Suho smiled as he spoke.

“You’ve made a wise choice. While you’re preparing the contract, would it be alright if I explored the academy a bit? I’d like to take a personal look around, though I know you’ll give me an official tour later.”

“Of course. And could you leave your contact information? I’ll reach out as soon as the contract is ready. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Yes, my number is…”

The contract was a safeguard against any potential issues, including duplicate agreements.

‘Contracts are essential in the professional world,’ Suho mused. Especially when it involved a sum as substantial as 300 million won.

After exchanging contact information, Suho stood up and began his exploration of Nexus Academy.

‘It certainly lives up to its title as the largest in the country.’

Nexus Academy was vast, featuring a fitness training center, dormitories, mock training grounds, a study hall, a library for written exam preparation, a cafeteria, and numerous other facilities. The academy’s layout, built on extensive grounds in Paju, earned it the nickname “Nexus Village” for its resemblance to a small town.

‘Seeing this academy reminds me of my days as an exam candidate.’

Though Suho wasn’t from a prestigious academy, these dormitory-based academies had always been out of reach, their monthly fees exorbitant. But he had studied hard independently and passed the exam on his first try, even scoring impressively on the aptitude test.

During that time, he’d chosen the Warrior class instead of Healer.

While walking through the facilities, Suho found himself in the private training grounds.

The place wasn’t too crowded since it wasn’t class time, and several candidates were training individually according to their classes.

Then, a group of students caught Suho’s attention.

‘Looks like those guys are on the swordsmanship track.’

The students wielded a variety of swords, from daggers to longswords, practicing their swordsmanship techniques.

But no matter how he looked at it, their stances seemed clumsy.

It was only natural—they were new to the field, lucky enough to awaken as players but still inexperienced.

Suddenly, someone familiar came into view.

‘Kang Dae-han?’

He wasn’t mistaken.

The Library of Memories had refined Suho’s recall to pinpoint accuracy.

Besides, how could he forget a towering figure, roughly 190cm tall and weighing about 120kg, with a shaved head?

‘So, Kang Dae-han is a Nexus alumnus.’

Kang Dae-han, the Defender. In the future, he would be one of the top-ranked Hunters in Korea, renowned as one of the country’s best tankers.

Suho had teamed up with Kang Dae-han on several raids.

He was sure of it: the bald head and massive build were Dae-han’s trademarks.

But something seemed off.

Kang Dae-han was swinging an enormous axe, even though Suho remembered him as a shield-wielder.

‘Ah, he hasn’t found his aptitude yet.’

A thought occurred to Suho.

‘This is perfect. I should get a head start in winning him over.’

In the future, Kang Dae-han would stay with Nexus. But if Suho established a connection now, there was a chance he could bring him over to the Association instead.

‘A defender like Kang Dae-han would be invaluable in the Association.’

No matter how strong an individual was, they couldn’t handle everything alone. Problems emerged in various forms across different locations.

Suho intended to secure skilled allies early, people who would work alongside him.

‘Well, I did say I’d tour the academy, so this should be fine.’

With that, Suho headed down to the training ground.

Fortunately, the training area didn’t require a special access card, and though he was dressed casually rather than in academy attire, no one seemed overly interested.

Approaching Kang Dae-han, he greeted him.

“Hello.”

“Huh? Oh, hello!” Dae-han replied, putting down his axe.

Standing close, Suho confirmed that this was indeed Kang Dae-han—the kind face, the polite voice. He noticed the name embroidered on his academy uniform: “Kang Dae-han.”

No need to ask his name, then.

Suho asked, “Are you a Warrior?”

“Yes, that’s right… but who are you?”

“I’m just someone passing through, but after watching you, I thought there was something I should tell you.”

Suho was, technically, associated with the academy, so calling himself a “relation” wasn’t a lie.

Pointing to himself, Dae-han asked, “Me?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind, how long have you been preparing for the exam?”

Blushing slightly, Dae-han replied, “This is my third year.”

“So you’re taking tomorrow’s exam as well?”

“Yes, I registered again this time.”

“Are you planning to use that battle axe for the practical test?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Can I ask why you chose the battle axe?”

“Oh… I’m aiming to be a melee damage dealer, and after discussing it with the academy, they recommended this. They said a weapon like this has great destructive power, and not everyone can wield it.”

Suho felt a twinge of frustration.

No matter how big someone was, recommending a battle axe to a player dependent on stats solely because of their size was absurd.

‘And this is supposed to be the country’s largest academy…’

It reminded Suho how outdated this era was.

Back then, humanity had barely begun to adapt to life with Gates, and much was still rudimentary compared to the future.

Shaking his head, Suho said, “That’s not quite right. You should use a weapon that’s easy for you to handle. Stats provide support for every player anyway.”

“Oh… really?”

“Yes, and you can quickly gain proficiency with any skill thanks to stat support. Most of your progress will come from personal knowledge and experience. Based on what I’ve observed, I don’t think the battle axe suits you.”

“But… I’ve been using it for three years now….”

And that was the problem.

Suho glanced at the weapons rack along the glass wall of the training area and said, “Do you see the kite shield in the corner over there?”

“Yes, I see it.”

“Strap it to your left arm and hold a one-handed blunt weapon in your right. That setup will get you a much higher practical score than the battle axe.”

“Oh… So you’re suggesting I go hybrid?”

A hybrid role meant combining two positions. In the Warrior class, this could mean a role that was both secondary damage dealer and tank—often called a “multi-tank.”

“Yes, I’m recommending you go multi-tank.”

“Is that necessary? I’ve been training with the battle axe for three years, and now you’re suggesting I change positions….”

It seemed he was reluctant to let go.

But Suho’s memory held an image of Kang Dae-han in the future wielding not an axe but a large shield.

In other words, future Dae-han eventually abandoned the battle axe after recognizing his limits.

This time, Suho decided to help him realize it sooner, saving him time.

“Kang Dae-han, what do you think is the core of a party?”

“Uh… the mage?”

“No. Surprisingly, it’s the tank. The tank draws aggro and protects the mage and healer to ensure the party functions smoothly.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just use a shield?”

Not an unreasonable question.

There was a time when specializing in one skill was seen as the best approach.

But as Gates evolved, the purely defensive tank lost its role.

‘Later on, even tanks had to counterattack as Gate difficulty spiked.’

This was the reason why, despite being one of Korea’s top tankers, Dae-han never reached world-class status.

He tried switching to hybrid too late, unable to adapt due to his extensive experience as a pure tank.

So Suho recommended the multi-tank role from the start, anticipating a future where hybrid tanks would be essential.

Suho explained, “According to recent international Gate studies, the role of pure tanks is expected to diminish over time. Tanks who can handle crowd control and wield a secondary weapon will be more versatile.”

“Oh…!”

“And while the battle axe has high burst damage, the delay after each swing is too long. Without a follow-up, you’ll be exposed. With your build, it would be hard for another tank to cover you.”

“…!”

The insight struck a chord with Dae-han. Out of all the advice, this resonated the most.

“Thank you. I think you’re right. The practical test is about endurance against monsters, not weapon proficiency.”

“Exactly. For Warriors, it’s all about how long you can withstand monsters. Skill proficiency isn’t the main factor. Besides, one-handed mace skills are easy to learn, so with a bit of practice, you’ll adapt quickly.”

“Yes! Thank you so much!”

Bowing deeply, Dae-han expressed his gratitude.

Suho looked around the training grounds to see if there were any other promising figures but found none who stood out.

After a thorough exploration, he received a message from Director Kim Soo-ae, allowing him to finalize the contract.

***

The next day.

After sealing the scholarship contract with Director Kim and visiting his old apartment, Suho spent the rest of the day resting and returned to the Association the next morning.

The Association’s entrance was packed with people.

No surprise—it was Hunter license exam day.

“Everyone, please line up in the order of your registration numbers! We’ll proceed with the checks one by one!”

Taking the Hunter exam for the first time in over a decade filled him with nostalgia.

But he wasn’t nervous

.

Though the Hunter exam had a pass rate below 20%, that statistic only applied to ordinary candidates.

After changing into the Association-issued exam uniform, Suho completed the blood and urine tests before heading to the written exam room.

‘They conduct these tests for possible doping, but….’

It was practically pointless.

Real dopers didn’t rely on substances. They used skill buffs.

Despite the ineffectiveness of these tests, the issue of skill-doping had yet to emerge publicly, so they persisted.

‘I’ll have to bring this issue to light soon.’

Returning to the past, he realized there were numerous things to expedite.

Suho was thinking over these plans as he settled into his assigned seat when a woman seated in front of him caught his attention.

‘What’s this?’

The woman looked utterly ordinary.

But Suho could sense it.

An abnormal mana wave emanated from her.

He knew what it was—skill doping.