Hestia—there's no denying that she is a sweet and innocent girl. She's also very friendly and easily gets along with others.
But on the other hand, her overly innocent nature tends to make her, without much thought, dislike people who have bad rumors or simply look suspicious at first glance.
Yeah, she believes both what she sees and hears at the same time, and because of that, she really hates Farley, who has a bad reputation.
Moreover, she also seemed displeased with how I treated Leon in the cafeteria.
So I started guessing.
What's Hestia's reason for coming to see me?
"I know you're threatening Leon with something to make him obey you."
Well, of course that's—huh? What?
Who's threatening Leon?
I looked at Hestia in confusion. Her pretty face looked back at me full of hostility.
Did she just say I was threatening Leon? That made no sense at all.
".....?"
"You think I didn't hear it? What are you planning to do to Leon this Sunday? What kind of evil plan is that?"
Evil plan?
Suddenly I became the villain in a drama I didn't even write.
I wondered why Hestia was being so aggressive, but it seemed she didn't hear our conversation clearly.
She was just speculating and then convincing herself that her terrifying imagination was the truth.
How could she be so accurate in her character's description?
I almost wanted to laugh, but that would only make her even angrier.
So, let's respond calmly:
"Well, alright… It seems you're misunderstanding a bit."
"Misunderstanding what?!"
"Leon and I just made an agreement, that's not a threat."
Woah, look at that expression—completely unconvinced.
If you want the truth but don't believe me, you might as well ask Leon directly.
Well, maybe if I lied and said I was holding one of Leon's favorite belongings hostage, she would believe me.
Am I really that bad in her eyes…?
Whatever. I needed to get back and prepare.
There were still a lot of things I had to do right now.
So I didn't bother with small talk and went straight to the point.
"If you're curious, go ask Leon directly."
I waved my hand at her like I was shooing away a wild animal. Realizing that, she winced and made a bitter face.
She hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to leave.
Before that, she stopped and looked at me.
"I'll ask Leon. You better not be lying to me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just go."
And after that, she disappeared from my sight.
I let out a long sigh.
"Now there won't be any more problems, right?"
I really needed some time for myself.
The thought that even just the problems in this academy were already enough to wear me out made me wonder how I'd survive the rest.
Especially when things were still considered safe because the storyline hadn't reached the chaos period yet.
How chaotic would it be then?
"Heh… I really have to get myself ready."
***
At night, I didn't return to the dormitory and instead headed to the training room. Fortunately, academy students were allowed to do whatever they wanted as long as it didn't break any rules.
Of course, any problems they caused would be their full responsibility.
This was different from last time.
Where I had trained under the moon and sunlight, this time I came to the training facility equipped with modern tools.
I let out a breath of awe.
The facility was incredibly spacious.
It was as big as an entire building and had many floors going upward. I smiled, stepping in and placing my foot on the cold marble floor.
At this time, the training facility was completely empty.
There were all kinds of equipment scattered around. Tonight, I came with the intention of shifting my schedule to learn something new.
I walked deeper into the building, climbed a slightly slippery staircase, and arrived at a section with many private rooms.
I walked through and picked a random room.
Using my student card, I tapped it against a special magical device embedded in the wall.
Beep— Beep—
At first, the magic device showed no color and sat silently. But the moment I tapped my student card, it slowly began to blink with a green light.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was enough to draw attention. Slowly, smoke rose from the door in front of me, which then slid open to reveal a spacious, white room.
This facility was one of the finest the academy had to offer. First-year students trained here at the beginning of the school year—unfortunately, I hadn't possessed Farley back then.
But well, with my knowledge of the game, I didn't miss out on how to use this facility.
I walked inside, and the door closed behind me. I stopped in front of a short pedestal standing in front of me. On its top was a solid block attached to what resembled a screen—like a tablet.
The world's setting might be medieval fantasy, but I wasn't sure what the developers were thinking—because there were plenty of items here that resembled those from the modern world.
One of them was this tablet-like object. The difference was, this tablet was made with magic, not science.
I pressed the tablet, and instead of its screen lighting up, a hologram appeared in front of me.
• What would you like to fight?
I read the text, and a list of options appeared below it. My gaze turned to the weakest creature listed.
I may have been training and studying, but I had never applied any of it in an actual fight.
That's why I came here—for the monster simulation facility where I could practice combat.
The place I was going to visit with Leon... would be dangerous, and I couldn't afford to be just a burden.
There were many variables—I didn't know how many—but I needed to be ready for all possibilities.
I pressed one of the options on the hologram.
The screen shifted, and a monster formed.
The monster looked simple, with a head resembling a grasshopper. Its arms and legs were blade-like, and it had something akin to a turtle shell on its back.
Its color was green. This type of monster could be found in many forests. They weren't considered a big deal because of how weak they were.
Of course, that wasn't the case for ordinary humans.
That's why, at the beginning of the school year, these monsters were used as training targets for new students.
In this world, they were called Kavrik. A name that came from a city long since destroyed, passed down until the name became widely known.
It was a rather strange name.
• Do you wish to fight Kavrik?
I looked at the bottom of the hologram, smiled faintly, and pressed "yes."
The hologram flickered, and to my right, I saw a monster form through magic.
The moment I pressed "yes" on the previous hologram, I was instantly submerged in an illusion where the Kavrik appeared as if real right before me.
Kavrik could hurt me, kill me, and make me feel pain. But once I died or won, the illusion would end immediately, and I wouldn't be hurt at all.
At most, I'd be exhausted—physically and mentally—but that was no big deal.
"Alright."
As stated, this place was an illusion.
I pictured it for a moment, and then a sword appeared in my hand. Just a regular iron sword.
It wouldn't be fair if I imagined an overpowered sword, right? Haha. Besides, that wouldn't help me get stronger.
I took a deep breath.
There were many things I wanted to try, but first, I would start by fighting using just my body.
***