Why Are You Here?
“I’m really fine.”
—That’s just what you think. Stay quiet.
“I said there’s no problem, really?”
If I had known this would happen, I never would have said that weird nonsense about my heart hurting. Past me, why did you have to blurt out something so strange and create this mess?
—For now, just rest. We’ll train tonight, at that place.
The “place” Cheonhwa Yuseol mentioned referred to the soul training ground. Until then, I had no choice but to obey her order to lie down and rest. So I stayed flat on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Master, how on earth…”
—Don’t make me repeat myself.
“…Yes.”
Yeah. Sometimes you really do need to rest like this. Later on, there might not even be time to rest even if I wanted to. So for now, I should rest hard while I can.
The moment Cheonhwa Yuseol’s eyes sharpened with a hint of menace, I quickly pulled the blanket up to my chin and thought,
‘In this condition, I can’t do anything anyway.’
If I tried to circulate my mana or the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Cheonhwa Yuseol would notice instantly and probably lecture me again. She might even forbid me from attending classes for the rest of the day.
‘That absolutely cannot happen.’
This wasn’t the time to rest. This was the time to push myself until I nearly passed out. No—until I collapsed, woke up, and collapsed again.
So what should I do right now?
‘Maybe organize my plans to prepare for the upcoming scenarios…’
First, I didn’t need to worry much about tomorrow’s practical training or the sparring matches that would follow. What I needed to focus on were the scenarios that could lead to a bad ending, other equally critical events, or ones that would benefit me.
And if we’re talking about something happening in the very near future…
‘The Blue Rose’s Memory, huh?’
The Blue Rose’s Memory
It was a scenario triggered by a request from the flower shop owner and alchemist whom the protagonist had grown close to. Honestly, if you only looked at the content, it wasn’t all that important. The alchemist’s request was just a simple monster subjugation quest. Since it was an early-game scenario, the monsters were only around goblin level, so it wasn’t particularly difficult.
‘What matters isn’t the scenario itself, but the person you happen to bump into there.’
A passing connection that ends after a few words of conversation. But once you learn that person’s true identity, you can’t help but be shocked.
‘For the sake of faster growth, I need that man’s help.’
The greatest alchemist in the world. Like a wandering merchant, he never stayed in one place and traveled everywhere, making him incredibly difficult to meet. On top of that, the items he sold were absurdly expensive. But considering their rarity and effects, the price wasn’t really an issue.
‘The things he sells are finished products, yet they’re the only materials that can be used in certain recipes.’
The combination formulas for his goods were a huge topic of interest among players. Among them was a recipe that could create an elixir said to grant power beyond one’s prime.
Incidentally, if a player consumed that elixir, all their stats would increase by 50, they would undergo complete bodily reformation, and every status ailment would be completely removed.
‘The Blue Rose’s Memory happens before the students’ sparring matches.’
There was probably about a week left.
‘I wonder if Mir will follow the story as it’s supposed to go?’
The broad outline probably wouldn’t change, so there shouldn’t be any major problems. Still, the finer details would inevitably differ slightly from the original story I knew. After all, this Mir wasn’t the one I had personally played as.
‘And then there’s the fact that I exist here now.’
For the moment, I hadn’t done anything drastic enough to cause a huge butterfly effect. But there was no telling when or where the story might twist. I needed to be cautious and grow strong enough to fix things if they did go wrong.
‘When does the training ground open again?’
Since it was still the beginning of the semester, first-years hadn’t been given information about the training grounds yet. They were probably still inputting student data to adjust facility access.
I clenched my fist.
‘Right now I can handle things this easily, but I’ll need to reach at least level 50 to 60 before I can safely resolve the events that happen in the first year.’
I wasn’t too worried about growth. Between the plans I had already made and having Cheonhwa Yuseol as my master, plus my traits and titles, there was no reason it should be difficult.
‘First, I need to obtain titles.’
Titles that granted various special effects were helpful in any situation. Especially since the title I already possessed doubled the effects of any other titles I acquired. There was no reason not to get them.
‘Now that I think about it, why didn’t I get a title in the soul training ground?’
Originally, the moment I entered the soul training ground, I should have received the title [Awakening Within a Dream]. But what happened? During the entire simulation mode, I never received any title at all.
‘I’ll need to look into this part more later.’
—Disciple, it’s about time to get up. You should at least eat.
Eat? How long had it been since lunch?
I tilted my head at Cheonhwa Yuseol’s call, still lying down, and casually lifted my wrist to check the time on my watch.
“…Huh?”
Why had so much time already passed? Had I really been lost in thought for that long? I hadn’t done anything in particular…
Just as she said, it was already dinner time. If I dawdled any longer, I’d have to eat at one of the street stalls like yesterday.
‘I don’t really mind, but…’
I glanced toward Cheonhwa Yuseol. She wasn’t getting up and was instead staring at what appeared to be tonight’s menu.
The academy’s breakfast and dinner were buffet-style, so there shouldn’t be a printed menu…
—Hmm.
—Why is nothing written here?
As expected. Cheonhwa Yuseol was floating a question mark above her head as she stared at the blank space.
While she was puzzling over the dinner menu, I quickly checked my clothes and prepared to head out.
“Master, I’m ready.”
—Good. Then let’s go eat dinner.
“By the way, Master. With the power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, don’t I not need to eat?”
—Even if your body no longer craves energy thanks to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, your mind still thinks of eating as the natural way to replenish energy, since that’s what you’ve done your whole life. It may be fine now, but if it continues, it will eventually become a fatal poison in some form. So eat while you still can. Besides, the joy of eating is one of the greatest pleasures in human life. Why would you give that up?
…Huh? What?
What was this? Why had Cheonhwa Yuseol suddenly flipped a switch and started giving me a lecture?
Her explanation about why I absolutely had to eat kept going on and on. As we drew closer to the cafeteria, something flew toward me at high speed.
—Pu-eung!
It stuck itself to my cheek. The familiar sound, the cool and moist sensation, and the glimpse of blue at the edge of my vision told me exactly what this mysterious object was.
‘Wait, why is this kid here?’
I raised my hand in front of me and said,
“Sit here.”
—Hehehe!
At my words, the water spirit Undine, who had been clinging to my cheek, floated down onto my palm, waving both arms in delight.
—Puhing~ Hehe!
—A spirit? Why is a spirit here…
This Undine definitely belonged to Aria. So where had she ditched her owner to end up here?
“Where is your master?”
—Pu-eung!
—Hmm…?
Undine stretched one hand out in a certain direction. At least she still knew where her contractor was.
I followed the direction she pointed and soon spotted Aria, her face pale and fidgeting anxiously.
“There’s your master. Go back now.”
I stroked her head gently as I spoke. Undine seemed to understand and immediately flew toward Aria.
—Pu-eung!
“Undine…? Where have you been?!”
—Hing! Puhi!
“What do you mean, ‘I just went for a walk’? Even so, how could you disappear without saying anything?!”
—Poing.
“I’m not angry, I was just worried. Next time, at least tell me before you go.”
Aria’s face bloomed with a relieved smile as Undine returned to her.
Cheonhwa Yuseol watched Aria talking with Undine and said,
—That child has exceptional spirit affinity.
“Does she?”
Well, I already knew that. Just how outstanding her spirit affinity was. And even the secret behind the Undine she had contracted with.
—And why does she treat Undine so…
“Huh? Zeon?”
“Haha, hey.”
—Pu-eung! Hing!
“Really? Zeon, you brought Undine all the way here?”
“Well, I found her nearby.”
The moment Aria heard that I had brought Undine back, she suddenly grabbed my hand and said,
“Thank you so much! Thanks to you, Undine was able to return safely!”
“She probably would have come back fine even without me.”
“No, you don’t know this, but Undine is still really weak, so she can’t sense her contractor’s location. I was about to forcibly unsummon her and call her back, but thanks to you I was able to save my mana.”
Aria suddenly sparkled her eyes at me and asked,
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“No, not yet. I was just about to go eat.”
“Then would you like to eat with us? I’ll introduce you to my friend too!”
“Won’t your friend mind?”
“I don’t think so… Oh, a call!”
“I’m already here. You?”
“I’m almost there too. I’m not too late, right?”
“There’s still time. By the way, would you mind if I bring one more friend to eat with us?”
“A friend? Sure, I don’t mind. Ah, I can see you now. Hanging up.”
And just like that, I ended up joining them for dinner. Everything happened so fast. I wasn’t used to eating while chatting with people, so I was about to decline, but the train had already left the station.
Maybe I should still slip away now…
“Sorry I’m a bit late.”
“You’re not late at all~ Anyway, this is the friend I just mentioned!”
Aria’s friend had already arrived. I turned my head to look at the person who had just shown up and froze on the spot.
“Hello?”
“H… Hello.”
I waved back at her greeting.
What? Why…?
Mir, why are you here?