Timetable
Geumgang Academy had morning homeroom, too.
Therefore, students had to report to their assigned classes by 8:30 a.m., when homeroom began, or by 9 a.m. at the latest, when morning classes started.
Even those of us who had drunk and played until dawn were no exception.
After returning to our rooms and barely getting any sleep, we had to drag our exhausted bodies to class.
“Haam… Morning. You got here early.”
“…Yeah, morning. Looks like you drank a lot? But it’s not like we have assigned seats, so do you really have to sit next to— Huh? Hey, what are you doing instead of listening to me!?”
“Sleeping. And the front is too much pressure, so let’s sit a little farther back next time.”
“What? When did I say I’d sit with you!? No, I’m telling you to listen to me before you sleep or whatever!”
First year, Class 17.
When I entered the classroom, Min Arin had arrived first and was sitting in her seat.
She had been reading a book that looked like a grimoire, and from the morning on, she started needling me.
Too tired to even respond, I simply collapsed onto the desk.
“Hello? Are you going to listen to me?”
‘I had no idea Haneul could drink that much….’
Even in my previous life, I didn’t think we’d ever drunk quite like we had last night.
It was because of Yeon Haneul.
—I… I don’t think I can drink anymore….
—Me neither…. I’m dizzy….
—Geumdong hyung, are you okay?
—Eundong hyung, where are you looking while you’re talki— Urp…!
—D-Dongdong! The bathroom’s over there!
—…I told you to go throw up in your own room.
Because of the drinking game led by Go Eunbi, the pace at which people emptied their glasses sped up.
One by one, people got drunk and began losing control of their bodies.
Even I was having a hard time holding on.
The moment I let go of the thread of consciousness, my eyes felt like they would slide shut on their own.
—Ah, it’s sweet.
Even in that situation, Yeon Haneul was perfectly fine, just sipping her drink.
She was a far heavier drinker than I had expected.
The only one among us who could match her drink for drink was Yong Haerang.
—What’s this? Did everyone go down from just this? Yeon Haneul, you seem pretty good… Can you drink one more glass?
—Yeah, give me one too.
—Good. A man ought to know how to answer like that! You are the true man here! Yong Haerang of the chivalrous Yong Clan! From today onward, Yeon Haneul, I acknowledge you as my drinking buddy! Cheers!
—…You’re not drunk, are you? I don’t know where to even begin correcting that, but sure…. Here, cheers.
While everyone else sprawled out in my room,
the two sat across the table from each other, pouring and receiving drinks back and forth.
As Yeon Haneul’s childhood friend, I couldn’t just sit by and watch.
I knew very well that she was uncomfortable around Yong Haerang.
On top of that, I felt sorry for her having to deal with him alone.
So I forced myself to cut in.
—…Give me one too.
—Hm? Gyeonu, can you drink more? If it’s hard, go lie down on the bed and rest.
—I’m perfectly sober, so I don’t need to rest. If it comes down to it, my Gift will activate. So give me a glass too.
—Yes! That’s what makes it fun! As expected of the man I acknowledged!
—You said you don’t even know what your Gift is, didn’t you? …You’re not thinking it’ll awaken if you drink, are you? Yeah, you’re drunk. How many fingers do you see?
—Two.
—Wrong, that’s incorrect. It’s three.
—Your ears are two.
—Hey, you’re supposed to look at my hand.
—And your tail is one….
—…You’re drunk. If it’s hard, lean on me and rest. And drink slowly. Or you can lie down with your head on my lap.
—I told you, I’m not drunk.
—Yes, yes, little Gyeonu is right. Would you like some water? Teacher will feed it to you herself~
—I’m not drunk….
—Yeah, you’re drunk. Definitely drunk.
Barely clinging to my senses,
I drank until daybreak with my shoulder pressed against Yeon Haneul’s.
Even then, neither she nor Yong Haerang showed the slightest sign of wavering.
No, Yong Haerang only looked that way; at some point, he had fallen asleep while still sitting upright.
—Krrrgh….
—Wow… how does he sleep in that posture?
—Phew…. Haneul, are you going to drink more?
—Mm…. It looks pretty late, so should we drink just one more bottle and stop? Gyeonu, if you’re tired, you can sleep.
—…No. One bottle of soju will go down quickly, so I’ll drink with you.
At that point, I was on the verge of death myself.
But I couldn’t bear to let Yeon Haneul drink alone, so I desperately held on to my consciousness.
“Hey, I’m asking if you’re listening to me.”
‘I’m so sleepy I could die….’
After all that, I had come to school without having slept much.
There was no way I wouldn’t be drowsy.
I wanted to sleep even a little more before homeroom began, but Min Arin kept buzzing beside me, noisy and annoying.
Still lying face-down on the desk, I turned my head to one side and looked up at her.
“Sorry, but could you be quiet? I didn’t get any sleep yesterday….”
“…What? Are you saying I’m noisy right now?”
“I never said that…. You’re full of energy from the morning. I guess you didn’t drink yesterday. Seeing as you’re not that tired.”
“What are you talking about? I drank yesterday too, you know? You drank a stupid amount and now you’re judging me however you want?”
“How much did you drink yesterday?”
“…One can of beer. Why?”
“That’s all you drank?”
“That’s why I said you drank a stupid—”
“Who did you drink with?”
“…”
“Then again, with your personality, there’s no way you drank with other people. I bet you just sipped it alone in your room.”
“…!”
Min Arin had a strongly self-righteous personality.
She was also highly driven, wanting her excellence to be acknowledged.
She even had an ingrained sense of elitism.
There was no way someone like her would have friends she could comfortably open her heart to, laugh with, and spend time with.
Seeing the look on her face that said I had hit the mark, it seemed my guess had been right.
“You, you….”
She was flustered.
Not only were Min Arin’s reflexes poor, but when she was hit with an unexpected attack, her reactions slowed to an extreme.
I turned my head away from her, whose face had gone as red as her hair and whose mouth only opened and closed like a goldfish’s, and buried myself on the desk again.
Then I merely waved a hand.
“Let’s have a drink together next time. I’ll call the others and set something up.”
“…I-I don’t need that! I hate unproductive fooling around, you know? Wh-Who says I’ll come just because you invite me!?”
“Anyway, I’m sleeping.”
“Kh….”
I knew that while she said that outwardly, inwardly she was secretly looking forward to it.
As if I wouldn’t know Min Arin’s personality.
Once she stopped sniping at me, I decided to get some sleep.
Time seemed to pass in an instant.
“Hey, wake up.”
“Mm….”
Min Arin nudged me with her elbow.
Waking up feeling stiff all over, I saw Hong Yena and Yu Noeul enter the classroom.
It was time for homeroom.
Hong Yena called attendance.
“…Thankfully, everyone’s here. Since it was your first time drinking, I’m glad there isn’t a single person who, without knowing their alcohol limit, drank themselves blind and ended up absent. Well, you can get rid of drunkenness with magic, so if you had any sense, you would have done that.”
“Ugh….”
“Still, it looks like quite a few of you are suffering from hangovers. Or is it because you stayed up late drinking and couldn’t sleep? Either way, drink in moderation. Did you come to the Academy to drink?”
“That’s right, everyone! Even if you play when it’s time to play, you have to fulfill your duties as students. Hurry up and get yourselves together!”
After sweeping her gaze around the lecture room and closing the attendance book, Hong Yena clicked her tongue briefly and spoke.
For some reason, her gaze seemed to linger on me in particular.
Meanwhile, Yu Noeul clapped her hands in a cheerful voice, waking the students up.
Then Hong Yena gave instructions.
“The class representative and vice representative, come up and hand these printouts out to everyone.”
“Yes….”
It was annoying, but it couldn’t be helped.
I got up with Min Arin and distributed the printouts to the students.
Since many students were sitting far apart, we had no choice but to walk all around the lecture room.
‘This just makes things harder for us…. Should we fix the seating later so they can pass them back?’
That seemed like the better choice.
If the students protested in the process, I could just beat them down with force.
After handing out all the printouts, I took my seat, deciding to look for an opportunity soon.
The printout contained information about the course guide.
At that moment, Yu Noeul operated the computer and projected the same contents onto the screen.
“Keep in mind that you’re no longer children. If you’ve come to the Academy, that means you need to be able to take care of yourselves. From now on, think and act for yourselves. Don’t tell me you think that once you become students, you can just sit quietly in class, waste time, and naturally become Hunters. Anyone thinking like that had better fix that mindset immediately. Or, if not, it isn’t too late even now, so drop out and return to the life of an ordinary person. We won’t lose anything. Even if you withdraw, there are plenty of students and applicants who can take your place.”
“…”
Standing in front of the screen with her arms crossed,
Hong Yena spoke bluntly.
The atmosphere instantly grew solemn.
I could feel the stinging gazes of the students pouring in from behind me.
But she, who was receiving all those gazes, did not care in the slightest.
“Instructors are only people who present the direction you should take to become Hunters and give you advice. We are not people who make you into Hunters. You become Hunters by your own efforts. So I hope none of you are naive enough to think you can just take the classes given to you like when you went to school on the mainland. From now on, you have to choose which classes to take. The printout I handed out….”
“Instructor, bathroom….”
“The instructor is not a bathroom! From now on, if you want to go to the bathroom, just quietly get up and go.”
“Didn’t I just say that? You are no longer children, so you need to be able to think and act for yourselves. Do you need permission for something like that too?”
“…”
“Look at the screen. I’m going to explain the Academy’s course curriculum now.”
When I turned around, a student with a bright red face was leaving through the door.
Yu Noeul merely smiled without a word, while Hong Yena sighed with a pathetic look on her face.
Then she began her explanation.
“The classes you will take over the next three years can be broadly divided into morning and afternoon classes. In the case of morning classes….”
The explanation was as follows.
A class taken once a week for fifty minutes is worth one credit.
Academy students must take classes and complete at least thirty-five credits per semester.
There is no maximum limit on credits that can be taken.
Only afternoon classes can be selected freely.
Morning classes are fixed as the classes conducted by the homeroom instructor.
At this time, the credits that can be earned through morning classes amount to fifteen.
“So you must take the afternoon classes you want with the remaining twenty credits, excluding those fifteen. If you want to take more than that, you may…. At this point, afternoon classes are….”
It wasn’t enough simply to fill twenty credits.
Afternoon classes were categorized into classes such as specialization, liberal arts, humanities, character education, and practical studies.
In order to graduate, Academy students had to complete the minimum required credits in each category.
The minimum required credits differed depending on each student’s academic affiliation.
“I can’t show you every required credit count according to affiliation, so look at the printout.”
“…”
The academic affiliations of Academy students were divided into series and disciplines.
The main series included combat, production, administration, and so on.
In the case of the combat series, disciplines consisted of the ten major disciplines, such as shield arts, swordsmanship, magic, archery, and spearmanship, as well as other disciplines.
‘I’m in the combat series, swordsmanship discipline, so… Ah, here it is.’
In order to obtain a Hunter license,
Academy students had to earn the minimum credits required in the fields demanded by their academic affiliation, then choose the rest of their courses according to the kind of Hunter they aspired to become.
Wisely and intelligently.
“The classes you take at the Academy and the grades you receive will later become criteria for evaluating you when you work as Hunters. Think of it as your portfolio.”
“…”
“So don’t try to follow others. Think carefully about your own career path and decide for yourselves.”
“Instructor, homeroom is about to end now. How about we take a short break and continue the rest in first period?”
“When did it get this late…. Yes, that would be best. Take a short break, then we’ll begin in first period. During first period, I’ll explain course registration for afternoon classes.”
One must think and act for oneself.
For students who had only just graduated from middle school, it was enough to make their heads spin.
Even so, they had to do it.
Because the only person responsible for one’s life was oneself.
Of course.
‘This was in the game too.’
I was already prepared.
* * *
In the game, the player could choose which classes Kang Hanbyeol and his party members would take each semester.
Depending on the classes they took, the characters’ physical stats would rise, or they would acquire skills.
Thanks to that, the player could raise the characters however they liked.
It was one of the charms that made the game so varied.
‘This brings back memories. I’d never even gone to university in my past life, but I worked my brain to death making schedules for the characters….’
In my previous life, I was a veteran of the game.
That was how deeply I had been immersed in it, and I had memorized all sorts of patterns.
In other words, I knew which classes suited me and which ones I needed.
The same went not only for my own schedule, but for the schedules of the other characters as well.
That was why I didn’t need to rack my brains planning my afternoon class schedule like the other students.
“Is it already this late? Since today is the first day, we’ll end the morning class here. In any case, everyone has course registration this Thursday, so don’t forget to plan your schedules in advance. You know there are no afternoon classes this week, right? You must all be hungry, so enjoy your lunch! And if you have any questions about your schedule, come find me anytime!”
The morning class ended twenty minutes early, just before lunchtime.
Once the class was over, Hong Yena and Yu Noeul left the lecture room, and the students in our class also began getting ready to leave.
Min Arin, sitting beside me, was also gathering the notes and writing utensils she had used all morning and was about to get up.
I made a suggestion to her.
“Do you have time after this?”
“…Why?”
“If you’re free, let’s go get something to eat. There are people I’m supposed to eat with, and afterward, we’re planning to make our schedules at a café. If you’re okay with it, I thought you might want to make yours with us.”
“…”
Min Arin’s yellow eyes stared at me.
In the game, you could only make her schedule after she joined the party in the second semester of the first year.
But this world I was living in was reality, not a game.
Which meant that depending on my efforts, I could interfere with the story as much as I wanted.
I couldn’t let the chance to meddle with her schedule slip by from the first semester.
I waited for her answer.
Her answer was exactly as expected.
“Why should I? Why should I eat with kids I don’t know and make a schedule with them? Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”
Given Min Arin’s personality, it was only natural.
Since I had expected her answer, there was no reason for me to be flustered.
Then I could easily predict her next reaction as well.
As she gathered her things and turned her back, I brought up something that would tempt her.
“Really? I wanted to introduce you to Haneul since she’s in the same field as you….”
“…”
“You know Haneul, right? The top entrant.”
“Ugh…”
“And Instructor Hong Yena’s disciple.”
“…”
“She’s going to make her schedule with us too. Are you really not interested?”
During the drinking party yesterday.
I had heard from Yeon Haneul that she had gotten into a conflict with Min Arin during the entrance exam.
I also heard that Min Arin had lost to Yeon Haneul and had all her exam slips taken from her.
That was why, unlike the future that had been planned, she had failed to take the top spot among the entrants.
‘Who could have known Haneul and Min Arin would fight….’
I had been surprised when I heard it from Yeon Haneul.
In a way, it was my mistake for not considering a situation where the two of them would end up clashing.
But what was done was done.
Rather than blame myself over an unexpected situation, I had to search for a better one.
The conclusion I reached was to use Yeon Haneul to lure Min Arin in.
‘This is Min Arin we’re talking about, with her strong pride and competitive streak. If I bring up Haneul’s name, she has no choice but to react.’
My prediction was right on the mark.
Min Arin couldn’t take a step away and had a thoughtful look on her face.
Before long, she seemed to have finished calculating something and asked me for confirmation.
“She’s really coming, right?”
“Isn’t it famous that I’m her childhood friend? Of course.”
“…Fine. Then I’ll go too.”
“Good choice.”
She took the bait.
There was no character as easy as Min Arin.
I lifted the corners of my mouth.
‘But why is she smiling?’
If I had to guess, she was probably happily imagining herself spying on what lectures Yeon Haneul would take.
That was so like Min Arin.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss