episode_0005

The last remaining magic beast was sliced cleanly in half by my hand.

“What in the world are you?”

Lucas, who had approached without me realizing, looked at me with wary eyes. Not just Lucas, but the other students also looked at me with the same gaze.

It wasn’t merely the gaze one would give to a handsome person.

Was it because they were surprised by how I handled the magic beasts, or was it because Lucas himself was sweating and catching his breath while I stood there as if nothing had happened? Perhaps it was both.

“…”

Not only Lucas but the other students also waited for my answer, but I couldn’t say anything.

Because it was incredibly difficult!

‘I feel like I’m going to die!’

My arms and legs were trembling uncontrollably, and I wanted to lie down on the floor immediately.

The face inside my mask was drenched in sweat.

The reason the other students thought I was fine was simply due to my trait: Poker Face.

I just wanted to lie down on the ground and rest, but perhaps because all the students’ gazes were focused on me,

my Clown trait worked diligently.

I walked to a position where as many students as possible could see me.

“It seems everyone is curious about my identity.”

Feeling all the students’ gazes focused on me,

I bowed my head and placed my right hand over my left chest.

As if a theater actor was bowing to the audience after a performance.

“My apologies for the late introduction. I am a fellow student, my name is Loki, and I am merely an ordinary clown.”

The moment my words ended, a hole opened up in the air behind me, and a booming sound echoed.

I didn’t look, but I knew what was there. It was undoubtedly one golem and dozens of magic beasts. It was the defeat event that appeared in Kroaka. From the start, it wasn’t a stage meant to be cleared, but a stage where defeat was guaranteed.

‘But who am I?’

A veteran player who had played Kroaka for 10 years, a handsome man, every woman’s ideal type, every man’s enemy, a handsome clown—that was me. That’s why I was able to defeat the golem, the defeat event in Kroaka.

Even now that it had become reality, nothing had changed. A single golem could easily be defeated if we combined our strengths.

I thought that. Until I confirmed there were two golems. What the hell? I hadn’t expected two of them to appear!

“That’s impossible.”

“How are we supposed to defeat that?”

The other students seemed to have given up on even the thought of fighting, slumping to the ground or backing away.

But why did I find myself smiling in this situation? Was it because of my Clown trait, or my gamer’s pride? I found this sudden situation not unlikable.

The golems and magic beasts remained still in their places. Perhaps because they weren’t moving, the students began to hope.

“They’re just standing there, not moving?”

“We’ve done enough already.”

“Then we don’t have to defeat them, do we?”

The students seemed to no longer want to fight, narrowing their opinions towards not fighting. And their judgment was correct.

In reality, the professors had already finished grading the students, and their evaluation wouldn’t change whether the golems were defeated or not. Despite that, there was a reason I had defeated the golems in Kroaka, and a reason I intended to defeat them now.

‘Because it’s fun.’

As if possessed, I stepped forward, and there were two more people making similarly foolish decisions like me.

Lucas Leonhart, Clara Adelian.

“Loki, we don’t necessarily have to defeat them, so why are you walking forward?”

“Lucas-nim, you’re also walking forward just like me, even though you’re saying that to me.”

“Both of you, be quiet. We’re going to defeat the golems anyway, aren’t we?”

As Clara Adelian said, the three of us were walking forward for only one reason: to defeat the golems. However, our reasons for wanting to defeat the golems were different.

Lucas, as a warrior, to test himself.

Clara, as a mage, to satisfy her curiosity.

I, as a gamer, to challenge a new event.

However, there was something we had to do before tackling the golems. We had to defeat the magic beasts surrounding the golems first.

“It seems like we need to clear out the magic beasts around the golems before we defeat them. Who wants to take them on?”

As I spoke, the three of us looked at each other, trying to gauge one another. The first to speak was me.

“Lucas-nim, you look very tired. How about you rest while taking care of the surrounding magic beasts? I’ll specially defeat the golems for you.”

“Me, tired? I’m perfectly fine. There are so many magic beasts; don’t mages usually handle those well?”

“What are you talking about? Who was it that defeated the most magic beasts in the first place?”

If someone was to fight the golems, someone else had to deal with the magic beasts. And all three of us wanted to fight the golems, not the magic beasts. As I pondered what to do, a good idea flashed through my mind.

“I have a good idea. Could you lend me your ears for a moment?”

Lucas and Clara listened intently to me, hearing that I had a good idea.

I pointed to the students who were watching us idly from behind. Many students had been knocked out by the magic beasts, and there weren’t many remaining.

“How about we use those people over there?”

“Those cowards don’t look like they’ll fight easily.”

Clara said my idea was impossible, but I looked at Lucas and spoke.

“Wouldn’t it work if one of us was good at persuasion?”

Hearing my words, Clara also looked at Lucas. Frankly, Lucas’s status as the Crown Prince was necessary to use them.

“Are you telling me to persuade them right now?”

“I didn’t specifically say that, did I?”

I said that while staring intently at Lucas. Yes, I was telling him to do it.

“Haaah.”

Lucas let out a short sigh and walked towards the students. He spoke in a very cold voice, unlike the one he had been using just moments ago.

“What is everyone doing? Surely you don’t intend to not fight, with the enemy right in front of you?”

“B-but…”

“Why did you all come to the academy? I came to the academy to test myself. Unlike the outside world, here I can find out how far I can go with just a spear.”

His words possessed a strange power that drew people in. A trait only held by the imperial family of the Empire, [Domination].

“That’s why I want to test myself. If you also wish to test yourselves like me, stop doing foolish things like giving up in front of the enemy and fight.”

As I watched the scene, Clara spoke to me. While not as much as Johanna, Clara was also a character I liked, so I listened to her words.

“Where did you learn swordsm— No, surely not.”

I knew what she was going to ask. She was probably going to ask where I learned swordsmanship. There would be time to talk about that with her later, slowly.

“What, are you two chatting nicely without me?”

“Clara-nim did speak to me, as if she had a lot of interest.”

Behind Lucas, who had approached without me realizing, students who were still able to fight stood holding their weapons.

“Tsk, I didn’t say anything. By the way, will they really be able to fight properly? It looks like a few of them were just swept up by the atmosphere.”

“Huhu, don’t worry. I know an incantation that will give them strength.”

I hadn’t intended to use this method, but it seemed I had no choice.

“Hello everyone, as I introduced myself earlier, my name is Loki.”

Lucas and Clara stared intently at me, curious about what I was going to say.

“Are you perhaps scared?”

The students who heard my words widened their eyes as if they couldn’t believe what they’d heard. Before they could regain their senses, I spoke without stopping.

“I’m not asking you to defeat the golems, just to hold off the magic beasts. If you’re scared, you can just rest. I’ll take care of all of it.”

“What?!”

“You think we’d be scared of just that many magic beasts?”

“Exactly, exactly! We’ll perfectly block them so not a single magic beast gets through!”

I left the re-energized students behind and made a V-sign with my hand to Lucas and Clara.

“How was it? My morale-boosting incantation.”

“Haha, you really are something.”

Lucas laughed as if he couldn’t help it, and Clara turned her head, ignoring me.

“Ah, Clara-nim, don’t ignore me, tell me what you thought of my incantation!”

“Be quiet. Aren’t you going to defeat the golems?”

“No, we should go quickly. If we don’t go fast, the cold Clara-nim, who has nothing to say about my incantation, might take all the credit!”

“You!”

Lucas, Clara, and I ran towards the golems.

The magic beasts charged at us, but we paid them no mind.

The magic beast that charged at us was struck by a large fist and sent flying.

A man with bronze skin and a massive body. The successor of the Isar tribe.

Kuran Isar.

“I, Kuran Isar, a warrior of the honorable Isar tribe, shall protect you from the magic beasts! I yield the large prey ahead to you!”

“Kuran-nim, thank you! Let’s work out together sometime!”

Thanks to him, I could run without stopping.

“Get out of the way!”

At the voice from behind, I ducked my head.

The wind passed over my head and tore through the magic beast in front of me.

A woman with fluttering pink hair, controlling spirits. The adopted daughter of the Rybyden family.

Sepia Rybyden.

“I’m different from those other guys! I didn’t chicken out like a fool; I was merely resting to defeat the golems!”

“Hahat! With such powerful strength, your words carry a lot of credibility!”

Besides these two, we received help from a few others, allowing us to ignore the magic beasts and keep running.

Thus, we finally arrived in front of the golems.

Up close, I was surprised by their size. Although I had run all the way here, I hadn’t really thought about how to defeat them.

However, my mouth, borrowing the Clown trait, only spouted strange words.

“Alright then, for the sake of the students who assisted us this far, let’s put on the best performance.”