After training was over, the students had the rest of the day to themselves.
Of course, the first thing they went and did was freshen up in their respective rooms. Afterwards, they went on whatever activities suited their fancy.
Some decided to take a walk on the vast grounds of the Royal Estate. Others decided to talk with one another, while a few try-hards were busy asking their instructors questions instead of taking a break.
However, none of these categories of people compared to the next category.
These students were beyond the level of tryhards, and they actually garnered the respect of those who saw them.
The category of students who kept training despite the time of training being over.
The likes of Adonis and Billy fell into this group.
A few other students had tried it out for some time, but these two were the most consistent. They also put in the longest hours.
"They're fucking monsters!"
"They're crazy! But I like it."
"At least we know who's got our backs in battle."
"I really want to be Bill's friend…"
"Adonis is doing this for all of us. We can't afford to slack off either!"
These were the kinds of comments that were spreading among them.
However, even with this praise given to the super tryhards, there was another category that was only occupied by one person.
"Hey, where's Alicia? Did she go there again?"
"Ah… yeah. She's there again."
"She hasn't been hanging out with any of us recently."
"I wonder what she's looking for there…"
"Yeah. Me too. She hardly visited the library back when we were in school."
That's right! Alicia White spent most of her time after training in the library.
Some admired this about her, but many students thought she was trying to avoid everyone else by being a Lone Ranger.
"I guess you can take someone out of school, but you can't take school out of someone."
"Who does she think she is? Being all by herself reading…"
"Whatever…"
Of course, none of these comments were made when Billy was around.
Everyone knew how much he defended Alicia.
Of course, this only made them more jealous and angry about their Class Rep.
… Not that she cared in the slightest.
*********
'Oh? Looks like Alicia is here again today.'
Rey entered the library and found the prettiest girl in class with a book in front of her.
'I come here every day, and she's constantly in here before me. Was she always a bookworm?' He couldn't really remember.
Unlike Billy, he didn't really pay attention to Alicia.
It was partly because Bill was already paying her TOO much attention, but also because he didn't like fixating on things he had no chance with.
She was way out of his league, so he didn't bother.
'Everyone is talking shit about her lately, even when she's just minding her business and reading…'
Rey thought that sucked.
'At this point, almost everyone has forgotten I exist. No one even talks to me anymore… except Adonis, of course.'
Once in a while, Adonis would check up on him and ask how things were going.
It was a bit awkward for Rey, but he did his best to make conversation.
'Anytime we talk, it feels incredibly genuine. It's almost like I'm special in his eyes…'
But Rey already knew that was an illusion.
'Adonis does the same to everyone. That's just the kind of guy he is. Other than him, no one else talks to me, I guess.'
As such, Rey began to consider approaching Alicia—one loner to another.
'She doesn't seem like she's in the mood for talking, though. Plus, we're in the library.'
Besides, just because she was actively choosing to be a loner, it didn't mean she couldn't break out of her shell if she wanted to.
That was the difference between Alicia and Rey.
'She's a loner by choice, and I am a loner because no one cares about me.'
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but this was the truth.
'I should just let things be. Thinking about this any further will be a waste of time.'
Rey decided to pick the book he couldn't finish the last time and continue reading it.
He had come to the library every day—ever since he and his classmates had been given a tour here by the Royal Librarian.
Most students were not interested in reading, considering how much of what they had to do in school. Plus, it wasn't necessary for training, so why did they need to bother?
But Rey was different.
'There's knowledge about this Nation. The conflict between Dragons. The History of this world. The other Races that exist here. The Politics. The environment. The ecosystem… everything!'
It would be foolish of him not to take advantage of such a window of opportunity to learn as much as he could about the world he was currently occupying.
'This way, I can at least survive out there if push comes to shove.'
Rey knew he couldn't be certain that things were always going be rosy.
He had to be prepared.
'Of course, I don't spend more than three hours a day here. I hear Alicia spends all her time here. She's way more into this than I am.'
A small smile escaped his lips.
Even though they weren't speaking with each other, he somehow felt a sense of fulfillment and companionship at the mere fact that only the two of them occupied this space.
It was like an unspoken bond… or something like that.
'What am I thinking? Urgh… let's get back to reading.'
Rey sat down and flipped open the pages of his book to continue immersing himself in the things of H'Trae.
'The Royal Dungeon… huh?'
**********
The next day arrived, and Rey called in sick.
No one was really surprised since they had noticed how exhausted he was the previous day, and the weird expressions he was making as he ran.
Besides, quite a few students had also done the same in the course of the week.
Of course, they would only be granted a day to recover, and anything more than that would be met with immediate action.
Potions and medicine were not luxuries kept from the Otherworlders, after all.
In the scenario of the sickness being serious, they would be healed with Magic or Potions.
The reason those weren't used immediately was that Potions and Magic Recovery Spells induced on another tended to undo the stress of the body and reset the results of the training the target had been undergoing.
No pain, no gain.
If someone used a potion while training, they would be undoing the effects of the training. The same applies to external healing Magic.
Fortunately, if a person had a self-healing Skill or Magic to that same effect, they could repair themselves while training, improving themselves as they trained even further.
However, since almost all the students didn't have this Skill, the best course of action was to let them rest for the day.
And so Rey was given his due time to recover.
"Looks like they bought it. I can finally ditch that stupid training and get what I need!" Rey grinned to himself as he stretched his body on his bed.
"Let's get that Skill!"
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading! Your comments are much appreciated.
Cheers!