Back to School with Inventory (SSR)

1 cubic meter of subspace storage. It lets you store and retrieve items from any point on your body that's touching space. Hostile objects and living creatures can't be stored. You can view the inventory by saying the keyword. Cooldown: none. Mana cost: 0.

This is the real cheat. I didn't need anything else. Inventory. A trait that only a tiny handful of A-rank hunters and even fewer S-rank hunters possess. I selected it immediately.

I immediately tested my new trait. The two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staves clutched in my hand. I stored one of them.

"Whoa?"

Even though both were touching my skin, only one went in. I tried putting in the curved sword Sera had lent me. I'd figured its length might be a problem, but it fit somehow.

"Inventory."

Saying that revealed the sword inside. It had squeezed perfectly into the longest possible diagonal in the center.

"Can't fit anything longer than this, huh."

But whatever, I'm a magic user anyway. The sword was just minimal self-defense. The moment I thought about retrieving the curved sword, it was back in my hand. So damn convenient. This is the life of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an inventory user?

I swapped the weapon in my hand from sword to staff.

"Casting Bullet."

A small blue flash slammed into the wall. Barely any delay! Being able to swap weapons instantly was an insane advantage. I'd dropped my staff in the first room and nearly messed up because of it. This eliminated that gap entirely.

I even tried storing my clothes. "Extremities" apparently included skin contact. I ended up half-naked for a second, then back to fully dressed. I let out a cheer.

...This is Hell difficulty? The rewards are on another level. What happens if you go higher?

"Hmm... Wanna try sketching the next floor?"

The shimmering exit. Next to it, an unnaturally appearing staircase. I climbed it to enter the second floor, and the moment I stepped into the first room...

"...Wait. No no no no!!! This ain't right!!!"

I faced thousands of arrows flying straight at me. I bolted.

Sera and Woo Soo-hyun reacted exactly as I'd expected.

"Hey, check this out! Inventory! Jealous, right!?"

The curved sword popped into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠existence midair and into Sera's hand. She couldn't hide her shock.

"I... I got an SR trait as a reward for clearing floor 20..."

"I... didn't even get a rare trait on Normal..."

Heh heh heh. This is the taste of being a speedrunner.

I puffed out my chest and basked in their envious stares.

"Gyaak! That hurts!"

I took a hit. I hadn't even gotten hit by my dad before!

"Shut up. You didn't pick anything else?"

"Stat enhancement options—one per room, three total. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠went all-in on mana."

"That comes out in the first room!?"

"It did."

"It pops up sometimes. Not like this kid, where it just hands them out like basic rewards," Sera said with a nod. Come to think of it, she'd graduated the training center and cleared Very Hard floor 20. Her specs were top-tier, and she had at least one SSR trait.

"N-No way... Soo-hyun, you too...? N-Never mind."

I dramatically dodged Woo Soo-hyun's gaze. He bit his lip with a smiling face that screamed he wanted to smack this cocky brat.

"You didn't pull that crap elsewhere, right?"

"Of course not..."

I recalled Karnaroff's bulging-vein face.

"I did."

Yeah.

"Oh, right. Soo-hyun, thanks for the hard work. Here's a token of appreciation."

"Wha—!? Th-Thank you!!"

Sera handed him an orange magic stone.

"Whoa, that's good stuff?"

It was a solid magic stone, one rank above my red one! Purity varies, but orange stones generally hold more mana. Woo Soo-hyun's expression softened a bit. Magic stones were valuable no matter what. Even D-ranks had to risk their lives for red ones.

"Sigh. Let's go."

"Good work! Guess I should give some charity too."

I handed Woo Soo-hyun a small, slightly chipped red-glowing magic stone. He looked at me in surprise. Sure, it was the tiniest, most flawed one, but it still sold for a good price.

"Well, bye for real! Won't be back for a while!"

"Better if you don't come back."

Woo Soo-hyun said it like he'd just remembered something.

"That's a bit hurtful."

"It's not 'cause I hate seeing you. It's in the database now. Korean record. You'll get attention."

"That big a deal?"

The moment I said that, Woo Soo-hyun clutched his face with one hand and sighed deeply.

"What am I gonna do with this kid..."

Sera had the same reaction.

"You have no idea how persistent guilds can be. I'll anonymize it for you, so repay me later if it saves you trouble."

"Sure thing."

I chuckled and turned away. I wanted attention, but not from sleazy guild uncles.

When Sera graduated training and cleared Very Hard floor 20, guilds from small to the biggest in Korea hounded her relentlessly. I'd take the help.

Now, time to head back.

"You said you'd buy food."

"Oh yeah, gotta eat that."

We hit a hotel buffet and stuffed ourselves on expensive grub. Anything fancier would've taken too long. I considered using inventory for some Tupperware spam, but asking Sera for Lock & Lock got me smacked. Then I bolted to the mart.

"Kiyaaaaak! Forgot curfew!! Run run ruuuun!!"

Actually, Sera ran. My running was slower, so having her tuck me under her arm was faster!

I dashed to the instant food aisle at a famous warehouse mart everyone knows.

"Grab it! Grab first, think later!"

I had my list ready. I crammed my inventory full, grabbed a whole hunk of meat from the butcher for Gomi, and headed to the mountain.

When I portaled from the forest into Reinhardt, afternoon classes had just ended, and students were heading to the cafeteria. I went straight to the dorm.

My haul was huge. I'd dumped all the first-floor rewards into mana, boosting it about sevenfold. Not a ton, but enough for dozens of basic attack spells easy.

But the stares I was getting felt weird.

"...That's the first-year girl, right?"

"Broke through the security net and escaped solo? She's got skills?"

"Does that even make sense? Just rumors."

"But damn, she's gorgeous. I'd kill to live one day with a face like that."

"Then go talk to her."

"Uh, that..."

"Why?"

"Embarrassing."

Hya. Memories from after the body swap flooded back. Same reactions on streets or at the Hunter Association back home. Though now it's just notoriety from slacking at the association and rumors spreading.

Then someone approached me.

"Student Yumia?"

"Yeah."

"Report to the Student Guidance Office immediately."

"Huh."

The guidance office looked like a miniature courtroom I'd seen somewhere. The stern head sat right in front of me, professors lining the edges.

"Student Yumia. Do you admit to unauthorized escape from campus and breaking dorm curfew?"

The strict-looking head stared at me with a firm voice.

"Yep."

"The escape itself is a minor infraction, so we're settling with 3 demerit points and 3 days of bathroom cleaning. That okay?"

A few observing professors nodded. Hmm. Ends like that? Fine by me. Bathrooms are just cleaning.

"Additionally, comply with dress code. You're free to choose, but Reinhardt crest cloak and necktie are mandatory."

...There's a dress code? I don't have money for that?

The discipline was finalized, and professors trickled out like the tide.

Damn. Won't get caught next time.

"Ah, hungry."

Stomach's empty. Gotta eat something from the dorm.

I opened the dorm room door.

"...Yumia?"

Aris was inside. Her big blue eyes turned to me. But... the vibe was off.

I crept closer and sat demurely. Felt like I shouldn't poke the bear.

"I'm back."

"Where have you been until now?"

"...Aris?"

"I thought you were someone who could do whatever."

Aris spoke flatly, but a hint of anger laced her voice. She puffed her cheeks.

"But can't you at least tell your roommate where you're going? I was worried and looked everywhere!"

Oof, hit a sore spot. Original Yumia had hooked her up with cafeteria bread, lent class notes—lots of help. Guess she was miffed I bailed without a word.

"Uh... sorry."

"Okay then. So, where were you? Asked your homeroom prof, got nothing but nonsense..."

Good, not super mad. I asked the relaxed Aris,

"Who's the homeroom?"

"Professor Karnaroff."

"Eek."

Karnaroff, huh.

"Anyway, here's yesterday's math class notes. Homework too."

The notes were middle-school level math. Homework same deal.

"Easy? Grades looking good..."

"Oh, and this from Professor Karnaroff."

A ridiculously heavy book thudded onto my hand. Heavy enough to get you booked for aggravated assault if you swung it at someone.

...?

It was Basic Magic Circles. A massive tome. Worn to rags from heavy use. Notes crammed every line—one comment per sentence.

A note was stuck to it.

I knew exactly whose handwriting that was.

Chapter 1? A hefty chunk of this 1,000+ page beast. Over 100 problems!?

Chuck it?

"What happens if grades suck?"

"Duh! Too many fails, you repeat the year and can't advance!"

Kraaaah... Can't have that. Straight F's incoming. Silver lining: it builds magic circle foundations. Beyond tweaking numbers or runes—you learn to draw them yourself. And I had Magic Circle Mathematician. No comprehension issues. Equations popped into my head straight from the diagrams. Super fast too.

Problem was.

"Info overload... too much."

Magic circles were insanely complex. One attribute needed layers of formulas. Fun, though...

"Ugh. Too annoying."

I chucked the book into a corner.

"Aaaah! You can't just toss a book from the professor!"

"But it's annoying. I'll do it eventually."

"Why'd Professor Karnaroff assign something so hard...?"

Plus basic attack magic practice 10 times with progress report. That's 20+ casts a day. Submit on the #1 magic assignment form—whatever that was.

"Eh, take it slow."

Aris picked up the near-Legal Six Codes I'd tossed and flipped pages.

"Hmm... I barely get it too... You understand it, Yumia?"

"Yeah, but too much to memorize."

Understanding ≠ memorizing. Could grind it slow, but...

"You get it too, Aris?"

She does, huh. Makes sense—she's genius enough for A-rank dorm.

"Family tutor taught me... Up to second-year material."

...Pre-learning.

"Did you... come here knowing nothing about magic?"

"Yup."

"...Where you from?"

"Gyeonggi-do?"

I answered without thinking.

"Gyeonggi...-do? No clue."

Then Aris perked up like she'd remembered something.

"Oh yeah, no luggage? You wear the same clothes—gonna stink. Send to laundry."

"Oh, right. Time to unpack."

"...Where is it?"

"Wanna see? Follow me."

I headed to the storage room. Aris trailed.

"Dump here?"

Aris's stuff was neatly stacked. Mine? Just the socks I'd tossed earlier.

"Seriously. Socks go in the hamper properly..."

"Got it, got it."

I cleared the socks and pointed my index finger at empty air.

—Thud!

A 1m³ pile of luggage crashed to the floor.

"Wha-wha-whaaaa!???"

Aris's face filled with instant horror.