I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City

35 – The Long-Awaited Progress -1-

Kweeeek!!!

In the ruins where various monsters scream and assert their presence, engaging in territorial battles.

Arriving at the outskirts of that place, Sion exhaled heavily, retrieved the hidden tracker and sniper rifle, and checked the time.

Phew…! Phew…!

Perhaps it was because she had sprinted to shake off the thoughts and worries that were gnawing at her mind.

Unlike her cluttered mind, time was more generous than she had thought.

I hope I wasn’t detected.

If it weren’t for sniper training, staying still for long periods would have been an absurd excuse.

It was fortunate that Sion had actually undergone such training.

…

The girl, carrying a massive firearm, put the tracker into her vest pocket.

She looked up blankly at the night sky.

Honestly, she wanted to run straight to Tigrova and face Seolho Daeje, regardless of the danger.

If the testimony of the person who experienced the incident was included, the outline of the past would become clearer.

However.

A giant like Seolho Daeje is not someone you can meet just because you want to.

In the current situation, it’s all just delusion.

Facing reality, Sion looked at the hamburger occupying one of her hands.

On the now cold food, the same number written on her notepad was inscribed.

.

When thinking about the relationship with Rohan, what could I trust to eat this?

Food that I wouldn’t have eaten out of sheer stubbornness even if my stomach was stuck to my back.

However, Sion rustled and unwrapped the packaging.

Without checking the smell or the inside, Sion took a bite of the hamburger.

If something went wrong after eating it, she felt she could accept it calmly.

A state of mind infinitely similar to despair.

The girl’s rotten insides were just like that.

Hmm.

She didn’t feel any immediate problems.

How long had it been since she had eaten such stimulating food? It was so delicious that she felt a sense of ecstasy.

Sion quickly devoured the hamburger and gulped down the water from the canteen.

Phew!

With her stomach a bit full, she felt a bit more energetic.

Rustle!

She grabbed the empty packaging. It felt like a dream that she had been in the academy city until just now.

Even the fact that she had such conversations and heard such things.

Rohan.

It must be an alias.

Even so, Sion was confident that she would never forget the name Rohan.

Sion hadn’t encountered many people in his life outside, but he knew that none of them were ordinary.

The groups that the elders contacted and brought in all reeked of a terrible blood scent.

‘What kind of life have they lived?’

Based on those experiences, Sion’s intuition told him.

Compared to Rohan, everyone he had seen so far was just a commoner and a criminal.

‘…An intriguing human.’

He was a person who stimulated curiosity in many ways.

Sometimes, there was a great sense of weight that felt disconnected from his appearance.

The color of that gravity was different in nature from the elders who had lived for a long time.

If he had to compare, it reminded him of his father whom he looked up to as a child.

Beep beep beep!

The girl looked at the clock that rang again.

It was time to go back without delay.

Huuu…

Sion filled his lungs with the night air and steeled his resolve.

‘If all the information I heard today is true.’

Crackle!!!

The current flowing from Sion’s hand neatly burned the wrapping paper.

*

Days passed.

Rohan had that thought as soon as he opened his eyes in bed.

‘Did Sion make it back safely?’

He felt uneasy because there was no way to contact the elf girl.

He didn’t like the idea of just waiting around.

Of course, Sion’s strength and talent were remarkable.

But that’s not everything in life, is it?

From Rohan’s perspective, Sion was just a girl who caused worry.

“Ugh.”

Rohan raised his upper body from the bed.

‘At least I didn’t mention the ones who misled the elders…’

His mind was always on different topics, but his body moved as usual.

Even if something special happened the day before, Rohan’s routine rarely changed.

Until a sign appeared or an unexpected situation arose, he focused on building strength and paying attention to key figures.

Additionally, he diligently attended Orion Academy.

‘All right. Let’s go today as well.’

Rohan was quite satisfied with his repetitive daily life.

He turned the doorknob vigorously.

…

…

Rohan faced Ichinose in the training room again today.

At the academy, I sat next to Gilbert and attended Jooyeon’s class.

After class, it was routine to grab a quick meal at the cafeteria and then head to the Spider Lily Bookstore.

“Then, please take care.”

“Yes! Thank you for the snacks!”

The last part of the repetitive routine began with the shopkeeper leaving for the day.

Bzzzz!!!

The phone vibrated before I could even put it in my apron.

Rohan’s gaze shifted.

[ Clara: (_) ]

Rohan lifted his head, having a rough idea of what the emoji-only message meant.

Looking to one side, Clara was peeking out just like before, watching this way.

‘So, you were already here today.’

There were customers browsing books, so she must have been keeping quiet.

Clara’s presence, having decided to stay silent, was impossible to read.

It was awkward to speak, so I waved my hand slightly.

Unlike before, she didn’t run away but bowed her head.

It was truly a dazzling improvement.

‘Should I reply to the message?’

When asked if she would be okay until the end, along with the expectation of the weekly boss, the girl nodded and timidly twitched the corners of her mouth.

It was cute how obviously excited she was.

As the hour grew late, the bookstore became quiet.

When Rohan picked up the mop to start cleaning the floor for closing time,

Clara quietly stepped outside to wait, so as not to be in the way.

“Whew.”

Clatter! Click!

Clara watched Rohan lock the door of the Flower Bookstore and put the key away, then recited the line she had practiced while waiting.

“…Thank you for your hard work!”

“Thank you. It’s my job, but it must have been tiring for you to wait.”

Clara shook her head vigorously, indicating it wasn’t so.

“Shall we go quickly? I kept thinking about the game while working, it was troublesome.”

“Oh! I, I understand that too!”

Seeing Rohan start to walk, Clara began to follow.

Rohan looked around at the open shops as they reached the main street.

Clara and Rohan stepped into a franchise caf.

“Let’s add a muffin and a sandwich… What would you like to drink? Choose whatever you want.”

“You don’t have to buy me anything! I have money too…”

“Hmm?”

“I… just coffee is enough. The, the smallest size!”

Clara emptied her pockets and pulled out 23 tokens.

If converted to Korean won, it was worth about 2,300 won.

The girls eyes sparkled as if asking how it was.

It was such a pitiful amount that Rohan couldnt possibly accept it.

Today, Im the one receiving help. In times like this, you should let me pay.

But even last time

Rohan had no choice but to cut off the girls words.

Is it okay to drink coffee at night?

Had she never thought about anything other than it being cheap?

Seeing her roll her eyes, unable to give an answer, Rohan chuckled and looked at the menu.

Lets see. Decaffeinated drinkshmm, fruit yogurt?

While Clara was flustered and unable to do anything.

Rohan had already ordered two drinks and enough food to fill their stomachs.

Dont think too deeply, just eat. You can help me with the game that much.

Ugh Th-thank you!

Rohan took the tray he had received, sat down, and neatly placed the food.

Company Wave!

As Rohan, who was sitting across from her, turned on the game.

Claras eyes became serious as if she had become a different person.

With her nails flashing, she tapped on the phone and showed the screen.

“This is a build I came up with.”

The smartphone memo pad had everything written down, from the setup to the skill usage timeline.

Rohan watched it quietly and then asked, looking at the character pool being used.

“You made this yourself?”

“Yes. I can run it with you today, but there might be days when I can’t, right? If you refer to this and run it, you should be able to clear it within a minute.”

“The structure is no joke…”

“I found out that there’s no need to spend all the resources on the tank. If you just level up the glass and increase the HP, it can hold out until the skill is ready, and if you level up the order to at least skill level 3, you should be able to clear it without any issues.”

“Hooh.”

What an eloquent speech.

When the game became the topic, he turned into a smooth talker.

They cleared all the weekly bosses together, and Rohan failed while trying to draw characters from the mine.

The two shared their joys and sorrows in an instant.

How much fun did they have sitting together and playing the game?

After exhausting all the content they could enjoy in a day,

Clara returned to her usual self at some point.

“It’s really fun playing together.”

“Hehe…”

The girl laughed in agreement.

She attached her moist lips to the straw and sipped, glancing at Rohan as if stealing a look.

A sweet taste lingered in her mouth.

Clara, staring blankly at Rohan who was typing away as if replying to someone after finishing the game.

Unconsciously, she let out a dragging voice.

“Um…”

When Rohan, who had put down his phone, met her gaze.

Clara continued, fidgeting with her fingers.

“I stay at the bookstore until it closes every day, right…?”

“Yes.”

A known fact.

He nods affirmatively without denying it.

“Have you heard anything from the manager?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Still, you don’t ask anything? Why I stay like that every day…?”

If it wasn’t a misunderstanding, she seemed ready to confide something.

Rohan sensed it.

The progress he had been waiting for had arrived.