Chapter 88

〈 Chapter 88 〉 Chapter 87: How to Steal a Hero's Woman (1-7)

‘Phew… Thank goodness. It’s much better than yesterday.’

[But Cho Seohyun is watching you from the side. You should be tense.]

Today’s morning class for Class 5 of the Engineering and Combat Department is sparring.

The students were sparring as arranged by Cho Seohyun.

Despite there being only 30 students, they were all engaging in sparring without restraint, making the large training ground seem full.

Among them, the duel between sword and spear stood out.

In particular, Song Arara caught the eye.

She was moving brilliantly, sparring with a male student who was wielding a spear, her specialty being the sword.

‘Crazy… They could decapitate each other in one move.’

[Mr. Guardian, since you have hand techniques, if you use your abilities to learn swordsmanship or spear techniques, you could reach a higher level than them.]

‘Oh! Hand techniques are the best!’

Although I haven’t held a sword or spear myself, I estimate their levels to be between 20 and 40.

At that level, except for someone like Song Arara, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

While the students were sparring diligently, Cho Seohyun, who was standing next to me with her arms crossed, shouted at them.

“There! You’re thrusting the spear too deep!”, “Too slow! In that situation, you should counter with a thrust!”, “The bowstring is shaking too much! Focus!”

Cho Seohyun’s specialty is dagger techniques.

I haven’t seen her in combat yet, so I can’t evaluate her, but from her shouts alone, I can guess her level.

Even though it’s not her specialty, she was clearly identifying and informing the students of their weaknesses.

-[Dagger Techniques LV 39], [Sword Techniques LV 27]…-

Even if there is a weapon that my hand techniques can affect, it seems unlikely that I could beat Cho Seohyun.

After some time, Cho Seohyun’s loud voice echoed through the training ground.

“Stop! 10-minute break!”

Everyone sat down where they were, still holding their weapons, catching their breath and starting to chat with each other.

In particular, the voice of one male student was clearly audible to me.

“Ah, Song Arara is really merciless….”

“Well, you should practice more often~”

“You should take it easy more often….”

Even I, who don’t know much about combat, could see that the male student was thoroughly beaten by Song Arara.

Given the opponent, it couldn’t be helped….

After watching Song Arara for a few days, I had one thought.

‘What a waste. If she used a bow, which suits her, no one except Cho Seohyun could match her here.’

[You can’t really know a talent just by having it, so it’s inevitable.]

‘True… If I hadn’t seen the skill chart, I wouldn’t have known my talent either.’

That hand technique… If I hadn’t seen the skill chart, I would have lived my whole life without knowing.

After all, it’s your life, and you live it.

Still, she’s a good kid, and I felt like helping her in some way.

I tend to feel good towards anyone who treats me well, so I liked Song Arara.

From the side, Cho Seohyun’s shouts could be heard.

“Alright! Resume sparring!”

I cut off my interest in Song Arara and focused on the students again.

..

..

After the morning sparring and class, Cho Seohyun took me to the faculty office.

Without small talk, she got straight to the point.

“Next week, when the server stabilizes, we’ll start VR virtual training. Have you tried it before?”

“…No.”

“Sigh….”

Cho Seohyun sighed deeply upon hearing my answer.

I just answered her question….

‘I can see why everyone dislikes this woman….’

[But Mr. Guardian, you helped her on the first day, so this is probably the least she could do.]

‘Both Seong Soo-a and Cho Seohyun are really tough….’

Being ignored or looked down upon wasn’t a big issue.

Even if I get annoyed, the moment that woman is panting in front of me, all the frustration will be gone.

Luna also didn’t give a good first impression.

But since I ended up loving her, it’s hard to say what will happen with Cho Seohyun.

Cho Seohyun ignored my state and continued.

“Starting next week, the embassy will begin VR virtual training. You’ll use it to face monsters that are hard to encounter in real life.”

“Ah….”

The VR virtual training Cho Seohyun mentioned was on a different level from the VR I used in my world.

She explained that once you enter the capsule, you’ll be transported to a real virtual place and can feel all your senses perfectly.

The reason she asked if I had tried VR virtual training was simple.

Most people like me don’t get to see such capsules….

“Take this first.”

“Is it a card…?”

Cho Seohyun handed me a yellow card.

“Yes, you can use this to enter the VR virtual training room. Try it out yourself. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of the students next week.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

She talks so nicely….

Cho Seohyun, having said what she needed to say, started typing on the desk.

“Then, go ahead.”

“Okay.”

I formally answered and left the faculty office.

The corridor was bustling with people, probably because it was lunchtime.

‘Cho Seohyun… What should I do….’

[It’s only been three days. You can take your time to think.]

‘If I could just tie a thread of conversation like with Seong Soo-a….’

Once you build a personal relationship, it’s natural to be more cautious in a professional setting.

Moreover, Cho Seohyun seems to have a childlike quality, which might make her more susceptible to influence….

But her childlike nature makes it hard to gauge.

Should I recommend a manga that Viola likes?

While my mind was preoccupied with thoughts about Cho Seohyun, I arrived at the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was as crowded as usual.

‘Well, Cho Seohyun is Cho Seohyun. I should eat quickly and go back to the dorm to rest a bit.’

A nap after lunch is really the best.

With that thought, I picked up a tray and joined the line, when a voice came from behind.

“Oh? What a coincidence.”

“Huh?”

Turning around with my tray, I saw Seong Soo-a looking at me with a fresh smile.

..

..

By chance, Seong Soo-a and I ended up eating together in the cafeteria.

I asked her about the VR virtual training I had heard from Cho Seohyun.

“Oh, VR virtual training?”

“Yes, have you done it a lot, Instructor Seong Soo-a?”

“No. In the Magic Department, there’s almost no use for it.”

According to Seong Soo-a, the VR virtual training equipment doesn’t recognize mana, so it’s rarely used by magic heroes.

“Many places were trying to create equipment that could recognize mana, but now they’re silent.”

“It must be tough for mages. If such equipment existed, they could have received much better training.”

“…Yes.”

Seong Soo-a looked at me with a meaningful smile.

I wondered what it meant but didn’t pay much attention.

Suddenly, she looked as if something had come to mind and said,

“Oh! I pulled the records of the student I mentioned yesterday. I’ll give them to you later.”

“Ah… You don’t have to go to so much trouble for me….”

“It’s fine. Let me know whenever you need anything.”

I whispered to Armonia,

‘…Troublesome.’

[….]

I just brought up the topic to start a conversation, but now it feels troublesome.

However, despite my annoyance, it ultimately led to a helpful situation.

Seong Soo-a smiled brightly and said,

“I’ll take the records to the VR virtual training room after class. I also want to try VR virtual training.”

..

..

Beep.

I entered the VR virtual training room with the card key given by Cho Seohyun.

‘I don’t know what kind of person Seo Ji-eun is, but she’s really helpful….’

[From the way she’s approaching you, it seems she has a very positive opinion of you, Mr. Guardian.]

Thanks to Seo Ji-eun, it seems Seong Soo-a has judged me to be a decent person.

She even asked me to show her how to use the VR machine.

I naturally agreed, and after class, Seong Soo-a told me to go to the VR virtual training room first.

She said she would go to the faculty office to get Seo Ji-eun’s records and join me shortly.

Inside the room, there were VR machines large enough for one person to enter, arranged in a row.

I felt a similar sense of excitement as when I first visited a PC room.

‘Wow, so cool!’

The capsules were all shiny and new, looking really impressive.

After admiring them for a while, Seong Soo-a returned.

Seong Soo-a smiled and handed me the records.

“Here they are.”

“It’s a bother… Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Let me know whenever you need anything.”

She tapped the shiny capsule with her finger and said to me,

“Shall we try it out?”

“Sure.”

Seong Soo-a explained everything from the basics, from how to open the VR machine to how to position yourself inside.

She also told me about the different types of VR machines.

There are high-end capsule types and home-use headgear types.

However, the headgear types have lower precision and are not used for the combat training at the embassy.

They are mostly used for games.

“I have a headgear type in my dorm.”

“Ah, I didn’t think Instructor Seong Soo-a would play games. Surprising.”

“Haha… I don’t play games. I had a specific purpose, but I never ended up using it….”

Her tone suggested there was a story behind it.

But I was more concerned that she didn’t play games.

‘Oh… If she liked games, she would have tried to get one somehow.’

[It’s an extremely expensive item. It costs about 500 million won.]

Armonia seems to have misunderstood. I was talking about the headgear….

‘No, not the capsule. I’m talking about the headgear type.’

[The headgear type costs 500 million won.]

‘…Damn.’

That’s really expensive. Is she crazy?

Spending 500 million won on a game?

Well, it’s a virtual reality game, not a few hundred won computer game.

Seong Soo-a opened the capsule to lighten the mood and gestured for me to enter.

“Go in first. I’ll explain how to connect and then join you.”

“Okay.”

I entered the capsule and closed the door, then operated the panels inside as Seong Soo-a instructed.

As I did, the world went dark, and the screen went black.

..

..

“Wow….”

The darkness lasted only 2-3 seconds, and when I opened my eyes, I was alone in a dark space.

In front of me, a holographic window floated, saying, “Unregistered character. Please register your body to connect.”

I ignored the hologram and spread my hands to look at my body.

“Interesting… But why is my clothes like this?”

The clothes I was wearing were not the instructor’s uniform but a plain outfit.

It was a simple T-shirt and jeans, neither stylish nor flashy.

A voice echoed in the dark space.

(That’s the initial outfit. You can change it to the instructor’s uniform later.)

“Ah, Instructor Seong Soo-a?”

The beautiful, melodic voice immediately identified her as Seong Soo-a.

(Yes, it’s me. This place is in offline mode. First, press the ‘Register’ button on the window in front of you. Your body will be registered.)

“Huh? I thought the server was down.”

(Yes, but I heard that basic registration, connection, and login are still possible.)

“Okay, then….”

I pressed the ‘Register’ button on the hologram in front of me, and a circular progress bar appeared, starting to register my body.

After about 30 seconds, a completion message appeared with my name.

-Registration complete. Welcome, Seong Soo-ho.-

“…Nothing happened?”

(Haha, most functions are currently disabled.)

“Ah… I guess there’s nothing to do then.”

(I’ll connect too. The last time I connected was when I was a student, but it should still work.)

“Okay.”

While Seong Soo-a entered the capsule, I called Armonia.

‘Armonia, can you hear me?’

[Yes, I can hear you.]

‘Phew, thank goodness. Here, unlike in a dream, we can communicate.’

Even though nothing much would happen in virtual reality, it felt reassuring to have Armonia around.

While I stood there, a voice came from behind.

“It’s been a while since I’ve entered like this.”

“Haha, it’s been a while….”

I turned around to ask her how it felt to enter after a long time.

But I couldn’t say anything.

Seong Soo-a, looking like a student, was standing there naked, smiling brightly at me….