Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: It's Okay Because I'm a Genius Despite Limited Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Class A celebrated their mission success with a modest pork belly barbecue and didn't return to the Academy until nearly noon the next day.
"Wow, what's all this?"
"All these people are waiting for us?"
Unlike when they left, the entrance was quite crowded. Reporters had swarmed in after hearing the news.
"To be precise, it's not us. It's you."
"Me?"
Baek Sa-young looked baffled at Lee Dae-ho's pointing, but it wasn't wrong.
"Hey, Baek Sa-young! Who's she?"
"Can we get a quick word?"
As soon as Baek Sa-young appeared, most of the reporters rushed over, while a few sought out the Special Patrol Team, looking for openings.
The students seemed flustered, but Kim Mi-young, who had smoothly positioned herself beside Baek Sa-young, took control of the situation with ease.
"There's a separate reception area inside the Academy. I'll escort you there."
Thanks to her, there was no formal disbandment ceremony.
No one was looking for me, so I slipped away leisurely and headed straight to the dorms.
Instead, I opened a familiar door, flopped onto the living room sofa, and finally felt it sink in.
"We pulled it off according to plan."
What a tough episode that was.
I'd carved out a path that didn't exist midway, so a heavy fatigue mixed with a sense of accomplishment washed over me.
It sparked a desire for rewards, making me consider fooling around a bit more.
But as a floating sensation hit me, I bolted upright.
"Not yet."
Now that I had a decent amount of time left, I could afford some leeway, but my instincts strongly resisted.
My mind understood, but my body was still wired like a mayfly's.
I sat at my desk out of habit and reviewed the gains from this quest first.
First, the achievements from civilian support: two in total.
[Achievement-449: Story Adapter]
[You twisted the story to catch both fun and results.]
[Reward: 2 days added to remaining time.]
[15 SP acquired for a satisfying development.]
[Achievement-761: Two-Faced Man]
[You expanded the character's utility.]
[Reward: 1 day added to remaining time.]
[10 SP acquired for a satisfying development.]
Including the added time and SP, the totals were:
[Remaining Time: 49 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes]
[SP: 60]
Just looking at it filled me up already, but the gains didn't end there.
This episode had some massive side benefits.
"First, the new trait: Adversary of Demons."
It hadn't fully blossomed yet—still immature—but it had at least ignited.
As a bloodline trait passed down through only a tiny fraction of the Prime Brew Clan, nurturing it steadily could turn it into a cheat-level ability rivaling manifestation power, limited to demons.
"And..."
Confirming the performance of Auxiliary Authority 1 through the clash with Kiaht was a huge win too.
It blocked the demon's demonic energy instantly, without any risks—that alone was impressive.
Plus, absorbing the essence of demonic energy, Midas's, had skyrocketed my unsealing rate.
[Seal Unsealing Rate: 97%]
It stopped awkwardly, but 3% was just a matter of time.
I was really looking forward to what authority it'd be this time...
['Greed' places a hand on its waist and sticks out its belly.]
[It boasts it'll exceed the host's expectations.]
Oh?
The image made me chuckle.
Anyway, finally, the unexpected reward.
I finished recapping the episode by stashing the mid-grade Mana Crystal in my desk drawer.
It was valuable, so it should come in handy.
"More importantly..."
For future plans, I pulled up my status window for once.
▷Strength: 4.7
▷Vitality: 4.1
▷Agility: 4.5
▷Senses: 4.2
▷Intelligence: 5.1
▷Mana: 3.3
▷Luck: 3
The Academy average was around 6.
Protagonist types like Baek Sa-young were between 9 and 10, so purely by numbers, my stats looked bleak.
"It's no exaggeration to call me a one-trick pony with manifestation."
Ideally, I'd buy up all stats to hit Academy average, but that was inefficient.
For example, lacking physical stats could be supplemented somewhat with spells...
It was time to stop hoarding time and make a decision.
"If it's one-trick, go all-in on it..."
Invest everything in mana, and slowly build physical stats through vitality training.
As quests pile up, enemies get stronger, so I need to grow faster to survive.
I set aside normal methods for now.
I opened the Time Shop.
[Time Shop (Lv1) opens.]
Weapons were few and low-grade anyway, so I skipped to the stats category.
I'd thought it through, so no hesitation.
[Purchase Mana stat.]
[Purchase Mana stat.]
.
.
[Purchased 10 total; Mana increases by '1'.]
[Mana stat price changes to 3 days 6 hours.]
I invested 30 days to raise Mana by one stage.
Mana 1 equaled roughly one rank-1 spell, so my three-shot limit jumped to four.
Significant progress, but I wasn't stopping.
I pulled a book from my bookshelf drawer.
"Triple Calamity Technique."
My comprehension was at 32% so far.
I'd chipped away at it, but quests came first, so I focused on immediately useful spells, delaying this.
But no more delays.
This week was my chance to grind comprehension.
The auction house incident next weekend meant a calm period until then.
Hitting 40% should allow practice, so D-Day was this Friday.
"Time to get stronger."
I took a deep breath and reached for the Triple Calamity Technique.
One big stretch, then when my mind clears, hit the vitality training grounds.
Recovery would be handled by the Nameless Shaman's Bracelet on my wrist.
* * *
"Great work, Cadet Joo Ah-rin, Cadet Baek Sa-young."
"You too, Instructor."
Joo Ah-rin finished her final interview with Baek Sa-young and reached her dorm late afternoon.
The sole female in the Special Patrol Team—and its leader.
Her standout looks and prestigious family background drew reporters' eyes, but her mood was meh.
She felt like a useless tag-along who hadn't done much.
Embarrassed but seeing it as helpful, she gritted through it.
"Shower first."
She headed straight to the bathroom to wash away the lukewarm mood and sticky body.
Shhhhhh.
The water ran for quite a while.
Soon after, Joo Ah-rin emerged with a relaxed expression and cautiously opened the fridge.
Pop-
Various beers lined up neatly inside.
"Hmm..."
What to eat.
She pondered briefly, then grabbed a can of bitter wheat beer.
It was ordinary store-bought stuff, but she swallowed hard without realizing.
Nothing special.
As an elite from a prestigious house living a planned life, if she had to touch alcohol, it was only high-end wine or champagne.
This was her own thrilling rebellion, a secret hobby(?).
Joo Ah-rin popped the tab expertly and brought it slowly to her lips.
Gulp gulp.
She didn't quite go "Kyaah," but her slightly flushed face and excited vibe had her checking her phone.
There was an important message from the Old Butler.
[Miss, here's the shortlist of candidates for your direct team. Please review and contact me.]
Direct team formation.
A long-standing tradition of the Guardian household: heirs over twenty must participate in this trial.
Using fair seed money, whether investing or conquering a nest, they had to produce results.
It was a key metric for heir ranking, so now twenty, Joo Ah-rin was no exception.
Nor did she want to dodge.
She planned to focus on nest conquests to build power.
So no one could touch her.
Especially for the sibling she had to protect...
[I'll review carefully and confirm picks by Thursday.]
Reply came sharp.
[Yes, please decide after due consideration, Miss.]
"Of course. As if there's spare time..."
Joo Ah-rin sighed lightly and straightened her clothes.
She pulled out her laptop, logged into email, and checked the Old Butler's list.
Deep in analysis, her phone buzzed.
[Hey, reply already.]
It was Cheon Seo-yoon.
Reply?
She finally noticed the backlog.
[Yo, heard civilian support was a huge hit?]
[What? You're back now, right? Busy?]
Joo Ah-rin smirked and replied.
[Just got to dorm. Interviews were chaos.]
That was her mistake.
Bzzz.
Phone rang like it was waiting.
Perfect timing—she couldn't ignore it.
"...So much to do."
Reluctantly accepting, the first words were a yell-like whine.
-Wow, I should've gone. Argh, damn itttt.
Too late for regrets.
Cheon Seo-yoon's chatter, pent up from lack of outlets, was merciless.
-When's the interview airing?
-Club sign-ups start this week, right? Got any picks?
It poured like a storm.
"Slow down. Interview's on 8 PM news tonight. For clubs, I'm eyeing the Youth Exploration Club. Lots of legal outings for personal time, good for resumes too."
-Ooh, Youth Exploration Club? Sounds good. I'm in.
The call flowed casually on light topics.
-Ah, wanna grab beer since we're thinking outings? Your tastes are fancy, so no...
"Gulp."
Good thing the beer didn't go down wrong.
-What was that swallow? ...Beer?
"Cough cough. Beer? Cough. Ha... Why would I drink that."
-Why the cough then.
-Choked on vitamin water. Talk later.
-Wait. How's he?
-Who?
-Him. Park Ha-yul...
That guy? Why him?
First time Cheon Seo-yoon mentioned a guy outside Baek Sa-young or Lee Dae-ho, so Joo Ah-rin tilted her head.
-Asking 'cause he suffered for me in the nest conquest. Wondering if he's okay.
Made sense.
"He took a break mid-mission feeling unwell, but seemed fine today. Didn't see details."
-Glad he's good.
"Why care?"
-Huh? I don't! Anyway, discharge Wednesday, so back to school Thursday.
The call ended there.
Joo Ah-rin refocused fast, diving back into direct team picks on her laptop.
* * *
"Good as long as he's fine."
Ending the call, Cheon Seo-yoon flopped down, mind eased.
She'd repay the debt someday, and was curious about the resemblance mentioned, but asking felt rude, so she shelved it.
More importantly...
"Exploration, huh."
Cheon Seo-yoon rolled over, logged into the school homepage, and searched the club Joo Ah-rin mentioned.
Youth Exploration Club 'Youth' recruiting new members.
First expedition: next weekend.
Destination: heart of Korea, Seoul.
※Free time guaranteed.
"Hoo, legit."
Just like friends calling it "exploration" for a trip.
Why wasn't this known before?
Question popped up, but whatever.
Even better.
"Set, locked in."
No need to look more; she snapped her fingers pointlessly.
Bzzz—phone rang.
Not busy Joo Ah-rin, so Baek Sa-young?
Grinning, Cheon Seo-yoon checked—then froze.
[Customer, hello. Auction Director Kim Kyung-ah. The 'Lorelei Necklace' you've sought will be at Sejong Auction House next weekend.]
...The necklace?
Cheon Seo-yoon's hand trembled on the phone.