Eight students gathered in a large room on the highest floor of Dorm 1. They all sat in a delinquent-like manner, laughing loudly at the smallest things. Occasionally, they stole glances at the person who called them over, but he remained silent as though he couldn’t care less.

“Oh right, Jonghak. Isn’t there a gun user in your class?”

A generic handsome guy with an amiable smile asked. Shin Jonghak narrowly opened his eyes and stared.

“Um, I just heard it from somewhere. Did I hear wrong?”

“I don’t know. I’m not interested in trash.”

“R-Right. I’m not interested either. I was just curious who the fool was, haha.”

“Hanjun, you sure are curious about the strangest things.”

A charming voice spoke. Jin Hanjun turned and saw the long-haired girl who smiled. It was Yoo Yeonha. Jin Hanjun felt his heart beating faster and blurted.

“O-Oh, Yeonha. Y-You know, I was always like that.”

“What was his name? Chundong? Chunbun? It was a pretty old-fashioned name. Anyways, don’t pay too much attention to him.”

“But he sure was pathetic. Why did that son of a bitch come to Cube if he was going to choose a gun?”

The foul language came from Kim Horak, a boy with a large muscular physique and an intimidating expression. With just a glance, it was obvious he specialized in close ranged combat.

Jin Hanjun asked Kim Horak, “You know him?”

“I’m in Jonghak’s class, idiot. I’m going to destroy him in combat training. I’ll disable him and chase him out.”

Everyone knew Cube’s schedule. They attended classes 5 days a week and combat training 3 days a week.

Classes consisted of comprehensive magic power training and physical training while combat training referred to battles, monster hunts, rescue missions, and more.

“I’ll destroy that son of a…”

“Don’t waste your time.”

Shin Jonghak shut down the coarse locker room talk with a single sentence. Kim Horak, who growled just a moment ago, fell silent.

“You’ll only be losing points if you beat someone that low rank. It’s better to challenge higher ranked cadets. For example…”

“Chae Nayun, try fighting her. I’m sure you’ll win.”

Yoo Yeonha interjected. Shin Jonghak glared at her, but she continued unfazed.

“Fists against bow. It’ll be easy.”

“Huh? Ah, yeah, of course I would win. But…”

Challenging her was difficult. However, he swallowed his words to look good in front of Yoo Yeonha.

“But?”

“It would be a pity. You know, my opponents often end up half-dead.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Huh?”

“Stop.”

Shin Jonghak cut off their conversation. Yoo Yeonha felt displeased, but feigned indifference and suppressed the feeling in her heart. Shin Jonghak likes Chae Nayun. I’m not so stupid as to be jealous. I just find it funny. Yoo Yeonha consoled herself.

“I’m leaving. It’s almost 10.”

At Cube, male and female students could only interact until 22:00. Yoo Yeonha stood up with a smile to mask her hurt feelings.

“Oh, good night.” 

“Good night, Yeonha!” 

“See you later!”

All the male cadets other than Shin Jonghak saw her off to the door.

***

A training facility called the Novice Fitness Center was located 5 minutes away from Dorm 1. It was a 1000 square meter facility filled with magical devices and exercise equipment. The facility cost well over 100 million won, but hardly anyone was currently using it. However, the empty training facility didn’t mean the future of heroes was bleak.

Cadets were potential hero candidates that would receive the admiration and envy of billions, but they were still teenagers. Simply put, many high schoolers wouldn’t train on the first day.

“I knew you’d be here.”

However, exceptions always existed. Even Hero Academy had weirdos that always enjoyed training. Kim Suho, drenched in sweat and wrestling with an exercise equipment, widened his eyes at the sudden voice.

“Chae Nayun? You’re also training?”

“Yeah, but I’m not as barbaric as you.”

Chae Nayun pointed to the gravity room with a wry smile. Kim Suho frowned at the terrifying cylindrical room.

“That’s a tough one. I can never last long in there.”

Kim Suho wiped his sweat with a towel.

“It’s not like you can’t. You just don’t need to. I’m an archer, so I need to train in there. Plus, it’s not that hard. I’ve been doing it since I was 8.”

“8 years old?”

“Yep. I have one at my house.”

“Ah.”

A gravity room cost several 100 million won at least. That meant she came from a very wealthy family.

Just like Shin Jonghak, Chae Nayun was a fourth generation chaebol. However, she carried a righteous sense of rivalry instead of a twisted superiority complex. She believed she could surpass her rivals through hard work and self-cultivation, but the monster in front of her made her waver.

“Oh, right. There’s another sharpshooter in our class now.”

Chae Nayun tilted her head at Kim Suho’s words.

“Sharpshooter? Oh, that Chudong or whatever guy?”

“Uh, yeah, him. What’s up with that look? Do you not like him?”

Chae Nayun’s face darkened as Kim Suho spoke.

“He’s not a sharpshooter. Guns can only shoot up to a kilometer at best. I still don’t understand why that Dongchu guy picked a gun.”

His name had unknowingly changed from Chudong to Dongchu, but Kim Suho wasn’t foolish enough to correct her.

“He probably gave up. Maybe there was trouble at home or something. He’s probably just going to stay for a while since being a Cube cadet won’t stay on your records if you leave early.” 

Chae Naeyun proposed a sympathetic explanation.

“Gave up? Don’t say something like that so easily.” 

Kim Suho remained optimistic even for others.

“Who are you to tell me what to do?”

For a moment, slight anger appeared in Chae Nayun’s eyes. Kim Suho’s patronizing tone didn’t sit well with her since she saw him as her rival.

“Cough. Sorry,” he quickly apologized.

“Anyways, keep working hard if you don’t want to lose. I’m going.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

“Please, I’m right next door.”

Chae Nayun smirked and entered the gravity room. It multiplied normal gravity by a certain factor, increasing the pressure on one’s bloodstream. Training in this cylindrical room required one to operate magic power under heavy gravity, and it was one of the most painful training methods.

Just looking at the room made Kim Suho shudder. He could only shake his head as Chae Nayun nonchalantly walked in.

***

I held my breath in Kim Chundong’s room as I looked at the laptop screen. I still couldn’t understand what I was seeing. I saw it, but my brain refused to process it. It just seemed too absurd.

“What is this?”

I blurted in a shaky voice after a long silence.

    [Synchronizing… 70% Complete]

1. Kim Chundong [Current SP: 54]

▷Stats: Variable Stats [Strength 4] [Stamina 4.3] [Speed 4] [Perception 5] [Vitality 4] [Magic power 3.5]

Invariable Stats [Intelligence – 4/10] [Perseverance – 4/10] [Luck – 4/10] [Charm – 4/10]

▷Gift… ??? ▷Arts… ???… ???… ???……… Supplement… Setting Chart…

[Synchronizing… 70% Complete]

“What is this?”

I recognized the window on the monitor and this format. It was the format of my settings book, but I had never written or even thought of a setting like this. This incomprehensible phenomenon made me sweat. My hands and legs shook, and my heart palpitated. Just who sent me this strange object? For what purpose and reason?

The laptop screen suddenly turned off and a face reflected from the black screen. It wasn’t Kim Chundong’s question mark, but my face, Kim Hajin. Then the laptop switched back on and words began to appear.

[Kim Chundong, synchronization with Kim Hajin has been completed.] [All status has been reset.] [Unique Authority, Setting Intervention, acquired.]