School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 10
School Life is Fucking Spectacular # 10
No, fuck—I clenched my thighs and calves so hard trying to feel mana that I got a goddamn cramp and went down!
"MRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAOWWWWW!!!"
Absolute agony! Tears leaked out. How long had it been since the cramp hit? Exactly three seconds, dammit! So I was thrashing around screaming, class and everything else be damned!
"Oh, for the love of—!"
—Swish!
"Hold still!"
A clear voice pierced my ear.
"Y-you're Le... Leona!"
"Don't say my name like Le is my surname! Anyway, hold still!"
Leona had dashed over like a whirlwind, grabbed my leg as I lay there, lifted it up, pulled off my shoe, and pressed into the sole of my foot to stretch out the cramping muscle!
"Guh-hnnk!"
"Seriously, come on! I just knew it when you were bouncing around like that! Kim Geun-cheol, you really need to get it together!"
"Fuck, it hurts like hell...!"
Wait, was she rescuing me? She definitely was! The instant I collapsed from the cramp, she came straight over to deal with it!
—Press. Press.
Leona kept hold of my cramping leg, massaging it and loosening the muscle... What was this girl? An angel?
"Alright, it's alright. You're okay. See? Stay still."
"Hoo... hoo..."
As she pressed my sole, the pain slowly ebbed. I'd broken out in a cold sweat, but I was starting to cool off.
"Ah... ha, hah... I'm okay now."
My leg recovered in no time. The excruciating pain that had seized it scattered like smoke—all thanks to the class rep, Leona. I looked up at the sky and found her beautiful face there.
—Swish!
And there was even a halo shining behind her head...! A madonna! A living madonna! How can a person be this kind!
"Thanks! You saved me! I seriously owe you...! I honestly thought I was gonna die! You are my lifesaver!"
I thanked her from the bottom of my heart.
"Oh, come on. Dying from a cramp..."
Leona looked down at me, completely incredulous.
"It hurts a lot, but nobody dies from it. Alright—is your leg okay?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine now. Seriously, thank you. Wow, it honestly doesn't hurt at all anymore. You've got healing hands, Leona."
The tranquility that followed the intense pain had put me in the best possible mood. I couldn't feel better.
"Get up, then, Scream Man."
"What, Scream Man?"
"You really live up to that nickname, don't you. Honestly. Why are you so jumpy? Can't you keep your head on straight?"
"Right, sorry. It's not like I meant to—I just tensed up way too much trying to sense mana... Who knew it'd turn out like this."
I just messed up while trying to feel an unfamiliar sensation. Happens to everyone. I guarantee every single student here is gonna scream with a leg cramp.
I'll bet on it.
"Stop grumbling excuses. Kim Geun-cheol, you are officially a problem case."
She was scolding me, but I could hear the worry underneath. Guess she's just good-natured by default—the type who looks after people. A real angel.
"Compared to me, you're incredibly dependable. You're a first responder, straight up. A genuine angel. Angel. I'm so grateful. Seriously. Can I call you Angel Leona from now on?"
"Angel my ass. Stop overdoing it."
"Then I'll stick with thank you. Seriously, thank you. I keep a Five Thanks Journal, and I'm definitely including today in it."
"Say it once. Just once. And stop spouting nonsense and get up already."
"Fine..."
—Grab.
I took Leona's outstretched hand and stood.
While I was dusting myself off—
"...Kim Geun-cheol."
The instructor was watching me.
Her stare was terrifying.
"Th-the thing is, Instructor. I didn't do it on purpose—I was tensing up and just slipped for a moment..."
"It's fine, stop. A cramp... well, it happens."
"Oh! You understand, ma'am!"
"Would I not understand that much? Obviously, if you suddenly tense your leg, you can get a cramp."
"Instructor!"
Still, this was touching! She actually understood! I thought she was stone-cold, but she had a gentle side too!
"So don't be too embarrassed... pfft!"
"Huh?"
"Pfft, heh-heh-heh...! A cramp—anybody can get a cramp. It's, it's possible... pfft!"
"..."
Instructor Lee So-ra had turned away, and her shoulders were trembling as she covered her mouth.
Instructor, you're a bad person.
"That's fine, Instructor. If you want to laugh, laugh all you want. Even if my heart is being ripped to shreds. They do say laughter brings good fortune, so please, laugh to your heart's content."
I feel like my heart might shatter.
"I'll return to formation now. Surely, the only thing that can heal my heart is the warm gazes of my fellow classmates—"
The moment I turned around.
"Pfft-hahahahahahahahahaha!"
"Snrk-huh-huh-huh!"
"Hah! Bwa-hahahahahahaha!"
Even my trusted classmates were clutching their stomachs and bursting into laughter.
Fine! Laugh! Laugh!
You bastards!
"Ah, shit, what're you laughing at... A friend is in agony and you think it's okay to laugh? Huh? Guys, I'm disappointed. Let's not do this to each other, classmates. It wounds a guy's heart, y'know."
"Scream Man."
"Ken?"
"You... your face has gone red. Pff, pff-hah! Snrk! Hah-hah-hah-hah!"
"Yeah. Laugh, go ahead. Laugh all you want. You heartless jackass. Ever heard the phrase ‘love your comrades, love your country’? You just wait, you prick."
"Sorry! I'm sorry! Bwa-hah-hah-hah!"
Ken, just wait till this asshole slips up later. I'm gonna bounce around like an idiot and ridicule him to death.
"Hoo."
I returned to my spot.
"Snrk... G-Geun-cheol. You okay?"
Si-hoo, this prick, was barely holding in his laughter while asking if I was okay!
"Even you're laughing! You complete and utter Brutus!"
"Pff-hah-hah-hah!"
"I'm disappointed! I never imagined you'd be the type to mock a friend!"
"I'm not m-mocking! I said I'm not! Snrk, hah-hah-hah-hah! Geun-cheol, you've got it all wrong! Heh-heh!"
I couldn't take this!
In times like these, I need to study and calm my heart!
"Instructor! Please, let's proceed with the lesson! I really want to study, and I'm getting impatient because we aren't moving forward!"
"K-Kim Geun-cheol... what a diligent cadet. Understood. We'll proceed. Be mindful, now—tensing up excessively like just now can cause a cramp."
Good.
Let's just have class.
"Leona? That was good handling of the situation. You truly are the class rep."
"Not at all. It's only natural for a class rep to look after a classmate who's falling behind. Isn't that what leadership is about?"
—Fwoosh.
With that, Leona tossed her hair back with one hand and preened. I acknowledge it!
"I acknowledge you, Leona! You're the true leader of this era! Please, lead our class to the top!"
"Kim Geun-cheol, you be quiet! You total Scream Man!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
I'd better listen to Leona!
"Alright, then. It'd be good to show a solid example. Leona? Would you step forward and demonstrate? I trust you can."
"Of course. This is far too easy for me."
—Step.
Leona walked to the front and settled into a dash stance.
And then.
—Swish!
She executed a short-range high-speed move and returned, ridiculously simple. A crisp, swift motion with zero waste. Watching her was practically a lesson in itself. See, this is the kind of thing I learn properly by observing. Yes, indeed. Nobody has more academic passion than me. Though my face is still burning. Kill me now, seriously...
"Ooh... no wonder they're the Kainus Family."
"Not bad?"
"Guess the top cadet really is different."
Even the bastards who laughed at me were impressed.
I've memorized your faces.
"Well done, Leona. You set an example. Alright—everyone, from your spots, practice executing the dash."
So it's individual practice now.
"Your goal is to handle mana freely. When you move a finger, when you blink, you don't think about it first and then move. You just do it naturally. Mana is the same. You need to be able to control it as naturally as moving an arm or a leg."
Listening to the instructor, we all set our stances and practiced the dash. From what I could see, some kids were pulling it off roughly, and others—like me—couldn't.
—Swish!
First off, it looked like Ken, that bastard, had some idea of how to handle mana.
—Swish!
And Lee Si-hoo was the same. No—calling it "the same" isn't quite right. He was pretty good.
"Hey. Si-hoo."
"Yeah?"
"How're you so good at that?"
After that cramp, practicing alone scared the shit out of me. I'm getting a rough sense of it... but this is tough.
"Umm... I'm not good at teaching. Just... try thinking of moving your mana."
"Not exactly the most helpful advice, Si-hoo. Got time after class?"
"Huh? A-after class?"
He reacted sharply to that.
Got something going on?
"I do have time, I guess."
"Yeah? Then teach me how to use mana. I'll treat you at the snack shop. You free?"
"I'm really not good at teaching... but I'll try to help."
"Score! I knew it! You're my true friend, Si-hoo!"
"A t-true friend..."
Seemed like that phrase hit home—Lee Si-hoo visibly brightened. This guy's a classic softie. Weak to the words "true friend."
Anyway.
The instructor kept walking around, wholeheartedly giving feedback and checking the cadets' stances, and I, too, focused on what Si-hoo said—spreading mana into my lower body? Something like that—and concentrated.
Looking at the schedule, I got the vibe we'd be doing only this all morning. Scary as it is, I gotta work hard if I want to learn the dash.
Once I master the dash, the training-ground Challenge Mode. I'll be able to clear the part where I'm stuck. Even if the monsters launch long-range attacks, I can close the gap with a dash. Man, thinking about it, there's a fun side to this. To clear the training ground, I absolutely have to make mana my own.
* * *
"Ugh."
And so the extreme training time ended. Fewer results than I'd expected. I could sort of move the mana, but actually using it seemed impossible. Guess you can't succeed on day one.
Anyway, now it's time to eat. I'm starving—should I wreck some school lunch today? It's my first time eating it, so I'm super looking forward to it. Here's hoping I don't end up cussing out the nutritionist.
"Geun-cheol. Let's go eat together."
"Heh-heh-heh, sure."
"You look like you're in a good mood."
"I'm hella happy thinking about school lunch, man. Hey, what're they serving today anyway?"
Back in high school, I always kept the lunch menu in my pocket. Dropped that habit these days, so I haven't checked. After we eat, I should hit the faculty office and ask for one.
"Not sure... it's a buffet style, so there are too many dishes to know."
"Wha—what did you say?! A buffet?!"
"Yeah?"
"Don't joke about a buffet!"
Is this for real!
School lunch is a freaking buffet!
"Seriously!"
"I-I'm serious! Why would I lie!"
"No, I wasn't asking if you were lying—I was just so damn surprised—"
"Kim Geun-cheol."
At that moment, Instructor Lee So-ra called me.
"Hey, Si-hoo. Wait a sec. The instructor's calling me."
"Go ahead."
"Yes, Instructor! I'm on my way!"
I quick-stepped straight over to her.
"Did I interrupt lunch?"
"No way. Just hearing your valuable words, Instructor, fills my stomach. Wouldn't every word be meat and drink, so to speak?"
"Heh, glib."
Instructor Lee So-ra, looking cool as ever, let out a small laugh.
"At any rate, Kim Geun-cheol. Your baseline fitness is seriously lacking."
I'm aware of that.
I definitely fall short compared to the other cadets.
"I strongly encourage you to exercise."
"I was already planning on it. In fact, yesterday I went nuts in the gym. I even messed around in Challenge Mode at the training ground."
"Hoh. Working hard, are you? A praiseworthy cadet, despite the nickname."
—Pat, pat.
The instructor reached out and patted my head.
"..."
Damn, no matter what, having a beautiful older woman pat your head is kinda embarrassing.
"Well... I'll work hard. But, Instructor Lee So-ra?"
"What is it?"
"Got one thing I'm curious about. Oh, it's purely a question. That okay?"
"What are you thinking of asking?"
This was something I'd been wondering since yesterday when I watched that video of Instructor Lee So-ra slaughtering those monsters.
"Nothing special. Instructor, I looked up some videos of you fighting yesterday."
"Wh-what?"
"Ma'am?"
"Saying that to my face. How embarrassing."
The instructor said that with a completely blank face.
What's this about being embarrassed?
"Come on, why be embarrassed? The view count was in the hundred millions. Anyway. I purely got curious about something, Instructor. To put it bluntly, I'm a man and you're a woman, right? So technically my weight class and height are superior to yours?"
"And?"
"Yet you were flying around, wrecking both monsters and monsterkin. So what I thought was: in the end, isn't the important thing not your weight class or baseline fitness but your mana capacity?"
"Oh?"
I'm gonna exercise anyway, but when I see someone built smaller than me like Instructor Lee So-ra blowing everything up left and right, physical strength seems kinda meaningless.
"Still, I'm obviously gonna build up my baseline fitness, but I did wonder if baseline fitness or physical strength are that important for a superhuman's combat ability. The truth is, muscular strength doesn't seem to matter that much..."
"No. Of course it matters."
Her tone brimmed with confidence.
"In the end, the foundation is the physical body. Mana, too, is utilized based on the body. A powerful mana cannot possibly dwell inside a weak body."
"Then."
"And right now, Kim Geun-cheol, you're mistaken about something."
Suddenly.
"Look."
She abruptly grabbed the hem of her shirt—
—Slide.
—and lifted it up... showing me her abs.
"Huh?"
"Do I look like I'm that lacking in physique?"
They looked like a female sports star's abs. Vividly split vertically. Healthy, attractive abs.
"Of course I work hard at physical conditioning... hm? What's with the red face?"
"N-no!!! No, ma'am!!!"
—Swish!
I spun right around and bolted!
"Geun-cheol?"
"C'mon, let's go eat, Si-hoo!"
"Ah! Wait up!"
A-alright!
Let's exercise hard!
Guess that's how she's so strong—a body like that plus tons of mana!