The Academy grounds looked more like a university campus rather than a high school.
I wandered there, swaying.
I thought the feeling would get better if I got some air, but my body did not improve at all.
Dizziness.
The sensation of being stabbed all over my body with knives.
Magic running rampant within me.
Everything was a mess.
I felt something rising in my throat.
I quickly headed to the main building’s restroom.
“Uuuaaargh. Shit… Uuuugh.”
I threw up into the toilet.
I kept heaving for quite a while.
My head was spinning.
‘How did Yongcheonhwa endure this?’
Was it due to the difference in stats?
Though she always talked about Yongcheonhwa as if it were nothing, she was undoubtedly C-rank.
There should naturally be a difference between her and me, who is D-rank.
When I came out of the stall and looked in the mirror, my face was a disaster.
It was covered with blood from my eyes, nose, and mouth, which had dried, making me look like a zombie.
It looked like I’d been in a big fight.
But I had indeed been in a fight.
I also noticed changes in my appearance.
The once-black eyes common to Koreans had turned into radiant golden eyes.
Upon closer inspection, my pupils had become slitted like a reptile’s, somewhat resembling a cat’s eyes.
“Status window.”
————<Status Window>————
◈ Name
n̶̡̡̛̟̠͈͎̟̍͜͝͡͠ų̢̰̭̲̋͒̓͊̀̒́͘͡l̴̳͙͓̞̻̝͇̥͆̋͂̉̕͡͠͠l̨̛̫̖̝͓̮̳͓͆̃̈̈́̈́͆̈̕
◈ Stats
[Strength 558 B]
[Agility 345 C]
[Intelligence 877 D]
[Luck 147 F]
[Overall C]
◈ Skills
[Succession 366 A]
[Dragon Heart — A]
[Telekinesis —SSS]
[ê̵̢͙̥̟̪̟̾̀̑̐͛ņ̛̛̠̤̫͇̂͒͊̆͊̄̒͜͜ǵ̢̘̖̫̮̜̙̳̙̓̉́́͂̎̎̚͢r̶̡͎̯̙̝̠̾̋̌̄̀͊͢͟ͅą̞̱͕̬̙̗͇̠͊̏͆͋̈̐̆̂͊͟v̙̙̝̬̥͐̂̋́̈́͆͗͘͘͡&e̷̥͉̯̼̙̻̼̫̓́͂̂͑̈́̉̅̒͘͢ — B]
———————————–
“What is this?”
My stats had changed dramatically.
Strength C→B.
Agility D→C.
Intelligence E→D.
Luck E→F.
All my abilities had risen by one level.
No, my luck had dropped.
What was odd was my name and skills.
My name was definitely ‘Shinnoda’ until yesterday.
Now it had been replaced with some strange characters.
Putting aside the alien-looking skills, somehow my Telekinesis had become SSS-rank.
“Telekinesis Skill.”
A semi-transparent window appeared before my eyes.
————-<Skill>————-
◈ Name
Telekinesis
◈ Rank
—SSS
◈ Description
e̱̭̮͔͕͉͓͊͂̓͒̊ǹ̙̻̪͎͇͖̑͋͐̔͌͑̋̓͆t̷̡̧̠̺̠̼̻̖̤͚͊͛̆̔̊̑̍̌e̶̮͈̦̱͔̥̱̬̥̥̓̔̑̿͘r̨̘̗͎̦̞̳͂̐̽̐͞͝ t̵͕̥̞̘̀̊̉͗̔̆̚͢͢͞h͖̜̼͈̜̖̑͛̏͊̃́̒̅͘̚e̶̡̛̙̠̭̬͕̩̟̭̿̿͒͒̊͗̕͢͞ d̸̺͍̗̱͈̯̪̱̫̓̔͒̇̐̒͌͢͡͠e̡̨̧̡͔̼͙̼͔̓͆̋̏̂̾͗t̨̨̘̻͕̫̖̼̣͂͂̄̋͒̍͐͞aà̷̠̺͎͕͙̏̋͑̓̂̽i̛̬̘̟̺̬͓̫̽̉͋͐̋̄͜l̢̢̛̲̳̭̻̮̥̓͆̔̕͘͞
Apparently, something was also wrong with the skill window.
“Uh… Lady Laura… What… is going on?”
[Ah. It seems to be somewhat broken. The SSS-rank telekinesis skill is too high for you at your current level, so I will restore it soon.]
“What about my stats…?”
[Your body appears to have been reshaped to suit my soul. Though fundamentally garbage, it hasn’t improved much.]
After hearing his words, I thought to myself.
‘If Laura’s soul entering makes my body improve, introducing it again might elevate me to B-rank or even A-rank, right?’
But my thoughts were cut short by Laura’s following words.
[However, it can’t be done twice. If your body transforms further, it will reject your soul.]
For now, I left the restroom to head back to the auditorium.
I didn’t want to risk disqualification for being absent too long.
But Yang Min-seo was waiting in front of the restroom and spoke as soon as I came out.
“So, you’re out, Shinnoda. I watched as you fought the troll in the examination hall earlier. I apologize for underestimating you this morning. You’re a lot more impressive than I thought.”
“…”
A bothersome person had stuck to me.
Ignoring her, I headed toward the auditorium.
“Hey! Don’t ignore me! You look unwell, which is understandable after using such an incredible skill. Unlike others, I can perceive everything.”
Not everything.
Even though the concept of ‘Eye of Truth’ is supposed to obtain information about what the eyes see, the current low rank makes it almost useless.
If that skill was so powerful, she would have fainted after seeing the Laura entity attached to me.
Yang Min-seo pulled out a glass vial filled with a blue liquid from her pocket—it was a potion.
“This is an apology for my careless words this morning. You seem to be in a lot of pain, so please use it.”
I took the potion from her.
Pride?
I was in too much pain to care.
I immediately opened the lid and drank it in one gulp.
My condition improved bit by bit.
The dizziness and pain disappeared.
‘Now I can finally function properly.’
I thanked Yang Min-seo.
“Thanks. I feel much better thanks to you.”
“With this, I assume there’s no lingering resentment towards me.”
“Why are you using casual speech? We’re the same age, right?”
“I prefer it this way.”
“Anyway, aren’t potions really expensive? Is it okay to give something like this just as an apology?”
Potions are made by combining troll blood with various additives. They have the effect of instantly healing even severe wounds where bones are exposed.
They’re essentially an extra life. The demand is high due to the rarity of materials, and a single vial usually costs around 10 million won.
“My father has a small business, which includes making potions.”
At that level?
While being ranked first in Korea’s business world.
“Anyway, thanks.”
With a refreshed condition, I returned to the auditorium.
The pass list for the first exam was quickly announced, and I was included.
The second round, which was an interview, was nothing significant. It dealt with basic ethics and the role of a hero for the public good.
I, who was trained in the Hellfire Peninsula, can talk endlessly about things I don’t even care about or know well for over an hour.
This middle-school-level interview was like chewing gum.
A few days later, I logged into the academy website from my usual café using an iPad.
As soon as I logged in, the final pass notice appeared.
————————
Congratulations on your successful admission.
You have passed in 77th place out of 164 candidates and have been assigned the ‘Silver’ rank.
The following are the benefits of the ‘Silver’ rank:
1/2 scholarship.
Free dormitory fees.
Free textbook support.
Please refer to the website for detailed criteria regarding rank selection.
—————————
Silver.
Not bad.
The academy divides students into Bronze, Silver, and Gold ranks every semester, providing differentiated benefits.
Each tier is determined by the 33.3% percentile, so it’s like dividing the students into three equal parts.
The academy’s semester tuition is quite expensive at 7.2 million won, so the scholarship is a significant advantage.
“Hohoho.”
After many twists and turns, I’ve finally reached the starting point.
Now it’s just a matter of waiting for good opportunities while enjoying the academy life.
After drinking a lot of coffee and feeling the urge to urinate, I headed to the restroom inside the shop.
However, I heard sniffling from somewhere.
It was near the stairs.
Out of curiosity, I passed by the opposite side of the restroom’s usual route.
There, I was surprised.
There was Park Hayeon, sitting on the stairs and crying.
I couldn’t ignore her.
The protagonist crying? That scene didn’t exist in the original.
Plus, the timing was odd.
Crying on the day the admitted list was announced?
‘Surely, she didn’t fail?!’
“What’s wrong?”
Park Hayeon noticed me and tried to cover her tears with her hand.
“A.. It’s nothing.”
“It’s nothing? You’re crying.”
I sat next to her and asked.
“Tell me.”
I kept persistently questioning her. If she didn’t pass, I’d have to grab the principal’s collar to get her in.
“I didn’t get the Bronze scholarship, so I can’t pay the tuition or dorm fees… Our family is poor… And according to the academy’s rules, part-time jobs aren’t allowed… Sob.”
She blurted out her story while sniffling.
“Bronze?”
I nodded sympathetically.
In the original story, the protagonist barely made it to Silver, barely securing a scholarship to attend school.
It was likely done to keep the player on edge.
But now, somehow, it had become Bronze.
“Trouble.”
“So… I don’t know what to do…”
‘Park Hayeon needs to focus on her studies and training.’
After a brief moment of thought, I made a decision.
“Then, live at my place.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll pay your tuition too.”
Anyway, after clearing this world, I’ll make a wish and leave.
Money here is meaningless.
Feeding just Park Hayeon can be easily handled with a few gold ingots I ‘borrowed’ from the villain’s treasury.
Park Hayeon mumbled with her head bowed.
“How can… you… even think of cohabitation? We are students, and we’re… opposite genders…”
Am I living in a one-room apartment?
Though living in a narrow place with two people might feel suffocating.
“Don’t worry. I have an officetel near the academy, where I live. There’s another room in the living area, so you can use it however you like.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You don’t have to worry at all. Besides, I usually don’t come home since I have things to do at night.”
“But even so… accepting tuition and a home… That’s quite a favor.”
That’s the kind of person she is.
In that case, I should reduce her sense of obligation.
“If you’re thankful, become a hero and pay me back twice. Tuition and dorm fees… it’s nothing if you become a hero. It’s just a month’s pay.”
With a look of gratitude, Park Hayeon looked up at me and said,
“Thank you…”
