Ch.2424. Slave Selection

Frang took quite a while to engrave the mark, so it ended up taking about an hour to return.

Still, since I had left early to begin with, I wasn’t late and felt like I returned right on time for school.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. Thank you so much, Ludion!”

“Yeah, sure.”

I parted ways with Frang casually.

Since we’d inevitably run into each other when I returned to the dormitory later, if I had anything to say, I could just tell him then.

As I walked along leisurely by myself, I soon arrived at the advanced class building. I ran into Celia who was standing in front of the entrance.

“Ludion! Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

We exchanged greetings naturally and entered together, but thinking about it, something seemed a bit odd.

Celia is extremely diligent and usually arrives at school with plenty of time to spare.

But today I had timed my arrival quite tightly. I shouldn’t have run into Celia here.

…So why?

“Hey Celia. Were you waiting out front this whole time?”

“Of course. I need to go in together with Ludion.”

Seriously, why?

I couldn’t understand, but I couldn’t press the issue any further.

By the time we reached the classroom and sat down, Professor Reina was already preparing to start the lecture.

“Now, today I’ll be teaching you about understanding magical beasts. You can sleep if you’re tired. You might end up sleeping forever… but as long as I’m here, that won’t happen, so don’t worry too much!”

The lecture content was quite normal. Even when she was a professor for the lower classes, she always chose normal content for her lectures.

However, her teaching methods weren’t exactly normal.

Given her preference for practical training, it was clear that after a few theory lectures, classes would be filled with nothing but practical exercises.

So I needed to enjoy the comfort of sitting and listening to lectures while I could.

But… no student would be able to sleep after hearing such words. After all, if they didn’t study, they’d be putting themselves in danger.

Of course, I slept anyway.

Even after coming to this game world, listening to lectures was still just as sleep-inducing. Besides, I already knew all the content anyway.

…But when Celia woke me up from beside me, I found Reina standing right in front of me, staring intently.

Being in the front row, the distance between us was quite close, which made it uncomfortable.

‘Professor, your lecture is so interesting, keep it up!’

I desperately tried to convey this message through my eyes, but it didn’t work at all.

Instead, she posed a question to me.

“Ludion? What did I say about how to deal with a Black Chest Ogre when confronted with one?”

It was a question thrown at me to see if I could answer correctly.

But who am I? I’m the hardcore veteran player who organized the avoidance timing for every pattern that exists in the game.

Since I had memorized not only the characteristics and strategies for monsters but even their background settings, I could answer without hesitation.

“The chest of a Black Chest Ogre is covered with black leather, which is extremely hard and difficult to damage unless you have the destructive power of a magically enhanced siege hammer. Since magical beasts instinctively know and utilize this, it’s best to avoid attacking from the front where they can easily block with their chest. Instead, targeting their relatively weaker sides or focusing on their Achilles tendon to restrict their movement would be the most effective strategy.”

“…And the location of the carotid artery?”

“The black leather on the chest sometimes extends to affect the neck as well. In such cases, the area around the neck doesn’t visibly turn black, making it indistinguishable to the naked eye. Therefore, unless it’s an extremely special situation, there’s no reason to take the risk of targeting that area.”

I answered her additional question simply, but then I felt Reina’s gaze become sticky.

I wondered if I had made a mistake, and indeed, I had made a big one.

“I haven’t taught that yet. You seem to know a lot.”

“Ah. You haven’t taught us that?”

This wasn’t part of the lecture content.

Right, knowing too much can also be a problem.

I was just sleeping, so she asked a question from the class content to test me, but huh? I know it well? Then she asked something she hadn’t taught yet just to check, and huh? I know this too? Is this you seducing me first?

That’s roughly the situation I found myself in.

I tried to make some excuse but gave up.

No matter what I said, it wouldn’t get through to Reina who had started licking her lips.

“Ludion. Follow me after this lecture ends.”

In the end, I heard the exact words that a student should never hear from a professor.

I was doomed.

First-year lectures consist of a total of 4 sessions per day.

Excluding practical training sessions which are conducted according to the situation, theory lectures last about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Starting at 8:40 AM with 20-minute breaks and a 1 hour 20 minute lunch break, classes generally end around 4 PM… Compared to South Korea’s murderous schedules, it’s not that intense.

Still, depending on the lecture content, fatigue can build up, so it’s good to effectively manage your condition during breaks…

“Oh, you’re here? Come sit over here.”

Having been caught managing my condition during lecture time, I ended up losing my break time as punishment.

I had done something stupid like getting caught in a trap investigation while trying to avoid the situation, so it couldn’t be helped.

The place I arrived at now was the professor’s research office. Quite a few professors visit the advanced class research office, but today Reina was alone, probably because there were no separate lectures prepared.

I sat in the chair in front of her as she instructed.

“Ludion. I’ve been keeping an eye on you for a while, and the lecture just now confirmed it. Would you like to work directly under me?”

Whoa, Professor. You need to give me room to breathe. It’s troublesome when you come at me so suddenly.

I decided to express my refusal first.

“Do I have to?”

“Why not?”

“No, not ‘why not’… I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to?”

“Why not?”

What kind of conversation is this?

This woman has no intention of persuading me. She’s just telling me to do it.

So I decided to ask what it entailed before refusing.

Of course, I knew everything about what it meant to be Reina’s direct subordinate from the original work where the protagonist takes that route, but if I showed that I knew that too, I’d definitely be confirmed as her direct subordinate.

“Would you like to come with me to capture practical training magical beasts?”

“…Pardon?”

But she was saying something different from what I knew.

This is a bit perplexing. Wasn’t it originally something like ‘making the student fight practical training magical beasts first so they become a spectacle until other students get the hang of it’?

To begin with, capturing magical beasts? It didn’t make sense that such a dangerous mission would be undertaken with a student rather than another teacher.

“Would I be of any help if I went?”

“What’s the weakness of a Red Wyvern?”

“The roof of its mouth.”

A Red Wyvern is red, so it’s a fire attribute.

The weakness is directly related to the expression of burning the roof of your mouth when eating something hot, so it’s not easy to forget.

I wish I had forgotten it though.

Only after answering reflexively did I realize my mistake.

“An immediate answer… At the very least, you won’t be a hindrance.”

This blabbermouth of mine…

While one question can’t determine knowledge, giving an immediate answer was a mistake here.

I got a perfect score on the entrance exam theory. It seems I already have sufficient knowledge, but am I familiar enough with it to respond immediately?

There’s no need for excuses. It’s now impossible to refuse by downplaying myself.

Then I’ll try to create an atmosphere of refusal by emphasizing my status as a student…

“But I’m still a student. No matter what, isn’t capturing magical beasts dangerous?”

“To be honest, I don’t see you as a student.”

…I tried, but ended up making a pathetic student appeal.

Reina began to explain why she thought that way.

“Just from the entrance exam, you already seemed like someone who had gone through countless real battles. That’s also why I excluded only you from yesterday’s skill assessment.”

“…I can’t say I have no experience at all.”

Since I had shown quite a bit, I couldn’t lie. After all, raiding and PVP in games are real battles in their own way.

Hearing my honest words, Reina smiled slightly and continued.

“Right. If you had denied it here, it would have been more suspicious. Don’t worry. I’m not particularly interested in your life story. I just want you to work directly under me.”

“But I don’t really have any intention of becoming your direct subordinate…”

“Come on, don’t feel too burdened. Do I have many people under me? I don’t have much for you to do. You just need to follow me a few times when I go to work, so you don’t have to worry about losing a lot of time… Oh, and of course, it will positively affect your grades. How about it?”

I don’t particularly care about grades, and besides, I already have perfect scores in theory.

As for practical skills… well, I don’t know about later, but for now, I can manage, so I don’t really need it.

Anyway, Celia is the top student. If I were to be greedy about grades, it would only highlight my abilities that can’t improve.

And… absolutely no to becoming a graduate student! I still have a long way to go in academy life, and I don’t want to become a slave already!

That’s why I’m trying so hard to escape, but I don’t understand why the atmosphere keeps tilting towards becoming her direct subordinate.

Continuing this conversation any further would only be disadvantageous for me.

Realizing this, I stood up from my seat and bowed politely to firmly express my refusal.

“Professor. I really appreciate the offer, but I’m not good enough to be your direct subordinate…”

“Alright, Ludion. You’re short on money, right? If you work directly under me, I’ll provide you with a monthly stipend. About… this much?”

Is she trying to buy me with money?! Even though I only have enough money for a few meals, if I put in a little effort, I can earn enough to live comfortably… wow, how much is that?

“Because I’m lacking, I’ll work harder to become worthy of being your direct subordinate.”

“Hmm, no need to work hard. Just say you want to, and I can make it happen right away.”

And so I became Professor Reina’s direct assistant.

Criticize me for being spineless if you want. But that was really too much money to refuse.

If I receive that money every month, it’s not just about making a living; I could even save up enough to buy my own house.

“I should have tempted you with money from the start.”

Reina laughed incredulously at my sudden change in attitude, but considering she didn’t seem to have any intention of persuading me, wasn’t this her plan from the beginning?

It feels like I’ve tasted the true power of the Trier family, who can even manipulate the academy with money.

The Trier family is truly terrifying…