episode_0038

The lecture that day was held indoors.

The sky was clear, and students still kept their heads down and avoided me.

Just like praying that the lion wandering next to you is full.

Kenneth was nowhere to be seen.

He must have recovered, but he probably didn’t drop out.

I frowned, feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

That type of person always stores up resentment and then shows up later.

I hope nothing bothersome happens.

In one corner of the classroom, I saw Ophelia smiling slightly when she saw me.

I just said hello with my eyes and went to sit next to Damian.

“Ah, Hashal. It’s been a week?”

Damian smiled lightly and welcomed me.

Millia, who had been secretly looking at me from the seat next to Damien, flinched when she saw me sitting across from her.

Her leaf-like green hair swayed slightly.

I guess I need to become friends with this guy first. There’s a long way to go.

Still, I was glad that he didn’t seem to have that much hostility towards me.

I almost shattered my right arm. That’s surprising.

Did Damian speak well?

“Sure. It’s been a while, Damien. And it was Millia, right? It’s been a while since you too.”

First, I tried talking.

If you force yourself to talk, you will have at least a chance to become friends.

Millia reluctantly turned to me and nodded lightly.

“…Hello.”

“Are you okay now that you got hurt? I think I was a bit harsh.”

I slowly scratched behind my ear and looked at Milia’s right arm.

The wound itself was completely healed, but there was no bandage or anything like that.

I don’t know anything else, but wound healing is a world that is incomparably superior to the original world.

Even then, there are many people who die before receiving treatment.

“It’s okay now…and I’m the one who agreed to the sparring, so you don’t have to feel so sorry.”

Millia nodded, lightly wrapping her arms around his right shoulder.

As expected, you have a good personality. It seems like he’s still reluctant to me.

If it weren’t for the problems with Damian, he’d be a really nice and nice guy…

Even if you consider skill separately.

“Well, in that case. Let’s pretend we made peace with this.”

He slowly held out his right hand.

Milia, who was looking down at my hand with some hesitation, reached out her hand.

Our joined hands trembled slightly.

Still, this can be considered a good start, right?

We will slowly become closer to each other in the future.

Then, when our relationship improves, I try to sneakily suggest that the bow suits me better.

After saying hello, I went outside for a moment and smoked a cigarette in the hallway before the lecture started.

Since it’s indoors, it’s a bit awkward to smoke during the lecture.

Damien and Millia are sitting next to me.

“…Look at that. I guess I’m not as bad a person as I thought?”

“Well…”

I could hear Damian and Millia whispering inside the classroom.

I think he must have lowered his voice in his own way, which is unfortunate because my hearing is so good.

Leaning my back against the window frame, I stretched out my upper body and looked up at the sky, adding a piece of smoke to the passing clouds.

It’s peaceful.

People passing by in the hallway glanced at me and whispered as they passed.

I didn’t think it was anything worth listening to, so I just ignored it.

Not long after, Professor Kaline was seen entering the front door of the classroom.

I put out my cigarette and returned to my seat.

—-

“Last week, I gave a lecture on evaluating the results of sparring and the characteristics of wizards. Today, I will give a lecture on the characteristics of the priesthood and how to deal with it.”

In evaluating the results of sparring, it is a characteristic of a wizard. It was a lecture that I felt a little regretful that I just skipped it.

Now that you think about it, maybe there was something about me too?

“…Hey Damian. Speaking of the result evaluation, did I mention it too?”

I lowered my voice and quietly asked Damien.

“Uh…I see. One of the new students asked Hashal how to deal with a type like you.”

My relative law? Actually, since I wasn’t there, that question could have been asked.

If I were next to you, I would have had the sense to ask you something like that.

Anyway, it went well. This would be quite helpful to know.

“So, what did the professor say?”

Damian tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth.

“First of all… I tend to respond to attacks with instinct, so I can’t react by distinguishing between strength and weakness. So, if you’re going to fight at a distance, they say to focus on weak checks to distract them, and mix in strong attacks to confuse them… If you’re going to fight at close range, they say don’t fight head-on and fight by channeling as many attacks as possible.”

“Hmm…really? Well, it’s not a bad decision.”

Although it was all wrong.

A satisfied smile came out.

If the professor makes a judgment like that, then Knut must also think that way, right?

Besides that, those who harbor ill feelings toward me within the academy will also think the same way.

Everything goes as planned.

Are you saying I can’t tell the difference between the strength and weakness of magic?

I am fully aware of the wizard’s main skills.

Thanks to anti-magic power, which sensitively detects magic power, you can immediately feel how powerful each magic is.

Are you going to block my attacks with your skills?

Just give it a try sometime. For that purpose, he hid the fact that he had learned imperial swordsmanship.

The special officers know this because they saw me training, but they aren’t the kind of people who talk lightly enough to talk about things like that.

It’s rewarding to put in so much effort and show off my mediocre skills.

So, I hope you think like that too.

I glanced towards Knut.

—-

The lecture continued.

“The wizard’s magic and the priest’s miracles work in completely different ways. A wizard’s power is free, but its limits are clear. If you use up all of your magical power, that’s it. No matter what you do, you cannot use any more magic.”

Kaline pretended to hit himself in the neck with the blade of his hand.

Does this mean that a wizard who has used up all his magic power can just cut off his head?

“On the other hand, the priest’s miracle can be used endlessly as long as the body and spirit can withstand it. It is just difficult for the human body to withstand the power of God for long. In the end, it means that your will and grit are more important than a wizard.”

In other words, once magic runs out of magical power, even if you give it your best effort, it is of no use, but in case of a miracle, if you use up your dying power, you can continue to fight while burning your life.

Therefore, when dealing with a battle priest or paladin, you must not let down your guard and make sure to kill the opponent even if he or she is exhausted.

If you leave it alone, it is likely to throw away its life and launch its final attack.

Kaline continued his explanation.

“Instead, the powers one can use are limited to those that can be given by the god one serves. It has low versatility. In the case of some gods, they cannot even use the common recovery blessing.”

As the saying goes, the most important thing for priest characters is which god they serve.

Usually, characters who served Elfinel of Grace or Shaulithe of Sun and Life were popular.

Buff specialization and recovery specialization. These were the most useful denominations for priest characters.

“Please refer to the lecture on faith for information on the attributes and powers of each god.”

I know that part, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t listen to it.

This was followed by information on how to respond to the general priesthood.

In the case of the Combat Priest, his own attack power is not very high, so if you are one-on-one, use your body to hold on and push through.

In the case of a paladin, he strengthens himself with blessings, fights like a knight, recovers, and endures, so long-term battles are unwinnable.

Instead, the skill of close combat itself is often low, so dig into that.

Overall, the explanation emphasized short-term warfare.

“What if the skills are similar?”

Someone asked Kaline a question.

“Then die. If a person who has only learned swordsmanship in the same amount of time is better at swordsmanship than a paladin who has also practiced swordsmanship with blessings, he should die.”

It was a firm answer that left no room for refutation.

—-

After the morning lecture, I talked with Damien and Milia about the outdoor training that would take place in three days.

Neither of them seemed to know much about the details.

Like Asha, I expected that the opponent would probably be a kobold or troll.

“I caught the troll a few days ago and there was nothing special about it. It heals quickly, but if you rip its head off, it dies. Damian, you should be able to catch it easily.”

“Is that so? I’ve never seen a troll in person, so I’m not sure.”

Damian scratched his head and laughed. At times like this, he looks like a boy of that age.

I don’t know why I feel a little uncomfortable every time I see it.

“…Am I?”

“It must be difficult with a rapier. The stab wound healed instantly.”

“It must be difficult……”

Millia became a little sullen. The corners of his round eyes drooped slightly.

good. Can I comfort you a little?

“In the first place, the academy wouldn’t ask all freshmen to deal with trolls. Even if we do come out, wouldn’t it be at most two or three? Well, I’m sure your boyfriend will help you out.”

Millia’s face heated up. It’s kind of cute.

She was startled by my words and threw up her hands in a panic.

“Me, your boyfriend…! That’s not it! Damian and I are just childhood friends…!”

“In times like this, it would be better to just shamelessly say yes. If I act so timidly, I won’t know if another guy steals it? That guy, it’s not bad that he has skills so he must be popular.”

“Ugh…”

Millia lowered her head. Damian was just laughing embarrassingly next to him.

Judging by his attitude, it seems like he took our conversation as a joke.

…Milia, you have a long way to go.

—-

I completed my training preparations leisurely over two days.

I also visited Asha’s room, and the entire room was cluttered with unidentifiable gears, tools, and mechanical devices.

So much so that you can barely see where you step.

Asha caught my gaze and smiled sheepishly.

There was something that looked like a large drawing on the desk, and a wind-up clock was ticking next to it.

I was also able to see an automaton called Asha’s escort.

It had a metal exterior that resembled a knight’s full armor, and the inside was filled with countless gears, pipes, pistons, and power lines.

It had flying devices similar to Asha’s on its back and legs, and its arms had large gun barrels instead of hands.

I heard it was an item made by the tribe’s elders. Wouldn’t that be stronger than Asha…?

It is said that Calix went on a dispatch mission. For some reason, I couldn’t see it these days.

Friede, well, just like always, I just eat alone without any friends.

It’s almost to the point where he looks pitiful, but he gets irritated whenever I see him, so it’s hard for me to approach him first.

Anyway, there will be an opportunity for our relationship to improve later on, so let’s just leave it like that for the time being.

I also tried sparring with Nigel while wearing the fake frost boots provided.

The only difference was that, in addition to the existing attack method, attacks such as grabbing the enemy’s sword or stabbing and scratching with the fingertips were added.

If you try to use it properly, this thing will break quickly.

Still, compared to the existing method of simply holding and tearing off with fingers, the boldness and tempo of the attack have become much faster.

“It’s okay. I think it would be quite useful if used as a surprise attack.”

Nigel, who had a slight scar on his cheek, praised me.

I also received a new long sword.

When I complained that the Academy long sword I had received was too weak, they gave me a sword of slightly better quality.

I’ll also take Aimella’s sword and frostbite just in case, but they’re so conspicuous that I don’t plan on using them unless it’s an emergency.

In addition, he brought about twelve daggers for throwing purposes.

Nigel gave me a leather belt to hold the dagger.

It’s not that expensive, so it’s okay.

—-

The morning of the outdoor training day finally dawned.

The atmosphere among the students lined up in front of the inspection table was quite chaotic.

A strange mixture of tension, anxiety, anticipation and excitement heated up the parade ground.

Due to various reasons, about 11 people were unable to attend, so the total number of participants was 140.

The professor at the inspection table finally presented the contents of the practical training.

The destination is the gray forest in the southwestern part of the archipelago.

It is said to be a place where knights released captured kobolds and trolls for practice.

There are only four trolls, but most of them are kobolds.

The training involved surviving in the forest for five days in a group of four and subduing monsters.

Your top priority is survival, and additional points are added for each number of monsters you defeat, so collect evidence of your defeat.

There was a series of warnings that the academy would not intervene at all for five days, and that even if someone died there, it would not intervene.

If the four of us are going to get killed by trolls or kobolds anyway, there’s no future for us or something like that.

Soon after, 35 groups were announced.

Knut and Ophelia were placed in different groups, and Damien was in the same group as Edgar.

My team members were Milia, Hans, and Lana.

In addition to the two people who got beaten up by me, there is one religious child who doesn’t have any good feelings towards me…

Isn’t there a bit of malice mixed in with this team composition?

I was already feeling tired as I saw the three people looking at me with trembling eyes after seeing the announcement of the donation.

Take these and stay there for five days.

I’m also wary of an attack from Knut, who is on the other side with murderous intentions and says he will kill me for sure.

It won’t be easy.

rather-