I dislike alcohol and cigarettes.
Alcohol has the ability to reduce a person, minus their intellect, to no more than an animal. It’s a noxious drug that easily overcos even the minimal lines of decency one might have.
Cigarettes rendered people useless. They already damaged my sensitive nose and throat. It never made sense to why soone would buy and smoke such trash.
After my childhood had passed, I had to work to survive.
Those were tough tis, but not unbearably so.
For , without much of an education, the only work available was either physical labor or part-ti jobs.
But with my frail body, I was turned down from every labor job and just managed to snag a convenience store role.
The most popular items at the convenience store were always alcohol and cigarettes.
I dislike alcohol and cigarettes—seeing them, slling them, tasting them. I just hate their existence.
But that’s just my opinion, based on my own experience.
Others can feel differently. There have always been many who indulge in alcohol and end up causing trouble. And those who puff cigarettes until their dying day.
And beyond that, there were people who drank but remained fine, others who smoked but lived well.
I disliked consuming and even slling these things and didn’t want to see them.
Nevertheless, I didn’t impose my thoughts on others. Frankly, unless they were pushing their habits on , it was none of my concern.
Even if Professor Atra drank and smoked to her heart’s content, it wasn’t my business to judge.
Of course, I might distance myself from her if the sll irked , but I wouldn’t go out of my way to advise her against her habits.
Even getting a whiff of the sll wouldn’t cause to faint. Although I’ve had an attack in the past, by now I’ve only been bothered to the point of feeling uncomfortable.
So, what was that just now?
Tucked away within the blankets, I folded back my spatial perception and thought things through.
As soon as I woke up, I nearly panicked, but once I withdrew my spatial perception and the world darkened, wrapped in the warm, soft blanket, I slowly settled down.
mories before fainting rushed into my consciousness. After parting with my dungeon party, I encountered Professor Atra on the way to the library.
And… that utterly repugnant mory.
‘Ugh…’
My stomach churned, and a familiar ache afflicted my gut, an added unpleasantness. The fortunate thing was that I had nothing left to vomit; it was all emptied out in the middle of the street earlier.
My breath trembled. My body, out of control, shivered on its own.
I curled up, shrunk my fra as much as possible, and pulled the blanket tight to create a comfortable space without gaps.
‘Adaptation.’
Being hit hurt. So, I adapted. The next ti, it hurt less.
Hearing insults pained my heart, but gradually I adapted and it beca bearable.
I could adapt to blurry vision, to my aching arm, to the painful throat that made it difficult to speak.
Even when I was temporarily crippled by a hit-and-run drunk driver, I gradually beca accustod to it over ti.
Adaptation.
Life always adapts to its environnt. As the environnt changes every mont, so must life.
I am no different. Complaining about my situation won’t change anything. I need to accept and adapt.
And I need to keep doing so.
“Hu, huh…”
I inhaled. Consciously filled my lungs with air, then slowly exhaled. I repeated this process.
‘It’s okay.’
The current pain, the stabbing headache, the roiling stomach, the sense of revulsion…
I can adapt to all of them. They’re just part of countless adaptations I’ve already made. Failing to adapt ans just that—falling behind. To survive, I must get over this.
As I continued deep breaths, the nauseous sensation subsided. Steeling my resolve, I unraveled the blankets.
“Student Lee Hayul…?”
‘Ugh…’
Through the now unraveled cocoon of blankets, Professor Liana’s voice reached .
Despite folding back my spatial perception, my body instinctively recoiled from the lingering past sensations.
‘It’s okay…’
These things I had already overco in the past, and although they’ve inexplicably recurred, couldn’t I overco them again?
Carefully, I expanded my spatial perception again, making sure not to extend it beyond the confines of the infirmary.
First, I saw Professor Liana standing a bit away from the bed, looking at with a sowhat mysterious expression.
“Are you alright? You seed unwell just now.”
Her voice was laced with concern. Internally sighing with relief, I slowly poked my head out from under the blanket.
I had instinctively recoiled earlier but regretted it. It was rude to show such behavior towards soone expressing concern.
[I’m fine now. I’m sorry about earlier.]
“You don’t have to apologize. If you’re okay now, that’s what matters.”
Professor Liana scanned cautiously, then asked with a delicate tone,
“May I ask what happened just now?”
The question was expected. I tapped thoughtfully on my smartwatch before responding.
[Before that, may I ask you one thing?]
“Of course, anything.”
[Did you drink alcohol yesterday?]
Liana’s movent halted abruptly. She blinked in surprise and tilted her head, looking baffled.
“…Drinking? Yes, I did have a drink yesterday… How did you know?”
I paused my typing.
How did I know indeed… What should I answer?
Could I sll it? No, the curse has blocked out my sense of sll.
[I just could.]
“Huh…? Just like that?”
But I did know. My body had reacted, faster than my spatial perception and magic affinity.
Faced with my answer, Liana’s face hardened. Then, subtly, she brought her wrist to her nose.
“…Could you sll the alcohol?”
[I didn’t sll anything.]
As my nose couldn’t perform its function, I hadn’t lied. Liana, still looking unconvinced, inspected her surroundings with a stiff expression.
“I took a shower right after getting here…? I, I used a massive amount of cleansing magic…”
[I didn’t sll anything.]
A wave of magic swirled around Liana as the cleansing spell was activated. It was a purification magic spell, cast dozens of tis, that enveloped her.
I blankly felt it with my spatial perception, then turned my head away. I deliberately avoided the direction I had been trying not to acknowledge.
Straight in front of the bed. There was Professor Atra, leaning against the wall. An indifferent expression, subtly different from usual. I could detect even minor changes because of my spatial perception.
‘…….’
Cold sweat trickled down. Recollections of the monts right before I fainted stord back.
I had t Professor Atra… and retched right in her face. Involuntarily showing repulsion, I backed away and fainted while a concerned bystander watched.
How foul must the professor have felt? The thought alone was dizzying. What an utter impoliteness. It was behavior sure to sap anyone’s affections…
[I’m truly sorry.]
I stopped typing. What more could I possibly say to apologize? For vomiting right in front of soone?
“That apology is unnecessary.”
While I mulled over my thoughts, her voice reached . I unwittingly flinched. Was she saying that an apology was not even needed? Truthfully, it was a fair response.
As I peeked to gauge the situation, Professor Atra, who had been closely examining my face, turned away and asked,
“…Are you feeling okay?”
[Yes, I’m fine.]
“Then that’s all that matters. Let know imdiately if anything’s amiss.”
[Yes.]
An unexpected exchange ensued. Puzzled, I took a closer look at Professor Atra. Her expression was abnormal, but there was no sign of displeasure.
‘What’s going on?’
“It’s good that you’re awake. I’ll be going now, but if you need to talk, just contact .”
Professor Atra turned to leave. She asked a few things about my condition and then left the health room without fuss, not even asking for the reason behind my earlier behavior.
…What now?
…
…
After casting cleansing magic more than a hundred tis, sowhat regaining her composure, Liana explained the situation to , albeit a bit simplistically.
There were bad mories associated with alcohol and cigarettes, and for so reason, the reaction was more severe this ti, although the precise reason was unclear.
“Hmm… Could it be a ntal issue then? Do you have the results of a psychological evaluation? Most things would have shown up.”
[What’s that?]
“What?”
[What?]
In the course of our conversation, I learned a few facts. Normally, during the entrance exams, candidates would also undergo a psychological evaluation, which I apparently hadn’t done.
It’s a process designed to identify potential ntal issues, but I sohow skipped it and was admitted.
“…Hmm?”
Liana tilted her head in confusion.
“Didn’t I say you had special admission? But even so… to skip such a basic procedure…? I don’t know anymore.”
Looking uncharacteristically flustered, Liana ruffled her hair and sighed deeply. It was a sigh filled with complexity.
“Let’s do an examination together soti. It won’t hurt to check.”
With those words, Liana suddenly checked her smartwatch for the ti.
Lunch hour was already passing by.
“What will you do now? You can leave if you want, but would you like to rest a bit?”
[I’ll rest for a little before heading back.]
“Okay. I’ll go ahead then. If anything cos up, you must contact imdiately, okay?”
After repeating her wishes a few tis for to contact her if anything were to happen, Liana too left the health room.
“……”
Finally alone, I relaxed the tight grip I had on my tension. My body fell backward, the softness embracing all over.
“Uh, ah…”
I barely contained it. Though I tried not to show it outwardly, inwardly I felt emotions strong enough to make want to flee right then.
Atra’s presence. It still struck as particularly frightening and loathso. Liana… while not as much as Atra, I still felt aversion.
‘I’m tired…’
It hadn’t even been a few hours since I erged from the dungeon, and here I was in this state. Sighs ca easily to . Curling up, I pulled a pillow close and clutched it tightly.
Covering myself with the blanket was an added bonus.
In this way, I managed to calm down for a while. Perhaps because both Atra and Liana were out of the vicinity, I slowly started to feel better.
‘…What to do.’
My initial plan had been to head straight to the library, but now I was in this state. I was ntally exhausted. Walking to the library seed too much; I felt like I could faint on the way.
But I couldn’t afford to just waste ti.
The dungeon practice had just finished, but right next week, an even more important event was scheduled.
The Tower of Growth entrance.
In the original work, this was when the Event of Snowblow truly began to unfold. How well I capitalized on this event would shape the trajectory of my growth curve.
I had planned to check on the magic anomaly and dive right into preparations… but now, my schedule had gone awry.
Today was Tuesday, and entrance to the Tower of Growth was next Monday.
At most, six days left. Ti was tight.
Likely, other students felt the sa, preparing for next week with a mix of worry and anticipation.
But I needed to prepare even more than them because of the tag ‘special admission student’.
This ti, every freshman would enter the tower.
The issue wasn’t everyone’s participation.
Competition among students inside the tower would be allowed. Since the tower would essentially render pain minimal and injuries illusionary, they were encouraged to compete thoroughly.
Here, the ‘special admission’ tag beca problematic.
Basically, it was a continuation of Aidan’s previous attitude.
When he apologized, he offered a motive saying he was curious.
A special admission student? What’s so great about you? Who are you, to have entered on special conditions? I don’t really know…
Let’s check it now.
A swarm of students with such thoughts would flood over .
That’s how it was in the original.
In the first part of the main story, the early ga events involved characters with low regards for the player, instigating the sabotage…
If I co out on top here, the growth graph charts upwards. And if I fail… there would be a delay.
And this crucial event is less than a week away.
I heaved sigh after sigh.
I couldn’t do nothing, so I brought up the magic books I had previously downloaded on my smartwatch, in hologram form.
…
…
– Knock knock… Click.
“Hayul, are you okay…?”
‘Ah.’
It wasn’t much after Liana had left when Hong Yeon-hwa ca to visit .
After a cautious knock, her upper body peeked through the slightly opened door.
In her hand, she carried a bag full of magic-infused nutritional supplents.
No feelings of discomfort or aversion arose at the sight of her.
In her twinkling red eyes, an overflow of concern and a warm, cozy aura were palpable.
It was an indescribable, fluffy feeling.
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