Ch.103103 – Finders Keepers

<103 – Finders Keepers>

There is no concept of transfer admission at Gift Academy.

It’s not because every other academy in the world is inferior compared to Gift Academy.

“What the fuck!! Principal!!!! How can an outsider who hasn’t even gone through our Gift Academy’s first-year curriculum just become a second-year student?!”

“This is an insult to our character!!! It’s an insult to all of us who fought our way through the first-year curriculum of this hellish academy!!! Arghhhh!!!”

It’s because of the fierce protests from existing students, mainly second-years, who feel unbearably wronged.

Protests born from the wicked mentality that others should suffer the same injustices they experienced!

Conversely, most second-years felt sympathy for the juniors who were about to experience the same hardships they had endured.

“Is that really a freshman?”

“Isn’t that some veteran who’s been stuck in first year for like 5 years?”

“Come on, you idiot. The kid is barely 11 years old. How could they have been held back 5 years? How old would they have been when they enrolled?”

“Wait, could she be a legal loli? Is that even possible?”

“What kind of sick things are you saying about a child, you psycho? Hey, everyone! Let’s beat this guy up!”

“Ack! Ack! I didn’t know! I was just saying!”

I feel a bit sorry for the senior who mentioned “legal loli.”

Honestly, if I saw a first-year entering the secret training ground, setting up targets perfectly, and conveniently using the automatic arrow retrieval function, I’d be suspicious too.

How many fraudsters in fantasy stories lie about their age?

‘There are so many long-lived races claiming to be “90-year-old elves who are 10 in human years” and such nonsense!’

The 981st class shows a strong presence of humans, and considering that powerful individuals among non-human races typically don’t enroll in the academy, there are no legal lolis in this class.

However, if you broaden your view to include other classes, there definitely are legal lolis within Gift Academy.

‘But strictly speaking, I’ve gone through thousands of cycles, so isn’t it difficult for me to be treated as this age?’

…Well, as long as I don’t get caught!

* *

Zhang and Morb were lost, struggling to use the unfamiliar facility.

“Hey, freshmen. How did you even get here without knowing how to use the facilities?”

“We read advice in the room with double-sided tape.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Looking at the confused second-year senior, Zhang inwardly marveled.

So Oknodie had obtained information that even seniors didn’t know.

He felt a strange sense of superiority at the thought of accessing information left by seniors above the second-years.

What a waste of age.

Lower information gathering skills than a first-year!

While Zhang was feeling proud inside, the second-year senior grumbled:

“Just tell me what you came to do. I’ll show you how to use it. Don’t ask me to explain twice. I’ll only show you once. Got it?”

“Yeees.”

“Ah, yes sir!”

The second-year senior looked at the extremely nervous Morb and snickered.

“I won’t eat you, kid. Relax.”

“Haha…”

“I won’t.”

“…Do other seniors eat people?!”

“You guys must have heard by now, right? About that annoying second-year who hands out fraudulent contracts.”

“Ah, the one who distributes errand contracts…”

“Watch out for that. If you get caught up in it, you’ll spend the entire year doing nothing but gathering materials like a slave, and a year will fly by before you know it.”

Zhang thought to himself.

This senior is quite kind.

Considering the academy’s harsh education, it was surprising that such a good-natured senior existed.

Of course, not all seniors were kind.

“This is ridiculous. First-years already enjoying the secret training ground. Back in my day…”

“Shut up. We were all first-years in your day too. Want me to tell everyone how you spectacularly failed your grades?”

“Come on, seriously. You want to ruin my reputation like that?”

A second-year student glaring with hostile eyes and grumbling.

“…If I bring that smart-looking first-year to our lab, would the professor praise me?”

“Hey, are you even human? How can you say such terrible things to an innocent first-year!”

A third-year student in the corner, emitting an ominous aura while spitting out evil plans.

“…The professor said not to touch the first-years. I must endure. Must endure. Must endure…”

“Wow, that senior is scary even to us. Can’t someone chase them away?”

“No way. We’re scared too.”

Unlike the third-years with clear purposes, there were fourth-year students whose intentions couldn’t even be guessed, exuding an insanely disturbing atmosphere.

The campus that used to be frequented only by first-years was like a hunting ground for beginners, with many unsettling seniors in the same space.

“Hey, Oknodie. Any tips for using this facility? I mean… *safely*?”

To Zhang’s question, Oknodie answered with a bright face.

“Yes! About three things.”

“Three things?”

“First, don’t get close to the seniors!”

“…And?”

“Don’t talk to the seniors!”

“…”

“Finally, don’t make eye contact with the seniors!”

What is this, ghost treatment?

I’m not still in the middle of fifth period, am I?

I’m not wandering in the rain trapped in an illusion, right?

Regardless of Zhang’s troubled feelings.

The cheerful Oknodie, who was irritatingly upbeat, focused only on shooting arrows at the target without making eye contact with anyone.

Maybe coming here was a mistake.

The terrified Zhang and Morb thought they understood why the school rule prohibiting leaving the dormitory at night existed.

Perhaps that rule was a minimal safety measure to protect first-years.

Bluntly speaking, there might even be a rule for second-years and above that it’s okay to do bad things to first-years wandering outside the dormitory after 10 PM.

“…Let’s finish what we need to do and get out of here quickly.”

“Yeah…”

And so the three first-year students silently completed their assignments.

* *

Among the lectures with assignments raining down, there was one uniquely clean lecture without any assignments.

It was Professor Platton’s <Advanced Physical Enhancement> class held during first period on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Ughh. I had to swim for three hours in supplementary education over the weekend.”

“If I added up all the water I swallowed then, it might be as much as all the water I’ve drunk in my life.”

“Gahahah! What pathetically weak kids. Don’t you agree?”

Following the previous lecture, this lecture was also set as a swimming class for students weak in water.

Unlike the last lecture where more than half the students had to practice how to float, this time most had mastered breathing while swimming.

“Therefore, today’s lecture has increased in difficulty!”

Despite attending a lecture without assignments, students felt fear rather than gratitude.

No student could be happy about attending a lecture filled with murderous intent, promising to finish them off with just one class without assignments.

Above all, there was a particular reason why they couldn’t swim right now.

“Due to the continuous downpour causing the river to overflow!”

“Is class canceled?”

“Is there an alternative lecture?”

“Wow! Swimming pool!”

“We will proceed with a lecture on crossing the overflowing river!”

“We’ll die!!!”

“Even though we’re first-years, we don’t just say yes to everything?!”

“Are you trying to kill the Empire’s precious treasures?!”

This was going too far. This time, everyone, regardless of group, firmly refused.

Even Cassia from Group C was shaking her head in refusal.

The instructor in charge of her also gave a look from behind that said, “Are you insane, Professor?”

“Well. What weaklings.”

Professor Platton grumbled.

“Back in the day, you know. When a professor spoke, students would tremble and respond with ‘Yes, sir!’ enthusiastically. These days, even the principal has gotten soft with age…”

It was worse before?!

While the shocked students were processing this, this kind of lecture was problematic from my perspective too.

“Professor!”

“What is it, Oknodie.”

“Can we take a break today and work twice as hard on the weekend instead?”

“Twice as hard?”

Classmates nodded eagerly.

With Giant Crabs clicking their pincers just waiting for someone to enter, swimming there could really lead to multiple funerals.

“Fine! If even Oknodie, who always gets the best grades, says so, and everyone else agrees, as a professor, I have no choice but to reflect my students’ opinions.”

“Yay!”

“We’re saved!”

“Thank you, Oknodie!”

“But… you said it first? That you’d work *twice* as hard.”

A contract with a professor is like a contract with the devil.

Today’s happiness is tomorrow’s misery.

The students began to tremble with inexplicable anxiety.

“Maybe it would have been better to take the lecture now?”

“Now that the Giant King Crabs are gone, what if he brings even worse monsters to the next lecture?”

“I’m so scared…”

Whether they were belatedly anxious or not, the students were kicked out of the lecture hall.

While everyone was using their imagination to compete over whose idea was the most horrific way they might be lectured on the weekend.

The delinquent who had no interest in such trivial games approached me with purposeful strides.

“Hey, Oknodie. Do you have time now?”

“Until second period, yes.”

“Let’s go on a treasure hunt together.”

Zigoku looked around cautiously and whispered secretly in a low voice.

“I heard one of the seniors’ warehouses was swept away in this downpour. You know the saying at sea—finders keepers, losers weepers, right?”

If the flooded academy grounds could be considered a sea, it wasn’t entirely wrong.