Mana Cultivation (2)

Kang Seojun had finished outlining his plans and sat down in that spot to fall asleep while performing mana circulation.

Mana skill points increased by one. The debuff of Mana Allergy Lv. Lowest had been eased.

The moment mana reached the new level was right before he had to head to school.

Thanks to the increased mana, his mana-sensing ability had also improved, so circulating mana had become noticeably easier than before. But the experience points needed had risen in proportion.

If he kept this pace, he would have to do mana circulation from morning theory class straight through lunch to reach the target of six. He had roughly calculated the experience points and finished preparing for school, then headed straight there.

He ran into Jin Serin by chance in front of the dormitory and walked to the classroom together.

"Here. Take this."

He handed her the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Purified Soul Fragment he had bought with the dimensional currency the Sympathetic Hermit had given him yesterday out of sympathy.

"Eh…? So quickly?"

"It's not that fast. The last one you got was two weeks ago."

"R-really…? …"

Since the academy had now truly begun, managing Jin Serin's growth had become one of his priorities.

She was still in the early stages, and while she could manage almost any basic survival, if he did not nourish her growth early, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would fall behind the upper-rankers who were pushing up from below later.

There would be many major hurdles ahead that they would have to overcome together, so it was only natural that he would carry a burden.

"Don't lose it."

"U-uh… Thanks…"

Jin Serin accepted the water-drop-shaped crystal with both hands, carefully stowed it in her pocket, and asked.

"…Don't you need anything? Receiving everything on my own is…"

"Then hold my bag for me."

"Eh…?"

"My back gets rubbed raw every time I walk."

"What about anything else?"

"Not yet."

"Hmmm…"

Jin Serin received the bag with a somewhat unsatisfied expression.

She walked a few steps in silence, then spoke quietly.

"Um…"

"Hm?"

"Honestly… Is 'best friend' just an excuse?"

"Eh?"

"Honestly, it is. You don't ask me for anything."

"Hm…"

Normally he would not have asked such a question.

But after receiving one more crystal today, he had half-convinced himself.

Being best friends was merely an excuse; his true goal was simply to give her the crystal.

"If it's okay with you, can I ask the real reason…?"

Jin Serin's voice trembled slightly.

She had mustered the courage to ask.

He had always given her the impression that he did not want her to know about himself.

"Hm…"

Kang Seojun decided it was time to cut her off at the pass.

Leaving it ambiguous would only confuse her unnecessarily, and confusion was the opposite of what she needed to awaken.

"I hope you get stronger."

"Eh?"

"Strong enough to survive the nightmares."

It was sincere.

"W-well… What do I get out of it…?"

She was surprisingly persistent.

It seemed she had decided to get to the bottom of it now that she had asked.

"I won't lose any friends."

He had no choice but to circle around the answer.

If he listed everything she would have to do in the future, it would only burden her greatly.

"What… such…"

Of course Jin Serin was not satisfied with the reply.

Kang Seojun glanced at her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sideways and said.

"When the time comes, I'll tell you everything."

"When…?"

"Um. About three years later?"

"……That's too far."

Seeing her eyebrows droop like rabbit ears, Kang Seojun let out a small laugh.

"Sorry."

But it really was the best option right now.

If he told her everything, she would run away.

"There's no need to apologize yet…"

Jin Serin sighed.

"Okay. I'll wait."

Thank goodness.

"If all I have to do is wait three years… of course I will…"

Although he had not looked at her for long, Jin Serin was certain of one thing.

He had no reason to deceive her.

After all, his abilities so far had already overwhelmed any background she could imagine.

What could possibly be lacking in a man like that?

"Thank you."

Kang Seojun felt lighter.

"Still, keep holding the bag. The rubbing is real."

"T-then! I can do this anytime from now on!"

-thud. thud.

-stumble! stumble!

"By the way, can I ask one more thing?"

Wasn't it over?

"What?"

"It's just a real 'just in case' question."

Jin Serin hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Are you… not overdoing it…?"

Surprised by the unexpected question, Kang Seojun paused.

He had never expected her to be worried about him.

Not overdoing it.

"Not at all."

Every single day was enjoyable.

Jin Serin smiled with relief.

"Then it's settled. I'll wait. Three years."

With that, the conversation on the matter ended.

While they walked and chatted, they soon reached the front of the main building.

They passed through the lobby on their way to the elevator.

In the lobby lounge, like yesterday, the students were gathered in small groups chatting.

As expected, their conversation had updated in front of him like chat history from yesterday.

"Wow. It's Jin Serin."

"That's Jin Serin? She's even prettier than I thought."

"Even if she picked her own face when she was born, it's impossible to look this beautiful."

"But who's the guy walking with her?"

"Whoa. She's crazy. She's ugly. Let's report her to the police."

"She looks like she's in pain, so she's probably holding the guy's bag."

"Wow. Jin Serin is really kind~"

"Even if I gave you money, I couldn't~"

Probably this pattern would continue for a while.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Class 1-A of the first-year class.

As soon as classes started, Kang Seojun began mana circulation.

Today was a day for practical combat training in the afternoon.

He could not afford even a second of rest until mana reached six.

Of course, theory classes also reflected attendance and contribution in grades, so he could not slack off blatantly.

But since Kang Seojun's eyes were swollen and covered in rashes, it made no difference whether he kept them open or closed.

He would simply sit and pretend to read while performing mana circulation, and as long as his mana and senses were not high, he could not detect his minor circulation.

But.

"What are you doing right now?"

As Kang Seojun opened his eyes, the professor was leaning on the podium and staring at him.

The students sitting in front also turned their heads to look at him.

Kang Seojun said calmly.

"…I was listening to the class."

The professor laughed as if he found it absurd.

"Hah. Really?"

Then he tapped his own shoulder with the pointer and sneered.

"Then tell me what I said just now."

"The mana density in dungeons does not suddenly drop or rise. You can measure mana density daily and graph it to calculate the rate of increase or decrease."

"Hmm?"

-Ohhh.

The students gasped softly.

"Your hearing is quite good."

"But why did you get caught?"

"Your eyes were too small, so I thought you were sleeping."

"Hehehe."

It was not a difficult task for Kang Seojun at all.

He only had to read the output from the Eye of Providence.

"What grade did you say your intelligence was?"

But the professor was surprisingly persistent.

Kang Seojun said with a tired face.

Since there was something he had to do and he kept being interrupted, his irritation was beginning to rise.

"E grade."

"Even compared to that, your memory is good. You must have studied hard."

The professor thought he was using his traits to play tricks.

Skills that recorded sounds in his head were surprisingly common.

"If you studied so diligently, you should be able to solve this problem easily."

-Tock. Ttak! Ttak tak!

The professor started writing the formula for calculating dungeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana density on the board.

-Tuk!

When the professor finished writing the last symbol of the problem, he slammed the chalk down and said.

"Come up and calculate the value."

The professor added one more line.

"Of course, if you can't solve it, you'll get a penalty."

-Screeech!

Kang Seojun got up quickly, thinking he had to finish soon.

He had already wasted more than two minutes.

This loss had to be compensated somehow.

"Penalty if you can't solve it. Reward if you do?"

"What?"

The professor raised the corner of his mouth at Kang Seojun's bold attitude.

He knew the level of the problem and was saying it that way.

The problem was one he had made because he knew you were not listening and circulating mana during class.

"I'll give you the store."

The professor said he would happily give it.

After all, the problem was still too difficult at the current level.

Not even pointing that out made it even clearer that the guy had been slacking off in class.

Kang Seojun stood calmly in front of the problem.

In contrast, Jin Serin was unable to sit still.

She was scolding herself for not waking Kang Seojun.

-Cough! Cough!

Park Sinhu, sitting in the very back row by the window, raised the corner of his mouth.

'Looks like fun.'

In truth, the professor had noticed Kang Seojun's mana circulation because he had used his hands.

Because he was always keeping an eye on the guy, Park Sinhu could tell.

The guy's mana was moving slightly.

So he sent his own mana toward him to increase its presence.

This was the result.

'Get penalized and humiliated.'

-Whoosh. Whoosh.

Kang Seojun examined the problem carefully with calm eyes.

'Let me see…'

Soon the Eye of Providence output the answer sheet in front of him.

The entire process of solving the formula and the resulting value were written on it.

-Tack!

Kang Seojun raised the chalk confidently.

Park Sinhu's personal wish was to see the situation reversed in about thirty seconds.