The day that we met was when we tried to attack each other and the result of that was ...we both were repelled.
And that's how we met.
I met my big sis.
It was a strange event.
As time passed, we both figured out, that as long as both parties didn't consent we couldn't harm each other.
I can't harm her and she couldn't harm me.
And now, this strange event was happening again in my life where I couldn't harm someone and they couldn't harm me.
I looked at Lucy who had a broken knife in her hand and then my outstretched hand which didn't have even a single scratch on it.
"This can't be real..." Lucy muttered.
On the other hand, I couldn't help but wonder.
"How did Noah manage to conduct experiments on you? He needs your permission, your consent to harm you" Before I realized it I had blurted the question out without even realizing it and I couldn't help but continue further "Back then, I knocked you unconscious. The moment I attacked you... you consented to be harmed by Noah"
Since I am in Noah's body, I obviously look like him.
In other words, it was more like a reflex from her side.
Oh hell naw, it was much worse than I had initially thought.
Lucy is in a much worse mental state.
She bit her lip, not responding to a single word I had said and I took that as my confirmation.
"You should go get a sleep, even if for an hour hour or you can just skip the first day if you want to. The bedroom's that way" I said pointing her the way to bedroom.
We have talked about most of the things that we needed to. There was nothing for me to add or for her to add.
And even if we did, we both had learned some really complicated and pain in the ass of things to think about anymore of this shit.
"...I can sleep in my room" Lucy replied after taking a long pause.
"Well, you can. I just offered the place to stay since it will take a lot of your time to go back to your room and all" I shrugged.
After staying silent for a while, she nodded, stood up, and went towards the bedroom.
Once she was gone, I sprawled myself on the couch.
My thoughts were once again solidified.
This is a dog-shit novel.
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I stayed sprawled on the couch, trying to harmonize the components of World's Will, namely the four that I can comprehend, mana, aura, soul energy, and myst as I read the population chart on the internet and thought about all that I had just learned about from Lucy.
300 years ago, when the world collapsed, a lot of people died which is pretty obvious to figure out. The point is, after all the shit that this world went through, just before the 1st World war and the 1st War the world fought against the Demon Lord's army, and the world's population was around 600 million, which after the fight was reduced to something around 250 million.
In other words, the Demon Lord managed to get his hands on about 350 million souls. If we consider that he actually managed to store these souls or something along those lines, then the current population of the world is 1.5 billion, he will need around 150 million more population.
The world's population which was spiking with quite a speed came to a halt when the hidden dungeons ended up causing the death of hundreds of millions of people, which was thanks to Noah but now they have again spiked up.
According to the novel, the Demon Lord will begin marching his army when the protagonist graduates from the academy, in other words, 3 years from now, and then the final fight between the Demon Lord and protagonist happens 3 years after that when those midgets would intervene but let's not talk about it.
The problem is, going by the current birth rate and death rate, there's no way for the number to reach 2 billion even in the next years, hell, if Demon lord decided to launch a war on the world just 3 years from now that alone will cause the population growth rate to decrease.
No, not just this, even if we go by the current rate of population growth then it would still take at least 30 or so years for the population to reach 2 billion.
So, the question is where the hell is he compensating for the rest of the souls he needs?
There are only about two answers that I can come up with.
One was the hidden dungeon and the other ...was the seventh continent.
The novel never talks about the seventh continent and the world population chart doesn't account for the population of the seventh continent either.
Why is everything so damn complicated and why do I have to figure it out? I had been living like a shut-in neet before coming to this world who did nothing but play some games, read manga, or watch anime or movies.
How the hell does anyone expect a shut-in neet like me to figure this complicated shit all on my own?
Give me back my peaceful days.
As I tried to turn my body a little, my eyes fell on the clock hanging on the wall, pointing at 5:50 am.
"Might as well take a bath"
I muttered out loud to no one in particular.
The classes start at 8 in the morning. Lucy would also need a bath and I will prepare her breakfast as well.
...
What am I? Her nanny?
Shaking my head, I stood up and went to take a bath.
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Tring~Tring~
I rang the doorbell for the nth time waiting for the person to appear but no one did.
But I am one persistent bastard, I am not turning back I pressed the doorbell once again and just then the door opened, with which came a complaining voice.
"I am coming, I am coming! Don't fucking ring it aga—"
The complaining voice stopped midway as she saw me and then without a word, she closed the damned door in my face.
"Bitch"
I muttered out loud as I started pressing the doorbell again and again until she finally opened up and barked at me.
"The hell is your problem!? The last thing I wanted was to see your face first thing in the morning!"
"Shut it and why did you take so long to open the gate? What the hell were you doing?"
"I am was sleeping like any person would. It's like six in the morning"
"Six-thirty to be exact and yes people wake up usually by this time. Also, did you sleep with a hoody and a mask on? Are you even sane" Suddenly, I found myself a bit amazed by Julianna.
"Obviously, I didn't. I just put them on before coming to the door" Julianna replied with a hint of annoyance.
Oh so, that's another reason why she took so long to respond.
"But... didn't you say you are going to help Lucy out if she screams or whatever and then barge in my room and beat me up? How could you go to sleep without knowing her situation?" I was appalled.
Not really, still kinda surprising, for all her grand talk, she just went to sleep.
"Where is she?" Julianna after a pause asked me.
"In my room"
"What is she doing?"
"Sleeping"
"Did you do anything to her?"
"I didn't"
"Do you plan on?"
"No"
"Then why should have I not slept when all you two wanted was to hold a damn conversation among yourselves? You two clearly know each other from before."
Oh...
But then...
"Weren't you the one who was talking all sorts of crap about who knows what I might do?" This girl is unbelievable.
"Well, if you did something to her then the academy would intervene, we got cameras all around the room." Julianna put a valid point, shaking her head she continued "There's no privacy here"
Well, fair enough.
Technically we don't but..
"You do know the surveillance of our rooms is done by the AI and not other people. So, technically we do have freedom to do whatever. Unless you do something extreme AI will have no choice but to report you."
"Wait, that's how it is?" Julianna sounded shocked as she cocked her head to the side.
"You fucking didn't read the room manual, did you? What is wrong with you?"
"I think those who read a room manual are the ones with screw loose. Anyway, what did you come here for? I want to go to sleep, so get to the point."
Well, it was natural she wanted to go to sleep, so we came back quite late at night after playing around in the arcade where I whooped both their asses.
"Wanna buy the groceries?" I said pointing at the boxes, I finally emptied my fridge and left only stuff that I eat, like no way in hell am I eating the meat of this Mel-Lycan -a monster from the dungeon towers-and I also checked if there expired dates were written on them.
I packed it all that I had no intention of keeping with me in the carton boxes.
Honestly, the first month of groceries that's provided by the academy is quite a lot, added that they only gave us top quality products, that cost a lot.
"What's the cache here?" Julianna asked with a skeptical voice.
"Nothing honestly, I just don't eat all this shit. To me, a cheese hamburger is all I need to survive"
"...What? What did you just say?" Julianna seemed to be a bit shocked as she shook her head a little.
"I don't eat all this shit"
"No, what did you say after that?"
"A cheese hamburger is all I need...?" What's with her suddenly?
She quieted down and seemed to be contemplating something.
"Do you really eat just a hamburger? Nothing else?" She asked, finally saying something.
"I don't usually eat any other thing unless I decide to cook which I don't usually do but I have got a guest in the house right now, you know?" I shrugged.
Julianna simply gave me a nod as she posed a question.
"How much are you giving it all for?"
Good, we are getting on point now.
"Around 800 AP, I guess?"
A normal monthly cost of groceries would be around 400 AP, considering the amount the academy gave us is quite excessive and all of it is from top brands, 800 AP to me sounded like a good deal.
"Alright... thanks for it but why not ask Lucy, as far as I can tell you guys know each other from before coming to this academy, right?"
Technically, we don't but I could see why from her perspective we might have seemed to have known each other before coming to the academy.
"Not really, we didn't know each other. Also, Lucy would just take it all without a penny or something if I offered the groceries to her besides, I have known you much longer than anyone else in this academy, makes sense to offer you a deal if I have one than making it to someone else."
"Uh-huh, that doesn't sound convincing—especially if you say you didn't know each other but then say like she'd do something like that. Whatever, not my business." Julianna said with a sigh as she pulled out her smartphone from her pocket.
I pulled out mine as well and opened the App for the transaction.
After a smooth transaction, I put the phone back in my pocket.
"Do you need help with putting the cartons in the room?" I asked.
Julianna shook her head and replied "I will take care of it. You can just leave"
"Alright"
With that, I went back to my room where I found Lucy who still had a sleepy look on her face.
"You should freshen up, I will make something up real quick," I said.
"Hmm? You don't need to trouble yourself, I don't have any appetite. I will just take a bath and leave" She said with her groggy voice and yawned.
"Alright," I replied.
Just like she had said, she took the bath and left.
After a bit of social media scrolling, I looked at the time, it was 7:30, and I needed to reach the academic block, Block A to be particular, where the classes would be held by 8.
I was currently in the I block, the distance between these two blocks was enough to warrant a vehicle for the travel, which would help me reach my destination in around 20 minutes.
For the first month of the academy, all the travel expenses were free but despite that I decided to just run my way to the A block, which meant, I should probably get going.
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"Alright, everyone settle down," the professor announced as he entered the classroom. The students, who had been chatting and getting to know each other, turned their attention toward him.
"Oh god, this is annoying. If I knew this is what they will pull I wouldn't have sat next to you." Julianna, who was sitting next to me complained, we were on the same seats that we were on yesterday.
Apparently, the seats that we sat on yesterday ended up being our assigned seats.
Guess, this is the reason why the protagonist was always sitting around the same people, the novel never really said anything about the sitting arrangement.
Then again, these are the kind of trivial things that you don't really tell, or else it would look like the author is tryna increase his word count, which isn't really a good image to put out there.
"Can you for a single minute stop complaining about me? Like, get a break? How about we just do not talk? You don't have to go all Oh, today's my shittiest day every damn time you see me. We are just acquaintances at best, so how about acting like one?" I couldn't help but tell her to shut up since it was starting to get old.
"...."
Julianna didn't say a thing and just turned her head to the front. Finally, some peace.
"As mentioned in yesterday's orientation, your first year will focus on Adventure, meaning you'll learn about dungeon towers—how to navigate them, handle monsters, study their biology and weak points, as well as beasts, artifacts, and more.
In the second year, the focus shifts to Society: villain psychology, investigations, law enforcement, forensics, ethics, and morals.
Finally, the third year is all about Heroes, where you'll gain practical experience in catching villains and dismantling villain organizations.
By the end of your course, you'll be able to choose your path—whether that's becoming an adventurer in dungeon towers, an investigator, or a Hero."
The first year is basically the kind of gamer stuff you see in games. The second year? Think of it like training to be a law enforcer. And the third year? Well, that's when the military drills kick in.
At least, that's how I saw the course divided.
"The subject that I will be teaching you is Dungeon Towers. Today, we will keep things basic, all the things you have learned in your middle school. Anyone here who would like to share what they know about the Dungeon Towers?"
Face down on the desk of my seat, I lay sprawled trying to keep myself away from this professor's eyes.
I had no intention of answering nor do I have any intention of being asked to answer.
Julianna seemed to have looked at me for a moment but then turned her head towards the professor once again, she didn't say shit to me like she had been.
Seems like my words from earlier had done their job.
Not soon after the smarty pants of the class raised their hands, dying to answer, out of the 10, the professor chose the most nerd-looking guy.
"Dungeon Towers began appearing almost a century after the Great Cataclysmic Event, shortly after the War with the demons had been concluded and peace had been achieved. Every continent had a tower appear on it, destroying everything within a 100-kilometer radius, turning everything into ash and rubble and dust.
These circular towers stretched into the sky for as far as the eyes could see, never-ending, with a diameter of about 50 kilometers. However, when the Heroes entered, they discovered that the interior of these towers was much larger, stretching hundreds of kilometers wide.
Inside these towers, they found unknown resources, never seen or heard of before—mana stones, artifacts, skill scrolls, arts, and treasures—that brought a great change in technologies, revolutionizing it, and advancing the civilization by centuries.
But all these riches came with a danger. The towers had monsters with biology never seen or heard of before, their abilities unknown to man. They were ferocious, and they lurked in these towers, prying upon anyone who entered these towers, not just these monsters the tower itself has harsh environments, its geography far harsher than any seen in the world.
But mankind, mankind conquered this tower!" The nerd had a zealous tone at the end of those words, passion radiating in his voice.
"We so did not! Oh God, we have a nerd, a patriotic nerd at that! Don't get the facts twisted."
Good job to whoever it was who spoke up and interrupted this nerd.
The nerd had a scowl on his face as he turned his face towards whoever it was who spoke up, the prof also looked towards the person and spoke up.
"Would you like to continue and tell us more about the Dungeon Towers?" The professor asked while the student who had spoken up seemed to be startled, Slowly standing up he began to speak, clearly regretting to have opened his mouth.
"So, uh... where were we? Ah, right. The dungeon towers—yeah, they had all these crazy resources that could literally change everything, so even though they were dangerous as hell, people still kept going in. You know, greed and all that, right? They just wanted those resources. About 80-85 percent of resources come from these dungeon towers
So, these towers, are split into sets of five floors, each set having the same kind of environment. Humanity's managed to reach the 25th floor, and that's the highest that any species has reached.
Now, people usually use these tower gates to get in. Then, these black portals started being discovered all over the place, and people found out they also led to the dungeon towers of that same continent. That's when everyone came to conclude that the towers were separate from each other. It turns out that there are hidden pathways inside the dungeon towers that connect them with each other. And yeah, people started using that to cross over illegally.
This discovery resulted in some horrifying activities, such as slave trading, and species from other continents were abducted and taken, since no sort of surveillance could be done in the dungeon tower, it was impossible to control what happened inside of it.
People inside the dungeon tower didn't follow any rules or laws. There was no one to enforce these laws. As such, the people who entered these towers aren't called Heroes, they are called adventurers.
To enter the tower in our continent, you need to be 18 and have a license, for another continent, the age factor might be different but you will still need the license. Of course, you can enter the tower through illegal means, you could always go through those black portals that aren't regulated by the Central government instead they are usually controlled by villain organizations or some rogue operators.
I think that's all there is... Oh yeah, the monsters inside the dungeon tower never came out of the tower, while we can go in and out of the towers the monsters have never been out of the towers. When someone once tried to bring a living monster out of the tower, the monster died within an hour.
The reason for that is still unknown, there are lots of things about dungeon towers that are hard to understand. I think I am done now."
The guy gave an answer that wasn't text-book generated which made it bearable to listen to him but oh hell now, I am gonna sleep at this rate.
"That was a great explanation. Both of you did a splendid job" The professor went on to praise these two nerds and then started to turn the subject towards the hidden dungeons.
I on the other hand was done with his bullshit and decided to put the earbuds on and listen to music. As a shut-in neet, coming to the class and having listened for 10 minutes straight was already a praise-worthy act on my behalf.
I had no longer any intention of listening to this bull crap.
I was gonna go back to my home, to my world which meant I should just cheat in exams to pass.
No way, am I gonna bother studying in this world.
The hell would I do with all this crappy knowledge when I go back to my world. It's gonna be useless as such I decided to ignore the rest of the lecture.
And that is how I spent the rest of the day.
Once the classes ended and I was preparing to leave, a group of kids came forward, two of the kids in the group were the nerds from the first lecture who had gone on and on about their shit, and a girl from the group came forward and posed a question.
"Um... Would you like to join us for the karaoke?"