Chapter 18: Abyss City 1.0 (1)

Ichinose gave her number readily.

Thanks to that, Rohan hummed a tune while in the training hall’s shower room.

Ichinose had a small dog as her profile picture, seemingly taken on the street. Just looking at it washed away all his accumulated fatigue.

After that, it was back to the Academy routine.

He didn’t know what other Instructors’ classes were like, but from Rohan’s perspective, Juyeon’s practical training class was fulfilling and easy to understand.

Starting from today, the class focused on body strengthening without leaking any Mana.

And since Noa and Ichinose had already perfectly mastered this, the two of them spent their time practicing more advanced techniques.

The remaining cadets of Class 1, including Rohan, were unable to participate in that.

While he could somehow manage to control the power called Mana, which was similar yet different from Supernatural Abilities, but if asked if it was clean, the answer would be no.

After all, he had never received proper guidance.

But those gloomy days were a thing of the past.

“Rohan. Mana isn’t a force you subdue by suppressing it.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

“Don’t force it by pushing your body. Embrace the Mana, accept it gently, and let it seep in. At first, the speed will feel frustrating, but…”

The teachings of Juyeon, who was practically Rohan’s first teacher.

Thanks to her, his Mana finally started to find its direction.

And then, the problematic theory class.

“While encountering Monsters in Urban Areas is rare, if you step outside those areas and into unmanaged territories, you come across them almost every few steps.”

“While most Monsters increase their numbers through reproduction, there are also quite a few cases where they appear through special methods like black, stele-shaped Monoliths or Dimensional Rifts.”

There was also an added explanation about the Void Whale, which destroyed the Southern Region, creating enormous Dimensional Rifts inside its mouth.

Rohan continued taking notes as he calmly listened to the class.

Other than that, the theory… The moment the formulas with numbers entered his sight, he felt a thick wall of drowsiness hit like a special forces unit, and his throat choked up.

But since there was someone he could ask, he decided to embrace some semblance of joy.

“Good work today. Go back and rest.”

““Thank you, Instructor!””

After the Academy, Rohan had a simple meal at the cafeteria before heading straight to his Part-time job.

Wow, if it weren’t for the cafeteria, I would’ve been forced to divide a pack of ramen into fourths.

Checking his pathetic balance as he headed towards The Flower Bookstore, the notification window he’d been waiting for popped up before his eyes.

It was time to satisfy his curiosity.

He stopped on the street and immediately used his Shop Skill.

I’ve saved up quite a few Points.

Two Achievements from exercising and one from The Flower Bookstore.

Adding in the Gero Eye he had kicked while walking at night, his remaining Points had increased a bit.

Holding onto the expectation that he might be able to purchase something right away…

Rohan checked the Shop.

Unique Skill!?

Yet another new mechanic.

Just looking at it made his hands itch. He was looking forward to seeing how Weakness Induction and Shop Skill would evolve.

If it can only be purchased once, will it level up all the skills at once? Or will it refresh after the purchase is made?

In Abyss City, he would have to invest the energy accumulated over time to mine materials from specific Dungeons.

This was undoubtedly a substitute for that.

Rohan started walking towards the bookstore.

The price tag attached to his happy imagination was simply too absurd.

2,000 Points…

It was a price tag that made his mind wander off.

This wasn’t something he could even dream of with just one Achievement.

It was obvious that more expensive items would appear as the Shop’s level increased, and the limitations of obtaining items through Achievements were already starting to show.

Should I go south? Or perhaps if I roam Academy City and kill every Monster I see…

Still lost in thought while thinking about the Shop, The Flower Bookstore came into view.

Work first.

Reckoning he should do his job properly, Rohan cleared his mind as he put on his apron.

A little later.

As always, Clara visited The Flower Bookstore. Was she planning to stand and read until closing time again today as well?

Watching the girl, Rohan loaded the bait he had prepared.

Alright. No customers other than Clara.

While the manager was away, he launched a game on his smartphone at the counter.

─ Company Wave!

With the volume turned up just one notch, the game’s name rang out clearly.

Even though the sound wasn’t loud, it was bound to be heard in the quiet bookstore.

Guess I’m playing gacha games here as well…

Already familiar with the structure, Rohan moved his finger skillfully.

The game Clara was playing the other day was this, ‘Company Wave’.

And judging from the glimpses he’d seen on her screen, it was a famous game that was centred around running a company that cleaned up monsters.

In terms of monthly sales ranking, it was around 50th, but it was a pillar of the defense genre and was rumored to have a solid player base.

I should’ve started a bit earlier. I missed the Collaboration.

Surprisingly, it was fun. And the quality was pretty good, too.

Additionally, it was engaging enough for him to keep playing even without aiming for forming a connection with Clara.

However, he found the fact that he couldn’t pull what he wanted because he had no money rather painful.

─ Three Chain!

─ Energy Supply!

He could keep the volume at a minimum like this. After all, even if the manager couldn’t hear it, Clara definitely could.

Just hearing the voice lines when using skills would be enough for the girl to know what game it was.

I finished the dailies… Let’s do this properly.

Recalling all the information he knew about Clara from Abyss City, Rohan formulated a strategy.

A way to stimulate the girl who was serious about manga and games.

Operation Stagnant Water vs. Clean Water.

He put the game on auto-play with an intentionally inefficient setup.

Placing healers and damage dealers at the front to self-destruct even on easy difficulty was a must. Just hearing the order of the characters’ voices as they fell would raise questions.

The synergy-lacking formation was also a good way to provoke Clara.

The only problem was that even he, the one playing, was going nuts.

Seeing all that energy go to waste made his hands tremble.

“Hmm, I can’t seem to clear this.”

─ I, I have to complete the mission somehow…

The pathetic announcement signifying failure.

Hidden between the bookshelves, Clara’s shoulders twitched.

“Why did they make it so difficult? Is this a pay-to-win section?”

He could see Clara’s hands trembling as she held her book, her muttering audible.

He sensed her conflict over whether to look his way, so he turned his head completely to avoid eye contact.

Never approach first.

Clara was a girl who would take a hundred steps back for every one step forward. He had to make her come to him.

So, patience and waiting were the only answers.

Rohan sighed as if regretting the game and put his smartphone away, then kept watch at the counter until closing time.

···

···

Tomorrow was Saturday.

Both the Academy and his Part-time job were off.

He hadn’t expected The Flower Bookstore to be closed as well, but when the manager said he wanted to take this weekend off for his grandson’s birthday, Rohan readily agreed.

So, what should I do for two days?

He was contemplating on whether he should continue wandering around Academy City to look for signs of a Quest, or focus on his lacking theoretical studies.

Feeling conflicted, as Rohan returned to the Dormitory and checked the online news he subscribed to…

“···!”

He finally discovered something that could be considered a precursor to the Main Story.

It’s here!

The Main Story, which had tantalizingly little content in the 1.0 version when Abyss City launched.

This was definitely that incident.

The format itself was also almost identical to the Main Story.

And the moment he recognized it, a notification window appeared.

Nice rewards!

Murder Textbook was a skill Rohan knew of.

It was a decent passive that increased damage when fighting against humans or humanoid Monsters.

The other reward, the Point Pouch, was also intriguing. The word “random” was a bit bothersome, but it meant he’d get Points regardless.

“···.”

Creak!

As soon as he arrived at the Dormitory, Rohan put on a black hoodie and the mask he had purchased earlier.

A single knife in his pocket.

That was enough to walk around Academy City after sunset.