— Ding

“Ah, goddamnit!”

The smartwatch alert obscured his game screen at a crucial moment. Yoo Jinhyuk roared and shot up like a spring.

“What, you lost again?”

His secretary asked apathetically.

“No, but hey! Did you link my smartwatch with the computer?”

“No.”

“You did! I lost because of the alert!”

“It wasn’t me.”

Yoo Jinhyuk grabbed the back of his neck, feeling his blood pressure rising. That loss just cost him 50 million won.

“My life… What?”

His sullen mood disappeared when he saw the messenger’s name. It was his adorable niece, Yoo Yeonha.

“Did the sun rise from the west today? My niece just messaged me!”

If he recalled correctly, the last time they spoke was five years ago. Yoo Jinhyuk quickly checked the content.

[Uncle, I need you to look into someone’s family history.]

Yoo Jinhyuk tilted his head.

“Mm? Well, that’s surprising.”

“Is it work?”

His secretary’s eyes lit up.

“No, I told you it’s from my niece.”

“So is it work?”

“… I guess it is. Yaaawn.”

Yoo Jinhyuk slumped onto his couch. Yoo Yeonha sent a follow-up message.

[Cube cadet, Kim Hajin.]

“Kim Hajin… Who’s that?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Look into him. He’s a Cube cadet.”

“Is he?”

Cube enrolled at most 6000 cadets any given year. Finding someone from such a small pool would be a piece of cake. The secretary’s hands moved like lightning on her keyboard. Soon, a general overview popped up.

“He’s an orphan. He has a 300 million won debt.”

“Oh, so that’s why she said family affair. She must want to know the identity of his parents. Also, he has that much debt?”

“Yes. He also has a brokerage account, but I don’t know how much he has in it.”

“I guess I can do it for free if it’s only that,” Yoo Jinhyuk murmured as he picked his ear.

“Sigh, there goes my paycheck.”

The secretary complained about his lax manner.

“You’re going to get your pay. Honestly, don’t you think you’re taking too much with 20 million won per month?” Yoo Jinhyuk berated his secretary.

“That’s because I’m worth that much.”

“Tsk.”

Then he suddenly shot up.

“Get ready.”

“Are you really going to do it for free?”

“Yeah, I have a favor I want from hyung anyways.”

“Aha.”

The usually uptight secretary went along with Yoo Jinhyuk. He was the best in this field for a reason.

“Would it be 16 or 17 years ago? Let’s start from the day he was born.”

He could experience anyone's past.

***

Yoo Yeonha pouted at her smartwatch as she returned to the dorm. Three hours had passed since she messaged her uncle, but he didn’t reply. Her message was marked read, so he must have ignored her.

“Why isn’t he answering?”

“Who’s he? Don’t, don’t tell me, you got a b-boyfriend?”

Chae Nayun shockingly asked from next to her. Yoo Yeonha felt Chae Nayun had become much friendlier these days and didn’t know how to feel about it. Chae Nayun used to be aloof and uncaring, so Yoo Yeonha couldn’t understand her present behavior.

“I’m going out with Jonghak.”

“The whole world knows that’s a lie.”

“… Sigh. Fine, it’s my uncle.”

“Uncle?”

Chae Nayun turned to the side and snickered.

“You go ahead. I have to practice archery.”

“Archery? Oh right, your bet with Kim Hajin is coming up.”

“Yeah, I even rented an archery range. Do you want to come spectate?”

Chae Nayun thought about Kim Hajin over the weekend and concluded that she’d chastise him after winning the bet If Kim Hajin liked her. The bow suited her best, and the way he expressed his affection was wrong.

“… Spectate?”

Yoo Yeonha pondered in interest. She couldn’t see Chae Nayun winning. From her experience, Kim Hajin’s confidence was always well-founded.

“Yeah, I invited a bunch of people over.”

“Is Jonghak also going?”

“Yep.”

“… He’s going to bring more people.”

Shin Jonghak would likely bring ten or so cadets. If Kim Hajin won, Chae Nayun would be embarrassing herself in front of a crowd.

“I’ll use this opportunity to put him in his place.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha stared at Chae Nayun’s confident face. She didn’t want to miss it as she imagined Chae Nayun’s embarrassment and despair.

“I’ll come watch.”

Yoo Yeonha smiled just thinking about it. Then her smartwatch rang.

Yun Seung-Ah: [Let’s grab lunch this weekend. I want to apologize for what happened before.]

She checked her smartwatch, but frowned that it wasn’t Yoo Jinhyuk.

“Who is it now?”

Chae Nayun stopped and asked again.

“Why are you suddenly so curious?”

“I’m just wondering. Who is it? Kim Suho?”

“… Vice-leader Yun Seung-Ah.”

“Eh? Seung-Ah unni? What about her?”

Yun Seung-Ah and Chae Nayun had both been taught by the master rank hero, Yoo Sihyuk. Of course, that was in the distant past when Chae Nayun was only 8 and Yun Seung-Ah was 21.

“She wants to apologize for what happened at the masquerade party.”

“Ah, I should have gone. If only I didn’t get lost…”

“You should have swapped with me. I wanted to go to that restaurant.”

“The place Kim Hajin took me?”

Yoo Yeonha nodded with a bitter smile. Although she loved fast food, the hero’s cooking was something people would kill for.

“Now that I think about it, Kim Hajin must not be so simple if he can make a reservation there.”

“…”

Chae Nayun only just realized. Yoo Yeonha sighed in disappointment.

***

I went on my way as I overheard their conversation. Hearing my name surprised me, but it wasn’t anything special. Instead, I found Yun Seung-Ah eating with Yoo Yeonha to be more surprising. After all, they would fiercely compete in the future.

Someone approached me from behind. I turned around and saw a familiar face.

“Hello.”

Rachel greeted me with a slight smile.

“Ah, yes, did something happen?”

“Here. Thank you again for before.”

She handed me a small box that could barely fit a car key. I looked back and forth between the box and Rachel before taking it.

“Can I open it now?”

“Yes.”

I opened the box as soon as Rachel nodded. I felt nervous that it might be a real car key, but it was a key to Cube’s armory.

“Ah, armor?”

With this, I should be able to pick up a cloth armor of some sort.

“Yes, defensive equipment is England’s pride.”

She bowed and left to the girls’ dorm. Her actions perfectly matched my description of her. Rachel disliked talking about personal matters. I felt a royal’s grace from just the way she walked.

***

I returned to my room after picking up Rachel’s gift from the armory. A stylish coat emerged when I took off the plastic wrap.

“Whoa.”

It felt perfect, not too heavy or light. It wasn’t too long either, as if tailored for my height. Fashionwise, it didn’t stand out and looked discrete. Although it came with a certificate of quality, I checked its functionality with my laptop.

[Royal Black Coat – Jacket] [Partial Artifact] A coat created by the English Royal Court's master craftsman. Patched with parts of an artifact.

[Pinnacle Temperature Control] [Low-intermediate Defense] [Camouflage] [Form Change: Coat ↔ Jacket]

Defensive pieces of equipment were rarely full-fledged artifacts. Modern people found it difficult to wear complete defensive artifacts, so craftsmen often reproduced them into partial artifacts.

“This is amazing.”

England was renowned for its cloth-type defensive equipment. This item had to be worth several hundred million won. I put it on, and it perfectly fit. I sent Rachel a thank you message.

[Thank you for the coat. I love it.]

She replied immediately.

[No problem. Use it well ^^]

“She’s surprisingly good at texting, huh.”

She was usually expressionless and quiet, but…

[(~.~)]

She even sent emoticons.

***

I began attending Cube in February, and it was now May. That would be almost four months since I came to this world. Both theory classes and combat training felt like a daily routine now.

“The finals are coming up in 4 weeks.”

Kim Soohyuk announced at the end of Friday’s class. The final exams would be the last hurdle for this half of the year.

“Written exams will be the same, but combat exams will be completely different.”

The finals were rigorous and serious, unlike the festival-like midterms.

“Everything you’ve learned until now will be tested in a single exam.”

The final exam wouldn’t be made public until much later, but I already knew.

They would drop cadets on a remote island filled with wild animals and monsters. Cadets needed to survive for a week while amassing as many points as possible. Each monster would be worth one point, and cadets could also defeat other cadets to gain points. In addition, they could freely form teams and even give points to each other.

Cadets would only find out on the day of the exam. Everyone would be dropped off on the remote island without any preparations. They would only be given two days' worth of food.

However, I would thoroughly prepare for that exam and be at a massive advantage since most wouldn’t even have basic camping equipment.

“You don’t have to worry about safety. High-intermediate to high rank heroes will be closely observing you from the shadows.”

Kim Soohyuk dismissed the class after intimidating everyone.

“Now, go back and have fun. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Cadets stood up from their seats. I also packed my stuff.

“Hey, is your practice going well? You didn’t forget, right? Our bet’s next week.”

Chae Nayun appeared out of nowhere when I was about to leave through the back door. She confidently smiled as the surrounding gazes fell on us. They watched our psychological battle with interest.

“No, I didn’t practice at all.”

“… What?”

“I can win without any practice.”

I left the room after giving her a cocky smile.

“Hey! Grr, that guy!”

Only a week remained until our archery battle.

***

My interaction with Chae Nayun was pointless as we soon met. The hunting club’s leader rented a mountain cabin and planned an overnight trip today.

“Why am I paired with you again?”

“How should I know?”

We climbed a mountain covered in white as a cold wind blew. The boundary between earth and heaven seemed faint in this snowy world. The hunting club had traveled to Norway for an overnight trip.

It would have been sheer lunacy in my previous world, but traveling between countries was extremely easy for Cube cadets thanks to portals. I was honestly excited and always wanted to visit Norway.

“You worked something out with the club leader again, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know you pulled some strings to pair with me.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

A computer program chose today’s pairs. Despite that, my luck must’ve paired us again. After all, Chae Nayun was the prettiest in the club.

“Anyways, you keep doing things behind my back, but keep it moderate.”

“Worry about yourself. There are plenty of traps around here because of hunters.”

I ignored Chae Nayun’s nonsense and pointed below her. Chae Nayun stopped in surprise. A huge bear trap lay beneath her.

“Oh, geez. That surprised me.”

A scavenger hunt took place to celebrate the club’s reunion. Flags spread around the mountain with gifts written on them from the seniors who currently worked as heroes.

Whiiish—

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew a flurry of snow.

“Aah, my face feels like it’s going to explode.”

The wind disappeared, but Chae Nayun’s face turned red from the cold.

“You cold?”

“A, a little bit. I should have brought a coat too.”

“I’m not cold.”

For the record, I wore the coat Rachel gifted me. I wasn’t cold at all, thanks to its temperature control.

“… Did you buy a new coat?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing.”

“…”

Chae Nayun looked at me, aggrieved. Then we walked in silence. Our footsteps gently sounded as we stepped on the fluffy snow. I quite enjoyed Norway’s scenery of snowy mountains.

“Ah, over there! There’s a flag.”

Chae Nayun pointed at a nearby mountain peak. A single flag waved on the edge of a cliff.

“That must be the first place flag.”

It had to be, considering its dangerous location. Would anyone be crazy enough to climb up there?

“Hey, let’s go up.”

The person in question was right next to me.

“We don’t need to.”

I took out a roll of wire from my pocket. I didn’t make it from aether, but just normal wire I brought for support.

“You’re going to throw it and pull it out? Is that even possible?”

I tied the wire around a dagger without answering. Then I attached stigma’s magic power. Recently, I’ve been thinking about more ways to use stigma.

“Huup!”

I threw the dagger in full force. It flew in a straight line and passed the flag.

“Pft. Nice try.”

The dagger suddenly bent at a strange angle, spinning around the flag and wrapping around it. Then it returned to my hands along with the flag.

Stigma’s magic power followed my will. I attached it to the dagger, so I could freely control it. I put away the wire and dagger and held up the flag.

“… N-Not bad.”

Chae Nayun tried to sound unimpressed as she snatched the flag out of my hand. Then the flag shrunk to a piece of paper, which I snatched back.

“Ah.”

Two lines were written in pretty handwriting.

[First place. The prize is Yun Seung-Ah’s contact number. That’s me! You know who I am, right? If you need any help, call me any time. I’ll help you out once as long as it’s something I can help with!]

“Why is Yun Seung-Ah showing up here?"

“Yun Seung-Ah? Address her more formally. Also, this is amazing.”

I was extremely disappointed, but Chae Nayun seemed happy.

“You can take it then.”

“What? You’re giving this to me? Seung-Ah unni is the vice-leader of the number 1 ranked guild!”

“I don’t need it.”

I handed the paper to her without a care. After all, I already had Yun Seung-Ah’s contact. Chae Nayun, who almost happily accepted it, paused with a serious face.

“No, you take it. Why give me what’s yours? I don’t need it.”

“… Uh, yeah, sure.”

Her strange attitude confused me.