Eight students were gathered in a spacious common room on the highest floor of dorm 1. They were sprawled in their seats with the easy arrogance of delinquents, erupting into loud laughter at the slightest provocation. Occasionally, they would steal glances at the one who had summoned them, but he remained silent, leaning back in his chair as if he couldn't care less.
“Oh, right, Minjun. Isn’t there a gun user in your class?” one of them asked. He was a conventionally handsome man with an amiable smile. Park Minjun cracked open an eye, staring back at him.
“...Um, I just heard it from somewhere. Was I mistaken?”
“I don’t know,” Park Minjun said, his voice flat. “I’m not interested in rabble.”
“R-Right. Not that I’m interested either, but I was just curious who the fool was, haha.”
“Hanjun, you’re always curious about the strangest things,” a musical voice interjected.
Jin Hanjun turned his head to see a long-haired girl smiling charmingly. It was Han Jiyul. His heart hammered in his chest, and he stammered, “O-Oh, Jiyul. Y-You know me, always been like that.”
“What was his name? Hajin? Chunbun? Something old-fashioned like that. In any case, don’t pay him any mind.”
“Still, he’s pathetic. Why did that son of a bitch even come to Cheong-un if he was just going to pick a gun?”
The foul language came from Park Horak, a mountain of a man whose hulking physique and intimidating scowl made his specialty obvious: close-quarters combat.
Jin Hanjun asked him, “You know him?”
“I’m in Minjun’s class, you idiot. I’m going to crush him in combat training. I’ll cripple him and run him right out of here.”
Everyone knew Cheong-un’s schedule. Classes ran five days a week, with dedicated combat training three of those days. Classes covered comprehensive magic power and physical conditioning, while combat training involved sparring, monster hunts, rescue missions, and more.
“I’ll destroy that son of a—”
“Don’t waste your time.”
With that one sharp sentence, Park Minjun cut through the crude locker-room talk. Park Horak, who had been snarling a moment before, fell silent.
“Beating a low-rank nobody will cost you points, not earn them. It’s better to challenge higher-ranked cadets you know you can beat. For example…”
“Try fighting Park Seoyoon. I’m sure you’ll win,” Han Jiyul cut in.
Park Minjun narrowed his eyes, glaring at her, but she continued, unfazed. “Fist against a bow. It’s an easy match.”
“...Huh? Ah, yeah, I can win. But…” Challenging her felt like a different matter entirely. Still, wanting to look good in front of Han Jiyul, he swallowed his hesitation. “…It’d be too pitiful. You know how my opponents end up—half-dead.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Park Minjun silenced their conversation with a look.
Though a flash of displeasure crossed Han Jiyul’s face, she quickly masked it with indifference, quietly suppressing the bitter feeling rising in her heart. Park Minjun liked Park Seoyoon. She wasn't stupid enough to be jealous. She just found the situation… amusing. That's what she told herself.
“I’m leaving now. It’s almost ten.”
At Cheong-un, male and female students were only allowed to mingle until 22:00. Forcing a bright smile to hide her bruised feelings, Han Jiyul stood up.
“Good night, Jiyul!”
All the male cadets, save for Park Minjun, saw her to the door.
A five-minute walk from dorm 1 stood a training facility called the Suryeon Fitness Center. The one-thousand-square-meter complex was filled with advanced magical devices and exercise equipment. It was a facility that must have cost well over a hundred million won to build, yet tonight, it was nearly empty.
Its emptiness wasn't a bleak omen for the future of Heroes, however. While these cadets were destined to be figures of admiration and envy for billions, they were still just teenagers. Simply put, not many high schoolers were willing to train on the very first day.
“I knew you’d be here.”
But there was always an exception. Even a Yeong-ung academy had its fanatics who enjoyed training from day one. Drenched in sweat, Park Jihun was grappling with an exercise machine when he widened his eyes at the sudden voice.
“Park Seoyoon? You’re here to train, too?”
“Yeah, but I’m not going to be as barbaric as you.”
With a wry smile, Park Seoyoon pointed toward the gravitation room. Park Jihun’s face fell as he looked at the terrifying cylindrical chamber.
“That thing is tough. I can never last long in there.” He wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.
“It’s not that you can’t, you just don’t need to. I’m an archer, so this is essential training for me. Besides, it’s not that hard. I’ve been doing it since I was eight.”
“Right. We have one at home.”
Installing a private gravitation room cost several hundred million won at the very least. Her casual comment spoke volumes about her wealthy background. Like Park Minjun, Park Seoyoon was a fourth-generation chaebol. But where he had a twisted superiority complex, she possessed a righteous sense of rivalry, believing she could surpass anyone through sheer hard work. In the face of the monster before her, however, that belief often wavered.
“…Oh, right. There’s another sharpshooter in our class now,” Park Jihun mentioned.
Park Seoyoon tilted her head. “…Dalin? Oh, that Chudong guy or whatever?”
“Uh, yeah, him… What’s with that look? You don’t like him?”
As Park Jihun pointed out, her expression was hardening into a frightening scowl.
“He’s not a sharpshooter. A gun’s range tops out at a kilometer, at best. I still don’t understand why that Dongchu guy even picked one.”
She’d already mangled his name from Chudong to Dongchu, but Park Jihun knew better than to correct her.
“I think he gave up. Maybe there was some trouble at home. Since being a Cheong-un cadet doesn’t stay on your record if you drop out early, he’s probably just planning to stay for a little while.”
“Gave up? Don’t say things like that so easily.”
“…Who are you to tell me what to do?” For a moment, a flicker of anger flashed in her eyes. She bristled at his lecturing tone, especially coming from the one person she considered her rival.
“Anyway, if you don’t want to lose, keep working hard. I’m going.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
“Please, I’m right next door…” Park Seoyoon smirked and stepped into the gravitation room.
The chamber multiplied gravity, increasing the pressure on one’s entire circulatory system. Training within the cylinder required one to constantly circulate magic power just to withstand the crushing force, making it one of the most painful training methods available.
The mere sight of it made Park Jihun shudder. Watching Park Seoyoon walk in so nonchalantly, he could only shake his head.
Inside Park Hajin’s room, I held my breath, staring at the laptop screen.
I still couldn’t process what I was seeing. My eyes saw it, but my brain refused to accept the reality of it. It was too absurd, too impossible.
After a long silence, I finally managed to speak, my voice trembling.
===[Synchronizing… 70% Complete]===
[Jihye – 4/10]
[Perseverance – 4/10]
…Supplement… Setting Chart…
===[Synchronizing… 70% Complete]===
This window on the monitor… this format… I recognized it. It was the layout of my settings book. But I had never, ever written a setting for [Gift – Lv.??? System].
The incomprehensible phenomenon sent a cold sweat down my back. My hands and feet began to tremble, and my heart hammered against my ribs.
This strange object… who sent it to me? For what purpose? And why?
Suddenly, the screen went black.
Reflected on the dark surface was a face. It wasn't Park Hajin’s question mark. It was my face. Park Hajin’s face.
Before I could even process the shock, the laptop flickered back to life, new words materializing on the screen.
[Park Hajin, synchronization with Park Hajin complete.]
[Unique Authority, ‘Setting Intervention’, acquired.]