[Trantor - Helga ]


    [Proofreader - Starfall ]


    Chapter 5


    "Military Chronicle" is a game where you train military cadets—your "7 Heroes"—to defeat the viin in a war.


    At first nce, it sounds like an RPG or RTS, but the developers officially categorized it as a "Full-Interaction Role-ying War Simtion Fantasy."


    A lot of people questioned this overly verbose genre name. The developers responded by saying, "Faced with amon 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 viin!"


    If their goal was to grab attention, it worked. Curious about this bizarre game, many people started ying "Military Chronicle."


    Soon, those yers realized the developers weren''t exaggerating. Every aspect of the game was driven by an interactive system.


    A seemingly insignificant item found on the street could lead to a terrifyingly powerful rival.


    If you forgot someone''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 viins on the battlefield.


    Clearly, the difficulty was unbnced.


    Many gamersined, but the developers never released any bnce patches. They insisted it wasn''t the game''s fault, but the yers''ck 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 game reviews were filled with insults.


    "But why me?"


    Despite its difficulty, "Military Chronicle" was amercial sess, winning numerous GOTY awards. Itspelling characters, innovative systems, and immersive story made it a masterpiece, even with its extreme difficulty.


    Millions yed it, millions more left angryments.


    So why? Why me?


    Why was I cursed with this terrible fate?


    Sure, the game was insanely hard, and I did leave some angryments. And yes, thosements got the most likes.


    But this was an excessive punishment 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 countlesspanion characters, including hidden ones. Those who weren''t chosen aspanions would be enemies or have their own unique storylines depending on the yer''s choices.


    Everypanion had their own background, personality, traits, and ambitions.


    But they all had one thing inmon: they could never reach the ending.


    No matter who you chose as apanion or what route you took, "Military Chronicle" was impossible to finish. Humans were simply too weakpared to the viins.


    "...But why me?"


    Unlike the original "Military Chronicle," the military cadets in this world were ridiculously strong. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    No matter how brilliant my strategy, they always seemed to have a plot armor boost, allowing them to ovee any obstacle and hunt me down.


    As if they wanted to show me, someone whoined about the game''s difficulty, how miserable the viins would be if humans were too powerful.


    "...But this time will be different."


    Instead of joining the viinous organization, I chose a new route: infiltrating the Masterss as a professor.


    I''ve sessfully 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''llpletely block that route.


    "First, I need to deal with this."


    Main Quest 2: Increase the status of the Deconstructionist Department.


    This was the primary mission assigned to me by the vice principal on my first day.


    It was the first hurdle I had to clear to execute my n at the academy. If the Deconstructionist Department was to be disbanded, I would undoubtedly be fired.


    "Status... How can I possibly improve it?"


    A solution didn''t immediately spring to mind. Undercover infiltration of the Masterss was an entirely new approach I had never attempted before.


    If I could only figure out how Professor D hadpleted this quest, it would be a huge help...


    "I know Do Jin-hak has a poor reputation among the students, but..."


    In the game''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 means Professor D must have sessfullypleted the vice principal''s quest..."


    And he must have done it quickly and easily, without it being obvious in the storyline.


    What method had he used?


    * * *


    "I''ll figure that outter."


    Late at night.


    I wandered the academy grounds, studying the map.


    While I still didn''t know how Professor D hadpleted 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 n" is activated in response to the moon''s magic.]


    [All abilities and spell effects are increased by 20%.]


    A message appeared as I looked up at the night sky. In "Military Chronicle," the moon''s magic yed a significant role for certain viins.


    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,ing 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 Masterss. If my predictions were correct...


    "ording to the map, the ''Garden'' is... over there?"


    Even though I had explored the academy extensively in the game, 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, circr building enclosed in a ss ceiling in the distance.


    That was the Masterss''s "Garden."


    As the Masterss primarily focused on magic, it always kept a plentiful supply of magical ingredients. The academy''s "Garden" was a secret ce 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 someone''s voice from the opposite direction. I stopped and tensed.


    ''Could it be a guard?''


    Two faint shlights 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, some thief has been breaking into the academy. They''ve already stolen nine times."


    "Damn it. Why would anyone steal from an academy? They should rob some rich people instead and leave us alone..."


    I listened intently to the guards'' chatter. It seemed there had been a series of thefts at the academy, which was why the patrols had been increased.


    ‘A theft incident... was there something like that in the early stages of the game?’


    ording to the game''s timeline, it was still the first day for the yer. I racked my brain, trying to recall if there was any event rted to theft at the beginning of the game.


    "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 overtime pay..."


    One of the guards suddenly stopped and looked around.


    The other guard asked, "What''s wrong? Is something up?"


    "Hold on... I smell something strange."


    "Smell?"


    "Yeah, I''ve got a nose like a bloodhound, you know."


    "You can smell anything within a hundred meters."


    "Exactly. But I swear I smell something 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 menacingly, the guards approached the tree where I was hiding.


    My heart pounded.


    "Ipletely forgot... these guards are the ''Gangnam Double Peaks''."


    Most of the faculty members at the Masterss had extraordinary abilities, but the duo known as the Gangnam Double Peaks were notorious even among viins.


    Kim, with a nose as keen as a bloodhound, could detect the scent of a viin from miles away.


    And then there was Park, whose strength exceeded human limits when inbat.


    Fitting for an academy that was always gued by incidents, the creators had given the guards an excessively high level ofbat 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 forbat, especially in the early stages of the game.


    ‘Blood demons may be weak inbat early on, but they have some 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 smelled something right here... Ow, ow, ow!"


    "What''s wrong?"


    The guards looked up at the branch and jumped back in surprise when they saw me.


    However, instead of raising their clubs, they let out a sigh of relief.


    "Oh, it''s just a bat."


    "You mean that strange smell wasing from that?"


    "Sniff, sniff... Yeah, it smells 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 me as a mere bat and continued their patrol.


    I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ‘I managed to get away.’


    The basic polymorph spell that turned me 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 sessfully deceived the powerful guards, Gangnam Double Peaks.]


    [Your Blood Demon characteristic experience has increased!]


    A message 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 judgment. The message indicated that the system had deemed 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 transformed 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.


    [Trantor - Helga ]


    [Proofreader - Starfall ]