Theory Class

"God, this is endless. Seriously."

It only wrapped up after I'd sat through a full ten tests.

A hologram unfurled in the air about two steps in front of where I stood.

I found myself a little impressed. Until recently I'd been an ordinary guy who didn't have the faintest concept of mana or magic, and now I'd pulled this off.

Two S ranks. That meant that in those particular fields, I was already on par with an S-class hunter. Sure, both were riding my privileges — but those privileges were part of my skill set now. What was I supposed to do about it?

Objective complete: assess my current level. On paper, my specs already towered far above anything an academy cadet should have. I still lacked the polish to actually use them properly, but that was fine. I'd get there if I kept at it.

I was definitely not on the weak side. I hadn't seen real combat yet, but if I just followed the curriculum, those chances would come.

"Should I keep going a little longer...? Timing's a bit awkward, though."

I didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have the full class schedule memorized, but I knew Victoria Academy's theory lectures were packed with pop quizzes. Textbook, reference book, academic papers — I only needed to read something once to lock it in, so knocking that out while I had time would pay off later. The problem was that magic training had turned out to be genuinely fun, and I was stuck between the two.

A thrill I'd never felt in my original life. That sensation of walking the line between fantasy and something even better. I didn't want to let it go.

"Yeah. Magic training matters too. I'll just look over the theory a bit before bed."

In the end, I trained late into the night, dragged myself back to the dorm, and collapsed the moment I hit the bed, too exhausted to fight it.

There'd be time after class today. I'd just do the theory work then.

Today was Wednesday. First period was Dungeon Studies — a lecture covering everything from the principles of dungeon raids to the tactics that actually held up in the field. Of all the theory courses at the academy, it had the most material to memorize.

Not that it mattered to me. I only needed to read something once.

I'd already gone through the textbook and the reference book, so there was no point rereading them.

So I was digging through the related papers instead. If I memorized every dungeon paper I could find, I'd be able to handle most applied problems even without fully understanding them.

"Um… e-excuse me…"

"Yeah. Huh? Rumi?"

"G-good morning… I'm sorry I couldn't reply yesterday… I f-fell asleep…"

Rumi was talking right in front of me, but my eyes were already sweeping the classroom.

What's Lucy doing?

I'd caused an incident with Lucy at the training grounds the day before last. There was no way a sister as fiercely protective as Lucy would just sit there and watch me talk to Rumi.

Luckily, Lucy was busy chatting with her own teammates. Rumi had clearly slipped over to say hello while that window was open.

"Don't worry about it. I was buried in training yesterday anyway."

"Training from the very first day… that's amazing…! Um, i-if I ever get the chance, maybe we could train together next t—"

The door slid open.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Min Ji-hee, your Dungeon Studies professor."

The professor walked in as if she'd timed it to cut Rumi off. The noisy classroom settled as students found their seats, and Rumi left a hurried "I-I should go…!" in her wake before vanishing.

Watching her sit down glued to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lucy's side, I had to admit it — they really did look so alike it was hard to tell them apart.

"Some of you may be new to dungeon education, but the importance of dungeons cannot be overstated…"

The difficulty was extremely low, first day and all. The professor kept talking, but I already knew all of it, so I let my eyes wander over the other students.

Lucy had her chin propped on her left hand and was spinning a pen with her right. Boredom was written all over her face — the lecture must have been going over her head. Beside her, Rumi was frowning at the blackboard, squinting in concentration.

Nam Da-eun was face-down on her desk. She had no interest in taking notes. Given her circumstances, she only needed to take first in the practical exams.

I doodled in the corner ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of my own notebook.

1. Heroine Conquest.

The most important goal, for starters. Honestly, I had no idea how I was supposed to pull it off. I had to capture six of them at the same time. Two-timing was one thing — six-timing? Add two more and I'd be an octopus.

Or should I just drug them and break them in? Ugh. Drugs, seriously…

Wait ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a second.

"…That's not actually a bad idea, is it?"

In Academy Eroge, there was even a breaking route designed for multi-playthrough players. Stack enough money across enough runs and you could pick up that kind of path at the Black Market. Naturally, that route was sitting in my head too.

…I'll just keep it in mind for now.

The thought of actually doing something like that in real life — not in a game — was frightening. It made my skin crawl.

Come to think of it, I still owed Lucy an apology. I'd been hoping she'd just forget about it, but judging by her reaction yesterday, she remembered just fine.

I'd meant to apologize right away, but Lucy — social butterfly that she was — had swept her whole group off to lunch before I could get a word in.

I had to make time today. No excuses.

2. Strengthen my own capabilities.

Realistically, this had to come first. I needed to get stronger before I could do anything else. If I got caught six-timing, I could end up dead, so I needed enough power to protect myself.

And because this was a garbage fire of a game, there were plenty of events where a heroine got attacked. Those were excellent opportunities to score points.

From here on out, I needed to train every day — research magic, then put it into practice.

Or maybe I should try working out too? Unlike in the game…

In the game, the moment you picked a class, "training" itself got rewritten into an action that only raised specific stats. Choose mage, and no amount of training would raise your stamina or strength — only your mana.

But this was reality. Nobody had passed a law saying a mage wasn't allowed to hit the gym.

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon? Your pen's been still for a while now. I take it you already know all this?"

"Hweh?"

Being called on out of nowhere startled me so badly I bit my tongue.

"Of course. If you didn't already know the material, you wouldn't have stopped paying attention, would you? In that case, why don't you walk us through the problem on the screen. Depending on the quality of your answer, I'll decide whether or not to deduct from your attitude score."

Looking at the hologram screen up front, I was sure I'd seen something like this before. Not the question itself — but I could remember a paper that covered almost the same material.

"Failure to answer is minus one point. Don't know it?"

"No, ma'am. Just a moment."

There's a kid spinning a pen over there and another one passed out on her desk. Why are you picking on me, Professor?

The stares from the students around me, the pressure from the professor, and a rising sense of injustice all ate a few extra seconds — but the answer came to me, clear and certain.

"In a maze-type dungeon, the mana reading is uniform across every zone. That means the boss-type wombat cannot be in a proper state."

"Oh?"

"Eucalyptus — a wombat's staple food — cannot grow at a mana reading as low as 500 ppm. If one still managed to reach boss-type under those conditions, the most likely explanation is that it evolved after surviving a cycle of cannibalism among its own kind."

"Hoh. And then?"

"There was a research paper three years ago on wombats that grew through intra-species predation. According to that paper, unlike ordinary wombats, which are defensive by nature, these specimens show a sharp increase in aggression. They grow elongated fangs for a carnivorous diet, and their claws become razor-sharp. As a result…"

Once the words started coming, they just kept going. I was essentially reading the paper off the inside of my own skull. There was nothing difficult about it.

"…To summarize: their aggression increases, but they become simpler. They lose both their naturally high durability and their wariness. The ideal response is for the two warriors to stall and buy as much time as possible, while the ranger and the support land a single concentrated strike on the weak point between the eyes."

"…"

Nobody said a word. Of course they didn't. A freshman who'd just enrolled in the academy had just cited a three-year-old paper and delivered a perfect answer to a professor's question.

The students didn't even know whether I was right or wrong. They just tilted their heads.

But the professor who had been listening broke into a smile, started clapping, and opened her mouth.

"That's remarkable. I read that paper three years ago myself. I actually designed this question based on it — and Cadet Lee Ho-yeon, you don't strike me as someone who just happened to read that one paper by luck. That's not an answer you can give without doing your own research. I can only conclude that you prepared extremely thoroughly. Plus one point."

"Thank you, Professor."

"That said, even if you already know the material, a lot of professors will take it poorly if you make it that obvious you aren't listening."

"I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on!"

I sat back down with a quiet sigh of relief. At least I'd gotten through it.

The lecture resumed. The next slide put up an explanation of the problem I'd just solved, and the professor picked up from there. Having just been caught, I pinned my gaze forward and actually tried to listen — which was when I heard whispering behind me.

"What the hell. I didn't understand a single word that guy said."

"Understanding it would be the weird part. Didn't you hear the professor? He said he read it in a paper from three years ago. There's no way an academy freshman should know that."

"So he just got lucky, then."

"Yeah, but… wasn't his answer more detailed than the explanation the professor prepared?"

Hm. Did I try a little too hard? It should be fine. In the original game, the protagonist ended up as the top student of the year anyway.

And in the process, he crossed paths with Elise, the valedictorian, and Nam Da-eun, first in practicals.

"Alright, I'll see you next class. Make sure you preview and review thoroughly. There will be pop quizzes."

The lecture hall erupted into noise the instant class ended. Most of the first-day awkwardness had already burned off. For everyone except me, that is.

I packed my bag quietly and started getting ready for the next class when a voice drifted up from behind me.

"A three-year-old paper, my ass. He got lucky hitting one and still won't admit it."

"Right? If he was actually that smart, he would've gotten in as the written exam valedictorian."

I turned around at the blatant shots being fired in my direction. A mixed group of guys and girls was looking right at me, smirking.

"Oh, he's looking this way? What, you wanna go?"

"Yo, cut it out, he's gonna piss himself. I can already smell it from here."

Heh heh heh.

At the center of the pack of idiots splitting their sides over that garbage was one particular guy.

The one standing there with that slimy grin… Do Jinhyeok. That was his name.

He'd been a bottom-tier villain extra in the game too, and here he was doing the exact same bit. Nice to see some things never change.

In the game, Do Jinhyeok did end up tangled with Lee Ho-yeon as a rival, but it hadn't happened this fast. I must have drawn more attention than I meant to. So what now?

I was still turning over how to respond when a hand dropped onto Do Jinhyeok's shoulder from behind.

"Do Jinhyeok. Stop picking on the kid and get lost."

"…Take your hand off me."

Do Jinhyeok clenched his jaw, slapped the hand off his shoulder, and herded his entourage off somewhere. A reaction worthy of a villain extra.

"Hey."

The guy who'd put his hand on Do Jinhyeok's shoulder. He was walking over with a faint smile, and I couldn't place him at first.

Then I saw that swaying blond hair and it clicked. The blond delinquent.

Kim Young-han. Classmate, and the protagonist's ally.

The boyishly short-cropped blond hair and the tattoos showing past his sleeves were a delinquent starter kit. Not that he was an actual delinquent.

"Hm? Oh… Kim Young-han, right?"

"Oh? You know me? Guess I really am kinda famous."

In the game, Kim Young-han became friends with Lee Ho-yeon by stepping in during one of Do Jinhyeok's provocations. A little early, but it didn't matter.

"I was just thinking there weren't any interesting people around. You look like you might be fun."

A personality that straightforward was exactly why he was so popular. I was jealous, honestly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Ho-yeon."

I came here to bleed you dry.