I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The persistent sound of the alarm jolted Kim Baram awake as he tossed and turned in bed for a while. 

After joining the Fixer Clan yesterday and training hard at the training center, his entire body screamed in pain from muscle aches.

“Ugh…”

Despite his grueling effort, the results were dismal. 

Staring at his unchanged stats after the training, he felt tears well up instead of sweat.

Groaning, he struggled to get up from the creaky bed, and squinted his eyes to look at the notification window in front of him.

[Player ‘Kim Baram’s unique ability has been activated.]

[You have earned 420VP for your actions today.]

‘Heheh.’

Even though it was less than yesterday, the sweet reward for a hard day’s work wiped away yesterday’s misery, making him smile. 

‘Yeah, I have VP.’

“Haha… Status window.”

Ding!

———-

Name: Kim Baram

Age: 17

Attributes:

Strength: 14

Agility: 14

Stamina: 15

Magic: 1

Charm: 42

Luck: 51

Skills:

[E]: Understand and deduce situations around you. May not be correct.

[SS]: Consumes 1000 VP to roll the dice.

[SS]: Spend VP to obtain a random item. The item depends on the amount of VP spent and your luck stat. Inventory is activated.

[D]: A mana breathing technique created by Player Ma Dong-cheol. Increases mana through breathing.

[E]: Enhances body or weapon using mana. The rank changes depending on the mana stat and proficiency. (Usable mana attribute: Wind)

Unique Abilities:

[Ex]: You’re a strange existence. You can create variables. Each time you create a variable, you earn VP (Variable Points). Variables can bring you fortune or misfortune.

– VP (Variable Points): 6770 VP

———

The only thing that had changed since yesterday was his hard-earned 6770VP.

Moreover, the superstition about the lucky number 7 being present twice in his VP count somehow lifted his spirits even more.

‘If only I had 1000VP more, there would be three sevens. What a pity.’

Still, Kim Baram gazed at his increased VP with satisfaction and solemnly declared.

“.”

[Skill [SS] is activated. Spend 1000VP to roll the dice.]

“Let’s go!”

He grabbed the two dice that appeared before him and rolled them vigorously.

—

“Lady Luck is smiling upon me.”

Kim Baram crossed his arms and smirked. He confidently quoted a famous quote.

Smack!

“What nonsense are you spouting at the breakfast table? Eat up.”

“… Yes. Thank you for the meal.”

As expected, Kim Baram’s mother’s smashing hit came flying—something that would feel off if it didn’t happen. 

But today, it didn’t hurt. 

… Actually, it did hurt a bit.

Using the stinging pain in his back as a side dish, Kim Baram stuffed the rice prepared lovingly by his mother into his mouth. 

After finishing her warm meal, he went upstairs to his room on the second floor. He looked into the full-length mirror and examined his face while recalling what happened earlier.

was used a total of four times.

The rolled numbers were 6, 6, 3, and 5. The stats that increased were, in order, Magic, Charm, Charm, and Stamina.

‘The most important part is that my Charm has finally become above average at 51.’

Kim Baram’s face in the mirror seemed slimmer and more handsome, or so he thought.

‘Huh.’

Lost in self-admiration, he suddenly looked at the remaining VP.

– VP (Variable Points): 2770 VP

‘I feel lucky today, so maybe I should try it again.’

There’s an old saying: strike while the iron is hot.

Actually, it just bothered him to have 770VP remaining.

With the impulse taking over, he couldn’t resist and shouted.

“.”

Ding!

[Skill [SS] is being used. Specify the amount of VP to spend. The item obtained will depend on the amount of VP spent and your luck value.]

“770VP.”

Ding!

[You have spent 770VP to use the skill [SS].]

Thud!

A box dropped at his feet.

He immediately picked up the box and opened the lid. Inside was a brown glass bottle.

Ding!

[You have obtained ‘Eternal Ice Elixir.’ Items obtained through can be stored in your inventory.]

‘Eternal Ice Elixir? What’s that?’

He tilted his head in confusion and pulled the brown glass bottle labeled ‘Eternal Ice Elixir’ out of the box. He felt a cold sensation in his hand.

The elixir looked similar to the fatigue recovery drinks sold in pharmacies.

‘Is this something you drink?’

Not sure what it was, he decided to put the elixir in his inventory and read its description.

[Casual’s Perfume x1: A perfume favored by Casanova, the greatest libertine of the 17th century. Increases charm slightly when worn. May have special effects on the opposite sex. Duration: 3 hours.]

[Eternal Ice Elixir x1: Made from eternally frozen ice turned into liquid through special magic. Highly useful as a material in alchemy or weapon crafting. Do not drink or it will instantly freeze your body.]

Kim Baram almost killed himself by drinking it.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he read the description of the elixir.

‘Will I have a use for this later? Nothing comes to mind right now.’

He racked his brain for a use for the elixir but couldn’t think of any immediate need for it.

‘Well… Like the perfume, it’ll come in handy someday.’

Though the loss of 770VP for a useless item in the current situation stung a bit, he chose to stay positive.

“I should get going now.”

After checking the time on his smartwatch, Kim Baram took out suitable clothes from his wardrobe and prepared to go out.

***

Boom!

“Hey, baldhead! Why did the plan suddenly change?”

Amidst the deafening explosion sounds, a slender blond man and a bald man with a long scar that traveled down his left eye to his lower lip emerged from a cloud of dust.

“Call me that again and you’re dead. Cha Eun-ho.”

“Got it, got it. Gil Ho-min. Happy now? Anyway, weren’t we supposed to move in after that lady in ‘Demon Form’ demolished the place?”

“The plan changed. Our superior informed us that she’s already been killed by someone.”

“Really? Damn! That’s a shame. She looked pretty hot in the photos.”

“She had a husband and a kid too. All dead now.”

“Things always look better and bigger when they’re someone else’s, idiot.”

Cha Eun-ho smacked his lips in disappointment, while Gil Ho-min shook his head, clearly unable to understand him.

“First, focus on the mission, Cha Eun-ho. Our task is to gather as many weapons as possible while others attack this place and elsewhere to create a distraction.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it a thousand times,” Cha Eun-ho replied sarcastically to Gil Ho-min’s words.

Gil Ho-min appeared used to Cha Eun-ho’s reactions. He ignored him and continued to clear the debris as they moved forward.

“Intruders! Attack them together!” As they cleared the obstacles and advanced, four guards appeared in front of Cha Eun-ho and Gil Ho-min. 

The guards paired up, two by two, and drew their weapons to face the intruders.

“I’ll handle the women, Gil Ho-min!” Cha Eun-ho smirked and dashed towards the female guards.

“Do as you wish,” Gil Ho-min replied indifferently. He pointed behind the male guards with his finger and said in a monotone voice, “Watch your backs.”

No sooner had he spoken than the two male guards instinctively turned to look behind them. They sensed a massive killing intent. But there was nothing behind them except the weapons they were supposed to protect.

Slash!

It was the last thing they saw. 

Gil Ho-min swiftly swung his long sword, beheading both guards in one strike.

“You shouldn’t let your guard down in a fight.”

He said with a sly smile while looking at the two corpses before turning his gaze to Cha Eun-ho.

Cha Eun-ho’s opponents were the female guards. They were in a daze—their legs giving out as they became unable to fight.

“Mmm…” 

“Ah…” 

They moaned.

Cha Eun-ho grinned wickedly, asking, “Jealous?”

“We don’t have time for this. Finish them quickly.”

“Ugh! So boring.”

Cha Eun-ho pulled out a dagger from his waist and swiftly stabbed it into the necks of the two female guards. Even as they died, the women stared at Cha Eun-ho with blissful expressions.

“Pity. I could have had some real fun if there was more time.”

“Stop talking nonsense and start gathering.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m on it.”

Cha Eun-ho sighed, picking through the weapons and storing the useful ones. Then, he noticed a bracelet prominently displayed on one side.

“Hey Ho-min, doesn’t that look valuable?”

Glancing at the item, Gil Ho-min replied, “That’s a bracelet made by the legendary craftsman, Jeong So-cheon. It’s useless to us. Only the chosen owner can use it.”

“Oh, that eccentric guy? Too bad. It looks pretty good.”

“Rumor has it that the owner must be someone charming.”

“What?! That’s totally me!” Cha Eun-ho exclaimed and gestured at himself with confidence.

Gil Ho-min shook his head and said firmly, “You only seem charming because of your abilities. Objectively, you’re ugly with a charm stat of 30, lower than mine.”

“If you say one more word, you’re dead,” Cha Eun-ho growled menacingly, exuding a murderous aura.

Gil Ho-min scoffed but decided not to provoke him further and continued gathering the weapons.

“Watch this! I’ll prove I’m a charming guy!” Cha Eun-ho was still seething with rage. He grabbed the bracelet and put it on his wrist.

Flash!

The bracelet on Cha Eun-ho’s wrist emitted a dazzling, brilliant light.