The Gate.
Officially registered with the Academy as a two-way dimensional gate. In short, it meant a dimensional gate that allowed for travel back and forth.
It wasn't entirely wrong, considering even closed-type gates allowed exit upon clearing. However, most of them disappeared as soon as the conqueror stepped out.
The Murim dimension and the Alkeion continent were extremely rare inter-civilization gates.
When the gate between the Alkeion continent and Earth first opened, tension ran high due to language barriers and cultural differences. However, stable exchanges were now taking place.
The gate leading to the Murim dimension appeared around the time methods for interaction with Alkeion were established, so communication proceeded smoothly... but then, wouldn't you know it.
Due to a series of events occurring in the Murim dimension, the people of the central plains requested immigration to Earth.
Earth, which was struggling with a shortage of combat personnel, accepted the immigration after much deliberation.
Of course, some people remained beyond the gate, but most of the population, including both the righteous and evil factions, decided to immigrate to Earth. Beyond the gates connected to the Murim dimension that remained scattered across the world, only the Demonic Cult, led by the Heavenly Demon, and a few central plains people remained.
Naturally, Earth's population increased dramatically, leading to a Malthusian trap. However, if there were disadvantages from the gate, there were also gains.
Thanks to the development of magical civilization and the efforts of Hunters and Murim people, Earth overcame countless impending crises.
There are many more interesting stories about the Murim dimension since then, but let's leave that for later.
“Uh, uh...?”
Yeon-woo looked up at the two massive figures approaching him... two men, each over 2 meters tall.
Ugh, my neck hurts! He jumped out of his chair. And still had to look up. Damn beastmen.
[This composition...! I saw it on the internet! The shadows are exactly the same...!]
Shar...? What have you been doing while Dad was sleeping...?
“I believe our reasons for being here are different, but would Miss Baek like to join us?”
“Oh? A Murim reunion? Not bad.”
Seongryong politely addressed Baek In-hwa, who was sitting behind Yeon-woo. Namgung Seong also smiled brightly and agreed.
Seeing Namgung Seong and Seongryong naturally engage in conversation, Yeon-woo wondered if they truly came from the same background as Baek In-hwa. Is this the difference in environment...?
“...It's fine. I don't have much to say anyway.”
Watching Baek In-hwa turn around coldly and leave, Namgung Seong muttered,
“She's so frustrating.”
“Haha, now that she's at the Academy, Miss Baek will make friends. I should thank you for that.”
It seemed they had witnessed him and Baek In-hwa conversing. Calling them 'close'... wasn't entirely accurate, but he was planning to get closer, so he decided to let it slide.
Seongryong and Namgung Seong exchanged simple greetings with Yeon-woo, who smiled awkwardly.
The Jegal and Namgung families had maintained a family-level friendship even from the other side of the dimension. This was partly because they were two families clearly classified as righteous factions among the Five Great Families.
Thanks to that, the two of them had been very close in his previous life as well. They were nicknamed the 'birdbrain duo' with brains made of muscle and the 'salamander duo' who just fanned the flames from behind, just like their ancestors.
Many people teased them like that, but the combination of these two, who possessed both action and intelligence, was remarkable. They had overcome quite a few major crises thanks to them.
It seemed things weren't much different this time either. Their relaxed demeanor, not starting with a fist salute as soon as they met, proved it.
“So, what will you do, Young Master Yeon-woo? If you have something to do, we can talk later.”
“First, drop the 'young master' title.”
“Haha, alright. So, Yeon-woo, what will you do?”
Yeon-woo felt his stomach churn at the title 'young master.' The cultural difference was that huge. Even Namgung Seong, who came from the same cultural sphere, seemed uncomfortable and avoided eye contact.
[Young Master Yeon-woo~ Young Master Yeon-woo~. Kyaa~.]
'Stop bullying me!!'
While Yeon-woo was having a fierce argument with Shar, who was squealing like a high school girl, Namgung Seong pointed his thumb behind him and said,
“Let's go to the training room and build some camaraderie. I'll buy you a meal as a sign of friendship!”
“Let's go now.”
He was planning to go to the training room anyway. And with a meal on top of that, it was an offer he couldn't refuse.
One might ask what's the big deal about a meal, but the Academy's facilities were divided into five levels. Normal for people like him who lived in ordinary dorms, and above that, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and First Class.
In reality, even the Normal class allowed for a luxurious life. As evidenced by the fact that they provided individual rooms starting from the Normal class.
Going beyond that was just a way for families to show off their wealth or for students to adapt more smoothly...
If one of the few First Class beneficiaries among the entire student body offered to buy him a meal? There were even rumors that just consistently eating First Class meals would give you the same effect as taking an elixir by the time you graduated.
“Krr, I can't resist.”
“You're a funny guy. Let's go then.”
Yeon-woo laughed heartily and followed the two half-human, half-beast figures as they walked ahead.
* * *
There were also different types of training rooms. Magic training rooms and physical training rooms.
Magic training rooms were so thick with magic power that it was difficult to move around, while physical training rooms were lightly imbued with regenerative magic power that aided in physical training.
The training room was spacious. Extremely spacious. It was hard to believe that someone could reserve this alone. It was designed to be used alone but also to train with others.
Naturally, it was designed this way because some students were learning their family's secret martial arts. No martial artist wanted their techniques exposed to their competitors.
Therefore, such a structure should be considered a result of catering to the needs of the customers. For some reason, the two people who entered the training room with Yeon-woo were prime examples of students who wanted to hide their martial arts.
They were in the physical training room reserved under the name of the Namgung family. Unlike the magic training room in the next building, as the name suggested, the main purpose of this place was to train the body.
Originally, even First Class didn't have priority in reservations, but the head of the Five Great Families seemed to be different. As if the Namgung family had built this training room from the beginning, the plaque on the building clearly displayed the Namgung family crest.
Honestly, martial artists often said that having delicious meals and being able to train to your heart's content was all there was to life, and Namgung Seong had already achieved that at his age.
Yeon-woo looked at the sleek wooden training weapons lined up against the wall and almost felt his inner demons rising, so he shook his head to forcibly clear his mind.
‘What the... they're all brand names....’
[How expensive are they?]
He thought they wouldn't be too expensive since they were made of wood, but the wood itself was probably not ordinary. If he thought about it that way...
‘They're probably more expensive than the government subsidies the orphanage gets.’
And he had a whole collection of them for each type of weapon? Just what kind of people were the Five Great Families? If this was their level after abandoning their homeland and coming here, how rich were they in that other dimension?
“Huh? What, do you need something? Want one?”
“If you're lying, I won't forgive you.”
“Watch this.”
Saying that, the guy smirked and swung the sword that was leaning against the wall like a bolt of lightning. The blade aimed for his forearm.
Was he testing him since he didn't know his skills? Confidence that he was strong because he was born into a prestigious family and had been training ever since was good, but...
The opponent was a bit too much.
In actual combat, you encounter various situations. Among them, surprise attacks were almost commonplace. After nearly ten years of rolling around as a Hunter, he could handle such simple surprise attacks with his eyes closed.
More than anything, from the moment he started perceiving magic power visually, there was no way something like this would work. Conversely, if all Awakened were seeing the same scene as Yeon-woo, most tricks would be worthless...
‘But that doesn't mean surprise attacks are ineffective.’
With a question flashing through his mind, Yeon-woo lightly dodged the strike by ducking his head. The aura that naturally circulated through his body enhanced his physical abilities, allowing him to easily avoid it.
Namgung Seong stared at Yeon-woo for a moment, then scoffed and said,
“Nice greeting.”
...This bastard?
