episode_0018

Ichinose gave me her number coolly.

Rohan hummed in the shower room of the training room because of that.

Ichinose’s profile picture was of a small dog that looked like it had been taken on the street, and just looking at it made all my accumulated fatigue disappear.

From then on, it’s the academy’s work.

I don’t know what other instructors’ classes were like, but from Rohan’s perspective, the lead actor’s practical class was informative and easy to understand.

Starting today, classes were held with the goal of strengthening the body without any magical energy leaks, and Noah and Ichinose had already mastered this part perfectly.

So the two of them had time to practice more advanced techniques.

The rest of the 1st class students, including Rohan, were unable to attend.

Rohan was somehow controlling the power of magic, which was similar to supernatural power but had a different face, but if you ask if its form was neat, it wasn’t.

Because I never learned it properly.

But that gloomy situation is a thing of the past.

“Rohan. Magic power is not a power that can be suppressed and controlled.”

“Yep!”

“Don’t forcefully push your back, telling your body to gain strength. Embrace the magic power, accept it gently, and let it seep in. At first, the speed may feel suffocating···.”

The teachings of the protagonist, who was like Rohan’s first teacher.

Thanks to this, the magical power began to find its way to the target.

And the theory class of the problem.

“Monsters are rare to encounter in urban areas, but they are common enough to be encountered every few steps outside of urban areas in unmanaged areas.”

“Most monsters are called swarms by breeding behavior, but there are also many cases where they appear using special methods such as a Monolith in the shape of a pitch-black stone monument or a dimensional crack.”

The description added that the Void Whale that destroyed the South created a massive dimensional crack in its mouth.

I continued to listen to the class and take notes without paying any attention.

Besides, the theory… the moment I saw the formula with numbers in it, I felt a thick wall and the water rushed in like a special force and my throat got blocked.

Since I had someone to ask, I decided to try to be happy about it.

“You worked hard today too. Go back and rest.”

“““Thank you for your hard work!”””

After finishing school, Rohan grabs a quick bite at a restaurant and heads straight to work.

‘Wow, if there weren’t any restaurants, I would have cut the ramen into four pieces and eaten it.’

On the way to the Flower Pot Bookstore, checking the pitiful balance.

The long-awaited notification window appeared before my eyes.

[Store list has been updated.]

Time to clear your doubts.

I stopped on the road and used my shop skill right away.

‘I saved up some points too.’

Two achievements from working out and one from the Flower Pot Bookstore.

Adding to this the incident where you kick a child while out for a walk at night, your remaining points have increased slightly.

Perhaps with the anticipation that shopping might be possible right away.

Rohan checked the store.

◇ Unique Skill Level Up – 2,000P (can be purchased once)

◇ High-protein jerky – 3P

◇ Cloud Bread – 2P

◇ Coral Jelly – 2P

◇ Energy Drink – 2P

◇ Mineral water – 2P

··

··

[ Remaining points – 273P ]

‘Unique skill!?’

A new mechanism has appeared again.

Just looking at it makes my hands tingle. I’m excited to see how the weakness granting and shop skills will evolve.

‘If it’s a one-time purchase, does it mean all skills will be upgraded at once? Or do you have to purchase it and then refresh it?’

In Abyss City, you had to invest energy that accumulated over time to mine materials from specific dungeons.

This is probably a replacement for that point.

Rohan moved his stopped legs and slowly headed towards the bookstore.

Because the price tag was too absurd to indulge in happy fantasies.

‘2,000 points···.’

In fact, it was a price that made me lose my mind.

This is so great that it’s hard to even imagine it being just one achievement.

As the level of the store increases, it is natural that more expensive items will be available, but the limitations of obtaining items through achievements are already starting to show.

‘Should I go south? Or maybe I should just go around Academy City and kill all the monsters I see…’

As I cleared the store, I saw the Flower Pot Bookstore.

First of all, work.

Thinking that he should start by doing his work properly, Rohan cleared his head and put on his apron.

It’s a little late at that time.

Clara visited the Flower Pot Bookstore as usual. She wondered if she would still stand and read until closing time.

Rohan looked at the girl and loaded the bait he had prepared.

‘Okay. There are no guests other than Clara.’

While the store manager is away, a customer starts playing a game on his smartphone at the checkout counter.

─ Company Wave!

With the volume turned up just one notch, the game name rings out clearly.

Even though the sound wasn’t loud, it was still audible in the quiet bookstore.

‘I play gacha games here too···.’

Rohan ran his fingers coolly along the structure he was already familiar with.

The game Clara was playing last time was ‘Company Wave’.

It’s a famous game that can be played right away just by following the clues seen on the screen. It’s a story about running a company that cleans up monsters.

Although it ranks around 50th in monthly sales, it is a game that is rumored to be a pillar of the defense genre and has a solid concrete layer.

‘I should’ve started a little earlier. I just missed the collaboration.’

It’s surprisingly fun and well-made.

The game itself was so engaging that I kept playing it even without trying to make contact with Clara.

It’s so painful not being able to choose what you want because you don’t have money.

─ Three chains!

─ Energy replenishment!

The game noise can be kept to a minimum as it is now. Even if the store manager can’t hear it, Clara will.

Just by hearing the voices of the skills being used, the girl would know what this game is.

‘I’ve finished the daily quest… I’ll do it properly.’

Rohan, who had thought over all the information he had seen about Clara in Abyss City, decided on a strategy.

How to stimulate a girl who is serious about comics and games.

‘Operation Clean Water in Front of Still Water.’

It seems like they’re turning on auto to make the formation look like it has beggarly efficiency.

It’s essential to play as a low-level idiot who self-destructs on easy difficulty by placing healers and dealers in the front. Just hearing the order of the voices of the characters falling will make you question things.

Formations without synergy are also good at scratching Clara.

The problem is that I feel like I’m going crazy while doing it.

My hands start to tremble when I see all that wasted energy.

“Hmm, it doesn’t break.”

─ Ah, I have to complete the mission somehow···.

A miserable voice that means the attack has failed.

Clara’s shoulders shook between the bookshelves.

“Why did you make it so difficult? Is this a section made to be a real test?”

Clara’s hands were seen shaking as she held the book as she muttered.

I felt conflicted about whether or not I should look this way, so I turned my head away to avoid eye contact.

‘Never make the first move.’

Clara is the kind of girl who will run a hundred steps away if you take one step towards her. You have to make her come willingly.

So, waiting based on patience is the only answer.

Rohan sighed that the game was too good to be true, put his smartphone away, and stayed at the checkout counter until the store closed.

··

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Tomorrow is Saturday.

Because of that, both the academy and my part-time job are on hiatus.

I hadn’t expected the Flower Pot Bookstore to be closed, but when the store manager said he wanted to take the weekend off because his grandson had a birthday, I readily agreed.

‘What should I do for two days?’

I’m in a situation where I’m wondering whether I should continue wandering around Academy City to find signs of the quest, or focus on studying the theory that I lack.

While Rohan was returning to the dormitory with such conflict inside, he checked the internet newspaper he had subscribed to.

“···!”

I finally found something that could be considered a precursor to the main story.

[30-year-old male creator goes missing while exploring ruins of restricted area]

─ As a result of tracing the last phone call with an acquaintance, it is presumed that someone attacked him while he was filming, and according to the data released by the Elysium Police Department, only a severed leg was left at the scene···.

‘come!’

The main story had a thrilling amount of content in version 1.0 when Abyss City opened.

This case is definitely that one.

There is no difference in the format itself, to the point where it can be considered the same as the main story.

[ A quest occurs. ]

As soon as you recognize it, a notification window pops up.

[ Broken Crown Act 1 ]

◇ Quest Content: A heinous crime has occurred in Academy City! This incident may also be related to the group that is watching Noah Frozenheart. Find out the mastermind behind the incident and deal with it faster than the Elysium Police Department’s security officers.

◇ Category: Main Story

◇ Success Reward: Battle Trace Eradication, Murder Manual Skill Book, Random Point Pouch

◇ Penalty for failure: None

‘The compensation is good, right?’

If you’re talking about a murder manual, then even Rohan knows this skill.

A decent passive that increases damage against humans or humanoid monsters.

Another interesting reward is the point bag. The word random is annoying, but it means that it gives points anyway.

“···.”

Squeak!

Arriving at the dormitory, Rohan put on his black hoodie and grabbed the mask he had bought last time.

A knife in his pocket.

That was enough for a stroll through the gloomy academy city after the sun had set.