"Nope." Lee hung his spear from the magnetic holster on his back and said, "Worked my ass off doing crab fishing off Jeju island along with other things to pay for it."
That was the other tidbit Lee found out recently.
Sadly, there wasn't anything extraordinary about Lee Shin's life.
Well, other than his parents dying to a djinn attack while on a family trip with him in Korea, him being lost in the Korean fostercare system before being compensated by the government for mistakenly placing him there illegally, and being a diehard chinese martial arts fan.
Like, the whole reason Lee Shin trained with a spear was because he was an avid fan of Li Shuwen apparently.
But anyway.
"Pretty cool, right?"
Nayun frowned and said, "Isn't that counted as a personal weapon?"
Rachel, quiet until now, spoke up and said, "No. Cadets are allowed auxiliary training weapons. Personal weapons are considered equipment that have magical enchantments or other effects."
"What Rachel said. But anyway... Oh yeah, have we done proper introductions at all yet? I don't think we have, right?" Lee waved and said, "My name is Lee Shin, Cadet Rank 999. The hanja for my name is 'different' for Lee and 'belief' for Shin. I'm technically an American citizen, but because of some bureaucratic mix-ups when I was younger, I'm a dual American and Korean citizen. Ah, I'm also 17 years old according to the Korean standards. 16 by Western."
Rachel spoke up next. "Rachel Elizabeth Louise. Cadet Rank 1. Heir to the Kingdom of Britain. Same age as Lee."
Nayun raised an eyebrow and said, "Wow. When it's not that guy, you aren't that talkative at all, huh? Well, alright... Chae Nayun. Cadet Rank 2... because I hate written exams. I'm not a princess, but I AM the Immortal Chae Joochul's granddaughter."
Yeonha gave a curt nod and said, "Yoo Yeonha. Rank 5. Only because my combat skills are, regrettably, lacking. Also the daughter of the Essence of Strait's guild leader."
...Oh.
Huh.
Maybe Lee should have brushed up more on current events instead of just history.
Did NOT expect Nayun and Yeonha to be related to one of the Nine Stars and the number one guild in the world.
Well, he WAS American. And status didn't change who you were as a person, but just something additional you got to flex. So instead of reacting, Lee just nodded and said, "Alright. Nice to meet you all..." He noticed Hajin finally arriving and said, "And you?"
"A-Ah." Hajin flinched, hand moving to his holstered gun like it was a security blanket. "Kim Hajin. Rank 934. Just... me."
Rachel looked at Hajin with disapproval.
Yeonha looked at him with contempt.
Nayun looked like she had a whole lecture ready to go for Hajin using a gun.
But before anyone could speak up, Instructor Soohyuk shouted. "Enough chitchat! Coordinates and target information have been sent! Get going!"
'Note to self: get Instructor Soohyuk a nice present for breaking this awkward tension.'
===
A Blackhump Octopus. One located at the beach area Lee had noticed earlier.
It was a decent distant away. Roughly a mile or so. But at Lee's current physique, it would be simple to get there. A full sprint would get him there in five minutes. A leisurely jog, ten minutes.
But unfortunately...
"What kind of cadet are you?!" Nayun glared at Hajin and said, "It's just that far! Ten minutes at best! And you're already this tired?!"
Yeonha let out a thin smile and said, "It can't be helped, Nayun. Some people aren't meant for physical combat. Though, to not even be qualified as a sharpshooter while having a gun... that's too sad, isn't it?"
Rachel didn't say a word, only looking at Hajin with a disappointed gaze.
As for Hajin himself...
Well, how else would a guy being lambasted by three beauties look? He was already gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. But when Nayun dug into him, he grit his teeth, clearly upset.
But at this rate, nothing would get done. And considering Lee's score depending on the team activities as well...
"Alright. Can't be helped." Lee immediately picked Hajin up and threw him over the shoulder like a potato sack.
"H-Hey! I can move by my-!"
"You're a gunman. Just stay perched and shoot when you can. Honestly, you should invest in a motorbike or something. Trying to run will only kill your aim when it comes down to it."
Hajin's eyes widened and he immediately went quiet. Was it because he realized that Lee wasn't critiquing him, but giving proper feedback? Either way, he stopped protesting and just nodded, letting himself be carried.
Nayun glanced over and clicked her tongue. "Pathetic. Having to be carried... literally and figuratively..."
Yeonha hid her mouth with her hand and said, "Well. That's the fate of some men."
Rachel pursed her lips and then said, "Enough. We are losing time."
Lee nodded. "Let's run and talk then." After that, he took the lead with Rachel, sprinting towards the beach. "Our target has a clear weakpoint, but a lot of add-on mobs."
Yeonha hummed and said, "Right. The Blackhump Octopus is something dangerous for frontliners like you and Rachel."
Nayun puffed her chest out and tapped her bow. "Leave it to me then! I'll send that octopus packing! One shot and it'll be over!"
Rachel tilted her head and looked at Lee. "Should we finish it so quickly though?"
Nayun glanced at Rachel and said, "What do you mean, Rachel- I mean, Lady Rachel?"
"Rachel is fine during operations." Rachel nodded and said, "And I mean that this is also an assessment, is it not?"
Yeonha paused. "...That's correct. If we let Nayun finish it right away, then there's no data on us. So... What do you think, Lee?" She looked at Lee and said, "Do we just finish it?"
Lee hummed and looked at Hajin. "What do you think, Hajin?"
"S-Sorry?" Hajin blinked, caught offguard at being included.
Nayun wrinkled her nose at him. But then she paused. "...Oh yeah! A gun doesn't cost anything to just shoot, right? That guy can just blast the baby octopuses while we deal with the main body!"
Yeonha paused. "...It would suit his role as 'utility.' It seems he has SOME use."
Rachel looked at Hajin and said, "Are you confident?"
Hajin hesitated. Looking at the gazes on him, he took a breath and nodded. "...Yeah. If it's that, I can do it."
"Alright," Lee said. "Then look sharp. We're here." He came to a stop when they reached the beach, sliding and using the sand to slow his sprint. At the same time, he set Hajin down.
Was it because he was tired of being looked down on? Or because he wanted to show off?
Either way, the moment Hajin was placed on his feet, he drew his gun and-
'Hm?'
An impossible feat.
The Blackhump Octopus, pointed its hump at the group the moment they drew near. A second later, it blasted dozens of fist-sized octopi.
But then Hajin blurred.
Lee heard three gunshots. But all of the baby octopi suddenly burst apart, gunned down in a single moment.
"What the heck-?!" Nayun's eyes widened and she snapped her head towards Hajin. "That's a normal training gun, right?!"
'Interesting.'
Lee had a lot of questions on what he just saw. Theories too.
But.
"Focus, Nayun."
Instead of dwelling on that, he called out. "Hajin cleared the path. We need to handle the rest. Yeonha, can you bind it?"
Yeonha flicked her whip, tangling the Blackhump Octopus's tentacles. "Done."
"Rachel, with me. Nayun, when we sever the tentacles, take out the hump."
"What?" Nayun blinked and looked at Lee. "Hey, wait! Since when are you the boss?!"
Lee didn't bother responding, already sprinting forward.
Rachel immediately moved in tandem with him.
"On three, Rachel."
"Understood."
"One. Two... Three!"
The moment Lee said three, he broke off to the left and slashed at the left half of the tentacles with his spear. For good measure, he flicked out his bead of mana into a thin blade to extend its cutting range.
Rachel gathered mana around her rapier as well, matching Lee in severing the right half of the tentacles.
And the moment that the Blackhump Octopus toppled forward due to losing its balance, a shining emerald arrow pierced its hump, killing it.
The source? Nayun, finishing with a coup de grace. After that, she pumped her bow in the air and said, "Hah! Take that!"
Lee laughed. "Well, that went well." He nodded at Hajin. "Good work."
"A-Ah. Yes." Hajin nodded, his eyes flitting to the side.
To the normal person, it would look like he was shy.
But Lee was sure that he was reading a status message that popped up.
Still, not his problem. As long as Hajin didn't get in Lee's way of enjoying his life at Cube, things would be fine.
Yeonha flicked her wrist, coiling her whip. Then she glanced at Hajin and said, "We should talk about him though, should we not? That was not normal."
Nayun's eyes widened and she said, "Oh! Right!" She pointed at Hajin and said, "What's with that?! If you got enlightenment, you should have said something! Everyone just thinks you're stupid for switching to a gun, you know?"
Hajin shifted and said, "...I didn't want to stand out?"
It was a lame excuse. Then again, he also didn't really HAVE an excuse anyway.
But since the girls would definitely dogpile him... and since that would just lead to things getting toxic later, Lee held up his smartwatch. "Hm... Final time is 11 minutes and 24 seconds. It's fast... but we're still second apparently."
"WHAT?!" Nayun rounded on Lee and said, "HOW?! We ran straight here!"
Lee chuckled and said, "First is Suho's team. Five minutes apparently."
Rachel pursed her lips. "...Unfortunate."
Lee laughed and said, "Don't fret it, Rachel. We got unlucky. We had to run all the way out here. We could have shaved a minute or two, but we pretty much did the best we could do."
Yeonha sighed. "It seems so... Well." She brushed off her hands and said, "At least we put on a good show. The footage should help with our evaluations. But I'm surprised." She looked at Lee with mild respect. "For being close to the bottom of the ranks, you have quite sound judgment..."
Lee hung his spear back on its holster and said, "Well. It's more impressive climbing up from the bottom than hanging for dear life at the top, isn't it?"
Nayun gave Lee a thumbs up and said, "Spoken like a true man! Though." She immediately pointed it down and said, "You're still a crazy maniac for using the gravitation chamber with that trash magic power."
"Never letting that go, huh?"
"I WAS ALMOST WITNESS TO A MURDER!"
Lee laughed and started leading the way back. "Come on. Since we finished early, we get dismissed early. No point hanging around, right?"