Without giving much thought to the time, since meeting the members of the Chameleon Troupe on Friday, Theo Sagan had been enjoying peaceful days with Nayun, Yeonha, and Cappie.
On Sunday night, after thinking for a bit, Theo decided to take a walk through Cube to clear his head. Nayun, who was already getting used to the lazy rhythm her life had taken, also decided to go out.
Cappie stayed in the dorm, while Yeonha had gone to visit her family earlier in the afternoon.
Theo and Nayun decided to go to the General Training Center - the Fitness Center.
As soon as they entered the place, the two split up, each going in a different direction.
Nayun headed for the gravity chamber, while Theo walked without a destination.
The gravity chamber multiplied gravity by a certain factor, thus increasing the pressure on one's bloodstream.
Training in this cylindrical room required one to operate magical power under strong gravity, and it was easily one of the most painful training methods.
Although it was training mainly recommended for long-range combat cadets, who needed to improve mana control under pressure, Nayun still decided to go.
With his hands in his pants pockets, Theo scanned the space and noticed that the place was more crowded than usual.
'No doubt, it's because of the midterm exams that are just around the corner. Everyone wants to do their best to get a good grade...'
Looking elsewhere, he also saw Hajin preparing to lift a two-hundred-kilogram barbell, with a hundred kilograms on each side.
'Even without the co-author, he's still very dedicated.'
At this stage of the story, with the help of the co-author's benefits, it was possible to say that Hajin would already be close to reaching the average of the first-year cadets.
'...There's a limit to what he can do without help.'
But the current Hajin was completely different from the Hajin Theo had read about. This Hajin no longer had his golden finger, and without it, his life to get stronger was much more complicated than it seemed.
If before he was one step from the average, now he was ten steps behind. The only thing that helped him equal, and even surpass, other cadets, was the weapon Theo had given him.
It might not seem like it, but the weapon created by Theo had some buff capabilities, making Hajin a bit stronger when he used it.
'Ah... That's right... There are these guys too.'
In another, more isolated spot, were the former members of Shin Jonghak's gang.
Kim Horak, after losing his "owner," had become completely tame, abandoning his delinquent acts for good, even leading the other followers of Jonghak to do the same.
And as a result of all this, Kim Hajin was not suffering from bullying.
In the original, Hajin spent a lot of time suffering, or rather, accumulating a lot of SP, because of them.
Laughing to himself, Theo removed the distortion magic on him.
And it was instantaneous. As soon as he removed his spell, some cadets around him quickly noticed him.
No, to be more precise, the women noticed him.
The impact was immediate.
"Is that Theo-ssi...?"
"Ah! He's still as handsome as ever."
"My God, look at those eyes..."
The girl next to her looked at the long-sleeved T-shirt he was wearing.
A group of female cadets, who were previously focused on their own training, now seemed to have been hit by an invisible wave of distraction.
Some tried to play it cool, others simply stopped what they were doing to stare at him without any shame.
The discreet whispers quickly evolved into animated chatter.
"If I ask to touch his arm, will he let me?"
"Dream on, honey. He's something you can't have."
"Oh my, he looked over here..."
Theo, who had been walking calmly before, now seemed like a lion in a zoo: observed from all angles and with an almost reverent attention.
He shook his head for a moment, ran a hand over his neck, a slight furrow of his brows revealing his discomfort.
"Sigh... That's why I don't like to go out ..."
Being handsome could also be tiring.
But it wasn't just female gazes directed at him.
Further away, some male cadets were also watching him, with much less enchanted expressions.
"Tsk, that Theo thinks he's all that just because he's handsome..."
"Look at those girls... They never look at me like that."
"It's always the same thing. These women only care about handsome faces."
"Yeah. I'm sure he just got lucky in defeating Shin Jonghak."
"That's right, he must have used some trick."
Suho, who noticed the glances and murmurs around, commented in a playful tone when he saw Theo approaching:
"Being famous seems to be quite complicated, huh Theo..."
"Haha! Yes, very much."
With a somewhat ironic voice, Theo replied back as he greeted him.
"You know as much as I do, don't you, Suho?"
Suho shrugged in response.
"I guess so. But you'll get used to it just like me..."
After greeting each other, Kim Suho began to prepare to start training again.
Autor: Finally, I'm back... I'll try to post one chapter per day, just like before... Thank you for sticking around.