Outcall was a magic power explosion that shook the world 50 years ago. Mysterious entities like towers, dungeons, and monsters appeared after this incident. These chaotic existences destroyed the very foundation of humanity and transformed the blue planet into hell. Towers and dungeons endlessly produced monsters that devoured humans.

Humanity’s science and technology lost all meaning in front of these newfound calamities. Society collapsed and the rule of law returned to law of the jungle. Survivors crumbled to their instincts and lost all human virtues.

Heroes emerged like shining stars within this hellfire. They wielded transcendental powers and corrected the chaos. The world was reconstructed just as quickly as it collapsed. They brought about miracles with gifts bestowed by the heavens. With their help, humanity regained its virtues and developed magic science and magic engineering.

Towers, dungeons, and monsters were all eventually designated as targets to destroy. However, the differences among them were great. Towers required many people and a long period of time. On the other hand, a single person could conquer a dungeon depending on its difficulty. Towers bestowed the greatest rewards that humans could never dream of.

What was the name of the tower conquered by the guild, Apostle of Saints, on August 17, 2023 and what was its reward?

“Minor questions like these don’t come up often, but you should still know about the conquests of towers and dungeons.”

Morning class was Post-Outcall History. The few sentences I had written turned into a 400 page textbook. We had to remember rewards from towers, names of monsters, dungeons in Korea, conquerors of towers and dungeons, and countless other facts.

I couldn’t process all that information even as the author. Thankfully, it didn’t pose a problem with my gift, Observation and Reading.

[On August 17, 2023, the Apostle of Saints conquered the Tower of Floods and obtained an ocean stone.]

I had nothing to worry about since I could obtain something’s information whenever I looked at it.

“Huuu…”

On the other hand, the girl in front of me scratched her head and sighed. I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked at the character I had created. Chae Nayun hated studying. She could’ve been the number one ranked female cadet, but she had to give up first place to Rachel due to written exams. Written exams were too much for her even if she gnashed her teeth in mortifying defeat.

Chae Nayun half-turned and glared at me. She must’ve heard me laugh. After all, sharpshooters had keen senses. I pretended to be calm and lowered my head into my notes. Chae Nayun clicked her tongue and faced forward.

The lesson continued about locations with high mana, monster behavior, djinns on the wanted list… The bell finally rang after 2 hours.

“Make sure to review your notes today. Otherwise, you’ll cry on the exam.”

The grey-haired professor wearing round eyeglasses left with those words.

“Argh, so annoying. Why do I have to learn all this? Written exams are so annoying.”

Chae Nayun complained the moment the professor left. However, she happily looked forward to the next class.

Anti-monster combat training. As its name suggested, we would fight against monsters. The monsters were mana puppets, but their appearance and destructive power matched the real thing. They were slightly weaker than their real counterparts, but a high chance of injury still existed.

I felt scared.

“We’re meeting at the field in 20 minutes!”

A loud voice rang out in the classroom. I turned towards the oval face, small gentle eyes, and muscular body that didn’t quite match. He was Kim Suho’s supporter, Yi Yeonghan. The instructor chose Yi Yeonghan to be class president since Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak didn’t get along.

Sigh.

I just hoped it wouldn’t hurt.

***

After a 20 minute break, everyone from Veritas gathered at the Novice Field. It seemed quite crowded with 100 students. The cadets shared their nervousness and excitement with friends, but I stood alone. Only I was alone.

“Fuck…”

Instructor Kim Soohyuk showed up as I wallowed in loneliness. The cadets immediately lined up into 10 columns in front of him.

“I’ll get straight to announcing the teams since I’m sure you all know what this lesson is about. Unless something special happens, your teams will remain the same until after midterms.”

Team formation. The cadets grew restless.

A team generally consisted of 5 members: 2 warriors, 1 sharpshooter, 1 supporter, and 1 utility player. Warriors were usually close range combatants like spearmen or swordsmen, sharpshooters were long ranged attackers, and supporters were people like Yoo Yeonha and Yi Yeonghan who attacked and also supported main attackers.

Finally, the utility player was generally a magician, so that would be excluded until after the first year. Supporters also had the additional role of protecting magicians. After all, magicians could easily turn the tides of battle.

My role would be a bit iffy. Roles were assigned based on our main weapon. I wasn’t a warrior, but I was also too lacking to be a proper sharpshooter. Guns had a much shorter range than bows and were weaker compared to melee weapons.

[Sharpshooter (long range) — Rank 4 Chae Nayun, Rank 9 Im Yeongjin… Rank 934 Kim Hajin, Rank 945 Oh Jiyun]

It seemed I was assigned as a sharpshooter.

“Team members will be selected fairly. Lower ranked cadets will be paired with higher ranked cadets.”

Kim Soohyuk announced to the class.

An artificial intelligence developed by the Great Sage administered Cube’s training classes, so there was no room for foul play. I could see the pitiful results with my own eyes.

[Team 1] [Kim Suho / Kim Lang] [Sung Seung-Un / Paine]

[Team 2] [Demian / Rosen] [Chun Lee / Chae Nayun]

…

…

[Team 5] [Jin Hoseung / Hazuki] [Kim Hajin / Yoo Yeonha]

“…”

I became speechless at my assigned team. Yoo Yeonha. Yoo Yeonha was on my team. In my novel, she was one of the most beloved and hated characters. Her eyes briefly flashed with contempt as we made eye contact. Her negativity disappeared by the time I blinked. Surprisingly, she walked towards me with a smile. Her long hair fluttered with each dignified step and her beautiful lips moved.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Ah, um, I…”

“Hoseung.”

I wasn’t the one she greeted. Meeting eyes with her was also my imagination. She spoke to the boy behind me.

“Ah, hello.”

“Weren’t we on the same team before?”

Yoo Yeonha talked too politely for a 17 year old, but that was how she kept her distance.

“Yes? Ah, right, haha.”

Jin Hoseung broke into a cold sweat after exchanging just 2 sentences. Yoo Yeonha was difficult to talk to, and it wasn’t just because of her background or personality. Yoo Yeonha and Shin Jonghak were officially a couple in everyone else’s eyes, but it was just a one-sided crush from Yoo Yeonha.

“Ah, Hazuki is here too.”

“Hello…”

Hazuki was a Japanese cadet as her name suggested. She walked over with teary eyes. Yoo Yeonha glanced at her slightly displeased, then spoke.

“Who’s the other person?”

“It’s me.”

Yoo Yeonha didn’t like people who lacked confidence, so I confidently stepped up. Hazuki and Jin Hoseung turned towards me.

“Uh…”

Hazuki tilted her head as though she didn’t know who I was.

“Ah, the guy who chose a gun.”

When Jin Hoseung mentioned that, I checked Yoo Yeonha’s expression. Unexpectedly, she didn’t show any emotion, but I found that even more frightening. Then Kim Soohyuk suddenly shouted.

“There’s no time for chitchat. You should’ve received the coordinates and information on your smartwatch regarding your target. Get going!”

Our class consisted of 25 teams. There were a total of 100 teams after the other classes joined. Our mission was to kill the monster at the coordinates. We would be ranked on how quickly and safely we completed the mission.

Wiing — Yoo Yeonha projected her smartwatch into the air as soon as the instructor shouted.

[Blackhump Octopus 37° 31’ 32” N]

The monster’s name and coordinate were displayed. Yoo Yeonha spoke briefly.

“Let’s go. We can talk while we’re moving.”

***

I ran through a field. The black hump octopus should be beyond this ocean of golden reeds, but I felt exhausted due to my horrible physical stats. The sneakers I made last night seemed useless. Its 1 hour duration hadn’t run out yet, but my stamina bottomed out. In the end, I fell and the team had to stop.

“It’s fine. What matters is whether or not we can kill the monster.”

Jin Hoseung handed me a water bottle as I gasped on the ground.

“He’s right. Apparently, this is common when you work with magicians.”

Hazuki also consoled me with her mediocre Korean. I felt thankful, but I was concerned about Yoo Yeonha’s reaction the most. Contrary to my expectations, she didn’t seem too displeased. She simply sat modestly on the ground, reading information about the black hump octopus on her watch. I also pulled up the information in my head.

[Blackhump Octopus] — low-intermediate rank monster — Special features: The main body is weak, but numerous baby octopuses will pop out from the hump on its head. They are quite difficult to deal with as dozens pop out at a time. The baby octopuses can suck human blood and turn them into mummies in just a second. They are classified as low rank monsters. — Strategy: Eliminate all baby octopuses. Alternatively, destroy the black hump where the main body’s magic power is stored. — Weakness: Black hump — Strength: Suction cups and baby octopuses.

I received thorough information about the blackhump octopus perhaps because I wrote the setting for it.

“I’ll deal with the babies while you two take care of the main body.”

Yoo Yeonha turned off her smartwatch and ordered Hazuki and Jin Haseung. Ah, I get it now. Yoo Yeonha acted like I didn’t exist. I was on the same level as air, which was why she didn’t reprimand me or seem displeased.

“… Let’s go now.”

I forced myself to stand after her offensive treatment. My stamina had recovered thanks to the sneakers.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll go first. Hup!”

I ran ahead of them. I was much faster than when I was on Earth, but I found myself far behind them again after 10 seconds.