NOVEL NEXT Chapter 86
Chapter 86: Feedback
“Is it over now?”
“Yes. Thank you for your help with the interview today!”
The man, having thanked a middle-aged woman, turned his back.
The man was Yoo Wan, a journalist from the Hero Daily.
‘I’ve heard so much cursing that my ears are about to burst…’
Yoo Wan recalled the interview he had just conducted.
The interviewee was a building owner who owned a property inside the recently affected MA area.
However, she had unleashed a torrent of complaints directed at heroes and the Hero Department.
The reason? The drop in housing prices.
The location where monsters appear is disclosed in detail by law, marking it in history, leading to rumors that inevitably cause housing prices to fall in a short period.
As MA incidents increase, it’s taking much longer to receive compensation for destroyed buildings during heroes’ operations than before.
Yoo Wan had been going around interviewing disgruntled building owners because of this recent situation.
“Aren’t they taking the heroes for granted?”
The building owners he interviewed generally shared a similar attitude.
They didn’t consider the safety provided by the heroes from the monster threat, only thinking about the damage they sustained.
Yoo Wan found it somewhat regrettable.
If it weren’t for them, they might have lost their lives entirely.
Instead of expressing gratitude, they were angry.
‘The atmosphere isn’t good.’
The Hero Department had been hiring an unprecedented number of new personnel lately.
This was because the existing staff could no longer handle the increasing workload.
In an age with many unemployed people, creating new job opportunities seemed like a good thing.
However, if those jobs belonged to the Hero Department, it wasn’t something he could be purely happy about.
It meant that the country’s security threats were on the rise.
“Should I write a column…?”
Yoo Wan opened his notepad and jotted down ideas for a column.
The notes already written mainly included words related to heroes and monsters.
A person who was quite interested in all aspects related to heroes, he was writing a column for Hero Daily that included quite innovative themes, attracting a few subscribers who eagerly awaited his pieces.
“Speaking of which, the Hero Academy was recently announced.”
While scanning through newly registered articles on Hero Daily, Yoo Wan stumbled upon news related to the Hero Academy.
He hadn’t paid much attention to it as he had been focusing on other matters lately.
“I wonder who got selected.”
Yoo Wan went to the Hero Academy’s website and received the list of parties selected for this cycle.
Considering that the Hero Academy focused on selecting Rank 4 parties, there was a possibility that the party he interviewed might be on this list.
Just as he was staring at the list.
“Hmm?”
At the bottom of the list, organized alphabetically by guild name, he noticed a strangely familiar guild name.
“Yoo Ji-han’s Sweet Fun? These people got into the Hero Academy?!”
The party he had been keeping an eye on since the first interview had successfully passed the Hero Academy.
Moreover, unlike most of the other parties that were affiliated with well-known guilds, Yoo Ji-han’s party belonged to a completely unknown guild.
‘No wonder their skills are good…’
Yoo Wan chuckled to himself at the news of their success, which had been manifested in their kind demeanor during the interview.
He hadn’t deleted the original footage he filmed of the battle with Evil Lip; he had preserved it.
While it wouldn’t be an easy task, if Yoo Ji-han’s party successfully graduated from the Hero Academy, that footage might become an interesting resource in the future.
“Looks like I should back it up.”
He felt the need to ensure that the video wasn’t accidentally deleted.
He held high hopes for Yoo Ji-han’s party.
‘Keroes still hasn’t replied.’
Yoo Wan opened the messages on his mobile phone.
Not long ago, he had expressed his desire to interview Kim Hyun-tae’s party to Keroes.
However, Keroes had only replied with a request to wait for a moment and hadn’t responded since.
‘While other media outlets are conducting interviews…’
Kim Hyun-tae’s party was consistently praised whenever entering an MA.
They had even conducted a brief interview with another media outlet yesterday afternoon.
Yet, Yoo Wan hadn’t received a reply for over five days.
‘Are they not pleased with the questions?’
Before the interview, Yoo Wan organized the questions he wanted to ask and passed them to Keroes.
Among those questions was one about the hidden party member of Kim Hyun-tae’s party.
“Seems suspicious.”
Yoo Wan got the feeling that Keroes was deliberately avoiding giving a reply for some reason.
What could a popular guild be so desperate to hide?
As a journalist, his curiosity grew stronger.
*
Yoo Ji-han’s party entered the Hero Academy headquarters.
The white-haired man they had captured from the Han River MA yesterday had been handed over to the Hero Department.
‘There will be no more Giant Pigeons appearing at Han River.’
Since the man controlling the Giant Pigeons was captured, curiously, all attacks from the Giant Pigeons had ceased.
Yoo Ji-han speculated that the man was the one causing the monsters’ attacks.
If they could hunt down the residual monsters still lingering at the university, it would swiftly return to its original state.
“Is the classroom that way?”
“I think so.”
Meanwhile, today, there was a training session scheduled for the new enrollees at the Hero Academy.
Yoo Ji-han’s party was moving around, examining the internal map of the unfamiliar Hero Academy building while gathered in the office.
“…Huh? Yoo Ji-han’s party?”
On their way to the classroom, they ran into Go Mina’s party, their fellow students at the Hero Academy.
“Hello, Mina!”
“Hello!”
Party leader Go Mina and her party members glanced over at Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Yoo Ji-han knew what that glance meant, so he responded with a light smile.
“Chilla isn’t here today.”
“Oh, why not?”
“Because it’s not a size that could enter the classroom.”
“Oh, that’s such a shame…”
“How can there be such a cute animal in this world!”
“Can I hug it just once later?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Among those who love cute animals, there are absolutely no bad people.
This was a thought frequently held by Min Yu-ri, the tamer of Chilla.
“Would you like to see a video of it being bathed from yesterday?”
“Oh my! Please show me!”
Go Mina’s party members swarmed around Min Yu-ri, who held her mobile phone, to enjoy the footage of Chilla bathing.
When the shower water wet Chilla’s fur, yelps of excitement erupted from the women.
“Don’t you think a character product would sell well?”
“Definitely!”
“How about making a doll and selling it?”
“Should I look into doll manufacturing companies? Making a sample should be cheaper than you think.”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu pondered over monetizing Chilla alongside those enthusiastic women.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the classroom.
As they sat and waited, more and more fellow third-term Hero Academy students filled the empty seats.
“Hmph!”
As Min Ju-yong entered the classroom, he spotted Yoo Ji-han sitting next to Min Yu-ri and let out a small snort.
Yoo Ji-han and Min Yu-ri exchanged shrugs at each other.
It seemed clear that Sweet Fun had thoroughly severed ties with Min Ju-yong’s Nice Guild.
Soon after, Moon Kyung-jin entered.
“…”
Moon Kyung-jin squinted his eyes and glanced over at Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu.
Then, he sat down at the far side of the room, completely distanced from Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Yoo Ji-han could tell without words that he was being made to feel quite uncomfortable by him.
‘Everyone’s living their lives stressed out.’
Although they would have many opportunities to meet as classmates at the Hero Academy soon.
It didn’t seem that their attitudes would be particularly positive going forward.
Just then, as training time approached, someone entered through the door and greeted them.
“Hello everyone~”
“Oh? Is that…?”
“Is… is that Jin Seok-woo?!”
“Yes, indeed. I see some familiar faces.”
“Of course! No way I wouldn’t know you!”
Among Rank 2 heroes, Jin Seok-woo, who holds a considerable recognition.
He was a senior hero active in the first class of the Hero Academy, affiliated with the Red Hole, and also a tall and handsome figure who continued a career in acting as a famous entertainer.
“Oh my…!”
“I’m such a huge fan!”
Female heroes displayed their admiration for Jin Seok-woo.
With Jin Seok-woo beaming, he said.
“Due to a request from the Hero Academy, I will be one of your instructors for the next year.”
“Wow!”
“Even though my name is known in the entertainment industry, I’ll treat all of you solely as seniors during our interactions. So, I hope everyone will take this training seriously.”
“Sure!”
Applause followed Jin Seok-woo’s introduction.
With a smile, he raised his hand to calm the heroes.
“The Hero Academy will conduct practical and assignment-oriented training for those of you who have already graduated and are currently active heroes. So, what we will do today is…”
“…”
“Actually, I hadn’t mentioned it beforehand, but there is a party here that has received footage from an MA activity recorded on camera.”
Jin Seok-woo looked around the room to focus on someone seated.
It was those he was referring to.
“The ability to assess the situation and make judgments is just as important as fighting directly for heroes. Depending on the choice made in any given scenario, a party’s fate may differ greatly. Therefore, today, you will watch a battle video from another party and write a brief feedback on it.”
The Hero Academy required applicants from this first batch to give and receive feedback.
Because both the parties who received and provided feedback would be evaluated individually, they couldn’t simply overlook another party’s performance.
“Each party will need to write one piece of feedback, and after all the videos are finished, you will have one hour to send them to the instructor’s designated email.”
“One hour?”
“Could you give us a little more time?”
“It’s a process to gauge your usual understanding without any assistance from others. So please write down your impressions as you watch the video. For parties that provide good feedback during trainings, there will be bonus points, and for those exchanging the best feedback, each party will receive a 6-year-old Gwaesam.”
“Ooh!”
“6-year-old Gwaesam?!”
The 6-year-old Gwaesam, which is considered the most effective among Gwaesam transformed from ginseng!
Due to an overwhelming demand and a significantly insufficient supply, a fierce bidding war erupts every time it goes to auction.
‘This is a must-have.’
‘Our party will absolutely get it.’
‘Gwaesam is mine!’
As everyone craved the coveted potion.
“Now I will start playing the first video.”
The lights dimmed, and the projector mounted in the ceiling powered on.
Moments later, the screen displayed footage captured inside the MA area.
—Ahem!
—Then, we will now begin filming the Warriors’ Kim Myung-su party!
Following a brief party introduction, the video moved towards the inside of the barrier.
The background was an ordinary roadside, where a Rank 4 Giant Cat Monster appeared.
The stray cat transformed into a monster in that very space.
—There it is.
—Help me out here!
—Hyah!
Kim Myung-su’s party consisted of one mage and four warriors.
Mainly composed of warriors, they were walking along the roadside and swiftly slicing the Giant Cats in their path with their swords.
Staying true to the power-centric Warriors guild, they often overpowered with brute strength rather than magic.
“Did I say that?”
“This is a bit embarrassing.”
As Kim Myung-su’s party felt shy about their own performance, the other parties watched closely.
—Uracha!
Slash!
“They’re doing well.”
“Very strong.”
The heroes generally seemed satisfied with Kim Myung-su’s video.
When the massive sword sliced the Giant Cat in half, gasps of awe erupted from the crowd.
However…
‘There are too many shortcomings visible.’
Yoo Ji-han clicked his tongue inwardly and began jotting down harsh criticisms in the notepad app on his phone.
Since, according to his standards, the performance wasn’t satisfactory at all.
Mistakes or vulnerabilities that could lead to danger seemed to pop up here and there.
Tatatatata—
Even Min Yu-ri, who sat next to him, was rapidly switching her gaze between the video and her phone screen, tapping away at her mobile keyboard almost faster than the eye could see.
Whatever she was writing, given that a Giant Cat was visible, it wouldn’t escape her sharp gaze.
‘Is this really okay?’
If I write too straightforward feedback, won’t there be repercussions?
I’m a little worried, but it would be better than telling lies.
With such thoughts, Yoo Ji-han continued to write down his honest feedback.