Non-standard
Non-standard
5 a.m.
My eyes opened.
Before the alarm.
Outside the window, it was dark.
But it wasn't total darkness.
The edge of the sky was spreading from navy to gray.
Right before sunrise,
neither night nor morning.
The air was different.
All the heat people had warmed up during the day had cooled.
Cold.
Damp.
The scent of dew-soaked grass and wet soil mingled.
Inside the blanket was warm.
Outside the blanket was cold.
'Haa.'
I know I have to get out.
My body wouldn't move.
'Fuck. I don't wanna get out.'
The blanket guy is holding onto me.
Actually, it's not that the blanket is holding onto me.
It's that I'm not letting go of the blanket.
'Well, whatever.'
I pulled the blanket up.
'Just 3 minutes.'
'Just 3 more minutes.'
Beep-beep-beep—
The alarm went off.
'Ha. Fuck.'
'Seriously, 5 more minutes.'
5 minutes passed.
I pulled the blanket up.
'Just a little more.'
Beep-beep-beep—
The sound came from right in front of the dorm supervisor's room door.
I'd left the alarm clock outside the door last night.
Because the me inside the blanket knew he'd betray the dawn me.
Beep-beep-beep—
'Fuck.'
In a bit, that thing's gonna echo through the entire second-floor hallway.
If an alarm goes off in the hallway at 5 a.m.,
that's a complaint.
Creeeak—
I opened the door and went out.
Grabbed the alarm and turned it off.
Click.
I had to get out anyway.
'Mana 63.'
Yesterday in the forest, I fell and a Spore Shot burst.
Whether it was coincidence or what, I don't know.
One thing's for sure.
'With 63, nothing works.'
Mana is feeble.
Body strengthening doesn't work.
Useless in combat.
What happened from falling is what happened from falling.
What happens from standing hasn't happened yet.
'I need to raise it.'
I threw on my training clothes.
Put on my sneakers.
Stepped out the entrance.
'.............'
It was cold.
Felt like my lungs were tearing apart.
But it wasn't bad.
This air.
The crisp morning air at dawn.
A bird sang.
One.
Far away.
'It's quiet.'
I walked.
Academy training facility.
They said it opens from today.
Free use during the semester.
The building was huge.
The size of a small village.
It's next to the main building, but bigger than the main building.
'............What the hell is this.'
Even the floor was different.
Flooring treated with magic reinforcement.
When you step on it, shock is absorbed.
The walls too, magic-coated.
A material that doesn't get a scratch no matter how hard you hit it.
Training golems stood in a row.
All latest model.
Their eyes glowed blue.
'Is the school training ground like this?'
Mana measuring device.
Physical Analysis Device.
Automatic Recovery Magic Circle.
'They poured a fuckton of money into this place.'
The title "Imperial Top Academy" wasn't for nothing.
There was a reason tuition was expensive.
Creeeak—
I opened the door and went in.
Looked around.
Each piece of equipment had a label on it.
[Magic Load Training Device — Type III]
[Manufactured by: Imperial Magic Tower Workshop]
[Unit Price: 5,000 gold coins]
[Full Compensation by User if Damaged]
'............5,000 gold coins?'
Looked at the one next to it.
[Mana Circuit Optimization Simulator]
[Unit Price: 6,500 gold coins]
[User Liable for Damages]
'That's insane.'
A scion of a count family was standing in front of the device.
Looked at the label.
Reached toward the panel.
"............Hey."
"What."
"Isn't this your territory's tax revenue for half a year?"
"............."
He took his hand off.
A scion of a marquis family was also standing there.
In front of a crystal orb device.
Couldn't bring himself to touch it.
"They said if you mess up, you pay for it."
"6,500 gold coins?"
"............Let's first learn how to use it properly, then do it."
He stepped back.
Started reading the instruction manual.
With a very grave expression.
'So even a marquis scion is scared of that price.'
But one person was different.
Blonde hair.
She was on top of the Magic Load Device.
Her hands touching the panel were practiced.
Set the intensity dial in one go.
Took her stance.
Whirr—
The device emitted a blue light.
She was sweating, concentrating.
Camilla.
'.............'
'She already knows how to use it.'
'Must've used it at home.'
From a ducal house.
A family where equipment like this might be at home.
While other students were like, "How do you do this?", Camilla was already training.
'A world where money buys efficiency.'
I went to the magic enhancement zone.
Mana Circuit Optimization Simulator.
It seemed like you just sit in the chair and place both hands on the crystal orb.
'Nice.'
'Let me suck some honey from this high-tech equipment too.'
'The blessings of technology are there to be enjoyed.'
I sat.
Placed my hands.
Whirr—
The crystal orb was about to shine.
Bzzzzz—
Turned off.
'............What the.'
Beep-beep-beep—
[Mana Output Insufficient — Minimum Threshold: 120]
'.............'
I'm 63.
Not even half.
'Eh. This must be set high normally.'
Tried the one next to it.
[Magic Load Training Device]
Got on.
Poured mana in.
Beep-beep-beep—
[Mana Output Insufficient — Minimum Threshold: 150]
'.............'
The next one.
[Combat Simulation — Virtual Magic Beast]
Put my hand on it.
Beep-beep-beep—
[Mana Output Insufficient — Minimum Threshold: 200]
'.............'
All three didn't work.
'Fuck.'
'Seriously, why are all the minimum thresholds so high?'
'120. 150. 200.'
'They don't go down, they only go up.'
'.............'
'Shouldn't there be some consideration for the weak?'
A leaderboard was posted on the wall.
Mana measurement rankings.
1st place. 812.
2nd place. 784.
3rd place. 756.
I went all the way down.
98th place.
63.
'Fuck.'
'I am kinda low.'
'Not kinda, very low.'
'.............'
'98th place.'
'It's not that 98th is bad, it's that 98th is second to last.'
'Ha.'
'Life.'
I went outside.
Next to the training facility.
Outdoor track.
It was spacious.
A 400m track was laid out.
Dawn mist lay over the track.
Streetlamps lit the track, but the mist diffused the light, making it dreamy.
No one was there.
Because everyone's inside, on the high-tech equipment.
'Of course there's no one.'
'Cutting-edge equipment is laid out inside, who'd run outside.'
But there was one person.
Across the track.
She was running.
Silver hair swayed in the mist.
Loosely tied hair.
Training clothes.
Rena.
She was fast.
Fucking fast.
She was looping the 400m track, and it was enough to stir wind.
Her footsteps were steady.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Every single step stamped precisely.
Like a machine.
But faster than a machine.
She passed in front of me.
Whoosh.
Wind came.
Silver hair brushed past, mixing in the scent of morning dew.
'.............'
'Overwhelming.'
In this world, body strengthening is done with mana.
If mana is high, muscles strengthen.
Reflexes quicken.
Endurance rises.
All the high-tech equipment inside was open.
Everyone went there.
But only Rena was running outside.
Just then.
A man approached from the track entrance.
Swordsmanship department training clothes.
He called out timed to Rena passing by.
"Rena-sunbaenim! You don't use the facilities? They're open starting today."
Rena didn't slow down.
She spoke while passing.
"Rely on stuff like that, you get weak."
That was it.
She didn't slow down.
Didn't even look back.
She wiped sweat away, swish.
With the back of her hand.
While running.
The man stopped and watched Rena's back.
Her silver hair receded into the mist.
"............."
The man turned back.
Into the facility.
'.............'
'The top student of the swordsmanship department doesn't use the high-tech facilities.'
'Inside, Camilla is running it proficiently.'
'Rena is running outside.'
'People living in the same world, but their methods are so fucking different.'
'But I want to rely on it, and I can't.'
Rena completed another lap.
Her speed didn't drop.
I don't know how many laps she'd done, but her pace was the same.
'.............'
'Well.'
'I'll run too, I guess.'
'If the equipment doesn't work, gotta do it with the body.'
'There's no other way.'
I stood on the track.
Started running.
10 seconds.
'Huff.'
30 seconds.
'Huff. Huff.'
1 minute.
'Fuck.'
It was a body worth 63.
Body strengthening also worth 63.
My legs were heavy.
Felt like my lungs would burst.
Rena approached from behind.
Whoosh.
Got overtaken.
Leaving only the wind.
'.............'
'Overtaken at triple speed.'
Kept running.
200m.
'Huff. Huff. Huff.'
300m.
Strength drained from my legs.
My knees wobbled.
400m.
One lap.
Stopped.
Propped hands on my knees.
Huff—
Huff—
'Fuck. Feel like I'm seriously gonna die.'
Plop—
I collapsed beside the track.
On the grass.
Dew wet my butt.
'Fuck.'
Rena passed by again.
Whoosh.
I sat on the grass, gasping for breath, watching Rena go around.
One lap.
Two laps.
Three laps.
'How many laps is she on.'
My breath returned.
I got up.
Ran again.
Walked at 200m.
Ran again.
Walked at 300m.
Ran again.
End of the second lap.
Collapsed.
'Haaaa.'
'Haaaaaaa.'
Looked at my palm.
Tried to feel the mana.
Focused.
The mana inside my body.
Faint.
Thin as thread.
'How much did it go up.'
There was a simple mana-measuring crystal orb at the facility entrance.
Went and touched it.
Whirr—
[Mana Output: 63.1]
'.............'
0.1.
Fucking hard, ran two laps.
Felt like dying.
Dew on my ass.
Overtaken by Rena at triple speed.
0.1.
'So that's 3 a month.'
'63 to 66.'
'One month to get 3.'
'Fuck.'
Just then, the guy who'd spoken to Rena earlier passed by and saw me.
Me, who ran on the track and then put my hand on the crystal orb.
Me, who wasn't going inside the facility, but running outside.
He said to another guy next to him.
"Hey. That guy's also running outside."
"Huh? Really?"
"Like Rena-sunbaenim."
"They say he's in the Druid department. Guess he's a naturalist."
"Oh. Could be. For a druid, isn't training in nature the right thing?"
"He's got style."
'It's not style, I came out because the equipment doesn't work.'
"Same faction as Rena-sunbaenim?"
"Old-school druid?"
"Could exist. Extreme naturalist faction."
"Right. They said there's a sect like that."
'Extreme?'
'I'm just 63 so the equipment won't respond.'
'What's this "extreme naturalist faction" nonsense.'
I pretended not to hear and left.
The sun was slowly rising.
Inside the facility, it started getting more crowded.
High-tech equipment hummed.
People getting on the Magic Load Device.
People running the Circuit Simulator.
People entering the Combat Simulation.
In between.
Light purple hair was visible.
'.............'
Aria.
Was standing in front of the Magic Load Device.
Couldn't get on.
Was looking up at the device.
Beside it, there was a control panel.
Several buttons.
Two dials.
Aria looked at the panel.
Reached out.
Stopped.
Reached again.
Pressed a button.
Beeeeeep—
A red light turned on.
Error sound.
Aria flinched.
Took her hand off.
Looked again.
Pressed a different button.
Beeeeeep—
Another error.
'.............'
'So she doesn't know how to use it.'
Aria looked around.
Her eyes wanted to ask someone.
But she couldn't open her mouth.
Her gaze dropped to the floor.
Looked at the panel again.
This time, tried turning a dial.
Beeeeeep—
Third error.
Aria's shoulders shrank.
'.............'
'I know because I saw Camilla do it earlier.'
'You need to press the left button first, then turn the dial.'
'.............'
'Should I help her.'
'.............'
'But if I talk to her.'
'.............'
'No, I could just go tell her.'
'"Press the left button first." One sentence, that's it.'
'.............'
'Just go.'
I lifted my foot.
One step.
Two steps.
Walking toward Aria, when.
"Oh, um, do you not know how to use it?"
A man's voice.
From the side.
A man was approaching Aria.
Smiling.
"Shall I show you?"
Aria raised her head.
"Ah...... yes, thank you."
A small voice.
The man stood in front of the panel.
"You press this left button first. Then you turn the dial, that's it."
"Ah...... like this?"
"Yes, that's right. And you can adjust the intensity here."
The man explained kindly.
Aria nodded.
Small.
"Thank you."
The man smiled.
"Not at all. If you don't know, feel free to ask anytime."
The muscular man grinned.
"Because I'm always working out over there."
'.............'
I'd stopped at the third step.
In a pose of heading toward Aria but halted.
Awkwardly.
'.............'
The man went back to his equipment.
Aria got on the device.
Operated it.
'.............'
'Fuck.'
'Whatever.'
'It was right not to go in the first place.'
'When you're that pretty, someone comes along on their own even if you stay still.'
'Some people the world just takes care of.'
'And people like me, nobody comes for.'
I turned around.
'That's just how it is.'
'Whatever.'
I exited the facility.
Outside.
The track.
Rena was still running.
I don't know how many laps now.
Speed hadn't dropped.
Whoosh.
Wind passed.
'I'm 0.1.'
'Rena is at that speed.'
'And the world takes care of Aria on its own.'
'.............'
'Fine.'
'All fine.'
'I should head in soon.'
'Need to wash up and get ready.'
'Roll call is at 8.'
I walked to the dormitory.
The dawn mist was lifting.
The sun had fully risen.
Dew on the grass sparkled.
The air was warmer than before.
The scent of water was shifting to the scent of grass.
Several birds began to sing.
That border where night ends and morning comes.
'It's not a bad morning, actually.'
My legs were trembling.
My heart was still racing.
But my head was clear.
'After running like crazy, my head feels incredibly refreshed.'