New Semester Preparations
Morning basic stamina training.
It was still early—barely past sunrise.
I was out on the field, running to build up my endurance.
"Hah… hah…"
Hot breath scraped its way out of my throat. Out of habit I checked my Smart Watch.
Saturday.
On any other day I would still have been face-down in my bed. Starting today, though, even that comfortable routine had to change.
Monday was coming. From that day on, Frontier’s main story would kick into high gear for real. If I wanted to be ready for the tragedies waiting ahead, I had to start preparing now.
In that instant the wind that had been circling me vanished. The grass that had been swaying stopped cold, as if time itself had frozen. At the same moment a blue window flared open in front of me.
Stat Stamina has reached E-rank!
Please select your reward.
"No matter how many times I see it, this never stops being weird."
I raised my hand and tapped the blue window.
- Stamina recovery speed while resting increases by 20%.
- Fatigue accumulation rate decreases by 10%.
{Equip Effect}
- Stamina consumption decreases during prolonged running.
- Movement speed increases slightly.
- For 30 seconds, you feel neither fatigue nor pain.
Cooldown: 12 hours
Selection time remaining: 30 minutes
※ If no selection is made, a random reward will be issued.
Hmm…
This was always the hardest part. Which one would let me claim I’d made the “tasty” choice?
Tough Vitality.
Not bad. Honestly the safest pick. No situation where it would turn into a loss.
Training Running Shoes were the same. For someone who’d just started working out, they were a pretty solid piece of gear.
But…
My eyes stopped on the last reward.
…
I thought back to the original novel.
The biggest reason Frontier students died. Lack of talent? No. Difference in equipment? Not that either.
Limits.
Just one more step. Just one more spell. Just a few more seconds they couldn’t endure—and countless people died. I had lived through moments like that myself, when I couldn’t hold on those few extra seconds and ended up doing nothing.
If… if only I could have moved for even thirty seconds more—or even just a few—in those moments…
I slowly raised my hand and pressed the blue window.
Iron Man (E) obtained.
Rank 512 Seol Dam is entering the 3rd Magic Practice Ground.
Rank 512.
That was the number that represented me. For reference, when you added up the Swordsmanship, Magic, Archery, and Alchemy tracks, there were 512 sophomores in total.
…
Right. That meant I was currently dead last in the entire sophomore year of Frontier.
I’d planned to flip that ranking in the year-end evaluation…
I’d failed spectacularly. Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.
I opened my trait window.
A tiny shard left behind by a star that once blazed brilliantly. Most of its power has faded with time, yet it still holds a faint possibility.
{Continuous Effects}
- Mana growth EXP gain increased by 20%.
- Mana regeneration increased by 15%.
- Chance to absorb star remnants when a certain amount of mana is used.
Current mana used: 0/100
Star remnants needed for next awakening: 0/10
"Ehehe…"
This was my precious trait, won after a brutal showdown with the System yesterday. Time to put it to the test.
I exhaled slowly and walked to the center of the practice ground.
The 3rd Magic Practice Ground. Built for basic magic training, it was dotted with targets and mana measurement stones. I stopped in front of the nearest target, raised my palm, and spoke.
"Fire."
Whooosh—
A small flame bloomed above my palm. I thrust my hand forward.
Fwoosh!
The fireball shot in a straight line and slammed into the center of the target. Thud! Sparks flew, leaving a black scorch mark.
…Bullseye.
At the same time—
Ding.
Current count: 1/10
Beginner's Luck
1,000 Points acquired.
"…Huh?"
I froze for a second.
Already?
The corner of my mouth slowly curled up.
"Ha."
"Haha…"
"Ahahaha!"
This trait is insane!
…
…Or so I thought, once upon a time.
I stared blankly at the blue window floating in front of me.
Acquired 13 Mana EXP.
Acquired 10 Accuracy EXP.
Failed to absorb star remnant.
Current count: 1/10
Expect and You Lose
100 Points acquired.
That was the result of two solid hours of nothing but casting magic.
…
"Is this trait just complete garbage?"
My evaluation had flipped in only two hours.
Haaah…
I’m wiped.
The second I stepped into the dorm I threw myself onto my bed.
—Fwoomp.
The familiar soft embrace wrapped around my back the moment I landed.
Beds really are the best.
Tomorrow was Monday. That meant tomorrow the main story began for real.
Lying there, I opened my status window.
Stamina:E(25/750)
Strength:E(375/750)
Agility:F(487/500)
Mana:F(143/500)
Mental Power:F(469/500)
Accuracy:F(326/500)
—Grin.
I looked at my status window with a satisfied smile. I’d worked hard these past two days. At least twenty to thirty EXP, sometimes over fifty. Agility was about to hit E-rank too.
But like every set of stats, there was always one outlier.
Why am I bringing this up?
—Narrowed eyes.
I stared at Mental Power. In two whole days it had gone up by a grand total of four.
…What the hell even raises this stat?
Anyway, aside from that, it had been a perfect weekend.
Ding.
Flag Master
100 Points acquired.
Nope. Still the most perfect weekend ever~
Ding~
This time the alarm came from my Smart Watch, not the status window.
The Smart Watch was a dedicated terminal issued to every Frontier student. It looked like a wristwatch, but a tap made a translucent hologram bloom in midair so you could use it like a phone. Schedules, messages, school announcements—it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it essential for every Frontier student.
I gave the Smart Watch a light tap.
Whirr.
A blue hologram screen unfolded in front of my eyes, and a notification popped up with it.
You have been invited to the Magic Department 2nd Year Class 1 group chat.
"Huh?"
I immediately opened the chat room.
The group chat was already buzzing.
Everyone’s so friendly.
…
It already felt like I’d missed the timing to jump in. I quietly closed the input window. Saying hello myself would only make the mood awkward.
You know. Dead last. Last place.
Plus my reputation inside Frontier wasn’t exactly great. Sticking my neck out would probably just backfire.
Right then a red window appeared in front of my eyes.
Lee Sihyun’s favorability has decreased. (LV.-7 → LV.-8)
Lee Sihyun refuses to even be associated with you.
What??
No. Why?
What did I even do??
…
Wait a second.
Don’t tell me…?
I opened the Smart Watch again, went back into the group chat, and tapped the member list in the upper right.
Kim Taeseong
Park Jihun
Yoon Chaerin
…
Lee Sihyun
"…Huh?"
I blinked.
Lee Sihyun.
If it was the Lee Sihyun I knew…
Same class?
What the hell? In my previous life the two of us never ended up in the same class.
In that moment the contents of the letter flashed through my head.
It really is…
…Still, they said the main trunk of the story would stay the same. I just had to prepare for that.
…
Even so, this felt a little unfair. If she already hated me just for being in the same class, how much did she actually despise me?
The thought of running into Lee Sihyun at school tomorrow made me a little scared.
…Ah, screw it! Whatever!
I flopped face-down on the bed and opened Wetube. Think of Wetube as this world’s version of YouTube. Everyone here kills time watching it.
Let’s see…
Out of habit I tapped the Shorts tab. Videos immediately poured down the screen.
And then—
The thumbnail showed a familiar face. More precisely—my face, getting utterly demolished by white training mannequins.
…
"…Huh?"
No way… it can’t be.
Still denying reality, I opened the comments.
…
I should just go to sleep early tonight.
Black History Immortalized
500 Points acquired.
…
"I don’t need the points—just take the video down."
Haaah…
Sunday night was the worst day of my life.
Flag Collected
300 Points acquired.
"Shut up!!"