After a quick dinner and some very much hated looks by the cafeteria staff who had been wanting to close up the kitchen early, Lee headed off to the training facility by the dorms.
"So this is the Novice Fitness Center, huh?" Lee stared at the sleek 1000 square meter facility filled with magical devices and equipment. Some he knew, like the usual weights and machines you'd find in a gym back on Earth. But a lot he didn't.
Suho nodded. "Yep. Open 24/7 for us Cadets."
"And even then it's called the 'Novice' Fitness Center... does that mean there's a 'Master' Fitness Center somewhere too?"
Suho laughed. "Maybe. You'd have to check the map though. Anyway... I'm going to go head off for my routine." He waved. "Nice chatting with you, Friend. Remember to add me to your white list! I tried texting you earlier, but you have me blocked."
"Oh, right." Lee added Suho to his white list and said, "Enjoy your workout."
Suho gave a quick salute and headed inside.
"Hm..." Lee stared at the fitness center, mulling it over a bit.
'I COULD do some training right now. But if it's open 24/7...'
A glance at his watch showed that it was 7:30 PM.
There was curfew at 11 PM, but apparently if you were training, that curfew was excused. Not to mention the gym was so close to the dorms anyway... and especially HIS dorm since it was on the first floor.
'...Nah. Let's get ahead in studying instead.'
Lee could always train.
But he could NOT always study. Especially if he was training.
Again, he had the unfortunate circumstance of not being able to focus well if he had been training too much before setting off for mental work...
On the flipside, for him at least, training was a great way to unwind for the night.
So.
'Studying it is.'
Lee immediately started heading back towards his dorm room.
'If I speedread all my textbooks tonight, I can get a headstart on learning later. Then if I read the first and last paragraph of each section... And if I pull up the syllabi that each class has posted online already to pin down exactly what material we'll cover...'
Well. It was time to brush up the old study tactics he used to use to cram for exams to cram at the start of the semester instead.
If he learned the lessons the hard way, he might as well apply them now that he had the chance, after all.
===
9:45 PM. Or, in Cube standard convention, 21:45.
By that time, Lee had already crammed up through the material up until the end of mid-terms. So, with that done, he headed off to the gym to check it out.
As you might expect from what was functionally a high school, the gym was mostly empty. Teenagers would be teenagers, and on the first day of school, especially after being admitted to a prestigious place like Cube, they'd be celebrating.
Not Lee.
'This is the best time to get ahead.'
The frank facts were apparent to him, after all.
Rank 999 in Cube meant that he was pretty much a few bad grades away from being booted out. Or at least put on academic suspension.
Lee had experienced that a few too many times for his liking back on Earth, so hard pass on that.
Not to mention...
'Good performance means proper funding, right?'
Lee wasn't sure if there were things like Dean's Lists or Dean Awards for good performance. But if there WERE he wouldn't say no to some more money.
As he was studying, Lee came across a fact he'd forgotten since everything was so normal and modern: this world WAS one where magic, fantasies, and monsters existed.
And that ALSO meant it was a world where stat boost items existed.
Now, while he still fully intended to resolve the lack of magic power the proper way, he was VERY amenable to shortcutting it with, say, a high-class elixir or a body-reformation pill.
...He wasn't sure if those EXACT items existed here. But he WAS sure that the equivalents did.
'Kind of wish I had reread this story at some point though.'
Lee had vague recollections of Hajin abusing specifically that in fixing his poor stats. But he definitely didn't remember any details.
Though that was probably a good thing.
'I AM an extra in a story where Hajin thinks HE is the extra. That guy's response to things is probably different from the getgo.'
While there were key things that would stay the same... Namely the fact that Hajin was still picking a gun and was probably doing shenanigans wherever he was right now.
Anyway, while that stuff stayed the same, Lee was aware of the fact that his very presence threw things off.
'After all, I'm pretty sure the guy is probably confused on why Rachel is talking with me.'
Though, it WOULD be funny if he was treated like a quest or something...
But no. Lee was fairly certain that Hajin's opinion on him was something along the lines of 'potential plot device dropped by co-author to blow up the plot early on' or 'unbelievable extra.'
Not that he cared, really.
Lee wasn't here for the plot or even the characters. He was here to enjoy life at Cube, potentially flirt with girls... though he was more inclined to tease Rachel at this point.
Might cause a geopolitical disaster and put a big target on his head, but worth it in his opinion for best girl.
But back to the main point. Which was...
'Everything boils down to getting stronger.'
===
After taking a look around the facility and carefully observing all the different machines, Lee decided there was one thing that would help him the most: the gravitation room.
Just like a certain Dr*gon B*ll Z, it was a place that increased the gravity and strain on the body.
It might seem like a place to train the physique... but actually, it was a place to train magical power.
After all, to resist it, you had to circulate mana across your body to do so.
And, for Lee... or rather, for 'Lee Shin' whose magic power was so pitifiul that it was BELOW the average person, it was necessary.
Thus, with a target acquired, Lee quickly made his way towards the room.
Along the way, he passed by Suho in the middle of repping out sets on some weight machines.
They locked eyes and Lee nodded in greeting. But then he kept walking and entered the gravitation room.
First impression, VERY futuristic.
It was a cylindrical room that was sleek on the inside and seemed to just be another room. Even when opening the door, it seemed like nothing was different.
But that DEFINITELY wasn't the case.
Because someone else was already in there. Nayun. And as she was moving around, her entire body was crimson and shimmering with a haze from the magical power she was using to resist the gravity.
For a split second, Lee hesitated.
After all, if he got injured on the first day, it wouldn't be a good thing at all.
But then he decided that drastic times required drastic measures. And there was DEFINITELY an upper cap to what he could achieve with his current physical strength alone.
So, making sure to be careful to keep his tongue away from his teeth and also to keep his jaw closed so it wouldn't snap shut, he stepped inside the room.
The moment he did, pain.
It was NOTHING like in anime.
His body didn't feel heavier. No, it felt like his entire being was unraveling. For a terrifying moment, his heart stuttered, as if it wouldn't be able to beat at all.
But then it happened.
Faint, but present.
A warm force that was pulled out from somewhere deep inside, swiftly spreading across his body to resist the sudden intrusion of raw force from the increased gravity.
But it wasn't enough.
Still, the fact that it existed, and the warmth he felt... That was enough for Lee to focus.
'I can... control it. And if I can control it...'
Mana.
They called it magical power, but this was DEFINITELY mana.
So...
'I don't have enough to actively resist the force. But...'
The quantity was insufficient. Still, despite that, the quality seemed pretty high.
It was like... oil in water.
Except, the water was at crushing depth.
If the oil stayed still, it would get ripped apart until it was dissolved in the boundless abyss.
'So don't let it then.'
Lee moved it.
The mana in his body. He couldn't actively push back against the gravity crushing him. But he could redirect the force.
Slowly. Painfully. To the point that it felt like his muscles would shred apart.
Lee grit his teeth and then spiraled his mana across his body, forcibly creating a gravitational pull like a galaxy.
Then, and only then, his heart felt like it could beat.
He didn't realize how much time had passed.
But...
"HEY! You idiot!"
...Judging from the fact that Nayun had turned off the gravity and was running over to him, it looked like more time than he expected had passed.
Lee let out a slow breath and smiled. "Nice to see you again, Nayun."
"Don't just 'nice to see you' to me! What are you doing walking in here when you can barely muster up any magic power?! What do you think you are, a superhuman?! The human body can't take that level of force!"
Lee laughed and wiped away the sweat on his brow... only to see it run a bit red.
Oh.
Well...
Lee shrugged, wincing at the feeling like countless needles were piercing him from every direction. "Had to break through to the next level somehow."
"You...!"
At that time, Suho's voice echoed from outside. "You can't say anything considering you're doing the same thing, Nayun~"
Nayun turned a beet red. "Shut up, Suho! This is serious!"
Suho walked inside and said, "I'm sure. But my friend's not the sort to do things blindly. Remember the halberd?"
"Even so...!"
Lee chuckled and said, "Appreciate the concern. But I just wanted a quick test. And I got what I needed from this experience."
Yes. He definitely got what he needed.
Although most of it had seeped back inside his body, scattered across and dissolved like blood, Lee could feel it.
A tiny droplet of warmth that he could control. Something forcibly condensed due to that painful level of gravity crushing him.
Mana.
A drop of it that felt about the size of a pinhead, so barely anything at all.
But all he needed was that drop.
Going from 1 to 2 was simple.
But going from 0 to 1 was near impossible in most cases.
So the fact that he was AT 1 now...
'I can take it the rest of the way there.'
"Ugh." Nayun pursed her lips. "Forget it. You're clearly not going to listen to anything I say..." After leaving those words, she pushed Lee out of the gravitation room and said, "Stay out! Go rest! And sleep! You're going to be more sore than you've ever been tomorrow! Suho, make sure he gets back!"
Suho laughed. "I'll handle it, Nayun. You go back to your training."
Nayun shut the door to the gravitation room. A second later, a faint hum echoed. The sound of the gravity intensifying once more.
Once it did, Suho looked at Lee, a frown on his face. "Lee. Are you sure you're alright?"
Lee nodded. "I feel a bit lightheaded... and the food I had with you is definitely close to coming back up. But overall, could be worse."
He felt TERRIBLE. But more like 'forced himself to run 10 miles in a row' terrible instead of 'will drop dead in the next ten seconds' terrible.
...Lee was not going to elaborate on how he knew the difference. Definitely not.
"Well..." Suho looked doubtful. "Alright. I'll walk you back to the dorms though. You're on the floor above the lobby, right? It's not that far, is it?"
"Yep. Appreciate it." After that, Lee started walking. Or, he tried to. But then his legs started cramping up. "...Ooookay. Might need more help than I thought."
Suho sighed.