How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

The first attack was by Kang-yu.

Kuwung-!

A fierce pillar of water slammed down where Park Si-u had just been.

Kang-yu seemed determined not to let the close-range fighter Park Si-u approach, continuously shooting water like a cannon.

Kuwung-! Kung-!

Park Si-u dodged the barrage of water blasts with quick movements, but he struggled to get close to Kang-yu.

He took several short spears out of his inventory and hurled them toward the oncoming water blasts while sprinting toward Kang-yu.

“Next is my turn.”

Chwaaaak-!

The spear infused with magic collided with the water magic.

The water tried to push the spear back, but the spear sharply pierced through the water, shattering its magic.

Hududuk-!

The uncontrolled water fell to the ground.

“Whoa…!”

In that moment, as Park Si-u drew closer, Kang-yu hurriedly gathered his magic to block him.

Kurul-!

A massive amount of water gathered in front of Kang-yu.

Just as the gathered magic was about to be unleashed, Park Si-u vanished from sight.

“Where are you?!”

As Kang-yu looked around in confusion, a sudden sound cut through the air above him. Park Si-u’s whip had ensnared Kang-yu’s upper body.

With his arms and upper body bound, Kang-yu stumbled backward, losing his balance.

“Uwaah-!”

Park Si-u, who had landed on the ground, caught Kang-yu’s back and lightly tapped his neck with a small wooden dagger.

Then he smiled gently and said, “I won, right?”

“Uh, uh-huh….”

“Park Si-u wins!”

As soon as Na-yu-han announced the outcome, I rushed over to them.

“Are you both okay? Any injuries?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah….”

Kang-yu seemed to wear a dazed expression for a moment but soon began to gaze at Park Si-u with sparkling eyes.

“Hyung, you’re so cool! Strong! How do you use so many different weapons? I always hear I should just shoot my magic forcefully like a blunt object; I want to be like you!”

“It’s a result of practicing for a long time… and thanks to my skills. I think I can help you train a bit. Want me to?”

“Yeah! Please help me! I like you, hyung!”

Hmm, it seems Kang-yu has taken a liking to Park Si-u.

I could see him eagerly asking Park Si-u to show off using different weapons.

After seeing the weapon demonstration, his curiosity-filled gaze turned into one of admiration.

He must look really impressive to him.

“Unnie, if you were dating someone, I’d want it to be this hyung!”

“…Huh?”

“Thanks!”

Even though he made a strange comment midway, I was just glad they seemed to have become friends.

“Nya ha ha~ Go for it, junior!”

“That’s not it….”

Choi Su-jeong still seemed full of intentions to tease us.

Even after Park Si-u and Kang-yu’s sparring match ended, they continued with various combinations of battles.

Everyone seemed to have gotten significantly stronger during the break, so I felt motivated to train hard again.

After the last sparring match, we took a short break.

“If I shoot the water magic first, then you freeze it with your ice magic, right?”

“Yeah. The key is how well we coordinate.”

Having been sparring for quite a while, one would expect them to feel tired and want to rest, but Kang-yu was already brainstorming joint attack strategies with Lee Ha-na. He was truly hardworking.

Just as their discussion was heating up, the training room door swung open violently.

Kung-!

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the entrance of the training room.

A tall man, whom none of us had seen before, leaned against the door with a grin. He had bluish skin and appeared to be a half-merman, judging by the gills instead of ears.

Riding above him was Yggdrasil.

“We’re here!”

“A fellow tribesman is here, so we came!”

“Tribesman?”

Choi Su-jeong’s expression twisted oddly as she pondered the word “tribesman,” but it quickly returned to a neutral face.

While Choi Su-jeong likely recalled unpleasant memories, Kang-yu seemed pleased by the term and ran straight toward the man.

“Wow! A half-merman! Are you a senior?”

“Hmm! I heard you’re a junior!”

“Since you’ve arrived, please dismount.”

“Got it!”

The man carefully lowered Yggdrasil onto the training room floor. Then he thumped his solid chest and introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you! You can call me Sion! I’m a second-year! To meet such cute juniors today, my luck score is 100 points!”

Hearing his name reminded me that this person was a character from the original novel.

A believer in superstitions, he spoke in a bizarre manner typical of historical dramas and was a solid ally that often appeared.

The setting indicated that his speech became strange due to learning Korean through K-dramas….

“Nice to meet you! I’m Kang-yu!”

If he gets close to Kang-yu, he should make a good senior.

I smiled softly while watching the two begin a cheerful conversation, with Yggdrasil looking pleased.

The other kids also seemed intrigued by Sion and gradually approached him to greet him.

“I’ll go buy some drinks while you all introduce yourselves.”

“Oh, it’s been a while, Ha-na!”

It seemed that Lee Ha-na was already familiar with Sion.

As she stood up to get drinks, Na-yu-han followed her out.

“I’ll go with you.”

“It’s okay to stay here.”

“I have something to do.”

“Alright, then.”

The two exited side by side to buy drinks.

And in the meantime…

[Story fragments have been added!] [Current collected story fragments: 10] – Genius commander of the academy: 4 – ???? ??? ???? ?? (Locked): 6

…a message popped up.

Moreover, the newly added story fragments seemed related to the question marks rather than any specific themes.

I figured I’d check on it when we returned to the dorm later.

While I was pondering this, a strange conversation drifted into my ears.

“Oh, junior! Are you perhaps interested in the Tower and our future?”

“I have a lot of thoughts about future plans!”

“Good! Then how about joining the Towerist Church?”

“Towerist Church?”

…This crazy senior was trying to recruit!

I interjected between Sion, who was handing out a pamphlet with a fox with ten tails and a tower, and Kang-yu, who was about to take it.

“I’m sorry, but I think we need to think about that slowly. Our Kang-yu is still young.”

I wouldn’t buy into any cult.

Although I wanted to say that, I held back since he was a senior.

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate, but then I’ll give you a gift instead!”

“…What is this?”

“A lucky letter! It’s trending these days! If you have it, good fortune will come to the owner, but you must pass it on to someone else within three days!”

“Thank you…?”

I tried to maintain my expression while watching Kang-yu receive the letter with a bewildered look.

…What kind of cursed letter is this as a gift?

…It seems like everyone here has gone a bit crazy. Everyone except Kang-yu and me.

By the way, strange things have been happening lately regarding cults.

I clearly remembered that the Sion described in the original novel didn’t go around spreading religion….

Was the Towerist Church a new variable that appeared after I was reincarnated, or was it just one of the elements in this world not depicted in the novel?

“We’re back—”

Just then, Na-yu-han and Lee Ha-na returned from getting drinks.

Sion received the drink from Lee Ha-na, thanked her, and then said he would be taking his leave.

“See you again!”

As I watched Sion cheerfully greet us while leaving, I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me.

And as soon as I confirmed he had gone far out of the training room, I turned to Kang-yu.

“Kang-yu.”

“Yeah?”

“The letter I just received, maybe later… no.”

“Don’t worry, noona.”

Kang-yu said with a bright smile as if he understood my feelings.

“What’s going to happen? It’s a kind gesture, so I’ll cherish it!”

“Right….”

I glared at the letter with a sense of unease before heading over to Yggdrasil, who was calling us.

Today’s training was indeed tough.

But as I watched Kang-yu having so much fun throughout, I finally had to admit that my younger brother had become a training fanatic.

But that’s a good thing, right…?

***

After finishing training and having dinner, night had fallen.

I returned to the dormitory and lay on my bed, reviewing my plans for the future.

The story had already changed to some extent.

Moreover, the bigger problem was that the point where I had exited was approaching.

The point where even the remaining knowledge would be hard to use was coming soon.

From now on, I would have to rely solely on the meta system and my abilities.

And while doing so, I needed to protect Kang-yu and the orphanage family… Would it be possible?

…No, it’s not about whether it’s possible. It has to be made possible.

[Meta Points: 24,000]

I found myself glaring at the meta system window in front of me.

The seventh key… that is, the key to the Heavenly Tiger. I considered exchanging it for meta points right away, but doing so would make it hard to explain when Na-yu-han found the key.

However, if I had 20 million points, I thought I might not have to move along with Na-yu-han, so I tried to buy “Prevent the Catastrophe Flood” with a story twist.

“Okay. Let’s prevent the Catastrophe Flood!”

[The Catastrophe Flood will never occur from now on.] [200,000,000 points] [Not enough points!]

‘What the hell….’

But the price was 200 million.

Honestly, it seemed cheaper to just run around next to Na-yu-han to prevent the catastrophe.

In reality, if there was no chance of dropping out of the protagonist’s party, that would be the best option.

“Phew….”

I let out a small sigh.

The conclusion is that I need to gather information diligently, collect points, and train hard.

Information and maximum—