Chapter 65 - The Second Event [1]

After our quick spar, Zion and I headed to the restaurant as fast as we could.

We jogged through the central campus pathways, keeping a steady pace so we wouldn’t end up being late for our shift.

"You two are finally here! Get to work, we’re packed with customers again!"

The boss greeted us with that, he looked really relieved when he saw us. He stood near the main counter, holding a stack of empty order clips while gesturing toward the crowded dining tables.

"Yes, boss!"

Zion shouted back with a energetic salute.

"We’re on it."

I replied with a quick nod, stepping behind the counter to grab my apron.

Zion and I responded to him, then with that—we wore our uniforms for work and started tending the customers.

We tied our aprons securely around our waists and picked up clean serving trays from the kitchen counter.

The evening rush kept us constantly moving between the kitchen and the busy dining floor. We ran around the restaurant as fast as we could, and as expected, the rest of our day went as it was usually.

Being busy with the restaurant until it closed, then going back to my dorm after the shift ended.

... ... ...

After the customers had left, we wiped down the tables, carried heavy dishes, and signed out right as the clock struck ten in the evening.

I made the quiet walk back to the dorms, going straight to my room to rest my tired legs.

I collapsed onto my mattress, staring up at the plain ceiling as my mind slowly processed the day’s training.

My body was completely exhausted, but the satisfaction of mastering my new dual-wielding style kept my spirit high.

... ... ...

... ... ...

... ... ...

Time passed before I even realized it... A week had already gone by in a blink of an eye.

*****

The daily cycle of morning classes, physical drills, and late-night restaurant shifts blurred together into a fast routine.

It was the start of the third week of the month.

The campus atmosphere felt slightly different as students began preparing for the upcoming mid-term practical assessments.

The next event was here as well, the introduction of the [The Corrupted].

The dark, dangerous element hidden within the academy was finally about to make its first official appearance.

Though, it’s not going to happen today.

The Monday schedule consisted purely of standard theoretical lectures and basic physical conditioning drills.

’The joint class will be on Wednesday, I still have time to prepare for that.’

I thought to myself.

I sat at my desk, reviewing my notes while calculating the remaining time I had to double-check my battle strategy.

And so, I attended my class and learned about [The Corrupted] as much as I can. I searched about them online, and even asked Ahri about them.

I spent every spare minute between lectures reading archived combat reports and studying energy circulation patterns.

Ahri knows a lot about them too, she said she even faced some of them before.

As someone whose family is connected to nobles for so long already, her practical experience and knowledge gave me invaluable insights into how dark mana affected a caster’s instincts.

Then after class, I spar with Cindy and Zion to train before heading to the restaurant to work.

We reserved small arenas and private training rooms after hours, running quick two-on-one skirmishes to sharpen my defensive reflexes.

And at night, I will continue my training a bit more and investigation about [The Corrupted Ones] before sleeping.

I would stay up late in my dorm room, cross-referencing public news records with my personal knowledge of the original game story.

I learned a lot about them that was omitted or wasn’t noticeable from the game.

Details regarding their exact aura activation times, bodily stress limits, and initial mana spikes became much clearer to me.

I continued this routine of mine like a lifeless robot, it was boring... But it was necessary if I wanted to prepare myself.

Day after day, I followed the exact same schedule without skipping a single step or taking an unnecessary break.

And just like that...

The day of the joined session with [C CLASS] had arrived.

*****

The sun rose over the campus, casting long shadows across the wide stone courtyard as students gathered for the assessment.

Zion and I walked side by side down the stone corridor leading to the main indoor combat arena.

The massive arched entrance of the facility towered above us, surrounded by high-grade mana suppression barriers.

... ... ...

We stepped through the double doors, entering the vast indoor arena where several sparring rings were set up.

"What’s wrong? You’re somewhat quiet today."

Zion asked as we walked into the training facility from before, the one where we had to fight Professor Ulfar during his first day teaching us.

"Ehh, I just didn’t have enough sleep."

I replied to him, looking at the other side of the arena that we’re going to use today. I rubbed the back of my neck, letting out a small yawn as I shifted my gaze across the wide arena floor.

On the other side, I can see all the students of the [C CLASS] along with their head professor.

A group of thirty students stood clustered together in matching athletic gear, looking over at our class with tense expressions.

Their professor and Professor Ulfar walked towards each other and started talking as soon as we arrived to the place. The two instructors met in the center of the main platform, opening physical clipboard rosters to discuss the event rules.

And as they were distracted—

"Kekeke... This is going to be easy."

"This is like a free win already, no?"

"Haha, look at them, silent and scared."

Some idiots from the [C CLASS] started taunting us. It was so predictable that I wasn’t even annoyed.

A few arrogant students near the front of their group scoffed loudly, loud enough for our side to hear clearly.

I just ignored them and looked at Zion. He wasn’t paying attention to the [C CLASS] either.

I kept my hands resting calmly in my pockets, completely unbothered by their childish attempts to provoke us.

Zion was busy stretching his arms overhead, completely focused on warming up his muscles for the upcoming matches.

Most of our classmates aren’t looking at the idiots from the [C CLASS], to be honest.

The others were either checking their gear straps, stretching quietly, or staring blankly at the arena floor.

And so, because of this... The complete lack of reaction from our side left the instigators hanging awkwardly in front of their peers.

"Gugh... Just you wait..."

"What a boring class..."

"Scared bastards."

The idiots from the other class got embarrassed and stopped on their own. I can even see some of their own classmates snickering as they went silent.

They grumbled under their breath, crossing their arms and turning away to hide their obvious embarrassment.

... ... ...

... ... ...

... ... ...

The professors stopped their conversation not long, and with the talking done—

"Ehem, eyes here."

Professor Ulfar tapped his clipboard against his palm, drawing the attention of both student groups back to the center platform.

The head professor of C Class nodded in agreement, pulling out a sleek metallic device from his coat pocket.

He activated the core crystal, causing a bright beam of light to project upward into the middle of the arena.

WHOOSH~

The heavy chatter across the arena floor completely died down as everyone turned their attention toward the stage.

They showed us the matching using a holographic device they brought.

A large, floating blue display unfolded in the air above us, listing the student pairs for all fifteen sparring rings.

I was curious to see who my opponent was because in this event from the game, Vael’s fight was completely omitted.

I leaned forward slightly, scanning the bracket text to locate my name among the lower section matchups.

"Huh?"

But when I turned to look at it, I was surprised.

My eyes widened as I read the two names highlighted in bright yellow text near the bottom of the list.

"What? Did I read it wrong?"

I mumbled under my breath. Though, no matter how much I rub my eyes, the name of my opponent remains the same.

I blinked hard, staring intently at the floating holographic letters to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

Jodan Headbrawler.

It was the student that will turn into [The Corrupted]!

The very person who was supposed to face Zion in the original storyline had somehow been assigned directly to me!

I stood completely frozen in place, my eyes locked on the holographic display as my mind raced to process the sudden shift.

’How did this happen?’

I thought to myself, feeling a cold sweat break out along the back of my neck.

In the original game scenario, Jodan was scheduled to duel Zion on the main stage.

During their match, overwhelmed by his own inferiority complex and desperate to crush the class representative, Jodan would give in to the dark voice whispering in his head.

He would release his sinister, corrupted mana right in front of the entire student body, triggering a massive chaotic scene that forced the professors to intervene.

’Did my intervention during the previous dungeon test alter the internal ranking algorithm?’

I wondered, clenching my right fist inside my coat pocket.