The Transmigrated Author

[Location: Island Of The East: Monster Infested - South Side - Inner-Middle-Section]

[3 hours later...]

"Attention all 1-A and 1-B students, the conclusion to the practice exam has now ended, as all monsters within the island have been eliminated, we'll be returning all students to the north side beach. Where we will announce the results of the practice exam between both classes today."

yawnnn...

A yawn escaped me, followed by a sigh of relief.

Finally, that fight had taken everything out of me, but the nap had helped.

I did a quick equipment check to see if anything fell.

my fingers brushed against the crossbow on my right hip, then Thiago's sword on the left.

Then it made me realise... I did steal his weapon unintentionally, should I give it back?

It'd probably be the 'honourable' thing to give it back, but honestly, screw him.

His pride is his problem, and I sure as hell don't want to deal with the fallout of having this thing on me.

If word gets back to the academy that I whipped out a sword mid-fight... They'd label me a dual-class faster than you can say 'extra training sessions.'

And that's a problem I don't need.

Yeah, the benefits of being able to use two weapons were cool.

But I'd rather not be known as someone who could use more than one weapon.

swang!

[Equpiment HP: 23%]

Well, not bad for a fight with those handicaps stacked against me.

Losing Sixth Sense had been a huge blow. Hell, I probably wouldn't have made it without Trickster as well...

It just goes to show how reliant I'd become on that skill. Sloppy indeed.

I'd always prioritise myself on awareness, and my instincts... but maybe they weren't as sharp as I thought.

Definitely something to work on.

Thud!

"Ow!"

I winced, rubbing my head. Seriously, an apple?

How random was that? A glance around revealed nothing but the usual trees and bushes.

"Whatever," I muttered.

With the teleportation coming, a random piece of fruit was the least of my concerns.

haah...

shhhanngggg...

A strange warmth enveloped me, starting at my toes and creeping upwards.

Then, blue pixels danced into view, a swarm of digital fireflies mirroring that similar to Thiago and the rest.

I knew the tech was always sophisticated.

Instead of a normal IDS Station, The IDS Transporter dispersed emitters that targeted mesh networks, allowing for precise individual teleportation points.

Impressive, but also a potential privacy nightmare if it falls into the wrong hands.

The pixels swirled faster, my surroundings dissolving into a blur.

One blink, and I was gone.

Another blink, and I materialized back on the starting beach, the faces of my classmates coming into focus.

...

...

...

[Location: Island Of The East: Monster Infested - North Side Beach - IDS Transporter Way Point.]

The materialization finished, and instead of the familiar transporter waypoint, I found myself back on the beach. Interesting.

There had to be some workaround for mass teleportation like this. Transporting a hundred people simultaneously with individual IDS stations was logistically absurd.

Then again, this world had quantum teleportation.

With magic and tech going hand in hand here, who knows what they'd come up with?

Maybe it was like a massive IDS station – a supercomputer of teleportation tech – capable of handling that many people at once.

tap...tap...tap..

A touch on my shoulder, and I turned around.

It was Jan, of course. Mr. Popular... always at the centre of everything.

"Rel! Haven't seen you all day. Where'd you disappear to?" He tilted his head, that charming smile in place.

Obviously, I wouldn't want to be in a group with Jan.

That's where all the action was, all the massive battles... and breakouts I'd seen countless students defeated and head straight back in.

"Decided to go it alone," I said with a shrug.

Not that he'd understand the tactical advantages.

"Oh, I see." His gaze flickered over me. Then, a frown. "Did you fight some of those 1-B students? Or..."

Damn. "Nah," I lied smoothly. The practice exam was over, no point dragging it out.

"...are you sure?" He pointed. "There's blood dripping down your head."

Feeling the sensation of blood, I lifted my hand to touch my forehead.

The spot where the shield connected earlier still throbbed. Healing it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Right," I said to Jan, a neutral tone replacing any potential defensiveness.

"I just came across some monsters earlier."

As Jan continued to scrutinize me, I turned slightly, allowing a casual glance around the beach.

In my head, I reviewed the process of mana healing.

It required pinpointing the injury and directing mana towards it, which shouldn't be too difficult.

However, channelling mana with precise external control was a whole other story.

Internal mana flow, on the other hand, seemed the more viable option.

[Passive Ability: Mana Control [Grade 6] Has Been Activated!]

A gentle tingle spread through my body.

With the ability to enhance my focus, I traced the flow of mana within my body's system, directing it towards the wound on my forehead.

The throbbing intensified momentarily, a concentrated pulse of discomfort.

But as the mana reached its target, a soothing warmth replaced the pain.

Moments later, a wisp of steam rose from the spot, and the gash sealed shut.

The process wasn't exactly elegant, but it was effective.

It reinforced the reality that while I lacked a natural talent for mana control, this ability compensated for that deficiency.

It allowed me to heal myself with a little more technique, and hopefully, with practice, even unleash more powerful offensive attacks.

I turned back, tried covering the healed wound.

But Jan watched with another flicker of scrutiny read me like a book.

"Didn't know you were capable of advanced techniques," he remarked.

"Thanks. Compared to someone who could probably heal in a heartbeat, that's not much."

A touch of sarcasm couldn't be helped.

He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe your mana control's better than you give yourself credit for. Or maybe you just don't try..."

haah...

This again... why does he always drag this misunderstanding, that I don't try at all?

Maybe if I ignore him enough, he'll just forget.

"Well, I think I already tried enough." I frowned at Jan, but his grin only widened.

I guess he was still the typical main character.

Always so sure of himself.

Though, this pettiness... that was unexpected.

"So... care to explain if you're a Swordsman or an archer?" He nudged me and pointed towards the weapon still hanging at my hip – Thiago's sword.

Taking it during the fight had been an impulsive decision.

It earned me a few new things, but was it worth the potential hassle of being pinned as a dual-user?

Although snagging those new abilities was a nice bonus, I was starting to doubt whether the whole 'dual weapon' thing was worth the hassle.

Sure, versatility was cool, but the time, effort, and resources to upgrade mastery for both was ridiculous.

So I was considering keeping the whole weapon thing a secret... I'll use a bow or a crossbow for the academy.

Then when I enter the mercenary corps later on, I'll focus more on using the combination of a gun and sword.

Right now, Thiago probably thinks I'm some wannabe swordsman.

If word gets out, I'll just play dumb. No way am I admitting to that mess.

"Just returning this to some guy who got teleported back," I told Jan.

I slid the sword's scabbard off my hip and showed it to Jan, hoping he'd fall for my whole 'returning it' act.

He didn't.

He just raised an eyebrow, that half-smirk playing on his face. "Sure you are, man. Sure."

Whatever. I gave a half-hearted shrug and strolled off, scanning the beach for my usual group of idiots.

Time to get back to normal... or as normal as it got around here.

THUD!

I took my eyes off the crowd for a second, and of course... I bumped right into someone.

"Ouch... who could it be now?"

I muttered, fumbling for my glasses on the ground.

Finally got those back on, and looked up... to see a girl with bright red hair and green eyes.

"Who are you?"

[Valeria Ayres - (1st Year - Rank 8 in the entire grade) - ]

In front of me was Valeria Ayres...

We both scrambled to our feet, her checking for witnesses.

Luckily, no one seemed to notice.

"Ah... sorry..." I apologized, not bothering to sound sincere.

I brushed the sand off my uniform hoping she'd leave but no.

She sighed, squinting at me.

"Hey, do I know you?"

I tilted my head. "Probably not..."

"Really?" she pressed, trying to get a better look at me.

"Yes, really."

_________________

Authors notes:

- A Dual User in Pinnacle Academy has to do a hybrid test that requires using both weapons simultaneously.

- The reason why Rel doesn't know the ins and outs of an IDS transporter is because the setting itself was something that didn't occur in the original novel.

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