Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 37

Did I say classes would be a piece of cake?

What kind of nonsense was that?

The first subject was <Rift Theory>.

“This is the mana chart used for rift prediction.”

The hologram displayed a satellite image of South Korea.

It looked like the kind of photo you’d see on a weather forecast, except the clouds weren’t white—they were rainbow-colored.

“Each color represents mana density. Dense concentrations appear red, while low concentrations appear blue. Convection phenomena occur based on energy density, and…”

In <On the Brink of Destruction>, rifts were compared to typhoons.

Just as the weather bureau could forecast typhoons, apparently rifts could be forecast too.

“By the midterms, you should be able to predict the timing and scale of rifts based on these materials.”

And the professor was basically telling us to become weather bureau employees.

‘This isn’t something my possessor cheat can help with.’

I knew the names and dates of the major typhoons that would hit in the future.

But reading the paths of completely unfamiliar typhoons was a different matter entirely.

Which meant I’d actually have to study…

I discreetly rolled my eyes to glance at Gyeon Junhwi, and my baby was diligently taking notes.

‘As expected of someone from Seoul National!’

Gyeon Junhwi had been exceptional even in the other world.

Abandoned by his parents due to his disability, he’d grown up in an orphanage—yet through self-study alone, he’d earned his way into a prestigious university.

He didn’t stop there either. Together with his best friend from the same orphanage, he’d even started a company—a truly remarkable talent.

Though that best friend would later betray him, the company he’d painstakingly built would be sold off, and he’d lose his life because of the people he trusted most. But until his life went down the drain, he’d achieved impressive success, and all of it was thanks to Gyeon Junhwi’s brilliant mind.

“That’s all for today’s lecture. For the next thirty minutes, please review the material. If you have questions, direct them to the teaching assistants.”

The professor exited without lingering, and a TA took their place at the podium. Academy classes were broadly divided into professor time and TA time.

“I don’t understand any of this…”

I looked beside me to find Yeom Juwan wearing the face of someone who’d lost his country.

My baby had many strengths, but theory classes weren’t one of them.

“Th-this is a required course, right? I-if I fail, I’ll have to r-repeat the year…”

Han Boram was the same way.

These two were at risk of failing.

The reason they’d managed to advance in the original was…

“Which part don’t you understand?”

“A-all of it?”

“First, ignore the mathematical formulas and focus only on the images. Draw arrows from red to blue, and after grasping the overall flow…”

Because Gyeon Junhwi hard-carried them.

My baby #1 was examining Han Boram’s notebook with a smile that was seriously bad for my heart.

“I-I still don’t get it…”

“Then how about we study together later?”

“R-r-really?”

“Actually, it might be nice to form a study group with everyone. What do you two think?”

Gyeon Junhwi invited me and Yeom Juwan to join the study group too.

What’s this? I just hit the jackpot out of nowhere?

“It might be good to recruit more people too. With more members, we can divide up the units. I’ll go ask some others.”

Gyeon Junhwi left to recruit additional study group members.

‘This is different from the original.’

The original Gyeon Junhwi had been the freshman representative, a celebrity everyone knew.

But now he was just an anonymous Student A.

If he wanted to run for student council, he’d have to work hard to make his name known first.

I was curious how Gyeon Junhwi would win over the extras, but if I followed him I’d obviously just get in the way, so I decided to stay put.

“B-but why is everyone only sitting over th-there?”

Han Boram was looking around belatedly, tilting her head in confusion.

Rift Theory was a required course for first-years.

There were quite a lot of students enrolled, so the lecture hall was fairly crowded—yet the two rows in front and behind us were completely empty. Everyone was stealing glances our way and whispering among themselves.

The reason was obvious.

Yeon Sora’s villainess cosplay had worked perfectly.

“Th-they seem to be looking at S-Sora… If they w-want to be friends, they can j-just come talk to her, hehe.”

There was a strange note of pride in Han Boram’s voice.

They were clearly intimidated—how could she interpret that as “wanting to be friends”?

Maybe it was because she’d only recently come back into society after nine years? She could detect “attention,” but apparently she couldn’t yet distinguish what kind of attention it was.

“S-Sora! Let’s go to the next class!”

Han Boram demonstratively linked her arm through mine in front of everyone.

‘Eeeek!’

‘Has she lost her mind?’

‘Should we… stop her somehow?’

Worried voices came from all directions, but apparently only I could hear them.

“L-let’s hurry!”

Han Boram puffed out her chest even more proudly and marched forward.

* * *

The next subject was <Fundamentals of Skill Usage>.

This time, it was a class where I could make full use of my possessor cheat.

“What’s the difference between unique skills and general skills? Yes, Cadet Yeon Sora?”

“Unique skills are abilities learned instinctively, while general skills are abilities learned through study. Put simply, it’s the difference between talent and technique.”

“Correct. Unique skills can also be described as skills whose circuits are not yet known, while general skills are skills with known circuits. Do you happen to know how many general skills are currently known?”

“There are twenty-seven general skills released as open source. Beyond that, each guild possesses numerous proprietary general skills.”

“Cadet Yeon Sora, you’ve done a lot of preparatory study! Five points for you.”

I’d been wondering when I’d ever get to do something like this, so I tried playing model student for once—and points fell from the sky.

Hey, this actually feels pretty good?

“That concludes the theory portion. Please look at the tools prepared at your seats.”

On each desk sat a silver tray.

Complex patterns were engraved on its surface.

“This is a skill board. The pattern drawn on the board is called a ‘mana circuit.’ If you weave your mana according to this circuit, you can use the skill. The circuit in front of you now is for the ‘Paralysis’ skill.”

The mana circuit looked like a magic circle.

A round circle with various lines and shapes tangled inside it in a chaotic design—and apparently we had to memorize this.

“It will feel overwhelming at first, but after a few hundred repetitions, your body will automatically remember it. Everyone, please grip the handles.”

When I gripped the handles on either side of the tray, the starting point of the magic circle glowed red.

“We have a tendency to try to see and understand everything with our eyes. But mana is a force invisible to the eye. Abandon the habit of relying on sight. Close your eyes and focus on the sensation at your fingertips.”

When I squeezed my eyes shut, I really could feel a cold, viscous sensation at my fingertips.

Somehow familiar—a texture like slime.

“Now open your eyes. Try following the circuit while imagining that sensation at your fingertips expanding.”

When I imagined the slime moving along the pattern, the circuit actually glowed a bit brighter.

This is so cool! It feels less like learning a skill and more like learning magic!

A truly heart-pounding experience for a devoted fan.

“The key is to move through every section without skipping, from start to finish, while controlling your mana output at a consistent rate.”

But this was harder than I’d thought.

There were sections where the lines shot forward smoothly, and sections where they stopped dead and refused to budge.

While we were focused, the professor walked around offering advice.

“Cadet Gyeon Junhwi, your mana arrangement is very meticulous. However, in trying to proceed too perfectly, your speed is slow. Don’t aim for 100% completion—settle for about 80% and move on. You can improve completion later.”

“Cadet Han Boram, you lack confidence. You keep going back over ground you’ve already covered, tangling your circuit and stalling your progress.”

“Cadet Yeom Juwan, your drive is excessive. Too much mana is being input, causing it to split into multiple branches. Slowly, take it easy.”

Eavesdropping on the advice was quite entertaining.

The skills somehow reflected my babies’ personalities.

“Cadet Yeon Sora, stop paying attention to others and focus on your own circuit.”

This professor was sharp.

“General skills can only be mastered through consistent training. For the next hour, we’ll have individual practice. If you have questions, the teaching assistants will help. That’s all.”

With that, the professor exited, and TA time began.

* * *

“Cadet Seo Yujin, good work.”

“Cadet Baek Hyeonjung, excellent as well.”

Before long, people were successfully manifesting the skill one after another.

Among them, naturally, was my baby #1.

“Cadet Gyeon Junhwi, well done. Let’s move to the next stage.”

The TA brought over a glass jar and a timer, setting them up in front of Gyeon Junhwi. Inside the jar, countless butterflies were fluttering about.

“This time, you’ll apply the skill to a moving target. Try using the skill on the butterflies and use the timer to check your activation time. Focus on reducing your activation time.”

The TA soon left, and Gyeon Junhwi immediately focused on the next training exercise.

At first it took him 70 seconds to drop a single butterfly, then 120 seconds for three, and 270 seconds to paralyze seven.

‘As expected of my baby!’

The professor had said to settle for 80% completion and move on, but Gyeon Junhwi always aimed for 100%.

Even now, instead of focusing on speed, he was practicing to create a more perfect circuit.

“Cadet Yeon Sora? Stop paying attention to others and focus on your own circuit.”

When I turned my head, the TA was looking down at me with a displeased expression.

Mm, I’d been caught slacking off.

“I’ll review your issues. Please try once now.”

I gripped the skill board in front of the professor and gave it my best effort, but strangely, my circuit wouldn’t connect properly.

I could complete the outer circle, but whenever I tried to draw the inner patterns, the outer circle I’d just made would vanish.

“It’s due to lack of focus. Let’s try again.”

“Again!”

“Again!”

Even after three more attempts, the same thing happened.

Progress wasn’t happening at all.

What, does Yeon Sora have attention deficit issues too?

“Haah… This won’t do. First, let’s have you practice by copying the pattern by hand. After thirty transcriptions, try the skill board again. Cadets Yeom Juwan and Han Boram will also do transcription practice.”

Transcription was work assigned only to the struggling students.

Perhaps because of that, my babies looked disappointed.

“E-everyone else is moving to the n-next stage… We slipped up, didn’t we?”

“I thought I had it, but this is strange…”

You don’t need to worry that much. You two are late bloomers.

Han Boram’s mana had unusual properties, so it would take her time to get the hang of it. Yeom Juwan’s mana was so strong that controlling it would take a while.

“It’s okay. Succeeding quickly doesn’t mean growing quickly. Let’s not rush—we’ll go at our own pace.”

“That’s true.”

“S-Sora, you’re so m-mature!”

That’s the first time I’ve ever received that compliment.

But when I thought about it, my core was technically twenty-four years old.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been forever since I was in school.’

Looking around the lecture hall made my rejuvenation feel real.

Yeah, these really were the good old days.

The biggest worry in your life was grades.

Feeling like I’d returned to my school days, certain habits from back then started creeping up.

‘I want a nap.’

One thing I’d realized after entering the workforce: naps are best enjoyed during class.

Snacking was tastiest during a diet, and goofing off was most fun the night before an exam—same principle.

This was my first chance at a perfect nap in seven years!

I braced my hands on the desk as supports and tilted my head slightly forward. Even though it had been seven years since I’d assumed this position, my angle was perfect—proof that “after a few hundred repetitions, your body will automatically remember it,” as the professor had said.

Now then! Let me catch some shuteye for the first time in ages!

With that, I closed my eyes, and some time must have passed.

“…Real combat is different, you know?”

“It’s too early for that, it’s only the first day of classes.”

“You can’t get accurate measurements with butterflies as targets.”

The noise pulled me back to consciousness.

A voice I’d heard somewhere before.

Lines I’d heard somewhere before.

I groggily opened my eyes and looked toward the commotion to find a male student arguing with the TA.

‘Baek Hyeonjung, huh?’

Baek Hyeonjung was an early-game villain and classmate of mine.

The heir to Sangrang Guild—and the guy I’d personally disciplined yesterday.

That kid was in this class too.

Yawning wide to shake off the remaining drowsiness, I suddenly noticed Baek Hyeonjung looking my way with a sly grin.

“Yeon Sora would probably be up for it too, wouldn’t she? Being freshman representative and all.”

Why is he over there using my name?

…And then it belatedly clicked.

‘Oh, right. This was a thing.’

Today was the day Baek Hyeonjung first picked a fight with Gyeon Junhwi.