The large clan collaborates with external organizations to provide various training programs for the employees’ skill enhancement.
Shin Jin-ho, an intern, got invited to the Raon Clan’s training program alongside junior wizards and associate seniors.
“Didn’t you say Jin-ho is the younger brother of Shin Yeon-ho? How’s Yeon-ho doing these days? I haven’t heard any news.”
“I think he’s doing well? No news is good news, so we haven’t been in touch much, haha.”
“Eh? Did he go abroad or something?”
“He went to the military right after the first semester ended.”
“Oh right, right. Everyone usually goes to the military around this time. I should send my regards.”
A young woman hummed a tune while looking for contact information for Shin Yeon-ho.
“Isn’t it a bit too much, Kim Yoo-ri the wizard? I heard Shin Yeon-ho already has a girlfriend.”
“Hey, this is all part of reputation management. If I want to gain points with someone who might become my junior, I need to treat them well from now on.”
“Wow, did you just hear that, Jin-ho? You really need to watch out for these sly girls once you enter society. They’ll act all nice and then stab you in the back!”
“Oh come on! Handsome people don’t betray! You don’t have to worry, Jin-ho, you’re safe.”
“What about me?”
“Well, uh, I think you need to be careful during night walks?”
While making useless jokes, the employees were setting up their virtual reality avatars.
Since they were going to learn swordsmanship, they tried to make their avatars as similar to their real selves as possible.
“Learning swordsmanship from the champion of the National Exchange Tournament. I’ve always wanted to learn sword fighting! Can you handle a sword, Jin-ho?”
“I only dabbled in kendo a bit when I was young.”
“There aren’t many places to learn in Korea, so it’ll be fun. Let’s learn hard together!”
“This open world is quite well-decorated. Is the cathedral in the Baroque style?”
They all scattered to explore the various maps until the promised time came.
Shin Jin-ho wandered through several channels, admiring the natural scenery in the open world.
While most wizards loitered around a stream’s walking path, Shin Jin-ho discovered a hut on a hill.
‘Feeling bored, should I check it out?’
He climbed the uphill path with some effort and knocked on the hut’s door.
Knock knock knock-
“Who is it?”
A woman answered with a lovely tone, opening the door wide to greet him.
Upon seeing her face, Shin Jin-ho lost his composure.
Her beautiful blonde hair shimmered like a wheat field warmed by the sun.
Her small face and fairy-like features felt utterly unreal.
Her blazing golden eyes slowly scanned from side to side before locking onto Shin Jin-ho’s.
Seeing Shin Jin-ho flustered, the woman smiled casually.
“The training will start as soon as Katsuhata is ready. Just wait a moment.”
“Are you a member of the Janjeol Clan…?”
Shin Jin-ho asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh, I guess so? Don’t you know me?”
Her cryptic response flowed from her lips.
Shin Jin-ho’s head became a jumble of thoughts.
Her Korean pronunciation was too fluent to be a foreigner.
“Are you… Korean?”
“Haha, yes, I’m Korean. You must have been confused because of the avatar.”
‘So it was a custom avatar, that makes sense.’
It was only logical to think that someone with such unreal beauty couldn’t possibly exist in reality.
“You can wait inside the hut, Shin Jin-ho.”
“How did you know my name?”
“It’s written on the name tag over there. Shin Jin-ho, intern.”
The woman answered calmly as she pointed to his chest.
Shin Jin-ho nodded briefly and stepped inside the hut.
The woman had a stylish sword attached to her waist.
She was likely to be an assistant who would help with the training.
She pulled a teapot from her inventory and poured tea into a white cup.
She presented a cup to Shin Jin-ho.
“By the way, it feels like it’s been a while since we last met. How’s Shin Yeon-ho doing these days?”
The woman inquired about her brother, who was in the military.
“I don’t really keep in touch, but I guess he’s doing okay.”
Shin Jin-ho replied hastily.
He quickly gulped down the tea and watched her every move with his eyes.
‘Who is this person? She must be one of my acquaintances.’
He felt too shy to directly ask her.
If she turned out to be a close friend, he might disappoint her for not recognizing her.
Moreover, she seemed to be intentionally avoiding revealing her identity.
He felt a silly competitiveness rising.
“Are both brothers planning to join the Raon Clan?”
“Since going abroad doesn’t hold much meaning for us, my brother and I have similar thoughts.”
“I guess living abroad can be tough.”
“Have you had experiences living abroad?”
“Oh me? Lots of experience. I’ve been everywhere.”
While that narrowed down the possibilities, there were still many suspects.
‘Wait, she did mention being from the Raon Clan… could it possibly be?’
A light bulb lit up in Shin Jin-ho’s head.
“Are you Ban So-wool?”
Shin Yeon-ho’s girlfriend.
The woman smiled widely.
Shin Jin-ho let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ve been wondering who you were! But what made you decide to join this clan? It’s a completely new clan.”
“I promised to find a way to fix someone’s eyesight at the Janjeol Clan.”
“Is that kid NoName?”
“Yep.”
“You’re brave for just trusting a kid and joining the clan like that. But then again, NoName is something else.”
Considering all that NoName achieved, it wouldn’t be so surprising if he accomplished even more.
“In what way is he something else?”
“Well, it’s not just his intelligence; he has qualities that are not typical for a kid…”
“Hmm.”
“I met him briefly during the Academy Competition, and he showed great responsibility. So-wool, you’ve participated in the competition several times too, so you know everyone usually just focuses on winning their own year, right? But he even gave up his sleeping time to help other kids. I commend that.”
“Hmm. Is there more?”
“Well, um, it’s pretty impressive he has so many passions at that age and can act on them too. Seeing geniuses like hyung and So-wool makes me feel like I need to live my life more earnestly.”
“Anything else?”
“Um, sometimes he appears cute when he shows childish traits in ads? He’s somewhat short, but he has that young actor vibe. Wait, but he’s a bit short, so he might struggle as an actor.”
Thump-
The woman slammed the tea cup she was holding onto the table.
“That’s enough. Anyway, how did the Raon Clan end up here for training?”
“I’m also an intern, so I don’t know all the details, but there’s a rumor that Raon Clan is starting some project with the Katsuhata Sect.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It seems like the plan is to get acquainted with their heir and foster camaraderie among clan members.”
“Oh, so not everyone signed up to learn sword techniques… that’s a bit… bittersweet.”
She sighed as if disappointed.
“But since they’re keen to learn, I’m sure they’ll put in effort when it comes to teaching.”
“What about you, Shin Jin-ho?”
“Me? If I’m doing it, I’m going to do it seriously. They say there are 496 unique styles in the Imperial Palace Swordsmanship, so to make it worth it, I should at least learn 50 before leaving, right? By the way, So-wool, will you be directly participating as an assistant in today’s training? When did you start handling a sword?”
Ban So-wool was known for her barehanded martial arts.
While Shin Jin-ho was tilting his head in confusion, the hut’s door suddenly swung open.
“Clan Leader. Katsuhata just logged in. When are we starting?”
The visitor was none other than the real Ban So-wool.
Phew!
Shin Jin-ho spat out the tea he had in his mouth, alternating his gaze between the woman and Ban So-wool.
“Cough cough! Wait… is that… Ban So-wool?”
“Yeah? Hey Jin-ho, you’re an intern at the Raon Clan too.”
“So this person is…?”
Shin Jin-ho had completely forgotten.
The fact that Ban So-wool’s tone was even more monotonous than expected and often came off as somewhat rude.
The foreign woman sitting across from Shin Jin-ho stood up.
She fidgeted with the hilt of her Skiabona by habit.
Her shoulders shook up and down before she burst out laughing.
“Student Council President’s ambitions have been noted. You’re sticking around until you learn all 50 techniques. It’s a promise.”
[▶Custom 1 – Release]
[▶Main Custom – Equip]
The blonde woman vanished, replaced by a girl with pigtails sitting in her place.
“No way, NoName!”
“Normally, a teacher finds fulfillment from teaching just one student in a class. I’m so happy that you’re so enthusiastic about participating, Shin Jin-ho!”
Shin Jin-ho was left in shock, realizing he had been tricked by NoName just now.
He knew NoName didn’t act like a typical kid.
But he never expected he could be fooled just by a single avatar change.
Transforming back into an adult female avatar, NoName said:
“Sorry for tricking you. But I’ll make sure to pay extra attention to your posture and techniques while practicing with Emika. This is time that even a billion won wouldn’t buy!”
“Wait, I…!”
On the first day of the Raon Clan’s sword training program,
While the other clan members left at 5 PM, Shin Jin-ho emerged from the capsule at 11 PM without even dinner.
The intern was so exhausted he had no choice but to take a day off the next day.
