The Gacha Addict of the Academy

The next day, I stepped into the classroom with a bit of anticipation for my first day.

Although I officially enrolled last week, today marked the start of actual classes, so it felt like today was really my first day.

As soon as I arrived, other students greeted me.

I responded to each greeting, and as I entered the class, there was someone who caught my eye.

‘… That girl from yesterday…’

It was the girl I had bumped into yesterday.

Her eyes were fascinating, and she was somehow intriguing to me, so I had looked her up. She looked restless while checking her phone, constantly glancing around, which made her seem somewhat pitiful.

I had planned not to approach her, thinking she might feel burdened, but seeing her like that, I wanted to talk to her.

Maybe I could start by apologizing for yesterday to make the conversation less awkward.

“Hey? Aren’t you the girl from yesterday?”

Pretending like I didn’t know, I asked, and she looked up at me with a slightly surprised expression. Still, it didn’t seem like she felt too uncomfortable about me talking to her.

One thing was clear, though—I didn’t think she was particularly happy that I was talking to her.

“You looked like you were in a hurry, so I didn’t stop you… But are you really okay?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to, but you kind of disappeared on me.”

I think I ended up rambling a bit.

When I smiled awkwardly, I noticed that the girl’s expression had become much colder than before.

Did I say something wrong…?

I was wondering if I had made a mistake when my friend asked if we knew each other.

“Hahaha… We just bumped into each other.”

“Really? What did you say to make her look like that?”

“Shh…”

I gestured for him to be quiet, then turned my head toward the girl.

It seemed like she was concentrating, as though she was thinking about something.

Thankfully, it didn’t look like she heard the conversation.

Suddenly, with a determined expression, she looked up at me and opened her mouth.

“… I’m okay…”

Huh?

Before I could even hear what she was saying, she suddenly stopped.

Did she say she was okay?

I was about to ask why she stopped mid-sentence, but before I could, she spoke again.

No, it wasn’t really a continuation—it was something I had never expected to hear.

“Actually… I’m Luna Crystal.”

I had no idea what was going on, but out of nowhere, she introduced herself.

It wasn’t bad to be introduced like that, but I hadn’t expected her to suddenly tell me her name, so I stammered a bit.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah…?”

“Well… you asked me my name yesterday, but didn’t tell me yours.”

Only then did I realize she seemed a little flustered, which was actually kind of cute.

Well… it made sense. She didn’t seem very comfortable with talking to people, so I thought it was understandable. It would be better to give her some space.

Rather than leaving it awkwardly, I figured it would be better to properly introduce myself.

“Oh, then we should properly introduce ourselves. I’m Kang Juhyeok.”

I said that as I extended my hand.

She stared at my outstretched hand with a dazed look, and then, trembling visibly, she shyly touched only the tips of my fingers.

It was dangerous.

I almost burst out laughing, not caring about anyone around me.

Holding back a laugh with great effort, I managed to keep a neutral face and smiled.

He quickly withdrew his hand, almost like a ghost, and his sudden movement made me laugh uncontrollably.

“Phew…”

If someone saw this, I’d probably look like a crazy person…

I stopped laughing and took a moment to compose myself. Slowly, I decided it was time to return to my seat.

As I sat down, I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl’s actions from earlier, and I found myself chuckling again.

When I looked toward the spot where she had been sitting while still laughing, I caught a glimpse of her eyes staring at me from between the gaps of her arms.

Ah… I hope she didn’t catch me laughing.

Come to think of it, what was the first class again? Was it Superpower Studies?

I remembered it was a course that taught about the abilities everyone possessed.

Of course, since this academy trains people to deal with monsters that appear all around the world, the course wasn’t about learning superpowers themselves, but rather about how to use them effectively.

I figured that on the first day, we’d probably go over the general level of everyone’s abilities.

While I was thinking about this, someone who seemed to be the teacher entered the room.

As soon as I saw the man with brown hair mixed with yellow streaks, I immediately recognized who it was.

It was impossible not to recognize him—he was so famous that anyone from South Korea would probably know who he was.

Lee Cheon-gyeong.

He was known as “The Thunder God” because he usually fried monsters with lightning, and some people called him “The King of Destruction” because he could easily obliterate lower-tier monsters without a second thought.

He was sometimes referred to as someone with the closest powers to a god. His elemental manipulation ability was incredibly powerful and widely regarded as a remarkable skill.

With such a powerful ability, it was said that he could also heal. Researchers who studied his powers often praised it as truly extraordinary.

According to them, if he knew the molecular structure of anything, he could create it, and some even called him a “creator.”

Theoretically, he could even regenerate and transplant organs, although since he didn’t specialize in medical knowledge, no one could say for sure—except for himself, of course.

Even though it was possible, it was still quite difficult because medical knowledge would be required.

Not only that, but his magic had reached an extremely high level, and he held a significant position in Korea.

And, we knew each other.

“Nice to see you, little chicks.”

Starting off with insults… He was bold, to say the least.

It wasn’t entirely incorrect, but hearing someone talk like that would make anyone feel uncomfortable. Looking around, it was clear that no one was particularly happy to hear that.

Most of the students glared at the teacher with looks full of animosity.

Anyone would be upset if they were insulted. Maybe he said it to stir up some motivation in us—to prove our worth by showing off our skills.

Of course, for now, none of us were even close to matching his level, so it would be tough for us.

As the teacher scanned the students, who were sending him hostile glares, he smirked and spoke in a playful tone.

“Whoa, whoa, everyone’s got some killer looks, huh? You guys gonna try to take my head off the second you get a chance?”

“I think a lot more people are aiming for your head after that comment~”

One student said with a sarcastic laugh, and the others chuckled while continuing to glare at the teacher.

Satisfied that he had caught our attention with his harsh words, the teacher slammed his hand on the podium and continued.

“You’ve just entered the academy and still have a lot to learn. But you should know enough about daily life here, so let’s start with an orientation about my class.”

With that, the teacher snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, there was a flash in front of us, followed by a loud thunderclap.

“Looks like you guys are pretty shocked… Want to guess who I am?”

There was no way I wouldn’t know.

It was impossible not to recognize him. After all, his fighting style was one of the most famous officially.

For students aiming for this field, he was a well-known hero that everyone had at least heard of once.

Whether he was pleased to be recognized or not, he smiled and began to explain.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m Lee Cheon-gyeong, the professor in charge of abilities.”

With that, his name appeared on the board.

“The guy really likes flashy things, huh.”

“Well, those with good observation skills might have already figured it out, but my ability is elemental manipulation. Did anyone think that my trigger was snapping my fingers after seeing what I just did?”

No one responded.

That was to be expected. Concealing one’s trigger is basic practice. I, too, am hiding mine.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a difficult condition; I just had to swing my arm while thinking about what I wanted to achieve.

Since all I had to do was swing my arm, I learned swordsmanship.

I used my sword to make use of my abilities while avoiding any gaps.

“The ability activation happens from the trigger point, but that makes it easy for opponents to read it. I recommend thinking of a way to hide your own ability trigger. As for me… that’s a secret.”

A secret, huh…

Of course, as someone who knew him, I was aware of his hidden trigger. But if it were to become public, it could be considered a weakness, so I just let it be.

Actually, there’s probably no real weakness, but if he says so, then fine.

“So, today… shall we learn about each other’s abilities?”

So it’s a practical lesson after all…

It’s a little annoying.

As everyone began heading out to the practice area, Luna caught my eye. She had a look of genuine reluctance on her face as she walked out.

Now that I thought about it, she seemed pretty fragile…

This might be a tough practical lesson for her.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little.