The impact of the documentary’s first broadcast was significant.
The ratings weren’t particularly high, but it gained popularity among a small group of people.
And it seemed that most of the students at school had watched it.
Since the total number of students was only 450, recognizing faces was easy.
Plus, with all the incidents involving me, there wasn’t a single student who didn’t know who I was.
“Hello, Kim Sunwoo-sunbae!”
“Hey, Sunwoo!”
More and more students started greeting me warmly whenever they saw me.
Thanks to this, I earned about 5,000 additional fame points.
This kind of recognition wasn’t bad.
If I caught the attention of villains like the Demons or Jaun, it wouldn’t be good, but simply being known for having the highest academic scores wouldn’t put me on their radar.
“Alright! Today’s training is extreme environment adaptation training!”
And so, on Tuesday afternoon, the training that students feared the most—extreme environment adaptation training—began.
As the name suggested, this training required students to endure harsh environments, such as scorching lava fields or freezing glaciers, while racing to escape a cave as quickly as possible.
Some students even referred to it as an obstacle course race.
“This is crazy. I heard this one’s really tough.”
“I’m terrible with the cold…”
Voices of complaint rose among the students, which was understandable.
I had experienced this training before my regression.
When it’s cold, it’s freezing, and when it’s hot, it’s unbearable.
On top of that, there are bizarre traps scattered throughout, causing all sorts of pain.
It was so grueling and excruciating that even after all these years, I still remembered that day vividly.
“You’ll all endure just fine. This training is much tougher than the others, but it will prepare you for situations that may arise in the distant future.”
As the students’ grumbling continued, Jang Ancheol offered words of encouragement.
“Now, let me explain the rules. They’re simple! Your score is determined by the order in which you escape the cave! Of course, just wanting to get out quickly doesn’t mean you will. The most important factor in this training is mental fortitude.”
As Jang Ancheol emphasized, the key to this training was mental strength.
Even if someone had a strong body, without mental resilience, they wouldn’t survive in an extreme environment.
Following his guidance, we all stood before the portal gate leading to the outdoor training area.
“As soon as you pass through the portal, you will enter a specially designed cave. The test will begin immediately upon arrival.”
The students nodded with tense expressions.
“Now! Everyone, enter the portal!”
At Jang Ancheol’s command, all the students, including myself, quickly stepped into the portal.
Flash!
With a bright flash of light, the scene changed.
I slowly took in my surroundings.
A pitch-black cave.
It was so dark that an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to see anything—not even a sliver of light reached inside.
“What the hell? I can’t see anything.”
“How are we supposed to do this?”
“Hey! Stop pushing!”
About 50 students, unable to see in the darkness, bumped into each other, voicing their frustration.
But thanks to my adaptation trait, I could see perfectly fine in the dark.
Quietly, I slipped away from the crowd.
Alright, I should take the lead.
Just as I was about to move forward—
Wooooong…
One of the students cast a spell, illuminating the surroundings.
“Oh? I can see now!”
“Wait, Kim Sunwoo’s already way ahead?”
“What are you waiting for? Run!”
Now that they could see, nearly 50 students surged forward at once.
Since ranking depended on escape time, everyone rushed ahead at full speed.
I ran as well, keeping pace with them.
“This isn’t too bad.”
“Yeah, as long as we have magic, we can see fine.”
After about five minutes of running, the cave’s environment suddenly changed.
“Ugh! It’s freezing!”
“What the hell?”
A sudden and extreme cold made several students hunch over.
The first stage of the training—the glacier zone—had begun.
The temperature here was roughly -10°C.
Without thick clothing, it would be difficult to endure.
In fact, curling up from the cold was a mistake.
It would only delay the escape, prolonging their suffering.
But, of course, that was easier said than done.
“Tsk.”
Not that I had any right to criticize.
I wasn’t enduring this through sheer mental strength—I had a cold resistance trait thanks to my evolution and adaptation abilities.
Simply put—
In this extreme environment adaptation training, no one could beat me.
Not even Lee Seo-jun.
After running non-stop for about twenty minutes, I started to feel the limits of my stamina.
Beside me, Lee Seo-jun also slowed down, catching his breath.
“…Whew.”
I glanced at him as he walked, breathing heavily.
This guy was insane.
I had my evolution and adaptation traits to help me withstand the cold, but Lee Seo-jun didn’t.
He had matched my pace purely through sheer willpower.
“…You’re crazy.”
“Hah… What?”
Lee Seo-jun sniffled, his nose red from the cold.
“I can’t believe you have that kind of mental strength.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What about you?”
At his response, I muttered quietly.
“…Hey, I don’t have the same level of mental strength as you.”
“What are you talking about? You’re handling this way better than me—ah, ah-choo! Ugh, this is brutal.”
Seeing him like this, I couldn’t help but feel a strange urge to root for him, even though he was my competition.
Not only did he have incredible physical strength, but his mental fortitude was unparalleled as well.
Come to think of it, that was the reason I had read the original novel all the way to the end.
“Hang in there. The lava zone should be coming up soon.”
“How do you know?”
Lee Seo-jun wrapped his arms around himself and asked.
“It’s obvious. Cold comes first, then heat. Makes sense, right?”
“Hm. I guess that’s logical.”
Then, he glanced at me suspiciously and added,
“But telling your competition to hang in there… You’re way too relaxed.”
“Heh. Guess I overstepped.”
I replied playfully.
In the midst of the freezing cold, Yoo Ara walked forward, relying on her fire magic.
Ahead of her, she could see Kim Sunwoo and Lee Seo-jun walking side by side.
Clenching her teeth, she bit back her frustration.
At this rate, she would be in third place.
As the second-ranked student in the entire second year, she could not accept finishing in third.
Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t match those two in physical ability.
“Kim Sunwoo… What the hell is with him?”
For a mage-type ability user, he wasn’t far behind Lee Seo-jun in terms of physical prowess.
How could someone be such a monster?
“…Has he given up on hiding his strength?”
Just a month ago, he hadn’t made his abilities this obvious.
Had something changed?
“Sigh…”
A deep sigh escaped her.
She had always considered Lee Seo-jun to be her only rival.
But lately, it wasn’t him—Kim Sunwoo was the one on her mind.
His strength was one thing, but more than that, she felt anxious about the possibility of dropping to third place.
If Kim Sunwoo surpassed her in the upcoming finals…
“That would be the worst.”
She had always aimed to surpass Lee Seo-jun and take first place.
Yet now, she was just trying to hold onto second.
The bitter realization stung more in the icy cold.
“…Focus.”
With renewed determination, Yoo Ara pressed forward.
After walking for about ten minutes, just as I had expected, the icy terrain ended, and the lava zone began.
The scorching flames heated up the surroundings, and an intense wave of heat engulfed me.
“Huff… Huff…”
Since I didn’t yet have any adaptive traits related to heat, I was starting to feel the strain.
My breathing became difficult, and sweat dripped steadily onto the ground.
And after about another ten minutes—
A message appeared before my eyes.
[Your body is adapting to the extreme heat!]
[Adaptive trait ‘Heat Resistance (F)’ has been added!]
“…It worked.”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
Hearing my small mutter, Lee Seo-jun glanced at me. I shook my head.
“Nothing, just saying this is tough.”
“Oh.”
Lee Seo-jun nodded without much suspicion.
“Phew.”
Now that I had gained a trait, I could feel the heat easing up. Of course, it was still hot, but it was much more bearable than before.
I immediately checked the details of my newly acquired trait.
━━
[Heat Resistance (F)]
Category: Trait
Description: Enhances your body’s ability to withstand heat.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Sunburn
+1 to Magic Power.
+50% Heat Resistance.
+5% Fire Attribute Resistance.
━━
The effect was nearly identical to my ‘Cold Resistance’ trait.
+1 Magic Power, +50% Heat Resistance, and Fire Attribute Resistance.
Gaining a new trait was always a benefit.
“Heh.”
With that, Lee Seo-jun and I continued walking for about ten more minutes. Thanks to my Heat Resistance trait, my stamina was gradually recovering.
The combination of the Returner’s Wristwatch and various stamina recovery traits was allowing me to regain my strength quickly.
I glanced at Lee Seo-jun beside me.
Drenched in sweat, he looked completely exhausted from the heat.
His movements were sluggish—unlike me, he wasn’t recovering his stamina.
Well, now that I thought about it, recovering stamina in this kind of heat was already abnormal.
“I’m going ahead.”
“Huh?”
Hearing my sudden statement, Lee Seo-jun lifted his head.
“What? Your stamina’s back?”
“Yeah, more or less.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. How do you recover stamina in this heat?”
I smirked.
“Who knows? Anyway, I’ll be cheering for you. Good luck getting second place.”
As encouragement, I gave him a few light pats on the shoulder.
Lee Seo-jun just stared at me in disbelief.
“Well, see you later.”
I sprinted ahead.
The grueling extreme environment training had finally ended.
The result—an easy first place.
Jang Ancheol seemed dumbfounded as he muttered something about yet another record-breaking performance.
And as expected, Lee Seo-jun took second place.
Third was Yoo Ara. Fourth was Shin Young-joon. As for fifth place and beyond… I didn’t really care.
This extreme environment adaptation training had been beneficial for more than just my ranking.
I had acquired several new adaptive traits, including Heat Resistance.
Back in the dormitory, I examined the traits I had obtained this time.
━━
[Electric Resistance (D)]
Category: Trait
Description: Enhances your body’s ability to resist electricity.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Electric Being
+1 to Magic Power.
+10% Electric Attribute Resistance.
━━
━━
[Breath Control (D)]
Category: Trait
Description: Your body has adapted to controlling its breath.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Superhuman Endurance
+2 to Stamina.
+1 to Magic Power.
+20% increase in breath recovery speed.
+20% increase in breath-holding duration.
━━
I had gained three new adaptive traits, which was satisfying.
Breath Control, in particular, was quite useful as it boosted my stamina by 2 points.
Especially the increased breath recovery speed—it would help significantly with endurance activities like running.
Smiling in satisfaction, I closed all the status windows.
Then, I started thinking about my upcoming schedule.
The first thing that came to mind was the study trip and final exams in England two weeks from now.
“…England, huh.”
England was one of the world’s top five magic nations, just like Korea.
The five magic nations were Korea, the United States, China, Russia, and England.
England, in particular, had earned its place among them due to the various mythical and legendary artifacts hidden within its lands.
Things like Excalibur or Lugh’s Spear…
Of course, it would be great if I could get my hands on such legendary items, but unfortunately, most of them already had owners or were under state protection.
“Speaking of which, those guys will be making an appearance soon.”
The students from the British Magic Academy.
Some of them would become Lee Seo-jun’s enemies, while others would become his allies.
Since they played a significant role in the original story, I had to keep an eye on them.
If I handled my relationships with them well, I might be able to rack up a good amount of points.
I started mapping out my plans for two weeks from now.
Leave a Reply