"Ugh… it's like someone put a boulder on my back. Oh god, I need more sleep!"
He groaned, rolling onto his side, but just as he was about to drift off again, a horrifying image flashed in his mind.
The professor.
"If I miss work again, that lunatic will murder me for sure."
Dragging himself out of bed, he stumbled toward the closet, his whole body swaying as though it weighed twice as much. His eyes were barely open, and his hand slapped against the closet door to stop himself from falling.
Stretch. Yawn. Shuffle.
It was like watching a sleepy child trying to get ready for school, haphazardly throwing on his uniform.
Still groggy, he left for class without even checking his daily tasks on his watch.
---
The road to the classroom was eerily quiet—most students had already reached their classes. His head still felt heavy, and he wasn't paying attention to where he was stepping.
Thud!
He bumped into someone near the Combat Dormitories. Stumbling slightly, he looked up and froze.
"Oh, shoot. It's Khalem!" he screamed inwardly, panic setting in.
The boy standing before him was tall—around 178 cm—with a messy uniform and unkempt hair that fell over his dull, tired eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.
Before the protagonist could sneak away, Khalem yawned loudly and blocked his path.
"You… you're the disowned one, right?" Khalem asked, his voice sluggish.
"Y-Yes, I am," the protagonist stammered, hesitating under Khalem's piercing, sleepy gaze.
"You're lucky," Khalem muttered, yawning again. "No need to care about a family name or expectations. Must be nice."
The protagonist blinked, stunned.
"Wait… does he actually envy being disowned? Or is this just his way of mocking me? Is he serious or just too lazy to care?"
"If the real owner of this body were here," he murmured under his breath, "he'd probably try to leave it out of shame."
"You say something?" Khalem asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No! Do you need anything? If not, I'm going now," the protagonist replied quickly, trying to escape.
Without waiting for a response, he hurried away, his heart pounding.
"Khalem Rovaan… from one of the most prominent hunter families. Born with an extraordinary amount of mana, awakened as a necromancer, and capable of raising legions of undead without even trying. His family had high hopes for him, but all he does is laze around. Even so, he's ranked among the top five students in the Alpha Combat Class.
"And here I am… bumping into him. Great. Hopefully, that little chat doesn't affect the story too much," he muttered, still lost in thought as he arrived at class just before the professor.
---
The classes dragged on, as always.
"Ugh. I'll never get used to this. These lectures are so boring. Why the hell didn't this guy ever make any friends?" he sighed heavily as he left for the lab.
The lab was no better. The same repetitive tasks, the same strict professor glaring at him every time he made a mistake.
When the day finally ended, he rushed back to his dorm, remembering that he still hadn't completed his cherishing tasks.
-------
Day by day, his routine repeated itself—classes, lab work, tasks—until, finally, the day he'd been waiting for arrived.
---
"Yes! Finally, the last day of cherishing tasks!" he exclaimed, practically jumping in excitement.
After completing the final task, he stared at the objects he had carefully cherished for so long.
"Hell yeah! I've been waiting for this. Just don't disappoint me, my babies!"
Activating Eyes of the Observer, he inspected each object.
Suddenly, threads began unraveling from his hoodie jacket, surrounding it in a glowing cocoon. The same happened with the gloves, boots, and other items. His watch was also enveloped, glowing faintly as the threads wove together.
"What the…? Hey, system! What's happening?"
> [The objects are undergoing modifications to awaken their powers. All objects will be usable after 24 hours. Be patient.]
"Be patient?!" he groaned. "It's already taken 100 days! I've been patient enough!"
Then he realized something that made his stomach drop.
"My watch… it's cocooned too. Oh no. That's my only way to pay for food!"
His stomach growled loudly, and he sank to the floor.
"Damn it. What now? I've got to survive 24 hours without eating…"
---
That night was pure misery. His stomach growled nonstop, the dull pain making it impossible to sleep.
"Why didn't I eat before this? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" he cursed himself, tossing and turning in bed.
By the time morning came, he felt like a zombie. His stomach growled as he forced himself to get up and go outside for fresh air.
The field was mostly empty, save for a few Combat students exercising. He sat on a bench, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger.
"I recognize some of these guys. It's better if they don't see me," he muttered.
Growl…
"I can't take it anymore. I need food," he whispered, dragging himself back to his dorm like a sickly ghost.
---
The hunger followed him to class, where his stomach growls echoed faintly in the quiet room. They weren't loud enough to grab everyone's attention but were enough to catch the notice of the boy sitting in front of him.
"Hey, didn't you have breakfast today?" the boy whispered as the professor left.
"It's too short… Growl… to produce this loud noise," the protagonist mumbled, his face buried in his arms.
The boy gave him a small smile. "You sure look hungry. Want to grab something during the break?"
'I'd love to, but I don't have my watch,' the protagonist thought bitterly. Instead, he said weakly,
"No… sorry. I don't have any money right now."
Growwwwl…
"Don't worry. I'll pay," the boy said kindly. "You look like you'll collapse if you don't eat soon."
For a moment, the protagonist froze, his eyes almost watering.
"I don't want to disrupt the storyline… but this can't be helped," he thought.
"Okay," he said hesitantly. "But I'll treat you next time."
---
They headed to the cafeteria together. The protagonist glanced at the boy, who was fidgeting nervously, playing with his fingers as if searching for something to say.
"He's the type who wants to make friends but doesn't know how to start a conversation," the protagonist thought with a faint smile.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" he asked, trying to break the ice. "What you'll feed me?"
"A-Ah, no, no… umm… what do you want to eat?" the boy stammered.
"Don't worry. I'll get the cheapest food," the protagonist joked lightly.
Growl…
"Pfft… haha! How long have you not eaten to make sounds like that? Let's hurry!" the boy laughed.
---
After eating, the protagonist felt like a new person.
"Phew… finally. Thank you so much," he said to the boy, who looked shocked at how fast he'd finished his food.
"You want more?"
"N-No, this is enough," he said quickly, embarrassed at how much he'd already eaten.
Now that Damien had a full stomach he could focus on other things. He could not stop the thoughts
'why this guy is helping me? He is also like me a loner, I guess he is not by choice. Is he showing friendliness because I first break the wall and talk to him first.'
He glanced at the boy walking side by side to him again playing with his finger. Thinking something to talk.
' I just asked for his note though, I guess he wanted to be friends. But damn I even not bother to know his name.'
'should I ask?' thinking this his face grew red in embarrassment.
'What the hell he offered me food and i didn't even bother to know his name. I never thought I would see this day, damn this guy.' Damien cursing at himself use EYES OF THE OBSERVER at the boy.
'So his name is Gallian. His stats are average.'
'Mana observer so his power is to distinguish any kinds of mana even the slightest pretty handy for a researcher.'
Near their classroom Damien looked at Gallian and said
"Hey Gallian thanks for the food, i don't know how long I would have starved if not for you. Thanks again.
"No need to thank me, i am glad that you know my name."
'what the...'
To keep his embarrassed face hidden he laughed looking up at the celling.
"Haha.. what are you saying. O.. ofcourse I know. Haha."
With that they entered their classroom.
Back in class, the boy buried himself in his studies, and the protagonist didn't bother him further. He had bigger things on his mind
"What kind of power will those objects awaken?!"