The Extra’s POV : I can only use Dash

'Who the hell is calling me at this hour…?'

I reached for my phone on the nightstand beside my bed. 

It was a call from Eve. That's when I remembered what she had told me earlier, right before we parted ways after the break. 

"Oh… I completely forgot about that." 

I answered the call. 

"Yeah… Hello, Eve?" 

[Sugil, little brother, did you get some good rest?] 

"Well… it's almost 1 AM, so I wouldn't say I got to enjoy—" 

[Oh, quit whining already. Get down to the academy entrance in training gear. You've got ten minutes. I'll be waiting.] 

"A—Wait, Eve—" 

Before I could even finish my sentence, she had already hung up. 

I let out a deep sigh and got out of bed. 

'Guess it's just like in the novel…' 

I glanced over at Sae-jin, lying on his bed, facing away from me. He seemed to be asleep. 

"Hah… Sae-jin, you liar. I know you're not sleeping." 

"..." 

"I know you heard me talking to my sister." 

"..." 

"You wanna come?" 

"Can I?!" 

"Bingo." 

"Ugh, how'd you know?" 

I just shrugged. Honestly, despite being hard to read, Sae-jin never really slept much in the novel. Sometimes, he would sneak out in the middle of the night to train. 

"Well, hurry up. She only gave us ten minutes." 

"Alright, boss!" 

.

.

.

Even though it was an academy, SERA didn't enforce strict curfews or rigid rules. Everything depended on the students' autonomy. They were free to go out whenever and wherever they wanted, whether for training or just a casual night out. 

The only real rule was that students had to attend every class for all three years of their education. 

That's why, despite it being nearly 1 AM, neither Sae-jin nor I had to worry about getting caught by a supervisor or a professor. 

After a few minutes of walking, we finally arrived at the academy gates, where my sister was waiting for us. 

"Took you long enough." 

"Hey, I'm right on time." 

Eve's gaze then shifted to Sae-jin, who was standing beside me. 

"Wait… Aren't you the guy who made a scene this morning with that fight?" 

"Yeah, that's me. And you must be Sugil's sister, right? He's told me nothing but good things about you." 

He said with a big, warm smile. 

'Hold up—when did I ever talk to you about her?!' 

"Oh? Well, Sugil, I see you've been hyping me up!" 

"Hem… Yeah…" 

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Time to train!" 

Eve stretched her arms, preparing herself. 

"Training? For the practical exam?" 

I asked, and she nodded. 

"Yep. First, we're going to do two laps around the campus. Should take us about thirty minutes. After that, we'll head to the [Simulation] room." 

"…" 

'Wait… what?'

I turned to Sae-jin, who looked absolutely thrilled. Unlike me. 

'Two laps around the campus in thirty minutes? The place is over two kilometers wide! That's insane…' 

"Alright, let's go! Get ready!" 

Eve shouted before taking off. In just a few seconds, she was already far ahead. 

'Oh, crap. I almost forgot I was in a novel…'

"Sugil, if we don't hurry, your sister's gonna leave us in the dust!" 

Without hesitation, Sae-jin grinned and dashed after her, disappearing into the distance. 

'Seriously…?!' 

.

.

.

"Hah… ha… ahh…" 

"I—I can't… keep going…" 

I hadn't even made it past a single kilometer, and I was already gasping for air like I was dying. Meanwhile, Sae and Eve had already finished their first lap and were about to catch up to me. 

'Why did everything seem so easy in the novel…?' 

At first, I had tried using Dash to speed things up, but it was a terrible idea. Overusing it would have wrecked my leg muscles, so I held back. Now, I was regretting it. 

"Ah… Ah… Damn it…" 

"SUGIL, HURRY UP!" 

I heard Eve's voice yelling from just a few meters behind me. 

"COME ON, YOU'RE NOT DONE YET! KEEP MOVING!" 

'Easy for you to say. You're in your second year, so you probably have some kind of strengthening system…' 

'But Sae-jin, on the other hand…'

'HOW THE HELL IS HE KEEPING UP WITH EVE WITHOUT EVEN BREAKING A SWEAT?!' 

The two of them caught up in no time, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake that nearly choked me. 

"Koff—Koff… Seriously…" 

"If only… I could use mana properly like them…" 

.

.

.

"Hey, Eve… why is Sugil struggling so much?" 

"…" 

"He awakened just like us, didn't he? Mana should be making this easier for him. So why is he struggling this much?" 

"…Well, the reason for that is…" 

'Damn [Mana Restriction]… Now I understand why the real Sugil never used magic!'

[EX] 

[Kim Arrieta Sugil's Character Debuff ★★★★☆ : 

[Mana Restriction]: 

A debuff that limits or reduces the use of mana. This can manifest as slower regeneration or even a complete inability to use it.] 

[Quest: Reach Level 5 during the entrance exam

Rewards: New card abilities of 1 or 2 stars, gain points in STR and END.

Failure to complete the quest within the time limit will result in penalties for the next 10 days. Quest difficulty: RANK F.]