MARCH

3 DAYS UNTIL THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

LIM SUHO: 17 YEARS OLD

Many of the students were now returning to campus from vacation, personal training, family homes—everywhere. Even a countryside village no one had ever heard of.

The national academy, being as prestigious as it was in both Korea and the world, was fittingly stuffed with reporters at its front gate, waiting like hyenas behind their blocked off lines for the more famous of the cadets to arrive. Hunters were, after all, the juiciest gossip in the business.

They couldn't catch Sunghyun—he had stayed on campus all break—but Yuna had just returned the day before, and they were invigorated after her appearance at the chance to snap someone of a similar rank. After all, once the kids were inside campus, there wasn't much they could do.

Suho drew eyes as he walked up to the gate. Not only because he was tall and stood over the others slowly trailing in.

“He looks familiar…?”

The reporters whispered among themselves, trying to place his face. Then he finally got close enough for them to read his name-tag.

“Ah, Lim Suho!”

“The first place of the second years?”

Cameras flashed as he passed by them, trying to catch his every move. New prospects made for great marketing, and it was a huge bonus that he was easy on the eyes—long legs, a nice build, an agreeable face. The public loved this kind of stuff.

“I’ve never seen him up close before.”

“But why does he have a dog…?”

Pit trotted ahead of him, nearly pulling him along. The huge black canine was basically the size of a horse. People had gotten somewhat used to large animals after seeing monsters so often, but there was no way Pit wouldn't draw attention.

They passed through the front gate, the chatter of the reporters fading behind them. There was a security check all people entering campus had to undergo. And the workers seemed to be a mix of those excited to see a dog and those sweating at his size.

They stared as Suho’s turn came in line.

“…I was told dogs were allowed in the dorms,” he explained.

The worker in his lane, a woman in her twenties, nodded stiffly.

“Yes! They are. Haha.”

She gestured towards the gates that were set up in a line across the security check.

“You just need to take him through the magic detector like you normally would,” she said. “You can keep the lead on. Put your bags on the conveyor as well as any magic equipment you might be wearing.”

Suho nodded and complied, shrugging his backpack onto the conveyor. Pit watched him impatiently, feet stomping against the ground as he rared to get going.

The dog pushed on ahead as he finally walked through the magic detecting gate. He held onto the leash, forcing Pit to a stop as the security agent on the other side put a hand up to tell him to wait.

The agent’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at his screen.

“Um, is your dog wearing anything aside from the lead?”

He shook his head. It might've been hard to tell, since his fur was long.

“Huh. We’re getting a weird reading from him… Will I be able to pat him down?”

Pit whined, annoyed that they were still stuck here. Suho just glanced at him and nodded.

“Then, pardon me.”

The agent reached down and began rubbing his gloved hands over the dog’s sides and underbelly, searching for anything that might be causing the reading. Pit wriggled in impatience but didn't resist.

He frowned but came up empty.

“Well, I guess you’re through. Have a nice day.”

They saw false positives all the time. And there was a line forming behind them.

Suho nodded and moved to the conveyor to get his backpack. He was back on campus after visiting home for a few days to pick up Pit, who seemed to have the intention to drag him in every direction possible—the campus excitingly new. Other students jumped when he beelined for them with his nose, only to be stopped by a leash pulled taut and a swift, robotic apology from Suho.

He finally managed to drag Pit all the way to his dorm. The screen beside the door recognized him immediately and unlocked it just as he was reaching for the handle.

Click. He headed inside with the huge bundle of black fur not far behind.

He removed Pit’s leash and the dog immediately disappeared from view, racing around the apartment and jumping over the couches like they were only tiny speed bumps to his size. Suho just stood at the doorway, waiting for him to calm down. And it didn't take long.

Pit slunk back and sat right in front of him, face drooping. It was much the same reaction he’d had to moving here. The countryside was so much wider and more interesting. The dog wanted to go back.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“You stay here,” Suho said.

An irritated boof came from deep in Pit’s chest.

“Stay.”

More whining. Suho reached into his backpack and took out an extra-large dog treat.

He threw it with all his might.

It had only made it halfway across the living room when a set of slobbery jaws clamped around it. Pit came crashing down on the carpet mid-leap, immediately licking and chewing on the giant treat with gusto.

“Stay,” Suho repeated.

The dog gave him a satisfied bark and turned back to the task at hand.

Suho turned and stepped out of the dorm, making sure it was properly locked behind him. And then he headed down to the ground level.

It was clear to see once he left the building where the most cadets had gathered. On a series of LED boards in the center of campus, the class schedule for the upcoming year had been posted. Students were randomly placed into one of five homerooms, where their main lectures would be held. And the continuing first years were especially anxious to see if they'd been separated from their friends.

Suho joined them, standing at the back of the crowd. He could see fine from there.

He spotted his name on the board. Class 2-4. His eyes traveled down the list of others who were in the same class. Most were completely unfamiliar to him, but he recognized a couple.

Shin Yuna. The rich girl. After staying on campus for a couple weeks, he’d heard a lot of people calling her “Ice Princess”. Aside from her…

Kim Kitae.

Suho’s eyes hovered on his name for a second. It wasn't necessarily a surprise—it was all random anyway. But he couldn't shake the memory of looking him directly in the eyes. There was something piercing about his gaze. A little intimidating. Like he always knew something you didn't.

“Shit, I’m in the same class as Sunghyun,” a student ahead of Suho murmured.

“Which one?”

“2-1.”

“That’s rough.”

As popular as the valedictorian was, no one wanted to be compared to him. It was just too obvious, the dichotomy between him and the average cadet. Suho glanced over class 2-1’s roster.

In a way, he was relieved too. He just wanted to graduate peacefully so the elders could be proud of him, and then he’d go back to the countryside and leave this hunter stuff behind.

He stared a moment longer. Beside Sunghyun’s name was a single number: “1”. Beside almost all the students, there was one of their own. It was their official ranking from their first year.

Suho glanced back at class 2-4. The spot beside his name was blank. So was Kitae’s. None of the incoming second years had received a rank yet, and they wouldn't until the midterm exams. Until then, their position was undetermined—just kind of floating out in the unknown. A group of people that, in a way, weren't really part of the program yet.

Suho turned away. He’d checked his information. He headed towards a smaller building on the campus, where the admissions office was.

Before the school year started, all the incoming second years still had to complete their orientation or else they couldn't attend classes. Luckily, the guide for the session Suho had signed up for was so tired of repeating the same things over and over again that she’d found a way to distill every explanation into its most basic details.

“Everyone look at your watches,” she commanded curtly.

Suho lifted his wrist. When the orientation had started, they’d all been given a school-issue smart watch, the screen glossy and untouched.

“These store everything you’ll need on campus,” she said. “It can substitute your student ID, make payments, send messages… anything.”

One of the other students held up a hand.

“Can it—”

“Yes. Next, please remember this: no personal weapons in classes, not even for practical classes, no exceptions.”

She widened her eyes and glared at every single cadet once.

“You could genuinely risk expulsion by doing so,” she said. “They are allowed for when you train on your own time. On no official academic occasion are they allowed. Understand?”

Mumbles of “yes” came from around. Weapons for hunters were hard to afford anyway. Most didn't buy a real one until graduation.

“Good. Now, look at your watch again.”

She gestured towards them.

“I’m sure you’ve all done this before, but to make sure your watch’s most important function works, please open your status window.”

“Status.”

The same command rang out around Suho. Holograms appeared above the watches of the other cadets, the specific information blurred out to the others’ eyes. They were all used to it.

Suho stared at the reflective screen of the watch for a second before doing the same.

“Status.”

A blue hologram resembling a video game window popped up immediately. For a moment there was a buffering symbol on it, and then his information finally loaded in.

image [https://i.imgur.com/5rZGG9c.png]

“It looks like it’s working for all of you,” the guide said, seeing the windows appear. “Since I’m required to clarify this, these are by no means ‘official’ stats that perfectly represent your strength. It’s just meant as a way to quantify what the machine sees in your body and help you moving forward. Understand?”

Mumbles of agreement came in response, but most had already heard these lines before. They were man-made devices after all, and weren’t guaranteed to be fully accurate. Still, they were the standard way for all hunters in the world to compare themselves to each other. How could they not treat them as an official representation of their rank?

The cadets closed their windows, having already seen them many times. Suho kept looking at his, though.

He held up a hand, and the guide glanced over at him.

“Yes?”

“It says there’s a page two,” he stated.

She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“Yes, that’s your skill window,” she answered. “Do you have a skill?”

Suho tapped the option on his watch, and the hologram showed a loading symbol again. After a second, new information popped up.

He nodded.

“Congratulations,” she said. “A naturally awakened skill is always a boon. It means it’s what’s most compatible with you.”

She gestured towards him.

“The information for all your skills will be listed on that page,” she explained. “Again—they are not perfect in any manner, but just to provide a better understanding of the user’s capabilities.”

There were all kinds of words Suho had never heard of before in front of his eyes. He noticed the other cadets staring and calmly looked away, turning off his watch. It wouldn't be too late to check again later.

“That’s the end of my speech,” she said, putting her hands behind her back and straightening up. “Any questions?”

She glanced over the group. No one spoke up. The orientation to them had been mostly repeated knowledge anyway. There was no way they’d come here without having prepared for months, maybe even years.

“Then, orientation ends here,” she said. “If you have any concerns, the admissions office will help you.”

There were vague murmurs of “thank you” from around as the cadets nodded to her and peeled away. Suho too, bowed politely and turned away. Now that orientation was done, he had nothing else he needed to do for the day. He planned to rest and keep an eye on Pit in case he decided to eat the couch, but his peaceful path was intruded on by a face he hadn't expected.

“Hello.”

The greeting came from Lee Sunghyun.

He was smiling politely, waiting at the entrance of Suho’s dorm building.

He waved.

“I’m Lee Sunghyun,” he said. “Pleased to meet you.”

image [https://i.imgur.com/B0fYeTI.jpeg]