On his way to the dormitory, Rohan sent a ssage to Shion and Clara, letting them know he was on his way.
At the sa ti, he pulled up the notifications he needed to check.
‘Should I put off watching the third restricted video for now?’
The notification about the main story being broken was unsettling, and his condition still wasn’t at its best.
If he collapsed again like before, it would be a hassle.
‘Aside from Weakness Infliction, my unique skill level also increased.’
During the chaotic battle, he had only really made use of Weakness Infliction.
Now, he had ti to calmly go through the information he had skimd over.
[Store – Lv.3]
◇ Transcendence (1-ti purchase) – 35,000P
◇ Exclusive Weapon (1-ti purchase) – 30,000P
◇ Monster Communication Potion – 800P
◇ Animal Communication Potion – 700P
◇ Interdiate Health/Mana Potion – 500P
◇ Fatigue Recovery Supplent – 200P
···
◇ Lowest Grade Health/Mana Potion – 100P
◇ Restaurant Reservation Ticket – 50P
◇ Concentration-Enhancing Incense – 50P
···
[Remaining Points – 13,225P]
‘So Transcendence is available for purchase now, and the list of consumables has expanded. Talking to animals? Does that an I could communicate like Noah?’
There were plenty of interesting items, tempting him.
With his remaining points looking comfortable, the temptation was even stronger.
Even after purchasing the Level Up for 20,000 points, his balance was still solid.
That was the brilliance of the Point Pouch reward from Oga’s achievent.
‘No, I need to resist. I should get a weapon or another Transcendence first.’
Closing the store, Rohan moved on to check his next unique skill.
[Fla Judgnt Sword – Lv.2]
◇ First Slash – Fla Severance
◇ Second Slash – Falling Dawn
◇ Third Slash – Light Wing Piercer
A new technique had appeared.
Rohan imdiately understood the essence of Light Wing Piercer.
‘A piercing technique. You release all tension in your body, then apply a burst of montum to stab with flas. The attack requires rotation with mana and wrist control, along with a strong core and flexibility.’
While he grasped the stance and the logic, it was just conceptual understanding.
Without extensive training, it wouldn’t be usable in real combat.
‘…This is going to be hard.’
The movent itself was simple, but the application of mana made it exponentially more difficult.
He couldn’t even imagine how complex the next technique would be.
“Hm.”
Still, the answer was obvious.
It hadn’t changed.
‘Well, no choice but to work hard.’
Even though the challenge was daunting, he was genuinely happy.
Feeling himself gradually getting stronger was motivation in itself.
Later that night—
When Rohan arrived at the dormitory and closed the door behind him, Shion and Clara, who had been quietly waiting, greeted him.
“Oppa!”
“Rohan. You’ve worked hard.”
The warmth of being welcod ho by soone waiting for him—it felt truly comforting.
“You’re surprised I ca back so soon, right? Did you two do well while I was gone?”
“Uh-huh! Did you see the ssages unnie and I sent?”
“There were too many to read all at once. You must’ve sent them without thinking, huh?”
Laughing as they chatted, Rohan put down his things.
He hesitated for a mont, wondering what he should tell them first, then decided to wash up first.
“I’ll take a quick shower.”
“Ah—Oh! O-okay…! The towels are in their usual spot!”
“Thanks.”
Just as he was grabbing a change of clothes, Shion silently approached and tapped his shoulder.
“Rohan. Have you eaten dinner?”
“Not yet. I’m hungry. What about you and Clara?”
“We haven’t either. But we prepared dinner. Wash up, and let’s eat together.”
“Oh! I’ll be quick.”
An unexpected surprise.
Rohan had considered going out to eat, but now he had even more reason to hurry.
“I should probably learn how to cook.”
“Absolutely not. Rohan’s cooking suits my taste better.”
“M- too…!”
Tonight’s al was sothing Shion and Clara had made themselves.
It was touching.
Not just that they thought of him, but that they put in the effort to make it themselves.
And on top of that—it was delicious.
He was already on his third bowl of rice.
“Rohan. Yuho-nim gave the contact for a real estate agent in Academy City.”
“We should check out places together. It’s a big investnt, so we can’t just blindly trust soone’s recomndation.”
“Hm, fair point.”
“If oppa is with us, it’ll be okay…! A-also, walking around the city will be easier…”
“I already promised to go with you two, didn’t I? And we said we’d go shopping together too.”
As Rohan finished the last of his food, Shion and Clara exchanged pleased smiles.
“Oppa. Are you busy tomorrow? Do you have ti…?”
“I have to go to the academy, but there won’t be any classes. I’ll probably just talk about things and leave. Other than that, I don’t have any plans.”
“Then let’s go shopping tomorrow. And if we have ti, we can check out apartnts.”
Rohan nodded without hesitation.
He had already been considering getting a new handgun, and this was a perfect opportunity to get advice from two experts.
‘Maybe I should surprise them tomorrow with the magic-imbued bullets.’
He was curious to see how they’d react.
Even just getting a reaction out of them would be satisfying.
“Shion, are you staying at Clara’s place tonight?”
“Yeah!”
“That’s the plan.”
Rohan imdiately grabbed his jacket.
“I’ll walk you two there. Let’s go.”
“Oppa! Let wash the dishes first…!”
“It’s fine. I’ll do it later. Let’s head out. I should also tell you why the exam ended early.”
For a mont, he considered hiding what happened on the deserted island.
But the three of them had decided to work as a team.
Keeping secrets now would be a breach of trust.
‘If I kept my mouth shut and they found out from soone else… that would be the worst.’
Burying sothing this big would only damage their bond.
Besides, the Reverse Praise Society was directly connected to Shion’s revenge.
This was the perfect opportunity to bring it up naturally.
“I got treated to dinner, so I’ll buy drinks.”
“Rohan. Can I borrow so of your clothes for tonight?”
“M- too… this one…”
Shion had already borrowed one of his t-shirts and workout clothes, while Clara, as usual, had thrown his outerwear over her flashy outfit.
“I don’t mind.”
Satisfied, the two girls followed Rohan outside into the nightti streets.
It was going to be a long conversation.
***
A day without classes at Orion Academy.
Rohan arrived in Class 1 and sat next to Gilbert, recalling the events of the previous night.
‘It was exhausting… but I got through it.’
Explaining everything that had happened on the deserted island to Shion and Clara had taken nearly four hours.
Every ti he spoke, their emotions flared up, and he had struggled to calm them down.
Slrrr—
The front door creaked open, and Dick Wikitree trudged in before slumping into a seat at the back.
Rohan looked at him with curiosity.
“You’re here. You ate, so why do you look like that?”
“…Because of the stuff Gilbert made eat… My stomach is still suffering…”
“Blaming others is just proof of your own weakness! Look at , perfectly fine and healthy!”
Dick glanced at Gilbert’s face and let out a deep sigh.
“…If we end up on the sa team again, I’m forfeiting.”
“If that happens, I’ll knock you out first. You need so sense beaten into you.”
As their pointless back-and-forth continued,
Clatter!
Juyeon opened the door and stepped inside.
Since it was rare for him to visit during non-class hours, the cadets, who had been idly chatting, stopped what they were doing and blinked in surprise.
“Mm, it’s a bit early, but I’ll be conducting interviews with available students. The rest of you can relax.”
Juyeon’s gaze settled on Rohan.
Without a word, Rohan stood up and followed him.
Rohan, who had volunteered to go first, sat across from Juyeon and began the interview.
He provided as many details about Oga as possible.
“So… it erged from the mouth of a worm that crawled up from underground. A grotesque thod I’ve never heard of before.”
“Yes. And it also ntioned sending a sample to soone.”
“Hm…”
Juyeon’s expression darkened as he typed up the information.
“How’s your condition?”
“I’m fine. No discomfort.”
“Even so, you never know. Go to the infirmary for another check-up.”
“Understood.”
Juyeon lifted his mug and took a deep gulp of his jet-black coffee.
Watching him silently, Rohan could see the exhaustion on his face.
It was the sa with the rest of the instructors.
They must have spent the night at the academy without going ho.
Everywhere he looked, instructors were busy answering calls and sorting through stacks of docunts.
Across the room, Instructor Carrot’s rabbit ears drooped lower than usual, a clear sign that she wasn’t in the best condition.
“Instructor.”
“Mm?”
“You didn’t get to go ho last night, did you?”
“That’s not sothing a cadet should worry about.”
Juyeon gave him a small smile and flicked his forehead with a finger.
“Next question…”
As Juyeon continued, Rohan thought about the store.
‘Even if I buy a fatigue recovery supplent, he wouldn’t accept it since it’s from a cadet.’
He wouldn’t mind spending points for soone he owed a favor, but he already knew Juyeon’s personality.
He wouldn’t take it.
That made it frustrating.
“Rohan.”
“Yes.”
Juyeon finished a set of questions and activated his mana.
A sensation of isolation.
The sound didn’t spread beyond the space.
“You have a unique skill, don’t you?”
“…”
Rohan clamped his mouth shut.
Seeing his tension, Juyeon let out a soundless chuckle.
“No need to be so stiff. I don’t intend to pry. But as your instructor, I do have sothing to say.”
“I’m listening.”
“Be careful when using it. If it becos widely known, you’ll attract troubleso attention.”
“…Got it.”
Rohan responded seriously, and Juyeon, satisfied, withdrew his mana.
“The interview is over. Send in another cadet from Class 1 who’s available.”
“Understood.”
“You can either head to the infirmary for a check-up or rest in the classroom. I recomnd the first option.”
“I’ll send soone and go straight to the infirmary.”
Rohan stood, bowed slightly, and left the faculty office.
“Is your interview over?”
“Huh?”
As soon as he stepped out, he saw Ichinose standing there.
After quietly closing the door behind him, Rohan faced the girl, who had her eyes shut.
“Do you want to go in next? The instructor asked to find the next cadet for the interview.”
“That’s fine. But first, I was looking for you—I have sothing to say.”
“For ?”
Ichinose hugged her sword and gave a small nod.
Lowering her head slightly, she hesitated before mustering the courage to speak.
“…Rohan. How about the three of us go out for a al today?”
The three of them, aning Noah included.
It was clearly a continuation of the conversation from yesterday.
What happened to the confidence she had back then?
Rohan wasn’t sure, but regardless, it was a welco invitation.
However.
Unfortunately.
“…Sorry.”
Rohan already had a prior engagent with the girls at the dormitory.
***
‘Next up is Ichinose Yui.’
Juyeon flipped through the docunts as he watched the petite girl enter the faculty office.
“Take a seat.”
“Ah… okay…”
“Hmm?”
Her usual sharp deanor was nowhere to be found.
She looked dazed.
Her energy was off, and her lips were slightly parted as if she were still in shock.
Of course, Juyeon had no idea why.
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