I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game-Chapter 297: Entrance ceremony (2)
A thousand Velvet Hunter Academy freshmen had gathered in the auditorium. On the stage, a female instructor held a microphone and addressed them.
“Please arrange yourselves according to the area indicated by the floating paper that was handed to you at the entrance.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd as the white papers floating above the hands of the new students guided each of them to their designated areas.
“You’ll be grouped into teams of 10, and for the next month, you will train with the members of your assigned group. We’ve carefully balanced the groups, so please do your best to prevent any unnecessary conflicts.”
“...Huh? I thought we were supposed to be grouped by position when we first entered?”
“There are too many students this year, so they’ve decided to assign teams right from the start.”
“Ah, I see. Makes sense with how many people there are this time... It’s three times the usual number, right?”
Among the groups, there was one particularly unusual team. While most teams had seven women and three men, this one was the opposite: three women and seven men.
It was a group composed of three special admission students and seven male quota students.
Min Tae-hoon, an Apostle of Deception and a Demonfolk, had entered Velvet Hunter Academy under the guise of a male quota student.
“...Isn’t that special admission student Hwarang? The one who uses dual axes? And next to her is the famous Iron Wall with the greatshield! Wow, I can’t believe I’m grouped with ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) these famous people! But who’s that last person? The one with white hair who looks so cold...”
Min Tae-hoon ignored the excited chatter of the male quota students next to him, calming his gaze.
‘The special admission students... Hwarang and Iron Wall, I know them, but... there's no information on that last one, Alice, other than her name.’
Having the special admission students in the same group meant this had been a stroke of genius. Entering through the male quota system was indeed the right move.
With his power of ‘Deception,’ it had been easy for him to slip into the academy unnoticed.
But this was Velvet Hunter Academy, not some ordinary place. Even without Lina, the academy was teeming with monsters. There was no such thing as too much preparation here.
‘The male quota students... as expected, none of them are worth much.’
Before enrolling, Min Tae-hoon had done thorough research. He knew who the incoming cadets were and had a clear sense of their abilities.
‘Among the men, Jin Yoo-ha is the anomaly.’
Thanks to Jin Yoo-ha’s impressive accomplishments, there had been a brief surge of interest in male dealers in the Hunter industry.
But soon, people had to accept the truth.
It wasn’t that male Hunters had some special potential. It was just Jin Yoo-ha.
He was the one exception.
That’s why Min Tae-hoon chose to enter through the male quota system.
‘The male quota doesn’t require a magic aptitude test, and while it may attract attention at first, it’ll soon fade. Most of these guys are weaker than the insects on the street, so they’ll quickly be weeded out during training.’
It was the perfect blind spot.
For someone like Min Tae-hoon, who needed to operate discreetly, the male quota was a golden opportunity.
‘Heh... If this plan succeeds... the name of the Lord of Lies will rise even higher.’
If everything went smoothly, he would secure one of the vacant spots in the Seven Deadly Sins for Deception.
As he indulged in his sinister thoughts...
“Alright, now that you’ve gathered in your groups, it’s time to introduce the instructors who will be guiding you!”
The instructor overseeing the ceremony called out over the microphone.
One by one, the instructors began to file onto the stage.
“Whoa, isn’t that the Sage?”
“Holy crap, Yu-gung is here too?”
“That face with the cross-shaped scar... it’s the Swordsman!”
“They said they were gathering all the legendary hunters who taught at the academy, and they weren’t kidding.”
“Do you think the Swordmaster is here too?”
Though these figures were slightly forgotten in the public eye due to their work as instructors, they were still well-known among the academy’s promising Hunter cadets.
As more instructors they admired took to the stage, the murmurs in the auditorium grew louder.
But then, at the very end...
Step.
Step.
Step.
As a man with jet-black hair walked up onto the stage, the thousand-strong auditorium fell silent as if on cue.
Min Tae-hoon’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.
‘What...? Why is he here?’
He quickly glanced around, noticing that everyone else wore the same astonished expression.
Straight eyebrows, hair neatly brushed over his forehead, deep and calm eyes, and a tear-shaped mole at the corner of his eye. Even from a distance, his sharply defined features stood out clearly.
His beauty was so striking that it made everyone else in the auditorium look like mere background.
As he stood there with a blank expression, staring straight ahead...
“J-Jin Yoo-ha?”
“Seeing him in person... photos and videos don’t do him any justice. How can someone like him even be the same species as us?”
“Standing next to him, we’d all look like squids...”
“I think I could die happy right now.”
“But why is he here?”
“Could it be... is Jin Yoo-ha going to be one of the instructors!!??”
“Waaahhh!!!”
The once-silent auditorium erupted in an uproar, shaking like an earthquake had hit, with the atmosphere resembling that of a concert.
But.
As Jin Yoo-ha frowned and stomped his foot, THUD!
A heavy wave of energy swept over the room.
In that instant, Min Tae-hoon felt as though his soul had been pierced.
Murderous intent.
He was just standing there, yet fear crept up on everyone. Their teeth began to chatter involuntarily.
‘D-Did he notice me?’
He glanced around, but everyone else was also gritting their teeth and clenching their fists.
It wasn’t directed specifically at him.
It was directed at everyone in the room.
‘To project such murderous intent to so many people at once... What a monster!’
With a single stomp, he had silenced all the promising cadets in the room.
Once their mouths had been forcibly shut, Jin Yoo-ha smiled slightly, as if satisfied.
“Everyone, please quiet down and follow the instructor’s directions.”
It was Min Tae-hoon’s first time seeing Jin Yoo-ha in person, but he instinctively knew.
This guy was the Demonfolk's—no, the demons' worst enemy.
Cold sweat began to pour from his body.
‘At least I haven’t been found out... But why is that bastard here?’
The unexpected appearance of Jin Yoo-ha left his mind in turmoil. A sense of unease began to creep up on him.
And then. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
He heard a voice that felt like a bolt from the blue.
“The group composed of special admission students and male quota cadets will be under the instruction of temporary instructor Jin Yoo-ha.”
Even though Jin Yoo-ha had just silenced everyone, murmurs of excitement spread through the auditorium once again.
“Wow, those guys are so damn lucky.”
“I’m so jealous.”
“Haa, Yoo-ha... please teach me too.”
“They should pay extra tuition just for that.”
“We paid tuition too...”
“Then they should pay three times as much!”
While the jealous and envious voices of others rang out around him, Min Tae-hoon’s face turned pale.
One year ago, in the closed training ground where I first met my teacher, I stood before the new cadets.
“I’ll be your temporary instructor. I look forward to working with you for the next month.”
I mimicked my teacher’s way of speaking.
First, the special admission students.
In the original story, Alice wasn’t supposed to attend the entrance ceremony. But due to the butterfly effect, she was now here, staring at me with her usual stiff expression.
“...”
She looked a little flushed, and her breathing seemed heavy. Was she feeling unwell?
But I couldn’t give her any special treatment today.
“Aaaahhh!! Jin Yoo-ha! Jin Yoo-ha! I’m a huge fan!!! I can’t believe I get to be taught by you for a whole month!! It’s such an honor!!!”
Hwarang, the ponytailed girl with dual axes strapped to her back, shouted with sparkling eyes full of excitement.
“I look forward to learning from you!”
Iron Wall, or rather, more commonly known as “Flat Wall,” the petite girl with the greatshield, bowed with perfect posture.
I knew these characters well.
They were quite useful in VelvetSRa (Velvet Slayer Academy).
Though they had lively personalities, they were good-hearted.
‘Not bad. Both of them are three- and four-star characters.’
That alone was enough to make them valuable in the academy.
But my attention wasn’t on the three special admission students.
It was on the seven male cadets.
“Haaahhh... Jin Yoo-ha...”
“J-Jin Yoo-ha is really going to teach us?”
“Is this a dream?”
These guys were all spewing nonsense, their eyes filled with admiration.
Especially the one at the far end.
“I-It’s such an honor! Truly!”
Though he was spouting the same excited words as the others, there was something off about his expression. Cold sweat was trickling down his forehead.
I looked at him and smirked to myself.
‘...Who is this guy? Why is a Demonfolk snooping around here?’
