I Died on The First Day of the Tutorial

Chapter 109 - The Qualifiers (1)


A beautiful woman sat by the river side, her soft skin illuminated by the pale glow of moonlight. One leg crossed over the other, she applied lipstick as she stared into her pocket mirror.

There was an enticing smile on her lips and her short brown hair danced with the wind. 'Anna Cross, twenty-four years old, C-Rank protector, affiliated with the Protectorate. Cute, outgoing, conservative style, but unchained mindset.'

This was her current identity. In reality, she was Haneul Choi from the ECLN (Eastern Continental League of Nations), an Assassin class warrior sent to the WHDC as a spy.

Her mission? Simple.

Find out just who the 'King of Fools' was, and ultimately bring him over to the ECLN side.

Tonight, she had planned to meet with a man named Verity. One of those who had returned with the lightning that day, a Chosen. He was a B-rank protector who wielded the spear, and….

She flipped through his file.

'...Yeah, that's it. There isn't much on this man. No military background. No record of elite training. Just… a guy. Community college dropout, orphaned young, bounced between odd jobs.'

She tilted her head. 'The only interesting fact about him is his lack of a surname really… Verity Ackerley… Taylor….Joshua, and now… no surname at all.'

Of course, she did not believe that this man could be the King of Fools. The latter's identity was hidden… surprisingly well, too well, really, but Haneul was a professional when it came to espionage. Even before The New Age, the term used to refer to the emergence of Gates and Conquerors, she had been a higher up in an intelligence agency.

By pulling some strings and getting her own hands dirty, Haneul had uncovered something interesting. First of all, it seemed that the Edge of Revelation, the Martial Emperor, the Twilight Radiance, and the Sword of Providence, had coincidentally been in the same 'Tutorial group'.

How did that link to the King of Fools, one may have asked?

Even simpler. The King of Fools was a well-known acquaintance of the Sword of Providence!! If one dug deep enough, they would find that the two had encountered each other a number of times, such that it couldn't possibly have been mere coincidence.

No one knew why, or what they discussed during those meetings, but the sole fact that they occurred was enough to draw a connection between them.

If one could approach the Sword of Providence, one would eventually reach the King of Fools, or so Haneul believed.

She sighed. 'Easier said than done…'

Which is why she was now here.

Verity's role in all this was simple. He happened to be one of those who had been in that same group as the Sword of Providence and the Edge of Revelation. Haneul had been meeting with him over the past month to draw any information she could out of him.

She sighed again. Espionage was not easy.

She heard footsteps approaching behind her, and she exhaled slowly. She closed her pocket mirror, evened the wrinkles of her flowery dress and she clasped her hands in front of her. Then, she wore the warmest smile she could muster, and she turned around.

"Verity! You're here!" She said as she waved.

Verity scratched the back of his neck. "Haha, yeah, sorry for being late. I got caught up, you know, Protector stuff," he said apologetically.

Haneul looked at him intently. '...His shirt isn't buttoned properly, and his hair is a mess of gel and poor styling…sigh…'

Haneul smiled and she stepped closer to him. "That's alright! I've only just gotten here myself. Shall we walk?"

Verity nodded, a stupid grin on his face.

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For the first hour, they talked about everything and anything. The weather, their recent dungeon raids, how nice this river was, where Haneul had gotten her dress, whether Verity planned to cut the hair that had reached well past his shoulders in the last four years.

'Perfect, now that he's comfortable, it should be fine.'

Haneul took Verity's hands, and she rubbed them softly. "You must train a lot, right? I can tell just how much effort you put in."

Verity blushed at this gesture, and he laughed awkwardly. "W-Well, yeah, I mean, I gotta, right?"

'Perfect, now it's finally time to probe…!'

Haneul then looked into his eyes. It was finally time to confirm one of her suspicions. It was far fetched, but her instincts as a spy had planted the idea in her head. Both Verity and the King of Fools wielded a spear, and with the loose connection that could be tied between the two, perhaps, just perhaps…

"I suppose the person who taught you was amazing, right?"

There had been several reports of the King of Fools taking in a disciple, though information on the latter was even more closely guarded.

The chances were abysmally low, but Haneul decided to try her luck regardless, but unlike what she had expected, Verity's expression suddenly darkened, and he seemed to pull away. "...Yeah, you'd be right about that."

Haneul clicked her tongue internally. 'Damnit, what's with this mood change… Was I wrong?'

"H-Haha, well, whoever they are, I'm sure I'll get to meet them someday…" She grabbed his arm and pressed it against her chest. "That is…if we keep growing closer, you and I."

BADUM

The sound of her own heart. Cold sweat rolled down Haneul's spine. Her chest tightened, and her hands grew moist. She almost drew her weapon subconsciously, but the sensation disappeared as soon as it came.

Verity let out an awkward laugh. "Haha, well, we'll see about that." He checked his watch. "It's getting late, isn't it? Should we end it here for today? I don't want to keep you for too long, Anna."

Haneul, still shaken by what she had felt moments ago, took a few deep breaths, and she forced a soft smile on her face. "Y-yeah, you're right! Look at the time! We can save this conversation for our next date!"

'...No use in forcing things here, I don't want to risk upsetting this idiot.'

She bid Verity farewell, and she stepped into the night.

As for Verity, he sat on a bench by the river side, and he sighed. "When did I get so bad at pretending… I couldn't even keep my cool." He leaned back. "With every passing day, I feel Master's temper rubbing off on me… Is that an after effect of learning the Nine Hells?"

He sighed again. "In any case…wasting her time with this keeps her off my tail… and it's pretty fun."

He stroked his chin. 'She's also totally my type… both the real her and that fake persona.'

But of course, that wasn't what had prompted this plan of his… probably.

Aside from various Guild headquarters and other illegal establishments, five major buildings dedicated to the growth of Protectors had been built in Nexia. Each of them carried a different purpose, but in the end, they all led to the same outcome.

The Cradle was the place in which warriors were raised. Aspiring Protectors learned to mold their bodies, sharpen their senses and wield their weapons.

The Golden Magic Tower allowed Mages to expand their understanding of Mana and improve their arsenal of spells.

The Sanctuary was a place where one's Faith could grow, and where one could worship whichever God they desired. Currently, under the Saintess of Annihilation's guidance, the God of Eternal rest was the entity whose follower count was the highest.

The Protectorate was a form of government for the Protectors. It was responsible for law-making, and enforcement.

And of course, Nexia academy was the school where youths were taught to survive, and to kill anything that threatened them.

Before the Chosen had returned, the WHDC had put a four year program in place to raise the young ones into the finest of Protectors. That program still existed even now, but a few changes had been brought to it.

In year one, all aspiring Protectors would be sent to the Cradle, where they would learn swordsmanship, spearmanship, and hand-to-hand fighting techniques, regardless of which Class they hoped to obtain. Toward the end of year one, they would then be sent in groups into appropriate Gates. The Gates were carefully selected using the Tremble scale, and the students would always be accompanied by a licensed Protector.

The students would then repeat this until they reached level five, and obtained a class, wherein they would officially become probationary C-rank Protectors.

Year two was when the divide occurred. Those who had chosen warrior classes would remain within the Cradle, where they would learn 'The art of battle for the physically enhanced'. Those exceptionally talented were permitted to learn to handle internal Aura, though that was rare, as Aura teachers were scarce.

The newly born mages would instead enroll into the Golden Magic Tower.

Priests would head to the Sanctuary, and for the rare ones whose Classes did not fit within any of these categories, they would be dealt with on a case by case basis. Craftsmen would be sent to a special school in the South for example.

They would all be forced to sharpen their skills until they reached a satisfactory level before they were allowed into another dungeon. The condition for mages was to reach 'Magical affinity', and the condition for warriors was to receive a passing grade from a combat instructor. Once that was accomplished, they would officially become C-rank Protectors with the right to enter Gates.

By year three, the levels of students, as many of the Chosen who had put the system in place noticed, vastly differed. Some would have entered many gates, increasing their levels, improving their equipment, and broadening their experience, while others may only have just fulfilled the conditions.

That was the very purpose for the 'qualifiers' that were to take place. Students would be placed in a class befitting their level, thus making their growth and time at Nexia Academy more worthwhile.

Hoshino Sterling, the Radiant Twilight, had been allowed to name the classes, after lengthy arguments with Felicia Harbridge, the Edge of Revelation.

The class names went as such, Larva, the novice class, Dragon, the intermediate class, and Supernova, the advanced class.

Apatia took several deep breaths. She knew that her master would accept nothing below the Supernova class. She was confident in her strength, as well as her abilities to stay alive, but even so, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

Currently, she sat in the large audience chamber of Nexia Academy, listening to a lengthy speech from the head of the Protector program, an old man with a raspy voice.

Since the first part of the qualifiers was purely academic, touching on science, history, mathematics, monster theory, and survival knowledge, Apatia wore her ordinary school uniform. It consisted of a black skirt and white shirt, on top of which she wore a dark blazer embroidered with the crest of Nexia academy, a twin pair of fiery wings, signifying that humanity will never bow.

'So long as fire burns within our hearts, the End will not come.' Apatia reminded herself of the school's motto as she fiddled with her crest.

When the speech ended, the students were made to rise, place a hand on their heart, and recite the WHDC's motto.

Now, the exam was truly to begin.

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