Now that I had finally enrolled in the Academy, I could no longer afford to be idle.
At last, the story of the game had begun, and countless trials and crises lay ahead, waiting for us like coiled serpents in the dark.
Three years until graduation.
Three years that might feel long but would surely slip away like sand through my fingers—three fleeting years that would decide my fate, and perhaps even the fate of the world itself.
A time limit, in every sense of the word.
Knowing that, how could I dare to waste a single day?
I had to live each day with ruthless efficiency.
I had to live with everything I had.
As if this were my final life.
Yes, like it was my very last chance.
[As if there were no tomorrow]
“Phew…”
The sky at the edge of late winter and early spring still lingered in darkness.
I awoke to the alarm I’d set the night before, half-buried under my blanket, staring out at the gloomy dawn beyond my dorm window.
The chill and the gloom made me long to sink deeper into the warmth, to catch just a little more sleep.
It was still far too early for classes, so I could have indulged myself.
But the more you let yourself slack, the easier it is to fall into ruin.
I couldn’t allow myself to grow lax.
No matter how much I hated it, I had to get up.
After wrestling free from sleep’s gentle chains, I stretched my limbs wide on the bed.
“Let’s go, Gyeon-woo. Get moving…”
I muttered to myself, urging my body into motion.
I’d be sweating soon enough; there was no need for a meticulous wash.
As long as I looked presentable, it would do.
I scrubbed the sleep from my eyes, did a quick wash, and changed into my training clothes.
By the time I stepped outside the dormitory, the sky had begun to lighten at last.
“Hoo…”
The dawn air bit at my skin, cold and sharp.
Each breath filled my lungs like ice, clearing away the remnants of drowsiness.
After a few stretches, I began to run—jogging down the path that wound out from the dorms and into the wide grounds of the Academy.
Not too fast—steady. Controlled.
I focused on my breathing, intending to complete a full circuit of the Academy grounds.
It was a vast campus. A single lap would take longer than one might think.
If nothing else, it would surely help train my body.
‘I wonder if my stats will go up because of this.’
In the game, there were daily activities you could complete once every real-world day.
One of the most iconic daily events was the morning jogging mini-game.
The concept was simple: clear the mini-game to boost the stats of the characters who participated in the run.
You’d get a random stat boost for a random character each time.
Of course, you only reaped the rewards if you stayed consistent.
There was no limit to the number of characters who could join the jog, but the difficulty and duration scaled with the number of participants.
‘Back then, I’d finish my daily quests and get ready for work…’
A memory from my past life flickered to mind—back then, I would wake up early, complete my daily game routine like clockwork, then dash off to my job.
‘Feels nostalgic.’
Strange, how I’d once started my mornings with those pixelated characters, and now I was living it out for real.
‘No pixel art version of me running around this time, though.’
In the game, little chibi versions of the characters would jog endlessly across the bottom of the mini-game screen.
But this world was no game.
No matter how far I ran, no mini-game screen would pop up above my head.
‘Still, better to do it than not.’
Even if I didn’t get any stat bonuses, I’d lose nothing.
Morning jogging was good for my health.
It would strengthen my lungs, build my stamina.
I’d lose a bit of sleep, but I intended to keep it up.
More than anything—
“Hey! Gyeon-woo! Out here training in the morning too?”
“Morning. Fancy seeing you here, Han-byeol.”
I could bond with Kang Han-byeol.
Without even noticing, I’d fallen into step with him.
Kang Han-byeol looked energetic even at dawn.
But we weren’t the only ones making the full circuit.
“Do Gyeon-woo! Kang Han-byeol! The strong and mighty morning is upon us! You two are out here training, too? Splendid! Truly, the spirit of men!”
“Oh! Hae-rang, you’re here too!”
“Hey. Good morning.”
Yong Hae-rang joined us, bursting out from around a corner.
Unlike us, he was clad not in sportswear but in a black martial arts uniform, his limbs slicing the air with every stride.
Energy radiated off him in waves.
‘So this is how Han-byeol and Hae-rang met in the game, too, huh?’
The scene felt eerily similar to their first encounter event in the game.
I’d unintentionally wedged myself between them, becoming part of their event.
‘How fitting.’
The illustration I remembered from the game was supposed to be just the two of them. Now it would be three—me standing awkwardly in the middle, as if I were the protagonist.
For someone who’d been a veteran player in a past life, it was enough to make me smile.
Just as I’d expected, completing a full lap of the Academy grounds took no small amount of time.
By the time I returned to the dormitory, sweat-drenched and flushed with exertion, I headed straight for the shower.
Cold water washed away the sweat and heat, leaving my body refreshed and my mind clear.
“Yeon-ha-neul must be waiting by now.”
There was no time to dawdle.
I dried off quickly, put on my uniform, and gathered my things for the day’s classes.
Without delay, I stepped out of my room.
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I’m already at our cafeteria—come down straight here!
Ha-neul’s message saved me the trouble of searching.
I stepped into the elevator and rode down to the first floor, where the dining hall was.
At the counter, I picked a Korean-style meal set, then scanned the cafeteria until I spotted her by the window.
“Gyeon-woo, over here!”
“Ah.”
Yeon-ha-neul sat at a window seat.
Go Eun-bi and Lisa were there too, seated across from her.
I made my way over.
“Goodness! Gyeon-woo, you think it’s okay to show up this late? We’ve been eating slowly, just waiting for you, you know! I even brought you water!”
“Funny, Eun-bi, you look like you’ve eaten everything already. But thanks for the water. I’ll drink it well.”
“Welcome.”
Go Eun-bi tried to scold me with mock outrage, but I wasn’t fooled for a second.
She wasn’t scary in the slightest—I knew she was teasing.
With a snort, I set my tray down and took the empty seat next to Yeon-ha-neul.
Then Lisa asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
“Ha-neul told me you’d decided to start jogging every morning. How was it?”
“It feels good, waking up earlier than everyone else and getting in a run. Oh, I ran into Han-byeol and Hae-rang too—we jogged together for a while.”
“You met them too?”
“Yeah. Running together made the time fly.”
Having run on an empty stomach, I was starving.
I spoke between bites of my breakfast.
The mention of the morning jog caught all three girls’ attention.
I could feel their eyes on me, their ears tuned in.
“Ooh—so this is what you call the brotherly bond? I swear, you guys make friends so easily. I’m jealous.”
“Glad it suits you.”
“That’s nice. If the three of you run together, you’ll never get bored.”
When I told them I’d be jogging with Kang Han-byeol and Yong Hae-rang every morning from now on, they looked genuinely intrigued.
So I threw out the idea.
“In that case, why don’t you all join us? We could run together every morning.”
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
“Pardon?”
It wasn’t enough for me alone to grow stronger. I needed the others to train too.
From the beginning, I’d planned to rope them in.
But my suggestion was met with three pairs of reluctant eyes.
“Morning jogging… Well, it does sound fun and all, very social… But I’m not really the social type…”
“You? You’re the most social out of all of us!”
“Still, sorry… I stayed up catching up on anime last night, so I don’t think I can manage.”
“….”
Eun-bi avoided my gaze with an awkward laugh.
Her excuse was ridiculous, and I could only stare at her, speechless.
Yeon-ha-neul and Lisa each chimed in with their own excuses.
“Sorry, me too… I’d love to, but I have to watch my morning drama…”
“You can just watch the rerun later.”
“Excuse you. There’s other stuff I need to watch during the rerun slot.”
“…Do you even study?”
“I do! I study while watching, so I really don’t have extra time.”
“I do yoga at that hour. It’d be hard to reschedule.”
“Yoga… Fine. Yoga, I get. You’re way better than these two.”
Honestly…
It was obvious from their faces—they just didn’t want to sweat.
I let out a small sigh.
‘Ha-neul’s athletic enough on her own, so she’s not the problem… But Eun-bi and Lisa really need this…’
Whether or not I got any game-like stat boosts, it would definitely help Go Eun-bi and Lisa, whose stamina was the lowest.
‘I can’t give up that easily…’
There was no way I’d let them off the hook.
If I could convince just two of them, Yeon-ha-neul would surely follow along to avoid being left out.
I began turning over ideas in my mind, planning how to lure them in.
“More importantly, Gyeon-woo, you do know we have class registration today, right? There’s not much time left, so shouldn’t we get going?”
“Y-yeah! We need to head to our classroom and get ready for registration! Guys, if you’re done eating, let’s hurry!”
They were so eager to change the topic.
But it wouldn’t matter—I’d make them run.
‘Come to think of it… There’s still Min Ah-rin too…’
Today, thanks to class registration day, our usual homeroom assembly was skipped altogether.
It gave us a rare bit of breathing room.
After breakfast, we stayed in our seats at the cafeteria, chatting idly while waiting for the registration time to roll around.
That was when Yong Hae-rang joined us.
“Jogging is good for your health and your looks! In our clan, whether man or woman, child or elder—it doesn’t matter! We all start our day with a morning jog! Even infants! The moment they learn to toddle, we teach them to circle the training grounds at dawn! For us, jogging is an essential foundation for all training.”
“Hold on! When did I agree to this?! I told you I’m not jogging! I have anime to watch! Most of the shows I follow wrap up in March, and starting in April, the new season begins! I need time for that!”
“Gyeon-woo said he learned how to wield a sword the moment he could walk, but the Martial Dragon Clan is all about jogging, huh… Are all prestigious families just full of hot air?”
“Um… shouldn’t you just let babies learn how to walk first? If they’re still that young, their bones are too soft for long walks… Wouldn’t that hurt their ankles?”
Hae-rang spoke like he was preaching scripture—plate stacked so high with food it looked like he was having dinner rather than breakfast.
He ate without shame, ignoring how the girls cringed at his tale and simply nodding enthusiastically at everything I said.
‘Does all of that really fit in his stomach? Is that how you get muscles like that?’
Yong Hae-rang could start a food vlog and get millions of subscribers overnight.
I thought I ate a decent amount, but watching him devour food like a bottomless pit made me feel like a bird in comparison.
‘I should probably work on my appetite, too. If only my stomach could stretch like that…’
“Anyway! Good luck with your course registration, everyone!”
And with that, after witnessing Hae-rang’s mealtime spectacle, we each headed back to our rooms as registration time drew near.
I booted up my laptop.
“Agh, come on. Seriously?”
The moment the registration window opened, so many people logged in at once that my screen froze in an eerie, pale white.
The loading bar crawled.
By the time the page refreshed, the fastest students had already snatched up the popular slots.
Course Title: Eastern and Western Swordsmanship I
Type/Credits: Track (Swordsmanship, Core) / 2
Instructor/Time/Room: Park Ji-hyun / Wed 6-7 / Sword Hall Room 103
Enrolled/Max: 42 / 80
[Coin Priority] Enrolled/Max: 0 / 20
‘This is why you need to raise your Luck stat…’
At least there were still spots left.
I clicked the registration button.
Immediately—
[Connecting to Service — Please Wait.]
Estimated Wait Time: 2 minutes, 58 seconds
Students ahead of you: 56
Students behind you: 74
Reconnecting may increase your wait time. Thank you for your patience.
“…Damn it.”
Wasn’t this supposed to be the top Academy in the entire Academy City?
This was the jewel of a metropolis powered by magic, science, and otherworldly tech—and yet I was stuck in a queue?
I stared at the frozen screen and sighed.
‘All I can do is pray that the people ahead of me drop out…’
There were only 48 seats left for Park Ji-hyun’s Swordsmanship I class.
And yet 147 people were ahead of me in line.
My only hope was that they’d give up and register for something else.
But as I waited for the bar to creep forward, the system slapped me in the face.
[The class has reached capacity!]
“…God damn it.”
Yeon-ha-neul had specifically told me to stop swearing so much, but that cheery little exclamation mark made it impossible to hold back.
It was like the system was mocking me.
But fighting with a laptop wouldn’t get me anywhere.
I returned to the main page and scrambled to grab a backup.
Unfortunately—
[The class has reached capacity!]
“….”
Out of ten classes, I’d only managed to secure three.
I’d lost out on seven.
‘My fingers are… worthless…’
No, Ha-neul told me not to curse.
I clenched my teeth, stifling the frustration boiling up from my gut.
[Go Eun-bi]: Did anyone manage to get all their classes!? I think I’m doomed… ㅠㅠ
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I… I only got one… I want to smash this laptop to bits…
[Min Ah-rin]: Oh my, really? I actually got a pretty good haul, lol.
[Yeon-ha-neul]: I want to smash… everything… Ah-rin must be so happy ^^
[Min Ah-rin]: I only got five! Geez!
[Yeon-ha-neul]: If I can’t have them… I’ll just… destroy it all…
[Go Eun-bi]: Ha-neul, don’t go full dark mode! ㅠㅠ
[Lisa]: At least you got something… I didn’t get any… ㅠㅠ I think my life is over…
[Go Eun-bi]: None!? How…!?
[Lisa]: I thought I’d registered everything, but it turns out I only added them to my cart… Computers are just too much for me…
**[Lisa]: (crying unicorn emoji)
[Yong Hae-rang]: Haah… I’m cracking open soju already.
[Bak Sa-gun]: I’d heard it was impossible to all-clear, but now I know for sure… Meanwhile, Han-byeol somehow got everything. He’s using the same network as me—how!?
[Minions Gold]: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Minions Silver]: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Minions Bronze]: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Kang Han-byeol]: Hey! Don’t cry, everyone!
Scrolling through our group chat, I realized I wasn’t alone.
I typed out my own miserable update, confessing my failure.
It stung, knowing that even after paying sky-high tuition, you couldn’t always get the classes you wanted.
Seeing Kang Han-byeol smugly celebrate his perfect registration didn’t help either.
Was it because he was the protagonist?
Or maybe because his Luck stat was a whopping sixty?
Still, it wasn’t hopeless.
We’d prepared for exactly this situation.
[Me]: We don’t have a choice.
[Me]: Time to spend some coins.
[Minion Geum]: Top up!
[Minion Eun]: Top up!
[Minion Dong]: Top up!
[Go Eun-bi]: Ai Ai Sir!
[Yeon-ha-neul]: Top up!
[Yong Hae-rang]: Top up!
[Lisa]: Top up! …But um… what’s ‘top up’?
[Bak Sa-gun]: I don’t even have that many coins left… Well, no choice, huh.
We’d have to apologize to the students who’d already secured their spots, but there was no other way.
I turned my eyes back to my laptop screen and checked my balance of Geumgang Coins—our special Academy currency for priority access.
I had more than enough.
I went back to my locked-out classes and spent my coins without hesitation.
[Would you like to use 1 Geumgang Coin to register for ‘Eastern and Western Swordsmanship I’?]
Yes (Selected) / No
In this world, your only lifeline was a coin toss.
And so, thanks to our golden backups, we each managed to secure the classes we truly needed.
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