Chapter 5: Clubs and Classes

Wednesday's first class, 'anti-personnel training'.

This two-hour-long class simply had two cadets form a pair and spar each other. Spars were done with training weapons, making the fight less painful and easier to grade. In this class students were paired together and fought.

"Hey, Minori. Let's go for a couple rounds." Minori looked at Demian, his teammate and nodded.

"Sure."

What's that look in his eye? Is he mad about something?

Minori and Demian stepped into the training mat, a weak barrier formed around them to show the borders.

[Rank 150 Cadet Minori Nii]

"You're higher ranked than I thought." Demians eyes widened as he gripped his practice hammer.

[Rank 472 Cadet Demian Lee]

"It's just because I'm a transfer is all." Minori unsheathed his blunt short sword and held it by his side.

[Begin]

As soon as the robotic voice rang out mana was channeled into Demians hammer as he swung it horizontally, hoping to catch Minori off guard.

Minori ducked and slid under the swing, he placed his palm to the floor and looked like he was about to push himself up, but instead he rolled to the side and got onto his two feet, avoiding a mana infused stomp.

Minori had an agitated frown.

"What a cheap tactic Demian, aren't you supposed to be a hero?" Minori dashed forward with a downwards swing, aiming for the shoulder.

Demian blocked with his hammer and smirked.

"I could sa- cagh!" Before he could get out a word he was kneed in the gut so hard the wind got knocked out of him.

"Phew… don't talk in the middle of the fight, Demian." Minori sheathed the shortsword and helped Demian up.

Demian was tense and glared at Minori.

"Oh, and sorry for pushing you towards the lizard. I asked you beforehand." Minori said with an awkward smile.

Demian sighed before sitting on the bench.

"At least you're apologetic." Demian combed his hair back.

Minori sighed in relief before going back and sitting at his old spot, watching the other fights unfold. His eyes were a little hazy so he closed them and caught his breath.

A little while after–

—Bam!

A body slammed into the seat beside Minori as he startled awake.

"Cadet rank 150! Take Cadet 934 to the Med Bay!" Minori looked beside him and saw a barely conscious boy, a fist print on his cheek.

He then looked at the instructor who was holding their hair with a worried expression.

"...Sure." Minori picked the boy up and hauled them over the shoulder.

He's light…wait huh?

Looking at the boy's hand Minori saw a gun tightly clutched in his hand.

It's the gun guy. His features are clearer now.

Without paying it too much mind, Minori dragged him along to the Medical bay with a tired expression.

…

There were around 100 clubs within Cube, ranging from hobby clubs like bowling, pool and VR to academic clubs like studying, martial arts, and training.

I planned to steer clear of clubs for the time being, the main reason being that I was afraid of talking to people.

But… after telling Kim Suho this, it appears he had other plans.

"Just come to the club promotions! You'll change your mind once you get there!" Kim Suho pulled on my arm.

"Please, if I knew you were going to be like this I would've lied!" I was pulling my arm back with force but he wouldn't let go.

Is this bastard always holding back during training?! This strength is abnormal!

"You'll ruin your student social life if you don't join at least one!"

And with those words I let out a sigh and (un)willingly let myself get dragged along.

…

I exited the auditorium with two sheets of paper as Kim Suho handed me another.

"If you don't end up choosing either of those clubs you should join the Travelling club! I'll be in it!' Kim Suho smiled brightly.

This bastard is really interested in seeing the world huh? Heh, he was so moved by the speech the club president made.

Now for the other two clubs that caught my attention [Martial Arts Club] and [Medical Practice Club].

The only problem is that I don't know a single person in these clubs… I might just become a social outcast. 

As for the travelling club… I don't see how that's a problem. It's good to see the world and I might even run into fortuitous events.

Well, even if I sign these I can just not turn up and it'll be fine.

I gaslit myself as I signed all three.

"This shouldn't turn out too badly…"

…

Thursday evening.

In one of Cubes many classrooms there was one that had its own library. It held many tomes, written in many different languages, tales of great warriors, manuals on how to use chi and many other topics.

All of which contained inside the Martial arts club.

Thursday was its meeting time, yet no one had arrived… except Minori.

Sitting in the room alone was Minori, in his hand held an untitled book, its pages burnt and yellowed.

It had caught his eye, his instincts not allowing him to leave it be, which led him to this point, flicking through the book with bored eyes.

Until at a certain point the contents changed.

Minori's instincts had never let him down, in his years of training he has never once gone against his instincts. Whether it was going down a shortcut, locating a weak spot or even dodging attacks, there was a voice telling him what would happen next.

Today was no different, a voice that couldn't be heard kept telling him to pick this book up.

The book was a detailed manual on a martial art named Heavenly Berserker Arts. Although it was located in such a small library within the cube, its value had gone unseen.

What the hell? I was just looking for a martial art to use. This suits my style pretty well. More importantly it's an art with both armed and unarmed moves!

Looking around, Minori grabbed the book and shoved it into his bag, walking out of the room as quickly as possible.

I'm keeping this. No one had picked this thing up in ages anyway.

…

After returning to the dorms with the book Minori set it on his desk and flopped onto the couch.

Minori's body didn't hurt but he was quite mentally tired. He wasn't ready to take a nap but was too tired to get up.

Guess I'll check the stocks.

The stock market, a place companies and guilds use to fund themselves with the money of investors. In return investors get dividends worth the amount of shares they have.

Originally, as a poor Japanese boy, he considered investing to get rich fast…but he didn't have any money to invest in the first place. So he forced himself into a military academy to avoid starving to death.

However, it was different now! With a small loan of 10 million won from Cube, Minori now had some liquidity to play around with.

He scrolled through the popular guilds and invested 2 Million into [Essence of the Strait] and 4 Million into [Creators Sacred Grace].

Minori then clicked onto [Jeronimo Mercenary] which his instincts told him to invest into.

A mercenary group? Why? Not [Vast Expanse]?

Contemplating it a bit, he trusted his instincts and invested the 3 Million into it, leaving him with 1 Million just to hold onto.

[Medical Practice Club Announcement]

— There will be an Orientation on Friday for the freshmen. You don't need to bring anything!

A notification popped up as Minori let out a sigh.

"...Tomorrow?"

[Travelling Club Announcement]

— There will be a short trip on Sunday to serve as a freshmen orientation.

Minori groaned and turned his watch off, laying back and closing his eyes.

…

In a room that smelled of herbs, chemicals and blood, a girl stood at the front, looking over the students with a gentle smile.

She had long brown hair, a slender figure and fair skin, her eyes were squinted so closely you would assume they were shut. She wore a long robe with green designs as a flower in a pot near her grew and wilted rapidly.

A soft breeze passed through as another scent wafted through.

What an atmosphere…

Minori sat near the exit and looked amazed at all the expensive ingredients around the room.

"Hello, my dear freshmen, my name is Yoo Ah-Ra. My hobbies include painting, ice skating and- oh, you guys aren't here for that. I specialize in restorative magics, it's nice to meet you all!"

She curtsied elegantly.

"All I'll be doing today is showing you how to use the machines and going over what our club will be doing." 

She stepped in front of what Minori could only describe as a torture device thank was sucking the marrow out of a ribcage.

"First off is the-"

She really is unfazed… 

Minori nodded along while taking in the information. She occasionally went on rambles about whatever topic caught her interest but she was decent at explaining things.

As everyone was about to leave she clapped her hands.

"One more thing! In a state of emergency teachers may ask us for assistance, but I'm sure we won't need to do that!"

Don't jinx it lady!