Right after my duel with Instructor Baek Seol-hee, the two male quota students finally arrived, out of breath.

“We’re, we’re sorry!”

“Ah, I’m still not familiar with the way!”

“It’s fine. Being late is your responsibility, so there’s no need to apologize.”

Instructor Baek Seol-hee brushed them off, clearly uninterested.

“Let’s begin the next training session. It’s position training. First, I’ll briefly go over the theory, so find a spot and sit down.”

We sat on the grass, listening intently to her words. Kang Do-hee sat to my right, and Shin Se-hee to my left.

“Position refers to the role you play in a party. You, quota student. What are the positions in a party?”

Instructor Baek Seol-hee pointed at one of the latecomers.

“Uh, there’s… [Dealer], [Tank], [Supporter], [Healer], and [Specialist].”

He stammered at first but quickly gained confidence as he answered the easy question.

“That’s right. But those five categories are too broad. Jin Yuha, specify the types of dealers.”

The other male quota students were referred to as ‘quota students’, but she called me by my name. This alone showed how much my treatment had changed in just one day.

“Dealers are divided into close-range and long-range dealers based on their attack range.”

“And.”

“They are further classified by the weapons they use: swordsmanship, fist and foot techniques, spear techniques, archery, blunt techniques, and so on… The classifications are endless.”

“Good. You know your stuff. While there are five main positions, in reality, they are much more complex. That’s why when forming a party, you need to consider various factors such as the enemy’s information, your own weaknesses and strengths, and synergy with your party members.”

I nodded as I listened to Instructor Baek Seol-hee’s words.

‘That’s the charm of this game, and also the really shitty part.’

In Velvets, even characters with the same position could have drastically different efficiencies depending on their compatibility with the enemy.

So, it was common for a character who was a main character early in the scenario to suddenly become useless in the mid-game.

This was inevitable in Velvets, a game that made money by selling characters.

‘If they release a new character but the previously released characters are too strong, people won’t feel the need to buy the new one.’

In other words, the developers had to make the old characters less appealing to make room for the new ones. It was a nasty trick!

But even in the midst of this relentless push for new characters, some characters survived and earned nicknames like ‘Breathing Rights’, ‘Human Rights’, and ‘Citizenship’.

One of them was…

‘Kang Do-hee’

I turned my head to look at her. Kang Do-hee was listening intently to the instructor’s words with a serious expression.

Kang Do-hee was a close-range fighter with incredible attack speed. Even when her health was low, she could use the ‘Berserk’ skill, which increased her already fast attack speed by 50%, making her a force to be reckoned with.

On top of that, she had a unique trait that elevated her to the level of ‘Breathing Rights’.

When she used Berserk, she passively gained the ability to ‘ignore enemy resistances’. So, even against enemies that weren’t supposed to be weak against her attacks, she could still deal significant damage.

‘Hence the saying, “The dog of Velvets barks twice.”‘

That was why I wanted to have Kang Do-hee in my party so badly.

However, remembering what Shin Se-hee had told me about Kang Do-hee’s past, I sighed inwardly.

‘Ha, it’s going to be really tough to clear the game without a good party…’

Jin Yuha was really not helping. Why did he have to enter through the male quota system?!

“So, we form parties to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s no difference in importance between positions. That’s it for the theory lesson. The rest will be covered in more detail after you officially enroll. Now, let’s begin the individual position training. Just start training as you normally would. I’ll go around and observe each of you.”

“Yes!”

Kang Do-hee immediately got up and headed towards the track, ready to start the same training she had done during the basic training.

Shin Se-hee closed her eyes and seemed to be rotating her magical power, while the two male quota students didn’t seem to care about the training at all.

As for me…

I picked up the wooden sword I had used earlier and went back to the spot where I had dueled with the instructor.

‘… She said my body wasn’t used to wielding a sword yet.’

Lack of habit.

It was a factor I hadn’t even considered.

The power I had gained suddenly was not something I had trained for, so in a sense, it wasn’t truly my power.

So, it made sense that I needed to get used to wielding the sword.

I held the wooden sword with both hands, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

Swoosh—

Haa—

Instead of complex swordplay, I started with the most basic sword technique.

I swung the sword from above my head down.

Swoosh!

The sound of the sword cutting through the air filled my ears.

‘At least it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to wield the sword.’

I repeated the motion, swinging the sword down over and over again.

With each swing, I felt more and more immersed in the sword.

Suddenly, I turned my head to the side.

‘Something feels… off.’

I started with the most basic sword technique because I didn’t know the proper way to familiarize myself with the sword.

‘Is this the right way to swing the sword?’

The line I was drawing with the sword was slightly off, deviating from a perfect straight line.

‘Again.’

Swoosh!

‘Again.’

Swoosh!

‘Again!’

.

.

.

As I focused on creating a perfect straight line, my sword swings gradually slowed down.

I wanted to perfectly replicate the crisp, clean line in my mind.

Now, the wooden sword remained motionless, held above my head.

All distractions faded away, and all I could see in my mind was a single, straight line.

It was as if a sluggish beetle was crawling along the ground.

But my concentration sharpened, and I slowly lowered the sword, aiming for that one straight line.

Finally, the perfect vertical line was drawn.

“That’s… enough…”

And when I opened my eyes, it was night.

“Wow— Are you just finishing now?”

Startled, I looked around and saw Shin Se-hee sitting nearby with a bright smile on her face.

“You skipped dinner and the joint training as well.”

“Huh?!”

“The instructor asked me to deliver a message. She said you did well today and to make sure you’re not late tomorrow.”

“That’s it?”

I had been so absorbed in my swordplay that I had lost track of time.

Didn’t I miss out on individual guidance?

I looked at Shin Se-hee, conveying my thoughts, and she smiled.

“No, it’s not over yet.”

“Then?”

“Jin Yuha.”

Shin Se-hee called my name and stood up, brushing off her knees.

She took a step closer to me.

“You want to be close to Dohee, right?”

“…”

“I think I can help you with that…”

.

.

.

Today, Shin Se-hee was more surprised than she had ever been in her life.

From the moment she first saw him, this man had given her a cold, hostile stare.

At first, it was just curiosity. She had never experienced such a direct display of dislike before. And honestly, she was a little jealous that he only seemed interested in Kang Do-hee, another special admission student.

‘But then, he kept up with the special admission students’ training load even though he entered through the male quota system. And his performance was even better than mine, a special admission student.’

A man who entered through the male quota system but had physical abilities on par with special admission students.

His handsome looks also made him highly desirable. His value had already increased in her eyes.

So, she had approached him, using the information she had about his true identity and Kang Do-hee’s past as bait.

She wanted to get to know him before anyone else realized his worth. She even offered to help him get close to Kang Do-hee.

But all she had learned about him so far was that he genuinely disliked her and had an odd fixation on Kang Do-hee.

‘Ah, and it seems he’s quite wealthy, frequently visiting the Rohana Restaurant.’

Beyond that, his wariness made it difficult to dig deeper.

‘So, I thought I’d slowly build a connection with him and gradually gain leverage over him…’

Her plans changed during the second lesson, when a duel between the instructor and Jin Yuha suddenly took place.

She had never seen anything like it.

If they had practiced the motions together repeatedly, it might have made sense. But the duel between him e and the instructor was like a dance.

Even though it was their first duel, the instructor and Jin Yuha seemed to be dancing together, their swords moving in perfect harmony.

And according to the instructor, it was his first time wielding a sword and using his body. The look of dismay on his face when he realized this seemed genuine.

‘… I want him.’

Saliva involuntarily pooled in her mouth.

Such a brilliant gem had been hidden within the male quota system, a ridiculous policy. But because of that, she had discovered him faster than anyone else.

So, Shin Se-hee offered Kang Do-hee as bait once again. This time, it wasn’t information but a connection.

‘If things go as planned, Kang Do-hee will open up to him in no time.’

After witnessing his swordsmanship, Kang Do-hee’s eyes had widened with the same level of interest as Shin Se-hee’s.

How could Kang Do-hee still view him as just another male quota student?

Not a chance.

This man would quickly shed that label and soar freely in his own way.

‘So, now is the time to make my move. I have the perfect card to play.’

“How about it? Do you want to get close to Do-hee? I can help you. Will you accept my help?”

Shin Se-hee spoke with confidence.

But…

Jin Yuha looked her straight in the eye and gave an unexpected response.

“I’ll accept your help, but let’s make a deal. You also need my help, don’t you? You lost your necklace. Do you want to know where it went?”

“…What?”