Who Wouldn't Like Getting Boosted?

"You don't know why it became like that?" Sir Andrew asked with a curious tone; his previous angry look vanished completely.

"I was sleeping, remember?" I shrugged my shoulders, answering briefly.

He narrowed his eyes, a fierce grin appearing on his face. "Yeah, and you have the guts to sleep in my class for two consecutive days. Should I give you a warning?"

"N-No, sir. I'm sorry, it won't happen again!" I quickly saluted, standing up from my seat.

I remember once when he gave a "warning" to a student. The next day, he came to school in a wheelchair, wrapped up with bandages like a mummy. He wasn't even allowed to apply for leave since this demon required him to go to school. Imagining myself in that situation made my spine tingle.

What, corporal punishment is against the law? What law? The world is basically turned upside down, with order thrown out of the window. Military rules apply almost anywhere, so f*ck laws! Power is everything—well, no, but at least it's a large factor.

Anyway, I don't think there's any reason for me to be sleepless for more nights... Ah. Right.

"Sir! Asking for permission to sleep during class for the next three days!" I shouted military style, asking for his approval.

After all, for three days starting today, I would be given complete control over Toki's workshop. It's a waste if I let the chance go!

"So you're asking me directly now? You've got guts," Sir Andrew claimed as he chuckled while cracking his fingers, which let out loud popping sounds.

Seeing that it was a no, I quickly took my word back. "Never mind, sir!"

"Teacher Andrew, a minute."

Just as we were about to return to our discussion, the bespectacled, beautiful teacher approached Sir Andrew. A tablet was held in her arms, and she was pointing at something for him to see.

"... So it's not just these two?"

His words echoed loudly, prompting a short nod from the other.

"Alright… Mahiro. It seems like the golden status display isn't limited to the two of you." After he finished reading, he crossed his arms across his thick chest and announced. "From all the schools we have contact with, similar cases were observed too."

Apparently, roughly 1% of the students, and even some from the military, were experiencing the weird "golden status display" phenomenon. Fortunately, other than not being able to turn the display off, there weren't any other drawbacks discovered.

"One case from the military said that his golden display vanished after he upgraded to a higher class and that his classes increased by dozens of choices." Sir Andrew continued his explanation, pacing back and forth across the room. "... So I think this must be related more to the nanomachines than yourselves."

A wide-area phenomenon caused by the nanomachines... Gold borders... Gold... Gold? Suddenly, as if a faint memory had returned to me after hitting my head, I recalled the dream I had a short while ago. The nanomachines were gold-colored there too. What a coincidence!

"..."

Or is it not a coincidence? I quickly pulled out my phone, looked through my favorite global info boards, and searched for "gold nanomachine dream" as keywords. Soon, there were dozens of results that were all pretty new, posted just a few minutes ago.

As I read through all of it, I found that what they saw was basically the same as what I did, albeit with a few minor variations. "So that wasn't a dream? Or was it a collective dream?"

The nanomachines are unable to control one's thoughts, but they can influence the mind by sending minor signals. It could be that, but I lack the proof.

Still, thinking about it alone is pretty inefficient. "Sir Andrew, I actually have something to talk about..." With that as the preface, I explained my dream earlier and showed him the posts that were showing similar experiences to mine. Everyone who saw the dream, without exception, exhibited the golden status display too.

"... I'll contact the main office about this. Classes are over anyway, so you two can go home." Sir Andrew hurriedly walked out of the room, as if in a rush. Was the information I passed on that important? Who knows.

The female teacher smiled wryly, saying a few words to QUEEN before following Sir Andrew with a trot. Left alone, the air in the room quickly turned awkward. Should I talk to her? Or should I just leave without saying a word? Before I could even decide, a sweet but cold voice echoed.

"You, do you experience rapid leveling up too?" QUEEN asked, sending a sidelong glance.

"What?"

Did she just say "too"? I'm not sure if I level up rapidly since I've been hunting alone, so it's hard to say. But I guess I fall into that category, seeing the reactions of everyone around me.

"I guess I am." I nodded with a frown. "But I hunt alone all the time, so I can't compare myself to others."

"Humm..."

She hummed, raising her chin as if in deep thought. "Then why don't we try to hunt together? You're level 8, right? I'll take you out to grind a little. I want to check if you're the same as me."

"...!"

I-Is this for real? I'm going to be power-leveled by a second class! "I will! When will we go? Where are we going?" I quickly asked, not letting the chance go. After all, only an idiot would refuse a God-given chance to earn easy levels.

"Go get a weapon, and leave your things here. We're leaving immediately," she said before walking out of the room, not waiting for me at all.

I quickly pondered how to go about this. After all, the weapons in the school are all for practice and made of wood. Those are useless in real battles. I didn't bring a weapon other than my knife, since it's the only one that could fit in my pockets without hampering my movement.

"Right, for times like this..."

I picked up my phone and dialed Toki's number. However, the line didn't connect. Is she somewhere without a signal? Or did she perhaps block my number?! No, I don't think so... Anyway, now that I can't use the Toki delivery, I have no choice but to borrow one.

I ran to the classroom, looking around, and found Kyouya preparing his things and about to leave. Just the one I was looking for!

"Kyouya! I need you!"

"W-Wha...?" He replied, an awkward expression on his face.

As I shouted, approaching him in three steps, all the girls that were still in the room suddenly raised gasps. Whispers quickly filled the silent room, making me feel like we were suddenly the center of attention. Worried, I quickly appended my words, clarifying what business I had with him.

"I mean, I need to borrow your spear. You brought it with you, right? I'll return it straight to your house later!"

As I corrected my words, shrill screams were raised. Why? As I was wondering what was going on with the girls' brains, Kyouya patted my shoulder with his left hand holding his head, as if experiencing a headache.

"My friend... I'm sorry, but I'm straight," he said with a straight face. "Pu... Pfft!" before bursting into laughter.

"Hahahaha! Ha! I'm just kidding. Alright, I'll lend it to you. I'm busy today and can't hunt anyway. Remember to not break it, alright?" He said before passing me a key. It was the key to the lockers where weapons were kept.

"Thanks!"

As I ran out of the room, passing by the few female classmates, their discussion entered my ears.

"I tell you, it's Mahiro x Kyouya!"

"No, it's definitely the princely Kyouya who's on top!"

"I agree!"

It was... I'd rather not comment. I just escaped from there, letting Kyouya handle the rest. Sorry buddy.

I reached the lockers, which were near the entrance, and searched for the number corresponding to the key he gave me. Soon, I found his locker and opened it before taking a spear from inside it.

I lifted it up but quickly felt dissatisfied. "It's too light..."

Perhaps because it was made of a special alloy or because it was too thin, Kyouya's spear was not something I would prefer. But now, beggars can't choose. Having a weapon, albeit one that is not fitting, is better than going to a fight barehanded.

I closed the locker, locking it, before heading out of the building and walking to the gate. I was planning on waiting there since QUEEN didn't say where we'd be meeting.

Just as I approached, I noticed a large crowd near the entrance. A bad premonition immediately hit me after seeing that. I tried to peek between the crowd and noticed that it was really her who was leaning against the gate, standing still with grace, eyes closed as if asleep.

"...!"

Her eyes suddenly opened, gazing straight in my direction. "You're slow. Let's go," she said before moving away, leaving me behind.

In a rush, I weaved through the crowd and caught up to her. The gallery was whispering, though, and I feared another rumor about me would be spreading. Not a BL one, but a normal rumor, I guess?

Leaving behind a ticking time bomb, QUEEN walked ahead, leading me to the outskirts of the city. There, she went to a gate marked "beginner class level 5". In short, I need to have my first class up before I can enter here if I go alone.

The guards quickly scanned our IDs, and even after seeing the level displayed above my head, they still allowed me to enter. After all, QUEEN was basically OP for this level of hunting ground.

Walking in, we quickly encountered a monster. It was a wolf with two heads, spewing frosty air from one and a fiery blaze from the other. They looked intimidating.

"Go."

QUEEN said, crossing her arms across her chest. Wait. Am I going to hunt here by myself…?

I was scammed!