School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 7
School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 7
[Begin Next Stage?]
I was wiping off sweat, burning with fighting spirit, when the AI's chipper voice tickled my ears.
"Ha, is that supposed to be a taunt?"
Go ahead, tell me to take the next 'challenge.' You want to rush me? Arrogant as it sounds, I was waiting for exactly that push.
To me right now, that dare to challenge is nothing but candy for my ears. Sweet as honey, I'm telling you.
I'm thirsting for battle.
"I'll take any challenge you've got. Bring on the next enemy... a stronger enemy! Summon me a foe who can actually satisfy me!"
[Stage begins.]
—Bzzzz.
Same effect as before. A laser shot out, and like a 3D printer, a hologram monster started generating from the feet up.
"Huh."
Two Antazora this time.
Two F-rank monsters.
"You cheap bastards. Ganging up on me now?"
Well, fine. Those things probably don't move around alone in real life. Weak animals always run in packs. Obviously, fighting multiples makes sense. You could call it thorough realism.
I can really see Ares Academy's educational philosophy shining through.
"Of course, even with a numbers advantage, you still can't beat me... please know your place, you sneaky little sea-anemone pieces of shit."
I was just talking, psyching myself up.
"Skreeeeeeee!"
"Skreeeeeeee!"
The two Antazora reared their heads, flailing their tentacles and roaring. Since they're holograms, they look like sky-blue ghosts, but the detail is totally intact and crazy realistic.
Those creepy fuckers.
Let's see.
Their movements were simple. They ran straight at you, and when they got close, they hit you with their tentacles. Low intelligence. If they were that dumb, I probably didn't need to worry about getting flanked.
That's my prediction, but let's test it out. It's training anyway, and I can't actually die. If I keep thinking through things like this and then just ramming into the problem head-on, I'll get used to it.
"Come on!"
The moment I shouted that—
—Papapat!
—the two Antazora charged straight at me!
"Knew it."
No sign of trying to surround me, just like I thought. They just charged in a straight line side by side. Honestly, the stupidest fucking movement I've ever seen. I can't accept those things as my adversaries.
I timed the strike to kill them!
The moment they got close—
—Fwoosh!
—I dodged sideways.
"Skree!"
"Skreeeee!"
Sure enough, both reacted identically. As soon as they missed, they started slowing down gradually, getting ready to turn around. Was this pattern simple because the AI was basic? Not sure if real monsters acted like this.
But whatever. I just killed one of these a minute ago. I immediately kicked off the ground, dashed in, and drove my sword into the back of the decelerating Antazora.
"Bam!"
—Bam!
A truly delightful impact sound! Two hits and these things die. Before, I was playing it safe with one hit then backing off, but I don't need to do that now.
"A combo for you, you motherfucker!"
A consecutive attack. I just swung the sword again!
—Bam!
And with that, it scattered into a burst of light. At the same time, the one behind me was charging again. It had finished turning around.
"Skreeeeee!"
"Dodged it like it was nothing."
—Fwoosh!
The moment it had its back to me and slowed down—
"Die!"
—I buried another rapid two-hit combo into its back. I never actually learned swordsmanship, but anyone can swing a stick twice real fast.
—Bam!
—Bam!
And that was it.
[Victory]
"Woohoo!!!"
Two at once is no problem at all!
I guess even a regular person can handle an F-rank monster with a weapon.
"Are these bastards weaker than a water deer?"
Honestly, back in the army, wild boars were straight-up Disaster Class, so we avoided them at all costs. Don't even go near them, whether you see them or just know they're around.
But sometimes we'd confidently stand off against water deer, and every damn time I'd seriously wonder if I could win in a one-on-one fight.
"But Antazora, these fuckers are pure fodder."
I think they'd lose a fight to a big dog. Ah, but maybe that's because I never actually got hit by those tentacles. If the tentacles turn out to be super dangerous, the power rankings could change.
[Begin Next Stage?]
The AI's voice again.
"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm doing the Moonlight Sculptor-style hell training?"
I'm gonna farm these hologram monsters like crazy and level up.
"Call them out! The enemy for the next stage!"
And what got summoned—
—Bzzzz.
"—was three fucking Antazora!"
Stop copy-pasting the monsters!
* * *
"Huff... Huff...!"
Doing this Moonlight Sculptor-style hell training nonstop is goddamn exhausting.
"This shit is brutal as fuck."
No, seriously, moving this hard for the first time in ages has my lungs about to burst.
"Can't breathe, mayday."
Anyway, three Antazora were easy enough to catch, as expected. They ran at me slightly spaced apart, so I just slipped right in between them, got behind, and repeated a light double slash. Clean slaughter.
That was Level 1, Stage 3. Starting Stage 4, some F-rank monsters called Kampunia showed up.
They were fat, chubby caterpillars with some kind of duck bill. They were the size of a fucking pig, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
Anyway, I thought they were fodder, but suddenly they spit some kind of venom from their mouths. I managed to dodge and kill one, but on Stage 5, two of them came out and I got hit by cross fire and died. No shit, I was practically dancing trying to dodge, but I ended up eating both hits anyway, fuck me.
That counted as a death, and the training ended. All the hologram effects shut off, and the original training ground came back.
"Phew."
I caught my breath and stood up.
"That was great."
I'm out of breath and tired as hell, but what I feel is a sense of accomplishment and fun. Starting out and clearing up to Level 1, Stage 5. You can't call this anything but talent.
And above all, I got a rough feel for things like the sensation of swinging a sword and how to attack. But just a little. Just enough for an ordinary guy who just started martial arts to feel proud of.
If I keep building on this, I'll become a powerful superhuman eventually. But I didn't actually use any mana during training; I honestly have no clue how that works. I tried using the Enchant skill, but it just didn't activate.
Maybe I should ask Instructor Kawar about it, since it's mana? She teases people and giggles, but she seems like she'd be good at teaching as an instructor. Doesn't look like the type to turn away a student asking for help.
"But my stats didn't go up."
I killed a bunch of hologram monsters, but there was no notification that my stats increased. Was this Moonlight Sculptor-style hell training not the way?
"Still, it was fun, so I'll allow it."
Honestly, it was hella fun, so I accept it.
This combat training feels like something I could enjoy doing every single day. If this existed in the real world, I'd probably have done it every day for fun. It was that immersive and enjoyable a training exercise.
But since that was all running and jumping, it was good cardio, but had nothing to do with anaerobic training. I wasn't exactly doing short sprints.
"Hm."
—Shrug.
I pulled off my top and stood in front of the mirror to check myself out.
"..."
Just a normal high schooler's body. Not really muscled at all. To build this, I'll have to do separate strength training... Alright.
"Let's see."
School ends at five, so I'll come here straight after. Hit the weights for a bit first, crank that out, then hit the training ground and slice up some monsters. Perfect.
Studying? I'll do that at school. Is studying even that important for a hero, anyway? From what I've seen, they just fight monsters all day. It's a profession where your body and your skills are everything. Once I learn how to use my body, I should be good at it.
"Heh heh heh."
My motivation is absolutely exploding. It's way more fun than I imagined, so plans are instantly forming for what to do tomorrow.
"I'll do a few more training rounds, hit the gym, and then head in."
Starting today, the human Kim Geun-cheol is reborn as a superhuman!
Who can stop me!!!
"Who dares stop meeee!!!"
* * *
"Look, seriously, ma'am. Please, just let it slide this once. I really didn't know. I'm sorry. I swear it wasn't on purpose."
I was begging the foreign woman in the maid uniform standing in front of me.
"I'm sorry. I really am sorry. This was a one-time mistake, a mistake."
I was begging and bowing and scraping like my life depended on it, groveling for forgiveness. Fuck me. I'd just worked out, felt great coming back, and what the hell was this bullshit?
"And I wasn't out partying. It's the start of the semester, so I was trying to work hard and I went to the training ground."
"Did you train hard? That's commendable."
"I did! Look! I'm drenched in sweat here!"
I flapped my t-shirt around, emphasizing that I'd been training hard.
"So, for the sake of this hardworking student, please forgive me just once. I won't be late again. Ah, and this stuff in the bag is from the snack shop on my way back because I skipped dinner to train... Will you please forgive me?"
"No. This is a demerit."
A demerit, even after I begged like this!
"Come on! Ma'am! Does a demerit even make sense right now?! If you'd announced it properly, I would've known, but I didn't!"
"You must receive the demerit. There are no exceptions to the dormitory rules. Commendable training or not, a demerit is a demerit."
"Please...!"
"A single exception breaks all discipline. A cadet must learn this."
Damn, it's a valid point, so I can't even argue!
"One demerit point. Accumulate three and there are penalties. Goodbye."
"Agh!"
"The dormitory rules pamphlet is at the counter on the first floor. Take one."
In the end, I couldn't avoid the demerit.
The sheer injustice of this stuck-up foreign lady giving me a demerit... I can't stand it.
"Tch."
But what can I do? If the dorm rule is to be back by 11, it's my own fault for never thinking about it. Still, the injustice made me grumble under my breath.
I went straight into the dorms, grabbed a copy of the rules, and climbed the stairs.
"What kind of dorm supervisor is this, seriously."
I mean, holy shit, I even had a good time at the gym on the third floor of the training center and came back feeling all fulfilled, and the foreign dorm supervisor lady just blocked me at the door. If I'd known, I would've just stayed out until exactly ten.
She was pretty, though. Her, the Chairwoman, Instructor Lee So-ra, Leona—definitely all beautiful women.
I was having thoughts like that while I read the rulebook and climbed the stairs.
—10th-floor public bath hours: 06:00 to 00:00.
"Oh."
Looks like the public bath is open until midnight. They've even got a sauna. Nice. Guess you'd expect this from a superhuman school, right? The facilities are freaking amazing.
I should try it out.
Thinking that, I arrived at my door.
—Clomp, clomp.
I saw someone walking over from the other end of the hall. Holding a can of cola, so they probably just stepped out to the vending machine.
And it's someone I know.
"Yo! Is that you, Si-hoo?!"
"Huh?"
Yeah, it was Lee Si-hoo.
My very nice and kind friend.
"Geun-cheol?"
He recognized me and walked over.
But man, the more I look at this guy, the more androgynous he looks. Shorter and smaller than me, too. It's really amazing that this guy is way stronger than I am.
"You're in this room?"
"Yeah. You?"
"I'm at the end there."
"What. We barely missed each other."
Well, same year, same class. We're bound to be close.
"Right. Who knew we'd be so close to each other. But you're just coming in now? Curfew was a while ago, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, I got caught on my way back and got a demerit. Didn't know there was a curfew. I was using the training ground, and the moment I came back, I got busted."
"You were using the training ground?"
"It was pretty fun. You ever try it?"
"No..."
"Should we hit it up tomorrow?"
"Sure. Let's."
Okay. That's one more headcount. Now if we get into another fight, two people can handle it.
"Did you wash up?"
"Huh? No. Haven't washed yet. Why?"
"Yeah? I saw on my way that there's some kind of bath on the dorm's top floor. If you haven't washed, want to go?"
"What? A... a bath?"
"Yeah."
"Uh... no."
"Hm?"
He awkwardly put a hand to his chest and lowered his head.
"No. I'm good. Got stuff to do. I was planning to do that and then just wash up in my room."
"That so?"
Guess I'll just use it alone.
"Alright, head in. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Geun-cheol."
I went right into the dorm room.
Might as well try out that public bath.