Ch.256256 – Only Fear

<256 – Only Fear>

After the eventful inter-grade competition ended, students were now just waiting for the end of the sports festival.

Some began to commit themselves to earning last-minute points through the few remaining individual events that would take place after the inter-grade competition.

“I’m not going to underestimate a competition worth 10 points where first place gets two free meals in the cafeteria.”

“Right. Only rich kids who’ve never had to eat 1-point black bread because they couldn’t spare 5 points would think 10 points isn’t worth it.”

“What? You guys eat black bread that costs a whole point? Are you insane?”

“…That’s the cheapest thing available. What do you eat then?”

“If you drill a hole in a tree, sap comes out! Cut plant stems and fluid comes out too. There are berries in bushes, and sweet-tasting aphids and yellow ants are plentiful!”

The students realized there was no bottom to poverty and patted their resourceful classmate’s shoulder while shedding tears.

“Hang in there… we’ll help you.”

“Tell us which event you want to win. We’ll definitely compete with you…”

“Really? That’s great!”

‘How undignified. To think I have to be in the lower class, treated the same as these people.’

Foundation scholarship pride.

He had absolutely no intention of joining this tearful friendship of losers.

‘While you’re all playing along with that loser, I’ll surpass everyone and take first place.’

With more points, you can buy valuable things.

A delicious meal.

Class materials.

Attendance.

Even grades.

Rumor has it that points are needed for promotion too.

‘I don’t have time to care about friendship with those falling behind. Go get expelled together, you idiots!’

For that reason, Pride eagerly awaited the start of the individual events.

“Go back. You can’t participate.”

“Why not?”

“Shut up. Just go to the field.”

Driven away by the instructors, the first-years gathered on the field without knowing what was happening.

Pride was also among the expelled students.

‘Why? The inter-grade competition should be over already.’

They had accidentally won against the second-years who forfeited, but the third-years were monsters beyond that.

Weren’t they like urban legends, scarier than ghosts you’d meet on the street?

Having nearly lost his life after stepping into third-year territory, Pride felt even more afraid.

“Instructor. Are we really going against the third-years?”

“What are you talking about?”

The instructor on the field responded with a bewildered face.

Phew. It was just a misunderstanding, right?

The instructors in charge of individual events must have made some mistake?

“Of course you are. Five minutes until we start. All first-years get on the court.”

The dreaded match that they hoped wouldn’t happen was actually beginning.

* *

The injured students felt relieved.

“I never thought I’d feel grateful to the Hero.”

“Making us compete against third-years, what kind of bullying is this?”

“I must have been blessed for trying hard in the competition. I’m so happy I don’t have to fight the third-years!”

The first-years standing on the court muttered with dead fish eyes, like people about to die.

“It might not be too late. If I break my leg with my own hands, I might not have to participate…!”

“Stop it, idiot. If it’s not an injury sustained during the match, you can’t get free treatment.”

“Then if I wait until the match starts…?”

“Fool. They don’t treat self-inflicted injuries for free either. Just endure it.”

“Waaah! If I’d known this would happen, I should have properly taken a hit from the Hero’s sword and been eliminated!”

The court was filled with half whining students and half resigned students, creating an atmosphere like a funeral at best.

“Oknodie. What if the third-years immobilize us with swamp magic as soon as the match starts? We might not be able to move, cross the line to forfeit, and die from getting hit by balls.”

“Don’t worry!”

Zhang, who had recovered too quickly within an hour and ended up back on the court, complained, and Oknodie cheerfully replied.

“Only fourth-years would do something that evil!”

“So fourth-years do it…”

So at least the third-years weren’t the kind of scary seniors who would prevent forfeiting and one-sidedly assault them.

Zhang’s shoulders drooped even more at this information that wasn’t reassuring at all.

“Why did they let the third-years get on the court first?”

“Probably because they think we’re easy targets.”

“They want to teach us a lesson.”

“Hmm. I think it’s best to give up!”

“…That’s unexpected. I thought you were the type who really hated losing, Oknodie.”

“What’s impossible is impossible!”

“Is that how big the skill gap is between third-years and first-years? Though I don’t like it, we do have that Hero on our side.”

Zhang wasn’t the only one who had rested for an hour.

There was also Ishtar, the classmate-slayer, the cruel Hero without blood or tears who had eliminated the most first-years.

“Even if we were at full strength, there’s a limit to how much mana we can recover in just an hour! And we’ve already revealed all our big techniques while fighting each other.”

From the beginning, the second-years didn’t lose because of skill but forfeited due to Senior Mandela’s insidious scheme to divide them.

Thanks to that, the first-year power structure had entered a Three Kingdoms state.

The Hero’s followers who showed their full might and wanted to pick up points by following the strongest.

The Imperial faction supporting the Imperial Second Princess Massgakki, an unknown powerhouse who was eliminated disappointingly but would uphold the Empire’s pride.

The Frontier faction of Oknodie, the symbol of popularity whom even Cassia, the only rival to the Hero and dark horse, followed.

Those were just the three major factions, and digging deeper revealed the Third Imperial Princess Yayoi’s faction who benefited from Massgakki’s unreliable performance, and various other self-proclaimed frontier leaders who disliked Oknodie, sprouting like mushrooms.

It was closer to the Sixteen Kingdoms or the Seven Warring States period than the Three Kingdoms, a completely chaotic structure.

It was worlds apart from the second-years who had complete and absolute support for Marchioness Mandela as their top student and supreme leader.

“I just wish we could get this beating over with quickly…”

Zhang muttered weakly, like when going to Professor Sadaco’s lecture.

Her expression grew even more pained as the third-years entered the court.

“Kekeke. Look at the first-years’ skin, how smooth it is. We were like that a few years ago too, I’m so jealous I want to scratch it all off with my fingernails.”

“You’ll soon be like us… that is… if you can become third-years! Kyahahahaha!! It’s different from civil servants who get promoted just by aging. If you don’t sell everything you can for points, you can’t become third-years, you know? Kyahaha!!”

“How pleasant to see you living such a comfortable school life without even dark circles under your eyes just because you’re royalty. I’d love to make you take the ‘Surviving in Social Circles’ course.”

One shocking senior quote after another!

The fact that all these statements occurred within one minute of stepping onto the court made not only Zhang but most of the first-years dizzy enough to collapse.

“Peek-a-boo?”

“GYAAAAH!”

“Why so startled? When you become third-years, you’ll have to learn the ‘Wall Pass’ spell and take a test passing through 108 walls created by the professor. Practice early. That way, when you become third-years, you won’t get stuck in walls with the status ailment ‘Stuck in wall’ unable to move.”

“Waaah! I don’t want to become a third-year!”

“Then drop out!! Don’t take Gift Academy lightly. I guarantee cowards like you will die during lectures before you even get stuck in a wall!”

“Hey. Stop scaring the first-years more than necessary.”

“Ehhh~? Why me? I didn’t say anything wrong! I just truthfully told them about their cloudy future as first-years!”

“I’m on sabbatical aiming to advance to fourth year.”

“…”

The third-year who had been poking their head through the floor to scare the poor first-year rolled their eyes and disappeared back into the floor like a mole.

Oknodie, who noticed that the poor first-year’s name was Titosoga, waved from a distance.

Titosoga, busy crying, was too scared to notice Oknodie and just clung to the lighting pole, sobbing.

“I-I’m going crazy… this is a nightmare. I’m going to forfeit as soon as it starts!”

At Pride’s cry, a giant bird standing nearby opened its mouth.

“Going to forfeit! Going to forfeit!”

“W-what is this bird?!”

“What is this bird?! What is this bird?!”

“Could it be a human-faced bird that eats people and steals their voices!?”

“It’s a giant parrot, you ridiculous junior.”

A senior scratching the bird’s feathers poked their head out from behind it with an exasperated face.

“Good thinking. Forfeit as soon as it starts.”

“Th-thank you…?”

“Though you’ll end up forfeiting even if you don’t want to once it starts.”

The senior’s warning made Pride feel a bit indignant.

Isn’t this looking down on them too much?

He had heard many ominous rumors about third-years capturing poor first-years and turning them into undead, or grabbing students who went out gathering and throwing them into tentacle monster nests while only taking the treasure chests.

But this was the middle of the sports festival field, watched by instructors and professors!

“Third-years, please restrain yourselves to minimize casualties. Please be aware that killing first-years will result in massive point deductions and, depending on intent, may even lead to imprisonment.”

After hearing Professor Mahabharata, the first-year head’s pre-game speech, any expectations Pride had vanished without a trace.

The worst thing was actually the academy that produced such third-years and the professors who taught such students.

“I now commence the dodgeball match between first-years and third-years for the sports festival inter-grade competition.”

A magical flare crossed the sky.

The flare’s sparks burst like the first-years’ hearts: poof, poof, poof.