8:30 a.m.
"Now!"
A loud shout made everyone look forward, attentive. The instructor was behind the podium.
"Today is the first day, so there will be no special training. But I hope you've all done your morning training. You can never go wrong training in the morning, when the air is thicker."
Some students showed enthusiasm at the mention of "Morning Training".
"Now, let's start with personal introductions. I'm Kim Soohyuk, the instructor in charge of all of you for the year."
Yes, I vaguely remember his name.
"My national ranking is 3,850. World ranking: 9,737. By the association's classification, I'm a high intermediate classification hero, grade 5."
The students' eyes lit up. That was understandable. There were only about 2 million heroes in the world, so the 9.737 rating meant that he was very skilled.
"That's enough for my introduction."
Kim Soohyuk nodded, satisfied, after observing the students' reactions.
"The first day always seems special. Maybe you haven't slept because of excitement and worry, or maybe you're already eager to improve yourself. Heh, maybe you're just happy to see your passion again."
The cadets burst into laughter, but the instructor kept a stern expression.
"The cube isn't the same as before. I promise you won't have time for relationships. In Cube, you'll experience real combat scenarios. Look forward to experiencing real fear."
His mischievous smile made most of the cadets break out in a cold sweat, and those who thought they would experience the true pleasure of youth went catatonic. So will our life at CUBE be made up of training and learning? Those who had hoped to find a lifelong love were denied without even a chance to confess.
"The Cube is objective. The only thing that will matter is your grade. That's the only thing the guilds will look at, so we'll grade you accurately and rigorously. You'll fail if you underperform. Statistically, less than half of Cube cadets graduate without repeating a semester. Even then, you can only fail for up to two years. More than that, you'll be expelled. If you can't become a hero, you can become an agent or a mercenary. I imagine that's not what you want."
The whole once energetic room seemed to have taken a cold shower.
As the instructor spoke, a young man in the front row of the podium, his black eyes adorned with a red iris, stared at the scene in front of him, a little catatonic.
But it took him less than a minute to understand everything. This was because, around him, in other seats, figures he had only seen in illustrations were there.
There was Kim Suho, Chae Nayum, Yoo Yeonha, Rachel Elizabeth Louise, Shin Jonghak and, finally, the guy who had also been thrown into this world weeks ago: Kim Hajin, the author.
'Holy shit! I actually ended up inside "The Novel's Extra".'
This was a very popular novel in my past life. The story is about an author who is cast as an extra in his own novel, which he had abandoned because of personal problems.
Anyway, leaving that aside...
'This is incredible! I've always wanted something like this!'
Those who heard my thoughts would surely call me crazy. Think about it: who would want to be thrown into a dangerous world against their will? A world where there are dungeons, towers, demons, monsters and heroes? A world where there are more deaths than births.
I wouldn't mind any of that, but in a few years' time this world will be almost extinct because of that demon. And then there's the fact that this world is infested with corrupt heroes and djinns who see humans as parasites that need to be killed.
For someone who has lived a life without a great purpose until now, just being able to think about what I want to do next makes me full of anticipation.
'Wow! From what I remember, after the voice said that I could make great gains depending on my choice. But seeing as I don't feel any different, I think I've chosen something useless...'
[CHARGING!]
[DING! CARD SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE]
A holographic screen similar to Hajin's appeared in front of me, and a robotic voice entered my mind.
[YOU WILL INHERIT ALL THE SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF VOLDIGOAD, THE MISFIT. HE IS THE PROTAGONIST AND MAIN CHARACTER OF THE WORK: MAOU GAKUEN NO FUTEKIGOUSHA]
"Huh?!"
Who's that?
I was what you might call a big consumer of the geek world. My mental shelves were full of epoch-making works, from the classics to the latest.
I even explored various manhwas during that time.
When it came to novels, I was more selective. My introduction to the genre was with The Novel's Extra (TNE), a story that completely hooked me and opened the door to this universe. After that, I went on to The Author's POV (TAPOV), the second novel I followed to the end.
Each of these stories left its mark on me, whether it was the captivating plot, the unique characters or the immersive world they built. They shaped the way I saw not only storytelling, but also the way stories can transform their readers.
However, despite all this, I had never seen anything about this character or his work.
'Wait! Voldigoad years... I think I've heard that name somewhere... Yes, it was in a Facebook post where Goku and Saitama were together against Anos Voldigoad. I remember some people commenting that Anos would defeat both of them without using even 10% of his real power.'
Of course, I didn't believe the comments, since, as a good reader of One Punch Man and Dragon Ball Super, I knew that Goku and Saitama weren't weak. They could both destroy planets and even galaxies very easily.
'But... If what that other comment said is true...'
A comment that, if true, wouldn't give Goku or Saitama a chance.
[Lol! You really underestimate Anos too much. He was using 169 universes as chess pieces in the Light Novel; every time a piece was eliminated, he destroyed it with his bare hands. Another piece of information: he is capable of destroying the entire "Silver Sea" with just his presence. The "Silver Sea" is a transcendental structure that contains infinite universes. Do you understand what that means?]
That... There's no way something like that could be true, surely he was some lunatic fan who added too many words about this guy.
[EXISTENCE REGISTERED AND ATTACHED IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE FICTIONAL TOTALITY. HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR NEW LIFE]
"What?!"
...