I Became the Academy’s Hidden Skill Master – Chapter 8

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
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Falling rubble and a collapsed exit.

The probability of getting out was zero.

I blocked the falling rocks with Belbart’s corpse and pre-woven spider webs, but it was only a matter of time before they gave way.

‘Please… please…!’

I prayed for the children to get far away from the anthill as I dodged the falling debris. Running around with a corpse on my back, I
noticed the space to maneuver was shrinking rapidly.

Finally, as a huge stone pierced through Belbart’s body and struck my head,

‘It popped up!’

The message that I had cleared the prologue appeared before my eyes.

In an instant, my body was transported to another space.

A bed, a dressing table, and a full-length mirror.

As soon as I saw the familiar room, my legs gave out, and I collapsed with a sigh of relief, wiping my face with trembling hands.

“I’m alive…”

It was a relief that everything had gone according to plan.

There was a big difference between doing it in the game and living it out in reality.

“Whew… it works.”

In Final Destiny, after completing the prologue, characters are temporarily moved to the character setting screen.

This was because a long time usually passed between the prologue and the main story.

The prologue often occured when the characters were between 7 and 10 years old, and the main story began when they entered the academy at 17.

FD allowed for character settings after the prologue to bridge this time gap.

“It’s fortunate it’s the same as the game.”

The system of customizing after choosing a character and clearing the tutorial was unique to FD.

I used this system to blow up the anthill.

If I let the children escape and then blew up the anthill, the prologue would be cleared, and I would move to this space.

‘It’s a pity that the Lizard’s Tail is gone.’

If not for the large rock hitting my head at the end, I could have started with an extra life.

Regardless, I checked the rewards again, grateful for surviving.

‘Nurturing Right is good… =Sub Skill Selection is good, and Light at the End of the Tunnel is also a useful skill.’

The key was in [Nurturing Right x1] and [Sub Skill Selection], which were essential for handling the trash character Lee Seok-Hyun and making him somewhat human.

‘Let’s do it right away.’

They say to strike while the iron is hot, so I decided to move on to the main story immediately.

It seemed like the only way to avoid dealing with the guilt of killing people.

While keeping busy helped avoid dark thoughts, I couldn’t afford to dwell on the memories of murder now.

“Use Nurturing Right x1.”

Nurturing Right allowed you to guide the character’s growth over the 10-year gap between the prologue and the main story.

‘Without this, the character would grow according to the original story.’

FD had a preset storyline for each character.

In Lee Seok-Hyun’s case, after escaping the anthill, he wandered the streets as a beggar before entering the academy.

If you only heard this, you might think, ‘Well it can’t be that bad,’ but it was.

‘Damn random.’

Having just escaped from being an orphan, his body becomes weaker and more damaged as he wandered the streets.

If things went according to the original story, Lee Seok-Hyun entered the academy in the worst condition with absolutely nothing.

But,

‘It’s okay now.’

With the Nurturing Right, I could perfectly set what actions Lee Seok-Hyun would take and how he would survive.

For example, changing the route from wandering the streets to training in the mountains.

After the message appeared, a calendar and a timetable, reminiscent of an elementary school vacation schedule, popped up.

The calendar was for outlining the big picture, and the timetable allowed for detailed planning.

‘Absolutely focus on physical training.’

Excluding time for sleep, eating, and rest, everything else was dedicated to physical conditioning—a rigorous plan.

Food could be sourced from herbs, caterpillars, or wild game in the mountains.

The basis for this hardcore schedule was simple.

‘You can’t die during the time between the prologue and the main story.’

This was a result discovered after extensive experimentation with numerous characters, including Lee Seok-Hyun.

Of course, this only prevented sudden accidents or untimely deaths—it didn’t mean you could walk through lava and come out alive.

It made more sense to see it as making sure you wouldn’t die to disease or something, not invincibility.

‘Now it’s time for the Sub Skill Selection.’

Sub skills.

In some ways, they could be even more crucial than the main skill.

‘You can acquire up to seven sub skills.’

FD was a game played with one main skill, seven sub skills, and one hidden skill, totaling nine skills.

Your character’s play style was entirely shaped by how these sub skills meshed together.

For example, you might have a healing main skill but pick all sub skills focused on attack, turning yourself into a damage-dealing tank.

Or you might choose sub skills that synergized with the main skill.

‘But if Lee Seok-Hyun goes that route, it’s game over.’

As an expert on Lee Seok-Hyun, I knew there was only one skill path with potential for this frustrating RNG character early game.

“I’ll select it.”

Lee Seok-Hyun had no choice but to strengthen his body if he wanted to survive.

His extreme early game nurturing difficulty meant that he was more prone to death than anyone else.

So a healthy body was essential, and it was ideal to be the healthiest student when entering the academy.

‘That way, the probability of passing increases.’

Among the hundreds of characters in FD, only Lee Seok-Hyun had the potential to fail the academy entrance exam.

To boost that infinitesimal chance of passing, there was no other option but to choose Mind and Body Training.

‘I can change other skills later, but I have to keep Mind and Body Training until the end.’

Mind and Body Training, a growth-type skill, held immense late-game potential if acquired early.

Repeated training with this skill in the mountains would greatly strengthen a character’s body—this was the best nurturing route Lee Seok-Hyun could take in the early game.

‘Hidden skills are out of reach at this stage…this is my only option.’

Building relationships? Pointless if you died.

Working hard to earn money? Useless if you were a corpse.

Training and tempering his body was the one sure way to increase Lee Seok-Hyun’s survival rate.

‘I thought about sacrificing for the protagonist, but this is the right choice.’

Lee Seok-Hyun, who had an infinite number of death flags—I would survive by confronting all those misfortunes.

I stood in front of the mirror, saw the message appear, and nodded.

Once I laid down, time would pass quickly, leading straight to the academy entrance ceremony day.

It really was just like the game.

I set aside my brief reflections and laid down on the bed immediately.

‘Work hard, Lee Seok-Hyun.’

Make me strong.

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Murmur murmur murmur.

“Hey, get out! Move!”

“What? Do you know who I am, talking to me like that?”

“You couldn’t even afford a carriage and walked here, but you’re acting all noble. You’re clearly a loser.”

“What? Loser? Are you done talking?”

Every year, numerous examinees gathered to enter Mirinae Academy. As a result, clashes and fights were common.

“Yeah, loser. If you’re going to act noble, at least ride a magic carriage or something. All you’ve got are brand-name clothes…and fake ones at that. Pathetic.”

“…Take that back, right now!”

“You think I won’t say it again? This is ridiculous. Do you really want to die?”

The fight broke out between a large commoner and a puny-looking noble.

The commoner, confident that status would become irrelevant once they entered Mirinae Academy, had no reservations about challenging the noble.

The noble, aware of this, found himself unable to exert authority, and merely glared back at the commoner.

“Oh? Look at him glaring. Should I punch you?”

“Y-yeah! You think you can?”

Clang, clang.

They might have thought of themselves as adults, but at 17, they were still young and reckless.

They drew their weapons, ignoring their surroundings, and began to threaten each other.

‘Oh no, what should I do?’

Yu So-hyun, who was watching the fight unfold, agonized over whether to intervene.

She worried about getting hurt if she got involved, but also feared others might get hurt if she did nothing.

‘No, I can’t just stand by. I have to stop this.’

If this escalated, it could become a big deal. If she ran away from this, how could she aspire to be a great person?

Resolving to act, So-hyun mustered the courage to speak up, but just as she was about to intervene,

“Fighting, troublesome.”

A man appeared, breaking through the crowd.

‘What is that smell?’

Despite being ten steps away, a stench wafted over.

His hair was unkempt, as if it hadn’t been cut for years. His packed muscles made him resemble a gorilla more than a human.

Moreover, he wore clothes made entirely of tree bark, as if he had been living in the wilderness.

“But is this the right place for Mirinae Academy’s entrance?”

“Ugh, uuuueeegh.”

“Y-yes, uuuuueeegh.”

As soon as he spoke, those who had been fighting dry-heaved at the rotten smell. Satisfied with their response, the man asked again.

“Anyone know where the bathhouse is?”

“I-I know.”

So-hyun, who had been watching this strange scene, unconsciously raised her hand and spoke up.

This was how Lee Seok-Hyun and Yu So-hyun met for the first time.

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[Shio here~!

LMFAO I MEAN WHAT DID WE EXPECT FROM SOMEONE WHO TRAINED IN THE MOUNTAINS? OF COURSE HE SMELLS LIKE LITERAL DOODOO WATER!]