The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character

Both Ryen and Leona had something to say about me joining Leo's hunting party this weekend.

Naturally.

Ryen crossed his arms, a slight pout on his face. "Can you at least try out the Gaming Club once? Just once?"

Seriously?

We've had this conversation at least five times by now. You'd think he'd take the hint.

"I'm not joining the Gaming Club, Ryen," I said flatly.

"But they just got new consoles—"

"No."

He sighed dramatically, like I'd crushed his dreams.

And then there was Leona—standing beside him, arms folded, eyes narrowed with just enough passive-aggression to make it feel personal.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked, voice cool. "Trying to rack up points faster than everyone else now? Aiming for the top spot?"

"…Is that what you think this is about?" I raised an eyebrow.

She didn't answer. Just looked at me like she already knew the answer, and I just hadn't realized it yet.

Honestly, sometimes I forget how different the two of them are.

Ryen still believes I'll eventually give in and start goofing off with him after classes.

Leona, meanwhile, seems to think I've got some grand plan to climb the ranks—like I'm playing a long, dangerous game.

Maybe they're both a little right.

It was Friday evening, and I was hoping to get at least some quiet time to mentally prep for tomorrow's dungeon run.

Keyword: hoping.

But instead of peace and solitude, I got this interrogation from my two favorite watchdogs.

"... Anyway, since you are going. It can't be helped. What about Sunday? Are you free then?"

It was Leona who asked me.

"Probably not."

"What?"

Actually, the dungeon we were going to wasn't that big, so we should be able to clear it in a day. But I didn't know what kind of incidents might occur, and even if it ended quickly, I wanted to rest afterward.

Leona's eyes narrowed further, her brow twitching ever so slightly.

"You don't know if you're free?" she repeated, like I'd just said I was planning to join a death cult for fun.

"I said probably not," I clarified, resisting the urge to sigh. "We'll see how things go."

"That's not an answer," she muttered.

"No, it's a realistic answer," I replied.

Ryen glanced between us like he was watching a sparring match and wasn't sure who to bet on. Then he raised both hands in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay. No need to throw daggers at each other with your eyes. Geez."

I looked away, lips tightening.

Leona took a deep breath, then shifted her weight from one leg to the other, her tone softening just a bit.

"Look… just don't burn yourself out, okay?" she said. "Even if you think you're fine, overworking in dungeons leads to mistakes."

"Noted," I said.

"And if you die out there," she added, "I will raise your corpse and punch you myself."

That… was probably the nicest threat I'd heard all week.

Ryen snorted. "Classic Leon."

"Just being honest."

There was a moment of silence. Not awkward, just… full.

Eventually, Ryen shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and gave me a look that was half-smile, half-concern.

"Well, when you're done pretending to be an elite adventurer, we're gonna be in the rec room on Sunday. Probably arguing about which game is better. You know, the usual."

"I'll keep that in mind."

He grinned and looked at Leona. "Come on. Let's leave him to stew in his anti-social loner vibes."

She rolled her eyes, but turned to follow.

As they walked away, Leona glanced over her shoulder.

"Be careful tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded.

No promises. But I'd try.

---

Next Day...

This situation was very strange.

"Good, now everyone's here," Leo said, cheerful as always.

I glanced around.

I had shown up twenty minutes early—twenty—just to avoid the usual awkwardness of being the last one to arrive. I even skipped breakfast for this. And yet, everyone else was already here when I got to the meeting point.

Everyone except Leo.

He strolled in about twenty seconds after me, casually adjusting the strap on his sword belt like he didn't just lose our unofficial "who's the earliest" competition. But hey—twenty seconds was still twenty seconds. I'd take the win.

And at least I wasn't the last one this time.

Still, it was kind of unsettling. Why were the rest of them so early? It's not like we were going to war. The dungeon we were tackling today wasn't even that deep.

The big guy—Trent or Troy or something, I never bothered to learn—was glaring at me like I'd personally insulted his ancestors.

Seriously, what was his problem? I hadn't even spoken to him yet. Maybe he didn't like my face. Or maybe he was just mad that Leo trusted me enough to invite me to his hunting party.

Whatever. Not my issue.

No one else seemed to care, at least. A couple people gave polite nods, and one girl even smiled, though it disappeared quickly when she noticed Trent's ongoing death stare.

Leo clapped his hands once, calling everyone to attention. "Alright. I'm glad to see everyone's enthusiasm—showing up early and all. Let's go over today's destination one more time before we move out."

As he spoke, he looked directly at me.

And just like that, all eyes were on me too.

Of course.

I'd already posted a summary in the group chat—clear bullet points, map image, estimated travel time, hazard rating, monster types. Everything they needed. I even color-coded the damn thing.

But Leo, being Leo, probably wanted to run through it again. Out loud. For the sake of "team clarity."

So I sighed quietly, stepped forward, and did my best to sound like someone who had slept more than five hours last night.

"First, we'll be heading to the Outer Land near Dreswyn," Leo explained, tapping on the map floating in front of us. "Thanks to the portal, we'll get there in just a few minutes."

I caught a few tense glances. Understandable.

The term Outer Land wasn't exactly comforting.

See, an Outer Land referred to an area completely transformed into something… alien. When a dungeon break happens—when the magic in an old, unstable dungeon goes out of control—the surrounding terrain doesn't just get damaged. It becomes something else entirely.

Twisted.

Hostile.

Unrecognizable.

They say the size of an Outer Land depends on the rank of the dungeon that caused it. Most are manageable, maybe a few square miles of corruption.

But the worst ones? They changed the world map.

Literally.

There's even a well-known case from centuries ago—a dungeon break so massive, it swallowed half of what used to be North Korea in a matter of hours. Back then, Earth still had seven continents. After the dust settled, it had four.

That place? Still around.

Still considered a death zone.

No one goes there and comes back in one piece. If they come back at all.

These days, people call it Nightmare Land.

Compared to that, the Outer Land we were going to just outside Dreswyn was... tame. Sort of. It was still a zone corrupted by a dungeon break, still crawling with monsters that didn't play by the usual rules—but not history-rewriting dangerous.

Still, the tension in the group was rising.

"I thought that area had already been explored?" Trent—the big guy who always looked like he was two seconds away from breaking something—spoke up.

I expected someone to tell him off for interrupting, especially since Leo was mid-briefing. But no one did. Probably because it was actually a fair question.

Leo didn't seem fazed by the tension. He just nodded calmly.

"It was. But only the outer rim."

Trent folded his arms, clearly not satisfied. "Still, that means the Heroes already cleared most of the dungeon and stabilized the area. Going there now is just a waste of time."

Wow. For a second there, it actually sounded like Trent used his brain.

I could tell he was parroting something he'd read in a report—word for word, probably. Still, the others seemed to take it seriously.

That's when I stepped forward, keeping my tone even.

"It's a dungeon that can't be found through ordinary methods."

Trent squinted at me, skeptical. "Oh yeah? Then how'd you find it?"

By reading a novel in a dimly lit dorm room in my college days ago while skipping lectures. But no way in hell was I admitting that.

Instead, I smirked. "Hey, did you already forget our bet?"

He blinked. "What?"

"I said I'd be more useful than you on this run. And I'm the one leading us to the dungeon. That still counts, right?" I said, flashing a mockingly innocent look. "Just don't try to back out now."

His jaw clenched. "You—"

"You're not planning to run away halfway through, are you?" I added casually.

The glare he gave me could've cut steel. Pure, unfiltered rage. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop the slight grin tugging at the corner of my mouth.

Manipulating meatheads like him was always so… easy.

"You're dead meat if you're lying," he growled.

I shrugged. "Guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

Leo, still unfazed, started walking ahead like this was all part of the plan. The others followed, some whispering, some staying silent.

Me? I was already thinking two steps ahead.

Because if things went well, I'd walk out of this dungeon with more than just proof I was right.

I'd walk out with leverage. And my loot also.

And in places like this, that was more valuable than any loot.

---..

Thanks for the reading the chapter!