The Protagonist Already Knows

Chapter 22: Daily Life

Yawning, I leaned back in my chair and glanced at Professor DeYoung, a blonde-haired lady who was our Mana Theory teacher.

It was weird: I thought I would be more motivated, since I was now voluntarily choosing to attend school instead of being forced by my parents.

After all, I could drop out at the slightest inconvenience. And...yet, I couldn’t care in the slightest about taking notes or paying attention.

Snapping me back to reality, Professor DeYoung glanced at us and asked.

"Can anyone tell me the root of all mana particles in our world?"

As expected, Evangel’s hand shot up into the hair like a missile.

"Yes, Evangel?"

Using her normal robotic tone, Evangel answered.

"Oxygen. In every single oxygen particle, naturally produces mana."

Nodding her head, Professor Sooyung turned back to face the board and continued.

"Indeed. And, our planet, Earth, has an abundance of oxygen compared to other planets and thus mana particles. For that reason, other dimensions such as the Dreg, the Underworld, and Daedalus’s Workshop seek to invade Earth and take it for their own."

"It doesn’t help that mana particles are chaotic and unstable, allowing for dimensional breaks where these invaders from other dimensions can invade Earth through things like gates and dungeons."

*Ring~ring*

As the bell rang, Professor DeYoung mentioned before leaving, prompting an uproar.

"Our first exam on the basic properties of mana particles will be at the start of next week."

In the back row, Leon said as soon as the door slammed shut.

"This school should prioritize our practical experience over just sitting in a classroom. We have superpowers for-fucks-sake; why are we acting like mundanes!?"

"Yeah...I agree."

"Isn’t it more important for us to actually fight than learn this...?"

"How is this going to help us when we’re on a battlefield of Dregs!?"

Not at all minding Leon’s status or the number of students who agreed with him, Evangel suddenly turned back and said, a hint of annoyance tinged in her usual monotone voice.

"Theory allows us to innovate. If we actually know what we’re doing instead of blindly following guidance we’ve received, we can utilize our mana usage to suit our own body’s Gifts and abilities, applying our knowledge of the properties of mana."

Instantly, some of the surrounding students changed their opinions and began muttering, as Evangel’s eyes sparkled.

"...I guess that’s true..."

"I mean, I do want to create new spells, so I guess learning is useful."

Meeting Evangel’s eyes, Leon leaned backward and simply said.

"Annoying. Do you really believe someone with a textbook can beat someone with much more combat and physical training?"

However, before Evangel could respond, the classroom’s sliding door suddenly burst open, revealing Professor Sooyung’s familiar figure.

Not even bothering to walk to the center of the classroom and simply standing at the edge of the room, she suddenly announced.

"Due to...unforseen circumstances, the virtual reality practical exam has been postponed and will start at the beginning of next week. I hope you all take this valuable time to train and prepare."

Not wasting another moment, she practically dashed out of the classroom and into the hall.

Immediatly, the classroom burst into whispers

"...what happened?"

"Did the technology break?"

"I heard some saw the previous exam administrator was dragged off campus in cuffs yesterday..."

As everyone eagerly discussed the exam’s postponement, I glanced at Ren, feeling a sense of camaraderie.

I guess it was now his turn to face the butterfly effect.

Standing up, I ignored Lily, who had been glaring at me the whole class for some reason, and left.

...

...

...

Entering the nearly-empty training hall, I paused and marveled at the sheer size of the place.

It had everything you could imagine: free weights, shooting ranges, scarecrow dummies, dozens of saunas, cryochambers, and even a swimming pool the size of two Olympic ones combined.

Taking an elevator to the top of the 4-story building, I entered a chamber-like room, finding myself surrounded by four metal-shaped walls with a single blue holagraphic screen before me.

Unsheathing my Dao, I allowed the holographic screen to scan it and my body before quickly clicking a few buttons.

[Tutorial Mode]

A few moments later, a holagraphic figure with my exact proportions appeared.

Starting at the edge of the room, the faceless figure, holding an exact replica of my blade, took a few steps forward and thrusted at the air.

*CLICK*

As the moving holagraphic figure vanished, various motionless holographic figures appeared in the room, each corresponding to a movement the holagraphic figure had taken: his initial ducking stance, leap forward, and jab.

Nodding my head, I ducked downward and gripped the hilt of my Dao, emulating the stance of the motionless holagraphic figure before me.

Then, in a swift motion, following the other motionless hologram figures ahead, I leaped forward and thrusted my sword at the air.

[34% Accuracy]

[Click here to watch Demo again!]

"..."

Taking a deep breath, I sighed and positioned myself at the start of the holographic figure’s footsteps again.

All I had to do was correctly position my body.

I spent a few minutes simply examining the ducking stance holistically and attempting to emulate it.

Finally, the hologram perfectly overlapped with my figure.

Then... I took a leap forward.

Before I could even swing my sword...

[Minimum Accuracy achieved. Please try again]

...

...

[100% Accuracy!]

[Congrats! Click here to move on!]

Sighing, I collapsed on the hard metal ground, leaning against a wall and downing a whole bottle of water.

Sweat dripped down my face, while I barely managed to keep my eyes open, my hands trembling and my palm covered in marks from gripping my sword’s hilt.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t just go straight into getting an overpowered sword style and cutting down mountains with a single slash.

Before I even learned any sword style, I needed to get down the basic footwork, jabbing, and stabbing of the sword down.

And yet...learning the "Tutorial" sword movement had taken me over five hours.