Chapter 15

!Sudden Quest!
: Take an academy class together with Hayden!
Success Reward: Hayden Tracker, Hint for the Next Quest / On failure, Theodore Affection –10

Even after entering the classroom, I kept checking the quest window. I’d opened a book appropriately so I wouldn’t look strange.

Having scanned the quest window once more, I thought.

‘Not bad?’

This quest’s difficulty was surprisingly okay. The timing of its appearance was a bit infuriating, but there was no time limit, and the failure penalty was similar to before.

Theodore’s affection dropping out of nowhere was a bit strange, but anyway.

‘Is it because the rewards are ambiguous?’

A Hayden Tracker and a hint for the next quest.

First of all, the former wasn’t particularly useful. What am I supposed to do with knowing where that guy is? Am I supposed to chase him down every time?

‘Please, spare me from that…’

I prayed it wasn’t that and shifted my gaze. What I was curious about was the second reward next to it.

A hint for the next quest.

Weren’t my quests supposed to trigger suddenly only when I met key characters?

‘It’s really hard to figure out.’

Regardless, it wasn’t a quest I had to complete urgently, so I decided to take it easy.

It was already the start of the semester and I was busy adjusting—I didn’t have the mental energy to go around clearing trivial quests like that. The rewards weren’t urgently needed either.

The only thing that bothered me was how to find Hayden, who was darting here and there…

!Help!
Try out the ‘Hayden Tracker’ in advance!
(However, the trial version can only be used once.)

Even that worry was alleviated when the system kindly provided this. Right, I’m chasing down an awakened individual with movement skills—this much support should be provided.

‘If it really comes down to it, I’ll spread a rumor about myself.’

He seemed like the type to show up immediately if I did that.

Of course, this was truly a last resort. I wanted to avoid using it if possible. Lucy Saint already had more than enough rumors.

Anyway, having reached some conclusion, I turned off the quest window. And just in time, the professor entered.

“Hello, everyone.”

This class was ‘Ethics of Awakened Individuals,’ a very standard theory class, and the professor in charge was a gentle middle-aged woman named Josephine.

After greeting us, she began the class in a calm voice, as if reading a fairy tale.

“Three hundred years ago, the sudden birth of monsters brought about an era of chaos. Everyone fought against the monsters with all their strength, but the monsters only continued to multiply.”

Oh, it’s the original background lore.

It was full of holes, perhaps due to the author’s lack of ability, but the important thing was the protagonist’s narrative, not history anyway.

And readers who cared about that kind of thing had all dropped out in the very early chapters, so at some point there weren’t even malicious comments about setting errors. There was just the silent treatment, which is scarier than malicious comments.

“In that era, awakened individuals were born. What began as a very small number quickly grew, and as time passed, we eventually won. And even now, we periodically control the monster population.”

Well, saying we won is a bit…

No matter how many we kill, monsters keep spawning, so humans compromised appropriately. By periodically subjugating them to control the population.

“However, afterward, a small number of awakened individuals began causing problems. Those with superior physical abilities compared to ordinary people abused them to commit crimes.”

“……”

“Eventually, the nations gathered and signed a treaty. Called the ‘Awakened Ethics Convention.’ The same name as this class, isn’t it?”

Josephine looked around at the students, who were still bright-eyed since it was the first day, then hardened her gentle expression slightly and said.

“Your power must always be used for good. If there is any student who cannot accept this, you may leave this class right now.”

At her firm words, the students’ faces also turned serious. Seeing that, Josephine smiled gently again and finished.

“Of course, in all of Krangbuiyer’s history, not a single student has ever left.”

She laughed softly and made a joke. At that, the children’s faces relaxed again, and the class continued in that manner.

‘I understand why the system created this class.’

Even though it was Lucy’s body, as long as I’m the one using it, the responsibility for this power is entirely mine.

Somehow my heart felt a little heavy. Because it sounded as if it was telling me to take responsibility as an awakened individual.

But since I fully understood her intention, I quietly nodded like the other children.

* * *

Fuck.

I simply could not understand this system.

‘Why on earth did it create a crazy class like this?’

I thought as I gasped for breath that reached all the way to my chin. But no matter how I thought about it, this was a situation that warranted cursing.

So let me curse one more time. Fuck.

“Don’t stop! There are still 10 more laps left!”

“Huff, huff—!”

“With that weak mindset of yours! You will never survive in this academy!”

Is this a battlefield?

Should we be debating life and death at an academy for teenagers!

I moved my legs, which felt like they’d collapse any second, out of sheer obligation. At this point, I was confused about how I was even breathing.

‘Damn, I’m screwed.’

How did I normally breathe again?

Inhale once, exhale twice?

Or exhale once, inhale twice??

Once the pattern got tangled, my breath started rushing like crazy. I urgently opened my status window.

Would you like to use 1 point on ‘Health’?

Yes!

I madly mashed the confirm button.

Status Window

▸ Health: (D-) → (D)

Hoo…

Only now could I finally breathe. Of course, it was still overwhelmingly hard, but at least it was hard enough that my head could still function.

Just moments ago, I’d only been thinking about wanting to quit.

‘This system bastard, is it messing with me!’

This class—’Basic Training 1’—was actually a class that appeared in the original. Under the name ‘Basic Training 2.’

But it wasn’t this intense. It was a class at a level that awakened individuals could handle without difficulty!

It seemed this crazy system had arbitrarily added another setting.

‘This semester, all of you will be reborn with bodies worthy of awakened individuals.’

‘……’

‘From my long experience, if you all suffer for just one semester! Next semester, you’ll be able to do these drills with great ease!’

The assistant instructor—no, the professor—in training clothes and a red cap declared confidently.

So you’re saying you’ll work us hard now so it won’t be hard in the second semester? You inserted this kind of bullshit setting?

I barely swallowed the curse that was about to burst out.

“Five more laps!”

That meant we were already on our 95th lap around this training ground. Damn it.

Look at this vast training ground. Even for awakened individuals, from the 50th lap onward, you’re just running because you can’t die.

‘Running 100 laps around this place would kill even monsters…!’

Having come up with a new monster-hunting method, I looked around. Even then, I didn’t have the strength to turn my head, so I just rolled my eyes.

‘Where’s Theodore…?’

Ah.

He’d already fallen behind.

Theodore was already dry-heaving in that corner.

‘Should I just throw up and collapse too?’

I thought about it for a moment.

“Trainees will complete their remaining laps separately later. Understood?”

And I immediately gave up on that thought.

Rather than doing this again later, I’d rather finish it now.

“Aaagh—!”

I burned my last remaining stamina.

That went for my comrades next to me—no, my classmates—as well. Everyone ran with all their hearts, screaming.

And so, we finally made it to 100 laps.

“Good work. Ten-minute break!”

Thud—

The Class F students, including me, all collapsed simultaneously. It didn’t matter whether this was the training ground or whatever. We were just busy gasping for breath with our legs drained of strength.

In the end, all of us except for one dropout completed the run.

No, if you really count, there’s one more.

‘That Hayden bastard…’

This guy ditched.

He slipped out of this class that’s too good to experience alone!

‘Just you wait until I catch you…!’

I ground my teeth, lamenting that Hayden alone hadn’t experienced this hell. I planned to bury his bones in this training ground.

Meanwhile, the Basic Training 1 professor approached us and kindly said.

“Next, 1,000 push-ups!”

Ha, should I just ditch too?

I seriously considered deserting.