༺ Orientation (2) ༻
“There are three coming from your 9 o’clock direction right about… now.”
“…”
Iliya swung her sword with a heavy expression.
The dummy monster in the form of wolf that launched an ambush in the dark was swept away by the blow.
“Two more from the ceiling. Aim for their throats.”
“…Excuse me, Teacher.”
She called as she decapitated two bat-shaped dummies in an instant.
“Ah, watch your step, there’s a tile trap. The paralyzing poison launcher is on your right, so just break it.”
“Hello? Teach? I have a favor.”
“What is it?”
“This is good and all, but can you please help me instead of just giving instructions…?”
“Nope.”
“…”
Iliya’s face contorted even more, but seeing this, I eventually chuckled and added.
“Weren’t you the one who tried to beat me up on our first meeting just the other day?”
“…That’s true.”
“And weren’t you the one who said you wanted to apologize? You said you’ll do anything I ask, didn’t you?”
“…I did.”
“So what’s the problem now?”
“…Yes, I’m sorry.”
When I suggested that ‘we get closer,’ it was her who delightedly rushed here.
She should keep her word.
“…”
And even if I wanted to help, I couldn’t.
I was about as useful as a bug with these puny stats.
It would be better if I just gave out orders and let her do all the fighting.
‘And…’
It became clear while going around this artificial dungeon that Desperation would not be triggered unless there was hostile intent threatening my life.
That’s why it didn’t work on these dummies that were simply repeating programmed actions.
So what does this point imply?
Desperation wasn’t omnipotent. Like most things, it was clearly flawed and imperfect.
The complacency that this skill would save me in every situation was something I should quickly throw away.
‘I must raise my stats.’
Stats were like your athleticism that could be used in all situations. In the end, personal growth was indispensable.
Especially when you consider that the performance of items and skills was also affected by stats.
As I was thinking about that, Iliya grumbled next to me again.
“Still, Teach has skills and could probably do better than me. With two of us working together, we can break through much faster—”
[ Amazing speed! ]
[ You broke the 2-year-old record! ]
“…”
Her complaining immediately stopped after hearing the reverberating announcement.
“No, why? How is this possible? What is happening right now?”
Judging by her confusion, it seemed that she was dumbfounded at the fact that she was breaking the record despite proceeding in this way.
“Is that so surprising?”
“It’s not surprising; it’s ridiculous!”
She blurted out.
“A mock battle is made with the assumption that two people would be doing it. But I’m just clearing it by myself, and it’s the highest record… What the hell is this? Hello? Are you using some kind of magic? Even regular knights couldn’t do it like this. Huh? What’s going on?”
“…”
I inwardly chuckled over her confused existential crisis.
‘This is great.’
I had accumulated enough experience to be considered a veteran in this game.
And now, I obtained a top-notch subordinate who would move without asking or questioning my words?
This dungeon was so easy that she could complete it with her eyes closed.
‘Hmm.’
And if we’re running a speedrun with only one person like this, it was bound to attract some interest.
In fact, the reward for simply clearing this mock battle was good, but that was also quite important.
I had to take this opportunity.
So, in the end, what was it?
“The next section will be a little tougher than this one, so let’s keep it up. Let’s go~!”
I cheered her up.
Because, until then, you would have to do it all by yourself.
“…”
Iliya gritted her teeth.
You’ll lose your teeth if you keep doing that.
●
Evan Kramer, a second-year student in the Monster Research Department, was nervously sitting in front of the control panel.
“The mock battle stages are pretty good these days. Did the department set it up?”
“Yes, yes…!”
Evan barely managed to squeeze out an answer while stuttering. The other person smiled as they watched the video being played.
“We can increase the budget next year.”
It was clear that they were someone with the authority to be able to say such things.
The speaker was none other than the Dean of the Knight School.
Conrad Baltador.
The Dean, who directly reported to the Headmistress, was an individual who, at least within the Academy, was said to possess unparalleled authority.
For a student, it would be difficult to even breathe just by being next to such a person.
‘Why is someone like him at a booth…?!’
As Evan shivered and pondered those thoughts, there was another voice.
“Oh, Conrad. What are you doing here?”
Unfortunately for Evan, the owner of this voice also did not help the atmosphere at all.
Seeing the person entering the booth with several pale-faced assistant professors from the Magic School, Evan almost suffered actual breathing problems.
“I can say the same to you, Percy. You rarely go out.”
“Well, it’s been a while since I came out to see the freshmen. I like seeing the potential talents.”
“…”
Conrad silently looked at the half-dead assistant professors from behind the woman called Percy.
“…You’re not looking for a new tool, I mean, graduate students?”
“Well, if they want to come out of their own volition, you won’t stop them, right?”
It was Percy Siston Levantin, the Dean of the Magic School. She replied with a smile.
“So, you haven’t answered yet. What are you doing?”
“There’s someone I’m keeping an eye on these days.”
Conrad replied as he turned his gaze back to the screen.
Percy’s gaze naturally followed in that direction.
“Oh, I know that child. Isn’t she the next Hero Candidate?”
After saying that, Percy’s gaze moved to the stage clear record on the side panel.
I guess it was to be expected. The speed at which she passed each stage was much faster than the average student.
The next Hero Candidate was indeed noteworthy…
“No, not her.”
“…?”
Percy tilted her head and looked at the other student.
“Who is this?”
“Dowd Campbell.”
“Ah, the con artist?”
Even someone like her, who rarely ventured outside and wasn’t that well-versed about recent happenings, had heard rumors about this new student who had recently caused a stir.
She had heard that this guy conned a win against the Hero Candidate during the one-on-one sparring.
“…But why are you watching a scammer?”
“Looks like you heard about that, too.”
Conrad replied with a snort.
“That guy’s talent is real.”
“Talent?”
Percy furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the screen.
Talent… What talent?
No matter how she looked at it, it just looked like he was getting a free ride from the Hero Candidate.
“This is why Mages who only roll around with pens are no good.”
“Why are you picking a fight now?”
“This feat and this record can never be set just by the Hero Candidate alone. Rather, the main reason for it is over there.”
“…Yes?”
Percy asked with her head tilted, but Conrad simply turned his gaze back to the screen instead of explaining in detail.
It was even clearer to see from a distance.
Just the sheer absurdity of what this man was doing right now.
‘…Interesting.’
In fact, there were some occasional events where freshmen got good records.
But in the end, it was nothing more than a stroke of luck. It wasn’t really a display of true skill.
In that sense.
How was this man just blazing through this?
‘He’s calculating everything.’
It was as if he knew the location of the monsters relative to the Hero Candidate and then sent out instructions at the right timing.
Each of his subsequent moves made it seem like he was seeing through the enemy’s pattern.
Every judgment he made at every instance was a near-perfect answer.
He may look like he was just standing and ordering, but he was actually playing with a complex and elaborately arranged artificial dungeon as if it were placed in the palm of his hand.
Conrad was sure of it.
This freshman was the sole person among Elfante’s history of students who broke through the dungeon in such a way.
It was almost as if…
‘He’s fought on the battlefield thousands of times.’
This was the only explanation.
Because it just didn’t make sense to have this kind of ability without any practical experience.
And surviving combat and living to develop this ability suggested that this guy was hiding something more than just what was on the surface.
“…”
Which begged the question.
If he directly participated in a dungeon raid with the Hero Candidate, what would the result be?
If one person was already doing this much, what would happen if he himself participated as well?
“No, I just can’t bring myself to believe it. I don’t understand no matter how I look at it.”
Speaking of, this stupid mage beside him had been annoying him for a while now.
“Then do you want to bet on it?”
“A bet?”
“Do you remember the record you and I set in the mock battle during our freshman year?”
“I do. What about it?”
Conrad and Percy were a freshman duo that was said to be the most legendary team-up of all time.
The record they set in the mock battle still remained as the undisputed number one of all time.
“I bet he’ll break it.”
Percy’s eyes widened.
“…You’re that confident?”
“Of course.”
“Fine. It has already come to this point. I’ll take on your invitation and bet on him not breaking the record.”
“Alright.”
Immediately after saying that, he picked up the microphone attached to the control panel.
“This is Conrad Baltador, the Dean of the Knight School. Can you hear me?”
His voice probably reverberated throughout the dungeon like an announcement, judging from how Iliya was looking at the ceiling in amazement.
‘Interesting.’
Meanwhile, Conrad smiled at the sight of Dowd, who did not seem the least bit fazed. Then, he continued speaking.
“I’m intrigued by how things are going. Can I make a proposal?”
“Go ahead.”
His attitude was even as if he’d been waiting for this.
“Currently, the Magic School’s Dean Percy and I are engaged in a bet outside.”
“A bet?”
“It’s on whether you can break the record we set as a freshman or not. If you succeed… Percy will give you the right to ask for anything.”
On the other side, Percy raised her eyebrows slightly with an expression asking what he was doing, but she didn’t say much.
Anyways, she was certain that their record would remain unbroken.
“You don’t need to feel burdened by it. The record you set now is great, regardless.”
“Ah, that’s fine.”
And so.
“Because I’m going to break it.”
Hearing Dowd Campbell’s answer, the expression on Percy’s face was truly worth seeing.
●
“Iya…”
As soon as Beatrix entered the private fitness room of the Student Council, she was greeted by a sweltering heat.
Eleanor stretched out in the middle of the floor, covered in sweat, also added to the scene.
“What is all this?”
She sighed helplessly and tossed a water bottle to Eleanor.
“I needed to sort out my thoughts.”
“Right, I know you come here alone to sweat whenever you’re like that. So what’s the problem this time?”
“It has always been like this, but it’s getting worse these days.”
Upon hearing that, Beatrix’s expression immediately turned solemn.
A dark rumor had been circulating in Imperial’s social circles.
It was saying that the blood of a Devil ran in the Tristan Family’s veins.
That sentence could mean two things.
One was literally being connected to a Devil, pledging with evil to achieve outstanding feats.
The second was a metaphorical expression of madness, which was present in the Duke’s bloodline.
It was an expression of extreme violence and the loss of reason that occured in bursts from time to time.
As time passed, the Tristan Family became notorious for their miserable later years, which overshadowed their achievements.
Eleanor was also not free from such a curse.
Rather, it was particularly extreme in her case.
She alone knew of aspects of Eleanor that could never be revealed to the public.
“…Is it very serious?”
“It’s nothing to worry about. It’s not entirely because of that.”
Eleanor smiled and wiped her sweat off with a towel.
“There was something I wanted to remember.”
“Something you wanted to remember?”
“It’s a move I learned from my mother when I was little and I just started learning the sword… But I can’t quite recall it. That’s why I was checking my swordsmanship right from the beginning.”
For a woman who normally didn’t show even the slightest emotion, Eleanor was being pretty sentimental. But instead of pointing it out, Beatrix encouraged her.
Eleanor’s feelings for her father and mother were the polar opposites.
Her mother died when she was young, so Beatrix could understand why she was like that.
“Well, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“It’s fine. I won’t have the energy to care about most things if I’m tired.”
“Really? Well, I have something to tell you.”
Eleanor’s gaze turned to Beatrix.
“…Tell me about what?”
“I’m saying this because you asked me to keep you informed of any incoming tidbits. A junior told me this earlier.”
“So, what is it?”
“Dowd Campbell is with the next Hero Candidate in a mock battle. People say they’re the subject of a bet between the Deans—”
Sparks flew from Eleanor’s eyes.
“So, you’re saying that the two of them are stuck together?”
“…”
Well, I guess this was more important than being involved in a bet between Deans.
“The mock battle is done in pairs so the two of them need to stick together, no?”
Eleanor sprang up immediately. Her sweat splattered everywhere, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Didn’t you just say you’re too tired to care about most things?”
“Shut up and tell me where they are.”
This crazy woman.
Beatrix’s temple, which had recently been particularly painful, began to throb with a headache again.
