Time flowed by faster than Lee anticipated.
Was it because he was having fun? Or because he had gone back to being a youthful teenager?
Either way, before Lee realized it, the day had come to head to Cube.
So, after packing everything he'd need for classes like his uniform, spear, textbooks, backpack, and documents, Lee locked up his apartment and hopped on a bus to head to the portal leading to Cube.
'Let the story begin, I guess...?'
===
Cube's campus floated in the middle of the East sea. Although it was called a 'campus,' it was actually a huge island that was artificially constructed specifically for training future Heroes.
A completely self-sufficient ecosystem, it had everything from shops to dorms to training facilities, and even artificial dungeons for training.
Honestly, Lee was impressed. While he was still getting used to the geopolitical power dynamics as well as modified history...
Basically, it would be like if an Ivy League school like Harvard had its campus across something like Hawaii's islands. Say Oahu or something like that.
It was pretty ridiculous...
But then again, Cube WAS an international prestigious academy where people like the literal princess of the Kingdom of Britain came to study and become a Hero.
Which, in hindsight, made the fact that 'Lee Shin,' the person before Lee got here, had managed to get in with barely any magical powers, all that more impressive.
After all, how many people must have applied?
Harvard averaged 50,000 applicants every year, and it was JUST a college. Granted, a prestigious college, but just a college.
Cube was a literal military academy taken to the extreme. One where EVERY country in the world sent its best and greatest to become the next big thing for their country.
Lee didn't know the statistics, and Cube DEFINITELY didn't print them. But if he had to guess, it would definitely be upwards of 100,000.
And Lee Shin had been skilled enough to make it in that exclusive batch of 1,000 candidates while failing in mana manipulation.
A fact that Lee himself was steadily fixing, of course.
But that just put it into perspective on how ridiculous it all was.
...And it ALSO explained how ridiculous it must have seemed for Hajin to switch to a gun.
It'd be like someone applying to Harvard for Law, getting in, and then switching to like, Theater.
Outrageous and unthinkable.
But anyway.
After hopping out of the portal on Cube's campus, took the bus that ran around the entire island to familiarize himself with it.
Class started at 8:30 AM, but Lee had arrived early at 6:00 AM. That left him plenty of time to get used to everything.
"Hm..." Lee rested his head on his chin and gazed out the window as the bus drove around the perimeter of the island, passing through the major facilities. "...This isn't going to be an easy life, is it?"
The amount of funding going into Cube must be outlandish. As far as he could tell, the entire island looked natural. Something that seemed like it had always been here, not something artifically constructed.
That just showed how much the world valued this place. And how many eyes were on this place as well.
'What should I do here?'
There was obviously the plot.
...Although, if Lee was being honest, he didn't remember ANYTHING about said plot.
That was basically a wash at this point, so he could discount it.
Getting stronger and rising up through Cube's rankings sounded fun. He was always someone who enjoyed a nice competition. And considering it was a composite ranking based on academics as well as practical examinations, it seemed like it'd be fun to do.
But that was just short term.
Long term...
'Do I even want to be hero?'
As Lee stared at the distant and glittering sea surrounding Cube, he stopped to consider it.
Money would definitely come easier for him if he was a Hero. After all, this world's economy revolved around that.
But it wasn't the only avenue available.
Research, academia around monsters and Dungeons, crafting...
Things like that were avenues to explore as well.
But...
'...Nah. I'll just stick it out.'
At least until Cube was over, it was better to go with the normal track.
Like back on Earth, a degree was better than no degree.
And even if he didn't end up being a Hero, being a Cube Alumni had benefits of its own.
All of that to say...
'Get stronger, study hard, train, figure out how to bootstrap mana to ridiculous levels by exploiting fictional mana models, and then have fun.'
Hell, maybe Lee could even date around a bit.
He WAS a teenager again. And he never did get to play around in high school and college since he'd been too much of a try-hard...
As the bus looped back around to the entrance of Cube's main campus building, Lee hopped out. "Well. Let's get this show on the road."
[Novice - Veritas].
That was the classroom that Lee had been assigned. And he had already pre-saved Cube's map onto his phone.
So...
'Let's see who my classmates are, shall we?'
===
The moment Lee walked into the classroom, he was hit with a wave of nostalgia.
Not for anyone there. No, he didn't know anybody around.
Instead, it was the bustling atmosphere of a high school classroom.
Teenagers gossiping about what would be going on later in the year. Some boys trying to be nonchalant while scoping out beauties in the room. Others who were already pulling out notebooks to get ready for class.
Hell, there was even a guy in the middle back seat who had his head placed on the desk to sleep, despite it already being close to 8:30 AM and the class start.
As for where Lee would sit...
'Hm...'
...Yep, he didn't recognize or know anyone. If the main characters were in the room, Lee was S.O.L. in finding them-
'Wait. Is that Rachel?'
Lee wasn't sure. But there WAS a beautiful young blonde girl sitting by her lonesome in the front of the room.
People were giving her space, and the seats around her in every direction for at least three seats were cleared out.
In contrast, since it was close to the class start, most of the other seats had been filled up. And it looked like people had already automatically sorted themselves into cliques and friend groups.
So...
'Screw it.'
Lee calmly adjusted his bag, walked over towards the young woman he thought was Rachel, and then took a seat on her right, leaving one space between him and her.
Rachel paused in the middle of writing down some notes in a planner to glance over at Lee.
Lee just gave a casual nod in greeting and pulled out his notebook, setting up for class.
'It's probably just like a syllabus day, right?'