Chapter 8

After the Skill training class, Class B moved to the swamp. Terrain adaptation training, which was the specialty of Lion’s Castle, was beginning.

“Swamps are one of the most common terrains found in gates. But just because swamps are common doesn’t mean they can be taken lightly. The waters are murky, which means depths are hard to gauge. The soft mud and tangled roots will also cause you to lose your balance at the slightest misstep. Moreover... ”

Kim Jin-Myeong’s voice turned serious. “Swamps are inhabited by a bevy of poisonous insects and monsters. These monsters are vicious and clever. Normally, it’s almost impossible to spot them with the naked eye, but they are the first to appear once you’re stuck in the mud or drowning.”

The longer the explanation went, the paler the students’ faces became.

Kim Jin-Myeong didn’t comfort them. He wanted his students to understand the risk that came with being a player.

Gates were dangerous, extremely so. There were many awakeners, but due to this inherent danger, few of them ever went on to raise their level.

Those who desired wealth, fame, and power; those born with a warrior’s spirit; and those with firm beliefs and goals greater than their lives—these were the special few who went on to level up.

The true players.

“The swamp is a player’s graveyard. Once you sink into the mud or fall into the water, your odds of surviving shrink rapidly. Countless people have died this way. And no wonder, the swamp is among the most common environments encountered in gates. Wherever a player goes, death is lurking.”

“......”

Seeing that the class had been sufficiently scared, Kim Jin-Myeon cleared his throat. “It’s best to avoid entering swamps wherever possible. However, to clear quests, sometimes you’ll find that you have no choice. When you must enter a swamp, it’s ideal to be accompanied by a player with a heightened Insight stat. Such players have keen senses, so it will be easier to spot and deal with the monsters hiding in the swamp. You can’t count on one being available, though... ”

Kim Jin-Myeong made eye contact with each student before shifting his gaze to the vast swamp in front of him. “Ultimately, the best way to protect yourself from the dangers of the swamp is to become familiar with them; to become proficient at moving through it; and to learn how your weapons and Skills can best aid you in this environment. ”

That was the end of the explanation.

Kim Jin-Myeong began grabbing students and throwing them into the swamp.

“Uwaaaack!”

“Ahhh, ahhhh!’

All hell broke loose.

Should I give up my dream of becoming a player?

The number of students who entertained such thoughts rapidly increased.

On the other hand, Jae-Hyeok was excited. The idea of adapting to new environments sounded fun. Learning how to move through a swamp would definitely make him stronger.

It isn’t just the swamp

.

There were more than ten types of terrain that he could experience at Lion’s Castle. During his Skill training class, Jae-Hyeok had wondered if learning at Lion’s Castle was a waste of time. Now, he was glad that he’d entered this place.

The swamp was an unfamiliar environment even for Jae-Hyeok, so he studied the students who were thrown in first.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Splashing around clumsily, the students were a sorry sight, and Jae-Hyeok’s laughter mixed with their screams.

Kim Jin-Myeong’s boot quickly found his bottom, and Jae-Hyeok was also submerged. So he stepped on the shoulder of Cheon Hye-Ji, who was crying for help; kicked off the butt of Lee Jin-Seong, who was tangled up with a classmate and falling forward; and used Du Bae-Su’s large face as a stepping stone. Now that he’d found his footing, he used this time to analyze his surroundings.

While he watched the water, Jae-Hyeok imagined the other students as monsters and studied how the ripples and waves changed according to the direction and force of the students' movements.

“Hey, Hey! Kang Jae-Hyeok! Don’t step on the other kids!”

Kim Jin-Myeong’s angry shouts came from the distance. He was busy rescuing the students who were about to drown, so he couldn’t come over directly.

But Jae-Hyeok didn’t seem to hear his shouts...

***

“Is he even human?”

“I almost died because of that bastard... Uweek!”

Lee Jin-Seong and Du Bae-Su spat out mud as they watched Jae-Hyeok, who was laughing in the distance.

After rolling around in the swamp for three hours, the students were ready to faint from exhaustion. So when they spotted Jae-Hyeok ahead, their stomachs twisted. Unlike them, he’d somehow avoided being completely covered in mud, and he was splashing around energetically with a smile on his face.

They wanted revenge.

“I’m going to kill him. I’m definitely going to kill him... ” Cheon Hye-Ji chanted in a low voice. The look on her mud-smeared face was fierce. She probably would’ve thrown a Skill at Jae-Hyeok if she had any mana left.

They have grit.

Jae-Hyeok looked at his classmates with satisfaction. Seeing how they could still whine after rolling in the swamp for three hours, their tenacity wasn’t bad.

Developing an Initial Skill demanded intense practice over a long period. And besides Jae-Hyeok, the Class B students had all awakened. They’d developed an Initial Skill. Although the exact methods varied, this was unquestionable proof of their hard work, perseverance, and dedication.

The problem is that their bodies fall short of their wills.

Jae-Hyeok sighed. What type of confidence did these brats have to decide to awaken?

After awakening, players could easily gain strength by earning stat points, but at the same time, they could no longer grow stronger by training. Exercise would no longer strengthen their muscles and slowly raise their stats.

In other words, once the System was fully activated, the human body couldn’t be trained in the conventional way. To become stronger, Players had no choice: they had to earn stats through levels and quests.

That was why Jae-Hyeok was training his body as much as possible before awakening. It was his only opportunity: he needed to have high base stats if he was to survive awakening under his enemy's nose.

I suppose I am abnormal from their point of view

.

Others chose to awaken as soon as possible. As Awakened, they only needed to raise their level to become stronger. They naturally wouldn’t choose to suffer like Jae-Hyeok was. They could also learn skills such as swordsmanship and martial arts much more easily after awakening and increasing their stats.

Maybe I could’ve also...

. If his parents were fine and he’d lived a normal life, perhaps Jae-Hyeok would’ve walked the same path as everyone else.

As he thought about his mother and father, Jae-Hyeok’s eyes lowered.

He missed them, and he only grew more sad thinking of the hardships he had to suffer in their absence.

Jae-Hyeok groaned and shook off his distracting thoughts.

He focused on the swamp waters, which he’d grown rather familiar with.

So... in the advanced stage of training, this is where they’ll release monsters?

He looked forward to it.

The only problem was that Jae-Hyeok wasn’t exactly in a position to kill monsters.

I need to quickly obtain the Skill I want and awaken... Will three years be enough time?

The world and luck had always turned their backs on Jae-Hyeok. If his efforts betrayed him now, would he be able to endure it?

I... can’t feel comfortable with thoughts like this

. He needed to hurry up and sweat, to swing his sword until he passed out. Only then would the thoughts leave. Just in time, Kim Jin-Myeong announced the end of training. “That’s it for today’s lesson. I’m sure you are all tired, so go back to your dorm room, wash up, and eat.”

The students trudged out of the swamp like zombies. By the time they flopped onto solid land, Jae-Hyeok had already run off into the distance.

“I... bet one hundred thousand won that... the bastard’s main stat is Stamina,” one student said between hard breaths.

“I bet... one hundred thousand won on Agility. He.. stepped on my head earlier... but he was so fast that I couldn’t catch him,” another student said wearily.

“I thought there were rumors that he had a high Magic stat?” a third student asked.

“Uh...?”

There’s a saying that even if a rich person dies, their wealth will last for another three generations. Could the son of a ruined duke still consume elixirs?

The students exchanged absurd glances and asked seriously, “Teacher, shouldn’t Kang Jae-Hyeok be sent to Class A?”

Kim Jin-Myeong hesitated, then sighed. “It might be cruel to tell you this, but Class A is on a different level. They’d already raised their level

before

they were admitted to Lion’s Castle.”

The students were stunned. One of them asked, “Are you saying that they have experienced gates before?”

“Yes, many of the kids in Class A have leveled up in gates through the support of their family, but the gap between Class A and the other classes isn’t simply based on levels. Even for their levels, the Class A students have outstanding stats.”

The children of high-ranking nobles and tycoons rarely entered Lion’s Castle. There were only a few special cases like the successor of the Shinra family. Even still, the children of ordinary aristocrats and businessmen could also fill up their three Skill slots easily enough. In short, what set Class A’s strength apart was more than mere levels.

“......”

The students glanced over at Park Hae-Rin. She was the young lady of the Guardian Guild, one of the top five guilds in South Korea. Why was she in Class B and not A? No, why was she even at Lion’s Castle in the first place? A guild was a corporation that involved dozens or even hundreds of players. Since Park Hae-Rin was the daughter of the Guardian Guild’s guild master, shouldn’t the guild have helped her power-level?

“......”

Park Hae-Rin got up and walked away silently.

***

Jae-Hyeok took a shower, cleaned up, and left his room. He stepped into the common area while brushing a hand through his wet hair.

Let’s eat first

.

The students who shared the same dormitory building as Jae-Hyeok glanced over. They couldn’t help doing so every time they encountered him.

Tall, well-groomed, and good-looking.

Jae-Hyeok was a great sight even when wearing only sportswear and his sword belt. Even so, no one took the initiative to approach and talk to him.

He was the son of Duke Kang Dae-Guk.

The public’s view of the Kang family was cold.

If Jae-Hyeok had given off a weak impression, then there would’ve been many students who argued with him. But Jae-Hyeok’s sharp eyes, which gave off the impression of a rough guy, actually created some peace for him.

On top of that, rumors had already spread. Jae-Hyeok was a rare delinquent who received twenty demerit points on the first day of school. Aside from threatening an entire classroom of students, he’d also gotten into a fistfight with a second-year awakener.

At the very least, the first-year students weren’t confident that they could handle Jae-Hyeok.

Meanwhile, the second-year students had a different view.

Students at Lion’s Castle varied in age. There were even students in their thirties because the common people would frequently enter Lion’s Castle after developing a Skill.

That was why the average age of Class C was so high, unlike Class A and B.

Still, like any school, seniority at Lion’s Castle was determined by the school year and not by age. So among the second-year students, there was an argument that they shouldn’t forgive the cheeky first-year who dared to hit his second-year senior.

A representative of the group decided to take action against Jae-Hyeok.

“Hey, are you Kang Jae-Hyeok?”

“Huh? What do you want?” Jae-Hyeok turned to look at an older student who’d approached him.

“What do I want? Kang Jae-Hyeok, dude, don’t you see the color of my tracksuit? Why are you talking so rudely to a second-year senior? Is this your first time going to school? Eh?”

“Yeah, it’s my first time.”

“Oh...uh... in any case, isn't it common sense to treat your seniors with respect? Were you not educated at home? Huh?””

Jae-Hyeok frowned. “Yeah, I wasn’t educated at home, so what?”

“......”

The second-year student was once again speechless and stepped back for a moment.

Jae-Hyeok questioned him, “Just what the fuck are you doing? Why are you suddenly touching on someone else’s painful family history?”

“I-I didn’t know.”

“I’m the son of Kang Dae-Guk. I’ve been stuck at home all my life, caring for my ailing father. Don’t you know that?”

“I-I think I heard about it on TV a long time ago..”

“Then tone down, will you? Don’t mess with other people's family matters. Next time, just talk about the incident that happened at lunch if you want to pick a fight.”

“Y-yes.”

The second-year student scurried back to his group, and they had a strategy meeting to discuss alternative insults for Jae-Hyeok. By the time the second-year student looked back, Jae-Hyeok was already gone. “W-where did that bastard go?”

***

Is this school a bad place? There are so many strange people here,

Jae-Hyeok thought.

Oh. This is a gate. Of course it’s a bad place.

Jae-Hyeok arrived at the cafeteria and soon forgot about those thoughts. He had a wide smile as he built a tower of food on two plates.