Chương 13: Chapter 13: Stranded (2) / Artificial Dungeon (1)
After securing my surroundings to ensure no security cameras or people were in the vicinity, I looked for a piece of flat ground within 10 meters of the house. I activated burst step and teleported to the top of the roof. Through searching for Aether, I began mastering burst step not because I wanted to do it, but because sometimes I would fall off the mountain. You never know fear until you trip while exiting a cave and plummet headfirst down a mountain. Though, I did fall endlessly into a void for two days straight.
Looking down from the roof, I could see the entire city. It felt like I was a humble king looking down on his empire. Almost zero lights were on inside the city, but the light of the moon easily made the town visible. To be honest, it felt like a ghost town, I mean I'm sure with the sky tonight, other cities are full of people having fun and gathering. After a minute, the backlash from using burst step and quick flash 3 times in a day took its toil, so I laid down on the roof. Unlike the fountain, the roof was ragged and poking my back, however, after looking at the view, I ignored the uncomfortable feeling.
"this is perfect"
As if me saying that was a sign, the girl walked out of her window and climbed up to the roof.
"I know right"
"not anymore"
"you know I could have you arrested for trespassing right now?"
"what would happen to the reputation of the Veritas class? Veritas class student caught snooping in an opposite gender student's house"
"..."
After a few minutes of silence, I said
"Now it's perfect again"
"Why are you so rude?"
"You called me ugly 10 seconds after seeing me. You dare say I'm rude???"
"PFFFT... you remember that hahah"
I checked my stats window
[Charm: 2/10]
Defeated, I muttered
"It's not that you said it, it's that you were right"
"PFFFTT HAHAHAHHA"
'this bitch is asking for it'
I got up, got ready to form Aether into a katana, and glared at her. Responding to my gaze, she said
"hey hey relax"
I laid back on the roof, ignoring my back being poked, and looked up. The sky was dark blue with little specs of white, however, in one part of the sky, these little specs of white seemed to gather together to form a rectangular box with a rod sticking out of it, the big dipper. Even in my previous life, after 10-hour studying sessions, I would go outside on my balcony and look up at the stars. All my worries about grades, college, and friends would disappear and my mind would be engrossed with images of the sky. However, since I was in New York, the pollution was off the charts, so the sky wasn't exactly clear.
Now, here I was, looking at a perfect uncontaminated sky, but now I had two friends, basically unlimited potential with my speed stat, and perfect grades with my cheat computer. Who would have thought, that the same person who vowed to get revenge on this world has now started to enjoy it and have some fun with the people inside it?
'A lot has changed I guess'
I fondly recall my first time laughing when the girl currently next to me stepped so confidently onto the treadmill, just to get flown back against the wall. I laughed remembering her expression when she was sprawled out against the wall.
"hahaha"
The same girl who made me laugh for the first time now curiously asked.
"and what so funny you fool"
"Nothing"
I couldn't tell her I was laughing at her, she would probably report me and get me arrested.
"C'mon tell me. you can't just start laughing for no reason and not say why"
"Who are you to tell me what to do?"
She raised a voice and jokingly said.
"Mom there's some creepy guy up here. Help"
'this girl'
"alright alright"
The girl laid down only a few meters away from me on the roof and mockingly asked.
"Since I'm treating you and all. How did you cheat on the theory exam?"
I stood up and said.
"Yeah I'm leaving"
"Ok, go"
"you know you're usually supposed to say, "Nooo, don't go" it's basic etiquette"
"wow, so you do know basic manners, you just choose to ignore it"
I sat back down on the roof and continued looking at the sky.
After some time, the silence grew, but it wasn't an awkward silence. Both of us were so engrossed in the beauty of the dark blue sky above us. Knowing that I might fall asleep, I took out my smartwatch and quickly set an alarm for 5:30.
'after all, I can't miss class after all of this trouble'
I glanced to my side to see the girl lying down with her eyes closed. I couldn't tell if she was actually sleeping or just taking in the night breeze. I ignored her and laid back down on the roof, closing my eyes.
-*-
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
"I'M GETTING UP, STOP BEEPING"
*BEEP*
With my eyes still closed, I turned off the alarm on my smartwatch, a thing I learned during my first week in this world. After, I opened my eyes.
'where the hell I am'
Taking in the view around me, the memories of yesterday flooded into my head.
'so I actually fell asleep on a fucking roof. maybe calling me homeless wasn't that far off'
I then tried to get up, but as expected, my back was sore as hell after sleeping on the spiky surface of the roof. After a minute, I finally got up and checked what time the first mana train left.
[Departure: 6:00 Arrival: 8:00]
I quickly straightened my clothes, but I could do nothing about my messy hair.
'like my appearance matters anyways with my charm stat'
I stretched my back for a minute and surveyed my surroundings. There were three security guards around the entrance gate, so I couldn't go there. I did a couple of exercises to warm up before using burst step to get out of here. I began walking towards the edge of the roof when I suddenly tripped on something.
*BANG*
I landed face-first on the hard surface of the roof.
"AHH FUCK"
I looked for the source of this pain, and then I saw the girl, who was with me last night, also sleeping on the roof.
'did this girl actually fall asleep on the roof when her room is a 10-second walk away'
After getting over the initial pain, I decided the least I could do for her after she showed me this spot was to get her to class on time. I leaned down next to her put my mouth near her ear and yelled.
"GET UP"
Her eyes opened up and she glanced around her for a second before saying.
"Where the hell I am"
"do you seriously not remember last night?"
"NO? DID WE? NO, DON'T TELL ME? YOU..."
"Oh shut up, I don't even know your name. There's twenty minutes before the mana train leaves. You'll be late at this pace."
"ah, I remember now"
"Alright, I've done my part. Can't have you being late to the class joint-training. The other classes will spread rumors"
"..."
She was speechless after hearing her own words used against her. The girl then looked at the time and ran towards her room to get ready. I activated burst step and escaped the premises of the mansions. The pain after using burst step with almost no warmup almost made me collapse.
"remind me to never do that again"
I jogged towards the mana train station and made it there with around five minutes to spare. Looking around the station, I tried to find some food to quench my unbearable hunger, and thankfully, I found a shop. After entering, the cashier at the store gave me a weird glance.
'don't make it so obvious. please, I can't be that ugly'
I grabbed a sandwich and headed to the register. While I was paying for the food and leaving the store, other customers also started glancing at me. When I met their gazes, they immediately looked away fearfully.
'please stop, my self-esteem is already going lower than possible. Well, this is what I get for not even combing my hair.'
*WHOOSH*
As I exited the store, the mana train arrived. The doors opened and I headed towards the most empty carriage. I held my ticket up to the inspector, who also gave me a weird glance, but from my previous life, I was somewhat used to these disdainful glances. As the carriage doors were about to close, a voice yelled.
"WAIT"
The inspector held open the doors and a girl, with jade-green hair, entered the train.
'what are the odds, she's in the same carriage'
Pretending not to notice her, I continued eating my sandwich, however, today I felt more stares than usual. By more, it felt like the entire train was staring at me.
'I can't be that ugly with my hair uncombed'
Trying to satisfy my doubts, I took out my smartwatch and opened the camera app to look at myself. I looked at my reflection and saw the problem.
'ah.... this is why'
My clothes were torn and ripped apart from the fight for Aether yesterday.
'Entering the cube in this state should be allowed right? Wait...'
After a sudden epiphany, I headed to the bathroom of the train and used Aether to make a sweater. I put on the orange-colored sweater and looked in the mirror again. My pants were still a bit tattered, however, it was much better than before.
'see this is why Aether is so overpowered'
I walked out of the bathroom, now more confident, with my sweater on me. I put in my earbuds and tried to sleep a bit before class. Waking me up from my slumber, I heard a voice.
"PFFT... are you really going to class like that?"
'wait...'
"you didn't tap my shoulder before speaking."
"what do you mean?? Why would I???"
I suddenly stood up and put my hands on her shoulders. I looked her in the face and begged.
"please tell this to everyone. please, I will do anything. please..."
Her face immediately turned rose-red at my sudden physical contact and after hearing my words, she somehow became even redder. After realizing what I had done, I retracted my hands and awkwardly sat back down.
"ahhh, that was out of impulse, my bad"
Interrupting the awkward silence, the train director announced.
"Current Stop: The Cube"
Checking the time, 8:20, I realized that the train was late, so I no longer had time to change into another pair of clothes. I checked my email for the location of the training and rushed toward the coordinates mentioned. I even arrived a bit early at 8:27, so I looked around for Bam, who was in my group.
'ah, I did have time to change'
Surprisingly, after my experience last night and sleeping on a roof, I was not exhausted at all.
'this Aether sweater really is comfortable. I might have to use it for clothing more often'
Not only was the sweater the most comfortable thing I've ever worn, but it also boosted my stats and gave me partial resistance to magic. I couldn't even imagine how strong an Aether underwear would be in the future. I shuttered at the thought of an underwear that would boost my speed stat by 2 points. Interrupting my admiration of Aether, Kim Soohyuk announced.
"Is everyone here? We're going to be doing something special for today's practical training. The cave you see behind me is an Artificial Dungeon. It was created using magitech, and it is inhabited by imitations of real-world monsters. Today, we'll be conducting a mock Dungeon Assault here. Be safe, don't slack off..."
However, the only thing I thought about throughout his entire speech was.
'did he seriously just ask a question and not give any time to answer? What's the point even asking?'
"One team from each Unit will merge to form an Assault team. Now, break off into your assigned teams."
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