Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 17: Networking Gone Wrong

"So...the two of you guys already know each other?

The three of us sat on the couch together, with Lohan eating a bag of chips, completely unaware of what happened.

"Yeah, we were on the same team," I replied to him, but caught a weird detail. "Wait...you didn’t take the public evaluation? The details should be there..."

"Oh, I already took the test at a private site and got admitted," Lohan replied casually, crunching on another chip.

Huh, it seems we have another big shot? Private evaluations, like the one that I was going to in the beginning, were actually extremely rare and hard to get in.

One would have to spend a lot of money just to get a slot in. It was explained that Leon got a sponsorship, but the more I figured out about our protagonist, the less I trusted whatever facts surrounded him.

Aidan, being the insensitive guy that he was, pointed at Lohan’s face and called him out. "Hey, what’s with your eyes? They’re kind of tripping me out..."

"Ah my bad," the guy answered, putting on his shades again. "I’m from a Magus family, so our eyes are kind of like a side effect, allowing us to see Logos as a primordial energy."

’A Magus, huh?’

The wiki defined them as people who used Logos before the term "Operator" became common.

Instead of relying entirely on Spell Drivers, Magi used older methods to interact with Logos directly. Charms, spiritual mediums, contracts, rituals, things like that.

Of course, that didn’t mean Magi were automatically better.

Spell Drivers became the standard for a reason. They were faster, safer, easier to reproduce, and far more practical in combat.

Once Driver technology reached a good enough level, most families abandoned the older methods.

The parts of the Logos Cortex responsible for direct perception and spiritual interaction gradually weakened, until some younger generations lost them entirely.

But apparently, Lohan’s family was one of the few that kept them.

’Wait...wasn’t he the perfect person to teach me [Material Sight] then?’

[Material Sight] was one of those disgustingly useful spells that every player had to get eventually.

Things like enemy information, the amount of enemies, the terrain, everything was provided with [Material Sight]. It was similar to a "navigator" role in other turn-based games, but for one member.

Though the problem was that it could only be learnt way late into the game, once it was pretty much over essentially.

If I could learn it now from a descendant of a Magus family...

"Ahem...Lohan."

"Hm?"

"What kind of food do you like?"

Lohan paused with a chip halfway to his mouth. "What?"

"Fried chicken? Barbecue? Pizza? Since we’re living together now, we should have a housewarming party."

Aidan stared at me with narrowed eyes from across the couch. "You switched up way too fast."

Shut up, Aidan. This is called networking.

"Actually, since my clan is usually hidden deep within the mountains," Lohan crumpled up his packet of chips and threw them in the trash.

"I kinda want to explore the Academy a little bit, would that be alright?"

I clapped my hands together eagerly, bringing on my best car salesman smile. "Of course! Let’s head to campus together!"

"I’ll come too," Aidan stood up from his seat.

Grghhh...why do you always have to ruin my plans!? Well, whatever, it’s not like having him around will hurt my chances.

Though before we left, Aidan pointed toward the hallway. "Shouldn’t we check our rooms first? They said our uniforms were already delivered."

"Oh, right."

Apparently, all admitted cadets were given the standard Asgard uniform. It wasn’t mandatory outside official classes, but during events or anything else, cadets were expected to wear it.

And as I opened the box that was in the room, placed neatly on my bed, the uniform was just as I remembered.

A black jacket coupled with the same pants, decorated with thin gold engravings running along the cuffs and seams to make it look sleek. I noticed I had a blue collar, which was probably the reason for the ribbons in the first place?

When I stepped back into the living room, the other two were already changed. Lohan, surprisingly, also had a blue collar. But Aidan’s was the only different one.

His jacket was white instead, engraved with silver lining. I think the fabric was a little thicker too, reinforced near the chest and sleeves. The collar was green, as expected but it seemed like there was a clear difference.

Black uniforms were for Combat Department Cadets, while white uniforms were for Driver Engineering Cadets.

"Now that we’re all appropriately dressed, let’s get to exploring, shall we?"

***

I picked a terrible day for exploring, because there was one event that I had completely forgotten about in the midst of everything else.

Open Extracurricular Day.

As the name implied it was when extracurricular clubs get the chance to recruit incoming freshmen. And the event was more important than most people realized.

Asgard Academy was well-known for having a "hands-off" approach when it comes to teaching, instead acting more like an "investor" for cadets, with facilities, equipment and such.

There was only one way to graduate: achieve something big, a feat worthy of remembering within your time as a cadet

Whether that meant clearing a bunch of gates or discovering a whole new sequence to a Spell, any recognized feat will allow a cadet to become a full-fledged Operator.

But why was I so fixated on this? Because that process starts right now...entering a club.

And the campus itself? Completely overcrowded.

Everywhere I looked, seniors were trying to win over freshmen with benefits or some kind of promise.

It made sense if you thought about it.

The juniors needed their seniors to teach them the ropes and help them take their first steps toward said recognized achievement.

But seniors needed juniors just as badly. An increased headcount meant an increase in budget.

And as soon as I managed to step foot onto campus, eyes turned toward me like starving beasts finding prey for the first time.

Aidan tapped me on the shoulder. "Yeah, you’re on your own. Good luck."

What? But when I turned, both him and Lohan were already gone.

’How dare you steal my teacher like that! I’ll get you back, you son of a bitch!’

But I didn’t have time to throw curses at him now. Instead, I should be running for my life before the crowd of seniors got to me.

And indeed they were running fast.

"Nolan! Come join our Weapons Training Club! Weapon-type Drivers are becoming more popular, it would be best to get on the trend now!"

"Freshman, I think it would be quite beneficial for you to join the Logos Theory Society. We always compete in the yearly Exhibition and its surely going to be good for your—"

"Hey! Wanna join or Gate Ecology Guild? We study cool monsters!"

Ahhh, I can’t breathe... Is this how I go out?

It would be really pathetic if I died from being crowded to death instead of any of the major plot points!

But just as I was about to sink deeper into the sea of seniors, a voice broke through the crowd.

"Hey! Break it up everyone! You know the rules, three recruiters at a time!"

A girl pushed her way through the seniors easily, mostly because they moved instinctively before they were even touched.

She had short, dark hair that barely reached her neck, with her academy blazer tied loosely around her waist instead of being worn properly.

The proper tomboy aesthetic, and there was only one person I knew in the game that would fit this look.

Riley Locke, Head of the Disciplinary Committee, and part of Asgard’s Triad. One of the three strongest and most well-known students within Asgard Academy.

"This isn’t a monster wave, stop swarming the freshmen."

One of the seniors from the Weapons Training Club raised his hand cautiously. "But Committee Head...Nolan Midgard is a high-value recruit and—"

"Well, Claire wants to have a word with him. Can’t say no to the big boss, can I?"

The big boss? Surely there’s only one person she could be talking about.

"You heard him," Riley turned to face me. "Come on, I’ll show you the way."

"I’m not in any trouble...am I?"

I said as a precaution, but it was really my intention to be found by her.

Because after all, it’s more efficient to leave bait and catch the fish with your net than casting a rod all the way out.

And it didn’t take too long before the Triad bit.