Raising A Hero – Chapter 6

Ch 6: Academy

City Eretria. Also known as the City of Beginning.

Despite it being close to midnight, a large crowd had gathered.

Among them, a large Orc was shouting in a fierce voice, directing people here and there.

“Don’t let your guard down until the end. One slip-up and you could die—!”

The people stood gathered around the massive plaza like a wall. This was in preparation for any unexpected events. It wasn’t frequent, but sometimes such things happened. Because no one knew what kind of being was selected in the tutorial.

It was almost midnight. Academy Leader, Orc Lallop, scanned the crowd and signaled with his eyes to prepare. Everyone raised their shields, forming a wall.

Soon, flashing lights began to erupt. The dozens of passers who were suddenly summoned here looked around in bewilderment. Some of them quickly took up defensive stances and remained vigilant.

At that moment, Lallop on the platform roared at the recent passers.

“Congratulations on successfully completing the tutorial, soldiers—!”

Everyone’s attention turned to him. It was accompanied by fear, anger, and curiosity.

“You’ve probably heard the rough story from the Tutorial Fairy. You’ve successfully passed the selection process and have finally come to this Bahamut Continent. You can be happy.”

At that moment, the ill-tempered Giranosh could not stand it and retorted.

“D*mn it, cut the c*ap and just tell us why we’re doing this—!”

Leader Lallop looked at his hot-tempered kin and grinned crookedly.

“Although you soldiers have passed the tutorial, you’re still greenhorns. This continent is a dangerous place. Rushing in without knowing anything is reckless. That’s why we’re taking responsibility and educating you, that’s what I’m saying. …Got it, you f*cking bastard?”

Tchㅡ. Ji-hyuk, who was listening to Lallop’s long speech, burst out laughing. Even if he was a leader, how could he swear so freely in a public place? …That’s why you have to acknowledge that Orcs are ill-tempered.

Giranosh was momentarily enraged, but it seemed he was holding back for the time being due to the situation. Of course, his eyes were glaring at Lallop as if he wanted to kill him.

Anyway, once the situation was roughly explained, Lallop instructed the instructors to take the guys away. The passers would be hungry and tired now, so he intended to start the real thing again tomorrow morning.

First, the passers were classified by race. There were a total of five humans. Four men and one woman. Of course, Ji-hyuk was the only Earthling.

“Follow me.”

The five, including Ji-hyuk, followed a human instructor with a muscular build like an Orc.

Even among the humans following the instructor, there was already an invisible battle of wills. Tchㅡ. Ji-hyuk chuckled.

They soon arrived at the Academy dormitory. Since only five people were entering a place that could accommodate ten, the space was naturally ample.

“Get some rest for now. I’ll tell you the details tomorrow. Is there anyone hurt?”

They only glanced at each other and didn’t answer.

“Then go to sleep right away. Because you have to wake up early tomorrow. …And I’m warning you, don’t cause any trouble.”

The instructor growled fiercely and slammed the door shut. A moment of silence flowed.

“Ssibal.”

Some foul-mouthed bastard swore and flopped onto the bed. Ji-hyuk also roughly took a spot and lay down. He was too tired to do anything right now.

Not long after, a commotion broke out outside. It was another dormitory room. Screams erupted and the sound of furniture being smashed could be heard. It was clear that the battle of wills had already escalated into a fistfight.

Soon, the sound of the instructor barging in could be heard.

━ You sons of bitchesㅡㅡ!!

Ji-hyuk used that as a lullaby and fell asleep.

…This place never changes.

However, there was no nostalgia for the old days. It was something he had already experienced to the point of being sick of it.

Haaamㅡ. Sleep poured in.

His body, exhausted from fatigue, soon fell into a deep sleep.

· · ·

━ Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding

With the loud ringing of the bell, Ji-hyuk abruptly opened his eyes. This sound was f*cking annoying no matter how many times he heard it. It felt like a military reveille.

“Wake up, knightsㅡㅡ!!”

The instructor, who burst into the room, shouted at the people while gripping his waist with both hands. Ah, ssipaalㅡ. One of the men, awakened from his sweet sleep, groaned in agony and muttered curses to himself.

“Get up quickly, you snail bastards. Are you not going to eat, huh?! If you don’t get up now, I’ll starve you all day.”

They reluctantly got up and stood in front of the instructor. Everyone had a constipated expression. The instructor grinned sadistically, as if it was amusing.

He took the group out of the dormitory. Similar scenes were seen a lot outside as well. Among them, there were guys who were getting beaten up for resisting the instructor.

Even though they looked like that, the instructors were selected only from among the skilled. They had the power to easily crush newbies who had just passed the tutorial. …Of course, there were exceptions sometimes.

Anyway, after facing such a noisy morning, they had a hearty breakfast. Ji-hyuk thought that he was finally having a human-like meal. No matter how much it was him, he definitely didn’t like monster meat or larvae. He was just eating to survive.

Not only them, but everyone in the cafeteria was frantically stuffing food into their mouths. As if they were making up for a week of not eating.

After such a long-awaited meal, the instructor took them back to the dormitory. By the time they returned from the cafeteria, a set of training clothes was neatly placed on the bed.

“Wash up and change into that.”

The people lightly brushed their teeth and washed their faces with the water they had brought, and then changed into the training clothes. It was a plain, yellowish cloth outfit.

The instructor took the people who were ready and headed back to the auditorium. The passers were all sitting in chairs, wearing the same unremarkable dung-colored clothes. It looked pathetic.

Ji-hyuk also sat in a chair, feeling like a student waiting for the principal. He hoped the boring speech would end as soon as possible.

Not long after all the passers were seated, Orc Lallop appeared. He went up onto the platform with a grumpy expression like an old-fashioned principal, with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Did you all sleep well last night?”

Of course, there was no answer. Of course, Lallop probably wasn’t asking to hear an answer.

“Looking at you like that reminds me of the old days.”

Lallop added a few unnecessary stories about the old days and then got to the point.

“For the next 8 weeks, you will be receiving training here. It’s an agreement with the Empire, so we have no choice but to enforce it.”

While Lallop was giving his speech, Ji-hyuk was rolling his eyes around. He saw a few familiar faces.

“When the training is over, the guilds will hold recruitment events. Of course, not just anyone will be accepted into good places. So, if you want to live comfortably after going out there, work hard here, that’s what I’m saying.”

In the end, that was the reason for establishing the Academy To nurture excellent talent. Otherwise, there was no way they would train, feed, and clothe them for free.

Anyway, after such a long and pointless talk, Lallop went down and the instructor representative went up. It was a Lizardman.

“This instructor is called Aslan.”

He recited the training content to be implemented for 8 weeks. Of course, the trainees didn’t seem very interested. The impatient ones were already fidgeting in their seats. If they hadn’t seen the cases of those who were beaten to a pulp by the instructor, they would have kicked off long ago.

“Then, I’ll end the explanation here.”

The first day was spent repeating boring explanations like that. Ji-hyuk was about to go crazy with boredom.

After the grueling explanation time ended, they were finally able to escape from the auditorium. The human instructor took the five trainees into a place decorated like a multipurpose room.

“As you all know from the explanation, the first week is more about getting to know what this place is like rather than intense training. Of course, before that, you need to know each other’s names, right?”

With that, the instructor started with his own introduction.

“My name is Andrei. Now, let’s start with you and go around like this.”

The man who was pointed out took a long breath and said his name.

“Rolshar von Killbafe. The second son of the Killbafe Count of the Kalia Kingdom.”

“Wait.”

At that moment, Instructor Andrei interrupted.

“For reference, everyone here is equal in status as trainees. Whether you were royalty, nobility, or a slave in the previous world, the moment you come here, everyone starts on equal footing. After you go out there and become a noble, you can be treated like a noble or not, do as you please. But not here. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Rolshar made a very displeased expression. Frankly, it was an incomprehensible statement from his point of view. How could nobles and commoners be equal?

“Why? Do you have a complaint? Speak up if you do.”

“…No, I don’t.”

“Okay, then that’s good. …Oh, and don’t break the rules. I hate that a lot.”

The instructor lightly tapped the table with his fist, which was as hard as a stone, with a smiling face. It was like a silent threat.

“Next, you.”

He pointed his chin at the next person. It was the only woman among the five.

“Anna.”

She just said that one word and then crossed her arms and closed her mouth. She was still a rude b*tch. I remember she was someone of high status…. But I couldn’t remember the details.

And the next person after her was Ji-hyuk.

“Gang Ji-hyuk.”

“Are you perhaps an Earthling?”

It was Instructor Andrei who asked. Ji-hyuk lightly nodded his head.

“Yes.”

“You seem to be lucky. It’s rare for an Earthling to pass the tutorial.”

“If I were lucky, I wouldn’t have come here at all.”

Pahaㅡ. The instructor snorted. It was a valid point, so it was ambiguous to say anything.

An Earthling bastard, huh.

It was still ambiguous to judge whether he had something to rely on or if he was just bold to be able to retort so casually. Of course, it was extremely likely to be the latter since he was an Earthling.

The instructor turned his attention away and gestured to move on to the next person.

“Next.”

“Huang Zau.”

The guy said that while clasping his hands in front. He was obviously a Martial Artist. Andrei looked quite expectant. Usually, Martial Artists met the average expectation.

“What are you good at?”

“It’s crude, but I use a sword.”

“A sword? …Good. Let’s see your skills next time.”

“Understood.”

Then it moved on to the last person. It was a young man with bright eyes.

“Ungorap.”

“Ungorap? Where are you from?”

“Ktabahalla. And, I’m a Shaman.”

“A Shaman? What, do you cast curses or something?”

“I can do that too, but usually it’s like this.”

Ungorap lightly tapped the table with his palms. A subtle energy spread in all directions and settled on people’s bodies. …It was a buff.

A smile bloomed on Andrei’s face. To think there would be a Buffer, who was so rare.

“You’re going to be successful in the future. You don’t have to worry.”

“Thank you.”

Rolshar’s face contorted. Ji-hyuk smiled slightly at the guy’s expression. The guy was an attention seeker, so he couldn’t stand seeing others do well. He had been so desperate to be the leader of this team.

Instructor Andrei’s face brightened, as he thought he could see some results from this team. In fact, just getting one Buffer was more than he had expected.

After the self-introductions were over, the boring training time continued again. The instructor even spread out a map and taught enthusiastically, tapping it with a stick. Of course, those who didn’t find studying interesting were yawning or gaping. If they hadn’t seen the cases of those who were beaten to a pulp by the instructor, they would have kicked off long ago.

“Ungorap would be perfect as the team leader.”

Ahㅡ! The expression of Rolshar, who had been bored there, changed completely. He, who had never missed out on being a leader in his life, suddenly became enthusiastic. Huang Zau also seemed to be eyeing the team leader position.

Of course, Gang Ji-hyuk had no intention of being a team leader at all. Let them do it among themselvesㅡ. The woman named Anna also had an indifferent expression, as if it were someone else’s business.

The education continued for a long time. After eating lunch, they started physical training.

The first week of training proceeded in that way. Of course, until then, there were no major problems among the human trainees.

However, Ji-hyuk could see that dissatisfaction was gradually accumulating between them. Just like before, it was clear that there would be a big explosion over the team leader position.

The most fun thing is always watching kids fightㅡ.

Ji-hyuk was looking forward to that time.