Misunderstandings and Misconceptions (2)

Monday morning. I finished my usual morning training and arrived at the classroom. Sitting in my seat, I blankly observed the protagonists' conditions when Instructor Eliza Air entered before I knew it.

"Good morning, cadets."

Monday morning classes were all theory. They were relatively less interesting, and it was hard to focus. Listening to the boring lecture, drowsiness crept up on me without realizing it. I'd pushed the morning training too hard, it seemed.

"……."

I dozed off briefly and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened my eyes to find a geometric pattern resembling a magic circle drawn on the blackboard. Wiping drool from my mouth, I wondered about it when Eliza spoke.

"This pattern is a reinterpretation of one discovered in the Tower. As you can see from its geometric form, it possesses magical properties. However, without a medium, activating it would require an enormous amount of mana."

She scanned the cadets with a gentle smile.

"As I mentioned earlier, interpreting this pattern correctly will grant you a perfect score in Pattern Interpretation without a separate exam."

Pattern Interpretation was an absolute evaluation subject, not relative. It combined with Dungeon Interpretation scores to determine rankings in this theory course.

...Looks like they assigned presentation points while I was asleep. Rubbing my eyes, I stared blankly at the pattern on the blackboard. Curiosity piqued, I used my insight—it wasn't impossible to interpret. Decoding the whole thing would be tough, but identifying the type was straightforward.

"…Yawn."

But I wasn't presenting. As I keep saying, I've got a presentation allergy.

Eliza continued softly, still smiling.

"…If you haven't studied the entire curriculum in advance, it's normal not to interpret it. The final goal of this Pattern Interpretation course is to decode such artificial patterns…."

Was class almost over? As I yawned with that thought—

...Huh.

Sudden achievement quests were impromptu missions not on the fixed list. I'd seen a few before—they were like hidden achievements, granting massive points upon completion.

But 100,000 points?

...This is insane.

"Well then, shall we end today's class here?"

Perfect timing—only about a minute left. Time was running out. I racked my brain quickly. It felt iffy, but 100,000 points was too huge to pass up. In the end, I raised my hand.

"Oh."

Eliza reacted to my gesture.

"What is it, Cadet Imir?"

"…It's the pattern for the Anti-Great Monster Extermination Defense Magic Circle."

Eliza's eyes widened to their limit. The cadets' gazes poured toward me like harpoons.

This is why I hate presenting. Tsk.

But 100,000 points—I had no choice.

"…Correct. How did you know?"

"I did some prep study. I read a lot of books usually…."

That's when my eyes met Ha Yeon-si's. I ignored her gaze.

"Impressive. As promised, Cadet Imir gets a perfect score in Pattern Interpretation."

"Thank you."

"Everyone, follow Cadet Imir's example. There will be more chances like this. Since Pattern Interpretation is a supplementary subject with limited class time, as I said before, I recommend previewing the material…."

Ignoring the stares, I checked my points. Sure enough, the acquisition log showed the sudden achievement notification and exactly 100,000 points added. Precisely 105,052 points now. Drawing attention from the instructor and cadets had netted extra.

The afternoon Sparring Practice class proceeded normally, unlike other practices. As expected, Mad Dog didn't detect the void scent. After suffering through the spar with him, I barely made it back to the dorm.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Argh… my fucking bones."

Checking my stats, Health had skyrocketed again. Even the special stat Tenacity rose from 1 to 2.

Taking hits raises Tenacity? Was Instructor Park Dae-sik's coaching that good, or were the Void Tentacles from yesterday finally shining?

"…Gonna die."

At least the boosted Health kept me from collapsing. After showering, I checked the updated stats.

Fuck, turning into a health monster.

"…Insane growth."

Seemed ten times faster than before. Just my imagination? Checking points while at it, I'd amassed a good amount.

Closing in on 200,000. With savings, about 250,000 total. I changed clothes and checked my smartwatch. Still plenty of time before dinner. Pondering what to do, I reserved the third-floor library, then sat on a bench in the academy garden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to recharge.

Spacing out and healing felt great. The sunlight was warm, the spring breeze gentle… Cadets laughed and chatted around the garden. It hit me anew how each was a living, breathing being. Even though this was a novel world.

"…Yawn."

Moved a lot this afternoon—drowsiness kept coming. Letting the sun warm me, I closed my eyes briefly. When I opened them, it was nearly dinnertime.

"Ugh."

I stood from the bench, stretching. Heading to the cafeteria for dinner—

"…Where'd it go?"

Go Su-young was squatting at a path to the cafeteria building.

"Hey. What're you doing?"

"Oh, Imir…."

"Squatting like that for what."

"Ah, uh, well…."

What she said was shocking. She'd lost her purchased meal tickets.

"How many?"

"…30."

A month's worth. For real?

...Crazy.

But I couldn't leave crisis-hit Go Su-young alone. She was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a points goldmine. Using insight, I scanned the nearby bushes, backtracking her path. Easily found the bundle snagged on a branch.

"Thanks, Imir. You're amazing."

"…Hey, don't stick so close. Boobs."

"Ehehe."

We headed to the cafeteria together. No line, so we quickly paid and loaded trays. Searching for an empty seat—

"Whoa."

Suddenly, Go Su-young tripped.

Damn, why's she like this? Coincidentally, her tray headed straight for Yoo Seong-won and his crew eating. If it spilled, it'd cause a huge mess later. Instinctively, I reached out. The Void Tentacles moved at my will, grabbing her and the tray.

Whoosh.

Matching my will and void nature, they were transparent—no detection risk. To others, it looked like I just reached into empty air. Still uneasy, I glanced around. Coincidentally, Ha Yeon-si stared this way in surprise.

No way she'd notice….

Feeling iffy for no reason, I took Go Su-young far from them to eat. Checking points mid-meal, true to her points-farm rep, I'd gained 4,000 in that short time. Thought it'd be 1,500 max… 4,000? Pure honey.

Meanwhile, Ha Yeon-si, having seen it, thought something else.

"…A magician?"

Eliza Air hummed heading to her private instructor lab. Arriving, she booted her computer, smiling fondly at that morning's events.

"…A cadet I like."

Diligent cadets were always pleasant. Even better with results. Watching a seed sprout was a blessing and luck for any educator. Drowsing off? Must be from all that effort.

Imir's skyrocketing ranks, sparring practice, morning training, library logs—he earned high praise among instructors. Humming, she headed to input scores. Procrastination wasn't her style.

Checking the lecture list, she marked Imir's Pattern Interpretation as A++—perfect plus instructor bonus.

"…Come to think of it, what's his background?"

She hoped, like her, a dragon from the river. But origin info was locked at Grade 1 security.

"Huh…."

Access rights: Top-tier 1-S, academy president only. Even the instructor couldn't view?

"Like Choi Ji-seong, Han Cheol-woo, Yoo Seong-won, Woo Yu-na, Ha Yeon-si… highborn lineage?"

Highborn kids sometimes had restricted info for safety. But usually 1-A or 1-B….

"Hmm."

She pondered long, then let it go. Background didn't matter. Effort and talent did. While at it, she added glowing praise to Imir's cadet character record.