NOVEL NEXT chapter 7
Day Before School Starts
Day Before School Starts
Already, only one day left until school starts.
Today, I halted my usual routine.
Instead of the running and weight training I was engrossed in to raise my physical prowess, there’s something else I need to do.
“…A transfer application for the inter-grade exchange?”
Olympia Academy’s lecture hall has an administration office.
In ＜The Song of Swords and Magic＞, it’s a place you absolutely need to visit to participate in academic events. You usually need to submit participation applications here to enter an event.
I came for the same reason.
“Yes.”
“Hmm. Student, your name is Herak, right?”
*Shlrrrrt*
The faculty member flips through a roster labeled [Department of Magic, 2nd Year Students]. Their hand, quickly skimming the page, stops at my name.
The single word, ‘Substitute’, is incredibly critical.
“Student Herak. Um… I’m sorry to say this, but shouldn’t you reconsider? I think it might be dangerous for you.”
“It doesn’t matter. Please accept it.”
“Hmm…”
The faculty member makes a troubled face.
A phrase subtly hidden from my view. I had a feeling what it said, even though I couldn’t see it.
‘Probably something like “scheduled for expulsion”, that’s what it probably says.’
The academic office wants to let things go smoothly without any issues, and they’re worried something might happen.
“I’ll take full responsibility, so please let me participate. Anyway, I know I’m on the verge of expulsion.”
“Ah, ahaha. You’ve already heard?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it, so please accept it.”
“Haa. If you insist…”
The sight of the application in my hand being placed in the document file.
That handles phase one of dodging expulsion.
A satisfied smirk on my face, I turned on my heel.
Next stop isn’t somewhere to flex these tired bones, but to use my head.
*
Beyond the administrative office, the lecture hall had other spots.
Spaces designed to, you know, boost student learning. Like a library.
Most of the magic students are usually here, though.
─Look, it’s the underachiever, isn’t it?
─Yeah, it is. What’s he doing here? He won’t amount to anything.
─Gotta be trying to do something, right? Heard he’s facing expulsion.
The background noise still buzzes around me.
Their displeasure at my presence is clear as day.
“Tsk, tsk.”
You shouldn’t be so discriminatory like that. Uneducated morons.
But hey, it makes reading easier. They scattered the second I approached the table.
Felt like I had my own private booth.
*Thud!*
The books I’m carrying hit the table with a loud bang.
A pile so high that other mages wouldn’t even dream of attempting to carry.
“Hoo.”
This amount should be good enough.
I sit down, grabbing a book.
Its title: [Introduction to Elemental Studies].
‘It’s best to start with the ones on the second year syllabus.’
Not just the courses I’ll be taking.
The reason I brought so many books is to really nail down what I know, and what I don’t.
‘I can’t rely on the information I got from ＜The Song of Swords and Magic＞.’
Simple logic.
The original story lays out a bunch of settings about this world.
History, countries, regions, culture, and even magic.
But a setting book alone can’t replace all information.
Your practical score wasn’t evaluated with the Chairman’s wishes in mind, but. Your written exam is, at best, upper-middle, and you haven’t produced any other notable achievements.
The Vice-Chairman pointed out my written score.
Meaning, my written score is also something I need to improve.
But I don’t know how useful the information I got from ＜The Song of Swords and Magic＞ will be.
So, I needed to go through the book myself and distinguish between what I know and what I don’t.
For example, something like this.
────────────────
【Wind Gun】
※ Element: Wind
※ Rank: Low
※ Nature: Projectile
※Casting Method
1. Raise your arm. Extend your index finger and thumb, and fold the remaining fingers, then, ……
────────────────
‘This magic wasn’t in the setting book.’
It’s a magic that appears occasionally, but there isn’t any specific information about how to cast it.
But if it’s a magic included in the lectures I’ll be taking, I need to learn it.
That way I can improve my written score too.
Ironically, the magic I’m confident in are special and powerful ones.
Like Irina’s ‘Eye of the Storm’ from the original work.
I’m good with that kind of ‘distinctive’ information.
As I was going through the book and categorizing information.
“Hey, Herak!”
Someone plopped down in the seat right in front of me.
A very affectionate attitude, compared to the guys who usually wouldn’t even come near me.
Curious about who was doing this extraordinary thing, I looked up.
Long, cherry blossom-colored hair reaching down to her waist.
She’d intentionally styled her sideburns to stick out a bit, which was a nice accent.
Between her delicately arranged features, pink eyes were staring right at me.
“Why is *this* guy after me?”
I remembered who it was.
A character I often encountered when I was on the mage route.
Penel, the valedictorian of the second year in the Department of Magic.
“How have you been? It’s good to see your face seems brighter.”
“Do you have business with me?”
“Hehe. You’re still as standoffish as ever?”
Her smiling face was strangely familiar.
The way she treated me wasn’t awkward at all.
As if she’d gone through this situation many times before.
‘Did Herak know this guy?’
He was such a minor extra, his relationships were unclear.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if he knew Penel.
But it didn’t feel like they were friends.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve been running all over the academy lately, haven’t you?”
“…Who the hell is spreading those rumors?”
“Ooh-hoo. A mage working so hard at exercise is naturally the talk of the town. You’re incredibly famous, you know?”
“I’m not exactly thrilled about it.”
I don’t want to stand out and get targeted.
“Yeah. But I’m kind of relieved? Well, it’s like, Herak, your usual self looked like you were going to dig straight into the earth, I was really worried about you.”
“……”
“Besides, you didn’t respond much to what I said before, but now we’re having such a great conversation. Ooh-hoo.”
‘Something’s strange here.’
It doesn’t seem like she’s being friendly because we’re close.
But it’s clear that she has a considerable amount of goodwill towards me.
‘…Could she be into me?’
No, that couldn’t be it.
Let’s stop the adolescent daydreaming.
“I’m telling you, Herak, someday you’ll— Whoa!”
“Penel! I told you not to talk to me…!”
A hand grabbed Penel’s shoulder as she was about to say something to me.
A woman in plain clothes, with thick glasses and carelessly braided pigtails.
Who was it again… I can’t remember her name. I think she was Penel’s friend.
If you were to weigh it, she was an extra, kind of like Herak.
“Ah, wait a minute, I wasn’t finished saying…”
“I’m telling you, it’s better not to get involved! We’ll get the evil eye for no reason. Let’s go.”
Penel’s friend grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away.
Penel, still clinging with her eyes on me as her friend dragged her.
And then she winked with a flicker of her eye, it definitely seems like she fancies me.
I have no idea why though.
‘She took her away nicely. Good job.’
Penel is a character who often gets tangled with Irina.
Even though she’s not a main character, it’s not good if she shows me excessive attention.
I was really grateful that her friend pulled her away right then.
“Okay. Shall we get back to reading…”
The unexpected interruption was over.
I held the book in my hand and returned to reading with a proper posture.
I had a hunch that I could complete all the work with just a single day of investment.
‘Feels like my brain got an upgrade, somehow.’
If you’re going by specs, my intelligence seems to be better than my past life self.
It probably wasn’t from Herak but from the 【Ultimate Body】.
It’s literally like my body got better and my IQ improved.
I could study with a much lighter heart.
*
After finishing all the work and returning to my room in the dormitory.
I lay on the bed and stared into the empty space.
────────────────
【Herak Leonhardt】
s*x : Male
Age : 21
State: Olympia Academy, 2nd Year
※STATUS
Strength: 1
Stamina: 1
Agility: 1
Mana Capacity: 10
Mana Efficiency: 10
Mana Sensitivity: 0
※UNIQUE
【Ultimate Physique】 NEW!
────────────────
“Wonder how much it’ll take to get to 2.”
Gotta get it up before the inter-grade exchange at the very least.
Don’t know who I’ll face, but just a physical cheat ain’t gonna cut it against a knight student. Need the basic build to even have a shot.
“And seems like another reason to win the inter-grade exchange just popped up.”
The NEW! indicator on the Unique section says it all.
────────────────
【Ultimate Physique】 NEW!
[Story Progression Reward]
※ Cheat Selection Ticket:
Lionheart
Berserker
Golden Ratio
…
[Reward Claim Condition: Act 1, Chapter 4, Inter-Grade Exchange Victory]
────────────────
“I’m not even the main character, so why am I being told to push the story?”
Can’t say I’m not a little dissatisfied, but even without the reward, it’s an event I’d have to participate in regardless.
And they’re throwing in an additional cheat selection ticket, so no reason to turn that down.
“Though, who I’m going to be facing is still up in the air.”
I really want to nail the dishonorable title of “knight who lost in a power struggle to a mage” on someone.
Like that kid, Jackson, or whatever his name was.
Maybe I’ll run into him again at the inter-school exchange.