After lunch, we left Inyeon Hall and walked around to admire the scenery of Springlight Lake.
After that, we headed to Brilliant Cafe to make our schedules.
It was an old-fashioned cafe with ivy climbing up its outer walls.
Yong Haerang and the triplets had arrived before us and saved seats.
“Hey! Do Gyeonu! You’re here? Over here!”
“Do Gyeonu! Why are you so late!?”
“Didn’t you take way too long eating?”
“Where were you, and what were you doing to only get here now?”
“Yeah, sorry I’m five minutes late.”
Yong Haerang, who had surprisingly managed to find the place without getting lost, raised a hand.
The triplets, as expected, made a fuss.
I took it in stride.
‘My lackeys got us good seats.’
It was a study-room-like space set apart from the open area on the second floor.
The round table was large enough for ten people to sit around it with room to spare.
“Haneul, sit here.”
“Ah, thanks.”
I pulled out a chair so Yeon Haneul could sit comfortably.
Then I put her things and mine to one side and sat down beside her.
But I had to get up again almost immediately.
“I should go order the drinks. I said I’d buy earlier, so I’ll get them. Haerang, you guys too—tell me if there’s anything you want.”
“I was just getting hungry, and if you’re treating, I’ll gladly eat! I want a croffle!”
“Do Gyeonu’s treating!? Then I can forgive you!”
“Geumdong-hyung, do you even have anything to order? We already ordered drinks.”
“No, I can just order another! Gyeonu, I’ll have lemonade!”
“Haneul, what about you?”
“Mm… I’ll go down and choose.”
“Gyeonu! Eunbi! Eunbi wants one too!”
“…Eunbi, that’s not cute at all.”
“Wow, aren’t you being too disgusted? Fine! Haneul, you try it!”
“Huh? Me? Um…”
“Come on, Haneul! Haneul wants! Haneul wants!”
“Gyeonu, Ha, Haneul wants…”
“…What? What do you want to eat?”
“Waaah… The difference in temperature is seriously too much.”
“…I’ll just go with you and choose.”
“Ah, now I’m suddenly craving something sweet too. Gyeonu, can I order one more? Earl Grey tea and an affogato.”
“I don’t mind buying it, but you just ate lunch. Can you really eat that?”
“There are separate stomachs for rice and ice cream.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Ah, maybe I should have an affogato too…”
“Will that be enough? You need something to drink too.”
“Seriously, what is with this temperature gap?”
“Arin, what will you drink?”
“I’ll have a cafe latte, then.”
Since there were a lot of people, there were a lot of orders too.
The triplets, who seemed determined to empty my wallet, and the greedy Go Eunbi even ordered extra desserts.
After memorizing everyone’s orders, I went downstairs to the counter.
Yeon Haneul and Min Arin followed me.
“You could’ve just waited upstairs. Why come down with me?”
“Because it’s uncomfortable being with kids I’m meeting for the first time today.”
“Ah, right.”
Min Arin grumbled with her arms crossed.
Put another way, did that mean she was comfortable being with me?
If I asked for no reason, she seemed like she would peck at me in annoyance, so I decided to keep the thought to myself.
“So, Haneul, what are you drinking?”
“Mm… I’ll have an iced Americano.”
“…If you were going to order an iced Americano, didn’t you not need to come down either?”
“No, I wanted to drink it right now.”
“Really? You’re having an affogato too, right?”
“Yeah!”
Yeon Haneul decided without even properly looking at the menu.
It was as if she had already made up her mind.
Leaving my puzzlement aside, I finished paying at the counter.
As we stood there chatting quietly, the drinks came out before long.
“I’ll carry one.”
“Thanks. Good thing you’re here.”
“Right?”
Holding the tray, Yeon Haneul wore a smug look as if to say, See?
Her rabbit ears perked up once.
I let out a small laugh as I followed her up the stairs, watching her white, round tail sway.
When we returned to the room with the drinks, Go Eunbi, Yong Haerang, and the triplets were each making their schedules.
“Guys, take your drinks.”
“Haneul, thanks! I’ll enjoy it!”
“I’m the one who bought them.”
“Thanks to you too, Gyeonu!”
Starting with Go Eunbi, Yong Haerang and the triplets also reached for the tray.
Yeon Haneul and I took the remaining drinks after they had grabbed theirs.
Min Arin had already been drinking her cafe latte since we came up the stairs.
“So, were you making your schedules properly? Eunbi, how did you make yours?”
“Huh? Me? I’m still working on it, but do you want to take a look? While we’re at it, let’s upload them to the chat room and share them with everyone. I’ll invite Arin to the room too.”
The table was messily cluttered with drinks and desserts, printouts and writing utensils, and laptops.
As I made space for the laptop I took out of my bag, I asked Go Eunbi.
She had paused in the middle of making her schedule on her laptop and had been about to take a bite of her affogato, but she readily agreed.
I carefully examined the schedule she uploaded to the chat room.
‘Thank goodness the player’s authority works on other people’s schedules too.’
In the game, the player could view an information window that showed what results a certain class would bring to a character.
That still applied to me, even after I had been reincarnated into this world.
This morning, after realizing through Hong Yena’s class that my authority truly existed, I was able to see messages appear before my eyes.
By focusing my eyes on a class listed in a schedule or course list.
[Beginner Target Training]
◆ Class Category/Credits
—System (Archery)/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
—Go Jumyeong/Wed 6–7/Suyang Hall B101
◆ Completion Reward
—Acquire the skill “Sharpshooter’s Eye” → Increase the level of the skill “Sharpshooter’s Eye”
Aside from that.
I also checked the other classes arranged in Go Eunbi’s schedule.
‘She organized it well around the basics.’
What Go Eunbi needed right now was to strengthen her fundamental abilities as a Ranger.
Tricky techniques or difficult classes would not help her.
It seemed she knew that as well.
Her schedule was evenly put together, without anything that stood out.
It felt like she had followed the Academy’s recommended growth course for Rangers.
It didn’t seem like I needed to touch it.
Even so, if there was one thing…
‘Beginner Target Training, huh…’
The archery-system lecture, Beginner Target Training.
A class where one could obtain the skill Sharpshooter’s Eye, which raised accuracy, was certainly a class she had to take.
The problem was that Go Eunbi already possessed the Sharpshooter’s Eye skill.
‘Possessed skills.’
Just as I did when calling up a status window, I looked into Go Eunbi’s eyes.
I called up one of the player’s authority functions, the possessed skills list.
[Possessed Skills —Go Eunbi]
—Limited Mania Lv 9
—Sharp Wits Lv 8
—Personal Network Lv 7
—:
—Innocent Iron Wall Lv 6
—:
—Sharpshooter’s Eye Lv 2
‘It’s gone up to level 2 in the meantime. She said she lazed around until enrollment, but I guess she didn’t only laze around.’
This was something I had found out a month ago, when the entrance exam ended.
At the after-party Go Eunbi hosted, I learned that she possessed the skill Sharpshooter’s Eye.
In the game, it was a skill obtained through classes after entering the Academy.
I didn’t know how it happened, but she had acquired the skill during the entrance exam.
If one were to ask whether the class Beginner Target Training would help someone like her…
‘It would help to some extent, but the effect won’t be that great.’
Sharpshooter’s Eye was hard to obtain, but once obtained, raising its skill level was not particularly difficult.
It could be raised sufficiently even alone.
And even if not, the story that would unfold from now on—no, I would make it happen that way.
If Go Eunbi had not obtained the skill, this class would certainly have been helpful, but as things stood now, that was not the case.
The results were small compared to the time investment.
It seemed better to recommend a different class instead.
As it happened, there was one class I had been keeping an eye on.
“Eunbi, Beginner Target Training is good, but wouldn’t this class be good too?”
“Which one? …Introduction to Hunting Studies?”
Below her schedule were the classes she had been considering as alternatives.
I pointed to one of them.
Introduction to Hunting Studies.
As the name suggested, it was a class where one learned basic knowledge about hunting.
This was also a class that appeared in the game.
[Introduction to Hunting Studies 1]
◆ Class Category/Credits
—System (Archery)/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
—Ho Dongsan/Wed 6–7/Dimension Hall 204
◆ Completion Reward
—Acquire the skill “Hunter’s Sense”
In the game, the point at which Go Eunbi joined as a party member was during the club experience period, after course registration had ended.
Therefore, the time to arrange her schedule was from the second semester of the first year onward.
At that time, the player had to choose one of two classes that took place in the same time slot.
Between Beginner Target Training and Introduction to Hunting Studies.
In other words, they had to choose between the skills Sharpshooter’s Eye and Hunter’s Sense.
‘Once you chose one, you had to learn the other the next semester.’
Sharpshooter’s Eye raised accuracy, and Hunter’s Sense raised critical hit chance.
For Go Eunbi, who used a bow as her main weapon, both skills were necessary.
Because of that, the player had to agonize over which of the two skills to learn first.
Most chose Sharpshooter’s Eye.
Because before a critical hit could occur, the attack had to land first.
However, if one chose Sharpshooter’s Eye, no attack power could be expected.
You would have to drag around Go Eunbi, whose early performance was poor, for at least a year until she obtained Hunter’s Sense.
‘On the other hand, if you chose Hunter’s Sense, she performed decently against monsters of Rank 2 or below, but it wasn’t easy to land effective hits on boss monsters or villains…’
You could think of it as the word “MISS” appearing frequently when she attacked.
In the end, either choice was awkward.
Naturally, while she was in her first year, Go Eunbi’s probability of death had no choice but to be high.
It was one of the causes of the game’s increased difficulty.
Of course, just because she died did not mean a bad ending would immediately appear.
Nor would the world be destroyed.
However, while she would continue to appear in the story, she would be treated as dead system-wise, and the number of endings that could be reached would be limited.
There was no happy ending among those endings.
Nor was there a true ending.
Not only her—if even one party member died, only the normal ending and bad ending could be reached.
So for me, I had to prevent their deaths no matter what.
‘It’s a good thing Eunbi obtained Sharpshooter’s Eye at this point. It saved me some trouble.’
Since this was a real world and not a game, the degree of freedom was extremely high.
It was a world where Go Eunbi could obtain both Sharpshooter’s Eye and Hunter’s Sense and spend her first year with both.
Feeling somewhat excited, I persuaded her.
“If you look at the lecture outline, this class is ultimately training to hit a target with fixed coordinates from a long distance away.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right?”
“But it feels a little weird to say this, but with your skills, isn’t that something you can do well enough on your own? I think this is a class for people who aren’t used to shooting a bow.”
“Mm… I’m grateful for the compliment, but I don’t think my skills are that good…”
“No, what’s wrong with your skills? I think they’re fine.”
“…”
It was not flattery, but my honest opinion.
I had worked in tandem with Go Eunbi several times during the entrance exam.
I knew well what her skills were like.
And her growth potential too.
Right now, she might lag behind the people of the Tanggung Ham family, one of the Ten Families, or those from renowned archery houses, but she would catch up quickly.
She could even surpass them.
Depending on her will and effort.
“And monsters aren’t targets that don’t move. I don’t think it’ll be easy to gain meaningful results from that class when it comes to dealing with monsters.”
“That… might be true.”
“To begin with, the ability required of a Ranger isn’t how well they can hit a target. That’s the job of roles like Gunners or Snipers. The way I see it, a Ranger is someone who scouts the terrain and objects at the front and relays information to the party in the rear.”
“…Yeah, that’s true. A Ranger can’t just be good at shooting.”
“So I think Introduction to Hunting Studies will be much more helpful for you.”
Contrary to how she appeared on the outside, Go Eunbi had a tendency to underestimate herself.
It was something I learned after becoming friends with her.
I encouraged her confidence and waited for her decision.
At last.
“Yeah, if you think that highly of me, maybe I’ll trust you and give it a listen.”
If my grades don’t come out well, you’re taking responsibility!
She shouted with a playful laugh.
* * *
After that, I continued giving advice on other people’s timetables, sometimes directly, sometimes in a roundabout way.
In my previous life, I had been a veteran.
If it was a class that appeared in the game, I knew it inside and out.
As a result, my words carried a persuasive force that made them tempted to listen.
Of course, they had wills of their own, so guiding them exactly as I intended wasn’t always easy.
Min Arin, in particular, had a strong sense of self.
“Why do I have to do that?”
Min Arin seemed to think that acting according to my advice would hurt her pride, so she never accepted it right away.
On top of that, I even had to struggle to adjust the balance of her timetable, which was heavily skewed toward magic-related classes.
At least it was a relief that Yeon Haneul was there.
“Really? Haneul, what do you think? I think it’s necessary.”
“Yeah, I think so too. That’s why I’ve been doing it since I was little.”
“Kuh… W-who said I wasn’t going to listen!? I’m going to take it too, you know!?”
Min Arin, who felt competitive toward Yeon Haneul, had no choice but to change her mind in the end.
Meanwhile, unlike the others, Yeon Haneul followed my words without complaint.
As expected, childhood friends were the best.
In any case, the results of my intervention were as follows.
[Go Eunbi]
―Introduction to Hunting 1: Acquired skill “Hunter’s Sense”
―Self-Defense (Krav Maga) 1: +2 only if Durability is below 50, acquired skill “Krav Maga”
[Min Arin]
―Basic Physical Training 1: +1 only if Stamina is below 50
―High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise 1: +2 only if Stamina is below 50
―CrossFit 1: +2 only if Strength is below 50, +1 only if Agility is below 50
―:
[Yeon Haneul]
―General Physical Training 1: +1 only if Stamina is below 60
―Dice Game: Luck +1
―Mysteries of the Human Body: Luck +1
―Surviving in Disaster Situations: +1 only if Durability is below 60
―Beginner Blunt Weapon Arts 1: Increased level of skill “Blunt Weapon Mastery”
―:
[Yong Haerang]
―Understanding Dragon Poison Arts: Increased resistance to status abnormalities (poison, paralysis)
―Qi Circulation Breathing 1: +1 only if Mana is below 50
―:
[Woo Geumdong, Woo Eundong, Woo Dongdong]
―Surviving in Crisis Situations: +1 only if Durability is below 50
―Dice Game: Luck +1
―Ten Thousand Grateful Repetitions of Beginner Swordsmanship: Increased level of skill “Swordsmanship Mastery”
―Party Play 1: Acquired skill “Triangle”
―:
Then….
Now it was my turn.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss
(101) [Illustration]
The minimum number of credits one could take in a semester was 35 or more.
Of those, the credits I could choose amounted to 20 or more, excluding the 15 credits assigned to morning classes.
Within that limit, I had to arrange my timetable as efficiently as possible.
‘I have to take into account the free periods between classes when I can rest, too.’
Honestly, if I had my way, I wanted to pack my timetable so tightly that there were no breaks.
From 9 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next day, I would spend almost the entire day attending classes.
I would take classes on weekends too.
In my spare time, I would train.
If I truly wanted to make myself strong and respond to the story that would unfold from now on, that would be the right thing to do.
Unlike in the game, where you could only assign classes within 35 credits, in reality, it was entirely possible.
But I was human too.
‘Attend classes all day, train, manage the kids on top of that, and even pay attention to the story? No, what am I, a machine? As if I could do all that.’
Unlike in the game, where I faithfully followed the player’s commands, I was a person living and breathing in this world.
No matter how desperate I was, there was no way I could endure a schedule with no room to breathe for three whole years.
Someday, both physically and mentally, a time would surely come when I was worn down.
It wouldn’t be the world trying to kill me, but a situation where I was trying to kill myself.
Of course, even if it came to that, if I could somehow achieve my goal, it might be worth trying in its own way.
‘Then what comes after that?’
Life was not a game.
It did not end until death.
It wasn’t like a game that ended once you achieved your objective.
I had to think about living in the world after preventing the crisis of destruction.
I didn’t want to live the rest of my life unhappily in that world, with some part of my body crippled and my mind worn to tatters.
To begin with, the reason I was trying to prevent destruction was so that I could live happily and well, not because I was acting out of some noble spirit of sacrifice.
I must not misunderstand that.
I had not the slightest intention of becoming a hero.
I was an egoist.
…With the modifier “good-natured” attached.
‘First, considering the graduation requirements, I definitely have to take these….’
There were a total of three track courses that a swordsmanship-track student had to take in the first semester of the first year.
Beginner Swordsmanship 1, History of Eastern and Western Swordsmanship 1, and Beginner Swordsmanship Sparring 1.
Each was a 2-credit class held over two hours.
Since there were several classes opened with the same content, students could enroll according to the lecture time and instructor they preferred.
[Would you like to add “Beginner Swordsmanship 1”?]
Yes (Selected) / No
I accessed the homepage on my laptop.
Entering the course registration cart, I added the three required track courses.
‘I’ll arrange the classes like this for now, and if they overlap with classes I want to take later, I can change the lecture times.’
Unfortunately, the results I could obtain from the three required courses were not that great.
[Beginner Swordsmanship 1]
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Su Hoguk/Mon 6–7/Suyang Hall 103
◆ Completion Reward
―Acquire skill “Swordsmanship Mastery” → Increase level of skill “Swordsmanship Mastery”
[History of Eastern and Western Swordsmanship 1]
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Park Jihyeon/Wed 6–7/Academic Hall 301
◆ Completion Reward
―Improved acquisition efficiency for all sword-related skills
―Improved proficiency for all sword-related skills (level 5 or below)
[Beginner Swordsmanship Sparring 1]
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Su Hoguk/Fri 6–7/Suyang Hall 205
◆ Completion Reward
―Acquire skill “Swordsmanship Sense” → Increase level of skill “Swordsmanship Sense”
That was about it.
It wasn’t that there were no results at all, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
Still, I had to take them in order to graduate.
Putting my disappointment behind me, I decided to look for classes with the remaining 14 credits.
‘I have to take classes that I need.’
I couldn’t waste those 14 credits.
I had to invest them in classes that could make up for what I lacked, make me stronger, and help with the progression of the story.
There were a few I had in mind.
I searched through the course list and put them into my cart.
[Villain Response Training]
◆ Class Category/Credits
―Track (Swordsmanship)/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Su Hoguk/Tue 8–9/Suyang Hall 307
◆ Completion Reward
―Acquire skill “Anti-Personnel Combat”
The first class was Villain Response Training.
Anti-Personnel Combat, the skill obtained from the class handled by Su Hoguk, was a skill that improved accuracy and evasion when dealing not with monsters, but with people, villains, or demonic humans.
Since I would have more occasions to deal with people from now on, it was absolutely necessary for me.
[Extreme Mountain March]
◆ Class Category/Credits
―Track (Swordsmanship)/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Su Hoguk/Thu 8–9/Dimension Hall 209
◆ Completion Reward
―Acquire skill “Hard Skin”
―+1 only if Durability is below 60
The second class, Extreme Mountain March, was also conducted by Punishment Sword Su Hoguk.
Hard Skin, obtained through this class, consumed mana to wrap the skin in a barrier and had the effect of reducing attacks that made contact with the body and delivered impact.
For me, who had been blocking attacks with defensive formulas or dodging by relying on Evasion Instinct, it was a skill that would become a new defensive tactic.
‘On top of that, I can raise my Durability too.’
Among my physical abilities, Durability was the lowest after Luck and Mana.
It was the stat related to resistance and defense.
For me, being able to raise my Durability stat while obtaining Hard Skin was extremely welcome.
However, since it was a class that raised Durability, I would likely undergo experiences related to that as well.
For example, getting beaten to death….
‘Personally, I always found training to raise Durability the most painful.’
It would surely be very grueling.
Even so, I had no choice but to do it.
It was time to take some hits in order to become stronger.
[Base Defense]
◆ Class Category/Credits
―General Education/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Mun Suseong/Wed 10–11/Dimension Hall 401
◆ Completion Reward
―Acquire skill “Charisma”
―Acquire skill “Command and Leadership”
The third class, Base Defense, offered as many as two skills.
Charisma and Command and Leadership.
Charisma drew the opponent’s aggro and occasionally caused the opponent’s attacks to miss, or increased the effects of buffs received from support.
Command and Leadership served to reduce the rate at which characters refused the player’s orders.
In truth, neither skill was especially favored by players.
‘Because they weren’t very useful.’
In the case of Charisma, its effects looked extremely useful, yet were ambiguous.
There was nothing good about a character who wasn’t a Guardian acquiring it and drawing aggro; rather, it dispersed the aggro that the Guardian would have taken.
There were also several other skills that enhanced buff effects.
Meanwhile, even without Command and Leadership, there was no inconvenience.
Except in cases like Do Gyeonu in the game, characters generally did not refuse orders.
Even then, no matter how much you raised the skill’s level, it was nowhere near enough for Do Gyeonu.
As a result, the two skills were not appealing at all.
At least, in the game.
‘But in this world, who knows?’
According to the description of the Charisma skill, which was not reflected in the game system.
Charisma made one’s presence stand out, drawing the attention of other beings, making opponents find it difficult to deal with oneself, and giving one’s words persuasive power.
In other words, when dealing with others, it would allow me to gain a psychological advantage.
Unlike in the game, it could be advantageous in dealing with characters who had their own selves and acted according to their own will.
On top of that, if I obtained Command and Leadership as well, it would be easier to lead a party in the future.
In this world without a player, in order for me to take on the player’s role, I couldn’t ignore the necessity of it.
[Understanding Circuits and Formulae]
◆ Class Category/Credits
―General Education/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Hong Yena/Thu 4–5/Suyang Hall 502
◆ Completion Reward
―+1 only if Mana is below 60
The fourth class was Understanding Circuits and Formulae.
It was a fairly difficult class for understanding, implementing, and applying the structure of magic through circuits and formulae.
I didn’t know if I could keep up, but since the instructor was Hong Yena, she would probably look kindly on me.
If she didn’t, I would have to go on strike and say I wouldn’t be vice representative.
‘I’d like to take a slightly easier class, but if I want to raise my Mana, I can’t help it.’
My current Mana stat was 54.
Even excluding the effect of the Ring of Cheongmyeong, it had now entered the 50s.
In other words, there was nothing to gain from classes that required Mana below 50.
That was why I had no choice but to take classes that required Mana below 60.
[Understanding Light Elemental Magic (2nd Tier)]
◆ Class Category/Credits
―General Education/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
―Hong Yena/Mon 8–9/Suyang Hall 502
◆ Completion Reward
―Acquire skills related to 2nd-tier light elemental magic
―Increase the level of all skills related to 2nd-tier light elemental magic
―+1 only if Mana is below 60
Understanding 2nd-Tier Light Elemental Magic.
I decided to take the fifth class for a similar reason.
Also, through private tutoring from Hong Yena, I was able to use light elemental magic up to the 2nd tier.
However, since my achievement wasn’t sufficient, I needed to become somewhat proficient in the 2nd tier in order to move on to the 3rd tier.
So I decided to take this class, which would increase the levels of those skills.
‘The dilemma starts here….’
The remaining credits were now 4.
I stared at the laptop screen and sank into thought.
‘What should I prioritize…?’
Since I had classes to raise Durability and Mana, I decided to raise another physical ability.
Stamina 66 (63+3), Strength 60, Agility 72 (69+3), Luck 33.
Among these, Stamina, Strength, and Agility required taking 3-credit classes that demanded the stat be below 70.
‘Agility… is no good.’
Agility’s original value was 69.
Raising it to 70 this time didn’t seem like a bad idea, but it was risky.
If I happened to raise my Agility through some other experience along the way, I’d gain nothing from the class.
‘Then Strength?’
Between Stamina and Strength, it was better to raise Strength, which had the lower value.
Balanced growth was important.
But then Luck kept catching my eye.
‘After five years of effort, I only managed to raise it by 8….’
Luck was even harder to raise than Mana.
It was an area even more affected by talent than Mana, something a person couldn’t do much about through effort.
In a way, Strength 60 and Luck 33 could be said to have similar thresholds.
No, Luck might even be higher.
That was how difficult I considered raising Luck to be.
In that sense.
‘Let’s go with Luck.’
I had to raise it while I could.
To begin with, there was no reason not to raise Luck, which was involved in the performance of Evasion Instinct.
I adjusted the filter and decided to look for classes that raised Luck.
“Haneul, you’re taking this too, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Are you taking it too?”
“I’m thinking of it.”
Yeon Haneul’s Luck value was 27.
It was the lowest among us.
Because of that, a little while ago, I had recommended that she take a class that raised Luck.
It would be better to take it together while we were at it.
I showed the laptop screen to her as she sat beside me, quietly watching me make my timetable.
Then her rabbit ears perked up, and she leaned her face close to the screen.
“Yeah, that’s the one. That’s good. Then you can take it with me.”
Yeon Haneul’s voice was very bright.
She nodded her head emphatically.
I checked the course outline again.
[Dice Game]
◆ Class Category/Credits
—Practical/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
—So Gukjin/Tue 45/Culture Hall 103
◆ Completion Reward
—Luck +1
[The Mysteries of the Human Body]
◆ Class Category/Credits
—Humanities/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
—Park Ayeong/Fri 89/Humanities Hall 304
◆ Completion Reward
—Luck +1
Dice Game and The Mysteries of the Human Body.
I had no idea what connection the two classes had to Luck, but that hardly mattered.
Since they were practical and humanities courses rather than cultivation-style or liberal arts lectures where you had to strive for enlightenment, the burden of taking them would be lighter too.
The grading method wasn’t strict either, so I could enjoy them comfortably.
I liked them quite a bit.
‘They say the timetable isn’t final until course registration is over, but that won’t matter to me.’
Not every student could take the classes they wanted.
Each class had a limit on the number of students.
Therefore, during the course registration period, students had to claim the classes they wanted before anyone else.
It was practically a war.
But that didn’t apply to me, Yeon Haneul, or the people here.
We had Geumgang Coins because we had entered with excellent grades.
‘If there’s ever a time to use coins, it’s now, isn’t it?’
If you placed coins on the class you wanted, you gained priority regardless of the order of registration.
The more coins you staked, the higher the chance you had of taking a popular class.
So there was no reason to worry.
My timetable was as good as finalized.
* * *
“I’ll be going now.”
“Why? It’ll be dinner soon. You should eat with us before you go.”
“Sorry, but I have to study now. Call me next time if there’s a chance.”
After finishing her timetable, Min Arin said she had no further business here and returned to the dormitory.
In her mind, she didn’t want to spend time idly with nothing to do.
With no other choice, we saw her off and decided to loaf around at the café until it was time to go eat dinner.
“Hm?”
That was when Lisa contacted me.
I read the private message she had sent.
[Lisa]: Gyeonwoo, do you happen to have time right now? Please help me ㅠㅠ
Lisa had a prior engagement today and couldn’t attend.
As far as I knew, she had agreed, as the vice representative, to help the students in her class make their timetables.
She was probably still doing that now.
When she suddenly sent me a message asking for help, I became curious.
I replied to her message.
[Me]: Why? What’s going on?
[Lisa]: Well... Gyeonwoo, you’re in the swordsmanship track, right? So I wanted to know how swordsmanship-track students make their timetables...
[Me]: Aren’t you in the white magic track?
[Lisa]: Ah, it’s not for me. It’s because of the Fighting Demon’s disciple in our class ^^;
At yesterday’s drinking party.
Lisa had said that she ended up in the same class as Kang Hanbyeol, the Fighting Demon’s disciple.
And that, by the instructor in charge of the Guardian Bureau, she had also been asked, along with Park Sagun, to look after Kang Hanbyeol, who was ignorant of the ways of the world.
It followed the flow of the game.
So I had guessed that the prior engagement she had today was related to that to some extent.
My guess was correct.
Apparently, she had also ended up helping him make his timetable.
The problem came after that.
[Lisa]: This is Hanbyeol’s timetable
[Lisa]: (Photo of Kang Hanbyeol’s timetable)
[Me]: Hmm...
[Me]: ...He really made it like this?
[Lisa]: Yes... It was way too chaotic, so Sagun and I interfered from the side, but since neither of us is in the swordsmanship track, there was a limit to how much we could help
[Lisa]: If it’s okay, could we refer to your timetable, Gyeonwoo?
I examined the timetable Kang Hanbyeol had supposedly made at first.
Introduction to Hidden Weapons 1, Beginner Shield Arts 1, Introduction to Basic Magic 1, Beginner Spear Arts 1, Beginner Archery 1, Introduction to Alchemy 1….
There was no consistency, not even a central track to the timetable.
As Lisa said, it was a mess.
It was nothing but a hodgepodge.
There wasn’t even a single free period, and he had filled it with classes from 1st period to 12th period, even on weekends.
It easily exceeded 35 credits.
It was not a timetable fit for a human being.
‘Is it because there’s no player?’
It wasn’t incomprehensible.
In the game, the one who made Kang Hanbyeol’s timetable wasn’t him, but the player.
But since there was no player in this world to take on that role, Kang Hanbyeol had ended up making his timetable alone, and that might have caused him to run wild.
Even though Kang Hanbyeol was considered part of the swordsmanship track, he had talent in every field, and depending on the player’s preference, his track could be changed.
Considering his personality, he might have made the timetable while burning with enthusiasm, thinking he would learn every track.
‘So without a player, there was no one to hold Kang Hanbyeol’s reins. If Instructor Yu Noeul, who could at least advise him on his training direction, had been there, this probably wouldn’t have happened….’
Perhaps the situation had turned out like this because Yu Noeul became my class’s assistant homeroom instructor.
But for me, this was a good thing.
‘I can change Kang Hanbyeol’s timetable to suit my taste.’
I had decided long ago how I would train Kang Hanbyeol.
I would use the same swordsmanship track as mine as his foundation and train him while supplementing the areas he lacked.
[Me]: This is my timetable
[Me]: (Photo of Do Gyeonwoo’s timetable)
[Me]: The instructor and time are good too, so make his like this
[Lisa]: Like this? Exactly the same?
[Me]: Ah, have him take the track lectures like that, and remove The Mysteries of the Human Body and Dice Game. He won’t need them
[Lisa]: How do you know that, Gyeonwoo?
[Me]: And remove Base Defense too
[Me]: Make Understanding Elemental Magic 1st Rank!
[Lisa]: With the light attribute? Elemental magic should be learned according to one’s affinity attribute...
[Me]: He should be light attribute
[Lisa]: How do you know that?
[Me]: From what you told me yesterday, his personality seemed like light attribute to me?
[Lisa]: Gyeonwoo, personality and affinity attribute aren’t deeply related...
[Me]: Then ask him
[Lisa]: Yes, I will.
I had been an old hand in my past life.
I remembered that Kang Hanbyeol’s affinity attribute was light, the same as mine.
Sure enough, she confirmed it.
[Lisa]: He says light attribute is correct
[Me]: Then make it like that. Ah, and make Instructor Hong Yena the instructor
[Lisa]: Yes, I’ll do that
Having meddled with Kang Hanbyeol’s timetable, I raised the corners of my mouth in satisfaction.
There were many classes that overlapped with mine, so we would see each other often.
I’d be able to keep an eye on him naturally.
Meanwhile.
[Me]: Did you finish yours? Your timetable
[Lisa]: For now, I was thinking of doing it like this!
[Lisa]: (Photo of Lisa’s timetable)
I decided to look at Lisa’s timetable too.
My impression wasn’t bad.
It was a well-distributed timetable for a supporter.
However, if there was one thing I wanted to change.
‘She needs to raise her basic attack power.’
Rather than participating in combat, Lisa spent her time supporting party members from the rear, so her combat ability was noticeably low.
If the party’s front line collapsed even slightly, there would be no guarantee of her survival.
So from my perspective, I had to guide her into developing enough ability to at least take care of herself.
Conveniently, there was one suitable class.
[Pole Dance]
◆ Class Category/Credits
—Practical/2
◆ Instructor/Time/Location
—Ahn Hyeri/Tue 89/Culture Hall 505
◆ Completion Reward
—Only if Stamina is below 50, +1
—Only if Strength is below 50, +1
—Improved attack power using a staff
—Improved character charm
Pole dance, where one hangs from a fixed pole and spins around while dancing.
In the game, it could be called one of the representative classes for training Lisa.
‘I don’t know what pole dancing has to do with improving attack power with a staff, but for early-stage Lisa, there’s no class more useful than this.’
On top of that, it raised Strength too.
Unfortunately, Lisa’s Stamina was exactly 50, so her Stamina wouldn’t rise.
Even so, it was worth taking without question.
‘The problem is that I have to persuade her, so how should I do this….’
In order to coax Lisa.
I held my fingers above my smartphone keyboard and racked my brain.
I barely managed to come up with a plausible excuse.
[Me]: For Tue 89, instead of that one, how about this?
[Me]: (Pole Dance syllabus link)
[Me]: This
[Lisa]: I’ll check it
[Lisa]: ...Pole dance?
[Me]: Yeah, I think it’ll suit you well
[Lisa]: ......
[Me]: You see, pole dance, by its nature, involves handling a pole, so becoming one with the pole...
I felt like I really said all kinds of nonsense.
Fortunately, perhaps my efforts paid off, because although Lisa sounded reluctant, she accepted my opinion in the end.
[Lisa]: If you think of me that way, Gyeonwoo, I’ll give it a try...
[Me]: You’ll be able to do well!
[Lisa]: Haha... ^_^;;
Lisa sent over her revised timetable.
Pole Dance was included.
I praised her with satisfaction and stopped messaging.
‘Anyway, I should start getting acquainted with Kang Hanbyeol soon….’
If possible, I wanted to get close to him before meeting him in class.
Just as I was about to look for a way.
“Pole, dance?”
“....”
“You said doing that would make her prettier?”
Her voice was as chilling as could be.
Only then did I realize that Yeon Haneul had been watching from beside me.
“...Do you want to do pole dance too?”
Yeon Haneul merely smiled quietly.
It seemed I had said the wrong thing.
“No. Haneul, you’re already pretty, so you don’t need to do it.”
“...!”
Seeing her rabbit ears shoot up, it seemed this had been the correct answer—
“Argh!”
“That kind of thing!”
Immediately afterward, Yeon Haneul hit my back.
“When other people!”
“Hey, you’re using mana right now…!”
“Aren’t around, that’s when you’re supposed to say it!”
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Haneul is going to kill someone.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss