[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 5
"Military Chronicle" is a ga where you train military cadets—your "7 Heroes"—to defeat the villain in a war.
At first glance, it sounds like an RPG or RTS, but the developers officially categorized it as a "Full-Interaction Role-Playing War Simulation Fantasy."
A lot of people questioned this overly verbose genre na. The developers responded by saying, "Faced with a common enemy, how far can humanity unite? If you can't gather as many powerful allies as possible, you won't win the war against the villain!"
If their goal was to grab attention, it worked. Curious about this bizarre ga, many people started playing "Military Chronicle."
Soon, those players realized the developers weren't exaggerating. Every aspect of the ga was driven by an interactive system.
A seemingly insignificant item found on the street could lead to a terrifyingly powerful rival.
If you forgot soone's birthday, a carefully cultivated ally might leave without a word.
Every action had consequences. Even a simple act like drinking water required careful consideration.
The problem was, no matter how much stress you went through training your character and making allies, you'd still be no match for the villains on the battlefield.
Clearly, the difficulty was unbalanced.
Many gars complained, but the developers never released any balance patches. They insisted it wasn't the ga's fault, but the players' lack of skill.
"No wonder people hate it," I muttered.
After my final professor interview, I sat in the professor's office, lost in thought. "Military Chronicle" was clearly designed to be hated. 99% of the ga reviews were filled with insults.
"But why ?"
Despite its difficulty, "Military Chronicle" was a comrcial success, winning nurous GOTY awards. Its compelling characters, innovative systems, and imrsive story made it a masterpiece, even with its extre difficulty.
Millions played it, millions more left angry comnts.
So why? Why ?
Why was I cursed with this terrible fate?
Sure, the ga was insanely hard, and I did leave so angry comnts. And yes, those comnts got the most likes.
But this was an excessive punishnt for simply leaving negative feedback.
"And why are the military cadets so strong?" I grumbled, reading the student council roster on the academy website.
That was my second question.
The military cadets.
"Military Chronicle" featured countless companion characters, including hidden ones. Those who weren't chosen as companions would beco enemies or have their own unique storylines depending on the player's choices.
Every companion had their own background, personality, traits, and ambitions.
But they all had one thing in common: they could never reach the ending.
No matter who you chose as a companion or what route you took, "Military Chronicle" was impossible to finish. Humans were simply too weak compared to the villains.
"...But why ?"
Unlike the original "Military Chronicle," the military cadets in this world were ridiculously strong.
No matter how brilliant my strategy, they always seed to have a plot armor boost, allowing them to overco any obstacle and hunt down.
As if they wanted to show , soone who complained about the ga's difficulty, how miserable the villains would be if humans were too powerful.
"...But this ti will be different."
Instead of joining the villainous organization, I chose a new route: infiltrating the Masterclass as a professor.
I've successfully infiltrated enemy territory. Now, the fate of the 7 Heroes was in my hands.
Of course, I have no intention of creating the 7 Heroes. I'll completely block that route.
"First, I need to deal with this."
Main Quest 2: Increase the status of the Deconstructionist Departnt.
This was the primary mission assigned to by the vice principal on my first day.
It was the first hurdle I had to clear to execute my plan at the academy. If the Deconstructionist Departnt was to be disbanded, I would undoubtedly be fired.
"Status... How can I possibly improve it?"
A solution didn't imdiately spring to mind. Undercover infiltration of the Masterclass was an entirely new approach I had never attempted before.
If I could only figure out how Professor D had completed this quest, it would be a huge help...
"I know Do Jin-hak has a poor reputation among the students, but..."
In the ga's storyline, Professor D was portrayed as a figure that students greatly disliked.
Given his incredibly unlucky personality and the constant rumors surrounding him, it was no surprise.
Despite this, he managed to remain at the academy without any significant issues. While there were many dangerous rumors about him, there was never any talk of Professor D being fired from the academy.
"That ans Professor D must have successfully completed the vice principal's quest..."
And he must have done it quickly and easily, without it being obvious in the storyline.
What thod had he used?
* * *
"I'll figure that out later."
Late at night.
I wandered the academy grounds, studying the map.
While I still didn't know how Professor D had completed the vice principal's quest, simply pondering it wouldn't yield an answer.
It was more important to focus on what I could do right now.
[Today is a full moon night.]
[Your special ability "Night Clan" is activated in response to the moon's magic.]
[All abilities and spell effects are increased by 20%.]
A ssage appeared as I looked up at the night sky. In "Military Chronicle," the moon's magic played a significant role for certain villains.
Nights like tonight, when the moon was at its fullest, were the best for blood demons.
Although they would suffer a debuff under the sun...
"Still, coming to the academy on the night of a full moon was quite lucky."
Just for one day a year.
Tonight, a special item would appear in the Masterclass. If my predictions were correct...
"According to the map, the 'Garden' is... over there?"
Even though I had explored the academy extensively in the ga, it was so vast that I consulted the map once more to find my way.
After walking for a while along a secluded forest path, I saw a massive, circular building enclosed in a glass ceiling in the distance.
That was the Masterclass's "Garden."
As the Masterclass primarily focused on magic, it always kept a plentiful supply of magical ingredients. The academy's "Garden" was a secret place where these magical ingredients were cultivated.
There were many rare materials in the "Garden," but the most special one was my target for tonight.
"...So that's why..."
As I walked, excited, I heard soone's voice from the opposite direction. I stopped and tensed.
'Could it be a guard?'
Two faint flashlights were visible, suggesting that it was indeed.
But that was strange. I had definitely checked the patrol schedule for this area.
'...I shouldn't be seen by them right now.'
Since the staff dormitory where I was staying was a long way from here, I couldn't make an excuse that I was just out for a walk. I hid behind a tree and held my breath.
"Ugh, I'm so tired! What's with this sudden increase in patrols?"
"I know, right? Why do they have to increase patrols on the night of a full moon?"
"Apparently, so thief has been breaking into the academy. They've already stolen nine tis."
"Damn it. Why would anyone steal from an academy? They should rob so rich people instead and leave us alone..."
I listened intently to the guards' chatter. It seed there had been a series of thefts at the academy, which was why the patrols had been increased.
‘A theft incident... was there sothing like that in the early stages of the ga?’
According to the ga's tiline, it was still the first day for the player. I racked my brain, trying to recall if there was any event related to theft at the beginning of the ga.
"Anyway, even if we increase patrols, will we be able to catch the thief? Even the student council can't find any clues."
"We just have to do as we're told. At least we'll get overti pay..."
One of the guards suddenly stopped and looked around.
The other guard asked, "What's wrong? Is sothing up?"
"Hold on... I sll sothing strange."
"Sll?"
"Yeah, I've got a nose like a bloodhound, you know."
"You can sll anything within a hundred ters."
"Exactly. But I swear I sll sothing odd around here."
"Odd, you say?"
"It's not a human scent. It's almost like... blood. Sniff, sniff!"
The guard started sniffing around the bushes like a dog. The other guard took a deep breath and his muscles bulged, like a balloon.
Wielding their clubs nacingly, the guards approached the tree where I was hiding.
My heart pounded.
"I completely forgot... these guards are the 'Gangnam Double Peaks'."
Most of the faculty mbers at the Masterclass had extraordinary abilities, but the duo known as the Gangnam Double Peaks were notorious even among villains.
Kim, with a nose as keen as a bloodhound, could detect the scent of a villain from miles away.
And then there was Park, whose strength exceeded human limits when in combat.
Fitting for an academy that was always plagued by incidents, the creators had given the guards an excessively high level of combat ability, resulting in this duo.
‘As I expected, this won't be easy.’
With my current ability level, I had no chance against the Gangnam Double Peaks.
I had already dismissed the option of fighting them. After all, a blood demon wasn't built for combat, especially in the early stages of the ga.
‘Blood demons may be weak in combat early on, but they have so useful spells.’
I recited one of the few spells I knew.
Quietly, so the guards couldn't hear.
"Hey, have you found anything yet?"
"It's strange. I could've sworn I slled sothing right here... Ow, ow, ow!"
"What's wrong?"
The guards looked up at the branch and jumped back in surprise when they saw .
However, instead of raising their clubs, they let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, it's just a bat."
"You an that strange sll was coming from that?"
"Sniff, sniff... Yeah, it slls faintly of blood. Maybe it ate a squirrel."
"Aw, man. I thought we had caught the thief. Let's go."
"I didn't know there were bats in this academy..."
They dismissed as a re bat and continued their patrol.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
‘I managed to get away.’
The basic polymorph spell that turned into a bat was quite useful in situations like this. No one would find it suspicious if they saw a bat in the woods.
Ding-!
[You have successfully deceived the powerful guards, Gangnam Double Peaks.]
[Your Blood Demon characteristic experience has increased!]
A ssage appeared as the guards disappeared from sight.
In "Military Chronicle," performing actions that were characteristic of your race would grant you experience points based on the system's judgnt. The ssage indicated that the system had deed my transformation into a bat to be a highly characteristic behavior for a blood demon.
‘The best way to level up a blood demon is through blood-sucking, of course.’
There was no action that would grant a blood demon more experience points than the blood-sucking spell.
‘I wonder how much experience I'll gain in the Garden…’
[Activating Polymorph spell.]
[Selecting Do Jin-hak as Polymorph transformation.]
[Your ENP level has increased to 20/180.]
I transford back into Do Jin-hak and carefully climbed down from the tree.
I cautiously moved towards the garden, making sure to keep a wary eye on the guards.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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