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    When I... Had to Do a Project

    After exiting the game, where to go?

    The answer depended on each person's life.

    For a student like me, sitting here hugging my arms, there was no escaping studying until I finished studying at university.

    The morning began with two hours of biology in a chilly room due to the air conditioning. Most of my classmates sat almost with drowsy faces, almost slumping over thick textbooks on their desks,

    It made me feel slightly sleepy.

    I tightened my arms for warmth before focusing intently on the lecture the professor was lecturing.

    "Animals with intelligence can often control their cerebral cortex well, knowing what to do and when, when to sleep and when to rest," the middle-aged female professor adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "Personally, I tend to call animals that can't distinguish these things as having an inflamed cerebrum category."

    That was clearly a dig.

    The professor sniped at the students, coughing once before closing the textbook in her hand.

    ‘For god’s sake! These first-year medical students! Have they started slacking off already so soon after beginning their studies?’

    She swept her gaze over all the students.

    ‘You think just going back and reviewing the textbooks on your own without listening to me will get you a good grade in this subject, don't you! You know too little about the formidable professor of biology course!’

    "It's time I assigned the presentation project."

    "…!"

    As she finished her sentence, it was as if lightning struck the room, startling everyone awake. The drowsiness vanished instantly.

    "Ah... you're joking, right, professor?"

    A bold young man stuttered out, his words sluggish as if he had been drooling on his shirt front before this miraculous recovery, but one could not expect any sympathy from the smirking professor.

    "Present next week, twenty minutes per group," she said clearly. "We'll draw lots for the presentation order in the next class. Any group that isn’t prepared will certainly score less than half."

    The students turned pale while the game master smiled wickedly.

    Act even more scared!

    The professor said nonchalantly, "No more than five members per group."

    Puff!

    Following her words, the students hurriedly grouped with close friends, choosing the intellectually sharp.

    Work efficiently, whereas I remained isolated, unnoticed.

    I openly admitted, without shame, that I still had no friends here.

    I sighed, watching the majority of students who already had their groups.

    It couldn’t be helped that I was not talkative. Having started my first year, I was friendless, and even my high school friends were in different faculties.

    This kind of life was not too bad, actually. It was rather peaceful.

    Eventually, there would be a group lacking a member. I doubted I would be unlucky enough to end up alone.

    "...missing one person."

    After nearly ten minutes, the inevitable situation happened. With two groups having only four members each, they turned and looked at me, sitting serenely at the back of the room, as if by appointment.

    "..."

    And they made faces of disdain.

    After they had sized me up from head to toe, they turned and consulted among themselves. The apparent leaders of the two groups cast pleading looks, much like a struggle for a lady seen in late-night soap operas.

    But the difference here seemed to be a contest of who can reject me.

    "It's not that hard, let's just take him in," a girl from one side lost her patience, causing the male group leader to object.

    "Are you crazy, Pat!" He frowned. "Didn't you see that guy sitting in the back looking like a spirit shrine? As if low grades and grounding weren't enough, we might bring a curse home, too. Aren’t you scared?"

    Did you swear this was what you said to someone you didn’t personally know?

    My eyebrow twitched as I glared at him, annoyed. His blond hair reflected the bright light, forcing me to squint. If I could curse someone, he would be the first to get it.

    "Kingdom, he's a person just like us."

    The girl argued back, glancing at me.

    ‘Thank you’

    It was still a relief that the friend of that blond guy did not have too negative attitude.

    She was silent for a moment before offering a dry smile, "I'm starting to doubt whether he's even human."

    Let me retract that thought.

    "Hey! You're mocking us in your mind, aren't you?" Kingdom pointed at me, his annoying gaze making me feel oddly irritated.

    I ignored him, turning to another group that had already submitted the list of their four members to the professor without having to deal with the outspoken young man.

    "Professor, we are a group of four."

    The professor took the paper, "I'll give you the project topic shortly."

    "Thank you."

    As I ignored Kingdom, he became angry and followed my gaze. Seeing the other group leader seizing the opportunity only fueled his anger more, causing Pat and two other friends to combine their efforts to restrain him from running over to punch his rival.

    "Hmph," I snorted a laugh.

    This guy couldn’t control his emotions at all. Being a medical student like this, if he caused a scandal, he might be expelled from the university. Didn’t he know this?

    He turned sharply to me, "Hey, you were laughing at me just now, weren't you!" His handsome face showed his displeasure.

    My eyebrow twitched again.

    ‘You think I'll just stand here and be insulted?’

    "If you still don't have a place to stay, you can join us for now," That guy hesitated a bit, "I don't hold grudges against shrine-less ghosts."

    "…!"

    Not just Kingdom and his group members were shocked enough to drop their jaws; other students were also stunned. They just learned that the quiet guy at the back of the room was not mute, as that was the first sentence I had spoken since joining as a first-year student.

    Pat looked shocked, "You speak eloquently... but a bit harsh."

    "We both have mouths, then," Kingdom snapped his wrist. "Pat, write his name into our group and submit it to the professor."

    Pat blinked rapidly, "You're accepting him then?"

    I saw the anger symbol on his forehead.

    "Even I’m not willing to accept, it’s a must now," Kingdom shrugged his shoulders. "But first, let me punch that geek!"

    "Are you kidding me!" Pat couldn't stop him in time as the hot-headed guy lunged at me. He moved so fast that it was hard to follow, and before I knew it, his angry face was inches away.

    I glanced at my shoulder which was tightly gripped.

    Not sure how many newtons, but it was quite hurt.

    "You have a bigmouth?" Kingdom squeezed harder.

    I pretended not to feel the pain,

    "Didn't know you used to work in massage services," I almost felt my bones cracking, "to be this good at massaging."

    That probably irked him further, and the pressure on my shoulder increased.

    He smirked maliciously, "For you, my client, just a massage service might not be enough!"

    If he added a punch service, I wouldn't mind. At least a tooth or two might come loose, but given the pressure on my shoulder, all my teeth might come out.

    "I might have to include a bathing service for you, dear customer," Kingdom sneered.

    Claim down, my bones were about to turn to dust.

    "But it'll be a blood bath!"

    As he raised his hand high indicating he'd throw a punch, I sat still, only slightly tilting my head to reduce the impact on a less sensitive area.

    "Kingdommmm, don’t,"

    Pat shouted before my face could be smashed by the fist. Two men ran up to hold back the hot-headed guy's arm, stopping the fist just before it could hit my cheek by a hair's breadth.

    This scene was more dramatic than in a movie, the wind from the strong punch blowing against my face, making my hair flutter.

    "Punching won't solve anything!" said one of the group members, his white skin contrasting with his narrow eyes, a characteristic trait.

    "Calm down!" another male student added, his prominent dark tan and sharp features standing out.

    "Let me go!" Kingdom hissed through clenched teeth, struggling against the force of the two guys dragging him away.

    "Stop being crazy, right now!" Pat stood in between me and Kingdom, her long dark brown hair swaying with a fragrant scent, her big eyes intensely staring at her close friend. "We're in the same group, why are we fighting each other!"

    Please don’t think I was a pervert, but her scent was really nice.

    Kingdom's resistance weakened instantly. "But he started it, Pat."

    I didn’t understand how a sweet girl like Pat ended up being friends with someone like him. Even though he was good-looking, his mouth and attitude were worse than a stray dog.

    "For heaven's sake," Pat raised her hand to her forehead.

    I observed the appearance of the members in their group. They all had good skin and physique; if someone said all four were actors, I'd believe it without a doubt.

    "It's strange that someone as hot-tempered as you decided to study medicine," I said softly but loud enough for those around us to hear, aiming to make Kingdom feel guilty for behavior unbefitting of a medical student.

    The result was that the blond-haired guy paused for a long while.

    Did my words just hit a sore spot for him or not?