11. Spirit of Delusion (3)

“Wow… I’m screwed.”

Is it real that there’s only a week left until the exam?

Every time I eat and have sex a few times, it’s always evening, so I’m feeling more and more of a sense of crisis.

I don’t know if Einstein existed in this world, but anyway, I’m really experiencing the theory of relativity right now…

I didn’t study that hard when I was in college, but honestly, studying after entering a novel isn’t an easy decision.

“Still, I have to do it today.”

Today, we decided to gather at a quiet cafe to study for the exam.

As soon as she heard my story, Ha-yul said she understood, and Ju-ha regretfully declined, saying that it would be difficult for her to meet people she didn’t know well.

And Seol-ah sunbae… I forcibly dragged her out of the house.

Yoo Seol-ah, who was walking next to me, looked at me with annoyed eyes and said.

“Ugh… why do we have to go outside? We could have done it at home.”

“If we keep staying at home, we won’t be able to study, so we’re changing the environment. Isn’t it nice to come out and get some fresh air?”

“Not really…”

Yoo Seol-ah grumbled, but she didn’t seem to feel too bad about coming outside, as she put her arm around mine.

Wearing a white boxy T-shirt and a tennis skirt, she felt like an even purer girl today.

“What kind of exams are you taking, sunbae? I have four theory exams: Ability Control Studies, Mana Manipulation and its Application, Combat Tactics, and the History of Supernatural Powers.”

“I don’t usually study, so I don’t really know.”

“Neh?”

No way, was Seol-ah sunbae also a naturally gifted person?

It wasn’t the first time I was surprised by Ha-yul’s speed in solving problems, and now that I think about it, Yoo Seol-ah was also a former student council member, so I guess she must be smart.

“Like, once you see a problem, the answer just pops into your head…”

“No, I just didn’t solve them and slept. I used to make money instead of studying.”

Ah. Such a sad story.

I felt uneasy for no reason, so I messed up her hair.

“…Stroke my neck instead of my hair.”

Yoo Seol-ah grabbed my wrist and pulled it towards her nape, as if she liked my touch.

When her cold, soft skin touched me, I felt horny for no reason and accidentally shook off her hand.

Then, Yoo Seol-ah, who was watching my reaction with narrowed eyes, teased me with a faint smile.

“Heung, you were hugging me with both arms last night, but you don’t like it today?”

“No, there are people around! Shhh!”

She’s a grown adult, and she says things like that in front of everyone.

Saying such things to my face makes my face feel hot.

As I was joking around with Yoo Seol-ah, I arrived in front of the cafe before I knew it.

Ha-yul said she had something to prepare separately, so she would be a little late, so she would probably arrive while we were studying.

We ordered two drinks and went into a separate room to unpack our things.

I was rummaging through my textbooks and notes, but Yoo Seol-ah was just sipping her drink, so I asked her.

“But what are you going to do, sunbae?”

“Me…? I’m just going to watch you. You can’t raise your grades by studying for a week anyway.”

“No, but… I think you’re good at talking and logical, so I think you’re smart. Wouldn’t it be worth trying for a week?”

“Even if I get good grades, I’m going to go under the government anyway… It’s better to get on the professor’s bad side for four years, be careful, graduate, and then go to a private company. There are many places that hire Arvadellin graduates regardless of their grades.”

I thought she was just going to make money because she wasn’t studying, but Yoo Seol-ah was surprisingly thinking a lot on her own.

I understand her desire to avoid the dangerous missions assigned to government agents, but unfortunately, in the great disaster that will happen in two years, most Awakened Ones will be forcibly drafted.

The reason why I’m trying to get good grades is also because they will give priority to those with good overall grades later on.

Rather than being forcibly assigned to a dangerous unit, I’m aiming to get the authority to lead even a small number of people and take care of the heroines first.

Of course, it would be even better if I could keep a proper distance from the team led by Ryu Shin and suck honey in the process.

Since there is almost zero chance that an incompetent Awakened One like me will be active in actual combat, the easiest way to survive at that time would be to avoid Sudden Breaks as much as possible and only target small groups of monsters.

“Hoo… I understand. If I’m going to live with you anyway, I have to take responsibility for you.”

I told Yoo Seol-ah half-jokingly, half-seriously, because I still hadn’t heard any news of a captured demon, but suddenly her face turned bright red and she stammered.

“I, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead… Can we live together?”

“We’re already sleeping in the same bed anyway.”

Suddenly, I feel a very chilly atmosphere around me.

I thought someone had accidentally turned on the air conditioner and looked around, but it turned out to be Yoo Seol-ah’s frost mist.

I can see the embarrassment in her eyes…

With a face as red as a carrot and a slightly glaring look, she quietly said to me in a voice that only I could hear.

“Hmph, you’re only cool at times like this… Ji-hoo is bad.”

“What’s bad about being cool?”

I stroked Yoo Seol-ah’s hair a few times, who didn’t know what to do, and started studying.

I’m thinking of starting with the most difficult subject, ‘Mana Manipulation and its Application’, today.

For me, who memorized the world of the original work, the History of Supernatural Powers is as easy as pie, and Combat Tactics will mainly consist of problems such as tactical concepts and monster habit identification, which I can cover enough with what I already knew.

I took out the collection of past exam questions that Yoo Seol-ah had somehow obtained and carefully examined the first question.

[11. The following is the distribution of a specific mana described by the Schrödinger equation. Find the eigenvalue of the Hamiltonian operator and describe in detail what type of ability the mana distribution means. (4 points)]

Uh… Why is Schrödinger hyung here?

He must have survived the Second Great Disaster in 1950.

He is known as the person who laid the foundation for quantum mechanics, which is called the ultimate king of physics, and it seems that the study of quantum mechanics exists in this world and is somehow fused with the concept of mana.

Honestly, I majored in chemistry in college, so I can confidently say that I know almost nothing about physics.

In fact, chemistry is also a field closely related to the Schrödinger equation and quantum mechanics, so I don’t know much about it…

Still, since she’s my sunbae, I thought Yoo Seol-ah might know something, so I showed her the problem.

“What does this mean? Are you speaking Korean?”

“What, number 11 isn’t that difficult… First, interpret what form the wave function is, then calculate to find the eigenvalue, and then compare it with the ability eigenvalue by substituting the energy, right?”

“…”

She really is naturally gifted.

For the first time, I felt a slight inferiority complex towards Yoo Seol-ah.

* * *

As I was racking my brains over a few problems, Ha-yul came into our room with a lot of things in both hands.

“Hello, Ji-hoo! I saw that you were having a hard time with physical mana studies last time, so I made a separate summary note.”

“Wow… all of this? Aren’t you tired?”

In her hands, she held a notebook filled with writing, in addition to the books she would study.

It would definitely take more than a day just to copy all of that, so I was slightly moved by her sincerity for me.

“No, it’s okay because I’m studying again while writing it. You don’t have to worry about it!”

“Thank you so much… I love you.”

I felt a cold gaze staring at me from behind, but I ignored it and opened the notebook that Ha-yul gave me.

The handwriting was neat, and it seemed to have her scent on it for some reason, so I unconsciously buried my face in the notebook and took a deep breath.

“Ha-yul’s scent is so good…”

“Eh…? Instead of that, you can just hug me and smell me…”

“If you two came here to study, then study.”

Ha-yul spread her arms as if telling me to hug her quickly, so I was about to run to her, but I stopped halfway due to Yoo Seol-ah’s restraint.

Isn’t it ironic that I’m being told to study quickly by a talented person?

“Sunbae, you’re not studying.”

“You said you’d take responsibility for me… Why are you teasing me after saying that just now?”

“What…? Responsibility? Come to think of it, it’s almost been a week, and you two still live together? Ji-hoo, can you give me back the notebook?”

“No, wait a minute… There’s an unavoidable reason for all of this…”

Just as I was about to make excuses while stammering at Ha-yul’s words, the building suddenly began to shake as if there was an earthquake.

It didn’t seem to be that big, so I tried to hide under the table, but my phone rang urgently, as if telling me to look at the screen quickly.

• Ddiriring! Ddiriring!

When I opened my phone, the first thing I saw was a message.

The sender was… [Sender Unknown].

[Run as fast as you can. Towards the academy.]

“What…”

I don’t know who it is, but I felt like something bad would happen if I didn’t follow the words in the message.

Fortunately, it was a quiet cafe, so there were no customers except for one employee, so after sending all the employees outside, the three of us started running towards Arvadellin.

Since the citizens had received training in preparation for a disaster, most of them were moving towards the academy in a line, but I felt like I shouldn’t slow down the current speed.

As we finally reached the main gate of Arvadellin, Ha-yul, who was slowly catching her breath, asked me with a questioning look.

“What, heok. happened that you suddenly ran so urgently?”

“…Look over there. It’s coming.”

I feel a tingling sensation that seems to constrict my breath.

Is everyone feeling that way, or is it just me, who wasn’t originally part of the novel, who can feel it clearly?

I don’t know the details, but I think I know one thing for sure.

“What… is that…?”

That the time of the Great Disaster has been brought forward.

A giant tentacle that had risen from the ground was ruthlessly collapsing the building.