10 Arms Akimbo VI
It is only the third day, but I am already in deep shit.
I can hardly pay attention to the class. I mean, damn, the history class is quite interesting as it tells about Outcall and all of the interesting world-building functioning in this world. It is like I am hearing the Creation Myth for the first time, but I cannot even focus on that as my imagination is tilting towards the unsavory.
The history class finally ends.
After a 20-minute break, everyone from the Veritas class gathers at the Novice Field.
Oh… freaking fucky fucks…
I glance at Kim Hajin who is similarly as nervous as me. No, scratch that. I am more nervous than him. My legs are getting wobbly. I glance at the dual daggers on my hands.
Yesterday, after arguing with the instructor Kim Soohyuk to extend his deadline so that I can find the perfect weapon for me, I end up being forced on using the double daggers which despite sounding so cool is actually damn difficult to wield.
Anti-Monster Combat Training.
This is it. The world will show me for the phony I am. They will learn how unsuitable I am in combat and will kick me out. Maybe, this will be for the better. Chae Nayun won't chase me outside the academy, right?
I start hoping for the best.
"If you suddenly drop out, trust me I will hunt you to the end of the world…"
I turn around, only to see Chae Nayun's passing silhouette. Is she a mind reader? To warn me so conveniently like that. I cannot even fail this Training as that will definitely spell my definite end.
"THANKS FOR THE MOTIVATION!" I shout in her direction, not daring to say her name as I might attract the others' aggression... not that I am attracting a lot of attention already. That aside, my taunting seems to work as Nayun momentarily stops in her tracks.
While I am battling my inner demons who call themselves Anxiety, Fear, and Constipation, our dear instructor Kim Soohyuk finally shows up to facilitate the training.
The Cadets immediately stand up in ten columns in front of the instructor.
"I'm sure you all know what this lesson is about, so I'll announce the teams without explanation. Unless something special happens, this team will be the same until after midterms."
Team Formation. It is a familiar term for me. It generally is composed of two warriors, one sharpshooter, one supporter, and one utility player. Warriors are close combat specialists. They meet their enemies head-on and provide cover for their teammates. Sharpshooters are long-ranged combat specialists responsible for attacking enemies from a distance. Second to last, there are Supporters who cover the gap in their team and give aid in lacking areas. Lastly, there are Utility Players who generally magicians occupy. They give various benefits to the team with their magic.
Warriors, Sharpshooters, Supporters, and Utility Players. They are the roles that every one of us has to fulfill to make a functioning team. For a long time since Outcall, this theory has been the standard of team formations allowing the most optimized synergies regardless of circumstance and challenges
I wait in bated breath for the great reveal of my own role in this Team Formation.
[Supporter— Rank 5 Yoo Yoenha, Rank 6 Yi Yoenghan... Rank 1111 Hyon Hyung.]
Looks like it is a no-brainer. I am a Supporter. With my daggers, if I learn a little bit of throwing, I might become more flexible in my role. Sigh… I wish…
"Team members will be selected fairly. Lower ranked cadets will be paired with higher ranked cadets." Kim Soohyuk announces with not a change in his tone.
The Great Sage, a historical figure, develops an 'Artificial Intelligence' to administer the Cube's training classes to foster the future generation in a way there will be no corruption or persuasion. It is quite a fair existence if I do say so myself.
Just that... it makes me wonder, how do even Djinns manage to infiltrate Cube?
I remove the useless thoughts and focus on what is ahead of me.
My assigned team is more than I can bargain for.
Shin Jonghak.
Shin Jonghak is on my team.
I will be frank. I am praying deep in my heart to have Rachel on my team only for fate to screw me sideways. Why Jonghak of all people? I glance at the blonde girl just a dozen meters away from me, and then I turn back and look at Jonghak.
"Do you have a problem with me?" Shin Jonghak looks at me, and bluntly asks for my opinion, of course with the occasional threatening glare. "Look down, you bastard..." He cusses finding my eye contact as annoying.
There is only one way for me to get out of this position. "Shin Myungchul is the best!" I cry to him.
The impression of me having a screw loose is already an established fact, and using this to my advantage seems to be quite probable. I repeat. "Shin Myungchul is the best!"
Shin Myungchul. The Hero of Outcall, the apocalyptic event where monsters suddenly spring up to the world from towers and dungeons. The no.1 figure of that era is definitely the Hero, Shin Myungchul!
Shin Jonghak. The grandson of Hero Shin Myungchul, and the Secondary Main Character of The Returnee Hero. He is snobby, arrogant, and immature. He is a difficult person.
But if there is one positive attribute to him that stands out from the rest, it is not that he is the grandson of Shin Myunchul, but because he idolizes and respects Shin Myungchul to an exaggerated degree. In other words, he is a big fanboi…
"SHIN MYUNGCHUL IS THE BEST!" I continue on my ass-kissing relentlessly on the innocent Jonghak. "Among the Heroes, he is the best. He is immortalized for his heroics, thus he is more immortal than anyone! He is a hero to everyone! If he is a star, then he is the brightest star to ever exist. Even now, he keeps watching us to see if we abide by his values!" I don't even know what I am saying, but I continue nonetheless as I see Jonghak smugly rubbing his nose with pride.
Without mistake, Jonghak is blushing from my praises for Shin Myungchul.
Suddenly, someone starts pulling my ear.
"O-ouch! Ouch! I-it hurts!"
Chae Nayun scolds me with a whisper. "Stop with your schemes, Devil…"
She finally lets me go as she is busy with her own matters and team.
I sense the awkward silence within my own team. They are just looking at me as if I am some kind of rare animal from the Zoo. The only one to not feel the awkwardness is Jonghak as he powerfully pats my back.
"Great, great! You know your stuff!" He compliments me, still smug from my high praises.
"You lot dare not be a hindrance, or else, all of you are dead…" He suddenly threatens us, sending a chill down my spine. Are you bipolar? I dread the thought.
At that moment, Kim Soohyuk shouts loudly.
"There's no time for chitchat. You should have gotten the coordinates and information of the monster you'll need to kill on your smartwatch. Get going!"
With that as a start, my team runs forward in a scramble. Shin Jonghak leads the way while glancing at his back whether his teammates are able to follow him. I hear him clicking his tongue, clearly showing his annoyance to us.
Our speed dissatisfies him.
Fortunately, when he is inspecting us, I activate the [Always Here] effect of my Gift so that I can blend in the background and not gather his ire. I am a Nobody, and they should not pay attention to me.
Admittedly, my physical abilities are really trash as it doesn't even take me a minute to realize that I am at the rear of the pack, and my distance from my team is only growing wider.
I am lagging behind miserably. Hopefully, they won't notice me.
There are a total of 25 teams. Including the other classes joining in, there is a total of 100 cadets. It is a competition of time on who is the fastest to clear their mission objectives.
Our mission is to head to the coordinates to kill the designated monster. The faster we kill it, and the safer the method we use, the higher our rank will be.
[Blackhump Octopus 73 Degrees 13' 23'' N]
Jonghak projects the information of our target from his smartwatch.
"We move fast, we kill fast, we rest fast…" With an almost militaristic attitude, Jonghak leads our team. After sprinting for some time, we then rest under the shade of a tree. Quickly, we resume our march at superhuman speeds where I can barely keep up.
As I am gasping for breath, I try to recall information about the Blackhump Octopus. I need to contribute, and in my case, I cannot even see myself fighting with my stats, especially with my daggers.
"The… weakness of… Blackhump Octopus is its black hump… And be careful… of its suction cups and baby octopuses." I falter in my steps as we increase our pace further. I can only hope that they hear my advice, as the others leave me to dust, They sure are fast and have stamina.
A short while later while I am gasping for breath, I finally reach my destination.
I arrive at the scene of Jonghak reclaiming the spear embedded in the monster's black hump.
The fighting ends even before I see the action. I am dead weight, and that much is true. After subjugating the Blackhump Octopus, Shin Jonghak comes to confront me in his rigid voice. I am happy enough that he is not resorting to anger.
"You are weak. If you wish to become a Hero, become stronger. If you cannot, you can still be a Hero, but not here in Cube." Just like that, he leaves me on my own.
Ouch. His words sting, but I have no retort. He is right. I am weak. Surprisingly, Jonghak might have more heart than he shows. I recall him from the novel as the temperamental bastard who gets angry at the smallest slight or mistake. My impression of him is biased, but I decide he must be a cool guy.
I look at my double daggers.
Still desperate for a weapon… I scoff at my own weakness, but if my gambit pays off, I will be able to acquire the strongest arms I can get for myself.
"I will become stronger…" I swear to myself.
