Ch.338338 – A Remarkable Child

<338 – A Good Kid>

[You survived as part of the victor’s camp in Professor Raregrills’ test. Surviving, even by becoming a cowardly traitor, is important.]

[Psychology Prediction experience +30]

[Troop Command experience +30]

[Persuasion experience +10]

[Behavior Prediction experience +10]

[Strategy Planning experience +10]

[You survived a high-difficulty test.]

[Acquired title <Survivor>.]

[You were accepted as a general by the enemy after becoming a traitor.]

[Acquired title <Traitor>.]

[Received 10,000 points as a reward for completing the challenge <You Managed to Survive Somehow>.]

[Received 20,000 points as a reward for completing the challenge <How a Traitor Survives>.]

*Survivor*: Having survived a brutal battlefield, you deserve to be called a survivor.

-Title Equip Effect: <Crisis Detection> correction +10

-Title Possession Effect: <Crisis Detection> correction +1

*Traitor*: Betrayal is easy, but surviving after betrayal is not. Everyone fears being betrayed by a traitor. You have accomplished this difficult feat.

-Title Equip Effect: Basic Likability temporarily fixed at 10

-Title Possession Effect: Basic Likability absolutely fixed at 5 (Maintained alongside negative likability if present, maintaining minimum likability of 5 no matter how much it drops)

When I returned alive from the nightmare, I gained 600,000 points and a total of 600 skill experience.

When I killed Professor Layve, I gained 10 million points and a total of 100 skill experience.

The difference between the two is simple.

How much change did it cause in the real world?

How much did I contribute to that event?

The former was a curse in a dream, not reality, so the points gained weren’t that great compared to the scale of the event.

But since my contribution was absolutely high, the skill experience gained was very high.

Conversely, the latter involved an academy professor actually dying—an enormous incident.

But since my contribution wasn’t high, the skill experience gained wasn’t particularly impressive.

‘Too bad it wasn’t a real battlefield!’

This test wasn’t a war that happened in reality either, so I only gained 30,000 points.

However, thanks to the difficult level and my contribution, I gained 90 skill experience in a short time and acquired two titles.

I easily acquired titles that would normally require surviving hellish battlefields and performing insane tightrope acts of betrayal.

‘This is what’s good about the Academy!’

No matter how much an old-timer outside the Academy tries to collect rewards, it can’t compare to attending just one lecture inside.

How can you compare when a battlefield that would take a month at one turn per day is wrapped up in two hours at the Academy?

This is why old-timers who were curious about the outside world and left the Academy eventually return, saying “the end of tuning is stock.”

“Oknodie. You played me.”

“Huh? I said I’d go easy on you from the start!”

“I can’t accept losing like this.”

I let the newbie do whatever he wanted.

I thought I was being nice to the newbie, but apparently he didn’t see it that way.

“Remember this well. In the next midterm exam, I will definitely defeat you.”

“Ignore him, Oknodie. It’s just the ugly nonsense of a loser jealous of the winner.”

Hestia’s consolation made me laugh.

He probably thinks his retreating figure looks cool with his armor clanking under his uniform, but well…

From an old-timer’s perspective, it’s just laughable.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Hestia.”

“Jaydas lost because he lacks experience, but he won’t be an easy opponent once he gains some. You don’t always win everything either.”

“That’s true. But Jaydas is different from Hero Ishtar or Skola, the disciple of the Divine Archer!”

“A difference in talent?”

“More than talent—a difference in experience!”

From the beginning.

“That person lost even when allowed to do whatever he wanted. Doesn’t he realize he’ll be eliminated faster if he’s prevented from doing what he wants?”

Hestia jumped in shock like a heavy infantry soldier who discovered a metal slime stuck to their armor.

* *

6 PM.

Dinner time.

Thanks to the updated cafeteria menu for the second semester, I bought an unlimited 10-point pass for the first time in a while.

The menu is meat side dishes with meat side dishes, and more meat side dishes!

It’s a meat festival, woohoo!

“Chef! Why is there so much meat?”

“Hoho. Your seniors accidentally made too many experimental materials at the farm. There were too many to use in experiments, so they made them into meat!”

“…What kind of meat is it?”

“Do you really want to know?”

…I should let my friends enjoy the meat festival.

I won’t be coming here for a while after tomorrow.

“Draw your sword.”

While leisurely heading to the next classroom after filling three general catalogs.

Among students who were already overwhelmed just attending lectures, I felt my skin tingle.

On a cool autumn day, my heart suddenly raced and my skin tingled because…!

━━━

[Sing’s Understanding]

1st Special Benefit (20) – <Premonition of Sing’s Murderous Impulse>

━━━

That’s it.

Why is Sing acting up after being quiet for so long?

I climbed up to a nearby branch with stealth so perfect even a squirrel scampering along the tree wouldn’t notice.

Below the tree, I could see Sing confronting some students.

Strangely, the confronting students were three girls.

No male student would pick a fight with Sing, who slashes people with his sword when provoked, but these female students were truly brave.

I checked their collars to see if they were senior students, but they were unmistakably first-year collars.

What’s going on?

Are they suicidal?

“Draw your sword~”

“Pfft. How barbaric. We didn’t even say anything wrong, why are you getting so upset?”

“Just like Oknodie’s servant. You think human lives are jokes just like your master.”

“You won’t cut us if we don’t draw swords? Then we’ll never draw them~”

“What will you do if we don’t? What can you possibly do? Pfft!”

They’re really just ordinary students.

What makes them so confident?

I expanded my vision and senses to survey the surroundings.

From my view up in the tree.

Beyond the four people confronting each other in front of the bench, I sensed an instructor hiding in the bushes.

I could also see a third-year senior hiding against a nearby building wall, looking down at the first-years with interest.

I even spotted fourth-year seniors flying through the air with transparency and flight magic, glancing at the newbies as they passed.

‘Huh?’

Looking carefully, I noticed the instructor holding a recording crystal ball.

The moment I spotted Camella watching everyone from a distance with an evil smile, the situation became clear.

Camella’s faction.

Camella, who controls sadistic girls through hidden clauses in the pet contracts she provides.

She was taking action earlier than expected—she should have revealed her true colors in the first semester of second year.

Her target was Sing.

She was attempting to secretly record his violent behavior with a crystal ball through a recruited instructor, then force him to sign a contract in exchange for preventing his expulsion.

So those girls picking a fight are the sadistic girls Camella controls?

I can understand why they’d fearlessly confront him like that if they’re sadists armed with pet contracts.

Tug, tug.

The fake little sister from Titosoga’s ring pulled at my collar, asking if I was just going to watch.

Of course I wasn’t planning to just watch.

After raising my understanding to 80 and making him a companion, I wasn’t about to lose a valuable ally to some chapter boss.

[Throw]

A stone hurled forcefully toward the bushes.

Surprised by the sudden attack, the instructor raised a barrier to block the stone.

The moment their attention turned “upward,” the wand magic I activated right after throwing the stone grabbed the instructor’s ankle from “below.”

━━━

3rd Tier Earth Magic – Sinking Ground

Manifestation Formula – [Earth][Descent][Acceleration]

━━━

As the ground suddenly collapsed, the instructor jumped up reflexively, thinking of bog magic.

It was commendable that in that brief moment, they followed the flow of mana and spotted me in the tree, making eye contact.

“What do you think you’re doing, attacking an instructor?”

“Gasp! Instructor, why are you coming out from there?”

“Are you pretending not to know? After such a threatening stone attack and setting up magic.”

“I have a hobby of secretly climbing trees and throwing stones into bushes while making the ground sink!”

“You call that an excuse? The intentionality of your actions has already been recorded in this crystal ball.”

“Gasp! Really?”

“Violating school rules in front of an instructor already incurs a fine, but attacking an instructor means you’ll need to pay a massive bail to avoid the grand prison.”

The girls who had been trying to trap Sing looked confused at first, then noticed what was happening and snickered.

“He really was barbaric after all.”

“Too wild to remain near civilization, I guess.”

As Sing was about to draw his sword from <Silent Scabbard> with his iaido technique, I jumped down from the tree and pushed his half-drawn sword back into its scabbard.

“It’s a bad habit to draw your sword anytime!”

“You… why are you stopping me? Don’t you know who I was about to swing at?”

“Sing, think about it. Who did I reveal my new hobby in front of everyone for?”

Shock spread across Sing’s face.

He finally realized!

The merit of this good kid who intervened to prevent Sing from falling into Camella’s faction’s trap!

“So your hobby of throwing stones at bushes where people might be hiding and making the ground sink to startle hidden enemies was a lie?”

Of course I don’t have such a hobby!