Chapter 1: Why Are These Kids So Weak? (1)

Valhalla.

That is the name of an extremely famous and prestigious contractor cultivation academy, located in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. It is one of the 3 Great Contractor Cultivation Institutions of the world.

Numerous contractors apply every year to carry on that prestige, but only 1,500 students, at an odds of 1 to 250, would pass through those ridiculous odds to enroll in Valhalla.

But the competition doesn’t end after they enroll.

As expected, only 150 students would graduate from Valhalla each year to carry on its name. And as such, every student of Valhalla is in a fierce competition with each other.

A competition to see who would bear the honor of carrying Valhalla’s name.

So when does this competition start?

It starts at the entrance ceremony.

“Sheesh, there’s a lot this year, too.”

The voice came from the upper floor of one of Valhalla’s massive arenas.

The room was high enough that one could see the entire arena at a single glance. And in that room, Sangchul Lee, Valhalla’s combat professor, was watching all of the fights happening in the sixteen different arenas. He turned around to respond to the man walking towards him.

“Well, there’s bound to be a lot of people at the Entrance Ranking Scramble.”

The Entrance Ranking Scramble.

It was a test to rank the students enrolling in Valhalla before the semester started.

“So, are you here to see your niece?” asked Sangchul Lee.

Minjoon Yoo smiled and nodded before responding to him.

“Of course. The Dawn Yoo Clan has great expectations for Soyeon.”

“Soyeon Yoo…”

It only took Sangchul Lee a few seconds to remember her personal information.

“…I can see why the Dawn Yoo Clan has great expectations for her.”

Soyeon Yoo.

She was born into the Dawn Yoo Clan, one of Korea’s Five Great Clans, and was heralded as a genius. The things that were written on her personal information were just as flashy as her reputation.

“She used mana a high schooler usually would be able to use when she was only 10. When she was 13 years old, she was naturally able to put mana into her sword…”

“And when she was 16 years old, she beat some of the Dawn Yoo Clan’s contractors multiple times. Also…”

“There was more? That was everything that was written on her personal information from what I remember.”

Minjoon Yoo smiled before continuing.

“To be honest, just that would’ve been plenty enough for us to place high expectations on her. But above all else, she’s recently become able to converse with the Dawn Yoo Clans’ Guardian Celestial.”

“…What?”

Sangchul Lee looked at him like he was crazy.

But Minjoon Yoo had a confident expression on his face. And after a while, Sangchul Lee asked again.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

“Hah.”

The reason that the “Five Great Clans” existed in Korea was because each of the Five Great Clans had a Guardian Celestial in their possession.

The Dawn Yoo Clan had the “Sword God.”

The Mountain Jang Clan had the “Spear Phantom.”

The Truth Choi Clan had the “Blade King.”

The Early Oh Clan had the “Fist King.”

The Peak Do Clan had the “Bow God.”

While the average contractors contract with B-rank Celestials, these Celestials are considered S-rank or higher. And because of their power, the Five Great Clans existed completely separately from the others in Korea.

Because unlike normal people, the people in those clans could receive ‘blessings’ from the Celestials to earn even greater talents and abilities.

But being able to converse with a Guardian Celestial directly was a different story entirely.

The fact that she was able to converse with the Guardian Celestial at that age meant that she had an immense amount of mana, enough to converse with an S Rank Guardian Celestial, already.

It also meant that soon, not only would she be able to receive the Guardian Celestial’s ‘blessing’, she would also be able to ‘contract’ with it.

Also, even if they are a clan’s successor, not everyone can contract with a Guardian Celestial at such a young age. Because of that, Sangchul Lee couldn’t help but laugh.

“…She really is a genius.”

“Right? She’s even making me look forward to her future,” said Minjoon Yoo with a proud expression on his face.

“So what about my adorable niece’s match?”

“It’s probably not over yet. Are you here to see her match?”

Minjoon Yoo shook his head.

“Well, if it’s Soyeon, she’d go to the finals or the semifinals at least. I’m just dropping by on my way home.”

Sangchul Lee signaled Minjoon Yoo to wait a second while fiddling with a tablet.

“It’s the 8th match, the last match for today. It starts in 30 seconds.”

“Oh, really? Then could I watch, too?”

“I thought you said you were heading home?”

“Yeah, well, wouldn’t it be more fun if I watched instead?”

“Then go down and watch it in the arena.”

“Down there in that crowd? That’s a bit… y’know.”

The stadium was packed with a variety of people.

The first group of people were the scouts of various guilds. The scouts were looking hard to discover any usable talent that wasn’t associated with the Five Great Clans.

The second group were the reporters.

Since contractors had comparable fame to celebrities, public interest naturally increased to the point that reporters started to look for juicy stories to report.

The last group were the civilians.

The majority of them were friends and family of the students participating in the scramble. In truth, unlike scouts and reporters, civilians don’t normally come to see new faces that haven’t had a chance to even shine yet.

“Come on, show me. You always were my favorite sunbae.”

“Tch, did you even treat me like one?”

Yoo Sangchul looked at the arena while listening to Minjoon Yoo. He then sighed before fiddling with the tablet again.

Hum!

And at the same time, the monitor started to zoom in on one of the sixteen arenas.

“Oh.”

Two people were standing in the arena.

The first was the person Minjoon Yoo spared no compliments for, Soyeon Yoo. She had a cold expressionless face while keeping her hand on the sword to her waist.

On the other side was an ordinary-looking student who put on the basic gauntlets that the academy handed out for the Entrance Ranking Scramble.

“…He looks relaxed.”

Sangchul Lee scowled at the boy who stood stanceless while Minjoon Yoo just smiled.

“I think he gave up? I mean, everyone already knows that our Soyeon is a genius, so…”

Minjoon Yoo’s words were the truth.

Scouts, reporters, and even excited civilians gathered around the arena Soyeon Yoo and the boy were standing in. They were focusing on the arena, specifically focusing on Soyeon Yoo who was standing there.

The spotlight was all focused on her.

That situation should be more than enough to intimidate that freshman.

Unlike Soyeon Yoo who descended from one of the Five Great Clans and was heralded as a genius since she was 10 years old, the other student was nothing more than an ordinary freshman.

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

“Tch, he gave up since he could tell he’s going to lose. How unsightly.”

“I don’t think it’ll even take five seconds for Soyeon to beat him.”

“Tch, how pathetic.” responded Sangchul Lee.

“He’s more unlucky than pathetic. He just happened to meet the Dawn Yoo Clan’s genius on the first day.”

[3]

The count started while they were having their conversation.

[2]

And as the count started, Soyeon Yoo, who stood on the opposite side of the freshman, stiffened her expression and hunched over…

[1]

Placed her hand on her sword and…

[Start!]

She instantly pulled out her sword and dashed forward.

Most contractors would’ve complimented her clean movements. Her stance was perfect as she closed the distance between them. She then swung her sword the moment he was in range.

Sangchul Lee could finally see why Minjoon Yoo spared no compliments towards her.

Despite being so young, her sword ki is perfect.

Sword ki.

Even if Yoo Soyoeon could use mana since she was ten, using it in a practical scenario was a completely different story. And because of that, Sangchul Lee was in awe.

He couldn’t help it as her sword ki was perfectly stable. It also meant that she had perfect control of her mana at that young of an age.

After seeing her sword swing, Sangchul Lee also agreed with Minjoon Yoo’s words that the match would be settled quickly.

And in an instant…

BAM!

As they expected, the match finished up quickly.

But their assumptions were wrong.

“…Huh?”

[Winner: Kim Joohyeok]

The one who lost wasn’t the ordinary freshman, but Soyeon Yoo.

And…

“What is this?”

The person who defeated Soyeon Yoo, the genius of the Dawn Yoo Clan…

“Why is everyone so weak? Is this really 300 years into the future?”

…was murmuring to himself while giving a wry smile in disbelief.