Main Quest, This Bullshit # 1
Main Quest, This Bullshit # 1
No, but seriously, this is unfair.
The nagging is absurd. I didn't scream because I wanted to... I screamed purely to prevent a catastrophe!
"Wait! Leona! Calm down!"
"Do I look calm?! A catastrophe happened in the class where I'm the class president!"
"It wasn't a catastrophe! I'm the one who prevented it!"
"What, what? What kind of bullshit is that?"
*Tsk*
Leona crossed her arms and frowned.
"If there were catastrophes you could stop by screaming like that, the world wouldn't have disasters. People would just scream and everything would resolve itself."
"That's why it's a misunderstanding, Angel Leona. Hear me out."
"Hmph. Fine, let's hear it. I'm actually looking forward to whatever absurd excuse you'll come up with. Get ready for some physical therapy if you say something ridiculous."
What are you, my wife?!
"No. Did you book a physical therapy session or something? Put my name on the hospital blacklist. Anyway, there was a commotion. No, not a commotion—an incident, I guess."
"Incident? What kind?"
"Well, some students pulled knives on each other. So I screamed to stop it and called the instructor. If it gets loud, the instructor's gonna come, right? So even though it was embarrassing, I swallowed my pride and screamed to save people. If you keep this up, I'm gonna cry from injustice."
"Huh, huh?"
Leona tilted her head.
"Knives? What are you..."
"Si-hoo, you back me up. I don't think Leona's gonna believe me."
At that, Si-hoo stepped forward.
"Hmm. Well, looking at the outcome, I guess I have to say it's true. Since Geun-cheol screamed, Instructor Lee So-ra came and it got suppressed."
Si-hoo, nice!
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. That's it. Leona, you've got a huge misunderstanding about me. I didn't scream because I wanted to. I screamed to save people. If I hadn't screamed, the victim of that incident would be screaming right now."
Here, I gotta be confident!
"O-oh, I see."
Leona accepted it.
"Hmm... If Lee Si-hoo says so, it must be true. If that's the case, then I'm the one who yelled at you for no reason."
"Yeah. Do you get it now?"
"I was in the wrong. Kim Geun-cheol? I'm sorry."
She apologized surprisingly calmly.
"But what kind of incident was it?"
It looked like she had gotten curious.
Of course, I was sulking. I wasn't telling.
"Hmph. If you wanna know the details, ask Instructor Lee So-ra yourself. I'm too sulky to talk. Si-hoo, let's go sit."
"Geun-cheol, you're sulking...!"
"Go, go."
"Wait! Tell me what the incident was!"
"I'm emotionally wounded right now. My incredibly delicate heart went 'ouch.' Saying something in this state... impossible."
"Ah! I'll give you a meal ticket! I'll give you a meal ticket, so tell me! And what's this 'ouch' bullshit! Stop saying weird stuff—"
"YEEEEEHAAAAAAW!!!"
"Eek!"
A meal ticket!!!
Then I absolutely have to tell her!!!
"I'll gratefully accept the meal ticket! I'll give you a proper rundown! But class is first!"
"Honestly, screaming at the word 'meal ticket'... Anyway! Monsterkin Kim Geun-cheol! I'll be watching you, even though it was my misunderstanding this time!"
Now I'm a monsterkin.
"Hey, Leona? Is it okay to call someone a monsterkin?"
"Why are you suddenly being normal?!"
"Because... that's common sense."
"Common sense my ass!"
I'm telling you, teasing her really hits the spot.
"Hmph. Whatever, Kim Geun-cheol, you're always doing that 'Angel this shit' too, aren't you? Now I'm going to do it. I can't stand the injustice. Hurry and go sit down. Class is starting soon."
With that, Leona returned to her seat, haughty as hell.
She's really haughty.
I went to my seat and sat down too.
"Scream Man! Splendid! The recommendations have already passed 200! The whole school will see it by the end of the day! Hahaha!"
"Ken, you bastard... Hey. Didn't you hear just now? I did that while trying to save someone."
"Ho-oh! Saving people and giving laughter! Scream Man truly seems like a kind-hearted man!"
"Hehehe, you son of a bitch."
"But what about the drink?"
"Shit, I forgot. I'll buy you one tomorrow."
"Okay."
Soon, class started.
* * *
"The incident where A-rank Awakened Kim Young-sam single-handedly blew up the Japanese Government-General building is famously well-known. It was a building that survived the tragic 6.25 War and the Dimension War, but Kim Young-sam was not particularly fond of it... Anyway, the civic activist Kim Young-sam possesses an explosion-type ability. If we take a closer look at that ability..."
It was truly an astonishing story.
A worldline where Kim Young-sam is not the president but an A-rank Awakened bomb-maker... As I took notes on that absurd story, I heard the explanation about unique abilities.
All Awakened use a bodily resource called magic power to wield superhuman strength, but it's not limited to body enhancement. Magic-like attacks are possible too. However, even when using such 'magic,' the type varies quite a bit depending on one's constitution, and those attributes are apparently called Unique Abilities.
"Unique Abilities, huh."
For now, I'm only at the level where I can enhance my body and produce a bit of superhuman strength. I need to level up more to use magic. But from what I heard, that's not strictly the case. There are people with talent for magic even if they're not good at body enhancement, and the reverse is common too.
The world of Awakened is truly diverse.
"Geun-cheol, wanna go to the training ground together?"
"Hehe, let's do that."
And so, today's classes ended. What comes after class? Go to the training ground, train, and crush the gym. Truly amazing. Is this the life of a hero? Honestly, it's fucking grueling and hard.
"Si-hoo, wanna mess around at the training ground and then hit the gym?"
"Huh? Gym?"
"Yeah. To work out."
"Yeah, sure. Let's do that."
"Alright. Let's go now."
I packed my bag right away and stood up.
"Wait, Kim Geun-cheol?"
"You're Leona!"
Leona approached!
"Did you forget something? What exactly was that knife incident?"
"I'll tell you when I get the meal ticket. It's prepaid."
"You—No! You mean buy it right now?!"
"You can give it to me around lunch tomorrow."
"Whatever, give me your phone number. If you're busy now, I'll hear it later."
"Yeah. Here."
I immediately handed Leona my smartphone. She called her own number and saved it.
"Done. You said you're going to the training ground? Well, I can praise you for working hard. See you."
"Hehe, yeah. Take care, Meal Ticket Leona."
"Who's Meal Ticket Leona?!"
I'll call later and let her know.
"Geun-cheol."
"Yeah. Si-hoo, let's hurry."
"Mm."
"What? What is it?"
Why is he staring at me like that?
"Si-hoo?"
"..."
His expression's a bit off. Feels like he's glaring at me with narrowed eyes.
Glaring? Why would Si-hoo? Is there a reason?
Ah!
You, don't tell me!
"You...! Do you have feelings for Angel Leona?!"
"What?"
"Is that it?"
"Geun-cheol. Stop saying weird stuff and let's go to the training ground."
Si-hoo said that and started walking ahead.
"Uh... okay."
What's with him?
* * *
Anyway, I went to the training ground with Si-hoo and got a feel for my newly acquired skill.
"Uruk-High Jump!"
Recalling the earlier sensation, I channeled magic power under my feet and stomped the ground. Then my body floated up, soaring a bit higher than a normal jump.
It's a really strange sensation.
"Geun-cheol, success!"
"Whoa! It really worked right away!"
"But you're still very clumsy. The fundamental thing is to be able to use it naturally, whenever and however you want. Watch. Like me, like this."
*Fwoosh!*
Si-hoo demonstrated right in front of me. He used magic power as naturally as if it were part of his own body and performed a smooth High Jump.
"That's fucking amazing."
"You'll get there if you keep working hard, Geun-cheol. Ah, but that's important."
"What is?"
"Checking your magic power level. You might not be good at it yet. How much magic power is left in your body."
"That's..."
I tried to feel it.
"I'm still not sure."
"Once you're a bit more used to it, try spreading the magic power through your whole body and rotating it while you train. That might increase your magic capacity."
"Khuu... this is really helpful! Let's keep going then!"
"Wait. You gotta go slow at first. If you run out of magic power, you'll get incredibly tired."
"Oh, really?"
That's troublesome. I need to work out too. Being a total newbie when it comes to magic means not being able to check my remaining amount is a real flaw.
"Then let's stop the High Jump training here. And, oh, if I master this, I can do the dash too, right?"
"Of course."
"Alright! Let's hunt some holographic monsters!"
"Geun-cheol. Don't scream like when you got hit while dodging."
"Hey. Don't you trust me? Just start it, man. I'll show you how much I've changed."
"Hehehe. Okay."
So I spent time with Si-hoo in the training ground, taking down holographic monsters. But Si-hoo looked so accustomed that most of the time was just me watching him kill F-rank monsters.
I guess Si-hoo doesn't really need this kind of training. At his level, killing F-rank monsters won't even thrill him.
"But I'm kinda sorry."
"What for?"
"You're not doing your own training because you're helping me."
"Ah... that's fine. I can regulate myself. Helping a friend is important too."
"Hehe, really? Still, thanks a lot. I'll get used to it quickly so I won't bother you."
"..."
Now it was about time to wrap up.
"Si-hoo, let's stop and go crush the gym."
"...Yeah."
I cleaned up the area with Si-hoo and headed upstairs to the gym. I like that the facilities here are really spacious. There are a lot of people and it's nice and cool. Tons of equipment too.
"The locker room's over there. Let's go in."
"Huh...? Oh? Huh?"
"Why?"
"Locker room...? Ah! Because it's the gym...!"
Si-hoo showed a strange reaction. I just let it go and stood in front of a locker where gym clothes were stored. I grabbed a large one.
"Si-hoo, you can wear this small size."
That's what I told him as I stepped into the locker room.
"Huh?"
I looked back and Si-hoo wasn't following. He stood there with his hands clasped at his chest.
"Hey. What are you doing not coming in?"
"Geun-cheol."
"What."
"Geun-cheol. I... um. That is."
That is?
"I have something to do!"
"Something to do? What?"
"I need to do something on the computer!"
"No, man. Unless you're really busy, work out before you go. We came to do it together and you're suddenly ditching?"
"I said I'm busy! Sorry! See you tomorrow!"
Si-hoo shouted that.
*Whoosh!*
He dashed out.
Well, he said he was busy.
"What a killjoy."
In the end, I worked out alone. Si-hoo, you traitor.
* * *
"At last, the time has come!"
I finished working out, came home, and showered! I even microwaved a Don-gapnaegi! Leona said she'll give me a meal ticket tomorrow, so I can even hit the buffet!
I'd been waiting for all conditions to be perfect like this!
"Then come forth, my 'Status Window'...!"
*Ding!*
―――――――――――――――――
[Status Window - Kim Geun-cheol]
[Rank: F]
「 Strength: 13 」
「 Dexterity: 13 」
「 Vitality: 12 」
「 Endurance: 10 」
「 Magic Power: 10 」
―――――――――――――――――
"Ho-oh!"
A change that jumps right out! Dexterity went up by 1!
This is pretty satisfying. I can feel the fun in raising stats.
I looked at it with satisfaction and opened the shop window.
"Shop window!"
Now I'm a Shopman who can use the shop.
*Ding!*
――――――――――――
[Strength (1) - 3,000 Coin]
[Dexterity (1) - 3,000 Coin]
[Vitality (1) - 3,000 Coin]
[Endurance (1) - 3,000 Coin]
[Magic Power (1) - 3,000 Coin]
[Coins Held (3,000)]
――――――――――――
I stared at the shop window and pondered. Since I can buy stats, I'm planning to buy stats.
"I already decided what to raise."
Honestly, Strength, Dexterity, Vitality... I think I can raise those through daily life if I work hard. But Magic Power, I can't get a feel for it. More than anything, superhumans are superhumans because they have magic power. So I should invest in Magic Power.
"Going with Magic Power."
Only when my magic power is overflowing can I leap across buildings like Instructor Lee So-ra or smash monsters with my bare fists.
Thinking that, I pressed Magic Power.
[Magic Power increased by 1]
A cheerful notification sound tickled my ear.
"Total of 2 stats up. With this, I've gotten fucking stronger."
I want to test my power right now.
"While I violently devour this Don-gapnaegi. I'll bite it hard with my enhanced stats and eat it, so get ready."
I pointed my finger at the Don-gapnaegi, gritted my teeth, and earnestly threatened it. It's something everyone can relate to: humans, when they see delicious food, instinctively want to threaten and intimidate it.
"Well then."
I picked up the Don-gapnaegi. *Chomp*—
*Ding!*
"Ah, startled me!"
What's this notification all of a sudden...
―――――――――――――――――
「Main Quest Unlock Condition Met」
「First Shop Use」
「Reward: Main Quest Unlocked」
―――――――――――――――――
"What?"
Main Quest? A quest appeared?
"Fuck! Confirm!"
This is important!
A new window immediately popped up.
――――――――――
「Main Quest - ??」
「???????????????」
――――――――――
A window full of question marks!
"What the hell!!! What am I supposed to do!!! You piece of shit!!!"
If you give me a quest, you should show the contents!!!