Chad laughed at her provocation. That bastard really does have a thick face.
Then he said, "My family, Abelard, will be buying a thirty percent stake in your car brand soon. I'm looking forward to attending a celebration ceremony of cooperation between our guilds. Don't forget to introduce me to your dad."
The word "guild" alone sent shivers down my spine. For a commoner like me, it was even more terrifying than the mafia. Guilds had direct ties to the world government and could operate on a galactic scale—owning multiple brands and major companies. With that kind of power, they could easily tip an entire artificial planet's economy upside down.
But this kid in front of me didn't make me even slightly scared—his loud, proud mouth was obnoxious, sure, but it didn't carry real weight.
Everyone knew his family didn't care about him either. Abelard had so many children that nobody at this school really feared him. That said, some people still did—mainly the ones who followed him around like the four teenagers beside him.
On the other hand, people would literally piss their pants if they even dared to offend Setsuna. The entire guild protected her like a princess. So the fact that he had the nerve to provoke her today meant he must've believed his family was finally paying attention to him.
Setsuna laughed and replied, "I'll tell my dad to cancel the plan to cooperate with your family."
At that moment, everyone went silent. Chad's face immediately flushed red, and he snapped, "Are you out of your mind?! This is a billion coins worth of cooperation!"
The fact that she could say something like that made me realize her family probably had enough money that even billions felt like nothing.
Before anyone could respond, someone stepped out from the entrance. She looked around with cold, emotionless blue eyes and asked, "Why are you guys blocking the entrance?"
"Hyun Hee!" Chad seemed to flinch and stepped aside.
I told her, "We're just having a chat."
Hyun Hee walked away and said, "This is a classroom—not a place for arguments or disputes."
Once she moved deeper into the passage and into one corner, Chad finally seemed to calm down, probably forcing his anger back down.
"I'll remember this!" Chad said, then turned and walked off in the opposite direction of where Hyun Hee had gone.
For a moment, Setsuna shrugged, looking at us in disbelief at what she'd just done. Even the teacher briefly glanced from inside the classroom to see what happened before turning back to type something into the holographic display in front of him.
Still, it wasn't my place to question her decisions about her guild matters.
I said, "Let's grab something to eat."
Shan and Setsuna nodded, and we walked through the same passage Hyun Hee had taken. Soon, we reached a hall where many people were gathered—sitting at round tables and chatting—while they watched the city through the panoramic glass wall.
We passed through my school's clean, futuristic hallways, lined with holographic displays showcasing achievements tied to the world government. Then we turned into another passage—its sleek white aluminum walls lit by soft, blue ambient lights.
The area felt alive: students and staff moving around, music drifting through the air, conversations overlapping, and footsteps echoing in the background.
As I approached the cafeteria entrance, I could see the glass doors reflecting the vibrant colors around us.
With anticipation, I pushed the doors open and stepped inside, ready to enjoy a meal in the lively atmosphere of the school cafeteria.
As I entered the cafeteria, I scanned the room. Many people had already taken seats—at least, that's what it looked like from where I stood—since it was lunchtime for everyone on this floor. Finding a place to sit wasn't easy.
Fortunately, I spotted an available square table large enough for six people. One seat was already taken, and a girl with short white hair was sitting there. Her bag rested on the nearby chair.
It was none other than Hyun Hee. I couldn't help wondering why she always did things alone.
"It's packed in here," Setsuna complained.
"Don't worry. I found an empty seat—come on." I guided them forward, walking straight toward where Hyun Hee was.
Without saying a word, Shan and Setsuna followed me until we reached her table. Hyun Hee sat quietly, calmly enjoying her kimbap.
I asked her "Can I sit with you?"
Hyun Hee briefly looked up at me, nodded, and then returned to eating.
After her approval, Shan sat down immediately, placing himself in front of the seat where Hyun Hee had put her bag. I sat next to him, facing Hyun Hee, while Setsuna took the seat beside her.
I slid my backpack off my shoulder and set it near the foot of my seat. It was lightweight, thanks to weight-adjustment technology that could reduce the bag's effective weight depending on what I stored inside.
In this cafeteria, you didn't have to walk up to a vendor machine to order. You only had to open the app, choose whatever you wanted, and a small dog-sized robot on four wheels would deliver it to your table.
At the same time, Hyun Hee finished her meal and left quickly with her backpack—without warning or a word to us beforehand. We'd already gotten used to her cold, distant demeanor, so no one bothered to mention it. Everyone just focused on ordering.
Each of us opened our tablet displays. A notification immediately popped up asking whether we wanted to access the cafeteria website. I tapped Confirm. Instantly, a new browser opened, showing a list of available foods.
There wasn't much to choose from—though what else would you expect from a school cafeteria?
For lunch, I selected chicken curry and orange juice. Then I slipped my tablet back into my jacket pocket and let myself take in the atmosphere.
People were chatting and laughing. Some students ate alone. I couldn't believe I was seeing this familiar scenery again—especially after what happened this morning. It was like I almost became brain-dead, and somehow I was still here.
I stared at the wall made of UV-protection glass. Through it, I could see most of the Sector 1 and Sector 2 dome landscapes.
Over the skyscrapers—buildings so tall they nearly touched the dome's edge—flying cars hovered, connected to the ground by multiple bridges and wheel-driven vehicles. Even from here, I could spot a giant park spanning across the dome, climbing onto the upper structures to promote green energy.
A few minutes later, three delivery robots rolled into view. They could follow a set route on their own or be controlled remotely. Each robot had sensors to avoid obstacles and navigate around obstacles smoothly. Inside, they had compartments for the dishes and items they delivered, including a built-in feature to eliminate bacteria and dirt so everything stayed fresh.
When they reached our table, their compartments split open. The platform holding the dishes then levitated, and the robots carefully—yet gently and cautiously—carried the food to our places.
Setsuna smiled as soon as she saw her favorite dish—chicken breast with carrots and tomato—placed in front of her. Shan, meanwhile, had a normal chicken sandwich and a cup of coffee.
Before the delivery robots left, Setsuna patted them. They responded with cheerful beep-beep sounds, like they were happy.
A few minutes later, we finished our meals and drinks. That's when the news caught everyone's attention. It began broadcasting through multiple displays—both in the cafeteria and across the school and surrounding skyscrapers.
A sweet yet smooth female voice filled the air. When I looked at the holographic display, I saw a woman in her mid-20s wearing a beautiful dress. She held herself with strict posture and radiated a professional aura.
The announcement said, "The world government has concluded the temporary shutdown of all VR games throughout the solar system. However, the AR version of TWOD can still be played as a way for professional rankers to compete."
She continued, "Regarding the victims of the TWOD explosion, the world government will provide permanent hospital healthcare at no cost. It will also offer 500,000 coins in compensation to the victims' families."
"I guess we won't be able to hunt down dimensional creatures for a while," Shan exclaimed.
However, Setsuna looked slightly pale. She opened her tablet and checked the stock market. The value of her father's company had dipped a little, though it didn't fall much compared to other companies—because most of his income came from vehicle production.
After a long, deep sigh of relief, she put her tablet back into her jacket pocket.
I told her, "Don't worry. Your family owns multiple companies outside of TWOD."
With a small nod, she replied, "I was afraid my father would have no choice but to sign that contract with that bastard family. But now… it's fine. I'll convince him not to sign."
That bastard she mentioned must be Chad; I wonder what happened to his family after the temporary shutdown of the server since his family owned a big share in a trading company in TWOD, and they also funded small guilds to hunt down rare dimensional creatures for them.
But it was not my problem, and honestly, I had a lot of things going on in my head right now. I was still surprised that I was still able to come to school and act normally despite facing all the challenges and difficulties, just to show how strong I had come on my own.
All around us, people began to chat about the situation regarding what happened to TWOD and reality. But Shan immediately stood up and signaled me and Setsuna to leave the cafeteria. We followed him to the outside and stood before the cafeteria.
"Let's meet each other in front of our school," Shan said. He added to me, "Did you tell anyone about what happened this morning?"
He brought up the topic out of nowhere; I just shook my head at him, and he smiled. As Setsuna looked at me and Shan with narrow eyes filled with curiosity.
To divert her attention, I asked.
"What do we drive to the vibrant city? It is outside the sector 1 and 2 domes."
Setsuna smiled, and with an energetic voice she said, "My car, of course!"
To be honest, I didn't want us to stand out much, and Setsuna's car collection was just so impressive that people couldn't help but pay attention.
I facepalm and shake my head. "Give me a break; we are not going there to show off."
Setsuna got closer to me with a poker face, and then I felt a heavy slap on my back. I was used to her violent demeanor, so I just frowned and said, "What is it all of a sudden?"
"Just how often do you think you can drive a sport-flying car?" She stated and repeatedly pinched my cheek.
Shan sighed and tried to convince her, "We are not hip-hop artists; what is the point of driving a flashy car? Our whole band idea is that we start from the beginning, with nothing but our combined talent and authenticity."
Sometimes, I just wanted him to be a leader. More importantly, Setsuna nodded without arguing which was rare for her, most of the time she would talk back and direct everyone like she owned the band.
With this decision, everyone split up since there were four hours left until 4 pm. Setsuna mentioned she was going to drum class and Shan would stay in the nearby library. Additionally, I also had a sparring session with my mentor so I couldn't stick with them until 4 pm. As soon as they left, I also headed to meet my mentor.
Beyond the cafeteria, there were two other passages, and one of the passages led to an open park that had a sports facility located on it. I was walking on this passage, and on the wall, there was a painting of various athletes and sports competitions as well as a holographic display about sports news.
I walked for several minutes until I encountered another entrance with another hologram barrier, and two security guards stood near the entrance guarding the scanning device.
Locating the scanning device situated at the center before the entrance, I stepped forward and scanned it. The hologram entrance deactivated, revealing a park stretching for many hundred meters with basketball, tennis, and football courts. The security guard glanced my way briefly after I scanned and was about to walk through the entrance.
One of them asked "Hey, brother. Have you noticed that more people with black hoods and angel masks soaked in blood mask appear more frequently in this school?"
I replied, "Well, they have been more active these past few days."
This security guard always strikes up a conversation with me whenever I go through the entrance to the kickboxing facility; he is very friendly and will strike up a conversation with people on and off during his duty.
He looked like he was in deep contemplation, the school guard didn't have a helmet on like other security guards so it was not scary to spend time with them since they were also approachable.
He finally said, "I have a bad feeling about this, but since the school principal said as long as it didn't affect the school security, I should overlook this matter."
"I see," I replied.
The other guard said, "There you go again; we are currently on duty. Focus on our job!"
The friendly guard nodded and smiled while saying to me, "Ahh, sorry, please continue and have a nice day."
With a smile and a pat on his back, I continued to proceed beyond the entrance. Fresh air could be felt, and numerous people engaging in sports activities like traditional basketball and tennis could also be seen. Some people sprinted and jogged back and forth around the park. It seemed lively, and the building that I was heading to right now was a small enclosed facility that only students trained under Geralt could enter with his permission.
After several minutes of walking past many people, I eventually arrived at a small building. I opened the metal door and was greeted with a view of many people wearing boxing gloves punching a robotic mannequin that always moved left and right to dodge their punch. In the center of the hall was a mid-size round fighting ring.
As soon as I entered the building, some of the old guys looked at me. Then they walked to one of the people who repeatedly punched a lifeless dummy.
He was tall and bulky; he had a white beard and red hair. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and short pants; his green eyes were fresh to look at, despite his intimidating aura.
The old man stopped punching the dummy and turned to look at me. With green eyes, without hesitation, I made my way toward him. After all, this red-haired old man was my mentor, Geralt.
He looked very calm and quiet as I arrived before him. He didn't say anything and just nodded at me; this was a sign of approval for today's training. Afterward, he turned to walk toward one of the doors in the building; I followed him closely from behind.
As we entered through the door, we were greeted by a staircase illuminated by a radiant stream of light pouring in from the panoramic window, a gift from the artificial sun of the holographic sky.
Descending the stairs, we eventually reached one of the training rooms. However, it resembled more of a basement than a traditional training space, as it was cluttered with boxes and electrical equipment. Despite the disarray, the room boasted a breathtaking view of the city through a massive glass wall that spanned the entire length of one side.
At the center was a robotic dummy, it didn't have a hand or leg and was rooted in one place however it could dodge left and right and even use electromagnetic force to lightly punch back, if I didn't block the force, it would be counted as the punch landed.
As I glanced upward, I noticed a familiar girl who often frequented the ground floor above us. Several individuals were engaged in training on that level, while our room was separated by a transparent glass wall.
This arrangement allowed those on the ground floor to have a clear view of our basement. Curiously, the girl never initiated conversation or indicated any interest in me or Geralt. Instead, she simply observed our training sessions. Whenever our eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze.
The girl possessed short, brown hair and brown skin. She leaned against the handlebar in front of the glass wall, attentively observing the basement. It was unclear whether she was fixated on the view within the basement or peering through the panoramic window on the ground floor.
With a deep yet relaxed voice, he said, "Put your backpack somewhere; let's start our training."
"I understand."
After I put my backpack in one of the stacked boxes in the corner of this room, I also removed my jacket and then walked toward the dummy.
He gave me the boxing gloves and asked me to extend both of my palms. Then he used a Nedro spray on my hand to kill the bacteria before I wore it.
After I equipped the boxing gloves, Geralt said, "Today just learn to dodge and block the dummy electromagnet attack. After that, you will have to have a spar with me."
With shock, I replied, "But I am not yet ready!"
He replied, "The world is getting chaotic nowadays; it won't wait for you to get ready. So from now on you will have to endure real pain with a real fight."
I nodded, even though I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against him. However, I was also aware that I must improve myself and take this chance to improve myself.