After finishing lunch, we left the Hall of Ties and strolled around to enjoy the springtime scenery by the Lake of Blooming Light.
Then, to set up our class schedules, we headed to Brilliant Café.
The café had an antique charm, its ivy-covered walls climbing up like old stories etched in green.
Yong Hae-rang and the triplets had arrived before us and secured a table.
“Hey! Do-gyeon-woo! You’re here! Over here!”
“Do-gyeon-woo! Why are you so late!?”
“Did lunch really take that long?”
“What were you even doing!?”
“Alright, alright. Sorry for being five minutes late.”
Unexpectedly, Yong Hae-rang had managed to find the place without getting lost and extended a hand in greeting.
As expected, the triplets started scolding us the moment we showed up.
I didn’t take it seriously.
‘My little minions picked a decent spot.’
It was a semi-private room, a bit apart from the open second floor, almost like a study room.
The round table was large enough to comfortably seat ten people.
“Ha-neul, take a seat.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I pulled out a chair for Yeon-ha-neul and placed our bags off to one side before sitting beside her.
But I didn’t stay seated for long.
“Looks like I need to go order drinks. I said I’d pay, so I’ll take care of it. Hae-rang, if you and the rest want anything, just tell me.”
“Perfect timing, I was getting hungry again! Since you’re buying, I’ll take a croffle!”
“Do-gyeon-woo’s paying!? I guess I can forgive you now.”
“Hey Geum-dong, are you ordering something too? We already got our drinks.”
“Sure! I’ll just order another one. Gyeon-woo, lemonade for me!”
“What about you, Ha-neul?”
“Mm… I’ll go down and pick something myself.”
“Gyeon-woo! Eun-bi wants something too! Eun-bi wants!”
“…Eun-bi, that’s not cute. At all.”
“Wow, harsh much!? Geez, Ha-neul, you try it!”
“What? Me? Um…”
“Come on, Ha-neul! Say it! Say ‘Ha-neul wants’!”
“Gyeon-woo, h-ha-neul wants….”
“…Yeah? What do you want?”
“Whoa… the tone shift is unreal.”
“I’ll just go down with you and pick something.”
“Now I want something sweet too. Gyeon-woo, can I get one more? An Earl Grey tea and an affogato.”
“I don’t mind paying, but we just had lunch. Can you still eat?”
“The stomach for meals and the stomach for dessert are totally different.”
“Hah, sure.”
“Actually, maybe I’ll get an affogato too…”
“You can’t just eat! You need something to drink with it.”
“This tone shift is wild.”
“Arin, what do you want to drink?”
“Then I’ll have a café latte.”
With so many people, the orders piled up fast.
The triplets, determined to drain my wallet, and the ever-greedy Go Eun-bi even added extra desserts.
After memorizing everyone’s order, I headed downstairs to the counter.
Yeon-ha-neul and Min Ah-rin came along.
“You two could’ve waited upstairs. Why’d you follow me?”
“Being around people I just met for the first time today is awkward, that’s why.”
“Ah, got it.”
Min Ah-rin folded her arms and grumbled.
Which, if I interpreted it another way, might’ve meant she felt comfortable around me.
I decided to keep that thought to myself—if I said it out loud, she’d just get fussy again.
“So, Ha-neul, what are you getting?”
“Mm… I’ll take an iced Americano.”
“…You didn’t need to come down just for that.”
“No, I wanted it now.”
“Yeah? You’re getting an affogato too, right?”
“Yep!”
Yeon-ha-neul chose her drink without even glancing at the menu.
It was like she’d already made up her mind.
I paid at the counter, brushing off my curiosity.
As we chatted quietly while waiting, the drinks came out.
“I’ll carry one of the trays.”
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Right?”
Yeon-ha-neul struck a proud pose with the tray in her hands, her bunny ears twitching.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I followed her up the stairs, her fluffy white tail bobbing ahead of me.
When we returned to the room with the drinks, Go Eun-bi, Yong Hae-rang, and the triplets were busy working on their class schedules.
“Everyone, drinks are here.”
“Ha-neul, thanks! I’ll enjoy it!”
“I’m the one who paid.”
“Thanks to you, too, Gyeon-woo!”
With Eun-bi reaching for her drink first, the others followed suit, grabbing their trays.
Yeon-ha-neul and I picked up whatever was left afterward.
Min Ah-rin was already sipping her latte from the moment she came upstairs.
“So, how’s the scheduling going? Eun-bi, how did yours turn out?”
“Hmm? Me? Still working on it. Want to see? Actually, let’s just post them in the group chat and share. I’ll add Arin to the room right now.”
The table was a mess—drinks, desserts, printouts, pens, and laptops scattered everywhere.
As I cleared a spot to set my laptop, I asked Go Eun-bi about her schedule.
She had just taken a bite of her affogato, but nodded quickly.
I watched closely as she uploaded her schedule to the group chat.
‘Good. I can still use the Player’s authority on someone else’s schedule.’
In the game, the Player could view a special info window showing what skills a course would unlock for a character.
That ability still worked for me in this world.
By focusing on a timetable or class list, I could see the system overlay appear:
[Beginner Target Practice]
◆ Category/Credits
— Discipline (Archery) / 2
◆ Instructor / Time / Location
— Go Ju-myeong / Wed 6-7 / Training Hall B101
◆ Completion Reward
— Skill: Marksman’s Eye acquired → Skill level up
And more.
I checked other courses on Go Eun-bi’s schedule.
‘She organized it well around the basics.’
What she needed now was a solid foundation as a Ranger.
Tricky techniques or high-difficulty classes wouldn’t help her yet.
Apparently, she knew that, too.
Her schedule was evenly balanced, following the Academy’s recommended progression for a Ranger.
There was no need for me to tweak anything, except for one small point.
‘Beginner Target Practice, huh…’
It was the class that awarded the Marksman’s Eye skill—a must-have for any archer.
The problem?
Go Eun-bi already had that skill.
‘Acquired Skills.’
Just like calling up a status screen, I stared into her eyes and summoned the skill window using my Player’s authority.
[Acquired Skills – Go Eun-bi]
— Selective Enthusiast Lv 9
— Sharp Intuition Lv 8
— Social Web Lv 7
— Natural Iron Wall Lv 6
— Marksman’s Eye Lv 2
‘So it leveled up to 2. She said she was slacking before school started, but it looks like she wasn’t just playing around.’
I had learned about this at the afterparty Go Eun-bi hosted after the entrance exam, a month ago.
That’s when I found out she had Marksman’s Eye—a skill that, in the game, could only be acquired through classes after enrollment.
Somehow, she had gotten it during the entrance exam.
So would Beginner Target Practice help her?
‘A little, maybe—but not much.’
Getting the skill was the hard part. Raising its level? Not so much.
She could do that on her own.
And if not, I’d make sure the story gave her that chance.
If she hadn’t already acquired the skill, this class would’ve been crucial.
But now, the time investment wasn’t worth it.
Better to recommend something else.
I had just the class in mind.
“Eun-bi, Beginner Target Practice is fine, but what about this one instead?”
“Which one? …Introduction to Hunting?”
Below her schedule were a few alternative options she was considering.
I pointed to one of them—Introduction to Hunting.
As the name suggests, it taught basic hunting skills.
It was also one of the classes from the game.
[Introduction to Hunting 1]
◆ Category/Credits
— Discipline (Archery) / 2
◆ Instructor / Time / Location
— Ho Dong-san / Wed 6-7 / Dimensional Hall 204
◆ Completion Reward
— Skill: Hunter’s Sense acquired
In the game, Go Eun-bi’s schedule was only finalized starting from the second semester of her first year.
At that point, the Player had to choose between two classes that were scheduled for the same time slot—Beginner Target Practice or Introduction to Hunting.
That meant choosing between two valuable skills: Marksman’s Eye or Hunter’s Sense.
‘Once you picked one, you had to wait until the next semester to take the other.’
Marksman’s Eye increased accuracy.
Hunter’s Sense raised critical hit chance.
Both were essential for someone like Go Eun-bi, who specialized in the bow.
And so, Players often struggled to choose which to prioritize.
Most chose Marksman’s Eye first—after all, landing a shot was the prerequisite for anything else.
But accuracy alone wasn’t everything.
Choosing Marksman’s Eye meant low offensive performance early on. Since Go Eun-bi started off underpowered, the Player had to drag her through at least a year of mediocre contribution just to reach the point where she could earn Hunter’s Sense.
‘On the other hand, if you picked Hunter’s Sense first, she performed decently against weaker monsters, but landing a solid hit on a boss or a villain was tough…’
You’d end up seeing the word MISS more often than not.
No matter which path you chose, it was suboptimal.
Naturally, while she was still in her first year, Go Eun-bi was highly susceptible to death.
That was one of the main reasons behind the game’s difficulty spike.
Of course, her death didn’t immediately trigger a bad ending.
The world didn’t end because of it.
She would still appear in the story, but mechanically, she was treated as deceased, locking players out of several endings.
And among those, there was no Happy Ending.
No True Ending either.
Just having one party member die was enough to limit the possible outcomes to Normal or Bad endings.
That’s why I had to prevent anyone’s death, no matter what.
‘In that sense, the fact that Eun-bi already has Marksman’s Eye this early is a blessing. It saves me a ton of trouble.’
This world isn’t bound by rigid game mechanics.
There’s freedom here.
In this version of reality, Go Eun-bi could potentially acquire both Marksman’s Eye and Hunter’s Sense during her first year.
My heart was a little lighter as I tried to convince her.
“If you look at the course outline, the class is mostly about hitting stationary targets from a long distance, right?”
“Yeah… yeah, that’s right.”
“I mean, no offense, but don’t you think you’re already capable of that on your own? To me, this seems like a class meant for people who haven’t even gotten used to shooting a bow yet.”
“Hmm… Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t really think I’m that good…”
“What are you talking about? I think your skills are just fine.”
“….”
That wasn’t flattery.
It was the truth.
I’d worked alongside her several times during the entrance exam.
I knew exactly what she was capable of—and what her growth potential looked like.
Sure, she might currently be behind the elite heirs from the Bow master Han clan, one of the Twelve Great Houses—but she would catch up soon.
She could even surpass them.
If she put her mind and heart into it.
“Also, monsters aren’t stationary targets. I just don’t think that class would give you anything meaningful when it comes to real combat.”
“That… might be true.”
“Rangers aren’t meant to just hit targets. That’s more a job for Gunners or Snipers. In my mind, a Ranger should be someone who scouts the terrain, leads the party, and relays critical information from the frontlines.”
“…Yeah. That makes sense. Rangers aren’t just about accuracy.”
“That’s why I really think Introduction to Hunting will be way more useful to you.”
Go Eun-bi, for all her cheerfulness, had a tendency to underestimate herself.
It was something I’d learned after we became friends.
So I took a gentler approach, encouraging her instead of pushing her.
Eventually…
“Well, if you think so highly of me, maybe I’ll take your word for it?”
She gave me a playful smile.
“You better take responsibility if my grades tank!”
After that, I continued offering advice—sometimes directly, sometimes more subtly—to help others organize their schedules.
In my past life, I was a seasoned veteran of the game.
If a class appeared in the game, I knew it inside and out.
Naturally, my suggestions carried a persuasive weight they couldn’t ignore.
But that didn’t mean getting them to follow my lead was always easy.
Especially Min Ah-rin—she had a strong sense of self.
“Why should I listen to you, exactly?”
Min Ah-rin clearly saw following my advice as a hit to her pride and rarely accepted it without resistance.
Worse, her schedule was overly focused on magic, and rebalancing it took serious effort.
Thankfully, Yeon-ha-neul was there to help.
“Really? Ha-neul, what do you think? I think it’s necessary.”
“Yeah, I agree. That’s why I started doing it from a young age.”
“Ugh… W-Who said I wasn’t going to!? I’ll take it too, alright!?”
Motivated by rivalry with Yeon-ha-neul, Min Ah-rin begrudgingly changed her mind.
Meanwhile, Yeon-ha-neul never questioned me and followed my advice without complaint.
Childhood friends really are the best.
In the end, with my intervention, their final schedules looked like this:
[Go Eun-bi]
— Introduction to Hunting 1: Acquires the skill Hunter’s Sense
— Self-Defense (Krav Maga) 1: +2 Durability if below 50, acquires skill Krav Maga
[Min Ah-rin]
— Basic Physical Conditioning 1: +1 Stamina if below 50
— High-Intensity Cardio 1: +2 Stamina if below 50
— CrossFit 1: +2 Strength if below 50, +1 Agility if below 50
— …
[Yeon-ha-neul]
— General Conditioning 1: +1 Stamina if below 60
— Dice Game: +1 Luck
— Mysteries of the Human Body: +1 Luck
— Survival in Disaster Scenarios: +1 Durability if below 60
— Beginner Blunt Weaponry 1: Increases the level of skill in Blunt Weapon Mastery
— …
[Yong Hae-rang]
— Understanding Poison Techniques: Increased resistance to Poison and Paralysis
— Energy Circulation Training 1: +1 Mana if below 50
— …
[Woo Geum-dong, Woo Eun-dong, Woo Dong-dong]
— Survival in Crisis Scenarios: +1 Durability if below 50
— Dice Game: +1 Luck
— Ten Thousand Grateful Sword Swings: Increases the level of skill Sword Mastery
— Party Play 1: Acquires skill Triangle
— …
Now then…
It was finally time to deal with my own schedule.
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