Chapter: 24
The next morning.
I woke up earlier than usual and began my activities.
The current time was 4:10 a.m.
Since I had gone to bed around 1:30 a.m. yesterday, I had only slept about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
“Well, it’s fine. I’m EX-rank in mental status. I don’t need much sleep.”
Mental status also affects rest.
If your mental status is high, even a short rest quickly restores stamina and mana, and a little sleep deprivation doesn’t trigger a condition drop debuff.
And my mental status was EX-rank.
Even if I slept for just an hour or two, I could still function perfectly.
“Of course, I’m a little tired…”
But it was only comparable to the fatigue felt after sleeping 5–6 hours in real life. That was sufficient.
“Still, if I lived like this long-term, it might cause issues. On normal days, I should probably sleep around 3 hours 30 minutes to 40 minutes.”
Sleeping 2 hours 30 minutes feels like sleeping 5–6 hours, so 3 hours 30 minutes would feel like 7–8 hours.
“Let’s see… I can be active about 21 hours a day. Classes take about 10 hours, leaving 11 hours of free time.”
How I used those 11 hours was crucial.
Using my knowledge of games, I carefully devised a plan to grow myself as a character.
“Quite an early riser, aren’t you?”
As I walked down the Garam-dong hallway, the dorm supervisor, Seria, suddenly appeared.
“Whoa, damn, that scared me.”
Where did she even come from? More importantly, it’s 4:10 a.m. Is she not sleeping?
“Did you get lost? Beyond here is just the special training grounds…”
“Ah, no. I’m heading there. I heard the facilities are excellent.”
If this were the Seria Guardian I knew, she would have said something like, ‘This training ground isn’t meant for someone like you.’
“Diligent, aren’t you? After yesterday’s big incident, one might think you should rest today.”
Who is this really? This doesn’t seem like the Seria I know.
“Unfortunately, the special training grounds aren’t open at this time. From 12 to 6 a.m., they’re under maintenance.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yes. This isn’t just our training ground; it applies to all training facilities.”
Now that I think about it, in the game, the player’s day started at 6 a.m., and from 12 a.m., the player was forced to sleep. No wonder I wouldn’t know that the training ground isn’t open from 12 to 6 a.m.
“Then I’ll return at 6 a.m. Thanks for letting me know.”
Too bad. What should I do for the next 1 hour 50 minutes? I guess I’ll just do mana circulation training in my room. But doing it on bare ground isn’t efficient, so I really don’t want to.
“Ah, but if all training facilities are unavailable, mana circulation training is the only option.”
…Sigh. There’s no other choice. Efficiency aside, doing something is better than nothing.
“Then I’ll head back to my room…”
“Wait.”
Seria grabbed my arm.
“Normally, this wouldn’t be allowed. But seeing your enthusiasm, I’ll make an exception and open the training grounds for you.”
“…Excuse me?”
Did I hear that correctly? She actually said ‘exceptionally’ and ‘normally not allowed’? Seria, a stickler for rules, is breaking them for someone?
“Who are you really?”
Is this really Seria? What if she’s one of the Black Night executives in disguise?
“Follow me.”
“Ah, yes.”
I trailed behind Seria as she walked away.
“Th-thank you.”
“No need for thanks. As an instructor, it’s my duty to fully support students with strong academic zeal.”
“Ah… I see.”
Seriously, who is this person?
“Make full use of it.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Seria moved to the control room, where she could secretly monitor the special training grounds, and began observing Jian.
“Ohhh! This is…!”
Jian eagerly explored the training equipment, smiling like a child who had just received a gift. Seria couldn’t help but smile as well.
“This is insane. I have to try this… I must…”
He examined each piece of equipment with a gleeful smile.
“Is it really that good?”
High-level equipment is effective because it’s challenging to use properly.
“What should I start with? There’s so much to do…”
Many students would tense before advanced training equipment, but I’ve never seen anyone enjoy it this much.
“Truly… a genius since the founding of the academy. His talent stands out from the beginning.”
Seria valued talent over pure bloodline. Bloodline mattered, but talent mattered more.
“Swordsmanship was impressive before. How about magic?”
Seria had seen Jian’s duel with Lionel firsthand. The exquisite swordsmanship was still vivid in her memory.
Even for a freshman, his movements were flawless. Seria couldn’t even follow the speed of his moves.
“Not noble by blood, but with talent like this, it hardly matters.”
In the game, Seria treated the player rudely because of their non-noble blood. Despite the player’s talent, she ignored and despised them.
“As expected… he chose magic training.”
By all rights, Jian should have been ignored too, but he was different. The player was just a promising seed, but Jian was already a fully realized swordsman—a seed of the world tree itself. His talent was enormous enough that bloodline didn’t matter.
“Stage 11 is perhaps too much… but clear immediately?”
This is why Seria treated Jian with respect from the start.
“Indeed, his talent in magic is as rumored.”
Her smile widened. Observing a talented student brought her more joy than any precious gem.
“Is Jian only staying here for 3–4 days?”
Her expression darkened.
“We cannot let a student of this caliber stay in the regular dorm.”
Before the first exam, Seria began devising a way to assign Jian to this dorm permanently. It might be risky, but it would be fine for a student of his caliber.
“Uwaaa! Amazing! So amazing!”
Jian shouted joyfully, sweat streaming down, and Seria smiled at his happiness.
“Training rarely shows immediate results. It’s hard to enjoy it like this…”
He must be exhausted, yet he’s smiling and enjoying the process.
“A genius who enjoys the process. I didn’t expect such a person to exist.”
[Special Training Ground buff: Efficiency doubled.]
[Mana status upgrade proficiency +3%.]
[37% remaining until next mana status upgrade.]
A genius who enjoys the process. Jian would have thought, ‘What nonsense is this?’
“I’m dying…”
Two hours later.
Exhausted, I left the training ground. Training my mana excessively, I felt it was stiff and unresponsive.
“Mana muscle pain… great.”
Overusing mana makes it hard to move, like overworked muscles. This debuff signals highly effective training in the system.
“I wonder how much proficiency will rise once it lifts.”
When this debuff is active, mana can’t be used. When it ends, mana proficiency rises.
“Hope this happens every day.”
I savored my immobile mana and prayed to experience mana muscle pain daily.
“Already changed into your uniform. Going straight to class?”
“Yes. That’s the plan.”
It’s better to leave before other dorm students wake up.
“They’d probably pick a fight if they see me.”
Most students in Garam-dong are purebloods. They wouldn’t ignore an outsider like me.
“Straight to class after training. No rest. Truly diligent.”
“Training aside, a student’s duty is studying.”
Her already gentle smile softened even more.
“I still can’t get used to this.”
Anyone who’s played the game would be astonished at this scene.
“Does Seria have a hidden backstory I don’t know?”
Perhaps. Seria isn’t a companion character, so she may have hidden settings.
“So no schedule except preparation?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then you can spare a little time, I suppose.”
“Of course.”
Clearly, Seria had some business with me. What could it be?
“Let’s go then.”
She moved outside the dorm.
“Outside? Then the business must be with someone else.”
“Heading to the principal’s office. He has something to say to you.”
The principal has something to tell me. My heart skipped a beat.
“Please don’t continue yesterday’s comment about me not being a swordsman…”
[Mental EX-rank calms agitation.]
I went forward, conflicted between my racing heart and the system calming it.
Fortunately, the principal didn’t question my swordsmanship.
“This is… not exactly good news either.”
“Found traces of forced entry in the hidden storage of this room.”
I would have preferred, ‘Upon reflection, you really aren’t a swordsman.’
“I conducted a precise examination using my method. The mana left behind belongs to the suspected intruder.”
Damn. I didn’t expect this.
[Mental EX-rank forcibly ends extreme agitation.]
[Extreme mental instability detected.]
[Mental EX-rank sets mind to calm state.]
My wildly beating heart instantly calmed.
“I then cast tracking magic on that mana. And…”
Heneta snapped her fingers. A magic circle appeared in the air. The lower right corner of the painting glowed fluorescent green.
The glowing thread formed a line that floated toward my right hand, merging with it.
“Guess what… the intruder is you?”
The painting and my hand were connected by the fluorescent mana thread. Heneta glanced once and stared coldly at me.
“Can you explain this incident?”
Her eyes were colder and sharper than the winter wind.
