Mr. Kvasir showed us the Class A training facilities located on the ninth floor, which were far more advanced than the publicly available facilities on the fourth floor. The facilities included an increased gravity chamber, mana-dense training rooms, shooting ranges, and more high-tech contraptions.
Lucia's eyes gleamed as Mr. Kvasir explained how to use the gravity chamber. Though he warned that we should be careful when using the gravity chamber, I knew Lucia wasn't listening whatsoever.
After that, the scarred teacher showed the students some more luxurious benefits, like the swimming pool and hot tubs, the cafeteria where you could order almost any food, and the massive library that was connected to the digital Academy archive (which Perseus seemed to appreciate).
Lastly, Mr. Kvasir brought the class to the dorms, which were located on the tenth floor. All rooms had floor-to-ceiling windows that could change from clear to tinted mode. They were furnished with an Academy-issued bed and desk by default. Every room had private bathrooms, with bathtubs and spacious showers.
I was completely blown away by the luxury that humanity was living in.
When Mr. Kvasir finished the tour, he gave us our room numbers and let us have the rest of the day to ourselves.
I excitedly ran to Room 1029 and used my smartwatch to unlock the door.
However, when I stepped inside the room, I immediately noticed the navy-blue book with gold clasps on the Academy-issued desk.
…That's weird.
I don't remember asking the Academy to move my stuff to the dorms already…
I looked around the room, but everything was empty. The only thing from my apartment that was here was the hard-copy version of System Overload.
When I transmigrated into my novel, I had treated the book as nothing more than an unusual text that accompanied me when I transferred worlds. However, the book was clearly more profound than that.
I sat down heavily on the chair and examined the book with fresh eyes.
Maybe this is the "golden finger" that gives me crazy powers to alter the story…
I started with trying to mark the book. Taking my pen out of my bookbag, I found the approximate section of the book that corresponded with present time and began writing on the book's margins.
"Suddenly, Mav received twenty billion credits," I wrote with anticipation.
After expectantly staring at the book for several seconds, the part that I wrote on suddenly returned to its blank state.
"Huh?"
Maybe I was asking for too much… The story has constraints…
I wrote another sentence on the margins: "Mav's pen suddenly ran out of ink."
Several seconds later, the words that I scribbled onto the journal disappeared like I had never written them.
I tested my pen on the journal, disappointed when I saw that my pen was filled with ink like usual.
I sighed, realizing I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for nothing.
"I guess writing in my book can't influence reality… that would make things too easy. I could just make the Apocalypse disappear if that was the case."
I paused as I contemplated an idea, before rising from my desk and changing into loose clothes for exercise. Then, I left my new dorm with the blue book in my hand.
After walking for about two minutes, I entered the new Class A training facilities. As I had expected, Lucia was already testing out the gravity chamber. She gave me an incredibly strained smile when she noticed me entering-- judging from the sweat sliding down her body and her fierce expression, she was struggling.
I walked over and connected to the training system. Lucia was unable to complain while I turned the gravity magnification down. From the outside, obviously. I wasn't nearly as strong as Lucia, so something that was making her sweat was clearly going to crush me.
As soon as the pressure returned to normal levels, Lucia staggered out from the chamber and leaned heavily onto my shoulder. I grunted as she suddenly put her weight on me, but managed to stay standing. Barely.
"What--" The golden-eyed girl wheezed, out of breath. "What did you need me for?"
I showed her the journal and opened the book up to somewhere in the middle. I didn't say anything to explain what I was looking for her for.
Her brow scrunched up with confusion. "Why are you showing me an empty book?"
That makes sense… This clearly contains forbidden information, so I didn't think anyone else would be able to see. Though, it's good to have confirmation.
"Sorry, I brought the wrong book with me," I made up an excuse. "I'll show you next time."
"Alright…" she said while shooting me a suspicious glance.
"Anyway, I'm going to try out the better combat simulation," I coughed, excusing myself from the conversation. "Don't push yourself too hard."
"You're one to talk," Lucia snorted. "Don't get thrashed too badly."
I stuck my tongue at her before walking towards the empty area designated for sparring. White lines on the ground demarcated the edges of the sparring area.
While I was there, I slipped the book underneath some weighted exercise machines, before I began my regular routine: getting beaten black and blue by the new and improved simulation and weightlifting with Lucia.
***
When I got back from the training facilities, the navy blue was back on my desk even though I had left the journal in the training area.
This time, I wasn't even surprised. I was starting to get used to the book following me around.
"Guess I can't lose the book, at least."
I suppose that having a copy of System Overload isn't terrible, but it's very underwhelming.
Don't these stories about authors transmigrated into their own stories typically give them some kind of useful ability?
After releasing an extremely long sigh, I hopped into the shower to wash up before going to bed.
The classes tomorrow would be a completely different kind of challenge.
I would need a good night's rest to have any chance to survive the next day.