Chapter 33: I honestly don't give much shit
???????~
My bleary eyes felt heavy as I sluggishly made my way towards class, not particularly thrilled about another mundane day.
??????!—As I trudged alone, lost in my own haze, a sudden slap jolted me out of my thoughts.
Startled, I turned around only to be greeted by the sight of a boy with vibrant brown-green eyes, his expression radiating enthusiasm.
"What's up partner?" James boomed, a goofy grin splitting his face in two.
"Hmjj...su annnh!haa," wiith a grunt of confusion, I mumbled a response, my mind still tired from the previous night's restless sleep of making love to goddess of numbers and codes.
Sensing my lack of attention, he repeated his question, his tone now tinged with urgency. "Have you decided on a team? Dungeon trials will begin tomorrow!"
In that moment, the cobwebs in my brain cleared and I realized, with a jolt of panic, that the dungeon trial was looming ahead.
The pressure of making a decision hit me like a wave, and I struggled to answer.
'Yea..I almost forgot!' I thought to myself, scrambling to regain my bearings.
"Yea, I remember," I replied with a stoic expression plastered on my face.
The sound of our footsteps echoed through the empty corridor as we walked.
I absent mindedly ran my hand through my hair in a combing motion, as I gave it some thought.
"Most people won't want to team up with me, and honestly, I'd rather get eliminated going alone instead of being under someone's orders who will keep trying to boost their ego on me, not that it even matters." I shrugged. Yes, in all honesty I didn't care a bit about dungeon trials but then again... it wouldn't hurt to try?
To my surprise, James seemed to share my dilemma. "Yea? I actually haven't decided to form a team of my own too...what a coincidence, right?"
Suddenly, he turned to me with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Hey! I've got an idea!" he exclaimed, grabbing my attention.
"How about you and me form a team?"
I looked at him skeptically, raising a questioning brow. "That does sound alright, but what will just the two of us do? If we're going to be a team, we'll need a mage class to match up the compatibility."
"Do you have someone ideal for the mage slot of our team?" James asked.
My attention was caught by the mention of "our team."
"Heh," I chuckled, inwardly realizing that James already decided that we were a team.
"No, I don't. Do you have someone in mind?"
James grinned widely, his eyes lighting up as he said, "Yes, there is this chick I know, and I think she's into me."
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I rolled my eyes, "That last part was pretty unnecessary. Who is she?"
"Anastasia Smirnova. Let's meet the three of us at the cafe after attendance, since there aren't going to be any classes today anyway. I'll bring her with me."
I hesitated for a moment, my mind racing as I tried to decide between being a loner for the dungeon trials or taking a chance and forming a team. Or maybe just go with the main cast and get my ass kicked or even better just eliminate myself. Does it even fucking matters?
Just as I was about to respond to James, my phone beeped with a new message.
"Yea?" I paused, reaching into my pocket.
The message displaying on my screen was [When?]-Edward Wilson.
Without hesitating any further, I turned back to James and replied, "Let's do that."
***
Upon entering the classroom, my attention was immediately drawn to clusters of students huddled around the main cast.
It was the usual scene, with the popular kids attracting all the attention.
I avoided getting drawn into the main crowd and made my way to my usual spot - the corner seat near the window on the right side of the class, as far away from Freya as possible.
But as I sat and took in my surroundings, something strange caught my eye.
For the first time, all the main characters, including Aeravat with Takahashi, Aurora, and Emily, were together in one group, circling around Aeravat.
I even spotted side characters like Sophia and David among them.
I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.
"Nano, enhance hearing."
[Affirmative]
[Improving Auditory Input abilities of the user. Adjusting....done.]
"Who's going to lead our class? You or me?" Takahashi demanded, pointing a finger aggressively at Aeravat.
Aeravat maintained a calm demeanor, replying, "I don't know. Either way, I'm fine. But I think the best leader would be someone with strong battle strategy."
Takahashi's hostility was evident as he sneered, "So just because you defeated me, you think you're a better battle strategist?"
Aeravat replied with a nonchalant shrug, "I never said that. I simply believe that the person who is the better strategist should lead. It doesn't has to be one of us? Even someone weaker than us can turn out to be far more smarter?"
"You-" Takahashi was about to continue his argument when Aurora interrupted him, asking instead, "So who is actually the better battle strategist?"
Aeravat gave a non-committal shrug, "Who knows? We've never really gotten to know each other well enough. Honestly, I'm not sure if anyone in our entire class is proficient in maintaining a strategic play during the dungeon trials."
Aeravat scrutinized the group with a judging stare as he continued, "I mean, I can try my best, but I'm not sure if there's anyone who is actually better than me."
I stopped the further processing of Auditory inputs, I already knew how it was going to go down. I didn't need to hear them bicker.
They will choose Aeravat to be the leader for classA1.
Now, why was a leader necessary in the dungeon trial?
While the name suggested that the trial was centered around navigating through dungeons, there was much more to it than that.
Each of the five classes would have a massive total of four-hundred students.
The trial would take place in a specially constructed forest.
The ultimate goal of the dungeon trial was to defeat the boss monster inside the dungeon.
The class with the highest points at the end would be declared the winner.
Students were also given the freedom to eliminate members of other classes.
Each class's leader was responsible for delegating resources, including a pre-given ration of food and water.
Any students who ventured off on their own risked facing hardships, such as not receiving any food ration.
According to the story, during the dungeon trial, Class A1 faced a significant setback when they discovered a spy in their midst who had sabotaged their food supply.
This forced the class to go haywire and seek sustenance elsewhere, all while their location was disclosed to other classes.
As a result of this espionage, most members of Class A1 were eliminated, leaving the identity of the spy a mystery.
'Well, it doesn't matters to me lol.'
'I am gonna just stay till the end and get to top fifty.'
Yes, I can easily get to top fifty, kr even higher if I truly decided to go all out—which I had no reasons to do. After all, I had about three trillion microscopic nanites lurking in my body.
As I was lost on my thoughts, the class room door opened and entered Professor Riya.
***
"Hey, over here!" A girl called out to me, waving her hand frantically.
I quickly made my way through the crowded cafe to where she was seating.
I took a moment to observe her as I approached. Her brown hair was perfectly styled in loose curls, and her cheeks had a slight rosy tint.
Her bright blue eyes shone with excitement, and her complexion was clean and clear.
She wore an orange skirt and a simple white top. "She must be Anastasia," I muttered.
As I made my way towards her, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air, mingling with the sound of gentle chatter and clinking of cups.
I noticed James sitting on a plush chair, his eyes shining with delight as he sipped from his steaming cup of coffee.
"Hey there, I'm Noah. Nice to meet you," I said, leaning in to greet the girl.
She returned the gesture, her smile radiating warmth and friendliness.
"Likewise, Noah. I think I know who you are from your 'popularity'," she replied with a soft chuckle.
It doesn't takes a genius to understand what she meant by 'popularity,' given my not-so-impressive reputation.
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