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Hee-Sungs POV:
Before I started the semester of my first year Aunt Cha sat with me at the kitchen table helping me choose my two chosen focus core subjects. There are four main subjects every student studying at the great hunters academy should learn in the three years they are there. Those subjects are:
History where the focus lies in learning from past failures to create change and develop critical thinking. Mathematics and statistics involved teaching students dungeon analysis, probability, leadership, team combinations and survival strategies. Lastly Combat and Defense. This subject really speaks for itself just like how physical education used to be before the Great Cataclysm with physical fitness and promoting god physical and mental health and well-being at its core. The core of combat and defense is purely to teach students on how to fight and defend against monsters in dangerous situations for rescue and survival.
After carefull deliberation i decided to take Biology of Monsters & Anatomy. The Government constantly records researches and experiments on newly discovered monsters, disecting them to find potential weaknesses. The results of their research are placed in textbook format and distributed to be taught in Academies. Aunt Cha always told me "Know the enemy and know yourself in a hundred battles you will never be in peril" - Sun Tzu (The Art of War). She also told me that long and drawn out battles against dungeon monsters is unfavorable that's why striking there weakness yields better and safer results, though that depends on the monster rank.
and Weapon engineering. This was one of my personal interests. Weapon engineering is where you learn skills to shape the tools for survival. Survival depends on turning the remains of these creatures into powerful weapons and armour. Monster scales, claws, bones, and even their magical cores are valuable materials, each with unique properties. These can be used to forge unbreakable swords, enchanted shields, or potions that boost strength and magic.
In a world now dominated by dungeons crawling with monsters in dungeons ready to break out of gates, where danger lurks behind every corner and treasures lie just out of reach, weapon engineering is not just a craft... it is a necessity. To wield a weapon forged from the essence of a monster is to carry a piece of that beast's power into battle, a constant reminder that the line between predator and prey is often drawn by the tools in hand.
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Class 1-5 History
Still catching their breath, the two boys approached class 1-5 for their history lesson. As they slid open the door, the hum of chatter died down for a brief moment and resumed. Hee-sung wiped sweat from his brow, the heat wasn't helping in the slightest either. Exhausted from the morning hike up the hill in addition to the 10 laps, Sang-Pil ran his hand through his damp hair muttering something about how unfair the world is. Their history teacher, Professor Eun, barely spared them as she continued writing on the board. Today's topic for discussion, 'From chaos to order - The birth of safe zones'
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Professor Eun Su-Hyeon was a historian, a scholar obsessed with the past because she believed it held the key to the future.
Professor Eun Suhyeon was a rare blend of traditional historian and cutting-edge researcher. Her expertise spanned both the ancient world and the modern-day that had become part of South Korea's new reality. ESpecially when it came to the powerful relics and treasures unearthed in South Korea's ever-expanding dungeons.
Though Professor Eun could have easily taken her discoveries into the field to aid the military directly, she chose to stay in the classroom. There, she passed on her knowledge of both ancient history and the modern artefacts to the next generation of scholars and hunters. Her favourite quote she'd say often... 'knowledge is power'
Her students weren't just learning history, they were learning how to survive. To her, each lecture was a mission to ensure that humanity didn't repeat the mistakes of the past. The monsters outside weren't the only thing they had to fear, the true danger lay in ignorance.
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"Take your seats boys, If you were even 1 minute late I'd be giving you both detention" she smiled.
Professor Eun Suhyeon was known for being kind and approachable, always ready to support her students. However, when it came to history, she was serious and determined.
Hee-sung and sang pil took their designated seats at the back of the classroom.
"Right" She clapped to gain undivided attention. She turned to face the class "Let's pick off where we left last lesson. Who can tell me what happened when the first dungeon gates broke?"
A girl in the front row raised her hand, " Monsters flooded out of the dungeons uncontrollably, cities and regions were wiped of the map all over the world, destroyed overnight. Herds of creatures and monsters of all different strengths and sizes tramples through the lands forcing millions of people to flee"
A heavy silence settled over the classroom even those who usually whisper amongst themselves during class were quiet now.
Professor Eun nodded "Correct, it was the greatest catastrophe in recorded history, birthing the name 'The Great Cataclysm... So, what did this lead to?"
Another student answered, " The creation of safe zones - Fortified places where humans could live without fear of Monsters attacs"
"That's right" she replied, her gaze was sharp. "Remember class, fear is never absent. The safe zones were humanity'answer to an unstoppable force. Using relics, magic cores and valuable materials that hunters collect from dungeons, helped build these forcefield that were built around Seoul, Busan and other key cities here in South Korea"
She tapped the board. A hollagram presentation appeared showing a map of key regions with glowing transparent circles representing safety zones.
"These barriers, however..." she continued "are far from perfect. They drown vast amounts of energy and money that can buy these materials through trading between countries. They can also only hold back so much force before weakening. The Gwanju breach four years ago was a stark reminder" she walked through the rows of students who were listening intently.
"Despite the forcefield, dozens of creatures slipped through, leaving over three hundred civilians dead before the hunters could respond."
The room felt ever colder with each wors. Everyone liked to believe the safe zones shielded by the force fields made them untouchable but they were wrong.
"Smaller breaches have already occurred over the years. Cracks in the barriers. Some monsters slip in through from the borders on the outside before hunters arrive to cull them. And if a major force field were to collapse entirely..." finding her place back at the head of the classroom, she paused, scanning the room then resumed. " we'd face another catastrophe like the fall of Sokcho."
A murmer swept through the classroom. Hee-sung remembers. Sokcho... six years ago, a once vibrant and coastal city, now a haunting memory. The force field failed. In just twelve hours, an estimated twenty thousand lives were lost to the merciless spark that followed. A respectful moment of silence was held for those lives lost.
"Now" Professor Eun said "Let's discuss something far more concerning than breaches... Adaptation"