Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Elective Subjects (4)
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Wednesday morning,
"Ughhh..."
A pretty severe muscle pain jolted me awake with an involuntary groan of agony slipping from my lips.
"I really overdid it yesterday..."
I'd pushed myself into four straight hours of weight training on Tuesday, thinking it would help build up my Stamina stat faster after Monday's sparring class. And now, that decision was greeting me with some serious soreness first thing in the morning.
You have completed physical training.
- Stamina +1
You have completed physical training.
- Stamina +1
Your unique trait {Last Hero} assists your growth.
- Stamina +2
Still, seeing those satisfying Stamina increase notifications made the morning muscle pain feel a bit more bearable.
"Urgh... Today's the first Dungeon Practicum class, right...?"
I endured the fresh wave of agony screaming through my muscles as I forced myself up and started getting ready to head to the academy.
Today was Wednesday, the day of the first Dungeon Practicum class.
In Frontier Chronicles, the debut lessons for most elective subjects passed without any real events or achievements. But Dungeon Practicum was the one class where all the main characters gathered, so it was packed with achievements right from day one.
Basic Dungeon Exploration.
Unlike the Imperial Swordsmanship Department's fixed curriculum, this was Dungeon Practicum's standard opener—a simple orientation where you explored a beginner dungeon to get a feel for how classes worked.
But it held two achievements ripe for the picking, perfect for someone like me looking to boost my stats with even minor feats.
Of the two achievements in the first Dungeon Practicum class, one was {An Unusual Start from the Get-Go}, earned by being the first to clear the basic dungeon conjured up by the chairman's magic.
The other, {I Thought It Was a Magical Beast!}, required finding and destroying the magic golem that the chairman had whimsically crafted and hidden inside as a personal project.
'Neither one's too tough, but...'
The second one, {I Thought It Was a Magical Beast!}, was a bit tricky due to its rock-solid durability, and I felt bad about smashing a golem the chairman had put real care into making.
'I'll apologize and hand over that core she's been hunting for...'
It was too good an achievement to pass up if I wanted to power-level as fast as possible. I'd make it up to her later by finding that core she desperately wanted in the dwarf village and begging forgiveness.
"All set!"
With my preparations done while mulling over the Dungeon Practicum achievements, I left the dorms and headed for the lecture hall.
I took in the now-familiar academy grounds as I arrived, opened the door,
and slid it open with a shrrk.
"Libia, Isabel. Hey."
I greeted the familiar faces already there and started toward my seat.
"Aden! Sleep well last night?"
"Mrrghh..."
...?
It was the usual responses, but something felt off.
Libia's voice sounded rushed, and Isabel's words were all muffled.
I figured out why soon enough.
'What the heck are they doing...?'
As I approached, I saw Libia desperately clamping her hand over Isabel's mouth—a sight that was hard to process.
Isabel Helm.
Inside the lecture hall, she couldn't hide her frustration toward her friend.
"So... you didn't say anything the day before yesterday...?"
"Yeah..."
Her friend's dejected reply only made Isabel feel even more exasperated.
Two days ago,
she'd been sure her friend would at least confess—or express her feelings somehow. But she'd come back without doing a thing.
Isabel had anticipated rejection from how down her friend had been all yesterday, but she never imagined she'd choke completely.
'Why the hell not...?'
She genuinely couldn't understand why Libia wouldn't confess.
"Coward."
"I'm not!"
Libia shot back sharply at the jab.
Isabel was dumbfounded.
If you're gonna get mad at being called a coward, at least confess already...
She was about to lay into Libia when,
shrrk
the door slid open, and a familiar figure appeared at the front of the hall.
Aden.
The second friend to pique the interest of someone like her, who cared little for most things—and Libia's current crush.
'He's handsome, sure, but...'
Handsome might not even cover it; beautiful fit better. Libia surely wasn't in love just for his looks, but they had to account for a big chunk.
She glanced sideways, and sure enough, Libia's gaze was already locked on him.
'This is hopeless.'
"Libia, I'll tell Aden for you."
The words slipped out in exasperation,
but
"No way!"
"Mmph!"
"Absolutely not! Don't you dare say a word."
Libia clamped her hand over Isabel's mouth in an instant, issuing a dire warning.
"Libia, Isabel. Hey."
As Aden entered and greeted them,
Libia blurted out in a panic.
"Aden! Sleep well last night?"
"Mrrghh..."
Isabel tried calling his name too, but Libia's hand garbled it into mush.
"What... are you two doing...?"
Aden stared at them in confusion, and Libia answered defensively.
"Oh... n-nothing!"
She carefully peeled her hand away.
The moment it was far enough, Isabel seized her chance—but
"Hey, Aden, Libia—mmph!"
"Isaaabel!"
Libia's hand slammed back down the second Isabel started talking, calling her name in desperate plea.
Aden, witnessing it all firsthand, eyed them with even greater bewilderment.
"It's nothing, Aden!"
Libia pleaded with him through wide, desperate eyes, begging him not to pry.
Aden still looked puzzled but dropped it and took his seat without pressing.
'Ugh, so frustrating...'
With Libia's hand still smothering her, Isabel shoved it off and spoke.
"Mrrgh, stahp..."
Even garbled, Libia got the point and shot her a question.
"Isabel... you won't say anything, right?"
Truth be told, Libia's refusal to confess was maddening, but Isabel wasn't about to force her into something she hated. Plus, the hand over her mouth was seriously uncomfortable, so she nodded eagerly.
Seeing that, Libia cautiously removed her hand again.
"Phew...! Libia... coward..."
Her mouth free at last, Isabel couldn't help adding a touch of resentment.
Libia flinched, clearly aware of her own flaw.
"Sigh..."
The pathetic sight of her first friend brought another wave of frustration and a sigh.
'If she keeps chickening out and he gets snatched up, that's on her...'
If Libia wouldn't muster the courage to confess, there was nothing more Isabel could do.
She resolved to stop meddling between them.
Even if Aden ended up with someone else because of Libia's timidity, it wouldn't be her problem.
As she waited for the professor, still lost in those thoughts,
shrrk
the door opened, revealing the now-familiar professor.
"Everyone, take your seats."
Her commanding voice filled the room the moment she entered.
Practical Combat Professor Elina Levan.
The empire's war hero, granted the rank of Count Levan in one unprecedented leap by the emperor himself for her merits. Her name had reached even Isabel, who paid little heed to worldly affairs, and since joining the academy, she'd been the one pinning Isabel—and everyone else—to the dirt daily.
'Professor's changed a lot too.'
Compared to their first meeting at the academy, Elina had undeniably softened.
Her overwhelming skill and presence remained unchanged,
but there was a clear difference now.
Emotions.
Back then, Professor Elina had shown none at all. Now, she expressed them plainly, and her once-stiff speech had loosened up.
'I wonder why...'
Isabel was deeply curious about the reason but had no way to find out.
As she pondered the professor's changes,
"This is your second elective today, so don't forget to attend. See you in Practical Combat later."
Elina wrapped up abruptly and prepared to leave.
Once the professor was gone, the others began filing out too.
"Libia, let's go."
Isabel called to Libia, who was still staring at Aden, ready to head to the next class like everyone else.
"Huh...? Oh...! Right, let's go!"
Libia startled, gave an awkward reply, and stiffly lurched to her feet.
"Sigh..."
Libia, already a bit of an airhead, seemed even dumber now. Isabel couldn't hold back yet another sigh of the day.
'What the hell is love, anyway...?'
How could it turn someone into such a fool? It was a feeling she still couldn't quite grasp.