NOVEL NEXT chapter 23
23
“Are you busy right now? If not, I have something to say······”
Eun-ga-ye, twirling her hair with one hand.
“Yeah, I’m busy.”
I said dismissively and walked past Eun-ga-ye.
“Hey, wait······!”
Though I felt Eun-ga-ye’s flustered presence following me, I ignored her and headed back to the dormitory. Her business was obvious even without looking.
It must be about the upcoming inter-grade competition next week. Eun-ga-ye had a reason to win for sure.
As I threw my buzzing smartphone on the bed and sat down on the chair, my thoughts naturally drifted to the inter-grade competition.
In fact, this year’s inter-grade competition was a significant part of the story in Infinity.
It was a “debut match” for the 2nd and 3rd-year students of Infinity Academy who hadn’t appeared before, as they were spotlighted in large numbers. The first-year leads, including Cheon Woo-jin, consecutively created waves by defeating these seniors, proving their own strength.
Even Cheon Woo-jin showed off his prowess by securing the 3rd place among the 2nd-year students.
Nicolaï, Amelia, and Eun-ga-ye also demonstrated remarkable performance not falling behind the 2nd-year students.
Thus, the attention of the external visitors who came to watch was entirely on the first-year students.
If there was a notable change, it might be Han Se-yeon. Having contracted with Morudo, she could now freely display her original power.
“It’s probably fine with one.”
Since my involvement, it was no longer entirely the same as the game’s content.
Anyway, as it was a school festival, I was obligated to participate.
Of course, I didn’t really care about winning or losing.
Defeating the 2nd-year students wouldn’t make me instantly stronger, and as Hajin Woo said, victory or defeat was nothing but an illusion.
Moreover, the fact that my energy couldn’t be detected if I deliberately suppressed it had already spread throughout Infinity. I might have even earned the nickname “Mana Controller.”
It was obvious that the 2nd-year students would prepare for this.
Besides, anti-magic only applied to extreme magic users, and generally, it was only useful for nullifying magic.
In short, there was no need to exert too much effort; pretending to fight adequately and losing was the best course of action.
“Ugh······”
As I abandoned my contemplation, a groan escaped me.
In my hand were the assignment papers given by Hajin Woo.
From dungeon strategies to mana theories, even memorizing trivial creature names was required.
“Why is keeping up with classes harder than the main story of the game?”
But I couldn’t afford to fail either···
With a sigh, I gathered the assignment papers and headed to the library. This wasn’t a problem I could solve by self-studying alone.
***
Leaving the dormitory, I made my way from the student dorms to Infinity’s 1st Library not far away.
For your information, there were a total of 2 libraries in Infinity. The 1st Library was a smaller space designated for freshmen, while the central 2nd Library was a shared space for all grades.
Upon arriving at the 1st Library, aside from a librarian organizing books, there were no students in sight.
They were all probably at the training grounds preparing for the inter-grade competition next week.
Suddenly, I turned my gaze towards a rustling sound coming from one side and saw Han Se-yeon sitting by the window, arranging her notes beside an open textbook.
As expected, excelling in note-taking, Han Se-yeon, who vied for the top spot in the school through her notes, was exceptional.
I placed a watermelon drink I got from the vending machine on the way next to Han Se-yeon.
“You’re here?”
Han Seyeon lifted her head, smiling as if welcoming me.
She readily accepted my request for help with the assignment.
“Oh, looks like you’re a bit late. Have this.”
Han Seyeon’s eyes sparkled with fascination at the watermelon drink.
“I love this, what a coincidence.”
Coincidence? I deliberately chose it.
Han Seyeon is sincere about watermelon drinks. To the extent that there are boxes of watermelon drinks stocked in the dormitory fridge.
Anyway, I poured myself a cola while Han Seyeon inserted a straw into her watermelon drink, starting our private tutoring session.
“Well, you’ve improved since the first time.”
It’s been a week since the start of the new semester; if there’s no improvement, does that mean you haven’t been studying?
Misunderstanding my words, Han Seyeon tactfully redirected the conversation.
“Shall we stop here for today? Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yawn~”
As I stretched at Han Seyeon’s words, I noticed the sunset by the window.
“It’s amazing. You excel in Rune, yet you’re just starting with others.”
“I’m the type to focus on one thing.”
It’s true that he specializes in game tools. Still, it didn’t make sense that he was completely clueless about everything besides Rune. Nevertheless, Han Seyeon, already disciplined as a silver knight, didn’t question it further.
“Anyway, thanks for helping.”
“Thanks? I received something, so this is the least I can do.”
Smiling slyly, Han Seyeon spoke as if it were obvious. It feels a bit unfair for that face to smile with the sunset in the background.
‘There’s no shortage of angels around here.’
It was astonishing to find a sociopathic tendency to smile and shoot hidden behind that smile.
“Why are you like that?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Leaving Han Seyeon puzzled by my intense stare, I exited the library first.
Ring―
As Han Seyeon finished tidying up and came out, his smartphone rang. Looking at the screen, he said,
“Oh! The brackets for the Class Tournament are out.”
The brackets… I naturally knew about the upcoming Class Tournament.
But I had no idea who I would be facing. I searched my pockets but found nothing.
“Oh, right. I left it behind.”
Realizing I had left my smartphone on the bed, I hurried back.
Noticing my gaze on her screen, Han Seyeon handed me the phone.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
‘Ihaesol, Ihaesol, Ihaesol… Here it is.’
Looking for my name, I saw the characters for Ihaesol written at the edge.
And next to it, seeing the name of a second-year student, I froze in place. Han Seyeon read the name out loud for me.
“Yuskal Arse. Huh? Arse?”
Yuskal Arseie.
The rising star of Arseie, the magical lineage of England, a second-year Ranker who should have been faced by Cheon Woojin originally.
In an instant, an alarm that he absolutely hated rang out.
Ring!
[Grade Battle Quest! Win against the promising talent of England, Yuskal Arseie, in a duel!]
[Reward: 3000SP, ＜Concealment＞]
I have to win this no matter what it takes.
***
After parting ways with Han Seyeon and returning to the dormitory, I sat on the bed and checked my status window.
▶Player Lee Haesol
[Health: 1.8(+2)]
[Strength: 1.2(+0.5)]
[Agility: 3.5(+1.3)]
[Endurance: 2(+1)]
[Dexterity: 3]
“Hmm…”
I’ve improved quite a bit through my efforts, but my physical abilities still felt like trash.
At least Yuskal being a magician offered a glimmer of hope with his anti-magic resistance. If he were a warrior, there would be no words even if I were slaughtered.
‘But this Concealment…’
The Concealment obtained as a reward for this quest was a sub-attribute of energy, a skill that matched extremely well with mine, making me undetectable. If even my presence was hidden, it was akin to complete invisibility.
Of course, it was mentioned that the Concealment would be lifted if I harbored ill will or launched an attack, but despite that, there was no doubt that this ability was worth acquiring. Plus, there was a reward of 3000SP on top of it…
Suddenly, I opened my smartphone.
In the meantime, there were 5 messages from Eungaye, with one missed call.
“Are you upset?”
“Is it because of not listening to me at the cafeteria?”
“…Sorry.”
“Still, moving seats wasn’t because of you. Cheon Woojin was eating onions in such a way that upset my stomach.”
“Anyway, sorry.”
“Hmm…”
I wasn’t particularly bothered by being ignored or anything. It was a bit annoying, though.
It wasn’t that hard to understand Eungaye’s perspective.
In a world where uncontrolled magic often led to rampages, my advice to not control magic might have sounded more like a suggestion.
“But why is she acting like this all of a sudden?”
Seeing her apologize, it seemed like she might have tried what I suggested… Did she really try it?
“Is she that determined to win?”
In truth, Eungaye’s personal story was intertwined with this year’s Grade Battle.
Eungaye, from the prestigious swordsmanship family of Cheon Geom Eungaje. Eungaye wasn’t actually a direct descendant of the Eungaje.
Eungaye was the child of the youngest brother of the current head of Eungaje, who left the family and had a child before disappearing. Eungaye was entrusted to the current head of Eungaje before turning ten.
For Eungaje, who valued blood relations highly, it was only natural for the child of someone who left the family to be treated as a troublemaker. Moreover, her magic was so alien that it wasn’t suitable for learning Eungaje’s swordsmanship. Her current swordsmanship was solely the result of Eungaye’s determination.
Anyway, various factors intertwined, and Eun-gaye’s relationship with the main line of the family was not good.
But, of all times, it turned out that the very person who had been bothering him since his sophomore year at Hyun Eternity was right there. It was only natural that he wanted to win by any means necessary.
Although the opponent in the duel was random, it was also a rule that if both parties agreed beforehand, a duel could take place.
The problem was that it was difficult for Eun-gaye at his current level to defeat that guy from the sophomore year. Eun-gaye knew this better than anyone else. He had never won against that guy even once.
“It’s not that Eun-gaye is weak, but that guy just knows how to pinpoint weaknesses.”
Anyway, there was no room for hesitation even if he knew. Who would I save in the situation where my nose was bleeding?
“Sigh.”
However, upon reflection, I realized that I didn’t have anyone to spar with.
Amelia seemed to have already found a partner, and Han Seyeon, who was even helping with studying, seemed too busy to spare time for a duel.
“Cheon Woojin, I can’t deal with that guy.”
If I sparred with that guy, I would end up dead. He was someone who didn’t understand the concept of controlling strength.
For a moment, Oh Jinhyuk, who was in the same class, came to mind, but I immediately dismissed the thought. He was too reckless, and his style was too different from Yuscal’s.
“Maybe Eun-gaye is the better choice after all.”
In the end, I picked up the smartphone that I had put down. A reply came back within a second of sending the message.
“Now? Okay, wait a moment. I’ll be right there.”