I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 26

EP.26 Mana Training (2)

Having organized his plans for the future, Kang Seo-Jun sat there, trained mana until he fell asleep.

[With poor mana manipulation, mana experience points slightly increase.]

[With poor mana manipulation, mana experience points slightly increase.]

[Lucky Bonus! A stroke of great fortune inspires the training! Mana experience points increase significantly!]

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.

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[With diligent efforts, mana blossoms into the fruit of growth! Mana status increases by +1!]

[As mana status rises, the debuff of the skill 《Mana Insensitivity Lv. Lowest》 is alleviated.]

The increase in mana status happened just before going to school.

“It might be a bit tight.”

Thanks to heightened mana, seo-Jun’s mana detection ability improved, making mana training easier than before. However, the required experience points also increased accordingly.

At this rate, it seemed like he would have to continue mana cultivation from the morning theory class until lunch to reach the goal of 6.

After calculating the experience points roughly, seo-Jun finished getting ready for school and headed straight to the academy.

He coincidentally met Jin Se-Rin in front of the dormitory, and they walked together to the classroom.

“Take this.”

He handed Jin Se-Rin the [Fragment of Purified Soul] purchased with accumulated dimensional currency from yesterday’s 《Compassionate Hermit》.

“Huh…? So soon?”

“It’s not that fast. The last time I gave you one was two weeks ago.”

“I-Is that so…?”

Now that the academy had officially started, Jin Se-Rin’s growth was one of the areas Seo-Jun needed to manage.

There would be many challenges to overcome together in the future, and they couldn’t afford to fall behind the mid-to-high-level students who would come up later if they didn’t prepare in advance.

“Don’t lose it.”

“Uh, yeah… Thanks….”

Jin Se-Rin received the droplet-shaped crystal with both hands, carefully cradling it in her arms, and then asked.

“Do you need anything? I feel like I’m always receiving…”

“Then, hold my bag for me.”

“Huh…?”

“It gets in the way every time I walk.”

“Anything else besides that?”

“Not for now.”

“Hmm…”

Jin Se-Rin handed over her bag, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

After a few silent steps, she spoke quietly.

“There, you see…”

“Yeah?”

“Honestly… being ‘best friends’ is just an excuse, right?”

“What?”

“Honestly, it is. You don’t demand anything from me.”

“Hmm…”

Normally, she wouldn’t have asked.

But today, receiving another crystal, she had half the conviction.

Being best friends was just an excuse, and this person’s goal was simply giving crystals to herself.

“If it’s okay, can I ask now? The real reason…?”

Jin Se-Rin’s voice was trembling slightly.

It took some courage to ask now.

Until now, he had subtly implied not to inquire too much about him.

“Well…”

Seo-Jun thought it would be better to address it here and move on.

It would only confuse her if things remained ambiguous.

Such a situation wouldn’t help her awaken at all.

“I hope you become stronger.”

“Huh?”

“Strong enough to survive that nightmare.”

This was sincere.

“What… what benefit does that give you…?”

She asked persistently.

Seo-Jun had no choice but to be vague.

Listing all the things she needed to do in the future would be a significant burden for her.

“To not lose a friend.”

That was all he could say.

If he laid out all the things she had to do in front of her, it would be a huge burden.

“What… what…”

Naturally, Jin Se-Rin was not satisfied with that answer.

Seo-Jun glanced at her with a sidelong glance and said,

“I’ll tell you everything when the time comes.”

When she becomes strong enough to accept her fate, even more dreadful than the nightmare.

“When is that…?”

“Well, maybe in about three years?”

“………. That’s too far away.”

Seeing her eyebrows slightly furrowed like rabbit ears, seo-Jun couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Sorry.”

But really, this is the best for now.

“If I speak, you’ll run away.”

“Even for an apology…”

Jin Se-Rin sighed.

“Okay, I’ll wait.”

Fortunately.

“If all you want is for me to wait three years… of course, I will…”

Although she hadn’t known him for that long, Jin Se-Rin was sure of one thing.

He had no reason to deceive her.

Considering the abilities he had shown so far, he was more than enough to overshadow his background.

Why would someone like that deceive her for lack of something?

“Thank you.”

Kang Seo-Jun also felt a sense of relief.

“But still, keep holding the bag. My back really hurts.”

“Well, then! You can count on me for this kind of thing in the future too!”

– Squeak, squeak.

–

– Thump, thump! –

“But hey, can I ask one more thing?”

It wasn’t over yet.

“What?”

“It’s really the first time in a while I’m asking.”

After a moment of hesitation, Jin Se-Rin asked,

“Are you pushing yourself too hard… or not…?”

An unexpected question made Kang Seo-Jun pause for a moment.

He hadn’t expected her to be concerned about him.

Is he pushing himself too hard?

“Not at all.”

Every day is enjoyable.

Jin Se-Rin smiled with relief.

“Okay then. I’ll wait. Three years.”

That concluded the conversation about that.

As we chatted while walking, we unknowingly arrived in front of the main building.

We passed through the lobby to take the elevator.

In the lobby lounge, as yesterday, new students were gathered, chatting away.

As expected, their conversation content refreshed in front of us, just like chat logs.

“Wow, Jin Se-Rin.”

“Is she really Jin Se-Rin? She looks even better than I heard.”

“Even if you choose your own face at birth, it would be difficult for you to be that pretty.”

“But who’s the one next to her?”

“Wow, insane. Seriously ugly. Let’s report it to the police.”

“Looks like she’s holding his bag because he seems physically uncomfortable.”

“Wow, Jin Se-Rin is really kind.”

“I wouldn’t do it even if I were paid.”

[The Constellation, 《Compassionate Hermit》 sponsors dimensional currency as a gesture of comfort.]

It seemed like this pattern would continue for a while.

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Classroom of 1st Grade, class A.

As soon as the class started, Kang Seo-Jun began practicing mana.

Today was a day for practical combat lessons in the afternoon.

To match his mana status to 6 by then, there was no time to rest.

Of course, theory classes were graded based on attitude and contribution, just like practical ones, so he couldn’t blatantly do something else.

However, since his eyes were swollen and covered in rashes due to a skin condition, whether he closed or opened his eyes made little difference.

Sitting and pretending to read a book while practicing mana manipulation, it was unlikely that anyone would notice Seo-Jun’s subtle manipulation unless they had a high level of mana and perception.

But then…

“What are you doing right now?”

When Seo-Jun opened his eyes, the professor was looking at him, gripping the lectern.

The students in front turned to look at Seo-Jun too.

Seo-Jun casually replied, “I was listening to the class.”

The professor laughed as if amused.

“Oh, really?”

Then he tapped his shoulder with the lectern in a mocking manner.

“Then tell me what I just said.”

“The mana density in dungeons doesn’t suddenly decrease or increase. By measuring the mana density on a daily basis and graphing it, you can calculate the speed of ascent or descent.”

“Hmm?”

– Oh, oh, oh.

–

The students exclaimed in small voices.

“Your ears seem quite good.”

“But why did you get caught?”

“Maybe because your eyes are too small, they thought you were sleeping.”

“Hehehe.”

It was not at all difficult for Kang Seo-Jun. All he had to do was read the output details displayed in the Eye of Providence information.

“What intelligence grade did you get?”

However, the professor was more persistent than expected.

Seo-Jun said with a tired face.

In a situation where there was something to be done, annoyance started to build up as he continued to be interrupted.

“I got an E grade.”

“For that grade, your memory seems quite good. You must have really listened attentively to the class.”

The professor thought he was using some skill as a specialty.

The skill of recording surrounding sounds in his mind was more common than he thought.

“If you listened so attentively to the class, you should be able to solve this problem easily.”

– Thunk. Tap! Thunk, thunk! –

The professor started writing the formula for calculating the mana density of the dungeon on the blackboard.

– Thud! –

Finishing writing the last symbol of the problem, the professor put down the chalk roughly and spoke.

“Come to the front and try calculating the value.”

The professor added one more word.

“Of course, if you can’t solve it, it’s a deduction.”

– Swish! –

Thinking that he needed to finish quickly, seo-Jun stood up from his seat.

Already, more than two minutes had passed as wasted time.

He had to somehow compensate for this loss.

“If I can’t solve it, it’s a deduction. If I solve it, do I get a reward?”

“What?”

The professor raised the corner of his mouth at Seo-Jun’s cheeky attitude.

Was he making such remarks knowing the difficulty level of the problem?

This problem was about detecting what Seo-Jun had been doing, using mana, instead of paying attention to the class.

“I’ll give you a reward. A point, I suppose.”

The professor agreed readily.

After all, the problem was still difficult to solve at the current pace of the curriculum.

Not pointing that out only made it clearer that this guy had been doing something else during the class.

Seo-Jun calmly stood in front of the problem.

Ironically, it was Jin Se-Rin who couldn’t stay composed.

‘He seems to be dozing off, and I kept debating whether to wake him up… I should have woken him up! What a fool!’

She blamed herself for not waking up Kang Seo-Jun.

– Cough! Cough! –

Park Shin-hoo, sitting at the back by the window, raised the corner of his mouth.

‘How pathetic.’

Actually, the professor noticed Kang Seo-Jun’s mana manipulation because he had used his hand.

Since he always kept an eye on him, Park Shin-hoo could notice it.

The fact that his mana was moving faintly.

So, he sent his mana next to him to enhance his presence even more.

This was the result.

‘Receive a deduction and be embarrassed.’

– Huff, huff.

–

Kang Seo-Jun calmly examined the problem with calm eyes.

‘Let’s see…’

[The Eye of Providence interprets the formula for mana density.]

Soon, Eye of Providence output the answer sheet in front of him.

The process of solving the formula and the resulting values were all written down.

– Thud! –

With confidence, Kang Seo-Jun raised his pencil.

Park Shin-hoo’s personal wish was expected to be reversed into the opposite situation about 30 seconds later.