Chapter 17

The scorching sun beat down on the track, causing mirages to shimmer in the air.

I ran on that track, breathless, my heart pounding in my chest.

Huff, huff, huff, huff…

The sweat-soaked hair stuck to my face, stinging my eyes.

I was almost done with the 50 laps.

My ankles felt like they had weights attached to them.

If I had paced myself from the start, it wouldn't have been this hard.

'From the start, 50 laps at full speed… '

I didn't care about the others.

Right now, all that mattered was putting one foot in front of the other and taking one more step forward.

But I was almost done.

To be honest, I had lost count of how many laps I'd done somewhere in the middle, but the instructor started calling out the lap count when I got confused.

"… 50. Jin Yuha, good job."

Thud.

I knelt on the ground, exhausted.

Drip, drip.

Saliva was dripping from my mouth, and the stench of sweat was overwhelming.

"Jin Yuha."

"Huh?"

I looked up, my eyes narrowed.

"Here, have some water."

The instructor handed me a water bottle.

"Thank you."

Glug, glug.

The cold water refreshed me, and I could finally take in my surroundings.

Kang Do-hee had already finished her 50 laps and was doing the next training session. Shin Se-hee was still on the track.

And the two men were sitting outside the track… Why aren't they training? Oh, right, they dropped out after a few laps at the beginning.

Everyone, including Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee, stared at me with their mouths open, as if they couldn't believe what they had just seen.

"Impressive. I never thought you'd actually do it… To be honest, I'm surprised."

Even the instructor was surprised.

"I thought it was just bravado when you said you wanted to train at the same level as the special admission students… But I guess you had your reasons."

"Heh heh heh."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's move on to the next training session."

From 8 am to 12 pm, we had four hours of basic training.

The instructor, as she had said the day before, conducted training at the level of the special admission students.

We wore weights on our ankles and repeatedly climbed up and down a rope.

We did handstands and push-ups, still with weights on our ankles.

We did squats and lunges to strengthen our thigh muscles.

The training was extremely harsh, testing the limits of our bodies at every moment, as if the weights we carried were meant for someone else.

Of course, not everyone could keep up the same pace.

Kang Do-hee was always the fastest, followed by me, and then Shin Se-hee, the magician.

The two men only tried a few laps at the beginning before dropping out and taking a break.

Every time I outperformed them, the instructor frowned, clearly displeased.

By the end, I was treated the same as the special admission students.

"That's it for today's basic training. Good job. We'll meet again after lunch for position training, starting with theory."

As soon as she said that, Kang Do-hee was off like a shot, probably to enjoy some food and relaxation.

'She's going to enjoy her hobbies now that she's endured four hours of training.'

I started to get up, intending to leave as well.

"Are you going to her again?"

Shin Se-hee stopped me.

"Don't do that. Come eat with me instead. I'll treat you. Is there anything you like?"

"No thanks."

I made it clear that I was uncomfortable with her offer. But Shin Se-hee just smiled wider.

"Jin Yuha, you're really interesting."

"I'm not particularly interesting. I should get going now…"

I tried to brush her off, but she started talking on her own.

"You clearly didn't need to enter through the quota system… Why did you? It's bothering me, and I want to know…"

"…"

"It's strange, but you seem to avoid me even though we just met…"

Shin Se-hee placed a finger on her lips and tilted her head, her clear and sparkling appearance befitting someone with a fan base based solely on her looks.

"If you know I'm avoiding you, why don't you just avoid me too?"

"Why do you hate me so much? I haven't done anything to you."

Shin Se-hee genuinely seemed confused.

"What about those two guys who like you? Why don't you pay attention to them instead?"

The two male quota students were sitting on the ground, sighing heavily, clearly dejected. Shin Se-hee looked at them with cold, disdainful eyes.

"Hmph, those trash?"

Shin Se-hee's voice was filled with contempt.

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I didn't expect her to speak so directly.

"Ah!"

She burst out laughing at my expression, giggling uncontrollably.

"Ah, your expression! Too funny! Why? Did you really not expect me to say that?"

"To be honest, yes."

I nodded reluctantly.

"Hmm, but if I didn't do this, you wouldn't even look at me, right? Look, you're looking at me now."

Her eyes shone with a strange light.

'Damn, this is why I didn't want to get involved with her.'

Shin Se-hee was smart.

Sometimes her intelligence went in the wrong direction, but it didn't change the fact that she was intelligent.

Fundamentally, she enjoyed manipulating people from behind the scenes, and she was quick to assess people and figure out how to control them.

In just one day, she had already figured out that the usual methods wouldn't work on me.

'But am I really worth all this effort?'

"I can do better than Do-hee. Why are you so obsessed with her?"

"Because I trust her."

Shin Se-hee chuckled.

"But Do-hee will be difficult, won't she?"

"Because she knows I didn't have to work hard to get in. If I can show her that's not the case…"

"No, that's not it. No matter how well you perform, you can't be close to Do-hee."

Shin Se-hee spoke with unusual firmness.

"Do-hee really hates the male quota system. It has something to do with her losing someone important."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

What the hell is she talking about?

I tried to recall Kang Do-hee's personal story.

Guild Master…

Yeah, the Guild Master.

The important person in Kang Do-hee's life was definitely her.

Whenever Kang Do-hee faced difficulties or challenges, she would smoke a cigarette and seek out the Guild Master. She was like an older sister that Kang Do-hee had followed since she was young.

'She was betrayed by her guild members… That's why her guild disbanded, and from then on, Kang Do-hee started wandering alone.'

That was as far as Kang Do-hee's personal story went in the game. Beyond that, it was a process of a wounded puppy slowly opening up and gaining trust.

It was a charming character arc where her initially dictatorial personality gradually became more outgoing. So, I expected some level of rejection at first.

'But how does the Guild Master's betrayal have anything to do with the male quota system?'

I looked at Shin Se-hee.

"If I use this as bait… You'll bite, won't you? How about we have lunch together?"

She smiled mischievously.

"If it's just for lunch… Sure."

I nodded.

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–

The place she led me to was one of the most expensive restaurants in the Velvet Academy.

It was a place where you couldn't get in without a reservation, and there were probably months of reservations already.

[Rohana Restaurant]

In Velvet Sera, sponsors could give gifts to the characters, and one of those gifts was a dining voucher for 'Rohana Restaurant'.

'It's a place that definitely increases favorability for food-loving characters.'

As expected of a rich young lady, she had free access without a reservation.

"Thank you for visiting us, Shin Se-hee. May I take your order?"

A smiling staff member approached us to take our orders. Shin Se-hee turned to me.

"What would you like?"

"Black Cow Steak, medium-rare. The rest is up to you."

I answered without even looking at the menu, and Shin Se-hee looked surprised.

"Wow, that's the best dish here! Ah, I'll have the same. The rest, the usual."

"Yes, your order is taken."

"Have you been here before, Jin Yuha?"

"Not often…"

I didn't want to say I had been here often in the game, so I answered vaguely.

"Hmm, but why didn't I know…"

"That's not important. Anyway, why does Kang Do-hee hate the male quota system?"

I didn't want to get too involved, so I went straight to the point.

"Hmm…"

Shin Se-hee looked at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

She seemed to be assessing how much more she could get out of me, but surprisingly, she nodded.

"Yeah, I'll tell you. It's something you can easily find on the internet anyway. This information isn't worth more than a meal."

"Ah."

"It's best to use bait with a short expiration date, right?"

She smiled faintly.

"Hmm, this is just my personal investigation, so it might not be entirely accurate… It was two years ago."

2 years ago.

Kang Do-hee was a rising dealer in the Paradis Guild, slowly building a reputation for herself.

And the Guild Master was Kang Do-hee's role model.

She was perfect in every way, both physically and in terms of personality.

S-grade Hunter, Choi Hye-seo.

She had a strong sense of responsibility to protect people and was considerate of her guild members. She was admirable in every way. Kang Do-hee followed her around, learning about the life of a hunter and gaining valuable experience.

But then, an incident occurred.

"Guild Master!"

"Ah, Do-hee."

"Why are you summoning all the guild members?"

Kang Do-hee asked, and Choi Hye-seo rubbed her temples, looking troubled.

"Haa, there was a gate explosion, and we need to send a support team."

"Gate explosion?"

"Yeah, Arachne's Nest. The gate there exploded."

The Arachne's Nest was a B-grade gate, not very popular because there wasn't much to gain, and the sticky spider webs were hard to get rid of, causing hunters to discard their clothes. As a result, monsters had expanded their territory, and the gate had exploded.

"But this one's a tricky type. The boss monster isn't coming out of the gate."

"Huh?"

The incident was certainly unusual. Typically, when a gate exploded, both boss monsters and regular monsters would spill out together.

"The boss monster is sending its minions outside the gate to kidnap people and bring them into the gate."

"What do we do then?"

"We have to rescue them. So, this operation is a rescue mission."

"Got it, I'll prepare!"

"No, only the guild elites will go this time. Sorry, Do-hee, but you can't come."

"Why not!"

"The gate is B-grade, but this rescue operation requires A-grade hunters."

At the time, Kang Do-hee was still a B-grade hunter.

Of course, in terms of potential, rumors circulated that she was better than S-grade Choi Hye-seo, but she was still a rookie, so it couldn't be helped.

Once the order had been given, there was nothing Choi Hye-seo could do.

"Chet! Fine… Be careful."

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon."

Swish, swish—

Choi Hye-seo left with the guild elites, leaving Kang Do-hee behind.

And…

To cut to the chase, the Paradis Guild successfully rescued the captives.

The boss monster, Arachne, had a clear weakness to fire, and with S-grade hunter Choi Hye-seo leading the charge, it was only natural.

They sent magicians specializing in fire magic at the front lines, and the monsters had no choice but to succumb.

They were able to rescue the kidnapped people in time.

However, the problem came after that.

Boom!

"What the hell is this nonsense! Hye-seo did sexual harassment?!"

"That's what they're claiming, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"And, to be honest, isn't that possible? You know as well as I do that inside the gate, machines don't work, and these kinds of things happen easily. That's why drug deals and stuff happen there."

"Bullshit! Hye-seo wouldn't do something like that!!!"

Despite Kang Do-hee's protests, no one listened to her.

The general public, other guilds she was close with, and even members of the Paradis Guild turned their backs on her.

Day after day, the news was filled with articles about the sexual harassment incident, and online portals were flooded with comments condemning Choi Hye-seo.

How many times had she risked her life on hunts? How many people had she saved?

Yet, the world treated her great achievements as 'trivial' and rushed to bury her.

"Hye-seo…"

"Do-hee—! Are you worried about me? I'm fine. The truth will come out eventually."

Choi Hye-seo tried to reassure Kang Do-hee, but she couldn't completely hide the wavering in her heart.

From then on, a tedious legal battle ensued.

Kang Do-hee and Choi Hye-seo of the Paradis Guild gathered evidence and testimonies to fight their case, but as other hunters' stories took center stage, the sexual harassment incident was soon forgotten.

When almost all interest had faded…

"I sentence you not guilty."

Finally, the Guild Master was able to clear her name.

While her acquittal was a big deal among hunters, the general public still saw Choi Hye-seo as a trashy person who took advantage of the dungeon's closed nature to satisfy her desires.

In the end, the Paradis Guild Master retired a few months later.

.

.

.

"So, Do-hee ended up not being able to trust anyone and started wandering alone."

Shin Se-hee pierced her steak with a fork and brought it to her mouth as she spoke.

"So, because of the male quota system…"

"Yes, after the Paradis Guild Master went through that, the Hunter Management Bureau came up with the male quota system as a countermeasure. The rationale was that male rescues should be done by males. So, Do-hee can't feel good about it."

"Haa…"

"Hmm, it's about time. Let's head back to the training ground."

Slurp.

Shin Se-hee finished her drink and stood up.

'So, that's what happened…'

I followed Shin Se-hee, deep in thought.

If Shin Se-hee was right, it would indeed be difficult to get close to Kang Do-hee.

'And Kang Do-hee doesn't really participate in the academy much. She only attends the necessary classes and spends the rest of her time either hunting outside or holed up in her room.'

It was an unusual academy life, more like a hunter life.

She gained fame as a hunter outside the academy while being sponsored by a player, and her personality gradually brightened as she was exposed to the Guild Master.

'Of course, she does participate in major events within the academy, but she only makes brief appearances and then disappears again.'

It seemed like I needed to work quickly to erase my male quota label from her mind.

'Let's start by showing my skills.'

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