"Ow, ow, ow... Dammit, I KNEW I should have stocked up on pain killers..."
When morning came around, Lee's entire body felt like he'd been pummeled to death and back.
Although another icy cold shower helped, and although there were a few fatigue relieving drinks in the dorm fridge, there was definitely a low-grade constant pain running across his body.
But it was bearable.
Felt like every muscle in his body was sore... which they WERE. But it wasn't to the level of say, a sprain.
'God, if it was THAT, I would be SO embarrassed...'
Just the thought of not being able to head to class on the second day...
He'd never be able to live it down. Not to mention the fact that he was already Rank 999. It wouldn't do him any good to live up to that title. In fact, it was better to do the opposite.
Which was why he had showed up a half hour early for his morning class, Post-Outcall History.
Ah, Outcall was the name of what was essentially the gate invasion incident in other web novels. Towers, dungeons, and mana appeared all at once. Back in 1970s.
Dungeons were literal dungeons with treasures, monsters, etcetera.
But it wasn't too important. Well, other than the fact that Lee had realized this morning that the current year was 2025 when he checked his phone, which DEFINITELY explained why all the tech was familiar to him.
They were only a year behind the Earth he came from, after all. Although a few things were definitely still sci-fi, like the projected holograms and interactable light keyboards, it wasn't too outlandish.
To him, at least.
To Kim Hajin, it must be pretty weird... which was ironic considering he wrote the setting.
But anyway...
All of those tangents were to distract Lee from the fact that his body was completely sore as well as to make it look like he wasn't limping at all as he walked into the classroom...
Where only one other person was sitting.
"Hm?" Rachel looked up from her seat at the back of the room. Then she let out a warm smile and waved her hand in greeting before speaking in English. "*Good morning, Lee...*" She noticed his stiff movements and frowned. "*Is something wrong?*"
Lee walked over and sat beside her. "*Not 'wrong.' A bit too right. Got overexcited with the training facilities, haha.*"
Rachel let out a soft laugh. "*Of course. You seem the type.*"
"*Rude. That's like saying you seem the type to show up a half hour early to classes.*"
Rachel smiled. "*Well. Was I wrong?*"
"*...No. And I'm not wrong either.*"
"*Correct.*" Rachel's blue eyes sparkled as she said, "*I am indeed the type to show up early for classes.*"
Lee started unpacking his things for class, pulling out a notebook and pencil from his backpack. As he did, he said, "*So why the back of the classroom today?*"
"*Ah...*" Rachel fidgeted and said, "*I noticed that our peers did not want to sit next with me. I believe it would be rude to obstruct their learning, so I left the front seats available for those who would require them.*"
"*That's noble of you.*" Lee placed his notebook down and flipped it open. "*I would have just said fuck'em.*"
Rachel covered her mouth, hiding a smile. Then she said, "*How crass... Though I suppose that's to be expected of an American.*"
"*Did you just stereotype me?!*" Lee teased.
"*Perhaps~?*"
Lee laughed. "*Well, you're lucky it's true. At least for me.*"
At that time, the door opened and two more people walked in. Nayun and Yeonha.
Nayun noticed Rachel right away and nodded at her. But then she saw Lee and immediately started walking over. "You!" Speaking up in Korean, she said, "Lee, you idiot! What are you doing here? After that, you should have called in sick!"
Rachel tilted her head and frowned. "...That?" She glanced over to look at Lee.
Lee held up his hands and said, "I'm fine, Nayun. Just sore. Honestly."
"Just sore?! You were sweating blood!"
Rachel pursed her lips. "Lee..."
"What?" Lee laughed. "Seriously, I'm fine. Just sore. I know what it feels like to be on the verge of death from overtraining, so trust me when I say I'm good."
Rachel's eyes widened in shock.
Nayun smacked her hand on a nearby desk and said, "That doesn't make it any better!"
Yeonha sighed and said, "Nayun. It's not your business... and our classmates are starting to show up."
Nayun glanced at the entrance to see that more students were indeed filtering in. She clicked her tongue and then jabbed a finger towards Lee. "No more gravitation room, got it! You don't have enough magic power to use it properly!" After that, she spun on her heel and stomped off, followed after by Yeonha.
Lee chuckled and said, "She's a worrywart at heart, huh?"
Rachel tilted her head and said, "...I would be too if I saw someone sweating blood. And gravitation room? Really?" She gave Lee a once over. "...You're truly fine?"
"Relax, Rachel. I'm just a bit sore, honest."
"...Here." Rachel pulled out a small bottle of ibuprofen from her bag and then held out a water bottle. "This is not too strong since I just use them for headaches. But it should help."
Lee's eyes widened. Then he took both and said, "Should I be the one concerned? This implies you have frequent headaches..."
Rachel waved her hand. "They are simply for emergencies. My headaches mostly fade with a bit of morning tea."
Lee popped a pair of pills and air-drank a gulp of water to swallow them before handing the bottle of pills and the water bottle back to Rachel. "Thanks. But also, don't think I missed the fact that you have frequent headaches."
Rachel smiled and said, "You are welcome. And... well, the headaches come with my status, so..."
"Oh. Right."
Rachel WAS a princess. And basically the Kingdom of Britain's last hope to get back on the map.
Wait.
Lee tilted his head. "...Is it going to be a problem that I'm spending so much time with you?"
Rachel hesitated for a brief moment. Then she pursed her lips and said, "...No. At least, not if you are exceptional."
A lie and a truth both at once.
Lee understood what Rachel was trying to say.
For someone in her position, if Lee was a true Rank 999 cadet and barely qualified for Cube, and if he stayed like that, it would just be dragging Rachel down.
But.
If he STARTED from Rank 999 and climbed his way up instead...
Lee smiled. "Got it. Then I just have to be exceptional then to stay at your side, right?"
Rachel's cheeks turned red. "Th-That is... I-If you so desire...?"
Lee laughed. "Just teasing, Rachel. Now come on, class is going to start soon."
Rachel sighed. "...You are terrible." But after that, she quickly composed herself and started organizing her notes and planner for the day.
Lee did the same, pulling out the lecture summary he had prepped the other night based on the syllabus.
The start date of the Outcall incident, the main Heroes who helped resolve everything like the Nine Stars, the first guild to clear a tower, as well as the first Tower, then the rewards it gave...
Lee wasn't sure what exactly they would be tested on, so he structured the first class notes with more information than necessary so that he could listen in on the lecture and trim as needed.
Rachel noticed Lee reviewing his notes and her eyes widened. "...Are those notes taken from the textbook?"
"Mmhm." Lee nodded, skimming over the main points. "We weren't assigned readings, but we WERE assigned chapters that the lectures cover. So I'm going to crossreference if these line up with the lecture... and if so, I'm just going to learn from the textbook. Saves time."
Rachel blinked. Then she frowned. "That... is efficient."
Lee nodded. "Of course." He looked up at Rachel and said, "If you're stressing about remembering everything, it won't stick. So it's better to know a bit about the lecture beforehand and just note what's not in the textbook or what the professor highlights."
Rachel stared at her own notes. Notes that looked to be verbatim copies of entire sections of the textbook instead of summarized bulletpoints like Lee's.
Lee noticed. Then he slowly said, "...Do you want a copy of the notes I make going forward?"
"...If you could, I would greatly appreciate it..."