A Bet

Looking back, time really flew by fast. It’s already been three months since I possessed Ross.

Now, academy life has long become familiar to me.

Using magic and studying bizarre monsters have become my daily routine.

In the meantime, I, who used to be a lump of inferiority complex, changed my personality, made friends, and created a new club that didn’t appear in the novel.

I fell in love with Luna, an extra who didn’t appear in the novel, and started dating her.

I made precious memories and gained new goals.

I still don’t know the reason for the possession, but now it feels natural to live as Ross.

After my first date with Luna went smoothly and the weekend passed, the grade test that all academy students dreaded began.

The first two days were theory exams, so the academy was unusually quiet, unlike usual. The library was filled with students who had secured their spots to study.

I also put my head together with Lacar and crammed hard in the club room. As a result of immediately doing a preliminary grading after the exam, it seemed like I would get a better score than I thought.

Did the other members do well on the exam? The other members, whose scores on the theory exam were high, had been looking exhausted since last week.

While I was worrying about the members, Lykan showed up in the classroom for the closing remarks.

,Don’t be discouraged if you didn’t do well on the theory exam! The flower of the combat department! The survival test remains!!!”

At Lykan’s shout, the expressions of some of the discouraged students brightened up a bit. As Lykan said, the theory exam score for the combat department was 30%. Compared to other departments, where the score was a high 50% or 60%, the combat department had a low theory score.

Even if you mess up the theory score, you can change the situation if you do well on the survival test… To put it coldly, even the theory exam, which is considered to be of easy difficulty, didn’t get a good score because they didn’t put in even a little effort. There was no way they could do well on the survival test, which requires even more effort.

,I’ll briefly explain how this exam will proceed.”

The corners of Lykan’s mouth twisted as if he was smiling. Because of that, some people felt uneasy and sighed.

,It’s a survival test that takes place on a training uninhabited island for 3 days. Since it’s a virtual space created for training, there’s no need to worry about safety. Professors and security knights will be stationed all over the island in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances. Of course, we won’t intervene unless it’s a dangerous situation. Before the start of the survival test, everyone will be given a survival bag containing one day’s worth of food.”

,One day…?”

One student asked Lykan, wondering if they had misheard.

,Yes! Isn’t that obvious! This is a test of how long you can survive in a dangerous situation. I was against even giving one day’s worth of food, but many professors gave it out considering that you are first-year students! Even if you prepare food in advance, all unnecessary items will be taken away through inspection before the start of the exam, so don’t do any useless things.”

Everyone sighed at Lykan’s words, but I desperately suppressed the corners of my mouth from naturally rising.

The amount of food in my space warehouse alone was enough for me to eat three meals a day for 10 days without holding back.

After having my food stolen by the raccoon bandit in the practice, I developed a bit of a trauma and got into the habit of storing some food.

Even if there was no food at all, it wouldn’t be a problem for me, who has a space warehouse. No, I even wanted to support Lykan’s opinion that he was against giving one day’s worth of food.

Being able to get warm rice and drinking water on a deserted island was definitely a huge advantage. If the exam was a week long, I might have become a cult leader on the deserted island with my overflowing food.

,Whether you steal other people’s food or hunt and get food yourself. That is each person’s choice. You can form a team with close friends, or you can form a huge group with many people. On the deserted island, you just need to score points in any way.”

The commotion in the classroom grew even louder at Lykan’s words. They seemed to be trying to cooperate, exchanging glances with the people around them.

,When you enter the island and check the survival bag, you will each have a randomly assigned goal. Collecting, excavating, eliminating, etc. You must perform various missions, and at the same time, you can eliminate the opponents you encounter to earn high scores.”

No sooner had Lykan finished speaking than hands went up all over the classroom. He pointed to one of them with his hand, and they immediately asked a question.

,What happens if you only complete the mission?”

,You’ll only get points for completing the mission. Even that will be in the middle. It’s not that the score is high, but there will be an overflow of guys who can’t even complete the mission and are eliminated in the beginning.”

I was a little annoyed by Lykan’s appearance, smiling and subtly looking at me.

Come to think of it, Lykan saw me as so low that he even advised me to drop out. As a piece of trash with no potential for growth.

While I was thinking about giving Lykan a taste of his own medicine and taking some profit, Lykan added.

,It’s okay if you can’t complete the mission. You can get survival points just by surviving on the deserted island for 3 days.”

Survival score. It was a big variable in this exam. If this didn’t exist, after the start of the exam. There would have been a dogfight to steal food.

If you can get points safely at the cost of going hungry, most people will choose safety over fighting.

But here, the prisoner’s dilemma applies.

If everyone doesn’t fight, they can divide the points fairly. But someone will inevitably choose betrayal for food and points.

In a situation where each other’s abilities and scores are not equal, there is no way that collusion is possible.

For the first two days, students who choose peace will gather and form groups, but what about the last 3rd day?

Just by betraying the student sleeping next to you right now, you can get both fighting points and survival points.

In particular, the protected area that appears on the last 3rd day will create a valid reason for betrayal.

Lykan placed a round artifact that looked like a coaster and a bracelet with a red ruby on the desk.

,This is a shock-absorbing artifact. You will proceed with the exam while wearing this.”

When Lykan placed the artifact on his chest, it stuck to his body like a magnet, and a green light entered the artifact.

,It’s usually green. That means it’s safe. When you receive a certain amount of shock…”

When Lykan hit his chest hard, the color of the artifact changed.

,It turns yellow like this and sends a signal that it is dangerous due to shock.”

In that state, Lykan hit his body a few more times with a big fist, and finally the artifact turned red.

,If the shock continues to accumulate, it will turn red like this. This is a warning signal that it can no longer absorb the shock. After a certain amount of time, it will return to its original state, but if you continue to receive shock in this state…”

Lykan hit his body one more time, and the light of the artifact went out and the thing that was attached to his chest fell to the floor weakly with a thud.

,If you are attacked and the artifact falls off, you will lose all your points to the last attacker and be forcibly summoned out. The points you receive by dropping a mission or an opponent are through this bracelet…”

After Lykan put on the bracelet and touched the ruby, the score floated up like a hologram.

,You can check it like this at any time. You can check the map and restricted areas through the bracelet, and it has various functions, so be sure to learn how to use it when the exam starts.”

After finishing the explanation, Lykan gathered the artifacts and looked around the noisy classroom and said.

,Okay, I think I’ve explained enough about the exam so far. You can find out all the details by checking the survival bag. Detailed rules are also written, so be sure to check them first! I hope you get good scores based on the survival methods you have learned from me. Then, everyone, have a good survival test tomorrow!”

I hurriedly followed Lykan, who was leaving the noisy classroom.

,Professor Lykan!”

,Huh? Do you have any questions?”

Lykan, who turned around, had a slightly puzzled expression after checking my face.

Maybe he never thought I would come to him.

,Do you think I’ll be held back, professor?”

Lykan’s personality is written in the setting book. A personality that hates beating around the bush. He himself used straightforward language.

Lykan twisted the corners of his mouth as if he was sneering.

,Yes. To be honest, you’ve improved a little compared to the beginning of your enrollment, but you’re still below average. I won’t be disappointed even if you’re held back. In the first place, disappointment must be accompanied by expectations.”

I raised one corner of my mouth as if mocking the male version of Flavia, who said that he had no expectations for me.

,Then let’s make a bet.”

,What…?”

I said to Lykan, who was glaring at me as if he was dumbfounded, in a confident voice.

,I’ll drop out if I’m held back. Instead, if I get first place in this exam, please train me.”

Lykan’s training was so difficult that even Roel wanted to give up several times, but its effect was very excellent.

Since I have the insurance called Indomitable Courage… If I finish Lykan’s training without giving up, I can grow significantly more than I am now.

,First place…? Are you crazy? You should be worried about being held back!!!”

I shrugged my shoulders at Lykan’s appearance, observing my face as if to see if I was in my right mind.

,Why. Are you afraid of being told that you don’t have an eye for students?”

I remembered that Lykan liked gambling and alcohol. And that he was weak to provocation because of his strong pride, so I threw it out casually… It seemed to have a better effect than I thought.

The veins on Lykan’s forehead were bulging, and my skin was tingling from the fighting spirit that was naturally flowing out of his body.

,Okay, I accept that bet.”

Lykan, who answered in a low voice, gave an ominous smile.

,If you said you’d bet so confidently, you must be thinking about something. If you’re held back, it’s good because the underachiever disappears, and if you get first place, the underachiever in my class becomes first place. And I can legally roll the arrogant you through training, so it’s a great bet for me!”

Something like an Asura-like aura seemed to be rippling behind Lykan’s back… For some reason, I swallowed hard, feeling a strong premonition that I had made a mistake that I would regret for the rest of my life.

,I have high expectations.”

I sweated coldly and stammered an answer at Lykan’s appearance, smiling scarily and tapping my shoulder with his big fist as if he was enjoying it.

,Th-those… expectations are high, no…”

Looking at Lykan’s receding back, I sighed and wiped my face.

I felt a strong sense of self-loathing for the first time in a long time.