The Novel's Extra: Scrapped

Thursday. The sound of scribbling pencils rang out in the classroom. Almost all cadets were hard at work to prepare for the exam four days later.

"Argh… I want to go play soccer or something."

Of course, there was bound to be at least one cadet who hated studying. Chae Nayun expressed her boredom with her entire body.

"My body's healed but I can't move my body…"

This week's incident was reported across the entire world, and combat training was canceled due to Cube's executives all being under investigation. As a result, there were only review and theory classes until the exams.

To Chae Nayun, it must be like hell.

To me, it was a time I could catch up on sleep.

Unfortunately, I've been dragged to sit between Rachel and Kim Hajin. 

The blonde young lady keeps asking high difficulty questions to Kim Hajin.

But for whatever reason she kept asking me to ask him.

I bristled slightly when Rachel whispered what she wanted to ask.

She's way too close.

"Hajin.. Suppose the boss monster of a dungeon is a high-intermediate rank grade 3 demi-devil. The dungeon is a stage dungeon and each stage consists of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 30 low rank to intermediate rank monsters. Assuming the size of this dungeon is medium small, find the minimum and maximum mana density, and approximate the number of people needed to conquer the dungeon."

I tiredly looked at Hajin for an answer. This was the tenth time I've had to do this.

And everytime he'd pause before writing… I've already asked him the question, so why are his eyes moving like that?

With his ever so bland face, he gave me a sympathetic smile before scribbling down an answer.

I read over it before nodding and handing it to Rachel.

"Looks about right." Rachel was already burying her face in her books.

I can't tell if she's shy or bold…

It's good that she's asking for help but do I really need to do this whole middleman thing?

I would've preferred if they didn't bother me too much. Rachel used to be so outspoken with how I started our friendship… and Hajin used to be so nervous but now he's…. Did he just flinch?

My eyes caught every movement he made while I pretended to be looking at his notes.

"Hajin… do you never take notes?" I compared his barely filled page to mine, which might as well be black it had so much pencil lead on it.

"No, not really. I just… memorize it." He said, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.

Oh, he's nervous again.

"I see… you know, most of what she asks isn't going to be in the exam." I gave a short chuckle when I felt her turn her head sharply in my direction, puffing her cheeks.

Ding Dong—

The moment the bell rang I picked myself up and stretched preparing to leave. 

Tug

A pale hand tugged on my sleeve, the slender finger tips latching onto my clothes like a claw.

"Come study with me." A pouting Rachel looked up at me with her bright blue eyes.

Oi, wait, hold up, I really don't want to…

"Woah, is princess Rachel really going to study with someone?"

"I haven't even heard her speak, what the hell?"

"I'm so jealous…"

I felt more and more stares land on me as Rachel looked at me expectantly.

Being as mentally weak to cute girls as I was, I caved.

"Alright, lead the way." I said before letting her drag me off.

Heroes and their inflated sense of worth…

From the front of the class, Yoo Yeonha looked at the two of us with a soft expression, as if she wanted to join us.

"Do you want to go, Yoo Yeonha?" Kim Suho spoke with formality after being corrected many times.

"..." She remained silent.

"We should go together, a study session might help us out a lot, especially with those two."

Chase Nayun who had been coldly rejected by Hajin was also totally on board with the idea, she was totally desperate after all.

…

In the Library.

Minori sat next to Rachel reading a few papers (of his own research). Rachel proposed a difficult question every so often and Minori would have to help her work it out.

It felt slower than Kim Hajin's instant answer but it was a learning experience.

Other than that, Yoo Yeonha sat next to Kim Suho, putting effort to catch up on the days she missed.

Suho was trying his hardest and would also ask how to do specific equations. Although they were easier it was a nice break from Rachel's high difficulty mind melters.

Apart from these four there was also the highly disruptive force known as Chae Nayun. It wasn't that she found studying boring (which she did) or that she was making strange noises (which she was)...

It was the fact she hadn't turned the page a single time for half an hour.

I would've helped but…

Minori looked at the girl who was staring blankly at her page with a desperate expression.

"...I don't think she would even understand my explanation."

He blurted out, to which the person it was directed at looked up with a sharp glare.

"Hah?! What did yo-"

The librarian sent a sharp glare at Chae Nayun to which she backed down and silently glared at Minori.

If it wasn't for our friendly conversation in the gravity room, I definitely would have been slugged by now…

It definitely isn't long before she flips out.

Even with Minori's mocking thoughts he continued to read over his own work.

Was the title of it. The paper was a detailed analysis on the use of equations in magic rather than pure talent and intuition.

Magic in this day and age was still very primal, despite years having gone past. The two factors for magic were intuition, and talent. If one had both of those things, magic would be infinitely easier to use.

Despite this, Minori had begun researching a way for magic to be used based on intelligence and proper equations.

Now, you're probably wondering why the hell a swordsman would write a paper about magic? In truth, Minori Nii would've been welcomed into a magic tower any day, his magic talent although untapped was far above what he could do with a sword.

His only lacking aspect was money, but now that he had an abundance, he could definitely swap over.

But what was the point when mages from the magic tower would come to Cube soon after the midterms.

Having to talk to Cube executives about switching facilities while having to face Yoo Ah-Ra about his choice just seems hellish in comparison to sticking around.

Going back to what the paper could be used for. Seeing as how magicians would be coming from the magic tower, there was no doubt that a competent magic teacher would also be coming. Which means if Minori showed this paper to the professor he would definitely gain a magic teacher, which also means free materials to further his untapped magic talent.

Tug-

"Minori, I have another question." A polite whisper entered his ears as a hand rested on his shoulder.

Blonde hair and blue eyes greeted Minori in an almost puppy-like manner.

"...you're too close, Rachel."

"Then help me." She moved back and waved the paper around.

…

Third year dormitory, fifteenth floor.

A week had gone by and the theory exams were finally over. It was now the night before the combat exams.

"Yun Hyun got outed." A boy with black hair and a grizzled expression spoke with a deep voice.

His phlegm rotted throat made him sound like a chain smoker beyond his years.

The shadow cast from the evening sun was unusual, dancing like a withering flame.

"Fuuu, what an idiot, Lilith's Djinns really know nothing about how to stay put, always f*cking whatever they can get their hands on.

—I could say the same for you, Asmodeus filth. You really can't keep it in your pants!

A voice spoke over an old fashioned radio. It was warm and alluring, but he spoke as if he had grains of sand stuck between his teeth.

Ding Dong—

The sound of the doorbell rang, interrupting the man as he was about to say his comeback.

"Oh, that must be the pizza."

—Careful, I heard our force has been going missing over the past week. The undercover executives haven't been able to pull any string since they are under suspicion.

The voice on the radio cautioned quietly, as if not to alert the man at the door.

The djinn got up with a heaving sigh and walked to the door, looking through the peephole.

"Huh? It's just black…"

Without enough time to think, the peep hole shattered and something gouged deep into the Djinn's eye socket.

"AAHGH! MY EYE!" The Djinn stumbled back and fell onto his bottom. He clutched his eye that squirted with sticky black blood.

He wanted to call for help but he would only end up dead at another person's hands.

"IT HURTS AGGHH F*CK!" He screamed his lungs out, wasn't he supposed to be powerful? Why wasn't the wound regenerating?!

It hurt, it hurt so much he didn't even notice the door being hacked away and burned.

Tears streamed down the pathetic Djinn's face as he looked up at the intruder with a fearful expression.

Black boots stepped through the door, or what was left of it, he held a blood soaked dagger that looked more like a protruding bone than a blade.

A figure covered from head to toe in a mages cloak while holding onto two blades. His face was covered with a black scarf and only a pair of cold gray eyes pierced through the flame and shadow.

The Djinn felt rage at being injured by such a primitive weapon. His skin mutated into a sickly green as his one functioning eye bulged with veins.

"SCRAGHH–"

He let out an inhuman screech before charging forward only for the pale blade to thrust through his skull, followed by a searing heat that turned his bones into melting marshmallow.

The body went limp as flames swallowed it whole, sickly green turned black as not even ash was left behind.

The corpse practically melted off the blade as the cloaked figure sauntered to the radio and crushed it with his boots.

Finally letting out a sigh the figure opened the window and jumped out, landing on the ground with a thud.

"He screamed way too much. Ugh, Djinns are really disgusting." The voice that came from the cloaked figure's mouth was none other than Minori Nii's.

He hid his blades and moved through the camera's blind spots.

The week of theory exams was only the beginning of the midterms. Despite that, Minori Nii was working hard to exterminate Djinn.

The reason he was so active right now? It was because the moment exams are in progress Cube tightens it's security, making sure no outside forces interfere. This means the event the Djinns had planned, needed to be very carefully executed, which also meant they were unable to interfere with Minori's culling.

And because the midterms are such a massive event, Cube literally cannot postpone them. Meaning even if Minori were to run rampant, no one could do a thing about it.

Weeks of planning and an almost perfect execution.