◈ Chapter 001. Why Are Kids So Weak? (1)

Valhalla, a huge institution in Gangdong District, Seoul, is a very famous and prestigious Academy for contractor training, said to be one of the top three contractor training institutions in the world.

Therefore, every year, a huge number of contractors apply for Valhalla’s prestige.

Only 1500 of them make it through the doors of Valhalla after a staggering 250:1 competition.

But even if they do get in, their competition doesn’t end there.

Less than 150 cadets will graduate and go out into the world with the Valhalla name.

Therefore, every student who enters Valhalla begins a competition.

To carry the name of Valhalla on their backs.

When does it start?

From the very beginning of the entrance ceremony.

“Wow, there’s a lot of them again.”

The top of the massive stadium on Valhalla’s grounds.

From there, watching the fights taking place in the 16 arenas, Valhalla’s combat instructor, Lee Sangcheol, turned to look at the man approaching him and replied.

“Well, in the battle for admission ranking, there are bound to be many.”

The admission ranking battle.

It was a kind of test that new students who had been accepted into Valhalla took to determine their class rank before starting the semester.

“So, you came to see your nephew too?”

The man who was smiling at Lee Sangcheol’s question, Yoo Minjoon, nodded and said.

“That’s right, we in the Yooshin family have high hopes for Soyeon this time.”

“Yoo Soyeon…….”

At Yoo Minjoon’s words, Lee Sangcheol quickly recalled her personal information.

“……Surely the Yooshin family has a lot to look forward to this time.”

Yoo Soyeon.

With the title of prodigy from the Yusin family, one of the five largest families in Korea, her bio was as colorful as her fame.

“At the age of 10, she started manipulating mana, which is not something you can do until you’re in high school, and by the age of 13, she was able to channel it into a sword naturally…….”

“It didn’t stop there, by the time she was 16, she had won several battles against contractors affiliated with the Yooshin family, and on top of that…….”

“Is there anything else? As far as I can tell, that’s all there is to her bio.”

At Lee’s question, Yoo Minjoon chuckled.

“Actually, if that’s all there is to it, we have high hopes for her, but the most important thing is that she can already communicate with our Yooshin family’s Guardian Constellation.”

“…What?”

Lee Sangcheol looked at him with an incredulous expression.

However, Yoo Minjoon only looked at him with a confident expression, and after some time passed, Lee Sangcheol asked.

“Is it true?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

The reason there are five major families in Korea.

It was because of the Guardian Constellation attached to each of the five families.

The “Sword God” of the Yusin family.

The “Spear Demon” of the Jangsan family.

The “Dao King” of the Choijin family

The “Fist King” of the Oshun family

The “Bow God” of the Daojun family.

The power of these five families set them apart from the rest of the world, as they were ranked as S-class and above, as opposed to the B-class families that contracted with ordinary Constellation.

Unlike ordinary people, those who belong to each of these families are “favored” by the constellations and receive talents and abilities that far exceed those of others.

However, being able to communicate directly with a Guardian Star is something else.

Being able to communicate with the Guardian Constellation at her age meant that Yoo Soyeon’s mana was already strong enough to communicate with an S-class Guardian Constellation.

This meant that she could not only receive the guardian constellation’s ‘protection’ at such a young age, but also make a ‘contract’ with it.

And of course, even if she was the heir of a family, it was not something that just anyone could do, so Lee Sangcheol replied with a wry smile.

“……Truly a genius.”

“Isn’t that right, I’m looking forward to everything.”

Yoo Minjoon said with a proud look on his face.

“So, what about my proud nephew’s match?”

“I don’t think it’s over yet. Are you here to watch your nephew match?”

At his question, Yoo Minjoon shook his head.

“Well, I thought Soyeon would go to the final or runner-up no matter how bad she was, so I actually just stopped by today to go with her on the way home.”

At Yoo Minjoon’s words, Lee Sangcheol fiddled with the tablet he was holding as if asking him to wait a moment before speaking.

“Eighth inning, last game of the day. It starts in thirty seconds.”

“Oh, is that so, then why don’t you let me watch?”

“I thought you said earlier you didn’t have to watch.”

“Well, it’s kind of funny not to watch a game you’re playing, isn’t it?”

“Then go down and watch.”

“You want me to watch it in that crowd? That’s a bit much.”

Sure enough, there were quite a few people inside the stadium now.

The first thing I see are the scouts from each guild.

Their eyes were darting back and forth, eagerly searching for the slightest hint of useful talent outside of the Five Families that had already settled in.

Next in line were the reporters.

With contractors being such a popular profession that they are almost like celebrities, they naturally attract a lot of attention, so the reporters were also rolling their eyes in search of a story.

The last thing we see are the citizens.

Most of them were probably friends or parents of the new students currently in the process of entering the school.

The truth is, aside from reporters and scouts, the public wouldn’t be here to watch the rookies who haven’t even opened their eyes yet.

“Well, show me something, senior, please.”

“Tsk, did you even treat me like a senior?”

Yoo Minjoon’s voice, which came from inside the stadium, made Lee Sangcheol say that, but he soon sighed as if he understood and manipulated his tablet.

Woof-.

At the same time, one of the sixteen stadiums that had been displayed on the glass window began to zoom in.

“Oh.”

Inside the enlarged stadium, there were two individuals.

One was Yoo Soyeon, whom Yoo Minjoon beside him had praised, clutching the handle of the sword at her waist with a stoic face.

The other was an ordinary freshman standing there, wearing the gauntlet the academy issued as standard equipment for ranked competitors.

“……He looks relaxed.”

Lee Sangcheol frowned at the sight of the man standing without a fighting stance, but Yoo Minjoon replied with a smile.

“It looks like he’s given up, but that’s because Soyeon is already known to the outside world because of her genius title.”

As if Yoo Minjoon’s words were true, there were quite a few people gathered near the stadium where Yoo Soyeon and the man were standing.

Starting with the scouts, then the reporters, and finally the citizens who were gathered there with interesting expressions.

They were all looking at the stadium where Yoo Soyeon and the freshman were, or more precisely, Yoo Soyeon standing in the stadium.

The spotlight was on her.

That alone was enough to intimidate the freshman on the other side.

Unlike Yoo Soyeon, who was in the direct line of the Five Families and had been manipulating mana since she was 10 years old and held the title of genius, the man on the other side was nothing more than an ordinary freshman.

But even so, Lee still didn’t like the freshman’s attitude.

“What a shame that you gave up when you realized you couldn’t win.”

“I bet it will take her less than five seconds to knock him out.”

Lee Sangcheol replied, watching Yoo Minjoon predict how quickly the freshman would fall.

“Tsk, pathetic.”

“No, it’s more like he’s just unlucky that he met a genius from the Yooshin family on Day 1.”

[3]

A count that begins simultaneously with their lighthearted conversation.

[2]

As the count began, Yoo Soyeon, who had been looking at her opponent, a freshman in the arena, leaned down with a stern expression.

[1]

The hand holding the sword tightened.

[Start]

As soon as it started, she leaped forward and drew her sword.

Leaping with a perfect stance that even a contractor would praise as a neat move, Yoo Soyeon quickly reached the man’s position and swung her sword.

Lee Sangcheol could actually see why Yoo Minjoon had praised him so highly.

‘Sword Qi at such a young age.’

Sword Qi.

Even if she had been manipulating mana since she was ten years old, it was another story to actually use it, so Lee Sangcheol admired her sword technique.

The Sword Qi in Yoo Soyeon’s sword was perfect, with not a single part unstable.

That meant she had complete control over her mana at such a young age.

As Lee Sangcheol watched the sword imbued with Sword Qi descend, he was confident that Yoo Minjoon’s words would be true and that the battle would be won quickly.

The next moment.

Bam!

Sure enough, the match was over very quickly, just as Lee Sangcheol and Yoo Minjoon had predicted.

Except for one thing: Yoo Minjoon didn’t expect it.

“……?”

[Kim Joohyuk wins].

It wasn’t just any freshman lying on the field, it was Yoo Soyeon.

And.

“What is this?”

The person who had knocked out Yoo Soyeon, the genius of the Yoo family that Yoo Minjoon had praised earlier.

“Why are you all so clumsy, is it really 300 years in the future?”

He was muttering and laughing as if it was absurd.