The first thing I noticed when I woke up was yet another unfamiliar white ceiling. As I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized that I was in what appeared to be a hospital room.

I was laying in one of the patient beds and my body felt comfortable on the soft, flat mattress. Feeling something poking my arm, I turned to see an IV needle in me. Looking around, it looked like I was in a large room where multiple patients are put in and cared for. There were more patient beds lined up next to me on either side and also in another row in front of me.

I must be in the Agoge Infirmary…

Unlike the school nurse's office where there’s not much in terms of medical equipment and such, the Agoge Infirmary is pretty much a hospital for Agoge students. This was because there are many cases where students get severely hurt to where a regular nurse's office won’t suffice.

“Looks like you’re awake now,” someone said right next to me.

When I turned to see who it was, I was a little shocked to see Mr. Protagonist sitting next to my hospital bed. He was in a stiff-looking chair and was apparently reading a book while watching over me.

I couldn't tell what kind of book he was reading, but it didn't look like a novel or something. In fact, I think I saw the word "history" on it. He was likely studying for something.

Seeing him next to me, I slowly got up from the bed and looked at him.

“What happened…?” I asked, groggily.

The first thing I needed to know was what happened after I passed out. Unlike when I got stung by the manticore, I didn't astral project, so I don't know anything after falling unconscious.

“You’re currently in the infirmary,” Luke explained. “We managed to signal the Instructors about what was happening and were able to get you treated for the venom.”

“That’s good…”

I didn't realize until just now, but the burning sensation I felt before was pretty much gone. That meant that the Venom was out of my system now.

Though, I wasn't worried about myself at the moment...

"What about the others? Are they okay?"

My main concern right now was our friends. Although I defeated the Manticore, who knows if anything else occurred while I was unconscious?

“Everyone else is fine. The only one who was in any real danger was you because of the venom.”

While telling me this, Luke informs me that I’ve been unconscious for a couple of days.

He then explains how after the Instructors found and saved us after we finally managed to get their attention with a signal; the Group Training Session was soon canceled. However, we still received our points and those that didn’t get enough were able to make it up through another activity.

Of course, this didn’t apply to my group and Luke’s since we were able to get enough points to be passable. I believe my group got 87 points and Luke got 85.

If I remember correctly, before the Manticore, we were at 40 points, so that’s a good other 40 points from the Manticore.

“I still don’t understand why the Instructors didn’t show up sooner,” Luke pondered. “They said that there were technical difficulties with their monitors, and they couldn’t see anything. It’s one of the reasons why they didn’t notice the Manticore when it attacked. Apparently, none of them knew it was there.”

“I see…”

Well, of course, they didn’t know. The culprits made sure that the manticore was kept secret from the academy for this very moment. Still, I don't understand why they sent a mutant Manticore. That seemed a bit overkill...

Did they think that there was a threat that powerful amongst the students? Just what the hell did that spy tell the others? The only reason why that manticore, or at least the original one, was because the spy that infiltrated Agoge told them about the sparring match. But they should've gone with an ordinary one, so why...?

Could it have been the sparring matches being messed up because of [Absolute Misfortune]...?

Before I could ponder more about that, both Luke and I heard footsteps and turned to see some people approaching us. They were all familiar too.

“You’re awake!” Min said cheerfully while smiling.

Along with Min were also Beiste, Tyra, Jeanne, and Thea. Though, it felt like there was a person missing.

“How are you holding up?” Beiste asked.

“I feel a lot better,” I told him.

Although I said I felt better, I was still a bit out of it. It could've been because I was being injected with something from the IV, but I'm not sure. But I do feel a bit tired.

“Considering you summoned all those magic blades and killed the Manticore with them while also suffering from its venom, you’re lucky to be alive,” Thea stated.

“Yeah, heh…”

What I did before was pretty dangerous. I expanded my mana pool in order to gather and use more mana to summon all those blades. While the plan did work, I can tell that it still took a toll on my body.

Unlike boosting my strength or speed, which overclocked my muscles, I forcibly expanded my mana pool in order to gather more mana to use. If done incorrectly, that would've ended terribly. To the point where I probably wouldn't be able to even gather mana anymore.

I’ll have to be careful for a little while until I’m fully recovered.

“You had us all worried, Monroe,” Tyra says. “We’re glad you’re okay now.”

“Thanks,” I said while smiling.

I don’t know why, but it felt really nice that all these amazing characters I read in the novel…were interacting with me in such a way. It felt like I was part of the group.

It was a pretty good feeling.

“So, how long do you think you’ll be in here?” Thea asked.

“I don’t know. They’ll probably run some tests on me to make sure there’s nothing wrong, then they’ll dismiss me so I can go back to class.”

Considering how injured Agoge students can get, it’s common practice to also test the patients and make sure there’s nothing wrong with them before sending them off. They don’t want the students to come back due to the doctors missing something.

“Well, you’re not missing much,” Tyra states. “The instructor is mostly talking about unique monster types and such. Kind of like the Manticore.”

While I actually do find that subject interesting, I more or less know what he would be talking about, so there’s not much for me to get information that's new.

“There are the exams we have to prepare for…” Jeanne says grimly, causing the others to look a little worried.

Oh yeah…the exams.

The reason why everyone was a little worried was due to the Agoge exams which come in two forms, written and performance. And considering how Spartan-like the academy is, both exams are difficult to pass.

Even Mr. Protagonist had trouble with the exam. I’ll have to do something about studying for the exam later. Plus, aside from the written exam, the Performance exam is another main story event, so yeah…I’ll need to prepare for that as well.

I have a lot on my plate at the moment, huh…?

“Man, I should probably get started with studying for the exams then…” Tyra grumbles. “I’ll be going now. Get better, Monroe.”

Then, Tyra leaves the room so she could do some studying.

“I need to study as well,” Thea states. “God knows I need to, knowing how difficult the exams are…”

“I do too…” Jeanne says.

Just then, Thea and Jeanne take their leave while saying goodbye as well. All that remained was Luke and his teammates, Min and Beiste.

“What are we going to do about the exams?” Beiste worried.

“We’ll have to study…” Min concluded. “The performance exam is easy, but the written exam…”

Oh right, I forgot about this. In case it wasn’t already clear, Min and Beiste aren’t really the studying type.

I’m starting to remember multiple scenes in the novel where Luke had to assist his teammates in studying for the exams to where he was struggling a lot with them.

While Min and Beiste start worrying about the exams, Luke sighs at his teammates.

As for me, I started thinking of my next move. Although I managed to get through the first main story event, things went down a lot differently than I imagined. In the worse way possible. I guess this is what the system meant when it [Absolute Misfortune] was messing with the Wheels of Fate. None of what happened went down like I thought it would.

My entire goal here for the first arc was to be a little prepared for what was to come...and I failed big time. If I hadn't gone all out with [Indomitable Will], then things would've gotten worse. I thought my stats were enough to take on the first arc...but I was poorly mistaken. Not only did I nearly die, but so did the others...

Maybe it was a mistake for sticking around...huh?

While contemplating this, a blue panel appeared and I didn't like what it showed me.

...You got to be fucking kidding me.

"...Shit," I muttered in both annoyance and horror.

Dammit, the future has been altered again...what the hell is going to happen now?