For a while, it was a series of days that went smoothly without any major incidents.
In the advisor's class, I practiced dagger skills, and in the practical class, I gained experience in actual combat as a team.
And after regular classes, I spent time with Choi Hyun-Woo and Han Soo-Young, eating or training.
I stopped by the alchemy club to learn basic alchemy, and the archery club to learn the basics of shooting a bow.
I also went to the library and searched for hidden items and skill books, but have yet to see any results.
I also did not forget to constantly absorb the water produced by Mandragora.
Thanks to this, I was able to store extra mana in my body separately, and I could feel that the mana amount had at least doubled from before I learned Electricity Storage.
… Of course, every time I absorb water from the tank, he looks at me as if he's looking at a criminal, but I've gotten used to it by now.
"Whoo."
I took a deep breath, rubbing my stiff shoulders.
The moderately noisy classroom was the same as always, but lately, I noticed that the gazes of the other students around me were gradually changing.
I didn't have to go far to find the reason for this.
It was because of Choi Hyun-Woo, Han Soo-Young, and Na Il-Jun.
After that day, Choi Hyun-Woo's attitude toward me had changed strangely, and anyone could see it.
It was ambiguous to say something straight, but the attitude of the guy who treated me as if I was older than him was burdensome at times.
Han Soo-Young also started to be very kind to me.
If I had to say she was kind, it was only about sharing snacks or sharing notes with each other from time to time.
Sometimes she would come to my seat and complain about the guy I had screwed with that day or complain about why I joined the reading club if I didn't go to her more often.
It's needless to say, but Choi Hyeon-Woo and Han Soo-Young were the perfect fit for the term 'chicken flock at the crane'.
The two of them had everything: good looks, incomparable talent, and ability.
No matter how many students receive an S rank at Orhe Academy, it do not exceed 1% of a grade.
A simple calculation shows that there are at most thirty first-year students, and since the total number of first-year students is around that, there is roughly one student per class.
And they were the ones who got the S rank as if it was natural.
Perhaps because of that, I was in a position to attract attention in various ways.
It was even more so because I had been labeled an E rank first.
In a word, there weren't many eyes that looked at me nicely.
I thought it would be more appropriate to view the opinion of the class as ‘What the hell is he doing, hanging out with those two without knowing the subject?’
Of course, there were times when someone spoke to me, but…… .
'Hey, Ji-Hyuk. You and Hyun-Woo are close, right? Can you give me his number.......?'
‘If you don't mind, can you introduce me to Han Soo-Young?’
'I heard that she's not dating anyone right now, but I don't want to ask her face to face..… please, ask her, okay?’
Most of them had this kind of purpose in mind.
Of course, the two of them refused on the pretext that they disliked it, but perhaps that's why more and more of them were swearing at me in a pompous manner.
It was a story told to me by Jin Ye-Seul, who started hanging out with some kids these days.
‘Honestly, I don’t know…… .'
To be honest, being a public enemy for something you did not do was not a pleasant thing to hear.
In fact, the most decisive cause of my reluctance was from none other than Na Il-Jun.
“…… .”
Unlike the other kids, his gang gathered next to him who was just sitting there dazed.
However, unlike the first time, they didn't make loud noises or burst into laughter mixed with abusive language.
They just stood there quietly and depressed.
After returning from a mock dungeon class, Na Il-Jun has changed so much that anyone could see.
The problem was that whenever he made eye contact with me, he would get terrified and run away as if his tail were on fire.
From the first day, he had an argument with me.
In the spar, I had him thoroughly at my mercy.
And perhaps because of the fact that I was at the same scene during the mock dungeon class, which was the trigger that caused his mental problem, the students in the class were almost certain that I had done something to him.
“Time is up in ten minutes.”
A few students sighed deeply at the voice coming from the podium.
I looked down at the test paper with my chin on my hand.
It was a quiz, but everyone seemed to be working hard as it was announced that it would be reflected in grades.
[Question 1. The dungeon 'Druid's Hunting Grounds' discovered in northern France unusually had multiple boss monsters, and the subjugation team at the time, who could not foresee this, suffered a great deal of damage. The boss monsters that appeared here were Ameretat and Haurbatat respectively. With a brief description of these two monsters, describe the typical characteristics of dungeons with multiple boss monsters, such as the 'Druid Hunting Grounds', and name at least three dungeons where multiple boss monsters have appeared.]
I have no idea what the hell this is about.
The dungeons there, the druid's hunting grounds and whatnot, was never even mentioned in the original story.
Or maybe I just don't remember.
Originally, I would not be able to solve any of the 10 questions on this test paper.
But I had my setting book.
There was also mana stored in Electricity Storage, so I didn't need to worry as there was no burden even if it was turned on continuously during the test.
I wrote down almost exactly what was in the setting book.
Occasionally, I omitted a few lines of description or wrote it in a slightly different meaning, but I was able to solve the problem easily because I just copied it.
And I left some questions blank.
There were usually 2~3, but the reason was simple.
It was because it was too conspicuous to get everything right.
Anyway, the results of the written test were not very important, so I was going to roughly maintain the upper-middle rank.
"Stop! Everyone put down your writing utensils and collect them from the back! And make sure you write your name down if you haven't already!”
After collecting all the test papers, the professor did a brief check and then nodded his head.
He then walked out with a few words of advice: there would be another quiz, and the midterm would be an essay-based exam, so please study a little longer.
“Hey, why was it so hard?”
Choi Hyun-Woo, who came to my side before I knew it, made a big fuss.
And Han Soo-Young, who followed him like it was natural, shook her head small as she looked at Choi Hyun-Woo.
"That's why I told you to study earlier. Anyway, did you look at the genealogy I gave you? Just by looking at that, you would have gotten half of it right.”
“Ah, hahaha…… .”
“Haaa.”
Seeing Choi Hyun-Woo smiling awkwardly, Han Soo-Young looked as if she had given up.
"What about you?"
"It was okay because I was thoroughly prepared, unlike someone."
"Oh, you're both so mean. Really."
At my answer, Choi Hyun-Woo burst into laughter with a look as if he was hurt.
“Hey, Yoo Ji-Hyuk.”
Meanwhile, a student I had never seen before approached me.
The boy I had never met before pointed toward the doorway and said.
“That senior wants me to call you.”
"What?"
When I turned my head with those words, Lee Ye-Eun was looking this way with only her head sticking out from the outside.
I got up from my seat and approached her, telling the two that I would be going for a while.
"What's wrong?"
She gave an apologetic look at my question.
“I have something urgent to tell you. Could you give me some time?”
* * *
“…… .”
Han Soo-Young, who was looking at Yoo Ji-Hyuk, who was heading somewhere along Lee Ye-Eun, soon turned her head.
Just a few months ago, it was not uncomfortable to be alone with Choi Hyun-Woo, but now she felt somewhat empty.
And it seemed that Choi Hyun-Woo felt the same way.
"Uh?"
In the meantime, she felt that Choi Hyun-Woo was looking at her while tilting his head slightly.
“Soo-Young, have you gotten your ears pierced?”
"Huh?"
In response to his question, Han Soo-Young gently pushed her hair back and showed it.
There were small earrings hanging from her ears.
A few days ago, when she got her ears pierced for the first time, she hung on to the advice to start small.
“You said you wouldn't wear earrings for the rest of your life because you didn't want to get your ears pierced.”
"Yes."
Han Soo-Young muttered in a small voice.
“But when I tried it, it was okay."
* * *
In principle, all students at the academy are assigned the same dormitory building.
Even though it followed standardized standards, the Academy's dormitory boasted better facilities than most hotels, so there were very few students who were dissatisfied with it.
And one of the very few dissatisfied students was Ahn Do-Hoon.
He almost remodeled the interior of his dormitory at his own expense so as not to break the rules.
It was a perfectly natural thing for him to do, not because of of vanity or pride, but simply because that was how he had been living since birth.
"What made you come all the way here without saying a word?"
Ahn Do-Hoon sat across from a person who came to his dormitory room and opened his mouth.
People who saw him for the first time might not know, but the visitor can tell that he was really happy now.
“Don't you have anything to say about how happy you are to see your uncle that you haven't seen in so long?”
A man who looked similar to Ahn Do-Hoon but looked more gentle muttered as if complaining.
"Can you at least offer me some water?"
"Uncle, you haven't come here to talk nonsense like that, right?"
“Oh, brother. How the heck did you educate your child, how can he be such a jerk.”
He grumbled and opened his mouth as if nothing had happened.
“Why have I come? I've come here in advance to give Na Il-Jun or something some treatment and for the guild invitation ceremony to be held in a few days.”
“Na Il-Jun… ? Oh, him.”
Ahn Do-Hoon nodded and looked at the man skeptically.
“But I think he got like that a few days ago? You haven't spoken in a while, so why have you suddenly come here today?"
“I wanted to see your surprised face.”
There were many reasons, but he had no reason to tell them, so he roughly looked around.
"You were and still are an impudent man. That's why my uncle can't make a single girlfriend at his age."
"Hey. It’s not that I can’t make it, it’s that I don’t.”
At the angry man's reply, Ahn Do-Hoon snorted as if it wasn't even funny.
The man was furious and his eyes trembled, and then he relaxed his face as if he was not sure what to do.
“Anyway, are you well prepared?"
"Prepared for what?"
“It’s going to be the guild invitation ceremony soon.”
The man, Ahn Joo-Hyuk, was Lee Myung-Joon's close friend and the head of Green Herb, one of the six guilds allied with him.
He was also the one who proudly listed his name as one of the Ten Strongest, despite the fact that he possessed healing arts that were not suitable for combat.
Therefore, even Ahn Do-Hoon, who behaves indifferently to everyone, followed him among his relatives along with his parents and grandfather.
“Have you decided who to fight with? Rather, are you training hard these days?”
Ahn Joo-Hyuk could easily smell the perfume from his nephew, Ahn Do-Hoon.
And he could easily notice the fact that Ahn Do-Hoon wasn't training much.
“I've already decided who I'm going to fight.”
Ahn Joo-Hyuk nodded his head slightly at Ahn Do-Hoon's confident attitude.
If you are that conceited, you will get hurt one day, but it was just a pity that he wouldn't listen no matter what he said.
However, Ahn Joo-hyuk, who was well aware of Ahn Do-Hoon's brutal personality, did not express anything.
It was because he already knew well that if he had been a guy who would follow other people's advice, he would have fixed him sooner.
“Who are you going to fight with? Just tell your uncle a little.”
"Well…… It's not really a secret."
Ahn Do-Hoon said so and rubbed his neck as if he was drowsy.
“The first one is Ivan Hunt. He's tied for first place, but I don't like the way he shoots his bow from a distance, especially his stiff attitude. I thought I should let him know that grades are completely useless."
In principle, rearguard positions like snipers do not engage in confrontation.
However, as long as it is a principle, he could participate as much as he wanted if he had the will to do so.
Ahn Do-Hoon never thought that he would reject his designation.
“And Choi Hyun-Woo. This guy and I faced off once before, but it was a draw because of time. I have to tell him exactly who's on top."
“Hmm.”
Both of them were students who had been counted as S-ranked.
In fact, Ahn Soo-Hyuk thought it was natural as Ahn Doo-Hoon was also an S ranked.
“Finally…… .”
In Ahn Do-Hoon's head, the face of a male student who was unfazed even after being under his pressure that day and sneering scornfully came to mind.
“Yoo Ji-Hyuk.”
Saying his name as if chewing it out, Ahn Do-Hoon showed a fishy smile.
