Chapter 74: First Day
The alarm on the phone had not yet sounded, but Tiss’s biological clock had already reacted first.
She glanced at the clock and saw it was precisely half past six.
The first class started at nine, but morning assembly required her to arrive by eight thirty.
“Dorothy, Sia, wake up.”
Tiss gently shook the two girls who were still asleep.
“Mmm… Tis-unnie, just five more minutes.”
“No way.”
Before she could finish, Sia tried to pull her into a hug in her half-asleep state. Tiss slipped out of the embrace and headed to the living room, opened the windows, and stepped out onto the terrace.
-Brururur!
She took a deep breath of fresh air, stretched, and shook her entire body to shake off the morning chill.
“Eek!”
White fur that had come loose during the night drifted through the air in a fluffy cloud.
“So much is coming out.”
Looking at the white hairs sparkling in the morning sunlight, she felt a renewed sense that she was closer to an animal than a person.
She didn’t dislike bathing, but managing her long hair every single day was slowly becoming a chore.
Maybe she should try making waterproof fur inspired by the animals that live by the sea?
Then she wouldn’t have to wash as often. The problem was that would ruin the fluffy feeling.
She wanted to keep the unique, soft, plush texture she and Shan shared… but that sounded difficult.
She could understand why girls in her old world woke up one to two hours early to prepare.
Next time, I should collect the essence that helps with hygiene maintenance.
[Eh…? But, even so, showering feels good, right? And the essence for drying our longest, fluffiest hair is already in our possession, isn’t it?]
Just as Shan said, drying their long, voluminous hair took forever, but by absorbing the heat organ of a calamity, it could be dried in one minute, leaving it soft and fluffy.
So even with this cloud-like mane, she could wash her hair quickly.
Still, the fact that it was annoying was annoying.
It hadn’t been like this before, but lately it seemed like this happened more often.
Probably because she had become so lazy, it had come from Shan.
While she was doing some pointless self-justification, she explained the benefits of long sleep to Shan at the same time.
If we can skip the five-minute shower and drying using the essence, we can sleep at least one extra hour.
[Huh…? Really?]
And getting eight hours of sleep will restore concentration, give the body a break, and relieve fatigue. You know it yourself—if you’re tired all day, you can’t do anything properly. This isn’t a bad habit; it’s an investment in your health.
Of course, once the biological clock was well adjusted, sleeping just two or three hours could still refresh the brain, but she decided not to mention that.
[An investment… an investment.]
Shan, who loved staying home, quickly warmed to the idea.
For someone who struggles to wake up every morning, an extra hour of sleep would be much more beneficial, right?
[Eh… Then, when we go out next time, should we collect the essence related to washing first?]
Yes, good thinking.
Leaving Shan, who was gradually being convinced, Tiss headed to the kitchen and prepared a simple breakfast of fried eggs and toast.
The two of them washed up quickly, so there was no need to make anything fancy.
Dorothy had developed the habit of quick preparation through her life as a poacher, and Sia had spent her time at the Secret Society not on makeup and grooming but on punching and slashing, so her preparation time was much faster than that of other female students.
After eating a simple breakfast together with Dorothy and Sia, who had just come out of the shower, they headed to the classroom a little earlier than usual.
“You’re early.”
“Huh? Siwoo-oppa.”
When they left the dormitory entrance, Siwoo was already waiting there.
Since he had his own room, he had finished preparing quickly without having to wait for anyone else to finish showering.
After greeting Dorothy and Sia, Siwoo turned to Tiss and waved.
“What? Did you think we were waiting for you?”
“As you can see.”
“We only have ten minutes to walk anyway.”
“This is the romance of the first day.”
As Siwoo waved, the chatter among the passing female students grew louder.
“Who’s that guy?”
“I don’t know, was there someone like that in the upper grades?”
“Is he a freshman? Freshmen don’t have age limits, right?”
All the female students on their way to school gave the tall, handsome Siwoo a once-over as they passed.
As expected of the protagonist, the gaze-stealing was no joke.
After including Siwoo, they joined the group heading to the classroom.
“Tiss-unnie, our class is over here!”
Was this the upper division of the Hunter Faculty?
Even though Tiss wasn’t there, the remaining students had handled the registration procedures on their own.
The prestigious Zion Academy proudly displayed the city name on its crest and divided its faculties into Hunter and Hero.
Each faculty was further divided into upper and lower divisions.
It was a system where students could rise to the upper division or fall to the lower based on effort, while also creating competition between peers to increase academic rivalry… such was the institution.
When playing Project Zion, the standard route was to grind hard at the beginning and enter the upper division.
If asked if there was a route from the lower division, of course there was.
There were also unique fun elements and story branches, which had created a fanbase, but since you couldn’t receive the various supports of the upper division and had to climb purely on your own strength, the difficulty was far greater than starting in the upper division.
Tiss had once planned to enter the lower division, live quietly, and support the protagonist siblings from behind using only mimicry and silent assassination techniques, but that plan had lost all meaning now.
Creak.
“We’re number one!”
When she opened the classroom door, thanks to arriving early, no one was inside yet.
“Oppaaaa, how about this? The very back seat by the window.”
“No way, I’m not some drama protagonist.”
“Really? Then I’ll sit there.”
“Sit wherever is comfortable for you, Tiss.”
Since Siwoo had declined, Tiss decided to sit there.
It didn’t really matter anyway.
The classroom and homeroom were assigned for joint training between the faculties.
Core subjects were held in the classroom, while other classes could be chosen freely according to student preference.
So there was no point in sitting in the same seat for long.
In the game, the seat you chose didn’t really matter.
Still, if she had to justify sitting in this particular spot, she would say it was due to the fading romance of the past, just as Siwoo had suggested.
“Then I’ll sit next to Tiss-unnie! Dorothy?”
“I-I’ll sit in the front. I promised Mary-unnie. Since I’m enrolling in the Academy, I want to study hard and receive a scholarship.”
The sparkle in Dorothy’s eyes at the mention of academic rivalry made Tiss’s heart skip a beat.
If she thought about it that way, she should also go to the front row.
She hadn’t mentioned height, but it still felt oddly important.
She was done. She would just sit in the very back.
If necessary, she could use clairvoyance to check.
After arranging the items she had received from Emily the previous night, the four of them chatted for a while.
Soon, one by one, students began arriving for class.
Feeling that gathering familiar faces in one place was more special than she had expected.
It was only now that she truly felt they had crossed the starting line.
“Siwoo, Sia!”
“Irumi, hello.”
With her cheerful footsteps, Irumi approached them.
“How was your break?”
After exchanging pleasantries, Irumi looked at Tiss.
“Ah, the main character of the news! It’s Tis, right?!”
She reacted with sparkling eyes as if she had finally found her.
“Uhn…?”
Tiss had assumed the popular target would be Sia and Siwoo.
Unexpectedly, she was included among the students’ interests.
Why?
The gazes of the seated students pricked at her like needles.
Not only gazes, but the topics of their whispered conversations were also about her, not Siwoo or Sia.
[T-That’s because we defeated Cheon Geomhwa in the place where everyone else was. Even if it was inside a barrier.]
Ah…!
[Yeah, our story is all over the place, even among the four of us. They’re talking about how a real ‘genius’ has appeared or the birth of a new hero and such fanfare.]
I didn’t realize it was that big of a deal.
She had briefly forgotten, but she hadn’t expected the snowball White Ghost had rolled to reach this point.
She hadn’t thought she would draw this much attention, including herself.
With a future that was already twisted, it had become even more of a mess.
“Eh? Your body still isn’t fully recovered? Sorry. Let’s properly introduce ourselves later!”
Irumi looked at Tiss, who was standing there blankly, guessed, and then sat down next to Jin Seoyul.
“Loser♡ I thought you’d be late on the first day, but you made it.”
“Eek, Jin Seoyul. You were in the seat next to me?”
Creak.
Just before the bell rang, the last person to enter was Prim, who was wearing her uniform and carrying a camera without forgetting.
Once Prim sat down, the front door opened and a large man with a lion mane entered.
“Welcome, freshmen. There are probably none of you who haven’t seen me before, but I’ll introduce myself again. I am Lionel, the head of the faculty.”
As Lionel entered, all eyes turned to him.
“Are you our homeroom teacher, Hunter Lionel?”
“No. I am already the homeroom teacher for the fourth years. I came today only to deliver temporary guidance. The homeroom teacher for the first-year freshmen… you will see tomorrow. Even though I am a homeroom teacher.”
Roar!
Even though it was just a light joke to Lionel, his words were cut off as soon as the beast’s roar sounded, and the chatter stopped completely.
“Good. Then I will deliver the guidance.”
Lionel quickly conveyed the announcements.
Unlike what Tiss knew from the game, there were major changes to the first-year curriculum.
Specifically, students could now freely take classes from other faculties regardless of credits.
“Then what about exams?”
“Exams for each faculty other than character education will be conducted with a focus on practical work and operated on a pass/fail basis rather than dividing scores. It seems the intention is to encourage you to take classes without burden.”
After the first semester of the first year, students would choose the faculty they wanted to enroll in during the vacation period.
“Wooah!”
Students cheered at the fact that they could take classes without being tied to credits.
“Additionally, I have an announcement. Baba Yaga the Hero will be involved in all pass/fail exams for first-years.”
-Aaaah!
“Why didn’t Baba Yaga return to Area 1?!”
“The Management Bureau asked Baba Yaga the Hero to stay at the Academy and take on a special guidance role, and she accepted.”
“No!!!”
The students’ cheers turned into screams.
“So, you shouldn’t think you can easily pass.”
Lionel drove home the fact that the exams would be extremely difficult.
The nightmare of the entrance exam did not end even after entering the Academy.
[U-Us getting an advantage?]
I think it’s an advantage. If my body is tough, I don’t have to worry about my head hurting.
[Ahaha!]
Baba Yaga’s tough practical exams? That was actually good.
There was no need to cram her head with studying.
Tiss, Siwoo, and Sia were special, but the average freshman level in the game was never this high.
There was no way Baba Yaga had gone crazy and prepared exams based on their level at the first-year standard, so Tiss had gained time to act freely.
“That concludes the guidance. And instead of the first class in a moment, a ceremony will be held for all freshmen.”
At Lionel’s words, the lifelessness returned to the students who had been slumped over their desks.
“That? What is that?”
“Yes, that is the time you all have been waiting for the most.”
“Hunter Lionel, then shall we move right now?”
“Hmm, since the guidance is over, let’s first move to the main classroom.”
“Yay!”
Creak.
At Lionel’s words, most of the students in the classroom stood up from their seats.
The annual event for Academy freshmen, the Treasure Selection, had arrived.