Ch.184184 – Counter-Resistance Group Training

<184 – Counter-Battle Group Training>

The bikini armor slipped right into the heavy armor.

Suddenly wearing two layers of armor, Morb was more overwhelmed by shame than the weight.

“If anyone finds out, I’ll definitely be labeled a pervert.”

“That’s why you need to grit your teeth and be careful not to get it damaged!”

“…Oknodie. I’m asking just in case…”

“Yes?”

“Sigh. Never mind. No need to ask.”

They said it was armor that greatly increases evasion when worn.

It turned out the wearer had to desperately dodge attacks to avoid social burial.

He never dreamed this armor would have such a mechanism, but thinking about it now, it actually made sense.

‘Since my body became heavier, I’ve only focused on blocking and deflecting attacks with my armor.’

Being absorbed in the stable defense and high power from the weight, he had neglected evasion for a while.

Perhaps Oknodie made him wear this shameful armor to scold him for his laziness and remind him to dodge attacks whenever possible, as if standing on the edge of a cliff.

It was a rather convincing thought.

“Tch. I can’t see anything. I thought the bikini armor would be on top.”

“…”

That girl Ppoi just wanted a spectacle, it seems.

Thankfully, Oknodie isn’t that kind of bad person.

* *

[Morb is satisfied with wearing the new cursed item.]

[Discernment experience +3]

[Good Boy experience +1]

Huh.

This guy Morb, acting like he hated it in front of me, but behind my back his skill experience suddenly increases.

Could it be he actually has a thing for bikini armor or crossdressing?

‘That’s information I didn’t need to know…’

But if that’s my friend’s preference, I have no choice but to respect it.

When I get the chance, I should buy him other cursed items too.

“Oknodie. We have big trouble!”

“Dorothy? What’s wrong?”

“Our midterm exam suddenly got changed to a magic battle against the Imperial students!”

“The ‘Basics and Understanding of Mana Usage’ class?”

“Yes, yes. They say we have to fight against the ‘Basics and Understanding of Imperial Magic’ class.”

The bad relationship between Imperial professors and Frontier professors isn’t anything new, but this time the conflict seems to have started much earlier than usual.

‘Usually it would start from second year. Or am I wrong? Maybe in reality, unlike in the game, it’s normal for conflicts to begin from first year?’

Professor Sadaco’s pet tree, Poppy.

Chapter 4 boss, the core medium of the Silent Forest.

That’s where its notorious reputation begins.

The situation starts in the summer vacation of second year.

But things really explode when Professor Sadaco chooses to retire, exhausted from the Imperial professors’ interference.

When the professor who feeds it leaves with the parting words “grow strong,” Poppy gets excited and evolves into a cursed forest that swallows people whole.

All because of the Imperial professors’ interference.

‘Since there’s no war in any of the frontier regions, I guess the problems are happening inside the academy!’

In a survival game where unfairness is expected, there’s bound to be unfairness in every semester and every exam.

This time, it seems to stem from the petty interference of the Imperial professors.

<Counter-Battle Event>

After tasting the Frontier’s spicy flavor in the Material Raid, a second match has been scheduled with the students of “Basics and Understanding of Imperial Magic.”

A midterm counter-battle between students taking essential mana classes, with grades at stake!

The losing class will receive an overall grade deduction, while the winning class will receive bonus points.

Can you lead the clearly disadvantaged students of “Basics and Understanding of Mana Usage” to victory against the students of “Basics and Understanding of Imperial Magic”?

A linked event following the Material Raid.

Usually, a magic demonstration competition would appear, but for some reason, it’s been upgraded to a magic battle, one level higher.

Despite the obviously unfair match, Professor Warerd accepted the challenge for whatever reason.

“I really don’t know what the professor is thinking.”

Dorothy just blamed the professor, but that won’t save the points at risk of deduction.

“Well, the exam is next week, so we still have time. Want me to give you some special training?”

“Oh, that would be great! But other kids want special training too. Could we all receive it together?”

“Hmm… bring everyone who wants it!”

Since the professor started this by unfairly targeting the weaker Frontier kids to boost their own students’ scores, there’s no reason I shouldn’t help Professor Warerd’s students!

“Isabelle. I’ll be home late today because I’m helping my friends with their midterms.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll pack you a lunch.”

“Will there be meat dishes?”

“I’ll make some.”

“Yay!”

I headed to the meeting place with the lunch Isabelle packed for me.

Dorothy is really such a kind person.

Most people would try to keep this opportunity for themselves.

But she’s making sure her other friends get help too.

As an experienced player, I know that in class competitions, it’s better when everyone in your class performs well.

But Dorothy isn’t thinking about that—she genuinely wants to help her classmates who take the same lecture.

‘Games truly shine through cooperation rather than competition.’

At the Academy, the war generation has higher base growth due to desperation, but their ceiling is lower due to hostility and conflicting interests.

The peace generation may lack urgency, but by joining forces and growing together, their overall ceiling is much higher.

‘I made the right choice helping Dorothy instead of someone with a nasty personality like Yuie.’

Though Yuie positions herself as a merchant, whenever you hired her as a teammate, the male team members would show strange reactions.

Now that the game has become reality, I suspect those strange reactions weren’t just due to personality clashes, but because Yuie was up to something.

“Hi, Oknodie. You’re early?”

“I was thinking about what to teach! Where are the others?”

“They’ll be here soon.”

One by one, students taking the “Basics and Understanding of Mana Usage” class entered through the door Dorothy came in.

I expected only weak students from the Frontier, but surprisingly, skilled students from the Empire, even from the Magic Tower, like Rozini and Sandcooker, showed up.

“Hmph. I didn’t think the Red Magic Tower’s magic was insufficient. I just came to see your skills. Don’t misunderstand. Got it?”

“Let’s ignore that idiot who says she doesn’t want to learn. Teach me instead. I came to learn if there are advanced techniques for sand wall creation, like a dark sand wall.”

“Sandcooker! I came first!”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t need to learn?”

“Still, I was in line first! I should learn magic too, fair and square!”

Maybe it’s because I helped them in the Material Raid event?

More students came than I expected.

I don’t mind.

It’s better if the students have skills.

Teaching smart kids is fun.

“Hello.”

“Even on weekends, Oknodie is small!”

But then another group of people, equal in number to those already inside, came rushing in.

“Your lips looked really chapped today. Want me to put some lipstick on you?”

“I, I know how to paint nails with polish!”

And after them, yet another group.

“Oknodie’s just a kid. Wouldn’t you be more interested in food than beauty products? I bought this at the store on the way here. It’s a gift, so you can have it.”

“Do you like fried squid too?”

“Melon bread is also delicious.”

Endlessly.

More and more.

An incredible number.

“…Dorothy. How many people did you bring?”

“Well… when I asked, everyone said they wanted to learn?”

“…Don’t tell me you brought everyone taking the class?”

Dorothy played with her hair pin and giggled shyly.

“Owww! Don’t pinch my cheeks!”

“It’s Dorothy’s fault for bringing so many people!”

How could she bring all 100 students taking the class to one place when I said to bring those who wanted to learn?

“So… is it not okay?”

The students gathered behind Dorothy stared at my mouth, hanging on my every word.

With sweaty palms, afraid of being rejected, yet not averting their gaze, they looked straight into my eyes.

They all knew they had nowhere else to turn.

“Wouldn’t it be better to ask Professor Warerd directly for extra lessons?”

“That professor is… you know. Sandcooker and I went to the professor’s office to get lecture materials, and we heard from seniors that he does weird things like feeding all kinds of stones to fourth-year students—igneous rocks, granite, elemental stones, even magic stones collected from all over the world.”

“Ugh. Why would he do that?”

“No idea. Anyway, he’s a strange professor.”

“Alright. Then I’ll teach you instead.”

At those words, everyone cheered as if celebrating a festival.

Whatever the case, they must think being taught by me is better than being taught by Professor Warerd.

I think so too.

Professors may be skilled, but their teaching abilities are often terrible.

For teaching mediocre students, a veteran player like me who knows exactly which abilities to raise is more helpful.

“Oknodie. What will you teach us first? Secret magic or magic usage tips?”

I gave Dorothy, who asked with an innocent face unaware of her fate, a kind smile.

* *

“Run, run, run more!”

“Huff, huff, huff…”

“This isn’t mana class training…”

“I’m, I’m gonna die…”

“O-Oknodie… how long are we just going to run…?”

Students exhausted from training that had continued since morning.

Running alongside them to keep pace, I emphasized the necessity of running.

“The Imperial kids have spent years gathering more mana and practicing magic than you have. It’s impossible to beat them in quality or quantity of magic with any short-term education!”

“But just running doesn’t make sense…!”

“Think about it logically. If investing in magic-related stats is a waste, then building stamina and agility to dodge magic is the way to go!”

“I-Is that so…?”

“So let’s run just one more lap!”

100 laps around the field.

92 dropouts.

8 completions.

Students who had neglected physical training because they were aspiring magicians collapsed on the dirt, their stamina completely drained.

“N-Now that we’ve finished running… it’s over, right…?”

“Yes. The stamina training!”

“‘Stamina’ training…?”

“If you just run a lot but can’t dodge, you’ll get tired even faster. For agility training, there’s nothing better than this…”

I hammered sticks with rings attached into the ground and set fire to the edges.

Ta-da!

In an instant, the field was transformed into a circus training ground!

“Come on, everyone get up! We need to do agility training too!”

Deep regret appeared on the students’ faces.

They must be disappointed they didn’t start this excellent training sooner.

With everyone showing such enthusiasm, I probably don’t need to mention that the rings will gradually shrink in size every hour?