Chapter 54: Bad Habits (1)

The next day, morning.

Nowadays, I wake up on my own, even before Amy comes to get me.

'Ah, I don't want to go to school today since there are no classes.'

However, at this point, only I know that there won't be any classes this week.Diiscover new stories at nove/lbin(.)c/om

If I don't attend, other students will think it's strange.

I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb.

Although it's impossible to hide that I've changed.

···I quickly headed to the Hero Department.

"···There are no classes this week. You don't have to come to school from tomorrow. Rest well this week and see you next week."

As soon as Rok's words ended, I left the classroom.

Hmm······.

'Siena hasn't come to school.'

At this point, it doesn't seem like she's faking it.

I should check on her later to make sure everything's okay.

With that thought, I boarded the carriage.

Clatter, clatter─

'Let's head to the Knight Department first.'

I should be able to observe the second-period classes.

I've seen the skills of most Knight Department students, but I want to test something.

Sitting in the back seat on the right diagonal side of the carriage, I recalled last night.

[Amplification Orb]

The high-ranking artifact I obtained from Francis.

In the original story, it was only used to amplify Francis's debuff magic, but as expected from a high-ranking artifact, it had other uses too.

'This item can amplify not only magic but also traits.’

It can only be applied to one trait, but that alone is incredible.

It can turn an expert-level trait into a master-level trait.

···Of course, I don't have any expert-level traits yet.

The traits I currently possess are [Descendant of the Hero], [Twisted Noble's Dignity], [Magic Nullification], [Observer's Eye], and [Sword Beginner], totaling five.

It's a significant improvement to have a beginner-level trait amplified to a user-level trait in one go.

I initially planned to use it on the treasure I'd obtain during next week's relic exploration.

However, last night, while practicing swordsmanship in my room with the Amplification Orb on me...

[Please select the trait you wish to strengthen.]

A sudden message appeared.

[Descendant of the Hero] is a bloodline trait and cannot be strengthened, but the other four traits could be.

So currently, I've amplified [Sword Beginner] to [Sword User].

Moreover, I can switch to another trait whenever necessary.

···In all routes of the original story, Neike, like a fool, handed over such a precious item to the academy without ever experimenting with it.

I couldn't help but smile.

'What happens if I apply it to master-level traits like Sword Master or Weapon Master?'

Though it's doubtful I'll ever obtain them in my lifetime, but who knows...

Immersed in pleasant thoughts, I headed towards the Knight Department classroom.

It was break time, and the lively chatter of students could be heard outside the classroom.

Creak─

"······."

The students' gazes focused on me.

Ignoring those now-familiar stares, I stood by the back door and surveyed the area.

Where is she?

Ah, there she is.

I walked straight over to Irene, who was sitting in the middle row of the classroom.

Irene's eyes widened.

"You!"

Ah, please stop...

"···Theo, did you really say that?"

Irene whispered in a soft voice.

"······."

I wanted to crawl into a hole.

Instead of answering, I bowed my head.

***

Lunchtime arrived.

I headed to the student cafeteria with Irene and Mina.

'Hmm, the menu is certainly different from the Hero Department's.'

When I had come here before, I couldn't focus because of Siena clinging to me.

Now, I could see everything clearly.

I glanced at the menu and asked Irene:

"Irene, which menu item is delicious?"

"Well, what do you usually like?"

"Meat, of course."

"Hmm, I see. When you were younger, you didn't seem to like meat that much. Anyway, the popular dishes these days are 'Pork Cutlet Set' and 'Dongpo Pork.' They're commonly eaten in the Eastern Empire."

"...I see."

This game pays attention to such unnecessary details.

In the original game, the Eastern Empire was a nation that incorporated elements of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cultures.

Thinking about it made me crave Korean soup, but I couldn't find it on the menu. I checked twice, even three times.

Damn, this is a Korean game.

...Well, It can't be helped.

"I'll have the Pork Cutlet Set."

"Huh? Theo, have you eaten Eastern Empire food before? Why not just get the regular meat set?"

"...A sense of challenge is an essential virtue for a hero."

I'm sorry for lying, Irene.

The truth is, I ate a lot of it before possessing this body.

We moved to a table with our food, and I sliced a piece of pork cutlet.

"..."

Surprisingly, it was quite good, despite its appearance.

It had a taste reminiscent of the homeland.

While eating the pork cutlet, I looked at Irene and Mina's food.

Irene had meatball pasta and bread, while Mina had carbonara pasta and bread.

The noodles were dry and lacked the usual sheen.

As expected of cafeteria food.

"Yum."

Irene took a bite of a meatball.

But would that be enough for her?

In the original game, she had a large appetite despite her size.

Feeling my gaze, Irene asked me with a puzzled expression:

"...Do you want some?"

"No, I'm good."

The memory of Siena force-feeding me surfaced.

Ugh...

"Alright then."

Irene pouted and resumed eating.

***

I just checked but my 3 novels are #3, #13, #14 weekly and not that far off monthly. It's much higher than I thought it would be...

Is it because of regular updates? I think that's the biggest difference when I checked the other novels out. Pretty interesting, I'm only reading Genius Warlock, Instant kill and recently Damn Reincarnation. Those all have regular updates so I never realised.

Oh and Surviving the Game as a Barbarian. But thats on an official reading app, a little different I think.

2/4 Enjoy the chappy!