Chapter 10: School Life / Aether (1)

Phenomenon Realm Analysis classes are infamously known as the hardest class for cadets to pass due to their rigorous curriculum. If I were to compare them to a class from my old world, I would say it is equivalent to or harder than AP Physics C. Not to brag, I did not get a 5 on that AP exam though. However, in this world, I don't need to study because I have my trusty computer, so heading into my Phenomenon Realm Analysis exam, I was pretty confident.

'what if someone asks why I'm trying to type on air? damn, I just gotta be discreet. The breathing technique won't work more than two times.'

Theory plays a big part in the cadet's ranking and I'm trying to raise my rank. Raising my rank also upgrades my living accommodation, which I really need, so I have to get top 5 on this exam. I obviously can't get first because Hajin will easily take it, my computer isn't that overpowered, and Rachel needs to get second. I don't even know what will happen if she sees that's she not first or not even second.

I entered the classroom calmly and sat down in my chair while the rest of the class was freaking out and trying to do some last-minute studying. The only other person as calm as me was Kim Hajin who was also on his "invisible" computer.

'ha, I remember when I was one of THEM'

*Bzzz*

[Kim Hajin: Dude, why are you so calm, we have an exam today]

'oh my lord, get a load of this guy. he doesn't even have to do anything, just copy stuff down from some holographic screen'

[Ren Jin: You're one to talk. this test gonna be free as hell tho 🥱 ]

*Ring*

As soon as the bell rings, the professor walks in with a stack of papers and begins handing them out. 

"You will have 1 hour to complete this test. Don't even try to cheat"

'little does he know that two will be cheating'

I got the test and decided just for fun, I would read through it once to see if anything made sense to me.

'no, no, no, no, the fuck is a black crow, what/? no, oh I know this one, no, no'

After realizing that I had no idea what the hell half the words in the test meant, I opened my invisible computer which was sitting next to the paper. After waiting for the teacher to look away, I quickly typed in the first question and copied the answer. Of course, I reworded and paraphrased the answers, I'm not stupid.

'Man if Chatgpt or Bard were in this world'

After 45 minutes, I had completed the test, so for the remaining 15 minutes, I just began changing some of my answers to make them wrong. I changed like four answers, so I didn't get first or second. Bored, I decided to look for the dumbest person in the class.

Chae Nayun was on the second question of the ten-question test and she was looking at the paper like it was an alien from another world. Her expression spoke miles, and I almost broke out laughing.

'I can't dude'

"Put down your pencils and leave the room. Your results will be displayed in your next class"

'damn he can grade fast'

Heading out of the class, I could see students comparing answers and talking about how badly they failed the test. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Pissed off, I yelled.

"I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS TAPPING, USE YOUR WORDS"

Kim Hajin, the one who tapped, took a step back and everyone in the hallroom began looking at me.

'ah fuck'

Trying to get over the embarrassment, I started a conversation with him

"what's up dude"

"what was that about. also how do you think you did on the test?"

"This is like the fifth time in two days my shoulder has been tapped and I probably got 100"

"yea, Mr. Rank 933 getting a perfect score. I'll bet I got a higher score than you"

"no"

"Why, I thought you were confident"

'This son of bitch is trying to scam me'

"good on dat"

"alright bro, next time"

Both of us headed to our next class, anti-personnel training, which was nothing special. I partner up with Bam as usual. Though I usually lose, my swordplay is gradually improving and my insight is also improving, so I can kinda predict where his sword will hit next. At the end of class, I met up with Hajin and we walked towards our history class. While walking, some random kid walked up to Hajin and hit him on the head.

"Oh, you're here loser"

"..."

"you mad?"

Hajin completely ignored the guy and continued walking. The source of this bullying is Shin Jonghak. Due to what Kim Hajin said to Nayun in the museum, she hates him and since Jonghak likes Hajin, he sends his goons after Hajin. Though the bullying may seem harsh, Hajin looks pretty happy cause he's gaining SP.

SP are the points that are consumed when Hajin uses his special abilities and they are gained when he draws attention to myself. At times, I do feel bad for him after all he's a loner like me, but he is forced to draw attention to himself to gain SP.

After splitting up with Hajin and heading to my seat, our teacher announced.

"The exam results are out for Phenomenon Realm Analysis"

The result was as follows

[Rank 1: Kim Hajin]

[Rank 2: Rachel / Ren]

[Rank 3: ... ]

...

...

...

[Rank 40: Chae Nayun]

The entire class was astonished that the ranks 933 and 934 got the best scores in the class. Though I didn't like the attention, I knew it was necessary to get a higher cadet rank and improve my living situation. Next time, I would just need to get more wrong so I would be ranked 3.

*SNAP*

At the back of the class, I could see Rachel's pencil snap and her face went pale. The girl who got #1 in every exam got pushed down to second or third place, depending on how she saw it.

*Bzz*

[Team GC]

--- [Bam: Ren you son of bitch, how did you cheat. Tell me now]

--- [Ren: nah test was light ngl 🥱 think you're just dumb]

--- [Chae Nayun: No seriously tell us how you cheated. We know you're stupid]

--- [Ren: ????????????? Hearing that from rank 40 doesn't mean much ngl]

I felt someone staring daggers at me.

'Ehh, she won't like me anyways cause I'm close with Hajin'

--- [Bam: 🤣🤣🤣. fr, put me on to your method. I won't say anything]

--- [Ren: dude forgot about me. the gunner got first]

'he won't mind, right? I'm getting him SP'

After class, I got up and headed out of the class when I felt another tap on my shoulder.

'I'M GONNA LOSE IT. Breath in'

*huh*

'breath out'

I turned around slowly and saw Kim Hajin. He timidly said.

"I'm sorry, I actually forgot. Anyway, how did you cheat??"

"dude why the hell does everyone think I cheated, is it impossible for me to be smart?"

Sighing, I headed back to my dorm to train.

-*-

*Beep*

"MOM, I'm getting up. Ah not again"

It's been two weeks since I enrolled in the cube and my daily routine has essentially stayed the same. First, wake up and stamina train for one hour. Next, head to class. After my classes are over, I head over to an isolated spot in the forest and train the style for six hours.

At first, I thought yea man the kekei style will be sooo cool. After that initial period of admiring it was over, I began to hate it and regret choosing it. After that, I'm currently in the period where my brain is just empty while training. All I do is listen to the music and unsheathe my sword, then sheathe. Though I can control the wind elementals, I can't talk to them cause I'm not an actual elementist, however, I assume they hate me with a passion as I work them to the bone every day.

'do they even have a choice whether to participate in my train or do they just get sucked in?' I wonder.'

After training the style, it's already around 9:30, so I head to the cafeteria to grab dinner and then head to sleep. Once I finished the first movement, I decided I would take a break from training the kekei style for a while. Though it's overpowered, the amount of time, it takes to master one movement will only keep going up. First, I would raise all my stats at least 3 while gradually increasing my speed stat.

Well, it's time to see the fruits of my labor. I opened my computer with anticipation.

------

1. Ren Jin

Stats:

*Variable Stats

[Strength: 1.5]

[Stamina: 3.3]

[Speed: 12.3] + (5)

[Perception: 5]

[Vitality: 2.5]

[Magic Power: 2]

Authorities:

---Kekei Style: "Quick Flash" 78,000 / 100,000

-------------

After 13 days of training 6 hours every day, I can perform a quick flash strong enough to cut a tree (Almost able to cut through mana strengthening) once every two hours. After I perfect it, I assume I'll be able to cut through mana strengthening once every six hours and perform quick flashes strong enough to cut down a tree six times in an hour. I can control the strength of a quick flash through the amount of time I gather wind elementals in, so I don't have to worry about accidentally killing someone.

In about two weeks from now, Kim Hajin is to explore a hidden stage of a dungeon and get Aether, however, I plan to steal the aether due to it genuinely being overpowered. I understand well that this will affect the plot, but there is another item similar to Aether known as Arcachne's thread. After getting aether, I would need to search for it and place it on the hidden stage before Hajin gets there. This may seem like a hard task, but the reward of Aether makes it 100% worth it.

I decided to start looking for the cave tomorrow. I know the general area of it from the novel, however, it's still hard to find a single small ass cave in a gigantic mountain.