7 Chapter 7 - A New Student
{7} - Evans Smith: New Student
...
[Level: 10*]
[…]
[Mentor Exp: 132,639]
*50,000 Mentor Exp to unlock Next Tier. Next Tier increases Max Level to 20, increases Max Stats to 400, and increases Skill Count Limit to 10.
Evans frowned as he stared at his Status.
Just like Izumi, he'd hit the first wall. He needed to use 50,000 Mentor Exp to allow him to grow stronger. And he could certainly pay for that immediately. He had over double the required Mentor Exp.
Except if he did, then he wouldn't be able to purchase the Gymnasium upgrade for his school. The Gymnasium would provide him a much more conducive space to hold Lectures related to [Combat] or [Exercise]. It would even provide him with weights that decreased his Stats but increased the Rewards he'd get after every Lecture.
But it costs 120,000 Mentor Exp.
He considered his options. What to do? Taking one meant excluding the other. If he unlocked his Next Tier, it'd take him some eighty or ninety Lectures before he could make it back to 120,000 Mentor Exp.
Unless, of course, he took another Student. That'd cut the time he'd need in half.
…
He sighed.
[50,000 Mentor Exp has been spent. Next Tier has been unlocked!]
[Name: Evans Smith]
[Age: 21]
[Level: 10 (20,000 Mentor Exp until Next Level)]
[Strength: 173]
[Endurance: 141]
[Agility: 162]
[Intelligence: 215]
[Skill: 207]
[Skills: -Mentoring Lv 89-, -Engineering Lv 55-, -Kung Fu Lv 61- ]
[Mentor Exp: 82,639]
He grimaced. And just like that, the Gymnasium was once more out of his grasp. This was, like, the third time that his plan of getting the Gymnasium had been sidetracked by something else. He couldn't muster any annoyance at it.
Oh well.
He leaned back onto the chair he'd been sitting on and sighed. He turned to the window, out into the endless desert of red sands. The outside hadn't changed despite the many months that'd gone by. The skies above were just as unnaturally blue as they were months before.
He turned back. He brought up the [List of Potential Students], and he began to read. The number of choices was overwhelming, each with varying levels of Difficulty. He disregarded anything that was Very Hard or above, but anything that was below that was open for him to choose.
After what felt like hours of mindless scrolling, he came across one that was…interesting.
[Teach Sung-Jin-Woo that Hope Will Never Die | Difficulty: Hard]
The mission was strange. He knew Sung-Jin-Woo. He was the main character of Solo Leveling. Evans hadn't read it in a while, but he could vaguely remember what it was about.
But [Hope Will Never Die], was it? What could that even mean?
He knew these missions were to divert these characters at certain points of time. For Izumi, it'd been just after All Might had shot down her dream, and when she'd considered taking her own life.
What pivotal moment of Solo Leveling would he be dragging Sung-Jin-Woo from? The ending? The middle points? Or-
He stilled. He had a feeling he knew what had happened, and he immediately accepted the prompt.
[Future Student has been chosen. Will you allow Sung-Jin-Woo to appear at the same time as Izumi Midoriya does? *This can be changed at a later date*]
He clicked 'No' for the time being. Neither Izumi or Jin Woo would be stable at this point of time. It'd be better to keep them separate.
The classroom shone with light, and Evans cringed as he heard someone crash onto the floor. "That must've hurt." He whispered.
The light slowly went away, and right in front of him was a young man. Short in stature, with dull black hair and sunken eyes, dressed in nothing but overalls. There were bags beneath his eyes, and his skin was pale. It seemed as if he hadn't gone out and seen the sunlight in weeks.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"H-Huh?" Jin Woo stood up. "W-Where am I? What happened? I was-"
"Calm down." He said. Jin Woo turned to him—it seemed he finally realized another person was in the room. "You're in danger."
"You-" He narrowed his eyes. A faint feeling of power crept into the air. Interesting, he thought. Was this the meager power Jin Woo had as an E-Rank? "Who are you?"
He smiled. "I'm Evans Smith."
"Evans Smith…" Jin Woo repeated, and then stopped. "You're not Korean?" Evans shook his head, and Jin Woo frowned. "But-, your Korean is perfect."
His smile grew.
"It's no surprise." He began. His voice dipped to a low baritone. "This is a space between dreams and reality. A place governed by laws we can't understand." He pointed out the window. Jin Woo followed his finger, and his eyes went wide as he saw the desolate sands outside. "We stand at the end of the world."
"What the hell…?" Jin Woo whispered. His body shook in fear.
"Of course, you are by no means dead." He continued. Jin Woo blinked at him. "Nor are your family. You have simply been brought here because you require help."
"...help?" Jin Woo repeated. His eyes turned empty. "Help? I'm here because I need help?" He let out a shrill laugh. "Help. Yeah, right. Help. Of course. Of course! Of course I need help! It's not as if I didn't almost die or anything!" He laughed some more. "Yeah! Help!"
Evans didn't interrupt his rant. Instead, he pondered over what Jin Woo had said.
He mentioned that he'd 'almost died'. Jin Woo often came close to death before that fateful Double Dungeon, but he'd never broken like this. Which meant that Jin Woo had gone through the Double Dungeon, and he had somehow survived the cruelty of the Architect without getting sacrificed-
He stopped. That was it, wasn't it? Jin Woo had gone through that Double Dungeon, but he hadn't gotten sacrificed. Either he'd managed to escape, or someone else had been offered as the sacrifice.
Jin Woo didn't have the Architect's System. He couldn't Level Up.
That was it. That was the divergence point!
"-and I almost left my sister to her own!" Jin Woo continued, shouting by this point. "Oh god. I almost left her and mom. What could they have done? My sister's too young. She can't work. And mom's bills are still-"
"Calm yourself, Jin Woo."
"Calm!? How can I-!?" Jin Woo stilled. "How…did you know my name?"
Evans smiled. "I did say it, didn't I? You were called here because you needed help. Help I can provide." He stood from the chair he'd been sitting on for the past hour. "I'm a teacher, you see."
He could see that Jin Woo was still confused. And cautious.
He huffed. And one moment he's standing in front of Jin Woo, and the next he's behind him, his finger just inches away from his neck. It took a moment, but Jin Woo stiffened as he slowly turned, his eyes shaking in terror.
Of course, Evans hadn't teleported or anything. His Agility just allowed him to move faster than Jin Woo could see.
"I can provide those in need with power." He explained as he pulled back his hand. Jin Woo sighed in relief. "If you become a Student of mine, you will be connected to this place, and you will be given the chance to grow."
"Grow…" Jin Woo looked down at himself. At his lanky build and scabbed scars. He clenched his fists. "Me? Someone like me can change too?"
Evans smiled. "Yes. Man or woman, elderly or children—if they desire the power to change their lives, if they have the determination to fight, then I will be there to provide."
Silently, Evans gave himself a pat on the back. All those hours he spent watching Public Speaking courses while waiting for Izumi to come back were helping him immensely.
Jin Woo took a deep breath. "And what price do I have to pay?"
Evans walked past him, and as he turned he let his smile fall. "Your world is headed to ruin." He said. The sudden change in tone shook Jin Woo out of his reverie, and he looked at Evans in confusion. "To have been called here means that your world is headed for destruction."
He pointed outside. "And that will be the result."
Jin Woo shook slightly.
"Save the world. That is the duty you must take if you are to become my Student." Evans' smile was grim. "So? What is your answer?"
Jin Woo stared at him for a good long while. And then, he took a slow breath. "I'll do it." He said, conviction clear in his eyes. "I'll become your Student."
Evans closed his eyes. "Splendid."
[Rewards for Completing the Preliminary Mission has been stored in the Inventory.]
[Sung-Jin-Woo has become Evans Smith's Student.]
He heard Jin Woo yelp as a floating blue panel suddenly appeared before his eyes. Jin Woo stared at it, most likely transfixed at the Status he now had.
[Sung-Jin-Woo is ready for his Lessons! Begin today's Lecture?]
"Well then," Evans grinned. "Let's begin our first Lecture, shall we?"
