Buzz~
Instructor David felt the watch on his wrist vibrate.
Knowing it was time, he looked at the fifty students who were still repeating their vertical downward strikes and shouted,
"Stop!"
At his command, everyone immediately halted. Some even collapsed to the ground, their bodies giving in to exhaustion.
"It's time for a break," he continued. "I assume all of you are already hungry. Head to the cafeteria and return in an hour."
With that, Instructor David turned and walked away.
Mario slowly sheathed the iron sword, releasing a deep breath. He returned it to the weapon rack before making his way toward the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Zenith also stopped running at David's command and dropped to the ground to rest. After about five minutes, he pushed himself up and followed the others toward the cafeteria.
***
Zenith and the other students made their way into the five-story cafeteria building.
They stopped at the first floor, only to find it already packed with academy students.
They looked around for an elevator to the second floor, but there was none.
Left with no choice, they began climbing the stairs, their legs trembling from exhaustion. Many leaned heavily against the railing just to keep moving.
By the time they reached the second floor, they were met with the same sight—completely full.
A few students near Zenith groaned and slumped onto the floor, choosing to wait rather than climb any higher.
Growl~
Zenith paused. He wanted to do the same, but his stomach protested loudly.
He glanced up at the stairs leading to the third floor and muttered under his breath, "…Ugh. Only now do I realize… I really don't like stairs."
He took a breath, then corrected himself, "…No. I hate them."
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upward again, joining the few who couldn't afford to wait.
Fortunately, the third floor, while still crowded, wasn't full.
A collective sigh of relief spread among them.
Without wasting time, they lined up behind the others.
When it was their turn, they ordered their food from a worker AI and took the free pills Instructor David had mentioned.
When Zenith stepped forward, he hesitated before asking, "Is the food free?"
[Yes, sir. Food is free for first-year students.]
Hearing that, his expression immediately brightened. He began ordering freely, piling food onto his tray. 'Good thing it's free.'
Looking at the tray filled with food, Zenith's expression turned complicated for a moment before he let out a quiet sigh.
'Someday… I'll make sure you experience this with me… I promise.'
With that thought, he was about to walk away when he suddenly paused, noticing something missing.
"The pills… where are they?" he asked.
[Sir, Instructor David stated that all students may receive free pills—except you.]
"…What?" Zenith blinked, caught off guard. "Why?"
[Instructor David noted that you have a sponsor and should be able to support yourself.]
Zenith was stunned by the answer. He wanted to complain, but looking at the AI worker in front of him, he knew it was pointless.
'…This is definitely bullying.' Remembering how Instructor David had made him run earlier, he couldn't help but think that way.
In the end, with a reluctant expression on his face, he said, "O-okay… Give me the bottles of pills. I-I'll… pay."
He extended his watch toward the AI worker, letting it process the payment.
A moment later, three bottles—containing gray, red, and yellow pills—were placed neatly onto his tray.
Zenith turned and walked away, glancing at the watch on his wrist.
[Balance: 999,800]
'Goodbye… my hard-earned million…'
He mourned briefly before shaking his head. 'No… this is necessary. I need to get stronger faster.'
Lifting his gaze, he scanned the crowded cafeteria, searching for an empty seat.
A few tables still had space, and he was about to head toward one when he suddenly stopped.
His eyes landed on a young man sitting alone at an inconspicuous corner table.
Without hesitation, he changed direction and walked toward him.
Reaching the table, Zenith sat across from the young man and placed his tray down.
He observed him carefully.
The young man had black hair that reached his nape, paired with an aloof, expressionless face. His deep emerald-green eyes stood out, giving him a striking, almost unreal presence.
At a glance, anyone might think they were looking at a cold, distant prince.
There was a faint chill to him—as if he were a piece of ice that kept others at a distance.
'That's definitely plastic surgery… yeah, definitely.'
For some reason, that thought made Zenith feel a little better.
After a brief pause, he finally spoke.
"Can I sit here?"
Mario paused mid-bite and looked at the person in front of him—it was the slightly familiar blue-eyed young man.
Then, without replying, he resumed eating.
"What's your name?" Zenith asked, before adding, "Oh, by the way, I'm Zenith."
Mario remained silent, continuing to eat as if he hadn't heard him at all.
Seeing that, Zenith scratched his cheek, feeling slightly awkward, before getting to the point. "Do you know Arthur?"
At the mention of the name, Mario paused. He swallowed his food, took a sip of water, and wiped his mouth before finally speaking.
"I know someone with that name."
'So, it's him.' Zenith nodded. "What's your name then?"
"Mario."
"Mario only? No surname?" Zenith asked, surprised.
Mario nodded.
"So… your status is the same as mine?" After receiving another nod, Zenith continued, "I thought you were from some kind of prodigy clan…"
He paused, studying Mario's face.
"Especially with how good you are at sword training. I watched you the whole time I was resting—I'm still amazed."
"How did you even do that?"
"Did you train before?—ah, right. If you had, you'd already be cultivating like the others."
Despite the stream of questions, Mario could tell Zenith wasn't flattering him—his tone was too straightforward, too genuine.
"It's my unique skill," Mario replied. "A growth type, according to them."
"…A growth type." Zenith couldn't hide the slight envy in his eyes as he recalled what Instructor Seth had said. He let out a sigh. "I envy you. Your path's going to be much easier than ours."
"Mine's pretty useless… just a support type that enhances my six senses."
Mario nodded, then went straight to the point. "Are you referring to Arthur White?"
Zenith frowned slightly. "Arthur White? Uh… who's that?"
"I only know his name is Arthur," Zenith continued. "I'm not sure if it's the same person you're talking about."
Hearing that, Mario didn't press further for now and simply continued eating. Zenith did the same.
A few minutes later, Mario finished his meal.
However, he didn't leave. Instead, he turned to Zenith and asked, "How did you meet that Arthur?"
Zenith looked up, swallowed his food with water, and answered, "Back then, I was pretty desperate and needed money, so I tried my luck with the lottery… and somehow, I won."
"That's when I met him. He asked if I knew anything about unique skills."
Zenith paused to wipe his mouth. "I told him no."
'That's definitely him.' Mario nodded inwardly.
"But then he told me to open my proficiency panel—"
"He told you to?" Mario cut in before he could finish.
Zenith frowned, clearly annoyed at being interrupted. For a brief moment, he seemed to understand why Instructor David had been giving him a hard time earlier.
After a second, he nodded.
Realizing his lapse, Mario slipped back into his usual composed demeanor. "Sorry. Continue."
"Okay, anyway—after that, I found out I actually had one myself. But even then, I didn't really understand what it meant, so I asked him," Zenith said, scratching the back of his head.
"That's when he told me about the unique skill academy and invited me to his place. At first, I refused… I didn't want to leave my sister behind…"
But Mario wasn't fully listening anymore.
His index finger tapped lightly against the table, slow and unconscious.
'He told him…?'
At that moment, everything began to fall into place. The scattered pieces in his mind slowly connected.
At first, he hadn't understood how Arthur had known his destination. But if Arthur possessed a way to identify those with unique skills, then predicting his path wouldn't be difficult—especially for someone desperate for money.
But that wasn't all.
He recalled Arthur's reaction when he met his simulated self—the confusion in his eyes, as if something didn't quite align.
'I see… The answer was always there. I simply lacked the necessary clue to recognize it.'
Since childhood, Mario had always been drawn to understanding how things worked. Aside from reading, what he enjoyed most was solving—problems, patterns… people.
While others spent their time playing, he read. While they laughed and talked, he observed.
Unknowingly, a faint smile formed on his lips as he sank deeper into thought.
'Interesting…' Now, he was certain.
'…Our meeting in the second simulation wasn't a coincidence.'
Zenith, who had been speaking, gradually trailed off as he noticed the smile.
He stared at it.
Though it was an attractive smile, it made him uneasy.
It was the kind of smile that person always wore when playing with him.
He shook his head slightly. 'No way… am I having PTSD or something?'
After a brief pause, he asked cautiously,
"…W-why are you smiling?"
Mario looked at him with a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Smiling…?"
He raised a hand, lightly touching his lips, and traced the faint smile he hadn't noticed forming. '…I am, huh.'
Lowering his hand, he looked back at Zenith and answered, "Nothing. I just found something interesting."
"Interesting…?" Zenith repeated, confused.
Mario didn't elaborate. Instead, he stood up and picked up his empty tray.
Before turning away, he put on his usual mask and said, "Thank you."
"Thank you…? For what?" Zenith muttered, still puzzled.
***
Open-field training ground
Mario returned to the training ground and saw that Instructor David was already there, sitting cross-legged on the stage with his eyes closed.
With nothing else to do, Mario also sat cross-legged on the ground. He emptied his mind and allowed his body to digest the food he had eaten.
Time passed.
The other students gradually returned as well. Zenith, after coming back, looked like he wanted to ask Mario something, but stopped when he saw him sitting still with his eyes closed.
Eventually, Zenith lay down on the ground and closed his eyes as well.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Instructor David opened his eyes and looked over the students. He stood up.
"Now, all of you take one red pill and one gray pill from the bottles."
"Then form a line, back to back."
He paused briefly, then turned his gaze toward Zenith.
"…Including you, Zenith."