Mmmm~ Where were these cuisines when I was back on Earth~
Like a true fatass, Isaac was only satiated after 3 full plate refills.
"I guess violating the Laws of Nature makes you hungry?"
"Nah… That he might just be a fatass."
"For SURE, bro, LOOK at how much he's eaten. Hmmm… How is he so skinny tho?"
"Don't know. Don't care, why are you talking so much about someone else? Look at yourselves first. You two should pipe down, as if you guys aren't any better."
"Hey, for a girl, you sure are eating a lot more than us as well~."
"The fuck you say, dude?"
She raises her hand, ready to slap.
'The shit out of'
The boys.
"Chill! JOKES! JOKES!"
Ugh… These other Gen-Z fuckers are so damn noisy.
Let me enjoy my food for heaven's sake.
Once he was finished with his meal, he deposited his plates in the designated area. Originally, Isaac had planned to assist with the washing of plates for a few extra pocket change, yet it seemed he was too stuffed both in belly and in mind to remember.
Ah… Shit… I'm gonna vomit everything out…
No.
Protein.
I need it in my body.
Now… What to do…
Option 1: Research the world
This world's divergence from EAA's lore is so fucking annoying.
Original Elenos Arcane Academia was more of a fantasy-steampunk-esque mysticism. This version instead replaced MagiTech with CECs, Thaumitons for Mana and Physics at a college level, for Quantum Mechanics and Thaumitonic Physics at an undergraduate level.
How deep did science really run?
I need answers about the 3 other cultures and powers that are a part of the grand DLC of New EAA. The library could explain these differences. It would make sense, after all, knowledge was my narrative armor.
Tsk… Another blunder… Fuck… I really shouldn't have eaten that much… I'm getting…
"Yaaawn…"
Sleepy…
I probably wouldn't even read my textbooks if I saw my bed well-made.
Option 2: Train.
Isaac's forearms flexed unconsciously; his strength could only be described as pathetic.
The previous encounters with the Ritualist, Ophiocervus, Headmaster, and all else were already humbling, the way none of them even shuddered at his strength.
My strength is still 1-Star… Come to think of it…
What are the specific conditions for a Star Upgrade?
I should test that first so I can raise my 'stats' faster.
Yves House's gym loomed in mind, but humiliation wasn't pedagogy. Recognition may draw too much attention to him for his sanity as well.
I could work out at home first… Could work…
Option 3: Creepy Stalker
Isaac pondered observing the Main Cast of EAA. An interview would be off the charts due to a lack of familiarity first. Of course, he couldn't care less if he self-inserted himself, but he would prefer that much later on.
'Gauge Invariance' was a real thing in this version of EAA.
It would very well warp causality around them like gravity around a star. If Isaac nudged Caelum toward the 'wrong' dessert, would this cause a butterfly effect? Perhaps an extra second taken out of the princess's time would snowball in the end of the world.
If it already hasn't.
Who knows.
Isaac snorted.
Survival priorities then.
Mostly in part due to his ophthalmophobia of opening the wrong textbook. In a way, it would serve as Isaac's correct choice. For Noësis might flow smoothly enough to fake competence, but his strength was an unforgiving liar.
Old EAA's Act I: Arc III: Stormbreak Spiral Arc was rated 2-Stars. Of course, players enter with Caelum's kit and therefore just overpowered the entire arc, fucking the Magister in the ass at the end with or without the help of the Heroines.
They just fall in love with him due to shitty writing after that.
I'm not Caelum… I'm literally weak.
So… Back to the dorms then~
House Esyphyr's corridor welcomed Isaac with the scent of resin and ozone as a multitude of students in the house lounge stared at the FAG.
Eyes off you bastards.
He hastened to his room, stretched, and jumped on the doorframe.
One, doorframe pull-ups
One… One… ONE!!!
… … …
Two, floor pushups. Isaac gave up at three.
Three, Bulgarian split squat. Seven and he falls on his bed.
Four, sit-ups. He slammed his head against the flooring after 4.
Five, plank. Gave up in 10 seconds.
Sweat stung his eyes with more than the tremors mocking him.
…
Why even bother… Are you kidding me…
Stamina: 71% |
…
"Phew… Three more sets to failure."
.
.
.
Stamina: 0% |
The last rep is Isaac's dying breath.
The story of him should end here.
He was basically dead for the fourth time.
Holy fatigue…
Isaac was drained like the water on the shower tiles, gasping as lukewarm water poured on him.
"Topological Anchor V2. Self Statistics."
| - Strength: 1-Star |
The goal of 2-Star strength laughed at him from the haze of steam.
Until I can do basic calisthenics, that fucking 2-Star stat might as well be equivalent of being a 20-Star Mage.
Oh my god… Tomorrow is gonna be a PAIN… I can imagine the soreness already…
Wah… I'm cooked.
I need dense amounts of protein, carbs, and nurturing fats. Maybe supplements? Since everyone is soooo smart. This world should have some form of BCAAs or Amino Acid supplements at a student price, right?
Pushing upright felt like lifting a mountain. Isaac braced against the slick tiles and finally managed to shut off the flow. The mirror across was fogged, but Isaac caught a glimpse of his stark ribs with collarbones sharp enough to cast shadows. Although his shoulders were slightly built, the shear ratio of his skeleton to muscle was at the absolute ends of a scale.
Classes… Should I skip lectures as I did? I can't imagine ME attending lectures again.
Nevermind… Orthellius would kill me, and I need to memorize rn cuz ik my ahh won't revise until a day before the exams.
Monday:
8:00 AM: Mathematics
10:00 AM: Thaumitonic Theory
12:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM: Physics
3:00 PM: Supplementary Specialist Practical — Wind Noësis
Tuesday:
10:00 AM: Biothaumic Studies
12:00 PM: Lunch
2:00 PM: History
Wednesday:
8:00 AM: Thaumitonic Theory
10:00 AM: Practical Noësis
12:00 PM: Lunch
Thursday:
8:00 AM: Mathematics
12:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM: History
3:00 PM: Biothaumic Studies
Friday:
10:00 AM: Physics
12:00 PM: Lunch
3:00 PM: Practical Noësis
6:30 PM: Colloquium Banquet
Right now it's 19:07… Tomorrow is biology and history…
That means I have about 14 hours and 53 minutes before the class.
Which is 14 hours and 53 minutes of studying… I sho—
NO!
First of fucking all…
Isaac rips and tears an A4 paper from one of his notebooks in 4 before writing the same message on each.
"If you could not read the syllabus or textbooks last night, or if the words in your memory blurred. Do. Not. Blame. Yourself. Do not. That failure was never your fault, future Isaac. Someone has tampered with your memory in some way, shape, or form. In the worst-case scenario, something above you in incomprehensible dimensionalities is intervening. It has reached your cognition, pinching shut the nerves that lead to your comprehension.
You were denied access to your textbooks and knowledge of the world, future me.
Pls Defy.
If these symptoms have occurred to you.
Read your syllabus at dawn, before the 'thing' that stalks your thoughts fully wakes.
To Isaac of the next cycle, from the Isaac who was not fast enough."
Phew~ What a drama.
Isaac places these 4 notes around his room. The 1st on his table with his student ID and Quixon Card, the 2nd in his uniform, and the third was at the entrance to his room, along with his shoes. The 4th was more 'bombastic' per se, going straight into his pants and wrapped 'tightly' as the final safeguard.
Surely…
What kinda peverted person would sexually assault me just to delete evidence of memory alteration and prevent me from learning the truth? Hell! I'll just get bricked up if they try anything funny and then just blast them to death.
Uh… With magic… Not…
Nevermind.
On top of this, Isaac activated Topological Anchor Version 2, using his eidetic memory as a secondary safeguard against any interference, ensuring that every detail, if he were woken up in the middle of the night, would be vivid and precise come morning, a flaw he had not anticipated with Caelum the night before.
Good… If any transdimensional fuckery or Caelum the Clanker molest me at night…
I CAN and WILL beat those bloody bums.
Isaac reaches for his syllabus list and braces himself, reminiscing on the rupturing of his eyes.
Still… What if that 'thing' is mentioned in the textbook?
There's no one here to help me if my eyes explode again.
I'll die by myself…
Arghh… Fuck it, we ball… Okay… I'll just leave the door open in case.
Right…
3… 2… 1… Open sesam一
FUCK! OW OW OW OW! MY CALF一
In a series of 'unfortunate' events:
At exactly 19:17, Isaac's left gastrocnemius contracts 'involuntarily' at an estimated 62% of maximum muscle tension. His heel jerks forward by 4.7 cm, striking the underside of his wooden desk. The wooden panel 'logically' vibrates at roughly 38–42 Hz, enough to loosen a pre-existing, partially unscrewed bolt, that 'somehow' went unnoticed by the cleaning staff for months, connecting the left support beam. The bolt rotates counter-clockwise by 12 degrees and drops through a 9 mm gap.
The bolt hits the floor at a 14° angle relative to vertical, causing a single, 'freakish' bounce. It travels 17.3 cm horizontally and lands 'precisely' in the 6 mm clearance under the right rear wheel of Isaac's chair. When Isaac shifts his 56kg of weight, 2.1% body weight displacement to the right, the rear wheel 'attempts' to roll but climbs 1.8 mm onto the bolt. This tilts the entire chair by 0.9° to the right, 'just enough' to create a subtle slope on the desk surface.
His half-full 500 mL bottle begins sliding due to the new desk tilt because it was 'specifically' chosen by Isaac for being, in his words, 'quite light'. The bottle moves at an initial velocity of 0.4 mm/s, pushing into a loose stack of printed documents. They shift forward by 3.2 mm, contacting the edge of his pre-opened binder. This 'microscopic' nudge is enough to rotate the 'pre-opened' binder's right ring clip by 0.6 mm, weakening its latch integrity.
At the exact moment Isaac leans forward to stabilize his leg, his elbow grazes the desk at a 23° downward angle. This tiny motion dislodges a mechanical pencil near the edge, causing it to roll. The mechanical pencil travels 11.8 cm before falling tip-first from a height of 74 cm. Upon impact with the floor at a 77° angle, the advertised and tested 'unbreakable' 0.5 mm graphite lead shatters.
A 'single' fragment, measuring 1.2 mm, is ejected at 1.3 m/s.
The graphite shard 'miraculously' travels 21 cm horizontally and strikes the binder's weakened clip. The clip springs open by 15 mm, launching a page upward with a rotational velocity of 3.8 rad/s. This causes the sheet to glide in a chaotic spiral, drifting upward by 28 cm due to air currents coming in from the slightly 'opened' window.
That wind increased in ferocity, causing the dorm's smart door to slam shut. The sheet then tilts at a 41° angle, catching that spawned from the blockage of air escaping from the door, redirecting downward. The paper lands 'directly' across Isaac's eyes and nose, momentarily cutting off vision. He reflexively jolts backward by 11 cm. His right foot lands partially atop the loose bolt under the chair wheel.
Exactly 4.5 mm of his foot to cover the bolt, compromising his balance. His backward weight in the retreat shift pushes the 'unstable' chair forward by 6.2 cm. The chair's trajectory intersects with Isaac's shins at a 79° angle. The chair's horizontal bar hits both shins 'simultaneously', delivering a low-force sweep.
His center of mass moves beyond his support base by 9.4 cm, guaranteeing a fall.
He twists slightly to the right, attempting to catch the desk, but his fingers miss by 3 mm.
He falls sideways, clips the edge of his bed frame, and the impact zone is approximately 8 cm below Isaac's occipital ridge.
This mild but 'precise' impact knocks him out for 12–19 seconds.
But that 'extended' to minutes…
Which 'protracts' to hours…
In total, the time Isaac was unconscious was 'lengthened' to a total of:
137 minutes.
A.
Total.
Coincidence, of course.