I stepped out of the academy dormitory and walked straight ahead.
The warmth that had built up during the shower was swept away by the cool night breeze. It felt utterly refreshing.
Feels refreshing!
The road was all too familiar.
Relying on my memory, I moved without a hint of hesitation toward my destination.
I wonder if it’ll be there.
My goal was clear as I hurried along.
Abyss City was an open-world game with no competition.
Exploring the vast map rendered with outstanding graphics and taking photos was fun in its own right.
What doubled the fun, however, were the rewards.
In the game, treasure chests containing currency were hidden throughout the corners of the Academy City.
While I couldn’t memorize the location of every chest, a few notable spots remained naturally etched in my memory.
Still, the chances of it being there are slim.
I knew the odds of a treasure chest sitting out in plain sight on the roadside were low.
After all, I wasn’t the only one in this world with free will.
Everyone walking along these streets was a living being carrying their own thoughts.
Even though I was fully aware of this, the reason I was taking the time to check for myself was to confirm with certainty that “the chest doesn’t exist”.
Besides, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the quest window might display some kind of special reaction.
“……”
This was just the kind of thing I had to see with my own eyes to feel at ease, so I couldn’t help myself.
I even found myself tiring of my own tendencies.
Judging by the level of advancement, it’s slightly better than my previous life. There’s even a guy with a mechanical arm.
That was the impression I had on the way here.
The prosperity of Academy City became even more splendid and dazzling at night.
The place I eventually arrived at was District 4 of the Academy City.
It wasn’t far from my dormitory, and with a well-developed commercial area, the security here wasn’t bad.
After weaving my way through the brilliant signs and the bustling crowd, I emerged onto a quiet main road.
From there, I headed toward a dim alley nestled between streetlights.
If memory served me right, the chest should be next to the vending machine in the alley.
In the game, it was cruelly positioned just out of sight from the main road. Even standing on the boulevard and peering in, it was barely noticeable.
You had to approach the vending machine to find the right angle.
Step. Step. Step.
I walked toward the vending machine, the only source of light in the dark alley.
I turned on my smartphone’s flashlight and scanned the area.
I immediately clicked my tongue.
Tch, it’s not here.
The only things on the ground were cigarette butts and discarded drink cans.
– Nyaaah!
A startled cat was frightened by the light and bolted away.
The quest window didn’t react, either.
“Hmm.”
I slipped my smartphone back into my pocket and stood in front of the vending machine, lost in thought.
If the chest had existed, it would likely have been tied to earning shop points rather than currency.
Unfortunately, it was a waste of time.
If there’s no chest, then next… the achievement system, perhaps.
Given the chaos ahead, I couldn’t afford to be picky.
I would have to try anything and everything that came to mind.
Quests were undoubtedly the most reliable source of rewards, but sitting around waiting for a quest that might never come wasn’t something I could bring myself to do.
Achievements.
What did they even include?
I hadn’t paid much attention to achievements in the past, so my memory was hazy. I had always been the type to enjoy exploring maps and improving the stats of my favorite characters.
From what I could vaguely recall, most achievements were tied to combat or character development.
There were also plenty related to everyday activities, like the number of consumables used, academy grades, or part-time jobs.
Excluding things like attendance days or character recruitment counts, what could I attempt right now…
The more I concentrated, the more memories surfaced from the depths of my mind.
My gaze shifted toward the vending machine in front of me.
Suddenly, a vivid memory surfaced and hit me like a flash of inspiration.
“Ah! That’s it!”
There was something I could try immediately, right here.
My hand shot into my right pocket.
The ten tokens I had grabbed from my dorm room desk jingled softly. They were roughly equivalent to a thousand won.
Let’s see.
Cotton candy milk tea? Definitely not. Oak soda? Nope, not that either.
Mint cola… interesting, but still not it.
And then, at the very last row of the vending machine,
I came face-to-face with the abyss.
Cucumber milk…!
This was it. The price matched perfectly.
After loading coins into the vending machine with a jingling sound, I firmly pressed the button for cucumber milk.
Thunk, thud—!
A glass bottle that looked like it held liquid algae tumbled out of the vending machine.
When I picked it up, the surface felt warm.
“……”
Even though the warmth was fitting for the chilly weather, an inexplicable sense of dread crept over me.
Warm cucumber milk.
Just how horrifying would it taste?
As soon as I popped the lid open and sniffed it, I instinctively clamped a hand over my nose.
“Ughhh!”
The smell was atrocious and nauseating. My face contorted involuntarily.
Why does a drink like this even exist in the world?
The pounding headache from the stench wasn’t just my imagination.
Still… I have to drink it.
I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t avoid it now.
This was the fastest route forward.
“Hoo!”
Steeling myself, I gulped down the greenish milk.
Three swallows later, my throat felt broken.
“Uweeehhk—!!!”
Even pinching my nose didn’t help. The disgusting odor slammed into my brain like a hammer.
And yet.
The suffering paid off.
[Did you really drink that stuff? Achievement unlocked.]
[You have earned 10P as an achievement reward.]
Ah, finally…!
The proof of an achievement. This success was significant.
It laid the foundation for shaping the plans ahead.
I wiped the cucumber milk dripping from the corners of my mouth and forced my mind to distance itself as much as possible from the lingering taste.
If I can just collect 500P before the semester starts…
As I struggled to keep my thoughts on track,
A voice that had no reason to be here suddenly reached my ears.
“Are you okay?”
“!”
Startled, I whipped my head around.
A pair of golden eyes that were shining brightly were fixed directly on me.
…Ichinose Yui!?
The brilliance of that gaze lasted only a moment.
Ichinose Yui quickly closed her eyes as she usually did and began approaching me with graceful steps.
“You have unique tastes.”
It seemed she had seen me drinking the bizarre beverage.
Perhaps her sharp sense of smell had clued her in as well.
Suppressing the flustered feeling of unexpectedly facing Ichinose Yui,
I did my best to remain composed and responded.
“I was just curious and wanted to try it.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Facing Ichinose Yui head-on, I couldn’t help but sense how extraordinary she was. Despite her petite frame, it felt like she dominated the entire alley with her presence alone.
The sensation of being read—my movements, my gaze, even my breathing—by a girl with closed eyes was,
Really something mystical.
So this is Ichinose Yui’s first unique skill…
I recalled the girl I had invested a fortune to raise.
[Mind’s Eye ─ Lv.1]
◇ While your eyes are closed, your physical abilities increase.
◇ While your eyes are closed, your magical power efficiency improves.
◇ While your eyes are closed, your senses are heightened.
The condition of having her eyes closed was expressed in the game as having an oddly low basic accuracy rate.
However, the drawing of her blade and her steps during today’s placement test showed no signs of such chronic issues.
Is she Level 2 now? Or maybe even Level 3?
I couldn’t tell what level Ichinose Yui’s unique skill was currently at.
But if her nature was anything like what I knew, she must have adapted to living in darkness from the moment she awakened her skill.
That was why her manner of concealing her eyes felt so natural and seamless.
She even resembled a classic “narrowed eyes” character often seen in stories.
“You’re number 99, right?”
“If you mean my test number, then yes.”
At my confirmation, she wiggled her fingers as if in thought for a brief moment.
Then, as though making a show of it, she hid her sword behind her back and asked,
“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name properly during the test. Would you mind telling me?”
“It’s Rohan.”
“Rohan… I see.”
She murmured my name and nodded her head as though committing it to memory.
Even as I felt a sense of delight in conversing with her, I made an effort to stay on guard.
You always had to be cautious with things that didn’t fall within the bounds of understanding.
“My name is Ichinose Yui.”
“I know.”
She was famous, after all. She accepted it without any complaints.
“You don’t have to be so cautious. Since we’re both students at Orion Academy, there’s no need to use honorifics.”
“……”
“In Academy City, it’s considered foolish to treat one’s national background as a form of power.”
This was exactly how I knew Ichinose Yui to be. Her words were typical of her and left me quietly impressed, even as my thoughts raced.
I couldn’t figure out why she had approached me in the first place.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to speak harshly or curtly to her.
That girl, despite her efforts to behave maturely as the heir of the Tenkaichen.
Ichinose Yui has a tender heart.
Recognizing that side of her made it hard to ignore her.
This is driving me crazy.
The strange familiarity I felt toward her kept breaking down the wall of caution I tried to maintain.
No matter how much effort I put into reinforcing it, it would crumble before it was even built properly.
Focusing on everything I knew about Ichinose Yui, I spoke in a deliberately calm tone.
“Why don’t you do that first?”
She pursed her lips like a duck as if she was troubled by my words.
Since I was aware of her habit, I could read her reaction transparently, and it came across as cute.
“I’m more comfortable using formal language.”
“Well, if that’s the case…”
As expected, I nodded my head in understanding.
She took a step closer to me.
“I’m curious about something. May I ask you a question?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Ichinose nodded her head.
The plastic bag in her hand rustled, revealing the snacks inside.
“What are you curious about?”
I carefully asked back, making sure my lips didn’t curl into a smile at the unexpectedly soft image of her, which was something I hadn’t seen in the game.
It was only then that Ichinose Yui revealed the question she had been holding back.
“The slash you used to cut down the golem during today’s placement test; it wasn’t just effective, the movement itself was impressive.”
“……”
“It seemed like the work of someone who’s handled a sword for a long time. Are you perhaps affiliated with a particular school of swordsmanship?”
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