Chapter 3: School Life

Five minutes away from dorm 1 was a training facility called the 'Novice Fitness Center.' This 1000 square metre facility was filled with magical devices and equipment for exercise and training. The amount of money needed to construct such an environment would be well over a hundred million won, but there was barely anyone using the facility.

The reason for this was simple: many highschoolers simply weren't willing to go to the gym before Cube (officially) began, which was still a day away..

However on this fine evening there would always be exceptions. Such as Minori Nii, who was exploring the campus for the third day in a row and finally decided to go to the Training centre.

Inside was a large interior with many machines and lots of rooms.

Poking his head in, Minori found the place almost devoid of people; only a few hard workers were spotted training.

Good, I missed the majority of people.

Minori made his way in, a short sword at his hip. Nobody noticed his discrete entry as he walked to an interesting machine.

It looked similar to those strength testing machines you'd normally spot at the arcade. However instead of a bright red punching back, there was a concrete block that glowed light blue.

Inspecting it a couple times over, Minori believed he found the use for the machine.

I think this is to determine the destructive power of a weapon strike… or it could be to train stamina as you lift the block for as long as you can… I have no clue.

Following this train of thought a slightly surprised voice came from beside him.

"Oh, it's Minori Nii."

Turning back to see a familiar figure Minori forced a smile and prepared for a social interaction.

"Kim Suho." He nodded back stiffly.

"You're going to use the Barrier box?"

"That's what this is?" Minori looked back at the cube emitting a faint glow.

"Yep, you use it to measure how precise you are. You just click this button here and then weak spots will appear in the barrier, hit the weak spots to damage the box." Kim Suho explained with a smile.

"Is it your first time here?" He followed up with.

He caught me. Better redirect his attention quickly.

"...You seem pretty well versed in the machines. Do you spend all day here or something?" Minori tried to smirk but it looked overly sinister.

"...Then why don't you start with the dummy's? They're super easy to use." Kim Suho gave a recommendation while ignoring Minori's expression.

Minori shook his head and looked at the Barrier box.

"I think I'll try this one."

"Okay, good luck. I'll be at the dummy's so come bother me if you need some help with the machines!" He jogged away with a smile.

What a strange guy. He's pretty nice though… Is this what having friends is like?

Pushing hsi strange thoughts aside, Minori pulled the short sword out of its hilt and clicked the button before zoning in onto the barrier box.

[Level 10]

Ten? Isn't it supposed to start at o-

Minori didn't finish the thought as a hole opened up in the barrier, evident by the lack of colour in that specific area.

Not wanting to fail immediately the short sword stabbed into the opening and cracked the concrete box, not a moment later another hole opened up and the original one closed, pushing the blade out forcefully.

So that's how it works.

Minori slashed at the opening but didn't manage to damage the block. Instead blue sparks flew off the outer shell of the barrier and the hole closed up.

… Only stabbing attacks work, the holes are too small for slashes.

Minori stabbed precisely at the openings watching for the lack of blue that encompassed the box. His arm moved with ease and precision as he struck two openings but missed the third one due to overextending.

Minori rebounded with a thrust but realised it was too late as the box healed back to full.

"…" Minori looked at it in silent suffering.

After 9 successful stabs in a row Minori's arm drove the shortsword into the box, only to find it harder to pull out, his sword rapidly repulsed as the barrier closed up remarkably faster.

The box also reformed back to full size and once more gained a pristine shine.

Looking at the thing like it had killed his dog, Minori huffed and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"... looks like that's my limit." Minori smirked as he shoved the short sword back into its sheath. His arm trembled slightly due to the exercise.

Guess I'll head back… Cube really is state of the art.

Stretching a little, Minori looked over to the other machines before looking at the dummies.

His eyes landed on Kim Suho who was wrestling one to the floor as if it was life or death. 

A small amount of competitive spirit rose in him as Minori made his way to another machine.

…I think I'll stay a bit longer. I only worked a single arm after all.

…

Around a week had passed. Classes were in order and people were getting into the swing of things.

Minori sat, looking at the teacher blankly as they recalled the history of the Outcall.

The Outcall was basically the birth of dungeons, towers, monsters and all things magical on this planet. 

I bet everyones heard this story a million times by now…

Minori sighed as the teacher droned on, his reaction was unwarranted as the truth was that the story of the Outcall had been told over and over again to everyone in the room.

Morning class was post-outcall history. For Minori, theory was easy, he had studied close to exhaustion consistently for the past three years back in japan to overcome the class gap that the rich had over the poor.

The lesson continued on as Minori began falling asleep in his chair, slumping down. The person next to him tried to nudge him a couple times. Minori nodded at them before slumping back down, leaving the stranger feeling awkward and turning back to the class.

Minori should've been awakened peacefully but was instead jolted awake by the bell that signalled the end of class.

He calmly sat up and looked around, seeing what people's reactions were.

… everyone's excited… is practical training next?... I'm gonna throw up.

The one thing Minori was afraid of, not monsters but the overwhelming stress that came with being classmates with arrogant rich people.

As someone who grew up alone he learned his limits far earlier than most, despite this he kept trying, and trying and trying. Which brought him all the way to Cube… 

"Argh, so annoying, why do I have to deal with this? Written exams are so annoying." A whiny voice complained as soon as the professor left the room.

It's the girl who caught me staring last week…

Minori turned his gaze away out of experience and looked at the door, feeling as though someone might come through.

Without another second passing the door flung open revealing the class president, Yi Yeonghan. He was tall and muscular with an oval face and small gentle eyes.

"We're meeting at the field in 20 minutes!" His loud voice made Minori more alert as he frowned.

Please, God, your incredibly unfaithful believer is once again begging you, don't let it be group work.

Minori's prayers would later be betrayed.

…

After a twenty minute recess, everyone from the Veritas class gathered at the Novice Field. With 100 people here, it seemed quite crowded. The cadets were sharing their half-nervous half-excited expectations with their friends.

Minori nodded along to the conversation that Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan was having.

Over their numerous meetings at the Training Centre, Minori had become acquainted with Kim Suho and was considered on alright terms. 

Which leads to this point, where Minori had somehow ended up walking with the two and had been introduced by Kim Suho to the class president.

After walking and exchanging pleasantries the topic moved onto what the activity would be.

"It's definitely going to be fighting against monsters, I mean the class's name is Anti-monster combat training!" Yi Yeonghan pumped his fist.

"But would Cube really make us face monsters in our first practical class? Most of us have never actually fought against monsters before, right?" Kim Suho countered while looking around at the expressions of their classmates.

Someone even swore out loud.

Minori looked at the culprit and saw the gunner, as expected he was alone.

Looking back to his acquaintances, Minori caught them looking towards the center of the field.

Ah, its beginning.

I stepped into line, the class forming ten columns uniformly as Kim Soohyuk entered the scene.