I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City

4 – Status Window!!!

[ The quest has been completed. ]

[ You have received your reward. ]

[ The shop has been unlocked. ]

As soon as I opened my eyes in bed, these things were thrust into my view.

I waved my hand in the air absentmindedly to erase the window.

Seeing the unfamiliar ceiling, I let out a small laugh.

‘At least I didn’t end up sleeping on the streets.’

It was a thought that came to mind the moment the practical exam ended.

It was nice to see Noah and Ichinose in person, but now the problem was where to go next.

With a few days left until the start of the semester, my head was filled with thoughts of where and how to spend the time.

At that point, I had no clear solution and was even prepared to sleep rough.

After the exam, a flood of cadets in the gymnasium mentioned buying some food to take back to the dormitory.

I rummaged through my smartphone and found the guide sent by Orion Academy.

Then it was just moving and moving again.

I walked to the dormitory, which was a block away from Orion Academy.

Whether it was because I used my skills or because I was exhausted from the excitement that had been hiding my tension.

As soon as I arrived at the room, I buried my head in the bed and fell asleep, rooted in fatigue.

Saying goodbye to the sticky sleep, I opened my eyes.

Looking at the ceiling, I was certain.

‘It’s not a dream after all.’

From doubt to certainty.

I am still inside the academy city of Elysium.

The result was more than satisfying.

When I finally opened my eyes, it was a mysterious time that wouldn’t have been strange to wake up from and say it was a dream.

Even though I had taken a nap, facing the unchanged situation made me laugh to the point of stretching.

It felt good to put a period on the fact that this was reality.

“Huh…”

I was alone, shedding tears of joy, and sluggishly moved my still sleepy body to grab the smartphone lying in the corner of the bed to check the time.

‘February 26, 8:40 PM.’

It’s still the day of the placement test.

It felt like I had slept deeply, but perhaps because I fell asleep early, the day hadn’t passed.

‘I slept awkwardly.’

I raised my upper body from the bed and repeatedly rubbed my face dry.

I need to get my head straight now.

I have to organize the thoughts I had postponed while enjoying myself.

“Ugh.”

I got off the soft bed and moved my stiff body here and there.

After hanging the uniform I was wearing on the chair, I looked around.

‘…The room has a lived-in feel.’

Things I hadn’t seen because I dived into the bed as soon as I arrived came into view.

If I open the wardrobe, there are a few shabby but changeable clothes, and in the shoe cabinet, there’s a pair of sneakers with worn-out soles.

On the desk, there are thick books that look like textbooks and a bag. The basic items are roughly in place.

‘I guess my character must have stayed in the dormitory at least once. Stayed here as soon as I entered… and turned into ‘me’ on the way to the placement test?’

Is this roughly how it feels?

This story seems to have no progress despite much contemplation, so I will boldly end it here.

I am curious about the time that has passed without leaving a memory, just like now.

For now, there were mountains of things to ponder about the present and the future rather than the past.

First.

This is the most important issue.

Before making any plans, have I escaped the imminent threat of death I was facing?

Did I pull my neck out before the blade fell from the guillotine?

Step. Step.

I moved to take a shower and saw my body reflected in the mirror.

The sense of alienation reached its peak.

No matter how I looked, it was a clean body without a single flaw.

That was the truly important point, more than the unsatisfactory, frail physical condition.

…The traces of necrosis have disappeared, and the scars are gone.

The diseased blood vessels and scars that had spread like a spider web around my heart were no longer visible.

Surely, this was thanks to being transferred to a new body.

I was definitely just waiting for the day to die.

If I had received expensive treatments that cleanly erased the wounds from fighting against gates like high-ranking hunters and extracted the poison or energy of monsters, it would have been fine.

But for the majority of hunters like me, it started to become difficult to endure the wounds left by monsters as our abilities weakened.

The day when abilities completely disappear and hunters return to the bodies of ordinary people.

It was clear to me that a considerable number of people would die.

Even if it was a few years later, I was aware that the probability of me being included in that bloodshed was overwhelmingly high.

But now, there are no traces of those shackles.

I am a free person.

‘Good! That’s fine!’

The unintended joy of escaping a crisis. My lips curled up involuntarily with a lighter heart.

My steps towards the shower felt like feathers.

Although I pretended to be indifferent while enjoying my unchanged daily life, the realization of having a limited time was indeed wearing down my mind.

Swooosh!

While waiting for the hot water to come out, I thought about the next issue.

‘Second.’

Where on earth is the main character of Abyss City?

‘If the starting point is meeting in the same class as the main characters, doesn’t that mean the placement test has been taken?’

The protagonist’s gender changes according to the gamer’s choice, and the name also changes.

In this world, I don’t even know if the protagonist is set as a male or a female.

I couldn’t find them among the cadets pouring out after the practical exam ended.

‘In this case, will I only know after the semester starts?’

If time flows like in the game, from the moment the protagonist steps in, the academy city will experience unprecedented incidents and accidents.

For someone who loves peaceful times, it’s truly a shame.

“.”

Swaaah!

The stream of water, now turned warm, pours onto my palm.

I step under it, letting the water hit me as I grasp the tail of my contemplation and spin my head.

‘And next.’

Quest rewards and the shop.

It’s time to check the arrogant skill that took about five hours to update.

Whirr!

A translucent window appears before my eyes, growing large and typing out letters rapidly.

The stream of water from the showerhead pierces through the window and pours onto my body.

＜ Shop Lv.1 ＞

Random Skill Book – 500P (One-time purchase)

Status Window – 100P (One-time purchase)

High-Protein Jerky – 3P

Cloud Bread – 2P

Coral Jelly – 2P

Energy Drink – 2P

Bottled Water – 2P

[ Remaining Points – 100P ]

“Oh!”

A short exclamation echoed through the narrow shower booth.

I gulped at the sight before me.

Scrubbing the foam into my hair, I checked the list once more.

‘What are the chances of selling equipment now that the shop level has increased?’

Skills were also being sold. There was plenty of room for possibilities.

The current shop only offered consumables, except for the top two items.

But the anticipation for growth was at its peak.

“Phew! That feels refreshing!”

I quickly finished the shower and sacrificed a towel.

Dressed in comfortable clothes, I stared intently at the shop window.

‘If I buy food, how is it provided? Does it just drop out of thin air?’

I was feeling hungry and tempted to buy a 1P food item out of curiosity.

‘Status window…!’

A tempting, delicious-looking item that matched my remaining points blocked my resolve.

I couldn’t resist the temptation.

[ The status window has been opened. ]

In game terms, it was like unlocking the shortcut key C.

Hunger can be endured, but curiosity cannot. I was satisfied.

I eagerly pulled up the status window.

Name: Rohan

Health: 100%

Mana: 87%

Affiliated Nation: Echoes of the Southern Ruins ()

Affiliated Organization: Orion Academy

Attributes: [Physical] [Fire]

Status:

Remaining Points: 0P

Fire!?

I expected Physical. But the other one, I couldn’t have imagined.

Why would I have Fire as an attribute?

Hmm…

I wandered around the room alone, thinking, but no clear answer came to mind.

During my hunter days, my abilities were the epitome of simplicity, far from anything flashy.

Naturally, they had nothing to do with fire.

After pacing around and reasoning repeatedly,

“!”

I came up with the most plausible guess.

Could it be meaningless?

Recalling the attribute cycle of the new characters released by Abyss City, I could almost be certain.

The community also speculated that the place I would enter had a strong fire attribute.

I accepted the predetermined result with a sense of relief.

To satisfy my lingering curiosity, I put on my sneakers.

*

Ichinose Yui is walking down the street after leaving the dormitory.

Life began without a chauffeur and bodyguard, leaving behind the vast house.

Every day, when talking to her parents, she was overwhelmed with emotions, and the determination to endure for just two years dominated her mind.

Today, too, she intended to pick up the pen after finishing her training, following that resolution.

Since sweet things were necessary for late-night studying, she set out to explore the convenience store and caf near the dormitory where she would be staying.

Additionally, she had to identify the beauty store where she would buy cosmetics.

It was still chilly in the night wind, as it was February.

The sparkling night view of the academy city Elysium was quite different from her homeland, Samhwaguk.

It was dazzlingly splendid and thrived beyond imagination.

‘Not bad.’

Just walking outside seemed like it would stave off boredom for a while.

It also seemed like a good path for an after-dinner walk.

Of course.

That is, if she knew where she was.

.

It was perfect until she bought snacks and left the convenience store.

There were new snacks that he had never tasted in Samhwaguk, and he was secretly excited.

So, in one hand, he held snacks and a smartphone.

In the other hand, he held his soul, the attitude Yoru (), as he walked back to the dormitory.

At some point, he found himself walking on an unfamiliar path.

Bzzz.

The smartphone in his hand vibrated.

Ichinose opened his eyes, which he had closed to look at the screen.

[Noah: Why aren’t you in your room? Lost again? ]

He had repeatedly told Noah not to come looking for him because he would be studying in the evening, but Noah never listened.

Moreover, the content of the message was absurd.

‘Who is lost…!’

He needed to properly warn Noah that it wasn’t good to treat people like they were lost children.

“Hmph!”

Ichinose walked confidently.

He was sure he wasn’t lost.

‘If you can find your way back, then you’re not lost.’

There were many ways to return to the dormitory.

He could ask for help from the Elysium Security Agency. He could also use the map app installed on his smartphone.

However, using those would be like admitting he was bad with directions.

His pride wouldn’t allow it.

Click. Click. Click.

Ichinose walked aimlessly through the night streets, feeling as if he were on a stroll.

How long had he walked straight like that?

Sensing something strange, Ichinose stopped and slowly opened his closed eyes.

Golden eyes looked to one side.

‘That man?’

In the dark alley where not a single beam of light reached, there was a vending machine.

Someone was looking at that vending machine with a cautious face.

‘…Number 99?’

It was definitely the man who had split the test golem in half.