BFBG 24

Chapter 24

The next morning.

I woke up earlier than usual and started moving around.

The current time was 4:10 AM.

Since I’d fallen asleep around 1:30 yesterday, that meant I’d only slept for about two and a half hours.

‘But, well, my Mental stat is EX-rank. I can get by with less sleep.’

The Mental stat also affected rest.

If your Mental stat was high, your stamina and mana recovered quickly even with short breaks, and sleeping only a little wouldn’t trigger any condition-drop debuffs.

And my Mental stat was EX-rank.

Even with just one or two hours of sleep, functioning normally wasn’t a problem.

‘Of course, I’m still a little tired…’

But at most, it was comparable to the fatigue you feel after sleeping five or six hours in reality.

This was enough.

‘Though if I kept living like this long-term, there’s a chance problems would show up. Normally, unless something unusual happens, I should still sleep around three and a half to four hours.’

If two and a half hours of sleep felt like five or six,

then three and a half hours would probably feel like seven or eight.

‘Let’s see. That means I can stay active for about twenty-one hours a day. Classes take around ten hours daily, so… eleven hours of free time.’

How well I used those eleven hours would be important.

Using my knowledge of the game, I slowly planned ways to develop my character.

“You wake up remarkably early.”

While walking through the Garam Dorm hallway with those thoughts—

the dorm supervisor, Seria, suddenly appeared.

‘Whoa, damn. You startled me.’

Where did she even come from?

No, more importantly, it’s 4:10 AM.

Doesn’t this person sleep?

“Have you perhaps gotten lost? There’s nothing ahead except the special training grounds…”

“Ah. I’m actually heading to the special training grounds. I heard the facilities here are amazing.”

If this were the Seria Guardian I knew, she should’ve said something like, ‘Those training grounds weren’t built for the likes of you to use.’

Instead—

“You’re diligent. Considering what happened yesterday, I’d think you’d want to rest today at least.”

Who is this person?

I don’t think she’s Seria.

“Unfortunately, the special training grounds aren’t open at this hour. From midnight to six, they undergo inspection.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes. And it isn’t just our training grounds. All training grounds follow the same rule.”

Come to think of it, in the game, the player’s daily schedule started at 6 AM.

And at midnight, sleep was forced by the system.

No wonder I didn’t know the training grounds closed from midnight to six.

“Hmm. Then I’ll come back at six. Thanks for telling me.”

That was disappointing.

What was I supposed to do for the next hour and fifty minutes?

Maybe train mana circulation in my room?

But barehanded mana circulation training wasn’t very efficient, so I didn’t want to.

‘Still, if all training facilities are unavailable, mana circulation practice is the only thing left.’

…Tch.

Guess there’s no choice.

Efficiency or not, it’s better than doing nothing.

“Then I’ll head back to my room…”

“Wait.”

Seria grabbed my arm.

“It’s normally not allowed, but seeing your enthusiasm as a student… I’ll open the training grounds for you this once.”

“…What?”

Did I hear wrong?

She just said, ‘specially’ and ‘normally not allowed,’ right?

Seria—the strict rule-abiding fanatic—

was breaking rules to give someone special treatment?

‘Who are you, really?’

This isn’t actually Seria, is it?

Like if someone peeled off her skin, one of Black Night’s executives would jump out going ta-da, right?

“Follow me.”

“Ah, yes.”

I followed behind Seria as she walked away.

“Um… thank you.”

“You needn’t thank me. Supporting students with strong academic passion is naturally a duty of an instructor.”

“Ah… I-I see.”

No, seriously.

Who is this woman?

“Then feel free to use it.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

After saying that, Seria moved to the control room where she could secretly observe the inside of the special training grounds.

And she began watching Jian.

“Oh! This is…!”

Jian excitedly examined every corner of the training grounds.

Seeing that, the corners of Seria’s lips naturally lifted.

“This is insane. I have to try this immediately. I absolutely need to—no, this…!”

Looking at each training device one by one, he smiled like a child receiving gifts.

‘Is he really that happy?’

The reason high-end training equipment had superior efficiency was because training with it was equally difficult.

“Ah, what should I start with? There’s so much to do…”

Seria had seen many students stand before expensive training equipment looking determined, as if facing great hardship.

But she’d never seen anyone smiling with such joy.

‘As expected. Should I call him the greatest genius since the academy’s founding? He’s different from the start.’

Before being a pureblood supremacist, Seria was a talent supremacist.

She valued noble bloodlines, yes—

but talent mattered even more.

‘I’ve already seen enough of his swordsmanship. I wonder how his magic compares.’

Seria had personally witnessed Jian’s one-exchange duel with Lionel.

The mysterious swordsmanship Jian displayed then was still vividly imprinted in her memory.

Perfect movements impossible for a mere freshman.

Transcendent speed even Seria’s eyes couldn’t follow.

She remembered all of it.

‘Not being born with noble blood is a slight flaw… but with talent like this, it’s hardly a flaw at all.’

In the game,

Seria treated the player badly because the player’s bloodline wasn’t noble.

No matter how talented the player became—

she looked down on and despised them because their blood wasn’t noble.

‘Hmm. As expected, he chose magic training.’

By that logic, Jian should’ve been looked down on too.

But Jian was different.

The player was merely a seed with great potential.

Jian was already a completed swordsman—a proven giant tree.

No, a seed of the World Tree itself.

His talent was so overwhelming that bloodline became irrelevant.

‘Starting directly at level 11 seems excessive—…he cleared it immediately?’

That was why Seria treated Jian politely and sincerely from the beginning.

‘As expected, his magical talent seems as extraordinary as the rumors say.’

The corners of Seria’s mouth rose further.

Watching a talented student was more enjoyable than looking at any priceless jewel.

Simply observing him made her smile.

‘Jian said he’d only stay here for three or four days.’

Seria’s expression cooled.

‘Allowing a student with this much talent to stay in the regular dormitories… that won’t do.’

Before the first exam was held,

Seria considered ways to officially assign Jian to this dormitory.

‘Should I try that method?’

It might be somewhat dangerous.

Well, it’d be fine.

Dangerous only by ordinary student standards.

Someone at Jian’s level wouldn’t count.

“Waaahhh! This is amazing! I love it!”

As if he were the happiest person in the world,

Jian shouted with a bright smile despite sweat pouring down his face.

Watching him, Seria unconsciously smiled too.

‘Training doesn’t show immediate visible results. Normally, it’s difficult to enjoy it that much.’

Right now, it should only feel painful.

Yet he was smiling ear to ear, expressing pure joy.

‘Does he enjoy the process itself, not just the results?’

Seria’s evaluation of Jian rose another level.

‘A genius who enjoys the process… I never imagined such a person truly existed.’

[Due to the Special Training Ground buff, efficiency is doubled.]

[Mana stat advancement proficiency increased by 3%.]

[37% remaining until Mana stat advancement.]

A genius who enjoys the process.

If Jian heard that, he’d probably think:

What nonsense are you talking about?

“I’m dying…”

Exactly two hours later.

Only when I was on the verge of complete exhaustion did I leave the training grounds.

Maybe because I kept doing only exercises that improved Mana stats and overworked my mana too much—

my mana wouldn’t move properly, as if it had stiffened.

‘Mana muscle soreness. Nice.’

Just like how overworking your body makes movement difficult—

if mana is excessively strained, it stops moving entirely.

For reference, in Spirit History, this debuff basically meant your training had gone extremely well.

‘I wonder how much proficiency will rise once it wears off.’

While under this debuff, you can’t use mana—

but once it disappears, Mana stat advancement proficiency increases.

“I wish this happened every day.”

Enjoying the sensation of my completely immobile mana,

I silently prayed:

Please let me suffer mana muscle soreness every day from now on.

“You’ve already changed into your uniform. Are you heading to class immediately?”

“Ah, yes. That’s the plan.”

It’d be better to leave before other dorm residents woke up.

‘They’d definitely pick a fight if we met.’

Just because the dorm supervisor viewed me favorably didn’t mean other residents would.

Like I said, over half the students staying in Garam Dorm were pureblood supremacists.

Those people wouldn’t ignore an outsider like me.

“Going to class immediately after training, without even resting. You’re diligent indeed.”

“Training matters, but a student’s duty is studying first.”

“A commendable mindset.”

Seria’s already gentle smile softened even more.

‘No matter how much I see it, I can’t get used to this.’

Anyone who had played Spirit History even once would be shocked seeing this.

‘Does Seria have some hidden backstory I don’t know about?’

Well, maybe.

She wasn’t a companion character, so her role in the game wasn’t that large.

There might be hidden settings I never learned.

“Then after this, aside from reviewing lessons in advance, you have no other schedule?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Excellent. Then you can spare some time.”

“Yes. Of course.”

It seemed Seria had some business with me.

What was it?

“Good. Then let’s go.”

Seria started walking outside the dormitory.

…Outside?

“Where are we going?”

If we were leaving, then the person who wanted something from me wasn’t Seria—

it was someone else.

Who was I meeting?

“We’re going to the principal’s office. The principal said he has something to discuss with Student Jian.”

The principal wanted to speak with me.

At those words, it felt like my heart suddenly dropped.

‘Don’t tell me this is connected to what he said yesterday… about me not seeming like a swordsman…?’

[Mental EX-rank calms the disturbance.]

Caught between my trembling heart and the system rapidly suppressing it,

I continued walking.

Fortunately, the principal didn’t say anything suggesting suspicion toward my swordsmanship.

‘No, this isn’t something to be relieved about.’

What I feared hadn’t happened.

I should’ve been happy.

Yet I didn’t feel even a shred of relief.

“I found traces indicating that the door leading to the hidden secret storage room in this office had been opened.”

Honestly—

I would’ve preferred hearing:

‘After thinking it over, I still feel you don’t seem like a swordsman.’

“So I used my own methods and conducted a detailed examination. And here—this door was covered in mana belonging to the presumed intruder.”

Damn it.

I never expected this.

[Mental EX-rank forcibly removes the ‘Extreme Disturbance’ state.]

[Severe mental instability detected.]

[Mental EX-rank fixes the mind into a ‘Calm’ state.]

My wildly pounding heart immediately quieted.

Even the trembling in my eyes stopped at once.

“After that, I cast a tracking spell on the mana left by the presumed intruder. And then…”

Heneta snapped his fingers.

Snap.

A magic circle floated in midair,

and the lower-right corner of the painting hanging behind the room began glowing fluorescent.

The fluorescent light soon took the shape of a thread,

drifting through the air.

Wriggling slowly—

it approached my right hand and settled into it.

“Well, would you look at that. Turns out the intruder was you.”

The painting and my right hand became connected by a glowing mana thread.

Heneta glanced once at the thread.

Then stared at me with cold eyes.

“Would you mind explaining… this matter?”

Heneta’s gaze was colder and sharper than the biting wind of the harshest winter.