The unwritten rule of the 16th Floor Magic Academy.

The chicken arrived.

They had just set up two chickens and were about to tear into them.

“Ugh, when will I get rid of this beginner tag?”

Minjeong’s hand, gripping a chicken leg, dropped with a thud.

A sudden lament.

As the trainee with the slowest progress, she seemed to be going through some emotional hardship.

Kim Songcheol and the other trainees exchanged glances.

“Everyone has their own pace.”

Kim Songcheol took the lead. It was time for him, as the eldest, to set an example.

“Uncle, you’re too fast…”

Unfortunately, it backfired. It was like someone in a sports car telling someone in a cart to keep up the good work.

The person in the cart probably wouldn’t even hear what was being said, because the sports car’s exhaust was so loud.

Kim Songcheol shut his mouth for now and tore into the chicken.

First attempt failed.

He instinctively knew it was time to retreat one step, not attempt a second.

“Are you anxious about being the only one falling behind?”

Suji interjected at the right moment.

“I guess so…”

It seemed to be working.

“It’s just that we’re a bit fast, but you’re not slow. Compared to other trainees, you’re actually quite fast.”

Minjeong’s expression gradually brightened at Suji’s calm comfort.

She also subtly brought the chicken leg she was holding to her mouth.

“Still, chicken is delicious, isn’t it?”

When Kim Songcheol gently asked, Minjeong nodded with a gloomy expression, then smiled slightly.

She seemed to find her own behavior, almost crying one moment and then tearing into chicken the next, quite amusing.

“It’s thanks to you, Uncle, that I’ve come this far, but I feel like I’ve just been complaining.”

It was an undeniable truth that she had grown quickly thanks to Kim Songcheol’s magic instruction.

Minjeong expressed her gratitude, albeit belatedly.

“Nonsense. I learn a lot while helping you all too. Those who teach often gain a lot more than they expect.”

“Oh, by the way, didn’t you have team training today?”

At that moment, Suji slapped her knee and asked.

Forming a team and entering a dungeon was still a distant future for other trainees.

They couldn’t help but be curious about that.

“I did.”

Kim Songcheol nodded, chewing on a piece of chicken.

“How was it?”

When Minjeong asked, everyone looked at Kim Songcheol’s mouth.

“It was just team training. Attacking goblin illusions and learning formations…”

“Who are your teammates?”

“Oh, I joined an existing team.”

“Does that happen?”

“Apparently so.”

“What team is it?”

“Team 25A.”

As soon as the trainees heard the team’s name, they nodded as if to say, ‘Of course.’

Teams with the letter ‘A’ are the strongest teams within a certain class.

It was the most suitable team for Kim Songcheol to be parachuted into.

“So there are five teammates? No, if there are five, the numbers don’t add up, do they?”

“No, one person left. Because of me.”

“Huh?”

The trainees were almost horrified.

Even Mincheol, who was usually quiet and showed little emotion, widened his eyes.

The Training Institute places great importance on teamwork. In such a situation, expelling one person and bringing in a new team member was quite shocking.

“You took out one person from an existing team and joined, Uncle? The hazing must have been intense!”

“Right? Did anything happen?”

“Anything? Just that they pushed some goblins my way during training? Intentionally letting a few leaders through.”

“What? You just stood there? No way, right? In times like that, you should show them what you’re made of!”

Minjeong raised her voice, getting excited as if it were her own business.

“Oh, come on. There’s nothing to fight about.”

“You mean you didn’t do anything?”

“I just gave them a thumbs up.”

“Why a thumbs up?”

“He’s good at magic. It seems he’s not in Team 25A for nothing.”

“What is that? I shouldn’t be underestimated… What should I do?”

Minjeong fell into 고민 mode again. This time, the main topic was, ‘How can Kim Songcheol secure his position in Team 25A?’

“…They won’t underestimate him.”

Mincheol, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke. Kim Songcheol patted Mincheol’s shoulder because there was a part that coincided with his own thoughts.

Suji also nodded and opened her mouth.

“Yes, that’s right. Uncle is not inferior even when compared to the Mage of Team 25A. No, he might even be better.”

Then Minjeong also tilted her head, wondering, ‘Is that so?’

Actually, the trainees here don’t really know Kim Songcheol’s exact magic skill.

Because he has never shown things that can be used in battle, like magic simplification.

“Everyone, you don’t have to worry about Team 25A. I deliberately showed off some of my magic skill. Nothing much will happen.”

Magic simplification and triple casting were also intentional parts of Kim Songcheol’s plan.

After all, there were many ways to deal with the situation even without being so showy.

Although Kim Songcheol might seem thoughtless, he immediately took action upon seeing the hostile teammates in battle.

In Kim Songcheol’s experience, there was no better weapon than skill.

He had already shown his value.

All that remained was Leader Moon Gijeong’s judgment.

‘He seemed like a smart guy. He’ll take care of it, right? It’s annoying to keep showing various things.’

Kim Songcheol was about 95 percent sure after seeing Moon Gijeong’s ‘Goblin flowing’ stop after the triple casting.

That the outcome had already been decided.

***

Education Director Kim Myeongju sat at her desk, examining the trainees’ status.

A spreadsheet filled the monitor, detailing names, admission dates, magic and swordsmanship levels, dungeon clear experience, qualifications, strengths, and weaknesses.

Below the monitor was a document file.

It was a list of recently deceased hunters.

The late Seo Jinyeong (22)

The late Kim Huiyun (21)

The late Lee Jungsu (19)

Three hunters had passed away in a month.

Their bodies could not even be recovered.

The reasons varied.

Either there wasn’t enough time to recover the bodies, the bodies were too damaged to be recovered, or in some cases, death couldn’t even be confirmed.

Simply put, the remaining teammates had fled.

Would they have intentionally abandoned them and fled?

Most situations involved encountering a strong monster or hostile hunters from another dimension.

Kim Myeongju’s expression was grim as she examined the spreadsheet.

When she looked down, she saw the list of the deceased. They were all familiar faces.

The number of trainees wasn’t large to begin with, and she had watched their growth by checking the almost daily updated sheet.

The news of the death of the hunters she had nurtured was always heartbreaking and difficult.

But there was no time or leisure to wallow in emotion.

As Education Director, she had to choose trainees to fill the void left by the deceased hunters.

At times like these, she felt like a jailer leading prisoners to the gallows.

Kim Myeongju steeled herself, recalling the Ulsan incident.

This was something someone had to do, and if it wasn’t done, even greater damage could occur.

That was the greatest strength that sustained Kim Myeongju.

“Whew…”

After much thought, Kim Myeongju selected three trainees.

She offered a small prayer that this time, no obituaries would be heard.

‘I’m so envious. That’s why the United Kingdom is like that.’

There is one very powerful hunter in the United Kingdom.

In terms of a hunter’s strength, he is probably the strongest in the world.

That strength directly translates into national power, and the United Kingdom has an abundance of余裕.

Hunters do not need to enter difficult dungeons, and gates are eliminated as soon as they appear.

The hunter mortality rate is the lowest.

They even have points left over after eliminating gates.

These surplus points make the hero even stronger, and a virtuous cycle is in motion.

The Republic of Korea also desperately wished for the birth of such a hero.

Perhaps the person who wanted a hero most in the Republic of Korea was Kim Myeongju.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Kim Myeongju closed the list of deceased hunters and looked up.

Ji Yun-oh opened the door and entered. He walked to the desk and bowed respectfully.

“What happened?”

Kim Myeongju asked directly, as she herself had ordered daily reports.

She had already heard about what happened yesterday in Team 25A.

That there was uncooperative behavior towards Kim Songcheol, as expected.

That Kim Songcheol did not react separately.

She knew everything.

Now, it was time to hear the report on what happened today.

“It’s more… things are a bit…”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Kim Myeongju asked back before Ji Yun-oh could finish his sentence.

She reacted unusually sensitively because it concerned Kim Songcheol.

Perhaps Kim Songcheol might even surpass that hunter from the United Kingdom.

It was no exaggeration to say that all of Kim Myeongju’s attention was currently focused on Kim Songcheol.

“Well, things turned out a bit anticlimactic.”

Ji Yun-oh had a displeased expression.

“Tell me in detail.”

“I went out to the training ground before the class began. Since you ordered a report, I intended to observe from the preparation stage.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“The 25A team members arrived early, and Trainee Kim Songcheol arrived exactly on time. The atmosphere was a bit awkward. They just greeted each other and didn’t say much else.”

“And the training?”

“The training proceeded very smoothly. Unlike the first day, the cooperation was excellent.”

“Cooperation was good?”

“Yes. They trained diligently as if nothing had happened. All four members of Team 25A.”

“Is that so?”

Kim Myeongju drew out her words. It was a different situation than she expected.

Yesterday was just a preliminary skirmish, and she thought they would fully express their antagonism towards Kim Songcheol today.

But the training was smooth?

“Yes, that’s right. After the training, the other trainees even apologized to Trainee Kim Songcheol.”

“Apologized?”

Kim Myeongju frowned, her expression showing she didn’t understand.

“Yes. They apologized, and Trainee Kim Songcheol accepted it as if it were nothing. And that’s how it ended.”

“Did Trainee Kim Songcheol do anything separately outside of training hours?”

“No. I also had several questions, so I asked the Team 25A Leader about the circumstances, and he said it was their own decision. In summary, they highly evaluated Trainee Kim Songcheol’s skill.”

“They were simply overwhelmed by his skill?”

“Yes. So things turned out a bit anticlimactic. There was no training on how to deal with uncooperative hunters; it just ended. It was meaningless.”

“…”

Kim Myeongju tapped her desk, lost in thought. Then she suddenly spoke.

“Perhaps he did deal with it.”

“Excuse me? Trainee Kim Songcheol didn’t do anything.”

“He wasn’t overwhelmed by magic, he overwhelmed them with magic. It’s highly likely that his Fast Casting via Simplification was a performance.”

Kim Songcheol’s method was quite sophisticated.

He achieved maximum effect with minimal effort.

There was nothing more efficient than showing Fast Casting once and getting an apology.

“Perhaps we’re underestimating Trainee Kim Songcheol. It’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it? That Team 25A Leader evaluated Trainee Kim Songcheol properly before we did.”

“I don’t think it’s something to look at that way.”

Ji Yun-oh chuckled softly.

In the first place, Kim Myeongju’s words were nothing short of a joke.

“At any rate, he definitely has good coping skills. Excellent.”

Kim Myeongju’s expression was quite bright.

This was because Kim Songcheol was doing better than expected.

If he continued to grow at this rate, the future of the Republic of Korea would be something to look forward to.

“Then let’s finalize the dungeon deployment date.”

“Huh? Already?”

At Kim Myeongju’s words, Ji Yun-oh tilted his head.

This was because it was normal to train for at least three weeks.

However, he also somewhat acknowledged Kim Songcheol’s magic power.

He said that there would be no problems in terms of magic if he entered now.

“Let’s set it quickly. A Magic First Circle Master is more than qualified.”

“If you say so… I’ll set it for five days from now.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

And so, Kim Songcheol’s dungeon deployment date was set.

‘I wonder how many points he’ll earn, hmph.’

Kim Myeongju had high hopes for the points Kim Songcheol would earn.

The first points are quite symbolic, and they are sometimes used to predict a Hunter’s future.

Not everyone is like that, but most Hunters who grew significantly earned a lot of points in their first dungeon.