A Waste of Time

Once the rays of the warm sunlight touched his face, Kieran's eyelids fluttered, opening a few seconds later.

As he sat up in bed and rubbed his face, Kieran groaned groggily and shook his head to dispel some of the fog in his mind. 

'It's so bright…' Kieran thought, raising his hand to block the sunlight. It was then that he realized how practical dark curtains were. 

Aside from the light's disruption, Kieran also realized that he slept like a log. Because his current body couldn't handle the effects of his H-COS, it required a deep coma-like state to heal the fatigue amassed by Kieran's actions.

One side effect was an episode of unfocused and sensitive vision, hence why Kieran reacted violently to the sunlight. 

Kieran soon swung his legs around the bed so that his back faced the dorm's windows. Only then did he lean forward and rub his face before wondering what time it was.

Tapping on his wrist, Kieran activated the holographic projector feature on his holo-phone wrapped around his wrist. The date was then read aloud to him.

Monday, May 20th, 2122. 9:05 AM

Upon reading this information, Kieran frowned. "How long did I sleep?!"

From start to finish, Kieran spent less than 10 hours within Zenith Online and logged in around midday. After adding up the hours, Kieran blinked blankly.

"I slept for almost 12 hours?"

This amount of sleep wasn't startling to people who valued sleep, but it was for Kieran. After earning his position as Golden Brigade's High Commander, he slept less than 5 hours a day, sometimes completely ignoring the need to sleep.

Even now, his average daily rest sat between 6 to 8 hours. This extra sleep was his body's natural way of correcting the issues it faced. As Kieran was in his prime years, his body's ability to heal from his H-COS flares wasn't terrible.

After noting the date and time, Kieran recalled a matter that led to a question. Was it necessary to continue with his university courses if Zenith Online's effects transcended the scope of ordinary human life?

The idea of mentally-augmented superhumans left Kieran questioning this matter. University would only take up his time, but then again, Kieran also couldn't ignore that primarily university students and professional gamers comprised the initial batch of players.

As Aspaira mentioned before, Zenith Online and gaming, in general, were seen as a form of stress relief.

Rather than make this decision now, Kieran chose to sit through one more class and make his decision accordingly.

At that moment, Kieran's stomach released a ferocious growl. Due to his exhausted state, Kieran ignored his previous pang of hunger and went straight to sleep, resulting in his current famished state.

After sliding out of bed, Kieran approached the fridge and attempted to raid it, but the lackluster selection of a university student's diet made him grimace. "For fuck's sake… you've got to be kidding me." Kieran said, exasperated. "Whatever."

Kieran found eggs, cheese, cold bread, slices of turkey, and a few vegetables. It was enough to whip up a decent breakfast, but it would all be gone afterward.

Once he finished eating roughly twenty minutes later, Kieran stood before the floor mirror and pinched his torso. "If I didn't know any better, I would have believed I was a skeleton. But, that was understandable given the habits of my past self."

Before entering Zenith Online in the past, Kieran's self-care wasn't the best, sometimes skipping or eating complete garbage while isolating himself, holing himself up in his dorm.

Despite his handsome looks, Kieran wasn't friendly at all during his adolescent to young adult years. Considering his past circumstances involving his parents' death and being orphaned, his closed-off nature was understandable.

However, Kieran didn't believe it justified letting himself go. Not when he sorely depended on his body to fulfill his aspirations. 'I don't have classes for another three hours, so it's safe to dawdle for a while longer.'

Within the next two hours, Kieran tidied up his dorm, organized his clothes, freshened up, and did some light exercise to get his blood flowing. As he felt that he was at the bottom of the social ladder, his wardrobe matched that of a typical university student.

Many blue or black shirts, a few tees, worn sweaters, and light coats. It was nothing special, but it also didn't scream poverty.

However, compared to his past massive wardrobe filled with luxurious clothing, his current setting left a sour taste in Kieran's mouth, which also humbled him.

'We all start from somewhere. I won't act like my circumstances are the worst, but they certainly aren't the best,' Kieran inwardly thought.

Once he finished setting up his dorm, Kieran dressed and stepped outside his dorm room. The campus wasn't small, but it wasn't obscenely large either. As long as students left their dorms in a timely manner, it wasn't difficult to reach many lecture halls.

Kieran's university was known as Metro University. It was a state university, so the tuition wasn't extremely high. It was also local and practical to many middle-class and lower-income students. Because of its flexible tuition and excellent course variety, it was New Metro's most reputable state university.

Due to his languid pace, Kieran reached his lecture hall 30 minutes later, a few minutes before his class began. Like any other day before, Kieran sat in the furthest seat, a few steps from the exit. 

A minute later, the rhythmic clacking of heels echoed within the spacious hall as a beautiful woman with tied-up blonde hair and calm hazel eyes hidden behind slender frame glasses walked up to the lecture podium.

Many of the student's eyes brightened when they analyzed her frilly blouse and form-fitting skirt that clung to her supple legs. Whispers surfaced in the hall, but a clear, velvety voice calmed it down.

"Ahem, good morning. Have you all enjoyed your break from classes?"

"Oh, you bet. This new game came out, and ugh, it's so addictive, Ms. Arman," one of the students replied. Because of this statement, a conversation regarding Zenith Online was immediately sparked in the classroom.

Surprisingly, Ms. Arman didn't stop the conversation. Instead, she analyzed the room. Most students engaged in the discussion, but she noticed Kieran in the back, absentmindedly gazing out the window.

'Kieran… he's always alone, that isn't healthy for a boy his age. Although his grades are excellent, he's squandering his precious college years, which should be used to forge lasting relationships. It isn't ideal.'

Although Kieran was absentminded, pondering his current situation, Kieran tentatively listened to the conversation. 

Because of the heated conversation, Kieran gathered that a few of his classmates had reached Lv.9 to Lv.12. But, considering how much time had passed, it wasn't anything praiseworthy.

"Alright, class. That's enough. Let's drop the talk about this new Zenith Online and discuss today's lesson," Ms. Arman voiced.

While she began to mention the lesson, Kieran fell deeper into his thoughts. The topic was boring, so Kieran's vacant expression stared at the city streets outside. Several towering skyscrapers filled his view.

'New Metro is the home of several enterprises. Because of the bustling traffic, many wealthy families have taken root here. I wouldn't be surprised if I ran into familiar faces, but I must be wise. Without the means to protect myself, I'll be extremely vulnerable,' Kieran thought.

New Metro was the United States' second highest-grossing state, which is why it acted as the backbone of the economy. Of course, like any other state, it possessed its slum-like areas where most lower-income people hailed from.

One such person was Kieran. The reason he made it to Metro University was due to the stipend provided by the government.

While deep in thought, Kieran's eyes suddenly widened as he jerked his head to the side and snatched the air before his face. After opening his palm, a piece of chalk rolled back and forth.

Silently, Kieran averted his gaze from the window.

Ms. Arman stood before the long blackboard with her hands on her hips and her lips curved into a charming yet mischievous smile. "Is there something interesting out the window? I called your name three times, Mr. Silver but no response."

"Ah," Kieran responded dryly. 

As he looked at her, Kieran felt an instinctive annoyance. 'What a nuisance.' 

Out of instinct, Kieran flicked the chalk back towards Ms.Arman, but it carried some of the emotions that seeped into his mind.

The chalk began to spin like a rotating disk as it quickly approached Ms. Arman.

Upon realizing what he did, Kieran's expression plummeted. 'Crap…'

His action was not something an ordinary person could react to. Depending on where it landed, the opposing side would undoubtedly end up in a world of pain. 

However, at the last moment, Ms. Arman swiped her hand through the air.

Kieran's eyebrows jumped. 'This teacher… Ms. Arman, was it? There's something unusual about her.'

Similarly, Ms. Arman was astonished as well. 'As far as I'm aware, the boy has never joined in any extracurriculars, but my hand hurts! It was comparable to a throw from an ace football player. Why isn't he in any sports?'

After this situation, Kieran stood up from his seat with a distant gaze and approached the door. 'As I suspected, acting like a normal student would be pointless. Especially with an abnormal teacher like her.'

"U-uh… teacher?" Someone muttered in the front row.

"Just a moment, please," Ms. Arman answered.

…

Ms. Arman caught up with Kieran and tapped his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to offend you if that's the case. I just wanted you to pay attention," Ms. Arman sincerely apologized. 

However, she was taken aback when Kieran silently lifted her hand from his shoulder and dusted it off. "No offense taken. This place is merely a pointless waste of time for me when I can place my focus elsewhere."

"Waste of time?" Ms. Arman blinked in disbelief. After a second of repeating those words, she understood. "You're… not thinking of dropping out, right? That would be a real waste of time. You have only one more semester after this!"

"Meh, it's a sheet of paper. One I can do without. Besides, you shouldn't forget that you still have a class to teach," Kieran said with a soft chuckle.

He didn't wait for her response and simply walked away, leaving a baffled Ms. Arman while he headed towards the administration office.