After school, I made my way to the clubroom of the ‘Hero Culture Research Club,’ tucked away in a corner of the annex’s third floor.
I was there to take the club’s entrance test, which we had discussed yesterday.
“In the original storyline, there was no such test. Is this a butterfly effect caused by Lee Ji-hoon—no, Isiah?”
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The clubroom was structured with a large desk in the middle. The walls were covered entirely with posters: photos of active heroes, illustrations from hero anime, all sorts of things—‘Silvertail,’ ‘Invincible,’ and even ‘Dark Knight.’
“Why is Dark Knight up there…?”
I felt my face grow hot.
As soon as I entered, Isiah came into view, perched on the desk like a cat.
Snap, snap.
Students with bowl haircuts and horn-rimmed glasses were taking pictures of her.
“What is this?”
The club president, Lee Sang-hyun, saw me and was visibly surprised.
“Wha—You actually came!”
“Yes, I’m here to take the test.”
Isiah also looked at me, her face turning red with embarrassment.
“Hauu.”
She quickly jumped down from the desk.
It was embarrassing for a senior to be seen like that by a junior.
Lee Sang-hyun rearranged the clubroom for what felt like an interview, seating four of them in front and me alone in the back.
“Alright, let’s start the test!”
Lee Sang-hyun was a D-rank Awakened One, with grades slightly below average. The test he could pull off was pretty much within predictable boundaries.
“If he goes as far as asking us to match hero anime titles, it might get tough…”
I nodded readily.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
“The subject is how much you know about active heroes! If you’re really interested in our club, you should pass this easily, right?”
The members fidgeted nervously, whispering among themselves.
“It’s not like we’re in a position to be picky about who we let in…”
I suppressed the urge to smirk. Heroes? I’ve seen countless of them while gaming. I know almost everything about this.
“Sure, go ahead with the questions.”
“What is Office Lady’s ability?”
“Brainwashing.”
Lee Sang-hyun stroked his chin and grinned.
“That was a warm-up question. What is the exact name of the wolf that Silvertail transforms into?”
‘Silvertail’—I’d leveled that character up all the way to the final party. I knew it wasn’t an ordinary wolf. Its true identity was an A-rank monster.
“Impernum Lupus.”
The members were astounded by my answer.
“Huh! Who would’ve known! I didn’t know that when I first joined, either!”
“Are you a Silvertail fan? Your passion must be pretty strong!”
“Nyaaang Nyaaang.”
Isiah also widened her eyes and made a cat-like sound. Apparently, unable to speak like a human, she emitted feline noises instead.
Lee Sang-hyun closed his eyes tightly.
“You seem to have prepared quite well. Thus…”
For the next 30 minutes, we continued a Q&A session.
In the end, he admitted defeat.
“I lose… I’m sorry for misjudging you based on your appearance. I admit it—you’re a true hero enthusiast.”
“This level of prowess! You were a hidden ace after all!”
Lee Sang-hyun extended a hand for a handshake.
“I’m the president, Lee Sang-hyun. I’m in the third year. Welcome to the Hero Culture Research Club.”
“Yes, I’m Shinnoda, a first-year.”
The members around me stood up with excitement.
“Shinnoda, you say?”
“You wouldn’t happen to be the one who defeated Luna Bear?”
It seemed the rumors about me had spread throughout the school. Not just the first years, but even second years knew.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“How can this be? You’re the ace of the first year! Why are you in a club like this?”
Lee Sang-hyun looked confused as he asked the other members.
“What is it? Who is he?”
“Don’t you know, sir? On the first practice day, he took down Luna Bear in one hit—with a training spear!”
“Oh, I’m not up to date on the gossip. So that happened, huh.”
The excited member fetched coffee and snacks voluntarily.
I thanked them and took a sip of the coffee.
“Why didn’t you join the实战fighting club or spear club if you’re so good? Why are you here?”
I decided to play along, even though the group—except for Isiah—offered little value.
“Well, I believe the passion I hold for heroes suits this place best. It’s hard to find someone who understands in regular club activities.”
“Wow! What an honor!”
One member adjusted his glasses and introduced a new topic.
“With a new member joining, how could we not ask this?”
“Oh, there’s that.”
“Miaow! Nyaaow!”
What exactly was this thing?
There was nothing like it in the game. It must be something new.
I listened closely as they continued.
“What do you think about Dark Knight?”
A sudden shift to Dark Knight! I was surprised. I didn’t want to be too forward in my support, so I tried to stay neutral.
“Ah, about Dark Knight? Hmm… well, I believe private enforcement isn’t ideal. It’s better if we leave things to the heroes…”
Everyone but me exclaimed in disappointment.
“How could it be? You, who are perfect in every way, aren’t part of the Knights?”
“To hear you saying such clichéd things, it disappoints me, Noda.”
“Haahk.”
Isiah made a sound a cat would make when it’s on guard. Between her parted lips, I could see sharp canines and a tongue lined with tiny, raspy thorns.
‘So they go to the extent of mimicking a cat even in such details.’
Lee Ji-hoon was originally a werewolf shapeshifter, but as a cat instead of a shark.
He could deal damage and tank when in shark-human form, making him formidable. It’s hard to tell how a cat variant would compare.
“We’re all part of the Knights.”
“What is this ‘Knights’ you speak of?”
“Well, let’s start from there. The Knights refers to Dark Knight fans. It’s a kind of internet meme. Since it’s ‘Dark Knight,’ or the knight of darkness, the fans became known as the ‘Knights.'”
“I see…”
I sighed.
This reality was hard to accept. If I could find a mouse hole, I would crawl in and hide.
Lee Sang-hyun patted Isiah’s head as he spoke.
“Especially our Isiah—she’s relentless about Dark Knight.”
Isiah brought over a tablet and wrote something down hastily.
< I love Dark Knight the most in the world! My mom works at K Comprehensive Technology Institute, and she survived thanks to Dark Knight! >
‘The incident with K Pharmaceuticals Villain.’
So this was when she became my fan.
“Today, let’s try a Dark Knight cosplay. Since it’s your first day, let’s take a group photo in costumes!”
His suggestion made my head spin.
Lee Sang-hyun retrieved five black robes from the storage and held them up proudly.
“By the way, I recognized Dark Knight right from his first appearance during the Fireman incident. Back then, he was my very own little dark hero. These days, everyone knows him, so it’s lost some charm.”
“That story again. Senior, don’t you know how creepy you seem when you say that? Are you doing the same thing on live streams?”
“To call a venerable senior like me creepy?!”
Eventually, we all donned robes and struck poses.
The robe felt oddly familiar.
‘If only we had the Dragon Sword, this would be perfect.’
The robes for ‘Dark Knight’ cosplay were custom-made and looked exactly like the ‘Leather of the Sage’ item.
Laura teased jokingly.
[Hehehe. You have no idea a real Dark Knight is right beside you… It’s quite amusing.]
Lee Sang-hyun set up a camera at the front and started recording. He then moved to join the others and struck a pose. He glanced at me and urged:
“Noda, pose! Pose!”
“Me?”
Standing still, I quickly mimed grabbing a gemstone, like when using the ‘Succession’ skill.
Click.
The picture was taken.
It was a Polaroid camera, so the photo printed immediately. The president wrote on the back, “Memorial of Surviving the Hero Research Club,” and it was pinned to the wall.
He then commented while looking at the photo.
“Shinnoda, you may pretend to dislike Dark Knight, but you seem to know a thing or two. Your pose was the stance Dark Knight takes when using the ‘Blue Flame’ skill, wasn’t it?”
“Blue Flame?”
“Yes. The blue flame he uses to finish off the villains!”
Ah, so it’s called Blue Flame.
If you don’t know better, it seems like a reasonable skill name. But it’s simply an effect.
I finished the club activities and sent Isiah a personal message. The real reason I joined the club was to get closer to her.
‘The God of Machinery.’
This skill had to be secured now that the game world had become reality. Though I don’t remember each text perfectly, it went something like this:
—————<Skill>————-
◈ Name
God of Machinery
◈ Rank
000 A
◈ Description
The user can manipulate any device with a power source at will. The limits of manipulation vary depending on the rank.
———————————–
‘God of Machinery’ originally referred to the phrase ‘Deus ex Machina,’ a god who descended through machinery.
But in the game, the term was associated with omnipotent control over machines.
The skill’s user could start a car engine without keys and maneuver it freely. They could even hack computers through sheer willpower. However, there were limitations.
For example, PCs disconnected from any network or old vehicles without remote control possibilities couldn’t be manipulated without direct intervention.
Isiah replied quickly via chat, despite her inability to speak.
<Did you get home safely, Senior?>
<Yes! Is Noda home too?>
<Yes. I really enjoyed today. By the way, do you like cats?>
<Yeah! FYI, I cannot talk to cats! Everyone asks me that (๑>ᴗ<๑)>
<Nope lol. I was just wondering if you’re free tomorrow afternoon to go to a cat café. I wanted to go for a while, but it feels weird going as a guy alone.>
Her reply paused for a moment; she seemed to be thinking.
If she says no, it’s fine. I have plenty of chances.
<Okay! Let’s go to the cat café tomorrow!>
<(Clap emoji)>
We continued chatting, exchanging trivial stories about our daily lives for quite a while.
