Proofreader: Cool Friend + Future Me

“Fried Chicken with rice please!”

I could finally satiate my cravings.

“Please wait a moment.”

Having been a game, there was no way there wouldn’t be cuisine from the real world. It was pure bliss, no one here would understand. Similar to the need of having to take a bath, I would not give up either of such things.

“Here you go, your fried chicken with rice,” The cafeteria lady looked at me funny, “You don’t look Eastern.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I dismissed her comment.

“Yo, Luke over here!”

Only to be dragged back down to Earth, or well, Ortus.

“Yeah- coming.”

I dragged Julia along, who had been intently staring at the menu even after ordering. We sat in the middle of the cafeteria, among the A class and Golden Nest only seats. It was a tantalising move of sorts.

“Dude, are you trying to make us a public enemy?”

“Charles said it was a good idea, so of course not!”

From this alone, it confirmed the prince’s schemes had already begun… the princess is one thing, but this too?

“He- hey, where were your classes held?” Julia had earnestly asked the both of us.

“We’re in the Golden Nest, the place opposite the normal classroom halls,” I replied.

“What!” She snapped her head toward the building towering over the cafeteria.

“Yeah, perks of being ‘special,’” I answered nonchalantly.

Erin stopped eating, looking at me who just spoke. It was a more curious gaze than anything else.

“The number one student wasn’t in our class,” Erin had added.

Julia tilted her head confused, “In fact, I saw him in my class.”

I restated, “Like I said, ‘special’, not strongest.”

Erin and Julia seemed to have a realisation, as their eyes brightened immediately.

“Man in all honesty-“ Fen disengaged, stuffing his face with seafood, “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t blame you,” I paused to take a bite, “let's just say… we have different ‘fates,’ or something like that.”

“Fates, you say…” Erin muttered.

“Indeed,” Julia glanced at me. “How curious.”

“Well not like it matters, let’s just get along alright?” I asked, intending to move the conversation along, “And Julia, I want to know how you went with the physical exam yesterday.”

Her face beamed with a light of intensities unseen before.

“Oho- it went perfectly!”

Her face had a smile unbefitting her noble act.

“Might I add, the examiners had mentioned my stellar performance would increase my grade.”

“Mmm…” Shoving a spoonful of rice into my mouth, I felt the taste of culinary paradise. “Yeah amazing, you did great.”

I had already known she would be like this, leading me to continue eating.

“Is… it really that good?” Julia’s eyes were glued to my dish.

“Of course! It’s my- Ahem. A speciality of the East! Their food is a must ha-“

“Ex- excuse m-me!” A voice shrieked from behind.

There, a giant man befitting the term brute and a familiar terrified girl made their flashy appearance.

“Huh?”

It was Uriel and a student I didn’t recognise, to which I sneakily pulled out my appraisal stone.

[Carlos Klaus]

[Age: 16] [Race: Human]

[Attributes]

Vitality: Tier 0 (30%)

Agility: Tier 0 (27%)

Strength: Tier 0 (54%)

Mana: Tier 0 (18%)

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

[Skills]

* Mana Control (C+) (42.1% Proficiency)

* Intermediate Swordsmanship (B-) (64.5% Proficiency)

* Body Enhancement (A) (19% Proficiency)

* Klaus Sword Teachings (S-) (2.1% Proficiency)

Why was an upper-class man here? There had been no previous instance of an interference at such a juncture within the game, considering this also involves the future Saintess. Also, isn’t he a bit weak? At the very least one of his stats should be tier one by the second year.

“You four are causing a ruckus,” His tone and formality clearly ignored our statuses, “We seniors have a duty to keep you in line.”

I laughed internally, ‘Heh- Is he an idiot?’

I felt bad… bad. Erin had already surpassed him, not only in skills but stats too. Furthermore, while Fen may be weaker currently, his growth and skill is exponential. Which is to be expected of a protagonist.

That’s what it takes to be of the Platinum Generation.

I decided it would be best to avoid the ‘senior rehab’ for now, seeing as the world as is, was too unpredictable.

“Look, sorry we were being loud,” I spoke with a careful undertone. “Can you spare us just this once?”

“Hmph, at least one of you knows your manners. However, we have a reputation to uphold.”

And yet, he dismissed my mercy by ignoring my pleas. Too bad, too sad.

“You, with the black hair, come with me,” Klaus gestured towards Erin, “come with me.”

I sent off an inward salute in his direction as she left her set.

“What are you doing?” Julia gave a confused look at my action.

“Oh, It’s nothing, really,” I felt my cheeks become slightly red as I denied what I did.

While I may have emoted in the game, the fact that I did in real life was ever so embarrassing.

“I feel bad for the senior, don’t you?” Fen interjected, saving me from my internal panic.

“Ah, you noticed the problem here?” I questioned.

“Of course I did!”He laughed it off easily. “That girl almost broke my arm!”

“That paladin is as good as dead,” I concurred.

“Erm-“

Our chatter seemed to have left the saintess uncomfortable, so as a person aiming to destroy all routes, I tapped her shoulder, nodding toward the other two. I needed her to get to know others and up that confidence in herself so someone else wouldn’t do it for her.

“Eh?”

Fen has met her, but that shy demeanour of hers prevented him from learning anything. While Julia knew nothing about her.

“Introduce yourself, they don’t know you that well.”

“I-I’m U-uriel! A saintess- no! I mean a saint candidate,” She stuttered almost every word. “Sorry!”

She was way too nervous, but it would fix itself over time.

“Relax! We’re not your superiors!” I lightly slapped her back to get the message across.

“Eeek!”

“Commoner, I think your way of handling things won’t work with her,” Julia sighed. “Also, she’s a saint candidate, this isn’t appropriate.”

“She’ll get used to it, don’t worry,” I told her explicitly.

“That’s not the issue here!” Julia got mad again.

“Huh?! Get used to what?” Uriel had lost track of what was going on.

“She’s a funny one!” Fen laughed at her antics.

I looked over at the growing crowd of students, knowing that the senior would experience hell soon. It seemed to be a one-on-one, meaning it would end in a definite loss.

“Wanna head over?” Fen asked.

“No it’s fine, I’ll head to class.” It wasn’t worth the time after all.

“Hmm- I want to see her in action though!“ He complained childishly. “It'll just be a moment, man.”

“No one’s stopping you. We’ll just go without you,” I again dismissed his invitation.

“Well… If you say so~” He blended into the crowd seamlessly.

True to his character, he was unable to resist the notion of watching that one-sided beat down. It would be interesting to watch, but the three of us had to go now. Especially, with ‘that’ kind of teacher next.

Julia fiddled with her hands.

“So,” She asked, “this is where we part ways?”

“Yup, we can meet here again after classes are over later, only if you want though.”

“You really- Ahem. I appreciate the offer, Commoner, and I shall generously accept it.”

“Playing the part of a noble again?”

“He- hello?” Uriel’s voice squeaked, “I’m here too…”

“Yes, come follow me to the next class,” I confidently told her, even if it wasn’t true to my capabilities.

I really need a mini-map, it was really questionable how it wasn’t built into the game as a normal feature. I should be able to acquire it in the form of a ring after getting past the first week.

“Anyways, see ya, Julia.”

“Mhmm.”

I recognised that the only issue was if I could navigate the Golden Nest properly while talking to Uriel.

I could destroy her routes easily if I simply just stop her chance encounters. However, the one with the senior was especially offbeat.

“How did you end up with that senior?” I questioned, breaking the silence.

“He- he was one of the pala- paladins I was introduced too wit- within the academy!”

I couldn’t recall such an event, making it all the more evident just how different the major plot line would become. Though, the paladin group is full of traditionally raised kids without much self-reflection.

“So that explains his unreasonable stubbornness,” I understood now. “He’s a paladin after all.”

“Uweh- Th- that’s not…”

“Not what?”

“Fair?”

“Speak a little louder?”

“…”

“You know my ears are kinda weak, I need to hear some more!”

“IT WAS NOTHING!”

“Haha, that’s a loud voice if I’ve heard one,” I muttered, unplugging my ears from that shout.

“I- I- I’m sorry!”

“You know, I reject that apology.”

“Wha-?”

“Instead of saying sorry, why don’t you just speak more confidently? You’re too stiff.”

“But-“

“But what? I’m not gonna hurt you or anything.”

“Then- I- I will try my best!”

“That’s the spirit.”

The view of the classroom had eventually reached our sights, despite my bad sense of direction.

It was quite an infamous topic among the community at release when a user discovered it could be used to decipher the future of one’s route. Well as expected, as more and more stories had been documented, the more this class had lost meaning.

Although, for a world such as this, I had to hope that its in-game ability would still be accessible.

“Now,” I muttered in a low voice. “We begin.”

The class of Ancient History, a once useless addition, had regained its use.