REINCARNATED IN "THE NOVEL´S EXTRA"

"Theo. Good morning!"

"Good morning, Theo!"

"Hello, Cadet Theo!"

"Oh! Hey. Good morning!"

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Nayun, Suho, and the class president approaching.

Nayun, with a small Band-Aid on her neck, quickly approached and glanced at the seat next to me.

Looking at the bandage that hid the hickey from last night, I felt a strong urge to tease her, but quickly decided against it.

"Is this seat taken?"

I looked at the chair previously occupied by Yeonha.

"Yes. No one's sitting there."

As soon as I confirmed it was empty, Nayun immediately sat down, making herself comfortable.

Yeonghan and Suho looked at her in surprise.

"What? Is there something in my hair?"

Seeing them stare so intently, she asked while fixing her hair, tossing a few strands behind her ear.

"Huh?! No, it's just that..."

Suho scratched the side of his head, wondering if he should bring it up. He glanced at his friend Yeonghan.

"Didn't you say you were going to sit a bit farther from the podium?"

Class President Yeonghan reminded her of what she had said yesterday when the three of them were discussing their new lives at Cube.

"Ah! That... I decided to sit in the front today..."

Suho and Yeonghan didn't say anything, instead, they both just shrugged.

"We're heading to our seats now, class is about to start. We'll talk more later, Theo."

"See you in a bit, Theo."

"Later, guys!"

As soon as they left, silence fell over the tables where Theo and Nayun were sitting.

"It's because of your brother, isn't it?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Not to others, but it's easy for me to guess."

The truth was, after that very important conversation with Theo last night (Ahem! Yes, a very important conversation), Nayun found herself thinking about many things regarding herself, wondering if it was time to pick up the sword again, questioning if what she had been doing so far was right, and if all her efforts up to this point were truly enough.

"So you decided that from today onward, you would behave better and try to improve compared to your time at the Military Academy."

"Err! How?"

She had planned not to tell anyone about this, as many might worry about such an abrupt change.

"It's easy to read you..."

With one arm resting on the table, Theo raised his hand to Nayun's forehead and gave her a light flick.

Even though it didn't hurt, she began to gently massage the spot where Theo had flicked her.

"So easy that you wouldn't even imagine... Anyway, I just think it wouldn't be good for you to push yourself so hard."

Effort wasn't just good; it was necessary in the life of an aspiring Hero. But when that effort was misinterpreted, it became a cunning poison.

Theo turned his body and leaned closer to her, close enough to make others think there was something more between the two.

"Don't think that your brother and I would be happy with this."

"Idiot! There are so many people here."

Caught off guard, Nayun turned her face away, muttering in embarrassment. Images from last night began flooding her mind, making her blush even more.

The classroom, which had seemed oblivious to their conversation, now had cadets glancing sideways, some better at hiding it than others.

Low murmurs arose here and there.

Jonghak, noticing Nayun interacting so friendly with Theo, narrowed his eyes and tightly gripped the edge of his desk, clearly not liking the interaction between the two at all.

Meanwhile, Yeonha, from her distant seat, watched everything with an indecipherable expression, sometimes furrowing her brow, other times glancing at Jonghak beside her.

Rachel, the princess of England, looked at the scene with a small hint of curiosity, nothing more.

'Hah! This might be more problematic than I thought.'

Hajin, sitting in a corner, just sighed, muttering something to himself as if he had finally reached a conclusion—the conclusion that Theo was an unpredictable variable he hadn't anticipated encountering after ending up inside his own novel.

Perhaps things were more complicated than they seemed.

While the cadets were focused on Nayun and Theo in their own ways, the instructor responsible for the class entered the room.

And those who noticed immediately fell silent.

"I see everyone is quite happy and chatty... So, to make use of this energy, let's start our class with a very familiar topic for all of you."

Without waiting for the students' responses, the instructor waved her hand, and a hologram of Earth appeared, floating for everyone to see.

"Outcall"

Outcall—a magical power surge that shook the world 50 years ago. Mysterious entities like towers, dungeons, and monsters appeared after this incident. These chaotic existences destroyed the very foundation of humanity and turned the blue planet into a hellscape. Towers and dungeons endlessly produced monsters that devoured humans.

Humanity's science and technology lost all meaning in the face of these newfound calamities. Society collapsed, and the rule of law reverted to the law of the jungle. Survivors succumbed to their instincts and lost all human virtues.

And as a light to bring hope...

Heroes emerged like shining stars within this inferno. They wielded transcendent powers and corrected the chaos. The world was rebuilt as quickly as it had collapsed. They brought miracles with gifts granted by the heavens. With their help, humanity regained its virtues and developed magical science and magical engineering.

Towers, dungeons, and monsters were all eventually designated as targets for destruction. However, the differences between them were vast. Towers required many people and a long period of time. On the other hand, a single person could conquer a dungeon depending on its difficulty. Towers granted the greatest rewards humans could ever dream of.

This was a very important subject for anyone seeking to enter the world of Heroes, but even so.

When these words were spoken, the cadets' expressions instantly changed. Not because they were eager to learn about the topic, but because they knew they were about to face a boring and tedious class. After all, everyone there knew more than enough about what "Outcall" meant. This was a topic everyone had learned since preschool, and no one liked revisiting it.

"I'm going to die!"

Nayun cursed her fate, realizing that maybe it hadn't been a good idea to sit so close to the podium.

***

The hours dragged on, and the class continued in an endlessly boring manner.

"Ugh! What a headache! Why do I have to learn this?! Shouldn't it be enough to just show my skills in practice? Written exams are so annoying."

Nayun asked the heavens, raising her arms in frustration, as if in a desperate prayer.

She was about to collapse from boredom.

"...And you stop laughing."

Beside her, someone was having a lot of fun with all of this.

"What?! I didn't do anything this time."

Feigning innocence, Theo spoke, his eyes still fixed on the instructor's lecture, which explained areas with high mana concentration, monster behavior, djinns on the wanted list, and so on...

"Relax... Class is about to end anyway, so hang in there."

By my estimates, and from what I remembered of the original...

The bell finally rang after 2 hours.

"Bingo!"

The girl's eyes beside me sparkled like stars.

But the following words made her radiant expression darken.

"Make sure to review your notes today. Otherwise, you'll cry during the exam."

The gray-haired, round-glassed teacher left with those words.

"Ugh! So..."

"Annoying, I know, no need to repeat it... Calm down, we'll have Anti-Monster Combat training soon."

As the name suggested, this was combat training against monsters. The monsters used in class were mana puppets, but their appearance and destructive power were faithful to the real thing. They might be weaker than their true versions, but there was a real chance of getting hurt.

I was calm; after all, a class like this would be like a walk in the park with all the power I carry.

I slightly turned my gaze, and in the left corner of the room, I saw someone who might not be doing so well with all of this.

Hajin had a small look of dread on his face.

"Everyone! We're heading to the gym in 20 minutes."

***