The Author's POV

Chapter 19: Making money [1]

-Ding!

A sweet melodious jingle ranged through my ears as I was about to move to my next location. Suddenly my body froze and blue text appeared in my vision.

[Time left 00:00:00 - Congratulations on finishing the test. you will soon each be logged out from the capsule]

"Ah…time's finally up"

Although I technically did not do any physical training, the mental exhaustion stemming from constantly being alert and taking note of every little detail surrounding me, was a first for me who had never been through such an experience in my life.

It really drained a lot out of me.

It felt as if I had trained intensively for five hours straight without any pause.

Slowly the trees, the sky, the animals, everything around me started to disintegrate turning the whole world white.

Squinting my eyes, I could see the remaining students who had survived, far away in the white world.

Surprisingly there were only about eight students near my area. Meaning that this could either mean either one of these three things:

- a. Most of the students in my zone died

- b. Most of the students in my zone went to other areas

- c. Not a lot of students spawned in my area

I believe the correct answer was in between the first and second options since most of the students probably didn't know a lot about the scenario.

Actually, now that I take a good look at the whole white world, including my area, there were not many students left.

Although the map was huge, and I couldn't clearly see how many people remained alive, with no obstacles obstructing my vision I could make a general deduction of how difficult the test was, basing on how many students had survived till the end.

I estimated that a good 60% of the 90 students who were originally in the simulation had perished.

With most of the students being at the center of the map, excluding some outliers who remained in their original area, I could more or less make an approximate deduction on how many students survived

The number of students that remained, although small, didn't surprise me as this number was within my estimation. It was approximately the same amount as I had written in the novel.

[Ehm…ehm…can you guys hear me?]

Suddenly, professor Thibaut's voice rang in my ears, prompting me to listen carefully.

[Alright, I want to say a few things first before I let you out of the capsules]

[First, congratulation to you all for surviving this test. This test was specifically designed to test your adaptability in foreign environments, and how well you can survive in the wild.]

…It's true.

Although this bastard was using this test as a means to create disorder between some of the students, the test was still very good.

Although he did change some things here and there so that he could create some conflict between the students, the test was indeed a good way to help students adapt to foreign environments. Actually in my opinion this test was better as he made this test a bit more useful for real life, as you might someday be hunted by humans too.

No, it would be more accurate to say that being hunted by fellow humans, such as villains, would be the most likely scenario.

By 'indirectly' allowing students to kill each other, it raised the difficulty to another level. Because not only did you have to watch out for beasts, but you also had to look out against fellow classmates.

This little 'detail', made the training for me much more efficient.

well, that didn't mean the professor was a good guy.

I was just taking advantage of his schemes to further improve myself.

[Though a lot of you have either survived by pure luck or through some sort of scheme, at the end of the day what really matters is not how you won, but if you won. So for those of you who made it till the end, I congratule you. Considering how difficult this test was, having survived in this simulation is accomplishment to be proud about. Puff up your chest and exit the capsule with your head held high]

[Enough with that, next up…once you exit the capsule on the top of the classroom you can find a large monitor where the group rankings will be displayed]

[Though no extra merits will be awarded this time as it's still your first week, you can still brag to your friends about getting first in your class]

…I feel like a lot of students would actually brag about this.

Considering how in this world most of the people were proud and arrogant, for the next week or so I would expect the top 5 group member's egos to shoot through the roof.

[Okay, I think I've said enough. I will dismiss you from your cabin one by one so don't panic if your view suddenly gets dark]

[Once again, congratulations to those of you that survived]

Soon professor Thibuat's voice disappeared and gradually students started turning into streaks of light particles that disappeared from the virtual world.

As I was watching the whole process in which students slowly disappeared from the virtual world, I could finally relax my mind

Next up, I started to ponder on what to do after I exited the class.

Hmm…but what should I do after this?

I don't think I have it in me to train any further.

Maybe I could go to the swimming pool and do some resistance training?

Yeah, I think that's the best course of action.

[Logout Y/N]

As I was pondering about what my next course of action would be, a logout bottom appeared before me.

Without needing to think any further, I pressed it.

-Swaa!

My vision suddenly turned dark, and my consciousness slipped.

-Phhhhhhh

Slowly the lid of the capsule I was in opened up releasing white steam in the process.

Using the edge of the capsule as support, I slowly got out of the capsule.

"Man that was seriously tiring…Hm?"

As soon as I emerged from my capsule I felt a couple of stares coming from my left and right side.

Turning my head left, I could see two individuals glaring in my direction with pure hatred.

…Can't really blame them.

I did cut off their legs and used them as bait to get extra points.

Waving at them, which further increased the intensity of their glares, I turned my head towards the other direction where a mixture of emotions could be seen from certain individuals.

Park Jinho, William, Rose, and Edward all had weird expressions plastered on their face.

It was a mixture of 'shock', 'joy', 'pity' and 'thankfulness'

…wait pity?

Why were they pitying me?

Then I felt it.

Arnold, who was a few capsules away from where I was, glared evem more fiercely than Lucas and Patrick did towards me.

Turning my head left and right to make sure he was actually glaring at me, I was left dumbfounded.

…Eh? Why is he glaring in my direction?

Is he angry that I stole his spotlight?

That can't be right…right?

He can't be that petty, right?

-Clap!

"Cough…cough…May I have your attention please!"

Fortunately, at the perfect timing, professor Thibaut showed up gathering everyone's attention towards himself, including Arnold's.

Can't believe I was saying this, but I owed him one.

"Alright, once again congratulations for those who have passed the test"

"I'll make it short since we are short on time, If you look up above, you can see your team's respective rank."

Pointing towards a large monitor placed at the center of the classroom, a large table was displayed on the screen showing us the team's respective rankings.

===Team Rank===

Group 15

Points: 8

Result: No casualties + 2 Hidden task

Group 9

Points: 7

Result: No casualties + 1 Hidden task

Group 4

Points: 7

Result: No casualties + 1 Hidden task

Group 5

Points: 6

Result: No casualties

Group 1

Points: 5

Result: 1 casualty

Group 7

Points: 4

Result: 3 casualties + 1 hidden task

Group 10

Points: 3

Result: 3 casualties

Group 13

Points: 3

Result: 3 casualties

Group 11

Points: 2

Result: 4 casualties

Group 8

Points: 1

Result: 5 casualties

Group 2

Points: 1

Result: 5 casualties

Group 14

Points: 0

Result: Party wipe

Group 3

Points: 0

Result: Party wipe

Group 6

Points: 0

Result: Party wipe

Group 12

Points: 0

Result: Party wipe

=============

"6th overall huh?"

That's a rank or two higher than I had expected.

But as I expected, the main characters had all gotten the top spots.

Group 15 who ranked first, was Kevin's group.

His teammates not only managed to survive, but they also managed to complete two hidden tasks.

Emma's team placed second, with her completing one of the hidden tasks. On the other hand Amanda placed third, and surprisingly Melissa who teamed up with Jin ended up fourth.

The reason for their low ranking was simple. Because of Kevin, Jin couldn't get the extra point and Melissa who wasn't as strong as she was smart was left helpless when trying to get the extra task.

In the end, all their teammates managed to survive, but no extra points were awarded to their team.

The fifth place, group 1, was Troy's group which although had not completed any hidden tasks, had 2 fewer casualties compared to our team.

"Out of the 15 groups here, four were wiped out. This result is much better than last year where in contrast only had four groups surviving"

"I know some of you are shaking thinking you will be expelled from the course, but I was lying about that. I wanted to put some pressure on you so that you would've taken the test seriously. So you're all safe"

Hearing this part of the speech, the students who had their team wiped let out a visible sigh of relief.

'Must've been stressful thinking that they had already failed a course on their first week.'

I thought as I sympathetically looked at them.

"Alright, it seems that we are out of time so you may all leave"

Checking his watch, Professor Thibaut smiled and dismissed us.

Immediately I dashed towards my dorm,

I didn't want to stay here any longer. Especially knowing that three individuals were looking for ways to make things harder for me.

I do have to say though.

Moving with this tight-skinned suit was extremely challenging.

If not for the fact that Arnold was distracted talking to Jin, and Lucas and Patrick were still glaring at each other, I wouldn't have been able to leave as easily as I had.

-Click!

Entering my room, I slumped onto the clean mattress and enjoyed the momentary moment of peace.

What a troublesome day.

Not only was I exhausted, but I also created three enemies.

"It seems like I need to get stronger faster."

At the end of the day, it all comes down to strength.

Although with an increase in strength I was more likely to be exposed to danger and thus increase the chances where I'm placed in situations where I have to interact with the main characters. I can't just sit by and passively wait for my strength to increase.

Not only that, but if I was to one day support my parent's guild or possibly help the protagonist fight against the demon king, I needed to immediately think of ways to increase my strength.

Fortunately, I had already come up with a rough plan.

That is, with the knowledge I have, as the author of the novel. I can take advantage of future events to make some money through stocks.

Since my parents from this world weren't filthy rich, the only way I could make money was through the use of stocks.

Unlike Jin, Amanda, or Melissa whose parents can provide them with the best training facilities and potions. I, a mob that wasn't supposed to appear in the story have the only option of using my knowledge to make money to increase my strength.

In a sense, this was my cheat ability.

With money, I could essentially catapult my strength to reach new heights.

In order to increase my stats, I could resort to cosuming potions, and if I wanted to increase my strength even further I could even go as far as purchasing artifacts.

Artifacts were objects that could be found inside of dungeons or could be created by master blacksmiths and were essentially weapons that had special effects imbued into them.

They ranged from the simplest objects such as a coffee mug to weapons and cars.

Like most things the better the grade the more expensive they were.

Fortunately for me, I knew a place where I could get good artifacts for a cheap price.

Thinking of all the money I would need to use to purchase potions and artifacts, I could feel my head throbbing.

Letting out a sigh and taking out a small book from my bottom drawer. I quickly went through the contents.

The book I was holding had details on all the future events that would happen in the future.

Starting from when Kevin entered the academy to when he was about to face the demon king.

Since I was the author of the novel, I could confidently say that I did not miss anything when writing the future events.

From minor to major events, this book should have everything. Unless something deviated from the story which I had written, I should be able to use this book as a reference for things that will happen in the future.

"Now what should I use…"

Flipping through the pages, I quickly stopped at a certain event.

C.B. Pharmaceuticals crash.

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