Rohan left the academy dormitory and walked straight ahead.
The warmth accumulated from the shower flew away in the cool night breeze. It felt incredibly refreshing.
“Ah, so cool!”
The path was all too familiar.
Moving based on memory, there was no hesitation in his steps toward the goal.
“Would it even be there?”
Rohan, quickening his pace, knew exactly what he was looking for.
Abyss City is an open-world game with no competition.
Roaming the vast, beautifully rendered map, sightseeing and taking photos was quite enjoyable.
What made that fun tenfold was the rewards.
In the game, hidden throughout the academy city were boxes that supplied currency.
He hadn’t memorized the location of every box, but a few key spots naturally stuck in his memory.
“Still, the chances are low.”
He knew the probability of a treasure chest just sitting there on the side of the road was slim.
This world isn’t one where only I have free will.
Everyone walking the streets is a living being with their own thoughts, isn’t that reassuring?
Even though he was fully aware of this, the reason he took the time to go out and check personally was to confirm that “the box doesn’t exist.”
Even if the box isn’t there, the possibility that the quest window might show some special reaction couldn’t be ruled out.
“…”
He had to see it with his own eyes to feel at ease. It’s just how he was wired.
Even he found himself exhausting.
“Looking at the level of advancement, it’s like I’ve progressed a bit from my past life? There are even guys with mechanical arms now.”
That was the impression he got on the way.
The prosperity of the academy city became even more dazzling at night, blindingly so.
The place he arrived at was District 4 of the academy city.
Not too far from his dormitory, it was an area with a bustling commercial district and decent security.
Walking against the flow of the dazzling signs and bustling crowds, he turned into a quiet street.
Then, he headed toward a dimly lit alley between streetlights.
According to his memory, the box was next to a vending machine in the alley.
In the game, it was in a devilishly hidden spot—barely visible even when looking from the main street.
You had to approach the vending machine to see it.
Step. Step. Step.
He walked toward the vending machine, the only source of light in the dark alley.
He turned on his smartphone flashlight and looked around.
Immediately, he clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, it’s not here.”
All that was on the ground were cigarette butts and empty drink cans.
─ Meow!
A cat, startled by the light, scurried away.
The quest window showed no reaction either.
“Hmm.”
Putting his phone away, he stood in front of the vending machine, deep in thought.
If the box had been there, it might have been related to earning shop points rather than currency.
Unfortunately, it was a wasted effort.
“If there’s no box, then next… There was an achievement system, right?”
“Considering the chaos ahead, I’m in no position to be picky.”
“I have to challenge everything that comes to mind.”
“Sure, quests are the most reliable for rewards, but waiting around for a quest that might not even come is not my style and doesn’t suit my temperament.”
“Achievements.”
“What were they again?”
“I didn’t pay much attention to achievements, so my memory is fuzzy. I was the type who enjoyed boosting my favorite character’s stats and roaming around the map.”
“Roughly thinking about it, most were related to combat and characters.”
“There were also a ton related to daily life, like the number of consumables used, Academy grades, or part-time jobs.”
“Excluding things like attendance days and character recruitment counts. What’s possible now…”
“As I focused more, memories forcibly surfaced from the depths of my consciousness.”
“My gaze turned to the vending machine right in front of me.”
“A big catch in my mind made me snap awake.”
“Ah! That’s it!”
“There was one thing I could try right here.”
“My hand immediately went to my right pocket.”
“Ten tokens I swept from the dormitory desk jingled. About a thousand won in Korean currency.”
“Let’s see.”
“Cotton candy milk tea? Not this. Oak soda water, not this either.”
“Mint cola… ridiculous, but not this one either.”
“Then, the last row of the vending machine.”
“I faced the abyss.”
“Cucumber milk…!”
“This is it. The price is just right.”
“After filling the vending machine with jingling coins, I pressed the cucumber milk button firmly.”
*Clunk clunk—!*
“A glass bottle, as if filled with algae, rolled out.”
“Taking it out, it was warm to the touch.”
“…”
“Even though the warmth suited the cool weather, I strangely felt a sense of foreboding.”
“Warm cucumber milk.”
“How terrible would it taste?”
“Pop! As soon as I opened the lid and sniffed, I hurriedly covered my nose.”
“Ugh!”
“Disgusting and revolting. My face naturally scrunched up.”
“Why does this world have such a drink?”
“It wasn’t an illusion that my head throbbed just from the smell.”
“But… I have to drink it.”
“I don’t want to, but I can’t avoid it now.”
“This is the fastest way.”
“Phew!”
“Having made up my mind, I gulped down the greenish milk.”
“Three sips in, my throat felt broken.”
“Blech—!!!”
“Covering my nose was useless. The foul smell hit my brain.”
“I spat out the milk in my mouth onto the ground.”
“Cough! Cough!”
“The warm cucumber milk was excessively terrible.”
“Chewing the mushy particles inside was the absolute worst.”
“But.”
“There was a reward for enduring the ordeal.”
[You eat that kind of thing? Achievement unlocked.]
[You earned 10P as an achievement reward.]
“Ah, finally…!”
Proof of achievement. This success is huge.
It’s the foundation that’ll shape my future plans.
I wiped the cucumber milk dripping from my mouth and tried to distance my consciousness from the taste as much as possible.
“If I can just save 500P before the semester starts…”
While I was forcing myself to keep thinking that, a voice I shouldn’t have heard here seeped into my ears.
“Are you okay?”
“!”
Startled, I turned my head.
A pair of sparkling golden eyes were staring right at me.
“…Ichinose Yui?!”
But that precious light was only there for a moment.
Ichinose Yui hid her pupils as usual and approached me with graceful steps.
“Your taste is… unique.”
She must’ve seen me drinking that bizarre beverage.
Maybe her sharp senses caught it.
I tried my best to suppress the awkwardness of suddenly running into Ichinose Yui and answered as calmly as I could.
“I was just curious and tried it.”
“Hmm…”
Facing her head-on, Ichinose Yui was anything but ordinary. Her petite frame seemed to dominate the entire alley with her senses.
The feeling of having your movements, gaze, and even breathing read by a girl with her eyes closed…
It was truly mystical.
“This is Ichinose Yui’s first unique skill…”
I recalled the girl I had invested a fortune in raising.
[Clairvoyance (心眼) ─ Lv.1]
◇ When eyes are closed, physical abilities increase.
◇ When eyes are closed, mana efficiency increases.
◇ When eyes are closed, senses are heightened.
In the game, the condition of having her eyes closed was represented by an oddly low base hit rate, but…
The sword draw and footsteps Ichinose showed in today’s placement test didn’t show any of those chronic issues.
“Is she Level 2 now? Or maybe Level 3?”
I don’t know what level Ichinose Yui’s unique skill is at, but…
If her personality is the same as I know, she must’ve been living in the dark since she first awakened her skill.
Thus, her closed-eyed demeanor feels natural, without any sense of strangeness.
She even looks like the so-called “squinty-eyed” character type.
“Number 99, right?”
“…If you mean my test number, then yes.”
Seeing my affirmation, she fidgeted her fingers, pondered for a moment, and then, as if to show off, hid her sword behind her back and asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name properly during the test. Could you tell me?”
“Rohan.”
“Rohan… I see.”
She nodded while muttering my name.
I felt joy from the conversation with her but also tried to stay wary of the current situation.
After all, you always have to be cautious with things that don’t fit within your understanding.
“My name is Ichinose Yui.”
“I know.”
She’s so famous, after all. She nodded without any further comment, accepting it easily.
“No need to be so guarded. We’re both cadets at Orion Academy, so no need for formalities.”
“…”
“In Academy City, we don’t engage in the foolish act of treating one’s national background as a source of power.”
That’s the Ichinose Yui I know. Her words, filled with her unique color, made me admire her even as I racked my brain.
I couldn’t figure out why she approached me.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to speak harshly or coldly.
That girl, recognized as the successor of Tenkaigan, tries hard to act mature.
‘Ichinose Yui is soft on the inside.’
Knowing that part of her, it bothered me.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
The sense of familiarity I held alone kept breaking down the wall of caution.
No matter how hard I tried to build it, it crumbled before it could even stand.
Recalling the information I had about Ichinose Yui, I spoke in a calm voice.
“Make yourself comfortable first.”
At my words, she pouted her lips like a duck, looking troubled.
Knowing her habits, her transparent actions made her seem cute.
“I prefer using honorifics.”
“Well, if that’s the case…”
As I nodded, expecting this response, she took a step closer to me.
“There’s something I’m curious about. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Ichinose nodded.
The plastic bag in her hand rustled, revealing the snacks inside.
“…What are you curious about?”
I asked cautiously, trying not to let my lips curl up at the soft image I hadn’t seen in the game.
Finally, Ichinose Yui brought up the curiosity she had been holding.
“That slash you used to cut the golem into pieces during today’s placement exam. The result was impressive, but the movement itself was striking.”
“…”
“It seems like the skill of someone who’s wielded a sword for a long time. Do you belong to a specific school or style?”
