"...?"

As I stood there, dazed by the previously emotionless girl's sudden change in behavior, a sudden tap on my shoulder snapped me back to reality.

"Is it time?"

Turning around to face the source of the voice, immediatly meeting two blood-red eyes, I simply sighed and answered.

"To the mana portal."

The two of us had found a dungeon, and dungeons could be repeated as many times as you wanted, albeit without rewards.

It would be a waste not to use it.

Swiping my Four-Axis Student ID, which allowed for 10 portal transports per month, I breathed in the salty air of Mikanos before heading down to the beach with Leo.

Two or three times a week, the two of us would head down here to train together against the minatour boss.

Leo focused on mastering his control of his mana sword, already nearing the point where he could release a mana slash, a powerful blast of mana that flew through the air like an extremely wide arrow.

If I had to guess, he was about a ...full month ahead of the original self in the book.

Alternatively, I focused on expanding my expertise in swords while trying to understand why I could see holographic lines stretching from the half-bull, half-human beast, despite it not being an object.

Unfortunately, there was still no answer.

...

...

...

Watching the minatour topple over and slam against the stone-brick platform, sending an earthquake through the ground, I sighed and fell backward.

Lying down on the cold platform and gazing upward at the rocky ceiling, I sighed and brushed the hair off my forehead.

"Prepared for midterm next week? Well...I guess you don't have to worry about testing, don't you..."

Waving at Leo, I simply nodded my head and answered.

"The festival is more concerning."

To celebrate the midterms for first-year students, Four-Axis students were opening their doors to the public, allowing everyone to visit the normally private island off the coast of the capital city.

The public would witness the showdown of the first-year students.

The massive coliseum I had been in just a few hours ago would be transformed into a movie theater where the audience could watch, on a screen, the first-year battle royale.

Students would be sorted into groups of four and transferred to a massive subspace, and fight to be the last group standing.

Group assignments, like with physical practicals, weren't random.

You could form your own groups, with restrictions, of course.

The average rank of your group had to add up to at the very most, 350.

That part wasn't what concerned me, though.

I was scared...scared of all the possible changes my actions would cause in this timeline that had far diverged from the book I had written.

Saying I would become powerful enough to be ready for anything was easy...but doing it wasn't just a matter of hard work.

As the two of us exited the dungeons, I sheathed my golden-jade Willow Leaf Dao and paused on the beach beside Leo, feeling my feet sink into the sand, and gazed at the sunset.

Ever since Leo and I had first watched the sunrise together, it had become a tradition for us to witness the sunset after our dungeon raids.

...

...

...

"What are you doing."

Glancing to my right, I didn't even ask, but demanded, my eyebrows raised in confusion.

Her position was supposed to be the center of the stage, as the star of the dance, yet here she stood on the right side with me.

Yet, a cheerful response immediatly sounded in response.

"I'm just doing what I want to do."

"..."

Standing on the stage, alongside my fellow dance-club teammates, I sighed and turned to face Carissa.

Rubbing my forehead, I once again explained, ignoring the odd expressions of my fellow first-years.

"Look, I didn't save you because I cared about you, alright? Honestly, I could have cared less: I-"

Interrupting me mid-sentence, Carissa looked away from me, back at the center of the stage where our choreographer stood, and finished.

"I did what I had to do. You know, that's a good line! I'll just do what I want from now on!"

Her snow-white hair flying backward as she leaped into the air, I caught a glimpse of her face: a bright smile colored her features, and her white pupils shone with energy.

...Leo was supposed to change her, but this fast!?

Even in class, she had started raising her hand to answer questions while going out of her way to talk with Haerin and Leo, rather than ignoring them.

Snapping me back to reality, a voice suddenly sounded from the center stage.

"*ahem* Serena, could you return to your position?"

Nodding her head, not before giving me one last side glance, Serena returned as the dance practice session continued.

With the public visiting Four-Axis Academy just next week, the dance club, of course, had to perform.

The routine was relatively simple, perhaps becauser with one glance at the choreographer, I could instantly replicate any move perfectly.

As dance practice came to an end, I exhaustedly wiped my forehead with a towel before exiting the auditorium and re-entering the streets of the academy, occasionally glancing backward to make sure no one was behind.

*BZZT*

At that moment, my smartwatch rang out, prompting me to groan and check it.

[Joesa: Athen, my friend! A group of students in our class, including me, were planning to organize a group session with stu-]

"*TSK*"

Swiping the notification away, I continued to my apartment.

That had to have been the tenth time in this day alone that I had been messaged for help with the upcoming midterm.

Yet, just when I thought I was free, a face I recognized as one of the students who had previously made fun of me as the "Dancer' suddenly appeared before me.

"Did you see my message, Athen? Never mind...of course, not, you must be busy. Anyway a group of students is banding together to st-"

Cutting him off mid-sentence, I rudely stated.

"No time."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.