Suddenly, I felt it. A shift. My body, exhausted, trembling, on the verge of giving out, suddenly grew lighter. Stronger.
It wasn't much, just a faint difference, but enough that I could roll onto my side and lift myself up.
=========
Status
[Name: Ryan Nether]
[Level: 2]
[Race: Human]
[Profession: Villain]
→ [Villain Rank: — (Too Low To Be Displayed)]
[Titles: Villain]
Stats
[Strength: 2]
[Vitality: 2]
[Dexterity: 2]
[Perception: 1]
[Magic Power: 1]
[Stamina: 2]
[Luck: 2]
[Intelligence: 2]
[Charm: 1]
Abilities
[None]
Techniques
[None]
Inventory
[None]
=========
I exhaled slowly, studying the glowing status window.
A small increase in numbers, and yet my body definitely felt different.
Stronger. Faster. Alive.
Surprisingly, the training wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
Hard, yes, but not impossible. And I knew why.
I am an awakened. Although I was a weak awakened, my body still wasn't normal, it was closer to the peak of human potential at this point.
For a regular person, this kind of training would've been brutal.
They would've collapsed halfway through, maybe even sooner.
For me, I hovered somewhere between collapse and survival.
Not strong enough to breeze through, but not weak enough to fail.
Still, the thought gnawed at me. Was I really this weak? Or was it just exhaustion from the fight earlier, the lack of sleep, the pain that had chewed through me like fire?
Either way, I survived.
I found myself at Dusk Academy's training ground.
The place was massive, divided into several sections, each one tailored for a different kind of training.
I'd tucked myself away into a quieter corner, hidden from most of the other students.
At this hour, the grounds weren't empty, but they weren't crowded either.
A few people trained in the distance, their grunts and footfalls echoing faintly across the cool morning air.
Unfortunately, the longer I lingered, the more students trickled in.
Soon, the place would be swarming. That was the last thing I wanted, to be seen struggling like this.
I pulled out my phone and checked the time.
[5:30 AM]
"... Time to go back," I muttered.
Pocketing my phone, I dragged myself out of the training ground.
My body still screamed, but the crisp air during the walk back to the dorm felt refreshing.
Each breath calmed me, reminded me I was still alive.
By the time I reached my room, my legs moved automatically.
I opened the door, locked it behind me, and stumbled straight for the bed.
The moment my body hit the mattress, my mind shut down.
No thoughts. No worries. Just darkness.
And that was the last thing I remembered.
*******
The shrill cry of my alarm ripped me from sleep.
Honestly, I was surprised it still had the strength to wake me up after the state I'd been in yesterday, but then again, this alarm wasn't normal.
From the first day I saw it, I knew something was off.
It looked expensive, far too expensive for just an alarm clock. It's not like I expected anything less from dusk academy.
But the more I used it, the more I realized the truth: it was enchanted.
Its function wasn't only to ring; it forced wakefulness on whoever it targeted.
No matter how deep the sleep, no matter how heavy the exhaustion, once this thing went off, I was getting up.
Unless I was literally unconscious or dead, there was no escaping it.
And some of my sleep sessions could easily be mistaken for death.
I groaned, dragged myself out of bed, and went through the routine, washing up, dressing, and checking myself over in the mirror.
My body still ached faintly from last night's punishment, and exercise, but I shoved it aside.
The system didn't care about excuses, and neither did the academy.
By the time I stepped out, the sun was already rising high, bathing the streets in gold.
The academy loomed ahead like a polished fortress of privilege.
Walking through its building felt easier than it had on my first day. I didn't get lost this time, thank heavens.
The memory of wandering through endless halls while upperclassmen snickered still burned in my mind.
Shaking it off, I found my way to my classroom.
The door creaked open, and the usual wave of noise rolled over me.
The sound here wasn't wild or chaotic like other academies and schools I'd known, it was refined, almost curated. This was the chatter of wealthy sons and daughters of influential families.
Gossip, bragging, debates, simply rich people noise. Smooth and irritating in its own way.
I walked down the rows until I reached my seat. And... she was still there.
My seatmate.
She didn't still move to another seat.