Chapter 17

: (5). Ly’s Improvement -3
Thanks to the Training skill, Ly’s Potential was increasing little by little. And as Potential increased by
10, Ly’s stats’ margin of increase with each level-up was getting bigger.
‘The Basic Training skill is great!’
At Kailan community, hidden classes were thought as different and rare, not better than regular
classes. That was because users of hidden classes weren’t that stronger than ordinary users.
But Ian had always thought that can’t be true. He thought hidden class requires research and unique
way of playing, but hidden class users raised their characters like everyone else, so their character
turned up normal.
And Ian was getting to realize that he had been right as he raised his own hidden class character.
‘All monsters have their own potential. And that potential decides stats’ margin of increase per level-
up.’
So the increase of potential meant that the monster’s rank was getting higher.
And the skill that could raise that Potential was ‘Training’.
Ian opened his skills window right away. And he spent the stat points he had saved earlier on ‘Basic
Training’.
He had been tempted to spend them on ‘Basic Tactics’ when he couldn’t catch the Bear of Darkness
because his leadership wasn’t enough. Now he thought he had been right not to.
-You spent all stat points on ‘Basic Training’.
-‘Basic Training
s skill level is 5 now. It becomes ‘Intermediate Training’.
Ian checked the skill’s window with satisfaction.
Intermediate Training
Category: active skill
Skill Leve: Lv.0
Proficiency: 0%
Cool Time: 25 minutes
-Set the designated pet on ‘Training’ mode.
-Pet on ‘Training’ mode understands commands better than usual and learn from them.
-Repeated ‘Training’ raises the pet’s ‘potential’.
-As the skill level of ‘Intermediate Training’ goes up, potential’s margin of increase gets bigger.
Ian felt good. The margin of increase by Training time must have gotten bigger too, although the
information window didn’t say that. And most of all, cool time was reduced10 minutes.
With the cool time reduce option of the ‘Necklace of Everlasting Darkness’ he had just obtained, he
would be able to use the skill every 20 minutes.
Ian solved a big mystery. He put in his notebook again and smiled.
‘Now I feel so relieved.’
Before going back to hunting, Ian checked Ly’s potential again.
‘It’s 94 now. It will reach 100 soon.’
The growth margin changed every time potential got bigger by 10, so he was excited to see what
would happen when it reached 100.

Shit, I wasted an hour.

Ian checked time and grumbled as he lifted his bow. If untiring limitless hunting was a talent, Ian had a
great talent. And soon his level reached 20, too.
@
Jinsung logged out at lunchtime he had sat and ate some bread and milk.
Click-. Click-.
Of course, he had one had on his mouse and was searching for info about Kailan.

If I had studied this hard, I would have been become a lawyer or a doctor by now.

Jinsung mumbled some meaningless things. He clicked on a video as he took another bite of his
bread. It was the battling video of Dark Sorcerer, one of the new classes that was added after the
update.
It was a Lv.18 user, the highest-level user to post on the community so far.

Oh, skeletons are cuter than I thought.

Jinsung finished his milk and stood up. It was time to go back into his capsule.

Let’s go back now.

But then, Jinsung’s phone rang.
Buzz-. Buzz-.
‘What? There’s no one to call me…..’
That was something that happened as rarely as killing a slime and getting Dragon Armor.
Jinsung flinched at the unexpected even then check the number.
‘I don’t recognize this phone number….. I already have paid back my student loan, and I paid bills last
week…. Who the hell is calling?’
Jinsung thought about ignoring it, but it was the first call he got in a long time, so he decided to take it.

Hello?

-Hello, is this Jinsung?
It was a woman’s voice. Jinsung got a little excited.

Yes.

-It’s Lee Jihyeon, teaching assistant of Korea University’s virtual reality department.

Oh, um, hello.

His excitement faded away. Jinsung got tense.
Jinsung had been a very lazy student for whole semester. No professor knew who he was. So he had
many reasons to be afraid.
-Do you know professor Lee Jinuk?
Jinsung knew him. He was the head of the department.

Yes, I do.

-He wants you to call him.

Call….him?

Jinsung started to feel nervous.
-Yes.

Could you tell me…. The reason why?

-I think it’s because of your grades…..
Jinsung’s hands shook.
‘What? I thought I had avoided academic probation. Was I wrong? Now, I at least attended
Understanding Virtual Reality, so I must have got at least a D.’
Jinsung tried to calm down.

Um….ma’am.

-Yes?

What happens if I don’t call the professor?

-Oh, right. He said he would send your report card home if you didn’t call him. You do know that home
doesn’t mean your studio, right?
Jinsung’s eyes shook.
He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t handle his father’s rage that would explode once the report
card arrived at home.
‘I can be force to be a farmer at the age of 20.’
What was even scarier was that his father might sell his capsule.
‘Uh…..’
Jinsung had no other choice.

I…should call him.

-Haha, good choice. See you next semester, Jinsung.
She hung up. Jinsung looked like as if he had received a death sentence.
He hadn’t known that the call would give him such great mental damage.

Ha….yes, I should call….. Do I have the phone number of professor Lee?

He did. He probably had saved it at freshmen orientation.

Hu…..

Jinsung inhaled deeply and dialed the number.
-Yes, it’s Lee Jinuk.

Hello, professor. It’s Park Jinsung. I was told to call you…..

His voice was raspy, like that of a delivery man of Chinese restaurant with a bunch of orders to take
care of on a rainy day.
-Park Jinsung? Oh, right. The freshman. I had you call me.

Yes. May I ask why…?

-You ask because you don’t know?
Jinsung was tempted to say ‘yes’, but he held his tongue.

Is it because of my grades?

-Yes. Has something bad happened to your family? Or did you get dumped by your girlfriend? Why on
earth miss all those classes? You are getting put under academic probation!
Jinsung flinched again to hear this.

Academic…. probation? Didn’t I get…. 2 Fs?

Students of Korea University were put under academic probation when they got more than 3 Fs on a
semester. Getting put under academic probation twice meant expel. That was why Jinsung, who didn’t
care much about grades, was afraid of academic probation.
-Yes, you have gotten two Fs so far. So I am about to give you the third F.
It was clearly a threat.
Jinsung’s two hand shook.
He wanted to say ‘what do you want from me professor’, but he wasn’t that bold.

What can I do, professor…..

-First let’s hear why you are neglecting your student life.
Normally, a professor would not call a student for not being a diligent student.
But the virtual reality department of Korea University was a new department.
And Lee Jinuk had great pride and passion about his department, so he couldn’t tolerate with
Jinsung’s negligence.
Jinsung thought hard about what to say.
‘I couldn’t help it, I had to play a game…. Would he tell me I’m crazy if I said this?’
Jinsung tried to sound him out first.

Professor, there is a reason why I applied for the virtual reality department.

Tell me.

It’s because I have had great interest in ‘virtual reality’, and have admired its unlimited potentials.

-…..So?

There are many reasons that this ‘virtual reality’ is getting attention worldwide now, but the biggest
reason is Kailan.

-That’s true.
Jinsung gulped hard.
He was getting to his point.

So, doesn’t catching a tiger requires getting into the tiger’s cave?

Lee Jinuk realized what Jinsung was trying to say right away.
-So you neglected your life as a student to play games….?

It wasn’t just to play games, professor. I wanted to study the surprisingly realistic virtual reality world
of Kailan, so…

Jinsung’s excuse was crude.
-So what’s your level?

…!

-What’s your level? If you have played so hard, you must be on the Korean server’s ranking.
Jinsung felt his body paralyzed, as if he had been hit by a lightning. He almost cried because.
‘If I hadn’t reset my character…!’
He regretted resetting his character for the first time. If he hadn’t done that, he would have confidently
said ‘I am a ranker’.

Uh….. Professor….. You see…..

-Why can’t you say anything?
But Jinsung couldn’t think of a good excuse.
He wanted to ask that to himself.
‘Jinsung, why can’t you say anything….’
In the end, he had no choice but the tell the truth that was even more unlikely than any lie.

I used to be Lv.93…. But I reset my character a little while ago… So now I’m 20….

Jinsung’s voice faded into mumble.
The professor was of course dumbfounded at this.
-What? You think that makes sense…
But Jinsung had nothing he could say.

But that’s the truth, professor….