Chapter 13

The setting of “Velvet School Life!” is modern-day Korea.

So, where exactly is the “Velvet Hunter Academy” located in this world?

This profound question once sparked fiery debates among Velvets players.

The game developers went to great lengths to hide any clues that could reveal the Academy’s location, probably because they didn’t want to deal with the potential headaches of having a specific region identified. They changed buildings, claiming that they were from the Gate era, altered landscapes and landmarks, and even removed station and area names from the script to prevent players from guessing the location.

Despite their efforts, a single comment from a user ended the debate once and for all, much to the developers’ surprise.

[ ㅇㅇ(122.XXX): Hey, that blue dot. Isn’t that it? I sampled it with the eyedropper tool in Photoshop, and it’s an exact match for the safety color.]

While Velvet Sla changed many things to fit the Gate era, there were a few things they couldn’t bring themselves to erase, as they wanted to maintain the setting of modern-day Korea.

One of those things was

The iconic landmark of Seoul, perched atop Namsan Mountain.

In the original world, the Namsan Tower was essentially a smog detector and a popular spot for couples to hang their love locks. However, in the world of Velvets, its purpose had shifted to observing and broadcasting Gate anomalies.

Yet, they couldn’t resist keeping the tower’s unique identity, so they changed its colors to indicate the safety level in Seoul: blue for safe, yellow for caution, orange for warning, and red for severe.

It served as a beacon, informing the city of the current situation, much like a signal fire in ancient times.

And that blue dot appeared as a faint spot on the mountain in the background of the courage test episode.

After that, some players measured the size and distance, calculated the latitude and longitude, and eventually pinpointed the exact location of the Academy.

So, where is it?

“Ah, we’re almost at Shinrim Station. Jin Yuha, let’s get off here. We have to walk from here.”

Lee Yoo-ri said as she parked the car.

Yes,

The prestigious university where the best and brightest of Korea gather, with Gwanak Mountain as its backdrop.

Seoul National University

The Velvets developers had committed a heinous act by bulldozing the vast campus and rebranding it as the “Velvet Hunter Academy.”

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Along the main street, modern-style shops lined up, and trees lined the road.

On the street, students who appeared to be around twenty years old, presumably prospective students, walked with their weapons at their sides.

“Hey, look over there.”

“What? Wow, that’s crazy.”

“How can someone look like that? I really want to file a marriage report.”

A group of girls whispered and glanced at us. Even with Perception turned off, it seemed like they had no intention of hiding their interest.

“Could that guy be one of the new students?”

“No way. Why would someone like that need to be here? Look next to him. Maybe he came to see his girlfriend off for basic training.”

“I’m so jealous. What did that girl do in her past life? Did she block the blow of a demon king or something?”

“Hey, that’s a male student uniform!”

“What? Really!?”

As the girls exclaimed, intense gazes shot at us from all directions.

“I wonder what his position is.”

“Well, he’s obviously a healer or supporter.”

“Haa… I wish he could heal me too. I wouldn’t mind losing an arm if he was my healer.”

With a sword at my waist, no one suspected me of being a dealer. In this world, even civilians carried weapons for self-defense, so it was common for healers and supporters to have a weapon for protection.

‘This is more tiring than I thought.’

In my previous life, I had never received such intense attention. Even before the entrance ceremony, I was already attracting too much interest. Of course, with my current status window, it wasn’t as burdensome as it could have been, but it was still exhausting because I wasn’t used to it.

“Are you okay?”

Lee Yoo-ri, who was walking beside me, noticed my expression and asked. Even though she didn’t like being the center of attention either, she was considerate enough to worry about me.

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Because of me, you’re also getting unwanted attention. And I think they’re talking about you too.”

“Haa, it doesn’t matter. I expected this when I decided to come with you.”

Lee Yoo-ri nonchalantly replied.

Wow, this is quite touching. She knew this would happen, yet she still came with me.

My reliable Soup.

“But it’s not pleasant. Now that you’re about to start your training and evaluations, I’m worried that annoying people will flock to you.”

Lee Yoo-ri frowned as she scanned the surroundings.

“Then Soup, you have to protect me. You’re my tank, after all.”

“What… what!?”

Lee Yoo-ri took a step back, startled by my suggestion.

I had subtly implied that I wanted her to be the tank of my party, but her reaction was more intense than I expected.

‘Hmm, maybe it’s too soon. I want her to give me a definite answer soon.’

“Are you feeling pressured?”

“It’s not that… But it’s too early to decide that! Ah, my situation is still…”

“Yeah, I know. We haven’t even had the entrance ceremony yet. I was being too hasty. Let’s take it slow. I’ll keep waiting for you.”

“You… you’re such a weird guy…”

Lee Yoo-ri blushed, feeling embarrassed.

‘Oh right. In this world, it’s more common for girls to be party leaders.’

When I suggested that she join my party as the tank, she seemed taken aback, as it was unusual for a woman to be under a man’s command.

‘Hmm, but it’s still a bit uncomfortable… I want to avoid being tied down to a specific party…’

At least, that was my plan, to find and recruit high-performance characters to form a team to face the upcoming challenges.

However, I knew that among the parties formed on a whim, there would be some Jin Yuha-like duds.

Without the gacha system, it would be impossible to navigate this harsh world with such useless members.

‘For now, yes. First, let’s prove ourselves in this training. Then maybe they’ll consider my offer more positively.’

As we walked towards the Velvet Hunter Academy, attracting countless gazes, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the sight before me.

Under the dazzling midday sun stood two pillars, like sculptures. Vibrant flowers and grasses swayed gently in the breeze on the vast grounds.

The main building, in the form of a giant clock tower, and the surrounding buildings, boasting modern architectural aesthetics, created a familiar yet unfamiliar landscape.

It was the opening scene of “Velvet School Life!” and I could almost hear the nostalgic background music playing in my head.

“Jin Yuha, what are you doing? Come on.”

Yoo-ri, a character from the game, turned back and beckoned me to follow, just like in the game.

I stood there, mesmerized by the scene, and then smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m coming. Let’s go.”

I took a step forward, entering the Velvet Hunter Academy.

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Yoo-ri led me to the training ground, which was nothing like the training camp in the previous world. Instead, it resembled a massive auditorium.

I expected to find familiar faces among the prospective students who would be joining me, but the chaotic atmosphere made it difficult to spot anyone I knew.

“Ugh, it’s so loud.”

“I know, right.”

As I nodded to Yoo-ri, who was covering her ears with her hands,

“Squeak─ Whoosh─!”

A sharp sound came from the speakers installed in the auditorium.

On the stage stood a stern-faced woman, presumably an instructor.

“Hello, prospective students. Welcome to Velvet Hunter Academy. We will now begin the ability verification test. Please line up in front of the instructors according to your positions.”

Five signs were placed in front of the instructor: [Dealer], [Healer], [Tank], [Supporter], and [Special]. Next to each sign stood a female instructor.

‘So, I should line up in front of the Dealer sign, right?’

As the prospective students began to move towards their respective positions, the instructor added something she had forgotten to mention earlier.

“Oh, and those who are here through special admission or the male quota system, please come to me.”

Ah, shit.

This was a bit too much.

The instructor’s words had a significant impact, as the students began to murmur among themselves.

“Special admission? Male quota? What are those?”

“Special admission is for those who have already proven their skills before entering the Academy, so they don’t need to take the test. You know, like Cheonhwa and those famous people.”

“Oh, right. It would be strange for them to take the test. What about the male quota system?”

“It’s because of that incident last year. Remember when that guy was kidnapped by a Gate and the female hunter who rescued him was sued by him for sexual harassment, but it turned out to be a false accusation?”

“Yeah, that piece of trash! How is that related to the male quota system?”

“Apparently, Velvet Academy was pressured politically. They were told that they should send male rescuers to rescue male captives.”

“What? So those who enter through the male quota system don’t have to take the test either?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“That’s crazy.”

‘Ah, this sucks.’

Hearing the conversation in front of me, my head started to ache.

“Jin Yuha, is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Yoo-ri, concerned about my pale face, asked.

“……No, I think I’m about to be called up soon.”

“Called up? The Dealer line is right over there.”

I pointed shakily at the woman with short black hair standing in front of the stage.

“Jin Yuha!”

Yoo-ri was startled by the instructor’s call.

“You!”

I hadn’t planned on revealing this yet, but I had no choice.

“Yes, it’s me.”

I nodded slowly, apologetically, to Yoo-ri.

“I’m sorry for keeping it a secret.”

I wondered how Yoo-ri would react to my revelation.

“I’m actually…”

“You’re a special admission student!?”

Soup?

“I knew there was something extraordinary about you!”

I’m sorry,

“You have to be this good to be a special admission student!?”

Me,@@novelbin@@

I’m a male quota system student.