My Growth Rate is Strange – Chapter 9

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: bchen3
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“Ah, I slept well.”

It was the first morning in the dormitory.

It felt like waking up after only two hours of sleep, completely drenched in sweat, which meant a shower was necessary first thing.

Most things were the same as when staying at home, but with one addition.

An annoying task had been added.

“Kang-cheol Im, wake up.”

None other than waking up his roommate, Kang-cheol Im.

He didn’t know exactly, but Kang-cheol seemed to have been in the training room for quite a long time last night.

It was certain, seeing how he wouldn’t wake up no matter how many times he tried.

“Hey, Kang-cheol Im. We need to go to school.”

“Cool, Ilhan is amazing…, zzzz!”

Far from waking up, Kang-cheol was making strange sleep-talking noises.

“…Wait, why are you looking for me in your dream? That’s creepy.”

He thought about leaving him behind and going to school alone, but.

“Still, I’m a nice person after all.”

Whether he liked it or not, this was someone he had to live with for the next year.

For the sake of roommate affection, he woke him up with a special method.

“Wake up.”

Thud! Thud-! Thhud-!

After kicking and beating him, Kang-cheol finally opened his eyes.

“Huh?! Oh, Ilhan…?”

“We need to go to school.”

“Oh…, thanks!”

Kang-cheol got up, moving sluggishly like a zombie.

He successfully led Kang-cheol’s large frame out of the dormitory.

*

The academy’s classes were largely divided into two types.

“Morning classes” focused on liberal arts subjects like Korean, math, and science.

And “afternoon classes” that combined superhuman theory lessons about gates, rifts, and monsters with combat superhuman practical classes.

Among these, the morning classes were literally for cultural education.

Therefore, there were no midterms or finals for liberal arts subjects.

In other words, according to the forced transfer criteria mentioned by the instructor:

‘Written 20%, Performance evaluation 20%, Practical 60%’ only applied to afternoon classes, not including morning classes.

Perhaps that was why some cadets were sprawled out sleeping during class.

Among them.

“…zzzz.”

Kang-cheol Im was included.

He wasn’t even trying to sleep secretly.

“…Cool-! Puhwahahak!”

He was sleeping deeply with loud snores.

Kang-cheol boasted an overwhelming presence even while sleeping.

Sitting next to him, I covered my face with my palm.

“…Sigh, damn muscle freak.”

If it had been middle school, there would have been an angry shout from the podium along with a collective punishment, but.

“Hmm, tsk! This is why combat-type superhuman cadets are!”

The elderly professor in charge of A class’s first liberal arts class merely clicked his tongue once.

It seemed like a familiar occurrence that he just let slide.

The reaction was quite interesting, but I didn’t join in and fall asleep.

“My qualities are already terrible, so what if I get transferred out by chance…”

I was preparing for the possibility of being transferred to a regular high school or non-combat superhuman department.

There, practical skills wouldn’t be included, but liberal arts subjects would be part of the exam instead.

Fortunately, today’s first four periods went by smoothly since it was the first day.

And Kang-cheol…

“Puhwahahak-!”

He slept through all four periods making strange noises, leaving a strong first impression on four different professors.

*

12 o’clock in the afternoon.

“Ilhan, it’s mealtime-!”

As soon as it was lunchtime, Kang-cheol woke up like a ghost and shouted about food.

Seeing him, I seriously contemplated.

“This guy, is he some kind of beast…?”

Kang-cheol led me toward the cafeteria.

Despite sighing, I was quite looking forward to it too.

“Since the facilities are top-notch, the food must be delicious too, right?”

That thought turned out to be exactly right.

Western and Korean cuisine, largely divided into two types with more than 10 different dishes provided buffet-style.

Thanks to this, I, like Kang-cheol, hurriedly filled my plate and satisfied my hunger.

“Whew, I finally feel alive!”

Kang-cheol, who had refilled his plate more than 5 times, patted his stomach.

He seemed to have finally come to his senses.

Seeing this, I asked with a sigh.

“How late did you train yesterday anyway?”

“Hm? Ilhan, that’s what I want to ask! How late did YOU train?”

I slightly frowned at Kang-cheol’s question.

“I went back around 10 PM.”

“And then you came back 30 minutes later, right? Not disappointing my expectations!”

Kang-cheol showed a gummy smile with a thumbs up.

“What do you mean I came back 30 minutes later?”

Far from going back, I hadn’t even left the dormitory.

Despite my troubled feelings, I had fallen asleep within 1 minute of lying down.

I felt like the conversation was going nowhere.

Regardless, Kang-cheol asked energetically.

“Anyway, Ilhan! Teach me your secret!”

“…What secret now.”

“How are you not tired after training your stats for over 4 hours?!”

“Over 4 hours of what? Stat training?”

“We trained until 3 AM together! Are you pretending not to know?!”

Just as I was about to snap “What nonsense is that,” for some reason different words came out of my mouth.

“…Tell me in detail.”

“Huh?”

“What happened last night, or rather, early morning.”

“Hm? Ah, last night, you mean?”

Kang-cheol stroked his chin and started explaining.

“I went to the agility training room with you after you came back. We had an intense competition there!”

“Of course, we took breaks too, but you strictly observed the rest and training times for all 4 hours. My rest times kept getting longer!”

“I just couldn’t handle it! I ended up falling asleep! When I woke up, I was in the dormitory, didn’t you carry me back?”

Kang-cheol asked me back, tilting his head as if genuinely curious.

I held off answering and rubbed my throbbing temples firmly.

“So.”

Let me organize this.

I, who was asleep, woke up after 30 minutes and went to the stat training room.

There, I trained agility stats with Kang-cheol for 4 hours.

And finally, I carried the sleeping Kang-cheol back to the dormitory?

“…What kind of nonsensical.”

It was an unbelievable story.

But.

“It’s weird that he would make this up too.”

It was too detailed to be a joke or a lie.

Besides, Kang-cheol had no reason to do such a thing.

Which means…

“Did I really wake up as something other than myself while I was asleep and train my stats?”

If this was true, it would also explain why my stats were growing without my knowledge.

While I felt a chill, some memories suddenly came to mind.

-Unlike you, it seems you’ve put in effort without even sleeping, but life doesn’t always go as planned.

From the consolation my father gave me right before the entrance exam.

-Is someone exercising with my body in my place?

Even the absurd thought I had last night before going to sleep.

“How can this even be…”

As I was heading toward a conclusion that defied common sense.

Ding dong dang dong-

The bell signaling the end of lunch time rang.

Kang-cheol reacted instantly.

“Eek, Ilhan! The afternoon class is practical, so we can’t be late! Let’s hurry!”

Thanks to his shout, I snapped out of my thoughts.

Additionally, I recalled the content of the practical class in the afternoon.

“Right, today we have stat testing.”

The class location would naturally be the ‘Stat Training Room’.

Plus, since I had already completed the inspection yesterday, I might have some free time.

After thinking that far, I recalled Kang-cheol’s words again.

“He definitely mentioned agility, right?”

If training really happened while I was asleep, there might be changes to my stats.

So I needed to check for myself.

*

“…With this, I conclude the 6th period Gate and Rift Theory class. All cadets are to assemble at the Stat Training Room by 15:10, that’s all.”

The 5th and 6th periods, which corresponded to superhuman theory classes, had ended.

Now the 7th period, which corresponded to practical class, was about to begin.

That is, the ‘Stat Check’ was starting.

I nervously waited for the class to begin.

And 10 minutes later.

“If everyone has gathered, I will start the ‘Stat Check’.”

Finally, the 7th period class began.

Jin Tae-jin first explained the inspection method.

I, who was not subject to this, waited for the instructor’s explanation to end and then carefully raised my hand.

“Instructor. I…”

Before I could even ask my question.

“Cadet Ilhan completed the measurement and inspection yesterday, so he may train independently.”

I got the answer I wanted.

After quietly responding, I immediately headed to the agility training room.

“First, I had to set up the equipment, right?”

I completed the setup as I had learned yesterday and proceeded with the measurement.

As a result.

Ding!

-Agility Stat 7 (UP!)

The ‘UP!’ mark indicating stat growth was displayed.

I swallowed dry saliva at the unbelievable result.

“It really grew!”

With a doubtful heart, I adjusted the level.

Level 8, meaning 8 stat.

The result was.

Ding!

-Agility Stat 8

It stopped at 8 stat.

My agility had increased by 1 stat overnight.

The moment I confirmed the result.

Thud-

Without realizing it, my legs gave out.

Sitting against the wall, I mumbled.

“…I have no choice but to believe it now.”

Having seen it with my own eyes, I had to believe it.

I really was growing without my knowledge.

“This is truly maddening.”

With this, the biggest mystery and strange phenomenon that had remained:

The secret of the ‘strange growth rate’ was solved.

But there were still many small questions left.

“If only it were just one or two.”

Because of this, I couldn’t even begin to solve them.

So I tried to change the direction of my thoughts.

“If I can’t solve all the mysteries anyway…”

Wouldn’t it be better to think productively?

The cause of the strange phenomenon surrounding me, the ‘strange growth rate’.

That is, rather than obsessing over ‘why’, wouldn’t it be much more beneficial to think about ‘how’ to utilize this phenomenon?

While I was deeply contemplating this.

“Alright, everyone’s attention.”

The instructor’s voice was heard.

It seemed the stat check had ended.

I left the training room and joined the group of cadets who were lined up.

Just then, the instructor spoke.

“Most cadets have shown results that prove their efforts so far. However, some have not.”

The cadets who belonged to the ‘some’ mentioned by him swallowed dry saliva.

“As warned, cadets with no growth will receive deductions in their attitude scores, which are included in the performance evaluation for the first semester midterm.”

When the disadvantages from the instructor were mentioned, the faces of the relevant cadets turned pale.

“Of course, I don’t think the lack of growth is entirely due to laziness. Why? Because stat aptitude is not given equally. But.”

The instructor continued.

“That’s why judging by aptitude is even more the reality of this place and superhuman society. Why? Because being a superhuman is a profession where you have to risk your life.”

Screening for aptitude based on innate qualities that cannot be overcome by individual effort alone.

It was harsh, but that was the reality of the academy.

“The importance of aptitude and stat growth might not sink in with a simple explanation. You’ll probably understand by tomorrow. From the ‘next class’, you’ll experience it firsthand with your body.”

The atmosphere sank further due to the meaning contained in the instructor’s warning.

Most seemed concerned about the next class.

Meanwhile, I became even more certain.

“Indeed, the direction of my thinking wasn’t wrong…!”

The strange phenomenon surrounding me, focusing on the ‘use’ rather than the ’cause’ of the ‘strange growth rate’.

That is, it’s right to accept the phenomenon as it is and consider how to use it to my advantage.

The next class where the instructor emphasized the ‘importance of aptitude’ was a case in point.

“Originally, as someone lacking in aptitude, I might have had difficulty keeping up. But.”

I have the strange phenomenon.

For reasons unknown, there is another me with a growth rate that surpasses my lack of aptitude.

If I fully utilize this to compensate for my lack of aptitude?

“I can certainly keep up with the next class.”

Moreover, it would also be entirely possible to survive the harsh evaluations of the academy that would continue in the future.

Having made up my mind, I delved into thoughts about how to utilize the strange phenomenon.

As part of that.

“The first thing I can do is… Yes, it would be good to start with that.”

I thought of things I could do starting from this evening.

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