Was it two years?’

Afterwards, Baek Unsan, known as the gentleman of Samhwa, took the director’s position, and through an old connection, barely managed to bring in the esteemed Juyeon.

This also sets the stage for the protagonist to meet a helper as powerful as a thousand troops and grow.

‘Ah! I need to find that.’

Suppressing my excitement at the rising thought, I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t surprised to find that the protagonist’s name was missing from the entire class list.

It was something I had anticipated after living in the academy city for a few days and looking around the community.

My mind kept drifting elsewhere.

.

Instructor Juyeon.

What kind of feeling would such a powerful person give in real life?

With a pounding heart, I began to climb the stairs to the classroom.

I slid open the door of Class 1 with a loud clatter!