There were certain things that one would eventually start to notice if they lived here, even if they did not want to notice them in the first place. Special treatment was one of those things, and although it wasn’t usually obvious, it was definitely noticeable in this small, confined space.
The trainees here stood on an almost equal starting line, all except for the attack team. They all received the same training and took the same class.
Each one might want different things, but as they could recognize the fact that talented people were getting special treatment, most of them desperately changed as the time for the end of education approached.
Those who usually didn’t have any thoughts about getting serious also started to get nervous. It would be natural for all trainees to act so desperately with the deadline looming on the horizon.
‘I think I can enter a medium-sized guild, right? Still, I think I’m good enough to get an offer from one of the main guilds in Lindel, right?’
Vague thoughts such as these would begin to revolve around every person’s mind.
Contrary to what they thought they needed to live enough, they began to realize that they had nowhere to go. In the midst of that, the attack team, or those who at least had potential, became envied by everyone after getting offers from guilds as an early admission.
Those who remained started to get a little more impatient, but there was no way that those without talent could show anything in such a short period.
The possibility of joining a middle-sized guild, getting good grades, or receiving offers from any guild would soon be evident during this short period.
Someone was already expected to walk the path of success, while others would take the path of failure.
The problem is all of these people used the same classroom, the same restaurant, and the same accommodation. The invisible stratum was formed.
The cases of the maids and servants who were sucking up Han So-ra began to spring up everywhere. In a society where there was nothing, the number of people trying to somehow grab onto the string of opportunity increased.
For a while, the nominees who joined the group felt what life was like in the upper class. Of course, everyone was careful with each action they made.
‘It’s because it’s a network.’
This wasn’t a bad thing. If some of these people were to go out into society, they would meet all kinds of people anyway, so making connections now would prove to be quite beneficial.
The problem was the opposite case—people who were destined to stay at the bottom. It was better to be indifferent to them.
However, some of these individuals were pretty relaxed. They were neither the nominees who joined the group nor talented. They were the ones ambiguously standing somewhere in the middle, tormenting those who seemed to be weak, and with it, consoled themselves day by day, feeling superior that their situation was better than those they tortured.
Simply put, Han Sora was facing such a situation now. In just one day, she became someone everyone either adored or envied, to someone everyone mocked because she had become magically disabled.
‘There is also the opposite case.’
If Han Sora was the person who fell from the top, it was obviously the opposite for Yoo Ahyoung. Of course, it wasn’t that she worked hard. She was the type of human being who could jump up without doing it.
When I first entered class, I had praised her potential. And because of that, she seemed to be secretly hated, but her true value was revealed as time passed. Most of the trainees who hated her began to act as loyalists. The evaluation and grades as a close-quarters class at the bottom were from the lowest to the best. When rumors that she had been offered to join the Blue became official, she became a beacon for all the garbage trainees.
When I saw Yoo Ahyoung talking with Park Deokgu, I certainly realized how unfair the world really was.
“Ahem… I mean. Our guild’s support is very good… I wasn’t a big deal in the past, too. I changed completely since I entered Blue. So… We’ll do everything we can for you.”
“Ah… Okay.”
“If you want to change your life, go to Blue! I’m sure of it! You probably already heard it, Yoo Ahyoung-ssi. Although it hasn’t been officially announced yet, the Blue Guild Master Hyung-ssi and our Hyung-nim are assigned to a seat at the Eight Seats of the Empire, and our Hayan is very good with magic! If you see it, your jaw will drop.”
“I see.”
“The kid Ye-ri is so fast that when she moves, she disappears, and there’s also Cho Hyejin, who is really good at handling with spears… And! Mage scholar Jeong-yeon is really smart. Probably as smart as Hyung-nim. She hardly ever forgets what she saw once, and her administration work is amazing! Our Sun Hee-young’s a little scary, but when you see her sprinkling divine power, your jaw will drop as well.”
“Yes.”
“The way they all fight is so incredible! Some of them just go toink-toink-toink, some of them go bang-bang! That kid Ye-ri is good with a bow, too, so she just shoots it very fast everywhere. But in the meantime, if monsters come in, Cho Hye-jin’s spear attacks them with tease! Like this! It moves like this, just like a snake!”
“Pfft.”
“I don’t even have the chance to do anything, because it all gets cleared in no time! And there’s about the other time, too…”
“Yes.”
“Oh, first, get another drink. Eat the meat, too! Isn’t the trainee’s food a little too poor?”
“No. It’s better than I think. The accommodation is also good.”
‘Deokgu! You’re doing good!’
When I saw Yoo Ahyoung laughing, I had to realize that my thoughts were correct.
‘Good.’
Interviews with Kim Hyunsung had already been conducted several times.
She even had an interview with me. Of course, it had been a long time ago when the guild’s catalog had been distributed, and there was a time when I thought the money wasn’t good enough, so I kept raising the salary and the down payment.
There was also a time when Kim Hyunsung approached her first to become friends, but his social skill level was not so high, so it would be impossible to convince her.
I also tried quite a bit to suck up to Yoo Ahyoung, but I thought it was impossible to get closer to her, as she always seemed wary of me.
I sent Park Deokgu just in case a few days ago, and it was finally starting to produce results.
‘I don’t know what she’s thinking.’
I bet Park Deokgu was way friendlier than I am. When I remembered how quickly he became close to her at their first meal, I had to nod once again.
“It looks like you are really close to each other.”
“Ah! Of course. Didn’t you say it last time, too? Of course, I’m close to everyone else. But what can I say about Hyung-nim, me, and Hyunsung-ssi? The close bond that has been passed was maintained since the tutorial. The unspeakable passionate friendship of men! Something like that! Now I think I can see what Hyung-nim and Hyung-ssi are thinking even when I close my eyes!”
That must just be his illusion.
“Speaking of the tutorial, I remembered something… At that time, Hyung-nim… there’s a crash! After hitting the monster’s head with a stone… He said, ‘Deokgu, if I can… You can do better.’ Wow! That gave me courage in the dungeon. Originally, I was trembling because I was scared, but I got courage!”
‘How many times has he told this story?’
One downside was that it would make me a little embarrassed, but I could bear it.
“You told that story last time, Deokgu Oppa.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Still, it’s a story that makes me feel good every time I listen to it. I feel that you are really close.”
“Hahaha. We are a little bit, actually. Of course, the relationship between Deokgu, Hayan, and Hyunsung, who have met in the tutorial dungeon, is also valuable. But our Blue Guild is the best because it has a family-like atmosphere. I have a good relationship with other guild members, too.”
“Ah! I see.”
“Yes. In fact, everyone is close to each other like family.”
“Not only close like a family! Hyung-nim and Hayan can soon become a real family.”
“Ah… As expected, they were dating each other, right? I heard something about it, but I wasn’t sure, so I was just thinking…”
“For…now, it is.”
“And it’s the Gangwon-do’s dating expert, Park Deokgu, that connected the two!”
“I’m not saying that I was a bridge between them and played a decisive role. Hayan was a little timid, so I just gave her a little push. Ahem.”
“Gangwon-do’s love doctor? So, did you two meet in the tutorial and started dating?”
“Yes. That definitely happened.”
She looked like she was finding this interesting.
‘Is she interested in this kind of thing?’
I thought maybe it could be. Although time had passed by without anyone noticing, it was natural that she, who was still in her early twenties, would be interested in such love stories.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Park Deokgu cut me off.
“That… Actually, Hayan is a genius, but! Ahem! When she was in the tutorial dungeon, there were some bad times. I don’t know in detail, but other people just hated her…”
“Oh…”
“I’m not saying that bad people bullied her. At that time, in our tutorial dungeon, Hyung-nim was gathering and protecting the survivors… Anyway, they gave just a little bit of the distributed food to her on purpose! These rotten bastards!”
“Ah…”
“I don’t want to say this, but there was this guy! He was trying to do something to her! No, this story is a bit delicate. Anyway, Hayan couldn’t say anything, but it must have been very hard at the time.”
“I see.”
“At that time, it was our Kiyoung Hyung-nim who appeared like a hero.”
My face turned red.
‘So embarrassing.’
But it wasn’t so bad. I could see Yoo Ahyoung glancing at me and nodding.
“At that time, Kiyoung Hyung-nim started to take care of Hayan. Of course, up to this point, Hyung-nim said that he took care of Hayan because he remembered his younger sister… But a human’s heart doesn’t work the way we want it to. Since she liked him so much, I gave her some advice…”
“Yes.”
“At the time, there was no one who didn’t know about Park Deokgu, a dating expert in Gangwon-do. Ahem… It wasn’t a big deal. It gets too long to talk about in detail, but anyway, I gave her a lot of advice, and they suddenly got close. Anyone who gets into the hands of a Gangwon-do’s dating expert is successful!”
“I see.”
“But, in the end, it is because of these two people that their love blossomed. Hayan took courage, and Hyung-nim ended up liking her. The fact that their love ended beautifully is because of the role they played, not mine. I only helped.”
‘This bastard…’
As he looked at me and raised his thumb, I felt like shaking my head at him, but at least Yoo Ahyoung’s reaction wasn’t a negative one. She even looked impressed.
It was then that she spoke.
“Er…”
“Yes?”
“If it’s okay, can I get a consultation from you, too?”
Of course, that had been completely unexpected.