Kapitel 8: • Campus Chaos 2

Most of the students were persuaded by his words. They gathered around him as Min-joon pointed toward the serving area, where the cafeteria staff stood on high alert.

"You three," He pointed at some of the students. "Take the left flank and draw their attention. The rest of you, come with me. We'll go straight down the middle."

Ji-Hoon stood still as he observed the scene with a cold expression. "Looks like that poser is planning something again, seems he wants to use Sung-Tae's death to rally the other students form a temporary truce."

Seo-Yeon gazed coldly at him as she narrowed her gaze. "His plan will work but there will be even more causalities."

"Not like he cares, anyone of them will do whatever it takes to survive. So they don't mind. In actuality, they are using each other, none of them wants to get hurt or die, what better way to accomplish that than to blend in a crowd." Ji-Hoon said in a calm nonchalant tone. As he narrowed his gaze slightly.

Min-joon glanced at Ji-Hoon and Seo-Yeon, "Why are you two idle? Move it!"

"..." Jin-Hoon gave him a cold stare with no response.

Min-Joon clicked his tongue as he turned away from Jin-Hoon.

"You can stay here if you want, but I'm going for the food. If you're smart, you'll do the same."

Ji-Hoon let out a sigh, He knew very well that following Min-joon's orders could be risky. However, sticking with Min-Joon was the smarter choice for the meantime.

"I don't have anything to worry about, a couple of nameless players can't touch me." he thought with absolute confidence. "If anything my exprience assures me of that much."

Jin-Hoon stood behind Min-Joon. The latter turned to see him and smirked. "Glad you made the right choice."

The plan was simple - There were seven staff members and dozens of students, all they have to do is overwhelm them with their number.

"Move! Now!" Min-joon shouted, commanding his group to advance.

The Students screamed and dove for cover, while the rest rushed at the cafeteria staff in a wild frenzy.

Ji-Hoon trailed behind making sure he watched Min-Joon's back and not the other way around because he couldn't trust him.

They avoided the students and the staff members that were engaged in the struggle as well as any falling debris.

[Ding!]

Suddenly, the system window materialised before Ji-Hoon.

[Gift for Player Ji-Hoon is ready to be opned.]

Ji-Hoon's heart raced as he read the message. Thinking, "Seems it's finally time to open it, the delay when I tried eariler must have been because of the trial master's speech."

[Calculating The Gifts... ]

[Gift Evaluation Completed.]

[Will Player Ji-Hoon open the Gifts?]

His eyes locked onto the system window that materialized before him, He didn't hesitate. "Open," he uttered calmly.

[You have received three gifts.]

[You have gained 15% of your peak stats from before the re-evaluation.]

[You have gained the S-rank skill card: Blink.]

[You have gained the S-rank class card: Light Sovereign.]

[Calculating Your Stats... Estimated Stat increase: 106 ~ 130 stat points in all categories.]

[Integration required. Proceed?]

His status window materialized next.

[Status Window: Ji-Hoon]

Name: Ji-Hoon

Gender: Male

Age: 26 (+45)

Titles: The One Who Failed to See the End

Level: 1

[STATS:

STR: 50.

INT: 45.

DEX: 55.

CON: 60.

WIS: 40.

CHA: 35.]

[You will gain 106 to 130 points at random to each stat. Proceed with Integration?]

This time, Ji-Hoon as he rubbed his chin. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to receive the gifts but he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

"A channel master could show up at any moment. Being the only player with a class card might raise suspicion and will end up bringing me unwanted attention." He muttered softly.

He knew better than to stand out too much—especially with the constellations watching.

"I'll integrate the stats and the skill," he decided, holding off on the class card for later. "Being the only player with a class card will definitely get the attention of everyone, best I leave that till later."

[Integration required. Proceed?]

"Yes. Integrate my stats and the skill."

[Integrating Status Points and skill...]

Suddenly, Ji-Hoon felt a surge of pain spreading through his body.

It started from his head before slowly spreading throughout his body.

Ji-Hoon clenched his fists as his muscles tightened and expanded rapidly. "Argh!" Ji-Hoon cried out as he plummeted to the floor, his knees hit the ground with a painful thud.

"Ji-Hoon!" Seo-Yeon screamed, her voice filled with panic as she rushed toward him, her eyes were wide open as she knelt besides him.

He gritted his teeth letting out a low growl as he clenched his fists. It was taking every ounce of his willpower and mental fortitude to remain conscious.

Ji-Hoon could hear the sound of his bones breaking and snapping into new shapes, the sensation so intense and painful that every one of his breath felt like razor blades slicing through his chest.

Seo-Yeon placed a hand on his shoulder, she didn't know what to do as she watched Min-Joon and the others push forward. Those bastards wouldn't stop even if they knew what Ji-Hoon was going through.

Ji-Hoon stumbled to his feet as his legs wobbled under his weight. He clutched his sides, it felt like his entire body was set on fire. The burning sensation spread across his skin, beads of sweat formed on his forehead and trickled down his face.

"Endure it, Ji-Hoon!" He couldn't afford to pass out, especially not at this time and place."

He forced himself to stay upright, even though his body wasn't willing to listen to him.

The world spun around him, his vision begins to turn a blur, he grounded himself to keep from falling over.

"I've never integrated this many points at once before. The sudden burst in strength is taking a toll on my body." he thought as his vison began to blur away.

Gasping for air, He leaned against a wall for support. "Endure.. it.. Ji-hoon," He muttered to himself barely.

Ji-hoon forced himself back to his feet. The heat coursing through his body began to subside, leaving a lingering ache in its wake.

[Integration Complete.]