This led Aditya, who had stayed up all night working on it, to harbor resentment towards the old professor and vow not to do his assignments again.

"..."

"It's up to you," Shandy said, giving up.

"Hmm..." Aditya only nodded and started to unlock his smartphone.

He didn't forget that the main reason for coming to class on time was to download Pendant of War. Seeing the download percentage start to progress, Aditya set aside his smartphone and began to read the ‘textbook’ in front of him.

"What comic is that, Dit?" Shandy asked, glancing at the ‘textbook’ Aditya was reading.

"Comic, comic, MANGA!” Aditya replied, feeling offended.

"Yeah, yeah, same thing," Shandy said casually.

Aditya just clicked his tongue and refocused on reading his ‘textbook’. Seeing that Aditya was ignoring him, Shandy didn't say anything else and began to talk to other students beside him.

An hour passed, yet Professor Suharjo had not arrived, prompting several students to leave for the cafeteria. One of these students was Shandy, but before he got up from his seat, he glanced at Aditya, who was still focused on his manga.

Letting out a long sigh, Shandy tapped Aditya's shoulder and said, "Dit, want to go to the cafeteria? We'll come back to class once the professor shows up."

Aditya looked up from his manga and furrowed his brow at Shandy. "The upper cafeteria?" he asked.

In the law faculty, there was only one cafeteria, but it had two floors.

During Aditya's first year students were allowed to smoke in both cafeteria’s floors. However, after a directive from the rector, smoking was only permitted on the second floor.

So, Aditya's question was asking Shandy whether they would smoke or not.

"The upper cafeteria," Shandy replied.

"Coffee?" Aditya asked again.

Shandy took his wallet from his back pocket and opened it. Counting the remaining money, Shandy sighed and said, "Yes."

"Nice," nodded Aditya, a wide smile on his face.

Taking his smartphone from his pants pocket and seeing that the download progress was at 97%, Aditya began to follow Shandy from behind.

Several other students also joined Shandy and started chatting with him. Meanwhile, Aditya remained silent and followed from behind.

He had no intention of conversing with these students because their conversations sounded foolish to him.

What was the point of talking about expensive motorcycles that they couldn't afford with their parents' thin wallets?

To Aditya, discussing something unattainable was just a waste of breath. They'd be better off discussing something that could stimulate their intellect, like politics, culture, or social issues.

Upon reaching the upper cafeteria, they began to gather at an empty long table. Aditya chose to sit on the edge so he wouldn't be squeezed between the sweaty men.

"Black?" Shandy asked Aditya.

"Black," Aditya replied shortly, taking out his pack of cigarettes.

As he tapped the end of the cigarette pack on the table to compact its contents, Aditya once again took out his smartphone and checked the progress of the download, which seemed to be moving slowly due to the poor internet speed.

However, Aditya didn't complain because he couldn't complain about something that was free.

Placing the tip of the cigarette filter between his lips, Aditya ignited it with a lighter in his right hand while shielding it from the wind with his left hand.

For a moment, white smoke entered his mouth, reaching his lungs, and the sweet taste began to coat his tongue. Aditya exhaled the white smoke from his mouth, and the scent of cloves and cheap tobacco filled the air.

Shandy arrived, carrying two cups of black coffee in his hands. He handed one cup to Aditya and sat beside him.

"Thanks," Aditya said to Shandy, who was currently taking out two packs of cigarettes with different brands from his pants pocket.

"Since when do you smoked white?" Aditya asked, noting the unfamiliar cigarette brand on the table.

"I'm coughing, so I switched to white cigarettes," Shandy replied.

Aditya simply nodded, understanding the logic Shandy presented. Any cigarette would taste the same in an ashtray like mouth as the one Shandy had.

"What are you downloading?" Shandy asked, glancing at Aditya's smartphone screen.

"It's a new game called Pendant of War, catchy name, right? This game can make money, Shan," Aditya said enthusiastically.

"It can make money? You might get scammed again," recalling the incident where Aditya shouted curses while staring at his smartphone screen during class.

Luckily, at that time, Professor Marjon, known as a male Mother Teresa, didn't mind it; otherwise, there would have been another subject with a D grade on Aditya's study card.

"Nah, this time I'm experienced. Don't worry. I won't get scammed again!" Aditya said confidently.

He believed that lightning doesn't strike twice, and as a handsome-kind-perfect man, that wouldn't happen to him.

"Up to you," Shandy said, sighing deeply as he looked at his strange friend.

Aditya just waved his hand, ignoring Shandy's warning.

The smartphone screen showed that the download was successful.

Impatiently, Aditya began to open the Pendant of War app on his smartphone screen, but instead of the game opening, an odd questionnaire appeared.